Mass Effect 3 Preview

By Martin Robinson Published 8 June, 2011

Don’t fear the Reaper.

The story of Mass Effect is about more than Commander Shepard's race to save the galaxy from the threat of the Reapers. It's also about how BioWare's game has gone from an RPG with shooter elements to a third-person shooter with light RPG touches.

Mass Effect 2 told part of that tale, sweeping the stats under the carpet and letting the sheer spectacle of BioWare's dense sci-fi universe take centre stage. It also pushed the shooting to the fore, with a renewed emphasis on combat ensuring that the action did as much of the talking as Shepard and co.

The third instalment in the series completes that journey. Over the course of a triple-tiered E3 demonstration, it's hard to pic out those RPG elements through the bang and bluster of it all.

Mass Effect 3 plays, to all intents and purposes, like a straight-up third-person shooter. Good job it also plays like a well-polished third-person shooter, and that the game's combat looks strong enough to bear the weight currently being placed on it.

Shepard's now more agile and more robust, darting from cover to cover with a conviction that was previously lacking. Traversal is more fluid, its importance in combat highlighted by the small neon blue arrows that point the player towards the tactical options at hand.

Enemy AI rises to the occasion, out-flanking, using cover smartly and wising up to the fact that running headfirst into gunfire isn't the smartest tactic. Certain enemies demand the player exploits Shepard's increased agility; riot-shield sporting Guardians need to be outmanoeuvred and taken down with a shot to their back.

These improvements open up a whole new approach to Mass Effect's battles. The pitched, stilted fire fights of before are more open, with more options to be explored.

Shepard's newfound adeptness allows the scope of the stealth element to expand. This approach is complemented by the all-new Omni-Blade, a tool which delivers brutal close-range melee attacks.

The Omni-Blade heads up a focus on more involved combat. Guns are rawer, more powerful and much more aggressive, their violent recoil and noisy splutter providing an element of feedback that was absent from past Mass Effects. They've been properly fetishised too; a new granular customisation option allows new muzzles and magazines to be attached and swapped in and out of Shepard's arsenal.

There's even room for more fireworks as grenades make an appearance. Unlike the eccentric exploding hockey pucks of the first Mass Effect these frags behave in a more conventional manner, describing a curving arc when thrown by Shepard.

The grenade's return is welcome, although it's possible that another step towards traditional shooter territory means another step away from the RPG template. It's territory that's crowded and competitive, and some scenes see BioWare going toe-to-toe with the genre's best.

One on-rails, turret-based set piece features a towering Reaper looking like it's strayed in straight from Gears of War as it's hosed with gunfire. So does a Cerberus Atlas power suit placed at Shepard's disposal.

Such excesses can be excused, though, when the fate of the galaxy is hanging in the balance. Shepard is unlikely to be able to fight the Reapers off with harsh language alone. BioWare succeeds in placing its bombastic action on a fittingly grand scale: Earth, in its death throes as the Reapers invade, looks particularly impressive.

Here the cityscape is dense, the horizon stretching far and lined with tall, clinical skyscrapers. They're eclipsed by the Reaper ships, towering monstrosities which spit out laser beams as they tear through the sky.

A press of a button will snap the camera to critical set pieces, as BioWare wants to ensure players don't miss the lavish spectacle it's laid on. Which is fair enough; this is a vision pulled from War of the Worlds as seen through the studio's future-perfect filter, and the end result is brilliantly effective.

While Mass Effect may have drifted further and further towards shooter territory, the classic sci-fi setting has bedded in well. The third game's locations are rich with the influence of airbrushed pulp cover art. A Geth base is brooding and industrial, while the Salarian home world is a deep Martian red seen through wonderfully excessive lens flare.

Beneath the combat there's still BioWare's cause and effect dialogue and a story that is increasingly becoming the player's own. Choices made in the previous games will come to a head. Some seemingly insignificant ones will have extreme consequences.

This is shown in microcosm by one Earth-bound scene where Shepard comes across a child scurrying through air-vents in fear of the on-going invasion. Two dialogue options are offered: either get the child to come with you or tell them to flee.

Only the latter choice is explored in the E3 demo, with Shepard going on to fight alongside a seriously tooled-up Anderson as they try to flee the crumbling city.

Several minutes and many explosions later, the two make their escape. Shepard turns to survey the destruction and witnesses the child crawl onto a transport ship, only to then see it disintegrate under fire from a Reaper ship. It's explicitly sombre, a little melodramatic, and an interesting indication of this third instalment's darker tone.

With the game's release pushed back to March next year, it's likely Mass Effect 3's calmer moments will reveal themselves in due course. But for now it seems only right BioWare is bringing out the big guns as it prepares to conclude one of this generation's most successful series.

Picture of Martin.

About Martin Robinson

Martin is Eurogamer's features editor with responsibility for commissioning, editing and often writing our feature and preview content. He's also passionate about driving games.

Read more articles from Martin by visiting the Martin Robinson archive page.

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Comments (110) Latest comment 10 months ago

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  • technotica #1 12 months ago

    Ugh!

  • supermaniacs #2 12 months ago

    As very much as i am looking forward to defeating the reapers, it's concerning me that Mass Effect 3 will be more shoting and less RPG!!

  • BeersOfWar #3 12 months ago

    "Miranda! Knickers off, knockers out - let's get messy".

    Edited by BeersOfWar at 08/06/11 @ 12:16

  • lucky_jim #4 12 months ago

    If I want to play Halo, I'll play Halo, not Mass Effect 3. I'll get it just to finish the story, but I'm a bit worried about the direction they seem to be taking with the gameplay.

  • henro_ben #5 12 months ago

    I used to really look forward to BioWare games, but they're gradually becoming more and more disappointing. Yes, I'm looking at you Dragon Age 2.

