Assassin's Creed: Revelations

Assassin's Creed: Revelations is a historical action-adventure open world stealth video game developed and published by Ubisoft. It was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in November 2011, and for Microsoft Windows in December 2011. It is the fourth major installment in the Assassin's Creed series and the last chapter in the 'Ezio Trilogy'. The game is a direct sequel to Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, with the three protagonists from the previous games Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Altaïr ibn La-Ahad, and Desmond Miles returning as the main protagonists.

Synopsis

Setting

Revelations features all three of the series' major characters so far: Desmond Miles, Altaïr ibn La'Ahad and Ezio Auditore da Firenze. The main part of the story takes Ezio to Constantinople in 1511 AD, consisting of four districts: Constantin, Beyazid, Imperial, and Galata; Cappadocia during the rise of the Ottoman Empire, part of which is a completely underground city populated solely by Templars;and Masyaf, where the old Assassins' stronghold is located (featured in the first Assassin's Creed game), to which Ezio travels at the beginning of the game. He discovers Altaïr has sealed within the fortress an ancient artifact that is said to be a powerful weapon which could end the Templar-Assassin War forever, and had the keys hidden in Constantinople. Ezio uses these relics of the "First Civilization" that hold memories of Altaïr to relive Altaïr's experiences, during which players control Altaïr.
The game continues Desmond's story in the present day, following the events of Brotherhood, where he is trapped in the Animus 2.0, in a comatose state, in which he has found a safe mode known as "the Black Room". Here, Desmond must find a "synch nexus", a key memory that links him with Altaïr and Ezio, to reintegrate his splintered subconscious and awaken from his coma. While in game, Ezio meets a variety of historical characters, including: Manuel Palaiologos, an heir to the now-lost Byzantine Empire; Byzantine Templars lurking in the shadows of Constantinople; and Prince Suleiman, a man who will one day become one of the Ottoman Empire's greatest Sultans; and his uncle, Prince Ahmet.

Plot

Present-day protagonist Desmond Miles has fallen into a coma from the events of the previous game. To save Desmond's mind, he is placed in a specialized area of the Animus called the Black Room. Upon awakening inside the Animus, in a location called Animus Island, he meets the consciousness of Subject Sixteen, who occupied the Animus before him. Sixteen explains that Desmond's mind is broken, and the only way for him to repair it is to play through his ancestors' stories until there is nothing left for them to show Desmond, at which point the Animus can separate Desmond from Ezio and Altaïr, and awaken Desmond from his coma.
Desmond enters Animus Island's memory portal, which places him back in the perspective of Ezio Auditore. Ezio has traveled to the former Assassin's fortress in Masyaf to unlock secrets Altaïr had previously discovered, and find the true purpose of the Assassins. Upon arriving, he finds Masyaf taken by the Templars, who mark him for death. Ezio escapes to the bowels of the castle, where he discovers the entrance to Altaïr's library.He learns that five disc-like "keys" are required to unlock the door; that the Templars have one underneath the Ottoman Sultan's palace; and the rest lie hidden in Constantinople, part of the Ottoman Empire.He travels there and is greeted by Yusuf Tazim, leader of the Turkish Assassin Order,and befriends a young student named Suleiman. Ezio learns that the keys were hidden in the city by Niccoló Polo. While searching for the old Polo trading post, Ezio encounters and befriends Sofia Sartor, a young Italian traveler and book collector, and eventually falls in love with her. Ezio discovers the locations of the remaining keys with Sofia's help, all the while keeping his intentions, growing feelings and position a secret from her.
Meanwhile, Constantinople is in chaos due to conflicts between Prince Ahmet and his brother Selim, who are quarreling over who will inherit the Sultanate. Caught in the middle of the conflict, Suleiman reveals to Ezio that he is an Ottoman prince, and that he suspects the Templars are behind the feud. Ezio uncovers evidence that Manuel Palaiologos, with Templar support, is attempting to raise an army to overthrow the Ottomans and reestablish the Byzantine Empire. Ezio kills Manuel and recovers the final key,only to discover that Ahmet is the true mastermind of the Templar plot to open Altaïr's library.
During these events, Ezio uses the keys in his possession to witness Altaïr's life after the events depicted in the first game. After killing Al-Mualim, Altaïr took possession of the Apple of Eden and assumed leadership of the Assassins. One of the Assassins, Abbas, did not support Altaïr due to past events, and for killing Al Mualim. When Altaïr and his wife Maria left Masyaf for 10 years to repel the Mongol invasion, Abbas staged a coup d'etat, seizing control of the Assassins and executing Altaïr's youngest son Sef. Altaïr sought revenge; but as Maria tried to stop him, Altaïr's rage was felt by the Apple of Eden and killed Maria. Altaïr was forced to flee with his elder son, Darim, and went into self-imposed exile for 20 years. Altaïr finally returned to Masyaf, killed Abbas, then took his rightful place as the Assassins' leader. In the process, Altaïr told the dying Abbas the truth of the latter's father's death.Years later, an aged Altaïr encodes his memories on the five keys Ezio would find, entrusting them to Niccoló.
In Constantinople, Ezio discovers that Ahmet has killed Yusuf and kidnapped Sofia, demanding the keys in exchange for her life. Ezio agrees, but immediately gives chase upon ensuring Sofia's safety. He recovers the keys, but before he can deal with Ahmet, Selim arrives with his armies and executes Ahmet himself, after saying that their father "made his choice." Due to his son Suleiman's endorsement, Selim has Ezio leave Constantinople, warning him never to return again. After completing this memory, the Animus begins to delete excess data—including Animus Island. Sixteen sacrifices himself to prevent Desmond from being deleted by the Animus.
Ezio and Sofia return to Masyaf, where Ezio uses the keys to unlock Altaïr's library. He finds it empty except for Altaïr's skeleton and a sixth key. He discovers that the library was not meant to hold books—rather, it was a vault meant to house Altaïr's Apple of Eden. Through the key, Ezio learns that Altaïr had sealed himself inside to preserve its secret from the Templars. Ezio leaves this Apple in the library, saying "I have seen enough for one life."  He then begins talking directly to Desmond, not knowing exactly who (or where) he is, but knowing that he is watching. He tells Desmond of his intention to retire from the Assassins, believing he has served his purpose. He expresses hope that Desmond will be able to find answers to the questions he and Altaïr had worked so hard to uncover.
Suddenly, Desmond is approached by Jupiter, a member of the First Civilization. He explains that the First Civilization had built numerous vaults to study methods to save the planet from destruction. All of the data collected was transmitted to a central vault, where the data was tested. None of the methods were effective, however, and they failed to stop the solar flare from destroying their civilization. Jupiter tells Desmond that he has the power to save the planet from a second solar flare, showing him the location of the central vault. Desmond wakes up from his coma and finds Rebecca, Shaun and his father William Miles standing with him. He tells them that he knows what to do as the Central vault located underground activates.

