The Official Mass Effect 3 Thread

- Game begins with Shepard on Earth
- Shepard is on trial in regard to the events of Arrival
- Reapers invade while the trial is happening
- Prologue: Shepard’s escape to the Normandy, off to start finding allies, fighting Reaper troops
- Squadmates include Liara, Ashley/Kaiden, Garrus, James Sanders(Kahlee Sanders Brother?)
- Screenshot shown of Ashley with her hair down(Seen Above)
- Confirmed appearances (may not be squadmates): Wrex, Mordin, Legion, and Anderson
- Game will show a “previously on Mass Effect” comic to make decisions if you’re starting from scartch
- The Illusive Man plays a big role
- Cerberus is out to kill Shepard
- Enhanced RPG elements
- More freedom with character skills
- Larger skill trees
- Powers will evolve several times, not just once
- Weapons are like the ones in Mass Effect 2, have a set list
- Mods returning, swap out different parts such as barrels, scopes (effect both the weapon’s combat performance and its appearance)
- All classes can wield all weapons unhindered now,
- There will be limited slots to carry these weapons
- Soldier can carry all weapons at once
- Adept, Engineer, and Sentinal will likely be limited to two weapons, three for Vanguard and Infiltrator
- Numerous endings
- Who you have in your squad and which allies you recruit greatly impact the endings that are available
- No multiplayer

A Vehicle Train with Shepard inside riding along, and as it goes a Reaper comes down from the sky to attack. Shepard's Vehicle is destroyed and fighting the Reaper on foot is impossible. Than a Thresher Maw comes out of the Ground and attacks the Reaper. The Maw gets the Upper handby coiling itself around the Reaper, than drags it underground. It gets quiet and seems to be over, Than Laser fire begins to erupting from the ground, and Shepard Decides this is a good place not to be.

I hope that all the love interests will show up in some capacity (assuming they survived ME2). Especially Miranda and Tali, Miranda because of Yvonne Strahovski and dat ass, and Tali because she's been with Shepard since the beginning. It wouldn't make a whole lot of sense from a story perspective if these people just vanished without explanation.

Nice to see Ashley letting her hair down. Maybe she's trying to compete with Miranda?

Not that either of them can steal Shep away from Liara...

I don't see any point in a multiplayer mode im Mass Effect, it's an RPG, the FPSs can handle that.

Given Tali's popularity I'd be surprised if she wasn't a squad member or had an important role otherwise.

EA Execs stated in an interview that SinglePlayer Only games are dead.

I think there'll be just enough new characters to give you some choice if you killed everybody.

I really hope Shepard can put a bullet in the Illusive Man Head. Miranda & Jacob will help Shepard infiltrate Cerberus Base, Where The Illusive Man is.

I really hope Shepard can put a bullet in the Illusive Man Head.

If something like that happens and you sent Legion to the Illusive Man it'd be cool if he was there.

Here's a prediction: After defeating the Reaper threat, Shepard and the Alliance go all out and kill the Illusive Man.

Mark my words.

I don't see that happening after the end of the game, unless it's DLC.

ME1's Decisions such as sparing the Rachni will have a grave impact in ME3

ME3 will be more difficult than ME2

Thank god.

Rachni husks... I have a bad feeling about this.

I truly suspect we might see the Protheans at some point. They will be the ones to give Shepard the intel needed to take on the Reapers.

We already have.

- We will be meeting Solana Vakarian(Garrus Sister) on Palaven.

-And Chewbacca on Kashyyyk.

I bet she's hawt.

I use the default male Shepard anyway.

Never liked any of the characters I manually created. In Dragon Age: Origins/Dragon Age 2 I ALWAYS used a customized character (female) and was very happy with how she looked.

Was that the mission where it was the last survivor of it's race?

And I've only killed the Queen once, to hear the Council's reaction.

Boy those guys were self-righteous! Told me off if I spared her, told me off if I killed her! Good thing the Destiny Ascension didn't make it...

He he!

- Cerberus' troops: mechas, assault units, shock troops ninja-style.
- Reapers: they have different sizes, ranging from 500-600 meters of the smaller ships to the 2km for Herald.
- New skills for Shepard: launched in search of coverage to Max Payne, rolling, jumping small holes in the ground, as the SWAT turn and strike the enemy with greater variety of melee attacks. It specifically mentions "a new class: Heavy Melee" take advantage of these capabilities of combat.
- New skills: Engineer can build turrets.
- Customizable Weapons, guns, sight ... five variants in each section.
- More items to "loot."
- Space Battles? Perhaps, but unconfirmed.
- Scenarios: larger. We will see people walking, ships fighting, architecture in greater detail. Searching for the photorealism of the sites using new lighting techniques on the stage. It has also improved the atmosphere and the number of dynamic elements of the stage, increasing interactivity with the player.
- Locations to visit: New York, London, a moon of ¿Koriana? (maybe they mean Quarian or Krogan) world, a salarian world and Mars, among others. The development of each environment takes about 6 months, testing the levels from the outset.
- Enemies: we can do dynamic damage into them. The Cerberus mechas, for example, requires that we shoot a weak point, the glass cockpit in order to overcome them. In other enemies we can cut off the arms, break the head or break various pieces of their armors.
- Fighting more dynamic, forcing us to move more frequently. The game speed is improved by 10 to 15%.
- Exploration: we won't drive vehicles seen in previous games. The main gameplay is designed without them and will continue so. This does not mean that there is no vehicle, but they can't reveal more now. There is a new scanning system.

- Taken from Some Spanish Gaming Magazine

The end of the year will be awesome for new releases!

By the way, question regarding ME3. If I export a ME2 character, will it have the same class in ME3 or will it only be choices made for example, and I'll be able to select a new class (and possibly look)? I never played ME1, so I dont know how these player exports work.

