Looking mean

Mass Effect 3 was one of Wii U's major third-party announcements for a launch release, bringing one of the year's biggest blockbuster titles to the system. The excitement is perhaps dulled by the fact that it's the concluding part of a trilogy, and that a special edition combining the games, Mass Effect Trilogy, is out today for Xbox 360 and PC, with a PS3 version on the way. For gamers with an alternative system, the potential purchase of one third of the series may now be a lot less tempting.

Still, the Wii U version will, according to its External Producer Melanie Faulknor, include features and content to make it worth gamer's time. There'll be GamePad controls, of course — you can read our thoughts on these in our Mass Effect 3 first impressions — and the full extent of extra content has been outlined. Some we already knew about, but this at least seems like a definitive list.

We’re also adding a lot of content to the game. The Special Edition includes our From Ashes DLC, the Extended Cut DLC, the Rebellion, Resurgence and Earth multiplayer packs, and a bonus heavy weapon – all on disc! We are also including a new update to the Genesis interactive back story comic from Dark Horse we first released when Mass Effect 2 came to the PS3. The updated version will allow Wii U players to get the back story of Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 and will allow them to make decisions at key story points. These choices will then create a save game for you that can be imported into the game, opening up more storylines for each player. So if you’re new to the series, you can get caught up and personalize the experience. And if you’ve already played, you can choose a different route to see what things you might not have seen the first time around.

The cycle of DLC for this title isn't finished, so we'll need to wait and see whether Wii U gamers will have the opportunity to buy new content as it arrives on other systems. So, does this on-disc content make the pain of seeing Mass Effect Trilogy on other systems go away, or do you feel that Wii U's getting the raw end of the deal?

[source blog.bioware.com, via joystiq.com]