This year February 14th definitely was a special day, I know some people celebrated Valentine’s Day – but I’m sure most of my fellow gamers were looking forward to the release of the Mass Effect 3 demo ;) Unfortunately for me, I got access to the PlayStation 3 demo a day later *grumbles* Because I usually don’t play a demo before buying a full game, I hardly review them. I only reviewed the Dragon Age 2 DEMO which also happens to be a BioWare title. I must be honest I really wanted to get a taste of the upcoming Mass Effect 3 that I just had to play the demo!
Please note that this post contains spoilers! Since players can choose how to interact with various events in the game, my experience can be different from the experience of those who have also played the demo. In this post I review the PlayStation 3 version of the demo. Screenshots & gameplay footage are taken from the PC version!
Singe Player Gameplay
Because I will be focusing on singe player while playing the full game, I did not take a look at the multiplayer section of the demo.
The singe player gameplay starts as if you’re starting a normal game. First you need to select the game experience choosing between the three new options: Action, Role Playing and Story. In Action mode players can jump right into the action and conversations are played like cutscenes. In Story mode players can enjoy the story of the game without too intense battles. Of course the right way to play Mass Effect 3 is in Role Playing mode where you can choose your dialogue options and the difficulty level of combat is still adjustable.
I was really surprised the demo gives players the option to fully customize their character. You can’t just choose your gender, you can change your name and appearance! I remember this wasn’t an option in the Dragon Age 2 demo. It was really fun to play around with the sliders and see the improved graphics. I also tried out the character id of my female Mass Effect 2 Shepard, just to check out her looks in the new game with improved textures and all.
After playing around in character customization you need to choose Shepard’s Personnel Records and Psychological Profile. An interesting option is ‘describing combat loss’ where you can choose Numerous, Ashley Williams or Kaidan Alenko. I’m sure this will have a big impact on the full game, during the demo you don’t really notice the weight of those decisions.
Scenario 01 The Basics
Time to get some action! The demo offers two gameplay scenario’s. The first introduces the player to The Basics. It focuses more on the story and really sets the stage for the full game. I was definitely impressed by the graphics. Even though the facial textures are highly detailed, I did think Shepard’s facial expressions looked a bit off here and there. But since she was discussing Reapers, I’m sure there was no room for a smile on her face and looking very serious was the way to go.
There’s no doubt about it, Reapers are invading Earth and somehow Shepard must find a way to stop them. During the first scenario Shepard and Anderson need to get to a spot where the Normandy can pick them up. During these first minutes of the game the player is introduced to controlling your character during normal movement and in a combat situation. It’s great to see Shepard is now able to jump, do roll dives, a regular and a pretty cool melee move! If you’ve played Mass Effect 2 there hasn’t been much changes, but Shepard just feels more flexible.
The end of the first scenario really showcased the strong story telling of the Mass Effect series. I actually showed the ending to some family members who aren’t gamers and they were genuinely touched. It’s just the start of Mass Effect 3, but if that’s the beginning it’s gonna be a hell of a ride!
Scenarion 02 Combat
The second scenario offers players a taste of the action in Mass Effect 3. Shepard needs to save a Krogan female and fight off Cerberus troops. Fortunately you don’t have to go at it alone and Liara and Garrus join your squad!
Before throwing yourself into the fight you get the option to upgrade your squad. It gives you the opportunity to check out the new level up system. It’s similar to Mass Effect 2, but it also gives you the ability to branch out skills. The demo doesn’t give you much room to play around with your points though. Still, it’s a good idea to upgrade your squad since you probably won’t make it till the end if you don’t!
I definitely enjoyed the action packed second scenario of the demo. But at first I did get a little disorientated! I’m not sure if it was because I got a little overwhelmed by the situation (saving the female Krogan & time is ticking) or if it was because of the surroundings (map of the facility). I did think the marker was quite confusing! For example: the marker points up, indicating you have to go the second floor, but that still means you have to go through a corridor on the right – left – right – stairways up *gahhh* Maybe I should just trust my eyes and not rely on the marker for direction too much!
DEMO Gameplay Footage
I’ve added some gameplay footage of the demo above. Captured from the PC version of the demo since I’m unable to capture footage from my PlayStation 3.
I think the Mass Effect 3 DEMO delivered by giving us a good sample of what we can expect from the full game. The demo actually offers a good 40 minutes of gameplay, minus the time you play around customizing your character ;) I’m truly looking forward to the full release of Mass Effect 3 – as always, I will do a First Thought review once I’ve put in some hours. Be sure to stay tuned!
Woah wait, you need to know how to get your hands on this demo? Visit the official website !
