Mass Effect 3 Demo Hits all Platforms - Impressions Inside

Intergalactic adventurers - rejoice! The demo for Bioware's third installment in the highly acclaimed Mass Effect series is now available for download on all platforms. The demo includes two chapters of the single player campaign, one being set later in the game to give players a grasp of all the new skills and abilities available to Commander Shepard. Players are given the choice between three modes to experience the campaign: Action, Role Playing or Story depending on how you choose to play the game:

• Action - Jump right into the action as the iconic Commander Shepard. Combat difficulty is adjustable. Conversations play as cut scenes.
• Role Playing - The traditional Mass Effect experience. Customize your character and choose dialog responses.
• Story- Customize your character. Experience and control the interactive story without difficult combat.

Physical enhancement options return including Soldier, Infiltrator, Vanguard, Sentinel, Adept, and Engineer - each offering various combat, tech or biotic specialist options to personalize your Shepard. Unfortunately, players are not given the option to import their file saves from previous Mass Effect titles for the demo so don't expect to have all of your favorite abilities on hand.

Part one of the demo starts at the beginning of the campaign, introducing the player to the imminent peril that the Reapers will soon 'bestow' on Earth. Having stepped down from his militant duties, the once Commander Shepard finds himself basking in the ease of a life filled with warm food and clean sheets. This inevitably all changes when a full on Reaper attack interrupts the comforts of the peaceful planet. Captain David Anderson informs Shepard of an incoming assault, bringing on a series of tutorial circumstances to re-familiarize players with the game's mechanics. Scaling the now damaged buildings of a futuristic Earth, Shepard and Anderson fight side by side to reach a landing bay to board the Normandy in order to plead the Citadel Council for aid.

The second part of the demo jumps further into the campaign, giving the player twenty-three skill points to enhance Shepard whatever way they please. Now aboard the Normandy, Shepard speaks with his familiar crew member Wrex the Krogan about an issue that has upset him; a female Krogan is being held captive and is needed to prevent the extinction of the Krogan race (lucky for Wrex), since apparently females are few and far between.

Other fan-favorite members make a return, including Liara and Garrus - both offering their aid in the upcoming, action-filled mission. Landing on an unfamiliar planet, Shepard's crew is greeted with instant hostility, as a Cerberus fleet is after the same Krogan as Wrex, thus inciting a bullet-filled confrontation between the two parties. The demo ends with an exciting, albeit fairly difficult boss battle of which I will spare the details for those who would like to experience the demo first hand.

For those of you who are members of the Alliance Network (to be so you must first create an account with EA's Origin), you can experience a small portion of Mass Effect 3's new multiplayer mode. Unfortunately, I do not have an account with Origin so if any readers do, feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.

In other Mass Effect 3 news, Executive Producer Casey Hudson posted on Twitter this weekend that ME3 has officially gone gold, stating, "many surprises await you - this week and beyond." It looks like we can look foward to March 6 being the official release date for Mass Effect 3 on all platforms.