    Why do we need yet another 3rd person shooter? Hopefully there's some RPG goodness still left in this and they're just building up the action side because it 'shows' better...

  • Shinetop #6 12 months ago

    Yes please.

  • Softie2k #7 12 months ago

    Has anything really happened in Mass Effect thus far? The final part of a trilogy where we know there is an enemy...somewhere...doing something...

  • nuanimal #8 12 months ago

    BioWare's game has gone from an RPG with shooter elements to a third-person shooter with light RPG touches.

    This is so true, and to be honest, I missed the heavy customising options from ME1 - the weapons, and kit management was a good part of the game - and if you weren't interested you could always automate it. It's a shame really ME2 turned very RPG-lite.

    (What supermaniacs said)

  • benandrewsart #9 12 months ago

    feel like im forced to spend £40 on this knowing ill be a bit disappointed

  • metalangel #10 12 months ago

    Ouchie. I still haven't played ME2, and from the sounds of this I might not come off so badly if I just leave it at the first game, which had a fairly self-contained story. This is looking less like the action RPG the first game was and more of a shooter that shows you Mass Effect-related cutscenes to trick you into thinking you're still Commander Shepard.

  • jablonski #11 12 months ago

    That's a nice way to support the loyal fans who gave you such a best-selling series in the first place

  • Hunam #12 12 months ago

    "The third instalment in the series completes that journey. Over the course of a triple-tiered E3 demonstration, it's hard to pic out those RPG elements through the bang and bluster of it all."

    Hunam is a sad bear.

  • Madder-Max #13 12 months ago

    Very very dissapointing

  • tyrant1 #14 12 months ago

    So much of Mass Effect 3s E3 coverage reminded me of Halo 2. Not surprising really, since the only thing other than lots of shooting was about 60 odd seconds worth of conversation.

    They even had the time to shoehorn in a really crap turret scene against a reaper, which gave the impression it was having as much effect as farting on a challenger 2 tank. Now, I know Bioware wants to convey a sense of scope and hugeness in ME3, but why not... Take us back to the citadel and show us a bustling city scene again? Or the asari homeworld? Okay, maybe they arent finished yet, but something other than a barrage of bland action game footage.

    And the trailer, with its awful metal music?

    Anyone who thinks THAT kind of shit is what Mass Effect is about is a fucktard and deserves to die, ESPECIALLY if its the developers.

    Yeah, nothing screams deep sci-fi with Blade Runner influences like some Gears'esque montage of pointless flashes of shooter combat overlaid with crappy metal music....

    If it wasnt for Bethesda, Id honestly consider packing in gaming altogether. My interests seem be getting lost in a sea of shit comprised of the likes of Call of Duty, Battlefield, Gears of War and many of "pull trigger to kill enemies you tard" style games.

  • bad09 #15 12 months ago

    When I think back to the experience I enjoyed with ME1 I'm sad how the sequels are turning out. What happened to you bioware you used to be cool. :(

    Still, while not the awesome experience ME1 was, ME2 (depsite many flaws in terms of gameplay, characters, plot, mini games) was for the most part still fun so my Shepherd is gonna finish the fight next March.

    (Hopefully it's not all on 'orrible Earth though, I liked that ME was galatic in it's scope and we didn't even visit this dustbowl. Having an epic intergalactic trilogy finish on boring old Earth is a bit poo if you ask me.)

  • monsieur_qwerty #16 12 months ago

    WiiU version or GTFO Bioware.

  • squaylor #17 12 months ago

    Early days though? We all know what E3 is like - you need something brazen to get everyone talking. Maybe a twenty-minute game section of Shepherd discussing the political situation on the Asari homeworld might not have got the journos' attention? I agree ME2 was more shooty than ME1, but am prepared to reserve judgement until next March. Unless ME3 has either a) the Mako, or b) planet scanning - in which case all bets are off...

  • Dizzy #18 12 months ago

    ME1 was by far the best.... pity ME3 is becoming just another FPS.

  • TeeHee #19 12 months ago

    Bioware: If you are attempting to draw in a completely new audiance, especially those who prefer a different genre, while on your third installment of a trilogy then YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG!

  • Golgo #20 12 months ago

    Calm down people. Perhaps...perhaps they're just demoing the more cinematic/explosive bits to grab people's attention at E3?
    Dialogue trees do not make for an interesting demo/presentation.

  • Xardan #21 12 months ago

    Yes the game is looking very action-oriented, but this is just from a short demo at E3. Pretty much all big games at E3 are very fast paced and actiony.

  • Snowymonk #22 12 months ago

    I am a PS3 user who bought ME2 off of the back of Good reviews and the fact that I like RPGs. I was underwhelmed by the RPG element of ME2 and now it appears that it is being downgraded even further.

    I am not into lots of shooters. One cover, shot, cover, move game seems very similar to another to me and I wont be buying it if it is a GOW / Resistance / HALO / Haze shooter copy.

  • Collymilad #23 12 months ago

    I loved 1, I loved 2 (shock horror I know)

    But this doesn't sound good :/

    Bioware, if you screw this up you give new meaning to the phrase snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

  • Clive_Dunn #24 12 months ago

    Wow, it takes a lot to make me actually miss the terrible inventory system from ME1 but this article did it.

    Is it physically impossible to have a combined FPS / RPG without one of the genres being watered down to worthlessness ?

    I'm going to trademark FPRPGS, it's catchy and will make me millions.

  • DUFFKING #25 12 months ago

    Of course they're going to show action heavy bits at E3. I imagine it'll pretty much be the same as ME2 split wise, and it's been confirmed that the powers at the very least have been expanded, more paths etc. ME2 was a great game and the combat in this looks smoother as well.

