Translation preview from Eurogamer.net

E3 is over, and all the gaming publications are slowly processing the avalanche of information that has fallen upon them and starting to relay it to us. Only the lazy did not write about Mass Effect 3 following the exhibition. And today, I want to present you with a translation of one of the most comprehensive previews, in my opinion, from Eurogamer.net. Enjoy.

The story of the Mass Effect series isn’t just about how Commander Shepard saves the galaxy from the Reapers. It’s also about how the game from BioWare transformed from an RPG with shooter elements into a third-person shooter with a slight touch of role-playing.

Part of this story was told to us by Mass Effect 2, where character parameters were swept under the rug, and the main focus was on the tense sci-fi spectacle of BioWare. It also brought shooting to the forefront, placing an emphasis on battles just as much as on conversations.

In the third chapter of the story, the journey will come to an end. In the three-part demonstration of the game at E3, it was hard to spot RPG elements amidst the multitude of explosions and gunfire. In almost every respect, Mass Effect 3 plays like a linear third-person shooter. Fortunately, it’s an excellently polished third-person shooter, and the game’s combat system looks balanced and robust enough to withstand everything that's thrown at it.

Shepard has become more agile and strong, and his rolls from cover to cover look much more convincing than before. Moving between cover has become smoother, and the importance of this is emphasized by small blue arrows pointing out the available tactical options to the player. Enemies have become smarter: they try to flank the player’s squad, utilize cover, and understand that charging through bullets isn’t the best tactic. Battles with some enemies require the player to make use of Shepard's increased agility; enemies hiding behind Guardian shields must be flanked and shot in the back.

All of this makes the approach to combat in Mass Effect 3 completely new. The unnatural firefights from previous installments have now become more open and varied. The newly unlocked ability of Shepard creates some room for stealth. This approach is further supported by the omni-blade – a completely new weapon that allows for brutal melee attacks. The omni-blade makes battles more hands-on. The guns have become bulkier and more powerful; their recoil and the loud gunfire provide the feedback that was sorely missing in previous installments. They've also been thoroughly refined: the new customization system allows attaching and detaching new parts, such as additional ammo magazines.

There’s also room for fireworks – now we have grenades. Unlike the explosive hockey pucks from the first game, these grenades behave more conventionally and arc forward in a normal curve.

The return of grenades is a good thing; though it’s possible that yet another step into traditional shooter territory means another step away from traditional RPGs. This territory is densely populated and one must fight for a spot in the sun, but some scenes show that BioWare is keeping pace with the best developers in this genre.

One of the staged, rail-like scenes, where Shepard unleashes gunfire on a giant Reaper with a machine gun, feels like it's ripped straight out of Gears of War. The same impression is left by the Cerberus power suit 'Atlas' handed over to Shepard. But all this can be forgiven when the fate of the galaxy is at stake. Shepard is unlikely to stop the Reapers with just swearing. The developers successfully place explosive action within a suitably grand scale and setting: the Earth under the Reaper assault looks impressive in its dying throes.

The urban landscape here is very dense, with towering skyscrapers stretching in all directions on the horizon. But they are overshadowed by the descending Reapers firing laser beams. With the push of a button, the camera switches to other important scenes – BioWare doesn’t want players to miss the grand spectacle they have created. Which is justifiably so – everything looks like 'The War of the Worlds' has been transported to the future. In a word – stunning.

The farther Mass Effect ventures into shooter territory, the better its classic sci-fi setting suits it. The locations of the third game seem to have been inspired by cover art from paperback novels. The grim, high-tech geth base coexists with the Mars-red homeworld of the salarians.

In addition to battles, the game still features BioWare's signature 'cause-and-effect' dialogues, as well as a story that gradually becomes a personal tale for each player. The actions chosen by the character in previous installments will have consequences. And some actions that may not seem overly important at first glance can lead to quite severe consequences.

This was demonstrated in one of the scenes on Earth, where Shepard encounters a frightened child hiding from the invasion in a ventilation shaft. The player is presented with two dialogue options in this situation: to offer the child to come with him or tell him to run away. In the E3 demonstration, only the consequences of choosing the second option were shown. Shepard and the heavily armed Anderson continued their escape from the crumbling city. After a few minutes and a multitude of explosions, they managed to flee. At this moment, Shepard surveys the city and sees that same child crawling into a transport ship – only to meet his death a minute later when the ship is shot down by a Reaper. This is quite a grim, poignant, and interesting indication that the third installment will be even darker than the second.

The release of the game has been postponed until March of next year, so we will likely see more tranquil moments from the game along the way. But right now, it only seems right that BioWare is bringing out the big guns and gearing up to conclude one of the most successful gaming series of this generation.