Mass Effect 2 Next Year, Says BioWare
BioWare and EA said that Mass Effect 2 will launch next year.
BioWare and EA said earlier today that Mass Effect 2 won't hit store shelves until next year. In the meantime, retailers across North America and Europe are offering pre-order incentives by providing codes for downloading special items such as special-ops armor and weaponry for Commander Shepard. These items will be usable when the game is eventually released.
According to GameStop, consumers who pre-order Mass Effect 2 will get Terminus Gear which includes the Terminus Assault Armor and the M-490 Blackstorm Heavy Weapon. BioWare's press release stated that the armor increases run speed and personal shields. It also augments weapons with an additional magazine of reserve ammo. The weapon, on the other hand, generates a cool high-powered localized gravity well.
Other retail outlets will supply the "potent" Inferno Armor, providing an increase in run speed and augmented damage from combat powers. BioWare said that this armor is typically used by officers to monitor battlefield conditions, recognizing heart rates and regulating sub-systems for greater response times.
So when does this game actually hit retail shelves? BioWare said that Mass Effect 2 lands the Xbox 360 and PC just after Christmas: January 26 here in the States and January 29 in Europe.

Note to self, got to finish Mass Effect
By next year do they mean 2010 or 2011? because if its in 2010 its more like in 3 months then next year...
as much as I like the game, the publisher is doing this because they KNOW they can. and they know they'll get away with it. I have no qualms with the game itself, but I have to question the preorder scheme.
It was good.
Made it worth playing through multiple times.
Go BioWare, you're fucking awesome!
I don't think I played long enough....Where abouts was this??? The only thing I saw remotely related was the strip club.
Play it with Shepherd as a female
I just also recently purchased and am loving Magna Carta 2 (Hyung Tae-Kim is an awesome artist). However they had some downloadable content available the day it came out. I went ahead and downloading it, thinking it'd just be some cool weapon skins, plus it mentioned that it unlocks a couple of in-game movies. I go to try out the weapons and they are so overpowered that it was like just entering a "god-mode" cheat. I un-equipped them, because I enjoy a challenge along with a good story, instead of just feeling like I cheated my way through.. but geez, some downloadable content just makes games trivial. I like DLC that expands a story, adds new skins or costumes, etc. Cosmetic changes, maybe a few gameplay additions, etc. What I don't like is basically downloading a cheat-mode. /shrug
The MPAA in North America are the ones who censor out sex, or even a nipple, while Germany is mature enough to leave that sort of stuff in the games, but censor our the gratuitous violence, instead. Apparently, the MPAA thinks violence is good for our kids and the human body is evil.
How far through is it???
You don't have to play as the female Shepard. It's near the end of the game.