Mass Effect 2 Preview
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After this all-too-brief look at the story, we were then treated to a similarly brief hands-on session with the Xbox 360 version of Mass Effect 2. BioWare wouldn't disclose the location of where within the game our hands-on took place, but it looked to be some sort of underground complex. Shepard had Thane and Grunt in tow, with the enemies being the synthetic zombies called Husks which many will be familiar with from the first game. These Husks would rush the crew in small waves, crawling out from behind crates or underneath walkways to surprise the three. While the first game allowed you to send your squad to certain locations, this time around you can assign individual members to different areas, which is done by simply pointing your target reticule at a spot and pressing either left or right on the d-pad. This worked quite well, and we found ourselves regularly pushing the tank-like Grunt into point to take most of the Husk heat while we picked them off as Shepard from behind. One other new aspect we spied during our game time was what looked to be a new biotic power called Adrenaline. Triggering this would slow down enemy movements a la bullet time, which allowed us to better target incoming Husks. The effect only lasted a few seconds, though, but the cool down time seemed quite quick.
With the demo over, we cornered Zeschuk to glean a few more details about what else we can expect from the game once it ships in early 2010. Despite the game being a direct sequel, Zeschuk says new players won't need to be overly familiar with events in the first game, saying "Mass Effect 2 is done in such a way that it feels like you're in a brand new experience". As for those who did play the first game, BioWare has already stated that original save games will have some impact on character and story in the second, although Zeschuk wouldn't elaborate further. "As a general rule, any big things that have occurred should still be consistently reflected," he said.
