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
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. therob91
    Jan 30, 2015
    5
    This should have been(and nearly is) the greatest story/character driven RPG of all time, but Bioware made a MAJOR mistake with the final title. This game is absolutely incredible until you hit the last 10 minutes. Honestly maybe even the last 5 minutes, because the story was ramped up and paced so perfectly that the lead up RIGHT UNTIL the ending is once in a generation exceptional. ThenThis should have been(and nearly is) the greatest story/character driven RPG of all time, but Bioware made a MAJOR mistake with the final title. This game is absolutely incredible until you hit the last 10 minutes. Honestly maybe even the last 5 minutes, because the story was ramped up and paced so perfectly that the lead up RIGHT UNTIL the ending is once in a generation exceptional. Then you get to the ending and I don't know if they ran out of money or what, but it completely falls flat and ignores all of the style of the series. It changes from a game about choices building up and coming together to create an epic finale (across 6ish years for people that played the games when they came out) into a 3 pronged choice that ignores every choice made in any of the 3 games and, in a game HEAVILY influenced by film(to the point of having a grain filter naturally active to appear more like a movie) has a final few moments that feel more at home in an ending to a fighting game characters story or even something like a shmup. I'm torn on what to give this game. Its clearly a 10/10 until the ending, but this game is ABOUT the story, A weak ending in TES or Fallout isn't that big a deal because they are different style games. This game is about story and characters and the main concept of the game is basically thrown out the window in the final moment. All I can end up deciding is that the ending SEVERELY impacted my feelings about the entire franchise, and the score needs to reflect that.… Expand
  2. Sandro86
    May 15, 2019
    7
    If it was not for forced online part and the unsatisfying ending to the trilogy I would have gladly given this game 8 out of ten.
  3. Nozart
    Mar 6, 2012
    6
    I don't think too much has improved from previous games compared too how much has gotten worse. My save transfer didn't work and a prothean DLC was available as soon as I started, which to be honest annoyed the hell out of me. I'm around 6 hours in and have found it a bit of a grind in a lot of places, the combat seems unrefined and the story in places is complete drab. This is my honestI don't think too much has improved from previous games compared too how much has gotten worse. My save transfer didn't work and a prothean DLC was available as soon as I started, which to be honest annoyed the hell out of me. I'm around 6 hours in and have found it a bit of a grind in a lot of places, the combat seems unrefined and the story in places is complete drab. This is my honest opinion on the matter.… Expand
  4. textor44
    Mar 21, 2012
    7
    I've been playing Mass Effect since the first game came out. Before even playing Mass Effect 3, I went through the trouble of replaying the first and second game just so that I could remind myself of the story in full, as well as ensure that all the choices I wanted to have imported were made properly by the character I was bringing into the game.

    So, did I enjoy Mass Effect 3? Yes. The    I've been playing Mass Effect since the first game came out. Before even playing Mass Effect 3, I went through the trouble of replaying the first and second game just so that I could remind myself of the story in full, as well as ensure that all the choices I wanted to have imported were made properly by the character I was bringing into the game.

    So, did I enjoy Mass Effect 3? Yes. The game had decent writing (with an exception that I will elaborate on later in the review) and the tone of urgency was present throughout the entire game. The voice acting was superb, as usual, and there were even some moments that had me laughing hysterically, and other parts that caused me to really feel a sadness as events occurred involving characters I had grown quite fond of.

    Multiplayer was added into the game this time around, and I'm not sure I really agree with that decision. Mass Effect was always a single-player experience, and the multiplayer seems almost as if it was simply a way for EA to make more money, as you would have to purchase new equipment packs from them with a "Customizable Card Game" expansion feel to it-- a bunch of "common" items in the pack, with a chance for some rare ones. Playing with other players is a bit fun, however, but with the matching system giving me matches where I'm fighting along side level 18 characters, and dying horribly, it can get old rather fast. In addition, making this a "requirement" to increase your galactic readiness rating is also very annoying, as you have to invest a massive amount of effort to increase and maintain the rating. Alternatively, you can get the games they released for the iOS platform to assist in this, but without having the android versions available on the day of release, it gives an advantage to those who can afford Apple's products to play the games with their equipment.

