Mass Effect 4: What We Know So Far

Mass Effect, BioWare’s popular sci-fi RPG is set for a big return at some point in the future despite negative reaction to its ending, but what exactly do we know about it so far?

[Godlovesgamers]

Story is lame and nearly completely void of any real substance apart from like one quote from a Bioware employee. What a waste of time.

[cesuf]

Sounds your projecting your own life story here.

[Godlovesgamers]

Maybe you should read the article before making such insulting and baseless accusations.

The article is mostly speculative and really a waste of time.

[medman]

So...we know nothing. Thanks for the update.

[Hufandpuf]

So, why is this game coming out again? Wasn't ME3 the end of the story?

[Sargerus]

It was the end of Shepard's story.

[Hufandpuf]

I know but what could you possibly face after the fact that the galaxy was almost destroyed.

[kasser]

I believe it is possible to establish a storyline before,during of after the first 3 games and it does not have to be "fight the reapers" kind of story.

and I believe they would avoid a story after the reaper invasion and have a story which occur during Shepard story, just like how Dragon Age 2 started during Dragon Age Origin storyline (and went beyond in late chapters)

[LonDonE]

or what about the rachni wars, or krogan rebellion, or the first contact war between the humans and turians? mass effect lore is so rich they could easily make a game based on any of the above and it would make hard core fans like me more then happy!! i just cant wait to see what mass effect will look and play like running on he frost bite engine, also don't forget that fros bite has some of the best animation systems around, can you imagine what the new game will be like? mass effect 4 should instead be called eg Mass Effect the rachni war etc and then maybe at some point i would love them to make a Mass Effect 4 with shephard as i refuse to let ME3 be his last game!! he just cant end our long relationship like that!!!

[aLucidMind]

The Leviathans. Hopefully not though.

[Godlovesgamers]

Good question. I believe the answer is "cash cow".

[aLucidMind]

Not sure how much theyll be able to milk it considering how poorly BioWare handled things and the entire thing with IGN.

[aliengmr]

Well, they did think "Reaper-kid" was a passable idea, so sky's the limit.

[Saika]

Bioware isn't quite ready to just drop Mass Effect just yet. They realize that while some people will accuse them of overusing the ME universe, most people would agree that we all want more. If you ever watched the BioCon vid from when the extended cut was about to be released (about the only time they ever answered any questions) they made it obvious that they are listening to us fans and the vast majority of us can't just let a universe like this just drop. There is just too much lore to sum up in three games.

[tigertron]

All we know is that it's in development and will be using Frostbite 3.

[SideShort]

"...at some point in the future despite negative reaction to its ending,"

Assuming the ending could derail the quality of the entire 3 games let alone the entire franchise? That's just.. pure entitlement. Cry babies. Grow. Up.

[aLucidMind]

Anybody who knows how to write a good story knows the ending can make or break an entire story. Mass Effect may still be my top favorite trilogy but anyone with eyes can see ME3s narrative was all over the place and the endings presentation was very poorly done. And considering youre the one insulting people for not liking the ending, sounds like youre the only one that needs to grow up.

[SideShort]

Sure, I can take that, about insulting people. That still doesn't change the fact I it's stupid to say the ending could kill the entire franchise. & @alien THAT IS ENTITLEMENT. You think the game should have done something YOU wanted. You think the franchise should end because you and 5 other monkies think the ending is terrible. Not to mention the unwarranted backlash. I don't care, I love Mass Effect. All I can ask you great "fans" is to please stay away from the 4th game. Because whether or not it's ending sucks, ME is a great franchise and I'm sure it's going to be a quality title. Guess what I'm sure of? the 4th game WILL get complaints. Why? because gamers are whiny and entitled no matter which way you go. So the less of you there, the better. Thanks.

[ForgivenZombie]

IMO the ending really ruined the series, there were at least a dozen better ways to end the game. It felt rushed to me, probably EA pressuring Bioware. I would have rather waited longer for a better game than what we got. EA has a history of bullying studios they consume to rush out games.

[aliengmr]

I don't think you know what entitlement means.

And yes that abortion of an ending killed every ounce of interest I had in the story, which was considerable at one point.

