Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Demo Impressions

Written by Erik Kubik, kube00 Friday, 24 February 2012 10:00

me3 mp As most gamers know by now Mass Effect 3 has multiplayer and as of a few weeks ago, it was unlocked for everyone. Will this have a negative effect on the series as a whole? Probably not, since the multiplayer in Mass Effect 3 plays separately from the rest of the game. Think of this as adding to the overall experience of Mass Effect.

Honestly, when I first heard Mass Effect 3 would have multiplayer I, like so many other gamers, was not interested. Part of the experience of Mass Effect is the single player game and the interactions with the world and NPCs. Multi player could ruin all of this. But after trying the demo out, my mindset has changed.

me class The multiplayer is very similar to the horde mode from Gears. And just like Gears, ME3 multiplayer is a blast to play with 3 of your friends trying to take down Cerberus agents. Players can pick their class and their race. The demo shows several classes: the Human Soldier, the Quarian Engineer, the Drell Vanguard, Turian Sentinels, Asari Vanguard, Salarian Infiltrators, and Krogan Soldiers. Players are allowed to dabble in a few of these options in the demo. To make Mass Effect 3 multiplayer more interesting, Bioware has made it so gamers can use credits they earn from playing to purchase options and upgrades such as new classes, abilities, modifications, weapons, etc. If this doesn't hook players than the experience points and progression options should.

I was lucky on PSN, I managed to assemble a team of 4 competent individuals including myself. We were able to work together and take down waves of enemies. I can see the different classes really shaping the direction a match can go. After a few challenging rounds, 2 of my teammates quit and the game suddenly seemed a lot more difficult as the AI continued to challenge us.

If one was to get a team together who was not very skilled or who didn't communicate very well, I predict disastrous results. I enjoy the challenge and I'm glad the AI isn’t going to stand there and do nothing. The demo only gives players two levels to try and it appears in the full game players might be able to pick the enemies they square off against. There are also leader boards and challenges.

With all the other options in the full multiplayer game from classes and races, to weapons and abilities this looks to be a really fun aspect of Mass Effect 3. Furthermore, even though this is just a sampling of the game, these 4 player matches really show Bioware means business. I hope in the future Bioware continues to make the single player game great while shaping the multiplayer future as well.