    Finally, we come to the ending. This is the exact reason why the game did not get a higher rating from me, other than my issues with the multiplayer and "galaxy at war" systems:

    The ending was an insult. As long as you bothered to invest the time into getting the numbers for the war as high as you can, you will have three options, of which I will not go into the details in order to keep spoilers out of the review, instead referring to them by colors, since those who have played the game will know what I refer to without revealing anything.

    The blue ending, to me, stood against what my character fought for in the three games, so I didn't feel that would work properly. The red ending would have destroyed some of the things that I had worked very long and hard to achieve, starting all the way back in the second game, and also violating the principles that my character had fought long and hard to achieve. This left the green ending for me, which was, essentially, the least of three evils for me.

    After my choice, I had looked up the other two endings, to see what they were like... and I was appalled. Essentially the same footage was used for each one, with just the colors I mentioned being more prominent in each, and which characters you see changing a bit. To me, this was the height of laziness and an insult to myself. When I looked up the other options, I expected to see vastly divergent videos, instead of "choose which color you like best." In addition NONE of the three endings really showed an epilogue of what happened. Ok, you saved the galaxy! Now what? We won't tell you!

    So, was the game worth playing? I'd say yes. The gameplay itself was enjoyable, and with a few exceptions, it was a satisfying experience overall. They did wrap up the storyline of several characters, and answered a few questions that had been lingering, and at one point even gave a very satisfying historical lesson on the Morning War (the first war between the robotic Geth race and their creators, the Quarians), and the results of some of your earliest choices in the first game do come back to have some nice effects. In addition, they also took a subtle approach to addressing some complaints caused by bugs in Mass Effect 2 (your super-fan referencing an import bug preventing him from responding properly to what you did in the first game, for instance).

    Bioware has released a statement saying they would take the fan backlash on the endings seriously, and attempt to address them. If they do this, and create a new ending that allows players that were fans of the game since the beginning to feel as if their choices really mattered in the end, then I believe that Mass Effect 3 has the potential to be the best in the series. If these concerns are not addressed, however, Bioware's historically positive list of games will forever have a dissatisfying footnote next to what should have been the pinnacle of one of their most ambitious properties.    … Expand
  5. Jaga
    Mar 10, 2012
    5
    Currently I'm about halfway through the game, and while the story is good (better than ME1/ME2), the gameplay is merely adequate.

    It feels very dumbed down given that there is even less customization than in prior games in the series. There is no real inventory to speak of, and when you find an upgrade for a weapon (as an example), you can immediately equip that upgrade to as many squad    Currently I'm about halfway through the game, and while the story is good (better than ME1/ME2), the gameplay is merely adequate.

    It feels very dumbed down given that there is even less customization than in prior games in the series. There is no real inventory to speak of, and when you find an upgrade for a weapon (as an example), you can immediately equip that upgrade to as many squad member's weapons as you desire. Powers are per-character, with little sharing possible via a new system. I'm not at all impressed with upgrades on skills/powers, as each feels like an almost miniscule change to effectiveness in combat.

    The primary reason I'm rating ME3 as a 5, is due to the unbelievable distaste it has left in my mouth having gay talk, scenes, and innuendo shoved down my throat at every turn. My assistant on the Normandy is a gay female. My dropship mechanic is a gay male. Liara is blatantly bi-sexual, and several other Asari in the story are either bi, or outright gay. There are people sitting in the local hospital talking about being gay, people in the commons talking about turning gay.. etc etc etc. It feels in fact, like there is more gay love and sex abounding in the Mass Effect 3 world than there are straight relationships.

