Mass Effect 3

[Remy]

It'd be a pain in the ass going through ME2 and not cheating on lover from ME1. LKol, there is going to bea lot of scorned Liara's and Ashley's in ME3

Liara is blue and that's kind of a major turn off.

You spelled "on" wrong there

[Flint]

It'd be a pain in the ass going through ME2 and not cheating on lover from ME1.

It's a pain in the ass to go through ME2 without stepping on lovemines even if you had stayed single in the first game. My main Shep's been waiting for some male-male lovings for the first two games and good lord it gets hard not to accidentally get people to bed. It's like a minigame in its own right!

[Saint Nathan]

It's a pain in the ass to go through ME2 without stepping on lovemines even if you had stayed single in the first game. My main Shep's been waiting for some male-male lovings for the first two games and good lord it gets hard not to accidentally get people to bed. It's like a minigame in its own right!

In Mass Effect 1, Liara fell in love with me literally the first time I talked to her on the ship, within two sentences. I almost immediately left the conversation, which left her feeling dejected. And then Ashley was mad at me.

I'm not sure how you're supposed to go after relationships as a Paragon, because I guess being not a dick sends out some sort of universal slut hormone or something.

Compare to my run as a Renegade Femshep, where trying to seduce Garrus took far longer than it should have logically taken.

You spelled "on" wrong there

blue chicks are nasty as hell

purple on the other hand rrrawr~

[Nix]

blue chicks are nasty as hell

purple on the other hand rrrawr~

You have fun with that.

My blue lover is too busy doing Shadow Broker business that involves being the Shadow Broker and doing whatever the Shadow Broker does.

Anyways, I want this game so much. Mass Effect 2 is kind of boring after playing through it 3 times, and not finishing it twice. Maybe I should play it on the highest difficulty next...

[turbojet]

You have fun with that.

My blue lover is too busy doing Shadow Broker business that involves being the Shadow Broker and doing whatever the Shadow Broker does.

Anyways, I want this game so much. Mass Effect 2 is kind of boring after playing through it 3 times, and not finishing it twice. Maybe I should play it on the highest difficulty next...

Why in the blue asari hell would anyone cheat on the most powerful information broker in the galaxy? Jesus, there will be Shepard dick/clit pics on every hologram on every screen in the galaxy. Everyone will know Shepard's dirty little secrets and everybody will know who you are at night. It isn't just a neighborhood or even a city. Hell, not even a nation and you will be damned lucky if only a single planet acknowledges this. An entire galaxy will know everything about you.

[Yong]

While we're all waiting for ME3, anyone still playing or has yet to play ME2 should know that ME Genesis has been released on Xbox 360. Genesis is the interactive comic that summerizes ME1, and let's you make key choices from that game, that was released as primer on the PS3 version. While the artwork is nice, in my opinion if you're priviledged to have a 360, then you should be playing ME1. It's even on Games on Demand for 1600 MSP. From comments I've seen though many don't want to be bothered to put in anymore playthroughs of ME1 for one reason or another. The one downside is that while it was "free" on the PS3, EA wants 320 MSP from 360 players for this. So I suppose if you value your time and points, then it's an alternative at least. Better than having the game make the decisions for you going into a new game with no ME1 save.

[turbojet]

Preview

Mass Effect 3 plays like a shooter.

Sure, Mass Effect games have always looked like shooters, but they've never really played like them. Yeah, you pointed and shot at things, but the less tangible particulars of combat have always eluded BioWare's sci-fi epic. Gunplay in Mass Effect was a clunky exercise in behind-the-scenes dice rolls, RPG-style. Mass Effect 2's battles weren't the chore they often were in the original, but they weren't what anyone paid the price of admission for. The cover mechanic was limited in comparison to dedicated third person action games, and guns lacked any sort of oomph.

My playtime with Mass Effect 3 was set on the Salarian homeworld of Sur'Kesh. Ostensibly, my job was to escort a Krogan princess offworld. But in practice, my main job was kicking Cerberus ass across a science station, and Shepard was more equipped than ever to get the job done.

A host of seemingly small additions have changed the way Mass Effect 3 plays. Basic character movement is more responsive for starters, more animated. Guiding Shepard around is less of a struggle than it's ever been. Aiming also felt snappier, and guns have the punch now that they've always lacked.

