Mass Effect 2

Overview

Mass Effect 2 is a 2010 action role-playing game developed by BioWare. Microsoft Game Studios and Electronic Arts published the Windows and Xbox 360 versions in January 2010, and the PlayStation 3 version followed a year later. It is the second Mass Effect game. The game takes place in the Milky Way in the 22nd century, where humanity is threatened by an insect-like alien race called the Collectors. You play Commander Shepard, an elite human soldier who has to build a team and win its loyalty for a suicide mission. A completed save from the first game can change the story in many ways.

It is a single player game played from a third-person view. You pick Shepard's gender, look, background and class, and there are six classes, for example the Vanguard for close combat and shotguns and the Infiltrator for stealth and sniper rifles. Quests are reached from a galaxy map, and your ship is a base where you talk to the squad, customize armour, travel and scan planets for minerals that pay for upgrades. Compared with the first game the shooting is more central, with limited ammunition and health that regenerates.

BioWare wanted optional missions to carry as much weight as the main one, which led to a story about recruiting a team and earning its loyalty. Designers polished the shooting first and added role-playing features afterwards. The game was built in Unreal Engine 3 by more than 150 people over roughly two years, with voices from 90 actors playing 546 characters. Jack Wall returned as composer with a darker sound, and Martin Sheen voices the Illusive Man.

The PlayStation 3 version came out on 18 January 2011 in North America, 21 January in Europe and 27 January in Australia. It uses a modified Unreal Engine 3 called the Mass Effect 3 engine, with slightly improved character models and a controller layout that can be switched back to the Xbox 360 one. It was among the first EA games shipped without a paper manual. Because the first Mass Effect was not on PlayStation 3, it cannot import a save, and BioWare added Genesis, an interactive comic at the start where you make the big decisions of the first game.

Unlike the Xbox 360 and Windows versions, the PS3 version includes the Kasumi: Stolen Memory, Overlord and Lair of the Shadow Broker packs. New copies carried a one-time code for the Cerberus Network, which unlocked bonus content. Zaeed: The Price of Revenge and Arrival also have their own trophies on PS3.

Mass Effect 2 got critical acclaim for its presentation, characters and combat, though some critics disliked the simplified role-playing parts and the planet scanning. Some reviewers called the PS3 version the best and most complete one because of the engine and extra DLC, while others noted frame rate problems and glitches, mostly in the DLC sections. The game won Game of the Year at the 14th Interactive Achievement Awards and Best Game at the 7th British Academy Games Awards, and Mass Effect 3 followed in 2012.

Official trailer

Mass Effect 2 - PlayStation 3 Launch Trailer, Mass Effect. Watch on YouTube

Gameplay

Mass Effect 2 (PS3) Playthrough, Part 1 (No Commentary), Rellings. Watch on YouTube

Screenshots

Game details

Genres

Action role-playing, Third-person shooter

Developer

BioWare

Publisher

Electronic Arts

Series

Mass Effect

Engine

Unreal Engine 3

Composers

Jack Wall, Jimmy Hinson, Sam Hulick, David Kates

Designers

Preston Watamaniuk

Writers

Mac Walters, Drew Karpyshyn

Producers

Casey Hudson, Jesse Houston, Nathan Plewes

Directors

Casey Hudson

Modes

Single player

Yes

Local multiplayer

No

Online multiplayer

No

Release dates

Editions

Buy this game

Subscription history

Disc IDs

The serial printed on the disc and the case. It tells you which region a copy is from.

Trophies

Trophies59

Platinum possibleYes

Platinum

1

Gold

2

Silver

6

Bronze

50

Total

59

Points

1410

Platinum time

40 hours

100% time

43 hours

Difficulty

6 out of 10

Playthroughs for platinum

2

Playthroughs for 100%

2

New Game Plus

Yes, trophies and progress carry over. New Game Plus keeps Shepard's level, and enemies scale to it.

Platinum without online

Yes

Online trophies

0

Online servers running

Yes

Boosting needed

No

DLC has trophies

Yes

Platinum includes DLC

No

100% includes DLC

Yes

DLC comes in

Zaeed and Arrival, in the Ultimate Edition or sold separately

DLC still for sale

Yes

DLC note

Zaeed has 1 trophy and Arrival 3. Arrival is US$6.99 on the PS3 store.

Missable trophies

23

Chapter select fixes a miss

No

Separate trophy lists by region

No

Only in a language other than English

No

Region note

One list for every region.

Online-only version

No

Digital-only

No

Disc-only

No

Trophy list shared with other versions

No

Other versions

The Legendary Edition on PS4 has its own list.

