This Valentine's Day, don't lazily toss accessories or sweetmeats at your loved one, spend some intimate time together and strengthen your bond by playing co-op together in the Mass Effect 3 demo. BioWare today announced it'll launch on February 14, packing both single- and multiplayer.

On the single-player front, you'll get to experience the "mind-blowing opening attack on Earth" which kicks off the campaign then jump to later in the war for another mission. The co-op portion will pack two maps, and let you fiddle with the customization options.

If you're still puzzled by the idea of multiplayer in Mass Effect 3, here's what it is, at least. ME3 won't support split-screen co-op though, so you and your darling will have to play together, apart. It's probably for the best--kissing is gross and love is icky.

However, the multiplayer portion will initially be locked off. When the demo launches, co-op will only be available to those who've redeemed a Battlefield 3 online pass or seized some other "opportunities" BioWare has yet to reveal. It won't open up for all and sundry until February 17.

The demo will hit all three platforms--PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. If you're curious about ME3's Kinect voice control, that's included in the 360 demo. Do remember that playing the ME3 demo will unlock bonus content in Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning and vice versa. The Reckoning demo launched yesterday, if you want to start hoarding Mass Effect items.

Mass Effect 3 is out on March 6. The PC edition will require Origin, and won't be on Steam. As ever, you can scoop a load of bonus gubbins by pre-ordering.