    ME2 felt more streamlined to me anyway, a lot of the upgrading in ME1 felt a bit redundant really, particularly when it came to weapon upgrades/attachments etc.

  • The-Bodybuilder #26 12 months ago

    No offence, but this is just scaremongering from EG.
    Go have a look at all the previous previews and hands on on both ME1 & Me2 on this site. They all initially displayed the action elements, (especially ME1). Let's not forget how they hyped up the tactical team-mechanics of the first game, and how that's all they demoed.

    EG in scaremongering shocker.

    Edit: Not to say ME2 wasn't clearly a dumbing down from the original. Just that EG shouldn't be scaremongering based on a 5 minute demo, of which was similar to the demos of the first ME.
    Edited by The-Bodybuilder at 08/06/11 @ 13:04

  • actionfitz #27 12 months ago

    "The third instalment in the series completes that journey. Over the course of a triple-tiered E3 demonstration, it's hard to pic out those RPG elements through the bang and bluster of it all."

    here's hoping they don't do a 'Dragon Age 2' :/
    Someone needs to remind Bioware that some of us actually like to play RPG's.
    If they would rather be making call of duty of gears of war, no one is stopping them... but come one. Dont turn our beloved RPGs into shooters via the back door. :(

  • Stuz359 #28 12 months ago

    The thing is, for the purposes of a demo at a trade show it makes perfect sense to just show some combat scenes rather than getting into the whole exploration and conversation parts of the game. This may have given the impression that a larger emphasis is being placed on the combat, which may or may not be true.

  • The_Sonic_Mole #29 12 months ago

    Disappointed that the RPG elements are being toned down even more. The excellent lore and universe will still make it an enjoyable game for me though, I'm sure...

  • VicViper #30 12 months ago

    I'll be honest I don't miss none of the Rpg elements from ME1 that were removed such having to switch between tungsten to shredder ammo and back again every time a fight started or scroll through hundreds of suit mods and amour ( which often was sorted badly, really a human can't wear krogan armour why is it in my humans list? ). I thought ME2 was better as mass effect has always been a Rpg shooter it just wasn't a very good shooter in ME1.

    Unless they remove the ME2 power, armour and weapon choices then I can see where we could complain but I really want to take my Shepard to the end of his story. They say their adding mire RPG stuff but that does sell well as demos during a trade show
    Edited by VicViper at 08/06/11 @ 13:12

  • theonomous #31 12 months ago

    So much of the game is spent in combat that streamlining it is an excellent thing, really. I was happy to see the hideous ME inventory system gone for ME2, and there was still plenty of story there. Even the first ME wasn't about the sort of stat-crunching and team-tweaking that I associate with more hardcore srpgs--it was never trying to be Disgaea.

    But their pre-E3 comments about making it more mass-market, more accessible, just gross me out. Games like DA:o and ME2 sold fine without neutering in the name of mass-market accessibility.

  • BobsUncle #32 12 months ago

    "gone from an RPG with shooter elements to a third-person shooter with light RPG touches"

    And lost all my respect with it.

  • Douche #33 12 months ago

    The mass effect universe, characters and story has always been the best point about the games for me. As long as these elements are kept at the same level as the previous games I’m not too fussed.

    As the previewer mentions, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the third game is the most action orientated considering the point in the story we have reached.

    The biggest disappointment for me is that i won't be playing it till March.

  • M4RV #34 12 months ago

    Have been playing KOTOR in the past weeks... Haven't played it for a SERIOUS while now and every so often, I'm reminded of how much I used to love Bioware games and how much I eagerly antecipated them.

    Then, I come to EG.net and I get depressed; The production values are top-notch no doubt, but RPG elements are nowhere to be seen or advertised... Casey Hudson downplayed them as a matter of fact, on the last vid I saw. I understand the thing they're going for, but I just can't agree with it. Here's hoping the writing is still top notch, despite too much cursing.

  • Douche #35 12 months ago

    @VicViper

    I'm surprised at the amount of people who prefer the first to the second (on the ME comments thread anyway) - the amount of time spent in menus swapping ammo, guns and armour in the first game was nuts. The controls in the second game were a lot tighter as well and the graphics were superb.

    @metalangel

    You need to play the second. It is the same as the first without all the time spent in the menus, better graphics and tighter controls. As mentioned above.

  • Ror1984 #36 12 months ago

    Christ people, it was one short section of the game showed. BioWare have previously said they're going to beef up the RPG mechanics from 2, and it's just short of a year out, so how about we all just calm down and not dismiss the entire game based on a couple of minutes of footage seen at E3, and one writer's experience of playing a specific section that BioWare were showing.

    Personally, I'd like a happy medium between Mass 1 and Mass 2, and I'm hoping that's what Mass 3 will give us.

    Also, bad09, it won't all be on Earth.

  • HL706 #37 12 months ago

    I honestly feel this is my last BioWare game. Even then, it's only my last because I want to see how the trilogy ends. I was hoping they would shift toward ME1 with this game. The *only* thing ME2 had over the first game was improved gunplay/cover system. The biotic powers, engineer powers, rpg elements (4 bars for a skill tree - really ME2!?) and story were all massively superior in the first game.

    Maybe Obsidian will rise up and become the developer BioWare used to be, one can only hope :(

  • photoboy #38 12 months ago

    Looks like ME3 is on course to disappoint both ME1 and ME2 fans then. While I enjoyed ME1 quite a lot, I much preferred the characters, settings and gameplay of ME2.

    Everything I see about ME3 makes me nervous they're moving too far away from ME2! Most of the characters announced so far are from ME1, I've not heard a peep about Jack or Miranda or even Kelly Chambers. I know they've said all the characters from ME1 and ME2 are in there, but I want more than just one mission cameos from those characters.

