Mass Effect 3 To Include Series First Co-Op Multiplayer Mode

Bioware's Mass Effect 3 will be the first title in the popular, space-faring action-RPG series to feature a multiplayer mode, according to announcements leaked in advance of upcoming magazine reports. Both the U.S. Official Xbox Magazine and Australia's PC PowerPlay are teasing Mass Effect 3 upcoming cover stories in which project director Casey Hudson will detail " the series’ first foray into online gameplay," as PowerPlay puts it. The revelation follows nearly a year of rumor and speculation surrounding game's inclusion of a multiplayer mode, which started even before the game was officially announced at last year's Spike TV Video Game Awards. Since then, various reports have ruled out the possibility of such a multiplayer mode, hinted at the mode's existence via anonymous sources, and teased the pending announcement of such a mode. The first two Mass Effect games focused heavily on a branching single-player narrative where player choice can have significant impact on how the story unfurls. OXM promises its next issue will discuss "how [the multiplayer mode] will... work with Mass Effect 3's beefy solo campaign." The sequels to both Naughty Dog's Uncharted and 2K Games' BioShock added multiplayer modes to their exclusively single-player, narrative-focused predecessors. Mass Effect 3 is expected to hit store shelves in the first quarter of 2012. [UPDATE: BioWare's Casey Hudson has Tweeted: "Yes, co-op MP missions for #ME3: they're real, and they're spectacular. Rest assured it's nothing of what you've feared. More soon..."]