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Mass Effect

 
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Mass Effect

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Mass Effect
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Game Description

The heroism of one brave human being could have a massive effect on the entire galaxy, in this original sci-fi RPG from Bioware. Players take the customizable role of a celebrated starship captain, who is exploring the fringes of known space when the story begins. Mass Effect is set soon after human beings have discovered the secrets to interstellar travel, and the people of Earth were both surprised and challenged to find that the universe is full of intelligent races that are far more advanced than they. However, it may very well be those human ties to a more primal nature that ultimately save all the space-faring species from destruction.

Built on a third-generation version of the Unreal game engine, Mass Effect features real-time combat, in which players take limited command of a three-soldier squad. Decisions made by the hero, both in the heat of battle and in sophisticated role-playing sequences, will affect many details and may even influence the final outcome of the plot. Mass Effect is intended as the first of a trilogy of Xbox 360 games from BioWare. Between the launches of each full game in the series, the developer intends to release additional levels, side-stories, and other Mass Effect material through the Xbox Live service.
~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide

Production Credits

Company 1: BioWare; Project Director: Casey Hudson; Lead Designer: Preston Watamaniuk; Art Director: Derek Watts; Lead Programmer: David Falkner; Executive Producer: Ray Nuzyka, Greg Zeschuk; Lead Animator: Jonathan Cooper; Animator: Cristian Enciso, Chris Hale, Ben Hindle, Mark How, Rick Li, Marc-Antoine Matton, Kees Rijnen, Dave Wilkinson; Lead Cinematics Animator: Shane Welbourn; Cinematics Animator: Tony De Waal, Nick DiLiberto, Mike Higgins, Ryan Kemp, Colin Knueppel, Pasquale LaMontagna, Parrish Ley, Greg Lidstone, Joel Macillan, Sherridon Routley; Director, Animation & Cinematics Dept.: Steve Gilmour; Lead Character Artist: Mike Spalding; Character Artist: Tim Appleby, Matt Charlesworth, Francis Lacuna, Ryan Lim, Steve Runham, Sean Smalles, Jaemus Wurzbach; Concept Artist: Fran Gaulin, Sung Kim, Matthew Rhodes; GUI Artist: Nelson Housden; Lead Level Artist: Mike Trottier; Level Artist: Don Arceta, Kally Chow, Tristan Clarysse, Nolan Cunningham, Boali Dashtestani, Michael Jeffrey, Noel Lukasewich, Chris Ryzebol, Marcel Silva, Mike Smith, Jason Spykerman, Neil Valeriano, Gina Welbourn; Lead Technical Artist: Adrien Cho; Technical Artist: Brian Chung, Jeff Vanelle; Lead Visual Effects Artist: Shareef Shanawany; Visual Effects Artist: Alim Chaarani, Trevor Gilday, Andrew Melnychuk-Oseen, Ryan Rosanky, Jacky Xuan; Director, Art Dept.: Dave Hibbein; Lead Audio Design: Steven Sim; Associate Lead Audio Design: Michael Kent; Audio Design: Matt Besler, Vance Dylan, Michael Peter, Jeremie Voillot; Lead Cinematic Systems Design: Brad Prince; Lead Cinematic Designer: Ken Thain; Cinematic Designer: Jonathan Epp, James Henley, Nathan Moller, Jonathan Perry, Armando Troisi; Systems Designer: Jason Attard, Jason Booth, Georg Zoller; Lead Technical Designer: Dusty Everman; Technical Designer: Rick Burton, Keith Hayward, David Sitar, Peter Thomas, Keith Warner, John Winski; Writer: Luke Kristjanson, Chris L'Etoile, Mac Walters, Patrick Weekes; Graphics Programmer: Jonathan Baldwin, Rob Krajcarski, Matt Peters; Audio Programmer: Marawn Audeh, Sophia Chan, Pat LaBine, Don Yakielashek; Asst. Director, Programming Dept.: Aaryn Flynn; Lead QA Analyst: Scott Langevin; Design Lead QA Analyst: Bob McCabe; Tech Lead QA Analyst: Jim Hansen; QA Analyst: Guillaume Bourbonnière, Billy Buskell, Derrick Collins, Mitchell T. Fujino, Ryan Loe, Brian Mills, Iain Stevens-Guille; QA Programmer: Alex Lucas, Jonathan Newton, Jay Zhou; QA Term Tester: Vanessa Alvarado, Zachery Blanchette, Reid Buckmaster, Chris Buzon, Chris Corfe, James Farmer, Andrew Gauthier, Darren Gilday, Stanley Hunt, Raymond Huot, Andrea Hussey, Thomas Jalbert, Chris Johnstone, Jack Lamden, Arone LeBray, Michael Liaw, Jonathan Pacholuk, Richard Poulin, Kyle Shewchuk, Ameet Thandi, Kevin Therrien, Malcolm Tough, Thomas Trachimowich, Daniel Trottier, Tayce Wilson; Director, QA Dept.: Phillip DeRosa; Add'l Art: Sasha Beliaev, Ken Finlayson, Shane Hawco, Eric Poulin, Rion Swanson, Rob Sugama, Jillian Tamaki; Add'l Design: Rafael Brown, Charly Carlos, Eric Fagnan, Chris Hepler, Scott Horner, Mike Laidlaw, Paul Marino, Kevin Martens, Aidan Scanlan, Kris Schoneberg, Jay Turner; Add'l Programming: Chris Blackbourne, Howard Chung, Jordan Dubuc, Jan Goh, Michael Graves, Chris Johnson, Scott Meadows, James Redford, Sidney Tang, Julie West, Graham Wihlidal, Peter Woytiuk; Add'l Production: Alain Baxter; Add'l QA: Steven Deleeuw, Nathan Frederick, Curtis Knecht, Denny Letourneau, Vanessa Prinsen, Homan Sanale; Original Score, Lead Composer: Jack Wall; Original Score, Composer: Sam Hulick; Add'l Music: Richard Jacques, David Kates; "M4 Part II" Written By: Faunts; "M4 Part II" Performed By: Faunts; VO Direction: Ginny McSwain, Caroline Livingston, Chris Borders; Casting Services: Tikiman Productions Inc.; Add'l Dialogue Editing: Dave Chan; Voice of Urdnot: Steve Barr; Voice of Ashley Williams: Kimberly Brooks; Voice of Captain David Anderson: Keith David; Voice of Jeff "Joker" Moreau: Seth Green; Voice of Commander Shepard (Female): Jennifer Hale; Voice of Admiral Steven Hackett: Lance Henriksen; Voice of Liara T'Soni: Ali Hillis; Voice of Garrus Vakarian: Brandon Keener; Voice of Commander Shepard (Male): Mark Meer; Voice of Matriarch Benezia: Marina Sirtis; Voice of Tali'Zorah Nar Rayya: Liz Sroka; Voice of Kaiden Alenko: Raphael Sbarge; Voice of Saren: Fred Tatasciore; Additional Voices: Leigh Allyn Baker, April Banigan, Steve Barr, Wendy Braun, Scott Bullock, Andy Chanley, Cam Clarke, Townsend Coleman, Marianne Copithorne, Belinda Cornish, Josh Dean, Grey Delisle, Charles Dennis, Robin Atkin Downes, Alastair Duncan, Chris Edgerly, Jeannie Elias, Gideon Emery, Dannah Feinglass, Brian George, Kim Mai Guest, Jennifer Hale, Jeff Haslam, Roger L. Jackson, Peter Jessop, John