Oh MAN! This is so awesome. Bioware just released a pre E3 video on ME2. A number of people from the dev team talk in depth about the improvements on this second installment. Improvements include remarkable visual upgrades thanks to an overhaul of UE3, better AI, a story arc that carries through whatever decisions you made in the first game, and the overarching question of...is Cmd Shepard dead?

Despite having blatant, glaring technical flaws, I still consider ME as one of my favorite games ever, with a sense of depth that few, if any, sci fi rooted videogames have, I'd be willing to state that the depth and breadth of the Mass Effect universe could even rival established sci fi franchises in other media when all is said and done (by the time the trilogy is completed) and I'm more than ready to give it a second go in preparation for ME2. w00t!

Video here. Click on "videos" and pick the second one. 

Oh I already posted it here:

http://computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=215066

Pics there too but most are like development shots with peoples faces in them. 

Interview here

http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3174236

Casey Hudson: We'll have a more concise one for E3, because that's when we can say what the premise is, but for now, this is all I can say: This is the dark second act that reveals the most brutal parts of the Mass Effect universe. 

 

1UP: Okay, I have to ask: what's with the robo-dogs [Ed note: check about 1:18 in] in the new video? Are they some sort of Geth hound or something? 

CH: [Laughs] I don't think we've shown them elsewhere. That obviously ties into telling a pretty important part of Mass Effect 2: we're putting a lot of work into making enemies a lot more interesting to fight. We've put a ton of work into the A.I., and you get really interesting things happening, and beyond that, we have enemies of very different kinds. It's not just "re-arting" stuff that you've already fought; it's stuff like a dog creature that can run up to you and maul you, or very different kinds of creatures that are anatomically different and have different behavior and special powers. 

1UP: I'm noticing a lot of ominous skies and dark halls that look very un-Citadel in the new video. Where do you go in Mass Effect 2, is there a fair amount of revisiting established places, or more about exploring the unknown? 

CH: That is one of the fun things we want to do, I think there is a balance because, part of the great thing about establishing places like the Citadel, is that it's kind of there so you can return to it and have more and more stories that take place there. And we're doing that -- you get to go back to the Citadel and see some places that you've been to, but also some places that are just different parts of that space station. But then we'll also go to tons of different locations you've never seen before. And as this game is the darker second act, it really is a descent into the most brutal parts of the Mass Effect universe. One of the places we mentioned in the [second] book, we talked about a place called Omega, which is basically the opposite of the Citadel. Where the Citadel is the elite and the best of the galaxy, Omega is a huge space station that is really rough and tough, the ultimate representation of crime, and a dangerous place to be in. But there's that, and many different places you go to. 

1UP: So just to confirm, a decision such as whether you saved the Council or not during Saren's attack in the first game, that makes for alternate beginning in Mass Effect 2, right? 

CH: It actually does; when you start Mass Effect 2 with a savegame from Mass Effect, that is the first thing you'll notice. It answers the state of the universe that you left in your actual playthrough. If you decided to let the Council die, then they're dead in the beginning of Mass Effect 2, and you'll know that right away. 

1UP: With Baldur's Gate, you guided a single character through all the installments, and as you grew in power, your foes amplified in power as well. While you guys didn't make KOTOR2, the approach that game took was to cast you as a different protagonist. Which approach is Mass Effect 2 leaning towards? 

CS: It would be some combination of those two in varying proportions that I can't define right now. First of all, part of that relates to whether Commander Shepard is alive or dead, and who you play in this one, and that's the mystery we raise in the teaser. Which is not just for the teaser, but is pretty fundamental to what Mass Effect 2 is all about, and that's what we'll be showing in the E3. We'll show you exactly what that's about, so that's why we can't say anything about that right now. In terms of the powers and stuff, one thing we're doing -- something partly to support the gameplay stuff -- we still have the classes we had before and very similar type of gameplay, but a whole new set of powers and abilities. In general, they are more powerful, and provide a more impressive variety of things. They partly bring out the gameplay improvements we've made, but they also bring out more fun physics during combat, and more of what the character class is supposed to be about; more stuff like being a biotic character and just being able to throw things around in interesting ways or a tech character being able to sabotage enemy machinery in a spectacular way. So we've made those kinds of improvements, and that stuff is quite different than the way it was in Mass Effect. 