According to GI No. Your stuck with whatever you picked in Mass Effect 2. Thankfully 360 & PC will have Save Editors Again.

Going From Mass Effect 1 to Mass Effect 2 you can change appearance & Class.

Oh bummer! In that case it would mean that all 6 classes would stay the same?

I might reconsider my third playthrough of ME2 then(the one I'll export), between soldier, infiltrator and sentinel.

I'm happy with all the above, except that I would like to see Kasumi return! One of my favorites.

Tali
B. Her Fan base is Insane. They will b*** & complain to the High Heavens if she did not return.

I want LEGION!!! =(

Creating Garrus - http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2011/04/22/mass-effect-3-creating-garrus.aspx

Few Keypoints

- Tali has Shorter Hair in Mass Effect 2 compared to longer Hair in Mass Effect 1.
- Theirs Allot of Concept Art for what Tali looks like under the Mask (Looks like Tali will be removing her Mask in ME 3).
- Garrus Armor is now Chrome, Blue & Black.

We join the legions of gamers and graphic-story fans who've been anticipating the October release of the new Mass Effect game.

We proudly announce the release of a custom-crafted miniature version of the SSV Normandy. This is the first replica of the Normandy, and we couldn't be more excited in bringing it forward.

Normandy is a Systems Alliance starship. She is a "deep scout" frigate, optimized for solo reconnaissance missions deep within unstable regions, using advanced stealth technology powered by an experimental drive core.

Looks like a nifty use of 35 bucks!

"The article also have the picture of the refurbished SR2's interior. The caption says that parts of the Cerberus crew will actually leave the ship, and that it will feel quite empty early in the game."

"The caption states that every single squaddie who survived ME2 will be back. It does not say if they're going to be playable or even permanent squaddies (aside from the Fantastic 4 that we already know of)."

Mass Effect 3 will be released in the first three months of 2012. The development team is laser focused on making sure Mass Effect 3 is the biggest, boldest and best game in the series, ensuring that it exceeds everyone’s expectations.” - Casey Hudson, Executive Producer Mass Effect series

Liara and Anderson in last 2 screenshots?

EA made some notes about the game on their fiscal call.

New gameplay features and "new ways to play Mass Effect" being unveiled at E3.

They also referred to it as being much more of a TPS-RPG hybrid this time, and mention that it will be able to address a much larger audience due to that this time around.

As saddened as we were by the news that Mass Effect 3 wouldn't reach us until next year, after an EA earnings call today we're hovering between befuddled and intrigued.

When asked about the delay, EA boss John Riccitiello said, "Essentially, step by step, [BioWare is] adjusting some of the gameplay mechanics and some of the features that you'll see at E3 that can put this into a genre equivalent of shooter-meets-RPG, and essentially address a far larger market opportunity than Mass Effect 1 did and Mass Effect 2 began to approach."

... So what does that mean? Well, mentioning that Mass Effect 2 was closer to what EA's targeting would seem to indicate more of an emphasis on action. But if the company's looking for "a larger market opportunity" a multiplayer component seems a surefire way to achieve that.

Here's hoping we remember to check this post after E3 to feel either really smart or a little sheepish about our prognosticating. Also, hello future us! Hope you're having a good summer!

Think they'll let us marry (Liara) and have little blue children at the end of ME3???

- Tali will be returning as a Squad Member
- Garrus, Liara, Kaidan(Yea Right), Ashley and Tali (newly confirmed) are all full time squadmates
- Their will be no New Love Interests (It did not say if Semi-Romances from ME 2 will be full Romances this time around)
- Biotics have more potent in combat
- Story is more like ME1 than ME2
- Every major character you have met will play a role in the last game
- Why is Cerberus after Shepard? They are working with the Reapers
- Reaperized enemies include Asari, Krogan, Rachni

Cerberus is working for the Reapers???

That's difficult to believe, except for that last bit in the mision beyond the Omega 4 relay... and the star the Illusive Man can see off his office window.

Some more Information

- Wrex will not be a Squad Member.
- If you cheated, it's coming back to bite you in the arse at the worst possible time.
- If you romanced and remained faithful to the Virmire survivor, (according to the article) they are a guaranteed squad member.
- Their will be a pregnant asari Enemy(will be a husk like Creature)

Apparently, according to OXM, you can jump and roll, and blindfire has been introduced.

As well as gaining civilisation's alliegance, you can lose them to the Reapers if you don't play right, similarly to losing squadmates in the suicide mission.

Your weapons have three upgrade slots -scope barrel and grip, and you can change the colour and camoflage of weapons.

The magazine rumours that Garrus is being built up to a dramatic death.

Cerberus and husks will be main enemies, and cerberus is divided into three main types of troops - heavy bruisers, medium and light.

You may be able to get an eyepiece, like Garrus's, that will allow non-sniper weapons to scope in further, which also hints at armour having more of an effect on gameplay.

Bioware are going to announce something big at E3 - a lot of the gameplay features and more squadmates.

Shepard pretty much had to stop the Reapers in the Arrival DLC event, but we handle it differently in ME3 if you didn't play it.

For new players, some great intros to the love interests. For imported characters, a final resolution on all previous ones.

All of the above, but with a focus on some pretty badass new armor and helmets.

James Sanders has been renamed to James Vega

Ashley was picked to Survive Virmire over 80% of the time in Mass Effect 1.

That number is far lower than it should be.

It did say it was over 80%, It could be Close to 90%.

You can blame it on all the annoying Fangirls. FemShep doesn't exactly have the best Love Interest to start with.

- A Giant Alliance Yawn (Kaidan)
- a Lizard(Thane)
- a Gray Turtle(Garrus)
- A Giant Cerberus Yawn (Jacob)

Liara is the only good Love Interest for FemShep.

