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Looking again at this page on the Mass Effect Wiki, I have some concerns.

It seems like BioWare is increasing the overall difficulty (ME3's "normal" mode is equal to that of ME2's "veteran" mode) and combat speed. In addition, they're adding a greater emphasis on melee, which makes no sense to me at all. The ME series revolves around firearms, not brawling. What next, we'll start using bladed weapons too?

Why is BioWare so focused on making ME3 an even more difficult, fast-paced, run-and-gun shooter? Whatever happened to it being an RPG or at least, an Action-RPG?

Oh and I'm not pleased with how the romance situation is panning out. If your ME1 romance interest is still alive and you romanced someone else in ME2, there will apparently be "negative repercussions" for Shepard.

Why? My Shepard didn't cheat on anyone. He told Ashley to "f*ck off" (more or less) when she was verbally attacking him. You can't cheat on someone you're no longer in a relationship with, now can you?

DeadPoolX wrote: Why? My Shepard didn't cheat on anyone. He told Ashley to "f*ck off" (more or less) when she was verbally attacking him. You can't cheat on someone you're no longer in a relationship with, now can you?

Well considering how they typically fail at romance imports anyway, I wouldn't be too concerned.

That's really going to screw with my games.

My Paragon Shepard romanced Ashley in ME1, and when she left him, he moved on with his life and romanced Tali in ME2 instead. So negative repercussions don't reflect well on my goody two-shoes.

On the other hand, my Renegade Shepard had a girl-on-girl fling with Liana in ME1, and then blew off everybody in ME2 out of sheer b*tchiness. Yet, somehow, the game has misinterpreted this psychotic anti-social behavior as my renegade actually being in love with Liana.

Really, like Tawmis said, considering the mess they made with the DA2 imporing, I wouldn't be too concerned about this issue. There will be bugs.

On the other hand, I whole-heartedly share DPX's concerns about the new very action-oriented direction they took.

Meh, not worried. I was worried when I was playing DA2, about how they did it.
In the end, I enjoyed the game. Not as much as DAO, but I enjoyed it.
ME to me has always been about shooting and then the story was woven into it. I mean it seems, other than being on your ship (which was just a door way for convos with NPCs and getting the next missions), 95% of the time, you're running around with your weapons drawn.

I don't mind the general action-oriented game dynamics of ME2. In fact, I'd be more than happy if ME3 kept everything the same. My issue is with them increasing the difficulty level (when that could be achieved by the player doing it themselves) and placing a greater emphasis on melee combat.

I know the ME series is heavier on action than RPG, but it looks like they're tossing out the RPG part entirely. Sure, you can make decisions, but that's about it. Anything else even remotely resembling an RPG is gone.

I'm not inclined that they'd break away from their given formula too much.

They've had this formula that's worked out for them all these years... Perhaps EA is having an influence on changing things... But I don't imagine they'd do something to "break" an already successful franchise of games. (But I could be wrong. I often am).

i have very high hopes for mass effect three. im just worried that the ending will be lame (i keep thinking of how bad the matrix 3 failed to deliver) but i have complete faith in biowares storytelling abilities

Zapher wrote:i have complete faith in biowares storytelling abilities

+1 Agree.

Mass Effect 3 executive producer Casey Hudson spoke with UK magazine Xbox World, divulging some mid-production intel about Shepard and company. The info is scattershot; little pieces of unconnected details about many different aspects of the game. Still, they help to create a larger picture of BioWare's vision for the game.

For those of you who want stay spoiler-free, here's a broad over-arching synopsis. If all goes according to plan, Mass Effect 3 is going to be bigger than its predecessors: It's also going to be more detailed than ever before. BioWare's goal is to create a realistic physical world worthy of holding the epic universe they created and that their fans love.

Warning: Spoilers below. This is the point of no-return. Reading past this point will reveal information vital to the plot of Mass Effect 3

1. Mass Effect 3 will have fewer party characters than Mass Effect 2
Don't expect to have nearly as many characters in Mass Effect 3 as you did in ME2. ME2's large crew—12 playable characters—was necessary for the game's posse-building storyline, but was a little large for BioWare's taste.

