Mass Effect 3

The PC Gamer magazine featured an article on ME3 featuring several new details about Mass Effect 3, there will be some minor spoilers and one potentially large spoiler. I’ve separated them into proper categories.

The non-spoilers:

No new love interests will be featured.

Players will be given more three-dimensional combat options. The multi-layered combat areas will offer a multitidue of differing paths to victory, depending on your skill set.

Biotics will be more effective in immediate combat. Not clear on whether this means biotics will be able to effect shielded or armored enemies, but for an enemy using the Mass Effect equivalent of a riot shield, a biotic can use their Pull power to rip that shield out of the enemy’s hands.

More powers will be able to be combined. For instance, a Soldier using Concussive Shot with Cryo Ammo active, it will act as a Cryo bomb, freezing all enemies in the impact area. And combining it with Inferno Ammo results in what was referred to as “The Holy Hand Grenade Of Antioch”, though I’m not sure how seriously that was meant really to be taken.

For people wanting to avoid spoilers entirely, I’d advise unfocusing your eyes a bit and scrolling down past the red marks in order to read a last couple of notes. However, my editorial will be discussing the light spoilers.


Now, the light, non story-specific spoilers:



We will be visiting all the homeworlds of the Council races.

Expect to encounter asari, krogan and rachni husks in your mission to stop the Reapers. And don’t expect to be seeing simple cosmetic variants of the husks seen from the first two games. Each of these new forms is a unique enemy, each engendering its own unique set of tactics.

Rachni husks have fragile sacs all over them, but rather than these being a weak spot you aim for, these are another one of its weapons. For breaching these sacs releases a swarm of tiny rachni crawlers that can get all over you. Watch your aim.

Also rearing its head is the hideously bloated form of the asari husk, whose rotting flesh reveals a twisted synthetic skeleton keeping it upright. Expect percussive effects upon killing this enemy.

The krogan husks are the epitomization of the walking tanks. Like the Hunter enemies in the Halo games, these brutes have massive armor plates that absord punishment and guard their luminous sentive points. Enough concentrated firepower can shatter the armor, changing the enemy’s tactis to a more defensive posture, but it never stops charging.


Oh yeah, and Tali will be a squad mate. And any love interest chosen in ME2 will also be squad mates. But those who have love interests in both ME1 and 2 be warned; that will, in PC Gamer’s words “come to a head at the worst possible time”



Now, for the potentially large spoiler. It isn’t a plot twist and it doesn’t reference any specific event in the game, but it’s definitely a visitor from Spoilerifica. For those who may read it, I’ll have to ask you from refraining speaking about it specifically in the comments section.

Une fois que tu as tué le moissonneur ET que tu possèdes miranda dans ton équipe, cette dernière démissionne si tu décide de tout faire péter. L'homme trouble lui dit de suivre ses ordres et de conserver le centre, Miranda refuse, L'homme trouble crie , Miranda démissionne. \o/

Spoiler warning


Interviewer: ME3 reapers are coming?
Casey Hudson: Actually Reapers are here. beginning ME3 they take the earth, shep narrowly escapes and the game is about full-scale galactic war and, eventually, taking back the earth.


I: ME2 end, Cerberus enemies in ME3, punishing renegades?
CH: not punishing but you will see different results of that, as TIM obviously benefits from that resource, but it doesn't punish renegades, it just means some end-scenarios may be different or harder to get.

End Spoilers




Interviewer: new characters?
Casey Hudson: not saying much because people got so upset when all new characters were announced for ME2, but some will be back and there may well be some new ones. (Casey was evasive for spoilers obviously).

I: RPG elements?
CH: BW have a loose definition of RPG so they can focus on evolution and what actually matters for the games as long as they observe the 4 pillars of: strong story, combat, exploration and great production. Feedback is important so things like the deepening of rpg elements are a response to that.

I: ME2 was perfect, how can you top it?
CH: well obviously not, so they look at feedback to see what they can improve - deeper space exploration systems, deeper rpg systems, a more customised experience overall.



I: sex?
CH: not right now, but in the game: definitely.


Again, if you have access to Xbox Live, go watch it. If not, well darn. However, the glorious gift to mankind that is YouTube will probably have an uploaded version eventually.


Onward!

Does anyone remember the Blood Dragon, Inferno, Collector and Cerberus Assault armors? I do! Now think; what do all those armors have in common?

Cool? Absolutely. But they had one feature that came as an Achilles Heel to most players; the helmet was irremovable. Meaning you could not see your Shepard's handsome mug/elegant features even when you were in a breathable environment.

This just might be changed for ME3. A recent tweet from Mass Effect's project lead, Casey Hudson suggests that all helmets will be removable in Mass Effect 3.

*cue angelic chorus*

And as I have mentioned in previous blog entries, there will be no new Love Interests with whom Shepard can develop a relationship with*. This poses two problems.

(* Still not absolutely confirmed by a Bioware Dev as far as I know, but I think it’s one of the most likely pieces of unconfirmed information.)

The first being it means that Liara’s availability for female Shepards is probably the extent of any sort of same-sex romance options in the Mass Effect trilogy. While not a “problem” for the game, per se, some players will doubtlessly be disappointed.

The second is it would likely mean that players who pick up ME3 without playing the previous games will entirely miss out on Bioware’s now signature romance feature. And we all know that it’s bad business to punish paying customers.

There are several more pieces of Casey Hudson information handed down from on high --via his Twitter account-- among them are;

“For new players, some great intros to the love interests. For imported characters, a final resolution on all previous ones.”

So, taking this in mind, it would be understandable to assume that the opportunity to pick a love interest from the previous two games will be there in whatever equivalent to Genesis they're having in ME3. Thus solving the romance issue.

“Yes, Tali will be back in ME3 and you'll see a continuation of her story arc.”

(Note: he didn’t confirm she’d be a permanant squad mate, so keep that particular detail’s respective grain of salt)

“Ah, E3. So much great stuff we'll be revealing, but so much work... Team's putting in a heroic effort to get things ready to show you all!”

“[there will be a] Much wider variety and more sophisticated decision-making in choosing and customizing gear. A deeper economy overall.”

Not sure what he means by “economy”.

Among other details surfaced was a new enemy; the Cerberus Atlus mech, which can be boarded like a vehicle in a Halo game and have its pilot promptly evicted. It says you also have the opportunity to pilot this fifty-foot battle machine at some point, but this was unconfirmed.

Also, remember James Sanders? His character was in development when he was initially named in the GI article. His name now is “James Vega”. The name “Vega” most likely being a reference to the star of the same name.

One last thing: who wants to go to Canada? Because Vancouver is officially on Shepard’s go-to list when that salacious Spectre finally goes groundside on the good ol’ blue planet.


Now, for those of your gnawing on your knuckles because you cannot wait for ME3, or E3 --at which ME3 will be showcased-- I have a treat for you.

Some seriously talented people got together and made their own Mass Effect game. I kid you not. For those of you who pay close attention to the art flow around this site and have good memories, the name of the project should ring a bell.

Mass Effect Chronicles is not finished, but an Alpha version of the demo is now available for free download here [link]

Trust me, it’s a lot of fun!

And be sure to tell the team what you think on the Mass Effect Chronicles website! [link]


If I missed any news of real import, let me know and I’ll try to fit it in!