    To reflect on this: I am not homophobic - I can accept that people have relationships of their choosing. But when the NORM is 10:1 (or more) in favor of straight-to-gay in reality, and you have more gay than straight in the game world, it tends to wear on you quickly. It leaves an undeniable taste of "eww" in your mouth, due to the staggering amount of it.

    All in all, a decent game - full of plenty of Mass Effect as we've known it. But a bit too much of "hay there!".. makes you wonder if the team writing/producing it was 80%+ gay. That part of it will not - never will, appeal to the mainstream audience. And is largely why ME3 is being blasted on Metacritic, among other sites on the web.

    It is one thing when it happens in moderation, and isn't blatantly flaunted in public. But ME3 really does shove it down your throat again and again, and for most straight people that does produce a substantial amount of discomfort and distaste. It isn't that it is happening, it is that MOST ME3 characters turn out to be gay.

    My recommendation for the game: either buy and play it knowing what is coming at you, or wait for the bargain bin price and see how much you can stomach before putting it down. It is not one of Bioware's masterpieces, and goes far beyond "touching on taboo issues" than it should.    … Expand
  6. Soonerfan2006
    Mar 12, 2012
    6
    I know many people are upset with the ending of this game, it's no secret. Even I was disappointed in the way everything played out. However, as a fan of the Mass Effect series since Mass Effect 1, I can't be over-critical of just the ending. I also need to give credit to the fact that Mass Effect 3 was a great game for 99% of the content. It had a very full continuation to the story ofI know many people are upset with the ending of this game, it's no secret. Even I was disappointed in the way everything played out. However, as a fan of the Mass Effect series since Mass Effect 1, I can't be over-critical of just the ending. I also need to give credit to the fact that Mass Effect 3 was a great game for 99% of the content. It had a very full continuation to the story of Shepard and there were seamless improvements to many of the features that I dreaded in ME/ME2. On top of the fantastic story that was presented there was also the Multiplayer function that was added. While it may only appeal to some people, it has been very well received overall. It's very addicting, and it can really be a great time sink for you and your friends. It promotes teamwork and punishes those who do not communicate. I hope to see some DLC in the future for the MP feature at some point, it has a near limitless expansion area. Back to the single player campaign, I can't rate this game lower than a 6 in good conscience just based on the ending, I won't lie, it's very upsetting and with that said 4 points off a perfect 10, which could have easily been achieved without that hole-filled ending, is quite a hit to the score without getting too over emotional. While I hope that Bioware will at least make a statement to appease us, I feel that the damage has already been done, damage which cannot be undone with simple means. A patch/DLC to add an alternate ending is possible, but the question will always remain as to why it was even needed in the first place. Bioware has talented writers and I praise them on creating the Mass Effect universe, but I wonder how they honestly thought this would play out in the end. In closing, Mass Effect 3 was a fantastic game, filled with combat and rich story-telling. It's sure to satisfy you right up until the end, where it drops the ball. Be warned if you decide to continue your Shepard's story as you may be left feeling ill.… Expand
  7. mmadbzfan
    Mar 25, 2012
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. First of all I like this games single player and love the multiplayer and glad they added it. Making Shepard die is bs and day one dlc just makes me rage. If there was a good ending and no dlc this game is a 10 but EA's greed has made it to a 6.… Expand
  8. Redwing2b
    Mar 21, 2012
    7
    I will not deny the fact that the game is a great game and so is the series, but with one major issue. I don't remember any of all the great moments of the series or the 3rd game. Why? All I remember is the last 20 minutes and the ending and how I was left feeling like something was seriously wrong. I wont spoil it, but the choices we all made shaping our characters all boil down to justI will not deny the fact that the game is a great game and so is the series, but with one major issue. I don't remember any of all the great moments of the series or the 3rd game. Why? All I remember is the last 20 minutes and the ending and how I was left feeling like something was seriously wrong. I wont spoil it, but the choices we all made shaping our characters all boil down to just three possible ending choices. Each choice is literally identical to each other save for the color. I mean literally the only difference is the color. For those who have not played yet you will see exactly what I mean when you get there and see the ending. Save for a few very slight differences. I will not say that the endings are totally bad, but that only works if the theories running around out there end up being true. The plot holes are too many to just be written off as this is the ending deal with it. Things do not make any sense, and we the players are left feeling totally put out by the series we love so much. All the choices, all the customization, all the freedom we had through the entire series are all thrown away in the ending. What we are left with is a hollow shell of what the Mass Effect series really has been. The signs are there that something is wrong with the ending. The tone, the feel, the way it pushes the player into literally a corner and says here make a choice that ultimately doesn't take into account all the choices and hard work you did over the course of three games. I was left searching for clues, much like everyone else, I was talking, searching, and sharing my thoughts on the game and the ending. So I must give props to Bioware and EA, if you wanted us all talking about the ending and the game long after it was over, you did it, but not in a positive way I'm sad to say. Sure the reviews on Metacritic can be flooded with BS bad reviews, but the real reviews I think are easy to spot. I loved the Mass Effect series and I recommend people play the 3rd game, its amazing and really makes the player feel part of the entire situation. It's just lost right at the end and it makes me sad to say that honestly. I rated it a 7 because the ending took so much away from the experience it literally made me upset. All the fun, all the deep enriching choices, all the torment over making hard choices, it all was leading to a final battle that ultimately was a let down, with little to no closure. I wanted to see the forces I worked to bring into the fight actually kicking some butt. I wanted to see the entire race of beings come in and unleash fury on the reapers, but I say none of that, instead I get a great space building to a battle that just sorta fades away. The ending for me was not bad per say but it clearly was wrong in how it feels. Something is missing, something is wrong, something more is coming. This can't be the end, it just feels so terribly wrong. When I look back on the experience I say it was worth it, but I struggle now to remember all the great and tough moments all because the ending clouds it all up. Makes me sad, and I pray that I am right in that there is something more the developers intended that is coming, I pray.… Expand
  9. 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
  10. 2484Stryker
    Mar 14, 2012
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. For those who invested the time & effort into playing the entire series, this latest and final installment will be fun to play right up to, but not including, the ending. By itself, ME3 is a very good game, with awesome combat mechanics and weapon/character customization. It has some very emotional moments that really draws you into the world of Mass Effect. However, the ending (singular form intended) completely negates all your choices and your actions from all three games, and forces you to accept a singular notion from your arch-nemesis - that synthetics will always destroy organics. You're given a limited number of nonsensical choices that no Shepard would ever agree to, but the game forces your character to choose from them, and he does so without question (very out of character). In the end, all of us may have taken a different route on our Mass Effect journey, but the destination is invariably the same - and that would have been OK had the destination been choice-driven. Given all that, I still enjoyed playing the game, although I now have zero inclination to experience the trilogy again. If you loved the series, then I would still suggest that you play this game (ignore the review bombers). Just hit ctrl-alt-del when you get to the ending.

    In summary, the game's ending is a disappointing end to a very good game; the game itself is a disappointing end to an epic series. RIP Mass Effect.    … Expand
  11. 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
  12. Aviod
    Mar 16, 2012
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game overall plays like mass effect 2 basically, which is a good thing.

    I felt less impressed by the story, they were so many blanks... For example, when the reapers take the Citadel to planet earth to protect. It doesn't say what happened to all the people on the Citadel. Sure you go up later, and see lots of dead bodies, but are they the bodies harvested from planet earth? sure the resources of C-SEC with the resources i collected and authorized could of hold out better.

    Also how the hell did Udina become council man, I chose anderson at the end of mass effect 1. He was also council man on mass effect 2, when i imported saves. I imported saves to mass effect 3 but Udina is council man.

    I didn't like how mass effect started as-well house arrest for blowing a balterian relay or something (must be mass effect 2 DLC which in my opinion DLC always seemed like a rip off... Sure the expansion pack (Awakenings) was good for Dragon Age:Origins as it was like a true game, but DLC it seems like $$$ for a simple weapon or something, or another character with one short quest that costs 1/3 of the original game price)

    The fuel and scanning planets things was boring in my opinion, and they butchered by ship, with so called improvements... I had 1500 fuel on mass effect 2, in mass effect 3 it's 1000. I also had awesome particle beam leasers that ripped through the Collectors easily, and great Shielding.

    The ending was worse of all, it didn't even feel like an ending, just a cheap cut off. I choose Synthesis option. Great the reapers leave earth.. I suppose everyone part machine, part biological..

    You see the normandy travelling through the cortex of a mass relay with your crew, another hole in the story... Where the hell are they off to with my crew, whilst they was a big battle on earth and around.

