This effort from BioWare, with the Wii U port being handled by Australian developer Straight Right, was one of the headline releases on Xbox 360 and PS3 earlier in the year. Some of you may have also been aware of much anguish and gnashing of teeth from series fans in relation to the ending, a situation subsequently remedied in free DLC that followed. In the Wii U Special Edition this "extended cut" is included, along with From Ashes extra content and some multiplayer goodies. Exclusive to this version — sure to get fans of big guns excited — is a rocket launcher capable of firing multiple rockets at once, as well as an interactive comic to allow you to see what happened in the first two games and make key decisions. Having this content on disc is undoubtedly welcome, and may help to make it tempting to those that have yet to jump into the series.
Take cover, you fool!
What about the actual game? For one thing the visuals themselves have come across rather well, with plenty of nice HD textures and effects along with a reliable frame rate. This is also a title that allows you to play exclusively on the GamePad, if you have relatives insisting that they must use the television, and the crisp graphics converted well, and instantaneously, to the additional screen.
When playing on the TV the GamePad has been used relatively conservatively, with a map on display with touch icons on either side for various items; familiarity with the game or its manual will be needed to understand what these symbols mean, if you want to avoid blind and hopeful tapping. You can also direct your squad with taps and drags on the map, though the representative on hand had a far better time with it than us, as we were too busy trying to avoid an untimely death. The button layout and controls were functional in the battle included with the demo, but a title with various options for melee, taking cover and so on takes a little practice on the meaty GamePad. That said, playing at home and knowing the controls before starting will ensure that your performance is more convincing than ours.
Ultimately, this is a safe port that makes rather standard use of the GamePad for its inventory and map, with no gyroscope aiming or any such trickery. That said, it's been optimised well with attractive visuals, and with plenty of packed-in extras it could potentially be good value for those that want to see what all the Mass Effect fuss is about.
Nao estava a espera de tanto
