Bioware Details Save Transfers, Bonuses, New Game + in Mass Effect 2

To allay increasing worry as Mass Effect 2’s release date approaches, Bioware Community Coordinator Chris Priestly detailed the nuts and bolts of how save games will carry over from the preceding game to the sequel.  He also revealed a few of the plot choices to be tracked through the two games, so expectant players worried about spoilers should avert their eyes.

As Priestly describes, players will be given the choice to import any number of characters from Mass Effect 1 in the main menu of Mass Effect 2.  360 players will need to be signed into the profile associated with the saves to import them, while PC players will have to point the game directly to the .MassEffectSave files to import.  Oddly enough, 360 players will have to yank saves off a hard drive; the game will not import from a memory unit.  Finally, a maximum of 11 end-of-game saves can be imported.

From a plot perspective, the post reveals that Mass Effect 2 will track whether or not players saved the council, who they sacrificed on Virmire, and how they treated their special rabid fanboys, while noting that this is far from a complete list .  In addition to plot details, gamers will receive certain monetary or technology bonuses based on the level of their character, with higher-level characters receiving larger bonuses.

Players can even take their well-worn characters through the game again with New Game + in Mass Effect 2.  The post cautions that players will need to stay on the same profile and keep saves on the hard drive.  Lots of good news for the RPG enthusiast, provided they aren’t currently in a Dragon Age-induced coma.

[Mass Effect forums via Bluesnews]