Mass Effect 3 details - no multiplayer
Expanded RPG elements, weapon mods.
There will be no multiplayer in Mass Effect 3, BioWare has apparently revealed.
Multiplayer will, however, be considered for future games and spin-offs, according to new details lifted from the latest issue of Game Informer (read by NeoGAF).
Mass Effect 3 will offer more than one bad ending and more than one good ending, depending on the turns your personal story makes. Your choice of companions also affects the outcome.
The RPG elements of Mass Effect are being expanded for the third game. Skill trees will be larger, and powers can evolve several times. In Mass Effect 2 there were only four tiers of skill advancement.
Weapon mods return, not quite to the degree of Mass Effect 1 - but there's the option to swap scopes, barrels, etc. This affects not only the behaviour of the weapon, but also its appearance.
All weapons can apparently be used by all classes now, too, although only the soldier will be able to pack all options at once.
Characters returning in Mass Effect 3 include love interests Liara T'Soni, Kaidan Alenko and Ashley Williams. Squad members Garrus, Wrex, Mordin and Legion are pencilled in (providing they didn't die), as is Anderson. Whether these old faces can be recruited remains to be seen.
James Sanders - a possible offspring of Mass Effect novel heroine Kahlee Sanders - can also apparently join your team.
Mass Effect 3 starts as Shepard stands trial for his actions in recent ME3 DLC Arrival. Part-way through the hearing the Reapers invade earth. Mass Effect 3's prologue involves Shepard escaping to the Normandy, before rocketing off to put the old team back together. He'll fight Reaper-controlled husks of all species along the way.
Like Mass Effect 2 on PS3, the third game packs an interactive digital comic to both backfill the story as well as take your input on key series decisions.
Enigmatic Mass Effect 2 patron the Illusive Man also returns, his Cerberus operation now tasked with killing Shepard. Why the Illusive Man has turned the tables on his former champion remains to be seen.
Interestingly, BioWare has also denied any multiplayer for Mass Effect 3. It's a feature for future games or spin-offs, apparently.