The difference between the combat in the first Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 was pretty big. The first one was more RPG than action, and the second evened things up a bit by seemingly taking a few mechanics from other third-person shooters like Gears of War. The latest BioWare Pulse vid shows that the developers are taking things even further. 

So far, it looks like the cover system is improved, even allowing 90 degree cover turns so that you never have to break cover to compensate for enemy movement. You also get an improvement to the omni-tool. Instead of merely a "casting" (to use a fantasy term) combat item, the omni-tool now has a "omni-blade" that lets you form a punchblade with which you can stab your enemies.

Combat also now features advanced animations that let your enemies react appropriately to your attacks. In the video, you see Shepard pistol whipping what look to be Cerberus guards from various angles and they then stumble in the opposite direction. It adds another layer of reality to the game that not only makes you feel like your actually doing track-able damage, but also allows you to better manipulate the battlefield by pushing an enemy out of cover so a companion can blast him, for example.

Mass Effect 3 will be released March 6, 2012.

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