Mass Effect 2



Mass Effect 2 is a science-fiction role-playing action game developed by BioWare for the Xbox 360 and PC. It is the sequel to Mass Effect and the second game in the planned Mass Effect trilogy.

Release
Mass Effect 2 was released on the dates, and at the recommended retail prices, indicated in the table below.

Retail Bonus Items
Depending on where the game is purchased, what edition is purchased and whether or not it was pre-ordered, the customer may be entitled to one or more Retail Bonus Items. There are three bonus armors and two bonus weapons that are unlockable in Mass Effect 2 depending on how the game is purchased. There is also one additional bonus armor available for those who have purchased BioWare's Dragon Age: Origins.

The following table details which items are available based on which version of the game is purchased, and whether or not the game was pre-ordered.

Promotional Bonus Items
Electronic Arts Inc., Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc., and 7-Eleven, Inc. has teamed up to offer Promotional Bonus Items through the 2010 Dr Pepper EA Games Every Bottle/Cup Wins Promotion when any specially marked Dr Pepper 20oz. bottle, with a yellow cap, or a 7-Eleven Big Gulp is purchased from 7-Eleven in the United States. The codes found under the cap of the bottles or from the label of a Big Gulp is entered and redeemed at the Dr. Pepper website for downloadable content for Mass Effect 2 as well as other EA Games. Mass Effect 2 prizes are downloaded via the Cerberus Network and is available for both the PC and XBOX 360. At this time there are only three Mass Effect 2 Promotional Bonus Items which where made available through the promotion on January 28, 2010.

Currently these Promo DLC items can all be obtained by following instructions on this page.
 * Umbra Visor
 * Recon Hood
 * Sentry Interface

Details

 * Players: 1
 * Resolution: Xbox 360: HDTV 720p/1080i/1080p // PC: Screen & Card Dependent
 * Publisher: Electronic Arts, Inc.
 * Developer: BioWare Corp.®
 * Format: 2x DVD (Xbox 360 and PC)
 * Rating: "M" for Mature (US), MA15+ (Australia), 15 (UK), 18 (EU)

Plot
''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. ''
 * Official Plot Summary

Shepard's Fate
In Mass Effect 2, it is possible for Commander Shepard and members of his team to die at the conclusion of the game's final mission. Throughout the middle of the game the player will be building up the team, resources, information and ship necessary to succeed in the final mission. Should the player enter the final mission unprepared they could end up with an ending where Shepard dies, members of his team die, or there is a total bloodbath where everyone dies.

Should the player's Shepard die they will be unable to continue playing the game after the credits, and will be unable to import their character into Mass Effect 3. As with Shepard, death is final for all characters, and any that die during the ending will not be appearing in Mass Effect 3. Shepard's death will cause the player to be unable to import the save to Mass Effect 3, according to Bioware.

Squad Members
In Mass Effect 2 the player has the opportunity to build a team of eleven at any one time. Possible companions include:


 * Garrus Vakarian
 * Grunt
 * Jack
 * Jacob Taylor
 * Legion
 * Miranda Lawson

1Downloadable 12th character.
 * Mordin Solus
 * Samara or Morinth
 * Tali'Zorah vas Neema
 * Thane Krios
 * Zaeed Massani1

Shepard's success greatly depends on gaining the loyalty of these recruits. Loyalty of a crew member is gained by completing their missions.

Assuming they survived the original Mass Effect, although not as potential squadmates, are:


 * Liara T'Soni
 * Ashley Williams
 * Kaidan Alenko
 * Urdnot Wrex
 * Jeff "Joker" Moreau
 * Helena Blake
 * Gianna Parasini
 * Conrad Verner
 * Nassana Dantius


 * Navigator Pressly
 * David Anderson
 * Donnel Udina
 * Doctor Chakwas
 * Rana Thanoptis
 * Shiala
 * Fist
 * Emily Wong
 * Khalisah Al-Jilani
 * Harkin

Locations
Commander Shepard and the team will visit a wide variety of new locations in Mass Effect 2, including:
 * Omega
 * Tuchanka
 * Purgatory
 * The Migrant Fleet
 * Illium
 * Freedom's Progress

Locations returning from Mass Effect include:
 * The Citadel

Save File Transfer
Mass Effect 2 allows the player to import their characters from any completed Mass Effect playthrough. This means that all decisions made by the player in Mass Effect will carry over into Mass Effect 2 and have the potential to impact the story. Events that particularly influence the storyline in Mass Effect 2 include which character was left behind during the Virmire mission, whether Wrex survived, and the fate of the Council during the battle with Sovereign.