Multiplayer plot

The multiplayer aspect has its own plot from the Templar perspective. After training to become a Master Templar and being allowed into the Abstergo inner sanctum, the player is implanted with a tracker to ensure his/her trustworthiness. It is implied that Daniel Cross (Subject 4) is a member of the Templar inner sanctum. After reaching level 50 in the multiplayer, the player is dubbed an active agent, and assigned the task of retrieving the current Assassin Order Mentor, William Miles.

Gameplay

Main article: Gameplay in the Assassin's Creed series

The main protagonist, Ezio, can use the hookblade to access ziplines across the environments. The hookblade is one of the new features introduced in Revelations.

The game follows the series' standard open world gameplay in the Ezio and Altaïr Sequences, where the game's main story takes place. New gameplay additions include an item called the "hookblade", which can be used to zipline across the city or grab enemies to yank them in for a combo attack. The hookblade reportedly speeds up navigation by around 30 percent. Along with the hookblade, Ezio also has around 150 different bomb variations at his disposal, which are to be crafted. The game features new "Desmond Sequences", "Dali-esque" first-person platforming missions in a radical departure for the series.These "Desmond Sequences" can only be unlocked by collecting a certain amount of Data Fragments hidden throughout Constantinople. Data Fragments are a new type of collectible in Revelations, replacing the Borgia Flags of previous games in the series.
Also added and expanded are seizing districts of the city from the Templars. While capturing a district is very similar to Brotherhood, the Templars will attempt to recapture districts, which Ezio must defend using a "tower defense" minigame, where he controls a group of Assassins from rooftops against several waves of Templar soldiers and siege equipment. Similar to Brotherhood, initiates can be sent on missions to other regions, eventually wresting control from the Templars, and then using the city to produce a stream of income and new Assassin recruits. The game is playable in full 3D across three platforms: PlayStation 3, PC, and Xbox 360, with the console versions supporting both stereoscopic 3D mode for 3D HDTVs and for 2D HDTVs. All Revelations gameplay and cinematics have S3D support.

