BioWare had a busy E3 this year, showing off Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age: Origins. Both games are being picked for best RPGs of the show awards already. The ME2 demo was aimed at introducing the newly revamped combat system, and emphasizing the darker turn the series will be taking in the sequel. Embedded below is 1Up’s interview and live demonstration of the gameplay presented by BioWare founders the doctors Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk.
The gunplay does appear to be a lot more fluid and streamlined, with abilities and commands hotkeyed to buttons to save you the trouble of pulling up the tactical menu. Shephard wields an explosive projectile weapon of some sort, evidently one of the new weapon classes added to the current three. Enemies now can be dismembered, and in the video the geth attackers continue to advance even after losing their legs. Health packs are no longer in use – the game now features regenerating health. As a result the gameplay in general has become a lot closer to pure action than the previous game’s stiff blend of action-RPG.
The next sequence is a cutscene following the battle that shows a confrontation between Shephard’s team and an Asari. The pleasantries are cut short by the appearance of an assassin who makes quick work of the Asari’s bodyguards and then her. It speaks to the edgier theme that Shephard and his crew simply watch as this happens – the objective of mission is to find this very assassin, Thane, after all. Another example of the new and more ruthless Shephard is an interrogation of a character that can end with an impatient push out the window. Tweaks have been made to the conversation system; dialogue options can appear while characters are moving or travelling in vehicles, and there is now the ability to interrupt – something that was promised for the first game but taken out. A lot of story details are being revealed in the various previews discussing the footage shown behind closed doors, needless to say they involve major spoilers regarding plot points such as whether or not Shephard dies. It is clear there are some important decisions to be made that will affect the third game in drastic ways.
There is still no release date for the game, but it is expected to drop next year. In the meantime, BioWare will continue to support the first game with downloadable content, the next batch to be announced soon.