Bioware Previews Mass Effect

Bioware have recently sat down with CVG and revealed much more about their upcoming RPG epic. Pictures have slowing been released here and there and a couple of videos showing the game in action but still little was known about the games systems and basic setup. They revealed information about Starships (The Normandy), Character creation, Biotics and weapon modification here

The original concept for Mass Effect was to build an adventure of tremendous scope, with locations and story elements of the largest possible proportions. We wanted an epic story based on the most horrific threat imaginable - to all life as we know it. The idea was to put players at the centre of that story by creating an immersive RPG experience where they faced morally demanding decisions to save the galaxy. And it’s been challenging. It’s been a fine line that we’ve walked, every day of development. We’re trying to give players something special - something definitive - and at the same time we must be extremely careful to take on challenges that can not only be achieved, but achieved with the quality that players expect of a Bioware game.

Despite the pitfalls, though, our goal has always been to create a believable sense that there is an actual galaxy out there beyond the core story locations - which is why there will be hundreds of places to visit. As in real life, not all stars have planets, and not all planets are ones that you can land on. But there is some interactivity in each location and a large number of planets that you can land on and explore - each of them with cool things to discover and interesting subplots that may span several star systems.