Mass Effect 3

In Mass Effect 3, an ancient alien race known only as Reapers, has launched an all-out invasion of the galaxy, leaving nothing but a trail of destruction in their wake. Earth has been taken, the galaxy is on the verge of total annihilation, and you are the only one who can stop them. The price of failure is extinction. You, as Commander Shepard, must lead the counter assault to take it back. Only you can determine how events will play out, which planets you will save from annihilation and which alliances you will form or abandon as you rally the forces of the galaxy to eliminate the Reaper threat once and for all. 
 

Mass Effect 3 is an upcoming action role-playing game developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Officially announced on December 11, 2010, the game is scheduled for a March 6, 2012 release and will mark the third and final chapter in the Mass Effect trilogy of video games.

Gameplay in Mass Effect 3 will be influenced by decisions from Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 and will include locations throughout the galaxy, including Earth and Mars. Combat has been changed and refined; in particular, the cover system has been improved, there will be more options for moving around the battlefield, instant melee kills and conventional grenades will be introduced and reintroduced, and there will be increased artificial intelligence.

Mass Effect 3 will follow from the events of the Mass Effect 2 DLC expansion Arrival and follow Commander Shepard as he/she tries to save the galaxy from the Reapers by rallying civilizations of the galaxy together, while also having to deal with Cerberus, who have decided to turn against him/her.

Decisions from Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 will be imported into Mass Effect 3 to keep continuity within the series. Over 1,000 variables will be pulled to shape how players experience the final chapter. Unlike in Mass Effect 2, Commander Shepard will start the game with some powers. Upon finishing the game, there will be a New Game+ option that allows players to continue playing after the main story ends or start again with their finished Shepard and collect items they missed the first time around.If players achieved a love interest in both Mass Effectand Mass Effect 2, then there will be two love interests vying for their Shepard's attention in Mass Effect 3. This "love triangle" will be resolved by the end of the game.Gameplay

Locations in Mass Effect 3 will include the Salarian homeworld Sur'Kesh, the Asari homeworld Thessia, the Turian homeworld Palaven, the Quarian homeworld Rannoch, a human mining base on a Martian crater, and a giant city on Earth representing the combination of Seattle and Vancouver. Players will also return to Tuchanka - the Krogan homeworld - and Illium.

As of June 6, 2011, BioWare has confirmed the return of previous characters Illusive Man, Garrus Vakarian, Liara T'Soni, Kaidan Alenko or Ashley Williams, Legion, Tali'Zorah, Urdnot Wrex, Jack, Mordin Solus, Ambassador Udina, Captain Anderson, Zaeed Massani, Jacob Taylor and Miranda Lawson from Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2. Some characters will not return if they were killed at any point during the previous games. The number of characters available as squad mates will be smaller than in Mass Effect 2 for the purposes of deeper relationships and more interesting interplay, including same-sex relationships for both male and female Shepards. BioWare has also confirmed a new character called James Vega. While some squad members are permanent and core to the storyline, some will be optional and others will be available for a single mission.

Combat

Combat in Mass Effect 3 has been radically changed and refined from Mass Effect 2, and further emphasis has been put on third-person shooter aspects to make the game more commercially viable. In a preview for IGN, editor Arthur Gies went so far as to say the game "plays like a shooter" and that "combat-wise, Mass Effect 3 is in an entirely different space" from the first two games.

The series' cover system has been improved so players no longer need to slide into cover and then hop over objects. Players will have more options for moving around the battlefield, including a refined sprint capability, combat rolling, and the use of climbable ladders. Players can also blindfire their weapons from covered positions, and have opportunities to shoot selected armor pieces and limbs off enemies. Moving and shooting, a previously "suicidal maneuver" in Mass Effect 2, will finally be a viable option because of a revised melee system. Players will be able to execute formidable punches and attacks, and instant melee kills will be introduced specific to each class; for example, by holding down the melee button, a soldier Shepard will deliver a killing blow with a tech-blade in his/her wrist armor. Actual, round, conventional grenades will also be available.

Mass Effect 3 plans to be the most difficult in the series, with increased artificial intelligence to challenge players and increase the sense of reward. Enemies no longer act as individuals as they did in the previous games, instead fighting and supporting each other in units. Enemies include 15-foot tall Cerberus mechs, assault troopers, and ninja-style shock troops, as well as Reaperized husks of all races and Reaper ships ranging from 500m to 2km long. Some changes will be made to already-existing class types; for example, Engineers will be able to build turrets.

Synopsis

Main article: Mass Effect 2Background

In Mass Effect 2, the Normandy is attacked by an unknown starship and Commander Shepard is killed. Shepard's body is recovered and he/she is brought back to life by Cerberus, a human supremacist organization led by the Illusive Man. Shepard learns that the Reapers were responsible and working by proxy through an insect-like species called the Collectors, and that they are responsible for entire human colonies disappearing throughout the galaxy. Shepard recruits squad mates, earns their loyalty, and defeats the Collectors after traveling through the Omega-4 Relay.

Plot

See also: Characters of the Mass Effect universe

Mass Effect 3 will begin with Commander Shepard on Earth for trial as a result of events from the Mass Effect 2 DLC pack Arrival During the trial, Earth is attacked by Reapers. Faced with insurmountable odds, Shepard is forced to flee the planet in order to gather support from alien civilizations and mount a counter-attack while also having to deal with Cerberus, who have decided to turn against him/her.

In an interview with PSM3 Magazine, Casey Hudson said of the plot, "Mass Effect 3, in simple terms, is a little more like the first game. You're collecting pieces of a story, but the more you investigate and explore these themes, the more the game will unlock and you'll see the bigger picture. In a way, it's more of a traditional story where you're learning about things and the plot changes as you find things out."

Development

Production on Mass Effect 3 began prior to the release of Mass Effect 2. Speaking with IGN at the Consumer Electronics Show on January 8, 2010, Casey Hudson admitted "We are already at work on Mass Effect 3," adding, "Building the first bits of the story, putting that together." In another interview later that month with Computer and Videogames, Hudson revealed that the game could be out as soon as the end of 2011 or early 2012.

On December 10, 2010, Electronic Arts posted the official synopsis for Mass Effect 3 on their website, although the listing was later removed pending an official announcement at the 2010 Spike Video Game Awards. The following day, the game was confirmed for a "Holiday 2011" release and accompanied by a teaser trailer.

On March 21, 2011, actress Tricia Helfer announced via Twitter that she would be reprising her role from Mass Effect 2 as EDI, and had already started voice-recording sessions. Actor Seth Green was soon to follow, announcing that he would be reprising his role from Mass Effect 2 as Joker.

The first detailed information regarding development of Mass Effect 3 started being released in April, 2011. On April 20, Belgian website 4gamers.be reported that BioWare were collaborating with Battlefield developer DICE in weapon development for the game. The same day, Game Informer released the first-ever screenshots of Mass Effect 3 to help promote their May 10 cover story. On May 3, 2011, IGN announced that Mass Effect 3 would be presented and demoed by Electronic Arts at the 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo. The next day, BioWare announced that the game's release date had been pushed back to early 2012, in part so it could be tweaked to appeal to as wide a market as possible. On June 1, EA Games' online store uploaded artwork by mistake which revealed the game will have Kinect support. The artwork was later removed.

At the 2011 E3 Convention, BioWare finally confirmed Kinect support in a gameplay video. The game's collector's edition, cover art, a new teaser trailer and official release date of March 6, 2012 were also revealed. For the first time, fans were shown actual gameplay videos, including a 15 minute demo supervised by Casey Hudson.

Audio

Main article: Music of the Mass Effect video game trilogy

Mass Effect 3's music will be composed by Golden Globe-nominated composer Clint Mansell. Mansell first stated he would be scoring the game during an interview with The Quietus on February 9, 2011. Electronic Arts officially announced his involvement shortly thereafter with a Facebook post. Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 composer Jack Wall will have no involvement with the production of Mass Effect 3 due to undetailed and "complicated" reasons.

The weapon audio is being redesigned and refined. BioWare's audio team has been in discussion with other EA studios, including DICE, in order to improve their combat soundscape.

Release

Numerous gaming websites have called Mass Effect 3 one of the most anticipated games of 2011, with IGN ranking it number one in their "Top 10 Xbox 360 Games of 2011" column. Following the 2011 E3 Convention, IGN nominated the game for Best Role-Playing Game and Most Anticipated Game, and EEDAR called it the most promising retail title of 2011.

Mass Effect 3 will be released in two editions. Alongside the regular edition, there will also be a collector's edition which includes bonus content and unlockable items; most notably, four exclusive weapons found in the N7 Arsenal Pack.Titled Mass Effect 3 N7 Collector's Edition, its cover art will feature the female version of Commander Shepard, who will also be given a more prominent role promoting the game compared to previous titles in the series.

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

Fortune hunter Nathan Drake is catapulted headlong into an adventure that takes him on a daring trek into the heart of the Arabian Desert in a search for the fabled "Atlantis of the Sands." This journey pits him and his mentor Victor Sullivan against the occult treachery of a shadowy clandestine organization and its ruthless leader. When the terrible secrets of this lost city are unearthed, Drake's quest descends into a desperate bid for survival that strains the limits of his endurance and forces him to confront his deepest fears. 

A couple of years ago, in the summer before the release of the secondAssassin's Creed I found myself discussing the many things that were wrong about the flawed first game in the series.

