I writhe in ecstasy after my in-depth excursion in the galaxy of the future via the Mass Effect 3 demo. Compelled to test out every class except soldier; (because what's the point, really?) The fanboy within me tingles with rapture after the reunion with the old ME1 team. Mysteries abound; such as why Cerberus would be opposing Shepard in light of the looming spectre of human extinction? Or what excuse the Council will find for denying Shepard and Humanity their aid? In the face of the real, physical presence of the Reapers killing millions of people will they - "Dismiss that claim"?


Class Notes:

Adept = Great fun. In keeping with the ME2 theme, as an Adept I was able to entangle enemies and rip them to shreds with biotic voodoo, with bullets being completely optional. Biggest problem was a scene in the beginning where the demo froze, because Anderson told me to shoot the husks, only I had already wiped them out biotically, and so couldn't progress unless I did damage with a bullet. And yet, at high levels, my powers seemed to have a much slower recharge time for reasons I was unsure of.

Engineer = Wide range of juicy powers; except that my combat drone seemed much more sluggish and slow-witted than the energetic engine of holographic destruction my ME2 character distracted enemies with prior to shooting them in the back. Regardless, I beat the whole demo without dying as Engineer shep.

Infiltrator = Invisibility seems like great fun, yet there was a sense that enemies could find me anyway. Possibly they were shooting at Anderson, or perhaps Reaper footsoldiers are just smarter than the pathetic platoons of ME2 mercs that I used to lay waste to. Again, recharge seemed much slower at higher levels. But I did not die.

Vanguard = as usual, I died more times with vanguard shep than any other class; Nova power is exciting at very close range. A good choice if you're an all-or-nothing loose-your-shirt-in-Vegas type of personality. An over-the-top aggressive system that requires close observation and planning to not get yourself blown to bits by a Cerberus mecha. Still, biotic charge seems to recharge barriers, so with practice it would be possible to fight effectively with guns, then attack stragglers on the battlefield with Charge, zipping over to them and replenishing your defenses.

Sentinel = my favorite ME2 class has been horribly nerfed. Tech armor no longer explodes after it's blown down; you have to manually detonate it. Furthermore, there is an 80% recharge penalty for all other powers with Tech armor on. I died a few times, but not as often as with a Vanguard. Best plan seems to be to hold Tech armor until your shields are blown down, recharge them, and then detonate as soon as possible.

Soldier = Deliberately didn't test it. All classes can use any gun, it's just a matter of how many guns on any one mission. I rarely enjoy stock-human-fighter-soldier classes in most RPG's. List of powers looks the same except for frag grenade; but all the other classes have grenade powers too.


Ultimately, powers seem de-emphasized in favor of guns, especially at high levels. But the ME2 weapon restrictions have been lifted, so it's all good.