The day has finally arrived for Gamers Xtreme to get their hands-on with the long awaited demo of Mass Effect 3.  To be clear, this is the demo that has been shown and played at both E3 and Gamescom. I had a chance to speak with a developer from BioWare for a brief Q&A and afterwards, got the chance to play this amazing piece of artwork and design. The developer hinted that there might be a special edition trilogy set for Mass Effect in the near future which will hopefully cover all of the DLC on top of the 3 games. He also confirmed that the game will be running higher than 30 frames per second but could not state the specs exactly. Lastly he confirmed that both the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions will look exactly the same because they both were developed side by side and there was no porting involved at all.

Finally to the juicy stuff, and that is the hands-on demo of Mass Effect 3. Now you’ve heard the big sites talk about this demo back in June and August from E3 and Gamescom. Now, hear what the true fans and consumers think about it. The first thing I noticed when the demo started were the visuals. Instantly, I saw that BioWare was already a step above Mass Effect 2 and that’s saying a lot. As soon as the demo starts, Commander Shepard and Garrus, along with Liara Tsoni, are fighting their way through an enemy barrage. The setting is a laboratory building with open windows overlooking gorgeous environments of jungle and waterfalls. As I start to command Shepard, I notice the game is running at a solid 60 frames per second along with a fresh coat of colors and effects not seen in the first 2 titles.

There’s no question about it, the action is more fast paced than ever before. As soon as you start, there are enemies charging at you in flanking patterns that revealed increased AI from the previous titles. As I started firing my assault rifle a good amount, I noticed the sound effects have been increased as well giving a more powerful sound for each weapon I wielded. The AI for Garrus and Liara seem efficient in fighting the enemies but do not feel overpowering where they are clearing a room on their own, which a good thing is. The coolest addition to the combat was definitely the all powerful omni blade which is melee attacking at its best. For those who haven’t been following, it is a virtual blade that comes out of Shepard’s arm and stabs his enemy brutally. Lastly, the weapon upgrade system has taken a surprisingly refreshing turn, borrowing some ideas from Army of Two, as well as others. The weapons now have a much deeper upgrading system from the previous titles, using custom parts and accessories to enhance the strength and fluidity of each piece of the rifle, pistol or launcher.