BioWare been looking to include multiplayer for Mass Effect since ME1

BioWare has aiming to introduce multiplayer for Mass Effect since the very first game, creative director Casey Hudson has said.

Speaking to Xbox World 360, Hudson said "it was always a fun, intriguing idea to partake in the Mass Effect universe with friends" based around co-op.

The idea then resurfaced for Mass Effect 2, where, according to Hudson, "you could perhaps take control of one of the other characters for a while."

The overriding factor that stopped multiplayer being implemented until Mass Effect 3 was concern over narrative.

"The difference really was that, with ME3, we adopted a fundamentally different approach to what the thing is about, which is that there is a whole intergalactic war going on, which wasn't the case in the previous entries," said Hudson.

"So Shepard is still the hero, making the big decisions, deciding what's going to happen with the universe and building alliances, but now there's armies all over the place, fighting to just hang onto different locations. That provided us with a different idea; now in multiplayer you can play as that crew of special forces, journeying around and helping Shepard with the war effort."

See? All is good in the hood, single-play fans. Mass Effect 3 launches on March 6 in the US and March 9 in the UK for PS3, 360 and PC.