For those of you following Mass Effect 3 for reasons other then the endings drama, you've probably already heard about the coming free Resurgence Pack DLC. The pack will beef up the popular multiplayer portion of the game with new maps, races, and weapons to help keep things fresh.

In a new video released by Electronic Arts, Sr. Combat Designer Corey Gaspur and Gameplay Designer Eric Fagnan walk us through the new content and show off their favorites in action. It's a wild ride you can watch for yourself after the cut, and I'll breakdown all the new content for you, and how it will change the dynamics of Mass Effect 3's multiplayer game. 

The first new map is Hydra, aptly named as a hydro-electric dam that players will be thrown onto the top of. The map is wide open, meaning that it's sure to be popular with snipers, but may leave room for lots of new strategies. An enemy focused on sniping or avoiding snipers may not notice you coming up quietly behind him. Condor is the other new map, highly reminiscent of Sheppard's time on Palaven's moon in the campaign. You can even stop to look up and watch the planet burn. This map will force the players to split into two groups, one at the top of the hill sniping, and the other holding the line at the bottom. BioWare sure seems to love the long distance classes with this one.

We also get a peek at the new races available to play in the Resurgence pack. The Batarians are brawlers, and this gets reflected with their new abilities like Ballistic Blades that acts like a shotgun full of knives, though we also get to see them giving a beatdown with their rifle butt too. If you really want to get up close and personal though the new Krogan Battlemaster has something for you. The biotic charge allows this hulking death machine to close distances almost instantly, and headbutt enemies into submission like a true Krogan.

If support is more your style you can always try the Asari Justicar, who has a wide range of biotic powers, including a biotic bubble. While you might immediately think of the shield biotic members of the party could use against drone swarms in Mass Effect 2, this one is stationary, and will provide team members inside with a defense boost, while also weakening any enemies that step inside making it good for defense or area denials. The Geth for their part have a handy turret as an engineer that can restore the shields of nearby players, making those tough defense missions a bit more survivable. For something totally new though they also have a hunter mode, which lets you see enemies through walls at the cost of half your shield power, so worth it!

Much like the new weapons that were added to Mass Effect 2 via DLC, the three new weapons in the Resurgence pack break the mold and have their unique combat styles. The Krogan Assault rifle might better be named a grenade launcher, as it shoots explosive projectiles. The catch is the longer you hold down the trigger, the faster they come. Useful in a pinch, but I could see it burning through ammo way too quickly if you're not careful. The Geth SMG is a miniature version of the Spitfire heavy weapon from the campaign. It seems to have a much faster charge up time, but still able to release a hail of bullets to shred inorganics once it gets going. Finally the Batarian sniper rifle adds an interesting twist to the classic of long range death dealing. This rifle fires a harpoon that can send enemies flying, just hopefully not into your teammates!

http://www.youtube.com/embed/piIJBzEc2ss