Rumor Mill: Mass Effect Will Feature Playable Shepard

With Mass Effect 2 set to be released this year, the hunger for information of those who loved the first game in what is set to be a trilogy in understandable. And it seems that, just before the E3 trade show, more details related to the game have come out via the yet unpublished new issues of the Official Xbox Magazine, which apparently has some pages on Mass Effect 2.

Readers need to keep in mind that the information comes via forum users who claim to have the OXM issue before it is officially published so it should be taken with a grain of salt. Still, the info revealed appears to be in line with what we already know about the game.

The big reveal is that players will get a chance to guide the hero of the first Mass Effect, Shepard, in the sequel. His fate was not revealed by developer BioWare after an initial trailer listed his status as being missing in action. Apparently, some portions of the videogame will put the player in control of other characters, although they have not been named.

The plot of Mass Effect 2 seems to revolve around the sudden disappearance of some colonies of species that are allied to the Citadel and humanity and apparently Shepard is sent in to investigate a suicide mission (according to some), which could explain the missing in action status we've seen. It seems that players will get to explore quite a bit of the galaxy, with one of the main locations being called Omega Station, which is described as something of an anti-Citadel.

BioWare is making Mass Effect 2 one of the centerpieces of its E3 presentation, so we are bound to know more about the title in a week's time. And let's hope that there will be a definitive answer to whether Shepard is dead or not.