User blog comment:Arbington/ME3 Theories/@comment-743796-20100716021530

There could be some possible innovations for the next game's gameplay mechanics...

1: Should character customization similar to ME2 comes back in ME3, they should modify it from its circumstances in the second game to different ones in the third game. I believe that there should be some sort of ground battle between Shepard and his/her surviving crewmates, facing off against older enemies or unknown ones. Shepard would sort of deflect a blast from an enemy weapon to protect another squadmate (possibly love interest), and that would cause an overload in Shepard's bodily systems. At that point, character customization would take over and you'd be able to augment or change facial and/or bodily features in addition to changing classes or keeping the same. After that, Shepard (for the remainder of the level) would experience the full power of the class picked, then afterwards the overload will dissipate, knocking Shepard unconscious and leaving him/her with a mere fraction of his/her class abilities.

This wouldn't be a new idea, as similar takes have been done in Assassin's Creed 1 and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, where the main character has all abilities that they'll eventually unlock, and then lose it after a certain event. In the former, Altair gets his abilities taken from him after his master demotes him to the rank of an initiate due to him breaking the Assassin's Code, while in the latter, Samus steps into a portal that connects the current version of the planet with a darker version, and she's attacked by these creatures, which she barely gets away from, but not before losing her powers.

2: Although it would involve a large amount of work, cutscenes could be dependent on which class power Shepard has, in addition to gender and psychological profile. Say there is a large chasm and the bridge controls are on the other side. If Shepard were a Soldier class, then he/she would use a rifle to hit the console, causing the bridge to extend. But if Shepard was a Vanguard class, then he/she would simply use the Charge ability to get to the other side, then manipulate the console.

Questions?