The Mass Effect trilogy is widely regarded as one of the greatest achievements of the last generation. BioWare have become masters of their craft, intricately blending immersive storytelling driven by player choice and fantastic combat. It’s not often that video games can transcend the medium, yet BioWare did just that.
With the middling response received at E3 this year and the overall disappointment pertaining to the ending of Mass Effect 3, BioWare must continue to push the boundaries of storytelling and choice in Mass Effect 4. To simply create a “next-gen” Mass Effect won’t be enough to satisfy fans of the series. Here are five ways that BioWare can create the best entry in the series, and a game that could define this generation.
5: New Races/The Ability to Choose
The original Mass Effect trilogy was inherently Shepard’s story, thus Shepard being a human character meant that this was your only option. However, Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer diversion gave gamer’s something they had anticipated for all 3 games, the ability to take control of an Asari Commando or a Krogan Warlord… and it was glorious. For the first time fans were able to play as their favorite race, complete with customization and unique skill sets. To say that this feature left players thirsting for more would be an understatement. It must be addressed in Mass Effect 4.
With Shepard’s story more or less completed, it’s time for BioWare to expand the scope of player choice. Many have suggested that an introduction similar to that of Dragon Age: Origins would be sufficient. In DA:O players could choose one of two introductory story-lines for each race, but ultimately the stories played out the same. For obvious reasons BioWare cannot simply create a completely different story surrounding every playable race, yet I feel that added story integration would further the overall player experience to a point that has yet to be done.
4: Refined Combat
Anyone who has played the series can tell you that there was a considerable improvement in combat controls (especially the cover system) from ME 1 to ME 2. While some critics panned the change in weapon customization and the introduction of the “thermal clip”, most players felt that Shepard and company now controlled as well as some of the best third-person shooters on the market. There were even more improvements in the third entry, although most were considered small refinements. It is safe to say that Mass Effect has developed into one of the more enjoyable games to play from a pure control standpoint but what if there was more?
I’m not suggesting that that we start scaling walls like Drake or Ezio, but what if each race had a unique control scheme? There is no reason why a hulking Krogan should control like a Volus. I can give a pass to the more humanoid races such as the Asari, but BioWare can differentiate these very complex races by changing the way that we control them.
3: Exploration
Fans of the series know the joy of discovering and exploring life sustaining planets from the original entry, yet with each successive title this feature lost more and more of what made it so enjoyable in the first place. I will be the first to admit that ME 1 was a bit bare-bones when it came to exploration, but it was there. The ability to land on a planet and search for supplies or signs of life was one of the more enjoyable features to me. In the second entry it was all but taken away from us; rather than landing we simply stayed in the comfort of the Normandy and littered nearly every planets surface with probes. For a game with such a vast, galaxy encompassing story-line, not being able to truly explore and find a few hidden gems was a major disappointment. BioWare could capitalize on the power of next-gen consoles by allowing players to only unlock some pivotal story-lines through exploration.
2: A Greater Threat
What could possibly put the galaxy more at risk than millions of giant sentient machines whose sole purpose is to wipe out civilizations at their apex? I don’t know. Then again I don’t get paid the big bucks to write for BioWare. Mass Effect is a series based on choice; this eliminates the idea of a prequel because regardless of your actions, the outcome is predetermined. Fans of the series need BioWare to wow them again and nothing will accomplish that more than an enemy that surpasses the Reapers.
1: Resolution
Mass Effect has always been Shepard’s story. The relationships that you forged, the choices you made, and the people you sacrificed were all part of your journey. When Shepard was given the options at the end of Mass Effect 3 it was easy to feel disappointed and while Bioware did release the “Extended Cut” ending to quell the outrage, it’s safe to say that it did little more than cause more confusion. We don’t know whether Shepard truly survived, what planet your crew members landed on, or what became of galactic civilization after the apparent destruction of the Mass Relays. These questions need to be answered and I believe that Bioware knows it. Fans of the series who have sunk hundreds of hours into this series need to know what happened.