Mass Effect 2
From Mass Effect Wiki
- Note: Please do not add speculation to Mass Effect 2 articles. The wiki only accepts facts, and speculation will be deleted. At most, link us to forum discussions rather than posting it here.
The official announcement of Mass Effect 2 was made on March 17, 2009.
The teaser site for Mass Effect 2 was launched on February 20, 2009. The website included a teaser video, wallpapers and various downloads. In May 2009, the initial teaser on the Mass Effect 2 site was supplemented with an E3 Precursor Developer video that gave a critical first look at the game. In June 2009, the website was completely reformatted to provide more information including a plot summary, a FAQ and information on new species, worlds, missions etc.
An additional video documentary is also bundled with the Platinum Hits edition of Mass Effect titled The Future of Mass Effect which discusses ME2 and upcoming downloadable content. The documentary was outlined in an article on The Escapist.
Mass Effect 2 is scheduled to launch on January 26, 2010 in North America and January 29 in Europe. [1] It will also be released in a Limited Collector's Edition.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The official plot summary reads:
"Two years after Commander Shepard repelled invading Reapers bent on the destruction of organic life, a mysterious new enemy has emerged. On the fringes of known space, something is silently abducting entire human colonies. Now Shepard must work with Cerberus, a ruthless organization devoted to human survival at any cost, to stop the most terrifying threat mankind has ever faced.
To even attempt this perilous mission, Shepard must assemble the galaxy’s most elite team and command the most powerful ship ever built. Even then, they say it would be suicide. Commander Shepard intends to prove them wrong. "
[edit] Shepard's fate
Following the release of the initial teaser trailer for Mass Effect 2, which claimed Commander Shepard to have been killed in action, there was confusion about whether or not the player character would be featured in the game. In a post-E3 2009 blog post, BioWare Executive Producer Casey Hudson explained the situation. He revealed that as a result of the player's decisions, Shepard could be killed during Mass Effect 2's final mission, not during the course of the game: "When you get to the very end of the story in Mass Effect 2, you will get one of a wide variety of climactic and satisfying endings. Depending on how prepared you were, your ending may involve Shepard making the ultimate sacrifice to accomplish the mission. If you do die in the ending of Mass Effect 2, it will not come as a surprise, nor will it be random. It will be pretty obvious that you headed into the final mission knowing that Shepard probably wouldn’t make it out alive. Throughout the middle of the game you are building up information, resources, a team, and a ship that will be able to do the job, and although you can jump straight to the final mission at a certain point, you’ll have a good feel for whether you’re likely to survive it."
Hudson also revealed that the player's decisions can affect Shepard's team as well, saying "You might have an ending where Shepard’s entire team survives, or where the entire mission is a bloodbath and everyone (including Shepard) is killed, or anything in between. And for all characters, death in Mass Effect 2 means they won’t show up in Mass Effect 3."
Relative to the planned Mass Effect 3, Hudson confirmed that if Shepard is killed in Mass Effect 2, the character will not return for the third game. "One big reason you’ll want to be alive after the ending is that after the credits roll, you are returned to the game world - ready to head back out for more adventure. You can complete unfinished missions, explore the galaxy, and download new adventures to play. But Mass Effect is a trilogy about Commander Shepard’s journey - if your Shepard dies in the end of Mass Effect 2, that’s the end of him/her. In that case, you can play Mass Effect 3 as “a” Shepard – just not “your” Shepard. As in real life, not being able to keep living is really the main down-side of death. So if you care about playing the next game with your character, make sure you survive this one."[2]
[edit] New, Returning and Removed Features
[edit] Save File Transfer
- All decisions made by the player in Mass Effect will carry over into Mass Effect 2 and have the potential to impact the story. Decisions confirmed to have an impact on the game include:
- The decision to save either Kaidan or Ashley. [3]
- Whether or not the player kills Wrex on Virmire. [4]
- Whether or not the player decides to save the Citadel Council at the end of Mass Effect. [5]
- The player's choice of love interest. [6]
- Whether the player spares or destroys the Rachni Queen at Peak 15. [7]
- The player's treatment of Conrad Verner. [8]
- Whether or not the player completed the UNC: Asari Diplomacy sidequest.
- Whether the player chose to allow the Alliance to conduct experiments on Nirali Bhatia's body.[1]
- Due to massive gameplay redesign, your level will not transfer over to Mass Effect 2 and you will start out with basic abilities, though some may be transferred. [9] [10] [11] However, the game will acknowledge if you were a level 60 character and if you were a Renegade or Paragon and adapt it in ways that map across to the new system. [12]
- The physical appearance and class of imported characters can be changed at the start of Mass Effect 2 if desired. [13] [14]
- The player will be able to import any of their Mass Effect playthroughs into Mass Effect 2, essentially being given the same choices as when a player starts a new game with an existing character in Mass Effect.
