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. Orlandu84
    Dec 31, 2012
    7
    It wasn't bad, and it wasn't superb either. I cannot comment upon the original ending because I played it with the extended ending. Having said that my complaints with the game have to do more with character interactions, scope, and pacing than anything else. First, unlike Mass Effect 2, Mass Effect 3 never made me care about the characters all that much. The magnitude of the Reaper WarIt wasn't bad, and it wasn't superb either. I cannot comment upon the original ending because I played it with the extended ending. Having said that my complaints with the game have to do more with character interactions, scope, and pacing than anything else. First, unlike Mass Effect 2, Mass Effect 3 never made me care about the characters all that much. The magnitude of the Reaper War made characters and their own personal problems quite trivial. This point begs the question of scope. The game attempts to achieve an epic feel while maintaining familiar with the main characters. Unfortunately, it fails in this respect. Despite its giant space battles, the game never created an atmosphere that conveyed the gravity of the situation the characters found themselves. Then again, this could equally be my failing as much as it is the game's. For after two previous installments of Shepherd saving the cosmos, I am kind of used to the stakes being very high. Lastly, the pacing just felt off to me. The final battles did not seem to build all that much dramatic tension. Also, we learned too many important facts too quickly at the end for their significance to be comprehended. Having said that, the game is still good. The plot does make sense. The voice acting is really good. The action is engaging. I had fun. Unfortunately, it was not the masterpiece most of us were hoping it would be.… Expand
  2. Gene
    Mar 8, 2012
    7
    I'll leave the moaning to others, here are the basics: Running, dodging, and hugging a wall are all handled by the spacebar, which means if you try running from an enemy close to a wall, you are just as likely to crouch behind it and have your face eaten, combat is way more twitchy and less tactical than either of the two previous games. Quick time events with no prompts, I went throughI'll leave the moaning to others, here are the basics: Running, dodging, and hugging a wall are all handled by the spacebar, which means if you try running from an enemy close to a wall, you are just as likely to crouch behind it and have your face eaten, combat is way more twitchy and less tactical than either of the two previous games. Quick time events with no prompts, I went through half the game before realizing that those overlong death animations are actually quicktime events where I had to mash the F key. Story was very solid, I loved it up until the just before the end, and then was massively enraged. The writers spent way too much effort making s*** epic and mystical, and as a long time fan I felt robbed, although I don't think new players will feel effected. I just wanted an end to a war 5 years in the making and finding out what happened to all my friends, the loopy nonesense they gave for an ending just completely broke the flow of the entire series.… Expand
  3. Tridus
    Mar 25, 2012
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game is a glorious middle bookended by a lame opening and a weak ending plagued by plot holes. People who say there's nothing wrong with the ending must not have been paying attention, because there's continuity errors you can fly Sovereign through. How did EDI go from being *in my party* on Earth onto the Normandy in the middle of the last battle? How did the Normandy get into the Mass Relay network to be ahead of the blast, during the last battle when they had no idea what the Crucible would do? It makes no sense. The ending itself is basically the same no matter what you did in the rest of the game at all, provided the green millitary bar was filled up enough. It turns out there's a God AI that's really doing all this, but didn't think of how to fix it until you showed up and is willing to let you doom all organic life to extinction if you want to. Why would it let you do that when it's been protecting organics for so long with the Reapers (protecting by destroying, yay!)? Makes no sense. It's a real shame because there's great stuff elsewhere in the game. The missions around Rannoch are awesome and some of the best in the franchise. That makes it hard to rate this game. Do you ignore the problems with the ending like the critics mostly did? Do you rate it into the ground like most of the users are doing? I'm trying to balance it off because I had 33 hours of fun along with the bad at the end, so I'm docking 2 points for that and another one for the lame opening with a kid that was thrown in as a ham-fisted attempt to add impact.… Expand
  4. MikeMaximus
    Mar 11, 2012
    7
    Lets get the bad stuff out of the way first, and sadly it is mostly bad. Yes the game comes with day 1 dlc, but if you've bought a big release EA game in the last 3 or 4 years you should be used to this by now. It's not worth coming on here and giving a zero over no matter how much it sucks. The biggest fault of ME3 is that it feels even more linear in comparison to the previous games,Lets get the bad stuff out of the way first, and sadly it is mostly bad. Yes the game comes with day 1 dlc, but if you've bought a big release EA game in the last 3 or 4 years you should be used to this by now. It's not worth coming on here and giving a zero over no matter how much it sucks. The biggest fault of ME3 is that it feels even more linear in comparison to the previous games, you are funnelled along a set path of main quests with other systems only randomly appearing on your map once you reach a certain place in the story line. It's almost like a linear FPS trying to pretend that it's still an RPG. The side quests are also extremely lame fetch types that you generally come across while running by conversations in the citadel with the odd extra N7 mission during your journey. Mining has been replaced with another "scanning" mini-game to find extra resources for your war effort, it feels like a cheap waste of time, mostly because there isn't much to explore really and it could have been a lot more interesting. Thankfully the hacking and circuit mini-games from ME2 have been removed completely. The story & dialog is really hit and miss, mostly miss, your choices from the previous games don't seem to have any kind of large meaningful impact on the big picture, but I need to test this more with multiple playthroughs. The differences between your paragon and renegade choices seemed, odd to me in a lot of cases, almost like they were mixed up. It seems a lot less thought went into story, dialog and character development this time around, or it was rushed. Now the good things, the combat has been streamlined and in my opinion it's probably the best out of the series. It's a little faster, there are more powers and they are fun to use. The production values are extremely high, it looks good, sounds good and the voice actors all did an incredible job for the most part. It isn't much of a boost technically when compared to ME2, but it is still an improvement in most areas, my only issue is some of the animations, especially running, just looks wrong. Now oddly enough my personal saving grace for this game is what most think is blasphemy, the multiplayer. I find the multiplayer extremely well done over all, it's easy to hop into, it's fun and addicting and provides a good challenge. It also gives a little boost to your single player campaign but it ISN'T required to get the best ending as some idiots on here have been giving a 1 or 0 over.… Expand
  5. Aepervius
    Mar 26, 2012
    7
    Mass effect is a great ending to the trilogy , albeit with a sever flaw. The graphic are great , but there is no way to change the setting, and console limitation are forcing some design decision. For one you can't change FoV, you can't change graphic setting much, and you are forced to watch the back of a shepard taking 1/5 of the screen the whole time (Typical console trick to avoidMass effect is a great ending to the trilogy , albeit with a sever flaw. The graphic are great , but there is no way to change the setting, and console limitation are forcing some design decision. For one you can't change FoV, you can't change graphic setting much, and you are forced to watch the back of a shepard taking 1/5 of the screen the whole time (Typical console trick to avoid calculating world geometry in a part of the screen). Often I found myself unconsciously using the mouse wheel to zoom out or in to go into FP , and sadly this is not possible. Graphic option include anti aliasing, screen resolution, brightness, and shadow, that's it. Still the graphic are great, only it is a bit sad to be saddled with console limitation. Sound wise , It is relatively good. Music is good. Sound effect sound stock or did not leave me with a strong impression. Dialogs OTOH are good sounding, and the sound of the reaper still leaves me a chill in the back. Plot : I found the story fitting. The ending was OKish. On its own I found it OK, what I was sorely missing was to know what happens to the various folk/species taking part into the battle. I won't spoil it for you for the content of the ending, but I had been hoping for a little bit more, like the diagshow at the end of fallout saying you what happens afterward. It does not happen. Nonetheless the ending were satisfying enough for me, just lacking a tad bit. Big big big bad things : the screen at the end telling you to wait for DLC. They could have sparred that, or made it more discreet, as if the main menu "downloadable content checking" was not enough. That blue screen with DLC at the end was .... Over the top. Multiplayer is OK, consist in you and 4 trying to fight off waves, with XP reward and a store to buy items. but is problematic due to 2 things : they tied part of the game (effective military rating force) to the multiplayer. Now some people are playing it so finding coop player is easy. But what in 2 month ? What in 6 month ? If you find nobody you WILL be stuck at 50% rating, thus making it harder for you to get certain ending. This is definitively a BAD BAD BAD decision. Overall, I enjoyed Mass Effect 3 very much, but I think it has been clearly bracked by financial decision, and attempting to cash in, by having day 0 DLC (a clever marketing and salesman would have made it a week 1 or week 2 DLC) the shop/multiplayer influence on single player and the problem described as above, and the endings, which looks actually as if they had to make them on the quick due to financial reason. All in all, the lasting appeal of this game is IMHO lower than for ME1 and ME2 and the console influence has make it much more evident the lowering of the RPG element in favor of FPS element. I would still recommend it to anybody having played ME1 and 2 , but as a stand alone I cannot recommend it too much. Final verdict : 7. Would be a 8 if not for multiplayer undue influence on single player Military rating, and would be a 9 if only they had added , even a few still picture telling us what happens afterward as in fallout or other game did. This is after all the END of the trilogy.… Expand
  6. Vasot
    Mar 6, 2012
    7
    The game is not as bad as some people say but it is not that great either. I have to agree with some people that the gameplay is more of a brainless shooter. Even if you choose to play this as an RPG experience from the game settings the game feels like mostly Gears of Wars than a Action-RPG like it was with its prequels. Most battles are easy and game A.I is a bit stupid too....As aboytThe game is not as bad as some people say but it is not that great either. I have to agree with some people that the gameplay is more of a brainless shooter. Even if you choose to play this as an RPG experience from the game settings the game feels like mostly Gears of Wars than a Action-RPG like it was with its prequels. Most battles are easy and game A.I is a bit stupid too....As aboyt the story of the game well it is Ok but some dialogues feel like a chore oi be honest there is nothing really that memorable from the game story perspective and you will probably feel disappointed from the game ending. Anyway it is not a bad game but not that great either in my opinion i was expecting something more epic and smart… Expand
  7. Vicissitude
    Apr 11, 2012
    7
    I think a lot of the user reviews here are unfair. Yes, the game has some surprisingly nasty technical issues. For one mission, Garrus disappeared for about 20-30 minutes. Sadly, he was integral to the mission, so characters kept turning to talk to him, but there was nobody there. Much of the time I couldn't hear what he was supposed to be saying. Also, there are tracking issuesI think a lot of the user reviews here are unfair. Yes, the game has some surprisingly nasty technical issues. For one mission, Garrus disappeared for about 20-30 minutes. Sadly, he was integral to the mission, so characters kept turning to talk to him, but there was nobody there. Much of the time I couldn't hear what he was supposed to be saying. Also, there are tracking issues during conversations. They tried to make the characters turn to face the current speaker, but this mostly just confuses them when there's more than one speaker. The most hilarious was when Liara's helper bot flew by during a conversation, and Shepard flipped out. He started thrashing about with his eyes rolled back in his head. Reminded me of the Exorcist.

