The First Contact War was barely a battle. Only a few hundred human lives had been lost with most of the casualties sustained during the initial encounter with the Turian forces and their subsequent attack on Shanxi.
The pan-species Council intervened and humanity escaped a galactic scale war and instead became the newest members of the interstellar community. Soon humanity was spreading through the galaxy and settling new planets. This new era of expansion did not come without violence.
In an interview before the release of Mass Effect 3, Executive producer Michael Gamble told the Official Xbox Magazine about the future of the series and the possibility of a Mass Effect game without Commander Shepard as the lead.
"Without going down any specific path, you can think of many, many different areas throughout the IP, throughout the history, where there are large wars to be won, large battles to be had, and a lot of development to be done around where these races came from, how they came about," Gamble said. "We have so much to draw from."
Many have speculate about a new Mass Effect game taking place during the First Contact War, but as you can see the war more of skirmish then a full scale battle. But what happened after the war was an era of expansion and newfound enemies for humanity.
Here is list of potential plots for Mass Effect 4 that we would like to see.
Skyllian Verge: In the early 2160s, humans began to colonize the Skyllian Verge, a region the Batarians were already actively settling. The Batarians asked the Citadel Council to declare the territory an area of Batarian interest, but the Council refused. The Batarian government decided to close their Citadel embassy and became a rogue state. The Skyllian Blitz is an attack that is legendary in Mass Effect lore, for some player Shepard was a hero during this battle, but in a new game he does not have to be an important factor. Here is a chance to create a new protagonist for the series. The character could lead a crew during the events of this era, and perhaps make a few unlikely alien allies.
Krogan Rebellions: The rapidly expanding Krogan became a threat to the galaxy and started the Krogan Rebellions and forcing the Turians to unleash the genophage. This genetic "infection" dramatically reduced fertility rates in Krogan females, causing a severe drop in births and eliminated the Krogan numerical advantage. The war took place before humanity's ascension into the pan-alien community. It would be interesting to play a Mass Effect game without humans. I think the series has done such a great job in creating the history of this universe that we would not need humans to have a compelling story.
Rachni Wars: The Rachni, a species of highly intelligent space-faring hive-minded insects were a hostile foe of the Citdel council. Negotiation with the Rachni were impossible and the Council was losing the war against the Rachni for nearly a century until the Salarians "culturally uplifted" a new species, the Krogan. Here is chance for gamers to play as a Krogan Battlemaster leading a mixed alien squad into the heart of Rachni Queen's hive. A Mass Effect game based on these events conjures images of the film "Aliens," claustrophobic environments and badass Krogan soldiers.
Prothean Era: Before the Protheans vanished they were the apex race of the galaxy. Setting a game in this era would be very interesting. The Protheans faced a hostile machine intelligence similar to the Geth, which threatened to decimate their society. The Protheans decided to unite all of the galaxy's sentient organic life under their empire and battle the machines in the "Metacon War." Having a game set during this war maybe to similar to the first trilogy, but learning more about the Prothean era is too enticing to pass up.
What do you think about a possible Mass Effect game without Shepard? What era do you want to see the game set in? Do you want to see Shepard return? Comment below and check out what DLC we would like to see for Mass Effect 3 here. Plus learn more about Mass Effect 3's upcoming Omega DLC here.