If trailers showing off plenty of gameplay, quick cuts, throbbing music and over-the-top action, then the latest teaser trailer for Mass Effect 3 isn't for you. Before you think that's necessarily a shot at the trailer itself, we'd suggest that you take a look at exactly what the Reaper invasion of Earth will mean on human terms.
For anyone who has been following Mass Effect 3, the plot centering on defending - or perhaps more accurately reclaiming - Earth from the sentient robotic race know as the Reapers is old news. Even the characters themselves are hard to form a serious relationship with, since there power was only hinted at in the original Mass Effect, and completely ignored for its sequel. Now we're slowly seeing more of the carnage they can wreak upon Earth's population, and how Shepard is the only one who can stop them.
With the newly released Mass Effect 3 demo already tossing players into the fray of combat, it's important to step back and think of the greater story being told. Shepard might use his new combat abilities to take out a hundred Husks in a single sitting, but what about those he doesn't eliminate? What about the cities around the world caught unaware by a race bent on complete extermination? What about the people? What about the children?
That's the question hinted at by BioWare in the newest trailer 'Take Earth Back.' Although it's just a short teaser, you may be even more motivated to slap on that Omniblade after seeing it for yourself:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Esung4vdTCI
As far as cinematic trailers go, the developers are obviously saving their most stirring ideas for last. It's simple enough to say that ME3 will be a story of war, and impossibly high stakes as humanity faces extinction. But to actually see what kind of tone and unsettling terror they hope to convey says more than slogans or plot synopses ever could.
With the demo itself packing a few stirring images and events, it's not hard to see why the game's script and plot brought some of the voice actors to tears. And as much as hardcore fans will argue that the third game will be endlessly more significant for those who have played all the way through, seeing a child in distress is a surefire way to get even newcomers engaged, and ready to pick up a weapon. For the mothers out there who were particularly moved, there's even a new FemShep who seems just as determined.
This is just a teaser of the full trailer set to play during AMC's The Walking Dead on February 19, so fans will need to tune in to see it in its entirety. With this short look, are you more confident that BioWare will have the right amount of drama to give the series a send-off?
Mass Effect 3 will be released for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC on March 6, 2012.
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