Kirkpatrick, Lex Lang, Matthew Levin, David Ley, Anndi McAfee, Kim McCaw, Gord Marriott, Erin Matthews, Mark Meer, Diane Michelle, Jeff Page, Chris Postle, Bill Ratner, Neil Ross, Dwight Schultz, Carolyn Seymour, David Shaughnessy, Armin Shimerman, Jane Singer Jan, Alexandra Smith, Kath Soucie, Liz Sroka, Stave Staley, Stephen Stanton, April Stewart, Cree Summer, Keith Szarabajka, George Szilagyi, Mari Weiss, Gary Anthony Williams, David Wittenberg, Shanelle Workman, John Wright, Gwendoline Yeo, Rick Zieff; Motion Capture: Giant Studios; 3D Scans: 3D Eyetronics; Director of Marketing: Ric Williams; Art: Todd Grenier, Mike Sass; Community: Jason Barlow, Jay Wayamaniuk; Marketing Manager: Jarrett Lee; PR: Matt Atwood, Erik Einsiedel; Web: Johnn Four, Jeff Marvin, Robin Mayne, Colin Walmsley; Direction of Development Operations: Darryl Horne; Director of Finance/Director of Business Development: Richard Iwaniuk; Manager of Administrative Services: Jo-Marie Langkow; Finance/Payroll: Lori Burkosky, Janice Cardinal, Todd Derechey, Nils Kuhnert, Sharon Pete, Treena Rees; Director of Human Resources: Derek Sidebottom; Human Resources: Celia Arevalo, Theresa Baxter, Ellen Cunningham, Mark Kluchky, Leanne Korotash, Angela Pappas; Director of Information Systems: Vince Waldon; Information Systems Application: Julian Karst, Robert McKenna, Jesse Van Herk, Dups Wikayawardhana; Information Systems Desktop: Dave McGruther, Jeff Mills, Brett Tollefson, Chris Zeschuk; Information Systems Facilities: Mike Patterson; Information Systems Infrastructure: Sam Decker, Wayne Loney, Craig Miller; Director of Legal and Business Services: Robert Kallir; Admin Assistant/Reception: Crystal Ens, Deb Gardner, Teresa Meester, Barbara Schmid, Jessica Yamanaka; CEO: Greg Richardson; VP of Technology Anf Production Advisor: David O'Connor; Assistant/Reception: Lynette Farriot; Business Development: Mark Spenner; Finance: Jim Johnson, Kerman Lau; Human Resources: Roberta Riga; Information Systems: Chad Billingsley; Legal: CJ Prober; Marketing: Jillian Goldberg, Dave Rosen; Company 2: Microsoft Game Studios; Executive Producer: Jorg Neumann; Dev't Lead: Russ Almond, Relja Markovic; Design Director: Eric Simonich; Art Director: Tim Dean; Audio Director: Caesar Filori; Test Lead: Shane White, Chris Liu; User Research Lead: Tim Nichols; UX Lead/Writer: John Sutherland; Editor: Heidi Hendricks; Doc Design Lead: Chris Lassen; Designer: Carol Walter; Int'l Project Manager: Lief Thompson; Business Dev'mt: Bill Wagner; Global Product Manager: Adam Kovach; Global PR Manager: Rob Semsey; Executive Producer: Shannon Loftis; Producer: Leon Pryor, Sam Charcian, Peter Connelly, Gordon Hee, Ravi Mehta; Dev't Manager: Brian Stone; Director of Dev't: Tony Cox; Add'l Dev't: Brandon Burlison, Greg Hermann, Tom Holmes, Chuck Noble, Kutta Srinivasan; XNA GPX: Marwan Jubran, Mike Ruete, Aleks Gershaft, Jon Yip, Jon Burns; Design Director: William Hodhe; Lead Design Director: Chris Esaki, Thomas Zuccotti; Sr. Design Director: Josh Atkins; Add'l Design: Stephen McLaughlin; Art Director: Jonas Norberg; Sr. Art Director: Kevin Brown; Director of Art: Kiki Wolfkill; Add'l Art: Doug McBride, Michael