Fanboy's opinion?

Yeah, a very popular opinion though.

I don't think that would be necessary from a story point of view. Evidently Casey Hudson agrees. If people want to have fantasies of homosexuality, there's plenty of porn out there, and mainstream entertainment, too.

Leave Mass Effect out of it.

I did save Kaiden in two Catherine Shepard playthroughs. It made sense, if you went ahead and played in character.

I don't think that would be necessary from a story point of view. Evidently Casey Hudson agrees. If people want to have fantasies of homosexuality, there's plenty of porn out there, and mainstream entertainment, too.

Leave Mass Effect out of it.

I did save Kaiden in two Catherine Shepard playthroughs. It made sense, if you went ahead and played in character.

Uh...and what about the gay, lesbian, and bi players out there who don't want to be forced to play straight relationships in their game? If you don't want to choose a same-sex interest in your game, then that's your decision. It's not as though you're required to do so. Why should everyone else be screwed over simply because of close-minded people?

I want my Mako back! At least for a couple of exploration missions.

Dodge Mass Effect 3's myriad sidequests and you'll be punished with an unsatisfying endgame, developer BioWare has revealed.

Executive producer Casey Hudson told PC Gamer that players who take the time to explore the game will be rewarded with an "amazing" conclusion.

"If you do a little side quest, or you go off and do a major plot, these things contribute to the war effort," he explained.

"If you just rip straight down the critical path and try and finish the game as soon as you can, and do very little optional or side stuff, then you can finish the game. You can have some kind of ending and victory, but it'll be a lot more brutal and minimal relative to if you do a lot of stuff.

"If you really build a lot of stuff and bring people to your side and rally the entire galaxy around you, and you come into the end game with that, then you'll get an amazing, very definitive ending."

The keenly-anticipated follow up to 2010's game of the year is due out in early 2012.

Sounds like the same deal as the mass effect 2 ending, just scaled up.

I don't see how anybody can rush through a Mass Effect game. I do absolutely EVERYTHING in the game and I find myself wanting more at the end. Which is one of the reasons I usually start over right away.

I plan on exploring every inch of the world the player has access to, do EVERY possible side quest and experiment with all possible dialogue options through multiple playthroughs AND play the game with every class.

Basically, I plan on milking every ounce of possibility this game has to offer.

Loyalty Missions are not Side Missions. N7 Missions are Side Missions and those have 0 Impact on the ending in ME2.

What he said!



(And yet I still haven't been able to bring myself to play a full renegade playthrough. It's just not in my nature, however amusing)

- Seth Green will be recording 12 Hours of Dialogue for Joker. This doesn't mean Joker will have 12 Hours of Dialogue in the game.

(when is this E3 again?)

"Lots of new animations". Hopefully better ones. Am I the only one who thinks ME2 was a step backwards in the animation department?

Shepard's running, walking and changing direction animations were smooth in ME1 but are atrocious in ME2. I try to rationalize them by thinking he/she has cybernetic implants, but still...

E3 2011 Starts in 3 Weeks (June 7 - 9).

Press Conferences Start on June 6th(both MS & EA are on the 6th).

---------------

Mass Effect 1 Animations were a bit Stiff. Mass Effect 2 Animations was a leap forward.

Mass effects animation is great. you wanna see bad, go play oblivion.

Never said they were bad. I said the animations in ME 1 were a bit Stiff at times, Compared to Mass Effect 2 Animations.

It's no secret that Mass Effect 1 had stiff animations. Even some of the reviewers brought up the Stiff Animation during their review of ME 1.

See? I can already see the DLC being about going after the Illusive Man, either before, or after the defeat of the Reaper threat.

=)

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.

Spoiler Alert: This article contains some story spoilers for Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, and previously released downloadable content.

The Reapers have come to Earth. This is how Mass Effect 3 begins. The first two titles in the series were building towards an epic war with the ancient arbiters of doom and that war has finally come. Good thing the galaxy has you, Commander Shepard, professional Reaper killer.

Mass Effect 2 focused on gathering the best mercenaries in the galaxy for a suicide mission against the Collectors. Mass Effect 3 is a survival mission. You must rally the various races from around the galaxy to your cause to reclaim Earth and save every form of life from extinction. Fail, and everyone and everything dies. No pressure.

Mass Effect 3 Trailer

It won't be easy. This is full blown galactic war and to many, the battle appears hopeless. How can any army possibly defeat the Reapers? Forget about earning the trust of individual allies -- you must unite warring factions to one purpose. Returning to Earth with anything less than a galactic armada would mean failure. In Mass Effect 2, you helped Jack deal with her past and tracked down Samara's daughter for a family reunion. Here, the stakes are higher and the importance of each mission is going to be greater.

One example of these unifying missions comes about halfway through Mass Effect 3. Shepard and crew have journeyed to the Salarian homeworld, Sur'Kesh, to rescue a Krogan princess. Yes, she's crazy hot. The princess in question is the key to uniting a divided Krogan homeworld. Mordin Solus is assisting (it is his home planet after all), and naturally the Krogan clan leader Wrex Urdnot has quite an interest in the princess.
Find out how Mass Effect 3's combat has changed.
But wait, is that team even possible in your version of Mass Effect 3? This is where the branching paths of the first two games begin to really affect the final battle against the Reapers. What if you killed Wrex in the first game? What if Mordin died at the end of Mass Effect 2? What if you gave thumbs up to the Genophage? It's unclear how these choices affect the missions -- maybe losing Mordin just means another character is there in his place -- but in some cases the differences should be significant.

Mass Effect 3 Executive Producer Casey Hudson says that "all things contribute to the war effort." Meaning every major decision from the first two games has an impact. The relationships you've built, and those you need to build going forward, matter.