- If a player has no Mass Effect save files, Mass Effect 2 will start with an introduction sequence which, in combination with interactive decisions made by the player, introduces new players to the storyline and establishes a “canon” backstory. [15]
- Completion of Mass Effect Galaxy will also have an effect on Mass Effect 2. If a player links their copy of Mass Effect Galaxy to their EA Online account through the games Extras menu and Stay Informed sub-menu then completes a linked account, they receive the message "Your reward for completing the game is waiting for you in Mass Effect 2." What the reward is, is not currently known.
[edit] New and Returning Squad Members
- In Mass Effect 2 the player has the opportunity to build a team from 10 [16] possible recruits, including:
- Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, Shepard's quarian teammate from the original Mass Effect. [17]
- Jacob Taylor and Miranda Lawson, the main characters of Mass Effect Galaxy. [18]
- Thane, a drell assassin. [19].
- Grunt, an unpredictable krogan mercenary. [20]
- Subject Zero, an extremely powerful biotic and former test subject. [21]
- Mordin Solus, a "fast talking" and "surprisingly brutal" salarian scientist. [22]
- Samara, an asari Justicar. [23]
- Two more currently unannounced characters.
[edit] New and Improved Gameplay and Story Features
[edit] Gameplay
- An interrupt system will allow Shepard to take more physical action in a conversation, either through a Renegade hostile interrupt or a Paragon heroic interrupt. [24]
- A larger variety of weapon classes including:
- Heavy Pistols
- Machine Pistols [25]
- Submachine Guns
- Shotguns
- Assault Rifles
- Sniper Rifles
- Heavy Weapons, [26] including guided rocket and grenade launchers, a gun that "turns enemies into dust", a "nuke gun" that unleashes room-clearing nuclear fire [27] and the M-490 Blackstorm, a high-powered gravity gun. [28]
- New abilities have been added including:
- New Combat mechanics, including:
- Targeting of individual body parts, enabling the player to make more damaging headshots or slow down an enemy by wounding, or shooting off, their leg. [32]
- An ammo system based on 'thermal clips'. Instead of cooling down automatically, weapons dissipate heat into thermal clips, that can only withstand a certain number of shots before they must be replaced or 'reloaded'. Replacement thermal clips can be collected off of the bodies of defeated enemies. These thermal clips are universal and can be used in any weapon. [33]
- Ammo Upgrades such as Cryo Rounds, Incendiary Rounds and the new Disruptor Rounds are now abilities accessible from the radial menu like biotic and tech talents. [34]
- A new inventory system:
- Weapons and armor are chosen at the beginning of missions and can be swapped out for newly, or previously, acquired equipment at lockers found throughout the various environments in the game. [35]
- Armor is modular and N7 can be built from parts bought from merchants, or acquired on missions, through the player's armor locker aboard the Normandy SR2. [36] These parts can have different behaviours and influences on gameplay. At the armor locker the player can also customize many aesthetic aspects of their armor, including color, material and shininess as well as choose between helmets and visors. [37]
- The player can modify aspects of armor and weapons, such as accuracy or ammo mods, by collecting resarch projects and working on them at research terminals in the science lab aboard the Normandy SR2, provided Shepard has recruited a scientist to work there. [38]
- Improvements to downloadable content, including:
- Episodic combat, weapon and armor packs, characters, worlds and full campaign expansions will reportedly be available for download. [39]
- Periodic updates via the in-game 'Cerberus Network'. [40]
- Almost the whole Mass Effect 2 will switch to work on DLC once the game is released. [41]
- Smaller and larger DLC with varied pricing. [42]
[edit] Story
- Shepard will encounter new alien species, [43] including:
- New locations, including:
- Omega, a lawless space station ruled by the asari Aria T'Loak
- Tuchanka, the krogan homeworld.
- Purgatory, a prison ship.
- The Migrant Fleet, home to the surviving quarian population.
