Mass Effect 3 pre-order bonus pack revealed, Origin gets exclusive shotgun

Lydia Sung - Wednesday, January 4, 2012 1:41pm (PST) 0 Favourite (0)

N7 Defender Armor and guns, lots of guns

EA and BioWare announced today the pre-order bonus for Mass Effect 3, and for once in recent BioWare history, it won't be a free companion. Instead, pre-ordering ME3 gets you the "N7 Warfare Gear" bundle: one suit of armor and two assault rifles.

The standard "N7 Warfare Gear" pre-order pack includes the N7 Defender Armor, N7 Valkyrie Assault Rifle, and M55 Argus Assault Rifle. Meanwhile, EA is offering an additional item -- the AT12 Raider Shotgun -- exclusively through Origin. Given how DLC works these days, one might assume this will end up as paid content later.

Just to clarify, the "N7 Warfare Gear" bundle includes the suit and two assault rifles, and the Origin pack includes that plus the shotgun. At a glance, the shotgun-less pack appears to be a GameStop-specific incentive, whereas other major retailers are offering the M55 on its own. We recommend checking with your usual store anyway, just in case.

If you live outside North America, BioWare promises to release more info soon. For now, a video.