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Mass Effect 3 due holiday 2011

Following rumors, BioWare's next game is confirmed as arriving late next year; story will involve the invasion of Earth by Reapers. Trailer inside.

358 Comments

Within minutes of the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim being revealed at tonight's VGA ceremony, another heavy hitter in the role-playing game genre was officially unveiled--albeit with a lesser element of surprise.

Mass Effect 3 is setting its sights on a holiday 2011 release season.
Mass Effect 3 is setting its sights on a holiday 2011 release season.

Following a premature reveal on Electronic Arts' online store, Mass Effect 3 was officially unveiled via a brief trailer. "Two million dead in the first day, another 7 million by the end of the first week," said the voice-over, which sounded much like British actor Sean Bean. Onscreen, a sole sniper is seen bearing down on a target--the same sniper that had been seen in leaked screenshots from developer BioWare.

"Every defense annihilated, all our forces on the run. Regrouping…somewhere," the voice-over continued, showing the sniper leaning out a shattered window." Reports are coming in from other major cities It's a well-coordinated attack, and so far, it's been damn effective. Don't know what they are, what they want, or where they came from…only one thing is certain--if Shepard doesn't bring help soon, there won't be any earth to save."

The camera then cuts to show that the sniper is in Big Ben, the bell tower of the British Parliament. Meanwhile, across the London skyline, numerous Reapers--the sentient mechanoid spaceships that were central to the plot of the first Mass Effect, are descending, wreaking havoc.

The screen then showed that Mass Effect would have a release date of holiday 2011, right alongside the Elder Scrolls V. Though no platforms were mentioned, the EA Store leak had the game as being released for the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.

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marblegrimes

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If they are trying to be pc, then what about all them poor souls in sweat shops, slave labour, round the world who never get a holiday, bet that pisses them off, but I forgot they don't earn enough to buy the game, sod them.

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mtbrdude87

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They never specified which "holiday".... trying to be PC gamespot? The name of the holiday I think they're referring to is Christmas. Who does the word "Christmas" offend anyways? I've been calling it that all my life and I'm not religious. Anyways.. I hope it comes out on the next holiday. Maybe Valentines day? St Patty's day? Easter ( another 'christian' holiday, yet you still say happy easter for it)...

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neodestroyer

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@toddx77 - if you have shadow broker lair and look at videos you will see one of the keepers(20) start acting strange.

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Yams1980

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I liked Mass Effect 1 and 2, so 3 is gonna be great I hope

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GrScorpion

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i know what i want from santa this holiday . . . . to bring me the next holidays a.s.a.p.!!!

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topsemag55

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Can't wait for Mass Effect 3 - I have 23 saved games to choose from for importing.:D

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fLaMbOaStiN

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I actually loved playing through as a Infiltrator on #2 then a vanguard in #1 :) soldier is the last class i played and was impressed with that also

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Tennies07

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Great I'm pretty sure my PS3 is going to die in the month of November between Mass Effect 3 and Skyrim. Is it just me or are developers throwing everything possible at us to get us excited for 2011? Anyways still looking forward to picking up Mass Effect 2 when it releases for the PS3 so I can finally jump into the series.

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tsiper

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@flamboastin Your completely right. I have multiple playthru's and characters on both and 280 hrs in the first and a good 130 in the second and If I played thru again wich I will I will most definetly find something new. Bioware and Mass effect ROCK!!!!

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tsiper

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OH MY GOD THIS IS AWESOME!!!!!!! I so can't wait Mass Effect is my favorite series, MGS, and Halo are up there as well but wow Mass Effect is definetly my addiction of choice!!!

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DarkKingCielo

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@MooncalfReviews: Oh god, not DA:O style missions. That is just too much marathon gaming. Once you start a main mission, you can't stop.

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puppetmaster123

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@ Toddx77 They needed the citadel as a mass relay because it put them at the control center of the entire galactic community, essentially shutting down mass relays travel and communication. Also if they would have started from the edges and worked there way in, eventually they would lose the advantage of a surprise attack. Anyways, pulling off a surprise attack on earth would be no problem because no one believed Shepard, so they wouldn't expect it.

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InExcelsis

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Can't wait for this game to come out played through the first 2 multiple times each.

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Crashbox45

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Well, I guess you guys can hold on to your Tali plushies now because I believe when the game comes out, expect an AWESOMELY EPIC END TO THIS AWESOMELY EPIC GAME SERIES!!! Now, that I got that out of the way, I'll just go and mind my own buisness. :)

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kaem79

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Strange comments? I won't say anything here because of potential spoilers. Still I will pre-order and enjoy playing ME3 =)

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toddx77

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@Hercules321 Yes, My guess is they have some trick because on the mass effect forums someone mentioned it would takes a very long time (i dont remember if it was in thousands or millions) from the location we saw them. What I find interesting is how Virgil says the reapers attack was perfect because with access to the citadel they had all the knowledge of every planet and could easily appear through the citadel and begin their surprise attack. Now he british solider says their attack well cordinated and damn effective. That just made think why do the reapers need the citadel as a mass relay if they can still do such an effective surprise attack. So the reapers must have some other way of getting to earth just as fast as using the citadel.

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Hercules321

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@toddx77 Are you talking about the shot where it shows a bunch of Reapers in space coming towards the galaxy? If so than yeah it certainly shows them coming towards Earth but it does not explain how. Its not a big deal, Bioware will explain how I'm sure in the game or somewhere.

