Mass Effect 3 Magazine Preview Tidbits

One page of the Game Informer preview of Mass Effect 3 pertains specifically to RPG elements and how they evolved through the series. As this is of particular interest to our readers, here it is:

Some fans of the original Mass Effect complained that the second entry strayed from its RPG roots, focusing too much on the action. While Mass Effect 3 is embracing the action-oriented approach to combat from Mass Effect 2, the team acknowledges that work needs to be done to recapture the series’ role-playing spark. To accomplish this, BioWare isn’t reverting to old iteration of Mass Effect’s design; instead, the studio is adding greater depth and customization to the current model.

In Mass Effect 2, Shepard was reconstructed from scratch, giving BioWare a story-based excuse to reconfigure and reset the skill system. That’s not happening again. In Mass Effect 3, you will start out more in line with where you left off in the previous game. “You start out with some of these basic powers you would have had in Mass Effect 2, but quickly they start becoming evolved powers”, Hudson explains. “That’s where we’ve added more and different options for you. We know that people wanted to ave not only the ability to allocate skill points, but to have a little more choice in that.” This means that a biotic power like Singularity will evolve into several forms as it develops, not just one of two options at the end of a linear progression.

The emphasis on choice also applies to weapons, which now have multiple forms of customization. You can obtain different barrels, scopes, and materials to outfit your arsenal as you see fit. Not only will these weapon mods have tangible combat benefits, but they’ll also change the physical appearance of your guns, so you can tailor your favorite weapon to be just the way you like it. “People are right when they say that it needs more in the activity chain, from what you can buy in stores and what you can customize and the way that translates to different weapons and your attachment to them,” Hudson says. This mechanics allows Mass Effect 3 to regain some of the personalization of the first game without requiring players to sort through a cumbersome inventory or carry around dozens of possible upgrades.

Additionally, Gamers Mint has some more tidbits from the recent Game Informer preview of Mass Effect 3.

Humans aren’t the only species that can be Husk-ified.
ME3 begins with Earth’s assault by the Reapers, and things don’t look so good, but there’s something that is a silver lining, that makes it look like it’s actually possible to not lose against the reapers.
TIM has sent his top agents to take down Shepard, The combat is going to be much harder and melee attacks are going to have more focus.
Shooting specific armor parts can have certain effects, and the AI of the enemies will have them routing Shepard and will coordinate with each other
Battlefields are going to be a great deal larger, and combat will be very varied.
Enemy Weapons can be picked up. Soldiers can carry all kinds of weapons, and other classes understandably less so.
There is a larger skill tree and RPG aspects are going to be more integrated.
Weapon Modding is a greenlight, with things like barrels and scopes
Modding your weapons will vastly affect their appearance and how they function in battle
So far the CONFIRMED SQUADMATES are: Ashley/Kaiden, Liara, Garrus, and James Sanders who is mentioned is an Alliance Marine
Species Loyalty cannot only get obtained via Quests
Levels will have ladders
Available Squadmates will still maintain a balance, if per say Garrus had not survived ME2’²s events
Mass Effect 1’²s decisions, such as sparing the Rachni, will have a grave impact in ME3
There’s no railroad to the end of the game, there are multiple paths to take back Earth.

Finally, VG247 has some quotes on a Mass Effect MMO, when executive producer Casey Hudson talks about the franchise’s future.

Asked about the possibility of an MMO, Hudson admitted he feels the franchise is a good match.

(A lot of people say that they want to see an MMO, I think that kind of makes sense for this universe,) he said.

(Part of what you’re trying to do is save the universe so you can live in it. That’s part of the promise, I think, for any great IP. It has to be a world worth saving.

(I think Mass Effect has that quality to it. If you get rid of the Reapers and win that, wouldn’t it be amazing to just live on the Citadel or just take a ship to Omega? That makes sense.)

It might make sense for the universe, but with BioWare already working on a sci-fi MMO, I’m not seeing it in the near future.