  • Inmediasress #39 12 months ago

    @Douche
    The first was superior because it had a self contained great story and not because the shity inventory.
    They fixed the inventory by removing it and they made it more mainstream by putting a half ass story in ME2.
    ME3 looks like to be shaping up like DA2 something utterly awfull with a story that will be as strait forward as you can get.
    Go save the galaxy unite the different armies under your glorius banner because everyone thinks a blight is the best time to start killing eachother ups that was Origins I hope I didn't spoilered all of ME3 plot.
    Of course all this will be overshadowed by the forced gay interracial tentacle sex and the oooooh I have a holographyc blade from halo that can kill people. I don't have anything against gay people or sex in games in general but this looks tobe another DA2 rape fest with inconsistencies.

  • sirtacos #40 12 months ago

    BIOWARE RAPED MY PUPPY!

  • anomagnus #41 12 months ago

    Role on March 2012. Cannot wait.

    Of course, the bioware haters (Read rpg 'fans') will have their pants in a twist now, as OMG GASP, shepard is spending more time talking and shooting, than powering up his int + str stats. Well too bad, you know what to expect now, you can either accept it and move on to a more traditional rpg, or spend the next 12 months having a fit over a game you're going to hate. The game will still sell buckets, and theres not much you can do about it.

    As for tyrant 1, i normally think child rapists deserve to die, but apparantly now music tastes also qualify for death sentances. You really do typify everything that is wrong with internet culture. Big men behind the keyboards. Small men in real life.

  • anomagnus #42 12 months ago

    @Douche

    You cannot base your thoughts on ME2 on this particular forum. The people bitching, in particualr in this board, represent a very small and narrow opinion base. They'd love to think they represent the majority, but like most forumites there are they vocal minority.

    Inmediasress is a pefect example of this, using over the top hyperbole about tentacle sex, and an opnion (just an opinion, mind, not a fact) to justify his points. The facts remain, that ME2 was hightly regarded, critically and commerically. It did better than ME1, and in my opinion (just an opinion, mind) it was a better game. It had a different story, but i enjoyed it, i liked the smaller focus.

    Now, Inmediasress and others like him, would love to condemn the story of ME3, but while they know the broad strokes of it, we don't know the full facts. People should try waiting, not being forum jerks, because they're butt hurt

  • shave_my_donkey #43 12 months ago

    im glad they have sped up the gameplay, ME2 felt far too rigid (didnt stop me from finishing the game 3 times though)

  • disusedgenius #44 12 months ago

    :(

  • Tinrib72 #45 12 months ago

    Wow at the negative comments! This looks like the game I always wanted Mass Effect to be. As it happens I couldnt get into the first one (unskippable cut scenes made me dislike it even more than the RPG elements - which after watching the same scene for over a dozen times made me want to set the disc on fire). Surely I cant be the only one who wanted a big story driven sci-fi game that wasnt an RPG? The whole concept of RPG's just annoys the fuck out of me.

    Maybe I should trudge through the first again (on easy) and get into it properly for the second installment. Can anyone confirm that it is light on stat fiddling and whatnot?

  • Douche #46 12 months ago

    @Inmediasress

    I'm not sure what a self contained story is. I enjoyed the story in the second game.

    @anomagnus

    I won't base my thoughts on the game from this forum - i thought the second games was fucking superb.

    The fact that half my team (including garrras! (lame) and the chick from the second game) died on the final mission was the icing on the cake because i know this didn't happen to everyone and will carry on to the next game. This should happen in more games.

    Or the fact that the Collectors were Protheans! Didn't see that coming either.

  • rottingyoda #47 12 months ago

    Lets not jump to conclusions just yet. At first appearance this does seem to be just another 3rd person shhoter but then end product is still very far away. Lets just hope they decided to deal with the core fighting mechanics before delving into the storyline abd more RPG elements.

    I still have faith Bioware. Don't make me regret it.

  • Douche #48 12 months ago

    @Tinrib72

    I totally recommend that. You'll probably end up enjoying the first game as well. Just save your game as often as you can.

  • tyrant1 #49 12 months ago

    @anomagus + any other prick without a grasp of sarcasm who didnt like my comment.

    Its called facetious overexagerration. Do I really think people should DIE over a video game? Or do I just think its a silly turn of phrase to point out how disappointing it is when morons think a game that, when the trilogy started was never meant to be about dumbass shooter combat more than anything else, suddenly turning itself into a dumbass shooter.

    The Mass Effect series was NEVER originally meant to be about "fluid, visceral moment to moment action". Look at the earliest E3 footage of Mass Effect (which funnily displayed CONVERSATION and EXPLORATION). If the devs even dare say otherwise, they are liars, because their own words contradict them.

    [link url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SvHHO5ksNg
    ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SvHHO5ksNg
    [/link]

    Compare that demo of what the game could be to the one weve just seen at E3 recently?

    Some of the earliest information was talking about how you take command of a vessel and explore the galaxy, with your actions having an impact.

    Not "ZOMG AWSUM SAUCE COHMAT!!!!!!"

    Since ME2, EVERYTHING in Mass Effect has taken a backseat to run of the mill TPS combat.

  • Tinrib72 #50 12 months ago

    @Douche

    Cheers - will give it another go once i've finished up a couple of games. Not sure why you got negged though as you were being helpful, I kinda expected for me though for slating a genre, but ME is a game I always wanted to enjoy/play without the immersion destroying fiddly clunkiness that pervades RPG's as a whole.

    For some I guess the direction Bioware is taking this series is tantamount to heresy. Whatever..

  • username84 #51 12 months ago

    Had to stop reading because of spoilers.

