From an earlier press release:

Nice! So we finally get to see his face (he was just a disembodied voice in ME1). I hope this doesn't mean they're gonna kill him off and he also appears in ME3.

http://pc.ign.com/articles/115/1157496p1.html

Here's a good explanation and rundown of what the Arrival is about.

Live Chat with writer Mac Walters

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I just picked up ME2 for $10. I never played ME1 though. Should I play ME1 first or just jump into ME2?

You don't necessarily "need" to in regards to story cohesiveness, but importing a save from the first game makes for a much more unique, involving experience when it comes to the relations you have with the characters -- and the decisions you've made. It's not in a name-drop kind of way, either; the directions you choose in the first game splice directly into the second, and it's pretty damn neat to see how BioWare interrelates it all.

Long story short: yes, I'd recommend playing Mass Effect first. It's a great game as well (I always argue with myself over which I prefer), so it's not like you're wasting your time.

Of the two games I strongly prefer ME1 and was disappointed in some of the changes they made for ME2, but even so I still think that ME2 is a phenomenal game. Regardless of what your preference ends up being, I'd strongly recommend playing ME1 first for the reasons stated in the previous post.

There's also the possibility that if you play ME2 and like it enough to then pick up ME1, you might be disappointed by some aspects of it since you've already played the more sleek of the two games.

Playing ME1 and knowing the characters and story, as well as importing your save to ME2 makes it far more involving and personal. I highly recommend it.

Thanks guys. That's what I figured. I just didn't want to pass on this deal.

I agree with all this except I really preferred the mechanics of 2 to the first one. The story in the first one was better imo. The characters in the second were better.

Downloading Arrival now!

(but probably won't get a chance to play until the weekend - I want to play it all the way through in one sitting)

Yep I'm downloading Arrival right now too, just learned that I could do this from my computer so it will be there downloaded when I get home! Anyone get a chance to try it out yet?

Played through Arrival tonight.

It's not near as good as Lair of the Shadow Broker was, but I guess it does set up something for part 3. There's not much as far as conversation as it's pretty much run and gun the entire mission. Clear a room, run down a tunnel, clear the next room, run down the tunnel. And this is a Shepard solo mission, you're by yourself almost the entire time.

There is a stealth part is LOL-worthy as some of the guards must not be able to see more than 10 feet in front of them.

Sounds like I'll be waiting for a sale or closer to ME3's launch. Thanks for the info!

Damn that's kind of a bummer, I just read the review at XBOX 360 Achievements that was pretty lukewarm as well. Oh well I bought it and downloaded but the expectations have been tempered a bit. It's too bad Lair of the Shadow Broker was so good that I was pretty hyped for Arrival.

Review

Joystiq trashed it in their review.

Well that's a darn shame. I already downloaded it last night so I'll be sure to lower my expectations.

I see that ME2 came on 2 discs. Can I install both to the HD and then play off just one? Or will I still need the second disc later on?

You'll need both.

On PC or console? On PC you install both discs of ME2 and then just play off disc 1. ME1 also has two discs but you don't have to install disc 2 unless you want to play in a language other than English.

On Xbox, you have to do disc swapping between the two even in the middle of a mission.

Wow. That blows.

If I remember right, you swap to disc two at some point when you completed a main story mission. You continue to to side quests, explore, help your crew, etc. Then, when you're ready to complete the game (point of no return) you go back to disc one.

It's hardly a big deal to change the discs twice in a 40+ hour game.

I wonder if the new 360 disc format giving another gig-or-so to devs would have alleviated the need for that?

Yeah, the disc swapping for ME2 is pretty much inconsequential. I never did see why people make it sound like a big deal.