An internet artist who goes by the name of ‘chikinrise’ has devised a very clever piece of cartoon artwork fusing together his love Dragon Age: Origins, and Mass Effect 2. Shepard is sporting some very nicely futuristic Blood Dragon Armour, alongside cartoonish renditions of Tali and Garrus.

BioWare has recently announced the release of a brand new Mass Effect 2 add-on, “Overlord”, which is available now for 560 MS Points. They’ve also released a trailer and a few new screens to go along with the new content, which showcases five brand new areas for players to explore and two new achievements. The trailer details “Project Overlord”, a plan to gain influence over the Geth by combining a human mind with a Virtual Intelligence (VI). The new DLC sounds like a pretty interesting new addition and the price doesn’t seem half-bad either. Once all this E3 madness cools down I may have to go ahead and pick this one up, because lord knows I could use some more Mass Effect 2 in my life.

In keeping with their promise of more DLC for Mass Effect 2, Bioware has news regarding more coming next week. From their official website: “Other than Collectors abducting colonists? Well, we got tons of awesome updates for you!” Read the full announcement after the jump.

In an attempt to cover their behinds, GAME has introduced warning stickers on pre-owned games, informing buyers that they won’t receive new game DLC bonuses.

For a franchise with only one game under its belt, BioWare has successfully ensured that the Mass Effect universe will continue to have as much depth and complexity as ever.  Compared to its predecessor, Mass Effect 2 stands confident as a vastly improved-upon action role-playing game. The presentation of its engaging cinematics, graphics, sound and dialogue sequences, all lend themselves to the game’s polished sheen. Of course, the game isn’t perfect and with only a few missteps it certainly comes pretty damn close.

Taking place shortly after the events of the original Mass Effect, Commander Shepard and his crew are now en route to seek out and destroy any additional geth forces. From the beginning it is noticeable that the game is bleaker in tone and the following events only pursue further down that path. The plot in Mass Effect 2 – in essence – is a suicide mission and not even the hero is safe from what could inevitably be his demise. Also, since the choices you make in conversation could lead to this end result, BioWare has upped the stakes with a new feature to their dialogue system.

Conversations now have an interrupt component in place that will allow you to break up a cutscene with either a renegade or paragon action. This new characteristic takes the scene to a whole new level of fluidity and keeps the feel of the game right where it needs to be. Fast paced and emotionally driven. The voice acting only adds to these sequences and, on a whole, have greatly revitalized what was an epic tale from the start.

The characters in Mass Effect 2 only add to the capacity of the game and, with a combination of faces old and new, you will be gathering ten companions to journey along on your quest to save the galaxy. Granted, some of the crew you obtain throughout the game will be a bit more interesting than others but all will encompass a deeper back-story that will allow you to gain their trust for the mission ahead. Not only will acquiring their trust help you in the long run, but it will also grant you access to an extra ability that each character has available once you complete their given side mission. These side missions are far more interesting and along the lines of the main story when it comes to their presentation and, with that being said, it’s hard to look at them as just side missions. The only thing that makes them so is that fact that they’re optional.

It’s obvious to those who played the first Mass Effect that BioWare has taken into account the amount of criticism they received concerning their combat system. The AI squad mates aren’t anywhere near as inept as they were the first time around. No more charging head on into the line of fire where death surely awaits. Now, more often than not, your crew has enough sense to take cover when coming under fire. However, I did have the occasional problem of this nightmare reoccurring when a squad mate was equipped with a shotgun and couldn’t help but be out of range. A slight oversight that could have been fixed by allowing your squad mates to switch to a more appropriate weapon if needed. Or better yet, by not omitting the squad command to take to the nearest form of cover.

With that being considered, the squad controls have been greatly improved and you can now control the position of each member individually. This greatly improves your strategic performance throughout the game as it gives you a broader range on the battlefield to direct your attacks. One other downside I observed was that the button mapping for the squad didn’t feel as sensitive as I was used to. I found myself having to press the d-pad multiple times in order for them to rally back at my position or to shoot out a quick biotic attack. Be that as it may, this is just a nit-pick and may not be the case for everyone.

The cover system was also very carefully refined. No more running up and hoping that you snap to cover in time before the bullets start flying. This time there is actually a button press involved and it is much more akin to the Gears of War style cover mechanics. However, there are a few aspects that seem to have been overlooked in the process. Case in point; there is no way to crouch. Since combat in this game is a bit more tactical, it would have been nice to maintain just out of reach while trying to flank enemies. Especially considering the higher difficulty settings where these kinds of strategies play a huge role. There is also no blind-fire which seems like it would have been an obvious augmentation from the first game but, alas, it is nowhere to be found.

BioWare has released information regarding the upcoming DLC for Mass Effect 2, named ‘Kasumi’s Stolen Memory.’ The DLC will cost 560 Microsoft Points for the 360, and 560 BioWare points on PC, which is roughly the same cost. Kasumi is set to be one of the most intriguing characters in Mass Effect history, and has been named “the galaxy’s most enigmatic thief.”

Expected release date, 6th April.

EA has been making sure to make good on their promise to keep the good time rolling with DLC for Mass Effect 2. If you’re a member of the Cerebrus Network, chances are you’ve already downloaded some of the goodies that were made available over the past couple of months. And if you’re tired of playing with those toys, EA has some new hardware for you to obliterate foes with.

This week’s episode of the TalkGames podcast is RUSHED! Because I had to be somewhere shortly after the show usually ends which provides a far more concise show, but still brings all the information you want to know. Slade was lucky enough to get an early copy of Mass Effect 2, so he talks about a lot of the gameplay mechanics that are in the game without spoiling any story related aspects. We also talk about a few other older games, and discuss the possibility of an FF7 remake, and the announcement of Crysis 2. Here are the show notes:

This show goes back in time to remind you why Seasons 2 is better than Season 1. Tom Bowen joins us for this podcast (along with Slade and I) as I continue to search for a replacement for Tanooki. It doesn’t go so well. Feel free to read the show notes and listen to this episode, but if you’re busy this week this might be a good episode to skip. Here are the notes:

This week’s podcast continues to dwindle in cast members. Nah no one has left, but Brian leaves thirty minutes in unfortunately. However myself and Slade continue to talk about Assassin’s Creed 2, Mass Effect 2, Moral Choices in video games and where they should go in the future. As well as the future of 3D gaming (if there is one) and mention some of our favorite games. Here are the actual show notes: