PS3 Mass Effect 2 "not a simple port"

By Fred Dutton Published 12 January, 2011

Plus, PSN digital release confirmed.

The belated PlayStation 3 release of Mass Effect 2 is much more than a straightforward port of the PC and Xbox 360 original, developer BioWare has boasted.

Community coordinator Chris Priestly told the US PlayStation Blog, "What I think Mass Effect fans on the PS3 will be most appreciative of is that this is not a simple port.

"The Mass Effect team has taken the time to utilise the PS3 hardware to the fullest in order to maximize your gameplay experience. It was also extremely important for the team to make sure playing with the PS3 controller worked and felt good. You will also see that the in-game graphics and cinematics are clearer and more vibrant on the PS3.

"As an added bonus, the PS3 version includes previously released DLC missions: Overlord, Lair of the Shadow Broker and Kasumi."

Priestly also confirmed that BioWare's GOTY will be available as a PlayStation Network download as well as a standard disc release. It hasn't been yet officially confirmed whether the digitally-delivered version will be offered in Europe too, or how much it will cost.

The game is finally due to arrive on these shores on 21st January, nearly a year after it touched down on PC and Xbox 360.

Picture of Fred.

About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (39) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • photoboy #1 1 year ago

    Didn't 2K say this when they were working on Bioshock for PS3 and Capcom when they were porting Lost Planet 1? Hopefully Bioware will have done a good job, but sometimes when I hear "it's not just a port!" I wonder what's wrong with it...
    Edited by photoboy at 12/01/11 @ 21:41

  • the_sas_man #2 1 year ago

    "You will also see that the in-game graphics and cinematics are clearer and more vibrant on the PS3."

    Must upgrade my Technomate 17in CRT...
    Edited by the_sas_man at 12/01/11 @ 21:43

  • man.the.king #3 1 year ago

    Planning to pre-order PS3 version today evening...

  • Dave52 #4 1 year ago

    I am excite.

  • Darren #5 1 year ago

    Bar some odd looking self-shadowing and more screen tearing, the PS3 demo of Mass Effect 2 appeared to be pretty much identical to the year old Xbox 360 game. I saw no evidence that the game was any better personally but then I suppose in the eyes of most PS3 developers that is what they mean by a game not being a "simple port" as it doesn't look any worst either. Lets face it, where games have been ported lazily to the PS3 from the 360 they've tended to suffer from noticeable issues such as a poorer framerate or inferior visuals (such as no anti-aliasing for example). Certainly on the basis of the demo I think PS3 owners can rest assured that the game is up to scratch and will be every bit as enjoyable as the 360 and PC versions.

  • kupocake #6 1 year ago

    I'm assuming some kind of DLC discount on the other platforms will apply around about PS3 launch time? Go on Bioware. You need to celebrate, don'tcha?

  • Ultrasoundwave #7 1 year ago

    What exactly is going on between EA and Sony??

  • Scopeh #8 1 year ago

    @Ultrasoundwave

    moneys. lots of moneys.

  • Ignatius_Cheese #9 1 year ago

    Isn't that the case with all PS3 ports...?

    Ithankyauw

  • man.the.king #10 1 year ago

    @Ultrasoundwave and Scopeh

    "What exactly is going on between EA and Sony??"

    Same thing that is going on between Activision and Microsoft.

  • riceNpea #11 1 year ago

    just make it playable and that graphical or game glitches don't break the immersion please. everything else is gravy

  • saku_luk #12 1 year ago

    I would go with PSN release instead of disc if it comes to EU :o

  • SteveHolt #13 1 year ago

    @photobox: IMO, what's "wrong with it" is that selling a 1 year old game that is available new at half the price on 2 other platforms is a tough job, same was true with LP1 and bioshock1 - that's why they sold poorly on PS3, the fact that they were bad ports wasn't the main reason, because 90% of people don't care about face-offs.

