Mass Effect 2 - The Engineer @ IGN

Lead Combat Designer Christina Norman chats with IGN about the Engineer class in Mass Effect 2:

IGN: What was the most important improvement made to the Engineer class for Mass Effect 2?

Christina Norman: We wanted playing the engineer to have a unique feel to it. We designed the Engineer to play as a more strategic, less brute force, class. Perhaps the most strategic move an Engineer can make is using his powers to gain strength in numbers via Combat Drone and AI Hack.

Combat Drone is a new power that only Engineers get. When you summon a combat drone it will harass enemies, drawing fire away from you, and knocking enemies out of cover. Your combat drone can die, but you can summon a new one every few seconds. Smart engineers will make sure they always have a combat drone active on their side.

AI Hack is a power that lets you take control of a mechanical enemy. We've improved hack from ME1. It's now a true "charm" ability -- hacked enemies will not turn on you even if you shoot them. Hack also puts a powerful defensive shield on the hacked target, which helps ensure your new pet will survive long enough to be useful. When your pet dies you can always hack a new one, as long as there are synthetic opponents available.

With Combat Drone and AI Hack, plus his two squad mates, Engineers command a larger team than any other class.