Mass Effect Andromeda

[Mr.TaLaL]

It's been three years since the last Mass Effect game, but the fourth installment in BioWare's space opera RPG series is finally on its way to Earth. Officially unveiled at E3 2015, Mass Effect Andromeda will be unlike any other Mass Effect game we've seen so far, giving you a whole new adventure, and a whole new part of the universe, to explore and get stuck in with. Much of the game is still shrouded in mystery, as Bioware only gave us the tiniest of teaser trailers to whet our appetite at this year's E3, but we've rounded up every last scrap of information currently available to give you the best idea about what to expect next from Canada's foremost RPG studio. Here's everything we know about the game so far.

It's not a lot to go on, but thankfully BioWare has been more forthcoming about the game in previous teaser trailers. The E3 2014 trailer, for instance, showed potential story ideas and conceptual prototype footage from the initial stages of development.

 

The studio said that the top player request was to go somewhere completely new and play as new characters, so BioWare will be doing just that. You'll be playing in a whole new region of space in Mass Effect Andromeda where you'll be able to pick a planet on the other side of the galaxy and go and explore it. You'll also be playing a new, customisable human protagonist, although you'll still be conneted to N7, the military designation held by Shepard before s/he became a Council Spectre.

Since then, BioWare's also released some concept art, showing just how large those worlds will be compared to your tiny Mako. These huge open spaces should definitely give you a lot of room to manoeuvre your vehicle across its varied terrain, but it looks like you'll also be traversing more familiar-looking space stations alongside these huge planets. 

 

Gameplay and story

These planets could well the biggest yet if the latest rumours are to be believed, as a user on Reddit has supposedly filled out an official survey about the game that reveals several potential story points and gameplay details. According to the survey, the game will take allegedly place in the Helius Cluster, which is a cluster of hundreds of solar systems in the Andromeda Galaxy that's thousands of light years across and four times the size of Mass Effect 3. You'll also be "far removed by time and space from Commander Shepard's heroic acts and the final events of the Mass Effect trilogy".

 

Your human avatar will supposedly be "a pathfinder, [who's] a combat-trained by untested explorer leading an expedition into the Helius Cluster to establish a new home for humanity." Your main objectives will be collecting resources, building colonies and scouring the land for ancient Remnant alien blueprints that will allow you to craft better weapons and equipment. A jetpack jump and cyro-beam are mentioned, the latter of which can be upgraded to target specific enemies or deal wider area damage.

 

You'll supposedly have seven distinct crew members on your team, all of which have their own personalities and abilities. Much like the previous games, you'll be able to bring two of them with you when you go out on missions. One such team member is (potentially) called Cora, who can deploy a biotic shield that can protect you and your teammates but still allow you to shoot incoming enemies.