Graphics, multiplayer

Will: “Nevertheless, the opening of the demo was still very cool. You’re in a futuristic fusion of Vancouver and Seattle as it’s being torn apart by giant laser beams and multiple walking Reapers. The background is incredibly detailed with sprites running for their lives down below, and if you wait long enough that Reaper off in the distance will eventually make its way toward you. As you progress through the linear level there are a ton of scripted events showcasing even more destruction.

However, I can’t help but feel underwhelmed by the depiction of this Earth city. When you select “Earthborn” during the character creation process, the description makes it sound like Earth is covered in continent-sized cities suffering from some cyberpunk dystopia, but you only get to see a very sparse, clean city with cookie-cutter buildings and little to no distinguishing features. The interiors feel empty and lifeless because everything is so incredibly utilitarian. This was probably one of the few times where an environment in Mass Effect did not impress me.”

The second half of the single-player demo focuses on core ME3 combat and brings you to the Salarian homeworld, where you are tasked with extraditing a very rare and valuable Krogan female. It’s heavily edited, as it takes place at a later point in the game and they try to avoid spoiling things. All that you know for sure is that familiar characters from previous games, including Wrex, Liara, and Garrus, have joined Shepard for this rescue mission. Another familiar face, the quirky Salarian scientist Mordin Solus, also makes an appearance; he had apparently been relocated to his home planet and aided in negotiating the release of the Krogan. Tensions are still high between the two races (Salarians designed the bioweapon that nearly wiped out the Krogans), as Wrex nearly scrubs the mission and causes another war by assaulting the group of Salarians that greet Shepard and his crew on the landing platform.


Jacob: “To speculate, I would think the delivery of a rare, fertile female is part of the deal Shepard ends up making with the Krogans to get them to commit forces against the Reapers on Earth. Some of Wrex’s dialogue in the opening cutscene implies that he only came along to ensure things go smoothly (even though he ends up waiting on the ship) and that Shepard will be sorry if something happens to the female. If you recall the previous games, Krogans as a race are endangered because of the genetic mutation caused by the aforementioned Salarian bioweapon, used in the past when Krogans rebelled against the Citadel. With their numbers so few, they’re reluctant to go to war; having another female for breeding would help secure the race’s survival. If the Reapers are defeated, that is.”


Will: “This level of the game takes place in a secluded research facility, so there wasn’t much to showcase save for the combat. The graphics have been moderately improved since ME2; in particular, dynamic shadows and lighting have been given a boost. It appears the graphics have been reduced for the demo, with low-quality textures and perhaps some other special effects missing, so it’s not possible to accurately judge ME3 on that yet. The sound, however, has received a pretty major upgrade. Along with the aforementioned tweaked gun sounds, explosions and load noises have been given some oomph. The soundtrack is, as always, nothing short of epic and moving.”




Jacob: “The thing that really stuck out to me, as far as visuals go, are the awful animations, both in terms of overall character bodies and lip-synching. It’s probably on par with how it was in ME2, but after seeing newer games like L.A. Noire and Battlefield 3, it’s just so obvious and jarring when you see stiff transitions between a small number of pre-mapped gestures rather than a smoother, more natural flow of movement. Admiral Anderson looked almost like a stick figure when he's running around with you in the first level; his legs are moving like scissors and he's literally gliding across the floor! Then in the cutscenes, there’s little to no emotion expressed in faces when people are talking, and lips don’t move nearly as much as the jaw does, which kind of makes everyone look like muppets. Unlike the texture quality, animations aren't something that will likely change with the final game, which worries me a bit.”


Will: “Mass Effect 3 multiplayer is basically like a horde mode, where four players team up to fight wave after wave of enemy bots. Sometimes you will have to take up a position or complete an objective within a limited amount of time. The maps are small and the combat is a schizophrenic mess; teamplay is essential, but even if you have an incredibly good squad working together, the difficulty and lack of standout multiplayer items makes this a useless, tacked-on feature that you can safely ignore.”


Jacob: “I’m kind of interested to see how the meta-game for multiplayer pans out. They said it is not at all required to enjoy the single-player campaign to its fullest extent, yet it apparently can have an effect on it somehow. Maybe if that ends up being something kind of cool, I’ll look into it, but yeah, I didn’t even bother trying that portion of the demo. At least we can be grateful they’re trying to do more than just slap some team deathmatch on there.”




Will: “In conclusion, the demo was a little underwhelming but it’s important to remember that it is a demo with a lot of cut content. The most important thing to me was whether or not the base gameplay has been significantly changed, and I am pleased to say it wasn’t. This is, at the end of the day, Mass Effect 2 with a new story, and that’s all I ever wanted.”


Jacob: “So long as we get to see Miranda in that bodysuit again, I’m good.”




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