BioWare details Mass Effect 2 voice cast

BioWare has revealed that a colourful and storied collection of veteran sci-fi actors have joined the voice cast for Mass Effect 2.

In Mass Effect 2, Commander Shepard gets caught up with the shady Cerberus organisation as he tries to work out why human colonies are disappearing. We already knew that Cerberus would be headed up by the Illusive Man, played by President Bartlett from the West Wing (occasionally also known as Martin Sheen), and now we know one of his top operatives, named Miranda Lawson, is played by Yvonne Strahovski from TV series Chuck.

Strahovski's character has been "genetically engineered for superior mental and physical traits", apparently. Strahovski's not the only Chuck alum, either. Adam Baldwin also makes the transition, taking on the role of Kal 'Reegar and proving that you really, really can't stop the signal.

Elsewhere Michael Dorn - yes, Worf! - joins up as Gatatog Uvenk; Tricia Helfer will be hoping to improve on her limp outing in Halo 3: ODST by playing the voice of the new Normandy, EDI; Saul Tigh aka Michael Hogan from Battlestar Galactica is Captain Bailey; Shohreh Aghdashloo (House of Saddam) is Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay; and Carrie-Anne Moss from The Matrix is Aria T'Loak, the crime lord who rules the planet Omega. Good to see her getting work.

Plus of course Seth Green will reprise his role as Joker, and Keith David is back as Admiral Anderson. Oddly there's no mention of the two people you can expect to hear most often, but IMDB confirms that, obviously, Mark Meer and Jennifer Hale return to voice the male and female versions of Commander Shepard respectively. (Mind you, IMDB also reckons Aria T'Loak is played by Jessica Anne Bogart, so what do they know?)

BioWare's Dr. Ray Muzyka said the cast would contribute to the game's "emotionally engaging narrative". "Credible, powerful personalities are vital to delivering a compelling story experience in BioWare's games, and we have assembled an amazing ensemble cast that surpasses the very high bar set in the original Mass Effect!" he added.

Mass Effect 2 is due out for PC and Xbox 360 on 29th January. Check out the gamepage for tons of hands-on impressions, videos and screenshots.