Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer; Variety is the spice of life.
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By Paul Fiander
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Its November and that means a few things firstly Guy Fawkes night is almost here so its fireworks time, but more importantly is the celebration of another “Martyr” (or terrorist depending on your viewpoint) Commander Sheppard. The star of the Mass Effect series was a closely held trump card for Microsoft until Bioware in their infinite wisdom released their second title to the PS3. It may have taken a year but once I played the game I had heard so much about I was hooked. Then news of an even bigger magnitude hit the net, Mass Effect 3 was getting a simultaneous release on both consoles. At last system parity and news of an intriguing new multiplayer were enough to convince me a pre-order was in order. The rest as they say is history, there was a great deal of debate about the single player ending, usual early day glitches and of course the subject for this article the multiplayer.
When single player games make forays into the multiplayer word you can have mixed results. Issues around balance, mechanics along with many other basics of the online space will always need to be considered. However the biggest question is does it add to the overall experience?
This was the biggest concern for many before the launch of Mass Effect 3, would the multiplayer remove resources from the single player development (a huge subject we may broach another time), the biggest worry however was would the mode dilute the Shepard experience by having everyone’s favourite commander along with her crew breaking continuity by appearing in the multiplayer.
Bioware though pulled a master stroke by side stepping the Shepard issue by using generic characters from a variety of races, this negated the need for key characters to be involved in the multiplayer ala Naughty Dog’s Uncharted multiplayer. Without the constraints of using established characters the design team were able to flex their creative juices, creating a vast array of powers to compliment all the races and classes available. If variety is the spice of life then the multiplayer is akin to a Bhot Jolokia, you not only have a multitude of characters to choose from, but also a dedicated skill tree for each power and a smorgasbord of weapons to use and modify.
All this adaptation allows you the ability to play the game in any way you choose from long range engagements to up close and personal and any variant in-between. This is the strength of the game and without it the very simple single mode could of become very stale very quickly. Although there are a variety of maps to contend with and now four distinct enemy types, their predictable spawns and attack styles can be easily learnt.
These are not the only issue the multiplayer has been plagued with, on release glitches were numerous and even now freezing and connection issues can still occur. So its by no means a perfect experience but what online mode is?
So to highlight how much fun the multiplayer is we will be celebrating N7 day with a jaunt online on the PS3 as well as bringing a few more articles starting with some Comic reviews and a Random Chat.
When single player games make forays into the multiplayer word you can have mixed results. Issues around balance, mechanics along with many other basics of the online space will always need to be considered. However the biggest question is does it add to the overall experience?
This was the biggest concern for many before the launch of Mass Effect 3, would the multiplayer remove resources from the single player development (a huge subject we may broach another time), the biggest worry however was would the mode dilute the Shepard experience by having everyone’s favourite commander along with her crew breaking continuity by appearing in the multiplayer.
Bioware though pulled a master stroke by side stepping the Shepard issue by using generic characters from a variety of races, this negated the need for key characters to be involved in the multiplayer ala Naughty Dog’s Uncharted multiplayer. Without the constraints of using established characters the design team were able to flex their creative juices, creating a vast array of powers to compliment all the races and classes available. If variety is the spice of life then the multiplayer is akin to a Bhot Jolokia, you not only have a multitude of characters to choose from, but also a dedicated skill tree for each power and a smorgasbord of weapons to use and modify.
All this adaptation allows you the ability to play the game in any way you choose from long range engagements to up close and personal and any variant in-between. This is the strength of the game and without it the very simple single mode could of become very stale very quickly. Although there are a variety of maps to contend with and now four distinct enemy types, their predictable spawns and attack styles can be easily learnt.
These are not the only issue the multiplayer has been plagued with, on release glitches were numerous and even now freezing and connection issues can still occur. So its by no means a perfect experience but what online mode is?
So to highlight how much fun the multiplayer is we will be celebrating N7 day with a jaunt online on the PS3 as well as bringing a few more articles starting with some Comic reviews and a Random Chat.
