14 DAY TRIAL // Ahead of the official launch, BioWare has revealed information about The Arrival downloadable content pack for Mass Effect 2, with the big surprise being that the game will now include stealth elements, with Commander Shepard able to go through entire sections without engaging the enemy.
Jesse Houston, who is the producer working on The Arrival at BioWare, has said, “Shepard’s alone, through the whole thing, and that adds a layer of complexity.”
In Mass Effect 2, the new content will be activated after the Horizon mission is completed and the events that are shown will link the older release with the upcoming Mass Effect 3.
BioWare has not revealed whether Commander Shepard will be alone for the entire duration of the experience or whether he will be meeting new allies.
The Arrival will be launched on the PC, the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 on March 29.
Here's also a sample of the Cerberus Network updates that will be delivered in game during the coming week (spoilers are included, so beware): “Evidence continues to mount that the system of mass relays attributed to the Protheans predate their civilization. Dr. Aurana T'Meles of the University of Serrice, a one-time skeptic of the claim, now says she's a convert. 'This team has been meticulous in dating relays from many locations,' she says in her findings. 'It is not their responsibility to hypothesize who created the relays, only to isolate the eras of their construction.'”
Mass Effect 3 is being prepared for a fall 2011 launch date and will see Commander Shepard traveling across the universe in search of allies just as the Reapers are launching an invasion on Earth, taking out the major population center.
The game will get a simultaneous launch of the PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360 and the PC and in the meantime BioWare and Dark Horse will deliver another comic book based on the Mass Effect universe.