BioWare shows Mass Effect 2

By Robert Purchese Published 30 March, 2009

Reveals first real plot elements.

BioWare showed GDC crowds two videos of Mass Effect 2 gameplay and unveiled the first details of the space opera sequel.

The first video depicted a blocked out level and focused on combat. Little appears to have changed, although IGN says the HUD has changed and the cross-hair looks different.

The second video showed the player and squad being briefed by a female Asari while en route in a flying car to a penthouse populated by mercenaries.

Neither clip showed commander Shepard - who's thought to have been "killed in action" - but rather a generic male model wearing N7 armour. During the conversation clip, the protagonist was never addressed personally and never replied.

Casey Hudson, talking to GTTV, went on to add further details of the plot.

"It's about what's happening with the Reapers, what happens to the human race," he said. "You'll be able to see the Elusive Man in Mass Effect 2."

"Romances will be as well done and as sophisticated in Mass Effect 2 as they were in Mass Effect 1. There's going to be more people that you can meet, that you can take with you on missions and stuff like that. So there are actually more romance options in Mass Effect 2," he added.

Hudson went on to say space combat is something BioWare wants to have in the Mass Effect trilogy, but that it won't feature in Mass Effect 2.

BioWare is also taking a different approach to developing Mass Effect 2: rather than write and build and then test late on in the process, the developer will go through numerous phases, and each of them will be playable. This will, BioWare hopes, allow issues to be addressed before it is too late.

Mass Effect 2, for PC and Xbox 360, was officially unveiled earlier this month. The RPG-shooter sequel will be out next year and will let players carry their saved games over.

Head over to our Mass Effect Xbox 360 and Mass Effect PC reviews for our thoughts on the first.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (37) Latest comment 3 years ago

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  • septimus #1 3 years ago

    Better not have killed him off, I was hoping the game would import my saved game from the last one so my character wouldn't start off as a complete and utter pussy who is broke and unable to fire a gun straight.

    Though, I did max out his credit, couldn't collect any more cash at all, and have all the best equipment in the game. I guess he would have just lost some of that.

  • menage #2 3 years ago

    Can't wait for this, 1 was so epic.

    Just fix the store and inventory stuff.
    Edited by 1 at 30/03/09 @ 10:19

  • LHH #3 3 years ago

    Damn, I need something tangible so I can wank over it.

  • Britesparc Verified Creative, ITV #4 3 years ago

    I like having a new character for these things, as it makes it more realistic to start from the beginning being low-powered then working your way up to super-badassery. Both KOTORs did really well in that regard, giving valid reasons why both characters began as wimps but quickly progressed to being ninja.

    I imagine the "keep your save game" stuff will relate to things like who lived and died in the first one, and maybe the game ending. Also, maybe there could be images of Shepherd, looking like your character, that kinda thing. And if you HAVEN'T played the first one, maybe these could be randomised.

  • RedSparrows #5 3 years ago

    Want want want. Fix inventory and side planets and stuff and BOOM

  • Eraysor #6 3 years ago

    Can't wait for this. If the storyline is anywhere near as awesome as the first, it'll be brilliant.

  • morriss #7 3 years ago

    FOR THE WIN

  • Weezer #8 3 years ago

    Importing my old character would - presumably - just force the game to amp up every other enemy character so it's balanced again. So... no real difference really. I think I'd prefer starting from scratch.

    But either way, this is my only must-buy game of 2009. (Mainly 'cos I've got about 20 games from 2008 still needed to be played.)

  • dr_faulk #9 3 years ago

    "Romances will be as well done and as sophisticated in Mass Effect 2 as they were in Mass Effect 1."

    FOX NEWS ALERT!!! VIDEOGAMES PUT C0KZ INTO UR K1DZ EYEBALLS ITZ THE TRUTH!

  • miiiguel #10 3 years ago

    One of the few trully mature games which doesn't need to use extreme violence.