  • TeeHee #52 12 months ago

    @Tinrib72: Why buy an RPG when you dislike RPGs?

  • geeza2020 #53 12 months ago

    "As for tyrant 1, i normally think child rapists deserve to die, but apparantly now music tastes also qualify for death sentances. You really do typify everything that is wrong with internet culture. Big men behind the keyboards. Small men in real life."

    Irony is delicous.

    negged by somebody who doesnt know what irony is perhaps?
    Edited by geeza2020 at 08/06/11 @ 14:57

  • Weezer #54 12 months ago

    I will, cynically, call this as: 'making a good RPG with shooting elements takes 5 years; making an FPS with light RPG overtones takes 2. We did the math and then bought new Ferraris'

  • Inmediasress #55 12 months ago

    @geeza2020

    lol that's really a good one

  • Jonny5Alive7 #56 12 months ago

    I think ME2 got it just right for mixture of RPG and action. I'm hoping this doesn't go too Gears of War but that big turret scene makes it look that way :(

  • Stuz359 #57 12 months ago

    Irony is like Goldy and Bronzy, except with iron.

  • Tinrib72 #58 12 months ago

    @TeeHee

    I bought it because I'm a big fan of sci-fi and seeing there isnt much choice of decent sci-fi games I was hoping that it wouldnt be too heavy on the RPG-ness and more focused on narrative and gameplay. For the most part I enjoyed it up to the Benezia showdown bit where I got bogged down with it. As mentioned before having to watch the same cut scene over and over just ruined it for me.

    The other immersion breaker for me and especially in a game where combat takes place in real time is the fact I have to level up my shooting skills (amongst others). I'M AIMING THE GUN MYSELF! Why the hell should I need to upgrade a skill when I'm doing the work? Its a stupid mechanic that serves only to annoy.

    As it happens I also really wanted to love KOTOR on the last gen of consoles...but no joy for me there either.

    Sci-fi games are largely either dumb shooters or RPG's and no middle ground.

  • zeldasdad #59 12 months ago

    Firstly: of course they're going to show a demo with all the action and combat set pieces as showing a demo with a bunch of people talking is hardly going to have the same impact, and secondly: the strory from the first two games has been moving towards this point , so it makes sense and looks pretty awesome to me

  • bad09 #60 12 months ago

    "Also, bad09, it won't all be on Earth. "[/i]

    Cheers Ror1984, I was worried about that as I hadn't heard anything other than Earth setting wise :)

  • darkmorgado #61 12 months ago

    /cancels preorder.

    Bioware's transformation into generic third person action games is complete.

  • darkmorgado #62 12 months ago

    @Fobsy

    "The only thing about this i'm not looking forward to is all the batty speak that they gonna put in like DA2. Other than that, can't wait. "

    Yes, it's such a terrible thing that Bioware discriminates against homophobes.

    Oh wait, no it isn't.
    Edited by darkmorgado at 08/06/11 @ 16:25

  • darkmorgado #63 12 months ago

    @Tinrib72

    "Surely I cant be the only one who wanted a big story driven sci-fi game that wasnt an RPG? The whole concept of RPG's just annoys the fuck out of me."

    Then don't buy a fucking RPG then you twat. That sort of stupid geek entitlement is what's bad with gaming. "Wah wah, I don't get it, dumb it down for me!"

  • layleeloo #64 12 months ago

    Oooooh another boring same old same old game on the HD machines....Yawwwwwwwn

  • metalangel #65 12 months ago

    @Douche: if and when a GOTY edition of ME2 comes to 360, I will play it, and not before.

  • spekkeh #66 12 months ago

    Choosing weapon loadouts and customising weapons is NOT ROLEPLAY, it's STRATEGY. Learn the difference FFS. Making things explicit or implicit also has fuck all to do with it being an RPG or not.

    ME2 with its greater cast and more relationships, choosing which loyalty missions you did et cetera is every bit as RPG the first one, possibly even more so.

  • spekkeh #67 12 months ago

    Then don't buy a fucking RPG then you twat. That sort of stupid geek entitlement is what's bad with gaming. "Wah wah, I don't get it, dumb it down for me!"

    Calling somebody who likes Bioware's approach as suffering from geek entitlement, oh the terrible, terrible irony.

  • hiddenranbir #68 12 months ago

    That's fine. Leave the RPG making to the devs that still want to.

    The sooner Bioware shed off their very weak token gestures of 'rpg' elements the less they'll get criticised for the light feel of those aspects.

  • Inmediasress #69 12 months ago

    @spekkeh
    Defining what is rpg and what isn't is dangerous territory.
    There may have been loyalty missions in ME2 but that didn't really help me to care for the characters.
    The story was also much straight forward without the same depth as for example confronting Liara with her mother in ME1 or killing wrex for that matter or killing the what it's name bug thingy. The illusion of choiche matters much to me and I believe to other people as well. ME2 somehow didn't deliver that.
    Sure there were choiches but those were kind of no brainers or the kind that you somehow feelt didn't matter
    Edited by Inmediasress at 08/06/11 @ 16:46

  • Ror1984 #70 12 months ago

    @bad09 - no worries. They've previously said you get to go to Palaven and Thessia at least, to my knowledge. It wouldn't be a Mass game if you couldn't travel the galaxy, and I'm sure BioWare are clever enough to recognise that, no matter what some on here seem to think.

  • spekkeh #71 12 months ago

    Well I reckon the Wrex thing was not a choice for 80% of regular first time gamers. I fully agree with you that the story was way better and more poignant in 1, but I don't feel your own choices had any more impact on it (there was of course the Kaiden/Ashley thing, but in ME2 you had your crew/Legion and the last mission too). It was just that ME2 lacked an overall narrative focus compared with the rather excellent epiphany in ME1. I was only discussing what an RPG was, as Martin Robinson seems to be, imo, lazily parroting the vocal and frustrated pc internet community, which is completely at odds with Tom Bramwell's original review ('the game can't be accused of dumbing down').

