Gamers who managed to score an invite to the Fall Dashboard Update Preview Beta got an added bonus, albeit by accident - they got the option to download the beta for Mass Effect 3 as well, which contained a large portion of the single player game.
Those who checked it out found another surprise: when selecting the single player campaign, they were given a choice of three kinds of campaigns: Action, Story and RPG.
According to the beta:
* Action Mode: For those who want to emphasize action and combat and minimize story management. Action mode will set automatic replies in conversation and a normal difficulty.
* Story Mode: For those who want to emphasize story immersion and minimize combat pressure. Story mode will set manually-selectable replies in conversation and a minimal combat difficulty.
* RPG Mode: For those who want to explore both realms of story and combat. RPG mode will set manually-selectable replies in conversation and a normal combat difficulty.
After the story broke, Bioware issued the official response: “One feature that was present in this early build is a set of game play modes that are in development. In the beta code they are referred to as “action mode”, “story mode” and “RPG mode”. We want to stress that these features are still in the early stages of development and will receive considerable iteration and refinement. These modes are designed to give players an even finer degree of control over their game experience than ever before. Whether it be someone who finds the combat difficult but wants to experience the amazing story, someone who wants to focus on the action and combat game play, or fans who want the rich, story-driven RPG Mass Effect experience they’ve come to love – Mass Effect 3 will support all of these options. We’ll have more info in the days ahead!”
Mass Effect 3 will be released in March 2012 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.