    I'm not convinced the ending was bad, but I don't think it was very explicit about how your choices impacted the ending. Looking around online I found the ending thresholds, so it turns out it does matter what you do. It's just hard to directly see the impacts. The different endings are apparently pretty similar.

    The technical issues are my main gripe. I would say I still liked this better than the first Mass Effect but less than the second. I did not find it as disappointing as Dragon Age 2. I feel like people are comparing Mass Effect 3 to some ideal of what they hoped the game would be instead of comparing the game to its peers. Comparing the game to its peers shows that it some things well. It's a beautiful game graphically, and I enjoyed the cameos from throughout the series and seeing how choices I made came back to affect the third game.    … Expand
  8. Gunmars
    Mar 12, 2012
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Mass Effect 3 is not what it could have been. In all reality I was disappointed at some aspects of the game but overall the game is far from being horrible. Lack luster story and failure to really give a connection to previous companions was a major downfall for me. The story isn't as epic as expected for the finale, some lines seem very forced and non committed and the chat wheel got stripped down where you have two dialog choices that are basically nice and mean response. The paragon and renegade choices that you get at key points follow the same style, paragon is super nice and renegade is a worse version of the normal conversation choice. Overall the chat system and voice acting is simply adequate.

    Graphics are a slight improvement with an emphasis on slight with problems with many facial animations, especially a problem with eyes rolling back into characters head all the time. Combat is a exact clone of Mass Effect 2 with some minor change ups such as a few turret sequences and Shepard solo missions. As for squad mates this was the glaring problem in my opinion, going from 12 choices (with DLC) in Mass Effect 2 back down to 6 (7 with DLC). I get this is supposed to have a vague focus on the "human story" and having a new human companion is nice but the lack of "new" unique squad mates is somewhat disappointing. Human James Vega, Robotic EDI and DLC Prothean Javik are the new comers with Garrus, Tali , Liara and Kaiden/Ashley are the returning squad mates. EDI nor Javik made me say to myself "I can't go without these people" I ended up connecting with James Vega but ran with my standard Garrus/Liara squad a majority of the game. Maybe it's me just going with the known hand or maybe the new squad mates aren't that interesting. Multiplayer for me was a pleasant and unexpected surprise. For those that don't know the multiplayer rip off "horde mode" effects your story modes "Galactic Readiness". Basically it is a great incentive to get people into the online aspect of the game by basically making it so your chances are slow bad without a high galactic readiness that you need to do at least some of it to achieve the best possible endings for the Mass Effect 3 story. Now for combat, it is basically a 4 player horde mode with some random objectives thrown in so you simply can't fortify a spot and sit there. Your main goal is to survive 11 waves of every increasing enemies, not just their numbers but strengths, each map has 3 possible enemy factions you can choose or be completely random. Reapers, Geth and Cereberus are your teams adversaries. You start out as a basic human that can be any of the games classses and as you beat waves and eventually all 11 waves you get credits and experience. Experience will let you unlock skills just like in story mode and credits can be used to buy varying equipment chests. The basic chest has common but useful items such as medi gel to heal and ammo enhancements. The mid range chest costs more but contains at least 1 uncommon item which varies from weapons to new races to play in multiplayer, along with common items like the first chest. Finally the top end chest is very expensive and requires multiple map completions to be able to afford but it guarantees a uncommon item with the decent chance of another uncommon with some common items. This mode also has a difficulty modifier, you can choose between bronze, silver and gold difficulty. The only difference is the very increased difficulty between them and the exp and credit rewards are substantially better. A side note about galactic readiness is that it will decay about 3% a day so it will need to do some multiplayer if you wish to have 100% readiness for future story play through if you wish.

    Overall Mass Effect 3 is solid, it isn't the epic ending we expected from BioWare. The story we expected to be amazing came off as somewhat dull and predictable at points. The graphics had a slight improvement with unexpectedly odd facial animations but the cinematics and sound track are amazing. Your new squad mates aren't very interesting but the return of old friends that make it acceptable with enough variation. The endings aren't what I expected but the piano soundtrack during the ending mission and cinematic gave me the feeling of suspenseful hope followed by what felt as a shallow victory. The big surprise for me with Mass Effect 3 was the multiplayer, while I doubt it has the staying power needed to be super active for more then a few months, possible DLC can give a fun and usually rewarding multiplayer experience more life then it should.    … Expand
  9. Cytheria
    May 16, 2012
    7
    Let's ignore the ending here, because I guess anyone reading this review now either already knows about it, or doesnt want to.

    Truth be told, its a good game. Playing it I felt the tech had been improved enough to fix immersion in some areas without completely overhauling a system we had been used to since ME 1. That said, the story line was a little lack lustre and I didnt feel it was    Let's ignore the ending here, because I guess anyone reading this review now either already knows about it, or doesnt want to.

    Truth be told, its a good game. Playing it I felt the tech had been improved enough to fix immersion in some areas without completely overhauling a system we had been used to since ME 1.

    That said, the story line was a little lack lustre and I didnt feel it was quite as gripping as the franchises earlier installments.

    Dont get me wrong, there are a few moments that are truely and magnificently choreographed and will reduce most gamers to tears, but they are few and far between. Mostly however, I found that once again I felt like all my previous efforts had been ignored and for the 3rd time I had manic rush to collect my companions... again.... make them like me... again... and then actually get on with dealing with what was left of the main campaign. The multiplayer experience, for me has been where the game has demonstrated its real staying power. Taking a couple of key areas from the game (and with some later DLC a few new custom ones too) you and a group of up to 3 friends are pitted against AI opponents in a king of the hill style beat down, with assorted minimissions to keep things interesting. Even after clearing my 100% readiness for the end game of the single player campaign, I've found myself coming back to multiplayer because it is nice, casual friendly, fun.

    Mass Effect 3 is certainly worth a look if you have the money and time available to try it. Players opinions are very divided on the endgame thing.... personally I like where they went with the endgame, I just didnt like how it was presented to the player.. Your opinion will undoubtedly vary..

    I'm not commander shepard, but this has definitely been my favorite multiplayer game on my pc for the past few weeks.    … Expand
  10. Gladio77
    Mar 9, 2012
    7
    I liked the first two very much. Although this is not a bad game it again is a dissapointment.
    I think because Bioware was such a good company in the past we all expected them to continue this forever.

    I conclude that after dragon age 2, knights of the new republic and this that they have lost their touch. Luckily enough with games as skyrim we have other options. A 7 for effort.
  11. Crusader793
    Apr 18, 2012
    7
    I don't think its fair to give Mass Effect 3 a rating purely based on the ending. The first 95% of the game was fantastic, very engaging and fun, I did have issues however with how the player characters voice acting was handled the amount of auto dialogue really took away any feeling that Shepard was actually my character rather than Biowares. Multiplayer is actually surprisingly funI don't think its fair to give Mass Effect 3 a rating purely based on the ending. The first 95% of the game was fantastic, very engaging and fun, I did have issues however with how the player characters voice acting was handled the amount of auto dialogue really took away any feeling that Shepard was actually my character rather than Biowares. Multiplayer is actually surprisingly fun although does have a tenancy to get repetitive. The last 10% of the game about from Priority: Cerberus onwards was a really big let down for me, they didn't do a good job for the finale of the series and this is especially disappointing given how good other sections of the game where. A good game but does not live up to its predecessors.… Expand
  12. zagorec92
    Jun 3, 2012
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Ahh, the ending...THE ending...IMHO the "destroy" ending was the best to choose. But after I decided to go with it, I expected some sort of animation-closure fiesta if you know what i mean. Despite all of the negative comments and review regarding the end, I just couldn't believe that is true, so the hope existed. So, let's go with recap - Earth was saved, soldiers were celebrating + ; Normandy crew ended up on some world, we don't know how far from Earth and could they return to the homeworld - ; Were all of our team aboard the Normandy? If not, what happened to them? - ; Mass relays destroyed (ok, we have been warned), but what happens with other races? - ; Guy breathing, people are convinced that's Shepard...so am I + ; Did the people rebuilt the Earth? Or are they somewhere else (next part of ending)? - ; After the credits, there is a kid with his grandfather on unknown world and the grandfather talks about Shepard and what happened while mentioning that was a long time ago. Well, how long has it been? Are the people again unaware of other life forms (actually, I think he mentions something like that), can the people travel throughout the universe (Solar system and beyond, but not far)? - ; Buzz Aldrin's voice (Stargazer) + ; Ending recap conclusion -> +(3), -(4) = - = unacceptable

