Unlike the first Mass Effect, the sequel will not allow players to restart the campaign with all the skills Shepard gained throughout his (um, her!) second adventure. Mass Effect 2 Lead Designer Preston Watamaniuk notes on the BioWare forums that the team is working hard to "offer a smooth progression into ME3 from ME2." The reasoning is that they "have to have reasonable knowledge" of where a character could end up at the end of the game.

Of course, Mass Effect 2 players can feel free to create a new character and start over. So, it appears that if you're looking to start Mass Effect 3 with a jacked-up Shepard, make sure to explore every little nook and cranny of the galaxy before going into the sequel's final mission.

[Via Kotaku]

One way to look at Mass Effect Galaxy, the newly released iPhone game tie-in, is as an interactive DLC code ($4.99) for Mass Effect 2. AppGamer.net confirms that, upon completion, Galaxy displays the following message: "Your reward for completing the game is already waiting for you in Mass Effect 2."

The so-called reward is apparently transferred from Galaxy to ME2 via an EA Account (more info), but its identity remains a mystery for now -- and perhaps until you buy ME2. Our best guess is that the reward is an enhanced weapon or armor suit designed for Galaxy's main character, Jacob Taylor, who is also a companion character in ME2, and that it's an entirely negligible unlockable for all but the most obsessive completionist. The majority of reactions in the Touch Arcade forums suggest that the game itself is just as unimportant, if not downright degrading to the franchise. Proceed with caution.

[Thanks, Chris]

If the months standing between you and the trials and terminations of Mass Effect 2 are driving you out of your gourd, some momentary respite might just be on its way. An announcement regarding the DLC for the original Mass Effect which was teased during E3 "may be coming this week," according to a recent tweet from the BioWare Twitter feed. "Keep your eyes peeled," said tweet warns (with little consideration for our ocular health).

With the good Doctors' promise that said announcement would come "soon" after E3, DLC news dropping before the end of the month certainly makes sense -- then again, the party responsible for the aforementioned tweet was a gentleman known as "Evil Chris," a moniker that doesn't exactly fill us with confidence.

It appears as though Microsoft's plans for an August launch of its Games on Demand service is popping up a bit early. Why just this morning, we spotted a listing for the already confirmed Mass Effect (sporting its snazzy new Platinum Hits packaging) in our Xbox.com Marketplace RSS feed. Unsurprisingly, the listing has been removed from the website itself, though RSS feeds won't allow for editing after something has been published.

As 360sync.com rightfully points out, game manuals will be provided virtually through the Xbox.com Marketplace website according to the listing, so you've got that going for ya (which is nice). We're not sure when these puppies are showin' up on XBL for sure, but from the looks of things, we'd say sooner rather than later. For a video tour of the upcoming Games on Demand service, hit the break.

[Via 360sync]

While speaking to BioWare's leaders slash doctors, Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka, Joystiq managed to confirm that the second batch of DLC for Mass Effect (that's the first game!) would be announced and detailed soon. According to Muzyka, he was even playing it at the BioWare office slash fortress before departing for E3 2009.

Previously, it was suggested that the next Mass Effect DLC would include some sort of fight club or arena setup. So, lots of shooting in preparation for some real shooting, then.

We know, we know. The first Mass Effect was also a "shooter" (note: in quotes), but after demoing a slice of combat in the sequel, we're dropping the quotes. Mass Effect 2 is a shooter -- if you want to play it that way.

BioWare dropped us into the role of a Soldier-class Commander Shepard and set us loose upon several waves of robotic and human combatants, as we traversed a few outdoor corridors. Our first thought was, uh-oh, Shepard's still stiff on his feet (loosen up, guy, you move like a tank). But as we pressed up against the first barrier (cover is actually useful!), and rose up our assault rifle, taking aim down sights, it all clicked.

Is Commander Shepard alive or dead? Mass Effect 2 project director Casey Hudson raised the big question again today at E3 to begin a behind-closed-doors demo of the dark sequel from BioWare. The short answer is no, of course he's not dead. Players will take control of Shepard (either fresh or imported from save data from the first game) in the next chapter of the three-part space opera, which Hudson forewarned would explore "the most brutal parts" of the universe.

Apparently, humans have been reported missing all across the galaxy and, as players, we are working with a "shadowy" pro-human group to get to the bottom of this body-snatching business. This is generally considered a suicide mission (more on that after the break), but nonetheless, we do proceed, recruiting a squad of "the most dangerous, powerful individuals" (oh c'mon, they're aliens) from the known universe to help us.

Bioware isn't all about Mass Effect 2, you know. The company is also trying to get more folks to play the original Mass Effect through its special edition two-disc set of the first game that includes the original title and the 'Bring Down the Sky' DLC, among the other small goodies you see in the trailer above. We guess this puts to bed all those rumors about additional Mass Effect DLC, which is a real shame because, well, we like Mass Effect and totally want to play more of it. Thankfully, we can do just that when Mass Effect 2 hits shelves early next year.

