ME2 characters and new details revealed

By Robert Purchese Published 26 May, 2009

Shepard "much bigger and more powerful".

BioWare has unveiled some of the new characters, locations, weapons and story details for Mass Effect 2.

You'll play as Shepard again for at least a portion of the game, according to an OXM preview read by NeoGAF. He will be "much bigger and more powerful" and "presented in a darker, grittier style".

We'll be able to recruit a new character called Thane, a smooth, suave assassin shown breaking another person's neck from behind in a screenshot. Plenty of characters will return from Mass Effect 1, such as Joker (voiced by Seth Green), and we'll also meet many new faces, such as a Krogan called Grunt and a tough and wiry Salarian scientist. There's to be an entirely new Drell race, too.

Three new locations are described, including a giant anti-Citadel that caters for the less savoury characters of the universe. A Cerberus mothership will provide ample attraction, and we'll explore an Asari planet called Illium, which is heavily built-up - a bit like Coruscant from Star Wars. This could be the place we saw at the end of the GDC developer footage.

Apparently we'll use weapons that can dissolve enemies or nuke an entire room, and the Mako planet-explorer vehicle has been completely overhauled - as has the transit (elevator) system.

There will be no texture pop-ins, and those who religiously follow either the Paragon or Renegade path are promised very special endings.

The article further unveils what, specifically, BioWare is going to show at E3. There we'll apparently find out whether Shepard is dead - sounds like he isn't; we'll see the new transit system; we'll be treated to some uncharted world exploration; and we'll find out who we're playing as and who will be joining us on our "suicide" quest.

Some of this was teased in the Mass Effect 2 Pre-E3 trailer, of course.

BioWare also mention in the article that ME1 will be getting one more piece of DLC. This, as we know, will be the Fight Club-style arena. The developer describes it as "substantial" and says the content is being "finished up" now.

E3 takes place next week in Los Angeles. We're going, and we'll be bringing you our thoughts on the very biggest and best the show has to offer.

Mass Effect 2 is due out on PC and Xbox 360 early next year.

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 (39) Latest comment 3 years ago

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

  • Agent_Llama #1 3 years ago

    Must go back and finish ME, thoroughly enjoyed it. Apart from the hell that was managing the inventory - please Bioware, fix it in ME2!

  • AphoticCosmos #2 3 years ago

    OMG!

    \o/

  • Vice.Destroyer #3 3 years ago

    Is it heresy to say that I enjoyed ME more than Fallout 3?
    Edited by 1 at 26/05/09 @ 09:29

  • Tyranix #4 3 years ago

    Not at all, i'm right there with you. This sequal sounds great, apart from the tiresome 'daaaarker' stuff -.-;

  • penhalion #5 3 years ago

    Shepard better not be dead! Or get killed or maimed or turned into a robot or powered down etc. etc.

    Otherwise it's going to be like a bad movie trilogy. It would be the equivalent of Star Wars 1 introducing Luke Skywalker and then Star Wars 2 suddenly starring Bob Jones and Frank Smith!

  • AphoticCosmos #6 3 years ago

    @Vice

    No, in fact I'd say you're probably in the majority considering the number of Fallout 1+2 fanboys who didn't enjoy Fallout 3. I'm right with you though.

  • asphaltcowboy #7 3 years ago

    C'mon, c'mon, c'mon! Must have more Mass Effect!

  • AphoticCosmos #8 3 years ago

    While we're on a ME-hype-train, does anyone else feel that the ending of the original was Fucking Awesome™?

  • septimus #9 3 years ago

    I liked Shepard as a character, hope they don't remove him too much from this game. I'm guessing the character you do use for the most part dies at the end and we will go back to being Shepard for the last part of the trilogy.

  • nickfernando #10 3 years ago

    I'd be interested to know if parts of the Mass Effect: Ascension story will feature in ME 2. Anybody in the know? It would also be nice if we could find out a bit more about some of the story aspects from planets in ME like the corpse of the organic leviathan the batarians nicked and the people of the light who fought off the 'machine devils' (though I can't remember it exactly, been ages since I played).

  • AphoticCosmos #11 3 years ago

    @nick:

    The Illusive Man will feature heavily in ME2, but Ascension was really just a primer for Omega station and him, TBH. Also, the source EG gives also mentions a "heavily armoured Quarian", which may suggest that we see the migrant fleet, that we get a new Quarian party member or that we meet that Quarian [can't remember the name] in Ascension who helped Kahlee.

  • muscleblade #12 3 years ago

    "He will be "much bigger and more powerful" and "presented in a darker, grittier style"."

    Commander Shepard is a woman you fools. At least in my version of Mass Effect :-)

  • ardamillo #13 3 years ago

    So I guess the "anti-Citadel" is the Omega station from Ascension?

  • metalangel #14 3 years ago

    I want to see some of the quarian fleet... Tali sounded sexy through that suit of hers. Seeing one of the orbital cities near Earth itself would be neat too.

  • qoobah #15 3 years ago

    @Vice.Destroyer Is it heresy to say that I enjoyed ME more than Fallout 3?

    If it is then I'll burn with you.

    Never finished F3. ME on the other hand... 4 playthroughs? And counting. And that's coming from a person who replayed more than twice only one game, KOTOR.

    Definately my favourite gaming experience, maybe bar aforementioned KOTOR. Maybe.