However, due to changes made to the game's leveling system, your character's level and abilities will not transfer over to Mass Effect 2 and you will start out with basic abilities, explained in-game as being a result of the Lazarus Project. However, the game will acknowledge your character's level and morality and adapt it in ways that map across to the new system as well as grant bonus credits and minerals depending on actions the player took in Mass Effect.

The higher the level of the imported character, the greater the bonuses granted upon importing into Mass Effect 2. Additionally, if the imported character had a large supply of credits, an additional monetary bonus will be supplied. For example, importing a level 50 character will grant 2,000 XP (the player starts at level 3), 30,000 credits (on top of the other import bonus), 5,000 Element Zero, 5,000 Iridium, 5,000 Palladium, and 5,000 Platinum., and when importing a level 60 character, the following bonuses are granted: 4,000 XP (the player starts at level 5), 150,000 Credits, and 10,000 of each resource.

If desired, the player will be able to modify their appearance, or choose a new class.

To import save games on the Xbox 360, the game must be being played on the console the saved game was completed on, since it is not possible to transfer the file that Mass Effect 2 imports using the Xbox 360's file management tools (although it is possible when transferring the entire contents of the drive using a transfer cable). As it is possible to transfer regular save files using the Xbox 360's file management tools it is possible to create the file Mass Effect 2 needs to import by loading the last automatic save before the final battle and completing the game again. This will need to be repeated for every playthrough the player wishes to import. Also the game creates a separate save every time you beat Mass Effect 1 so your choices in the regular game are separate from your new game plus.

For the PC version, players will use the Mass Effect Configuration Tool to select the .MassEffectSave files they wish to import.

Completed Mass Effect 2 save files may also be used in starting a new game plus, where the player may start the game again, but with all skills and abilities from the previous game. However while appearance may be modified again, your class cannot be.

Combat
Mass Effect 2 makes a large number of additions and changes to Mass Effect's weapons and abilities, including: A larger variety of weapon classes, including: (Detailed weapon statistics can be found here
 * Heavy Pistols
 * Submachine Guns
 * Shotguns
 * Assault Rifles
 * Sniper Rifles
 * Heavy Weapons

There are a large number of changes and improvements to the core shooter gameplay, including:
 * An ammunition system based on "thermal clips". Instead of cooling down automatically, weapons dissipate heat into thermal clips. Thermal clips have a finite capacity and guns are 'reloaded' by ejecting the clip and inserting a new one. Replacement thermal clips are found lying around, or dropped by defeated enemies. All small arms utilize the same type of thermal clip.
 * Weapons skills from the first Mass Effect have been removed. The player is proficient in the use of all class weapons at the beginning of the game.
 * Heavy Weapons, which require Power Cells to be fired and can be fired to devastating effect.
 * Targeting of individual body parts. Headshots inflict additional damage, while enemies who are shot in the leg may be crippled and drop to the ground.
 * Cover is now entered manually, instead of automatically as it was in the first Mass Effect. If the cover is waist-high, characters can also choose to leap over it.
 * A modified health system. Medi-gel is no longer used in the same way. Shepard and squadmates now automatically regenerate depleted health and shields if they avoid being hit by enemy fire for several seconds. Medi-gel is used by the Unity power to revive fallen squadmates during a firefight.
 * On the Xbox 360 it is now possible to map powers to the Y and LB buttons, as well as the RB button, allowing the player to cast up to three powers without pausing and bringing up the power wheel.