Multiplayer

Multiplayer gameplay also makes a return in Revelations. The mode expands the basics of online modes from Brotherhood with new characters and locations. Players are able to customize their characters' appearance and weapons, as well as start a guild and create its unique coat of arms. Matchmaking and game interface are also improved. Ubisoft says that while the component is returning, they're putting greater focus towards the narrative, as it's the heart of the franchise. As players level up in the multiplayer game, they move up in their Abstergo Templar rank and gain access to more information about the company.
New multiplayer modes are added to the already existing modes, including "story-oriented quests", as well as a much requested Capture the Flag mode. Some multiplayer maps are based in the island of Rhodes.Among the new additions is a new multiplayer mode - Deathmatch - which differs from the previous multiplayer gameplay in that there is no compass pointing toward your assigned target, rather, there is a box in the top right of the screen where your current target is displayed, which glows blue when you enter the line of sight of your target. There is also Simple Deathmatch, which also removes the abilities and perks from the players.
The multiplayer function is protected by the Uplay Passport system on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360,which requires a code for access. Codes are included in all new copies of the game, but are tied to a single Uplay account. This means that players who purchased their copy second hand will need to purchase a new code to access the multiplayer. Uplay players can buy a new Passport code online or activate a free trial.

Mass Effect 3

Mass Effect 3 is an action role-playing gae developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Officially announced on December 11, 2010, the game was released March 6, 2012 and marks the final chapter in the Mass Effect trilogy of video games, completing the story of Commander Shepard.

Gameplay in Mass Effect 3 is influenced by decisions made in Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2, for players who have completed those games. Combat has been changed and refined; in particular, the cover system has been improved, there are more options for moving around the battlefield, instant melee kills and more conventional grenades are introduced as well as improved artificial intelligence. A four player multiplayer co-op mode is also available

Gameplay

Players with saved files from Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 are given the option of importing them into Mass Effect 3. If a saved file is imported, over 1,000 variables are pulled that will help shape how the final chapter is experienced. If there are no saved files available, there are no origin-story comics for new players to help them make quick decisions like there were in Mass Effect 2. Imported characters' appearance and class are changeable, with more features and hair-styles included in the character creator than in Mass Effect 2. Commander Shepard will always start the game with some powers. Upon finishing the game, there is a New Game+ option that allows players to continue playing after the main story ends or start again with their finished Shepard and collect items they missed the first time around. The game has 82 minutes of cut-scenes

Mass Effect 3 has three pre-set campaign modes: Action Mode, Story Mode, and RPG Mode. In Action Mode, conversations will have automatic replies and a normal combat difficulty. In Story Mode, conversations will have manual replies and a minimal combat difficulty. In RPG Mode, conversations will have manual replies and a normal combat difficulty. This last mode is reflective of the typical Mass Effect series experience. Overall, the RPG elements in the game have been improved over those in Mass Effect 2, with a more detailed leveling up system and increased weapon customization. To level up characters, players will have skills that start along a single path and then eventually splinter into two branches where they can select only one upgrade or the other along a sequence of possibilities. Players will also be able to customize their weapons with different scopes, mods, barrels and ammo types. There are 25 weapon mods total — five per weapon type — and each of them will have multiple power levels to collect. To select dialog options, players can use Kinect to speak their choices instead of selecting them with a controller.

As of August 23, 2011, BioWare has confirmed the return of previous characters Liara T'Soni, Kaidan Alenko or Ashley Williams, Miranda Lawson, the Illusive Man, Garrus Vakarian, Legion, Samara, Morinth, Tali'Zorah, Urdnot Wrex, Jack, Mordin Solus, David Anderson, Zaeed Massani, Kasumi Goto, Kelly Chambers, Thane Krios, Jacob Taylor and Ambassador Donnell Udina from Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2. Some characters will not return if they were killed at any point during the previous games. The number of characters available as permanent squad mates are smaller than in Mass Effect 2 for the purposes of deeper relationships and more interesting interplay, including same-sex relationship options for both male and female Shepards. If players achieved a love interest in both Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2, then both previous love interests vie for Shepard's attention in Mass Effect 3. This "love triangle" is resolved by the end of the game. BioWare has also confirmed new characters names James Vega  (voiced by Freddy Prinze Jr.) and Diana Allers (voiced by Jessica Chobot, a staff writer from IGN).

