Mass Effect expansion coming this March

An upcoming Xbox Live download will add a new mission on a new world, and over an hour of gameplay

February 7, 2008

Microsoft announced today that it will release new content for Mass Effect this March, via its Xbox Live service. The new downloadable expansion will add one or two hours of gameplay to last year's hit sci-fi RPG.

The new content adds a new world to explore, with a new mission line. The mission seems to be similar to that of the single-planet missions in the original Mass Effect storyline — a planetary walkthrough like the missions on Feros or Noveria. In this event, an asteroid colony has been hijacked by a group of Batarians.

The Batarian extremist group plans to crash the asteroid into a planetary colony, presenting you with one of Mass Effect's famed choices: It's up to you to save the colony, or help them destroy it. This will be the first time the Batarians will be seen in Mass Effect. This group of reportedly creepy-looking aliens have been briefly mentioned in some of the massive Mass Effect lore, but never depicted in the game.

The expansion will also feature at least one new Xbox 360 Achievement to the game, with 50 Gamerscore being promised to those who download and complete the new mission.

The new downloadable content will be available on March 10 via Xbox Live. The download will cost 400 Microsoft points — about half the cost of an Xbox Live Arcade game.