    I'm wondering how the import save will work, in a way it would be cool to keep stuff I collected, but it can't be really that way, "my" Sheppard is a killing machine and wealthier than William Henry III.
    Edited by 2 at 30/03/09 @ 10:59

  • bdc #11 3 years ago

    More 'Romance options' - Fox News informed, impending 'OMG RAPE SIMULATOR' controversy on way

  • Britesparc Verified Creative, ITV #12 3 years ago

    @ Weezer

    It comes out in 2010

    Re: romance options. Hoping it'll have both the lesbian interactive sex doll of Fox controversy fame, and also the option of some man-love this time round, for those who like a bit of that.

  • Doctor_What #13 3 years ago

    Male homosexual relationships being represented realistically in games: the real final frontier.

  • Erinan #14 3 years ago

    Better not have killed him off

    You mean her, don't you? :p

  • Freek #15 3 years ago

    Wasn't it already announced you could import your character from ME 1?

  • DoctorZoidberg #16 3 years ago

    I hope they take out the tedious car bits, and the frankly terrible planetary exploration out. A total waste of time that was just soooo repetitive.

    Main story was good and everything, just had too much padding.

  • menage #17 3 years ago

    @Britesparc

    I like having a new character for these things, as it makes it more realistic to start from the beginning being low-powered then working your way up to super-badassery.

    I actually find that LESS realistic. real people don't level up in the short amount of time games usually span.

  • Miths #18 3 years ago

    If Jennifer Hale isn't back doing the voice acting for the main female protagonist, I ain't playing it. Alright, I obviously will :p, I loved the first game after all - but Hale is by far my favourite game voice actor, so I really hope she's back for round two.

  • metalangel #19 3 years ago

    You don't capitalize the names of the alien races in the Mass Effect universe, EG. It's 'asari' not 'Asari'. And all asari are essentially genderless but appear female, so there's no such thing as a 'female asari'.

    But you all really loved the game so much you somehow missed that, right?

  • Agent_Llama #20 3 years ago

    As long as they fix the horrific inventory, I'll be happy.

  • Chufty #21 3 years ago

    I just wish they'd stop talking about ME2 so I can stop wanting it so damn much.

  • Razorus #22 3 years ago

    Hmm, this adds to a theory I read somewhere. Basically, instead of carrying your Shepard over, since he/she may be dead, the game carries your info of him/her and they refer to Shepard during your new adventure, as a new character. It could also import the info and experience of your comrades from ME1 so they can help you out and what-not.

    The other theory is in relation to the actual plot. With The Elusive Man appearing in the game, this could open a whole bunch of storylines. Perhaps Cerberus (pro-human, xenophobic psychos) strike a deal with the Reapers, who promise them that they will spare humanity if they help them in their conquest of the Citadel races. They may promise them free reign as the dominant species in the galaxy, answering only to the Reapers.

  • dustrat #23 3 years ago

    @Razorous
    Why would the people from Cerberus be less susceptible to indoctrination than Saren? Doesn't make sense. The Reapers can't be bargained with.

  • penhalion #24 3 years ago

    @Razorus

    Given that it's now known (thanks to your/my/everyones Shepperd) that the citadel is the means by which the reapers can return to the galaxy to harvest it and the only known reaper left behind was destroyed. It's unlikely that the reapers pay any further part in proceedings. It seems like it will take them centuries to get back from whereever they are and they didn't have the power to do so on their own anyway (hence the citadel needing to open a portal back for them). In fact it's implied that the citadel is needed to wake them up in the first place.

    Logic and common sense would dictate that the citadel races simply destroy the citadel and end any possible threat from the reapers. By the time they arrived under their own steam (if at all), the races would have evolved enough to decimate them. After all, it was only their constant blasting of these races back to the stone age that prevented this kind of retaliation in the first place. Mankind was uniquely placed to triumph over such an enemy because we advance at a wholely disporportionate rate to all other life forms, dispite or perhaps because we tend to have much shorter life spans. The length of our lives seems to spur us on to achieve something great in the time we have and so we advance at an alarming rate.