Find out how Shepard will save the Galaxy in Mass Effect 3.

These changes alter the way you can move around combat zones in Mass Effect 3. Previously, firefights in Mass Effect were mostly static affairs. You'd find a good sized bit of cover and fire away, or throw abilities at your enemies hoping they'd never really get in close enough to make Mass Effect or Mass Effect 2's unwieldy combat controls a liability. If you were a Vanguard, you might risk your life to use your powerful charge move, but it was an awkward maneuver that missed as often as it hit. But Mass Effect 3's revised movement and aiming make Shepard viable at variable ranges in a way he never was before.

Moving and shooting, a previously suicidal maneuver that most players outgrew within a few hours of Mass Effect 2, isn't just an option now - it's a good choice. Cover is still important; it's also been revamped from the last game, easier now to traverse and use dynamically rather than finding a point to set up at and pray that enemies don't close the gap. But BioWare wants you to mix it up in close - something made obvious by the revised melee system.

Cerberus shock troops? Not a problem.

The awkward melee shoves and slaps of past Mass Effects are gone. Formidable melee punches and attacks specific to each class have taken their place. The Soldier Shepard I used delivered some solid, fast punches that knocked enemies back without causing me to double over like I had shattered every bone in my hand. But the real new addition to close quarters combat is the instant melee kill - hold down the B or Circle button and Shepard will wind back to deliver a killing blow unique to his class, in this case a tech-blade in my Soldier's wrist armor. Shaped similarly to the energy-based armor used by Sentinel classes in Mass Effect, it cut down enemies in one hit. Other classes have their own heavy melee attacks - Adepts have blades of psionic energy that they use to cut down their enemies in close, for example.

Then there are the grenades. Mass Effect 3 sees a series debut for actual, round, conventional grenades. This adds yet another combat option to the game that changes the way Shepard can engage with enemies, and adds a new tactical wrinkle to flanking and other maneuvers.

All of these things combine to provide a shooting experience that, honestly, feels a bit surreal in a Mass Effect game. As I made my way to the Krogan princess on the other end of a science platform with my teammates Liara and Garrus, there was a point in the demo where Cerberus operatives stormed the opposite end of the corridor. The platform had the standard smattering of cover objects between us and the Cerberus forces, but there was also a passage to the right that flanked to the other side. Ordering Liara and Garrus to use their abilities as a diverson, I stuck to cover and ran to the corridor. I made my way to the end and blind-tossed a pair of grenades into the other side of the room.

As the explosions rocked the Cerberus personnel, I swung around the cover and quickly popped a pair of enemies with my assault rifle. Then I dashed forward, sprung over a bit of cover, and took out another Cerberus agent with a pair of quick melee strikes, then ducked back into cover and made my way around to the remaining enemy's rear, cutting him down with Shepard's tech blade.

It all felt like a different game, like a different series even. Where Mass Effect 2 felt like a slightly tighter Mass Effect combat-wise, Mass Effect 3 is in an entirely different space. The familiar elements that need to be there are intact - powers and talents are still in the same menu wheel structure, and weapon types remain unchanged. You're not going to select an assault rifle and be shocked by its looks. But you will be taken aback by how well it works. I was. And now the wait to play Mass Effect 3 until 2012 is that much harder.

Well it doesn't seem like...

hold down the B or Circle button and Shepard will wind back to deliver a killing blow unique to his class, in this case a tech-blade in my Soldier's wrist armor. Shaped similarly to the energy-based armor used by Sentinel classes in Mass Effect, it cut down enemies in one hit. Other classes have their own heavy melee attacks - Adepts have blades of psionic energy that they use to cut down their enemies in close, for example.

Oh my....

a tech-blade in my Soldier's wrist armor. Shaped similarly to the energy-based armor used by Sentinel classes in Mass Effect

I think I am going to faint.

Adepts have blades of psionic energy that they use to cut down their enemies in close.

[Yong]

So words going around that EA accidently posted a Mass Effect 3 cover mockup for Xbox 360 which sported the "Better with Kinect" banner. No word from EA on whether the 360 version will actually use the Kinect or not. Of course speculation is runnng rampant right now. One of the ideas I've heard that I like is the prospect of having the Kinect camera take a picture of you so that the game can make a character that looks like you, taking out the guess work and trial & error if using the games manual controls.

