'' Mass Effect'' is a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

media franchise set in an

alternate universe Parallel universe often refers to parallel universes in fiction, a self-contained separate world, universe or reality coexisting with the real world, which is used as a recurring plot point or setting used in fantasy and science fiction. Parallel ...

in the 3rd millennium developed by the Canadian

video game company The video game industry encompasses the development, marketing, and monetization of video games. The industry encompasses dozens of job disciplines and thousands of jobs worldwide. The video game industry has grown from niches to mainstream. , ...

BioWare. Composed of

multi-platform In computing, cross-platform software (also called multi-platform software, platform-agnostic software, or platform-independent software) is computer software that is designed to work in several computing platforms. Some cross-platform software ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

s and associated media, the core of the franchise is an eponymous trilogy of action role-playing

third-person shooter Third-person shooter (TPS) is a subgenre of 3D shooter games in which the gameplay consists primarily of shooting. It is closely related to first-person shooters, but with the player character visible on-screen during play. While 2D shoot 'em ...

video games, released between 2007 and 2012, which follow

Commander Shepard Lieutenant Commander Shepard, better known as Commander Shepard, is the player character in the ''Mass Effect'' video game series by BioWare (''Mass Effect'', ''Mass Effect 2'', and ''Mass Effect 3''). A veteran soldier of the Systems Alliance ...

's mission to save the galaxy from a race of mechanical beings known as the Reapers. A fourth main series game, '' Mass Effect: Andromeda'', was released in 2017. The ''Mass Effect'' franchise also includes three mobile games, each with a different gameplay style; seven novels, some written by BioWare writers and some by science fiction authors; four art books; ten comic book series or mini-comics and their anthologies; a coloring book; an animated film; a 3D theme park ride; and eleven soundtrack albums or singles. The video games have had high sales, with the last major game of the original trilogy, ''Mass Effect 3'', shipping over 3.5 million copies in its first week of release. Reception of other media in the franchise has been mixed: the comics, such as '' Mass Effect: Redemption'', have been praised for their writing, and novels such as '' Mass Effect: Revelation'' have been recommended to fans of the games; but '' Mass Effect: Deception'' was derided as inconsistent with the main trilogy. The first part of the franchise—the first game—was published in 2007, while the latest game was published in 2017 and the latest piece of media in 2018.

Video games

Main series

Other games

Printed media

Books

Comics

Film

Amusement park

Soundtracks

References

External links