The search and analysis mini-game has been changed from Mass Effect 2. Rather than scan individual planets, a setup described as tedious and boring  the Normandy scans a region of space for salvage or War Assets. If these are detected on a planet, the scanner system is still used to locate, but planets are no longer scanned individually. If an area being scanned has been invaded by the Reapers, the Reapers will eventually detect the Normandy's scans and move to intercept it.

The ongoing war against the Reapers is controlled by War Assets and Military Readiness. War Assets are collected throughout the game or are provided from previous game accomplishments. Military Readiness is predominantly affected by the multiplayer aspects of the game. As the player's Readiness increases, War Assets become more valuable. The number of Assets and the player's Military Readiness determine the player's success in the final battle against the Reapers.

Combat

Combat in Mass Effect 3 has been changed and refined from Mass Effect 2, and further emphasis has been put on third-person perspective aspects to make the game more commercially viable. In a preview for IGN, editor Arthur Gies went so far as to say the game "plays like a shooter" and that "combat-wise, Mass Effect 3 is in an entirely different space" from the first two games. In an article for bitgamer, Joe Martin gave a conflicting impression, noting that with regard to combat, "not a lot has changed".

The series' cover system has been improved so players no longer need to slide into cover and then hop over objects. Players will have more options for moving around the battlefield, including a refined sprint capability, combat rolling, and the use of climbable ladders. Players can also blindfire their weapons from covered positions, and have opportunities to shoot selected armor pieces and limbs off enemies. Verbal orders can be issued to move squad mates and use their powers with the use of Kinect. Moving and shooting, a "suicidal maneuver" in Mass Effect 2, will be a viable option because of a revised melee system. Players are able to execute formidable punches and attacks, and instant melee kills are introduced specific to each class; for example, by holding down the melee button, a soldier Shepard will deliver a killing blow with a tech-blade in his/her wrist armor. Actual, round, conventional grenades will also be available.

Mass Effect 3 plans to be the most difficult in the series, with increased artificial intelligence to challenge players and increase the sense of reward. Enemies no longer act as individuals as they did in the previous games, instead fighting and supporting each other in units. Enemies include 15-foot (4.6 m) tall Cerberus mechs, assault troopers, and ninja-style shock troops, as well as Reaperized husks of all races and Reaper ships ranging from 500 to 2,000 metres (1,600 to 6,600 ft) long. Some changes are made to already-existing class types; for example, Engineers are able to build turrets.

Multiplayer

Mass Effect 3 will offer a multiplayer co-op mode called "Galaxy at War".In the mode, players are able to play alongside up to three other players in unique missions that can impact the outcome of the single player campaign. Each mission was designed specifically for multiplayer, and will involve taking over enemy strongholds. By completing these missions, players will give themselves a better chance of attaining a perfect ending in the single player campaign; although, they are not necessary to do so. The mode has been compared to Gears of War's horde mode.

No characters from the single player campaign are featured in the multiplayer mode. Players will create brand new characters for themselves and be able to play as members of non-human species, including asari, drell, krogans, salarians, and turians. Every race will have unique powers – such as a "Krogan Charge" for krogans and different movement options out of cover between drell and humans. All classes are playable. The maximum level that created characters are able to reach is 20, and just like in the single player mode, leveling up will include skill branches.

The majority of missions are wave attacks in various locations against different enemy factions. The selections during configuring the game can affect experience gained and the overall difficulty of the mission. During the missions, random tasks will be assigned, allowing for the collection of credits to purchase equipment between missions. After a certain number of waves, the players retreat to an extraction point which they must hold until extracted.

Equipment and characters are acquired by the purchase of kits which contain random weapons, characters, and mods. The kits are purchased with multiplayer in-game credits or Microsoft Points.

Gameplay in the multiplayer mode will only allow for players to carry two guns at a time in their inventory, and there is no ring menu to change weapons; instead, weapons are changed by holding down a button. Only three powers per class are also available as opposed to those available during the single player game.

Downloadable content

As with the previous games, downloadable content (DLC) allows players quests that may or may not be tied to the main story. The first DLC mission is called From Ashes, which was leaked onto Microsoft Xbox Live Arcade. This gives players a Prothean squad mate, one weapon, an alternate costume for Shepard's squad, and lets them revisit Eden Prime, a world from the original Mass Effect. It is available as a free incentive to those that pre-order the N7 Collector's Edition. It was available the same day as the game.

The second DLC pack is called the Resurgence Pack, released on 10 April 2012, for free. It includes 2 new multiplayer maps, new weapons, and new character classes and races to be unlocked in multiplayer--the Asari Justicar Adept, Krogan Battlemaster Vanguard, Batarian Soldier, Batarian Sentinel, Geth Engineer, and Geth Infiltrator.^[

Synopsis

See also: Plot of Mass Effect, Plot of Mass Effect 2, and Setting of Mass Effect

The Mass Effect series of videogames details the adventures of Systems Alliance Commander Shepard as he/she tries to defeat a race of machines called the Reapers. In the Mass Effect 2 DLC Arrival, Shepard is contacted by Admiral Steven Hackett, who requests Shepard go into batarian space to rescue a deep cover agent named Dr. Amanda Kenson. After rescuing Kenson, Shepard learns that the Reapers are close to returning and delays them by destroying a mass relay. Consequently, 300,000 batarian colonists are killed and Shepard is ordered to appear on Earth for a trial regarding his/her decision.

Setting

Locations in Mass Effect 3 will include the salarian homeworld Sur'Kesh, the asari homeworld Thessia, the turian homeworld Palaven, the quarian homeworld Rannoch, a human mining base in a Martian crater, and a giant city on Earth representing the combination of Vancouver and Seattle. Players will also return to Tuchanka — the krogan homeworld — and the Citadel.

Plot

See also: Characters of the Mass Effect universe

Mass Effect 3 begins on Earth, with Commander Shepard relieved of duty for the consequences of his/her actions in the Mass Effect 2 DLC pack Arrival, as the forces of Earth are overwhelmed by an oncoming Reaper onslaught. Admiral Anderson tasks Shepard with uniting the forces of the galaxy while he coordinates human resistance forces on Earth. Before leaving the system, Shepard stops at a research facility on Mars and saves former squadmate Liara T'Soni from Cerberus troopers. T'Soni has discovered blueprints in the Prothean ruins to a weapon that may have the power to destroy the Reapers. The blueprints are forwarded to Hackett, who dubs the weapon "The Crucible" and begins preparations for its construction.

The Citadel Council is reluctant to provide aid to Earth with Reapers attacking their own systems. To foster goodwill, Shepard is sent on various missions throughout the galaxy, gathering allies for the ongoing war and resources for the Crucible. In addition to opposition from the Reapers, Shepard must also fight the pro-human organization Cerberus, as the organization's leader, the Illusive Man, believes controlling the Reapers is better for humanity than destroying them.

Key missions include:

Delivering a cure to the krogan genophage, to unite krogan and turian forces. Shepard must decide whether or not to actually cure the krogans or trick them to gain support from the salarians, who first devised the genophage to stop krogan expansion.

Repelling a Cerberus attempt to take over the Citadel. If Shepard can't convince former squadmate Kaidan Alenko or Ashley Williams (one is guaranteed to have died during Mass Effect 1) that Councilor Udina organized the attack, Shepard must kill him/her. Udina dies in the process and Shepard encounters to Cerberus operative Kai Leng for the first time. Shepard may also be able to win salarian support by saving their Councilor from death at Leng's hands.

Dealing with the quarians' attempt to retake their homeworld Rannoch from the geth. Shepard can side with one group in annihilating the other, or unite them.

Defending the asari homeworld, Thessia, from the Reapers, whilst simultaneously attempting to gather information critical to the Crucible's construction. Shepard is directed to visit a specific asari temple, which contains a secret Prothean VI, Vendetta. Just as it is about to reveal information on the Catalyst, a crucial component of the Crucible, Kai Leng ambushes Shepard's team and steals it.

Attacking Cerberus headquarters, as the first step towards repulsing the Reapers. The Illusive Man escapes, though Shepard kills Kai Leng and recovers Vendetta. It reveals that the Citadel itself is the Catalyst. Because the Illusive Man has been indoctrinated, he has shared this information with the Reapers, who have moved the Citadel to a defensive posture in Earth's orbit; as such, the series' final battle takes place there.

Admiral Hackett assembles the galaxy's forces and delivers an attack on the Reapers designed to retake the Citadel and combine it with the now-completed Crucible. Shepard is part of the assault on London, identified as the focal connection point from Earth to the Citadel. Due to heavy opposition, Shepard and Admiral Anderson are the only ones able to actually make it aboard the Citadel. They meet an obviously indoctrinated Illusive Man and manage to stop him, but not before Anderson is mortally wounded. Shepard opens the Citadel and the Crucible docks with it.