    But this is game review. The entire game, except the ending, was breathtaking and definitely worth all the playing time invested throughout the series. Mixture of dramatic, bad ass, serious and humorous moment in this game is something all the other games want and hope to achieve. I would give the game 9, maybe 10, but if we account the weak ending, I must decrease my score. I seriously hope the "ending DLC" will bring more info about the aftermath of the game.    … Expand
  13. ruttunen
    Mar 9, 2012
    7
    In short greatest Sci-Fi RPG`s evolution to cover based action game with RPG elements that offers straight line shooting without puzzles and occasional glitches, bugs and missing puzzle sections. Not the best ending to series.

    First the bad stuff. Graphical bugs that show how hastily this was made, including missing walls, low quality textures, performance lowdown on bizarre occasions.    In short greatest Sci-Fi RPG`s evolution to cover based action game with RPG elements that offers straight line shooting without puzzles and occasional glitches, bugs and missing puzzle sections. Not the best ending to series.

    First the bad stuff. Graphical bugs that show how hastily this was made, including missing walls, low quality textures, performance lowdown on bizarre occasions. Just bugs include, getting stuck on bizarre locations on bizarre conditions, falling through floor when dying, endlesly looping music on occasions etc. Removal of minigames like hacking just holding spacebar is about exciting as watching an egg boil no make that less exciting. Side quests are reduced mostly to get an item X from scanning an planet. The whole quest line is direct copy paste job from ME2 in lines of gather forces for final battle. All main quest locations are straight lines from A to B. Gameplay mechanics. The one button does all configuration does not work well I played on hardest setting and most of my deaths came from dying because Shepard was rolling between two covers facing enemies while they were blasting at him because awesome button. The talents are well what you would expect in such streamlined Action game with RPG elements. I was left with ~40 unused talentpoints because there was nothing worth putting them in. The lack of any puzzle sections baffles me its just constant pipeline fighting without any mental challenge. Even the one obivious part to use puzzles ( inside AI ) was reduced to very very very dull gun play mechanic that was about as exciting as licking week old ketchup from kitchen floor. The story is the same old thing from ME2 get your forces for last battle. The characters were mostly Good or OK, but what the hell one of the most unsatisfying ending(s) ever. I mean from the ME1 you had an chance to make something great and you went with this...? Just baffling. The whole feeling of war against more advanced reapers was OK with the whole the dark and gloomy feeling, but there was still some baffling plot holes and unexplained things.

    The DLC. My god what on earth was EA thinking. The prothean DLC should have been free day one DLC. And it really fills in at least some of the caps and is rather good. But really 10$ for making the game what it should have been?    … Expand
  14. Greggor
    Mar 14, 2012
    7
    I am giving this game a 7 instead of a 10 because of the ending. We were promised 14 different endings, tailored to your character archetype, how you played the game, and the decisions you made. Instead, we got two different endings. You can win, or you can lose. This depends only on whether or not you have completed enough missions by the end of the game. If you win, you can very slightlyI am giving this game a 7 instead of a 10 because of the ending. We were promised 14 different endings, tailored to your character archetype, how you played the game, and the decisions you made. Instead, we got two different endings. You can win, or you can lose. This depends only on whether or not you have completed enough missions by the end of the game. If you win, you can very slightly alter the end-cinematic depending on the choice you make after the final battle. Your decision, however, has no impact on the story, and everything that you did in the game is basically invalidated by this frustrating conclusion. It's a highly disappointing end to the series, which is why so many people are upset about it. Now that the bad stuff's out of the way, let's move on to the good. The game was very fun. I beat it in three days, and I slept only a few hours each night because I simply couldn't put the game away. The story was extremely captivating, the combat was really visceral, and the dialogue was fascinating as always. This game does credit to its predecessors, which were also paragons of the shooter RPG subgenre. It's a real shame that they ended the series on such a terrible note, but that doesn't detract completely from the game's other virtues. It was fun, and I have no trouble recommending it to friends.… Expand
  15. Rosco
    May 8, 2012
    7
    First of all, I would say that Mass Effect 2 isn't just the greatest RPG ever to grace the console but it's arguably the greatest game ever made. It delivered such a compelling, deep, rich, atmospheric experience that continues to live long in the memory. So my expectations where probabaly over ambitious for the third outing. And after playing the game over and over again, devoted hours ofFirst of all, I would say that Mass Effect 2 isn't just the greatest RPG ever to grace the console but it's arguably the greatest game ever made. It delivered such a compelling, deep, rich, atmospheric experience that continues to live long in the memory. So my expectations where probabaly over ambitious for the third outing. And after playing the game over and over again, devoted hours of life I can understand the disapproval the game has gathered but would definetly say that Mass Effect 3 is by no means a game worthy of a '0.' Picking up from where the ME2 DLC Arrival left off, ME3 see's Shepard relieved of his duties as the consequences of his actions during the DLC, whilst on Earth the Reapers have launched an overwhelming onslaught leading Admiral Anderson to set Shepard the mission of uniting the galaxy's forces. Ofcourse the gameplay unfolds from here and you are able to import your saved data meaning that anyone who didn't make it from ME1&2 won't be in ME3. However, an early discovery is made after saving Liara, where she reveals that there is a potential weapon capable of destroying the Reapers; The Crucible. From here that's what it's all about. Travelling across the galaxy uniting forces whilst making major decisions along the way regarding the future of the Krogan race, the Geth and Quarians, aswell as taking care of personal loose ends including romantic options where you can decide who Shepard finally ends up with. Cerberus are also heavily involved under the guidance of The Illusive Man (TIM) who believes the Reapers should be controlled and not destroyed and throughout you have to deal with their attempts to take the Citadel as well as mounting an attack on their headquarters as a starting point towards the final battle. Your decisions along the way as you will already know are important in determining the ending to the game however even more vital is Effective Military Strength (EMS) which has a huge impact in final outcome of your Shepard's journey, this is mainly gained through online play. Regardless of who you sacrifice or save it all leads down to Citadel where a battered and blooded Shepard faces a final showdown with TIM,ultimately resulting in an old friends death, before all is finally revealed and the fate of the galaxy sealed. Lets just say you are in for rude awakening if you thought every decision you had to make was going to be crucial in determining how Mass Effect 3 ends. As you are transported to the pinnacle of the Citadel, the Catalyst approaches you in the shape of the young boy who dies at the start of the game who explains everything. Unfortunately the explanation isn't anything i could have possibly imagined but nonetheless he reveals that the Reaper cycle is an attempt to prevent organic life from wiping itself out by creating synthetic life leading you to face three options; 'Destroy,' 'Control,' or 'Convert.' All three result in the apparent death of Shepard however if you choose 'Destroy' and have the correct amount of EMS you can gain the 'perfect' ending where it shows a potentially alive Shepard breathing amongst the ruins of the destruction which results in the mass relays being destroyed and the Normandy ending up stranded on another planet... then after the credits have rolled an old man is shown with a young boy, who asks the elderly gent to tell him more stories about 'the Shepard' implying that Shepard's legend lives on. We all know the controversy regarding the ending and initially I felt as though I had been well and truly conned as all the assurances BioWare has given simply weren't on show. But after taking my time going through things again I'm not as bummed as I first was. The gameplay is awesome. It was always going to be the introduction of new weapons is cool and the shooting system worked superbly well in ME2 so only a few minor tweaks were needed in that department so I didn't have any complains there. The Normandy was fine although you don't get enough of it. Graphically it's not exactly a blockbuster movie. There are annoying glitches along the way but they don't prevent you from playing on, they just frustrate you at times. The plot. Well not so much the story as the ending(s). Let's face it BioWare sold us all short big time! Shepard dying doesn't bother me as much as others, sure it would've been great for him to get that happily ever after but it's the fact they have disregarded everything a player has gone through and delivered such a pointless and worthless ending that a trilogy such as Mass Effect doesn't deserve. Multiplayer was unnecessary but I was relatively impressed but not addicted to it as other games, but is a vital component for those of us seeking that 'perfect' ending. Simply, ME3 is a tremendous game with a terrible ending and as a result is one of the biggest disappointments to date. I await the extended epilogue in the hope of some REAL closure.… Expand
  16. caraniente
    Mar 13, 2012
    7
    This should be a 10 out of 10 game, and for the most part is. It provided some of the most epic moments in the series. The characters we know and love are there - those who aren't permanent squadmates often have large roles to play. The major quests are set around resolving issues that the game has been building up to - namely, the genophage and the Quarian-Geth war - and are complexThis should be a 10 out of 10 game, and for the most part is. It provided some of the most epic moments in the series. The characters we know and love are there - those who aren't permanent squadmates often have large roles to play. The major quests are set around resolving issues that the game has been building up to - namely, the genophage and the Quarian-Geth war - and are complex multi-mission quests which leave you in awe. Most of the side missions, however, are repetitive drop-in-and-shoot-things quests - alright, but dull. There's also an inordinate amount of fetch quests consisting of walking past people talking, seeing a journal notification, and scanning a planet for something that you have no idea what it's for or why it's needed - which would matter less were the journal any good, but quests don't update to tell you you've found the item and a lot of the time I found myself wandering the citadel looking for an interaction marker to work out who I was supposed to give it to.

    My first major gripe - Bioware claim that "you don't have to do multiplayer to get the best ending". Apparently you need >5000 effective military strength to get the 'best' ending (with some caveats depending on choices). I completed every quest, scanned every system to completion, and can't even get over 4000 (I had 3500 at the ending and that wasn't sufficient for 'best'). Yes, I know there'll undoubtedly be DLC (this was done WITH 'From Ashes') but ME is at it's heart a single-player game, and I dislike being punished because I don't want to do multiplayer (I've never played the ME series for the fighting, after all!).

    Combat has been polished, however, and compared with the last couple of games is more difficult, though enemy progression does rapidly get predictable (oh look, husks, next it'll be cannibals/maruaders and then maybe a pair of beasts) or is 'a shedload of troops'. Enemy AI is much better, as was my squadmates - no more taking cover in open air and power usage was handled well.

    The dialogue system has changed slightly - no neutral options, which removes possibilities - though that's the way Bioware have been pushing this since ME2, so it wasn't surprising. Dialogue with your crew has been polished, but options removed - usually it's 'click and dialogue will play while Shep wanders around', but I do like the fact your companions talk to each other now, particularly when I walk in on Garrus and James hanging out in the kitchen swapping war stories or Joker asking Liara whether her head tentacles move.

    Shepard's character is also very well-developed in this - still the galactic superhero, but Bioware have managed to introduce signs of some of the stress our favourite protagonist is under by this game. Some people might not like it - I find it only makes it more real. Though one or two efforts at blatant emotional manipulation are a bit overdone.

    The game builds slowly but surely, so that by the time you complete the last priority mission and begin the endgame your heart is pounding and you have the feeling that this, this will be Shepard's crowning moment. You're invested on so many levels, and it's about more than just 'get these Reapers off my lawn' with a couple of subplots coming together in the endgame. And it's brilliant, until the last 10 minutes. In the last major scene and the resulting 'ending' there are over a dozen obvious, fatal errors. The ending is illogical, the reasoning behind it proven wrong in Shepard's own experience, and the ending cutscenes show things that couldn't possibly be real. I have no issue with the endings themselves, but it's disappointing to see that after the immense attention to detail in the rest of the game - and really, every little thing I'd done or dialogue option I'd picked seemed to be reflected throughout the game - all of that just fell apart in those last few minutes.