  • Postumo #16 3 years ago

    Wow, can't wait for this

    I demand Shepard as the main character, he has charisma, i will not stand any otherlow profile character. BIOWARE: give me moar Shepard or GTFO

  • RedSparrows #17 3 years ago

    want want want want want

  • VicViper #18 3 years ago

    What happens to your stats you have in your Sheperd if you switch character for part of the game?
    Do you think they just transfer so the new character plays as your sheperd did or do you get to apply the points how you want?

    Hopefully we'll find out at E3, In on the F3 vs ME in my case I found Mass Effect far better but then I like the bombing round space adventuring and the characters. I wouldn't mind seeing the surface of Earth even briefly, on Noveria the site director seems to imply it was pretty shitty in terms of polluction etc although that could have been his personal hate kicking in.

  • hiddenranbir #19 3 years ago

    Bigger? Did he put on weight? Has he become a GIANT?!

  • Spekingur #20 3 years ago

    He has robotic arms.. he is.. THE TERMINATOR!!one!

    You know, I almost wish they would have Jay and Silent Bob in the game. Just for the hilarity of it.

  • KujiGhost #21 3 years ago

    They had me at "Hello" with this one. Cannot wait!

  • Dr.Mott #22 3 years ago

    Will the story change depending on the ending you got for the first game? Or will whoever runs the galaxy just be reduced to a footnote, merely mentioned in passing? It's quite a big change.

  • Vin #23 3 years ago

    Fucking YES.

  • munki83 #24 3 years ago

    I have a feeling Shepard will get turned into a geth or something simmilar. I only think this as I can't think of a way they can get rid of him/her and maybe have them return.

  • makeamazing #25 3 years ago

    I think it wont be good if you cant play the same character all the way through (Shepard), I dislike these jumping between characters ideas.. Why build up a character that you get used to etc, for them to rip it away from you!

    Its like having a James Bond game where you dont play bond, pointless :)

  • bratmandu #26 3 years ago

    I couldn't care if I play as Shepard or not, although it would be nice to have continuity between games.

    I'd rather they sort out the poor inventory, and don't clone the same warehouse full of bad guys to fill out all the random planets.

    It's ok to like ME and Fallout3 - they're both very different styles of Western RPG and I wouldn't say you could really stack them up against each other - it'd be like comparing a Zelda game with Final Fantasy.

  • itsfuzzy #27 3 years ago

    So they have turned Shepard into Marcus Fenix. Thats original and brilliant

  • finty13 #28 3 years ago

    @AphoticCosmos

    Yeah I have to agree with you. ME1 had the most epic ending of any game that I have ever played. I loved the fight with saren at the end and how the game jumped out every now and again to show you the attack on the citadel.

  • Kremlik Verified Co-Founder, Crash To Desktop #29 3 years ago

    I think of it more like Razel/Kain story arcs from the Soul Reaver/Legacy of Kain series - introduce both key characters in their own games and somehow tie both arcs together so that the multi arcs become one epic final arc (go LoK:Defiance on that one). However this one turns out the possible third is going to be epic.

  • finty13 #30 3 years ago

    Does anyone here think that ME will remain a trilogy? I'm thinking that if there is not a fourth, then there will at least be spin-offs, prequels and the like.

  • Kremlik Verified Co-Founder, Crash To Desktop #31 3 years ago

    @finty - There will deffinitly be spinoffs but as far as we know this storyarc is a three parter.

  • ChthonicEcho #32 3 years ago

    I take it every news post, article, preview, hands-on and interview will have at least one sentence spoken by a Mass Effect developer regarding ME2's darker, grittier [insert game element here].

    We get it, it's Warrior Within of the Mass Effect trilogy.

    That said, I can't help but jump on the hype bandwagon. Original one was stellar.

  • GamesConnoisseur #33 3 years ago

    ME was a great game on X360, even though its has its flaws in term of being more suited to PC but I have to say that I did purchase PC version but never really got going on this but always back to X360 one!

    Just make ME2 more seamless affair please, inventory, transit bits and yes the ending was darned good!

    MORE please!

  • Hydrogene #34 3 years ago

    "Shepard "much bigger and more powerful".
    Ok, fine. That's not important. What I want to know is if the elevator music is going to be "much bigger and more powerful" too. Elevators were such an important part (a loong part anyway) of ME.

  • KujiGhost #35 3 years ago

    I don't know if it is because I installed this on my hard disk, but the elevators have never really struck me as being all that annoying and I am 16 hours in...

  • Xerx3s #36 3 years ago

    "Is it heresy to say that I enjoyed ME more than Fallout 3? "

    As someone who has pumped a 150+ hours into both games, FO3 has more content but ME1 most definitely beats it as a cinematic experience.

  • Xerx3s #37 3 years ago

    Wrex has to be one of the best game characters ever.

  • AphoticCosmos #38 3 years ago

    "Wrex has to be one of the best game characters ever."

    Absolutely.

    When the trilogy is complete and the inevitable spin-offs and loyal fanbase arise, expect Wrex cosplayers everywhere :p

    Just so many awesome moments and characters:
    - When you first see the Citadel
    - Captain Kirrahe's fucking epic speech to his troops
    - Ilos
    - "Because it's a big stupid jellyfish!"
    - Right at the end, when the reprise of the main theme kicks in after Udina's/Anderson's speech, the screen fades to black and then fades back into that epic shot of Shepard. Chills down ma spine.
    - Lorik Qu'in.

    In general, ME was just full of win.

  • Bulbatron #39 3 years ago

    I wonder how much we will see of any of the characters that accompanied Shepard in ME1. Tali was my favourite character out of them all.

    Also, will the soundtrack have a similar vibe/sound to the original?