Mass Effect 3 demo DLC cross-over with Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Playing the Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning demo will score you bonus items in the full version of Mass Effect 3, and vice versa. Publisher Electronic Arts also confirmed that the Reckoning demo revealed yesterday for Xbox 360 will hit PC and PlayStation 3 on January 17 too.

If you finish the Reckoning demo, Commander Shepard will get the Reckoner Knight Armor, boosting damage, and the Charkam Launcher assault rifle, which "uses a fabricator to manufacture lightweight, explosive ammunition discs." Being designed by Spawn creator and Reckoning executive art director Todd McFarlane, it's naturally loaded with spikes, skulls and belts.

Then, if you play the Mass Effect 3 demo, your Reckoning character will get to don an armour set inspired by Shepard's N7 gear and wield Onmiblade Daggers styled after Shepard's new holographic knife.

EA explains that the Reckoning demo packs its introduction, kicking off with tutorial then offering 45 minutes to poke around in a slice of its open world. You'll also earn extra Reckoning items for the full version simply by playing its demo.

As EA says Reckoning players will be able to unlock its bonus items through the Mass Effect 3 demo in time for Reckoning's February 7 launch, the ME3 demo is clearly coming before then. There are still few details on it beyond that, though. Mass Effect 3 launches March 6.

Of course, the important question for lore lovers is surely: are these incongruous items canon?

The N7 gear in Reckoning. Look up top for the Reckoning gear in ME3.