With the Krogans, you might have murdered one of their own. You might have further doomed their species to extinction. Now you must ask them to help you save the galaxy. Awkward. But there are other decisions that should have an impact. Did you kill or spare the Rachni Queen in Mass Effect 1? When Sovereign attacked the Citadel did you sacrifice or save the Council? At the end of Mass Effect 2, did you destroy the Collectors' experiments or save them for (then ally, now enemy) Cerberus? Thinking about all of the decisions made in the first two games and if/how they impact Mass Effect 3 illustrates the scope of the trilogy. This is something we've never seen before.

The separation between someone who played Renegade versus Paragon in the previous games makes the large scale of Mass Effect 3 all the more interesting. Renegade isn't the traditional "evil" you see in games with morality. Often times, it's about self-reliance. Many of those decisions show a Renegade Shepard as being direct, uncompromising, and perhaps trying to prove that humans don't need help from anyone else to survive in the galaxy. For some species, that brash mentality can earn respect. For most, it likely shows that humans are under-developed savages who should be destroyed by the Reapers. I've got to imagine a few things my no-nonsense Queenie Shepard did are going to come back to bite her in the ass.

If you didn't play any of the downloadable content, Mass Effect 3 assumes the events happened. You get a little more out of things if you played Lair of the Shadow Broker and Arrival. But either way, Liara is the new Shadow Broker (think queen of all mercenaries) and Shepard has been arrested and is on trial on Earth at the start of ME3.
You are one ugly...

Mass Effect 3 might be about big-scale battles and the fate of all worlds, but there's still time for love. There's an epic battle for Shepard's heart, after all. If you were suave in Mass Effect 1 and 2, then you have two love interests, both vying for you as worlds are about to end. This love triangle will be resolved by the end of Mass Effect 3, so look forward to walking off into the sunset with Liara. I mean, seriously, who else would you want to be with -- Kaidan?

Regardless of how your love life turns out, the Reapers need to be taken down. With a galactic armada at your disposal, that should be doable. All you have to do is convince the galaxy humanity's worth saving.

- Rumor: Tali's face will be revealed in the game somehow.

She could be dead already. In that case, then, new playthrough.

-********SPOILER********-





Actually, if you tell the Admirals of the Migrant Fleet what her father was working on, you kill her...

Looks like that's gonna be a good day not to live in the U.S., eh?

Premium metal case featuring commemorative artwork of Commander Shepard.
70-page hardbound art book featuring hundreds of unique and gorgeous illustrations from the BioWare development team plus an exclusive 4x6 lithographic print featuring a one-of-a-kind piece of artwork
Limited edition Mass Effect comic by Dark Horse Comics, complete with unique cover artwork
Join the ranks of the N7 with the premium fabric N7 patch
A full collection of in-game content that can't be found anywhere else!

- N7 Arsenal Pack
- Access to an additional downloadable mission and character
- Robotic Dog
- Squadmate Alternate Outfit Pack

Premium metal case featuring male and female Commander Shepard
70-page hardbound art book
Limited edition Mass Effect comic by Dark Horse Comics
Fabric N7 patch.
Exclusive 4x6 lithographic print of the SR-2 Alliance Normandy
Additional in-game content including
N7 Arsenal Pack - Bring the firepower with the N7 Sniper Rifle, Shotgun, SMG, and Pistol.
Access to an additional downloadable mission and character
Squad alternate appearance pack
Mechdog companion aboard the Normandy
Mass Effect 3 digital soundtrack.

I bet $5 there's not one pic of female Shepard in the whole thing.

On a related note, how much good can long hair do to a woman! Look at the gunnery chief now.

I want a time machine to go buy it and come back to tomorrow.

• Exclusive N7 fabric patch
• Art book, 70 pages
• Dark Horse ME Series 3 issue 1, with alternate cover art

A full collection of in-game content that can’t be found anywhere else!

• N7 arsenal pack – N7 Sniper Rifle, Shotgun, Pistol and SMG
• Squad-mate alternate appearance pack
• Normandy Robotic Dog companion
• Shepard casual appearance– N7 hoodie
• Exclusive extended soundtrack
• Exclusive 4x6 lithograph
• XBL Normandy Avatar
• Exclusive forum, social avatars, badges and perks

I want a Liara toy to place next to Shepard! Liara in the new outfit from LOTSB.

Please forward this request to BioWare marketing, Revan. Thanks!

Still, behind the scenes, let them know. =)

When does it expire?

The way it plays in the demo, it does look like Ashley is the Spectre onboard SR2 rescuing Shepard.

It's not such a jump in logic that the ship was put in the hands of an officer of such caliber instead of in the hands of a rogue, considered guilty of the loss of so many Batarian lives (just before the Reapers make the point that he/she was right all along).

Ashley is a Spectre & Promoted to Second Lieutenant(For those who saved Kaidan for Some reason, He was Promoted in ME2 to Staff Commander and outranks Shepard).

Take a Close look at Ashley clothing, The Spectre symbol is visible on her gloves.

- The Normandy SR-2 is handed to Ashley, Not Shepard

Not that I will be picking anyone besides miranda and ashley but does anyone know who the new girl is voiced by?

Well we atleast know Ashley will be back. They show her on a walkthrough at E3.

Video game research firm EEDAR has named EA and BioWare's upcoming Mass Effect 3 as the "most promising" retail game shown at this month's E3 expo, citing purchase intent and online media consumption.

EEDAR's research involved analyzing page views, purchase intent and video views through its media partners, IGN and GameTrailers, to rank which of the games shown at E3 had the highest sales potential at retail.

