Mass Effect 2 is gearing up for a January 26th release and Bioware has been pumping out video after video, showing off just what has changed in the world… and what’s remained the same.

First up, check out what’s happened to Tali, your quarian companion who isn’t having a good time of things with her people. In the first game she was on her Pilgrimage, a rite of passage where their people are sent out into the world to prove her worth, and I’m guessing they weren’t pleased where she ended up.


 

Next up is a new character class you can choose, the Adept. It’s one of six classes available in Mass Effect 2, and these guys are all about Biotics and killing people with their crazy mind powers. Check out the awesome new way the powers works in this trailer.

Finally, check out this character profile of a newcomer, Samara. She’s an Asari Justicar who has tremendous biotic powers. “Strongly driven by religious duty, she has forsworn family and given up all worldly possessions aside from weapons and armor, to wander the galaxy delivering justice.”

Note how many characters are “Classified”! We’ve already seen Subject Zero, Thane and Grunt revealed, and there are five more slots on that screen. Some of your old teammates will doubt show up, but how many more new folks are there?

So yeah, you should be excited for this one. Personally, I’m probably going to go through another playthrough of the first game to get Shepard in fighting form for the sequel (yes, your character carries over to the new game) and brush up on the story.

Wonder if they could possibly top Dragon Age: Origins on our messageboards.