Revealed via leaked survey just over a month ago, Mass Effect for the iPhone seeks to fill in the story of a couple characters appearing in upcoming sequel, Mass Effect 2. So far, the little we know from the BioWare Blog paints the picture of a game that fills in the gaps between Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2, following the story of Jacob Taylor.

Citing the "limitations" of Apple's handheld, Mass Effect Galaxy is comprised of "a very defined beginning, a middle with three branches, and an end sequence that takes the player to the final showdown with the game's antagonist." BioWare is staying mum on more info to do with the game but hopefully we'll see more on the game this week at E3.

Looking over Media Create's weekly Japanese software sales chart for May 24 reveals something distinctly non-Japanese is mucking up the list. BioWare's space opera Mass Effect for Xbox 360 premiered in the number three spot, having sold 18,000 copies. Sure, that's less than half of Pro Yakyuu Team o Tsukurou 2, but good on the western RPG for even charting.

Mass Effect released in the Very-Near West in 2007 and -- believe it or not -- actually has a sequel in the works. Oh, and in case you're wondering, Sloan to Michael: Nazo No Monogatari was in the number one spot with 44,000 units.

You've probably already made this inference after viewing the demise-filled teaser trailer (or last week's E3 sneak peek), but BioWare's second space opera installment, Mass Effect 2, is going to be a downer. Much like The Empire Strikes Back (the angsty middle child in the Star Wars trilogy), ME 2 will be the series' "dark act," according to producer Casey Hudson, who sees the game as "an opportunity to really explore the tougher, more brutal parts of the universe."

Hudson went on to describe the themes of the Mass Effect trilogy's story arc, explaining, "In the first act you put a guy in the tree, in the second act you throw rocks at him, and in the third act you get him down." And how do you get the guy out of the tree? With a really slow elevator, of course!

The second installment of BioWare's sci-fi action series finally gets more video love today, and this time it's not telling us that the main character is dead. Instead we notice ... well, we'll just let the above video, "Prelude to E3," speak for itself. Just please stop toying with our fragile emotions, already! We'll have hands-on Mass Effect 2 goodness from E3 soon, where we look forward to "killing someone a thousand times."

This one's just about as confusing as it gets, folks, but here goes nothing. Microsoft is repackaging eight of its titles under a new moniker: "Greatness is Earned." Though these titles still fall into the Platinum Hits category (and as such, are priced at $19.99 and up), a number of them are receiving the treatment for the first time. And this is where things get confusing: We've seen the "Greatness is Earned" logo before, nearly a month ago now, on the repackaged Gears of War (Platinum Hits edition, mind you) seen above. At the time, Microsoft wouldn't comment on the images.

Considering Viva Piñata and EA Sports Fight Night Round 3 are among them, we're doubting (and hoping) they won't all get the dark and brooding look. We've listed all eight titles after the break in for your perusal. We'd also like to point out that, while snooping around the Microsoft press site for images of these games, we noticed Halo 3 "Classics" in the "Upcoming Games" category -- the same note found next to all other Platinum Hits games. Interesting, hmm?

Update: We've replaced the image above with shots of the new "Greatness is Earned" pack shots of Gears of War, Forza 2 and Mass Effect. For giant shots, peep the gallery below!

Following the release of the Mass Effect 2 teaser trailer, we've all been nervous wrecks about the assumedly unfortunate fate of the first Mass' protagonist, Commander Shepard. We really do not want him to be dead. We spent so much time molding him, as if from clay, to look just like us, only much more attractive.

Fortunately, at the end of a recent Mass Effect 2 dev blog post, the game's executive producer, Casey Hudson, responded to the notion of Shepard's corpsification, saying he "better not be." He continued, "we had a lot of big plans made, so if someone's gone and killed Shepard then things are going to take an unexpected turn." So, there you have it. Either Shepard is still alive, or some unknown, shadowy agent murdered him without Bioware's noticing. Either way, we should know more about Shepard's status when we see the game next month at E3.

BioWare has broken its silence over last month's obviously unintended reveal of an iPhone / iPod Touch Mass Effect game via on online survey. Community coordinator Chris Priestly has confirmed that Mass Effect: Jacob's Story is "not a hoax or fake story" via the series' official forums. Priestly goes on to clear up some details concerning the title.

He denies speculation the game is a prequel to Mass Effect 2, saying, "[The game] is not a 'bridging' story between Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2. It is a cool little side-story about one of the upcoming Mass Effect 2 characters. It is not 'required reading' to enjoy the core trilogy, but if (sic) a fun optional 'extra' game."

Among other details revealed in the post is the fact that Jacob's Story is "being done by a separate, dedicated team with no connection to any Mass Effect DLC development or patches," stressing it's not the reason there hasn't been any more Mass Effect add-on content since the release of Bring Down the Sky. Finally, Priestly notes that "BioWare and the Mass Effect team want to branch out in a number of ways with the ME universe, and this is just one example of such branching out." More details on the title are said to be inbound "later this month." (That'd be late May for those disoriented by the end-of-week month change.)

[Via VG247]