Mass Effect: End Time, or alternatively, Mass Effect 4 or Mass Effect 4: End Time, is the sequal to the original three Mass Effect games, developed by Infinite Development Inc. for PC, Xbox 360, Wii-U and Playstation 3. It intends to follow a more advanced and wider look at the Mass Effect universe while fighting a whole new enemy.
Release[]
Mass Effect: End Time was released on December 14, 2014 in North America, December 16, 2014 in Australia and Switzerland, and December 17, 2014 in Europe. It was slated to be released 'Spring 2013,' but CEO of IDI, Ethan Sumner, wanted to game to be "the very best" and that he wanted the company to "keep a steady pace so they can perfect everything."
IDI, with help from BioWare (the series' original developer,) released both Limited and Collector's Editions. The Limited Edition was called: Mass Effect 4: Special Warfare Edition; while the Collector's Edition was called: Mass Effect 4: Victory Team Edition. Each edition contains its own unique material.
All PC versions of Mass Effect: End Time, physical or digital, will require EA's Origin software, just like its predecessor, and will be available through Valve's Steam.
During the E3 2014 press conference, Sony, along with IDI, EA and BioWare, announced that Mass Effect: End Time, along with Total Warfare: More Than War (another game developed by IDI,) will be the launch titles for the PlayStation 4 and will be released "Summer 2015."
Retail Bonus Items[]
Depending on where the game is purchased, what edition is purchased and whether or not it was pre-ordered, the customer may be entitled to one or more Retail Bonus Items.
The following table details which items are available based on which version of the game is purchased, and whether or not the game was pre-ordered.
| Standard Edition | Special Warfare Edition | Victory Team Edition | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Item | Preorder | Purchase | Preorder | Purchase | Preorder | Purchase |
| Normandy Crew's Limited Edition Pack | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Darkness Rising | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| N7 Weapons and Armor | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| M-16A9T | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| R-34 Ravager | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
Demo[]
A demo for Mass Effect: End Time, known as Mass Effect 4: End Time, was released on September 19, 2013, for Xbox 360, PC, and PlayStation 3. The demo only contains single-player content, but it does contain footage of cooperative multiplayer.
The demo features a level on Illium during the fight against the Fallen Brigade, a new enemy in the series, with Tali'Zorah vas Normandy and Aria T'Loak as squad members. The objective is to battle through the streets of Illium and make it to the shuttle before the bombs inside the buildings explode, causing them to collapse. The demo then switches to a mission on Eden Prime where Shepard, with Garrus Vakarian and Miranda Lawson, must battle against a rogue Reaper to save the colonies from being destroyed.
Continental Edition[]
EA, along with IDI, loaded copies of Mass Effect: End Time into C-130 cargo planes (disquised as one of the Normandy sisters) from eight cities around the world. Once over certain areas of countries, the C-130 would drop a bundle of the copies with exclusive prizes attached to each copy and were eventually called the "Continental Edition."
Details[]
Players: 1 (single-player), 4 (co-op multiplayer)
Resolution: Xbox 360 and PS3: HDTV 720p/1080i/1080p // PC: Screen & Card Dependent
Publisher: Electronic Arts, Inc.
Developer: Infinite Development Inc.
Format: 2x DVD (Xbox 360 and PC), 1x Blu-ray (PlayStation 3), Digital Download (PC and PlayStation 3)
Rating: "M" for Mature (US), MA15+ (Australia), BBFC 15 (UK), PEGI 18+ (EU), USK 16 (GER)
PC Requirements[]
| Component | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows XP SP3 / Windows Vista SP1 / Windows 7 | |
| Processor | 1.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo or equivalent AMD CPU | 2.4+ GHz Core 2 Duo Intel or equivalent AMD CPU |
| Memory | 1GB RAM (Windows XP) / 2GB RAM (Windows Vista / 7) | 2GB RAM (Windows XP) / 4GB RAM (Windows Vista / 7) |
| Graphic Card | 256 MB video memory with Pixel Shader 3.0 support; NVIDIA 7900 or better; ATI X1800 or better.1 | ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB, NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT 512MB, or better recommended |
| Disk Space | 10 GB | |
| Sound Card | DirectX 9.0c compatible | 100% DirectX compatible sound card and drivers |
1 NVIDIA GeForce 9300, 8500, 8400, 8300 and AMD/ATI Radeon HD3200, HD3300, HD4350 are below minimum system requirements.
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“It won't be as simple as that...” — Spoilers for Mass Effect: End Time follow. |
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Plot[]
“The Reapers are gone and Cerberus has been disbanded, but a new threat emerges. Planets begin to fall because of this new 'plague' and only one person can stop it. Commander Shepard, must return for one last fight to ensure the galaxy's survival once and for all.
— Official Plot Summary
The new threat[]
The game starts off where Mass Effect 3 ended, but goes on to develop a new, seperate plot line from the original one created through the previous three games. As with all other Mass Effect games, the player's choices in previous games will greatly affect the outcome of the game, unlike the outcome of Mass Effect 3. Since Mass Effect 3 was originally going to be the end of the Mass Effect series, BioWare did not expect EA to ask them to make a sequal and declined. Instead, they recommended Infinite Development Inc. to make the game.
Throughout the game, Commander Shepard will be on his own with the crews of the Normandy Sisters to destroy the newest threat to the galaxy, while trying to get help from those around the galaxy to support his cause. The player's choices throughout the whole Mass Effect series will affect how other civilizations' relations will be with the Commander.
Characters[]
Squad Members[]
Like all other Mass Effect games, Shepard will, once again, be able to recruit companions that will follow him into battle:
- Kaidan Alenko 1
- Tali'Zorah vas Normandy 2
- Liara T'Soni 3
- Garrus Vakarian 2
- James Vega 3
- Ashley Williams 1
- Javik 4
- EDI 5
- Aria T'Loak
- Miranda Lawson 2
- Kasumi Goto 2
- Jacob Taylor 2
- Urdnot Wrex 1.1
- Grunt 2
- Zaeed Massani 2
- Mordin Solus 2
Some squad members will be left over from Mass Effect 3, while others you can recruit optionally. CEO and Lead Designer Ethan Sumner also stated that Mass Effect: End Time has the most squad members available in the Mass Effect series.
1 One or the other, depending on the outcome of Virmire: Assault in Mass Effect and whether or not they survived the events of Mass Effect 3.
- 1.1 Depends on the player's actions on Virmire.
2 Depending whether or not they survived the Suicide Mission from Mass Effect 2 and the events of Mass Effect 3.
3 Depending on whether or not they survived the events of Mass Effect 3.
4 Depending on whether or not the From Ashes DLC was installed and if they survived the events of Mass Effect 3.
5 Depending on whether the Destroy ending was chosen or not.
Returning Characters[]
New Characters[]
Locations[]
Normandy Sisters[]
Save File Transfer[]
Gameplay Changes[]
Combat[]
Weapons[]
Powers[]
Advancement[]
Exploration[]
Kinect/PlayStation Eye Functionality[]
Different Play Types[]
Mass Effect: End Time: Flashbacks[]
Multiplayer[]
Soundtrack[]
Patches[]
Trivia[]
- The first few retail releases of the game originally had "Mass Effect 4" (as seen right) as the title. It was later changed so that only the Limited and Collector's Editions would sport the "ME4" logo.
