Mass Effect 4: 12 Brand New Features You Need To Know About

2. Tons Of Loyalty/Timed Companion Missions

Another one for the "Hey, we listened!"-pile put together after the close of 3; as one of the coolest ways to do more in-depth character dialogue with any crew member was to get stuck into their loyalty mission.

It helped give you a glimpse into what their life might be like if the galaxy-wide threat wasn't in effect, and fleshed out some brilliantly nuanced things like Thane's dedication to his craft versus how it impacts his son, or Miranda's eventual revenge arc on her father.

Even that description makes you realise how impactful and important they were to the overall story and immersion of the franchise - which was why it was so maddening they were nowhere to be seen in ME 3 - instead replaced with the idea of getting entire colonies and people on your side; only for that to be utterly pointless by game's end.

ME 4 is switching gears back to the exemplary part two's approach to building your squad, as Loyalty Missions make a return to main crew members, as well as a new twist being put on certain ones - they'll be timed.

The example given is if a Krogan supply convoy looks to be under attack, you've only got a certain amount of time to help out or let the whole thing fall apart.

Hopefully this won't devolve into GTA IV's take, where if you literally don't have time to do certain actions with friends their respective 'Like Meters' automatically deplete into hatred, and it can instead make for some brilliantly dynamic choices where you're weighing up the pros and cons of helping out a friend versus ruining a deal set in motion with someone else.