Warning: The following article contains some spoilers for the first two Mass Effect games.
Its been over eighteen months since gamers braved Mass Effect 2s suicide mission, with players Shepards either rescuing the crew of the Normandy in the nick of time, or seeing some of them gooified or killed in action. The real world has seen its fair share of trouble in the past year and a half, however things are decidedly worse in the Mass Effect universe. In Mass Effect 3, the genocidal Reapers have staged a full invasion of Earth, leaving major cities in ruins and giant robots stomping about the place.
In the concluding chapter of Commander Shepards story, he (or she) must rally the various races of the galaxy for a climactic showdown against the Reapers on Earth, attempting to break the cycle of destruction thats gone on for millennia. In much the same way as he had to build a crew to assault the Collector stronghold in Mass Effect 2, ME3 sees Shepard having to build an interstellar alliance to take back humanitys homeworld.
Mass Effects branching storyline winds on in the third instalment, with fresh twists and turns, and different plot developments depending on your actions in the previous two games. That means if youve managed to shepherd (if you pardon the pun) a save file through Mass Effects 1 and 2, youll see the consequences of the decisions you made over the past four years played out as the story builds to its climax.
Newbies wont be left out of the fun, however -- just like Mass Effect 2, itll be possible to enjoy ME3s branching plot from start to finish without importing an older saved game. And for die-hard fans, favorite characters including Wrex, Ashley, Miranda, Thane, Jack and Legion will make an appearance too, providing they made it out of Mass Effect 2s suicide mission alive.
Mass Effects gameplay changed dramatically between the first and second titles in the series, and the third instalment sees further refinement of the popular action/RPG formula. Bioware says its expanded on the armor, weapon and character customization system of Mass Effect 2, allowing greater depth of gameplay without having to trawl through countless inventory menus.
Weapons and action sequences have also been tweaked in ME3 -- combat is now faster and more difficult, with Mass Effect 3s Normal mode being described as roughly equivilent to Veteran mode in the previous game. Mass Effect 1s weapon mods are back, along with grenades. Theres also a renewed focus on melee abilities, as evidenced by the giant holographic spike that Shepards wielding on the games box art, and each class has its own unique, high-powered melee attack. In addition, Mass Effect 3 promises a full compliment of biotic and tech powers, though expect many of these remain under wraps until a little closer to launch day.
Mass Effect 3 was one of the many titles to show off deeper Kinect integration at this years Microsoft E3 press conference, allowing players to use their voice to accelerate certain parts of the game. For example, dialog options can be spoken aloud, and squad members can be given spoken orders. While this isnt intended to replace the traditional gamepad-based control system, we can see this being an enjoyable optional extra for gamers with the necessary hardware.
Its safe to say we cant wait to get our hands on Mass Effect 3, and although we wont see a retail release before next March, were hoping (and expecting) that Bioware will be able to deliver a conclusion worthy of the immersive universe its carefully crafted over the past five years.