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How Mass Effect 3’s Galactic Readiness System Is Changed In Legendary Edition

The original three Mass Effect games always influenced each other as part of one long, expansive story. But with Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, BioWare has implemented changes that make your choices matter even more between games. That’s most true in Mass Effect 3, where everything you do in Mass Effect 1 and 2 matters greatly to what happens at the end of the game, thanks to a change to the Mass Effect 3’s Galaxy at War system.

When it was first released, Mass Effect 3 took into account actions you made in both its multiplayer mode and in mobile apps, which affected the strength of the army you raise to battle the Reapers in the single-player campaign. But that was way back in 2013; multiplayer isn’t part of Legendary Edition, and the apps and other outside elements are no longer a part of the game. So BioWare has changed the Galaxy at War system significantly, deleting the part that was tied to multiplayer and changing the math a bit to determine your overall military strength.

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition’s take on Mass Effect 3 might be a little confusing for returning players who expect lots of moving parts, but it’s actually been simplified. Below is everything you need to know about Galaxy at War, the Galactic Readiness system, war assets, and everything else related to the ending of Mass Effect 3, and be sure to check out the rest of the changes to the original games in Mass Effect: Legendary Edition you need to know about.

War Assets And Galactic Readiness

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Mass Effect 3 is all about increasing the strength of the galaxy’s military might so that you can take the fight to the Reapers. Throughout the game, you and your crew fly around the galaxy, gathering forces, people, ships, and allies so that when you finally return to Earth, you’ll be at the greatest possible strength. To do that, you need to raise points called “war assets.”

War assets are the actual items and people you find out in the galaxy as you work to help humanity repel the Reapers. Each war asset is logged at the Normandy’s War Table interface, and equates to a number of points. You need a minimum number of war asset points to hit Mass Effect 3’s endgame, but the more you can bank, the better your chances against the Reapers and the better the ending possibilities you open up. You gain war assets by completing missions throughout the game–both main missions and side missions. The point total for your war assets is defined as Total Military Strength.

In the original release, there was a second factor called Galactic Readiness, which was tied to multiplayer, mobile apps, and the like. Galactic Readiness helped determine how effective your war assets were, adjusting your point score after the fact. From what we can tell, however, Galactic Readiness has been removed as a determinant in how Mass Effect: Legendary Edition judges your Total Military Strength in Mass Effect 3. Instead, Mass Effect: Legendary Edition factors in what you’ve done in past games.

How Galaxy At War Used To Work

In the original Mass Effect 3 release, Galaxy at War linked together multiplayer, the mobile game Mass Effect Infiltrator, and other transmedia offerings. The idea was that you could get more war assets by playing other modes and interacting with other elements, but all those things helped the key system of Galaxy at War: Galactic Readiness. It was presented as a map of the galaxy that was divided into sectors. Each sector carried a percentage ranging from 50% to 100%, defining that area’s readiness to deal with the Reapers.

Taking part in Mass Effect 3 multiplayer and interacting with its apps and other systems allowed you to increase the Galactic Readiness of different segments of the galaxy. That was pretty essential–the lower the readiness of an area, the weaker its war assets were. If the readiness of a sector fell to 50% (its lowest point), then the score for its war assets would be cut in half. Therefore, you wanted to raise the Galactic Readiness score as high as you possibly could in all areas, so that you got the most out of all the war assets you gathered by completing main and side missions throughout Mass Effect 3.

This was all displayed at the Normandy’s War Table interface. All your war assets were shown there, and their points totaled up to equal your Total Military Strength. The table then factored in Galactic Readiness, a percentage ranging from 50% to 100%, depending on how much effort you’d put in with multiplayer and the other elements mentioned to raise the readiness of different galactic sectors. Your Total Military Strength was multiplied by your Galactic Readiness to reach your Effective Military Strength, the true measure of how powerful your forces against the Reapers would be. If Galactic Readiness was 100%, your Effective Military Strength would be the same as your Total Military Strength, because you were getting the most out of all your assets. If it was all the way down to 50%, your Effective Military Strength would be half your Total Military Strength. Thus, it paid to play multiplayer matches and use the mobile apps to engage with Mass Effect 3.

