ME3 Reviews, Manly Shepard, Planet Scanning (again

The air is stilling in anticipation for the plunge, the moment is fast approaching; Mass Effect 3 is nearly here.

Early copies have already been distributed to notable videogame review sites and such. IGN is having a Mass Effect 3 Review In Progress.

Obviously, there will be some spoilers, but should you be interested in keeping up with that over the week, go read it at IGN.com.

ps3.ign.com/articles/121/12194…

In other spoiler-related news, a new associate of mine, goes by the name SinDr0me, asked me to showcase a rather exclusive piece of news--from what he tells me-- on his site, WeAreLegion.

This particular one has heavy spoilers pertaining to certain, unannounced, new squadmates for ME3.

Read at your own discretion: wearelegion.nl/news.php?fn_mod…


Do you want Naked Shepard? Chances are, the answer is yes. Indeed, since the days of ME1 have fans been clamoring for more of the nudity seen--however tastefully--in the first romances. Some even going so far as to demand Bioware shamelessly flaunt Shepard's magnificent mammaries or fantastic phallus in all its digital glory. Obviously, for many there is a certain line that need not be crossed, but the general opinion is that they wish to see more birthday suit.

Well, I have news for you:

It ain't in Mass Effect 3.

For those of you who kept in mind the fact that the ESRB rated ME3 to have "Partial Nudity" you probably weren't getting your hopes up. However, "Partial Nudity" does imply the absence of at least some clothing. Amongst those things, I can tell you with no small amount of certainty, that there will be Shepard in strutting about in his or her underwear.

I can personally attest to seeing a--to be rather frank-- spindly female Shepard pictured in her intimates here on this very site. And sources elsewhere have provided me with this: i42.tinypic.com/aesm4n.jpg

The first thing I honestly thought of was a Mass Effect version of this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSS5dE…

It fits. Perfectly.

Whilst on the subject of things preferably done when in one's underwear or various state of sartorial absence, the Planet Scanning mini-game--the near universally hated mini game from ME2-- and its form in ME3 have been detailed in IGN's Mass Effect Wiki Guide.

Read here. www.ign.com/wikis/mass-effect-…

Highlights:

"The ultra-streamlined scanning of Mass Effect 3 only requires you to navigate to a point of interest using the compass-like cursor. Once you get here you can launch a probe. You have an infinite amount of probes, and you don’t need to purchase them."

"If there is no Reaper on the system you want to explore, you are safe to travel and scan it as you please. However, if you begin scanning in a Reaper-infested system, the Reapers will move in and attempt to capture the Normandy. If you are caught, you will be returned to your last save outside of the Galaxy Map."

"The Reaper Alertness meter in the lower left region of the screen will reveal how many more scans you can perform before alerting the Reapers. To escape the Reapers, you must simply pilot the ship out of the current system. You can do this by using a Mass Relay or by just cruising out of the solar system -- at the expense of fuel."

Well, that certainly gives new credence to the Normandy's nature as a stealth frigate.


Lastly, we're very very near ME3's release. For spoiler-sticklers, you might want to consider going dark. Or at least partially dark.

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And if you're interested in a multiplayer match, let me know. I'll probably not be able to get on very often in the near future, but if you ever find yourself in need of a salarian Infiltrator with the might of the Widow at his disposal, feel free to send me a note. I'm on US Easter Standard Time.

Should you have a headset, you can even heckle me at my Liara-propagandizing blogging habits!