The release of Mass Effect 3 is fast approaching, and Bioware was generous enough to release a demo of the PC version through EA’s Origin platform. That’s pretty exciting news, right? We’ve all seen the Mass Effect 3 trailers, and the game looks fantastic. What’s even more exciting, though, is that according to a blurb on Gamefront, a large portion of Mass Effect 3 takes place in Vancouver, BC, Canada! This is my very own crib, and I’m excited that Bioware put so much effort into creating a futuristic version of Vancouver for me. Yes, it’s true… they somehow found out that I like Vancouver, and re-created it just for me.
These shots are pulled directly from the demo, and for those of you who live in or have visited Vancouver, you’ll probably recognize a few of the buildings. It seems that both BC Place and BC Place Stadium have stood the test of time. The sky also looks typically Vancouver, with a nearly endless sheet of gray clouds and dark sky. At least the team were generous enough to exclude the rain. Most of us Vancouverites savor what little time we get away from the rain, and including it in the game would just be cruel.
Vancouver, Canada – Mass Effect 3
The North Shore looks a little bit different these days, but the mountains remain. I’m also a fan of that little artificial island in the water. I don’t really see any way of getting over to it, save for a boat, but perhaps in the future everyone just uses jet packs to bop from place to place. Doesn’t sound very environmentally friendly, though.
The look of the stadium has changed a little bit, and personally, I’m not a fan. It looks a bit like a yo-yo, or perhaps the wheel from a roller blade. Also, I’m assuming that the population will have increased dramatically a few hundred years from now, and yet the stadium actually seems smaller. Whoever built it really didn’t think that one through.
What? We don’t get sun here! I’m calling bullshit on this one. Perhaps the Government finally had to bring in an artificial sun to stave off depression in the city. After hundreds of years, the citizens of Vancouver finally tired of all the rain.
If you’re interested in taking a spin around a distinctly futuristic Vancouver, you can head over to to this site and grab the demo of game. The full version of Mass Effect 3 arrives March 6th, 2012 for PC, Xbox360, and PS3.
