ME2 will "really beat up the hero"

By Robert Purchese Published 20 May, 2009

BioWare offers more on "dark act".

Mass Effect 2 overseer Casey Hudson wants to take players to the most brutal parts of the universe in this upcoming "dark act".

"As a trilogy we have our three acts. So Mass Effect 2 is the dark act. It's an opportunity to really explore the tougher, more brutal parts of the universe," Hudson told IGN. "They say in the first act you put a guy in the tree, in the second act you throw rocks at him, and in the third act you get him down.

"That's the fun of the second story is that now we know who these characters are, we know what the situation is and we can really beat up the hero of this story and take you to the most brutal parts of the Mass Effect universe."

BioWare will talk about ME1 hero Shepard's role in the sequel at E3, although we saw an unidentified but familiar male character wearing N7 armour at the end of a pre-E3 teaser trailer. And we'd be surprised if Shepard didn't return, after all, you're reusing your saved game throughout the series. Still, Shepard's official status is "Killed In Action", according to the very first trailer.

Those reused saved games, incidentally, will alter the universe depending on the choices you made: who died, if a race survived, which path you followed and so on.

"The fun for players is that it's not just a branching story, it's a multi-dimensional story and then there is branching within that," said Hudson, before adding that ME2 will act as an "excellent entry point" even if you haven't played the first game.

BioWare has so far been cagey about specifics. We know the game will remain a PC and 360 affair and be out here early next year, and we also know combat and AI have been improved - downed enemies will try to fight on and a new range of heavy weapon has been added. Co-op is rumoured, too.

Hudson added that there are "a lot more interesting things to do" on the surface of planets in Mass Effect 2, and they'll be more interactive in terms of the way you look at them and decide on a place to land.

Those side-quests will be better implemented into the overall story, too, and "really matter" to the people you accumulate on your ship. Apparently the consequence of your decisions and actions "really start to snowball" as you reach the conclusion of the campaign.

We'll bring you more from E3.

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 (25) Latest comment 3 years ago

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

  • Eraysor #1 3 years ago

    I love the reusable save games feature. I'll probably play through the original a couple more times before release just to get different plots in the sequel.

    I just hope they don't go all Warrior Within on this one.

  • jambo74 #2 3 years ago

    Ashen-Shugar - UFC 2009 is for you!

  • munki83 #3 3 years ago

    If they can pull the continuing story line from a save file well enough this could be a big leap for rpgs. Oh and damn you bioware for making amazing games

  • geeza2020 #4 3 years ago

    I loved the first ME, easily one of the best games of the year (whatever year that was.... damn you brain!) cant wait for this. I may need to go and buy the first game again and play through it as i only finished it once :)

  • pommak #5 3 years ago

    How it works if I don't have a save file? Can I choose the starting conditions or will it randomize some boring crap to me?
    I played the first one with loaned X360 and the next one I'll be playing with my PC.

  • menage #6 3 years ago

    Stop talking and get to work, I need this game now!!!

  • Eraysor #7 3 years ago

    I imagine the characters that could die in the original such as Wrex are demoted to minor roles in the sequel so people who killed him don't miss out on as much. It'd be a lot of dialogue to record and waste if he was dead for some people for the entire game, and alive for others. Unless Bioware decide to be awesome and make him a major character again despite the costs.

  • shotgun44 #8 3 years ago

    Finished ME last night. Amazing game! The ending was my favourite in a game for a loooong time. If I didn't have an exam 2mo I'd play through it again right now!

  • shotgun44 #9 3 years ago

    Just please fix the AWFUL inventory system!

  • dustrat #10 3 years ago

    @shotgun44

    Bioware always make crappy inventory systems. Get used to it ;) But maybe the one in ME2 will be less crappy...

  • keyboardmonkey #11 3 years ago

    @shotgun44

    forget that, please speed up the lifts on the ship (how to easily make a 15 hour game into an 80 hour game)
    Edited by 1 at 20/05/09 @ 12:04

  • Chufty #12 3 years ago

    Yes, 50% of Mass Effect was spent either in lifts or in your inventory omni-gelling endless amounts of Snowblind rounds. The other 50%, was pure gaming bliss.

  • shotgun44 #13 3 years ago

    Ha, the lift on the Normandy is the slowest 3 feet of movement in history! One of my favourite xbox games to date. I'm rarely compelled to play games through twice (Exceptions being Half-Life 1 & 2, Deus Ex, Quake 2 & Vice City)

    Will the save file carry over my credits? By the end of the game I had like 500 gel and about 8 million credits making it all a bit worthless!

  • hiddenranbir #14 3 years ago

    Want to get the PC version but alll my saves are 360.

  • MasterNameless #15 3 years ago

    At least we can install games to the hard drive now, should cut down on some of the loading times hopefully. :/ Otherwise, yeah, I really can't wait for this to be released either. Really loved the first game...

  • Spekingur #16 3 years ago

    Yay, planets (and other planetary things) have become more interesting!
    Here is hoping for ME3 to feature more interactive space flight and combat.

  • RedSparrows #17 3 years ago

    Probs the game I want most.

    :( :)

  • TonyCocaCola #18 3 years ago

    I wonder how they will handle the character experience and leveling up..

    Do you carry on from where you left out, with all your favorite skills maxed out? Or do you start from scratch again?

    Or do you play a new character who starts out at level 1 and build him up?

  • m_brackley #19 3 years ago

    I hope it carries on with Shepherd - don't really want to start from scratch with a new character

    Want to see Shepherd take the fight to the Reapers - carry on with my leveled up character but with tougher bad guys

  • penhalion #20 3 years ago

    If they kill Sheperd, then it's a no go for me. I absolutely, totally and utterly hate sequels where you start off without any of the powers or equipment or knowledge that you spent so long aquiring in the first installment. The usual BS excuse is to make it accesible to new players. Frighteningly that seems to be one of the quotes from the mini interview!

  • mega7ech #21 3 years ago

    Really enjoyed playing ME upon release but part-chopped it for something else after I was finished with it and now must admit Ive forgotten most of the story. Have just, however, managed to pick up a brand new sealed copy for £3.99! - WOOHOO! So looking forward to another playthrough before ME2's release comes around.

  • ardamillo #22 3 years ago

    I wouldn't mind playing as a different character, in a world that is shaped by Shepard's actions from ME1. Shepard is a galactic hero now, and I've played galactic heroes plenty of times in games.

    Regardless, this will remain my most anticpated game until it eventually arrives.

  • Scimarad #23 3 years ago

    Sounds excellent! I don't think my Shepard going to make too many friends in this game - She's a right stroppy cow when faced with people being rude/stupid/disrespectful/obstructive. I really quite miss her:)

    Nice to hear they've made the side missions a bit more interesting.

  • Razorus #24 3 years ago

    Maybe Shepard is dead at the end of ME2, or better yet, the end of ME3, and ME2 and 3 will show events leading up to his/her death.

  • metalangel #25 3 years ago

    I want an achievement for having sex with every species. Getting an Elcor into bed will be hard, but worth it for their "Orgasmic: Oh yes human. You are the best. Don't stop."