[Detective Shadzter]

Thought this might be of interest to you Mass Effect fans.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/304300/news/mass-effect-3-might-be-better-with-kinect/

If the box art is real, then it seems the game will support Kinect.

[Patticus]

An actually proper brilliant Mass Effect-themed Penny Arcade comic:

E3 demo previews from IGN (Possible spoilers, not read them yet):

http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/117/1172087p1.html

The Reapers have come to Earth. This is how Mass Effect 3 begins. The first two titles in the series were building towards an epic war with the ancient arbiters of doom and that war has finally come. Good thing the galaxy has you, Commander Shepard, professional Reaper killer.

Mass Effect 2 focused on gathering the best mercenaries in the galaxy for a suicide mission against the Collectors. Mass Effect 3 is a survival mission. You must rally the various races from around the galaxy to your cause to reclaim Earth and save every form of life from extinction. Fail, and everyone and everything dies. No pressure. It won't be easy. This is full blown galactic war and to many, the battle appears hopeless. How can any army possibly defeat the Reapers? Forget about earning the trust of individual allies -- you must unite warring factions to one purpose. Returning to Earth with anything less than a galactic armada would mean failure. In Mass Effect 2, you helped Jack deal with her past and tracked down Samara's daughter for a family reunion. Here, the stakes are higher and the importance of each mission is going to be greater.

One example of these unifying missions comes about halfway through Mass Effect 3. Shepard and crew have journeyed to the Salarian homeworld, Sur'Kesh, to rescue a Krogan princess. Yes, she's crazy hot. The princess in question is the key to uniting a divided Krogan homeworld. Mordin Solus is assisting (it is his home planet after all), and naturally the Krogan clan leader Wrex Urdnot has quite an interest in the princess.

Find out how Mass Effect 3's combat has changed.

But wait, is that team even possible in your version of Mass Effect 3? This is where the branching paths of the first two games begin to really affect the final battle against the Reapers. What if you killed Wrex in the first game? What if Mordin died at the end of Mass Effect 2? What if you gave thumbs up to the Genophage? It's unclear how these choices affect the missions -- maybe losing Mordin just means another character is there in his place -- but in some cases the differences should be significant.

Mass Effect 3 Executive Producer Casey Hudson says that "all things contribute to the war effort." Meaning every major decision from the first two games has an impact. The relationships you've built, and those you need to build going forward, matter.

With the Krogans, you might have murdered one of their own. You might have further doomed their species to extinction. Now you must ask them to help you save the galaxy. Awkward. But there are other decisions that should have an impact. Did you kill or spare the Rachni Queen in Mass Effect 1? When Sovereign attacked the Citadel did you sacrifice or save the Council? At the end of Mass Effect 2, did you destroy the Collectors' experiments or save them for (then ally, now enemy) Cerberus? Thinking about all of the decisions made in the first two games and if/how they impact Mass Effect 3 illustrates the scope of the trilogy. This is something we've never seen before.

The separation between someone who played Renegade versus Paragon in the previous games makes the large scale of Mass Effect 3 all the more interesting. Renegade isn't the traditional "evil" you see in games with morality. Often times, it's about self-reliance. Many of those decisions show a Renegade Shepard as being direct, uncompromising, and perhaps trying to prove that humans don't need help from anyone else to survive in the galaxy. For some species, that brash mentality can earn respect. For most, it likely shows that humans are under-developed savages who should be destroyed by the Reapers. I've got to imagine a few things my no-nonsense Queenie Shepard did are going to come back to bite her in the ass.

If you didn't play any of the downloadable content, Mass Effect 3 assumes the events happened. You get a little more out of things if you played Lair of the Shadow Broker and Arrival. But either way, Liara is the new Shadow Broker (think queen of all mercenaries) and Shepard has been arrested and is on trial on Earth at the start of ME3Mass Effect 3 might be about big-scale battles and the fate of all worlds, but there's still time for love. There's an epic battle for Shepard's heart, after all. If you were suave in Mass Effect 1 and 2, then you have two love interests, both vying for you as worlds are about to end. This love triangle will be resolved by the end of Mass Effect 3, so look forward to walking off into the sunset with Liara. I mean, seriously, who else would you want to be with -- Kaidan?

