Mass Effect 2




 *  Note: Please do not add speculation to Mass Effect 2 articles. The wiki only accepts facts, and speculation will be deleted. At most, link us to forum discussions rather than posting it here. 

The teaser site for Mass Effect 2 was launched on February 20, 2009. The website included a teaser video, wallpapers and various downloads. The official announcement of ME2 was made on March 17, 2009.

There is also an additional video documentary bundled with the Platinum Hits edition of Mass Effect titled 'The Future of Mass Effect' which discusses ME2 and upcoming downloadable content. The documentary was outlined in an article on The Escapist.

As of May, the initial teaser on the Mass Effect 2 site has been supplemented with an E3 Precursor Dev video that gives a critical first look at the game and some secrets inside it.

Plot
As of June, the website has been completely reformatted to provide more information including a game summary, a FAQ, information on the new species, information on the new worlds, etc. A summary of the game is posted below:

"Two years after Commander Shepard repelled invading Reapers bent on the destruction of organic life, a mysterious new enemy has emerged. On the fringes of known space, something is silently abducting entire human colonies. Now Shepard must work with Cerberus, a ruthless organization devoted to human survival at any cost, to stop the most terrifying threat mankind has ever faced.

To even attempt this perilous mission, Shepard must assemble the galaxy’s most elite team and command the most powerful ship ever built. Even then, they say it would be suicide. Commander Shepard intends to prove them wrong. "

Release Date
Mass Effect 2 is now able to be pre-ordered and is said to be shipped on 3/31/2010. The date has been pushed back from the original 12/31/09 expected release date. The platforms it is currently available for are Xbox 360 and PC. Release dates are officially confirmed for UK, US, and Australia. 

Mass Effect 2 is reportedly scheduled for release in Q1 2010, on Xbox 360 and PC.

Additional release of current and future versions of the series on other consoles has not been confirmed, and is assumed to be nonviable.

Confirmed Facts

 * Decisions made in Mass Effect will impact its sequel, most notably those made on a personal level. Certain characters can return provided they weren't killed in the first game. Casey Hudson has recommended keeping saved games from the original Mass Effect. You will be able to carry over your characters from the original Mass Effect.
 * New Squad members.
 * A heavy weapons system is set to be introduced, and new weapons will be added.
 * Casey Hudson has said the elevator loading scene transitions are gone and replaced with “A completely new system to handle transitions between areas that speeds the load times and turns the loads themselves into part of the game experience." source
 * The Illusive Man, the leader of the rogue Alliance black-ops organization Cerberus, has been confirmed to make an appearance in the game. source
 * The areas the player visits are described as being similar to the "wild west" with warlords and crime gangs playing prominent roles.
 * Two new alien species, the drell and the vorcha, have already been shown, and others are to be revealed.[]
 * Combat has been confirmed and showcased as a more gritty and advanced system in comparison to the original Mass Effect's, how transition will take place from one game to another will be revealed at E3. Casey Hudson said: '... We've made a ton of combat improvements for Mass Effect 2.'
 * A significant Cerberus station is located in the Horse Head Nebula
 * Your level will not transfer over to Mass Effect 2.
 * The Normandy will be attacked and severely damaged.
 * Husks will be returning.
 * It is possible to dismember your opponents. Although it is unknown if this applies to all opponents.
 * There will be new robotics to battle that takes the shape of a humanoid and an attack dog.
 * Romance sex scenes will be returning.

Shepard's fate
Following the release of the initial teaser trailer for Mass Effect 2, which showed Commander Shepard to have been killed in action, there was confusion about whether or not the player character would be featured in the game. In a post-E3 2009 blog post, BioWare Executive Producer Casey Hudson explained the situation. He revealed that as a result of the player's decisions, Shepard could be killed during Mass Effect 2's final mission, not in the course of the game: "When you get to the very end of the story in Mass Effect 2, you will get one of a wide variety of climactic and satisfying endings. Depending on how prepared you were, your ending may involve Shepard making the ultimate sacrifice to accomplish the mission. If you do die in the ending of Mass Effect 2, it will not come as a surprise, nor will it be random. It will be pretty obvious that you headed into the final mission knowing that Shepard probably wouldn’t make it out alive. Throughout the middle of the game you are building up information, resources, a team, and a ship that will be able to do the job, and although you can jump straight to the final mission at a certain point, you’ll have a good feel for whether you’re likely to survive it."

Hudson also revealed that the player's decisions can affect Shepard's team as well, saying "You might have an ending where Shepard’s entire team survives, or where the entire mission is a bloodbath and everyone (including Shepard) is killed, or anything in between. And for all characters, death in Mass Effect 2 means they won’t show up in Mass Effect 3."

Relative to the planned Mass Effect 3, Hudson confirmed that if Shepard is killed in Mass Effect 2, the character will not return for the third game. "One big reason you’ll want to be alive after the ending is that after the credits roll, you are returned to the game world - ready to head back out for more adventure. You can complete unfinished missions, explore the galaxy, and download new adventures to play. But Mass Effect is a trilogy about Commander Shepard’s journey - if your Shepard dies in the end of Mass Effect 2, that’s the end of him / her. In that case, you can play Mass Effect 3 as “a” Shepard – just not “your” Shepard. As in real life, not being able to keep living is really the main down-side of death. So if you care about playing the next game with your character, make sure you survive this one.

Cooldown
In Mass Effect 2 a mechanic much like reloading is used when a weapon overheats. The player can hit a button to eject a small heat sink to immediately cool the weapon and get back into combat without waiting for cooldown times like in Mass Effect.