E3 '07: Mass Effect Trailer Impressions

During Microsoft's E3 press conference here in Santa Monica, Microsoft showed off a new trailer for Mass Effect, BioWare's new exclusive role-playing game for the Xbox 360. It appeared that the bulk of the content was cutscene-related, and the new insights were relatively spartan. We did immediately note that one of our favorite actors, Keith David, did the bulk of the voice work in the demo, leading us to hope that we get to experience more of his dulcet tones in the game.

The plot of the game revolves around a mysterious alien commander who appears to be driven by a genocidal drive to wipe humanity from the galaxy. Anyone who's read the prequel novel based in the same universe as the game, Mass Effect: Revelation, will recognize said villain as likely being Saren, one of the elite soldiers for the united galactic government that incorporates numerous alien species. His race was involved in a skirmish with humanity before the humans were incorporated into the galactic community, and bad blood still exists between the races, which apparently spills over into a rather dire conflict during the course of the game.

Saren's ability to effect his genocide will apparently revolve around mysterious new technology, including some kind of matter-warping device that apparently sucks up a human during the course of the trailer. A number of other small scenes appear as well, with some third-person shooting with the requisite futuristic weapons thrown into the mix.

The trailer ends off with a huge space battle, showing that Mass Effect will at least attempt to capture some of the epic scope of BioWare's much-beloved Knights of the Old Republic. Microsoft did wind up seeming to confirm a solid November release date for the game, so we can expect to get a nice RPG around the same time that we'd normally get a Halo title.