Friendly bunch

Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer component will be significantly bolstered by a brand new expansion next week. The free download – launching 9th October in North America – will augment an impressive six new maps and 16 playable characters.

The addition will plot the return of the Collectors from Mass Effect 2 – and a whole heap of their weapons, ammo types and gear too. Furthermore, a new Challenge mode will reward you with points which can be spent on multiplayer titles and banners.

But that’s not all – existing maps will be updated with a new Hazard mode in which you’ll have to contend with various environmental occurrences such as lightning and sandstorms. As if staying alive until extraction wasn’t already hard enough.

There’s a brand new trailer embedded below. Will this encourage you to dig out Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer mode and give it another go?