Shepard is then transported to the pinnacle of the Citadel, where the Crucible is docked and an artificial intelligence (resembling a child Shepard saw die on Earth) appears, identifying itself as the Catalyst and the Reapers' creator. It reveals that the Reaper cycle is an attempt to prevent organic life from wiping itself out by creating synthetic life; creators, the Catalyst argues, are always doomed to be destroyed by the created. The Catalyst characterizes the harvest as an ascendance, wherein advanced organic races are preserved in Reaper form and space is left for more primitive species to rise, evolve, and advance.

Since no other cycle had ever assembled the Crucible, the Catalyst has lost faith in the Reaper Cycle's ability to achieve its goal. Depending on the player's Effective Military Strength, the Catalyst gives Shepard up to three choices: destroy the Reapers and all synthetic life (including Shepard, who is partly synthetic), take control of the Reapers directly, or convert all galactic life into a new form that is a synthesis between organic and synthetic life. Regardless of Shepard's choice, all three endings result in Shepard's apparent death and the destruction of the entire mass relay network. London, and by extension the rest of Earth, can suffer varying degrees of additional damage, dependent on the number and strength of the allies Shepard gathered. The Normandy, fleeing Earth via a mass-relay jump, crashes and becomes stranded on an alien planet.

If the player's Effective Military Strength is high enough and the "destroy" ending is chosen, Shepard is briefly seen lying in ruins, potentially still alive. Finally, a post-credits sequence depicts an old man (voiced by Buzz Aldrin) and a child on an alien planet. looking at the stars. The child asks the old man to tell him another story about "the Shepard", implying that Shepard's legacy lives on.

Development

Origins

From the start, BioWare envisioned the Mass Effect series as a trilogy, with the first two games being a preamble to the third.  For this reason, BioWare was able to begin production on Mass Effect 3 before Mass Effect 2 was even released. The game was directed by Casey Hudson, who previously led the production of the first two Mass Effect games and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. To design the game, BioWare made sure to use fan feedback, similar to what they did for Mass Effect 2. In particular, the game's development team paid close attention to past mistakes in the series as well as the critical failings of other BioWare titles such as Dragon Age II. The team was able to devote most of their time to gameplay and storytelling because, according to BioWare Edmonton General Manager Aaron Flynn, they didn't have to worry about technology as it was "pretty maxed out". Initially, the game was predicted to be released at the end of 2011 or early 2012.

The lead writer of Mass Effect 3 is Mac Walters, who previously wrote on other games in the Mass Effect series as well as Jade Empire.  One of the goals set by the writing staff at the beginning of production was to treat the game like a movie and make sure that players playing it for the first time would "just be able to jump in". Emphasis was put on making the story user friendly for players inexperienced with the franchise because BioWare felt they "didn't do a really good job of new player orientation" in Mass Effect 2. To begin the writing process, Hudson and Walters sat down and created a story document no longer than three or four pages that contained all the major plot points. Once the document was complete, Walters took the document to the writing staff and began filling out minor details including minor plot points and missions. Once these details were complete and the "backbone of the story" was established, each writer was put in charge of specific levels and missions. Work done by each writer was reviewed in-depth by the rest of the writing staff and others.

Reveal

On December 10, 2010, Electronic Arts posted the official synopsis for Mass Effect 3 on their website, although the listing was later removed pending an official announcement at the 2010 Spike Video Game Awards. The following day, the game was confirmed for a "Holiday 2011" release and accompanied by a teaser trailer. On March 21, 2011, Tricia Helfer announced via Twitter that she would reprise her role from Mass Effect 2 as EDI, and had already started voice-recording sessions.  Seth Green soon followed, announcing that he would reprise his role fromMass Effect 2 and the first Mass Effect as Joker.

The first detailed information regarding development of Mass Effect 3 started being released in April 2011. On April 20, Belgian website 4gamers.be reported that BioWare were collaborating with Battlefield developer DICE in weapon development for the game.^[  The same day, Game Informer released the first-ever screenshots of Mass Effect 3 to help promote their May 10 cover story. On May 3, 2011, IGN announced that Mass Effect 3 would be presented and demoed by Electronic Arts at the 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo. The next day, BioWare announced that the game's release date had been pushed back to early 2012,^[  in part so it could be tweaked to appeal to as wide a market as possible.^[  On June 1, EA Games' online store uploaded artwork by mistake which revealed the game will have Kinect support.  The artwork was later removed. At the 2011 E3 Convention, BioWare finally confirmed Kinect support in a gameplay video. The game's collector's edition, cover art, a new teaser trailer and official release date of March 6, 2012 were also revealed. For the first time, fans were shown actual gameplay videos, including a 15 minute demo supervised by Casey Hudson. At Comic-Con 2011, fans were given an opportunity to play a demo version of the game. Hudson and lead writer Mac Walters were both in attendance, with Hudson sitting on the Legendary Pictures panel to talk about the upcoming Mass Effect film and Walters sitting on the Dark Horse Comics panel. At Gamescon 2011, a new trailer was released demonstrating 50 seconds of combat gameplay.  The game was also demoed at PAX Prime 2011. 