    I romanced Ashley in my play-through. you see joker, edi and ashley walk off Normandy. No conclusions except joker, is part synthesis. I wanted to see wide spread celebrators, like on star wars movies when they blew up the darkstar and defeated the empire. Call me egotistical but i wanted some recognition. I unknown to others sacrificed myself to save the Galaxy. I don't see peoples reactions, especially by crew members past or present. I wanted to see their reactions, See Garrus have that drink on mem others sad and happy then moving on with their lives. Thats my view on things.    … Expand
  13. BOSTONJOHN32
    Mar 19, 2012
    6
    Well i will start by saying that im amazed that critics scored this game nearly perfect but not many went into detail about ending, never mention it @ all or simply (and boldly) allowed readers to think the game was great from start to finish, then i happened 2 go "outside the bubble" and found smaller, more obscure reviews and the score factored in that the ending was "literary suicide"Well i will start by saying that im amazed that critics scored this game nearly perfect but not many went into detail about ending, never mention it @ all or simply (and boldly) allowed readers to think the game was great from start to finish, then i happened 2 go "outside the bubble" and found smaller, more obscure reviews and the score factored in that the ending was "literary suicide" as one wrote. as quoted by r. ebert "if you had to ask what it symbolized, then it didnt" and i can say that this very much sums up the ending, struck in awe like many, i wasnt even sure if i had beat the game and had to check mt trophy in order to sort out if i did. thats just it, i felt like i did not know what had just happened and had to wait for the credits to scroll to know its over,and so i convince myself that ok maybe i just did not see the right ending and maybe i got the bad ending, "yes that must be it, w/ so many endings i must have screwed up along the way and got the bad ending" come to find out i got the desired and the most "definative" ending.. so then i go back and replay the mission etc and all the other endings are pretty much identical beside a different color or "end sequence" which consisted of a minute or so animation of walking another direction etc. i wont get into conspiracy theories or anything which is out of context but its kind of hard not to fall prey or offer self to some distraction or debate because we not only invested time, we invested emotion.. hours upon hours of carefully making right choices for a desired import etc, and for what? if i kind of got a heads up from critics that "decisions do not play as significant a role in mass 3 as it did in the prior 2" then i wouldve been able to prepare,lol.. but we are hearing words like art, story telling masterpiece also we were told by bioware that this would have multiple endings, a deeper consequence/decision mechanic, an end which would the opposite from lost, well no it may actually take the belt away from lost for the wtf just happened moment but the fact is that i shouldve known that a game which has a formula that works almost seamlessly, based primarily on decisions as well as story driven sequences which make the gamer care, think and DECIDE, it works so good that while i played every mass efect i made every decision carefully to prep my shep for the import into the next game, so if i am playing a game and already thinking of the next one then the system is almost flawless imo.. BUT it is obvious E.A had a bit of influence and brings me back to my point with this "formula", they deserted it and decided for MASS APPEAL rather than mass effect and i noticed this during the demo and how much emphasis was put on how one can play the game how one wishes and that the game can be toggled to suit any style, dont like stories? choose combat.. hate decisions? well you can toggle that too.. but wait, isnt that the part of mass effect which makes it like few others? and isnt that what i have spent many hours doing to have a desired and effective playthrough as well as end? was it just me or did it feel silly to scan planets this time around? as to say "hey dont want to waste time scanning for elements, well we fixed that too" huh? call me a loser, call me what you want BUT i enjoyed taking my time scanning for minerals and elements and launching probes with a feeling of purpose, because that was one of the many things which made me love this game, felt like what i did mattered and fulfilling. i can understand E.A 's stance from a business perspective, their knowledge and tactics of knowing that the fanbase of mass effect are going to buy this game regardless so lets find some fresh blood, but did the solid core and fan base have to feel jipped, let down, disappointed, confused and as well as angry in exchange for new profits/gains? well the core, the fans well we are mass effect. it breaths because we let it, we let it because it was great ,brought quality and emotion and stood apart from many other games and the exp was one like few others. but as much respect a game/developer may get through time can be undone in ten minutes.. i can not say that mass effect 3 was a bad game, but after putting in hours of decisions, careful choices to have it not effect anything in regards to the end , other than the war assets and "co-op"readiness , well i feel like it was more of a "okay hurry up and get this over with and go play co-op after" the fact remains that mass effect 3 is still a solid game, but an ending which was promised to be the finale we dream about also being admittedly rushed well how does anything rushed ever result to anything other than sub par to par? a game is about the exp, mass effect is about a unique and gripping exp BUT the end ruined both.. its obvious a lot has changed in the gaming industry in the past 5 years, mass effect supports this in every respect, reapers went from FEAR INDUCING to PAWNS… Expand
