EA and BioWare are set to expand the Mass Effect universe via the App Store.
Mass Effect Galaxy is, in many ways, the ultimate manifestation of EA’s recent 180 in the eyes of the hardcore games enthusiast. Cast your mind back a couple of years and you’ll remember a time when EA were the focus of nearly every gamer’s ire, perpetually rehashing the same franchises and rarely taking risks. Today the house that Ricchitiello built has done much to improve its perception by investing in exciting new IP’s such as Deadspace, Mirror’s Edge and SKATE. Games that have refined third person shooters, explored the boundaries of the FPS genre and revolutionised the control mechanics of extreme sports games respectively. It has also gotten behind and supported the most disruptive handheld games device for years, the iPhone. With Mass Effect Galaxy (hereafter referred to as M.E.G.) EA Mobile and BioWare are looking to offer gamers an expanded view of the Mass Effect universe, a term that can rarely be applied so literally.
M.E.G. starts immediately by putting its best foot forwards. The opening cinematic is stunning, blending graphic novel style artwork with computer generated animation reminiscent of the fan favourite animated film Titan A.E. Indeed it is clear from the off that the presentation will serve as the perfect vehicle for the kind of compelling narrative gamers experienced in 2007’s original Mass Effect. The artwork and animation is actually so wonderful and refreshing that we suspect that when the game arrives (in the near future) many will wish the actual gameplay sections had hit the cutting room floor. A straight forward digital graphic novel in this style distributed via the App Store would act as a sublime bridge between the storylines of Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2.
Unfortunately during our admittedly brief hands on time with the game we found the actual combat sections are looking to be the weakest link in this package. Gameplay takes the form of a top down 2D shooter not dissimilar to Smash TV. Jacob Taylor, the main protagonist of M.E.G., is controlled by the accelerometer and consequently the movement actually feels a bit like a marble labyrinth game in terms of how you are negotiating the walled off environments. Jacob automatically shoots and will also automatically aim at whichever enemy you have set him to target, an act which is accomplished by tapping that specific enemy. The mechanics left to the player are movement, locating suitable cover, prioritising enemies and selecting which attacks to use and when. Taking away such a large part of what makes a shooter a shooter, that is to say the aiming and shooting, strikes us as a controversial decision however we will need much more time with the game to determine how, if at all, this negatively impacts the overall experience.
Between the tilty shooty sections and the beautiful animated cut scenes are the dialog trees where gamers influence the narrative by selecting from various conversational threads. Executive Producer Kevin Barrett has said in an interview that the structure of the game will adhere to a strict beginning, middle and an end design with the middle section offering three different branches. Presumably this will bestow some replay value into what is currently being billed by EA as a 2 hour experience from start to finish.
Mass Effect Galaxy is nothing if not an incredibly positive step in the right direction, not just for this franchise but for the industry as a whole. The App Store is the perfect conduit for big brand titles to explore interesting and unique gameplay ideas and to expand upon the rich stories and characters already established on the various home consoles and PCs. EA Mobile and BioWare are leading the charge with this modest yet fascinating venture. It may not be the portable shooting game to revolutionise or refine a genre but it most certainly is a stellar example to every other major studio in the industry.
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