"EEDAR has had strong demand from its retail partners to create an objectively quantifiable method to measure the commercial potential of games showcased at E3 2011," said EEDAR's Jesse Divnich, saying that its new report "highlights the collective activity of over 20 million consumers during the week of E3."

According to EEDAR, Mass Effect 3 had the highest number of recorded page views among all tracked games. The firm says that its data indicates the game could sell in excess of 20 percent more copies than its predecessor.

"We are excited to see that there was such a high level of interest in Mass Effect 3 during E3, especially when you consider how many amazing games were on display at this year's show," said BioWare VP of marketing Patrick Buechner.

The top 20 most promising retail releases showcased at E3 2011, according to EEDAR, are as follows:

1. Mass Effect 3 (Electronic Arts)
2. Battlefield 3 (Electronic Arts)
3. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda)
4. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Activision Blizzard)
5. Assassin's Creed Revelations (Ubisoft)

I hope it's Conrad Werner, and not the Rachni Queen...

Based off of Collector Edition Information the Permanent Squad will be: Ashley/Kaiden, James and Liara.

It Seems Casey just wanted to Confuse everyone. As it stands right now None of the Mass Effect 2 Squad will be Permanent Squad Members, Only Temp.

Not sure how much a I like that, as I had a pretty good team in ME2...

As we head into Mass Effect 3, we all have a lot of questions. What is the Illusive Man's angle? Will we see the Rachni Queen again? Will Shepard get his groove one one last time? In addition to those important questions, there's the lingering mystery of what exactly is behind Tali's mask. As it turns out, that's something that BioWare has been struggling with, too.
In an interview with CVG, Mass Effect's executive producer Casey Hudson explained the situation. "A lot of people want to have her face revealed and obviously people are going to be pissed off either way. Like 'I thought she was going to look beautiful!' or 'I thought she was going to be the most hideous thing ever!' So we've had a lot of debate over Tali's face, but that's the one we kind of dread a lot. We're always 'Well, let's talk about something else for a while!' That's something we're going to have to decide."
Like Hudson says, it's definitely a tough situation. As long as her face isn't composed out of a writhing mass of spiders, I'll be OK with their decision. Who knows? Maybe she's a dead ringer for Master Chief?

Loving Ashley's long hair. But Liara's outfit looks like something made out of Hershey's chocolate wrapping.

Liara in Leia slave dress DLC???

It's something to do with Ali Hillis(VA for Liara) and Liara.

Slave Dress should be in the base game for Private time with Shepard.

Fixed.

Not in my universe.

I want a Liara toy to place next to Shepard! Liara in the new outfit from LOTSB.

Please forward this request to BioWare marketing, Revan. Thanks!

You want a Liara Figure. Here you go, Brought to you by Kotobukiya.

Retail Price: 59.99 Set for a Fall 2011 Release.

The blonde is winning, but that will be a mistake! I can't imagine Shepard being blonde.

My vote is for number 3.

Hopefully they include all of them for selection (obviously only one can be used for marketing), and they make them backwards importable to ME1 and ME2.

A Close up of the Leading Female Shepard(Based off the Votes).

Now seeing the closeup that's really good, even blonde.

Gotta agree. I'd have preferred green eyes but that's (what's the term...?) nitpicking.

I'm guessing they're not sharing the other 5 HQs...

You want a Liara Figure. Here you go, Brought to you by Kotobukiya.

Retail Price: 59.99 Set for a Fall 2011 Release.

"Kotobukiya's Bushoujo Statues will now feature the ladies of Mass Effect! Watch out for the pre-order announce!

Some Fan-Art of What the Artist believes what Female Should look like. It seems not everyone is a fan of Buffy, The Reaper Slayer.

Games-Com 2011 is in... when?

A Close up of the Leading Female Shepard(Based off the Votes).

As long as the single player experience is as polished and amazing as the previous 2 Mass Effect games, I have no problem with them throwing it in. I know I won't ever use it for this game, but some people might.

"We looked at multiplayer for the Mass Effect series since the very beginning, but could not find a way to implement it without compromising the single player story...Mass Effect is very much about the story"

That a new quote? Cuz' he seems to dance around ideas and has changed a few in the past.

I for one prefer NO multiplayer.

The problem with them throwing multiplayer into games is that there will no doubt be stupid multiplayer trophies that will cause some people problems with Platinuming the game. It happened with the Assassins Creed games and the multiplayer element was awful (in my opinion) and made me give up my Platinum hunt with AC: Brotherhood

Then play the game for fun and not trophies. No one has a gun to your head. People are really ocd about magical numbers and icons that have no actual literal weight in the real world.

I love trophies myself but I will not hate on a game because of some trophies.

I really don't get the argument your posing. Its not like you have to beat the game under a deadline. Unless you work for IGN or 1up.

I would love to hear your conversation with your SO on why you decided not to buy a game. She might think your insane. Just saying.

Not trying to hate on you.

Trophies and achievements are more less like bragging rights, or sense of completion for a completest. For some it seems complete platinuming your favorite game.

What annoys some about online achievements is requiring certain online elements that force the player to play with strangers or hope you got a huge friend list to obtain the achievements. Not a requirement or gun to the head to get these, but some want to get them all. Main topic here, Mass Effect was always a single player and better off without a multi-player mode.

Once again I'm not trying to hate on anyone. I just think if Bioware puts multiplayer in it we shouldn't hate on them like they are raping out childhood or something.

I'm not saying the game needs it. But I'm not going to auto hate on them if they feel they want to put it in a game. I could see people's complaints with a game like Parasite Eve where its a horror game. IE Dead Space. But Mass Effect is a little less about being alone in a world like Metroid or my past example Dead Space.

Just my opinion. No hate.

"Mass Effect is the Story of Shepard and his Journey to try to defeat the Reapers"

Shepard is a she. I will not hear otherwise.

