The Mass Effect series has been hailed as the Star Wars of our generation, and for good reason. Over just three games, Bioware has built a believable universe full of lore, characters and technology, a world we want to live in. Although some fan reaction to the latest in series, Mass Effect 3, was negative,
Bioware went ahead and announced a new game anyway yesterday. The founders of Bioware, who have since retired, expressed interest in developing an MMO set in the universe. This article is here to demonstrate why this is not a wise course of action. MMO's, particularly Bioware MMO's have failed in the past, and, because of these reasons, it would fail again. Epically.
1. Mass Effect is a Shooter
Mass Effect games have been, and will hopefully always be, third person shooters. MMO's involve a whole lot clicking and auto combat, so this style of gameplay wouldn't really fit the series. Aside from that, Mass Effect gameplay revolves around the idea of being part of a squad, and the combat is something was worked on significantly between each new entry in the series. Take an MMO like Star Wars: The Old Republic, my MMO of choice. The gameplay is just a whole bunch of clicking on abilities and moving around awkwardly. This would never and could never suit a Mass Effect game, a series based on squad combat. Not having a direct control over movement, aiming and shooting would go directly against everything the series has worked for so long to achieve: Third person perfection. There is simply no way MMO gameplay would work unless the gameplay was like classic Mass Effect.