Bioware’s Mass Effect 4 panel from SDCC is now available to watch online

Last week during SDCC Bioware hosted a panel dedicated to the development of Mass Effect 4 (still calling it that until a proper title is revealed). You may have read some of the articles that surfaced following the event, but now you can watch the actual panel yourself as the company was kind enough to upload it on Youtube earlier. The footage shown is not a whole lot to go on and it’s still early in development so a lot might change before the game eventually comes out. Unfortunately Bioware says that Mass Effect 4  is still years away from launch, even though we heard earlier this year that the game is “in the middle” of development. It’s a bit odd that now it seems it’s just in the early stages. I’m not really sure what to make of that.

But anyway, let’s go back to the panel. Bioware started by showcasing early prototypes of both the male and female protagonist. Our main character will once again be human, but there is a slim chance that we’ll end up seeing other playable races. At one point during the Q&A session Bioware said that “in terms of other playable races we can’t talk about that at this point”. Not exactly a confirmation, but this suggests that they are at least taking the idea into consideration. It would be a little strange though as the protagonist was showed at being somehow affiliated with N7, which is a special code used by the human Systems Alliance military. But as mentioned, apparently Mass Effect 4 is still years away so they’re still figuring all this stuff out I guess.

Another important aspect that was discussed during the panel is the character customization. It looks like the system will have a lot more depth this time around, which is great to hear. Speaking of customization, the Mako will return in Mass Effect 4 and apparently we’ll be able to customize it as well. The vehicle was build more for exploration purposes this time and does not feature a cannon so combat will not be an option while driving it. The good news is that the Mako will be much more responsive and maneuverable so exploration should be a breeze.

We already discussed most of the other stuff presented at the panel in a previous article so go check it out. And make sure to watch the whole video of course as the company reveals a few more interesting things during the Q&A session. That being said, I’ll leave you with Bioware’s most important statement made at the panel: “It’s not called Mass Effect 4 dammnit!”. Stay tuned for more news and updates.