( CNN ) -- When you finish one video game in a series and begin the next , you 're basically forced to start from scratch without carrying over any of your accomplishments from the previous game . But the popular `` Mass Effect '' sci-fi action trilogy aims to change that -- by allowing players to complete one game and transfer their character to the next one in the series . It is an ambitious project that involves nearly 35,000 lines of dialogue . `` We wanted to create the biggest story we could tell , '' said Casey Hudson , BioWare 's project director for `` Mass Effect 2 '' and executive producer of the `` Mass Effect '' franchise . The just-released `` Mass Effect 2 '' picks up the story as the lead character , named Shepard , has been brought back to life after a devastating attack by an invading race of machines bent on eliminating organic life . The action takes place shortly after the events of the first `` Mass Effect , '' which was set in the year 2183 in the Milky Way galaxy . In a rare twist , players who played the first `` Mass Effect '' game are being given the opportunity to import their characters into the new game along with all their rewards , romances and consequences . Hudson said his team tried to create a fictional universe that players could explore over long periods of time to `` have an epic experience . '' By carrying over the data from the original `` Mass Effect , '' Hudson 's team tried to show the consequences of characters ' choices . But by accounting for so many variables in the first games , Bioware was faced with a daunting task going forward . `` We used tech skills we developed going back to 'Baldur 's Gate ' [ in 1998 ] , '' Hudson explained . `` Writing for 'ME2 ' was the hardest thing we 've ever done . '' `` Mass Effect 2 '' has 15 to 20 percent more dialogue and 30 percent more key decisions -- choices that affect the game 's outcome -- than the first game , said Hudson , who believes the voice acting in the new game is more movie-like than the first one . `` It took several months of voice work , and often we would bring back an actor to get the right inflections for the character and the scene , '' he said . `` There are hundreds of characters in the game that needed voices . '' Although `` Mass Effect 2 '' is being billed as a dark second chapter in the trilogy , there are laugh-out-loud moments of dialogue . Playing the game reveals that even its tense moments are given a softer edge with unexpected comic exchanges between characters . For example , in one scene , Shepard tries to persuade a character not to follow orders that could lead to a `` suicide mission . '' Without missing a beat , Shepard 's squad mates look at each other as one says , `` We can ignore suicidal orders ? Why was n't I told about that ? '' `` Mass Effect 2 '' also offers players the opportunity to interrupt a conversation and create a whole new path . During a scene when another character is talking , icons will appear to let you change the conversation with a Paragon move ( good ) or Renegade move ( bad ) . Side plots tie into the main story more than in the first game , so even these chat-interrupting choices could have an impact later on . `` Things can happen in conversation , '' Hudson said when asked about the interrupt feature . `` It makes the conversation feel alive . '' Work has already begun to complete the final chapter of the `` Mass Effect '' trilogy . And gamers should n't assume that Shepard makes it to the end of `` Mass Effect 3 . '' Hudson said Shepard can die a final death if the player makes wrong choices or inspires bad loyalty from his crew . `` We made it so you 'll still get a satisfying ending , but yes , Shepard can actually die , '' he said .
Players who played the first `` Mass Effect '' game can import their data into the new game . `` Writing for 'ME2 ' was the hardest thing we 've ever done , '' project director says . `` Mass Effect 2 '' has 15 % to 20 % more dialogue and 30 % more decision-making options .