Mass Effect 3 lead designer Preston Watamaniuk has revealed that the sci-fi sequel’s Insanity Mode is even tougher than previous games, and warned players must be extra vigilant or they’ll surely end up brown bread.
Chatting with the folks at OXM, Watamaniuk said the decision to up the ante for the already notoriously difficult mode came at a request from a fellow designer.
"You’ll notice that if you play on Insanity, that sort of general rule of thumb is even harsher. You’d better be doing everything well, or you’ll die," said Watamaniuk.
"I had a lead designer for another game write to say ‘make Insanity harder!’ And I was like "OK!" he explained. "This was a really well-known and respected guy, so I was like ‘OK, I’ll do my best.’"
The BioWare man went on to say that while you may be able to get away with blasting your way through the game on Normal mode, players will have to carefully strategise their moves on harder difficulties.
"We really thought about it hard. On Normal you’ll be able to power your way through the game or shoot your way through the game, but when you try Hardcore or Insanity, you’re not going to be able to do that any more,” offered Watamaniuk.
"You really will have to think about each combat, who the enemies are, what kind of resistance you’re presented with, and then strategise to take them down. I’m hoping that it’ll feel like you made a mistake, and the game called you on it, rather than ‘I thought I was playing well, and then I died’."
Mass Effect 3 will conclude Commander Shepard’s story in the series as he squares off against the evil Reapers, who have begun their invasion of Earth.
The game hits PlayStation 3, PC and Xbox 360 on March 6 in the U.S. and March 9 in Europe.