The enemies of Mass Effect 2

At a recent EA Winter Showcase in London, Canadian developer BioWare took the lid off of some new enemies you’ll face in the hotly anticipated RPG shooter Mass Effect 2, and revealed some interesting plot details.

What do we know so far? Well, we’ve met Thane, a master assassin. We’ve met Grunt, a deadly Krogan warrior. And we’ve met Subject Zero, a powerful biotic and borderline psychotic. All three can join Shepard as he attempts to work out why humans are disappearing across the galaxy.

So, what new enemies has BioWare revealed? We know the human abductions have something to do with the Reapers, but they also have something to do with a new force in the galaxy called The Collectors. They arrive at human colonies in an enormous ship, send swarms of little bugs down to the surface to paralyse colonists, then abduct their helpless bodies.

The Collectors are insect like, can fly, and use beam weapons. They’re controlled by a single leader, who has the ability to possess any member at any time, turning a normal enemy into the most dangerous enemy on the battlefield. The Collectors have access to advanced technology. The question arises: where are they getting it from? The only logical answer seems to be the Reapers.

The Geth play a reduced role this time around, but they are still a fearsome enemy. They have new weapons, cloaking technology, plasma throwers, heat seeking missiles and combat drones. They also seem to be experimenting with assembling human beings together to create other types of constructs. Abominations are suicide troops for the husks. The evolved version of the husks are the Scions, who are three husks morphed together and grafted onto a weapon. And the Patorian is 30 husks crushed together in a huge flying, spider-like suit of armour.

Some Geth, however, are part of a break-away faction with different beliefs. One is called Legion, described by BioWare as a natural evolution of the Geth. He is stalking Shepard, and has incorporated a part of his armour into his own. Why is he hunting you? That is one question Shepard must answer. We expect an epic face off. Could Legion join Shepard on his mission to save the galaxy?

Mass Effect 2 is due out on January 29 2010 for Xbox 360 and PC.