Mass Effect 2 PS3 Gold Announcement, Podcast, and Preview
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If that wasn't enough, IGN has conjured up some comparison videos of both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game running side-by-side (the PS3 version is noticeably brighter) and a brief preview that explains why the system will never see ME1 and how the control scheme has been modified:
To make up for the fact that PS3 owners will never be able to experience the first game in the series (Microsoft owns the publishing rights), BioWare got creative. Sandwiched between the opening cutscene of the game and the character customization screen is an "interactive back story comic." What that means is your male or female Shepard recounts the tale of the first Mass Effect against a backdrop of images provided by Dark Horse. The artwork is clean and pretty, but don't expect the characters to look anything like their comic counterparts, especially Wrex whose face seems more smushed than usual. During the approximately 15-minute story synopsis, you'll make a few key decisions that will come into play in the sequel and finale. Who lives? Who dies? Who do you want to hook up with? These are important questions that only you can answer.
Overall, the comic section is well done, though it does skip over some portions of the story you spend a considerable amount of time on in the original game, like the Thorian (an ancient plant with mind-control powers). Also, as someone who played the first game eight times, it is hard not to feel like this comic is an "easy button." After all, I always ensured that Shepard's speech skill was high enough to talk Wrex down from his inevitable emotional freakout, but another person can do the same thing without the effort. Still, despite myself, this something that should have been considered for the Xbox version and needs to be included in Mass Effect 3 to help out the folks who haven't played the previous titles.
In terms of gameplay, Mass Effect 2 works like most PS3 shooters -- you aim and shoot with L1 and R1 and pull up your armory and biotic/tech options with L2 and R2. There are also a few disparities that most people won't notice; one is that hacking mini-games have been streamlined. During main quests with a sense of urgency like the introductory tutorial, the mini-games to crack safes or terminals have been removed, but are still intact in more leisurely areas. I didn't get a chance to test it out, but I was also told that the planet scanning mini-game moves a little faster now, which is a very welcome change.