  • technicianTed #14 1 year ago

    It's a good port on the ps3 judging by the demo, but having just completed mass effect 2 360 for the 3rd time i have to say the ps3 version doesn't do anything to improve on the ageing 360 version.

    The graphics look nigh on identicle but it definitely struggles more in the framerate department on the ps3.
    You can see that from pretty much the start when you get the ammo for the gun for the first time, you hop over the barrier and once you kill the enemies in that room just pan the scenery around.

    Definitely much more unstable than on the 360 version on that scene, makes you wonder how more complex scenes will perform on the ps3 later in the game.

    Same game, more unstable framerate, better version? not a chance.

    PC
    360
    PS3

    Neg away for telling the truth :)

  • drumbaby #15 1 year ago

    Come on DF, tell these shysters that they're wrong about their own game!

  • X3Entente #16 1 year ago

    i hope they fixed the shitty combat

  • Jamiesan #17 1 year ago

    Better late than never. I hope you PS3 peeps enjoy the game as much as I did. I don't care about the graphics, but if they make the planet mining less tedious, I'll be one jealous bastard...

  • metallicorphan #18 1 year ago

    @Jamiesan-i have just replayed ME2 and i think the update that came out awhile ago(i played it when it first came out)makes it so that its quicker to scan the planets

    @Tech Ted-yeah i saw some stuttering as well,a bit of screen tearing as well,but i am sure it wont take anything away from the PS3 people playing a great game..and maybe the demo is just that,a demo and wont represent the final game..maybe

  • DRUNK3N-_-DRAGON #19 1 year ago

    ps3 mass effect fans??? why not give us the first mass effect as a psn download so we can become fans you lazy cunts...

  • Collymilad #20 1 year ago

    Wow Bioware you are whores, aren't ya?

  • man.the.king #21 1 year ago

    @Collymilad

    "Wow Bioware you are whores, aren't ya? "

    Going by that "definition" of yours, you could probably paint Capcom and a few other developers in the same light as well for their "defection" to MS.

    Or is it just PS3-developers who are "whores" in your 360-dominated world?

  • Dave52 #22 1 year ago

    TSB - "Eurogamer's face-off results"

    Which I no longer trust. I got COD:BLOPS for Christmas. You remember the big deal they made about the packet of cigarets tucked in the guys sleeve in the opening sequence..? How pixelated it looked in Digital Foundry's face-off..?

    Well, it looks absolutely perfect on my PS3 on my HD TV. Is my hardware better or are they lying...?

  • JohnnyWashnGo #23 1 year ago

    I was looking forward to playing this on the ps3 but the demo put me off. It didn't allow inversion of both X and Y axis which means that I cannot play it.

    Their loss i suppose.

  • KungFuSpoon #24 1 year ago

    It's good to see some devs put the effort into ports, especially when the original launch a year ago. The extra spit a polish goes a long way in my book, the likes of FFXIII could learn a lot.

  • Antaios #25 1 year ago

    Looking forward to this. Didn't care much for the demo (and the game) at first, but I'm pretty stoked now that I got the first Mass Effect cheap off Steam and am near the end of that. Apparently you don't have to play the first to understand part 2, but damn, that is one kick-ass video game.

  • ATNR1 #26 1 year ago

    @Drunken Dragon

    The first ME will not be coming to PS3 since it was published by Microsoft.

    @TSB You understand what a port is right? If you want to see superior graphics play the SDF compilation. They use these titles frequently as their defense, but for good reason. And yes I do own a Xbox and yes I do play more games on my 360, and yes the PS3 exclusives are superior in graphics by a country mile to anything I have seen on my 360.

    @Dave well have you compared it to the 360's cigarette box? Did you study both very intently until you have reached religious enlightenment? Who cares! Richards isn't lying, maybe it was just a bug at the time of the test and since it has been fixed with an update, or maybe you have a newer version of the game. Who knows! All I know is as a multiplat owner Richard has helped me make my decision on what version to get on numerous occasions. And for that I salute him.

