Ok, as you may have read here a time or two, I loved Mass Effect.  It is probably my favorite game for any console, past or current.  So you had to know that when Bioware released a few screenshots this weekend at PAX for Mass Effect 2, that I would have to share them with you.  And here they are.

The universe's best assassin, Thane

This is Thane.  Thane was previously revealed in the E3 trailer and is one of the characters that you muct track down to join your team for a suicide mission.  He is considered the best assassin in the universe.

This is Grunt. Don't make him mad

Unveiled at GamesCom as part of the new Omega trailer, Grunt is a Krogan you can recruit to your party.  He is a highly volatile character, considered to be irrationally violent.  And it's still to be determined if he's more help to your cause, or hindrance.

Heavy Weapons. For when you need that bigger boom

And here in this screenshot we get a look at Shepard using one of the new heavy weapons.  While all of the weapons in Mass Effect worked well and were extremely useful, there's no doubt that everyone loves to blow stuff up.  So heavy weapons should be a welcome addition to the combat in Mass Effect 2.

Mass Effect 2 is slated for Q1 2010.