Max Payne 3

Max Payne 3 is an upcoming video game and the third title in the Max Payne franchise set to be published by Rockstar Games for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Development is led by Rockstar Vancouver in collaboration with the New England, London and Toronto studios. This is the first game in the series not to be developed by Finnish game developer Remedy Entertainment and not being written by series creator Sam Lake. The lead writer of Max Payne 3 is Dan Houser, who was also the writer of most games in the Grand Theft Auto series, and of Red Dead Redemption. ameplay Max Payne 3 is a third-person shooter in which the player assumes the role of its titular character, Max Payne. Max Payne 3 will feature the over-the-shoulder zoom aiming and cover mechanics. However, these will just serve as garnish to the game's classic run-and-gun shooting. Max Payne 3 will also make return of bullet-time in action sequences, which the franchise is notable for. In bullet time it will be possible to see every bullet make a hole in your foes. There will be a "Last Man Standing" mechanic, which gives Max a reprieve from death for a small period if he has one painkiller on him. If the player is able to kill the enemy that delivered the wounding shot with bullets he'll recover enough energy to soldier on. Max Payne 3 retains the shoot-dodge mechanic from the previous games. Max will also be able to stay grounded after a dive, which enables him to shoot 360 degrees around. Rockstar has blended physics and animation, so that when Max dives around, he does so appropriately according to his surroundings. Through advanced utilization of the Euphoria physics engine, shooting and killing enemies in Max Payne 3 will look noticeably more realistic than in any preceding Rockstar games as well. New to the series are cinematic action movements, interactive cut-scenes which will transition seamlessly into continuing gameplay. Moreover there will be no loading screens across gameplay and cutscenes. Multiplayer The game's online multiplayer features maps and modes that dynamically change within a match, as well as reward, ranking and clan systems. Max Payne 3 will let players form private crews with friends, or join public crews. Players can be a member of up to five at the same time, and completing tasks as a crew will gain XP points for the player. Among the crew features promised are persistent Feuds, that see the player scrapping with opposing gangs who've killed someone on the team. Social Club integration connect play across multiple titles, starting with Max Payne 3 and Grand Theft Auto V. By playing both games multiplayer "crews" that the player set up in one will be carried over to the other. Synopsis Plot According to Rockstar's Sam Houser, it is their intention on starting a new chapter of Max Payne's life with the game. "This is Max as we've never seen him before, a few years older, more world-weary and cynical than ever." Since the last game, the press release states Max has left New York City behind and has "drifted from bad to worse." The press release then goes on to say Max has been double-crossed in this new city and he is searching for the truth and a way out. The game will be set in São Paulo, Brazil, where Payne is working in the private security sector for a wealthy local family, set eight years after the events of the second game. Max Payne now works in executive protection for the wealthy Rodrigo Branco in the hopes of escaping the memories of his troubled past. When a street gang kidnaps Rodrigo's wife, Max is pulled into a conspiracy of shadowy, warring factions threading every aspect of São Paulo society in a deadly web that threatens to engulf everyone and everything around him. Characters Rockstar initially claimed that series staple James McCaffrey would not return to the role of Max Payne, instead opting for an older actor. However, in Edge it was confirmed that James McCaffrey will not only return to voice Max Payne, but will also return in a full acting role through motion capture. Development "We've been blessed with being able to actually see the game and give some feedback. We've been meeting with Rockstar and looking at Max 3 – it looks absolutely phenomenal – the nice thing is we've been giving our feeling on the game but at the end of the day we don’t have to do any of the heavy lifting, which is nice. Rockstar don't make bad games, so you already know it's going to be good. Just like we hope the Remedy brand is a seal of quality, you know that Rockstar's brand is a seal of quality. It's been nice to be part of the process, but we don't want to take any of the limelight. From what we've seen it's going to be absolutely fantastic." —Oskari Hakkinen, Remedy Entertainment franchise development head. The game was originally scheduled for release in late 2009. However, it was pushed back to 2010 alongside several other Take-Two Interactive franchises in order to "benefit from having more development time." In June 2010, the game was again pushed back to 2011. On December 21, it was not present on the 2011-2012 calendar year, and was pushed back again. The game was still in development and