Mass Effect 2 Preview

One of NowGamer's editors has kicked out a four-page preview of Mass Effect 2 after spending some firsthand time with the game during a trip to BioWare's Edmonton headquarters.
Picking up the controller, it's clear that Mass Effect 2 has learnt from the competition, and though it's a cliché to say it, the cover mechanic feels exactly like that of Gears Of War, and that's far from being a criticism. This is now a shooter far much more than the first game was.

Shepard dives into cover, his face a picture of concentration and anger. He flinches as shots pepper his position and the sense of urgency and pressure is palpable. The combat feels right; much more engaging and no longer dependent on the skill level and RPG underpinnings that were much too apparent in Mass Effect. Now, when Shepard shoots, you know his shots will hit their mark, whatever level you are. So what's happened to levelling up?

(One of the things we learnt from the first game is that you don't want to contaminate the really good shooter feel with the inability to aim and things like that because of your skills,) agrees Casey. (Even in real life, if you do manage to get a crosshair pointing in a certain direction, your bullet's going to go there. So where does all your character progression go? We've always had your special powers, we've always had other skills that you have, and so we've just kind of moved some of the things that really shouldn't be part of the skill, which is just being able to point your weapon. It's one of the reasons why all the character classes are unique and different because each one has very special powers, whether it's a physics-based Biotic thing or tech power. So now you put all your development into those things.)
And while I'm on the subject, the slightly revised PAL cover art is up at MondoXbox.