9 Things We’d Like To See In Mass Effect 3

Mass Effect 3 – provided it’s not delayed – is going to be one of the biggest games of 2011. BioWare’s space epic has become one of the most beloved game franchises in the world, and Mass Effect 2 was widely considered to be one of the very best games of 2010.

So far all we know about Mass Effect 3 is that the game will feature the Reapers finally launching their all-out assault on Earth – but what else would we like to see happen? Let us know your thoughts in the comments, but here are nine of the things we’re gunning for:

Garrus Vakarian

Let’s not mess about here. Garrus is one of the most popular characters of the series and an integral part of Shepard’s team to boot – he’s as essential to the successful running of the Normandy as EDI is to Joker. If you chose another person to lead the second team during Mass Effect 2’s suicide mission then, quite frankly, you made the wrong choice.

Other than being one of the few Turians in the galaxy that doesn’t want humanity dead, Garrus has served as a protégé to Shepard in both games now (and a possible love interest if playing as a female character in Mass Effect 2) and it would surely be criminal of BioWare to deny him his rightful place in the concluding chapter of the trilogy.

Here’s an idea. At the end of the first game, Garrus decided he was going to reapply to become a Spectre – an elite group of agents who preserve galactic order whatever the cost. Shepard was chosen to be the first human Spectre in Mass Effect, but spent most of Mass Effect 2 wrapped up in saving humanity from annihilation. Surely Garrus would make a fine replacement?

An end to Shepard’s story

The fiction of the Mass Effect universe is huge and sprawling – you only need to take a cursory glance at the in-game Codex to realise just how much is actually going on in the Milky Way. There’s more than enough to keep the franchise ticking on for years, but at the same time we’re really hoping BioWare has enough courage to pull the plug on Shepard’s storyline.

We’re not saying it has to be extreme – Shepard doesn’t have to die or anything – but there does have to be some genuine closure. Saying goodbye to Shepard will be hard for BioWare, but for a conclusion befitting the Mass Effect trilogy we’re going to need a real, definitive ending. Be brave, BioWare!

Consequences

Importing your Shepard from game to game is optional, but it really enhances the experience. With Mass Effect 3 we really want to see some complicated results from your former actions in both Mass Effect 1 and 2.

For instance, if you got into a relationship in Mass Effect 1 then you have a photo of them in your quarters in Mass Effect 2. If you subsequently get into another relationship in Mass Effect 2 then that picture is left face-down on a desk for the rest of the game. What will happen if you encounter your former squeeze again in Mass Effect 3?

The truth behind the Illusive Man

Voiced by Martin Sheen, the Illusive man is the mysterious, secretive leader of Cerberus – a pro-humanity organisation that in Mass Effect 2 has seemingly devoted itself to protecting humans from the imminent Reaper threat.

He is also responsible for bankrolling the scheme to bring Shepard back to life in Mass Effect 2, but there are plenty of shady qualities to the guy and his operation. His story has been explored numerous times, in his own comic alongside two of the Mass Effect tie-in novels, and it is clear there’s more to Illusive Man than meets the eye. We want to know what’s really going on behind those cybernetic blue eyes.

Reapers

The Reapers, a race of synthetic starships with organic parts, have existed for millions of years – residing in a dark sector of space in-between galaxies. They turn up every now and then to decimate all organic life for reasons unknown, occasionally reproducing by melting entire races down into raw genetic paste and using them to spawn Reaper larvae.

Reapers serve as Shepard’s main antagonists in the series, although so far he’s only encountered three – Soverign in Mass Effect, and Harbinger in Mass Effect 2 alongside an unnamed dormant ship. We’re not counting the larvae, either. At the end of the second game an entire fleet of Reapers shows up to attack Earth, and Mass Effect 3’s announcement video showed the race launching an all-out attack on our little blue planet.

The buzz surrounding Mass Effect 3 explicitly states that we can expect plenty of Reapers. Let’s just hope the finished product can deliver – we demand at least twenty.

Mordin Singing

Mordin is a Salarian professor and member of a Special Forces task group, and is notably responsible for modifying the Krogan genophage. He bears the weight of this action both physically and mentally, and his slightly quirky personality manifests itself in various ways throughout Mass Effect 2.

In one classic moment, he also sings Shepard a song – his own take of Gilbert and Sullivan. How about getting Mordin to recite his own take on some other classic tunes in Mass Effect 3, BioWare?

The Rachni Queen

The Rachni are an extinct race of space-faring insects, and despite their demise being thousands of years before the events of the original Mass Effect they’ve had a massive knock-on effect on the galaxy. It was because of the Krogan that the Rachni were defeated, and the subsequent growth of the Krogan species triggered another war and ultimately forced the Turians to commission and deploy the birth-limiting Genophage on the race.

You stumble upon a preserved Rachni Queen in Mass Effect 1 and are given the choice to return the species to extinction or set her free. If you saved the Rachni Queen in Mass Effect then she’ll briefly possess an Asari on Illium to let you know she intends to help you in the fight against the Reapers – we want to see if she delivers on that promise.

EDI

EDI is the artificial intelligence of the Normandy SR-2. AI is a touchy subject in the Mass Effect universe, and every time a race has dabbled in creating one it’s generally gone rogue – most notably when the Quarians created the Geth, which ended up declaring war on their creators (and subsequently organic life) and became a large chunk of what Shepard fought against in Mass Effect 1.

EDI, however, spends most of Mass Effect 2 with strict behavioural locks and an inability to access the Normandy’s systems. Later in the game, however, her restrictions are lifted and she is set free. At the time of Mass Effect 2 finishing she has become a close ally to Shepard, but if there’s one constant in the universe it’s that organic beings can’t coexist with synthetic life.

Tricia Helfer, who provides EDI’s voice, confirmed via Twitter that she’s recorded dialogue for Mass Effect 3. Now we just have to wait and see what BioWare does with the character.

Thane’s Death

Thane Krios is a Drell, a rare reptile-like species rescued from extinction by the jellyfish-resembling Hanar. He’s also one of the galaxy’s most prolific assassins, and a character written for the ladies – he was originally conceived as another romance option for a female Shepard.

He’s one of the poster characters for Mass Effect 2, and can be seen on the cover art alongside Miranda. Thane also has Kepral’s Syndrome, a terminal and incurable Drell disease. He states in Mass Effect that he doesn’t have much time left, and the respectful thing for BioWare to do in Mass Effect 3 would be to let him go out in a massive blaze of glory.