Happy Birthday Mass Effect 3!

Commander, you have received a new message at your private terminal!

The Trilogy Conclusion!

The story is the "epic conclusion" to the story that started in Mass Effect and continued in Mass Effect 2, as well as the conclusion of Commander Shepard's story. The player's choices in the previous games were expected to have a much more significant impact on the plot than the choices in Mass Effect had on Mass Effect 2.

 

As Mass Effect 3 is the end of the trilogy, the developers were not constrained by the necessity of allowing the story to diverge, yet also continue into the next chapter. This was to result in a story that diverges into wildly different conclusions based on the player's actions in the first two chapters.

Throughout Mass Effect 3, Commander Shepard will be bringing the civilizations of the galaxy together as allies to take back Earth and repel the Reaper invasion. The player's choices throughout not only Mass Effect 3, but the entire trilogy, will affect the fate of these civilizations and the endings the player can receive.

Brief History:

Mass Effect 3 was released on March 6, 2012, in North America, on March 8, 2012, in Australia, Switzerland, and Poland, and on March 9, 2012, in Europe. The game was originally slated for a 'Holiday 2011' release but was delayed to "[ensure] that it exceeds everyone's expectations" and "address a far larger market opportunity." Prior to that, Ray Muzyka had stated that the release timing would be based on maximizing both "quality" and "commercial success".

BioWare released a Collector's Edition of Mass Effect 3, the Mass Effect 3 N7 Collector's Edition. This edition has numerous exclusive items, Downloadable Content, a free digital soundtrack, and an exclusive Xbox 360 Normandy Avatar Prop among other things. All PC versions of Mass Effect 3, physical or digital, will require EA's Origin software, and will not be available through Valve's.

Mass Effect 3 was also included in the Mass Effect Trilogy, a boxed set containing all three Mass Effect games. The Trilogy was released on November 6, 2012, for Xbox 360 and PC for $59.99 USD. A PlayStation 3 version of the Trilogy was released on December 4, 2012 for $59.99 USD.

In 2021, a comprehensive remaster of all three games in the original Mass Effect trilogy was released, dubbed Mass Effect Legendary Edition.

This featured many changes to Mass Effect and its sequels Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3, including major overhauls to graphical quality and gameplay. Legendary Edition consolidated not only the three games but almost all of their original downloadable and other content, with a few exceptions.

Space Edition:

EA sent copies of Mass Effect 3 into the stratosphere from six different cities around the world. Copies of the game are called space editions and were accompanied by an exclusive prize. They were attached to Weather Balloons with GPS trackers and were launched from New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Berlin, London, and Paris. The balloons were trackable on the Official Mass Effect website.

 

Multiplayer

• Online Pass: required to play online multiplayer.
• Mass Effect 3: Resurgence Pack: adds two new maps, six new characters, three new weapons, and four new weapon mods.
• Mass Effect 3: Rebellion Pack: adds two new maps, six new characters, three weapons, one new objective, and a new equipment slot.
• Mass Effect 3: Earth: adds three new Earth-based maps, six new characters, three new weapons, five new weapon mods, eleven new gear bonuses, a new objective, and a new difficulty setting.
• Mass Effect 3: Retaliation: adds a new enemy faction, new enemies for other factions, sixteen new characters to be unlocked over time, three new weapons, three new ammo bonuses, five gear bonuses, Challenges, and "Hazard" versions of the six original maps.
• Mass Effect 3: Reckoning: adds new classes, new weapons, and new gear.

Mass Effect has played an intricate part in my time at EA. This series became an all-time favorite of mine which I continue to play 12 years later!

What are some of your favorite memories or Mass Effect swag you have picked up over the years?

What are some of your favorite missions and maps to run with your friends?

I'm Commander Shepard and this is my favorite birthday on the Citadel!

(source used: Mass Effect Wiki)