Though it's been quite a while since we've heard anything regarding Mass Effect 3's once-rumored multiplayer functionality, Eurogamer and CVG are both citing anonymous sources who claim the title will have a standalone four-player cooperative mode. The mode will feature a handful of missions which won't interact with the main storyline, and are designed to have a high replay value. Considering we spent around 40 hours mining for Element Zero in Mass Effect 2, we don't think our attention is going to be very hard to retain.

Speaking to Eurogamer at E3 last week, BioWare co-founder Ray Muzyka wouldn't confirm nor deny the co-operative missions, instead saying, "We haven't talked at all about multiplayer in the Mass Effect franchise, but we're exploring multiplayer in all of our games and all of our franchises." Sounds like he's either deflecting, or hinting at a multiplayer update to Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, which might be the single most illogical assumption we've ever crafted.