What would you do during a Reaper invasion?

The latest TV spot for Mass Effect 3 seeks to form a more human connection with its audience by portraying, well, real humans, whose 22nd Century Earth-lives are ground to screeching halt by the invading meta-destructive race. Legend has it they haven't feasted on civilization for about 50,000 years - so you can expect that some serious binging is about to ensue.

Arriving before the dust even settled from last week's explosive "Take Earth Back" cinematic, BioWare's Mass Effect 3 TV trailer depicts the same event and employs the same stirring tagline at the end, but is comprised of live-action sequences surrounding a cast of nameless citizens from around the globe.

Check out the minute-long clip right here:

httpv://youtu.be/0DSCFQcR08E

It's not the first time Mass Effect 3's marketing campaign has featured live action footage; back in July of last year, we saw how Earth's TV stations would cover the breaking news of worldwide destruction. The latest ad, though, gives us the "boots on the ground" perspective of urbanite families, revolting rioters, young lovers, a congregation of worshippers, and an Alliance soldier rocking some shiny N7 replica armor that we wouldn't mind owning for ourselves.

It goes to show that no matter how enormous the production value and visual spectacle of a CGI trailer, you still can't match the raw, tangible emotion of a real-life crisis (or at least the actor portrayal of one).

The one-minute ad is also a perfect length for TV commercials and can smoothly be cut to 30 seconds for the bulk of game's post-release marketing blitz. It's likely we'll be treated to at least one more Mass Effect 3 trailer before the March 6th debut (an official launch cinematic, for example - hopefully on par with Mass Effect 2's launch trailer, which is easily one of the best in this gaming generation), but expect to have this one committed to memory by then.

Ranters, how do you think live-action trailers stack up against the bombast of CGI?

Still on the fence about Mass Effect 3? Check out our full coverage from demo impressions to previews to screenshots to even more trailers. Check back with Game Rant for the latest updates and content!

Mass Effect 3  releases on March 6, 2012 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.

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