Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Previews and Video Interviews

We have rounded up a batch of new interviews and previews for Mass Effect 3’s recently-announced but long-rumored co-op mode, starting from this piece from GameSpy:

In classic horde mode fashion, enemies will come streaming from a handful of set spawn points in various shapes and forms, including tanks, snipers, and fast rogue types. And you won’t be able to set up shop in a single spot and take down foes as they come streaming at you. Galaxy at War keeps your squad moving by including a series of simple capture point objectives scattered across the map, and getting to those objectives means progressing patiently from cover point to cover point. See, your enemies come in droves and they have uncanny aim.

As you capture objectives you’ll unlock progressively difficult waves of enemies that will kill you. Not only are they crack shots, BioWare appears to have upped the difficulty level significantly in Galaxy at War. That means you’ll be relying on your teammates to fully utilize the multiplayer’s revive mechanic. Get gunned down and you can get get back up with a little help from a friend.

Once you’ve accomplished all of your objectives, you’ll enter the final showdown with a big boss character. In my demo, it was a massive mech with weapons for arms that required my entire team working together to take down. All told, the progressive pacing, difficulty, and final battle made for a fun, gratifying multiplayer experience.

G4:

The BioWare and EA spokespeople were mum on any additional modes and maps, but we at least got to see two locales: a base set in the snowy backdrop of Novaria and the Slum, a gritty map filled stacked colony pods. Both maps feature an involving mix of surviving waves of enemies and completing objectives. Think of it as Horde from Gears of War or Firefight from Halo and add in assignments during the gun battles like computer hacking and bomb disarmament. A single session can certainly give you lots to do, making it all the more important to have mics for all your friends. Moreover, the experience points earned at the end of a session are shared, so there shouldn’t be any reason to be a lone wolf. You can certainly be a hero at times, since everyone has the ability to revive downed team members.

To BioWare’s credit, these kinds of set-ups make sense in the scheme of the war where you and your friends are working together. BioWare is more than capable of adding a deathmatch mode, but that would be out of place in the scheme of Mass Effect. Much like how your squad works best when made up of diverse members with different abilities, so to do the waves of enemy often complement each other. Just when you think you have a handle of the enemy grunts and cloaked soldiers, in comes Cerberus Centurions with jetpacks and hulking mechs. Like how you’ve crafted a Shepard that is unique to you, multiplayer will offer its own level of customization including how your character looks, his/her abilities, and weapons, all of which helps tailor your experience to your preferred play style. With a level cap of 20 for each character and with the Mass Effect galaxy as large as it is, it would be great to have a multiplayer mode so involving that there’ll be players who’ll want to have maxed out a character from each race.

Aaryn Flynn makes it clear to CVG that multiplayer is very optional:

“There was a statement made that the better you do in multiplayer, the better you are at single-player – and I don’t think that’s right,” he said.

“The approach we’re taking is that multiplayer is very optional for all of our fans and players. It’s a way to achieve certain things in a different way then you could if you did just the single-player campaign.”

To conclude, GameTrailers has a meatier video interview with some footage from BioWare’s offices.