E3 2011 – Mass Effect 3 promised to be the best yet

Since the end of Mass Effect 2, we’ve been waiting. Waiting for a taste, a trailer, even just a release date for Mass Effect 3. Yesterday at EA’s hour-long spot on an E3 stage, we received that and so much more.

“The first two games foreshadowed a showdown with an ancient mechanical race known as the Reapers,” said Casey Hudson, Executive Producer of the Mass Effect series, at the beginning of the EA press conference. “On March 6, 2012, that war will begin.”

And the war will take place at least in part on Earth. For a game that reinvented definition of ‘game universe scope,’ there is something distinctly thrilling about the idea that Commander Shepard will finally be coming home.

Hudson also stated that BioWare is giving long-time fans the opportunity to see how all of their decisions dating back to the first game effect the final outcome of the series. Nothing further was explained about the story’s impact based on the decisions made in the previous two games–except to say that newcomers will also have the chance to catch up on what they missed. The rest of the demo was devoted to showing off the improvements made in Mass Effect 3’s combat and gameplay.

The live demo showed during the EA press conference covered one of the game’s action sequences in which Shepard attempts to destroy a Reaper base. As Cerberus troops close in, Shepard calls for reinforcements. This time, it’s not teammates that answers: it’s the Normandy, dropping down from the sky, that blow up a portion of the base. Shepard (along with Garrus and Liara) fight their way through the troops, thinking the hard part is done. But a sudden rumble tells a different story. It’s not simply a Reaper base; they’re battling a live Reaper.

The cinematics during the demo blended beautifully with the gameplay to the point it was difficult to determine which was which. There was one, very quick fade to black transition, but other than that the switch between cinematics and gameplay in the demo was seamless.

Something that was also seamless was the flow of combat. BioWare’s been talking about the improvements to melee combat in Mass Effect 3 and the snippets aired both during and after the EA press conference really showed off just what Shepard can do. Players could always take cover, but now Shepard can perform tuck and rolls while running, combat rolls to get in and out of cover faster, and stealth kills like Nathan Drake, Sam Fisher, insert your favorite badass here.

The best addition to melee combat is Shepard’s omniblade, and it’s heavily featured in the demo, new trailer, and the game’s coverart. Apparently, all one needs to do it activate the omnitool and out of it appears a golden orange holographic blade that stabs enemies dead. (How a hologram can do this is not answered. It’s just a game. Move along, move along…) After the press conference, Hudson explained that enemies in Mass Effect 3 will have more “complex behaviors,” making flanking the bad guys “more interesting” as you’re forced to heavily rely on team tactics.

Mass Effect 3’s Kinect support had also been teased prior to E3. I wasn’t sure how Kinect was going to work with the space opera game, and now that I’ve seen it, I’m still skeptical.

The Kinect support seems to rely solely on the voice recognition feature. Gamers will be able to to verbally state choices in the dialogue wheel by reciting word-for-word which option they want Shepard to answer with. There’s also the ability to verbally issue commands to your squad. “Garrus, move up. Liara, Singularity.” It seems to give players the feel of really being Commander Shepard in the field. (It’ll be even more awesome if I have the ability to issue the other commands I normally shouted at my television: “Garrus, stop hoping over random crates! Liara, stop shooting the wall!”) Overall, I’m not crazy for the Kinect support for Mass Effect 3. It seems superfluous; Mass Effect for lazy people who don’t want to hit buttons.

Kinect worries aside, I’m still excited for the game. Hudson certainly talked this fangirl into a frenzy.

“Mass Effect 3 isn’t just about these huge moments,” Hudson said. “It’s intense action combat, it’s decisions with huge consequences and sacrifice, and it’s all wrapped up in a story of tremendous emotional impact.”

Everyone says Mass Effect 3 will be the best in the franchise. Here’s hoping so, and hoping it won’t be the last.

If you want to check out the Kinect support demo for Mass Effect 3, check out the video below!

And also here’s the latest Mass Effect 3 trailer, Fall of Earth: