Few apps ever get downloaded onto my iPhone that I think are really cool. With the exception of Draw Something, I don’t really think anything out there on the App Market is all that enticing. This is especially true if the app’s goal is pure information; any apps that I download are usually games. Then I stumbled across Mass Effect 3 Datapad, an app that described itself in title alone if you are a fan of the popular RPG series.
This app is a complete companion to the info you obtain in the game, and is worth exploring when you are not playing. Too busy fighting the Reapers to enjoy the info in the codex? Me too, which is why I can just read it later on the app. It makes you appreciate the time and effort that was put into the intricacies of the story and characters. The codex is not the only part of the app. You can view videos and screenshots from Mass Effect 3, and also check your mail. The mail feature never showed anything but then again I haven’t had any new messages in game.
Also part of the app is “Galaxy of War,” which allows you to deploy mini missions in order to boost your war readiness in the game. You start with two squads and missions aren’t really games but more like the “farming” in Farmville. The take a certain amount of time (usually minutes) and you can’t deploy another mission until one of your squads come back. Lastly there is “Alliance News” which is basically Mass Effect 3‘s Twitter feed. By far the best part of the app is the that it contains both the primary and secondary codex. The primary codex is read aloud like it is in the game. Oh, did I mention that this app is made by Electronic Arts and is FREE? I guess I didn’t. Go download it.
