Mass Effect 2

Did You Know?

• If Shepard dies at the end of Mass Effect 2, the character cannot be imported into Mass Effect 3.
• The game has been described by some critics as 'The Empire Strikes Back of video games.'

Synopsis

Mass Effect 2 is set in the Milky Way galaxy during the 22nd century, where interstellar travel uses Mass Relays built by the extinct Protheans. The Citadel Council, comprising humans, asari, salarians, and turians, maintains law and order among galactic races. Other races include the krogan, drell, quarians, and the hostile geth. In the original Mass Effect, a geth army tried to open a portal for the Reapers, a machine race that eradicates organic civilization every 50,000 years, and the galaxy now fears another invasion.

The human supremacist organization Cerberus believes humans deserve a greater role and justifies illegal experimentation and terrorism. The protagonist is Commander Shepard, commanding officer of the SSV Normandy and later the Normandy SR-2. Squad members include Cerberus operatives Jacob Taylor and Miranda Lawson, recurring associates Garrus Vakarian and Tali'Zorah, salarian scientist Mordin Solus, human criminal Jack, krogan super soldier Grunt, drell assassin Thane Krios, asari Justicar Samara or her daughter Morinth, and geth platform Legion.

Other characters include pilot Jeff "Joker" Moreau, Cerberus leader the Illusive Man, and the Normandy SR-2's enhanced defense intelligence EDI.

Development

Mass Effect 2 was developed by BioWare and directed by Casey Hudson, who had led production of the first Mass Effect. Based on feedback from fans, reviewers, and staff, BioWare aimed to create an experience that was less about being a game and more about being an experience. The developers wanted optional missions to have as much intensity as the main story, and the idea of recruiting and gaining loyalty from a team for a suicide mission allowed this.

During early development, designers prioritized streamlining and polishing shooting aspects; RPG elements were added later. Lead designer Christina Norman stated they wanted more satisfying combat by making weapons more accurate and powerful at level one, effectively taking the RPG out of the shooter. The team spent about three months tuning combat using the original Mass Effect as a basis. The camera was improved for precise aiming including headshots.

The final build has 19 weapons with 108 tuning variables. Limited ammunition was not initially part of the design but was implemented after early playtesting, as it improved tension and pacing.

Marketing and release

Mass Effect 2 was formally unveiled at the Game Developers Conference on March 17, 2009, with a teaser trailer declaring Shepard killed in action. It was confirmed for Windows and Xbox 360. At E3 in June 2009, it was confirmed that Shepard would be alive and playable but could die at the end. Pre-orders at certain retailers granted in-game armors and weapons; codes on Dr Pepper products could be redeemed for headgear, and registered copies of Dragon Age: Origins provided a new armor set.

BioWare released a final cinematic trailer and six class trailers narrated by lead designer Christina Norman. Electronic Arts sold-in over two million copies for the first week. The game was released on January 26, 2010, in North America and January 29, 2010, in Europe, for Windows and Xbox 360 by Microsoft Game Studios in partnership with Electronic Arts. Microsoft published the Xbox 360 version and the Windows physical version.

Collector's and digital deluxe editions were available; the collector's edition included an artbook, bonus in-game content, a behind-the-scenes DVD, and an issue of the Mass Effect: Redemption comic. It became the second best-selling game of January 2010 with 572,100 units sold. After release, the font size and coloring were criticized as hard to read on some standard-definition televisions; BioWare considered it a design choice and could not resolve it.

A patch in February 2010 addressed crashes and long load times on single-core computers, and a June 2010 patch reduced mining time for upgrades and fixed other issues.