Mass Effect "4" Will Be Powered by FrostBite2

Bioware has already confirmed that the Mass Effect universe will not end with the trilogy of Commander Shepard. Although information on the next Mass Effect game is scarce or non-existent; Bioware today has announced that the FrostBite 2 Engine will power the fourth untitled Mass Effect title.

… BioWare has always believed that the company culture is one of the key ingredients of the games we make, we took two important steps with the team. First, we deliberately seeded the new studio with many transfers from Edmonton. Second, we chose to grow the team relatively slowly, allowing new people to join the team and integrate into its culture in due time. Even with that approach, though, the Montreal studio has made significant contributions to the Mass Effect franchise. We started by building about half the cinematics for ME2, then most of its N7 missions, and finally we played an important role in the development of much of its post-release content. Then on ME3, we took charge of the multiplayer portion as well as making significant contributions to the single-player campaign. Most recently, we built a large piece of DLC that will be released on November 27 and that you know under the name of Omega.

Studio Director Yanick Roy says that Executive Director Casey Hudson will still be overseeing the franchise. In addition to divulging that the game's engine will be Frostbite 2—used in Battlefield 3, Need for Speed: The Run and the upcoming Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel—Roy's letter also says that the team will be integrating systems created by the Dragon Age III team. After Hudson solicited fan input last week, Roy's comments makes it even more clear that things will be changing:

The other thing I can tell you is that, while it will be very respectful of the heritage built over the course of the first three games, with the original trilogy now concluded and the switch over to a new engine, we are exploring new directions, both on the gameplay and story fronts. You can still expect the pillars the franchise is known for to be fully intact though, including diverse alien races, a huge galaxy to explore, and of course rich, cinematic storytelling.

-Daniel, Jedi Editor
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Mass Effect 3 Omega DLC Details and Screens

Here are a few details about it that you might want to know:

1. It's a single-player adventure.
2. It will be accessible to anyone who has gotten past the Palaven's Moon mission.
3. It involves trying to liberate the Omega station from Cerberus forces.
4. The player controls Shepard but cannot bring along any of their regular ally characters.
5. Instead, they'll team with Omega's boss, the ruthless Aria T'Loak, and a mysterious female Turian insurgent who has some sort of history with Aria and seems to have more of a conscience.
6. It has a lot of combat but will also include some decision-making, according to a BioWare producer who chatted with us about the DLC.
7. And it won't be Mass Effect 3's final single-player DLC, despite that "Omega" name.

Omega will be out on November 27/28 for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. $15. No word on if, how or when it will come to Wii U.

-Daniel, Jedi Editor
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Mass Effect Film Gets New Screenwriter

Currently the Mass Effect motion picture is being supported by Legendary Pictures. In September 2011, screenwriter Mark Protosevich (I Am Legend) was working at “following and honoring the story” of the first Mass Effect game. Today, Variety is reporting that Protosevich’s draft is out, and they’re bringing in former assistant editor Morgan Davis Foehl to take a crack at the script.

The problem with bringing the Mass Effect universe into fruition on the big screen relies on a singular story-line. The games focus on a plethora of different character arcs, quest-lines, and big bad enemies to overcome, but for a feature film to work it would have to funnel all of the best ideas into a single cohesive plot. Reapers vs all life is a given plot point. But the Mass Effect universe is broad and full of stories. It's a guessing game about the synopsis until we hear otherwise.

-Daniel, Jedi Editor
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