Xbox 360
Choose life, choose a class, choose stealth, choose diplomacy, choose garish yellow armour with matching helmet, choose a forking big gun, choose to sleep with blue women, choose your future. Mass Effect remains one of the finest forays into classic RPGs available on a console, blending some fine real-time action with a cracking original story. Produced by Bioware, it felt very much like a spiritual successor to Knights of the Old Republic, using a similar engine but applied to a unique universe which allowed the developers to spread their creative wings. Set in the 22nd century, mankind has only recently taken to the stars and in a refreshing change to most sci-fi games, humans are in fact an unimportant race, a new upstart figure on a galactic council. The plot followed Commander Sheppard, the first human Spectre (a sort of galactic super-spy) as he fought to take down a rogue fellow agent and fight the Reavers, a new galactic threat. It was well written, acted and paced with more interesting concepts than most sci-fi films. Most of all it offered a wide range of choices for the player, with greater subtlety and more interesting repercussions than Bioware achieved with Knights of the Old Republic.
Due to the high critical acclaim, its sequel, the middle chapter in a planned trilogy, has already begun to garner a significant amount of hype. Set two years after its predecessor, Mass Effect 2 sees Sheppard forming a new group of dangerous heroes to take on a new evil that is threatening humanity. Bioware have been keen to suggest that one of the major themes of the new title will be Sheppard's death, indeed the first teaser hinted at him being sans life from the very beginning. While he (or she if you so choose) will remain the playable character for the majority of the story, the developers have continually emphasised that he will be on a suicide mission and that your choices will actively affect its outcome. How will this actually play out in the game? We can't be sure, yet it should add more suspense and intrigue to the tale.
More than just continuing the saga, Mass Effect 2 is refining the original's gameplay to create a more intense experience. Dialogue will now include a load more physical options, such as striking your fellow conversationalist in moments of vocal animosity. Scenes will also now take place in more dynamic and kinetic settings, one example being during a frantic speeder chase. Combat is also getting a bit of a makeover. While the Gears of War-lite fighting from the first game was fun enough, it frequently felt a little unpolished. Bioware in response have promised to give new energy to the combat, making it faster and more urgent, with new features such as location based damage (with the always welcome addition of dismemberment) and an increased use of in game physics spicing up the mix. You'll now also have more control on your squad mates who perhaps felt a little perfunctory at times during Mass Effect. This will come in conjunction with a promised improvement in AI.
Your armoury will also be expanded. While the first game had only four different weapon types, the sequel should have as many as nineteen, including a form of mini-nuke just in case any cretin suddenly questions your manliness. Although please Bioware, cut down on the amount of weapon mods available, as the sheer number of these thrown at you during the previous game made them more of a tedious hindrance than a genuinely beneficial pick-up.
You'll still be charged with exploring the galaxy and taking on as many side-quests as you can. Indeed, this feeling of genuine freedom on a universal scale was one of Mass Effect's best features. Evidence suggests however that you might be doing it in a new ship this time, with hints that your previous trusty vessel, The Normandy, making an early, explosion based, departure. Bioware has promised to improve exploration too, especially on secondary planets, which should be more varied and detailed. The Mako, your trusty tank/gravity defying brick, will also be replaced by a new planetary exploration vehicle, hopefully one that won't see us spending hours grinding up steep canyons for minutes on end again.
Technically, the game will also get a nice face-lift. Early trailers already show a vast improvement upon the originals graphics, with the pop-up and frame rate issues plaguing the previous game hopefully becoming a thing of the past.
Finally (and for many fans most importantly), Bioware has announced that you will be able to use your save file from the first game to transfer your carefully moulded character into the sequel. There, all of your choices from Mass Effect will continue to have resonance; characters who you allowed to die will not appear and relationships will continue to affect the story. For new players though, an introductory prologue should help them to create a well rounded new character, and we are promised a whole load of new NPCs to have Daily Mail-baiting romances with. No steady release date has yet been confirmed, but the game is looking pretty good, so with a bit of luck we could all be going back to the future this festive period.