    With the current media attention and the 'change the ending' campaign, there's a lot of things being said about whining and people wanting a happy ending. I don't want a happy ending - actually, given that we're fighting an impossible foe and Earth is pretty much ravaged from the start, I'd be annoyed if I could make it through the game without sacrifices. Unfortunately, the ending quite simply doesn't make sense - it looks as though we're only seeing half the scenes we should. That is what brings this game down from a 9 or even 10 rating to a 7. Beyond that, I haven't been able to bring myself to play again. I played ME1 and 2, when I first got them, twice consecutively and did every side quest. In ME3, while I will play again, I don't see myself putting in the same amount of effort - and I will probably turn off the game before the final part of the ending. For a game like this to leave as its legacy something that makes you LESS likely to play through again - means something has gone wrong. And that's not the legacy ME deserves.    … Expand
  17. Chapa9dj
    Aug 29, 2012
    7
    Many things went wrong with this ME, starting with all my decisions in previous ME's that didn't worth nothing in this game. It was all for nothing.
    They simplified way too much to appeal new users and added an unnecessary and crappy Multiplayer.
    I didn't like the idea of seeing some of my team dying without having any choice, this was by far one of the worst thing they did with the    Many things went wrong with this ME, starting with all my decisions in previous ME's that didn't worth nothing in this game. It was all for nothing.
    They simplified way too much to appeal new users and added an unnecessary and crappy Multiplayer.
    I didn't like the idea of seeing some of my team dying without having any choice, this was by far one of the worst thing they did with the game.
    The Soundtrack is pretty good but not that good compared to ME1 and 2, still is one of the strongest point in this game.
    .
    I took a lot of time to review it because i decided to wait for the Extended Cut and it was well worth it. Although it didn't clarify all my doubts and plot-holes in the game, it changed things a lot and made the endings make more sense. All in all its a great game, a bit disappointing, it could have been way much better than this.    … Expand
  18. Cell1e
    Apr 7, 2017
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Im changing my score for this game as after playing the Mass Effect Andromeda I realised there have been enough improvements to ME3 to warrant a better score. I am glad they put out the extended cut and that the modders put out a great mod with a better ending. Now I can play this game more. Thanks Bioware and modders!… Expand
  19. almostskilled
    Mar 11, 2012
    7
    I´m new to the Mass Effect series and, the thing that bother me the most was the 1 key do all, im on a pc ffs, It gets really slumpy, and I wasn´t really a fan of the massive cut scenes in the action mode, Ill give it a 7 because the game is huge, and have a lot of replay value compared to other games, but metascore of 92 is really to much.
  20. StavrosDim
    Mar 17, 2012
    7
    Mass Effect 3 is promoted by its publisher as a shooter game,while Mass Effect 1 was promoted as an RPG.Many RPG elements are absent in this game,and any improvement done is on the battle/shooter department.That was something I didn't liked,as I also didn't liked the fact that the actual places you can visit are fewer,the actual dialogues you can have with people are fewer,and the gameplayMass Effect 3 is promoted by its publisher as a shooter game,while Mass Effect 1 was promoted as an RPG.Many RPG elements are absent in this game,and any improvement done is on the battle/shooter department.That was something I didn't liked,as I also didn't liked the fact that the actual places you can visit are fewer,the actual dialogues you can have with people are fewer,and the gameplay variety of this game is also shorter.While ME3 is the most linear of all the games in the series,it was bearable enough up until the end.I didn't had enough fun as I had with ME1 and ME2 while playing ME3,because many elements that I liked from past games were absent or in very short quantities in this one.
    While the actual battles aren't as predictable and annoying as in past game of the series,the fact that most quests in this game have battles tacked on gets them repeatitive and boring after an amount of time,and I ended up feeling that the game's gameplay was a chore I had to do just to see what happens in the end.So I played it up until the end expecting a great finale and to see how the game would evaluate my decisions and gameplay,by seeing what kind of ending I would get.
    The ending wasn't what I expected.I could deal with a not so happy ending,but this goes beyond that.
    The game ends without showing me what happened to the main characters of the plot and the universe. I didn't saw anybody's reactions to the decision the main protagonist,Shepard took. I didn't saw how their lives changed,what happened in anybody's life after the final event of the story.The game ends in a way that makes whatever Shepard accomplished in all 3 games to be rendered absolutely useless,and the player is left to wonder if it was even worth it taking all these decisions or not,and eventually destroying the Reapers or not,and actually if it was even worth it doing all that things that happened,and playing through 3 games to achieve them.
    I can't say I enjoyed or had fun with this game as with the rest of the series.
    Mass Effect 1 was like finding an airport full of various airplane models you could fly and got me all excited.Mass Effect 2 was like a lift off,like actually flying one of those planes,and it drove my enthusiasm to the hights of the skies.Mass Effect 3 was the landing,and a rough one where you realise that something went wrong,and you get to smash on to the ground with your face.
    While as a series it was one of my best ever until before ME3,I decided that the best thing to do is to forget ME3 ever existed.Shepard's story closes with the worst possible way it could close.Everything turns out to be futile,and the universe I loved so much by playing the first two games of the series got damaged so bad,it wouldn't make sense to make a new game with it.In the last minutes of this game Bioware destroyed every reason I had to do whatever I was doing in the games of the series,which also devastated any replay value the whole trilogy could have,by killing the motives a player might had to replay these games.This is sad.Sadder than the actual ending.    … Expand
  21. xZippy
    Dec 1, 2012
    7
    I love the Mass Effect series, but the third game just didn't have that magic touch like the last two, especially the second one. The movement and combat got a few perks. Some of the new powers/characters/weapons/missions are good, and the story holds up alright, but the extra flare is just not there. The previous games had some great gameplay mechanics, but were sucked out of this game.I love the Mass Effect series, but the third game just didn't have that magic touch like the last two, especially the second one. The movement and combat got a few perks. Some of the new powers/characters/weapons/missions are good, and the story holds up alright, but the extra flare is just not there. The previous games had some great gameplay mechanics, but were sucked out of this game. It's like the game is Mass Effect 2 with some improved graphics, but much lazier organization, atmosphere and character development - it all just feels sloppier. There's no reason an avid Mass Effect should pass this up, as it's not that bad of a game. But it's very watered down. I haven't a damn clue what went through BioWare's heads with the horrible endings.… Expand
  22. joker1991
    Mar 11, 2012
    7
    I was afraid that Bioware might ruin at some point the whole mass effect magical and absorbing universe.My fears came true.Where should I start? I played the PC version and I was really disappointed in game's graphics.There are obvious signs that the game's graphics were done in some kind of a rush.Awful textures in some points during the game.For a 2012 game they look really bad .OnceI was afraid that Bioware might ruin at some point the whole mass effect magical and absorbing universe.My fears came true.Where should I start? I played the PC version and I was really disappointed in game's graphics.There are obvious signs that the game's graphics were done in some kind of a rush.Awful textures in some points during the game.For a 2012 game they look really bad .Once again PC gets a port.I am no complaining about performance since FPS rate is stable,but these textures look really ugly nowadays.What about gameplay? They made it more action,more Michael Bay style look.As a result we have bad written dialogues and on top of that we can't make a lot of real decisions during the dialogues.All this negative stuff, was obviously done for action's sake and gameplay feels a lot like GOW series.Thus, the mass effect magic is lost in the third installment of the franchise.
    Moreover,I can't understand the whole multiplayer point,Mass effect was always a trully single player experience,why ruin this now? The worst of this addition is that multiplayer affects the game's final battle.What were they thinking? Usually people play first the single player part then the multi.It's simply irrational.As for war assets feature it seemed to me quite cool in the beginning but afterwards I understood that it don't count as it should.
    Last but not least,there is a really messy badly written ending in the end of the game.Bioware gives us 3 options which all lead to an unpleasant ending.I don't say that I wanted an ending taken from children's tales where everyone lives and stays happy at the end.Though,it's really harsh to watch that all the decisions that were made in previous games simply don't count at all.This is the part why many Mass Effect's fans got angry.They can't just so simply erase our actions.It's ironic that they were saying all these years to keep the save games as they will change the whole experience in the 3rd game of the franchise.They were **** about thousands of factors that will make a difference.
    All in all,I realized in the end that spent 100 hours in Mass Effect universe,I made hard decisions,I bonded emotionally with game's characters and finally I made the impossible to unite galaxy's races only for nothing.Even the war assets don't count a lot,you have fleet of Turians,Geth,QuariansHuman,Asari and all this for nothing.    … Expand
  23. pospulsar99
    Mar 12, 2012
    7
    I actually enjoyed the game greatly... People are correct in that there aren't a lot of changes to the gamplay from ME2, but that's because they already had a winning combination in my mind...

