Mass Effect 3 Preview

It’s no surprise that Mass Effect 3 is one of the most anticipated games of next year. BioWare has delivered an amazing sci-fi opus thus far, but as its epic conclusion draws near, no one should take the idea of Mass Effect 3 being the best of the trilogy totally for granted.

After all, third acts in any narrative are notoriously hard to get right. We’ve passed the world-building, and the mid-saga crisis – in Mass Effect 3 everything needs to come together to give players a satisfying ending.

That’s mirrored on the gameplay front, which will need to surpass what we’ve had before. We’ve had it so good that BioWare will have to knock it out of the park to even half meet our expectations.

Thankfully, from everything we’ve seen in Mass Effect 3, BioWare really looks to understand that and is applying lessons learned in Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 to ensure that it happens.

We also have a feeling that the fan response to Dragon Age II made an impact, with the developer wisely delaying the game to get it right. Everything from narrative and characters to combat and the RPG mechanics under the hood is now a combination of the series’ best elements, used to craft a grand finale.

That means on the narrative front, while this is an epic, galaxy-shaking conclusion to the saga, it’ll be more intimate for Shepard and his allies. BioWare has stated that all of the major characters from the series thus far will return – so long as they’re alive in your save, of course – and conclude their individual stories, for good or ill.

Despite that, Mass Effect 3 will have a smaller selection of characters to choose between to actually take on missions. Thus far only either Kaidan or Ashley, Garrus, Tali and Liara are definitely in your squad, together with brand new character James Vega, an Alliance soldier.

Wrex, Legion and our favourite, Mordin, aren’t selectable, perhaps off dealing with their respective races’ own concerns during the galactic crisis. We won’t know until we play who’s made the cut, but you can be sure that everyone will have a part to play.

Shepard will need all the help he can get, dealing with the huge threat of the Reapers and battling his one-time ally Cerberus, which, unhappy with his alien ties, is determined to take him out.

There are a million and one strands, both personal and universal, to tie up in Mass Effect 3, but BioWare promises that everything will come together in a satisfying way.

It’s an approach that’s clearly reflected in Mass Effect 3’s gameplay. As the saga has progressed it’s gone from a more traditional RPG approach in the first game, especially around weapons, to a more action-based one, where you had no tinkering to do.

Some might have been overwhelmed by the first game’s RPG inventory leanings, but Mass Effect 2’s approach was arguably overly simplistic and a little unsatisfying.

Thankfully, BioWare has decided to go back to basics, and is reintroducing the ability to customise your weapons with scopes, barrels, mods and ammo types – even in the heat of battle.

Mass Effect 3 is also returning to the XP system from the first game. That, claims BioWare, will work better with Mass Effect 3’s larger skill tree and more customisable abilities. Naturally, for those who prefer them, there are still auto-levelling and weapons options.

This is about getting the best of the series, so from what we’ve recently seen Mass Effect’s combat is doing the opposite to its RPG mechanics, leaning even more towards Mass Effect 2’s action, with slick visuals, a faster pace and devastating weapons.

One is your new melee weapon, the Omni-Blade, which looks like as well as skewering foes will deal status effects, like fire. You won’t have as much trouble getting at foes either, as the cover system has been reworked to make running and gunning easier.

As we see more of Mass Effect 3, it’s becoming clear that BioWare, just like Shepard and the saga’s other characters, has picked up all the skills and experience it needs to tackle this epic finale. A third act is never easy to get right, but when it’s done well, it makes the whole story shine. Happily, it’s looking like that’s what Mass Effect 3 is set to do.