Blame BioWare PR, They always use male for Marketing. Atlease that's changing with Mass Effect 3. They only reason to play as a Male Shepard is to hook up with certain Love Interest's.

Tali

And realism! Female Spec-Forces commando headbutting a Krogan???

Realism? Have you played Mass Effect? Have you seen a Krogan? Male or female, that would end badly.

Headbutting will be returning in Mass Effect 3. One Dev confirmed it today.

Tuchanka: *NEW*

"It's a miserable place to live, but it's a more miserable place to die," said turian general Rilix Aescorus of the krogan homeworld when he first set foot on it. Death comes in many forms on Tuchanka, from the radioactive fallout spread by the krogan's nuclear war, to the lethal heat from the reduced planetary albedo, to vicious and predatory animal life. This is to say nothing of the krogan themselves, whose internal clan wars continue to this day. Fortunately for the rest of the galaxy, krogan warfare rarely spills out from the planet -- the Citadel Navy, under the auspices of the Council Demilitarization Enforcement Mission, maintains a ban on the krogan ever building warships. Every few years, another krogan warlord violates the law, but usually an alliance of rivals ends his dreams of hegemony before the Citadel Navy even has to fire a shot.

Cerberus Centurion: *NEW*

Cerberus Centurions are frontline tacticians that fight alongside their soldiers. These squadron leaders carry out high-level instructions laid out by the Illusive Man. How the Illusive Man recruited and trained such a large number of top-line battlefield commanders is a worrying mystery. Cerberus, once comprised of small, covert cells of agents, is now a burgeoning and unconcealed threat to the galaxy. In the face of the immediate Reaper threat, Alliance Intelligence has scuttled their attempts to infiltrate Cerberus to find out how the Illusive Man managed to quickly swell his organization’s ranks. The only useful intel gathered on the Centurions are their armaments. Each Centurion carries a modified M-96 Mattock that launches smoke grenades to blind their targets, making their enemies vulnerable to vicious crossfire they can no longer see.

The Atlas: *NEW*

"Strong as a semi, and just as maneuverable" is how Cerberus soldiers describe the Atlas Infantry Fighting Exoskeleton. Cerberus' research arm sought to combine the deadly armor and firepower of a YMIR mech with the tactical superiority of a trained human pilot, and in this respect they succeeded admirably. The Atlas features an antipersonnel mass accelerator, armor-piercing missiles, and an element zero core that allows it to be air-dropped onto a battlefield with minimal impact damage. Its thick armor includes a transparent shield that protects its operator and allows for good visibility. The shield is made from a polycrystalline material proprietary to Cerberus – Alliance engineers can only hypothesize that it is some kind of synthetic sapphire composite with interlayers to avoid cracking and thermal damage. Whatever it is, it's been the end of many opponents who thought they could put a bullet through it, only to find that they’ve leaned out of cover and angered the pilot of a very deadly war machine.

Hope they improve those animations. In this trailer they SUCK worse than ME2.

Shepard 4 (Current Votes: 7678)

Gamescom represents the very first time we've gone hands-on with Mass Effect 3, and while doing so may not have revealed any shocking revelations, there are certainly some very cool changes that fans will appreciate.

For those keeping score, the section we were able to play through was shown at E3, and sees Shep trying to get Mordin Solus and a female Krogan off-world. The Krogan may hold the key to reversing the Genophage that left the Krogan race almost entirely sterile, but she's in quarantine, which means a series of steps to get her out. Naturally, the Commander meets some serious resistance along the way – from Cerberus in this case. You can see the sequence – as well as some incredible action set on Earth - in the video embedded further down the page.

Here are five things we loved during our hands-on session:

1) The Omni-blade! Snikt!
It's all very well to have a multi-purpose holographic device attached to your arm, but if you can't stab people with it, well, it's not that useful, now is it? Ladies and gentleman, forget the Omni-tool and welcome the Omni-blade, Shepard's latest toy. This orange holographic blade sits on his arm, and is one of the precision instruments with which he'll carve his revenge into the guts of his enemies.

Using it is simple – just get close to an enemy and stab. The camera moves in close and judders, giving the attack a really punchy feel. It also helps Shepard feel like more of a bad-ass at close range. Honestly, it can be a little clunky trying to take down moving enemies with traditional weaponry at close quarters, so the Omni-blade greatly simplifies things, letting Shep gouge a great big hole in his enemy's chest with one smooth motion.

2) Upgrading Powers
Remember the upgrade system for powers in Mass Effect 2? You'd pump stat points into each power, upgrading them along a fixed path until the final upgrade would give you a choice of two variations on the power. It was cool, but for Mass Effect 3, BioWare is giving players more this or that choices. Take Liara's singularity power. You spend a point to purchase it, and each subsequent upgrade costs more points – much like the old system. The second upgrade increases its duration, the third its radius, then for the fourth, players have a choice between extra duration or wider radius, for the fifth it's a choice between increased damage and faster recharge speed and for the final upgrade it's another choice, between having a 50% larger size for the first ten seconds or having the ball of gravity collapse in on itself and explode when the power ends.

It means players will be able to customise every power they have in pretty cool ways – sometimes literally. In our hands-on we bumped our cryo ability way up, meaning that cryo ammo would often either cool and slow enemies or outright freeze them, opening them up to be shattered into a million pieces with any further damage. Weapons can also be modified, letting players upgrade different stats, like fire rate and clip size.

3) Cover Evolved
It may not sound glamorous, but the revamped cover system definitely makes combat in Mass Effect 3 more flowing. What's changed? Well, Shepard can now move from cover point to cover point, move around corners in cover and commando roll to evade fire/get to cover. And like the last game he can still vault low cover objects, but the system seems less clunky. The team has stated that the combat is going to be more challenging in this game, so ensuring players have the tools to smoothly and tactically use the battlefield can't be overstated. In short, we've used it and we like it.

