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BioWare's next Mass Effect game is currently shrouded in mystery. The Canadian RPG expert has been playing its cards very close to its chest in the intervening years since Mass Effect 3, instead focusing on the getting the excellent Dragon Age Inquisition out the door and building multiple expansions for Star Wars: The Old Republic, leaving us with only the merest drip-feed of information about what we can expect to see on our return to the Mass Effect universe.
We don't even know what the game's going to be called yet, as BioWare has repeatedly said that it definitely won't be called Mass Effect 4. However, until BioWare reveals its full name (hopefully at this year's E3), we'll stick with calling it Mass Effect 4 for now. Here's everything we know about the game so far.
Mass Effect 4 release date - 2015?
At the moment, it doesn't look like we'll see a new Mass Effect game for some time, as BioWare producer Mike Gamble said the game was still years away from completion when he spoke at the San Diego Comic Con last July. However, BioWare Montreal's studio director Yanick Roy has also been quoted by CVG as saying that the game was "somewhere in the middle" of development last May, suggesting that it may be nearer completion than Gamble's letting on.
Either way both statements are over six months old now, so the game will have no doubt progressed even further since then. There's also hope that we might see the game before the end of this year, as former BioWare community manager Chris Priestly has said that Mass Effect will be BioWare's big "focus for 2015". He also said that we'd be unlikely to hear any new information about the game until after Dragon Age Inquisition was released (which launched at the end of 2014 to great acclaim), so we may not have to wait too long before BioWare makes an official announcement about the game's title and release date.
This could all change at this year's E3, of course, but we'd say that the end of 2015 could well be on the money. After all, it's already been nearly three years since the last Mass Effect game and previous titles have been released every two to three years, so we're certainly due one this year going by previous development cycles.
However, let's not forget that the studio as a whole already has two other games on the go, including a new Star Wars game (separate to DICE's Star Wars Battlefront) and the already announced Shadow Realms, so it's certainly got a lot on its plate. It's also unusual not to have heard more about the game at this stage if it is due to launch this year, so it's entirely possible that a 2016 release could be more likely.
Mass Effect 4 teaser trailer
Mass Effect 4 may be a long way off, then, but that doesn't mean that there are no details about the game whatsoever. At E3 2014, BioWare revealed a new teaser trailer for the game, showing off potential story ideas and conceptual prototype footage from the initial stages of development.
The studio said that the top player request was to go somewhere completely new and play as new characters, so BioWare said it would do just that. You'll be playing in a whole new region of space in Mass Effect 4 where you'll be able to pick a planet on the other side of the galaxy and go and explore it.
The main story won't revolve around Commander Shepard either, as you'll be playing as a completely new customisable human protagonist. However, they'll still be connected to N7, the military designation held by Shepard before he became a Council Spectre. Old characters may also make small cameo appearances, suggesting that it may still take place during Shepard's lifetime.
Mass Effect 4 gameplay
There won't be a complete split from previous games, though, as Gamble has confirmed that the first game's Mako vehicle will be making a return appearance. This six-wheeled reconnaissance vehicle was dropped from Mass Effect 2 and 3, but Gamble said that the fourth game's focus on exploration makes the Mako a must-have addition.
"We're playing around with a bunch of different physics for the Mako," Gamble told The Escapist. "The thing that we have to do is make sure it's as responsive as possible. We've learned a thing or two over the years. In terms of customisation, it's been something that we've been looking at for sure, because we feel as though if you're going to be spending a lot of time in vehicles in places, they should reflect you as a player."
Since then, BioWare's also released some concept art, showing just how large those worlds will be compared to your tiny Mako. These huge open spaces should definitely give you a lot of room to manoeuvre your vehicle across its varied terrain, but it looks like you'll also be traversing more familiar looking space stations alongside these huge planets.
The game will be using EA's Frostbite 3 engine, and BioWare has praised the engine frequently, saying that their developers have never been able to make such real-looking characters. Co-op will also reportedly be a big feature of Mass Effect 4, as Gamble said that, while competitive multiplayer is important, "co-operation is bigger for us."
Mass Effect 4 story
There have been no concrete details about what the plot of Mass Effect 4 might entail just yet, but we do know that Halo 4's Lead Writer Chris Schlerf has been appointed Lead Writer at BioWare Montreal and has been working on Mass Effect 4 since November 2013.
Story choices will also feature heavily in the game, and BioWare's Creative Director Mac Walters has said that he hopes to make them more meaningful than ever before: "We’re working to bring back some of that wonder and sense of exploration that we had in the original trilogy,” he writes on BioWare's blog. “And while we’re making a next-gen title, we want to ensure that we’re stepping our game up so that this isn’t just Mass Effect with shiny new features. And we do that by having deep characters and a compelling story with choices that matter.
“With Shepard, you arrived on the scene as a hero, and you were called forward from there. For the next Mass Effect, however, we’ve been looking at more of a hero’s journey: how you become a legend and what it takes to get there.”
You'll have plenty of new characters to fall in love with as well, so the game's romancing element will almost certainly be present. Yannick Roy also took to Twitter to say that he has "no reason to believe" that same-sex relationships won't be included either, so expect to be able to woo a diverse range of characters.
Mass Effect trilogy HD remaster on its way
BioWare has openly said that a Mass Effect trilogy remaster could be a possibility at some point in the future, but as of last November, the studio said it had no news on when it would likely be released. However, BioWare's Studio GM Aaryn Flynn is well aware of what fans might want in a remastered trilogy and has been canvassing their top requests via the NeoGAF forums.
So far, he's come up with the following: 1,080p graphics, 60fps, high resolution textures (particularly on the original Mass Effect), shader improvements, all the DLC, and a more seamless experience that would help make each game flow more succinctly into the next, such as not having to go back the various game menu screens or go through the process of importing your save file.
Don't take this as a definitive list of guaranteed features, though, as Flynn was clear that these requests were very much a "wish list" at this point in time. He did, however, say that Mass Effect's combat mechanics wouldn't be replaced by those found in Mass Effect 3.
"'ME3 combat mechanics in ME1' comes up relatively often, but it's not on my radar (again, speaking personally). First it would be a helluva lot of work. Second, I hate the idea of us being accused of 'retconning' ME1. Third (and I bet everyone on NeoGAF knows this), there are those who prefer ME1... So given that all that, it doesn't feel like the right thing to do."