  14. DeonCadme
    Mar 21, 2012
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I just finished it 5 minutes ago and wish I could give it a better review because it was a Mass Effect game but I cannot. The biggest reason is the story; it has big holes, really poor pacing, poor content and threads strangling themselves or mutating into monsters. The child in the beginning of the game is a strange choice, someone at Bioware seem to think that a random child which we have absolutely no emotional connection to will trigger an automatic, emotional reaction... especially when he annoys you because he completely brakes up the pacing during the attack on earth. Then the child haunts your dreams in the game and return as the face for the lord of the reapers at the end of the game. They also try to force feed us a childrens' horror story that synthetic life always take over at the end... what? What happened with coexistence? And it just goes on and on... A lot of amateur writers out there could have developed a better and much more coherent story.
    Another thing that annoyed me is that they pulled a Fallout 3 on us, did no one at Bioware read the news some years ago? Shephard is killed at the end so they travel back in time after the game is finished, just before you launch the final attack on the Reapers so that they can sell us DLC... These are major reasons why I gave the game a poor score and I hope that Bioware finally listen on their community for once. I will be careful before spend any money on another Bioware, fastfood game because all I see in this game is that they want to harvest our wallets.
    Other reasons that I pulled down the score is the uneven graphics... I have a decent 3D card (GTX 560) so the game looks beautiful in my personal opinion and this is why I absolutely do not understand why they had to add low quality movie sequences? They should have kept everything in-game so that quality stayed on a constant, higher level and it is also a lot more friendly to editing so... no idea why they did it.
    I also do not understand why they fed us a half-assed multiplayer mode? They could have used that time to polish the game instead. I do not mind multiplayer though, it fits the Mass Effect universe but it would have made a lot more sense as a separate product where it could have received a lot more attention.
    I really leave this game behind me with mixed feelings but the part that probably bugs me the most is that I do not feel that end was good. Mass Effect 3 deserved a better ending and the previous games centered a lot around the interaction with the teammates. It would have felt a lot better if Shephard lived so that you had a last chance to interact with the teammates and have a proper conclusion surrounding them. Especially those that you interacted the most with like Joker, Garrus and Tali in my case...    … Expand
  15. gigaidioticus
    Mar 12, 2012
    6
    In the interest of obviously keeping this spoiler free - I'll just say that the game was good up until the last bit. I enjoyed the new'ish combat and being able to upgrade weapons and powers almost entirely as how I saw fit. The graphics were good (on console) and the new team member(s) were, for the most part, well fleshed out. The story was - almost - phenomenal, although I didIn the interest of obviously keeping this spoiler free - I'll just say that the game was good up until the last bit. I enjoyed the new'ish combat and being able to upgrade weapons and powers almost entirely as how I saw fit. The graphics were good (on console) and the new team member(s) were, for the most part, well fleshed out. The story was - almost - phenomenal, although I did encounter a few glitches that made some side missions unplayable (which will likely be fixed in a patch, hopefully). Anyway - I gave it a 6/10, which could have easily been a 9/10 had the last portion not left me so unfulfilled.… Expand
  16. Blastooo
    Mar 19, 2012
    7
    The game was fairly good until that damned end, I ignored the crappy cover based combat system and silly scanning part, all because the story that really sucked me in, i made peace between Geth and Quarians, made Turians and Krogans cooperate, and for what? So i can watch some 2001:Space Odyssey wannabe ending. Horibble. Not to mention the whole thing was such an anticlimax, no harbingerThe game was fairly good until that damned end, I ignored the crappy cover based combat system and silly scanning part, all because the story that really sucked me in, i made peace between Geth and Quarians, made Turians and Krogans cooperate, and for what? So i can watch some 2001:Space Odyssey wannabe ending. Horibble. Not to mention the whole thing was such an anticlimax, no harbinger final fight, no nothing just multi-color explosions.… Expand
  17. Quichotte9
    Mar 20, 2012
    7
    ME3 is what I expected after the ME-ME2 transition -- simplified and less open. As a PC player, I was annoyed at the control changes -- got over it, but not at the environment constraints (exploring the Citadel anyone). Can't over that one. As for the decision paths, well they are more of a railroad in ME3 than ME2 and more so than ME.

