Mass Effect 3

 PC
User Score
6.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 7228 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3,703 out of 7228
  2. Mixed: 1,119 out of 7228
  3. Negative: 2,406 out of 7228
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  1. mat193
    Mar 12, 2012
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. COME ON, please stop posting reviews before you finished the game! If I were to review mass effect before I got to the ending i would probably at least give it a 9 however that is not the case. The ending simply kills everything there is to the game making everything completely pointless. I have absolutely no problem with Shepard dying in the end I actually think its a quite fitting end for the series to go. However the lack of aftermath to the universe is just sad. You spend hours upon hours crafting the universe for the way you want it to be after all this is done only to get Shepard's death and a light show. All I was asking for is to show us what we did in the game mattered show us how even though he sacrificed himself in the end that what he did mattered and changed the universe besides the destruction/control/synthesis with the reapers. What happened with the geth/quarians, the krogan, asari, turians, salarians, your crew who you developed a relationship along the 3 games and your love interest. The choices you made in all 3 games mean absolutely nothing in the end you basically just choose the color you want the explosion to be in. The war assets which is basically the main drive of the game have little impact in the final battle besides unlocking the final 3 endings which frankly why would you care if you only get a different explosion and a greenish EDI as an extra in the end.… Expand
  2. Tomo21
    Mar 13, 2012
    1
    Main problem with me 3 was absence of any deep and engaging story and to simplified rpg element.
    In me1 we where detectives discovering secrets, which shed new light on stuff we where thinking that we allready got figured out.
    And there was those little things like talking to survivors and then deciding to punch or calm down guy that is having nervous break down.And there was lots of    Main problem with me 3 was absence of any deep and engaging story and to simplified rpg element.
    In me1 we where detectives discovering secrets, which shed new light on stuff we where thinking that we allready got figured out.
    And there was those little things like talking to survivors and then deciding to punch or calm down guy that is having nervous break down.And there was lots of those fun little stuff that make you live me1 story.
    In me3 there is no multiple quest hubs like there was on planets in me1, like Noveria, Feros and so on...
    Those quest hubs had side quests that allowed us to get know stuff and people around us in much more depth.
    Like making repairs of equipment for feros survivors, it was wellcome change of pace for the game, like calm before the storm.Me3 feels like shooter, and everything fill so rushed.Get from point A to B , kill that many wawes of enemy.

    Another thing that i miss is mako and fighting through great enviroments like Virmire or ilos.
    And in general there was much more diversity of enviroments in me1.

    Me3 should have been all about discovering weaknesses, origin and reason behind reapers, even if we had to venture beyond previously inactive relays to alien and forgotten worlds.
    We should have been pioneers and detectives once again.

    We should have get that "Whoow" effect once again which me3 failed to deliver.    … Expand
  3. gotthammer
    Mar 16, 2012
    3
    Mass Effect was a great game, the only complaints I can recall being performance (optimization?) issues and the rather clunky inventory.
    Mass Effect 2, counting the DLCs (esp. Lair of the Shadow Broker), was also a great game. It wasn't perfect : some aspects felt over-simplified when compared to the first game, and the resolution of the main story could have used more choices. Still, a    Mass Effect was a great game, the only complaints I can recall being performance (optimization?) issues and the rather clunky inventory.
    Mass Effect 2, counting the DLCs (esp. Lair of the Shadow Broker), was also a great game. It wasn't perfect : some aspects felt over-simplified when compared to the first game, and the resolution of the main story could have used more choices. Still, a great game.
    Mass Effect 3, the finale of a trilogy, was also a great game, for the most part. Decent graphics. Great looking locations/environments. Pretty cinematics/FMVs. Dramatic (if a bit overly so, at times) sequences. Superb score/soundtrack. The dialogue, like the previous game, was mostly solid (ok, there were some cheesy/seeming forced/heavy-handed bits, like a few speeches). The plot was 'ok', but could use some beefing up/more work, but it was, for the most part, 'ok' (not counting the ending). Almost everything was great. Almost.
    The ending, IMHO, ruins, not just the game, but, as it is the ending of a trilogy, the franchise as well.
    The ending doesn't feel to be 'in character' with the setting or even the overall feel of the game and the franchise. The ending seemingly negates any choice and also disregards (or doesn't reward) the efforts of the player throughout the game. It is very, very disappointing.
    The ending alone makes me unable to, in good conscience, recommend the game to anyone I know. Unless Bioware were to 'fix' the endings by providing more options/choices, as well as clarifying the mess that is the current set of endings, I won't recommend the game, nor will I purchase any downloadable content for Mass Effect 3.

    Pros: Visuals, environment, soundtrack, dialogue/voice acting/humor, cinematics/FMVs, quantity of weapons

    Cons: Ending, fewer squad mates, graphics options too limited, lack of inventory/over-simplification of RPG elements, some dialogue, quantity of armor choices, lack of other 'hubs' (there's only the Citadel), some aspects feel rushed (example: under utilization of some characters, the ending, etc.)    … Expand
  4. OddSuperFuture
    Mar 16, 2012
    0
    The game is absolutely top notch until the ending is reached and you're presented with 3 choices. 3 choices which completely dismiss any decisions you've made prior in any of the 3 games. There are 3 ending scenes with no closure and a convoluted, out of character plot which disregard the franchises key themes. This destroys any motivation you may have to replay this game-or any of theThe game is absolutely top notch until the ending is reached and you're presented with 3 choices. 3 choices which completely dismiss any decisions you've made prior in any of the 3 games. There are 3 ending scenes with no closure and a convoluted, out of character plot which disregard the franchises key themes. This destroys any motivation you may have to replay this game-or any of the other ME games.… Expand
  5. North
    Mar 18, 2012
    3
    I can't believe you Bioware! How dare you insult your fanbase with such dimwitted story progression, and worst of all, with an idiotic ending that pissed off everyone as hellfire !! Do you guys have any idea how many people are invested in this game, to see their stories achieve a more fulfilling end? What a logically insulting end, with loads of plot-holes?

    The only positive thing about    I can't believe you Bioware! How dare you insult your fanbase with such dimwitted story progression, and worst of all, with an idiotic ending that pissed off everyone as hellfire !! Do you guys have any idea how many people are invested in this game, to see their stories achieve a more fulfilling end? What a logically insulting end, with loads of plot-holes?

    The only positive thing about this game was the entire process of rallying allies. Because I am a more RPG oriented player, rather than bang bang, pow pow... Yet even at that, I couldn't see any satisfying plot writing. The whole marketing hype, day one DLC, and Xbox kinnect components were already indications that something was off about this game. And yet you were so sure that this would be the best game in the series. EPIC FAIL, by literal definition! You probably can't fall deeper than this. Nonetheless, I gave you 3 for your blood and sweat poured into the making of the game. Please get a grip and revitalize yourselves before the shame becomes too unbearable. But first, get rid of that EA leech! There are a lot better publishers out there, smaller, yes, but treat their developers with respect. My suggestion: strike a deal with Valve or create your own publishing company. The Bioware I have known is capable of doing this.    … Expand
  6. linksmaster
    Mar 18, 2012
    0
    After completing the game one has to wonder whether Bioware diverted all their resources to Star Wars - The Old Republic. One can only hope that is the excuse for this ending to the series. Regardless of the excuses or, perish the thought these "endings" were actually planned out, the Nihilistic ending made me regret having spent time even bothering to develop a character. Perhaps it's aAfter completing the game one has to wonder whether Bioware diverted all their resources to Star Wars - The Old Republic. One can only hope that is the excuse for this ending to the series. Regardless of the excuses or, perish the thought these "endings" were actually planned out, the Nihilistic ending made me regret having spent time even bothering to develop a character. Perhaps it's a joke. Or a calculated business move to offer DLC that lets you have an ending where you actually have some impact. As such this mess is such a shame for what had been such a promising series. In my humble opinion it is that bad. And it's sad. Not the sadness of any ending but the saddest thing in the world: Wasted potential. The wasted potential from a sloppy meaningless ending to an otherwise previously well executed series. I have lost the will to replay Mass Effect due to the ending. If that was Bioware's (and/or EA's) intentions, then well played EA/Bioware. I won't bother to return. If this is the same attention they plan for other games then I wish them well. I will not be playing them.… Expand
  7. Pekotski
    Mar 15, 2012
    0
    Bioware disappointed again. This time - the last time. I dont understand where the high score from critics come from - its a proof of how deeply this industry is corrupted. The list of critics who support this **** is simply a pay list.
  8. Tangster
    Mar 10, 2012
    1
    The game was going great, I could forgive the little errors, the errand-shep side quests, the mediocre graphics, the day 1 DLC... all because the plot stormed along nicely and everything was going as well as could possibly be expected in a galactic war.

    I had the Krogan and the Turians, the Geth and the Quarians, even Aria all working together for to good of the galaxy. I'd rejoined with    The game was going great, I could forgive the little errors, the errand-shep side quests, the mediocre graphics, the day 1 DLC... all because the plot stormed along nicely and everything was going as well as could possibly be expected in a galactic war.

    I had the Krogan and the Turians, the Geth and the Quarians, even Aria all working together for to good of the galaxy.
    I'd rejoined with my LI(Tali), had fun with my bro Garrus and discovered that Shep still can't dance.

    The last 5 mins? Ruined the game.
    The ending of the game was absolutely atrocious and also killed all the replay value for me as a) had to do all the side quests anyway for the GAW thing, no replay there)
    b) the endings are all terribad and boil down to pretty much a single endings with a different coloured light show.

    Come to think of it, it killed the replay value of the entire franchise since none of my choices in ME1 and ME2 made the slightest difference in the end.

    If Bioware are going to end a series like that, I'll just avoid their games in the future so I don't end up with a million metric tons of steaming disappoint, especially after being so emotionally invested in both my character and squadmates before being kicked in the face by Casey Hudson's lying foot.    … Expand
  9. Bronston
    Mar 10, 2012
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Hey Shep, can you grab that medigel please. Shep!? No, what are you doing, planning on competing in the Olympics? If you're done somersaulting around go ahead and come back over here and grab that medigel. Hey Shep, you bored? It's just that you're speaking with Admiral Hackett and staring off into space with a goofy look on your face, probably ought to pay attention, wait maybe I accidentally fired up Garry's Mod. Shep, did you see that? I think it was Tyler Durden, or am I just seeing random flashes of people for no reason again. Hey Shep I like Joker and Edi too but you really need to get back to work, seriously you can't just stand here forever, Shep, HEY SHEP JUST MOVE WHAT"S WRONG WITH YOU.

    Ok, seriously I just finished this game, Man I am not in a real great mood now. Let me start by saying Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2 were some of the best examples of video games of all time. This game made me want to smash things so many times as I played it I probably shaved a couple years off my life from the rage. If it had been any other game I would have stopped playing and uninstalled it, unfortunately this was supposed to be Mass Effect so I did not give up cause that's what you do in Mass Effect. From a technical stand point I am unimpressed. I've read that it is a visual improvement over 2, I think I missed that part of the game, maybe it was on Jack's mission cause I missed that one. The controls are terrible. Why does shift do so many things? I have a keyboard in front of me, it has a ton of keys can I use them please? So many times I tried to pick something up just to go flying through the air, other times I was in a hurry cause, you know, impending galactic destruction, and I'd slam straight into a door while mashing the E key, didn't work. At one point I decided it was a stupid irritation to have to find the M key in the dark with my not that side of the keyboard hand so I said hey tab doesn't do anything so I went to the options menu and looked, hmm can't change the Map key huh? That's pretty much idiotic. Of course there's the whole thing where in combat I'd be in cover and try to move to different cover and instead jump over the cover straight into the line of fire, or I'd be shooting things and all that and then just stand up and get my head blown off. All that really increased the overall experience for me. Then there's the screwy behavior during conversations. People teleporting from place to place, or being just plain invisible. Then there's the constant flashes of characters during conversation where they just randomly appear for a split second. Now none of these dialogue are game breakers, just things that completely break your disbelief suspension. No the game breaker is how, as many people have already said, this is not my Shep, this guy says random crap that I don't understand and often doesn't even mean the same thing as what I picked, of course usually that's not much of a problem because I'm usually not given any options.

    I did think most of the voice acting was good, except that reporter chick, I'm sure they'll get it in editing. Oh yeah and that whole DLC thing, that's pretty ridiculous, gluttons.
    Now, on to the real problems. Mostly of course revolving around the ending. My God, you people don't deserve a nickle you made as a result of your initial fan base. I can see uninvested new comers being alright with this, with me however, that was my Shepard you destroyed, and was my hours upon hours of work you disregarded in that two minute waste of space ending cut scene. This was without a doubt the best part of the whole experience for me. So I get there, I talk to the stupid kid that tells me that absolutely moronic story I assume he made up on the spot and attempt to figure out which options the directions represent, so I walk up to the power conduit, first option I looked at and bam the **** bug apparently works here to, my feet are nailed to the floor I guess, so even though this is not the option I want I'm forced to shoot the conduit cause I can't walk around anymore, maybe there's a limit to the number of steps you can take throughout the game. Fortunetly turns out all three endings are the same thing anyway so who cares, I'm not playing it again was a waste 90+ hours anyway, 90 cause the ending negates all three games.

    So here's the short and sweet, this got a four because I suspended my bias and the crushing blow this game was to a former fanboy, I wanted to put a zero. If you're a fan of this series, pirate this one, they don't deserve any money for it. Hope Bioware goes down in flames.

    Verdict
    Piece of Crap

    P.S. Not revising this, it's way too long to read.    … Expand
  10. Praedor
    Mar 15, 2012
    1
    I have been a huge fan of the series since it began with Mass Effect 1. I played ME 1 six time and then played ME 2 eight times and was anticipating playing ME 3 a similar number of times. I had 4 different Shepards I was looking forward to importing and playing through. I played it once. One time. That was more than enough. The game is actually fantastic, with a great score, someI have been a huge fan of the series since it began with Mass Effect 1. I played ME 1 six time and then played ME 2 eight times and was anticipating playing ME 3 a similar number of times. I had 4 different Shepards I was looking forward to importing and playing through. I played it once. One time. That was more than enough. The game is actually fantastic, with a great score, some pretty good interactions and dialog, some of it quite moving. It works well until the last 15 to 20 minutes then it goes to hell in a handcart. A game that was touting as being all about player choice affecting the outcome, a game where the developers promised that your decisions in ME1, 2, and earlier in game 3 would impact the final outcome was a COMPLETE lie. There is ONE ending. One. It is identical in all ways no matter what you do in all the previous games, no matter how you play, what decisions you make, it ends the same but with different colored terminal explosions. Woohoo. ALL the time you spend on side missions, doing good or bad deeds, making peace treaties, ending conflict, uniting alien civilizations, collecting allies and materiel is all for naught. No matter how you do it you get the exact same nonsensical, blatantly illogical (in game and in real life) ending. It only takes ONE playthrough to the end to lose all enthusiasm for the series and lose any interest in ever playing any of the previous excellent titles ever again. If I could I would return my digital copy. So terribly depressing.… Expand
  11. Magniir
    Mar 18, 2012
    4
    My rating's slightly higher than the average and that's simply because I played the game knowing the ending was horrible but went in with an open-mind anyway.

    Frankly, Day 1 DLC doesn't bother me. It's going to come out anyway, I don't think it really matters when it comes out. Sure, it being on the disc might suck, but nobody has actually proven that every piece of data included in the    My rating's slightly higher than the average and that's simply because I played the game knowing the ending was horrible but went in with an open-mind anyway.

    Frankly, Day 1 DLC doesn't bother me. It's going to come out anyway, I don't think it really matters when it comes out. Sure, it being on the disc might suck, but nobody has actually proven that every piece of data included in the DLC is on the disc as well.

    As for the game itself? Some of the best 20+ hours I've spent in a game. No really, it is. That 28 hours I spent on my first run-through wasn't bad, much of it felt really good. The environments were a bit repetitive from the second game but the character writing was absolutely fantastic, and much of the plot was fine until the last 10 minutes of the game.

    That's honestly the deal breaker for me. I give the game a 4 because the gameplay and character design were sold extremely well for me, but everything else was just plain crud. From the whole gimmicky "War Readiness" metagame to the absolute horrible ending. Those last 10-15 minutes are some of the worst minutes I've ever spent on any video game.

    It's not that it's bad that's the problem, it's that the ending doesn't really change that drastically from each option. Not only that, but your actions leading up to that point might as well not have happened, because doing the side-missions in the game doesn't really do much more than alter your "War Readiness" level, which doesn't change the endings as much as you'd expect. Other than these points, many of the ending scene is just absolutely confusing, non-sensical and it leaves you with much more questions than answers.

    That last one's really important. If I finish a story and I've got more questions than answers, and there is no sequel planned, then I really hate that story. Essentially it ends the story on a sort of cliff-hanger that you know you'll probably never get to see the bottom of, and that's just disappointing and somewhat cruel.    … Expand
  12. lliam
    May 6, 2012
    1
    If you have Mass Effect 1 or 2 you have better games than this one. Average game not worth the money. Since Origin took over DRM spyware all over your P.C so it is up to you if you want this. No customer support at all. The multiplayer has massive issues with people not getting the stuff they paid for and no means of getting any resolution from customer service you just get your accountIf you have Mass Effect 1 or 2 you have better games than this one. Average game not worth the money. Since Origin took over DRM spyware all over your P.C so it is up to you if you want this. No customer support at all. The multiplayer has massive issues with people not getting the stuff they paid for and no means of getting any resolution from customer service you just get your account banned saves them needing a customer service department and with a banned account you have no access to the game you paid for. IMO very similar game to 1+2 and not worth more than $5. Hyped beyond belief in Expert reviews. A very linear game save your cash I wish I did.… Expand
  13. talonius
    Mar 12, 2012
    2
    The Good: * The game has the classic Mass Effect play style and combat.

    The Bad: * They shoe horned multiplayer in and created a reason to make it pertinent. * The equipment (and hair) of the player models is constantly poking through. * 90% of the conversations you have do not offer choices of replies - they don't even bring up the conversation wheel. * Day one DLC which requires one    The Good: * The game has the classic Mass Effect play style and combat.

    The Bad: * They shoe horned multiplayer in and created a reason to make it pertinent.
    * The equipment (and hair) of the player models is constantly poking through.
    * 90% of the conversations you have do not offer choices of replies - they don't even bring up the conversation wheel.
    * Day one DLC which requires one line of code change in order to make it appear and which should have been part of the overall game as it was the one thing that managed to add some depth.
    * Failure to take into account player choices (from ME1, ME2, or ME3) with the ending.
    * Endings which appear to provide a choice, but don't. (What color would you like your universe destroying beam to be in?)
    * No sex scenes, demonstrating EA's editorial control over Bioware productions despite Bioware's claims to the contrary.
    * None of the side quests you complete appears to have any impact other than increasing your forces' strength for the final battle. The narrative that one might expect from Mass Effect for the individual units brought into play is not there.

    As a single game, it's a shallow and fun romp until the very last portion of the game. When you and Anderson are side by side with each other, chatting, stop. Right there is the best ending you can hope for - do NOT continue. Walk away and imagine your ending. You will be happier.

    As a series finale this game does NOT suffice. I don't care what theory you take to - that they wanted to show predestination, that Shepard was indoctrinated, that they're holding the series open for DLC. None of that matters. What matters is that the ending to the game - and the series - brings no closure for the player. NONE.

    People are claiming that those of us who are complaining about the ending are overreacting. I don't think we can overreact. I have spent hundreds of hours of my life playing this game, I overrode my ban on EA games in order to purchase it, I hoped as a property of Bioware that they would treat the series finale properly. All of those hopes were dashed, destroyed, thrown down, stepped on, and ground into tiny pieces.

    Don't buy this game. It's not worth your money. When it's a $5.00 special, it might be worth it. If Bioware rewrites the ending, it might be worth it. Right now? I spent $80.00 on the collector's edition and I wish I could get a refund - of my money, and my play time.

    Between this and Dragon Age 2... well, I'm glad the indie games are ramping up because it's obvious I need to find my Western RPG fix somewhere else.    … Expand
  14. velimrius
    Mar 12, 2012
    3
    Im glad i didnt spent cent on this, go to hell bioware with ur employed game designers whom hates gaming and want option to skip combat....

    First ME was awesome to me, second was good too, but this is disgrace!
  15. Maelphaedor
    Mar 14, 2012
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Right up to the end sequence, ME3 was on track to be the BEST GAME SERIES I've ever played from a story perspective. Then the final cutscene played and every single choice made in the game boiled down to 3 identical endings (other than explosion color). Seriously, they really, REALLY screwed the pooch on this one. Now as said, right up to the end sequence, this is the best game story EVER, which makes the FUBAR ending all the more painful.… Expand
  16. flexasaurus
    Jul 5, 2012
    3
    The main problem of this game has to be the fact that they left out Drew Karpishyn, the guy who wrote the first two games, I knew right from the beginning, that it didn't feel right, wen I figured out EA put their dirty little hands on everything mass effect, That was the end of it. I invested to much time and money on the series, only for it to be sabotaged by EA and their minions. IThe main problem of this game has to be the fact that they left out Drew Karpishyn, the guy who wrote the first two games, I knew right from the beginning, that it didn't feel right, wen I figured out EA put their dirty little hands on everything mass effect, That was the end of it. I invested to much time and money on the series, only for it to be sabotaged by EA and their minions. I loved the mass effect universe, it got me through tough times, it meant a lot to me, I know that sounds gay but its true, The first two games hit the right buttons for me.

    But now I feel worse. The extended cut was the nail on the coffin, and now some **** is already laying out the plans for a mass effect MMO. Extended cut.... More like extended disappointment.. Thats my two cents anyways...    … Expand
  17. Bulldozer
    Mar 30, 2012
    0
    This game could have been a masterpiece but the final result is only a forgettable mix of bugs, holes in a childish plot with the "wish" to be serious, a ton of shadows and emphasis everywhere, no exploration, no puzzles, flat dialogues and the worst ending in videogame history. In certain things it could deserve a 11 but in others not more than a -20 so my balance is 0. Nothing more thanThis game could have been a masterpiece but the final result is only a forgettable mix of bugs, holes in a childish plot with the "wish" to be serious, a ton of shadows and emphasis everywhere, no exploration, no puzzles, flat dialogues and the worst ending in videogame history. In certain things it could deserve a 11 but in others not more than a -20 so my balance is 0. Nothing more than a "project" of a game, an interesting project never terminated and poorly done, or at least that's not good to be released like this.… Expand
  18. SilentMobius
    Mar 12, 2012
    2
    This game should be a 9, I cared about the characters, the sense of drama was palpable. The action was furious without devolving into a pure shooter, even the side missions didn't feel as forced as they have in the previous games, for the most part it was fantastic.

    However, I have to knock off a point for general inexcusable QA failures (LI's not responding to actions in the previous    This game should be a 9, I cared about the characters, the sense of drama was palpable. The action was furious without devolving into a pure shooter, even the side missions didn't feel as forced as they have in the previous games, for the most part it was fantastic.

    However, I have to knock off a point for general inexcusable QA failures (LI's not responding to actions in the previous games) another point for some horrific animation glitches (characters not facing each other when they talk eyes rolling back into heads, necks twisting 180 degrees), a point for the poor integration of the From Ashes DLC (Seriously, a Prothean? much more content was needed for such and important character, I'd have been happy to pay more for it), another point off for the multi-player which is good but the matchmaking is horribly unstable (On PC at least) making it a frustrating process, And finally a massive 4 points off for absolutely horrific and poorly thought out ending that has soured the whole series for me, and obliterated any replay value. Hence we go from a "near-perfect" 9 to an "Oh goddess what have you done" 2    … Expand
  19. WindWalker
    Mar 12, 2012
    0
    They did it again, they mad an awesome game with Mass Effect 1, a little while later they made a good game, a little dumped down but still a game that was true to its roots in the RPG genre. And now they made this.... It was, for me, the only game i have been looking insanely forward to, iv have spent so many hours with my 2 characters that they feel like a part of me. But in this game,They did it again, they mad an awesome game with Mass Effect 1, a little while later they made a good game, a little dumped down but still a game that was true to its roots in the RPG genre. And now they made this.... It was, for me, the only game i have been looking insanely forward to, iv have spent so many hours with my 2 characters that they feel like a part of me. But in this game, they don't!!!
    The RP elements is all gone, this is more off elaborate cut-scenes that feels like any time a quirk time event could pop up.... And don't even get me started on the endings, I just don't feel "involved" in every 8 off them....
    The multi-player system is ok, but feels "detached", you cant even text chat with the other players?!?!?
    The companion ai is soo bad... default: they will run off and get them self killed, and if you try to control them they just stand around and can't find the way... or ignores the order... The animations and sound feels rushed, the side quest tracking system simply don't exists, you have next to none communication with the quest giver (they have no idea you are about to go around the galaxy to find something) These are for me just the top off the iceberg. All in all, Bioware has ruined the Mass Effect ending for me.    … Expand
  20. ceppi
    Mar 14, 2012
    4
    After DA2 and SWTOR, I was really scared that Mass Effect 3 would be really bad, and oh boy, was I right... First of all, you are forced to play multiplayer or most probably you get the bad ending. This is a problem now, but in 3-4 months, when people stop playing multiplayer, its going to be an even worse situation. Second of all, the goddamn first day DLC, when its already present of theAfter DA2 and SWTOR, I was really scared that Mass Effect 3 would be really bad, and oh boy, was I right... First of all, you are forced to play multiplayer or most probably you get the bad ending. This is a problem now, but in 3-4 months, when people stop playing multiplayer, its going to be an even worse situation. Second of all, the goddamn first day DLC, when its already present of the disc I goddamn buyed few days ago, and Bioware lying about it just makes things worse. Overall I am just disappointed, I will most likely will not check the next Bioware game even tho it was one my favorite gaming companies... RIP Bioware that delivered us Baldurs Gate, Neverwinter Nights, KOTOR...… Expand
  21. Distruttore
    Mar 14, 2012
    0
    I'm not saying the ending should be changed, nor should there be a DLC... this game is dead and done with. I hope it rots in hell with an ending like that.
  22. paxbanana
    Mar 19, 2012
    3
    For some reason, Bioware decided to make ME3 a third-person shooter game with pretty cut-scenes. The RP element that made the Mass Effect series so unique was largely missing from the game, along with side-quests. I can't say I understand that, given there's a 'combat-only' game option. And, for pretending to be a shooter, there was actually no ending boss fight. I probably would forgiveFor some reason, Bioware decided to make ME3 a third-person shooter game with pretty cut-scenes. The RP element that made the Mass Effect series so unique was largely missing from the game, along with side-quests. I can't say I understand that, given there's a 'combat-only' game option. And, for pretending to be a shooter, there was actually no ending boss fight. I probably would forgive some of the dialogue shortage if the ending had actually been worth the tediousness of playing through the game. I was insulted by the ending that was played off as "16 wildly different endings". Bioware didn't even have the respect for their fans to make ONE different cut-scene and instead recycled the same one for every ending. If they had actually delivered, I probably would have forgiven the fact they dropped the RPG element from the game. As it stands, I can't bring myself to play through the game again. It says something when you'd rather read a book than watch a cut-scene again. In ME1 and 2, at least you could vary the dialogue. 30 hours of mediocre game play (riddled with graphics and sound issues that do not do the excellent VA cast and OST justice) is not worth $80.… Expand
  23. Dandynamite2201
    Mar 20, 2012
    0
    The game itself is a really good game, with good combat and good conversation options. Weapon choices and customization add a great variety, whereas different armour types and moves ensure the player can play exactly as they want to play. The characters are fully evolved and draw great depth, creating what could have been the best game of the year. If I could have stopped a second beforeThe game itself is a really good game, with good combat and good conversation options. Weapon choices and customization add a great variety, whereas different armour types and moves ensure the player can play exactly as they want to play. The characters are fully evolved and draw great depth, creating what could have been the best game of the year. If I could have stopped a second before the ending, it would have been 10/10. However then there is the ending. This ending respresents something complete unknown to Mass Effect, gives no closure or reasoning, has no basis for being there, and completely and utterly ruins the game. In fact it ruins Mass Effect 1 and 2 as well, as how could anybody restart the series with this kind of appalling disgraceful ending?… Expand
  24. Nudz
    Mar 20, 2012
    4
    The reason for such a low score is not for lack of a good game, quite the opposite the game itself is absolutely brilliant and worthy of it's prequels.
    The ending however was probably the biggest let down of any game I have ever played, leaving the previous experiences with the entire trilogy feeling very hollow and quite without meaning.
  25. dmjrnbsn
    Mar 20, 2012
    0
    One of the most profoundly disappointing endings to any story in any medium. The writers removed the cornerstone in which the entire story was built upon - choice and consequence. So, the entire building comes crashing down at the end. In the end, none of the choices your character makes throughout three games matter. All the relationships you've built are meaningless. There is noOne of the most profoundly disappointing endings to any story in any medium. The writers removed the cornerstone in which the entire story was built upon - choice and consequence. So, the entire building comes crashing down at the end. In the end, none of the choices your character makes throughout three games matter. All the relationships you've built are meaningless. There is no closure in the relationships made, whether between LIs or squad mates. They never come to fruition, and there is no resolution. ME3 was advertised to have a multitude of outcomes based upon players' choices. That's what originally made the Mass Effect franchise such a great success. The finale should have raised the player to great heights or taken the player to despair... and everywhere between based upon the consequences of the player's decisions throughout the entirety of the series(Paragon, Renegade, or somewhere in between). BioWare should have finished their remarkable work on the strengths that it was built on. Choice and consequence. It seemed like a given, but...

    You leave the game feeling complete and utter disappointment. It is truly remarkable how an ending can be so profoundly and remarkably bad. It truly destroys the franchise entirely. This is not an easy thing to say, as I've loved the series from the start. There is no replay value at all.

    BioWare has ruined years of work in the last ten minutes on what should have been one of the greatest RPGs of all time. It will be a study in the future on how not to end a story franchise.    … Expand
  26. Raupao
    Mar 21, 2012
    0
    This game is great, except the Day 1 DLC AND THE LAST 20 MINUTES!
    Dumbed down EVERYTHING too, less dialogue options, less squad members, less type of missions, less interaction with characters, almost no answers, FILLED WITH PLOT HOLES. Don't buy this game, do ANYTHING but buy this game. Really, we have to let EA know we wont pup up with incomplete ridiculous endings and DAY 1 DLC.
    They    This game is great, except the Day 1 DLC AND THE LAST 20 MINUTES!
    Dumbed down EVERYTHING too, less dialogue options, less squad members, less type of missions, less interaction with characters, almost no answers, FILLED WITH PLOT HOLES. Don't buy this game, do ANYTHING but buy this game. Really, we have to let EA know we wont pup up with incomplete ridiculous endings and DAY 1 DLC.
    They lied about everything, this game is a fail, on EVERY SINGLE LEVEL.    … Expand
  27. me3endingsucks
    Mar 23, 2012
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Well I just completed Mass Effect 3. Like 10 minutes ago. Needless to say I am severely disappointed with the ending, because the mass effect games are one of my favorite games ever(along with hl, sonic 2 and silver(1999)). The end itself is totally inconsistent with the rest of the game, it's like if Frodo at the end of LOTR decided to give the ring to Snape (yes Snape from Harry Potter **** you that's why), and then the whole world turns to lava and everyone dies except Boromir and he mates with himself and creates a race of boromirs on Uranus. Also all the choices I made in the game didn't matter whatsoever. It was just brutal to see the awesome universe of mass effect end this way... I expected more. And I bought the collectors edition with the dlc and all that crap, makes me want to puke.… Expand
  28. craig8304
    Apr 6, 2012
    0
    Overall interesting and engaging in concept and some content. The black box idea of decisions having consequences was what hooked me. Who were the writers trying to copy, Arthur C Clark? Ursula K LeGuin? My fault for trusting that I was in the hands of capable writers. I find no basis for developers to claim artistic integrity. The current ending has an incongruousness that belies the soOverall interesting and engaging in concept and some content. The black box idea of decisions having consequences was what hooked me. Who were the writers trying to copy, Arthur C Clark? Ursula K LeGuin? My fault for trusting that I was in the hands of capable writers. I find no basis for developers to claim artistic integrity. The current ending has an incongruousness that belies the so called pursuit of artistic integrity. It is lazy. it is cobbled. it is Bad Art.… Expand
  29. filby08
    Apr 16, 2012
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Playing this game is like finding out that your beautiful, intelligent and sweet girlfriend was really a hooker all along who hated you and was only in it for the cash. I played ME1 once before ME2 came out. After ME2, I played both games in succession about 8 or 9 times. I was so excited when ME3 came out, I was finally going to wrap up all my Shep's stories, and they were all going to have a different ending. Except not. It's the same ending for every single one of them, and it makes no sense. After finishing Mass Effect 3, I felt repulsion to a franchise that I once adored. There are some great moments in the game, almost like Bioware's last shred of integrity was working overtime to outdo all the bad, but it's not enough to redeem it. It's not just the ending, the players who romanced most of the ME2 characters were left sorely disappointed by the lack of character interaction. Ashley, the tough soldier girl, was mirandafied - because apparently the game didn't have enough pornstar looking women in it. The addition of Allers, a badly voiced, do nothing character based on an IGN reporter, was a glorious mistake. Kai Leng, one of the main antagonists, felt like he accidentally walked into the wrong game on his way to Street Fighter or something. Day one DLC is a massive Eff you to the fans (and the "Buy More DLC!" message that pops up while you're trying to process the endings is just awful). The multiplayer, while fun, should have been given less development time. I would have accepted it as a DLC even, if that were possible. I don't know who's idea it was to scap the final boss fight, but that person needs to go sit in a corner and think about what they have done.

    There are some positives, I won't forget them. The voice acting, for the most part, is superb. Some of the character arcs are handled brilliantly (Mordin !), I found the combat system highly enjoyable (coming from someone who fumbled through ME1 on normal). As a card carrying Garrus fangirl, I felt spoilt by the romance subplot. I liked the idea of the EMS, but I wish some of the larger plotlines (Racnhi, for example) were given more in the ending. The squadmate banter was fantastic, and it was great nice to see them recognise each other's existence in the cutscenes. I liked that I could customise my weapons again, even if it did feel a bit pointless.

    But none of this makes up for the fact that it feels like my reward for being a devoted fan is getting treated like a nuisance. My first gut reaction after the ending was "Wow...Bioware must really hate me." It's like they got sick of crafting a masterful story and phoned the rest in to appeal to the COD crowd. I don't like to play the "they dumbed it down to appeal to the masses" card...but that is really how it feels. The worst part, is I am not sure this is all entirely Bioware's fault. The ending, of course, rests solely on their shoulders, but I am not sure about everything else. If the reviews say anything, it's that Bioware now makes games for critics, and not their fans.    … Expand
  30. LFC_Onder8
    Apr 28, 2012
    4
    Highs :
    Game-play - Quick, fluent. Action packed. Squad mates were good and the AI was clever through out the entire game. Story - Through out most of the game you made choices some of them were brilliant and mattered, some brought you to the point of tears, some may of made you question your own morals.
    Multiplayer - Fantastic multiplayer, although seems a bit more sluggish somehwat,    Highs :
    Game-play - Quick, fluent. Action packed. Squad mates were good and the AI was clever through out the entire game. Story - Through out most of the game you made choices some of them were brilliant and mattered, some brought you to the point of tears, some may of made you question your own morals.
    Multiplayer - Fantastic multiplayer, although seems a bit more sluggish somehwat, maybe its just me, but overall it was good.

    Lows:
    Characters : Dead, personality wise, completely dead. You get a completely new character and he is basically a idiot who works out a lot and somehow he is actually and N7 Candidate, I have already forgotten his name, SERIOUSLY. Oh, and the small amount of characters is also quite disappointing considering in the other two there were so many. Story/Ending : Sucker punch in the face or a kick in the private area. Your pick    … Expand
  31. scorched595
    Aug 22, 2012
    0
    Just goes to show how procrastination never pays off most of the time, Fun fact, did you know that the endings to this game were made in 2 hours? Not surprised? Me neither. It's like a kid who made a great science project, but wrote his presentation in 5 minutes. The game itself is great, aside from a few bugs, but the ending is just so **** atrocious, so offensive, that I never picked upJust goes to show how procrastination never pays off most of the time, Fun fact, did you know that the endings to this game were made in 2 hours? Not surprised? Me neither. It's like a kid who made a great science project, but wrote his presentation in 5 minutes. The game itself is great, aside from a few bugs, but the ending is just so **** atrocious, so offensive, that I never picked up this game again after I beat it the first time, and this is coming from a guy who beat mass effect 2 5 times (I counted). Even the extended cut doesn't do anything, it just adds a few minutes of footage to the ending, whereas bioware squandered the opportunity to fix their **** up by doing something like the indoctrination theory. Sorry, bioware, but your pretty much dead to me now after this.… Expand
  32. 48Laws
    Apr 27, 2013
    4
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu731UtTFqo I wish I could have seen this before purchasing ME3.

    Personally, I was a loyal follower of the ME franchise since a year or so after the first game came out. I watched as a high-quality RPG turned into a fun storytelling-driven shooter hybrid. I enjoyed both of the first two games, but worried that Bioware may have been taking too many    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu731UtTFqo I wish I could have seen this before purchasing ME3.

    Personally, I was a loyal follower of the ME franchise since a year or so after the first game came out. I watched as a high-quality RPG turned into a fun storytelling-driven shooter hybrid. I enjoyed both of the first two games, but worried that Bioware may have been taking too many creative liberties with game play design. After DA2 became a malignant tumor on the whole DA franchise, I worried that marketing was steering video games toward a more obviously profit-driven path. I enjoyed seeing some of my favorite characters in ME3, but having the entire series to compare the game to I felt disappointed and wished I hadn't purchased it before it's price plummeted. The game screams linearity, entire plot lines promised to have wildly different conclusions were railroaded and some of the characters with strong convictions pulled a 180 in the (choo-choo) 6-month mandated shore leave Shep was put on after Arrival (whether or not it was even played). James Vega was chosen by Bioware, knowing fewer squad mates would be included in this game, to accommodate newer players and have someone dumber than them on the Normandy. 17% of your squad is new, has no clue what's going on, and was included solely for first-time players; It really sends a message to those who have played the game for 5+ years (notice Vega wasn't made DLC; he must have either been considered more 'essential' than a Prothean by the devs or EA thought nobody would buy it). A broken journal system ensures players will constantly be wondering whether they scanned the right section of space for an item or have yet to drop it off to the NPC on the citadel who's conversation Shep overheard (these are laughably called 'side missions'). After you're confused by wtf just happened after the endings, you can buy all the answers in DLC form for $10 in Leviathan. This game is complete rubbish without the answers in that DLC pack (and even so, the plot further devolves into a joke). What's worst of all for me: this game makes me feel embarrassed for all the recommendations I gave out for the series after ME1 and ME2. I know I've personally brought 6 friends into the Mass Effect world, and only one of them enjoyed the "experience" of ME3. The rest still joke about the endings over a year past the game's release, and according to much of the polling done the majority of the fan base feels the same way. After this debacle, I won't be making that mistake with Bioware products again.    … Expand
  33. cossayos
    Nov 2, 2012
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Easily the worst part of the trilogy. And this is not only about the abysmal end. The game feels shallow and short compared to parts 1 and 2. It starts out with introducing a new squadmate, which Shepard obviously knows but the player, unless they have read the comics, doesn't have a clue about. Dialogues are cliche and mostly run on auto. A kid, the one and only one in the whole trilogy tries to force the player into some kind of emotion, which rapidly becomes a nuisance when the dream sequences start. Multiplayer is tacked on in order to catch what the EA crew calls the COD crowd. I don't need it, and I didn't need the overall shooter feel of the game, whereas the real strenghts of the previous games take the backseat. It's fun to play once, but it's not something having a long shelve life, since the seen one seen them all feeling kicks in with a vengeance.… Expand
  34. Exur
    Dec 8, 2012
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. All the choices you made in previous games, all the heartbreaking decisions, the entire Mass Effect lore got flushed down the drain with this disaster piece. Nothing you did in the trilogy mattered because in the end, it was all a story. Nothing really happened.… Expand
  35. Theral
    Mar 28, 2012
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game was a great game in my opinion, well in line with the previous two; but I had a few issues.

    In places, the battles are seemingly just a time-sink; lots of husks slowly pop out no matter how fast you kill them - head-shot each one, and it still takes over a minute to clear some areas that wouldn't take very long if they came fast or all at once.

    The biggest problem, however? The ending is terrible. It has no real closure to the story; and worst of all the three endings are essentially the same piece of crap.    … Expand
  36. casellacrack
    Apr 1, 2012
    0
    Mass Effect 3 is the least successful episode in the saga: you play it because it is a bond that lasts for years, because the vulgar scifi also always has a shot (even if only in some microexperience side), because the mechanical augmentation between phases play with the characters and relationships always work, but basically is a way to appeal to the full only to those who still enjoysMass Effect 3 is the least successful episode in the saga: you play it because it is a bond that lasts for years, because the vulgar scifi also always has a shot (even if only in some microexperience side), because the mechanical augmentation between phases play with the characters and relationships always work, but basically is a way to appeal to the full only to those who still enjoys this kind of epic onanistic… Expand
  37. EmperorDisaster
    Jul 3, 2012
    0
    I'm going to try reviewing this without talking about the disgrace to gaming known as "EA"... But what the hell, EA deliver minimal gaming to the public, expecting them to survive on a half-done game, and deliver their wallets for the next 5000 DLC's. I cannot understand why EA take companies such as Bioware, who have been immensely successful in the past, and absolutely rip the creativityI'm going to try reviewing this without talking about the disgrace to gaming known as "EA"... But what the hell, EA deliver minimal gaming to the public, expecting them to survive on a half-done game, and deliver their wallets for the next 5000 DLC's. I cannot understand why EA take companies such as Bioware, who have been immensely successful in the past, and absolutely rip the creativity from them. The ending is disgustingly inaccurate to the rest of the series (no surprise thanks to the 1 million writer changes), and gameplay seems to be a child's interpretation of the previous games, the graphics seem half done thanks to all the cartoony looks on humans, and the game in genral, ABSOLUTE FILTH. EA is the disgrace in gaming that likes to place it in the shower and choke it to death. The END.… Expand
  38. avrell
    Nov 18, 2013
    3
    Storytelling, RPG elements and dialogue have all disintegrated a significant degree since ME2. Any illusion of some greater adventure is no longer there. You have an L shaped corridor after another to clear of enemies.

    With above in mind, this game can only be seen as a cover shooter such as Gears of War. Considering how other game elements have been either abandoned, simplified    Storytelling, RPG elements and dialogue have all disintegrated a significant degree since ME2. Any illusion of some greater adventure is no longer there. You have an L shaped corridor after another to clear of enemies.

    With above in mind, this game can only be seen as a cover shooter such as Gears of War. Considering how other game elements have been either abandoned, simplified or streamlined, it is curious how clumsy and void of fun the shoot em up bits are. Nothing about moving and controlling Shepard feels intuitive. Decision to cram taking cover and sprinting behind same button results in plenty of mid combat situations where you really have no idea what will happen when you press the lottery button.

    ME3 is essentially a clumsy cover shooter among others. I would not recommend this game to anyone. I am amazed meta score among reviewers is as high as it is.    … Expand
  39. Smaug
    Jul 13, 2012
    0
    I have played Mass Effect from the first one, It had a marvelous and original setting that no much rpg's could mach.Still aside from the story combat was creative but often frustrating. In second one story got a lot blander with all that Cerberus nonsense but at least combat was better and game more refined.
    But third one is just terrible, the new writer who overtook the scene is awful,    I have played Mass Effect from the first one, It had a marvelous and original setting that no much rpg's could mach.Still aside from the story combat was creative but often frustrating. In second one story got a lot blander with all that Cerberus nonsense but at least combat was better and game more refined.
    But third one is just terrible, the new writer who overtook the scene is awful, knowing nothing of previous games, overall game quality is bad, an ugly copy-paste ripped from previous games, low-res textures, logic errors in quests, unasked multiplayer component in a singleplayer game, day-1 DLC, broken promises, brought out reviews, defiling of the scene with "human master race" storyline.

    Worst game I ever brought truly shocked and angered beyond reason for destruction of my favorite trilogy, whoever in EA is responsible for this atrocity should be hanged for his crimes against the fanbase, I now need some strong alcohol to forget what I saw. oh poor Tali what have they done to you.(sob) :(    … Expand
  40. Unblinking_Eye
    Jul 14, 2012
    0
    Its sad to watch something with a great beginning slowly turn into one of the most disappointing experiences. The Mass Effect series went from a great RPG with great fluff in Mass 1 to a cliched cover based shooter with the **** ending in Mass 3.

    If you have to play this game, borrow a copy. Not worth purchasing.
  41. tazock
    Jul 16, 2012
    0
    After DA2 Bioware succeded in completely destroy another franchise, after the first 2 ME games this one is really a let down; with and ending cutted and pasted from deux ex macchina and defended by bioware as an artistic choice,artistic my ass is a scam.
    Your past decisions doesnt affect the end of the game, you cant have an happy ending.
    All the game is more or less like this: enter a    After DA2 Bioware succeded in completely destroy another franchise, after the first 2 ME games this one is really a let down; with and ending cutted and pasted from deux ex macchina and defended by bioware as an artistic choice,artistic my ass is a scam.
    Your past decisions doesnt affect the end of the game, you cant have an happy ending.
    All the game is more or less like this:
    enter a room kill the 3/5 enemies waves, go to next room...i so miss old bioware    … Expand
  42. Gingerbread_Man
    Dec 11, 2013
    3
    Loved the first two games. Was nothing but disappointed with this one. Combat felt almost identical to the second, and was fine. Outside of that, everything was different. The characters the second game spent so long building felt largely absent except for cameos. The choices made in previous games had absolutely no noticeable impact. The lore from the first game felt completely abandonedLoved the first two games. Was nothing but disappointed with this one. Combat felt almost identical to the second, and was fine. Outside of that, everything was different. The characters the second game spent so long building felt largely absent except for cameos. The choices made in previous games had absolutely no noticeable impact. The lore from the first game felt completely abandoned by this point, and the replacement arc was nowhere near the scope or impact. I'm not sure if they completely changed the project director by the third game, but it felt like the someone was writing the ending to someone else's story. Wasn't very good in any aspect.… Expand
  43. Evaldazz
    Dec 12, 2013
    2
    I tried to see this game through to the end, I truly tired. But I just couldn't do it. It is just appalling. I loved Mass effect 1 and though some people disliked mass effect 2 I thought the story was good enough to follow through and keep me entertained. Mass effect 3 has no redeeming qualities. The game play and physics are clunky, the graphics very outdated, the cover system gets youI tried to see this game through to the end, I truly tired. But I just couldn't do it. It is just appalling. I loved Mass effect 1 and though some people disliked mass effect 2 I thought the story was good enough to follow through and keep me entertained. Mass effect 3 has no redeeming qualities. The game play and physics are clunky, the graphics very outdated, the cover system gets you killed more often than it saves you. The Reapers, who are supposed to be the most devastating enemy we've ever seen, are so easy to take it, its laughable. I could go on and on like this, it really doesn't have anything going for it at all.

    If you want a good 3rd person shooter go for the dead space series, don't waste your time with this. I give it a 2/10 in honor of mass effect 1 and 2.    … Expand
  44. Asharel
    Dec 17, 2013
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This trainwreck was supposed to be the epitome of the trilogy and instead one gets gets generic and lazy design slapped in the face from the get go, fetch quests make you feel like a complete stalker since you never talk to the npc involved, all of your choices from previous games are either nullified or tossed into the abomination that is the gauge meter showing you how well you are on track.

    Another emphasis on laziness is using multiplayer match maps in the single player campain in order to make the game feel slightly bigger and remember all the characters you bonded with during mass effect 2? well you are out of luck my friend they are busy doing their own thing for some of the dumbest reasons available to date, at least you get your old crew back with the exeption of the gorilla face in the cellar of your ship that would have been better off dying to cause tension, and of course EDI (the artificial intelligence) becoming a fully fledged sex bot for joker.

    the story itself is a complete mess, instead of focusing on the reapers you get to battle you former employer for half of the game making the reapers feel like iretating bogeymen instead of a galactic menace, but the middle part is mediocre, the start is ****house but it pales in comparison to the ending that Bioware ripped off from Deux ex and somehow made it even ****tier, one would think the writers that gave us games like baldurs gate would deliver something else than horse manure sprinkled with cats piss but hey the EA overlords cant stand quality i guess....    … Expand
  45. JoeCool
    Mar 11, 2012
    4
    Holy cow, a 92 average critic rating and then you've got this hyped game that has you wondering within a few hours why on earth you'd been anticipating this title for so long. I'm really struggling to even give it a 5, and on second thought I'll give it a 4. It really looks like BioWare has sold its soul to the, uhm, to EA. After the let down called The Old Republic, we get an even biggerHoly cow, a 92 average critic rating and then you've got this hyped game that has you wondering within a few hours why on earth you'd been anticipating this title for so long. I'm really struggling to even give it a 5, and on second thought I'll give it a 4. It really looks like BioWare has sold its soul to the, uhm, to EA. After the let down called The Old Republic, we get an even bigger let down. Maybe they sunk so much money into TOR that nothing good could come from ME3. If you haven't bought it already, do yourself a favor and don't fall for this trap. If you liked ME1 and ME2 then stick with those games and don't let ME3 ruin the whole experience.… Expand
  46. Afterforever
    Mar 9, 2012
    3
    Cover system isn't nearly as bad as ME1 but worse then ME2. Jennifer Hale voice acting is brilliant. Visually ME2 beats ME3. My imported Shepard looked like almost completely different person. In the end all those choices you made over 120 hours of gameplay (3 games) don't really matter. It all boils down to the decision you make in last 15 minutes of the game and no matter what you do, itCover system isn't nearly as bad as ME1 but worse then ME2. Jennifer Hale voice acting is brilliant. Visually ME2 beats ME3. My imported Shepard looked like almost completely different person. In the end all those choices you made over 120 hours of gameplay (3 games) don't really matter. It all boils down to the decision you make in last 15 minutes of the game and no matter what you do, it leaves a lot of unanswered questions about what happens to Shepard friends and brothers-in-arms. Bleh.… Expand
  47. Techstepper
    Mar 9, 2012
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'll try to be objective
    Positive moments of the game:
    - Cool story. I played ME from part 1 just because of storyline
    - They finaly showed Tali's face :D
    - Epic soundtrack
    - - Graphics are good enough

    Negative moments of the game:
    - Day 1 DLC
    - BOOOORIIIING gameplay. There's and opinion that gameplay was made for CoD fanboys.
    - Role-play system - epic fail. Actually, it failed in ME 2. ME 1 had good one.
    - Gathering of war assets is so dull. Scan=>Gather=> FLEE FROM REAPERS (Repeat this over 9000 times)
    - The main hope of trillions of people, veteran soldier, the Savior of Galaxy can be a gay and sleep with his own shuttle's pilot. THIS IS RIDICULOUS!
    - And of course it's MOTHER****ING ENDING. All your choices in previous parts are TOTALLY USELESS. I guided Shepard through all of ME like my own son or friend just to watch him dying? All technologies was wiped out with destruction of Mass Relays?? Normandy crashed in the middle of **** nowhere??? This is **** I will never fogive BioWare. God, let them make DLC with normal ending

    This could be a great game, but ending ruins everything for me    … Expand
  48. zenoxis11
    Mar 9, 2012
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I made a metacritic account for the sole purpose of reviewing this game which was an abysmal letdown. I would have given it at least an 8/10 but there are so many problems it's not even funny. The story while being highly immersive and making you invested in your character and your teammates doesn't make up for it's absurd amount of flaws. Graphical glitches abound, pointless pauses in conversation, mission glitches that get stuck preventing you from continuing forward.

    But the biggest were the endings or should I say ending. The purpose of an ending is to give closure not raise more questions. Ignoring the fact that the ending has plot holes everywhere, it's still so poorly written that it's incredible anyone at Bioware thought it was acceptable. Is that to say the game is poorly written? Of course not, it's very well written, but the end that's supposed to explain the series is so badly executed it detracts from the experience as a whole. As a player, we should have to ask questions like, why isn't the normandy fighting the reapers on earth in the end, or why are the squadmates on the ground suddenly on board the normandy, or why are the mass relays always destroyed regardless of the choices made? To anyone playing this game currently, do not play past the conversation on board the citadel with anderson and he illusive man, everything afterwards gives no closure whatsoever and in fact forces the player to follow Bioware in the hopes that they'll achieve the closure they want. This is simply terrible decision making on the part of Bioware. I would have easily given this game an 8/10 if I ignored the glitches and absurdly bad ending, and while it can be argued that the game should be viewed as a whole, the ending's negative impact was strong enough to suck any joy I had in the experience getting there. So NO, 3/10 is the best I can do    … Expand
  49. quaib
    Mar 10, 2012
    0
    An absolute disappointment. Bioware has not made one good game since Baldur's Gate, and maybe KOTOR (NOT the awful MMO recently published). The company has decided to cash in on the casual market, and ruined any credibility they managed to gain over the years. Amongst anyone with any taste in games at all they are a laughing stock. Mass Effect 3 takes the cake... DLC before it was evenAn absolute disappointment. Bioware has not made one good game since Baldur's Gate, and maybe KOTOR (NOT the awful MMO recently published). The company has decided to cash in on the casual market, and ruined any credibility they managed to gain over the years. Amongst anyone with any taste in games at all they are a laughing stock. Mass Effect 3 takes the cake... DLC before it was even released, developed before the game was released and yet sold separately. Laughable endings, worse than those in DX: HR (although I can excuse those because unlike this POS, DX: HR was actually good). The whole sex in videogames that bioware are pushing is ridiculous, but in this one they also force homosexuality, to make things even more awkward and ridiculous. In conclusion, you're better off helping yourself to some hamburgers or some end of the line classics with the money that would be wasted on this.… Expand
  50. Rocharox
    Mar 10, 2012
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. First, this game promised so much as in terms of "FUN" that we, loyal fans following Shepard all the way and making sure HE/SHE STAYED ALIVE can only feel bad about the endings we got.
    But don't just take my word for it, see the other 900 people who came here only to share their sadness over this very poorly executed game.
    Shepard movements are confusing, you get rushed through the history, you see lots of characters who were really empathetic die for no reason, while others are left standing without you having an option.
    Some ME2 characters just had cameos, and the worst of all:
    THE ENDINGS. All the endings are crap, and don't make justice to one of the greatest games on history.    … Expand
  51. Turix
    Mar 9, 2012
    4
    I played through the game, and generally enjoyed the content - most of the game felt like a significant improvement over Mass Effect 2.... however, the game has several aspects that completely ruin immersion and just feel like a company grabbing for profit rather than wanting to build a good games or supporting their fan base - which is seriously upsetting. The main gripes are theI played through the game, and generally enjoyed the content - most of the game felt like a significant improvement over Mass Effect 2.... however, the game has several aspects that completely ruin immersion and just feel like a company grabbing for profit rather than wanting to build a good games or supporting their fan base - which is seriously upsetting. The main gripes are the graphical quality, which hasn't improved at all over ME2 on PC, the controls feel even more like a console port than before with your character going off and doing entire actions without you even asking. Parts of the game feel very rushed, specifically the beginning and end - the beginning just kind of drops you in without letting the game get going, or providing any setting. And the ending.... well I don't know where to start... all of the options are simply appalling, lazy cop outs - I was getting very involved in the story for a good part of the game and then the ending just ruins that completely. In the end I don't mind that I've spent money on the game, I can deal with that, but that I feel betrayed that Bioware doesn't seem to care about their IP beyond how much money it can make... its just plain sad.… Expand
  52. alexhellnight
    Mar 9, 2012
    0
    If you really are a Mass Effect fan, don't do the mistake I did! Don't play the game, or at least don't finish the game. It's sad, now I am glad I didn't pre-ordered the game and that I played a pirated version. I bought Mass Effect 1 , Mass Effect 2 and all the DLC content for them. Now I am happy the game was released 3 days late in Europe, otherwise I would have bought it!
  53. Whyowhy23
    Mar 9, 2012
    3
    I will say that this game has some amazing content, that being said, most characters are cameo appearances if not just a footnote in a message. The last 20 minutes of the game will literally shock and awe those who have been giving Bioware and EA the benefit of the doubt, it is really that bad. It was a horrible ending. There are some that will try to say some nice things, but reallyI will say that this game has some amazing content, that being said, most characters are cameo appearances if not just a footnote in a message. The last 20 minutes of the game will literally shock and awe those who have been giving Bioware and EA the benefit of the doubt, it is really that bad. It was a horrible ending. There are some that will try to say some nice things, but really Bioware needs to damage control the ending if it hopes to save the franchise with spinoffs or its name. I used to be a Bioware/EA fan like I was a Colts fan, not anymore. I will not buy anymore content from them, and finally put the controller away, and no longer take the 3 day break when the new game of the year comes out.… Expand
  54. saywhatIfeel
    Mar 10, 2012
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Do not play this game if you've not played the other 2. The PR BS stating that ME3 was fine to start on was said to ship a few more units and is an insult.

    I've never been one to post reviews before, but the conclusion of what had become one of my favorite new IPs ever has completely ruined my opinion and feelings about this franchise.

    From a technical standpoint, I enjoyed ME3. While retaining much of the same mechanics and gameplay style of the previous two games, there was not much adjustment needed coming to it. There are some stunning graphical moments and all in all despite a few minor bugs/glitches, nothing took me out of the atmosphere. The game's music should be lauded and is absolutely perfect. Along with Jesper Kyd's Assassin's Creed soundtracks, Mass Effect 3 has easily my favorite music in any game this generation.

    What annoys me most is what is annoying other fans of this series, the ending. Never in my wildest dreams did I think BioWare would take this way out. My guess is that EA forced this ending onto the franchise in an effort to leave the door open for continuation. I'd be fine with that if they had allowed the player to tie up Shepherd's story in a meaningful way. They don't. No matter what ending you are faced with, there's nothing uplifting or positive. It's just....gray. The only way they can really go with this story now is prequels considering the outcome of ME3. I don't care about the past other than how it effects the now. I cared about Shepherd and his friends.

    This is extremely unfair to the players that have been with this series since day one. I've never been much of an RPG fan. This game changed that for me. I took the choices I had to make in this series seriously, as I believed the developers when they said that every choice the player made has an effect on the ultimate conclusion. The ending shatters this notion completely as no matter how you play your Shepherd, whether a pious 100% Paragon good guy, or a 100% Renegade butthole, the same endings occur. There is no meaningful epilogue explaining what happens to the galaxy or the multitude of races you encounter. Just a few random screens and the Normandy door about to open on some tropical looking place. And then an old guy...and a kid.

    From a personal standpoint, from the moment of the first dream sequence where you're chasing a child you witness the death of early in the game, I knew that something was afoot. In any form of story, any time a child is put in this sort of role, it is a cop-out tool to garner emotion. This is fine, but its an easy way when the story is already in place to generate that emotion. If your Shepherd is a 100% renegade, why the heck would he even care about a kid? From my perspective, nothing can be done to save this franchise now. Shepherd's story and the 2 prior games were ruined by this terrible conclusion. I will not purchase any DLC nor will I revisit this franchise again. It received a 4 based on technical merit alone. Not since Darth Vader screamed, "Noooooooooooooo" at the end of Episode 3 have I felt this let down by a story and this trumps the Star Wars prequels for hokey. What's sad about this is that Mass Effect 3 is a good game. It plays well. It had the suspense needed to portray such a massive undertaking. The game does tie up many of the secondary plot points in the game and you have to make some hard decisions that supposedly influence the conclusion. The conclusion is an absolute cop-out and no matter how your Shepherd has progressed is very similar across the board.. We played these games to see what would happen to our character that the developers allowed us to develop and in the end we're force-fed (I blame EA almost entirely for this conclusion) a non-sensical conclusion. Multiplayer was needlessly tacked on and making it a mechanic in the single player story was a huge slap in the face. I play sports games or shooters multi, not RPGs. One of the positive aspects of the negatives of this game is how it shines a light on video game "journalism". The fact is the majority of reaction to this game's ending has been almost universally panned by players. Yet, it's received universal acclaim from the so-called "experts".    … Expand
  55. Urumashi
    Mar 10, 2012
    1
    It saddens me to no end that i have to write a negative review of this game, the gameplay was terrific, the multiplayer is well thought out and addicting and the story up to the last 10 minutes of gameplay made me laugh, cry and cheer. But then there was the ending...three static choices which in no way reflect upon or base off of the other choices you've been making for the past threeIt saddens me to no end that i have to write a negative review of this game, the gameplay was terrific, the multiplayer is well thought out and addicting and the story up to the last 10 minutes of gameplay made me laugh, cry and cheer. But then there was the ending...three static choices which in no way reflect upon or base off of the other choices you've been making for the past three games, the endings give no insight towards how your choices play out (do the krogan start another war for example) and no matter your choice of ending all of the mass effect relays get destroyed. In summary, no matter your pick...everyone's dead anyway. I will never understand why Bioware choose to so intentionally ruin a perfectly fantastic trilogy. Mark my words they're going to release a 10$ DLC to "fix" this....… Expand
  56. Lauz
    Mar 11, 2012
    3
    Such a let down. First two games in the series were amazing. Such amazing character interaction, the paragon/renegade options and control over how your characters personality grows throughout the game. Engaging side quests and interesting story twists. All of these things that made the series great have been removed for Mass Effect 3. The amount of choices in the first two games gaveSuch a let down. First two games in the series were amazing. Such amazing character interaction, the paragon/renegade options and control over how your characters personality grows throughout the game. Engaging side quests and interesting story twists. All of these things that made the series great have been removed for Mass Effect 3. The amount of choices in the first two games gave the user a great sense of control over their Shepard and led to satisfying results, Mass Effect 3 (not unlike Dragon Age 2) give the user the illusion of pretending they have a choice in the storyline yet no matter the choice, the result is generally the same; give or take a few minor details. They have effectively taken the role playing out of this role playing game and turned it into a typical shooter with dull cut-scenes and a real lack of control over the character's development and personality.

    And the climax to the series? Well, without spoiling it, I think I'd rather bang my head against the wall than experience such a bland, disenchanting and completely lacking ending to such a long journey.

    Bioware, what happened?    … Expand
  57. L0rd0fSn0W
    Mar 11, 2012
    1
    Mass Effect 3 in most cases was like the best piece of pie I have ever eaten in my life until I got to the end and realized the crust was moldy. Like many others on this site I had played the game since Mass Effect 1 and feel like Bioware really tried to rush this one out. My biggest hatred of this game was that all choice was just ripped away from the players, Bioware for the most partMass Effect 3 in most cases was like the best piece of pie I have ever eaten in my life until I got to the end and realized the crust was moldy. Like many others on this site I had played the game since Mass Effect 1 and feel like Bioware really tried to rush this one out. My biggest hatred of this game was that all choice was just ripped away from the players, Bioware for the most part let us run free in the first two games making any decision we felt was needed but then once we got to ME3 Bioware decided that they wanted to end the game on their terms and thats what really ticked me off. The so called 16 different endings you can have really fail to have any big difference from one another and they all end with the same outcome of the galaxy being plunged into even more chaos then the reaper Invasion. That being said there were some parts of this game that really startled me to how good they were, the mission were you retake the Quarian home world was absolutely fantastic as were most of the conversations with Garrus. As for the rest the injustices could go on and on, killing off pretty much all of your ME2 squad companion after spending that entire game getting to know them was just harsh and unneeded, shafting all the romances (Miranda, Tali, etc) and instead shoving homosexual relationships and forcing us to choose either Ashley or Liara also was annoying. The ridiculus script and the plot holes that were everywhere during this game were to big to ignore and the inclusion of squad mates that I'm pretty sure no1 used (JAMES). I never even had a conversation with the guy because looking at him reminded me to much of Jersey Shore. One last thing, the multiplayer isn't to terrible it can actually be really fun if you get a few buddies together and play but when you have to rely on complete strangers where if one of them is an idiot you ussually get screwed. As for the day 1 DLC, welcome to the world of big corporations seeing nothing but $$, I have a feeling that in order to fix a lot of the plot holes Bioware will just keep churning out DLC, heck they might go the direction of Fallout 3 and since every1 is rightfully screaming about the ending they'll offer you a new ending if you do all the DLC.… Expand
  58. Qantaqa
    Mar 12, 2012
    2
    Horrible animations, story, and dialogue. Nice audio and voice acting. Watch ending from youtube and save your time.. this is not an RPG. If you like the Sims you might like this.
  59. Gamster
    Mar 13, 2012
    1
    I have been Effected Massively since I downloaded this, so called, PC game. What a lot of hype for very little. Is there a switch somewhere in the game that turns it into a 21st century gaming experience. When you compare it to the current GREATS, Battlefield 3 and Batman Archam City, it does not even get off the starting block. Playing in 3D is dreadful and the movement options and theI have been Effected Massively since I downloaded this, so called, PC game. What a lot of hype for very little. Is there a switch somewhere in the game that turns it into a 21st century gaming experience. When you compare it to the current GREATS, Battlefield 3 and Batman Archam City, it does not even get off the starting block. Playing in 3D is dreadful and the movement options and the way Shepherd jerks (that says a lot) around is like turning the clock back ten years in gaming. How did it ever get the 9 and 10's score. I would give it an ambitious 1. I know very litte about what's happening at EA, but I do know that when I spend £34.99 I expect to get value for money. I can't comment on the content or story line, and this is my first and only experieince with Mass Effect, as I have dumped it after playing the first ten minutes. A waste of money. Don't make my mistake and buy it now, wait until they pay you to take it.

    A very, very disappointed gamer.    … Expand
  60. gimmeabreak
    Mar 13, 2012
    2
    The music is very good, but a mixed bag due to the number of different writers. The sound effects are very good but the sound engine doesn't give realistic sound. Going from one room to another (through an opening, not a door) often results in the sound abruptly changing -- no mix of the sounds from the two rooms. The graphics are good to excellent. Animation generally is very buggy. GoingThe music is very good, but a mixed bag due to the number of different writers. The sound effects are very good but the sound engine doesn't give realistic sound. Going from one room to another (through an opening, not a door) often results in the sound abruptly changing -- no mix of the sounds from the two rooms. The graphics are good to excellent. Animation generally is very buggy. Going from cinematic to live action can be laughable. So can going from one cinematic to another. Often the characters will jump into new body positions. The story this time sucks IMO. They put this out way before it was ready!… Expand
  61. Bandicool
    Mar 14, 2012
    4
    I really don't know what went wrong but those endings and their consequences must be the biggest letdown i've ever experienced in gaming history. The game (without the 10 mins in the ending) deserves a 9/10 but the ending is so horribly full of plot-holes and unansweread questions that I am left speechless.
    In a game where the story and it's characters are the main reason for buying it,    I really don't know what went wrong but those endings and their consequences must be the biggest letdown i've ever experienced in gaming history. The game (without the 10 mins in the ending) deserves a 9/10 but the ending is so horribly full of plot-holes and unansweread questions that I am left speechless.
    In a game where the story and it's characters are the main reason for buying it, how can you end it like this?    … Expand
  62. pitufos38
    Mar 19, 2012
    2
    SPOILER FREE CRITIC:

    1-All your decision in the game produce military points that determine the type of ending you have. But these points affect argumental outcomes that are not related with them. For example (not real, but good for giving you an idea): if you have saved Jon the missile would destroy the reaper. If you didn't save him the missile will fail. That's it, as stupid as it    SPOILER FREE CRITIC:

    1-All your decision in the game produce military points that determine the type of ending you have. But these points affect argumental outcomes that are not related with them. For example (not real, but good for giving you an idea): if you have saved Jon the missile would destroy the reaper. If you didn't save him the missile will fail. That's it, as stupid as it seems. So through the "trick" of measuring your decisions in a completely "out of context" point scale they have save a lot of story work. Without the story been changed by our decision, the decision lost the meaning, this is only a gears of war with almost no rpg in it. Even the different ending are the same clip with diferent colors.

    2-Taking apart the ending the game resemble mass effect 2. Too repetive, although has some good points, but you can forgive that because you are preparing for the big finale. Problem here is that the finale is horrible. However you will enjoy the rest of the game. I encourage to not make sidequest, it is not worht it (the ending will be still horrible) and main quest have a much better quality.

    3-The game sucessfully take into account your previous game actions for providing you (or not) help (or trouble) in some missions. That was quite good, at least in my story (I have heard not all are so good).

    4-Missions are repetitive, lot of them with very poor argument. Lots seems like a multiplayer match with boots (indeed they seems like multiplayer maps).

    5-Too much cloying conversations. In pevious games they were there too but were well introduced. Here they are all around and feels very forced. This is specially true in conversations between male characters.

    6-You got the sense there is a love story because is has become a standart of these games. Very forced, underworked. If you are going to put love in your game do it properly with an appeling story, nothing bad happens if you do not put it.

    7-DLC day one content. Quite important indeed, unlock protean squad member, that means unlock argumental questions about mass effect lore. Should not be an extra.

    8-The protan lore, from the dlc is quite good. like the protean society a lot.

    9- Wraping up. A few closer too mainstream thrid person shooter that previous games and less RPG. Still would be a good game with a good ending but...    … Expand
  63. fuzio
    Mar 20, 2012
    4
    more then 200 hours of playing just to get this stupid ending, and no, i don't care for closure or happy one, but this one slap in the face. Beside that game was fun, not ME2 fun bu still playable, too combat heavy and not as good as two other parts. In the end frustration and anger forced me to make account on MC just to warn - if u play - stop playing before ending - more fun thenmore then 200 hours of playing just to get this stupid ending, and no, i don't care for closure or happy one, but this one slap in the face. Beside that game was fun, not ME2 fun bu still playable, too combat heavy and not as good as two other parts. In the end frustration and anger forced me to make account on MC just to warn - if u play - stop playing before ending - more fun then watching the real one :/… Expand
  64. Beddead
    Aug 30, 2012
    4
    К сожалению это самая плохая часть серии. Везде чувствуетсяК сожалению это самая плохая часть серии. Везде чувствуется халтура. Окружающий мир мертв. Никаких событий вокруг при блуждании по цитадели не происходит. Инженер в доках прощается со своей девушкой практически на протяжении всей игры. И так далее. Так же намного меньше внимания уделено дизайну уровней. Ощущение что все слеплено на скорую руку. Второстепенные квесты тоже примитивны. С ностальгией вспоминаю вторую часть где можно было нарваться на драку просто идя по цитадели. Ну и концовка подкачала.… Expand
  65. Maximo
    Mar 30, 2012
    4
    Somehow, everything good about Mass Effect left with the writer that was responsible for the opening part of the trilogy. I cant think of any positive thing about ME3, none, only the terrible things remain. Suddenly, I realized how poor of a sci-fi ME is, things that didnt matter suddenly became game-breaking for me. For example, the animations, the "every species speaks english", theSomehow, everything good about Mass Effect left with the writer that was responsible for the opening part of the trilogy. I cant think of any positive thing about ME3, none, only the terrible things remain. Suddenly, I realized how poor of a sci-fi ME is, things that didnt matter suddenly became game-breaking for me. For example, the animations, the "every species speaks english", the sci-fi clichés, the bisexuality, etc. All in all, the story is just plain boring, not to mention it has many plot holes. Dialogues were terrible and the ending was a colosal dissapointment, something for people to gloat about for decades to come.… Expand
  66. JonathanM
    Apr 5, 2012
    2
    Why, oh why did this game get good reviews? It's very poorly done compared to the first two (I was a big fan of the first one, and the second one was okay.) This newest addition to the mass effect series is beyond flaws with not-so-flowing storyline, poor animation, and poorly optimized for the pc. To make matters worse, the storyline is full of holes as well, with parts becomingWhy, oh why did this game get good reviews? It's very poorly done compared to the first two (I was a big fan of the first one, and the second one was okay.) This newest addition to the mass effect series is beyond flaws with not-so-flowing storyline, poor animation, and poorly optimized for the pc. To make matters worse, the storyline is full of holes as well, with parts becoming inconsistent or unnecessary. I am a fan of Bioware, but this is by far the worst game I've ever seen them put out. Nice job, guys, you wasted my money. I truly say do not bother with this one, it will only ruin the series for you. Go play the first one.… Expand
  67. Speech500
    Mar 10, 2012
    3
    I feel that i have to give a fair review of Mass Effect 3, though there will be minor spoilers throughout, but i will try not to give too much away.
    1. Graphics
    The graphics in this game are, i am unhappy to say, just not up to scratch for 2012. Though they didn't empair my experience too much, there were definitely scenes that were nice but i know that if they were in better quality, the    I feel that i have to give a fair review of Mass Effect 3, though there will be minor spoilers throughout, but i will try not to give too much away.
    1. Graphics
    The graphics in this game are, i am unhappy to say, just not up to scratch for 2012. Though they didn't empair my experience too much, there were definitely scenes that were nice but i know that if they were in better quality, the game would have been stunning.
    2. Cutscenes
    I think bioware uses so many cutscenes because their textures aren't very good. Needless to say, the cutscenes are very nice, but they don't give much to the overall experience, as i can think of only one or two that looked really cool.
    3. Conversations
    I have to say that the conversations in this game took a turn for the worse. In ME2, Shepard doesn't say anything unless you make him, this gave players a feeling that it was their character. In ME3, you are given a very mean line or a very nice line, and this gives it a bit of a Fable 3ish Feeling. These give you lots of reputation as you very rarely even get to choose what Shepard says at all.
    4. Carry Over Choices
    Not many things carry over from ME2, Though the couple that do are just about if Ashley died or if your team died, you get a memorial in the Normandy. ME3 was more about ME3 than the trilogy.
    5. The Boy
    This was really something i wish i could forget. Shepard obsesses over this kid right up to the ending, no doubt in an effort to pull our heartstrings. It's not like (spoiler) Mordin dying, as we know and love him. What do we care if some badly textured kid gets blown up!?
    6. The End
    The End was..... God no... (spoilers)
    The player has a readiness rating going from 0 to 5000, the readiness rating is increased by playing multiplayer. At the very end of the game, the player can choose from three options, all pretty **** for the galaxy. The more you played multiplayer, the more of the tree are open to you. You can either Control the reapers, killing yourself, to make them go away; You can turn every race into cyborgs of sorts, making the reapers go away; or you can Destroy them. These three vary depending on how much you did multiplayer. If you didn't do multiplayer, you can only choose destroy, and you kill all life on earth. The fact that the single player campaign has nothing to do with the end is completely shocking, and the multiplayer addition is worse still. The endings aren't even good! I finished yesterday and I just feel cheated.
    7. DLC
    This is an important part of the trilogy, and i am not going into why i am not happy that it isn't in the game in the first place. Though i can understand why it isn't on the disk, it should not cost me money. In my opinion, this is worth pirating, but don't quote me on it.
    8. Combat
    I chose narrative, so for me it was EZPZ but it was also fun. As an adept, I looked forward to playing. I liked to pull people into the air and then either explode them with a throw or make Liara use stasis, making the guy just hang there for a while. It's a laugh.
    9. Interface
    The interface is really nice and clean in Mass effect 3, something i loved. Everything is easy to do and the power system is flawless. The map is nice as it gives markers for certain places of interest.
    10. Minigames
    I actually missed the Mining interface. It game people a reason to visit planets and explore. I just couldn't afford a lot of the things that needed researching, and i felt the research option in ME3 really went down hill. I am very happy that the Debug and Hack mini games are back, because i personally always hated the **** out of them.
    11. Citadel
    I loved the Citadel this time around, though it was at the sacrifice at Omega and Illium. I'm not sue it was worth it, but forgetting those two, the citadel is bigger and better! Instead of the colorful techno feeling to it, there is a vibrant metropolis filled with sunshine and terrorists. It's a lovely place to go and relax after killing evil monsters from outer space.
    12. Characters
    The characters were really well done, when you don't count the jersey shore cast... Forgetting Bioware's slip up with the romance stuff, i really felt an attatchment to a few of the characters, I.E Garrus, EDI, Liara, and Tali. not having as many people in the team was worth the fact that they really come into their own as individual people. And yes, the loyalty missions are gone, but bioware gives you a sort of loyalty mission for watch, like a central mission revolving around that person.
    13. Antagonists
    The Baddies (Geth, Cerberus and Reapers) are really good and well defined in this game, you can tell instantly who your fighting, as each has it's own fighting styles and representatives. This was one of the things Bioware and Sata... EA did right.

    I'm not going to tell you which is the best, that's up to you to decide, but the information i gave you is mostly unbiased. Thanks for reading my review on Mass Effect 3!    … Expand
  68. SIckTired72
    Mar 10, 2012
    0
    Canâ
  69. schwegs
    Mar 11, 2012
    2
    ME3 has the worst ending to to any game I've ever played. I cannot express how disappointed I am and what a super let-down feeling I have after playing this to completion. The game is literally ruined by the fact that there is NO possible "happy ending" where you save earth and are re-united with your friends -- you know, kinda what you were fighting for the entire series. If they hadME3 has the worst ending to to any game I've ever played. I cannot express how disappointed I am and what a super let-down feeling I have after playing this to completion. The game is literally ruined by the fact that there is NO possible "happy ending" where you save earth and are re-united with your friends -- you know, kinda what you were fighting for the entire series. If they had written an ending as good as the rest of the game/series, this game would be great -- I'd even overlook the plotholes/failures to explain things (which are pretty bad in spots). As it stands, however, it will be difficult to look past this sickening ending to one of my favorite series and characters of all time.… Expand
  70. Ninjastyle
    Mar 13, 2012
    0
    Game is Excellent until..... the Ending the last part of the game is rushed and then the ending makes you feel angry, sick og just plain weird as in WTF happend there?

    Plain and simple the game is a total failure that makes the two previous games feel like **** games that had no point to them. such a sad sad ending for what was going to be the most fantastic Trilogy game to date. From    Game is Excellent until..... the Ending the last part of the game is rushed and then the ending makes you feel angry, sick og just plain weird as in WTF happend there?

    Plain and simple the game is a total failure that makes the two previous games feel like **** games that had no point to them.

    such a sad sad ending for what was going to be the most fantastic Trilogy game to date.

    From this point onward I will never buy a bioware game again nor will I sub to their mmos i've allready unsubbed from SWTOR becaus of the utter redicules states these two games have been given to us in.

    I cannot see Bioware being an active game makeing company in 3 years from now if this continues for I for one will Never EVER support this new "EA" direction that Bioware has taken with all their games lately Dragon Age 2 definently started showing this to me directly but just sick I feel now is allmost impossible to describe.

    Please do not support Bioware again if you must have their games dont buy them atleast.    … Expand
  71. jesperc
    Mar 13, 2012
    2
    I mostly loved the game as I played true it , it has a great atmosphere and you can really feel how the war was creeping in everywhere, as the game progressed, sorrow for the lost, people in misery, and how Shepard becoming more and more stressed, and really taking it hard when old friends die. It touch a lot of emotions in me, and it felt kind of cool.

    The missions was to shooter    I mostly loved the game as I played true it , it has a great atmosphere and you can really feel how the war was creeping in everywhere, as the game progressed, sorrow for the lost, people in misery, and how Shepard becoming more and more stressed, and really taking it hard when old friends die. It touch a lot of emotions in me, and it felt kind of cool.

    The missions was to shooter like with no real dialogs and explorations of area, that is OK for the side missions, but I had hoped for the main missions to be more like ME1.

    It was to short as well, took me 36 hours to complete(the first 2 spend around 60 hours pre-DLC), to bad they didn't spend the resources from the multi player part to put the final touch on the single player game.

    I wont comment on the multi player part. I haven't played it and have no intentions to do it

    Then I hit the ending of the game and my mass effect world crumbled to dust. I loved all 3 ME games and that ending destroyed that.

    I give it 2 out of respect for the game up until the ending the last 8 points has the worst game ending in history swallowed.

    I will not recommend to people that loves the Mass Effect series to buy it or it you really have, to quit the game before the ending.    … Expand
  72. deex
    Mar 13, 2012
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The final conclusion of what was an epic series is pathetic and disappointing. As a fan of the Mass Effect games, which were truly inventive, creative and ground breaking, I expected so much more out of the finale. But instead, EA Games and Bioware failed to deliver. For three games, players shaped the fate of the galaxy through their actions, decisions and choices. This was what Mass Effect was at heart, choosing your own path, crafting your own story, and facing the consequences of your actions. And for three games, players expected that their self made paths within the game would determine the fate of the Galaxy. But rather it's the opposite. The last 10-15 minutes of the game throw out the qualities that made the Mass Effect games so amazing. What I mean is, despite all the work and effort you put into the three games, everything you did does not matter. Your actions throughout perhaps 100 hours of gameplay boil down to a general, and universal ending. Despite what it may initially appear, there is only one true ending. Granted this ending has tiny tweaks depending on whether or not you played multiplayer or downloaded some iOS app, but these differences are so puny, so miniscule, that it is almost unnoticeable. This game is a slap in the face to the fans.… Expand
  73. LostInReverie
    Mar 13, 2012
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'm only rating this down so much, because Bioware and EA need to pay attention. The rest of Mass Effect 3 up until the end was great, dare I say even fantastic with a few flaws. The biggest flaw during the main game was how they treated the romances from ME2, especially Thane, Miranda, Jacob and Jack. Thane doesn't even get a Codex entry in the game, for God's sake. His romance is treated almost identically to the friendship path in ME3. But by far the worst part of the game is the end. It's extremely poorly written and seems like it was smashed together with little thought for plot continuity or even coherence. It also relies on one of the biggest and most unforgivable deux ex machina's I've seen in a long time in the god/child/AI, which is ironic because deux ex machina of course means god from the machine. If that was supposed to be a little joke on Bioware's part, it's not funny. I was so disappointed by the end of this game that I felt physically sick. We fans were more than just let down; we were slapped in the face by an ending that seems like little or no thought was put into it at all, that doesn't take into account any of our choices and doesn't fit in with the narrative the previous games had been expanding upon. Bioware, your fans deserve better, and that is not entitlement. It is a simple fact.… Expand
  74. TotalBiscuitXXX
    Mar 14, 2012
    0
    A forgettable experience! From its copy and paste level & characters its copy and paste waves of enemies, frustrating controls over its run and cover system (binded to space on PC). Its like EA/Bioware forced the Devs to design multiplayer, kinect and dlc instead! Mass Effect 3 leave you with a real hunger for a more then lackluster experience. The trouble with this game steamsA forgettable experience! From its copy and paste level & characters its copy and paste waves of enemies, frustrating controls over its run and cover system (binded to space on PC). Its like EA/Bioware forced the Devs to design multiplayer, kinect and dlc instead! Mass Effect 3 leave you with a real hunger for a more then lackluster experience. The trouble with this game steams from its re-write, and I'm guessing corporate or hierarchical interference overwhelming common sense and appealing for a money grab. Was a shameful display I was really looking forward for Mass Effect 3 but I had my hopes dashed when I first read about the script leak last year!… Expand
  75. Pr0wl4r
    Mar 14, 2012
    0
    Absolutely and completely disappointed. I played the first two games and thoroughly enjoyed them, the feeling of my decisions making a difference to the outcome of the overall story was great. I was also thoroughly enjoying watching the final story unfold - even with, lets not kid, the lack of proper dialogue between missions and lack of dialogue options with characters and randomAbsolutely and completely disappointed. I played the first two games and thoroughly enjoyed them, the feeling of my decisions making a difference to the outcome of the overall story was great. I was also thoroughly enjoying watching the final story unfold - even with, lets not kid, the lack of proper dialogue between missions and lack of dialogue options with characters and random civilians (a real step back from what the ME series is about, UNFORGIVABLE!! Those side quests were horrendous, listening in for them? Absolutely no involvement. Just like a couple of the quests from ME2 on Illium.) and the lack of armor and armor mods/weapons mods etc featured in the first game which were 'to come back'. I would have given the game a 7 at this point. And then I got to the ending. What a pile of horse manuere! It went aggainst everything we were promised. The decisions made in the first and second game meant absolutely nothing to how the finale played out and were quite minimal to how the mid-game played out, instead of an unforgettable climactic satisfying ending we got "DOOR ABC, YOUR CHOICES DON'T MEAN ANYTHING TO ME" rubbish.

    My recommendation to anyone who has played ME1 and ME2 and hasn't picked up ME3. As many below me have stated, stay away, its a huge let down to the franchise.    … Expand
  76. Trompello
    Mar 15, 2012
    1
    I am so sorry I have to give this game a 1 but it is the truth. The Mass Effect trilogy is my favorite game series of all time..hands down. The story is incredible. The music, intense. And the characters seemingly alive. The trilogy was a gold mine until ten minutes before the third game's ending. Bioware has utterly RUINED the best game series I have ever known. Your choices mean nothingI am so sorry I have to give this game a 1 but it is the truth. The Mass Effect trilogy is my favorite game series of all time..hands down. The story is incredible. The music, intense. And the characters seemingly alive. The trilogy was a gold mine until ten minutes before the third game's ending. Bioware has utterly RUINED the best game series I have ever known. Your choices mean nothing because it all ends the same. The fact that they would give this ending is appalling and shows that EA has truly corrupted what Bioware used to be. Do not buy this game. Even if they change the ending, they have already ruined it. They screwed up Dragon Age by making it for 12 year old kids who just want to see things explode and don't like to think.… Expand
  77. nantaeg
    Mar 15, 2012
    0
    NON. Apres une trilogie si rondement menee sur le plan scenaristique, les 5 dernieres minutes sont catastrophiques. Aucun libre arbitre, des cinematiques baclees et quasi-identiques peu importe la direction selectionnee par le joueur. Bref, le nom de Mass Effect se fait salir comme un malpropre sur une conclusion qui bafoue les codes de la serie.
  78. Chafilao
    Mar 18, 2012
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Experience the beginning, middle, and end of an emotional story unlike any other, where the decisions you make have absolutly no influence in your final experience and outcome.

    Probably the worst ending of a videogame I ever seem, and totally against the spirit of the Mass Effect series. It will stop you from replaying it, because no matter your actions, the end will remain almost the same.    … Expand
  79. ROGUE-BOLO
    Mar 18, 2012
    0
    I was a huge fan of the Mass Effect franchise (and Bioware games in general). Honestly, I even really like SWtOR. But Mass Effect 3 was a huge disappointment! What I hated most: 3. Meaningful interactions with most of your love interests from ME1 & ME2 reduced to unsatisfying cameos, 2. New movement options for Shepard in combat that can be horribly frustrating because they all shareI was a huge fan of the Mass Effect franchise (and Bioware games in general). Honestly, I even really like SWtOR. But Mass Effect 3 was a huge disappointment! What I hated most: 3. Meaningful interactions with most of your love interests from ME1 & ME2 reduced to unsatisfying cameos, 2. New movement options for Shepard in combat that can be horribly frustrating because they all share the same key as the one used to enter cover (i.e.: I have several times tried to sprint through a door only to find myself rolling back and forth between one side of the door and another, or attempting to leap over cover to flee attackers only to have the game decide I would rather "go into cover" on the wrong side, etc.) and worst of all 1. Three almost identical but horrible endings that totally ignored all of my choices made in the saga up to that point. In my opinion, they not only removed 100% of ME3's replay value (I played ME1 & ME2 dozens to times) but tainted the rest of the saga for me. As far as I am concerned, Jar Jar Binks did less to ruin Star Wars... After all, I did not sink 100+ hours into playing Star Wars after being told my choices would carry through and they would matter! And putting further salt in our wounds, these endings were abrupt, incongruous with the pace and story of the games up to that point, and glaringly inconsistent with established canon (For instance: If one Mass Relay detonating in The Arrival took out an entire star system what does losing ALL of them mean to the survivors in the galaxy?!!! How about a little QA, guys?) If EA/Bioware have any hope of painting themselves out of this corner, I would suggest they look on the Internet for all of the threads discussing "Indoctrination Theory" and deliver us a DLC to 'fix" the endings along those lines ASAP. I know, it is your "art" and your "artistic vision", blah, blah, blah... But you sold the whole ME franchise with the promise of "Real choices that make a difference. Honestly, guys, for ME3 it is time to live up to that.… Expand
  80. krotznapopulov
    Mar 19, 2012
    2
    Though a great game, the last few moment ruin the entire experience of the entire ME series. Like so many other players, I really enjoyed Mass Effect 3. If not for the last 15 minutes, I would give this game a 9 or more. However, the ending is so abysmal (plot holes, inconsistencies, unsatisfying explanations, not to mention exactly the same whatever you do throughout all three games...)Though a great game, the last few moment ruin the entire experience of the entire ME series. Like so many other players, I really enjoyed Mass Effect 3. If not for the last 15 minutes, I would give this game a 9 or more. However, the ending is so abysmal (plot holes, inconsistencies, unsatisfying explanations, not to mention exactly the same whatever you do throughout all three games...) that I can't give this game any more than a 2.… Expand
  81. Spoons
    Mar 19, 2012
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. From a purely game mechanics perspective I felt that this is the best of the Mass Effect games. Sure the journal and quest tracking system for minor quests was unusable, but the increased variety of weapons and modifications available adding something that was lost in the transition from 1 to 2.

    The main plot was extremely strong for the most part. It was a bit more linear then in 2 but it had to be given what we were trying to do this time. However now to address the elephant in the room. The final 10 minutes of game. Now I was fine with the game until right after I went up the beamto the citadel. Sure it was odd that the Citadel had been taken over entirely off screen but I can't get everything. Heck I even was ok with the assumption that my squad mates at the time, EDI and Liara, had died in the Reaper blast. The Anderson/Illusive man stuff was strong if incredibly full of plot holes. The star child crap though was ridiculous. I already suspended my disbelief enough to allow the use of a McGuffin as the driver of the main plot, but now you use a literal deus ex Machina that's spouts offcrap that we directly refute during the course of the game (EDI, and saving the Geth/Quarians). Then what happens is the worst game of "Let's Make A Deal" I've ever seen since the same dam thing is behind every door. Then the weird ending where my whole squad turned tail and ran inexplicably with at least one of the people who were fighting with me on earth.

    Also without mass effect drives I realized A)Quarian fleet likely to starve B)Krogans likely to die out due to loss of Wrex and it is now impossible to import food C)my apparently cowardly crew is likely going to die of starvation and or exposure at some point on some deserted planet in the middle of nowhere.

    Somehow Bioware you snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. You basically ruined all replay value for this game and its predecessors. Awesome job.

    P.S. I have a terrible sinking feeling this was done on purpose so you could at a later date sell us a less bad ending and epilouges. You probably weren't expecting sush a viceral reaction from the vast majority of fans so nice job.    … Expand
  82. wasawsolos
    Mar 19, 2012
    2
    **SPOILER ALERT**
    For the past 5 or so years, I have been a huge mass effect fan. I loved the idea that my choices mattered from game to game. In fact, this game would have gotten a 9.5 from me (not a 10 because I got stuck because of a glitch that caused me to have to restart a mission) but the ending of ME3 is the most plot hole ripping, out of context, jacked up thing I have ever seen    **SPOILER ALERT**
    For the past 5 or so years, I have been a huge mass effect fan. I loved the idea that my choices mattered from game to game. In fact, this game would have gotten a 9.5 from me (not a 10 because I got stuck because of a glitch that caused me to have to restart a mission) but the ending of ME3 is the most plot hole ripping, out of context, jacked up thing I have ever seen in a story. It is like watching the last of a super awesome trilogy movie, that has been hyped to the moon, then the film stops in the last 10 minutes, the screen goes dark, and the theater catches on fire. BioWare has essentially destroyed their entire universe that they have created because without the mass relays staying intact, the stories of mass effect cant happen. They somehow managed to kill their entire franchise within 10 minutes. Up until the last 10 minutes, the game is great. After that 10 minutes though, ME3 goes from great to crap. Don't buy until BioWare does something to change the ending.    … Expand
  83. Jute
    Mar 20, 2012
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. SPOILER ALERT*** This game played fairly well, was interesting enough, and seemed to be fulfilling the 3 story arch's conclusion nicely. Not cutting edge or even inspired graphics at times, but great voice acting and pretty good cut scenes. Sure, the cut scenes got to be a bit much sometimes, making the game feel way too cinematic and not enough like an RPG, but we all knew the payout would be the resolution of the Reaper threat based on all the things we had done before. Then the developers got lazy, rushed, or both, and put out an ending which has been discussed extensively and yes, sucks every bit as much as the other reviewers said. It is a complete ripoff of the Battlestar Galactica ending as well - only done very poorly on what seemed to suddenly be a shoestring budget. Other things that will annoy you: You HAVE to download Origin, EA's game portal and online management system, in order to play. If this is the wave of the future for PC gaming, count me out. Steam worked just fine for the other 25 games I have, why make me switch to Origin for their 3rd installment? Also, finding resources on planets is so boring that you'll wish it was automated. Each planet has 1 location, which you mouse around to and fire a probe at. That's it. But really, it is the ending that will have you wishing you had never bought into the hype 3 games ago. They are all substantially the same, and all completely dumb. Seriously, the best explanation is that the producers were out of time, had just watched Battlestar Galactica, and said, "Let's force the players into an ending like that! They'll love feeling like they've been shoehorned into the end of such a great series. What? This is supposed to be at least slightly based on their decisions and input over 3 games? Bull! We're the creators and we get to decide what the ending is that we force upon them." Also note, many people think that we as gamers are just whining. (See the comments of some guy from WEDBUSH Securities, Michael Pachter, in this article: http://www.technewsworld.com/story/74668.html)
    Wrong. We paid a bunch of money and spent a bunch of time on this game because they made an explicit representation of it as a game where the ending would be based on your decisions. It wasn't. At all. Period. We're not whining. We're pissed and we want our money and our time back. And no, EA, charging me more money for a DLC that abates some of the colossal suckiness of this game is not a fix. Having great plans for the future of the game and stringing me along while you suck up my hard earned cash is also not a solution. How about releasing a game that resolves the plot based on our input, like you said you would when we started this journey, and I started handing over my cash, 5 years ago?    … Expand
  84. cullaxthefirst
    Mar 21, 2012
    0
    what the hell? Does this website not believe in paragraphs? I just seperated everything I wrote and it was still all jammed together. Too long didn't read, is the main reason no one reads user reviews.
  85. ArminW
    Mar 22, 2012
    4
    The game itself is mostly a 9, with great, emotional moments, good fights, some RPG moments from part 1 brought back and overall only a few minor flaws (boring fetch quests, confusing useless journal, and one insufferable enemy with script immunity).
    But the ending is such an monumental, epic fail, that I actually have to rate that a -1. Yes, it DOES have to be negative, because, honestly,    The game itself is mostly a 9, with great, emotional moments, good fights, some RPG moments from part 1 brought back and overall only a few minor flaws (boring fetch quests, confusing useless journal, and one insufferable enemy with script immunity).
    But the ending is such an monumental, epic fail, that I actually have to rate that a -1. Yes, it DOES have to be negative, because, honestly, it not only spoils ME3, it manages to somehow spoil the entire series.
    It is way to short, badly written, shamelessly stolen from Deus Ex, makes NO sense whatsoever, it negates EVERYTHING you have done over 3 games, ignores al your choices and basically offers the same lame end sequence video with 3 different colored explosions. Unbelievably bad, and even worse if this is just a ploy to sell some kind of "epilogue DLC" later.
    So, the average between a 9 and a -1 is what I have to rate this.    … Expand
  86. holdtheline
    Mar 23, 2012
    1
    Bioware releases a game that contains 95% goodness and a 5% utter, soul-crushing, promise-cutting, canon-killing conclusion. This game is the least entertaining of the entire series and certainly the saddest.
  87. Stylus
    Mar 10, 2012
    4
    This game is not good and certainly doesn't deserve the praise it's been getting from the gaming press. A lot of the poor user reviews on this site are in protest of how awfully Bioware has been treating their fanbase of late although that doesn't mean that they don't have valid criticisms, and Bioware would be foolish to claim otherwise. If you've already played the first two games youThis game is not good and certainly doesn't deserve the praise it's been getting from the gaming press. A lot of the poor user reviews on this site are in protest of how awfully Bioware has been treating their fanbase of late although that doesn't mean that they don't have valid criticisms, and Bioware would be foolish to claim otherwise. If you've already played the first two games you may as well get this over and done with, but I would strongly advise against picking up the series here.… Expand
  88. NightLurker
    Mar 10, 2012
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Truly the disappointment of the year! Bioware, what have you done? You took all that i cared for in the game, ripped everything valuable off and made tons of crappy drama endings. What for? You promised, that my decisions will be counted. This is what they counted for? Epic drama with killing everyone? I truly enjoyed the first two games, but the third one is a disgrace. Sincerely not your fan anymore.… Expand
  89. laughing_man
    Mar 13, 2012
    1
    Being the best gaming series I have played it is a sad day when you reach the finishing line and it is as horrible as it is. I love the Mass Effect games, heart and soul and I've played them through countless times. This rating is purely to voice my utter dissatisfaction with how the game ends.
    I'm not one of those that want a good happy ending and it is not because of some gay sexscene    Being the best gaming series I have played it is a sad day when you reach the finishing line and it is as horrible as it is. I love the Mass Effect games, heart and soul and I've played them through countless times. This rating is purely to voice my utter dissatisfaction with how the game ends.
    I'm not one of those that want a good happy ending and it is not because of some gay sexscene (seriously, do journalists actually believe the crap they are putting out??). It is simply because the current ending (NOT endingS, mind you) makes absolutely no sense. Why is there no difference between the endings? WHY doesn't my choices make any difference what so ever. In a stroke of sheer genious BW implements transfer of savegames which all amounts to a **** nothing come the absurd end.
    I never write reviews but I love this game to damn much to not make my voice heard.    … Expand
  90. tortellini
    Mar 13, 2012
    1
    Gameplay is ok and fun, even if nothing really changed since 2. There are 3 groups of enemies which is all you ever fight, and they get repetitive fast.The biggest issue is that the resolution of the story is the worst let-down. For people who liked the Mass Effect series as an PRG, or simply for its story, this is such a let-down that it spoils the entire series. The ending is poorlyGameplay is ok and fun, even if nothing really changed since 2. There are 3 groups of enemies which is all you ever fight, and they get repetitive fast.The biggest issue is that the resolution of the story is the worst let-down. For people who liked the Mass Effect series as an PRG, or simply for its story, this is such a let-down that it spoils the entire series. The ending is poorly implemented - plot holes, people appear in places they aren't, one person suddenly has powers that make no sense and are never explained - but the most frustrating thing is that for a series defined by making choices, there is essentially only one ending, meaning the choices made along several games are in the end almost completely irrelevant. That has spoiled the whole thing for me, and I haven't touched the game since. I would not recommend the game due to the dissapointing conclusion.… Expand
  91. JosieRevisited
    Mar 13, 2012
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I haven't played through to the very end yet, but I'm close. Like heading after the reapers close... And I'm not sure I want to see what happens.

    I had high hopes for this game. They confirmed we were getting Liara back, our old friends would be making appearances, and everything would get some closure. Instead, we got a sort of mish-mash of short stories with the occasional ParaRene choice to make us feel like we had an impact. Right. I regret going strictly Paragon now because in the end, it didn't make a difference.

    There are no side quests (every quest ties into the main quest whether it is priority or not. Given the circumstances I understand, but they could have done soooo much more with an apocalyptic epic like this *could* have been). I was expecting Fallout 3NV levels of exploration on some of the planets, you know, saving refugees, rescuing civilians, taking down the occasional reaper... The closest thing we got was hopping from Cerberus base to Cerberus base, watching a thresher maw eat a machine, and try to slowly roll out of the way of a laser.

    But, there is no exploration. At all. None. I scanned every planet in every cluster and they even dumbed that down to an obscene amount.

    Stories that we BEGGED them to continue (or start) they barely even acknowledged (Samara anyone? Joker? Other past romances that stop in their tracks? Inequality between Manshep's level of choices and Femshep's? They can give him two homosexual options but unless you saved Kaidan, Femshep gets no heterosexual ones? It doesn't make sense.)

    Overall, I see why they delayed the release. This could not have competed with Skyrim for GoTY. It's too short a game, even on 'normal' mode, and I found myself looking at the quest log at one point and realizing that I finished twenty or so of them just from my lackluster one probe sweep per planet and asteroids-style Reaper avoidance. Truly epic entertainment....

    Honestly, it's a decent game as far as your "rally your allies and fight the evil overlord" sort of piece goes, but it's not what I was expecting from the Mass Effect finale. This is something I would have expected over on FanFiction.net.

    And that's my only consolation - we writers will be able to weave our own tales now that it's over. Shame they didn't give us much to work with.

    I'm looking forward to the next BioWare title, but I don't think that ME3 is going to get the amount replays that the first two did.    … Expand
  92. silvs
    Mar 18, 2012
    3
    An amazing series, and for the most part a great game. But the ending is so unbelievably poor that it ruins the ENTIRE SERIES. It's like the rest of the game they spent years working on, and the ending they put together in 5 minutes. Seriously, it will destroy your appreciation for the franchise.
  93. thedoctor
    Mar 19, 2012
    0
    Until about the last 15 minutes of ME3, it wasn't just a 10 - it was a 100. But the last 15 minutes are so awful that if I could give the game a negative score, I would. It completely invalidates everything you worked so hard to accomplish not only in this game, but in ME1 and 2 as well. I have zero desire to play any of the ME games ever again as there is no point. Nothing you do, theUntil about the last 15 minutes of ME3, it wasn't just a 10 - it was a 100. But the last 15 minutes are so awful that if I could give the game a negative score, I would. It completely invalidates everything you worked so hard to accomplish not only in this game, but in ME1 and 2 as well. I have zero desire to play any of the ME games ever again as there is no point. Nothing you do, the choices you make, or the relationships you build make any difference whatsoever in the outcome of ME3. The entire series now might as well never existed to begin with! AGH!… Expand
  94. KingMJE
    Mar 14, 2012
    0
    The game was OK, There was some interesting story decisions to make and the action was pretty nice. multiplayer is pretty fun, all the classes are very different from eachother but adept can solo everything. all of the endings are terrible, i am no longer supporting, EA, Bioware, or origin.
  95. vash1053
    Mar 12, 2012
    0
    The gameplay: Pretty decent. Makes some much needed improvements to weapon and armor customization. The need for a workbench was a little stifling, and you couldn't customize your armor pieces-- only which pieces you wear. Dialogue was decent, but there was almost NEVER a middle "neutral option". Too much auto-dialogue as well. Paragon/Renegade choices didn't really come into playThe gameplay: Pretty decent. Makes some much needed improvements to weapon and armor customization. The need for a workbench was a little stifling, and you couldn't customize your armor pieces-- only which pieces you wear. Dialogue was decent, but there was almost NEVER a middle "neutral option". Too much auto-dialogue as well. Paragon/Renegade choices didn't really come into play until well past the middle of the game.

    The graphics: Good looking game. Animations, however, seemed robotic at times and lip synch was often painfully maligned. I'd say this was a step backward from ME2.

    The story: This is where things get really dicey. Older characters from ME2 only make quasi-cameo appearances, which irked a lot of people. The choices you made in the past two games mattered to some extent-- some more than others. For instance, I know that your choice on whether or not to save the Rachni queen or not was supposed to have a decently large impact on the game. As it turned out, it really doesn't. The Rachni under her control simply contribute to your military strength score and are never seen again. Okayyyy.....

    Character development is decently well done. There are some gut-wrenching choices you can make that can result in characters dying in very emotionally striking ways.

    So what's wrong? It's hard to explain just how sour things turn around the last hour of the game. Imagine if at the end of Return of the Jedi, Luke woke up in his bed on Tattoine only to realize the entire series had been a dream. Granted, that's not exactly what happens in ME3-- but it's the same sort of self-destructive ending. The ending is so nihilistic that it essentially invalidates everything that you've done in ME1 and ME2. It does this while creating EGREGIOUS plot holes and trampling over everything that had been established in the prior games and even lolBooks.

    Bioware claims that there are 16 endings, including several hidden ones. This is fallacious. All of the endings are based on the same 3 main "endings", which are all VERY similar in the first place. I could rant for hours about just how poorly this ending was carried out, but I digress.

    Check out this poll to see the general consensus regarding the endings and take solace in knowing you are NOT alone:

    http://social.bioware.com/633606/polls/28989

    Overall, the game was probably a 7/10 overall until the ending. The carelessness of the ending, the way that it comes out of left field and creates massive plot holes, and the complete and unavoidable destruction of the ME universe's unique attributes essentially invalidate the entire series. With no point in resisting, why replay the game at all? With that in mind, the game earns a 0/10 for me.    … Expand
  96. ChrisCat378
    Mar 11, 2012
    3
    I was a huge fan of Mass Effect 1 and 2. Not to the point of having Shepard posters in my room or wearing N7 hoodies, but I really enjoyed the Mass Effect story and more importantly the characters I have come to know and love. I was loving Mass Effect 3 and everything in it. How stories where wrapping up, seeing familiar faces triumph, and watching some choices unfold in the last chapter.I was a huge fan of Mass Effect 1 and 2. Not to the point of having Shepard posters in my room or wearing N7 hoodies, but I really enjoyed the Mass Effect story and more importantly the characters I have come to know and love. I was loving Mass Effect 3 and everything in it. How stories where wrapping up, seeing familiar faces triumph, and watching some choices unfold in the last chapter. That was up until the last 10 minutes. Nothing I had done mattered, no resolution, nothing even close to being satisfying. What happened to the divergent story lines? What happened to the characters I have invested so much time getting to know? How can a game franchise built on choice and decisions boil the last and most important 10 minutes down to a few outcomes that are largely the same? I was planning on playing this game over and over like I have with ME1 and ME2 but now.... I dont even feel like starting it up. The ending has sucked so much enjoyment I had in this series its amazing. I wasnt expecting miracles or a story book ending... but certainly not this. I have no motivation to play again or any of the previous games. I didnt think it was possible to rob so much enjoyment out of the series with the last 10 minutes.. but they did. It would take a lot of effort to think of a worse way to end it. As a player you should want to finish the game, you want to see the outcome, and you want to see the repercussions of you actions from the 100+ hours of gameplay before. We get none of that and its why I am very disappointed in this final chapter.… Expand
  97. Silvermoon
    Mar 14, 2012
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. My verdict is; Avoid this game at all costs. Do not buy it. Do not play it. Stop at ME2 and make up a happy ending.

    On the PC, the game runs smooth and never crashed. It is also possible to finally have a Same Gender Romance Arc in ME 3, sadly, this is where the game's pros end.

    The story was one of repeated loss. The player is constantly seeing old friends sacrifice themselves so that Shepard can complete the current mission objective. Twice, there are two very poignant sacrifices that emotionally cut deep Mordin Solas and Eve and then later Tali vas Normandy. The finale is emotionally devoid because of the repeated numbing the player has taken by that point and after waiting 2 years, the ending is extremely frustrating and a cause of great indignation.

    My verdict is; Avoid this game at all costs. Do not buy it. Do not play it. Stop at ME2 and make up a happy ending.    … Expand
  98. Letonator
    Mar 12, 2012
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game was a travesty on the series. The heroes journey that the game should have been was ruined by a convoluted plot and too much sci-fi trying to be shoved in what should have been an epic battle for the galaxy, sector by sector and relay by relay. We should have seen our choices and decisions we made through all three games bear fruit, for good or ill, and we should have seen epic conclusions to all of the character's stories. We also should not have gotten screwed over with Tali's face, the DLC debacle, and multiple save game issues to list a few of the major complaints. Bioware was supposed to be better than this, but this is just a blight, and I will never trust anything from them again.… Expand
  99. GrizzleFist
    Mar 12, 2012
    0
    this is probably one of the worst endings to a trilogy I have ever seen. Its not that the ending is sad or not what I "wanted" I could deal with that. Its the fact the the whole last 15 minutes is full of dozens of plot holes that make no sense and gives us absolutely no closure or clue what the hell happened, it just goes straight to the credits when you would expect some more info. Ifthis is probably one of the worst endings to a trilogy I have ever seen. Its not that the ending is sad or not what I "wanted" I could deal with that. Its the fact the the whole last 15 minutes is full of dozens of plot holes that make no sense and gives us absolutely no closure or clue what the hell happened, it just goes straight to the credits when you would expect some more info. If you bought the game already, then your like me and pissed off and out of 60 bucks. ( if its the PC version)

    If you haven't bought the game, either play a friends copy or wait 3 months until game stop is so stocked up on returned copies that you''ll get a 80% discount on it. Graphics - 9/10 - Great Graphics
    Sounds 7/10 - Voices for most part are great, music is horrible Story 7.5/10 until last 15 minutes then it goes to a 0/10    … Expand
  100. michael998877
    Mar 16, 2012
    2
    Great series ruined by a bad ending. I wasn't expecting everything to be ponies and rainbows at the end, but a lot more choice and a more fulfilling, coherent ending was what I expected and was promised from these master storytellers, who have let me down.

    The game was also plagued with bugs: first it wouldn't install from the disk (tried to download the whole game from Origin even though    Great series ruined by a bad ending. I wasn't expecting everything to be ponies and rainbows at the end, but a lot more choice and a more fulfilling, coherent ending was what I expected and was promised from these master storytellers, who have let me down.

    The game was also plagued with bugs: first it wouldn't install from the disk (tried to download the whole game from Origin even though I had a physical copy in the drive) so I had to find a workaround for that. Then it refused to import Shepard's head, so I had to go online to find a workaround for that. Then there were constant bugs and issues, and the game would often freeze unless I turned sound off in the config setting - meaning I had to watch most cutscenes twice - once in silent mode in-game, and again on Youtube walkthroughs to hear what was going on.

    Nice combat system and very emotional, but the ending really did overshadow things for me, hence the score. I will go back to playing ME1 and 2 for now. My advice is stay away until the bugs are fixed and (hopefully) the devs wake up and add some more endings - decent ones. Play ME1 and 2 and enjoy very successful story arcs which manage to be interesting and emotionally involving whilst retaining coherence and choice and not being excessively bleak.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

8
#8 Best PC Game of 2012
2
#2 Most Discussed PC Game of 2012
5
#5 Most Shared PC Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
89

Generally favorable reviews - based on 23 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 23
  3. Negative: 0 out of 23
  1. CPUGamer
    Apr 11, 2012
    90
    BioWare captures the scale of the conflict well, but always focuses on the people involved in it. It's pretty amazing just how badly EA disregarded the heart of the game – the characters and the world – when they began their marking blitzkrieg, but don't worry, it's oh so definitely there – Day 1 DLC, controversial endings, and questionable use of resources be damned. This is a fine, lovingly crafted game with a clear vision despite the realities of corporations and damning business practices.
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  2. PC PowerPlay
    Apr 5, 2012
    80
    A game that's more shooter than role-playing, and a conclusion that's more spectacular than dramatic. [Apr 2012, p.47]
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  3. Absolute Games
    Mar 31, 2012
    85
    Finishing a trilogy is always difficult. Tying off dozens of story threads which had been woven by players into many different tapestries is a daunting task. Mass Effect 3 is the first game that succeeded at this colossal undertaking.
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