While Mass Effect Legendary Edition is primarily a remaster, the first game in the series in particular is also getting some gameplay overhauls. As BioWare detailed earlier this year, the contentious Mako is one of the things being altered. The infamously bouncy vehicle will have weightier physics and be less prone to sliding, as well as having a boost, shields that recharge faster, and the ability to touch lava without an instant game over. The XP penalty for kills while in the Mako is also going away.
Not everyone hated the Mako, however, as BioWare knows. Project director Mac Walters and environment director Kevin Meek told PC Gamer earlier today that there will be an option to go back to a floaty version of the Big Trak-inspired truck. "For those people out there who do like pain, we've left the option to leave it back kind of closer to the original controls as well if you want," said Meek.
"You'll never get consensus," said Walters, "whether some people love it, or some people hate it. We're making a big point of it often in marketing, but it's a lighter touch than I think some people might think. And the optional control scheme is optional, so you can drop back and forth."
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The new Mako will also have improved camera controls for more accurate aiming at low angles, something Walters was glad to finally be able to fix. "The close aim, that's a big one," he said. "We actually forget to talk about that. Anything that was within probably 20 meters of you was almost impossible to track and hit. And then also things in the distance that were at a different altitude than you were just like, 'It says I'm aiming there but I'm shooting down here? What is going on?' Fixing some of that too makes it a little bit more fun."
"Playing the Mako today versus playing the Mako back in the original, especially on PC, it's like night and day," said Meek. "I don't want to thrash my keyboard and mouse after every encounter with the thresher maw or trying to climb a mountain."
To help you get over that mountain, the Legendary Edition's Mako will come equipped with a boost button, separate from the jump jets that set off its lowrider bounce. "Whether or not you loved how the Mako moved around, I don't think anyone loved almost making it over that hill," said Meek, "then pressing their jump jets buttons and falling back on their back and just never being able to go up."
You'll be able to read our full interview with Walters and Meek next week. Mass Effect Legendary Edition is due out on May 14.
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