Regardless of how your love life turns out, the Reapers need to be taken down. With a galactic armada at your disposal, that should be doable. All you have to do is convince the galaxy humanity's worth saving.

http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/117/1172082p1.html

Sure, Mass Effect games have always looked like shooters, but they've never really played like them. Yeah, you pointed and shot at things, but the less tangible particulars of combat have always eluded BioWare's sci-fi epic. Gunplay in Mass Effect was a clunky exercise in behind-the-scenes dice rolls, RPG-style. Mass Effect 2's battles weren't the chore they often were in the original, but they weren't what anyone paid the price of admission for. The cover mechanic was limited in comparison to dedicated third person action games, and guns lacked any sort of oomph.

My playtime with Mass Effect 3 was set on the Salarian homeworld of Sur'Kesh. Ostensibly, my job was to escort a Krogan princess offworld. But in practice, my main job was kicking Cerberus ass across a science station, and Shepard was more equipped than ever to get the job done.

A host of seemingly small additions have changed the way Mass Effect 3 plays. Basic character movement is more responsive for starters, more animated. Guiding Shepard around is less of a struggle than it's ever been. Aiming also felt snappier, and guns have the punch now that they've always lacked.

These changes alter the way you can move around combat zones in Mass Effect 3. Previously, firefights in Mass Effect were mostly static affairs. You'd find a good sized bit of cover and fire away, or throw abilities at your enemies hoping they'd never really get in close enough to make Mass Effect or Mass Effect 2's unwieldy combat controls a liability. If you were a Vanguard, you might risk your life to use your powerful charge move, but it was an awkward maneuver that missed as often as it hit. But Mass Effect 3's revised movement and aiming make Shepard viable at variable ranges in a way he never was before.

Moving and shooting, a previously suicidal maneuver that most players outgrew within a few hours of Mass Effect 2, isn't just an option now - it's a good choice. Cover is still important; it's also been revamped from the last game, easier now to traverse and use dynamically rather than finding a point to set up at and pray that enemies don't close the gap. But BioWare wants you to mix it up in close - something made obvious by the revised melee system.

The awkward melee shoves and slaps of past Mass Effects are gone. Formidable melee punches and attacks specific to each class have taken their place. The Soldier Shepard I used delivered some solid, fast punches that knocked enemies back without causing me to double over like I had shattered every bone in my hand. But the real new addition to close quarters combat is the instant melee kill - hold down the B or Circle button and Shepard will wind back to deliver a killing blow unique to his class, in this case a tech-blade in my Soldier's wrist armor. Shaped similarly to the energy-based armor used by Sentinel classes in Mass Effect, it cut down enemies in one hit. Other classes have their own heavy melee attacks - Adepts have blades of psionic energy that they use to cut down their enemies in close, for example.

Then there are the grenades. Mass Effect 3 sees a series debut for actual, round, conventional grenades. This adds yet another combat option to the game that changes the way Shepard can engage with enemies, and adds a new tactical wrinkle to flanking and other maneuvers.

All of these things combine to provide a shooting experience that, honestly, feels a bit surreal in a Mass Effect game. As I made my way to the Krogan princess on the other end of a science platform with my teammates Liara and Garrus, there was a point in the demo where Cerberus operatives stormed the opposite end of the corridor. The platform had the standard smattering of cover objects between us and the Cerberus forces, but there was also a passage to the right that flanked to the other side. Ordering Liara and Garrus to use their abilities as a diverson, I stuck to cover and ran to the corridor. I made my way to the end and blind-tossed a pair of grenades into the other side of the room.

As the explosions rocked the Cerberus personnel, I swung around the cover and quickly popped a pair of enemies with my assault rifle. Then I dashed forward, sprung over a bit of cover, and took out another Cerberus agent with a pair of quick melee strikes, then ducked back into cover and made my way around to the remaining enemy's rear, cutting him down with Shepard's tech blade.

It all felt like a different game, like a different series even. Where Mass Effect 2 felt like a slightly tighter Mass Effect combat-wise, Mass Effect 3 is in an entirely different space. The familiar elements that need to be there are intact - powers and talents are still in the same menu wheel structure, and weapon types remain unchanged. You're not going to select an assault rifle and be shocked by its looks. But you will be taken aback by how well it works. I was. And now the wait to play Mass Effect 3 until 2012 is that much harder.