Cahill, Jeff McCrory, Ryan Wilkerson; Video Editor: Curtis Neal; Asst. Video Editor: Aaron Bear, Colin McLoughlin; Audio Design Manager: Ken Kato; Sound Designer: Keith Sjoquist; Sr. Audio Director: Guy Whitmore; Test Manager: Kyle Shannon; Core Test Team: Brandon Anthony, Brett Dupree, Tim Duzmal, Carolyn Gold, Greg Hjertager, Jeff Kafer, Peter Kugler, Matt Shimabuku, Sarah Stewart, John Thomas, Randy Wood, Brian Yu; SDE Team: Matthew Call, Eric Lee, Justin McBride, Dan Price, Brant Schweigert; Reserves Team Lead: Craig Marshall, Mark McAllister; Reserves Tester: Adam Wojewidka, Alex Gray, Amanda Robinson, Bob Mowery, Brandon McCurry, Brandt Massman, Brian Noonan, Byrce Pinkston, Cahlen Lee, Chad Hale, Chris Burke, Corigan Bemis, Craig Prothman, Dalrek Davis, Dan Osborn, David Foster, David Hoar, Devin Prutsman, Devon Carter, Doug Gorman, Eric Anderson, Ja Tsang, Jakob Pederson, Jason Hall, Jeff Carmon, Jeff Hines, Jennifer Wilson-Parenti, Jeremy Powers, John Thomas, Jordan Harrison, Josh Hansen, Josh McCullough, Josiah Colborn, Kart McLain, Kevin Sherard, Kyle Jacobsen, Lawrence Lai, Luca Meyers, Matt Giddings, Matt Wolff, Michael Corrado, Michal Durkin, Noah McGary, Pat Moening, Paul Orsborn, Peter DuBois, Philip Brown, Phoebe Spencer, Rebekka Shipway, Robert Colling, Robert Maddux, Robert Shearon, Roderic Ponce, Ryan Crowell, Scott Lindberg, Scott Shields, Sean Thompson, Shaun Jones, Stephen Bonikowsky, Ted Lockwood, Tom Wollam, Trevor Berlin, Tyler Cooper, Tyler Johnston, Wade Davis, Will Timmins; User Research Lead: Kevin Keeker; Add'l User Research: Ramon Romero, Drew Voegele, John P. Davis; UX Manager: Laura Hamilton; Doc Design Manager: JoAnne Williams; Grp UX Manager: Matt Whiting; Program Manager: John Byrne; Test Lead: Alan Davis, John O'Sullivan; Lead Tester: Brian Fox; Audio Lead: Steve Belton; Post-production Asst.: Terry McManus; Engineer: Jean-Philippe Chassagne, Julien Chergui; Documentation: Ben Cahill; Translation (German): Marianne Marcel; Testing Manager: Paul Vigneron; Team Lead: Nicolas Hermant; Keywords Italian Team: Emanuele Guidetti, Raffaele La Gala, Camilla Miliacca, Claudio Perazzo; Keywords German Team: Patrick Lampert, Jürgen Röder, Manuel Tants, Achim Unland; Keywords French Team: Julien Bourgeat, Jean-Philippe Mathieu, Benoît De Ruyter, François Tarrida; Keywords Polish Team: Magdalene Cakala, Adam Dawidziuk, Tomasz Krupa, Tomasz Wilczek; Keywords Spanish Team: Sergio Sampalo Álvarez, Juliá Cid Bautista, José Maria Parrondo Martín, Aurora Cano Ubiña; Sr. Project Manager: Guillaume Capitan; Program Manager: Robert Lin; Test Lead: Aha Chiu; Localization PM: Eva Lin; Program Manager: Jae Youn Kim; Test Lead: Jee Hoon Oh; Localization PM: Kyoung Han Yoon; Grp Business Manager: Nick Dimitrov; Director of Business Management: Todd Stevens; Sr. Director Business Dev'mt: Frank Pape; Grp Product Manager: Dan Amdur; Director of Global Product Marketing: Craig Davison; Virtual Brand ID: Justin Kirby, Henry Liu, Aaron Travis; Advertising: Ryan Crosby, Aaron Elliot, Taylor Smith; Sr. Grp Manager, PR: Genevieve Waldman; Business Administrator: Muffy Bryan
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Mass Effect

