Mass Effect fans, great news has arrived as Electronic Arts division, BioWare, declares the next title's release during the holidays in 2016. Titled "Mass Effect: Andromeda," this is the fourth installment of the Mass Effect franchise, and it promises to be totally new.
"You'll be exploring an all-new galaxy, Andromeda," says Aaryn Flynn, Studio General Manager of BioWare Canada; and Yanick Roy, Studio Director of BioWare Montreal, in the company's blog.
"And through it all, you will have a new team of adventurers to work with, learn from, fight alongside of, and fall in love with," they add.
New things also include playing as a new character instead of Commander Shepard.
"With Shepard, you arrived on the scene as a hero, and you were called forward from there," says Mac Walters, Creative Director for Mass Effect, in a separate blog from the same site. "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."
The settings for the game are in a place and time far away from the original trilogy. Comebacks, however, are in the story. Players will be roaming around using the Mako, a vehicle from ME1.
According to a survey made by a Reddit user and disclosed by expertreviews.co.uk, here are some possible details that could be in the game:
- New characters that a player can put on his team for missions, two at a time;
- Crew loyalty mechanics. Meaning, certain decisions or actions that could help improve your leadership of your team, and probably open new skill trees;
- Improved dialogue trees that could give the players more control as to their in-game conversations;
- The ability to develop an AI-controlled Strike Team that you can randomly deploy (if successful, they can help the character improve);
- Settlements. These will help the player in the overall gameplay; and
- A ship called the "Tempest," enabling them to move travel across solar systems.
An improved multiplayer mode is also coming, and, this time, with the possibility of playing with friends in a cooperative mode.
Indeed, though the facts aren't disclosed yet, the rumors show that the game is pretty promising.
"The promise of the next Mass Effect is to give players the ability to explore and seek out new wonders for themselves," says Mike Gamble, Producer for Mass Effect. "To give them the freedom to chart their own course, but to do that in the context of a great BioWare story."
Mass Effect: Andromeda is expected to be out during the holidays of 2016.