How Galaxy at War Works Now

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BioWare previously said that Galactic Readiness would remain a part of the game, but it doesn’t look like that’s really the case. There’s no Readiness at the Normandy War Table, and where Mass Effect 3 originally presented your Effective Military Strength as the final score measuring how strong your forces were against the Reapers, it now only displays Total Military Strength on the table. Effectively, in Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, the Galaxy at War system is highly simplified. Just play missions in the game to gain war assets and raise your Total Military Strength number; no extra math required.

However, there is a little more to your Total Military Strength number than you might realize at first glance. Now, the system takes into account all your choices from Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2. Mass Effect: Legendary Edition makes note of how you completed missions and interacted with characters in past games, so when you create allies, gain assets, and make friends, that translates into war assets. Therefore, it pays to play through Mass Effect 1 and 2 and carry your saved games forward to Mass Effect 3–the more you play, the higher your Total Military Strength will be at the start of the game. Because of those additions, you should be able to complete fewer side missions in Mass Effect 3, if you should so choose, with the war assets you gain from the first two games making up the difference in points.

On the other hand, if you jump straight to Mass Effect 3, you’ll put yourself at something of a disadvantage. Since you won’t have Mass Effect 1 and 2 to boost your Total Military Strength, you’ll have to make it up purely in Mass Effect 3. In order to boost your point numbers in Mass Effect 3, according to BioWare, you’ll have to complete as many side missions you can–all of them, in fact, to reach maximum Total Military Effectiveness.

So on the plus side, Galaxy at War has been streamlined significantly with the removal of mobile apps and multiplayer, making the system much easier to understand. On the other hand, your best bet is to play through the entire Mass Effect: Legendary Edition on a single file, in order to get the maximum Total Military Strength points, the best possible scenario for taking on the Reapers, and the game’s best endings. And that’s probably going to take a bit.

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Netflix’s Bridgerton Gets A New Spinoff From Shonda Rhimes

The period drama Bridgerton will be getting a new spinoff at Netflix, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The untitled series will be an origin story for the show’s Queen Charlotte’s character, and Shonda Rhimes (How to Get Away with Murder) will be writing at least the pilot or each episode of what’s being billed as a limited series.

“Many viewers had never known the story of Queen Charlotte before Bridgerton brought her to the world, and I’m thrilled this new series will further expand her story and the world of Bridgerton,” said Netflix vice president of content Bela Bajaria (via THR). “Shonda and her team are thoughtfully building out the Bridgerton universe so they can keep delivering for the fans with the same quality and style they love. And by planning and prepping all the upcoming seasons now, we also hope to keep up a pace that will keep even the most insatiable viewers totally fulfilled.”

The untitled spinoff will also reportedly expand the show’s universe to include stories about the young Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell) and Lady Dansbury (Adjoa Andoh). For a streaming series that has only debuted in December, it has proven to be explosively popular: The show was already renewed for Season 2 this January. By April, when production was already underway for Season 2, the show was picked up for Seasons 3 and 4–and now comes news of this spinoff.

Bridgerton is the first project from Grey’s Anatomy veteran Shonda Rhimes after she signed a nine-figure deal with Netflix

Nolan North Talks Uncharted Movie And Why He Thinks Tom Holland Is A Great Choice For Drake

Nolan North, the voice actor who plays Nathan Drake in the Uncharted series, has shared a little more insight into the upcoming Uncharted movie starring Tom Holland.

He said on the Good Game Nice Try podcast that he believes in Holland as an actor and the take that Sony is going for with the film and its story. Instead of tracing the story of any of the Uncharted games, the movie will pick up with Drake in his 20s, which is about a decade before we met him in the games.

North said the Uncharted movie is not being labeled as a prequel, but it does tell the story of what Drake was doing before the events of the game, it seems.

“They don’t say this, it’s not a prequel, but here’s our version of Nathan Drake but in his 20s,” North said of what the movie is going for.

North also said he’s encouraged by the fact that the filmmakers are telling a new story as opposed to adapting one of the games. Going with that approach could make the movie feel stale, North said, because people had already experienced that for themselves in the game.

North also said there is a great dynamic between Holland and Mark Wahlberg, who plays Sully in the movie. In the games, the relationship between Drake and Sully–who is essentially a father figure to Drake–is very important.

As for Holland, North had nothing but praise for the actor.

