I was completely unaware that Bioware was even considering another Mass Effect game, but the co-founders of Bioware, Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka, expressed a desire to continue with the series in a Forbes interview in 2011. The interview is pretty funny considering all of the things that have come to light since then, especially what they say about story telling and characters.
In a recent statement to VG247 Bioware Montreal has stated that “we don’t want Shepard 2,” so it would appear that the game is definitely being developed, or at least considered. It’s good that they don’t want the main character of the series to over stay his/her welcome (see Assassin’s Creed II-Revelations). At least this is a step in the right direction for them. Hopefully they will be able to follow through and not deliver the same old crap.
They also went on to say that the game will simply be contained within the Mass Effect universe, which is rich and deep according to everyone I know that’s played it (I have not), so there should be no shortage of material. Bioware is the same company that put out Knights of the Old Republic, so they are certainly no stranger to expanding already lush universes. Bioware is also the company that put out Star Wars: The Old Republic, however, so they certainly know how to mess it up big time as well.
Like all things, I suppose it has the potential to be great. If this goes over well it could bring Bioware back into favor with the gaming community, but it will likely be another stepping stone to extinction or irrelevancy for Bioware. It would be a cruel kind of irony if Mass Effect 4 ended up like Fable: The Journey.
Oh boy
Oh boy, better save up for all the popcorn I’m gonna need for this absolute fucking trainwreck.
Will ME4 be done entirely with stock photos and sound effects?
EA tries make every game it releases as much like Fifa as possible. It sells a zillion copies, and can be released every year.
I have no faith in Bioware left, artistically or even professionally. I’m fully expecting them to cooperate fully with this change in direction, and when four bombs, and everyone decides to act all fucking surprised that EA influenced another bombed game, I’m just going to play DF for the week instead of going to those places on the internet that I frequent frequently.
Bioware – Masters of Storytelling
I heartily recommend Mass Effect 1. ME2 was all right, the writing was mediocre in some places but stellar in others, great music throughout.
There’s plenty of fictional space for another Mass Effect game to work, and handled well it could be pretty good. However, I don’t think Bioware has the capability of doing it.
I suspect, admittedly with little (but not zero) evidence, that Bioware has entered into a state somewhat like LucasFilm did with the Star Wars prequels: The person or persons at the helm are convinced of their own genius and are severely hostile to disagreements. Everyone below them either cooperates, thus reinforcing the leaders’ hubris, or gets fired.
The best thing for them to do would be to license the setting to CD Projekt. Obsidian would probably be acceptable as well but I suspect they’ll be busy. How about Warren Spector, what’s he been doing lately? That assumes any of these people would be interested, of course.
Failing that, the Mass Effect canon scholars band together and cook up something in RPG Maker. We’ll take the extranet by storm!
I disagree, I’d argue that Mass Effect 2 was superior than the original in nearly every way except plot. Even with the paper-thin plot, I found Mass Effect 2′s cast of party members to be much more distinct than the original. Don’t get me wrong, the majority of ME1′s party members were perfectly fine (yes, including Kaidan) but only Wrex and to some extent Ashley were the only ones who stood out. The widely beloved Tali, whom I moderately liked in ME2 & 3, was undeveloped and a glorified Quariancyclopedia in the original. With the exception of every idiotic line Shepard spews out and ” the priiize” quote, I found the dialog in ME2 to be much sharper than the original. Even from a gameplay perspective, I thought it was miles ahead over the original. It was the most balanced of the series, striking the near perfect balance of role-playing and third-person shooting combat.
Anyway, onto the subject matter. At this point, a Mass Effect 4 or any Mass Effect game that takes place after the third game is bound for failure. Because the ending stabbed a sword so deep into the Mass Effect lore, that the only way to heal the wound would be if another developer got hold of the license and made a reboot.
At least the first didn’t feel like a restricted third-person shooter with boring missions, laughable characters and no plot which is essentially ME2 in a nutshell and this just evolves disgustingly for the third entry in the series. Even ME2′s DLCs were fucking bad, with the exception of Shadow Broker, which is the only instance in the entire game that resembles a plot, a poor one but a plot none the less. ME2 is one of the most overrated games of this generation and the sooner we can see this the better. The music was forgettable to me, most tracks I have a hard time differentiating from one another.
@Julio Suarez & Fenrir:
Once I again, I respectfully disagree. I actually liked the majority of Mass Effect 2′s squad members and their loyalty missions. I felt like it was an episodic series, where we received more in-depth insight into the characters to grow an intimate relationship with the characters. Not only did they tap into a wide array of themes, it managed to explored the lore and universe of the franchise. Something which I’ve felt was severely lacking in the original. We understood the ethics behind the genophage, and how isolated the majority of the Geth are with their collective conscious. I firmly believe the storytelling and characterization for the loyalty missions were top notch, especially Mordin’s, Tali’s, and Legion’s loyalty mission. The missions were very diverse, with numerous set-pieces and locations. I believe it was well-deserving of the reception it received, while it took one step backwards in terms of plot, it took two steps forward its cast of characters and gameplay.
As for the DLCs, with the exception of Kasumi’s Stolen Memory (which I thought to be overpriced) and the abomination that is the firewalker, I thought they were very well made. Project Overlord had a haunting atmosphere, as well of plenty of great action. It ends with one of the most thought-provoking moments in the series. Lair of the Shadow Broker was astoundingly good DLC, with thrilling and memorable action sequences. The plot was fine, straightforward and tightly put together. It had great character interactions, especially with Liara T’Soni, whom I didn’t like prior to the DLC.
I even disagree with you on the musical score. I thought it was on-par with the original, and found many of the tracks to be quite memorable. And I’m not just referring to “Suicide Mission” either. Tracks such as “Reflections”, “Tali”, “A Rude Awakening”, “Normandy Reborn”, “The Illusive Man”, “End Run”, and “Combat – Infiltration” were some of the most music I’ve heard for this generation.
Everyone would do well to license their IP’s to CD Projekt.
Well most everyone.
While the dialogue in ME2 was better written, the story and overall characterization (save few exceptions, like Mordin) were terrible.
Turning the big bad into a saturday morning villain really nailed it.
The shooting elements were better, though, and the side missions were more varied than “assault one of those 3 stock complexes over and over again for no real reason”.
Anyway, ME4? My popcorn is ready. Time to go watch the EA stock market livestream again!
good lord, this is going to be a spectacular disaster
You know mass effect 4 is the crucible. We wgat ut will so or what it is. Or if it will work
What are you saying? I honestly can’t understand at all.
Bioware is finished. Good riddance.
also
ME1 > ME2
ME2 > ME1 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ME3
Ultimately, whether ME1 or ME2 was better is a matter of taste. ME2 had better interface and all, but that’s not the point here. Let’s just get back to mocking Bioware’s “artistic integrity” shall we?
Whew. I was worried there for a while that Halo 4 would be the only 4th of a series that should know when to stop overstaying its welcome.
Why are we taking a stab at Halo 4 all of a sudden? Its not like the series has been milked like Mario or Call of Duty.
You have to admit, though – Halo is going that route. I shudder every time I hear Microsoft talk about “ten more years of Halo”. Just let it end.
Maybe, but Halo’s universe is quite vast. So I wouldn’t mind one spin-off each year or so, if they intend to explore more of its universe. It still has yet to match the level of milking compared to Mario (or any nearly Nintendo franchise), Call of Duty, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, and Final Fantasy. Halo 4 looks pretty good, but if it does suck, then Halo can be rightfully claimed as milked.
Now to get back onto the subject: I wonder if Mass Effect 4 would be less “video gamey” by including more synthetics to kill organics, so that they won’t be killed by more synthetics?
I wonder how long they will survive this mess.