BioWare outlines Mass Effect 2 DLC plans

By Tom Bramwell Published 20 January, 2010

Hammerhead hover tank! New character!

BioWare plans to release a free DLC pack including new missions and a new character for Mass Effect 2 next week.

The developer has also said to expect a new vehicle, the Hammerhead, in DLC following the game's release. The Hammerhead is a hover tank for trundling around planets shooting and exploring.

Looking further ahead, we should expect Cerberus Assault Armour (boosting shields, health and heavy weapon ammo capacity) and the M-22 Eviscerator Shotgun to follow.

Next week though we get a package of new missions, in-game items and the rumoured Zaeed character, "a rugged and deadly gun-for-hire", who can be convinced to join Commander Shepard's team.

That's if we buy the game new, however, as the only way to access the free DLC will be via a single-use unlock code that introduces a "Cerberus Network" portal in-game.

The Cerberus Network will then be used to handle "bonus content as well as daily messages and news on upcoming releases for Mass Effect 2".

There's no word on how much the Hammerhead of armour/shotgun bundles will cost, or whether the Zaeed pack will be made available as premium content for those who don't buy the game new.

Mass Effect 2 is due out for PC and Xbox 360 next Friday in Europe, 29th January.

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About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (43) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • bad09 #1 2 years ago

    Dammit so many games coming in the next few weeks and I'm flat broke, bloody Christmas :(

    I picked up the original AvP for £2.99 though. Bargain!

  • figgis #2 2 years ago

    Sounds like a load of pointless shite DLC.

  • Razorus #3 2 years ago

    Can't wait! Booked the day off work, pre-ordered limited edition, and waxed the controller. I'm ready for this.

  • 5h1nj1 #4 2 years ago

    I'm really starting to hate the whole DLC idea. It's getting really tedious. There almost seems to be put more effort to various DLC systems than to actual games. I want it simple - buy the game - get the whole package - play right away. Not fiddling with DLC downloads, registrations, installations, activations, or even additional payments for things missing in the game (I know this is not the case, at least for now). It's sick. :(

  • DoctorZoidberg #5 2 years ago

    Dear Eurogamer,

    Please can you add a new tab amongst the consoles called "DLC" (or something). Every other piece of news these days is about DLC for games that arn't even out yet!

    At least if its all together you can browse through!

  • Kerome #6 2 years ago

    You know, it's odd. If they introduce stuff in free-for-new-game-purchasers DLC that gives you an advantage in the game - and the Cerberus Armor above certainly seems like it'd do that - what happens to the difficulty level? Does that mean that second-hand purchasers are screwed for playing on Hard or even Normal? Or is it armor that's just going to be thrown away after a few levels, in which case what's the point...

    But tbh I don't mind DLC, as long as it's in big chunks. I won't trickle money into a game by buying little fiddly things, but I don't mind paying a few quid for an extra area with some new plot stuff and new enemies, that's just digital download taking over from disk-based expansions.

  • Caimbeul #7 2 years ago

    Friday cannot come quick enough. If Game dont deliver on or before the day of release i will go f'ing balistic. The only reason i ordered through them is that was the only place i could get the collectors editions. B@st@rds.

    On the DLC side of this, i am not a hug fan but appreciate that Bioware are putting out the 1st lot free.

  • qoobah #8 2 years ago

    Any idea how DLC works with Steam versions of the game?

    I've been thinking about pre-ordering the Digital Deluxe edition from Steam, but since I'm not sure how the free-at-release DLC stuff will work I'm holding out. Assuming it works like Dragon Age, I got the codes inside the game box, do you get codes mailed to you by Steam or something?

  • LiveForever #9 2 years ago

    goobah*

    I expect it will be in game like Dragon Age, DLC menu on main game screen. You will have to create a Bioware Account if you dont have one. Steam gives you the keys for the extra content when you run the game, which you input ingame.
    Edited by 1 at 20/01/10 @ 09:55

  • OrgasmicMutton #10 2 years ago

    @Goobah

    For Dragon Age Steam gave you a code which you had to enter into that silly Bioware points system thing and then you could download it. Of course it gave you about 3 bloody codes and you had to try them all before getting the right one but apart from that it was no problem.

    Also i have to say I'm bemused by all this faffing around you have to do to get DLC - as far as I'm aware it has not helped to stop piracy at all so why make it an awkward experience for eveyone else?