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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
This article is about the video game series. For the video game, see Mass Effect (video game). For the medical term, see Mass effect (medicine). For other uses, see Mass effect (disambiguation).
Mass Effect
Masseffectlogo.png
Mass Effect logo
Genres Action role-playing
Developers BioWare
Publishers

Microsoft Game Studios (2007)

Electronic Arts (2009-present)
Platforms Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3
First release Mass Effect
November 20, 2007
Latest release Mass Effect 2
January 26, 2010
Official website http://masseffect.bioware.com/

Mass Effect is an award-winning, bestselling series of action role-playing video games developed by the Canadian company BioWare and released for the Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and, from the second installment, for the PlayStation 3. The first game in the planned trilogy centers around a player created character named Commander Shepard and his/her mission to save the galaxy from a race of mechanical beings known as the Reapers, and its followers, including Saren Arterius. The first game sees Shepard facing Sovereign, a Reaper left as a vanguard, who plans to allow the Reaper fleet currently hibernating in extra-galactic dark space to invade the Milky Way and destroy all sapient organic life, continuing a mysterious cycle of destruction. The second game takes place two years later, and sees Shepard battling the Collectors, an alien race abducting entire human colonies in a plan to help the Reapers return to the Milky Way. The third and final game will center on the final battle against the Reapers.

Since the beginning, the series has been a major critical success. Both games have received critical acclaim for their storyline, characters, romances, voice acting, choices, tolerance of diversity, and the depth of the galaxy.[1][2][3] Video game website GamesRadar called Mass Effect the best new franchise of the generation, saying that the galaxy was so well-constructed that it felt like a decades-old franchise and that it represented "a high-water mark for video games as a story-telling medium."[4]

Contents

Games

 Mass Effect series chronology 

Evolution
Revelation
Mass Effect
Incursion
Redemption
Ascension
Galaxy
Mass Effect 2
Retribution
Inquisition
Deception
Conviction
Invasion
Mass Effect 3

A trilogy of games is planned to be released, each continuing the game's story in chronological order. The second game in the trilogy was released in January 2010. The Mass Effect series combines action role-playing game elements, with the main series games being in third-person perspective. The protagonist can use two AI-controlled squad members in battle; which usually consists of members he or she has recruited, from various places and for various reasons, and taken onto the Normandy, Shepard's starship. As of December 2010 the Mass Effect series has sold almost 7 million units.

Main trilogy

  • Mass Effect (2007): The first game in the series was originally created as an exclusive title for the Xbox 360 but was later ported to Microsoft Windows by Demiurge Studios. The game focuses on the protagonist, Commander Shepard, and his/her quest to stop the rogue 'Spectre' Saren Arterius from leading an army of Geth to conquer the galaxy. During pursuit of Saren, Shepard learns of a far greater threat in the form of the Reapers. Saren has been mentally enslaved by the Reaper 'Sovereign', a vanguard sent into Citadel Space to initiate the purge of all advanced sentient life in the galaxy, a cycle repeated by the Reapers every 50,000 years. Mass Effect was received with critical acclaim by many industry reviewers, and has garnered a large fan-following.
  • Mass Effect 2 (2010): The second main game in the series was released on January 26, 2010 in North America and January 29 in Europe.[5] A great deal of secrecy surrounded the game prior to launch, with few details emerging other than Casey Hudson, Project Director for BioWare, stating that "players should keep their save files, because decisions made by the player in the first game will continue to have influences on their character in the sequel."[6][7] The game takes place two years after the events of Mass Effect. Human colonies are being attacked, their colonists disappearing without a trace. The game's protagonist, Commander Shepard, is forced into an uneasy alliance with the pro-Human paramilitary organization, Cerberus, in an effort to discover the cause. Evidence emerges pointed to the 'Collectors', an advanced, enigmatic race of insect-like humanoids. Adding to the threat is the revelation that the Collectors are working for the Reapers. Shepard sets out on a "suicide mission" to stop the Collectors, accompanied by a hand-picked team of soldiers, assassins, mercenaries, and specialists. Mass Effect 2 has received overwhelming critical praise since its release, for its characters, storyline, voice acting, and refined combat and gameplay with many critics calling it a major improvement over the original and an easy Game of the Year contender despite its January release.[2] At Gamescom 2010, it was announced that a PlayStation 3 version would be available in January 2011. Although PlayStation 3 owners will be able to play the second installment, Microsoft still has publishing rights to the first.
  • Mass Effect 3 (2012): The third and final installment in the Mass Effect trilogy, the game is scheduled for release on March 6, 2012.[8] Casey Hudson commented that Mass Effect 3 "will be easier [to develop] because we don't have to worry about continuity into the next one."[9] However, decisions will still be imported from the two previous titles to Mass Effect 3, as to keep continuity within the series.[10] In the final chapter of the trilogy, the Reapers have returned in force, and have begun their purge of the galaxy, attacking the human homeworld of Earth. During this attack Commander Shepard is on Earth and forced to flee.[11] After fleeing Earth Commander Shepard must race against time to rally the advanced races of the galaxy to make one final stand, not only to save Earth, but also to break a cycle that has continued for millions of years. Casey Hudson stated in an interview at the Consumer Electronics Show that Mass Effect 3 will complete the story arc of Commander Shepard, and will pull in over 1,000 variables from Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 to shape how players experience the final chapter. The first official trailer was unveiled on December 11, 2010 during the Spike TV Video Game Awards show.[12]

