It's no secret that Mass Effect 3's original ending really stepped on the toes of fans of the series (and that's putting it lightly). They had fallen in love with the characters and the world, and for a series all about choice there was very little to be had in the original ending. Still, at least BioWare did the right thing by listening to fans and tried to fix the ending with a patch. In what could be an attempt to make amends with fans, the developer has been actively asking the Mass Effect community what they'd want from the next game. Apparently the general feeling is that they want something new and BioWare seems content to give them just that. While no gameplay footage has been released, it looks like Mass Effect 4 will be set in the same universe as the first trilogy, but it won't feature Commander Shepard or any of their teammates. Mass Effect 3 may have left a bitter taste in people's mouths, but it's nothing an amazing new game set in a new galaxy won't fix. The scope and believability of the universe BioWare has created has always been its greatest asset, so it makes no sense for them to tread on familiar ground. So, to sum up: a brand new galaxy with brand new aliens and moral conflicts with brand new gameplay mechanics on brand new console hardware. There's no way Mass Effect 4 won't be great.
