Despite a serious outpouring of fan disappointment over the From Ashes DLC for Mass Effect 3, BioWare is keeping their marketing train trucking undeterred. Of course, before getting to some of the more important promotional pieces for From Ashes, Creative Director Casey Hudson had to do a little damage control and hopefully set the record straight for fans that were making assumptions.

Now that the story has been further fleshed out — BioWare started work on From Ashes after Mass Effect 3 development was finished — it's time for that big marketing push as we get closer and closer to March 6th. The first, and official, part of the From Ashes promotion is a set of screenshots that were released over the weekend.

But, before getting to those screenshots, it's best to address two issues. The first is that these screenshots could be considered spoilers for Mass Effect 3, or at least for some potential story beats or poignant moments.

A summary for From Ashes has been circulating the Internet since it leaked on the Xbox Live Marketplace, but for those that were hoping to keep the final leg of their Commander Shepard trilogy as pure as possible, it's best to turn back now. But, before skipping over the screenshots, know that they look exactly like Mass Effect 3 in the truest sense, no bombastic sequences just plain talking and shooting.

For those that are interested though, continue on for the screenshots:

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As you can see the biggest reveal in the screenshots is the Prothean character that is the center of this entire DLC controversy. Since Mass Effect's overarching story has revolved around the Prothean's war with the Reapers, it has disappointed a wide group of fans to learn that getting to recruit a member of that race, and potentially get a little back-story, is locked behind DLC.

Combat wise, the DLC looks like run of the mill Mass Effect 3 content, so maybe it isn't as integral to the story as it seems. Those who pick up the N7 Collector's Edition of the game will be able to tell us for sure, but as of right now it still seems pretty important.

What do you think of these DLC screenshots? Based on what we know about the DLC so far do you feel it to be integral to the experience or purely additional?

Mass Effect 3 releases March 6, 2012 for the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.

Source: Joystiq