    It's what scared the other races and why they wanted nothing to do with us. They seemed to see us as the logical "last man standing" as it were. Some of the conversations you get to hear show they have a real fear for what Shepperd achieves in the short time he is a spectre.

    If they really have killed off Shepperd just to do some lousy "start from scratch" character thing, then this trilogy is going to go down hill real fast. There is zero reason why we can't start with all of the abilities from the last game. It's not like we were some super soldier at the end anyway.

  • andromeda #25 3 years ago

    this will make up for the hole in my life that battlestar galactica used to fill.

  • miiiguel #26 3 years ago

    "It's not like we were some super soldier at the end anyway."
    Did you reach level 60 ? "Mine" might not be "super" but he's pretty bad ass...

  • polaris70 #27 3 years ago

    This will be my first game in 25 years of gaming that I'll queue up at midnight to buy :)

  • node #28 3 years ago

    lol female Asari

    (Tell me I'm not the only nerd who didn't spot that)

  • miiiguel #29 3 years ago

    Well, if you're a human, asari's do look like female to the human species.

    as stated in the wiki:
    Asari only look female to human eyes and comprehension, but are not considered male or female by other races.

  • dustrat #30 3 years ago

    Please, it's spelled Shephard. Not any other way.

  • Spekingur #31 3 years ago

    Sadly, no space combat in ME2 :/
    But they have said they wanted to do some kind of space combat in the ME trilogy. So here's hoping for that in ME3! :D

  • Chufty #32 3 years ago

    I think you guys are reading too much into the savegame / death of Shephard link. There's lots of storyline gambits that could be carried over from savegames that doesn't involve the abilities of your main character:

    Did you save the Council? Who in your party died (including Wrex)? Who did you recommend for a position on the Council? Which other friends/enemies did you make?

    It's possible you don't play as Shephard anyway, so why would his/her abilities be carried over in this case? Maybe you recruit Shephard into your party but not until later in the game, once you find out that (s)he is alive despite the stories. In this case, perhaps it makes sense that the levelling up you did will carry over.

    There are lots of possibilities but one thing I know for sure, BioWare know what they're doing. They won't let this series go 'downhill fast'.

  • zedzee #33 3 years ago

    Again, the PS3 misses out! I laugh at Sony's dev tools!! Idiots!!!

  • Rash' #34 3 years ago

    zed, In Edge's recent 100 best games to play today, have a guess where MS was... no where! :p

  • mega7ech #35 3 years ago

    Although I did enjoy Mass Effect and Im certainly looking forward to ME2, I do hope there is'nt so much driving through boring "same but different colour" landscapes looking for "deposits" of various things. That part of the game I did not enjoy and thought was pretty pointless IMO.

  • metalangel #36 3 years ago

    @mega7ech: Nobody forced you to do the 'drive around looking for deposits' bits...

    @chufty: They'll probably choose a particular set of ending conditions as 'canon' and go with that. Otherwise, the sheer differences in the story would almost require three seperate games. Or, they can do a Gayness Ex 2: Invisible War and clumsily claim that all the endings somehow occurred.

    @penhalion: By your logic, the salarians should rule the galaxy because their lifespan is even shorter than ours.

    @node: Sure did. I sure hope someone lost their job over that

  • EvilBob_leeds #37 3 years ago

    I'm inclined to agree with @mega7ech. The driving wasn't amazingly well done, and it was pretty tedious to spend 5 minutes looking for a mineral deposit / anomally / whatever with no bad guys to shoot, or much to do. I really enjoyed ME1, but I'd like to see a bigger universe of more diverse worlds, which are less dull to explore - kind of like Star Control 2. And as for the "Romance simulator" crap, they should up the realism by introducing unkowable, abitary time periods where asking female love intrests even the most innocuous questions lead to crying and a kick in the bollocks.