I'm not surprised EA wants to continue Mass Effect as a brand and where as Bioware started wanting Mass Effect to be the next big space opera since Star Wars with a rich and vast universe, that doesn't really mean a damn thing anymore especially to EA. It's a product with a following so regardless of quality or story as long as they can keep pumping out Mass Effect games they don't have to care about things like continuity ,developing characters, story, etc.

Not to mention if they want to do different story so badly, why make it a numbered sequel? Give it a subtitle to make it stand out or something, don't just slap a four on it and expect everyone to eat it up. Also as others have said Bioware as a developer is just following in the tradition of what EA has been doing to all these dev houses they buy up, bleed thier talent ,lay off everyone, leaving just the name of Bioware that they can slap on everything hoping they can still trick people into thinking it's still Bioware quality.

I'm down for more ME if only for Multiplayer... I'm a bad person.

Finishing with Shepard is a good move, but I would rather see them doing a new game. I agree about scaling down the size of the conflict and the inclusion of choice as more of a tool to propel character development instead of world shaping.

Oh yeah, If it's another trilogy - they really really need to plan it all out ahead of time.

Only if it's an Orgasmic Rave Simulator, or ORS for short.

@RVonE said:

Only if it's an Orgasmic Rave Simulator, or ORS for short.

One of my favorite ME gifs:

No. Mainly because I haven't even come close to playing Mass Effect 3 yet.

@FluxWaveZ said:

@RVonE said:

Only if it's an Orgasmic Rave Simulator, or ORS for short.

One of my favorite ME gifs:

YES!!!

Mass Effect is pretty cool, but I don't think that either of the sequels improved on their respective prequel in a really huge way, so the reason I kept coming back to it was obviously the story.

Now that that's done, I feel like I've had my fill of the franchise, and I don't get immediately excited over the announcement of a Mass Effect 4 - the lore and the universe just isn't that awesome. I'm pretty certain they're going to need either a mind-blowingly amazing plot or some unexpectedly awesome gameplay improvements to draw me back in, as more of the same isn't something I'd be "immediately excited" about anymore.

I really enjoyed all of the Mass Effect games and would love to see what they do next with the universe.

If it isn't a rushed and designed-by-committee mess then yes.

Totally. Can't wait to see what they come up with.

No. They should rest it for a while, because the internet still feels very indifferent to the ME universe at this point.

After 3 the series is done for me. The whole game ruined the universe and characters to the point where I can't go back or care about anything going forward.

Excite is a strong word. I very much enjoyed the series but I don't see how they move forward from here. But, I'm certainly open to finding out.

I liked most of 3, but the bioware name doesn't excite me like it did before it and da 2. I feel like if they had enough time both those games would have been much better, but it doesn't seem like ea is giving it to them. But who knows I don't work there, maybe they are losing their touch.

Like anyone else, I love the universe. And there are certanly interesting ways they can do this, but with so many key people in the company leaving, my hopes aren't as high as they could be. I'll wait and see.

I don't think they would be willing to do the kind of game set in the universe that I really want. That is, retcon the hell out of it.

The Protheans were actually a super advanced species that made all their own stuff (And are all dead. ALL), the Reapers don't exist, set it a few years after the First Contact War. Make it deal with the tension between Humans and the other races, and do something with the Terminus Systems. Oh, and make the political situation on the Citadel less stupid. There aren't three master races with 10 subraces that might as well not exist. It is more of an alliance of convenience for the member races, none of them have any sort of dominance over the others.

The prospect of milking a franchise always excites me, especially if it is after the trilogy has ended.

If done right Mass Effect 4 could be a great game, I don't trust EA and current day Bioware to do it right, though

After ME3 I'm never buying another BioWare game again.

I accidentally chose "other" instead of "yes". But yeah, I'm definitely excited for another Mass Effect.

My Mass Effect boner has gone flaccid after the huge letdown, and I was all over Mass Effect. Read all the books and comics and everything. I'm surprised I voted no to this, but when asked point blank, I couldn't say yes.

That said, I could see a possible future where they could convince me to get excited again. The only way I could see that happening is maybe if they made a prequel/remake of ME1, starring Saren, basically documenting the events up to and including the first book and Mass Effect 1.

We know he:

• Participated in the First Contact War against humanity, when he encountered The Illusive Man
• Was a badass spectre able to do badass spectre things, so basically Alpha Protocol, in space, and not sucky.
• Fought alongside/against David Anderson as the first Human Spectre candidate (more Keith David!)
• Joined up with Sovereign and then recruited at the very least Matriarch Benezia to his cause, making it very easy to both flesh out Liara's backstory and introduce an ally recruitment mechanic ala ME2. (And having geth squaddies actually make sense, for a change.)
• Battled against John/Jane Shepard, and that can pull your data from ME1/2/3 for the climactic battle.
• Visited a lot of the locations Shepard did, so set pieces can be revisited from an alternate angle, e.g. Extracting information from the Thorian by sacrificing Shiala (She could be a squadmate you sacrifice? who knows.)
• Battled Nihlus, coolest spectre ever, RIP.
• His morality meter could swing between "Renegade" and "Just Plain Evil," kind of like Overlord. Benezia, for example, you could get her to help you willingly by romancing her, or using Sovereign to break her will by indoctrinating her.
• The final battle would be an epic conflict on the Citadel. Also, keep in mind that up until that point, the council gave him the benefit of the doubt. Toward the end, once he was persona non grata in Citadel space, he probably had to take out a few more spectres the council sent his way. The possibilities are pretty damn cool.
• Best of all, they could probably figure out a way to get him to personally pull the trigger on Kaiden. (or Ashley, if you're a monster.)

