Mass Effect 3 - All I Know

Mass Effect 3 has been shaping up really well and sees the welcome return and conclusion to the Commander Shepherd trilogy. Originally announced way back in December 2010 the finale of the intergalactic action feast is due to release early in 2012 around the globe and sees the Reapers, an ancient alien race, launching an invasion against the galaxy leaving nothing but the destruction of all sentient beings in their wake.

The game is due to follow on from the Mass Effect 2 DLC called Arrival and will also include the first multiplayer addition of the series. A single and multiplayer demo is scheduled for some time this month but again no exact data for release has been given.

In Mass Effect 3 Earth has been taken, the galaxy is on the verge of total annihilation, and Commander Shepard with the help of the many races of the galaxy, must stop the Reapers. The price of failure is the extinction of the human race. The actually plot points haven’t been discussed too much beyond this though and Bioware have kept a lid on where the game will go from there.

Casey Hudson said back in May 2011 that, ‘The battle for Earth is lost. The only hope is to flee, gather support, and mount a counter-attack to reclaim the planet.’

Instead of forming a group like in Mass Effect 2 the player will need to recruit races to his/her cause. That means you’ll be talking to the Salarians, the Quarians, the Krogan and many others to get them involved in the race to save the Galaxy.

Of course you can again carry over your Mass Effect 2 save where plot choices from both of the previous instalments will affect the story in many interesting way. Bioware have however confirmed that starting fresh will not impact the player and will take them down the desired developer story instead.

The game should play a lot like the second instalment but has been tweaked to speed up the whole experience. You can now jump and roll over or around objects; which should make positioning much easier for the player.

Kinect will also feature in the game by allowing people to issue voice commands to their squad-mates. Unfortunately this will only be available in single-player mode though.

Of course there is also the addition of the Galaxy at War mode. This will require a strategic head as the player co-operates with up to three others in order to defeat waves of enemies or capture control points. This mode can be played in both single player offline and online multiplayer so knowing Bioware we can expect the experience to be very deep indeed. The "War Assets" you collect in Galaxy at War directly affect the outcome of the single-player campaign too which is a nice touch. The player can customise his/her own character to their specific playstyle and there has also been talk of perks and XP trees.

We can expect the majority of the major squad members to return as well as the important NPC’s like Captain Anderson and Conrad Verner, but, this will depend heavily on the outcome of the previous games (like who survived the suicide mission at the end of Mass Effect 2).

The game will follow the galaxy trotting style of Mass Effect 2 with visits to the homeworlds of the Asari and Salarians already confirmed. We can also expect to visit Earth for the first time as well as revisit Illium and Noveria.

All in all Mass Effect 3 is starting to shape up as being one of the biggest releases of 2012 and could be a genuine contender for Game of the Year.