    Also day one DLC annoys me on point of principle. If it's there anyway just stick it in the game. I only want to fork out on a nice sizable bit of new content not something that should have been in the game anyway (I know this one is free but that almost makes it even more ridiculous - again just put it in the game in the first place).

  • kangarootoo #11 2 years ago

    I don't care what anyone says. I have no objectivity about this game whatsoever anymore. I firmly expect it to be brilliant, and I just can't shake that.

    Also, I'm a futurist. DLC is fine with me, I don't really care whether my gaming fun lives on a disc, or on a server, or in my sock drawer. If they need to tit about a bit in order to protect their games against piracy, which in turn means they can keep on making great games, that is all fine by me. Perhaps its not ideal, but we should blame the pirates for that, not the devs that are doing what they have to stay in business.

    I would much rather their anti-piracy measures were incentive based (i.e. a pirated version can't get extra freebies) than making everybody jump through hoops for no tangible reason. Given that some kind of action has to be taken, I think they are taking the right path.

  • qoobah #12 2 years ago

    Aight, that clears it up, I forgot that Steam has this in-game thingy which gives you the codes.

    Thanks!

    And I suppose the whole deal with day-1 DLC is to battle second-hand market. I have no problem with that TBH, I don't think I own one second-hand game, but I can see how it can annoy people who bet on lower prices of used games. There's the thing with licensing the software, not owning it but I don't really fully buy it.

    I guess the whole DLC deal doesn't bother me that much, as long as it's something of value - but while for instance in DA Stone Prisoner was clearly worth the time to download it, I'm not that sure about Warden's Keep as it was short and rather unsubstantial. I'm curious if Return to Ostagar is any good, but alas, we all know how this turned out.

    I suppose it's aimed at game fans, who just have to own every bit of content associated with the game. It's much the case with me, as long as "content" is "game-significant" content, like story, places or characters, not forgettable items.

  • chrisno21 #13 2 years ago

    All EA seem to be doing is trying to profit from the second hand market. These single use codes mean that anyone purchasing it pre-owned will have to buy the extra content, which is likely on the disc anyway. Same as the Saboteur and Dragon Age.

  • kangarootoo #14 2 years ago

    On a related note, there are some pre-order deals out there with extras.

    play.com pre-order gives you Terminus armour, which looks like this.

    [link url=http://images.play.com/banners/content/Terminu s-Assault-Armour.jpg
    ]http://im ages.play.com/banners/content/T...[/link]

    And gives...

    Like all modern combat hard-suits, Terminus Assault Armour is environmentally sealed with an independent air supply for use in space and extreme planetary conditions, with an onboard "micro-frame" computer capable of running a suite of battle management software. To prevent detection by passive thermal sensors, body heat is channeled to the base of the feet, where it can be dispersed into the ground.

    The Terminus Assault Armour increases storm speed +10%. all weapons have +1 magazines of reserve ammo and increases shields +15%.


    A pre-order from Amazon gives you the Inferno suit, which looks like this.

    [link url=http://g-ecx.images-amaz on.com/images/G/02/uk-videogames/2009/preorder/inferno-armor .jpg
    ]http://g- ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/...[/link]

    And gives you...

    Used by officers to monitor battlefield conditions the suit is able to recognize elevated heart rates and pupil movement in people close by, almost acting like a lie detector. This same array also monitors the officer and regulates sub-systems with extreme efficiency to allow for greater response times.

    -Negotiation Bonus 10%
    -All Power Damage 10%
    -Increase storm speed by 10%



    For my money, the Inferno armour sounds more interesting. Bonuses for chit chat are more appealing in this kind of game that bonuses in combat.

  • kangarootoo #15 2 years ago

    "All EA seem to be doing is trying to profit from the second hand market"

    Not sure there is anything wrong with that really.

  • kingmong #16 2 years ago

    Yep, free for new games DLC is to battle the second hand market. After all, what's to stop pirates pirating the DLC too? Nothing, that's what!

    Prepare to be boarded, ya lilly livered scallywags! arrr

  • TeaFiend #17 2 years ago

    So people picking up a pre-owned will need to buy a DLC to get future DLC? I love it. Anything to discourage people buying pre-owned games is a good thing, the retailer gets all the money from pre-owned sales and the people who make it get zilch.

  • kangarootoo #18 2 years ago

    "So people picking up a pre-owned will need to buy a DLC to get future DLC?"

    No. People picking up a second hand copy of the game will need to pay for the DLC that they would have got for free if they had bought the game first hand.

  • LiamK #19 2 years ago

    "Yep, free for new games DLC is to battle the second hand market. After all, what's to stop pirates pirating the DLC too? Nothing, that's what! "

    I'll admit that I haven't really looked into it, but I assume that pirating DLC on the 360 isn't that easy.

  • VicViper #20 2 years ago

    hang on surely if you pirate the game and then load it how would the 360 know this is not a legit new copy? Do you think that the single use code is unqiue to each game maybe or instance of the cerberus network loading up?

  • ignatiusjreilly #21 2 years ago

    Do you think that the single use code is unqiue to each game maybe or instance of the cerberus network loading up?

    I don't think the code will be tied to a particular disc, but they will be unique codes so it would be pretty hard for a pirate to get hold of one that hasn't been used.

  • Clive_Dunn #22 2 years ago

    How does this work for X360 ? Enter code and it ties the "DLC" to the active account name ?

  • kangarootoo #23 2 years ago

    @VicViper

    I think it is just the codes that are unique, so if the person who bought the game new didn't use their code, you as the second hand owner WOULD be able to use it.

    The GH song import structure works this way.

  • Moribundman #24 2 years ago

    @figgis YOU sound pointless and shite...

  • geeza2020 #25 2 years ago

    Still gotta wait over a week for this game.... Jesus i dont think im gonna last that long, Im shaking in anticipation as it is.... DLC sounds nice tho.

  • Moribundman #26 2 years ago

    This is a GOOD idea. If you are a massive ME fanboy, you will already have the game preordered by this stage (I believe everywhere selling the collectors edition online has now sold out - UK and USA).

    If you're a casual fan, you get a little bonus for buying the game new, by way of a thankyou from the devs. If you buy it second hand, the game works perfectly well, but as with Dragon Age, you don't get to recruit one of the fully plot integrated characters unless you pay a reasonable amount that goes direct to the devs/publisher.

    This strategy is almost like reverse shareware - buy the game second hand, decide you really like it and get a complete character along with plot lines, missions etc and a handy vehicle for a few MS points.

    Planetary exploration has been dramatically improved apparently. Like the sort of difference between Morrowind and Oblivion - less dungeons but more hand crafted and fun when you go there.

    Opening up substantial parts of the game for free with codes is a genius anti-piracy measure on the 360 and digital editions, but I'd imagine pirates could still hack their way into the DLC without a code on the disc-based PC version.

  • Moribundman #27 2 years ago

    Oh yeah, and 10/10 in GamesTM. "Game of the year already in January? Go on then..."

  • metalangel #28 2 years ago

    THIS is their extensive DLC plan???

    People who buy the game on day one get an additional character and missions which by all rights should (and probably originally were) in the main game.

    We then have a slightly different tank, a powerful version of the worst weapon (shotguns) and... wait for it... Shepard Armour! This is sounding less like DLC and more like a dozen IDOLM@STER reskins for Ace Combat 6.

    I fully expect there'll be several areas in the game where you can take MASSIVE shortcuts... but only if you're in the hovertank.

  • kangarootoo #29 2 years ago

    "THIS is their extensive DLC plan???"

    Well, no. Obviously not. This is a bit of it.



    And calm is returned ;)

  • metalangel #30 2 years ago

    That's what I'm saying, though. They've made all this fuss over their huge plan and then what they reveal is seriously underwhelming. Better to not reveal it all, as this seems a bit like Malibu Stacey's new hat.

  • kangarootoo #31 2 years ago

    Drip feeding info in the run up to a release is standard practice really.

    Also, they may not have rolled out the bunting to tell us about this. It could have been mentioned over a cup of tea for all we know.

    An EG article about it makes it seem like its this big announcement, but its difficult for a news site to report news in any other way really.

    Two articles next to each seem like equally huge news, but one could be coverage of an event keynote and the other could be snippets from a relatively low key press release. Until we know the souce of this article, we can't really jump on Bioware for making "too big a deal" of things.

    Anyway, what this article is really about, under all the fluff about tanks and jetpacks, is their Cerberus network, which is sort of biggish news.... a bit.