“He’s a super nice kid. Big fan of [Uncharted]. I love the fact that he travels everywhere with his brother Harry and their golf clubs. He’s enthusiastic. He’s so athletic. He’s an amazing dancer. He actually did a lot of, with safety harnesses, he did a lot of the stunts. His physical intelligence is off the chain, the way he moves,” North said.

Finally, North said he’s not upset that he wasn’t cast as Drake, despite being an actor himself and obviously intimately familiar with the material. North said he has let go of Drake and wants to move on to other projects and pursuits, leaving Holland to make his own mark.

The Uncharted movie is scheduled for release in February 2022. It’s directed by Ruben Fleischer, who previously helmed the Zombieland movies for Sony.

Gillian Anderson Joins Season 2 Of Hulu’s The Great

Actor Gillian Anderson (The X-Files, The Crown) will be making a guest star appearance in The Great for Season 2, according to a release. In the Hulu series that’s an ahistorical, satirical dramedy about Catherine the Great’s rise to power, Anderson will play Catherine’s mother, Joanna.

In the show, Joanna will be “a glamorous socialite from Germany, sometimes also known as the ‘maestro of marriage’ for her abilities to arrange high-profile partnerships for her daughters.” Anderson will play Joanna for two episodes, in which the character “has heard rumors of her daughter’s coup and come[s] to Russia to see it for herself” with “sinister intentions.” It’s a safe bet that Anderson’s recent performance as Margaret Thatcher on The Crown will have come in handy with how to spoof a historical performance based on a real person.

In addition to Anderson as guest star, the series regulars include stars Elle Fanning (20th Century Women) as Catherine, Nicholas Hoult (X-Men: First Class), Phoebe Fox (Black Mirror), Adam Godley (The X-Files: I Want to Believe), Gwilym Lee (Bohemian Rhapsody), Charity Wakefield (Day of the Flowers), Douglas Hodge (Joker), Sacha Dhawan (Line of Duty), and Belinda Bromilow (Packed to the Rafters).

The Great is created, written, and executive produced by Tony McNamara–who is also a co-writer on the upcoming live-action Cruella movie, which is scheduled to be released both theatrically and on Disney+ on May 28. There’s no release date yet for Season 2 of The Great, but in the meantime you can check out what’s coming this month to both Disney+ and Hulu.

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition Supports Old Save Data For Mass Effect 2 And 3

Want to play Mass Effect 2 or Mass Effect 3 like you remembered it in the new Mass Effect: Legendary Edition? With save data importing, you can do just that, but the original game’s files will have to stay in the past.

As confirmed by a GameSpot staffer, the save data for both Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 on PC is compatible with the two games in the Legendary Edition.

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If you go to your Documents folder on PC and select BioWare, you’ll see your save files for all of the developer’s games in a row. Select either Mass Effect 2 or Mass Effect 3, then select one of your characters and copy and paste the file into the corresponding folder under Legendary Edition. Once this is done, you should be able to pick up where you left off, but with better visuals and other enhancements!

The one game this doesn’t work with is the original Mass Effect, as that game had much bigger changes and improvements made to it that brought it in line with the other two. Trying to import this data will result in a corruption message, so don’t waste your time.

Weirdly, Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is only the second game to support importing a Mass Effect 2 save file. Frog Fractions 2 also allows you to do this–in fact, one of the puzzles in the game actually requires it, because developer Jim Crawford is nothing if not unique.

Thus far, GameSpot’s Jordan Ramée has been impressed with Mass Effect: Legendary Edition.

“All in all, I’m enjoying playing Mass Effect 1 again, something I never thought I’d say (I find the original game’s combat too frustrating). I’m eager to get back to it, and see how the Legendary Edition may have changed Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 as well,” he said in our Mass Effect: Legendary Edition review in progress.

We also have a whole bunch of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition guides in case you get stuck. If you aren’t playing on PC and want to transfer Legendary Edition save data to a newer system, make sure you play on Xbox. PlayStation will not support cross-generation save transfers.

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Katy Perry’s Pokemon Song Is All About Evolution

Katy Perry has dropped a new track in collaboration with The Pokemon Company for the franchise’s 25th anniversary of its titular product, Pokemon. The song, titled “Electric,” is an endearing homage to the story and characters, illuminating that it’s possible for anyone and everyone to evolve.

