Mass Effect '1.5' coming to iPhone

I've played probably 30 minutes total of the first Mass Effect from Bioware. It's not that I'm not enjoying it, but I feel that--much like KOTOR before it--it's the type of game that is more enjoyable, the more complete the attention you can give it. So, I'm waiting for a week or so when I don't have tons going on in my life to actually sit down and play.

Bioware, however, is not waiting to move its story along as this week it officially announced Mass Effect Galaxy for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The game bridges the gap between Mass Effect and its upcoming sequel. Taking place between the two games, Galaxy introduces two new characters that players will eventually encounter in the sequel.

Since the original game is one of the more cinematic and story driven out there, to fit the game on the iPhone, the Bioware developers say they had to pick and choose how strongly they would pursue cinematics, voice over, and special effects. Eventually they settled on an animated 2D graphic-novel-style presentation.

According to Bioware, the resulting game has a very defined beginning, a middle with three branches, and an end sequence that takes the player against the game's antagonist. I guess that means no multiple endings?

I'm excited not only about this app, but also what it may mean for the future. If this works well, I'd love to see developers pursue these type of "mini-games." If nothing else, it should at least motivate me to hurry up and finish the first game.