More Mass Effect Universe detail. First, I'm fine with a flooded inbox of threats. Par for the course. Fine with being called a liar. Fine with being informed that I apparently wrote a woke Snow White novel (news to me)... What I'm not fine with is the insinuation that, after 600+ years, Batarians and Humans couldn't possibly find themselves in some kind of tumultuous alliance of circumstance. The Batarians were almost wiped out. Of the surviving major powers, humanity was their closest neighbour by proximity, and humanity had the Citadel parked above Earth. America dropped atomic bombs on Japan 81 years ago. Today, they're allies.. Humans and Batarians don't have to like each other. In fact, it's far more interesting if they don't. Imagine the banter, resentment and distrust that could come from an alliance built out of necessity rather than friendship. It's an alliance of scrappy, dirty survivors standing against the high-and-mighty Council races and the Geth. And, well... there's something shadowy going on behind the scenes causing the cold war. Calling Shepard a 'walking gun rack' wasn't intended as a negative. Shepard is a soldier. Built to kick down the door, take on armies, and get the job done. This new N7 agent is different. They need to be more precise. More surgical. Less 'kick down the front door' and more 'find another way inside.' I also want to reiterate that this was not a trailer intended for the public, it was one of many made for internal use. Meaning it was not as polished as it would have been, it would have used original music, and had some gameplay. Mass Effect Universe was being 'built for the fans' in that they were trying very hard to not make the same mistakes and focus on what we loved from the originals. I don't know if they would have been successful, but I do know that I was hopeful.

I can finally talk about Mass Effect Universe. Since Bioware closed I can now reveal that I was part of the Mass Effect Council, saw what BioWare was building, and provided feedback during development. • Set 600+ years after the Reaper War • You play as a customizable N7 agent • Instead of being a walking gun rack, you're a cross between John Wick and James Bond • Shepard's legacy preserved, regardless of your ending • A galaxy divided into three major factions • Humanity, Krogan, Batarians, and more allied together • Council races forming their own alliance • The Geth emerging as a third superpower • A galactic Cold War instead of another Reaper style invasion with a shadowy adversary • Geth-built megastructures • Connections between the Milky Way and Andromeda • Experimental technology implanted in you as a unique point of difference • Hacking and manipulating the environment • See through walls, identify systems, remotely trigger hazards and more • Handcrafted missions like ME1-3 • But with Hitman-style freedom in how you complete them • Brutal close-range executions • Squadmates who can clash with each other • Romance wasn't being sanitised • Liara returns - now an incredibly powerful Asari Matriarch From what I saw, BioWare was making Mass Effect for us, the fans, not for people who don't exist. It looked incredible. And now we may never get to play it. Find out more here: youtu.be/ZOWrTNazZxM #SaveMassEffect