Players with the platinum

9.87%

Missable trophies

• A House Divided
• Against All Odds
• Battlemaster
• Big Game Hunter
• Brawler
• Broke, Blind and Bedlam
• Cat's in the Cradle
• Catharsis
• Data Hound
• Doppelganger
• Fade Away
• Friend or Foe
• Ghost of the Father
• Incineration Specialist
• Master at Arms
• Merciless
• No One Left Behind
• Overload Specialist
• Paramour
• Tactician
• The Cure
• The Prodigal
• Treason

Grind

• An Insanity difficulty run

Glitches and fixes

• Insanity can fail to unlock if the difficulty is changed during the run.

• N7 Elite Acquire all trophies Platinum 9.87% of players
• Highly Trained View all advanced combat training videos at Shepard's private terminal. Bronze 60.84% of players
• Missing in Action Save your crew from an overwhelming attack Bronze 94.57% of players
• Very Elusive Return to active duty Bronze 89.51% of players
• The Convict Successfully recruit the biotic Convict Bronze 72.53% of players
• The Krogan Successfully recruit the Krogan Bronze 69.99% of players
• The Archangel Successfully recruit Archangel Bronze 77.75% of players
• The Professor Successfully recruit the Professor Bronze 77.79% of players
• The Quarian Successfully recruit the Quarian Bronze 64.07% of players
• The Justicar Successfully recruit the Justicar Bronze 64.6% of players
• The Assassin Successfully recruit the Assassin Bronze 65.8% of players
• Colony Defense Defend a human colony from attack Bronze 69.32% of players
• The Prodigal Gain the loyalty of the Cerberus Officer Bronze 64.31% of players
• Ghost of the Father Gain the loyalty of the Cerberus Operative Bronze 63.63% of players
• Catharsis Gain the loyalty of the biotic Convict Bronze 62.61% of players
• Battlemaster Gain the loyalty of the krogan Bronze 62.08% of players
• Fade Away Gain the loyalty of Archangel Bronze 62.19% of players
• The Cure Gain the loyalty of the Professor Bronze 62.63% of players
• Treason Gain the loyalty of the quarian Bronze 58.28% of players
• Doppelganger Help the Justicar resolve her mission Bronze 56.13% of players
• Cat's in the Cradle Gain the loyalty of the Assassin Bronze 55.56% of players
• Friend or Foe Obtain geth technology Bronze 58.59% of players
• A House Divided Hack a geth collective Bronze 53.93% of players
• Ghost Ship Complete the investigation of a derelict alien vessel Bronze 64.78% of players
• Suicide Mission Use the Omega 4 Relay Bronze 58.09% of players
• Mission Accomplished Save humanity throughout the galaxy from certain annihilation Silver 57.53% of players
• Against All Odds Survive suicide mission Silver 57.41% of players
• Insanity Complete the game on the "Insanity" difficulty level without changing the setting Gold 10.98% of players
• No One Left Behind Keep your team alive through the suicide mission Gold 34.89% of players
• Long Service Medal Complete Mass Effect 2 twice, or complete it once with a character imported from Mass Effect 1 Silver 43.58% of players
• Paramour Successfully pursue a relationship with a teammate Silver 43.33% of players
• Head Hunter Perform 30 headshot kills with any weapon on humanoid targets Bronze 76.04% of players
• Brawler Shoot and kill 20 enemies while they're knocked back by a punch Bronze 24.77% of players
• Big Game Hunter Thresher Maw defeated Bronze 61.67% of players
• Tactician Hit 20 different targets with multiple biotic powers to combine the effects Bronze 19.71% of players
• Master at Arms Kill enemies with 5 different heavy weapons during the game Bronze 42.21% of players
• Merciless Make 20 enemies scream as they fall or are set on fire Bronze 80.16% of players
• Overload Specialist Disrupt the shields of 25 enemies Bronze 29.09% of players
• Warp Specialist Warp the barriers of 25 enemies Bronze 20.56% of players
• Incineration Specialist Incinerate the armor of 25 enemies Bronze 21.31% of players
• Operative Complete a mission discovered by scanning an unexplored world Bronze 69.22% of players
• Agent Complete 5 missions discovered by scanning unexplored worlds Bronze 54.8% of players
• Prospector Retrieve mineral resources by scanning and probing a planet in the galaxy map Bronze 78.27% of players
• Explorer Visit 100% of the planets in an unexplored cluster Bronze 60.75% of players
• Power Gamer Reach Level 30 with one character Silver 33.07% of players
• Scholar Unlock 15 new Mass Effect 2 codex entries Bronze 77.74% of players
• Technician Obtain 10 technology upgrades Bronze 72.17% of players
• Weapon Specialist Fully upgrade a weapon Bronze 46.23% of players
• Scientist Complete any research project in the Normandy's laboratory Bronze 75.48% of players
• Fashionista Personalize your armor Bronze 87.83% of players
• Power Full Evolve any power Bronze 66.29% of players
• Heart of Darkness Confront the Shadow Broker Silver 60.78% of players
• Broke, Blind and Bedlam Gain the loyalty of the thief Bronze 68.84% of players
• Data Hound Collect 6 Cerberus data packets scattered across Aite Bronze 29.79% of players
• Digital Exorcist Successfully shut down the rogue VI in Project Overlord Bronze 61.16% of players
• Revenge! Gain the loyalty of the mercenary ("Cerberus Pack" downloadable content) Bronze 65.14% of players
• The Ultimate Sacrifice Complete the Arrival DLC ("Arrival" downloadable content) Bronze 40.66% of players
• Last Stand Survive all five waves in the battle for Object Rho ("Arrival" downloadable content) Bronze 24.54% of players
• Covert Action Rescue Dr. Amanda Kenson without attracting hostile attention ("Arrival" downloadable content) Bronze 24.62% of players