4) Squad Controls
Mass Effect players have always had a fair amount of control over the members of their squad. After all, at any time you can bring up the radial menu and tell your squad mates which enemies you'd like in the air/in giblets/frozen/concussed/etc, and they'll give it their full attention. That level of control has only increased for Mass Effect 3. We weren't able to test out the Kinect voice commands, which enable you to simply state what you want each squad member to do, but it is clear that the game is going to be pushing players to use their squad controls – in particular the waypoint system – more during battles. One moment in the hands-on has a couple of enemies holding up shields coming towards the player, and it's a simple matter to position one of your squad to draw their fire while you – or the other squad member – flanks around them. Mind you, it's even easier to command Liara to use her singularity power to suck them into a swirling ball of gravity. Gravity – is there anything it can't do?

5) Meching New Friends…
…or destroying them, as the case may be. The end of the hands-on featured a battle against the Cerberus Atlas, a towering bi-pedal mech piloted by a Cerberus agent. Using squad members to draw its fire and avoid copping rockets in the face gave us the chance to get around behind it and dish out some damage to its shields. The team has demonstrated a couple of encounters with much larger enemies, so you can expect this to be a mini-boss that will likely pop up a number of times throughout the game. We hope so, because the team mentioned that if players can take out the pilot without destroying the mech, they'll be able to hop inside the cockpit themselves.

While the area we played was pretty contained, essentially featuring a number of mid-sized rooms, each with a number of cover objects, there are going to be some amazingly cinematic settings for the action and narrative. The sequence on Earth, for instance – which you can see in the video above - is staggering. The sheer scale of the Reaper invasion is truly intimidating and impactful. One thing's for sure – our hands-on today was just the first step down a road that has the potential to be one of the greatest gaming experiences of recent years.

Will there be an option for people who lost their save data. IE they really want Ashley/Miranda on their side but their data got corrupted somehow over the years?

You will get some kind of interactive Comic. Be warned it's will be very bare boned. No Side quests from Mass Effect 1 or 2 will carry over. I doubt the Comic will cover all the Loyalty missions(most likely only one or two of them).

Characters like Conrad Verner, Shiala or Gianna Parasini will not appear in your game (They all have been confirmed to be returning). It's been rumored both Shiala and Gianna Parasini might be love interest. Those will be cut off from you.

Plus you will not get uber reward for those who have been playing Mass Effect since the start. It's better just to replay Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2. You still have 6 months, Plenty of time to beat both games before release of Mass Effect 3.

Lead Writer already stated even your decisions during Side quests will impact your Mass Effect 3 experience. He's already teased a few side quests will come back into play.

----------

You can beat Mass Effect 1 in less than 20 Hours (100% all Main Missions, DLC and Side Quests). You can beat Mass Effect 2 in about 26 Hours (All Main Missions, Loyalty, N7/Side Missions, and DLC)

The mako and the scanning and the load times keeps me from wanting to play the past games.

As a PC gamer, it's been a long time since I had to worry or be sad about load times. PC for the win!

If Ashley, Liara or Miranda dies and you can not do anything to stop it, I will let the Galaxy burn.

/End of Rant

Nice screens!

Have you seen the new Shepard white t-shirts up for pre-sale? Very cool! I had to get myself one. Female Shepard available, too.

Saw the earlier today, Don't have any interest in them.

Big Female Shepard Reveal tomorrow at Noon. Redhead Shepard Won, It just doesn't make sense to change her hair color for last installment of her Story Arc.

Hair color don't matter. I really hope your not gonna say that women never change their hair color. I could see your argument if they made her asian or something.

No one is saying women don't change their hair color. Why change Female Shepard Hair Color this late in the series. This was defiantly a Bioware PR move. Bioware PR is questionable at times.

Do really think Shepard has the time to dye her hair with the Reapers in our System, Being on trial for wiping out the Viper Nebula, and Galactic War Starting.

Like I said already they should just updated Jane Shepard and Bioware could have avoided the giant S***Storm they started with FemShepard.

If she has time to have sex she has time to do her hair.

Warp:
lvl 1 - unlock Warp ability
lvl 2 - decrease recharge speed (from base 8 sec. to 6.4 sec.)
lvl 3 - increase damage (from 180 pts. to 234 pts.)

lvl 4 - 1st Evolution
DAMAGE (increases damage to 306 pts) or WARP DETONATION (increases warp detonation's damage, impact radius, and force by 100%)
lvl 5 - 2nd Evolution
PERIODIC DAMAGE or DAMAGE TAKEN (increases weapon and biotic damage to target by 25% for 10 sec.)
lvl 6 - Final Evolution
RESISTANCE DAMAGE or RECHARGE SPEED

Throw:
lvl 1 - unlock ability Throw
lvl 2 - decrease recharge speed (from base 4 sec. to 3.2 sec)
lvl 3 - increase force (from base 600 N to 840 N)

lvl 4 - Evolutions begin
FORCE (increases force to 1200 N) or RADIUS
lvl 5 - 2nd Evolution
HIGH IMPACT or COMBO (resets cooldown if targeted enemy is affected by biotics)
lvl 6 - Final Evolution
MULTI-THROW or RECHARGE SPEED

... will male shepard and kaiden have hot steamy man sex in ME3? Those two where made for each other.

Will there be an option for people who lost their save data. IE they really want Ashley/Miranda on their side but their data got corrupted somehow over the years?

Thats sucks for ps3 users since we never got me1.

In a forthcoming interview with AusGamers, BioWare's Mike Gamble, who serves as Associate Producer on Mass Effect 3, revealed that narrative components to the downloadable content that was released for Mass Effect 2 would have a significant carry-on effect in Mass Effect 3 and that the team are currently working on "writing a couple [of] levels" specifically around this.

