Mass Effect 3 demo dropping February 14

Flowers and chocolates are traditional gifts on Valentine's Day, but this year BioWare wants to add Reapers and Omniblade daggers to the list. The studio today announced that a demo for Mass Effect 3 will arrive on Xbox Live, the PlayStation Network, and PC on February 14.

The demo for Mass Effect 3 drops gamers into the title's opening sequence, allowing players to slog through the initial Reaper attack on Earth. Additionally, the game's demo will give players a taste of the franchise's new co-op multiplayer mode. The Mass Effect 3 demo for the Xbox 360 is fully compatible with the Kinect for the game's voice-recognition features.

The demo's co-op mode unlocks on February 14 for those with a Battlefield 3 online pass and via "other opportunities" that BioWare says will be announced in the near future. The multiplayer option in the demo will open for all on February 17.

Playing the Mass Effect 3 demo will give players more than just a taste of the full experience. As announced last week, those who play the Mass Effect 3 demo will unlock the N7 Armor and Omniblade Daggers for EA's upcoming fantasy role-playing game Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. The N7 Armor is based on Commander Shepard's iconic apparel, and the Omniblade Daggers are holographic blades that let gamers stab foes in close quarters.

Mass Effect 3 is due out on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on March 6 in North America, with a European release following on March 9. For more on Mass Effect 3, check out GameSpot's most recent hands-on preview with the trilogy-capping space role-playing game.