Gamers won't have to wait for much longer to finally head back to space, BioWare style. The developer has just announced that their sci-fi RPG sequel Mass Effect 2 will ship to stores on January 26 in the US. Europeans will have to wait a few extra days; the game shows up in that part of the world on January 29.

In addition to revealing the release date, BioWare and publisher Electronic Arts announced some special in-game items that will be available via pre-orders. GameStop will offer two items, the Terminus Armor (increases run speeds and personal shields) and the M-90 Blackstorm Heavy Weapon (fires off a local gravity well). You can see both items in the screenshot to the right. Other retailers will offer the Inferno Armor for pre-order offers.

[Via email press release]