Spin-off

  • Mass Effect Galaxy (2009): This is backstory set between the events of Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2 and exclusively on the iOS platform. The story is focused around two characters who appear as squad members in Mass Effect 2: Jacob Taylor and Miranda Lawson. When the passenger liner Arcturian Jade is attacked by Batarian raiders with Jacob on it, he takes on the task of defending the ship. After safely arriving at their destination on the Citadel, Jacob's former CO contacts him about an undercover Alliance operation in the Nemean Abyss to investigate the Batarians increasingly aggressive activities.
  • Mass Effect: Infiltrator (2012): An upcoming third-person-shooter that will be released on the iOS platform. The story for Infiltrator will involve helping free prisoners from a hostile Cerberus base, and that players will "receive rewards" for collecting evidence of Cerberus' crimes. According to EA, "Every completed rescue and intelligence discovery in Infiltrator will increase a player's Galactic Readiness rating directly through the 'Galaxy at War' system in Mass Effect 3."[13]

Adaptations

Novels

  • Mass Effect: Revelation (2007): The first novel based on Mass Effect, the plot is centered around then-Lieutenant David Anderson and tells the story of how he came to know Saren. It expands on the history of the Mass Effect universe and reveals in detail how Anderson failed to become the first human Spectre.
  • Mass Effect: Ascension (2008): The second novel based on Mass Effect, the plot centers around protagonist Paul Grayson, a member of Cerberus, who is in charge of raising a biotic girl named Gillian. It is set approximately two months after the ending events of the first game.[14]
  • Mass Effect: Retribution (2010): On July 27, 2010, Bioware released the third Mass Effect novel by Drew Karpyshyn, a sequel to Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect: Ascension.[15][16]
  • Mass Effect: Deception (2012): The fourth Mass Effect novel, it centers on Gillian Grayson. The first book in the series to be written by William C. Dietz. The novel's story is: Gillian was once the subject of horrifying scientific experiments, but now, after her rescue, she is beginning to master her amazing powers. When she falls under the sway of a radical group who believe their powers make them superior to ordinary humans, she finds herself faced with a choice between her destiny and her humanity. Response to the novel has been almost universally negative due to a large number of inconsistencies with lore and characterization, prompting many fans to petition Bioware to disregard the novel as canon.[17][18][19] In response to these widespread complaints, Bioware and Del Rey have announced that a number of changes are being made for future editions of the novel.[20]

Comics

Writer Mac Walters in front of a Mass Effect poster at the Dark Horse Comics booth at the 2011 New York Comic Con.
  • Mass Effect: Redemption is a four-part comic book mini-series that was released between January and April 2010. The story, which revolves around Liara T'Soni, is set in the interim period between the prologue and main storyline of Mass Effect 2, and is related to the downloadable content Lair of the Shadow Broker that was released for the game.[21]
  • Mass Effect: Incursion is an eight-page mini-comic that follows Aria T'Loak's encounter with the Collectors one week prior to the opening events of Mass Effect 2. The events of Incursion link into the events of the comic mini-series Mass Effect: Redemption. It was made available on June 21, 2010 through IGN.[22]
  • Mass Effect: Inquisition is a short 8 page comic released on October 25, 2010, through USA Today.[23] Taking place after Mass Effect 2, the plot revolves around Captain Armando Bailey and his investigation of Executor Pallin and allegations of corruption within C-Sec.
  • Mass Effect: Conviction is a short 8 page mini-comic available through digital distribution exclusively via participating retailers. Released in September, 2011, it introduces the character James Vega prior to events of "Mass Effect 3".
  • Mass Effect: Evolution is a four-part comic book mini-series. The first issue was released in January 2011. The story focuses on the origin of the Illusive Man, and is set during the First Contact War, shortly after the discovery of the Mass Relays.[24]
  • Mass Effect: Invasion is a four part comic book mini series that was released between October 2011 and January 2012. It follows Aria T'Loak, the pirate queen of the space station Omega, as her station comes under attack from a new threat unleashed by the human-survivalist organization Cerberus.
  • Mass Effect: Homeworlds is an upcoming comic book series written by Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 lead writer Mac Walters. It is due to be released in April 2012. Each installment will focus on a main character from Mass Effect 3.