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SolidSizzle

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Awesome trailer! Still haven't even discovered all that ME2 has to offer :D

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Wombaggins

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I wished they hadn't revealed this so far away from its release date. Now I am really depressed since I'll have to wait for a year. :(

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irwin888

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This one's gonna be the best story of the year, I'd wager

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WaffleBlaster

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Hmm, Elder Scrolls 5, ME 3, Skyward Sword, The Old Republic, Gears 3, OoT 3D, Kid Icarus Uprising, RE:Revelations, Pokemon Black and White, Red Faction Armageddon, Dead Space 2, and ass load more that I'm forgetting. 2011 is gonna be so win!

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Kid2812

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Uncharted 3, Killzone 3, Resistance 3, Last Guardian, Final Fantasy Versus 13, Motorstorm 3, Beyond Good and Evil, DMC, BlazBlue: continuum shift (Already came out but havent had the time to buy it), Alice 2. And now we have Mass Effect 2 & 3. Guess 2011 is going to be a busy year for me.

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thenephariouson

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Who else reckons 'Adept' is by far the best class : )

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fLaMbOaStiN

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@wilson336 I never said the plot was "hard" to follow.. All i said was you're not going to get everything out of it in one play through, it's impossible.. Especially because depending on how you go into certain situations will determine the outcome of the events.. Playing through on renegade will be very different then playing through as the good guy.. And i'am sure Bio Ware is gonna include multiple different "endings" for #3 depending how you played through #1&2.. That's why i have multiple different mass effect characters.. 2 good guys.. 2 renegades.. On 3 of my saves the only person *spoiler* that died on my whole entire team on #2 was Legion *end spoiler* then i have one save where everyone survives.. If i wanted too i could go play ME1&2 right now and STILL have a completley different play through and discover something new to the plot even tho i've beaten the game already multiple times..

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thenephariouson

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Got 7x varied saves ready to go, and although this is almost 12 months away, i simply cant wait!

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CannedWorms

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@pakrulez It always has been.

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jacyp

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The voice sometimes reminded me of Jason Statham. Looking forward for this game.

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katanajut

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Shepard and the gang are gonna pwn some Reapers

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snakes_codec

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wooo London dats where i live

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steelmouth

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@Fantasy_Dragon like i said i was never a rpg fan, i just got into mass effect because of all the noise, but greatv game tho according to all the fans right

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ParisSun

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Sweeet!!! So many great games, what am I to do?

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blackace

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Must have game of the year. 2011 is going to be crazy good. ME3, Forza 4, Gears 3, UC3, Twisted Metal, Elders Scroll V: Skyrim, Dragon Age 2, Diablo 3, Resistance 3, Last Guardian (hopefully), Zelda, Test Drive Unlimited 2, Shift 2, Infamous 2 and so much more.

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HaloPimp978

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2011 is going to be one of the greatest years in gaming history. BTW the ME 3 trailer was awesome :D

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VideoGamerNerd

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It. Looks. Amazing. 8)

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MooncalfReviews

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Everyone worrying that you wont get to travel space in this game need to relax. Think about it! He says that Shepherd needs to bring help. You'll have a mixture of travelling the galaxy to get people to help the humans out (Dragon Age Origins style), and missions to liberate earth.

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Max1363

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Well...after releasing ME2 on PS3 it's clear ME3 will appear on PS3 and I think it will be timed exclusive for Microsoft.

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deactivated-58483ebbc3a2b

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i am literally crying

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imbusydoctorwho

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we have 3 threequals next year. They might call t the year of the threequals

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DarkZero_0x

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I hope we get to go to earth before the Reapers do for storys that involve earth.

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dlvryboy

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Mass Effect 3 FTW (PS3 version 1 DISC)

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riou7

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riou7  Moderator

Cant wait for this one :)

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Phazevariance

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Mass Effect 3 FTW (360 version)

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d_khan

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Ooooooooohhhhhhh.... YYYYYYEEEEAAAAAAHHHHH :-D Soooooo awesome, it makes me want to cry.

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margimargi17

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@nickery123 they will never take us alive LOL

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Phil-teh-Pirate

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Looks like those pesky student protesters finally got their hands on war of the worlds gear.

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PJ7312

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@ sleepnsurf Gamespot just hasn't reported it yet. Check IGN, it's all three platforms.

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deactivated-60c3d23d2738e

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I don't see a PS3 tab to pick from at the top. Says 360 and PC:)

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SicklySunStorm

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So it'll be multiplat, but which console will steal the exclusive DLC for a not-as-yet-determined finite length of time(?) You know it will happen, and all the fanboys of the console left out will be waaaghing and commenting like there's no tomorrow. I'll just wait for a later GOTY or similar edition and buy it complete with all DLC as I tend to do now with big RPGs. It saves a lot of cash and with so many great games around anyway, I can wait....

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Reilly86

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London gets attacked… The only thing that can save us now is Boris Johnson power of speech…Cue cheesy cockney accents, as we are all in deep Barney, right then Guv, I’m off to use the old dog and bone. I wonder how much of the game will be set on Earth and how much will be set in space.

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wexorian

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Gonna get Both games leder scrolls and ME 3 no way i'm gonna miss any of it :D

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