If there's any game we're looking forward to this year, it's Mass Effect 2. BioWare's child and the middle of the trilogy plans to be jam packed with more travel-the-universe goodness than we dare say. Then again, our demo was pretty tight lipped. For some more details about the game and BioWare's other projects, see our interview with BioWare CEO's .

First and foremost, ME2 is a darker tale than the first, which plays through the game's story very adamantly. Commander Shepherd returns (of course he does, Mass Effect is his story!) with the crew of the Normandy, but not the same bandwagon of rag-tag mercenaries and friendly faces.


That's right, your team will be made of an entirely new cast. I know what you're thinking: no Wrex?! Characters from the previous games will be in ME2, and may at times join your team, but it won't be a permanent stay.

Of course, depending on your save game from the original Mass Effect, some characters won't even be alive to interact with. BioWare made an early decision that the actions players took in the first game would carry over to the sequel. For the characters that died in the first, it's easy to see the consequences, but the same principle will also carry over for missions or actions taken. We have yet to see what that entails, and we can't wait to see.

So let's talk about what's happening in ME2. Besides everyone believing Shepherd is dead (for reasons still unclear to us), Humans start disappearing in large numbers and Shepherd goes to investigate. The pro-Human group that was once Shepherd's enemy will now work with players to help solve this dilemma. All the while, more of the galaxy is open for exploration, as well as past locations.

Mass Effect gave us a unique dialog system, something games are only now starting to pick up on. That hasn't stopped the ME team from introducing a new interrupt dialog action, which works just like it sounds. In the demo we played, Shepherd was speaking with a cornered guard, demanding information, but the guard wasn't talking. So, mid- sentence, the option came up to take action. Shepherd threw him out of the glass of a high rise building.

Another major improvement is the combat system, and how it's used. First, there is now location damage (shooting legs damages legs, hurting arms, etc.), so expect to blow the arms off some baddies. An improved physics engine will allow for physics-based attacks, such as throwing boxes at enemies or chucking them off ledges for fall damage. Depending on what new psychic attacks and weapons will be available, this means combat will get very sticky, messy, and explosive.


There will also be nine new weapon classes, so you can imagine how much effort is being put into combat. In fact, from what we've seen of ME2, it looks less and less like your conventional RPG and more like a mixed genre of games. RPG, 3rd person shooter and adventure elements on such a massive scale make it right up there with Grand Theft Auto IV, except in the galactic city.

One more thing: there are multiple endings, just like before, but this time Shepherd is expendable. Yes, there is at least one ending where Shepherd dies. We're not sure what that means for the final Mass Effect title, but the developers left us with an ominous message: you can continue playing after the credits roll, but only if you manage to survive.

Mass Effect 2 is set for release in early 2010 for the Xbox 360 and PC.