Ryan Scott, Executive Editor: So, is Mass Effect 3 as much of a jump as the second game was from the first?
Will Tuttle, Editor in Chief: Honestly, it was really tough to say from what I saw in this short, combat-heavy demo. I was extremely excited to check the game out, as I played both Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 multiple times. According to BioWare's Casey Hudson, Mass Effect 3 will be much larger in scale than the previous games; he called it "the beginning of the end." But for who? Mankind? The universe? Commander Shepard? That still remains to be seen.
Ryan Scott: Wow, I love cliche teases! What alien menace is threatening the population of whatever universe this is this time?
Will Tuttle: Fans of the franchise know that the Reapers, a race of synthetic/organic hybrids that want to harvest all sentient life for some nefarious reason, are on their way in from deep space to take over the settled universe, starting with Earth. The guys from BioWare termed it "The Galactic War," which certainly sounds like a whole heap of trouble. As for Commander Shepard's role, he's our protector in more ways than one. Not only does he fight the enemy personally, he's also working to rally other planets and societies to help Earth. According to Hudson, the central commodity is war assets, as things like facilities, fleets, and weapons are needed to achieve any hope of turning back the Reapers. My guess is that Shepard needs to curry favor with these various races and societies by completing missions, sort of like what he needed to do to build his team in Mass Effect 2. After all, soldiers don't end wars -- diplomats do. Or is it the other way around?
Ryan Scott: What are they doing in terms of weapon customization? Didn't they screw it up twice before?
Will Tuttle: I don't know that they necessarily screwed it up, but it definitely wasn't optimal in either Mass Effect or Mass Effect 2. The first game had far too many options in terms of weapons, attachments, and ammunition, so it just ended up feeling overwhelming. Mass Effect 2, on the other hand, featured a surprising lack of options. All you could really do was upgrade your default weapons or change the type of ammo they fired. It sounds like the developers really tried to find a sweet spot between the two in Mass Effect 3. You can upgrade your weapons piece by piece, whether it's by adding a different scope or barrel to change the way it performs, or simply swapping out different types of ammo. I'm still not really sure how many weapons will be in the game, but this looks like a step in the right direction. I also had a chance to check out Shepard's new melee weapon: the Omniblade. Basically, it's a giant energy sword that pops out from the tool worn around Commander Shepard's wrist.
Ryan Scott: Did you see anything interesting as far as BioWare's tried-and-true alignment system goes?
Will Tuttle: Sadly, not at all. While Hudson talked a little bit about the how your powers will evolve and progress as you play through the game, he made no mention of how the alignment system works. Hudson was also mum about the how the choices made in the first two games affect the story of Mass Effect 3. In fact, the combat sequence I saw featured an old familiar face that might not be in everyone's game, depending on previous choices they made. As for me, I'm happy to know that Wrex will be in Mass Effect 3.
Ryan Scott: Geez, spoilers, I guess! Tell me more about those combat sequences. I know a lot of people felt that the first Mass Effect was not shooter-y enough, and Mass Effect 2 was way shooter-y.... er. How does this one hold up?
Will Tuttle: Dammit, Ryan, how many times do I need to tell you about the statute of limitations for spoilers? I suppose you didn't know that it turns out the princess is in another castle, either?
As for Mass Effect 3, it looks like the shooter-y-ness is ratcheted up yet another notch, though that's definitely not a bad thing. From what I could tell, the actual combat flows quite a bit better than it did in Mass Effect 2, as Commander Shepard can now perform S.W.A.T. rolls from one cover area to another, and can finally jump down from tiny ledges that even a toddler can navigate. Guess what? He can even toss grenades that don't fly through the air like silly Frisbees (sorry, fans -- those bugged the hell out of me in the first Mass Effect). All told, the combat looks a lot more intense than it did in franchise's previous entries, as the squad was battling some members of Cerberus, which had finally been indoctrinated into the Reapers' mindless army. Honestly, I wish we had seen more of Mass Effect 3, as a few minutes of combat in narrow corridors really didn't give me much of a feel for what to expect from the finished game. One thing I do know: A female Krogan is finally out and about in the universe, and Wrex is fixin' to knock some lizardlike boots.
