Mass Effect 4: 10 Ways It Can Revolutionise The Franchise
6. Cooperative Exploration
Mass Effect 3 saw the addition of cooperative multiplayer wherein four players fight off waves of enemies in a similar fashion to the horde mode of Gears of War. It was a good time to be had in small doses, and the ability to play as other alien species was a treat. But it didnt exactly break new ground. In fact it wasnt even the best of its kind. Given historical evidence, the next Mass Effect will undoubtedly have a multiplayer mode of some kind, and if it doesnt want to be cast aside as a mere tagalong to the single player, it needs to be really special. Another horde mode clone isnt going to cut it. Since Mass Effect should never include PVP multiplayer, it should be cooperative in nature. Cooperative multiplayer in Mass Effect should compliment and even add to the single player without being intrusive. Since it's known that the next game will emphasize exploration, the multiplayer should allow friends to work together within the game world. Fans dont just want to shoot things together; they want to exist and interact within the Mass Effect universe together. A simple narrative reasoning could supplement this design decision. Maybe every player is part of an elaborate N7 initiative to explore a new galaxy and discover new alien civilizations. Every player could have their own custom N7 character and ship. If players so choose, they can enter each others games and explore together. It would be so incredibly cool to board a friends ship and set out across the galaxy together. Again, the multiplayer should compliment the narrative and not detract from it; the single player campaign should absolutely take precedence over any multiplayer. But if Bioware is going to bother at all with multiplayer, it may as well serve the single player experience and enhance what is already there.
