Mass Effect 3…can you feel it? It’s less than two months away, and will conclude one of the greatest science fiction stories we’ve had the privilege to play through in quite some time. We’re kind of sad to see it go, honestly, but at least Bioware is making sure that the trilogy ends on a high note. And what’s more, if you’re getting the Xbox 360 version, you’ll be picking up on an exclusive feature that’ll change the way you play for the better. Bioware demonstrated this exclusive new feature to us when we checked out the latest build of the game at a recent private event this past week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. We had a chance to sit down with Bioware’s community manager, the lovely Jessica Merizan, who walked us through the Kinect integration of the game. Now, I know what you’re thinking. Kinect integration= moving your arms around like an idiot and trying to hold an assault rifle like you did in the poorly realized Blackwater, right? Wrong.
Bioware’s perfectly aware that Mass Effect 3 is best played as a traditional action game, so it has left the control scheme the way it is, using the Xbox 360 pad to shoot enemies and set up special powers to take down bigger foes. So what is the Kinect used for then, exactly? Well, it’s really all about voice commands. While that sounds gimmicky, the fact of the matter is, it actually frees up some of the actions you would call for with buttons, instead leaving you free to concentrate on shooting bad guys and getting to where you need to go in a stage. Now, the stage Bioware showed us was no different than the one we saw previously at San Diego Comic-Con, taking place in a small outdoor base being invaded by enemies while cohort Mordin Solus keeps an eye on an incapacitated ally. However, the way we played through it was a bit different because of the use of vocal commands. And after Jessica showed us how they could be implemented into the gameplay, we gave it a try for ourselves. Voice commands are separated into two parts, but are executed the same way.
You can either shout out commands for Shepard to perform actions, or shout out commands to your fellow team members to have them do something. Case in point – if you want Shepard to do something, simply shout out something such as “Activate” (when you’re near a switch or door) or “Switch Weapons”. You can even say which weapon you want to switch to, or set up a special ability once it’s available. Now, when you want your allies to do something, you say their name first, then immediately give them the proper command, depending on what you want them to do. So, say, for instance, your teammates are James and Liara. If you want James to fire off a quick devastating shot on an enemy, you’d say, “James, Carnage!” And he’s blast them a second later, acknowledging your request. Then you’d say something like, “Liara, Statis!” and next thing you know, they’re floating in mid-air, letting you go wild with your weapon. (On a side note, if the command has to do with movement or something non weapon-related, they’ll provide a voice response to let you know they heard you.)
This featured preview concludes on the next page, please click Page 2 below to read more of our impressions on Mass Effect 3's Kinect integration.
