With the confirmation from BioWare of a new adventure in the Mass Effect universe, everyone has a different idea of what it will contain. Will it be a continuation of the trilogy? Will it be a prequel, taking place during the First Contact War, or maybe the Krogan Revolt? Not many details have been released, but here's a few that have been revealed.
Firstly: No Shepard this time. His story ended in Mass Effect 3, dead or alive. BioWare hasn't even made a decision on the species of the new hero. "...we don’t want to make ‘Shepard 2′, or Mass Effect 4 with like, ‘Oh there’s no more Shepard but you’re a soldier in the universe’. So this will be a very, very different context for sure, and nothing has been decided on the rest,” states Fabrice Condominas, producer for BioWare Montreal.
According to Condominas, the time period in which the new game will take place hasn't even been decided, yet. It could take place during the events I've described earlier, or it could be a completely new adventure, stemming off of the actions of Commander Shepard's journey.
From the looks of it, the decisions of the game's direction might be kept behind closed doors intentionally. BioWare and EA had more than their share of fan outrage in 2012 when they made the mistake of submitting to the demands of their fans. While it seemed like a great idea, the result of fan input changing the way a game is created is a slippery slope. Now, BioWare producers won't dare touch their forums for fear of being overrun by entitled fanboys who bitch that their favorite character didn't have a certain line they wanted to hear. The upcoming Dragon Age III title is almost completely fan-influenced, which is, ironically, a sure sign that fans will hate it.
Here's what I'm hoping (but not demanding): I would love a Mass Effect game that starts like Dragon Age: Origins. I want to know what it's like to play as a Drell, being raised and trained by the Hanar, or a Krogan performing his rite of passage on Tuchanka. There is so much in the expansive universe that BioWare has created, that a singular narrative experience will be a little disappointing.
However 'Mass Effect 4' will turn out, I'll definitely be in line to pick up my copy.
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Having a character choice like Dragon Age could be a great decision for the over game. But if they do not do that then I feel like they would decide on a Turian as the main character because it's a fan favorite species.
ReplyDeleteI believe Bioware has painted themselves into a corner with plot ideas. Mass Effect 1,2, and 3 have forced you to fight the epitome of evil characters trying to take over or destroy the galaxy. There is not much that can top that.
If they can take a cue from Star Wars; they can understand there doesn't have to be an epic boss battle at the end. Make a true RPG that allows players to fight bosses at every level not just in the last 30 minutes of gameplay. If Mass Effect 4 can follow the outline of games like Skyrim then we should have a sequel and a standalone game worthy of GotY.