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| Version | User | Scope of changes |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 13 2007, 4:36 AM EST (current) | Madusha | 9 words added |
| Dec 13 2007, 4:35 AM EST | Madusha |
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Official Mass Effect Trailer:
 Developer: BioWare Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios Engine: Unreal Engine 3 Realease Dates - OUT NOW! Australia: November 22nd 2007 United States: November 20th 2007 Europe: November 23rd 2007 Platform: Xbox 360 Modes(s): Single Player Genre: Action Role Playing Game |
Mass Effect is an action role-playing game developed by BioWare for the Xbox 360. It is scheduled for worldwide release in November 2007. The game takes place in the year 2183, with the player assuming the role of an elite human soldier named Commander Shepard, set out to explore a vast universe on his/her ship, SSV Normandy.
Besides plans for a trilogy—which BioWare claims "will cover the Xbox 360's five-plus year cycle"—there are plans for episodic content to be uploaded to Xbox Live that will fill in the story between each game, though these episodes are not essential for understanding the story of the main games. Though Mass Effect has been marketed as an exclusive title for Xbox 360, there has been conjecture in print media regarding a PC version of the game. Neither Microsoft nor BioWare have given any statements regarding plans for a PC version. The game went gold October 22, 2007.
The term "Mass Effect"
Inside the game universe, mass effect is a newly discovered (for humans anyway) physics phenomenon that has properties along the lines of other Project Manager Casey Hudson explained the term "Mass Effect" as follows:physics forces such as gravity and electromagnetism. It's what physicists in real life are currently calling "dark energy," as an explanation for the accelerating expansion of the universe -- which has only recently been discovered and flies in the face of the previous notion that the universe's expansion should be slowing down because of gravity.Hudson explains that certain beings are able to sense and manipulate mass effect much like some real-life creatures (such as sharks and eels) can sense and manipulate electromagnetism. These abilities will be augmentable via implants, and the manipulation of mass effect is referred to as Biotics.
Plot
The story revolves around an ancient alien prophecy stating that every 50,000 years a portal opens that separates the "normal" universe and a realm beyond, releasing an ancient artificial intelligence that will harvest all organic life, and the time of their return is approaching. As the first human Spectre—sworn defenders of galactic peace—Shepard's mission is to halt the advancing armies of Saren, a legendary Spectre agent gone rogue. Saren has mysteriously taken control of the Geth, a race of rudimentary A.I. networks, whom he intends to use to shape the galaxy in his image, and to exact revenge against humanity for their perceived injustices against his people.One of the main themes of Mass Effect is the relationship between biological life and artificial life. "Attempting to develop artificial intelligence is one of the few things banned in the Citadel Conventions. Developing purely synthetic life, whether cloned or manufactured, is considered a crime against the entire galaxy. Experts from nearly every species predicted that true artificial intelligence, such as a synthetic neural network with the ability to absorb and critically analyze knowledge, would grow exponentially the instant it learned to learn. It would teach itself, quickly surpassing the capabilities of its organic creators and growing beyond their control. Every single species in the galaxy relied on computers that are linked into a vast data network of the extranet for transport, trade, defense and basic survival. If a rogue AI program was somehow able to access and influence those data networks, the results would be catastrophic. Conventional theory holds that the doomsday scenario isn't merely possible, it is unavoidable. According to the Council, the emergence of an artificial intelligence is the single greatest threat to organic life in the galaxy."
According to BioWare founder Dr. Gregory P. Zeschuk, the game has two sequences in which the player makes critical choices that lead to several different endings. The choices themselves are based on the actions of the player up to that point. He states, "We kind of have a secret idea on the trilogy so I really can't answer that part of it but it all makes logical sense. The end itself has two sequences where you make choices and it's interesting because the choices that are available to you are dependent in some part on what you have done at that point. There's a few different endings and there's a few different subtle tweaks as well. It kind of involves a matrix of choices."
Characters
The player will assume the role of Commander Shepard, a veteran soldier who generally acts and looks as a player wishes him to. The character's appearance will also vary based on the weaponry and armor the player uses. Mass Effect allows the player to create their own customizable version of Commander Shepard.
Alien species
While playing Mass Effect the player will encounter a number of sentient alien species. While human characters are present, much of the time will be taken up interacting with the other species in the game. Aliens will include the lizard-like krogan, the bird-like turians and the asari which are a race of female-looking neuter aliens.Player creation and character classes
Although most of the game's screen shots and concept art show the same "default" male Commander Shepard, (John Shepard as stated in some of BioWare's conferences), it will be possible for the player to fully customize their appearance, gender, abilities and even military background. The game includes six character classes, along with six more unlockable ones. Each class contains several talents; as each talent is leveled, the character either gains stats (extra health, stamina, etc), unlocks new abilities (leveling the Shotgun talent unlocks the Carnage ability, which allows the character to fire a concentrated blast from the Shotgun), or unlocks other talents. Each class also possesses a unique talent with the same name as its respective class; the characters may also have talents tied to their background. Characters outside of the player-created "main character" may have unique classes which will be variants of the base character classes. Note: little is known about what the six unlockable classes are, though it is likely that they are merely a specialized form of your beginning class.When first creating your character the six classes available are Soldier, Engineer, Adept, Infiltrator, Sentinel and Vanguard. Soldiers are the most adept with various weaponry, Engineers will make use of the omni-tool and tech-abilities and the Adept will be the best at using the biotics. The other three classes are combinations of the first three. Infiltrators are a combination of Soldiers and Engineers, the Sentinel is a combination between the Engineer and the Adept and the Vanguard will be a combination of the Soldier and the Adept. Players will also have some control over their character's background. They will be able to choose either to have been a "spacer" (born and bred in space), a colonist or an "Earthborn". They will also choose whether they have been the sole survivor of some grand battle, a war-hero or "ruthless". These backgrounds are merely what the players reputation will be in the game, for they may hear people reference it, however it does not impact what their choices are; they can choose Ruthless, and still do primarily paragon-type decisions.
Weapons and equipment
Mass Effect will feature four classes of conventional weapons, as well as different types of grenades, and assorted other usable items. The player will also be able to outfit their character and squad with various types of armor. All equipped items will be visible on the characters; changing armor immediately changes the look of the character, whether adding a bulky helmet or switching to a sleek skin-tight suit of armor, and all weapons fold up into compact versions and are stored directly on the character. Weapons and similar usable objects can be retrieved by simply pressing a particular direction on the directional pad for each item.Editions
The cover art for the PAL version of the limited collector's edition.
- A Mass Effect fiction book titled “Galactic Codex: Essentials” - A 36-page guide to the Mass Effect universe, including a Citadel timeline and a guide to all non-human races, biotics and the key locations in the Perseus arm of the galaxy
- A Mass Effect art book titled “A Future Imagined” which includes a collection of concept art from the game.
- A bonus DVD of exclusive “Mass Effect” background material and additional content including:
- “The Vision of “Mass Effect” documentary
- “The Making of “Mass Effect” documentary
- “Interactive Storytelling” documentary
- “Inside BioWare” documentary
- 18 “Mass Effect” themed gamer pics (three unique sets of six)
- 16 dashboard themes (four unique sets of four)
- Ten songs from the “Mass Effect” soundtrack
- Five historical “Mass Effect” trailers from X05 through E3 2007 and the official TV trailer
- A demo for “Blue Dragon” and videos for “Lost Odyssey,” “Halo 3” and “Halo Wars”
- Design galleries featuring 600 concept images fully commented by the Art Directors
Review by: Madusha
From: MSJ Gaming Wiki - http://www.gamingnews.wetpaint.com
