In 2007, BioWare introduced gamers to Commander Shepard, a character they could customize in any way they liked — appearance, attitude, romantic relationships, anything was possible with a Xbox 360 controller and your imagination. While saving the galaxy was the main idea, Mass Effect made a big impact in every way possible: story, gameplay, and most importantly: its one-of-a-kind conversation mechanic where players controlled what Shepard would say and watched the events that followed. Now it’s time to explore part three of the series with Mass Effect 3 for the Xbox 360.

Like the previous two games, save data will transfer over into Mass Effect 3 and characters will remember the actions of your Shepard. There’s a catch this time around: if your Shepard died at the end of Mass Effect 2 you’ll either have to replay the last mission in your save file — and survive — or create a whole new Shepard. Long story short, Shepard needs to be there somehow, whether he survives a rather bloody mission in Mass Effect 2 or starts with a clean slate in part three.

Earth is being completely ravished. Soldiers bravely fight a losing battle as their lives are picked apart by the biggest threat to ever hit the planet. It’s up to you to take action as Commander Shepard and defend what little remains of Earth in the next installment to BioWare’s exhilarating sci-fi series, Mass Effect.