Many would say that the Mass Effect series of games are one of the, if not the, greatest sci-fi games in history. But does the trilogy really need online multiplayer? The game already has the unnecessary addition of kinect integration through voice recognition...
After Australian magazine PC PowerPlay revealed through a preview of their next issue that the game will have multiplayer, BioWare announced the feature on their forums. It's going to come in the form of 4 player co-op missions. Although playing Mass Effect with your friends will probably be a lot of fun, my main concern is if the development of it has affected the development of single player as that is what people will be buying the game for.
The FAQ on the forums says that the scope or quality of the single-player experience has not been not affected by the development of multiplayer and that the single-player experience has always been BioWare's priority. However, it also states that "your progress in multiplayer will also have a direct impact upon the outcome of the single-player campaign" but later contradicts itself by saying: "And here's the final word on why multiplayer won't affect the single-player campaign in Mass Effect 3." I don't think that multiplayer is a necessary addition to every game, and I hope that BioWare know what they're doing and the single-player is still the absolute best that it should be.
I hope this isn't just BioWare's way of including an online pass with Mass Effect 3 like a lot of other games are doing at the moment to put people off buying their product pre-owned. Other shooters use multiplayer to offer players something more after (normally) a relatively short single player campaign but Mass Effect games have such a comprehensive single-player experience and will no doubt release DLC to extend that experience and I think that this alone will keep people playing and not trading it in. You can explore the whole universe for crying out loud! What more do people want? The universe is a big place though, so maybe you do need to explore it with your friends!
