Mass Effect 2 stardated January 26, 2010

Captain's Log: Stardate: October 16, 2009. Electronic Arts has announced that Mass Effect 2, the next installment in BioWare's epic space opera, will jump to North American and European retail on January 26 and 29, 2010, respectively. The North American GameStop pre-order bonus will include:

• Terminus Armor -- "Increasing run speed and personal shields, and augmenting weapons with an additional magazine of reserve ammo."

• The M-90 Blackstorm Heavy Weapon -- "Generates a high-powered localized gravity well, accelerating particles to near-infinite mass."

Those who preorder from other retailers will receive the Inferno Armor, which gives Shephard "an increase in run speed and augmented damage from combat powers." And thus begins the Q1 2010 release bonanza ...

Update: Check out concept art of the Terminus Armor and M-90 Blackstorm after the break.

Yes, we realize the gun says "M88" even though it's supposed to be the "M-90 Blackstorm." Confusing things even more, one of EA's asset sites notes it as the "M-490," so let's just say it's "a gun" for now.