E3 2011: Mass Effect 3

Shown at E3 2011, Mass Effect 3 is the final title in the trilogy starring Commander Shepard. In this video, we see that the Reapers have finally arrived in our galaxy and are in the process of conquering Earth. The game promises to be a finale that lives up to the expectations all the fans have for it, with every decision you made in the past two games coming to bear in this one, drastically altering your circumstances and who your squadmates are. According to Casey Hudson of Bioware Studios, you will encounter either Kaiden or Ashley during your time on Earth, depending on who you chose to save in the first game - pretty crazy, huh? If the second game was any indication, where almost every major decision you made (and even some that were fairly minor) comes back around in a positive or negative way, the "butterfly effect" of your decisions is going to be quite impressive - I'm interested to see how the Rachni situation plays out!

In this trailer, we see that a lot of changes and tweaks have been made to the gameplay, with more dynamic animations and cover systems, as well as a melee weapon called the Omniblade and grenades. While this description makes it sound like Mass Effect 3 is abandoning its RPG roots and is instead embracing the third person shooter side of its personality, that is not the case. Rather, this is the natural evolution of the combat we have seen over the course of the series. I will say, I was slightly disappointed with the demo for two reasons, the first being I find the animations to be somewhat stiff, but it is a problem that has plagued the series since its beginning (and I admit - I have been spoiled by Uncharted 2). My second disappointment comes from the color scheme - it could just be the environment that the demo takes place in, but all the colors just look a little washed out. However, these are just nitpicking issues, ones that ultimately do not affect the game, or my excitement for it, much.

To be fair, I am also a very big Mass Effect fan - this could very likely be my favorite science fiction universe outside of that of Star Wars, and there are enough similarities between the two to keep a self-professed nerd like myself quite happy. Just like I geeked out for months on every crumb of information on the second game before it came out, so I will do with this game. It's not healthy, but I'm okay with it! Included below is another part of the E3 demo, as well as a trailer for the game shown at E3. Enjoy the videos!

Reaper Base E3 Demo


Fall of Earth Trailer