Whether you like the prospect of Mass Effect 3’s co-op mode, tough, it’s happening and there’s nothing you can do about it. The least you can do is give it a chance and see how it turns out – Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood says that’s a wise move. If it’s naff when it ships, sure, lambast the hell out of it – we will. Until then, let us do what we do best and reveal as much info as possible on the mode so you can make a more informed judgement, this time courtesy of the December issue of the Official Xbox Magazine.

The four player co-op survival mode that has you fighting increasingly difficult waves of Cerberus foes - you know, because they've been indoctrinated - according to the mag, has been planned since the beginning of the Mass Effect franchise, but Casey Hudson, Executive Producer, had only felt comfortable implementing it now.

The “Galaxy at War” mode will see you trek to various stages and face-off against eleven waves of foes that range from basic foot soldiers and assassin-like Phantoms to huge Atlas mechs. With a reward system and a character progression suite, the Galaxy at War mode will allow you to take a bigger stake in the larger battle from the single-player campaign. Yes, how you perform in the co-op mission has a result on the Shepard storyline… but only if you want it to.

With “War Assets” earnt in the single-player campaign, players can purchase allies, friendly fleets and even facilities such as radar stations, which will assist in the final battle. By doing enough of the single-player campaign though, there’s a potential you won’t have to participate in the Galaxy at War mode at all. However, the more you play and build up your MP characters, the more influence and power Shepard will have at his disposal in the single-player campaign's final battle if you wish to use it.

By the sounds of it, the co-op will have you visiting areas you visited in the single-player campaign under the command of the gravely voiced Admiral Hackett, and will have you taking to arms and defending it in a bid to win the overall war. Your progress, as indicated by a colour coded map, will be viewable in-game or on other platforms – iOS devices, Facebook, etc – all of which will have their own “unique hooks.”

According to the mag, there are four classes to choose from: Soldier, Infiltrator, Engineer, and Sentinel; and players can also choose a race and a gender – including Drell and Krogans – as well as get their hands on plenty of unlockables. Each class has specific abilities – like Soldiers using the Omni-blade – as do the races – Krogan soldiers can do their typical charge attack by the sounds of it. Players will also have the ability to upgrade weapons and their armoury, whilst also being able to choose weapons and biotic powers before they start, as they work their way up to the level 20 cap and help save the galaxy in the process.

It’s not just about surviving though, as BioWare will offer mission objectives too, like retrieving data packets from around the map, protecting an ally while they hack, and more. If you’re a straight up killer though, you can earn points for kills or for assists. Get downed, fear not, an ally can help you up.

Even from the perspective of a single-player purist – that’s me! – all this is sounding mouth-wateringly good. Hopefully we’ll get our hands on it soon and be able to give you our real impressions, until then, you at least know what to expect.

Regardless of how good it turns out to be, I do get to live out my lifelong fantasy - and by lifelong, I mean since Mass Effect 2 - and that's that I get to be a Drell!!! Huzzah!

[Via StickSkills]