Mass Effect playable at E3

By Tom Bramwell Published 24 March, 2006

Plus more details.

Bioware's revealed a bit more about Xbox 360 RPG Mass Effect - including the fact that it'll be playable at E3 in May.

Due out either this year or next, Mass Effect's an action RPG in which players form bands of intergalactic adventurers and go around smacking aliens in the face (roughly), discovering planets to explore and basically pillage as they roam around the solar systems and galaxies.

Speaking to IGN during GDC, Bioware's joint-CEOs Greg and Ray (saves typing) said that prior to battles, which will be proper real-time, players will be able to plan strategies to use, and then swap characters as the fights unfold too. Characters will fit into what sound like fairly standard archetypes - long/short range specialists, healers, etc. - but during the creation phase you'll be able to specify what you want, including the sorts of special attacks they have. The game will also use what's been pegged as Bioware's traditional weapon and armour progression trees.

On the graphical side, the game obviously looks amazing, and promises to have finer detail levels in terms of animation even than Jade Empire. Bioware apparently wanted to create more credible characters, who deliver poignant dialogue and realistic facial animation - it's about articulating emotion without necessarily saying anything, seems to be the gist of it. They want memorable smiles.

All quite intriguing - we'll be sure to take a closer look and see if it makes us smile when we get to E3.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

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

You may also like...

Comments (24) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Blerk #1 6 years ago

    E3's going to be fabbo this year. Can't wait!

  • Dizzy #2 6 years ago

    /faints

  • Xerx3s #3 6 years ago

    Wow, bioware just keeps on creating new franchises & innovating. 0_o

    Really looking foreward to this.

  • alpha-0ne #4 6 years ago

    biowares pedigree is second to none MS have done a great job to signing this up as an exclusive xbox 360 trilogy, same with too human for that matter
    Edited by 1 at 24/03/06 @ 11:24

  • lemonfist #5 6 years ago

    "On the graphical side, the game obviously looks amazing, and promises to have finer detail levels in terms of animation even than Jade Empire."
    That does not sound very promising considering how crap the animation in Jade Empire could be at times.

  • Xerx3s #6 6 years ago

    0_o

    JE was ace imo.

  • ave #7 6 years ago

    Man, this sounds really poor.

    A generic intergalactic action-rpg? meh :(

  • tengu #8 6 years ago

    I'm looking forward to it, but I really hope they come up with a combat system a lot better than the crap they had in Jade Empire. Something like KotOR would be preferable.

  • Teeth #9 6 years ago

    lol, KOTOR -> KOTOR2 -> Jade Empire. Yeah, that's innovation.

  • reality_cheque #10 6 years ago

    @ave: "Man, this sounds really poor.

    A generic intergalactic action-rpg? meh :("

    Man that comment was really poor.

    A generic i-don't-like-this-genre-meh. Meh :(

    If you don't like the idea of it, then don't buy it. Or better yet, buy it and give it to me - I'll happily play it for you.

  • rhinoxious #11 6 years ago

    I think they have a good track record for coming up with new IP, at least within the RPG genre:

    # Shattered Steel (1996)
    # Baldur's Gate (1998)
    # Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast (1999)
    # MDK2 (2000)
    # Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn (2000)
    # MDK2: Armageddon (2001)
    # Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal (2001)
    # Neverwinter Nights (2002)
    # Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide (2003)
    # Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic ("KotOR";) (2003)
    # Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark (2003)
    # Jade Empire (2005)
    # Neverwinter Nights: Kingmaker (2005)
    # Dragon Age (In Development)
    # Mass Effect (In Development)

  • Teeth #12 6 years ago

    Yeah, fair enough. My comment was particularly lame, even for me.

  • wolfen #13 6 years ago

    A generic intergalactic action-rpg? meh :(

    Yeah, let's have another "14 year-old boy with spiky hair saves the universe from evil megacorporation/church/wizard" RPG.

  • Mr_Brown #14 6 years ago

    "Yeah, let's have another "14 year-old boy with spiky hair saves the universe from evil megacorporation/church/wizard" RPG."

    Yup...like Star Ocean and Rogue Galaxy...I mean Intergalactic RPG's have never been done before...LoLz...

  • wolfen #15 6 years ago

    Pointing out that a plot/setting is less overused than other != Saying "OMG STFU THIS WAS NEVER DONE BEFORE!!!!11one1"

  • tengu #16 6 years ago

    What does the main character's age and hair style have to do with anything? Practically all RPGs, regardless of setting, follow the same 'go from zero to hero, save the world/universe from evil etc' formula, Mass Effect will be no different I'm betting.

  • The-Bodybuilder #17 6 years ago

    The sony loverboyz are quite skilled at hiding thier identities these days.....

  • tengu #18 6 years ago

    Meaning?

  • Drakron #19 6 years ago

    Meaning its a dig because BioWare (who only done MDK2 for the PS2 or PS One) so far have always been PC and Xbox only.

    Since I played most (including JE) I must say they really gone downhill from BG2, also the dig at BioWare making new IP is a good one because most of their games have been based on established IPs with only Shattered Steel and Jade Empire being their IP and since I played both I can say I am not impressed ... at all.

    Anyway lets see what happens, with luck its better that Jade Empire (not that its setting up the bar high).

  • Dizzy #20 6 years ago

    >The sony loverboyz are quite skilled at hiding thier identities these days.....

    :) They are panicking a bit now that 360 got a 10 on EG and the list of RPGs on the 360 seems to grow. By the time the PS3 is here, 360 could have 3 AAA RPGs. Quite amazing in a way...

    NWN2 and Mass Effect are both on my list. Bioware has rarely failed me.

    Why are all the fanbois hitting on Jade Empire? Game got 89 on metacritic....
    Edited by 1 at 25/03/06 @ 10:43

  • flaxy #21 6 years ago

    Some new immage on E3 of call of duty 3 :D

  • Drakron #22 6 years ago

    Because it looked like KotOR mod, except the combat managed to be worst.

    Jade Empire world was underdeveloped and bland, heck I seen more consistent settings in Final Fantasy for god sake ...

    There are two games to judge BioWare effort on creating IPs, one is Jade Empire and the other Shattered Steel and both are very lacking on that department.

    So far BioWare createst success have been on using D&D system, both on settings and on gamerules ... even KotOR used the d20 system (even if on a very broken state) just to show how any faith in ME on BioWare efforts rest on Dragon Age and even that we always hope they dont ditch the game into a "new team" just like JE was.

  • urban #23 6 years ago

    gits....while we sit here and read your typing...gits gits gits

  • Vin #24 6 years ago

    "lol, KOTOR -> KOTOR2 -> Jade Empire. Yeah, that's innovation."

    nintendo.com