Mass Effect: Bring Down the Sky Interview

IGN had the chance to conduct an interview with Mass Effect project director Casey Hudson about the game's soon-to-be-released "Bring Down the Sky" downloadable content.
Q: What's the story with the Batarians? Why didn't they make it onto the disc? What kind of personality do they have?

A: In the Mass Effect universe there is a wide range of species types, from ones that are very common and familiar to ones that you might hear about but may never see. The Batarians were written into the rich backstory of Mass Effect, but we weren't sure if we'd ever bring the player face-to-face with one of them. As we fleshed out opportunities for adventures in downloadable content, we found a way to introduce the Batarians through a very compelling storyline.

Batarian society is based on a very isolationist government, which strictly controls the movements of its citizens and information flow to and from their home planet. Although not true of all Batarians, the few that have been encountered abroad have proven to be brutal and aggressive representatives of their species.