Mass Effect 3 Game Informer Article

Mass Effect is on its way to becoming one of the greatest sci-fi properties of all time. It's story is remarkable, its universe as rich as any out there, its characters compelling, and by Mass Effect 2 the shooting was very good. Mass Effect 2 is currently the most critically acclaimed game that EA has EVER published in its 28-year history. Let that sink in for a second. I would say Mass Effect 2 and Baldur's Gate 2 are my two favorite BioWare games.

So, with the trilogy near its conclusion, what can we expect? Well about two weeks ago, GameInformer had a 12-page article dedicated to Mass Effect 3 with most of the information provided by the game's director, Casey Hudson. A lot of info was given and most of it made me VERY happy to see. So let's go over the info given on my most anticipated game of the year.

STORY INFO (WARNING SPOILERS BELOW FOR THE FIRST TWO GAMES AS WELL AS THIS ONE)

For those who feared that the entire game would be taking place on Earth (fears that I don't understand given the way the last two games were set-up), you need not worry. Only the prologue will take place on Earth. The beginning will see Shepard on trial for his/her actions in the last piece of DLC. In the middle of the trial, the Reapers finally begin their invasion ready to repeat the cycle of galactic genocide over again. Shepard is forced to flee from the Alliance and the invasion fleet and goes out to raise an army against the Reapers.

Meanwhile Cerberus (for reasons not yet specified) has turned on Shepard and are attempting to hunt him/her down. Casey Hudson stated that the Illusive Man will play a very important role in this game which hopefully means Martin Sheen will be returning.

What's your game Illusive Man? And does this mean Martin Sheen is returning?

Hudson stated that the story will be more mysterious than the last go-around. The game is intended to give Shepard (and by extension) the player a feeling of hopelessness as s/he is at a complete loss as to how to defeat the Reapers. Remember that at the end of the first game it took two whole fleets to destroy ONE Reaper. There will be many red herrings but also there will always be a glimmer of hope which is the Mass Effect series has constantly been built on.

Other characters set to return are the Virmire survivor (Ashley/Kaiden), Liara T'Soni as squad members, Udina and Anderson will both return, if Garrus survived Mass Effect 2 he will be a squad member, and if they're alive Urdnot Wrex, Legion, and Mordin will also return. Whether they're squadmates is not known. For confirmed squadmates, it is not known if they will all be permanent as some people will only join Shepard temporarily or for one mission similar to Liara in The Lair of the Shadow Broker. Joker and EDI are also returning as confirmed by their voice actors Seth Green and Tricia Helfer on Twitter.

There's also one confirmed new character, an Alliance marine named James Sanders. For those of you who have read the books you might recognize the name Sanders from the character Kahlee Sanders. Whether there's a relation between the two and maybe a possible appearance by Kahlee is not yet known. Sanders is experienced in the military but unlike Shepard does not understand galactic politics. Shepard will basically instruct him on the political obstructions that s/he has had to go through. This will help get new players adjusted to the Mass Effect universe and story.

SAVE-FILE TRANSFER SYSTEM (POSSIBLE SPOILERS HERE TOO)

This is what I've been looking forward to. BioWare kept the impact of their transfer system limited in Mass Effect 2 to create a distinct continuity for Mass Effect 3 to work on. Now that the series is nearing its conclusion, it's no longer necessary and Casey Hudson stated that they are going all out.

If you think about the IP that we've built, really every one of the arcs that we've got going are leading towards this long list of incredible moments and that's what Mass Effect 3 is made out of.

All the major choices that you made in the first and second game will become important here. Most of the galactic races are reluctant to fight the Reapers as they do not fully understand the Reapers' desire for genocide and they do not want to provoke them. Some races will be impossible to recruit due to decisions that were made in the last two games.

Based on the races you recruit and the people still alive from the past two, BioWare has promised vastly different endings. All the other races are trying to get their own problems fixed in this crisis and that's what Shepard needs to resolve. S/he needs to get them to understand the magnitude of the Reaper threat and therefore gain their help. Whether you can convince them will depend on your choices.


GAMEPLAY

Some complained that Mass Effect 2 was "dumbed-down". While I don't fully agree and felt that the game was superior to its predecessor, I would love for the deeper elements to be brought back if they're done right. BioWare has heard the call and responded.

Talents and abilities will now have multiple branching points and therefore be much less linear than the last time around. Battlefields will be much larger and also ladders will be brought into play. Weapon customization is coming back. The customizations will not only change the attributes of the weapons but the look of them as well.

Shepard now has the ability to roll which was something missing from Mass Effect 2's improvements and combat system. Shepard will now also be able to jump over objects without having to cover behind them first which was a minor annoyance in the last game. There will be more planet exploration but vehicles will not play a major part in the main story. As for mining and planet scanning, it's back but BioWare has promised to change it up. This was the most common complaint against the last game and while I don't know the changes, I'm curious to see what they'll do.

Melee will also play a bigger role in Mass Effect 3 and each class will also have their own distinct melee style and heavy attack. While there were rumors that a new class, specializing in melee combat, was being created, the series' lead gameplay designer, Christina Norman, shot this down in a tweet yesterday.

A few people asking me about a new "heavy melee class". No new classes. All classes have improved melee and a class-specific heavy melee.

As for enemies, while expect to fight mercs every now and then, I'm predicting that the main enemies will be the Reaper shock troopers, husks. For those of you unaware, husks were originally organics who had the fluids drained from their bodies and replaced with robotics and tech. We've generally only seen human husks in the past but now we'll be seeing husks from every species in the series.

Apparently, this is the Salarian homeworld. I expect beautiful environments like the last two games.

Christina Norman noted that most people wanted the game to be more difficult and she and Casey Hudson have both said that the enemy AI is going to be worked on to make greater coordination. That's fine with me and I already generally play on Insanity (the hardest difficulty), as long as there's nothing like the ambush on the Collector ship.

Also there's no multiplayer. Really this is good news, as I want BioWare to focus on the story and while sometimes companies can pull off both equally well (Uncharted 2, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood), it's rare. BioWare has hinted at maybe making multiplayer focused games in future spinoffs, which I have no problem with. I'm more of a single-player guy and I want to see BioWare give my Commander Shepard the send-off she deserves.

Finally, no information has been given about side missions but I think BioWare's going to need to be smart about how they pull off side missions. It's going to really strain credibility to have Shepard explore a random planet when the invasion that s/he's been trying to stop for two games is finally here.

Here's what I propose, make the side-missions all related to the invasion in a way. Whether it be husks attempting to soften ground forces for a larger invasion by the Reaper fleet or a few Reapers attacking a planet etc. Then side missions and exploration will be justified within the main story. And maybe have them affect the outcome of recruiting different races.


Well, that was a lot of information. And keep in mind, this is the only info we've gotten about the game since the debut trailer in December. I am so psyched and I'm now fascinated as to how this story will end.

So in closing, I say this to both BioWare and EA: