Free roam in m effect 3?

on xbox live i watched a video with a member of the team who make the game. the interviewer asked poor questions i could do better. one thing i took away from the 30 seconds i watched is that the Designer sed that the reapers are here. if this is the case will there be exploration in m effect 3 or will it be a linear game like gears of war 3. if the reapers are destroying earth shepard is not going to help a volus find his cred chit, as he will be focused on stopping the reapers. so will there be exploration or not?