  • Scimarad #72 12 months ago

    If it's as good as ME2 then I don't care what genre they want to call it.

  • panathatube #73 12 months ago

    I really like that they are improving the shoot' em up aspect but at the expense of the RPG experience? No way! I have really bad feelings about this... I am smelling DA2 all over...

  • stryker1121 #74 12 months ago

    Mass market blah blah..did not like what BioWare did w/ ME2. Yes the loadouts were cumbersome but why scrap them entire? Exploration cut out during side missions and you get plopped right down on a planet for five minutes. Combat and convo systems definitely improved over the first game, but Bio took too much away for my personal gaming tastes. A little more customization from a character standpoint would be much appreciated.

  • darc #75 12 months ago

    Same old bait and switch... "Action will improve, but RPG fans will still be happy!" Repeat ad nauseum until the 11th hour, and then suddenly, "OK, yeah, it's an action game now." Dragon Age 2, anyone?

    Oh well, at least ME is good shooter in its own right. DA has simply become a mockery.

  • feybuhl #76 12 months ago

    Hi all.
    Of course E3 is all about showing the flashy bits, but consider this one salient point...
    Compare how Todd Howard describes Skyrim to Casey Hudson and ME3, big fricking difference.

    I've heard 'run-n-gun' multiple times now from Casey.
    I remember the good old days when RPG combat success/failure was skill/stats based, kind of like ME1.

    I just want 2 things from Bioware.
    I'll happily buy ME3 if they drop RPG from the genre description.
    Irrelevant to everyone but me, but it should be done on principle alone.

    It'd be nice if everyone doing PR for Bioware would stop saying 'we listened to our fans'
    when talking about the changes in the series for the purpose of streamlining/accessibility,
    which is pretty much Bioware telling me that I'm not a fan.

  • SuperCol84 #77 12 months ago

    I am shocked that a trailer for a game would show the most action-packed, explosion-y parts. What were Bioware thinking? I demand to see 10 minutes of Shepard padding around the Normady talking about turian origins. That'll get the people excited!
    Edited by SuperCol84 at 08/06/11 @ 18:12

  • anomagnus #78 12 months ago

    @tyrant - ah of course, it was delicious irony... Such lofty humour you have. Easy fall back to make when someone calls you out. Oh, it was just sarcasm. Yep.

    If all you can see is the mechanics of the action, thats your problem. You don't seem able to see past it. I don't see ME2 or the whole series as a shooter. When i look back on my memories of the game, i remember the choices i made. I cannot wait to see how these choices pan out. And correct me if i am wrong, but i do remember taking control of the normandy and exploring the galaxy. Unless of course all that star map interaction was just my imagination.

    As for choices, my choices do have an impact, and in fact we'll see those impacts in ME3. I went out of my way to ensure the survival of the geth, the quarians, the rachni and the krogan. I forged good relationships with citidel space. I'm assuming i'll see the impact of those decisions over the COURSE of the entire story, rather than waiting to see the outcomes of choices in chapter one, delivered in chapter two. I mean, that wouldnt make sense, but hey, you're the smart person here, right?

    But hey buddy, you seem like a mature person, i'm sure you're prepared to wait until the game comes out before judging it. After all, with such a great sense of humour, you're bound to be an intelligent and patient person...

    Just in case that was too subtle for you there, there was quite a bit of sarcasm in my post.

  • lafery #79 12 months ago

    That's where I get off the boat. Don't worry though, there are plenty of FPS fans out there so I know you don't give a damn, BioWare.

  • sirBetamax #80 12 months ago

    I think we all need to calm down, take a deep breath and realise that this is how ME games have initially previewed from the very start. That doesn't mean to say it isn't putting emphasis on the shooting, but the funny thing is - it ALWAYS has! It has always been sold as BioWare doing a shooty game with their RPG bits woven in. Kinda like how TOR is an MMO with their RPG bits woven in. Considering they already announced several things which improve the RPG elements of ME2 I can't see why we should be getting worried this won't be space Baldur's Gate -now-? If ME2 didn't tell you where this series gameplay focus lay then I don't know what game you were playing.

    The fact remains the talky bits are still in, the character building/power evolving bits are still in, the armor and weapon customisation is actually better than before, and there will be plenty of choices and endings to play through. Oh and you will get to have sexytime with several different people (they have even improved that by including new options for gay and lesbian players apparently).

    Eh, I get that we all have to be worried that they will mess it up after DA2 (a game I enjoyed despite it's flaws), but this is not only a completely different dev team but an entirely kettle of fish altogether - for starters they have been given a decent amount of development time to finish it! They were always going to show combat stuff at E3 because that's what gets attention thesedays unfortunately. CGI and killing. I fully expect they will have revealed TOO much info about this game for my liking by release (like with ME2).

  • Inmediasress #81 12 months ago

    @darc
    Yeah agreed they did the same with DA2.
    The thing is I remember how many fanboys were in a frenzy when people started to question DA2 being garbage.
    Every single one of them said wait and see well I waited but I saw only what I have seen/heard beforehand namely that it's going to be garbage.
    The fanboys still insited that it's going to be the next best thing to geting laid. Even when the horrendous demo came out they still insisted.
    Then came the shit reviews and some fanboys even then proclaimed that you/me are the idiot you don't see how great it is?????
    Also agreed it's going to be a nice shooter. I guess they try to pull these shit moves because they know people want to know what happens to Shepard so they will buy anything.

