XBox 360 News
Mass Effect gains more mass with downloadable content (images included)
By Stevie Smith
Feb 7, 2008, 6:06 GMT

Timing is everything. With the FOX News gun still smoking after it shot EA and BioWare in the back by wrongly accusing Mass Effect of pedalling nudity and graphic sex, it seems somehow fitting that the game’s creators should now announce Mass Effect’s first edition of downloadable content.

Titled as “Bringing Down the Sky,” fans of Mass Effect who’re currently trawling the immersive sci-fi RPG for the umpteenth time (yes, Marc, we’re looking at you here) can now rejoice at the prospect of playing through a brand new mission.

According to BioWare, the longevity-giving game pack introduces a previously uncharted world and also a new alien race called the Batarian -- which are mentioned in the Mass Effect prequel novel.

When a group of Batarian extremists in the Asgard system attack and hijack an asteroid station, directing it on a collision course to strike the nearby world of Terra Nova, Shepard is tasked with preventing a planetary catastrophe that could lead to the loss of millions of innocent colonists.

Mass Effect fans presently looking for replacement underwear should perhaps search out the rubber variety, as BioWare has outlined that Bring Down the Sky should provide around 90 minutes of gameplay and also a fresh Achievement -- worth 50 points.

Bring Down the Sky will be unleashed to the Xbox Live Marketplace on March 10 and will cost a mere 400 Microsoft Points, which, if it really does deliver an hour and a half of ‘proper’ Mass Effect gameplay (not just a throwaway exploration planet), is an absolute bargain.

Released in November of 2007, Mass Effect has already sold some 1.6 million units worldwide. Bring Down the Sky arrives as the first piece of downloadable content promised by BioWare.