"The characters that you met in DLC and the changes that might have occurred throughout the DLC, those obviously do move into the main ME3 narrative," he revealed to us. "Certain decisions; certain things did happen in the Mass Effect world. But at the same time, if you did play the DLCs, the choices that you made -- the specific choices in the DLCs that you made -- are basically brought in.

"So there is effect," he added. "And you know, Arrival, Shadow Broker, Overlord; all of those things. We’re actually currently writing a couple of levels where we’re looking at some of those and saying there’s some great opportunities to bring some of this stuff in. So actually yeah, we will."

Also, on the topic of narrative carry-over, we broached the subject of your decision with, or against, the Elusive Man at the end of the second game and how that would work now that you appear to be fighting Cerberus, regardless.

"So without giving away too many spoilers and I don’t want to do that: the decision that you made at the end of Mass Effect 2 will change how the Cerberus confrontation happens. Regardless, Cerberus is still basically aligned against Shepard," Mike revealed.

Mass Effect 3 will conclude Commander Shepard's story.

Bioware's CEO Dr. Ray Mazuka told PC Gamer, "Mass Effect 3 is simultaneously a couple of different things: a thrilling and epic conclusion to the trilogy as we promised our fans we'd provide for Commander Shepard, but it's also a brand new beginning – it's an entry point for new fans and it's also a brand new beginning."

Similarly, producer Michael Gamble said, "After this, Commander Shepard's story is complete."

When pressed, "Even if there are more games in the Mass Effect universe, he/she definitely won't be in them?" He laconically replied, "Correct."

Are you sad that Comamander Shepard will be no more? Or are you excited to explore new quadrants of the Mass Effect universe? Let us know in the comments below.

It is good that Shepard is given closure, as long as one of the possible outcomes is that he/she survives in the end. I'd hate it if their idea of 'completing his story' is to have him/her die in the end, albeit quite heroically.

Plus I doubt Bioware will kill off their biggest iconic Character.

You mean, twice.

I thought the beginning of mass effect 2 was awesome. Orginal: no, awesome: yes.

I thought the beginning of mass effect 2 was awesome. Orginal: no, awesome: yes.

Plus it can't be skipped.

99% of the time original isn't good. The classics are the classics for a reason.

Mass Effect 2 is more of a filler than anything.

It's comes off as cliche and a bit cheap. Allot of fans didn't like the beginning of Mass Effect 2.

Plus it can't be skipped.

Where is this magical poll that says most fans hated the beginning?

67% of statistics are made up to suit the point of view of the person posting it.

Six months... when you put it so bluntly, that sucks!

if u romance kelly does that affect you and miranda

i just played mass effect 1 and 2 like last 3 months bought them both same time glad i did love the games i restarted 2 tonight cause i let most the ppl die

You want a Liara Figure. Here you go, Brought to you by Kotobukiya.

Retail Price: 59.99 Set for a Fall 2011 Release.

Gotta tone down her breasts. They're out of character for the formerly bookworm, serious business asari.

Other than that, the attention to detail in the armor sculpt is overwhelming.

I know that many (but not all) bishoujo - "pretty young girl" - characters are extraordinarily endowed. I am fully aware of the art style.

Still, Liara's personality is not femme fatale, nor bad girl at all. She begins as a shy, lonely bookworm. Life takes her places after ME1, but she never danced at Chora's Den-like places like most asari.

To accurately portray that rare, almost pure essence of the character, they have to tone down the size and "warhead" shape of her breasts a little bit. Notice in the artwork, they're nowhere as exaggerated!

They look bigger in LOTSB partly (mostly?) because she's wearing a double layer of armor over them, which I don't think is as "squishable" as the artist has portrayed here.

Again, overall the statue is gorgeous! If I'm not in serious money troubles I'll buy it. But they asked for our opinion, and there it is.

With each game/DLC her Cup Size increases.

Mass Effect 1 - A Cup or Small B Cup
Mass Effect 2 - C Cup
Liar of the Shadow Broker - D Cup

Company is known for Anime Style Statues. If you look at Liara pose she is Squeezing them together, Which will make any girls Cup jump a size.

If you Think Liara Breasts are Big, Wonder how Large Miranda's or Samara's will be. Company has been contracted to do all the Female Squad Mates (Not sure if Female Shepard will be included with this line or not).

i just noticed ashley looks alot diff in mass effect 3 than others she did 1 and 2

sometimes changing hair is all it takes to make a character look a shitload better.

Have they made any comment as to the backwards "importability" of the official FemShep's appearance into ME1 and ME2???

If they're gonna do this, they must let you play with the same character from the very beginning, for PC/360 players most of all.

U mad bro?

Jane Shepard (Default Shepard from ME1 and ME2) is still a Preset in the character Creator. Bioware will not force you to change the look of your Shepard.

But not forcing me. Actually, if I WANT to start from scratch a new playthrough with the new official FemShep, from ME1 onwards.

Well, here's to hoping they thought about this issue when they decided to add an "Official Female Shepard" in the third act of a trilogy, and come up with a patch for the earlier games.

Casey Hudson, I'm looking at you.

A cylon playing an AI...

last time i played i pick miranda over jack when they was fussing wat happends if i pick jack side how does that affect u and miranda i was on that part again and i was thinking which way to go

last time i played i pick miranda over jack when they was fussing wat happends if i pick jack side how does that affect u and miranda i was on that part again and i was thinking which way to go

for some reason wouldnt let me mine must not been that high i tryed that lol

- Shepard will have 40,000 Lines in Mass Effect 3. ME 2 contains between 25,000 to 33,300 Lines. Not sure what the exact number was.