Mass Effect 3 demo includes free Xbox Live Gold

By Tom Phillips Published 2 February, 2012

Online multiplayer available to all.

Mass Effect 3's demo includes access to Xbox Live Gold, enabling all players to sample the game's online multiplayer.

Microsoft will provide a limited time Gold subscription with the download, BioWare confirmed via its official forum.

BioWare did not explain specifics, but presumably players will be granted temporary Gold access via a code included in the demo, redeemable for a short-term period of online play.

Whether this offer will affect Microsoft's usual policy of limiting Xbox Live demos to Gold members during their first week of release was also not mentioned.

BioWare's Mass Effect 3 demo is scheduled to hit Xbox Live, PlayStation Network and PC on 14th February. It also includes a single-player mission from the start of the game's campaign where the dreaded Reapers invade Earth.

Gamers who have activated Battlefield 3's online pass get access to the demo's multiplayer offering straight away. Everyone else can join in on 17th February, three days later. So if you've never played Battlefield 3 online, don't redeem your free Xbox Live until then.

Mass Effect 3 arrives in stores on 9th March.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Phillips

Tom joined Eurogamer in 2010 and has quickly made his mark writing news and columns and coming up with puntastic straplines. Questionable beard.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Phillips archive page.

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Comments (42) Latest comment 3 weeks ago

  • coomber #1 3 weeks ago

    If Sony owners are able to play the demo, Microsoft are pretty much forced to do this. Some might argue it should be free all the time anyway....

  • Malek86 #2 3 weeks ago

    I suppose it will be immediately available to Silver users too, then, otherwise it wouldn't make much sense.

  • arcam #3 3 weeks ago

    So if you've never played Battlefield 3 online...

    ...then you really wasted your money.

  • swissorc #4 3 weeks ago

    I don't want a demo and I don't want multiplayer All I want is a proper sequel to the first Mass Effect not the action adventure sequel let down that was Mass Effect 2. EA it seems are keen to go back to their old ways of having a terrible gamer image.

  • manic_mouse #5 3 weeks ago

    @swissorc Agreed. I want strategic control of all characters, not direct control of one. Dragon Age and ME are now more action RPG's than RPGs.

  • jetsetwillie #6 3 weeks ago

    @swissorc well i thought ME2 was fantastic. so who does EA please you or me

  • Slikz #7 3 weeks ago

    EA would please me if they hurry up and get the ssx demo out.

  • Whitster #8 3 weeks ago

    Unlike all the other whingers I'm actually quite eager to try out the multiplayer, rather than the single player demo. I'm still somewhat irritated as to why BF3 players were the logical choice for early beta access here though?

  • evild_edd #9 3 weeks ago

    I think it's a very vocal minority who disliked ME2. I can understand that it moved towards a more 'actiony' feel, which is away from what some will prefer. However, I recall the original being criticised for having 'loose' shooting mechanics.

    The series was always devised as something of a shooter/RPG hybrid, and I think the punchier shooting of ME2 produced an experience closer to the original intent. Some gamers act as though Bioware/EA have betrayed them with ME2, which I just don't see as the case.

    I'm sure that ME3 will be a top quality game. Whether I bother much with the MP remains to be seen, but I'm confident that the SP will be quality regardless of where it places itself along the action/RPG scale...

  • jetsetwillie #10 3 weeks ago

    @Whitster me too. i think it looks pretty cool.

  • superflyninja #11 3 weeks ago

    the multipalyer can fcuk right off. i play ME for story and rpg.

  • 32768Colours #12 3 weeks ago

    A demo appearing on PSN and XBL around the same time doesn't usually move Microsoft to make concessions to silver users, so I reckon EA must have been rather "persuasive" in this instance.

    I'm not entirely thrilled with the idea of this new-fangled multiplayer mode, but I suppose its worth a try. For the purposes of a demo I'd say the multiplayer is sufficient for me.

    I really don't want to spoil the single player campaign before I actually buy the game, so I'll probably leave that part of the demo alone. For better or worse I need closure on Shepherd's story!

  • jetsetwillie #13 3 weeks ago

    @superflyninja lucky you have the power to choose what you play then. its amazing really when you think about it, choice i mean.

  • Ironrobe #14 3 weeks ago

    I don't understand the ME2 hate, it improved on the original in every way! ME1 was very good. ME2 was amazing! Looking forward to ME3

  • Wot_the_Melon #15 3 weeks ago

    @evild_edd One word: Nostalgia. Especially in RPGs, no matter what you do, people will remember the first time they played it, the first time they entered this fantastic world. I myself occasionally think I prefer ME1 over ME2, though, when playing both, it's hard to find something that ME1 really did better.
    Also, free XBL Gold is again a smart move from EA marketing-wise. After BF3 I'm starting to wonder whether they have a hidden policy that at least half of the budget for a game has to go to marketing...

  • MisterFalseName #16 3 weeks ago

    While it was definitely a better game overall, I wouldn't say it improved on the original in every way. The dialogue, especially the evil vs good choices, were depressingly simplistic...

  • manic_mouse #17 3 weeks ago

    @evild_edd "Some gamers act as though Bioware/EA have betrayed them with ME2, which I just don't see as the case."

    Bioware said at one point (although I can't find a quote since ME2 + 3 flood searches) that ME1 could be played completely tactically without directly shooting at all. While I'm sure the Gears of War shooting appeals to many I would at least like the option of having RPG combat, with more emphasis on tactics than skill. While I hesitate to use the words "dumbed down" I think there is definitely a move away from the complex games a minority of us enjoy.

    I guess what sells is more important, however I would LOVE to play the pure RPG Mass Effect. That Obsidian Alien RPG that got canned too.

  • blarty #18 3 weeks ago

    I'm looking forward to playing the multiplayer as an extra.... however it won't be being touched until after I've finished playing the single player....


    Well, my first playthrough anyhow*


    (* Currently on playthrough number 12 of Mass Effect 2... )
    Edited by 1 at 02/02/12 @ 13:39

  • HisDudness #19 3 weeks ago

    ME2 has the distinction of being the only game I've fallen asleep while playing. Though to be fair I had been drinking.

  • anomagnus #20 3 weeks ago

    @gotyourmoney

    I do. Personally speaking, it followed the usual pattern of a 3 part tale. We had a big intro, then we had a period where the main character suffered, and had to find himself, before ending with a bang.

    We got to see a lot of the ME universe, i loved that.

  • FanBoysSuck #21 3 weeks ago

    @evild_edd

    While I liked ME2, I though the first was better simply because it was more of an RPG. Hell I don't even think of the second as an RPG, more an action adventure game.

    What annoyed a lot of people, including myself, was the removal of the RPG systems. I liked the Deus Ex style your aim gets better as you improve your level. I liked all the loot. I liked the planet exploring.

    Hopefully ME3 will be a happy medium between the two.

    Edit : and planet scanning sucked ass.
    Edited by 1 at 02/02/12 @ 13:57

  • jetsetwillie #22 3 weeks ago

    @MizterColeMiner how much overrated was it. i always find it hard to quantify overratedness.

  • MrVengeance #23 3 weeks ago

    Its a joke that XBLA is paid for and PSN isn't. I'm buying all my multiformat games for Sony's system from now on, having gotten one for Christmas, because its free to play online.

  • WeakOrbit #24 3 weeks ago

    http://www.eurog amer.net/articles/2011-11-07-mass-effect-3-beta-leak-reveals -campaign-game-modes

    There appears to be a listed RPG mode and an Action mode. Since I'm in the process of replaying Mass Effect 1 on the 360 I can say Mass Effect 2 was a huge improvement in terms of gameplay but didn't seem to have as many pivotal choices as the first one.

    It will be interesting to see the differences in each mode. I'll probably go with action over RPG though as the shooting in ME1 really was dodgy.
    Edited by 3 at 02/02/12 @ 14:21

  • Gecks #25 3 weeks ago

    @manic_mouse "Bioware said at one point (although I can't find a quote since ME2 + 3 flood searches) that ME1 could be played completely tactically without directly shooting at all."

    i've completed both games on insanity (actually i'm still doing ME2 at the moment, but the end is in sight!), and i'd say it's actually easier to play ME2 in that fashion than ME1. in ME2 almost every enemy has shields/armour, so you're best off just using your powers whilst your squad chip away at them; shooting isn't really necessary.

    ME1 had the illusion of complexity, but there was too much vagueness with the equipment and combat. ME2 strips all this away and really focuses on the core combat, making all the stuff that is there feel less ambiguous, rather than yet another number which doesn't seem to mean anything. i really like ME2's paper-scissor-stone approach.

    (i think the story was better in ME1, though)

  • Fruit-Salad #26 3 weeks ago

    Post deleted at 01:35:51 08-02-2012

  • Porcupine_I #27 3 weeks ago

    and THIS is why it is a good thing that the game went multiplat!

  • Ironrobe #28 3 weeks ago

    @gotyourmoney The story in both games is great, it's just a matter of personal taste. The gameplay mechanics were much improved for ME2. It just feels a lot better to play. I also hated the vehicle sections in ME1. I tried to play through ME1 again recently but I struggle to enjoy it now the way I did. It hasn't aged well in a gameplay sense.

