The screenshots give us a couple of interesting hints to the twists and turns of Mass Effect 3’s story; they show Shepard facing off not only against what looks like a slightly-revamped Geth Juggernaut (as we might expect from the videos of Reaper ships attacking Earth that have already been released) but also against Cerberus troopers and a new mech enemy (similar to the Ymir mech from Mass Effect 2) which is piloted by a single Cerberus soldier. This suggests that Shepard and his team will be forced to fight against both the Reapers and Cerberus, emphasising your role as the ‘last saviour of humanity’. Another image also shows off a new feature which Bioware has been pushing; Shepard’s ability to use his omni-tool as a kind of ‘flaming sword’ melee weapon.
We’re given a glimpse at a typical combat scene in the trailer, which is action-packed and full of quick cuts; from what we can see, it looks as though the pace of combat has been upped since ME2, with Shepard and his team snapping in and out of cover even more quickly and skill combinations flowing together smoothly. While this could disappoint those who enjoyed the somewhat more sedate pace of the first Mass Effect, it certainly looks as though the exciting combat of ME2 will remain in place. In addition, the trailer shows off the aforementioned ‘flaming sword’ omni-tool in action; it looks like a cool feature, and more sensible (and realistic) than ME2’s Shepard angrily elbowing enemies with very little effect. The end of the trailer also shows off the return of grenades, missing since ME1; they look more powerful than in the original game, and will surely add a new strategic dimension to each combat encounter.
If you’ve never played one of the Mass Effect games, then you’ve either been living under a rock for the past three years or your 360 has been sitting in the garage gathering dust. The final part in Bioware’s Mass Effect trilogy is arguably one of the most-anticipated games to be released on the 360, and is currently scheduled for release on March 6th next year. Gamescom in Cologne, yesterday, saw a few more pieces of information about the game released to the press; six new screenshots and a trailer which highlights the refinements that Bioware have made to the Mass Effect 2 template.