After Mass Effect proved to be a huge success, BioWare embarked on a journey to create a sequel. This second installment in the new series was first announced in February this year, and had a time stamp of "early 2010," but now it seems that it's going to be a lot earlier than even the most optimistic speculations imagined. The game has received an official release date of January 26 for North America and January 29 in Europe, and Electronic Arts announced it as a simultaneous release for the PC and the Xbox 360, unlike the first iteration.

With the game now officially announced, the preorder incentives have begun to pour in as well. Just like they did with Dragon Age: Origins, BioWare will offer for the loyal ad eager fans something extra in their game pouch. The GameStop preorder will deliver two special items to those who decide to shop here. The first is a heavy-duty Terminus armor that boosts personal shields, increases run speed and adds "an extra magazine of reserve ammo" to any weapon. This could be a hint that ammo will become a gameplay factor in Mass Effect 2, unlike the first game, which provided unlimited ammo reserves for your pistol, rifles and all other weapons.

The second item that comes with the special preorder is the M-490 Blackstorm Heavy Weapon, which "generates a high-powered localized gravity well, accelerating particles to near-infinite mass." The download will also provide access to a wider array of items that will become available once the game is released. Preorder bonuses are a nice way to reward the more dedicated fans of a game but it looks like this one will just ruin the experience. It's a pretty unsatisfactory feeling to obtain an overpowered weapon you didn't really have to fight for. And the “near-infinite mass” particle cannon sounds pretty overpowered. Preorders placed in any other outlet will provide the Inferno Armor, which increases players' damage and run speed as well as negotiation skills with the myriads.

Continuity between the two Mass Effect games will be provided by importing decisions from the previous release, which sounds pretty neat. The effort players put into character development will no longer be convincingly discarded by developers with a sudden “amnesia” or some other dull plot hole to reset our character. Mass Effect 2 will begin with Commander Shepard's mission to the Omega mining facility, a mercenary controlled installation, but any other details regarding the story have been a kept quiet by BioWare.