    The sheer number of things imported from ME1, ME2, and DLC was impressive to me... I've had completely different experiences than friends I've talked to... even down to in-game e-mails and news    I actually enjoyed the game greatly... People are correct in that there aren't a lot of changes to the gamplay from ME2, but that's because they already had a winning combination in my mind...

    The sheer number of things imported from ME1, ME2, and DLC was impressive to me... I've had completely different experiences than friends I've talked to... even down to in-game e-mails and news reports commenting on things being done by characters you left alive in previous games.

    I was also very impressed at the level of emotional involvement they can get you to invest... there are some characters that I really truly cared about, and the voice acting for some of them was spot-on.

    I think the main contributor to the Negative scores is the Ending... and I understand where others are coming from... for the most part, I was content... but there are elements to it that didn't make a lot of sense to me... a couple more options would have been good... Even a Dragon Age style "Text Epilogue" just saying "So and So went on to do this..." "This character went off to do the following..." would have been satisfying...

    Don't let the last 15 mins ruin the rest of the game though... I enjoyed everything else immensely...    … Expand
  24. Zanadar
    Mar 18, 2012
    7
    The good:
    1. Combat improvements:
    There's a lot to be said about the addition of the roll and what it does for the combat in this game. Suffice it to say, it's a great feature. The (re)addition of many RPG elements like a much wider array of weaponry coupled with the upgrade system is very welcome as well and with the expanded skill trees and the weight vs power recharge system gives you a    The good:
    1. Combat improvements:
    There's a lot to be said about the addition of the roll and what it does for the combat in this game. Suffice it to say, it's a great feature. The (re)addition of many RPG elements like a much wider array of weaponry coupled with the upgrade system is very welcome as well and with the expanded skill trees and the weight vs power recharge system gives you a significantly improved experience with the games shooter bits.
    2. The writing: It's very strong at points. Bioware delves into a broader array of subjects than we're generally used to from them, like PTSD, the psychological strain of war and it's impact on not only those who fight it, but everyone else who suffers from it as well. Personal and mass tragedy is very prominent in the writing and handled quite well. Sadly, they do pull a few punches at times, but not enough to ruin the rest.
    3. The length: It's not a short game. Perhaps not quite as large as ME2 if you factor in all the DLCs, but still definitely worth the 60 dollar pricetag in sheer gameplay hours.

    The bad:
    1. Day one DLC: There's been enough uproar about this already, and frankly it's deserved, so I wont dwell on it too much.
    2. Reduced companion interaction: Unfortunately you do not truly get to interact with your companions as much as you'd like. You rarely get actual dialog wheel conversations with them and there are no companion side-missions. This is not as much of an issue with returning characters as it is with new ones, but it would have been nice to have a little more dialog-tree conversations for companions.
    3. The ending: A lot of adjectives have been applied to it already. I personally think "awful", "horrible" and so on are a bit of an exaggeration, but the truth is, it's far from good. Somewhere between disappointing and confusing is where I'd put it. The strangest thing about it is, Bioware have excellent writers as evidenced by the majority of the rest of the game. It simply defies belief that they did not understand this ending would not go over well, to put it mildly. The only explanation I can think of is that they're going to sell us a proper finish to the trilogy for 10 bucks.    … Expand
  25. Agrajagg
    Jan 27, 2013
    7
    I am sick and tired of the whiny user reviews about the endings. THEY FIXED IT. and if you are still upset about the endings not being that different from each other, then you have not been paying attention to the other endings to the Mass Effect series. These ending are in the same type as the first 2 games. To give the review a 0 just because of the ending is stupid. Here is why, if theI am sick and tired of the whiny user reviews about the endings. THEY FIXED IT. and if you are still upset about the endings not being that different from each other, then you have not been paying attention to the other endings to the Mass Effect series. These ending are in the same type as the first 2 games. To give the review a 0 just because of the ending is stupid. Here is why, if the game was so bad to earn a 0, then you would never finish it to see the endings! The rating is base on and OVERALL experience. The game was a very fun play. I enjoyed the experience and hope that they keep going in the Mass Effect universe.… Expand
  26. Mashley
    Mar 13, 2012
    7
    Mass Effect 3 is a fantastic game. Right up until the end I was so engaged in the gameplay, the story, the characters that I was literally on the end of my seat. Which is why the terrible endings were such a kick in the balls. I really wish BioWare could have provided some sort of effect for what you had done, and closure for the characters you'd grown to love. Nothing you do matters evenMass Effect 3 is a fantastic game. Right up until the end I was so engaged in the gameplay, the story, the characters that I was literally on the end of my seat. Which is why the terrible endings were such a kick in the balls. I really wish BioWare could have provided some sort of effect for what you had done, and closure for the characters you'd grown to love. Nothing you do matters even a bit in the end. Everything you do in the series was building up to that and to have it limited to a choice of 3 cutscenes with no consideration of what had happened before. The game itself is fantastic as I said, and I do think you should buy it but just... close the game before the ending and think of the ending you want. Because it will be better than everything BioWare come up with.… Expand
  27. Alpha_Nexus
    Mar 16, 2012
    7
    The game is has changed a lot from ME1 and ME2 for both good and bad.