Mass Effect 2 'GDC 2009 Combat' gameplay clip

1UP: Can you talk about other ways that a Mass Effect save could affect Mass Effect 2? 

CH: So there're a few different scales of things. On the high level, there is your earlier example of the Galactic Council that runs the galaxy. You could have been ruthless, let them die, and let the Humans take that position. And that's a very high-level thing about what's written into the story of Mass Effect 2. And there's mid-level choice where you're deciding who's going to live or die in dangerous situations -- Wrex, for example. At some point there's a confrontation, and you might want to kill them, or save them but be unable to, in Mass Effect. With him in particular, being alive or dead in Mass Effect 2 is something we built in. But then there's also the smaller stuff; in Mass Effect 2, like any other good story, we'll have to flesh it out with characters and dialogue, and there's all kinds of fun we can have at that level. If you're going to make a character for Mass Effect 2, maybe there's something interesting about that character from the first game, and having played it, you'll recognize why them being in a certain situation is the result of something that you did. 

One important thing that we also want to get across is that Mass Effect 2 is an awesome entry point into the universe, even if you've never played Mass Effect. Like a movie or book that's part of a larger series, you'll want to start it with by bringing people in with everything they need to know to like this story. For somebody who's played Mass Effect 2 without playing the first one, they're going to love how it starts and get right into the story, and when they run into a subplot, they'll have fun and make decisions. But the difference is that if you played Mass Effect, then when you run into that same situation, you'll recognize that character and realize that, "oh my god, back in the first game, I made that choice and I thought that was over and contained in just that game, but wow, here it is." 

1UP: With all of this talk about Mass Effect 2 being the dark second act, you're not going to follow the footsteps of another famous dark second act in a sci-fi trilogy, and give us a cliffhanger ending, are you? 

CH: One of the biggest questions or concerns that we had during interviews of the first game, was people asking "wait a minute, if this is a trilogy, then does that mean that when I get to the end, there's just going to be a cliffhanger?" So what we promised people is that Mass Effect would have a huge climactic ending and you'll feel that you've beaten the game. You'll know that there's more, but you'll feel that you accomplished something. And I think we did that well, that's one of the things we had a lot of feedback on -- how strong the ending felt, even though you know the story is going to continue. We're definitely going to do that again; I think it's incredibly important that if you put time into a game, for a story, even though it's part of a trilogy, it doesn't matter: it's got to have a great ending, a huge climactic ending to make you feel like you've actually done something. And then knowing that you have some idea for what's in the third installation. 

1UP: I'm just curious, how can you top the crazy Citadel-falling-apart scenario in the end? Will you be fighting on a planet that's cracking in half for Mass Effect 2's setpiece or something? 

CH: I can tell you that you start to realize the scope of what you're doing when you go from ideas to developing concept art, and then starting to play through the initial versions. Regarding the ending, I can tell you that there are times where I'm talking with a concept artist or art director, and we're looking at what you're going to see and do with the ending, and we're thinking, "oh my god, this is huge, this is going really far." And people who thought that the first one had an epic scope, this is really jaw-dropping. Even after playing the first two-thirds of Mass Effect 2, you still won't be prepared for what you get to in the ending. It really expands the scope of the story in fun and surprising ways. That's what Derek Watts is referring to in the video; there're some places that are fun to do, but nasty for the end. 

Mass Effect 2 'GDC 2009 Cut-Scene' clip

1UP: Are the Reapers still the primary threat, or are they just a prelude to something even bigger? 

CH: [The Reapers] are the high-level story and premise still. You look around, and you see civilization, the things we've built and the technology we've created. You see that Humans are sort of newcomers and there are other civilizations that have built this great stuff also, but then the realization is that all of this was planned and conceived. That we're a crop that was seeded by something much more powerful than us, and they're going to come back and harvest it. If you're an ant on an ant farm, then how do you prevent the scientist from coming in and ripping everything out? Do you have anywhere near the power to stop that? That is still the high-level idea of the trilogy. 

1UP: One theory that I've seen pop up a few times after the teaser premiered is that maybe Shepard's consciousness is transferred into a Geth somehow, and that Shepard is infiltrating the Geth network undercover. How do you react to hearing a theory like that? 

CH: My reaction is pure enjoyment. I love all the theories, because one thing it says is that people actually get the story elements that are at play, and what those things could mean. The more concrete answer is that none of the theories that I've read, and as many of them as I've read, none of them are what we're doing.