Film

On May 24, 2010, EA announced that Legendary Pictures, Warner Bros. acquired the rights to a Mass Effect film, with the game's executive producer Casey Hudson, as well as Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuck from BioWare, serving as executive producers. Legendary plans to produce the film with Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni, and Avi Arad, with a screenplay by Mark Protosevich.[25] Despite information posted on the Legendary Pictures website indicating that the film would feature "a completely new story,"[26] Protosevich and the producers have stated that the film will follow the plot of the original game.[27]

Anime

On April 7, 2011, EA announced that anime distributor Funimation Entertainment and Japanese studio T.O Entertainment will produce an anime film adaptation based on the series. The film will be released in the summer of 2012.[28]

Characters

Main game series characters

Main article: List of characters in the Mass Effect universe

Note: Some characters may or may not appear in Mass Effect 3, depending on their fate in the previous games. Some of the characters in Mass Effect 2 only appear if the player has installed the relevant DLC.

Character Game
Mass Effect Mass Effect 2 Mass Effect 3
Commander Shepard Mark Meer (Male)
Jennifer Hale (Female)
The Illusive Man   Martin Sheen
Jeff "Joker" Moreau Seth Green
David Anderson Keith David
Liara T'Soni Ali Hillis
Ashley Williams Kimberly Brooks
Kaidan Alenko Raphael Sbarge
Garrus Vakarian / Archangel Brandon Keener
Tali'Zorah vas Normandy/nar Rayya Liz Sroka
Urdnot Wrex Steve Barr
Miranda Lawson   Yvonne Strahovski
Jacob Taylor   Adam Lazarre-White
Mordin Solus   Michael Beattie TBA
Jack / Subject Zero   Courtenay Taylor
Grunt   Steven Blum
Thane Krios   Keythe Farley
Legion   D.C. Douglas
Samara   Maggie Baird
Morinth   Natalia Cigliuti
Zaeed Massani   Robin Sachs
Kasumi Goto   Kym Lane
EDI   Tricia Helfer
James Vega   Freddie Prinze, Jr.
Diana Allers   Jessica Chobot
Ambassador Donnel Udina Bill Ratner
Doctor Chakwas Carolyn Seymour
Admiral Steven Hackett Lance Henriksen
Councilor Tevos Jan Alexandra Smith
Salarian Councilor Armin Shimerman
Turian Councilor Alastair Duncan
Conrad Verner Jeff Page
Captain Kirrahe George Szilagyi   George Szilagyi
Saren Arterius Fred Tatasciore  
Matriarch Benezia Marina Sirtis  
Sovereign Peter Jessop  
Navigator Pressly Dwight Schultz  
Yeoman Kelly Chambers   Cara Pifko
Aria T'Loak   Carrie-Anne Moss
Captain Armando Bailey   Michael Hogan
Gatatog Uvenk   Michael Dorn
Kal'Reegar   Adam Baldwin
Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay   Shoreh Aghdashloo
Harbinger   Keith Szarabajka
The Shadow Broker   Steven Blum  
Kai Leng   TBA
Captain Gavorn   TBA

Spin-off game series characters

Character Game
Mass Effect Galaxy
Jacob Taylor Appeared
Miranda Lawson Appeared
Jath'Amon Appeared
Derek Izunami Appeared
Nax Appeared
Batha Appeared
Clint "Black Eye" Darragh Appeared
Illo Nazario Appeared

