Mass Effect 3 Previews, Interview and Footage

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Written by WorstUsernameEver on June 10th, 2011

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The little boy didn't make an appearance again until the very end of the demo as Commander Shepard was leaving Earth on the Normandy. As he watched from the Normandy, humans were jumping into Alliance ships to escape from the Reapers that were littered across the city. The little boy ran out, and for a moment it looked like he wouldn't reach the ship safely. But I cheered inside as he clambered up the ledge of the ship, swinging his right leg up to safety. The door closed, and the ship took off for safety.

And then a Reaper obliterated the ship with a death beam, and the ship broke into burning hunks.

Shepard's omni-tool has also changed so that it's not just for hacking robots or stealing credits. Depending on which class you play, the device will have a new ability for you to use. As a soldier, our omni-tool came equipped with a short blade designed to relieve an enemy's guts from his body. We used this technique to great effect after sneaking up on an unsuspecting trooper, and while behind cover, we pulled him down to us and eviscerated him. Another new and deadly tool at our disposal was the grenades. Absent in ME2, the grenades are back and have been tweaked to behave more like real grenades and less like flying, explosive Frisbees.

Weapon customization is also back in Mass Effect 3, though with all this carnage we were causing we almost missed it. In order to upgrade our weapons we had to find a workbench. From there a simple screen displayed our weapons, each with two slots for upgrades. Since this was a demo, our options were limited, so we settled for sticking a laser sight on our pistol. However, other upgrades will be able to modify a weapon's statistics--such as damage or range. Character customization has been expanded as well, though we didn't get to see it firsthand. When leveling up Shepard's class skill, instead of receiving a flat bonus to certain stats, you will be able to select which areas you want to advance Shepard in.

The next encounter offered the perfect opportunity for me to re-attempt my stealthy kill approach: one lone soldier stands idle facing to my left, with his back to a tall planter. I channel my inner ninja to sneak my way along short walls to the planter behind him, and move in for the melee kill. When I hold down the melee attack button, the camera once again zooms in for the big energy blade strike. But this time, instead of jabbing it into his gut while he's standing, Shepard stands up from behind the planter, grabs the unsuspecting guard by his collar and pulls him over to his side of the divider, throwing him on the ground and burying his energy blade into his chest before the poor sap even knew what was happening. It might've been faster to run in guns blazing, but my time spent sneaking and plotting paid off with a super-short semi-cinematic that felt incredibly visceral and satisfying.

We're not talking about having a Deus Ex-level of options for choosing how to kill your enemies, but the map design did a great job of supporting all of the classes, especially the new Infiltrator, which sports stealth mechanics and boosted melee attacks in addition to its Sniper Rifle focus.

The female is in a separate pod that ascends the Salarian buildings, and Shepard needs to deactivate locks along the way so the pod can continue moving. Of course, it isn't that simple; Cerberus forces are attacking, so Shepard gets to try out his new combat maneuvers. My favorite change is the addition of the omni-blade, which BioWare describes as a kind of holographic switchblade that makes melee attacks more satisfying. Instead of just rifle-butting enemies in close quarters, holding down the melee button triggers a brutal move that makes Shepard impale his opponent with the powerful attack.

Grenades also make a return, but they are better implemented than they were in the original Mass Effect. They arc over cover, and I use them to flush enemies out into the open (where they promptly get concussive blasted). I'm playing as the soldier class, so I also have access to the Adrenaline Rush ability to slow down time. This comes in handy when one of the Cerberus troops showed up with a shield that seems impenetrable. While my squad stays behind and draws his fire, I sneak up beside him, activate Adrenaline Rush, and take him out before he has a chance to do any real damage.

So far, Mass Effect 3 doesn't look like it'll be quite as revolutionary as Mass Effect 2, but this is no bad thing. Instead it looks to be building on its predecessor, adding in more character and weapons customisation and more "traditional" RPG elements that were lost in the transition between the first two games. No bad thing, and we've still got a load of grey moral choices and plenty of exploring and side-questing to do. The Mass Effect staples are all here, and in terms of pure mechanics this looks to be a superior game to either of its predecessors. There's even Kinect support if that matters to you, letting you conduct conversations by speaking your dialogue choices aloud, or ordering your teammates around in combat with your voice (although there's no word on whether this'll work on other systems through headsets. Considering this info popped up at Microsoft's press conference, I rather doubt it.)

BioWare has made a few notable changes to combat in Mass Effect 3. The cover system has been altered, so Shepard can quickly move from cover to cover without being spotted.

Hand grenades also make their franchise debut. And weapons are part of the game's deeper role-playing system. Now, firearms can be customized with different parts to create the weapon of a player's choice. For example, players that want to fight up close can create a gun with a high rate of fire and bullets that deal increased damage.

As with previous games, conversation and decision-making will factor heavily into Mass Effect 3's outcome, but most of the E3 demo was focused on action. The game's biggest additions seem designed to speed up the game with quick run-and-gun killing.

For example, players will be equipped with frag grenades that can be flung without pausing the action. They'll also get a short-range weapon called the Omniblade that can gut enemies in a single blow. And for the first time, players will be able to upgrade individual weapon components to make more powerful guns.

In general the weapon customisation seems deeper - an obvious response to the criticism that the gun upgrades were too simplified in the second game, having been too complex in the first thanks a cluttered inventory. Now it's like the Little Bear's porridge: just right. You can buy (or find) upgrades for guns, which are then attached on an engineering bench-type screen to reduce recoil, improve the rate of fire and so on.

You'll need the extra firepower too. The forces of Cerberus, the racist human separatists, provide additional enemies for Shepard in the game. In one section we saw him taking on Cerberus troops equipped with big steel shields, which he needed to outflank. Fortunately that was made easier thanks to the improved squad command system. You'll also be able to commandeer a Cerberus Atlas - which is a weaponised mech suit - and stomp around in that.

Arguably the most exciting glimpse of new gameplay detail, though, was a brief section of footage that showed the map screen being used to navigate between various cities on the same planet, suggesting deeper exploration than ever.

3. Weapons Customization
Another improvement on Mass Effect 3 is the Weapon customization. By using the credits that you will receive in the game, you can purchase mods on the weapons. The cool thing that I found in the weapons are that the appearance of them changes when they're customized.

4. New Character Customization Interface
BioWare added some new things on the character customization interface of Mass Effect 3. When any of the characters levels up, players can see the abilities that they can unlock. A letter grade will be placed along the abilities name and therefore, players can know what abilities are worth unlocking.

While it might make sense for BioWare to also support voice controls in Mass Effect 3 via the PS3'²s PlayStation Eye or a USB microphone, the game's developers say they aren't planning to support anything but Kinect at this point.

Mass Effect executive producer Casey Hudson says BioWare is bringing voice commands to Kinect and Xbox 360 because Microsoft's sound and motion-sensing controller is doing the hard work of voice recognition. Kinect's internal hardware is what makes it possible, not just its microphones.

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