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Mass Effect: Andromeda

Survey reveals potential Mass Effect 4 setting

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A new survey that may or may not be real (it certainly sounds convincing, although we have no way of verifying the details mentioned below) has revealed some potential details regarding Bioware's next major release, Mass Effect 4.

The details, posted over on Reddit, are tantalisingly specific, and if true they reveal plenty about the next game in the sci-fi RPG series. That said, even if it's genuine (and we have no reason to say that it's not) then it's still worth taking the following with a hefty pinch of salt, because the game is still a long way off and most certainly subject to change.

First up there's a bit of context. The new game "takes place in the Helius Cluster (a cluster of 100s of solar systems in the Andromeda Galaxy), far removed by time and space from Commander Shepard's heroic acts and the final events of the Mass Effect trilogy," in a space that's over "4x the size of Mass Effect 3."

Players will take on the role of pathfinder tasked with colonising this new frontier, and you "will need to grow your arsenal, your ship, your crew and make strategic (and often uneasy) alliances to fight against increasingly menacing foes."

Mass Effect: Andromeda

Perhaps most interesting of all is talk of a new ancient civilisation called the Remnant, and players will need to track down their technology across this new sector of space, using it to upgrade their gear and help Humanity expand their presence in this new territory.

As for those who'll be along for the ride, each "crew member has a unique personality and specific abilities that open up strategic options as you choose which two of them to bring into each mission." The post then lists an example of a crew member called "Cora" who has a deployable bubble shield that a team can fire out of.

Another character, a Krogan called "Drack" is also mentioned, along with a potential story mission linked to his loyalty (or lack thereof). As in previous Bioware games, each character will have a backstory and there'll be friendships to explore and develop.

There's also mention of Strike Team missions, where the player either sends out upgradable AI-controlled squads to "take on randomly generated, time-sensitive missions" that are played out in real-time, or where players tackle them with other players.

It's described as a new Horde mode with waves of increasingly difficult attacks to withstand and objectives to complete. Upon successful completion of a mission players can unlock upgrades to use in multiplayer, and XP and in-game currency ("APEX funds") for use in the single-player portion of the game.

It's also mentioned that players will also be looking for suitable locations to base their new Human settlements. There'll be new "action based choices" during conversation that will "lead to more extreme outcomes on the story".

The new ship is called "Tempest" and players will be able fly across a solar system and launch the Mako onto planets they visit "smoothly without loading screens".

There's even more mentioned in the post, including Remnant Vault Raids (and optional Elite Raids that are unlocked using "Star Keys"), more optional content in the form of so-called Khet Outpost missions, and apparently there's going to be upgradable Mako.

As we said at the beginning of this news piece, this is all purely speculative at the moment. It certainly sounds authentic, but there's absolutely no way of finding out whether any of this is genuine or not. If it is the real deal then it potentially reveals a lot of details regarding the next Mass Effect game, although we're not likely to see that game land before 2016, so there's plenty of time for Bioware to change their minds on anything mentioned above.

Mass Effect: Andromeda

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Mass Effect: AndromedaScore

Mass Effect: Andromeda

REVIEW. Written by Mike Holmes

"There's enough of the series' DNA in there that fans will find this a worthwhile adventure."



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