Downloads Could Bridge Mass Effect Gaps

Plus BioWare talks about its console plans for the remaining games in the trilogy.

One of the things that makes consoles so exciting is the relatively short lifecycles they have, with each console being phased out in favour of something fresher every few years. But BioWare, creator of new Xbox 360 RPG Mass Effect, is hoping that Microsoft's current system will stick around a bit longer.

Speaking to CVG, BioWare's Greg Zeschuk said that the company is planning to bring all three games in the space saga to the Xbox 360.

"The law we can't control is the length of the console cycle," he said. "I hope, I hope, I hope that this cycle is longer than the last one. We kind of just got started last cycle and it kind of ended when our second game [Jade Empire] came out."

Following a story through three games isn't always easy. That's where downloadable content comes in. Though hesitant to commit to the form any downloads for the game could take, Zeschuk said that the team could use them as a glue to hold the trilogy together, saying:

"Downloadable content could also bridge the gap by giving you new little islands of story between the big game releases."

Though it's taken BioWare a few years now to bring Mass Effect to near-completion, missing a few soft deadlines in the process, things should go smoother from here thanks to all the work that's been done until now.

"The guys at BioWare have done a great job of creating all the tools and technology to make game creation easier. That's one of the reasons we cross our fingers and hope that this console cycle lasts a long time because we've created a great suit of tools and tech that allow us to build stuff," Zeschuk said.

"What took people to make a year can sometimes now be done in three or four days."

Mass Effect is coming to Xbox 360 on 23 November.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo