Mass Effect 2 (and Only Mass Effect 2) is Coming to Playstation 3

Halo’s alright, but Mass Effect is the real gem in Microsoft’s exclusive Xbox 360 lineup, at least until January 2011. Bioware announced that Mass Effect 2 will be released for Playstation 3 next year. According to PC World, the game will include “hours of bonus content,” but there aren’t any other details. A trailer at Bioware’s website simply says that “after 70+ perfect reviews, it’s finally coming to PS3″ and shows no particularly noteworthy footage.

Just one thing: What about the original Mass Effect? Sure, it wasn’t as refined as the sequel, but there was a lot to love about it, including the breathtaking Citadel space station — it’s reduced to a pitiful series of hallways in the second game — and planetary exploration in the Mako vehicle, which despite its repetition made the first game feel impossibly massive. More importantly, Mass Effect’s allure lies partly in its grand space opera, and you really don’t get the whole story of races like the Elcor and Hanar in Mass Effect 2.

A downloadable PS3 version of Mass Effect before January 2011 would be ideal, but maybe it’s too much work for Bioware to port two games. I can’t argue with the developer’s decision to bring over the sequel. [via PC World]