Commander Shepard Codexery

Mass Effect 2

Assemble a team for a suicide mission against the Collectors.

The game is set in the 22nd-century Milky Way galaxy, where interstellar travel uses Mass Relays built by an extinct race called the Protheans.[1] In Mass Effect 2, the player assumes the role of Commander Shepard and experiences the game through a third-person camera view, in a single-player action role-playing format.[2] The Citadel Council, a governing coalition that includes humans, asari, salarians, and turians, is responsible for upholding order across the various galactic species.[1]

Quick Facts

Developer
BioWare
Director
Casey Hudson
Producer
  • Casey Hudson
  • Jesse Houston
  • Nathan Plewes
Designer
Preston Watamaniuk
Programmer
David Falkner
Artist
Derek Watts
Writer
Mac Walters, Drew Karpyshyn
Composer
  • Jack Wall
  • Jimmy Hinson
  • Sam Hulick
  • David Kates

Facts from the source article.

Key facts and history

Mass Effect 2 was developed by BioWare and directed by Casey Hudson, who previously led the first Mass Effect game.[3] The music was primarily composed by Jack Wall, who also composed for the original Mass Effect and Jade Empire.[4] The composers aimed for a darker and more mature sound, inspired by the Blade Runner soundtrack and Tangerine Dream.[4] Microsoft Game Studios, in partnership with Electronic Arts, launched Mass Effect 2 for Windows and Xbox 360 on January 26, 2010, in North America.[5]

On January 18, 2011, a version for PlayStation 3 arrived in North America, utilizing a modified Unreal Engine 3 that BioWare called the Mass Effect 3 engine.[6][7] Additional musical contributions to the score came from Sam Hulick, David Kates, and Jimmy Hinson, with Brian DiDomenico handling further editing and in-game implementation.[4] The voice recording process for Mass Effect 2 required double the time of the first game, involving 90 actors who delivered more than 25,000 lines of dialogue.[8] Development of the game spanned approximately two years, with a team of over 150 individuals contributing to its creation.[9]

As part of the Mass Effect Legendary Edition, a remastered version of Mass Effect 2 was released in 2021.[10]

What the cited sources add

Norman stated that the team decided to build shooter combat first because BioWare were not experts on shooter combat.[11] The Lead Designer tested the ammunition version of the game in secret for several weeks before concluding it improved tension and pacing.[11] Norman noted that in Mass Effect 1, free bullets led to players holding the trigger down while running down corridors, creating silly combat scenarios.[11] The OverClocked ReMix interview states that one mandate was to create a dynamic score expressing a wide range of emotions.[12]