  • BabyJesus #32 2 years ago

    Can't wait till next wk. Happy days ;D

  • Turrican #33 2 years ago

    Just as with Dragon Age I would say this is not really DLC and more an elaborate Anti-Cheat / Anti-Reselling process.

    What suprised me is that playing the game without this DLC presents you with a suspciously empty character slot, and also an empty spot in the Normandy's hanger. Furthermore, there are reportedly no Mass Effect 1 planet exploration sections in ME2, so the addition of this new Mako suggest a whole dedicated part of the game they are turning back on.

    Its galling to have content that clearly could have been in the finished boxed product stripped out for commercial reasons. And while I will of course be buying the game new and therefore installing said content, if its anything like the confusing mess that is Dragon Age account management, you are talking about serious hinderences to enjoying an immediate experience of the product you've just purchased.

    Lets just hope they don't repeat the terrible own goal of having an NPC standing around giving a quest you have to pay for like they did in DA:o.
    Edited by 1 at 20/01/10 @ 13:50

  • WinterSnowblind #34 2 years ago

    I'm not sure how anyone can see this as a bad thing, this is exactly how things should work.
    It's a reward for people who buy the game when it first comes out, early adopters will be getting much of the DLC for free, where as those who wait and buy it cheaper will have to purchase it.

    Compare this to something like the Force Unleashed, where people who bought it for £40 and then bought all the DLC were screwed over by people who waited and got it for £20 with all the DLC for free. The way Bioware are trying to do it, is to reward the early adopters, not the cheap skates :)

  • kangarootoo #35 2 years ago

    @BabyJesus

    Now imagine if ME was in 3D?. Wow!

    ;)


    If we can't agree on 3D, we can at least agree on ME2 :)
    Edited by 1 at 20/01/10 @ 14:16

  • Eraysor #36 2 years ago

    I love ME so much I'll probably end up buying all the DLC providing it's better quality than Bring Down the Sky, although even that wasn't too bad (that is considering I got it free with the PC version).

  • busboy33 #37 2 years ago

    @metalangel:

    "They've made all this fuss over their huge plan and then what they reveal is seriously underwhelming."

    No -- THEY didn't make a big deal about this. YOU did. Bioware didn't hold a press conference, fly in reporters, wine and dine the local press, then have someone comeout and give a press statement on a 12' projector screen. The released a statement about their DLC: what's going to be available on day 1, and what's vaguely coming down the line. They didn't say that there are no missions that will be downloadable.
    You're underwhelmed? What did you want? If they announce that there will be a 10-hour mission addition, you'd complain that "it should have been on the disc already omg lol!!11!!" Oh wait -- you already did. So you're underwhelmed, but it was still big enough that it should have been on the disc to begin with. So you want announcements, but anything that they could announce is a ripoff because you should have it already. They announce some free stuff for new buyers, and you want more? This is posted under "news", not "Teh Biggest Mostest Importantest Newz EVAR!!"
    Now that you've had your little "look at me" tantrum, why don't you smooth out your skirt Shirley and skip on back to school?

  • BabyJesus #38 2 years ago

    @kangarootoo

    Ofcourse(but not in 3d :p), I'm a Mass Effect and Bioware loyalist in general.

    Except from Jade Empire.

  • Sunyavadin #39 2 years ago

    Currently replaying ME1 so my save will be at level 60 for starting ME2...

  • CalmHorizons #40 2 years ago

    It astounds me when I see people defending corporate giants like Bioware when they essentially sabotage their own product at launch, so as to earn more money. Either this is a result of a strange fanatical and misplaced loyalty, or a hilariously pathetic attempt to defend yourself against a sad reality: That you are being deliberately and cynically ripped off. Enjoy.

  • kangarootoo #41 2 years ago

    @CalmHorizons

    Maybe we just view the products and services in an unbiased light, and don't get bogged down in anti "coporate giant" feelings. Your point if view is clearly more skewed than any other here, because of some "Bioware was mean to me when I was young" issue you haven't yet resolved.

    Btw, you talk about being ripped off, but this article is about free dlc. FREE. You do know what free means don't you.

  • metalangel #42 2 years ago

    @busboy: thank you for slagging off my "tantrum" with one ten times longer and tenfold more ludicrous, I needed a good laugh after being called into work early.

  • busboy33 #43 2 years ago

    @metalangel:
    You're welcome . . . and still wrong.