New Mass Effect 3 details covers enemy tactics, combat and more

More and more details for Mass Effect 3 continue to come out through the upcoming GameInformer piece and the BioWare forums. The latest details some of the enemy tactics that we'll be seen in the game as well as new addition to combat and some of what will carry over from Mass Effect 2. We've also got a pretty awesome looking image showing the Reaper invasion of London.

BioWare Senior Designer Brennon Holmes took to the BioWare forums to explain a bit about how enemy combat roles are used to make life difficult for the player controlling Commander Shepard and his squadmates.

Sooo... one thing we're focusing a lot more on in ME3 is enemy composition. We have a handful of roles that enemies fit into. So, take husks for example - when fighting husks you generally don't want to be in cover. They're pretty mobile, and can do terrible things to you in close range. So, when engaging them you generally want to be able to move around a lot. They fall into our "cover buster" role.

In a given fight we might combine husks with a "suppressor" type of enemy. Suppressors try to keep you pinned in cover. With both of those types in one fight, as a player you have to decide which is the larger threat. Do you send your squadmates against the Husks? Do you try to find a position where you're more protected from the suppressor enemy and take on the Husks? Or do you run headlong towards the suppressor in the back, and try to take it down quickly while avoiding the Husks?

Obviously that's just an example, and normally a fight is comprised of more than just two different roles (additionally, "suppressor" / "cover buster" combinations are pretty damned hard to fight). So you might be able to see how just with interesting composition you can get extremely dynamic experiences that can vary significantly from attempt to attempt.

This is also not going into any of the synergistic elements of some of the enemies either... some enemies have ability sets that help or modify other enemies, making them potentially a *lot* tougher... if you let them...

Some other details concerning combat to come out include news that Shepard will now be able to target and shoot off certain pieces of enemies to slow them down and reduce their combat effectiveness. Melee will also play a larger role with each class having their own special melee attack. Space combat returns too but will be handled differently this time and on a much larger scale.
Players will also be able to pick up some enemy weapons. There will be specific weapons like the Shock Stick that Cerberus Assault Troopers use that cannot be picked up because they are visual elements according to Brennon Holmes.

For those that have completed Mass Effect 2 and plan on transferring your character over to Mass Effect 3, expect to see most but not all of the powers you obtained make the transition as well. No details on what specific powers will not be making the trip over yet.

You can check out the full image of London under siege in our gallery.

Via: NeoGAF

Source: http://www.examiner.com/console-gaming-in-national/new-mass-effect-3-details-covers-enemy-tactics-combat-and-more