Mass Effect 3 multiplayer: first-look

Okay, so you're finally starting to accept the fact that Mass Effect 3 has multiplayer. But what does it look like? BioWare has released the first screens of the newly announced co-op mode, showcasing the various alien races coming together to fight in the "galactic war."

You'll be able to play as a boring Human, or a more interesting Krogan, Asari, Drell, Salarian, and Turian.

Mass Effect 3 multiplayer screenshots

Executive producer Casey Hudson said that adding multiplayer to ME3 made sense, simply because of how different the scope is compared to the previous two games. "This really is the beginning, middle, and end of a whole galactic war," he said. "Because it's fundamentally different in that way, we realized multiplayer can be a compliment to Commander Shepard's very rich, engaging single player story experience."

According to Hudson, the co-op mode will have you "fighting for control of locations throughout the galaxy." And he reiterated that "the better you do, the more you control, the better your single player ending will be."

Of course, not everyone is happy about the addition of multiplayer. Hudson defended the decision, saying that it's "ultimately, it's about adding more player choice. If you want to do a really complete single player playthrough, you can absolutely get to the highest level of success in the end-game. But you also now you have an alternative. You can take more of that experience into multiplayer."

Mass Effect 3: Galaxy at War will require an Online Pass, included with every new copy of the game on Xbox 360 and PS3.