Until last month, you could have called Mass Effect 3‘s multiplayer mode the biggest secret in the video game industry — unless you recall EA Chief Operating Officer John Schappert‘s comments that every EA game shipping in fiscal 2011 will have an online component. Developer BioWare has said little to hint that the mode even existed. But then the multiplayer confirmation story spread across the Internet, prompting a very mixed reaction from fans of the series. Some welcomed the idea; others completely dismissed it. And to some degree the arguing makes sense: Mass Effect plays like a fun science-fiction action role-playing series. Up until now, multiplayer has not been a part of the series’ DNA.
I recently had the opportunity to play an early build of Mass Effect 3’s new multiplayer mode, called Galaxy at War; the easiest comparison for the new multi-user dungeons is “Horde mode” — the survival-focused cooperative game mode of Gears of War 2, but with some RPG elements. Galaxy at War pits a squad comprised of up to four players against multiple waves of enemies. You do not play as series protagonist Commander Shepard or any of the supporting characters from the Mass Effect series in this mode. Instead, Galaxy at War has its own character creator, and you’ll construct a soldier based on one of six available races. Through repeated play, you’ll tackle missions and win resources for the Galactic Global effort that goes on in the single-player campaign. BioWare reps confirm that your customized character from multiplayer will make an appearance in the main campaign as well.