Once in August and then again in September, senior people on Assassin's Creed II walked me through some of the many fixes they had planned for the sequel. Their plans sounded too good to be true, because, well, they all sounded so right. They didn't sound like hype or the marching orders of a focus group. They felt like surgically precise self-critiques. Sure enough, Assassin's Creed II was far superior to its predecessor. The game's creators had learned from their errors and crafted something great.

Last week, I had a flashback to those summer interviews while I was interviewing one of the lead creators of Uncharted 3. These folks also seem to know, better than I would, what needed fixing.

The previous two PlayStation 3 adventures of Nathan Drake, video game's modern Indiana Jones, were not as flawed as that first Assassin's Creed game. There were some problems, though. There were also, I learned, during an E3 chat with Uncharted 3's co-lead designer Jacob Minkoff, some opportunities that the series creators at Naughty Dog were not yet ready to seize.

First, there's Nathan Drake himself. He's been presented to us gamers as an everyman. We will learn much more about him in this new game. We'll find out what drives him, Minkoff told me. We'll learn more about his relationship with Sully and more about his past. We may also get a Nathan Drake who finally feels like a more consistent character. Players of the earlier games noticed that Drake seemed like an approachable, ordinary guy in the games' cinematic scenes but more like an action-hero/mass-murderer in the game's gameplay. Naughty Dog noticed that (even noted that in the finale of the last game).

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"As it is, Drake never shoots first," Minkoff told me, conveying the ideal of the character if not the manner in which Naughty Dog has always portrayed him. Drake shouldn't go into a scene ready to shoot before being shot at, Minkoff explained, though the game creator acknowledged that, in the past, Drake sometimes was firing at factions of people (enemies), who hadn't shot at him at all—at least not in a while. That's not Drake and that sounds like we'll be getting more of the "real" Drake in the new game.

A shift in the portrayal of Drake sounds subtle, but more obvious will be a shift in the game's flow. Minkoff said that players of the second game complained that there there was too much combat near the end, especially in the monastery section. Minkoff said the problem was that the developers had created more gameplay than story and ran out of narrative material to intersperse with the interactive parts of their game. He promises a better balance in the new one, which, if it translates to a removal of some of Uncharted 2's late-game lapses into tedium, all the better.

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The demo of Uncharted 3 that was shown behind closed doors at E3 was devoid of tedium, of course. There's no way to say if it represents the whole game, but the scene, set near an airfield, smoothly transitioned from Drake and series regular Elena discussing a plan to get on a huge cargo plane, to Drake splitting off to run across some roofs and tackle bad guys as the plane's engines heated up, then to Drake running on the tarmac to catch the plane, Elena driving up and letting Drake jump from the roof of her jeep to the plane's landing gear, some sneaking through the plane, a fistfight in its cargo bay and, at demo's end, our hero dangling from cargo that was falling from the plane.

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As the Assassin's Creed developers had done, Minkoff surprised me with the nuance of some of the planned evolutions of the series. He noted that the puzzles of the previous game involved "too much transposition," a critique I initially didn't understand. He reminded me that the player solved many of the puzzles inUncharted 2 simply by looking in Drake's notebook for a specific arrangement of symbols and then lining up similarly-marked symbols in the temples Drake was exploring. Too easy, Minkoff thought. "We want the player to feel that they have to figure something out," he said. If you're going to play the role of a clever treasure-hunter, he's saying, you might as well have to think like one.

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As we've previously reported, some ofUncharted 3's upgrades will be technical. In this game, Drake will be able to climb on top of objects that are affected by the game's physics. The translation, in the context of a demo involving a large ship that was shown at E3, is that Drake might be left hanging from the side of a lifeboat that is suspended from the side of a ship rocked by a stormy sea. One of the ropes suspending the lifeboat might snap, knocking Drake down, but as the waves buffet the ship's hull—and as the lifeboat sways from its rope— Drake, controlled by the player, can still climb up. (Those waves, Minkoff proudly told me, will be procedurally-generated 90-meter swells that will be subject to the game's physics simulation and will continue to buffet the boat during the consequentially unpredictable gunfights and fistfights that Drake has below decks.)

Minkoff never hit a false note as we chatted about this fall's Uncharted 3 for about 15 minutes. Each correction or upgrade he described for the series sounded like smart progress. Whether it adds up to the series' best game remains to be seen, but I do get the sense it'll add up to at least one thing: a terrific in-game bar brawl. While Minkoff didn't want to confirm if or when a bar brawl will occur in the third game, he said that so many of the physics and animation systems that Naughty Dog has built into the series has led the Uncharted creators into a position where they can render a proper saloon brawl: they've got the ability to get Drake pushed back against the bar, to have him pick a bottle off the bar and smash it on another guy's head, throw someone through a table and so on.

The question for Uncharted 3 may not be whether there will be a bar brawl but rather, when there is one, is Drake the kind of guy who would punch first?

Look for Uncharted 3 on the PS3 on November 1.