Mass Effect 2 E3 Previews
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The first is at TeamXbox:
The brief setup revolved around Shepard's task of exploring the planets in hopes of assembling a squad good enough to un-Cerberus/un-Reaper the universe. The demo started with a nice complement of troopers already in place, but the search for a super-bad-ass assassin set up the brunt of the demo. Right from the get-go, it was clear that BioWare heavily reworked the combat system to be more squad oriented, physics driven and generally more dynamic. The Power Wheel now enables advanced squad tactics to be queued up with a flick of the wrist. New physics-engine tweaks were showcased with anti-gravity weaponry and a new class of heavy weapons (the missile launcher was particularly effective) that shot projectiles large enough to send foes off into the darkness of space. We were also promised a new inventory system for Mass Effect 2's combat portion, but it wasn't explored within the demo's limited timeframe.
The second is at 1UP:
Apart from the really cool "bad ending" cut-scene we saw, we also got a look at the new, improved control system for ME2. This system makes many more actions mappable to controller buttons, allowing for much faster and smoother combat, easier and more precise control of your AI squadmates, and a generally more "action-game" feel to the fights. Additionally, there are many more powers, abilities and weapons available to your characters, including a nifty fire-and-forget projectile gun that we witnessed in the demo. Moreover, ME2 has improved on ME's famous "fluid" dialogue by adding physical elements -- the demo we saw had the player push a guy off a ledge into an abyss in order to end the conversation rapidly -- and keeping the background action going on while you speak.
The third is at NZGamer:
Mass Effect 2's universe may be familiar then, but the story is entirely different. This time round, humans are beginning to mysteriously disappear from the planet, and there's a general anti-human sentiment spreading throughout the universe. Shepard decides to join a 'shadowy' pro-human group, and must now recruit a team to aid him in his quest to save humanity. The first gameplay we saw had Shepard and a female Asari zoom through a futuristic Blade Runneresque cityscape in a hover car, on their way to recruit the legendary assassin 'Thane'. The dynamic conversation wheel makes its impressive return here, and Shepard and the Asari have a seamless real-time conversation as the car moves forward - the scene looked like a cinematic, controlled by the player.
The fourth is at Eurogamer:
Having taken on giant sentient spaceships bent on wiping out the galaxy on your last mission, for Mass Effect 2, things are a little more personal. All around the galaxy, humans are disappearing, and Shepard wants to know why, even if the answer is that they've just popped down to Bluewater for the afternoon to pick up some Crocs. They haven't, of course - everyone in the future wears Converse sandals - and Shepard soon finds himself joining up with the shadowy Cerberus organisation to dig a little deeper, and heading off on a suicide mission.
The fifth is at WorthPlaying:
Our demo opened up with Shepard driving in a futuristic flying car toward a fancy skyscraper. He and his forces were searching for Thane, known as the universe's best assassin. Obviously, Thane would be a great addition to Shepard's team, but getting him to join up is going to require some effort. Even tracking him down takes a lot of effort, and Shepard decides grab the bull by the horns and intercept Thane at his next assassination target, an Asari businesswoman. This opening scene is a simple conversation scene, as is often seen in Mass Effect, but the cinematography is a lot tighter. It feels like a shot from a movie, with the city racing around behind the duo and the camera acting more dynamically instead of just showing two talking heads. Before long, they arrive at the skyscraper only to find that the Asari's guards are already out in force.
The sixth is at GamerTell:
BioWare officials revealed that the mission he's sent on in this game will essentially be a suicide mission for Shepard. But for those of us who are used to thinks like 24, the hero even has to survive a suicide mission somehow. Due to the fact that it's supposed to be a suicide mission, the game's pitcher said that it is going to be an emotional game. It's going to be even more thoroughly grounded than the original was and that'll be a feat in itself.
The seventh is at G4:
In Mass Effect 2, Commander Shepard can actually die. No, I don't mean his health bar will run out because of one too many laser blasts and players are returned to the last checkpoint. The consequences are more severe than that. According to Hudson, players can make a series of decisions that will not allow Commander Shepard to continue -- the decisions lead to his death. I was shown a sequence where the Normandy has been completely wrecked by an "unknown force." Shepard told other characters to leave him behind; he'd take care of escaping on his own. The scene didn't unfold how I predicted, though: Shepard died. Done. Finished. In this scenario, he won't appear in Mass Effect 2.
And the eighth is at Joystiq:
Shepard was (played) more apathetic than cold-hearted throughout the demo, coolly watching as Thane crept into the background of a conversation set and offed an important-sounding Asari and her bodyguards. "I was curious to see how far you'd go to find me," Thane gurgled out to Shepard when he was finished. "Well, here I am." We're not entirely sure what was supposed to happen next, as BioWare jumped ahead, skipping past "the entire new level of interactivity" in the planetary scouting mode, too ("We'll explain more about this later in the year," Hudson promised). Let's just assume, then, Thane joined up -- before things went really wrong ...
