BioWare’s Goals For Mass Effect 3

Joystiq listened in on a lecture given by BioWare’s Christina Norman at this year’s GDC, during which she claimed that Mass Effect 3 will have “richer RPG features” to satisfy fans who weren’t too happy about the stripped down role-playing elements found in Mass Effect 2.

The streamlined gameplay and GUI of Mass Effect 2 made it a huge critical success, but Norman pointed out some major criticisms from vocal members of the official BioWare forums. Threads titled “Mass Effect 2 is not an RPG” and “Gears of War with interactive dialogue” were highlighted as examples of fans disappointed by the strong shooting focus of the second game.

As with the transition from the first Mass Effect to the second, BioWare is taking these criticisms to heart for the third game, with Norman hoping the third will offer “richer RPG features” and “more combat options.”

I really hope this is the case. I can’t even bring myself to play through Mass Effect 2 a second time, thanks to the game’s lack of character development and equipment options.