  • superflyninja #29 3 weeks ago

    @jetsetwillie But i dont have the choice. Bioware dictate the style of game.I loved ME2 but I hated the "streamlining".A lot of freedom and rpg elements were taken in ME2 and so far its looking like EA are going further down the dumbing down action route for ME3. Multiplayer wasnt an obvious choice for assassins creed but it worked because the gameplay was primarily physical. IMO for many the main draw in ME is the story and rpg side and so multiplayer really does seem crowbarred in. though ill probably be wrong in the end.

    Edit: Though a multiplayer coop mode for stuff like WOW raids would be good! VERY good
    Edited by 1 at 02/02/12 @ 15:01

  • StooMonster #30 3 weeks ago

    @HisDudness ME2 has the distinction of being the only game I've fallen asleep while playing.

    Fable 3 for me, woke up and my character had been running into a corner for hours.

  • Ironrobe #31 3 weeks ago

    @gotyourmoney Could you save some of your tears in a jar for me please?

  • acehotshot #32 3 weeks ago

    They should put this video in every subsequent news item for ME3. Keith David is ace: 'I play Admiral Anderson. He's a Man's Man.'

  • zune_lai #33 3 weeks ago

    @swissorc lol nice troll :)

  • TrevHead #34 3 weeks ago

    the problem with gold is that there isnt many ppl playing any xbla games which tend to be the kind of games i wanna co-op

    If MS would make a half price gold plated account so I could co-op xbla games and ignore retail co-op

  • jessewiatrak #35 3 weeks ago

    Commenting on this is hard; I can't think of any disingenuous assertions...

  • manic_mouse #36 3 weeks ago

    @Gecks I think what they were talking about was that you could simply order people about, rather than aim and shoot manually. Personally I would prefer this, as it's more tactical than skill based. I rarely, if ever, interfered with my team-mates in ME2 - just left them to it. The gameplay itself is very much shooter rather than RPG.

    What I would prefer is a system where cover, positioning and abilities are what win the fights and where you control all your squadmates indirectly with orders to make best advantage of this. Imagine ME2 mixed with frozen synapse.

  • Totza #37 3 weeks ago

    @arcam Its the best fps out there, what other fps comes close?

  • anomagnus #38 3 weeks ago

    @gotyourmoney

    No, i'll admit i worded that poorly, i was in work.

    I take the entire second game as the second act of a book. In the first game, shepard was not broken down. On the contrary, he rose to the challenge, he was a new man. He became a spectre and saved the universe.

    In ME2, he was broken physically, his legacy tarnished, and forced to work for people he wouldn't normally spit on. Everything he knew was taken from him, ending in potential shame and court martial.

    Now we move into the third and final act, redemption and closure. All his potential or failures will be realized as we move towards the end of the story.

  • Bremenacht #39 3 weeks ago

    pew

  • WinterMute78 #40 3 weeks ago

    @manic_mouse well your all in luck then as ME 3 has three single player modes. RPG with dumbed down action. Action with dumbed down RPG and Story for the full experience. So EA/Bioware have been listening to you after all. Strange that so many claim to be such big followers of this series and yet don't know about this feature.
    Edited by 1 at 03/02/12 @ 05:56

  • superflyninja #41 3 weeks ago

    @WinterMute78 reading about those modes it sounds like action = auto dialogue responses,normal action
    rpg = dialogue choice, easy combat
    story - dialogue choice and normal combat

    so it doesnt exactly look like RPG mode will give you back an inventory or the mako

  • BigJonno #42 3 weeks ago

    I'm assuming that when people talk about the RPG systems in ME1, they mean the loot and skill points. I like these elements in my games, but they were really badly done. The differences between items were pretty much inconsequential until you got to the very high end of things and had mods that could radically alter how your guns performed. Other than that, it was lots of pausing the game to swap out Gun A for Gun B with five more points of damage that feels exactly the same to fire. The skill system was marred by having too many important but boring skills, like the ones needed to open locks, making the whole process rather dull and uninspired.

    Sure, ME2 greatly simplified things, but it replaced lots of pointless complexity with meaningful or interesting choices. All the weapons of a given type had significant trade-offs of accuracy, damage, ammo capacity and rate of fire. Do you take the shotgun that can blow the head off a charging krogan but has to be reloaded after every shot or do you take the faster firing one with a big clip? Every skill point you spend either gives you a new ability or noticeably increases the power of an existing one and every skill has a mutually exclusive choice to be made with the last point.

    Would I have preferred to have the best of both worlds and have bucketloads of guns that could be tinkered with and felt noticeably different from each other? Of course. Do I still think that, in a case of one or the other, Bioware made the right choice? Definitely.