mass-effect-3
As the German localizations of computer games are usually not up to the standards of the English original, I'd like to play Mass Effect 3 in English. Getting the retail English versions is often annoying in Germany, and the digital version at Origin is significantly more expensive than the German version at Amazon.
So, does the German retail version of Mass Effect 3 contain the English voice overs and all the rest of the game in English? Or is it a German-only version?
The Bioware blog recently posted about this information, which I'll summarize here.
Earning reputation in Mass Effect 3 is a bit different from the first two games. Rather than earning only Paragon and Renegade points, you can also earn Neutral reputation, so there are 3 types of rep in ME3.
This means you can now mix being Paragon/Renegade without worrying about getting locked out of the more difficult Charm/Intimidate options. When you earn Paragon/Renegade rep, it'll show up as Blue/Red, whereas if you earn Neutral rep, it'll increase your reputation bar's size as a whole while retaining the same blue/red ratio.
Click through for the larger version.
Your total reputation (blue/red/neutral) will determine whether or not you'll be able to pass a Charm/Intimidate block. The lines on the bar are "checkpoints" which serve as gates for more difficult dialogue options. I marked them with the thin lines of red, in case it was difficult to see (this is not my Shep, this is the photo from the blog post).
As per usual, you get rep from completing missions and making dialogue choices. For missions with no Paragon/Renegade choice but still have a large impact, you will get Neutral rep.
In contrast to older Bioware games, you can never actually be the villain in ME3, though this should be rather clear from how they handled the first 2 games. No matter what, you will be fighting to save the galaxy. The manner in which you do it will be what differentiates a Paragon from a Renegade. Also, bullying people into giving you more money or discounts won't be the crux of what makes a Renegade decision in this game. Who needs credits if there's nowhere to spend them because civilized life has been destroyed?
Reputation gain will be based on when you have to make a decision in the game. Here are a few examples of what kind of rep you would get, taken from the blog:
- Confronted on the Citadel by a desperate refugee with a gun, you give her some credits and help her find a place to sleep. (Paragon)
- As a human colony falls to Reaper forces, you order down an orbital strike, brutally killing thousands of colonists to prevent the Reapers from turning them into husks. (Renegade)
- You land at a turian fuel depot taken by Reaper forces and clear it out, enabling allied forces to keep fighting. (General Reputation)
BioWare has finally made a single-player game that lets you make morally grey choices without nerfing yourself, gameplay-wise. Rejoice!
Saving the base gives you 110 points towards your Galaxy at War score compared to 100 for destroying it.
There is a rumour that the Illusive Man will be friendlier towards you in ME3 if you went his way in ME2 (saving the base) but that's unsubstantiated.
Since he's (confirmed) trying to kill you in ME3, I don't know how much weight this carries.
The endings below 1750 or above 2800 effective military strength are the same, regardless of what you chose to do in ME2.
The endings, organized by rating required are different depending on what path you chose:
Low EMS Option
Saved the base:
1750-2049 EMS Choose to Save the Reapers and the Earth will be saved.
Destroyed the base:
1750-1899 EMS Choose to become a Reaper and the Earth will be destroyed.
Mid range EMS Option
Saved the base:
2050-2349 EMS Choose to become a Reaper and the Earth will be saved.
Destroyed the base:
1900-2349 EMS Choose to destroy the Repears and the Earth will be devastated
Saved the base only option
2350-2649 EMS Choose to destroy the Reapers and Earth is destroyed.
High EMS Option
Saved the Base:
2650-2799 EMS Choose to destroy the Repears and the Earth will be devastated
Destroyed the Base:
2350 - 2799 EMS Choose to become a Reaper and the Earth will be saved.
Best Answer
As I now bought the game I can confirm that the german retail version contains english voicovers and everything. Just select "English" as language when the installer starts.