Mass Effect Preview

Eurogamer brings us a short preview of BioWare's Mass Effect, based on what they learned about the sci-fi RPG during this year's Game Developers Conference. Check it out:
Speaking to IGN during GDC, Bioware's joint-CEOs Greg and Ray (saves typing) said that prior to battles, which will be proper real-time, players will be able to plan strategies to use, and then swap characters as the fights unfold too. Characters will fit into what sound like fairly standard archetypes - long/short range specialists, healers, etc. - but during the creation phase you'll be able to specify what you want, including the sorts of special attacks they have. The game will also use what's been pegged as Bioware's traditional weapon and armour progression trees.

They also mention that the game will be playable at E3 2006, so we'll be looking forward to some hands-on impressions of the game!