Worth it just for the possibility of an alternate ending to ME1, but also to flesh out one of the best villains in gaming. This is a game I'd get excited for.

Hell, they could make it a new trilogy with what I've outlined, name it Mass Effect: The Arterius Chronicles, and call it a day. Game 1: The First Contact War, Game 2: The Spectre Conspiracy, Game 3: The Fall of Saren Arterius.

Only if it has nothing to do with Shepard and his homies.

Albeit I enjoyed the games overall, I'm hard pressed to see what they could do with another game set within the same universe in truth. Going forward in time runs into canonical issues due to the trio of endings, and the past is kind of limited due to the (not entirely convincing) short time frame between humanities first contact and the events of ME1 - 3. Their options are to either enforce a canonical ending, which effectively undermines ME3 entirely (though in truth none of the endings are particularly great) and set the game at some far flung point where in the mass relays are fixed and maybe Wrex , Liara and maybe EDI are still around (if they want tie backs somehow) or they put you in a position post first contact..but your constant thought is going to be 'none of this matters because in 16 years we all get squished...'. not particularly appealing tbh.

Yes so much more stories to tell in that universe. Would love to have more choice of who you play as like a Fall Out game when you can pretty much just be a villian. Would rather play as a rag tag group of space criminals with their shitty busted up space ship, with missions where you steal parts off other ships by boarding other peoples ships like pirates.

I will never be excited for a Mass Effect game as long as it's EA that develops it.

@Azteck said:

I will never be excited for a Mass Effect game as long as it's EA that develops it.

EA are the publishers. Bioware are the developers.

Mass Effect 3 pulled a real Deus Ex 1 with its endings. A sequel would fuck it all up just like Invisible War did with Deus Ex. So I hope it's a prequel/side story.

No but not because I don't like the franchise. I think it's just WAY too soon; I mean they just finished a trilogy, 5 years developing these 3 games and ending this story. Good, it's done and move on to something else but nope "Mass Effect 4 guys! Pre-order now!" Uh but didn't I just beat one? "I sAiD pRe-OrDeR!"

@Kadayi said:

@Azteck said:

I will never be excited for a Mass Effect game as long as it's EA that develops it.

EA are the publishers. Bioware are the developers.

I'm well aware, but you can't say that the tone of the game didn't change once they got signed to EA.

Only if they plan to make some major changes to the ME2/ME3 formula. If it goes back to being an RPG with loot and less scripted stuff, I would be intrigued. I would be more excited if a different developer was putting it together.

What I really want is a Mass Effect game that is a combination of FTL and Hotline Miami (for enemy ship boarding combat) and Diablo. Yeah. Somebody make that. :D

Yes...?

What's not to get excited about? They can totally divorce themselves of a story arc that made a bunch of fans super pissed. No one thought ME3 was a bad game. Anyone who thinks it wasn't the best looking and best playing of the franchise is lying to themselves. Bioware and Mass Effect has more to offer.

Only if Obsidian develops it.

@Azteck said:

@Kadayi said:

@Azteck said:

I will never be excited for a Mass Effect game as long as it's EA that develops it.

EA are the publishers. Bioware are the developers.

I'm well aware, but you can't say that the tone of the game didn't change once they got signed to EA.

Mass Effect 2 was published under EA and most people view that as the high watermark of the series. I think it's all very well to perpetuate this idea that EA are the root of all evil, but it was Hudson & Walters who wrote the story to ME3, not some suit in Edmonton.

Not immediatly... but I guess i'm open to it. New world though? I think would need a new combat engine, the old one is probably very worn out to me by now.

@TheHT said:

Mass Effect 3 pulled a real Deus Ex 1 with its endings. A sequel would fuck it all up just like Invisible War did with Deus Ex. So I hope it's a prequel/side story.

I agree, some pretty major stuff happened at the end of Mass Effect 3 and it would be hard to do a story after the third game, but why not before? The Bombcast mentioned the First Contact War, or maybe like 5 years before Mass Effect 1. There's no reason they would have to do another story after ME3.

A game in the ME universe before Shepard with a smaller scale (no saving the galaxy, no deciding the fate of civilizations on every mission) and shades of grey (vs the Paragon and Renegade set up) would be extremely compelling. I still love the universe.

Let me play as a cop of sorts, or a criminal, something with a more personal story.