[aLucidMind]

It actually is not self-entitlement to state that the ending ruined the story for the individual, saying it is shows you don't know what self-entitlement actually is. It is all about the presentation, and the presentation of the ending was very poor. Yes, the Extended Cut helped make it better but only after the Leviathan DLC was released to properly foreshadow the Intelligence/Starchild did the presentation get better. It is more than easy to ruin a story with a bad ending. Are you telling me that you would be fine watching an incredibly good horror movie only to have it suddenly turn into an episode of My Little Pony with Sunshine-whats-her-face as the monster terrorizing everyone in the last five minutes with the ending being nothing but hugs and rainbows? Because that would honestly leave a bad taste in my mouth as I left the movie if I were expecting to be scared shitless and have an intelligently written conclusion to the plot and exposition (especially when you consider its $15 per person).

Most of the backlash was due to BioWare's piss-poor handling of the fans expressing discontent. Yes, there were a few who took it too far but you can't say individuals within BioWare hadn't falsely advertised parts of the game or that they were justified in flat out calling anyone who didn't like the ending idiots. The ending did disappoint me to the point of not wanting to play the trilogy again until a year later, which is considerable when you take that I'd played ME1 and 2 eight times total prior to ME3. Is that self-entitlement? No, self-entitlement would be "it wasn't in MY image so F-U", nobody who spoke out said or insinuated. I may be a fan of the trilogy and am content with the ending now, but BioWare's PR is what cost them my patronage and anybody with an ounce of maturity (let alone business sense) would see why. I praise them for their creation, but that is as far as it goes due to their behavior being just as bad as the immature children on attacking each other over "WE'RE the true ME fans cuz we like/dislike the ending!!!". It should have been handled better by EVERYONE, not just by those who didn't like the ending.

The less gamers there are, the better huh? So I'm guessing you'd enjoy the gaming industry crashing? After all, the customer base that keeps them afloat are the very people you're insulting. There is a difference between a complaint and whining, most of the discontent has always been mere complaints. You being unable to discern the difference between a complaint and self-entitled whining shows just how immature you are. Just because you're egocentric does not make everyone else self-entitled.

[MxRBrobaFett]

What we know so far. It may or may not be a video game and it will possibly maybe be called mass effect 4. You're welcome America

[Saika]

It will not be called Mass Effect 4. That's about the only thing made clear to us.

[ForgivenZombie]

mass effect 3 ruined the series for me, all the talk about decisions matter, when in the end it didn't. LAME.

[Saika]

The ending mostly came down to your in game completion. Obviously the decisions of previous Mass Effect titles helps.

[thelaughingwiseman]

It better be in the next generation of species. And the plot better be centered around the Dark Matter thing that was part of Tali's favor mission from Mass Effect 2. I mean exploding and deflating planets is a really bad thing to be happening in a limited galaxy.

[fossilfern]

Lets hope there is more exploration and less corridors with chest high walls.

[cesuf]

Gunna be a time machine like in the movie Star Trek. So Sheppard really doesn't die. And the simple mystery of sci-fi theater lives on.

[SideShort]

Yeah, not even going past the first sentence.

[LucidCow]

I'm hoping that ME4 will have you play the son/grandson of one of the prominent characters from the original series; maybe being related to Garrus or something. I also hope that, if you chose the right ending, you'd be able to find Shepard and he'd be someone you would be able to talk to for advice and stuff. They wouldn't have to make it a big thing for those who don't care, but if you did decided to go find him, then it would be a nice series of quests doing so just for all the fans (like myself) who are sad to see Shepman go. As for the story. I like [thelaughingwiseman]'s idea and i think they very well might even be thinking of doing something like that seeming as they were gonna do it with ME3 until EA, the bastards, rushed them. Don't blame the terrible ending on Bioware, blame it on EA! But yeah, darkmatter. What i don't hope they'll do is make the next game an 'all in one', a single with no sequel after it. I want a whole new storyline again. And hell i don't want it to be a prequel either. It would seem the whole time i'm playing a prequel ME game, everything i do is pretty much pointless and worthless as you know it will have no effect on the future when you're playing as Shepard. Maybe this time you're an assassin or something who uncovers a massive plot but then again, its not really as big as the Reaper Invasion. The only thing comparable to that, and possibly even bigger than, is the Dark Matter thing. They should go with the Dark Matter story. Fuck yeah they should. Please...