- Shepard will be involved in an incident early in the game requiring reconstructive surgery. This surgery leaves scars on Shepard's face that will heal or fester depending on whether the player makes Paragon or Renegade choices, respectively. However, the player will be able to access a research project that will heal the player's scars regardless of morality. [44]
- New creatures, enemies and interest groups will be introduced, including:
- Eclipse, a mercenary corporation[45]
- The Collectors, a race of insect-like beings engaged in a campaign of mass human abductions across the galaxy. [46]
- The Illusive Man, the leader of the rogue Alliance black-ops organization Cerberus. [47] [48]
[edit] Returning, Removed and Tweaked Gameplay Features
- Many characters from Mass Effect will return in Mass Effect 2, including:
- The entire Mass Effect squad, provided they survived the player's Mass Effect 1 game:
- Jeff "Joker" Moreau
- Conrad Verner
- Nassana Dantius
- Navigator Pressly
- An improved game engine featuring:
- Better AI for squadmates and enemies
- Technical changes to improve general performance
- No more texture pop-in. [49]
- A more refined and dramatic lighting system. [50]
- No more elevator loading scene transitions, they have been replaced with "A completely new system to handle transitions between areas that speeds the load times and turns the loads themselves into part of the game experience."[51]
- Romance subplots and sex scenes will be returning. [52]
- The shotgun has been modified to deal more damage and have a larger focus on up-close combat. [53]
- An improved cover system has been put into place for Mass Effect 2. In the original Mass Effect there was only 20 different animations for taking cover, now there are over 200. [54] Cover is now entered manually, instead of automatically as it was in the first Mass Effect.
- Battlefield pausing is still in place but now lasts indefinitely, placing greater emphasis on tactics. [55]
- The SSV Normandy will return, and possibly be destroyed during the events of the game. [56]
- The Citadel is a returning location and hub area. [57]
- Geth husks make a reappearance, causing Shepard and his team some concern, as their presence indicates the continued activity of the geth despite their recent defeat. The reveal trailer for Subject Zero shows her battling several geth, confirming they will be making a return as adversaries. [58]
- Planet exploration will return, and is planned to be much more interactive this time around. According to Casey Hudson, "We decided to really improve a lot of the points of interaction throughout that experience...there's more [going on] when you're in orbit, looking at [a planet], scanning, and riding down to the surface. And there's a much stronger focus on a really rich, interesting set-piece location."[59]
- Controls have been streamlined to make combat and squad commands more natural. [60] Shepard can give context-based squad commands and powers and abilities can be now be button mapped. [61]
- There will be no new game plus function allowing play of a leveled character after completion of the game as there was in Mass Effect. There will be the allowance of continued play after completing the main missions in order to complete other side missions and possibly unlocked ones. [62] To reflect this change Insanity mode is being tweaked to possibly be available from the start and offer a challenging playing experience rather than a harder one when compared to Normal or Hardcore. [63]
- Medi-gel packs have been removed in favor of a regenerative health system. [64]
- The M35 Mako is going to be replaced by a new vehicle due to the Mako's reputation for poor handling. [65]
[edit] External links
GameTrailers E3 09: Exclusive Teaser
The Escapist - The Future of Mass Effect
GameTrailers TV Interview with Casey Hudson
Shacknews - Leaked GDC Footage
OXM - Mass Effect 2 brings back sex
IGN Blog: Just the Facts, Man...
Kotaku - There Will Be No "New Game Plus"
Kotaku - Mass Effect Insanity Explained, May not be Locked in ME2
Dragon Age: Origins Addons - Blood Dragon Armor
Kotaku - Mass Effect 2: Meet Grunt
NOWGamer article on Mass Effect 2
Xbox360Achievements.org - Mass Effect 2 Info Leaked From Latest OXM
QJ - BioWare: Commander Shepard will start out with basic abilities in Mass Effect 2
Videogamer - Mass Effect 2 Interview
PCWorld - Hero to Zero, Vortex Throws, and So Long Mako in Mass Effect 2
IGN - Mass Effect 2: New Details Revealed
IGN - E3 2009: Mass Effect 2 Preview
IGN - E3 2009: Mass Effect 2 Hands-on
Gamepro - Mass Effect 2: Hard Sci-Fi Preview
IGN - Mass Effect 2: The Return of Garrus
Kotaku - Gameplay trailer. (2nd trailer) Ammo types 8:08-8:28 to see the radial menu in action.
Gametrailers episode 228, largely dedicated to the game
Mass Effect 2 Character Profile: Samara
Digital Chumps Roundtable Interview with Casey Hudson
| Mass Effect Series | |
| Games | Mass Effect (CE) • Mass Effect Galaxy • Mass Effect 2 (CE) • Mass Effect 3 |
| Downloadable Content | Bring Down the Sky • Pinnacle Station |
| Novels and Comics | Revelation • Ascension • Redemption |
