Mass Effect 3 Previews
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RPGSite:
Mass Effect 3 seems to have taken the tack of trying to position itself between the first game and the second game. Bioware seem to still believe that the RPG back-end of the first Mass Effect was still too complex and impenetrable for some users, but they're also throwing their hands up and admitting that Mass Effect 2 was a little lacking.
Thanks to that we've got new features like the ability to evolve powers more than once. Shield-frying power Overload could evolve once fully levelled to Heavy Overload, which hit one enemy harder or Area Overload which hit an entire area with a weaker version of the skill. Now, in Mass Effect 3, every power will evolve several times.
The difference between different evolutionary paths seemed small from what I could tell in the small glimpse - differences in cooldown times, damage dealt, area of effect and so on - but the idea is that this is a full evolutionary tree. Choosing some paths will lock others off, and the branches in the tree will instead offer players a number of ways to spec their Commander Shepard for combat.
We only got the briefest of glimpses at the menu system behind the combat gameplay but what I saw was promising - the menu with Shepard's powers on seemed to have significantly more options and details on it compared to the stripped-down powers list available in Mass Effect 2. In general, the menus resembled those of the first game more - gone is the orange glow of Cerberus in the menus, replaced once more with the blue hue of the Alliance, a familiar friend from the first game.
Telegraph:
It stands to reason that, along the way, Shepard might have to bust a few heads, surely? A common complaint after seeing the blistering E3 demo was that Mass Effect 3 has gone too far in ditching its RPG roots, that it's morphed into a straight-up third person shooter.
It's true that the scale on show wouldn't look out of place in Gears of War, but is that really such a bad thing? The focus of the game is naturally following the trajectory of its story, Shepard the galaxy's last hope in a violent war. Besides, for people to get excited BioWare are naturally showing off their most hard-hitting scenes, demonstrating how Mass Effect 3 is the most gorgeous, spectacular and resonant entry in the series.
GameRant:
Assault rifles and handguns have been staples of most player classes since the beginning of time, but Shepard is now also able to wield his Omniblade, a holographic knife extending from his omni tool that gives a whole new level of intensity to melee attacks. Mass Effect's Director Casey Hudson was on hand to explain that Shepard's new weapon wasn't just designed to replace a rather mundane melee attack, but that the level of action it brings fits perfectly with Mass Effect 3's faster-paced combat.
By closing in on an enemy, Shepard was able to launch into a finishing attack that downed his Cerberus opponent in one strike. While the over-the-shoulder camera view seems to have been pulled even tighter in to Shepard giving a serious Gears of War feel, triggering the Omniblade attack caused the camera to zoom in even tighter and pull around the player's shoulder to give the best possible view of the strike blow. All in all, it's an added artistic flourish that definitely pays off.
The attack seemed to be a stock animation, and not context sensitive, aside from one attack performed by grabbing an enemy from cover and finishing them on the ground, so clearly Shepard has only received training with the weapon in one very specified field. Still, the attack is pretty satisfying to watch, so it doesn't necessarily pose a risk of getting stale.
PAL Gaming Network:
The next demonstration highlighted the work gone into enhancing Mass Effect's combat system. Charged with rescuing a female Krogan, Shepard was quickly surrounded by various armoured enemies. The Alliance marine is more manoeuvrable than ever, performing swat turns, jumping over obstacles, ascending ladders, and players can even approaching the enemy stealthily. One of the most prominent new features is the onmi-blade, an advanced Swiss army knife that can be activated for heavy melee attacks. Furthermore, enemies are now programmed with more complex behaviours, you can now use conventional grenades against enemies (not the spinning discs from ME1), and rather than fighting on a flat battlefields, players will encounter vertical environments. For those who prefer a more tactical approach, the power wheel is still present, allowing you to pause the game and activate various squad powers. The level concluded with an Atlus mech, housing an enemy pilot, descending from and sky and firing its missiles at Shepard and company (while not shown, Casey Hudson mentioned that disposing of the pilot will allow the Atlus to be commandeered). With vastly improved cover gameplay, weapon handling and character movements, comparisons between Mass Effect 3 and Gears of War may now be justified.