What’s more, Pikachu makes an appearance as Perry’s companion throughout the “Electric” music video. And about a third of the way through, after Perry conjures her younger self (portrayed by performer Meili Aspen Caputo), Pichu shows up. The song’s overall message states that “if you believe it then you can” achieve any and all goals you have laid out for yourself.

This is reinforced as the “Electric” music video showcases the young Perry singing alongside Pichu, the only one who would listen to her perform. Perry’s biggest cheerleader, Pichu encourages her to continue playing music despite the slow-growing audience. It all culminates with a young Perry performing at a packed talent show, as present-day Perry and Pikachu look on in amusement.

In a statement obtained by Pitchfork, Perry cited her trip to Japan, where she visited the Pokemon Café, as the inspiration behind the song’s creation.

“When I visited the Pokemon Cafe while touring Japan, I got so nostalgic,” Perry said. “It took me back to junior high years. So when I got the call to be a part of the 25th anniversary celebration alongside Post Malone and J Blavin, I was elated. The song’s themes-resilience, igniting your inner light–have guided my life and also parallel Pokemon’s story and characters. Pikachu is the evolved form of Pichu, so in the video, you see the younger version of me with Pichu and myself in the present day with Pikachu. We both evolve, yet retain a sense of playfulness.”

A compilation record, Pokemon 25: The Album, is slated to drop this fall. Post Malone’s “Only Wanna Be With You” cover, which was performed during a February virtual concert, will also appear on the record.

In other Pokemon news, retailers like Target have temporarily stopped selling trading cards due to high demand and low supply. The friction has caused prices to skyrocket, with many taking advantage of a McDonald’s Happy Meal promotion to make a quick buck off Pokemon cards online.

Xbox 20th Anniversary Merch Is Here: Gold-Printed T-Shirts, Personalized Coffee Mugs, And More

It’s been nearly 20 years since Microsoft launched its original Xbox, with the anniversary taking place later in November this year. Not content with waiting, Microsoft has kicked off its Xbox 20th anniversary celebrations already, which includes a new range or merchandise at the official Xbox Store. If you’re looking to really show your love for Xbox, you can pick up new T-shirts, caps, and more for the special event. You can take a closer look at some of the new 20th-anniversary merch below or browse the full collection at the Xbox Gear Store.

$28

All the new merch is adorned with the Xbox 20 logo that Microsoft has splashed across all its media for the anniversary, but some of the best new items play with this a little bit. This Halo 20th Anniversary Tee is a good example of that, making sure you know what the event is for but spicing up the gold print with a silhouette of Master Chief. Since there hasn’t been Halo Infinite news lately, this might be the next best thing until E3 2021. It’ll be comfy, too, with the shirt made from 100% cotton.

$30

The same logo is featured on a lovely black and gold throw pillow, measuring in at 18×18 inches. You can remove the case using a hidden zipper, letting you keep this collector’s item as fresh as the day you bought it. Also included in the Halo-themed portion of the collection is a gloriously gold mug, and a laser-engraved tumbler that looks more like a flask than anything.

$28

If you’re just looking for something a bit more simple and classic, the Xbox 20th Anniversary Tee ditches the Halo protagonist for the standard green Xbox logo, printed on a plain black shirt. This shirt is also made from 100% cotton like the Master Chief one above, so you don’t have to worry about compromising on quality for the style. This logo is also featured on a 20th Anniversary Trucker Hat and a Premium Tote Bag.

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If you’re looking for a new vessel for your coffee (or tea, no judgment here), the new black-and-green Xbox 20th Anniversary Mug will certainly fit the bill. You can personalize it with your name or GamerTag too, making sure no one steals it from the office kitchen. It’ll hold 11oz of your beverage of choice, and it’s both microwave- and dishwasher-safe. For those who prefer the look of the golden Halo design, you can also get it on a mug for the same price.

If you’re new to the Xbox family, you can also benefit from a returning deal on Xbox Game Pass. Grab a three-month subscription to Game Pass Ultimate (that includes access on Xbox and PC) for just $1 directly from Microsoft. That gives you access to over 300 games across both platforms, including new additions like FIFA 21, Red Dead Online, and the Double Fine classic Psychonauts.