"Twelve was a big number in Mass Effect 2 - almost too big", says Hudson. "We're focused on a smaller squad with deeper relationships and more interesting interplay in Mass Effect 3' he explains. "We're not going to have twelve again but we are going to do more with the characters on your squad including Liara, and Kaidan or Ashley. And we're bringing everyone back - every main character is in Mass Effect 3 somewhere."

So yes, it is very possible that you might not get to control your favorite ME2 character. That said, every character from the game has a role to play in the story, provided they survived your trip through the Omega-4 relay.

2. You will travel to new worlds.
This one's kind of a no-brainer. Many of the planets you'll visit in ME3 are places you've only heard about in previous games. Hudson mentions that you'll see Palaven (the Turian homeworld) and Rannoch (the Quarian homeworld) in the game. It's also confirmed that you will return to Krogan homeworld Tunchaka.

As you might have already guessed, Shepard will also be going to Earth in this game. Hudson said that players will get to see "a Seattle/Vancouver megacity" both before and after the Reapers destroy it. Connecting the world of Mass Effect to our own, the city is designed to look just like Vancouver. "If you Google Map Vancouver the layout is pretty much the exact same as our map," according to level artist Don Arceta.

3. Those worlds are going to be big.
Reapers are big. In order to have accommodate fights with them, or even having them nearby means designing levels much larger than the usual spaceship corridors that make up a large portion of Mass Effect's locales. Many of levels will include more open spaces. BioWare plans to make the shift in a way a dramatic way, claiming that some levels that are not only larger than anything ever seen in a Mass Effect game, but larger than any game built with the Unreal Engine.

Think of it this way. At least one level has to be big enough for Shepard to fight using a 50-foot tall Cerberus mech.

4. In combat, you'll need to think on your feet
The gunplay in Mass Effect 2 is mostly standard cover-based shooter fare. It was often OK to hide behind cover, picking off enemies at the back of a room while directing your teammates. The ME3 team plans to change that. They want you to be forced to scramble. To do that, BioWare is putting enemy tactics at the forefront. Different types of enemies will not only have varying abilities, they'll use those skills in tandem against you. "Some will provide covering fire for snipers, some will deploy smoke to hide advancing comrades, others will coordinate subordinate units, and one will stomp around consuming its fallen friends to fuel itself," according to the feature.

5. Weapons are going to be much more customizable and detailed
In keeping up with their pledge to create a "deeper RPG experience" this time around, you'll be able to fine-tune your weapons in Mass Effect 3 much more than the last two games. "Every weapon is modular and can be customised with up to five modifications; scopes increase a rifle's zoom factor, new barrels increase accuracy or damage," Says Hudson. "Sling your gun on a workbench and it can be customised for a job at hand." Based on that last part, it sounds like it may be important to not only upgrade your weapons, but adjust them to suit different situations.

Hudson also mentioned that the team has been mixing it up with members of the DICE team, getting advice on how to make the guns sound realistic in varying environments.

Now that you've read all that, you're probably not happy that you'll have to wait until 2012 to finally get your hands on it.

The only thing that I'm intrigued about is the possibility to visit Palaven. And, alas, I quite liked the large ME2 crew.

I hope ME3's Vancouver is still at least somewhat recognizable to that of modern-day Vancouver.

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/117/1172200p1.html

Sure, Mass Effect games have always looked like shooters, but they've never really played like them. Yeah, you pointed and shot at things, but the less tangible particulars of combat have always eluded BioWare's sci-fi epic. Gunplay in Mass Effect was a clunky exercise in behind-the-scenes dice rolls, RPG-style. Mass Effect 2's battles weren't the chore they often were in the original, but they weren't what anyone paid the price of admission for. The cover mechanic was limited in comparison to dedicated third person action games, and guns lacked any sort of oomph.

My playtime with Mass Effect 3 was set on the Salarian homeworld of Sur'Kesh. Ostensibly, my job was to escort a Krogan princess offworld. But in practice, my main job was kicking Cerberus ass across a science station, and Shepard was more equipped than ever to get the job done.

A host of seemingly small additions have changed the way Mass Effect 3 plays. Basic character movement is more responsive for starters, more animated. Guiding Shepard around is less of a struggle than it's ever been. Aiming also felt snappier, and guns have the punch now that they've always lacked.