  • Murton #27 1 year ago

    Drunken Dragon beat me to it.

    Developers throwing the word "fans" around really irks me. How can there possibly be Mass Effect fans on PS3 when the franchise has never been released on that platform? If Bioware want "Mass Effect fans on the PS3" then they have to bring the franchise to us, all of it, not just port the second instalment so that they can finance the third. Even if Mass Effect 3 is released on PS3 same day Bioware will never truly have Mass Effect 3 fans as long as the franchise is fragmented this way, same as Fable fans on the PC not having Fable 2.

    That being said, some developers are way, way worse when it comes to use of the word "fans" Bethesda (and Todd Howard specifically) spring instantly to mind.

  • TheTrueSpin #28 1 year ago

    Great, only problem is that the demo looked at best on par with the 360 version. Any comment Bio?

  • NotSoSlim #29 1 year ago

    Lol @ TSB using the lens of truth comparison which has been ripped to shreds as its the demo they are comparing and were selective in what they used. Do the search yourself and read it, weird how you spitting EG comparisons yet they had positive things to say about the port.

    Selective reading of a fanboy. Typical

    Enjoy the game PS3 games
    Edited by NotSoSlim at 13/01/11 @ 09:07

  • 00.00.01 #30 1 year ago

    @World_of_WoW 13/01/11 @ 08:24
    And the fact that M$ are on DF's client list doesn't help promoting their 'neutral' position.
    [link url=http://www.digitalfoundry.org/showcase2/clients.html
    ]http://www.digitalfoundry.org/showcase2/...[/link]

  • miiiguel #31 1 year ago

    I wonder how many of this ppl are going to buy the game. The whole forum fanboy is funny, but in the end what realy counts is the money you spend. Or not.

  • Dave52 #32 1 year ago

    @miiiguel - Day 1 for me.

  • miiiguel #33 1 year ago

    You should, I've played the game thrice, still, I do have the feeling this is not going to sell 1/2 whay it sold on the 360. Still, "total disaster" and other particular choice of words and conspiracy theories will never sell me a PS3, jhiad much... lousy PR job.

  • DavoTheDiv #34 1 year ago

    "From Lens of Truth's Head 2 Head. If you only own a PS3, you're used to inferior versions of games though. Eurogamer's face-off results: -
    Better on 360 = 134
    Better on PS3 = 20
    lol.............."

    Get out more mate.....erm...lol.

  • DrunkenKillfish #35 1 year ago

    Day one for me too =)

  • Whitster #36 1 year ago

    Can't we just buy all the consoles and get along?

    I thought we were gamers, and as such wanted access to all the pleasures that hobby offers, therefore in order to achive that you need all consoles. I mean seriously guys, these kind of arguments were all well and good in the playground in primary school, when you were relient on parents for your consoles. However we're all grown ups now with our own money and we can feed our habit.

  • RexRunti #37 1 year ago

    My thoughts on ME2 are this.

    If you only have a PS3 you should buy this game.
    If you have an XBox360 you should own this game already.

  • Moribundman #38 1 year ago

    @World_of_WoW Yeah, and someone who "just waits for the GOTY edition" to avoid paying individually for DLC on its initial release gets a better deal a year later. They have to wait though. That's what's happened here.

    I'm happy with my ME2 saves on both my Xbox *and* PC which I played a year ago. I was perfectly happy to buy the DLC on day one between 3 and 12 months ago because its ace.

    I'm also happily playing through New Vegas and Dead Money, even though I'm well aware that they'll release a GOTY version in all formats in about 12 months... Would rather play it now and spend a little money than sit tight for a year on my Scrooge McDuck pile of coins.

  • bigtechno #39 1 year ago

    doubt it and you can pick it up in Game for xbox for £4.95 brand new!
    which is what I did instead of paying £38 for PS3