Mass Effect 2 Hands-On Preview [360]



£38.99

Mass Effect 2 is out in January. This is exciting, and this is something I want to reiterate: Mass Effect 2 is out in January. What this means for this hands-on is that the build on display, while likely not the absolute latest, was approaching final.

This shows, truth be told, and it's really, really good to see. Texture pop-in from Mass Effect? A thing of the past, in this preview. Frame rate drops when things get exciting? None at all. This build appeared to be locked at 30 frames-per-second, which kept the action segments feeling as smooth and as chaotic as they should, while the conversations felt even more like watching short movies.

If the conversation fluidity was just down to the silky-smooth frame rate, though, we'd be in trouble. Thankfully, it's not, and from what we've seen BioWare has hugely expanded the actual “acting” there. Conversations in most games tend to involve lip-synching, some facial movement with eyes narrowing, and maybe some hand gestures. A fair few of Mass Effect's, on the other hand, featured plenty of movement, with one or two - most notably the infamous reporter punch – taking things far further. This appears to be the rule rather than the exception, here, with every conversation in this hands-on showing a range of movement and actions.

Warning: This preview will contain some minor spoilers from here on. If you don't want to read some plot speculation, some potentially relevant details, and details on a returning character, read no further.

The hands-on appeared to be comprised of two largely disparate scenes. The first, set around the Afterlife nightclub, showed off the quality of the conversations and the environments. Wandering in, it's clear that BioWare's developers have enjoyed creating sci-fi bars, with Afterlife taking some of the conventions we saw in the first game to the limit. A circular bar in the centre of the main room was well-staffed, with plenty of customers chatting aimlessly. Dancers (and that's putting it mildly, but “strippers” would imply nudity) gyrated on a platform above the bar. Sadly, though, Shepard wasn't there for that sort of excitement.

Wandering up the back stairs in search of information led to a VIP room staffed by mercs, who weren't best pleased to see us. One of the armed mercs standing around pulled out a scanner, while the others trained their guns on the party – who, I'm pleased to say, responded in kind. I'm not the sort of person to be messed about when I don't know what's going on, so the “Like hell” conversation option immediately appealed: Shepard grabbed the fellow with the scanner by the neck, exacerbating the whole situation until the Asari standing in the background, who as yet hadn't even turned to face us, gave a curt nod. The guards lowered their weapons.

It transpires that the Asari was Aria, pretty much the ruler of the planet we were on, and barging into her room in the nightclub was a good way to piss her off. She uttered a variation the line that we've heard countless times in Mass Effect previews - “I thought you were dead” - and, finally, there was conversation. She sat down, and Shepard slid into the seat opposite her. Shepard was here for information but Aria wasn't forthcoming; for whatever reason she was surprisingly cold and stand off-ish towards Shepard.