These changes alter the way you can move around combat zones in Mass Effect 3. Previously, firefights in Mass Effect were mostly static affairs. You'd find a good sized bit of cover and fire away, or throw abilities at your enemies hoping they'd never really get in close enough to make Mass Effect or Mass Effect 2's unwieldy combat controls a liability. If you were a Vanguard, you might risk your life to use your powerful charge move, but it was an awkward maneuver that missed as often as it hit. But Mass Effect 3's revised movement and aiming make Shepard viable at variable ranges in a way he never was before.

Moving and shooting, a previously suicidal maneuver that most players outgrew within a few hours of Mass Effect 2, isn't just an option now - it's a good choice. Cover is still important; it's also been revamped from the last game, easier now to traverse and use dynamically rather than finding a point to set up at and pray that enemies don't close the gap. But BioWare wants you to mix it up in close - something made obvious by the revised melee system.

The awkward melee shoves and slaps of past Mass Effects are gone. Formidable melee punches and attacks specific to each class have taken their place. The Soldier Shepard I used delivered some solid, fast punches that knocked enemies back without causing me to double over like I had shattered every bone in my hand. But the real new addition to close quarters combat is the instant melee kill - hold down the B or Circle button and Shepard will wind back to deliver a killing blow unique to his class, in this case a tech-blade in my Soldier's wrist armor. Shaped similarly to the energy-based armor used by Sentinel classes in Mass Effect, it cut down enemies in one hit. Other classes have their own heavy melee attacks - Adepts have blades of psionic energy that they use to cut down their enemies in close, for example.

Then there are the grenades. Mass Effect 3 sees a series debut for actual, round, conventional grenades. This adds yet another combat option to the game that changes the way Shepard can engage with enemies, and adds a new tactical wrinkle to flanking and other maneuvers.

All of these things combine to provide a shooting experience that, honestly, feels a bit surreal in a Mass Effect game. As I made my way to the Krogan princess on the other end of a science platform with my teammates Liara and Garrus, there was a point in the demo where Cerberus operatives stormed the opposite end of the corridor. The platform had the standard smattering of cover objects between us and the Cerberus forces, but there was also a passage to the right that flanked to the other side. Ordering Liara and Garrus to use their abilities as a diverson, I stuck to cover and ran to the corridor. I made my way to the end and blind-tossed a pair of grenades into the other side of the room.

As the explosions rocked the Cerberus personnel, I swung around the cover and quickly popped a pair of enemies with my assault rifle. Then I dashed forward, sprung over a bit of cover, and took out another Cerberus agent with a pair of quick melee strikes, then ducked back into cover and made my way around to the remaining enemy's rear, cutting him down with Shepard's tech blade.

It all felt like a different game, like a different series even. Where Mass Effect 2 felt like a slightly tighter Mass Effect combat-wise, Mass Effect 3 is in an entirely different space. The familiar elements that need to be there are intact - powers and talents are still in the same menu wheel structure, and weapon types remain unchanged. You're not going to select an assault rifle and be shocked by its looks. But you will be taken aback by how well it works. I was. And now the wait to play Mass Effect 3 until 2012 is that much harder.

Oh boy!

http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/7 ... th-kinect/

According to a poster on the NeoGaf forum, Mass Effect 3 box art appeared on the EA store earlier today. A purple bar on the cover seems to indicate BioWare may think Mass Effect 3 is "better with Kinect." Xbox 360 games with the purple bar have Kinect compatible features. The image has apparently since been taken down from EA's site. A few weeks ago during EA's investor call they confirmed we'd be seeing a new way to play ME3 at E3. Could Kinect gameplay be that new feature?

Keep reading to see a list of ways I think Mass Effect 3 could use Kinect compatibility.

I want to make it clear that I do not support Mass Effect 3 getting Kinect functionality. The same goes for PSMove features since its a multiplatform game. But for the purposes of making myself feel better I've composed a short list of ways I think motion sensing would best be implemented.

* Mining planets by waving your arms like a cat playing with yarn. The yarn being the planet.
* Instead of pushing the Right bumper to do special Renegade options, you can actually punch the air.
* Feeding the fish in your quarters will be even easier with Kinect!
* When you're on the SR-2(3) and Shepard brings up the map to navigate where the ship will go next, you can use your hands to choose your destination.

Okay, that last one was actually a really good idea. Admit it. How do you think Mass Effect 3 could use Kinect?

Mass Effect 3 is set to be released in early 2012.