    The Story is engaging and the way the reveals bits of story without a cutscene is great, like hearing NPCs talk as you walk around. I find myself stopping between 2 NPCs chatting just to find out more about the backstory. However, the story is more linear than previous games and doesn't feel like you're making Shepard    The game is has changed a lot from ME1 and ME2 for both good and bad.

    The Story is engaging and the way the reveals bits of story without a cutscene is great, like hearing NPCs talk as you walk around. I find myself stopping between 2 NPCs chatting just to find out more about the backstory. However, the story is more linear than previous games and doesn't feel like you're making Shepard your own character. Basically your dialogue choices don't really affect the ending, instead it relies on your collecting "War Assets" (setup alliances, completing side quests, scan planets for items, etc...) for slightly different endings. Even then, the endings only differ with your choices in the last few minutes of the game. It makes it feel like your actions through the game really doesn't matter.
    I like how Bioware allows players to customize how they prefer to play the game by giving them options to ignore selecting dialogue to focus on action or make shooting easier to focus just on story. The War Readiness system is an interesting idea that I like in theory but it makes the game feel more "grindy" because you have to do all these side quests and scan all these planets. It also feels like a cash grab by Bioware/EA because you can increase the Readiness by buying their iPhone game or, in multiplayer, you can buy upgrade packs with real money. You can get the Readiness to 100% without paying extra or multiplayer but you would have to do a lot of side quests and exploration. The Multiplayer feels a little less "grindy" because it has a good variety of maps and enemies and you can unlock new weapons and upgrades by using in-game currency (gained by playing online games). The co-op multiplayer is a pleasant surprise. It reminds me of playing Uncharted 2 Multiplayer with swarms of enemies and little objectives to complete (assassinate targets, defend an area, activate devices). I had alot of fun with friends playing the game. There are some bugs with multiplayer that makes it annoying. It would be nice to be able to reorder your quickbar skills like in Singleplayer and the button for cover/activate is unreliable. I get stuck in a nearby cover instead of activating an objective.

    The cover system is worse in this game than ME2, my character sticks to places too easily. If Bioware tone down the distance of when to automatically stick to cover, it would make it alot more tolerable. The shooting elements feel good but nothing like a hardcore FPS. Getting a gib kill feels good and the aiming system feels right with the right setting (I had to turn off "Mouse Dampening" to feel better). The simplified inventory system, shopping system, and weapon upgrading is a lot better in this game than the previous games.

    The From Ashes DLC, is great. It seamlessly integrates with the main game and feels like part of the main game. It gives such an important background information about the Mass Effect Universe. The DLC character is great and the conversions with the character is worthwhile. I honestly cannot see how this DLC be excluded from the main game, the content adds so much depth the game. This DLC should have been available to all players who brought the game new, it feels like it's such a key component to the Mass Effect story. Shame on EA/Bioware for making this a paid DLC on Day 1, instead of working on bugs or improvements. Also, the idea that you can spend real money to unlock random stuff in multiplayer (with no guarantee of getting everything) adds to the feeling that EA/Bioware are trying to squeeze cash from their fans.
    Conclusion:
    The game mechanics definitely improved overall, but the story doesn't feel like a classic Bioware RPG where you have complete control over Shepard's development. I cannot give this game a perfect score because of some bugs and the Day 1 DLC (From Ashes) should have been free to all players that brought the game, like in Dragon Age 2 with Shale. It integrates so nicely to the game that it should have been part of the game from the start. This also gives the impression that EA/Bioware trying to squeeze as much money out of their loyal fans. When they should have spent that extra time polishing the cover system, speech system, animation system, or fixing save game importing instead of making this Day 1 DLC. If they had even waited a month to push out that DLC, it would have made less fans feel like they're getting robbed for supporting the franchise.    … Expand
  28. Shoozle
    Mar 6, 2012
    7
    Reddit trolls need to **** off seriously. Its not that bad of a game, but yeah it does not deserve the high praise it has quickly received. Animations are shoddy at times, the characters are boring but I enjoyed the story (though not the ending, bit pathetic to be honest, hope there is not a fourth). The gameplay too was as enjoyable as the second but still not matching the first.

    Better    Reddit trolls need to **** off seriously. Its not that bad of a game, but yeah it does not deserve the high praise it has quickly received. Animations are shoddy at times, the characters are boring but I enjoyed the story (though not the ending, bit pathetic to be honest, hope there is not a fourth). The gameplay too was as enjoyable as the second but still not matching the first.

    Better than 2 but still not coming to as good as the first.    … Expand
  29. ebo974
    Apr 25, 2012
    7
    Ahhhh sad... i'm sad. The 1 was great, the 2 good... And that 3 is just average... Not bad, mainly because we love the caracteres. We are attached with them. Some scenes are still great, as a nice space opera.
    But that game is far poorer than the two others. It is very contemplative game... Like a story we read, but not as a good video game should be.
    I don't complaint against the ends. I    Ahhhh sad... i'm sad. The 1 was great, the 2 good... And that 3 is just average... Not bad, mainly because we love the caracteres. We are attached with them. Some scenes are still great, as a nice space opera.
    But that game is far poorer than the two others. It is very contemplative game... Like a story we read, but not as a good video game should be.
    I don't complaint against the ends. I can understand them and I accept the dev's choice.

    It's hard finishing such trilogy like that...    … Expand
  30. Ardonas
    Mar 11, 2012
    7
    Best game of the series, right up until the "push a button' ending. I still loved it, but God is that ending frustrating. It's like the end "Under The Dome" but even more frustrating. Buy it, just don't finish it.
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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.
    Read full review
  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]
    Read full review
  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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