Five Things That Could Kill Mass Effect 3

While we’re still months away from the release of Mass Effect 3, the editor of Atomic have put down a list of five things they are worried could kill the game. It’s not a particularly in-depth or extensive list, so here’s the first and last of the listed worries they have for BioWare’s sci-fi action-RPG:

1. Too much combat

Blowing up Geth and various other baddies has always been a part of the Mass Effect milieu, but recent changes to the way BioWare refer to the game have us a little worried. Back in the day, it was very much an RPG with shooter elements, but more recently BioWare’s been engaging in some linguistic legerdemain and calling ME3 an RPS, or Roleplaying Shooter. That’s okay, but given that the bulk of the hands on time and footage we’ve seen has focused on action, and shooting mechanics (leaving some viewers to now look at the game as a more earnest Gears of War), it’s easy to feel that BioWare’s going too far in this direction. Don’t get me wrong I love a good shooter. But I want story and character to be the main thing I take away from Mass Effect 3, not stealth takedowns.

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5. Dragon Age II

While I quite liked DAII (I have the scars to prove it!), a lot of fans felt it was a repetitive and over-simplified mess. So, it’s unsurprising then, that those same fans are living in fear that that kind of design ethos will creep into Mass Effect 3. (If I find the same warehouse occupied by 20 different badguys,) said both John, and Nic Healey, (I’ll be so damn upset!). I can certainly see where they’re coming from. Too, a lot of people thought the decision to ditch the classic travelling quest structure of Dragon Age in favour of a more sedentary story in Dragon Age II problematic. Again, I liked that, but I also can see that if Mass Effect 3 follows the same pattern, it would be… well… suckful.

While I understand the concern regarding combat, it’s worth noting that we already had a Mass Effect title which was similar in many ways to Dragon Age II, and it’s difficult to see BioWare follow that path again with all the criticism that it received back then and especially with the release of the second full title in the Dragon Age franchise.