Bioware Appeals For Calm Regarding Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer

[The Wooster]

Bioware Appeals For Calm Regarding Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer

Bioware would like to remind you that you don't have to play Mass Effect 3's multiplayer mode if you don't want to. No content will be "walled off" for players who insist on playing alone.

When Bioware announced that Mass Effect 3 [http://www.amazon.com/Mass-Effect-3-Pc/dp/B004FYKWZU] would be shipping with a co-op multiplayer mode [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/113587-BioWare-Finally-Confirms-and-Details-Mass-Effect-3-Multiplayer], fans responded in a calm and reasonable manner. Hah, just kidding. They went mental. Bioware Edmonton general manager Aaryn Flynn, perhaps worried that high blood pressure is about to kill off vast swathes of the game's target audience, wants to assure players they can go through the game alone and not miss out.

"You can stick to the single-player campaign," he said in an interview with Eurogamer [http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-10-27-bioware-attempts-to-calm-mass-effect-3-multiplayer-fears]. "I'm sure there are a lot of completists out there who want to do that. They'll have amazing experiences and they'll get to see all the cool stuff they want to see just by doing single-player stuff."

"It's very optional. There's nothing walled off to you because you didn't play multiplayer and you're going to be running around at midnight saying, I need three friends! Quickly! We've got to find a BestBuy that's open! No. You'll get your amazing ending and amazing experiences just by playing single-player if you want that way."

Flynn is hoping the new multiplayer elements will bring new players into the Mass Effect universe, though some fans have questioned whether the third game in the series Is the right time to be making such a radical (in the non-90's sense) addition.

"Multiplayer has come up in the past at the studio," Flynn explained. "But with Mass Effect 3 it felt like the right time, especially because of the setting. The technology matured nicely. We had good success with the single-player campaigns. We thought, now it feels like the right time, with the setting we have, of an entire galaxy at war, to put something together that can be fun with multiplayer.

"With Mass Effect 3, we were setting up an entire galaxy at war. It made sense that we could tell some pretty cool stories and weave a very interesting multiplayer mechanic into that setting, and that's what we decided to do."

I guess we'll find out if Mass Effect 3's multiplayer mode holds up to scrutiny when the game launches on March 6th. Until then, you can pass the time by transforming into an terrifying avatar of unyielding animalistic rage, enjoy.

Source: Eurogamer [http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-10-27-bioware-attempts-to-calm-mass-effect-3-multiplayer-fears]

Permalink

 

[Shaoken]

So, fans are getting irrational about a new feature? You never see that happen.

I don't get the rage at this; Bioware said when they announced it that it was seperate from th maingame and you could fully complete everything in singleplayer without touching the MP or that facebook thing they have planned. This is much stressing out over nothing.

 

[IamQ]

I'm sure this article was great and well-thought out, but all I can think of saying is: Shepard, 'dat face.

 

[Fusioncode9]

Thanks God, maybe people can stop whining about this now.

 

[EvilPicnic]

meh. I love Mass Effect and BioWare games in general, and tbh I trust them on this. I think they're good enough at giving their fans what they want, and too mindful of what they're doing right to fuck this up.

No amour towards the concept, but nope, no rage here.

After all, Baldur's Gate had co-op multiplayer...

 

[Tireseas_v1legacy]

As long as it isn't essentially mandatory (I'm looking at you Borderlands), I'm okay with it. I just hope it is more than just a death-match tag on, because a GoW/Uncharted style TPS framed in the future settings of ME would be a nice addition to the shooter genre.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

Is it wrong that I pictured Flynn saying that with the pictured Shepard's expression?
I love the pics you use to accompany articles.

 

[Irridium]

I'm still a bit suspicious that they put in multiplayer so they could tape an online pass onto the game.

Ah well. Nothing will get me to input that pass. I'll probably give it to someone else.

 

[Arkley]

I was genuinely excited to hear about ME3's co-op mode. I love playing co-op games. For me, it can make average games excellent (FEAR 3, Dead Island) and it can make good games incredible (Borderlands, Splinter Cell: Conviction). Mass Effect 2 was already incredible. Mass Effect 3 is set to be like ME2, but with a ton of improvements.

Adding co-op to ME3 is sure to create some kind of quantum singularity as space-time collapses around it, unable to support its greatness.

 

[Laser Priest]

I really feel bad for BioWare. It seems like their fanbase is prepared to scream about how the game is ruined forever whenever BioWare changes or even adds something.

 

[Muco5681]

oh boy can you imagen if they balls up the big epic ending to ME3!? people would never buy a bioware game again...or at least i would not

 

[Brutal Peanut]

I couldn't fully concentrate on the article. That face kept calling for my attention, and of course I kept laughing.

Though I am not at all surprised that people complained about this. The fear that a multiplayer section could severely take away from the the single-player campaign is not unfounded. As long as the single-player campaign is as satisfying as it ever was, and the multiplayer is not at all essential to the main storyline, then I have no complaints.

Edit: My husband and I are also very intrigued by the multiplayer. We are always looking for new co-op games to play together. We'll be sure to try it,..at least once or twice.

 

[ViralBiae]

I'm sure this article was great and well-thought out, but all I can think of saying is: Shepard, 'dat face.

RenShep is intrigued.

I like the idea of MP in ME. Considering the setting (a galaxy filled with slavers, mercenaries and pirates) it seems all too easy to adapt into a multiplayer setting.

 

[Beryl77]

Of course people are going to rage, despite what you'd expect, many gamers are really afraid of changes and I'm not talking about hardcore fans like the cs 1.6 crowd.
That being said, I still don't get the rage, let alone how you can condemn something even before having seen anything about it. Even if it may seem pointless to some people, how can an addition, that doesn't have anything to do with the main experience, something that's entirely optional, be something bad? It's just there and if you don't give a rat's ass about it, then just don't pay attention to it and let the people who like it, have some fun.

Also, after having seen that face, I cannot unsee it, damn you! I'll never be able to see Shepard the same way ever again.

 

[search_rip]

first they add the "very optional" Kinect use, then the "very optional" multiplayer... my main fear is that Mass Effect 3 ends ruined because it tried to be too much of everything... also I forsee the "ultimate dick move" of adding achievements to the "very optional" multiplayer :S

 

[Spencer Petersen]

Hmm, the only comparison I can draw from this is Dead Space 2, and I see the exact same future. Sequel to an entirely single player franchise with multiplayer that they defend by saying its entirely separate. Then when the game comes out the multiplayer dies on day one and provides nothing for the entire product. Wasted resources, wasted time, wasted money on a useless aspect of a game.

If they want to try to sell me a useless multiplayer mode, they can at least bother to sell it as a different product so I can avoid it.

 

[chstens]

This isn't really news. It's just BioWare repeating what they've previously stated in hopes that the raging minority might actually listen for once. I doubt it'll happen.

 

[Snotnarok]

Bioware: Here have more ways to play the game!
Fans: MORE WAYS?! NO!!! GIVE US LESS!! Make sure you give half the game in day one DLC and the other half has to be bought new, otherwise you just get a title screen!
EA: Done.