  • Ed6445 #82 12 months ago

    At least I'll have Skyrim to scratch that RPG itch, and The Witcher to tide me over 'til then...

  • Douche #83 12 months ago

    @Tinrib72

    I'm in the same boat as you. I was after a decent sci-fi game with a shit hot story. The fact that it wasn't a turn based RPG made me go for it. I didn't mind the RPG elements too much but i think they took away from the experience a bit.

    @darkmorgado

    I don't get how it's dumbed down? That number is bigger than that number so i need to changed armour, gun, ammo is what it boils down to. Hardly rocket science.

  • azizur #84 12 months ago

    OK, to all of those people complaining how they like RPGs and are upset that ME3 seems (and I do mean SEEMS) to have sacrificed it: just a little suggestion.

    If you like RPGs so much.... just buy an RPG. Don't complain that a game isn't the kind of genre you want, it's just stupid.

  • metalangel #85 12 months ago

    Anyone remember that magazine ad for the first game? Boring (male) Shepard, Garrus and someone else (Ashley?) standing next to the Mako.

    Up above, each star in the sky is labelled "SOS" or "Contact Lost". I expected a desperate race against time to save individual planets, not to casually swan around, doing the odd sidequest too, with no urgency until the very end.

    Likewise, an early trailer had Boring Shepard and co. flying over a planet undersiege, with Shepard abandoning them to total destruction. Nothing like that in the game either.

    I hate marketing people for misleading shit just like this. Years ago, my best friend and I went to see Saving Private Ryan, knowing nothing apart from what the ads had showed, and expecting a drama about human spirit triumphing over adversity. We were both surprised (her especially) to see it was more about triumphing over some very angry and very German Germans by shooting at them constantly for two hours.

  • Guv #86 12 months ago

    Just watched the E3 interview at another popular site for game trailers *cough cough* and they are indeed expanding the RPG areas (more choices, weapon and armor customization) aswell as the combat. Not sure clicking through menus at a workbench makes a good E3 trailer though...

  • milki-tea #87 12 months ago

    Eurogamer....the whole "don't fear the reaper" tagline got boring 2 years ago, when you used it....
    Oh, and one last thing.....The Blue Oyster Cult are fucking shit.

  • coldfoot #88 12 months ago

    It's a shame when Call of Duty has more RPG elements than Mass Effect...

  • mrboshingles #89 12 months ago

    Have to agree with the comments regarding dumbing down their main franchises, I am somewhat circumspect about ME3, it seems they are trying too hard to cater to the ADHD generation. Hope I'm proved wrong. Will still buy it though, just to see it through.
    Edited by mrboshingles at 08/06/11 @ 23:25

  • UncleLou #90 12 months ago

    If you like RPGs so much.... just buy an RPG. Don't complain that a game isn't the kind of genre you want, it's just stupid.

    If only all the people who complained about the RPG elements (stat-based combat, inventory, etc.) of Mass Effect 1 would have done the same and bought a third-person shooter, eh.

  • Tinrib72 #91 12 months ago

    @darkmorgado - Too many smarties before tea time? Maybe I was a bit harsh on this genre, but I was merely pointing out certain flaws with ME1 (unskippable scenes - main culprit) and I seem to remember that it was a game that was advertised as part action game/part RPG. Just thought that certain things seemed like a convention/mechanic just to appease the 'proper' RPG-ers but not really suited to this game.

    It seems Bioware feels the same and dropped a few of these and concentrated on making a tighter game (a good thing), yet the sulky comments you and a few others make feels that Bioware have made Gears of Mass Halo Effect, which to anyone with their sensible head on will know that this is bollocks.

    Please feel free to carry on being a miserable cunt now. Cheers.

  • geeza2020 #92 12 months ago

    Cant wait for this game though in all seriousness, though mainly jsut so I can get some closure on the story. Once I've finished it I wont be buying another Bioware game though. They dont make RPG's anymore, and they dont make action games of a high enough standard for me to care about them.

  • Sunyavadin #93 12 months ago

    "If you’re not playing as female Shepard, you’re playing it wrong."

    EG: Telling it like it is.

  • geeza2020 #94 12 months ago

    yeah less options, stats are confusing to my 8 year old mind, I want to get back to concentrating on my perks and kill streaks..... oh wait, wrong game.

    dumbass.

  • geeza2020 #95 12 months ago

    when have you ever had to spend time looking for mandatory gun components in any mass effect game? never, thats when. I cant think of any game thats made you do that actually.

  • darc #96 12 months ago

    azizur: "If you like RPGs so much.... just buy an RPG. Don't complain that a game isn't the kind of genre you want, it's just stupid."

    I'd like to recommend, then, that Bioware stop marketing these as being RPGs, even a little bit. How's that grab you? But wait, Bioware would prefer to have their cake and eat it too, i.e. sell their games to the whole lot of us. Don't blame us "stupid" RPG fans for their greed, please (lest we parry with a +2 Post of Indignation.)
    Edited by darc at 09/06/11 @ 16:17

  • darc #97 12 months ago

    @Inmediares

    How embarrassing that I actually gave that demo the benefit of the doubt, and thought DA2 was going to be OK. Little did I know that the demo pretty much revealed the full extent of the gameplay: Click baddies, repeat.

  • Farzlepot #98 12 months ago

    I understand what Bioware are doing. I don't understand why EA are making them do it, though.

    When a game sells well, you don't need to radically change it for the next instalment, like they have done for Dragon Age 2 and as they are doing in Mass Effect 2/3. You never saw Bungie shifting Halo from the FPS genre and into the RPG genre for Halo 2, did you? Half-Life 2 didn't inexplicably become an RTS. And not once did I have to perform an accurate simulated plane landing in Uncharted 2. And those games did alright from a sales point of view, right?