GamesRadar editor Hollander Cooper called Mass Effect 2 "The Empire Strikes Back of video games" and stated that few sequels have trumped the original as handily.[13]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Mass Effect 2" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Mass Effect 2", Electronic Arts, January 2010; "Mass Effect 2", Electronic Arts, January 2010 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Mass Effect 2" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Browne Catherine, "Mass Effect 2: Prima Official Game Guide", Prima Games, January 2010, p. 8–33; Erik Brudvig, "Mass Effect 2 Review", IGN, January 23, 2010; Erik Brudvig, "Mass Effect 2 Review", IGN, January 23, 2010; "Mass Effect 2", Electronic Arts, January 2010, p. 2–3; "Mass Effect 2 Walkthrough", GameSpot, February 3, 2010; Browne Catherine, "Mass Effect 2: Prima Official Game Guide", Prima Games, January 2010, p. 8–33; Browne Catherine, "Mass Effect 2: Prima Official Game Guide", Prima Games, January 2010, p. 8–33 (original not re en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Mass Effect 2" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Michael Gapper, "The Making of Mass Effect 2 (Page 1)", GamesRadar, May 11, 2010; Charles Onyett, "GDC 09: BioWare Talks Mass Effect 2", IGN, March 27, 2009; Justin McElroy, "Interview: BioWare's Casey Hudson on the making of Mass Effect 2", Joystiq, June 15, 2010; Justin McElroy, "Interview: BioWare's Casey Hudson on the making of Mass Effect 2", Joystiq, June 15, 2010; Justin McElroy, "Interview: BioWare's Casey Hudson on the making of Mass Effect 2", Joystiq, June 15, 2010 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Mass Effect 2" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "BioWare Reunites with Legendary Composer Jack Wall for Mass Effect 2 Original Score", IGN, January 12, 2010; "BioWare Reunites with Legendary Composer Jack Wall for Mass Effect 2 Original Score", IGN, January 12, 2010; Spence D., "Jack Wall's Jade Empire", IGN, April 18, 2005; "Composer Interview: Wall of Sound", OverClocked ReMix, May 4, 2010; "Composer Interview: Wall of Sound", OverClocked ReMix, May 4, 2010; "Composer Interview: Wall of Sound", OverClocked ReMix, May 4, 2010; "Composer Interview: Wall of Sound", OverClocked ReMix, Ma en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Mass Effect 2" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jim Reilly, "Mass Effect 2 Release Date Announced", IGN, October 16, 2009; Bizzocchi, "Mass Effect 2: A Case Study in the Design of Game Narrative", Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, October 31, 2012, p. 393–404; Jim Reilly, "Mass Effect 2 Collectors' Edition Revealed", IGN, November 5, 2009; Jim Reilly, "Mass Effect 2 Collectors' Edition Revealed", IGN, November 5, 2009 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Mass Effect 2" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ben Gilbert, "Mass Effect 2 on PS3 outfitted with Mass Effect 3 engine", Joystiq, December 16, 2010 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Mass Effect 2" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jim Reilly, "Gamescom: Mass Effect 2 Coming To PS3", IGN, August 17, 2010; Don Reisinger, "Microsoft responds to Mass Effect 2 coming to PS3", CNET, August 18, 2010; Wesley Yin-Poole, "PlayStation 3 Mass Effect 2 release date", Eurogamer, December 10, 2010; "EA ditching paper game manuals", Gamespot, March 23, 2011; Mike Jackson, "Mass Effect 2 PS3 corrupting save files", Computer and Video Games, January 26, 2011; Robert Purchese, "Mass Effect 2 PS3 save bug patched", Eurogamer, January 27, 2011; Mark Raby, "EA says Mass Effect 2 sales o en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Mass Effect 2" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Andrew Reiner, "What You Didn't Know About Mass Effect 2", February 1, 2010; "Mass Effect 2 Voice Recording Took "Twice as Long" as ME1; Trilogy Will Conclude on 360", GameZone, January 20, 2010; John Gaudiosi, "BioWare Sculpts Improved Mass Effect Sequel with Unreal Engine 3", Unrealengine.com, January 25, 2010; John Gaudiosi, "BioWare Sculpts Improved Mass Effect Sequel with Unreal Engine 3", Unrealengine.com, January 25, 2010; John Gaudiosi, "BioWare Sculpts Improved Mass Effect Sequel with Unreal Engine 3", Unrealengine.com, January 2 en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Mass Effect 2" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Erik Brudvig, "Mass Effect 2 in the Works at New Montreal Studio", IGN, March 2, 2009; Erik Brudvig, "Mass Effect 2 in the Works at New Montreal Studio", IGN, March 2, 2009; John Gaudiosi, "BioWare Sculpts Improved Mass Effect Sequel with Unreal Engine 3", Unrealengine.com, January 25, 2010; Michael Gapper, "The Making of Mass Effect 2 (Page 3)", GamesRadar, May 11, 2010; Michael Gapper, "The Making of Mass Effect 2 (Page 3)", GamesRadar, May 11, 2010; Michael Gapper, "The Making of Mass Effect 2 (Page 3)", GamesRadar, May 11, 2010; "Mass en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Mass Effect 2" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Eddie Makuch, "Mass Effect Trilogy comes to PS3 Dec. 4", GameSpot, November 2, 2012; Tom Phillips, "Mass Effect 2 and 3 now available on Xbox One backwards compatibility", Eurogamer, November 7, 2016; Michael McWhertor, "Mass Effect remastered trilogy coming in 2021", Polygon, November 7, 2020 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Michael Gapper, "The Making of Mass Effect 2 (Page 1)", GamesRadar, May 11, 2010. facts only, no text reused. gamesradar.com
  12. "Composer Interview: Wall of Sound", OverClocked ReMix, May 4, 2010. facts only, no text reused. ocremix.org
  13. Hollander Cooper, "Why Mass Effect 2 is one of the greatest games ever made", GamesRadar, August 8, 2012. facts only, no text reused. gamesradar.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Mass Effect 2 (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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