The Mass Effect trilogy is considered by many to be one of the greatest franchises in gaming history and even the absolute bomb that was Mass Effect: Andromeda has done nothing to curb the quality of this legendary series. Taking on the role of Commander Shepard as they direct a group of unique and interesting squadmates through a bunch of nail-biting missions never gets old, and props must be given to BioWare for crafting one of the greatest sci-fi role-playing masterpieces of its time.
When people need to choose the best game in the trilogy, pretty much everyone opts for the second game. The combat in this title was tightened considerably, the storytelling was above and beyond anything that BioWare had produced up to that point, and the sheer production value of this brilliant title was quite palpable indeed. So, as is the case with any brilliant title, there are a bunch of things surrounding Mass Effect 2 that most people have no idea about. Let's take a look at ten such mysterious aspects of this game.
10 The Writing Team Saw Some Massive Changes During The Game's Development
Mass Effect is considered by many fans to have the best plot out of all the three games, which is quite surprising given the rollercoaster ride that was the game's writing.
Many members of the writing team left and were replaced over the course of the second game, with the most notable mention being Drew Karpyshyn, who left midway through the game's development and was replaced by Mac Walters.
9 Garrus And Tali Were Largely Requested Romance Options
The fan response to Garrus and Tali's characters were overwhelmingly positive, to the point where people complained about the fact that they couldn't be romanced as well. This was addressed by BioWare in the second, where both Garrus and Tali became viable romance options.
8 All Of The Recruitment Options Were Originally Supposed To Be Accessible From The Get-Go
Most of Shepard's crewmates have lines for missions that happen before they can even be unlocked. This implies that all the recruitment missions were originally supposed to be accessible from the very start of the game. However, the fact that the game had to be split for the Xbox 360 led to these recruitment missions being spaced out.
7 All The Romance Options Could Originally Be Courted Regardless Of Gender
BioWare originally intended for all the characters in the game to be romanceable, regardless of Shepard's gender. However, for unknown reasons, this feature was scrapped from the final product, with the only remnant being a flustered Tali ignoring Female Shepard's advances.
6 The Batarians Originally Had Bigger Heads
The Batarians are a thuggish alien race that was introduced early on in Mass Effect 2. This race is generally treated as enemies for the majority of this title, with maybe a few exceptions based on the player's choices. Originally, this race was supposed to have bigger heads. However, these heads were shrunk down to make them more humanoid and easy to animate.
5 A Les Misérables Reference In The Lair Of The Shadow Broker DLC
The Lair Of The Shadow Broker is a DLC pack that fleshes out Liara's character in Mass Effect 2. It also features a rather cheeky reference that most people would not even notice in their first time through this expansion pack. During a car chase in this DLC, keen-eyed players will notice a wanted picture of Jack, identifying her has Prisoner 24601 — a reference to the protagonist of Les Misérables, Jean Valjean, who had an asteroid with the same number code named after him.
4 Mordin Was Supposed To Have Biotic Abilities In The Game
As per the dummied lines in the game, Mordin was supposed to be one of the "right" options when it came to setting up a biotic barrier during the Suicide Mission.
This implies that Mordin was supposed to be a biotic warrior, or — at the very least — a fusion of the tech and biotic classes. However, in the final game, players are well aware of the fact that this character is a pure tech build.
3 Mordin Is The Only Major Character To Switch Voice Actors Between The Second And Third Game
Mordin is also the only major character whose voice actor was switched between the last two games. Players can definitely be forgiven for not noticing this change since William Salyers does a brilliant job of picking up where Michael Beattie left off — a challenging feat, especially given the fact that Beattie came up with the brilliant idea of came up with the idea of sharply breathing between sentences, which has become a defining characteristic of this particular character.
2 Mordin And Grunt Were Supposed To Have A Confrontation In The Game
It seems that Mordin is at the center of quite a few unique aspects in Mass Effect 2, with the final hidden aspect of this character being that he was originally supposed to have a confrontation with Grunt sometime during the story as well. However, in the final product, both Mordin and Grunt don't really have any major issues with each other. Instead, these confrontations were limited to the potential romantic interests in the game — Miranda, Jack, and Tali.
1 The Final Boss Had A Turret Section As Well
Mass Effect 2 might be an excellent game from start to end, but even the most ardent fan of this title will find it hard to defend the final boss encounter against the Human Reaper, which is as ham-fisted of an encounter as can be. If there's one positive thing that people can say about this boss encounter, it's that BioWare decided not to integrate a by-the-numbers turret section in this boss, which would've served as the final nail in the coffin of a boss that was already terrible enough as is.