    And why are so many people cheering the death of the Bioware RPG? If you don't like RPGs, don't fucking buy them.
    Edited by Farzlepot at 09/06/11 @ 21:40

  • hags #99 12 months ago

    Anyone who doubts that BioWare's promise of richer RPG elements will be fulfilled should watch the Gamespot E3 interview demonstrating the menus- which show that there will be more skills with more levels and a lot more freedom and choice how to upgrade those, meaning that, coupled with the weapon customization and various ending sequences, this will be not less, but more of an RPG than Mass Effect 2.

    Also: BioWare made action games before, people just seem to ignore that, just like they ignore all the linear and unskippable TPS combat in ME1.
    Not to mention that TPS usually don't have an upgrade system or dialoge this extensive and branching.
    Last but not least: Comparisons to DA2 are moot because it's not the same team.

  • UncleLou #100 12 months ago

    I find it quite cute how Fobsy tries to insult others by calling them "nerds" while he's massively looking forward to a space-opera shooter, to enjoy the story no less. :D

  • feybuhl #101 12 months ago

    overly complex pedantic finnicky boring shit bits
    Lovely, just lovely.
    Please buy witcher2/skyrim/reckoning and then complain in the game forums using those words.
    One person's trash... you know?
    I don't remember ME1 forcing me to fiddle with anything, there seemed to be a
    magic button that automatically upgraded all that overly complex pedantic shit bits.

  • lord_fartsalot #102 12 months ago

    So dark some kid gets fried. Oh Please.

    At this point, it seems they are removing any vestiges of RPG depth that the gameplay had to offer. ME2 was fantastic, but it was so substantially because of the graphics engine overhaul. ME2 played superbly, but it was also quite beautiful. The story sucked balls, but the above 2 factors worked in it's favor. Bioware have been found lacking with their RPGs and I suspect the decision to postpone ME3 had a lot more to do with the release of skyrim, witcher 2's reception, and the anger against DA2 (especially the coming release of skyrim)

    ME3, already looks dated, and by most accounts it's just a TPS with inventory. Unless they do something really cool with the story, and add a lot of value to multiple playthroughs or atleast make a decent RPG length game, I feel this would just end up angering fans like DA2 did.

  • hags #103 12 months ago

    @Fartsalot: The engine may be dated, but the set design of ME3 still look awe-inspiring. It's aslo a better TPS and RPG than ME2 to boot (See my post above). I don't know how good the story will be, but I hope that the ramifications for our choices will be substantial. Casey Hudson stated that it will be around as long as ME2, but will offer a lot more incentive to re-play.

  • superflyninja #104 12 months ago

    were Bioware bought out by Activision? Cos this fucking lark of turning the game into a shooter is a joke.Sad thing is most fans WILL buy the game to finish the story with their own Shepard but the brainless shooting might draw more COD heads in thus making the game more popular and EA thinking hey hey turning off all the nerd stuff worked!!! Lets give the players a fuckign lobotomy for ME4

  • LG #105 12 months ago

    You know what's sad? That Eurogamer makes another mistake in information (like that time they talked about the Atlas Mech being "50 feet tall" when it's actuall "15";). Now they claim Mass Effect 3 has completely dumped the RPG aspects. But a quick look at the screenshots of the power customization options in this link

    [link url=http://imageshack.us/g/27/screenshot20110608at125.jpg/
    ]http://imageshack.us/g/27/screenshot2011...[/link]

    Shows that they've taken then ME2 system and expanded it further.

  • darc #106 12 months ago

    "Last but not least: Comparisons to DA2 are moot because it's not the same team."

    So are you implying that corporate tendencies at EA/ Bioware won't have any impact on this team? That seems a bit naive. Still, I hope you're right about the customization options pointing to a richer RPG, and I agree that ME to DA is somewhat apples to oranges. ME always was a hybrid action/RPG, so I don't *hate* the idea of the action being hyped a bit with each iteration. DA did not suffer that transition as gracefully.

  • irrational-gaz #107 12 months ago

    It amaizes me that people seem so shocked that in the final part of a scifi trilogy which has culminated in an intergalactic war you have to do a lot of shooting. This is after all the closing chapter of the story and is therefore about revealing the long term consequences of our actions, the rpg elements will unfold uniquely for each persons play through so it,s not really feasible to showcase in a five minute video preview.

  • RedgeHammer #108 12 months ago

    all I care about is experiencing the game. I, also, can't wait for my previous decisions to shape the universe where my Cmdr S. resides. Krogan and Rachni fighting with me is what I am hoping. Is loss inevitable? Being Shepherd, shaping , and saving, the universe, and the decisions it takes to do both, are my favorite parts of my Mass Effect RPG experience. I can't wait !!

  • Lateralus2001 #109 12 months ago

    I do think this is scaremongering from Eurogamer. I've read alot of previews of this game and it clearly seems the rpg elements haven't been dumbed down when compared too ME2. If anything there is more customisation.

    Here is a quote from project director Casey Hudson from GamesTM preview, "We were extremely happy with the overall design structure of ME2.... but we also knew that one thing we had to do with ME3 was to take that clean action focus from ME2 as a platform to provide the deeper customisation and decison-making that fans missed from the original game. So we're doing a bunch of things to give more options to how you buy select, and modify your gear."

    It's perfectly normal for Bioware to show action sequences, and nothing else at a trade show. It doesn't mean the game is going to be like Gears of War FFS!

    Yes Dragon Age 2 was a tedious pile of shit, but a different team make the ME games, and they have provided two good games so far IMO.

  • musiksoulchild #110 10 months ago

    The things I would do to Tali