Space Jam 2 Posters Revealed, Michael Jordan Confirmed To Appear

Warner Bros. has released a series of new posters for Space Jam: A New Legacy, showing off the cast of the “Goon Squad,” which includes WNBA and NBA stars. It has also been confirmed that Michael Jordan will appear in the film in some capacity.

The Goon Squad are the villains who take on LeBron James and the rest of his Looney Tune team. The Good Squad is portrayed by famous WNBA and NBA players such as Diana Taurasi (White Mamba), Klay Thompson (Wet-Fire), Anthony Davis (The Brow), Damian Lillard (Chronos), and Nneka Ogwumike (Arachnneka). You can see the new Goon Squad posters in the image gallery below, while here are posters for LeBron and his Looney Tune teammates.

Diana Taurasi is White Mamba
Diana Taurasi is White Mamba

Gallery

Alongside the release of these posters, cast member Don Cheadle confirmed that basketball legend and the star of the original Space Jam–Michael Jordan–will appear in A New Legacy. Speaking to Access, Cheadle said, “Michael Jordan is in the movie.” After a brief pause, Cheadle added, cryptically, “But not in the way you’d expect.”

A New Legacy debuts on July 16 in theaters and on HBO Max. The first trailer showed LeBron James in the lead role of the live-action/CGI hybrid film.

The plot’s broad strokes are at this point known: “During a trip to the Warner Bros. studio, NBA superstar LeBron James and his son accidentally get trapped within a world that contains all of Warner Bros.’ stories and characters… to get back home, LeBron and the Tunes have to unravel [a] mysterious plan and win an epic basketball game.”

Biomutant Uncut Gameplay Shows Quality Difference Between PC, Consoles

After what seems like an eternity of development time and several delays, Biomutant finally releases later this month. In preparation for its launch, THQ Nordic and developer Experiment 101 have released uncut gameplay footage from multiple platforms.

The footage, shown below on PC, shows our furry, customizable hero moving through the open world at a full 60fps and 4K resolution. Using a glider to cut down on travel time after jumping off a cliff, they make their way to a “Hopehall” location before a mini-boss starts attacking.

Biomutant’s combat varies depending on the class you select, but in this clip, the hero fires a few bullets to start things off before launching a spinning melee attack to keep targets at range. Comic-style words pop up as enemies take damage, and acrobatic maneuvers are needed to avoid attacks. It’s all narrated by a gentle British voice, and halfway point in the fight, the hero activates a super-style ability and deals out a ton of extra damage.

The reward for winning the fight? Getting to control a little flying rocket around, which quickly hits a building and bursts into flames–well, that and the pile of loot hidden in a chest nearby.

We’ve also embedded the base PS4 and Xbox One gameplay clip here, which you can see above. The difference is evident immediately, most notably in the frame rate, which is 30fps on the oldest systems. It still looks totally playable, but it would be hard to make the jump to those consoles after playing the PC version. On PS4 Pro and Xbox One X–which is roughly the quality you’ll get playing on PS5 or Xbox Series X via backward compatibility–the frame rate is much better, though it does look less sharp.

Biomutant releases for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on May 25. It’s the first game from Experiment 101, which was founded by former developers at Avalanche Studios.

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Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Update Includes Weapon Balance Changes Next Week

Another round of weapon balance changes is coming to Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Developer Treyarch Studios said on Twitter that next week’s update will contain changes to a variety of weapon classes.

All Black Ops Cold War sniper rifles, assault rifles, LMGs, and pistols are getting tuned in the next update, Treyarch said. The developer didn’t elaborate on which are getting nerfed or buffed, but the official patch notes are coming next week alongside the patch with all the details.

Whether or not more weapon balance changes are planned for Call of Duty: Warzone or Call of Duty: Mobile remains to be seen. The three games are not normally updated on the same schedule.

Treyarch also said it will have a new blog post coming next week that contains information about “what’s coming up” for the popular Zombies mode. Treyarch has been steadily teasing something for Warzone, and it seems we won’t have to wait much longer to find out.

The Season 3 mid-season update is expected to land on May 20. The update will also include the ’80s Action Hero DLC, which is believed to bring a Sylvester Stallone John Rambo skin to the game alongside a Die Hard/John McClane outfit as well, in addition to other goodies.

As all of this is happening, Sledgehammer Games is working on this year’s new premium Call of Duty game, which is believed to be a sequel to the studio’s Call of Duty: WWII called Vanguard.

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