I should point out the demo IGN played is just one of four that Bioware have prepared for E3.

New screenshottery:

I am becoming increasingly pumped for this game. Bring on E3!

[turbojet]

Will be playing as Vanguard Shep. Can't wait to see its omniblade melee. It better be a slash or I am switching classes. I will be Zero Shep dammit. Capcom took that option away from me.

Edited July 23, 2011 by turbojet

[turbojet]

So there was a vote a week ago about the Fem Shep default in Mass Effect 3.

Your new Fem Shep.

Another time Black Shep. Another time.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

It was practically expected. I hate to sound like a racist prick, but a lot of people still go along with having a white character being the lead.

And the blonde hair only adds to it when they look at a character. In this FemShep's defense, she's obviously going to have way more to her, and so the whole skin color thing is just me being superficial.

Still, I am really wanting a lot more diversity in the media, particularly the game industry. I kind of found it a problem there wasn't a single version of the female Shepard that I could look at and see as Asian or Hispanic despite their being a black one and four other ones that looked white. Good thing you can make Shepherd however you want, huh?

[Saint Nathan]

It was practically expected. I hate to sound like a racist prick, but a lot of people still go along with having a white character being the lead.

>implying anyone would ever use default shepard

>ever

Seriously it doesn't even matter. The most important thing in this is that we now know that femShep hair is a bit longer.

[turbojet]

>implying anyone would ever use default shepard

>ever

Seriously it doesn't even matter. The most important thing in this is that we now know that femShep hair is a bit longer.

[Saint Nathan]

You have no idea how hard it is to create a legitimate black person in customization that video games give us. Try doing it without them looking too weird or too white. Or having a black person that has no white features. It shouldn't be so hard, but it fucking is and Mass Effect is no different.

I am laughing at this I honestly am because I have no idea what you're talking about, and it sounds totally silly.

It's like

I'm not even sure what to say to this

because it just makes no sense to me.

[Invictus Ordo]

I am laughing at this I honestly am because I have no idea what you're talking about, and it sounds totally silly.

It's like

I'm not even sure what to say to this

because it just makes no sense to me.

It makes perfect sense to me as the only games I can think of that even allow you to make a natural "black" character would be the def jam games and APB and this is of course without the character looking awkward.

Really!? That's the fem shep that won!? I 100% agree with turbo and chaos supreme on this.

[Remy]

So there was a vote a week ago about the Fem Shep default in Mass Effect 3.

Your new Fem Shep.

img

Another time Black Shep. Another time.

img

I was actually on team shepherd number 4 as well. It felt a little different as opposed to the others which were kind of bland, IMO.

O welp. How you can recreate her or something similar in the character creator this time. Hopefully it'll have a few more diverse options.

[turbojet]

If this is vanguard, I am going to be so fucking pissed.

Edited August 16, 2011 by turbojet

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

I was actually on team shepherd number 4 as well. It felt a little different as opposed to the others which were kind of bland, IMO.

Bland? "Typical" is the first thing to come to mind, along with "Same-y" considering that the one that one is practically a Samus lookalike.

But "Bland"? You'll have to explain that to me. I'm guessing that's because their designs are no different from what we've seen in other games regarding female characters?

[Remy]

Bland, typical, generic. Crowd pleasers. Lacking flavour. They're not bland looking women, by any stretch but they are or were bland character designs, especially the final choice.

[Invictus Ordo]

So what would you do if I said Mass Effect 3 had multiplayer co-op? Laugh you say, I agree that would be the most ridiculous thing ever! I mean who plays a character driven RPG that centers it's whole plot on the choices you make for multiplayer? amirite guys?

Mass Effect 3 now with co-op Multiplayer cause you wanted it!

http://kotaku.com/5848392/co+op-multiplayer-is-coming-to-mass-effect-3

...Lol wut?

[turbojet]

What the fuck?

[Nix]

Mass Effect 3 now with co-op Multiplayer cause you wanted it!

The fuck? I sure as hell never wanted this.

[Invictus Ordo]

The fuck? I sure as hell never wanted this.

I don't think any Mass Effect fan wanted this but I'm gonna remain positive until I see this bull sh*...I mean see this added feature in action.

/Edit

Nix your avatar is a perfect reaction for this news.

Edited October 10, 2011 by Omnis Doc Invictus