Powers
Mass Effect 2 includes a variety of new talents, which are now called "Powers", including:
 * New biotic powers:
 * Pull
 * Shockwave
 * Charge
 * Slam
 * Reave
 * Dominate
 * New tech powers:
 * Combat Drone
 * Cryo Blast
 * Incinerate
 * Tech Armor
 * Tactical Cloak
 * Energy Drain
 * Geth Shield Boost
 * New combat abilities:
 * Concussive Shot
 * Inferno Grenade
 * Fortification
 * Ammo powers, that act as replacements for ammo upgrades.
 * Disruptor Ammo
 * Incendiary Ammo
 * Cryo Ammo
 * Armor Piercing Ammo
 * Shredder Ammo
 * Warp Ammo

There are a number of changes to how powers work.
 * Using a power now trips a cooldown on all other powers as well as the cooldown on the one the player used. However, to compensate, the cooldown on powers has been significantly lowered, from between 120 - 45 seconds to between 9 - 3 seconds. Shepard's cooldowns on powers are often much shorter than the cooldowns on the same power used by an NPC ally.
 * Tech and Biotic powers can now arc over cover to hit their targets, no longer requiring direct line of sight to use them. They can, however, still miss if poorly aimed.

Advancement
The new level cap is 30. Further advancing powers no longer is a simple point per power advancement system. Powers now cost an increasing number of points to advance and offer a specialization choice when maxed out. Since you can only max out five powers this greatly affects play style of the characters. As such it is now possible to reset your advancement and reset your character in-game. Your main character can however gain new powers through out the game and unique powers can be unlocked for team mates through game play.

As was in Mass Effect, all party members gain experience and level up simultaneously regardless of their participation in missions or if/when they are recruited. Each time the party levels up, Shepard is awarded two additional squad points to spend on skill development. Other party members receive two squad points at each new level from levels 1 to 5 and two points every two levels from level 5 to 19. After level 19 party members receive only one squad point every two levels.

Inventory
Changes to the inventory system include:
 * Weapons and armor are chosen at the beginning of missions and can be swapped out for newly, or previously, acquired equipment at lockers found throughout the various environments in the game, or aboard the new Normandy.
 * Armor is modular and custom N7 armor can be built from parts bought from merchants, or acquired on missions, through the player's armor locker aboard the Normandy SR-2. These parts can have different behaviors and influences on gameplay. At the armor locker players can also customize many aesthetic aspects of their armor, including color, material and shininess as well as choose between helmets and visors. Shepard can also equip alternatives to helmets including a visor similar to the one worn by Garrus, goggles or a recon hood.
 * The player can modify aspects of armor and weapons, such as accuracy or ammo mods, by collecting research projects and working on them at research terminals in the science lab aboard the Normandy SR-2, provided Shepard has recruited a scientist to work there.

Dialogue and Cinematics
Instead of Intimidate and Charm skills, Shepard's ability to pick persuasive options in dialogue is determined directly by his or her Paragon or Renegade score.

Mass Effect 2 adds a large new feature to the dialogue system: Interrupts. The interrupt system will allow Shepard to take more physical action in a conversation, either through a Renegade hostile interrupt or a Paragon heroic interrupt.

Downloadable Content
The development team also plans for much more extensive downloadable content than what was available in Mass Effect, with a large portion of the Mass Effect 2 team moving to DLC after release. Those who buy a new copy of the game get a free activation code to the Cerberus Network, while those who buy used copies will have to pay a 15 dollar activation fee. This will reportedly include:
 * Zaeed Massani, a human bounty hunter and mercenary hired by Cerberus to join Shepard's squad (part of Cerberus Network).
 * Hammerhead, a hover tank which will allow exploration of harsh planetary environments (Not available as of yet).
 * Cerberus Assault Armor, A combat armor which boosts health, shields, and heavy weapon ammo(part of Cerberus Network).
 * M-22 Eviscerator Shotgun, a longer-range shotgun with armor-piercing loads(part of Cerberus Network).
 * Episodic combat, weapon and armor packs, characters, worlds and full campaign expansions will reportedly be available for download.
 * Periodic updates via the in-game 'Cerberus Network'.
 * Smaller and larger DLC options with varied pricing.