Space and patches

Space neededAbout 11.9 GB

Update patch01.05

These are the patches Sony still hosts for this disc ID. The game's real history can be longer.

DLC

The PS3 version includes the Kasumi, Overlord and Lair of the Shadow Broker packs. Zaeed and Arrival have their own trophies. New copies came with a Cerberus Network code, sold separately for 14.99 US dollars on PSN to buyers of used copies.

Items

Name	Adds	Price
Kasumi: Stolen Memory	A loyalty mission and squad member. Included in the PS3 version.
Overlord	Five new missions. Included in the PS3 version.
Lair of the Shadow Broker	Shepard helps Liara T'Soni track the Shadow Broker. Included in the PS3 version.
Zaeed: The Price of Revenge	A mercenary squad member and his loyalty mission, part of the Cerberus Pack, with one trophy.
Arrival	Shepard investigates a Reaper threat, a story that leads into Mass Effect 3, with three trophies.
Cerberus Network pack	Unlocks the online bonus content, with the Genesis comic on PS3.	14.99 USD on PSN for used-copy buyers

Playable today

Playable offline todayYes

Single-player, with every pack still sold.

Online

Online servers runningYes

Plays offlineYes

The Cerberus Network checks for and delivers downloadable content. There is no multiplayer.

Services

Service	Status
Cerberus Network	running
Online multiplayer	Does not exist

Reception

Aggregates

Outlet	Platform	Score	Scale
Metacritic	PS3	94	100
Metacritic	Xbox 360	96	100
Metacritic	PC	94	100

Critics

Outlet	Score	Scale	Platform
Edge	9	10
Eurogamer	10	10
Famitsu	35	40	PS3
Game Informer	9.5	10	PS3
GamePro	4.5	5
GameSpot	8.5	10	PS3
GameSpy	5	5
GameTrailers	9.7	10
IGN	9.5	10	PS3
GameCritics	7.5	10
RPGamer	4.5	5

Staff and cast

Staff

Role	Name
Director	Casey Hudson
Producer	Casey Hudson
Producer	Jesse Houston
Producer	Nathan Plewes
Lead designer	Christina Norman
Designer	Preston Watamaniuk
Writer	Mac Walters
Writer	Drew Karpyshyn
Composer	Jack Wall
Composer	Jimmy Hinson
Composer	Sam Hulick
Composer	David Kates

Cast

Character	Actor
Commander Shepard (male)	Mark Meer
Commander Shepard (female)	Jennifer Hale
The Illusive Man	Martin Sheen
Miranda Lawson	Yvonne Strahovski
Jacob Taylor	Adam Lazarre-White
Garrus Vakarian	Brandon Keener
Tali'Zorah	Liz Sroka
Mordin Solus	Michael Beattie
Jack	Courtenay Taylor
Grunt	Steve Blum
Thane Krios	Keythe Farley
Samara	Maggie Baird
Legion	D. C. Douglas
Joker	Seth Green
EDI	Tricia Helfer

Notes for collectors

• BioWare first denied a PS3 version existed even though PS3 code was found in the Windows files. It was officially announced at Gamescom 2010.
• The PS3 version cannot import a Mass Effect save because the first game was not on PS3. The Genesis interactive comic stands in for it.
• It was one of the first EA games to ship without a paper manual, as part of a green packaging push.
• The PS3 version has the Mass Effect 3 engine and a menu option to switch to the Xbox 360 controller layout.
• Some PS3 players reported save files corrupting after a crash, and BioWare released a patch for save bugs and crashes.
• The PlayStation Network version made up more than 10 percent of PS3 sales.
• The Cerberus Network code in new copies could be bought separately by used-copy buyers, which drew criticism from some fans.

Credits

Publisher

Electronic Arts

Developer

BioWare

Director

Casey Hudson

Released

2011-01-18

Age rating

ESRB M

Disc ID

BLUS30650

Region

US

Time to beat

about 24.5 hours