Novel/comic series characters

Character Novel
Mass Effect: Revelation Mass Effect: Ascension Mass Effect: Retribution Mass Effect: Deception
Kahlee Sanders Appeared
David Anderson Appeared Mentioned Appeared
Illusive Man   Appeared
Paul Grayson   Appeared Mentioned
Gillian Grayson   Appeared Mentioned Appeared
Hendel Mitra   Appeared Mentioned Appeared
Saren Arterius Appeared Mentioned
Jon Grissom Appeared Mentioned  
Kai Leng Appeared
Aria T'Loak Appeared
Nick Donahue   Appeared
Commander Shepard   Mentioned
Character Comic Mini-comic
Mass Effect: Redemption Mass Effect: Evolution Mass Effect: Invasion Mass Effect: Homeworlds Mass Effect: Incursion Mass Effect: Inquistion Mass Effect: Conviction
Illusive Man / Jack Harper Appeared  
Aria T'Loak Appeared   Appeared   Appeared  
Liara T'Soni Appeared  
Feron Appeared  
Shadow Broker Appeared  
Miranda Lawson Appeared  
Tazzik Appeared  
Harbinger Appeared  
Saren Arterius   Appeared
Eva Coré   Appeared  
General Williams   Appeared  
Desolas Arterius   Appeared  
Ben Hislop   Appeared  
Oleg Petrovsky   Appeared  
Raymond Ashe   Appeared  
Armando Bailey   Appeared  
Executor Pallin   Appeared  
Donnel Udina Appeared  
James Vega   Appeared   Appeared
David Anderson   Appeared
Commander Shepard Mentioned Appeared

Reception

Aggregate review scores
As of November 10, 2011.
Game GameRankings Metacritic
Mass Effect (X360) 91.15%[29]
(PC) 89.43%[30]		 (X360) 91[31]
(PC) 89[32]
Mass Effect 2 (X360) 95.66%[33]
(PC) 94.48%[34]
(PS3) 93.17%[35]		 (X360) 96[36]
(PC) 94[37]
(PS3) 94[38]
Mass Effect 3 (PC) -[39]
(PS3) -[40]
(X360) -[41]		 (PC) -[42]
(PS3) -[43]
(X360) -[44]
[icon] This section requires expansion.


References

  1. ^ MetaCritic.com - Mass Effect
  2. ^ a b MetaCritic.com - Mass Effect 2
  3. ^ The Border House Podcast Episode 1 Transcript
  4. ^ GamesRadar - Top 7 Best New Franchises of this Generation
  5. ^ Jim Reilly. "Mass Effect 2 Release Date Announced". http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/103/1035830p1.html. 
  6. ^ GI Staff (March 2008). "Afterwards: Mass Effect". Game Informer (179): p. 24 
  7. ^ Brudvig, Erik (2009-02-23). "BioWare Suggests Hanging on to Mass Effect Saves". IGN. http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/956/956202p1.html. Retrieved 2009-03-08. 
  8. ^ Mike Fahey (4 March 2011). "Mass Effect 3 Thrusts Its Way into Early 2012". Kotaku. http://kotaku.com/5798587/mass-effect-3-will-be-an-early-2012-release. Retrieved 4 March 2011. 
  9. ^ "BioWare Already Looking Forward to Mass Effect 3". http://www.shacknews.com/article/61666/bioware-already-looking-forward-to. 
  10. ^ Choose Language | BioWare Social Network
  11. ^ "A Mass Effect 3 Gameplay Preview". http://www.bunker37.com/2011/08/a-mass-effect-3-gameplay-preview/. 
  12. ^ "Interview: BioWare's Casey Hudson on the making of Mass Effect 2". http://www.joystiq.com/2010/06/15/interview-bioware-casey-hudson-on-the-making-of-mass-effect-2. 
  13. ^ Hamilton, Kirk (2012-02-07). "BioWare’s Mass Effect iOS Game is the Third-Person Shooter Mass Effect: Infiltrator". Kotaku. http://kotaku.com/5883125/biowares-mass-effect-ios-game-is-the-third+person-shooter-mass-effect-infiltrator. Retrieved 2012-02-07. 
  14. ^ Drew Karpyshyn Creative Works
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