not canceled or indefinitely halted when Rockstar released two new screenshots for the game. On September 8, 2011 Rockstar announced a March 2012 release date for the game, with a debut trailer released on September 14 In January 2012, Take-Two delayed the game by two months from its original March release date to May 2012. The publisher said the decision's been made to "ensure that Max Payne 3 delivers the highest quality." The debut trailer was released on September 14, 2011. Responding to criticism regarding the decision to abandon the film noir theme of the previous games in the series, the writer for the series, Sam Lake, responded by commenting that the game would "maintain its dark and gritty origins" and that fans of the series would be "in for a surprise." Remedy boss Oskari Hakkinen praised Rockstar's take on the series, and said Max Payne 3 looks "brilliant" Rockstar conducted research to ensure that the vibe, culture, police, weapons and every element of São Paulo, Brazil is as authentic as possible. The research team visited São Paulo several times and went to lengths researching the local gangs, police and special forces, including each group's choice of equipment and firearms. In a November 2011 interview, Dan Houser of Rockstar Games said that despite what the general public might think, Rockstar likes to "spend a bit of time" at the end of projects before deciding what to do next. "Basically we have been meaning to start [Max Payne 3] for a while, but we have limited bandwidth and limited studios, and more games to make than we've started. So suddenly it was a good slot," Houser said, explaining why it took eight years to follow up Max Payne 2. "Also, contrary to a lot of people, we like to take a little bit of time at the end of a game before starting a sequel, so we can wait for the excitement or disappointment and everything else of the experience to shake down and really see what we should do in the next game." In March 2012, it was confirmed that the PC version of the game will feature DirectX 11 and stereoscopic 3D rendering. The Xbox 360 version of Max Payne 3 will be shipped on two discs due to the disc size limit; however, the PS3 version ships on one Blu-ray Disc. Marketing and release Mural ad for the game at the Figueroa Hotel in Los Angeles, March 2012. Max Payne 3 will be Rockstar's "biggest and boldest marketing effort thus far". Highlights of the campaign will include prominent TV spots during the Champions' League finals and other mainstream programming, as well as outdoor campaigns. Rockstar Games ran a competition where its Twitter followers who tweet using the #MaxPayne3 hashtag through January 13 2012, could see their likeness featured in the title's multiplayer. Rockstar also ran another competition to win a trip from New York to São Paulo to attend at Sonar São Paulo, get a customized Max Payne 3 Xbox 360 console, and play the game a week before its official release. Rockstar collaborated with several retail outlets on pre-order bonuses available through several store chains throughout the world. The Cemetery Multiplayer Map is a map pack, where pre-order customers get early access to the map. The Silent Killer Multiplayer Loadout Pack includes the "devastatingly destructive" Light Anti-Tank Weapon, the slippery character burst to quickly escape a deadly firefight, and the listening device item that amplifies hearing, allowing the player to hear approaching enemies from a greater distance. Those who pre-orders the game from specified retailers receive a code that allows to get the game's first paid Multiplayer DLC Pack for free. A "Special Edition" of Max Payne 3 is available for pre-order. The "Special Edition" includes a 10" tall collectible Max Payne statue, series of game-inspired original still life art prints, bullet keychain (copper and brass-plated iron bullet-shaped) and Max Payne 3 official soundtrack. Exclusive multiplayer content consists of Classic Multiplayer Character Pack and Disorderly Conduct Multiplayer Weapons Pack. A three-part Max Payne comic book series will be released just in time for the launch in the third game. Published in partnership with Marvel Custom Solutions it'll explore the events of the original Max Payne game and its sequel, as well as delving a little further back in the protagonist's troubled past. Rockstar boss Dan Houser and Sam Lake of original developer Remedy are authoring the books. The series will be released as a digital graphic novel and in limited print editions. Both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions features rewards respectively for PlayStation Home and Avatars. Rockstar re-released the first Max Payne, subtitled Mobile, for iOS devices on April 12, 2012, with the Android version launching later. Max Payne Mobile has been optimized for both iOS and Android devices and features HD graphics, high-resolution textures, Social Club connectivity and user-customizable controls. The Rockstar Games Social Club is a website that displays the gameplay statistics of registered users and feature competitions and awards based on player activity within the game, which will support both Max Payne Mobile and Max Payne 3.