Let me start off by saying I'm a tremendous fan of Mass Effects 1 & 2. I have had some concerns about #3 simply because of the unbelievable expectations I think the game is going to face, ranging from the success of the last 2, to the excellent trailers, to the addition of multiplayer and events like the VGA's naming it most anticipated game of 2012. Well, while my wife it out of town this week with her best friend and friend's kids at Disney World:
I was downloading and playing this:
Sadly, it was just the demo and not the actual game (which I have on pre-order for my 360 - collector's edition to boot). That said? I felt as though the demo was excellent. It started you off with just a bit of back story, introduced some important characters, and let newcomers experience the conversation wheel used to hepl make decisions that sometimes greatly impact the plot and at other times just add a personal slant to the story.
Then you are taken to a fairly tense battle scene later in the game, and given plenty of points to invest into your squad so you can get a feel for the leveling system including the branching skills. AGain, I just love how heavily you can customize your experience. Make no mistake, there is an RPG game at the heart of this title, but when the action starts, it's more Gears of War than Legend of Zelda. The speed of the gunplay and the cover mechanics are fluid and tighter than ever. In one sequence I charged into a trio of enemies, shooting one with my assault rifle just before reaching him, did a melee strike with my omniblade on another, and then swapped to my piston, meleeing the remaining guy. He staggered back and I popped him with a headshot. It was an exciting little sequence.