@Kadayi said:

@Azteck said:

@Kadayi said:

@Azteck said:

I will never be excited for a Mass Effect game as long as it's EA that develops it.

EA are the publishers. Bioware are the developers.

I'm well aware, but you can't say that the tone of the game didn't change once they got signed to EA.

Mass Effect 2 was published under EA and most people view that as the high watermark of the series. I think it's all very well to perpetuate this idea that EA are the root of all evil, but it was Hudson & Walters who wrote the story to ME3, not some suit in Edmonton.

How it was received by press is completely irrelevant for how I feel about the game. The first had amazing atmosphere and tried to do something different. The second is nothing but a watered down 3rd person shooter. That turn came pretty quickly after the EA purchase, so while that is still a thing, I simply cannot be interested in the franchise until it goes back to where it started.

Maybe you'd care to elaborate on what ME1 was doing 'different'. Because beyond the introduction of the conversation wheel it was pretty much building on exactly the same model Bioware had used with Kotor & Jade Empire, just a bit prettier. As regards ME2 Vs ME1, one of the huge overall criticisms with the first game was the clumsy inventory system (a point raised by fans and critics alike). In ME2 they addressed that by minimizing it, however they reduced it too much. With third game I'd say in that regard they hit around about the right balance in terms of required complexity. Similarly there was a lot of player & critic feedback about the shooting in the first game and the plain fact that what you saw was not what you got in terms of effect, which created a huge disconnect. If you're putting player aim into a game, then it should have an impact. A perfectly centred sniper shot would miss a target for instance and drag you out of the moment. Bioware addressed this in ME2 and the play experience was better for it. These changes weren't made as a result of 'evil' EA's intervention, they were made in response to critical reception of the first title from reviewers and players alike.

I've loved this series from the very start of the first game, and was almost beside myself with anticipation in the months leading up to the release of the two sequels, but quite frankly I'm just done with this universe.

It's been a bit more than 5 years now, and I feel like I've learned and experienced everything I wanted to about the Mass Effect universe. I have literally no desire to see another game in this franchise.

Mass Effect was one of my favourite franchises this generation with the original, adored the lore and universe Bioware so carefully created. But while I enjoyed Mass Effect 2, I disliked the changes they made and the final mission that wasn't fun at all despite all the constant praise it was getting.

It's probably best summed up in saying that I have had no interest whatsoever to play Mass Effect 3 so I doubt I'll be to excited for Mass Effect 4 unless something revolutionary is done... which I doubt.

The Mass Effect universe is the most realized and fleshed out universe this generation and even if the resolution to the Shepherd saga wasn't the what you wanted anything that they will make I will happily play!

I don't know where they'd go with it, but the ME universe is one of my all time favorite. I'd rather have them not follow Shepard anymore. But making somehing pre-ME3 would just feel pointless. I don't know, man.

I loved the ME series and its my favorite series this generation and probably my fav game this generation( ME 1 or 2 toss up). So I am excited for this new game in the series but I do wish Bioware would make a new IP. Bioware are very creative so I really want to see what new ideas they have; still this is good news to every fan of the ME series.

Yes, but I liked the Singularity ending. Love me some ME. The whole story in great, but I am ready to move on past Shepard. It appears the major concern of many ME fans is that one of the endings is made cannon. But at this point, I'd suggest just accepting that the ending fiasco happened and either move on or try to enjoy the game for what it is.

Also, people are still up in arms over at the BW forums. So many "I am not gonna buy this" threads... personally I do not understand the reasoning behind making such posts.

I'm very interested. Bonus points if I can either be or have an Elcor or a Hanar.

I'm pretty excited. I totally support picking up similar mechanics and taking them into essentially another world and story (ala Final Fantasy) so I'm excited at the prospect of a new story.

Besides maybe they'll take the hint from the reception of ME3's multiplayer and let you create an Alien main protagonist similar to how DA:Origins let you pick a different race.

Tbh i don't see why anyone would be "excited" for ME4...

The fact that some devs/project starters quit after ME3 doesn't help

The ME universe is anything but "original" or "hard" to replicate, hell id prefer a universe that made just a little bit more sense. Not to seem picky but when your universe is based on not understanding the difference between "matter" and "shit that is not matter" and thus inventing FTL travel + space travel with rare elements and colonizing hostile planets for the sole purpose of... mining fuel ( "solar" power and star winds say hello ) and common minerals that would be way easier to reach on habitable planets if you drilled deep enough. Add to that the space child bs and the ton of events that happened within ME1-3 that contradict the lore, logic and themselves. I would say other than the name the universe is pretty undesirable to play.

Other than the universe, if you exclude Shepard, what do you have ? The 3 enemies at a time spawn, corridor + undestructable cover and bullet sponge easy to hit enemy system that also included the non recoil, non projectile weapons and lacked any kind of physics at all... well, I have a hard time seeing what market that is aimed at. But than again, CoD sells in the dozens of millions so who a I to guess.

Give me Mass Effect: Stories from C-Sec and let me play as Garrus or Captain Bailey and we got a game.