    The big itch for me is the art direction -- the    ME3 is what I expected after the ME-ME2 transition -- simplified and less open. As a PC player, I was annoyed at the control changes -- got over it, but not at the environment constraints (exploring the Citadel anyone). Can't over that one. As for the decision paths, well they are more of a railroad in ME3 than ME2 and more so than ME.

    The big itch for me is the art direction -- the facials are very early 2000s. Ash looks awful. As for the split breast look: let it die. You want to release pseudo-pin-up art, do that and do it well. The manga/anime business have done so for over 30 years. My personal favorite look right now is Miranda.

    As for the rest of the art direction: too busy, too distracting and thus too useless. It makes for distracting if not frustrating game play. Therefore, my take on this is "failed". Still, there are moments -- the Citadel holding dock picture wall.

    Storyline, well there is again a sense of railroading. Yet, I expected it. This is the closing chapter, and about the end of the adventure and story. A little heavy-handed, but not disappointing. The treatment of the individuals caught in a thunderstorm over which they have little control was expected and fairly mature. Sorry, in war, few come out unscathed.

    Now did I enjoy the game experience -- yes. Did I get my money's worth -- yes. Could it have been better -- yes. Still, I give it a 7. Good game.    … Expand
  18. Ageoffan
    Jul 31, 2012
    6
    Ending killed it, completely, 1000% nuked it to jesus's 8th coming, killed it. The good: Combat, i actually enjoyed the combat alot, the cover system is well done and you had to use it for some quests which is great. Melee, who doesn't love a sexy holographic fistweapon to pwn your foe? Customizing my guns, sure it feels like it is taken from BF3,but it still made me able to design myEnding killed it, completely, 1000% nuked it to jesus's 8th coming, killed it. The good: Combat, i actually enjoyed the combat alot, the cover system is well done and you had to use it for some quests which is great. Melee, who doesn't love a sexy holographic fistweapon to pwn your foe? Customizing my guns, sure it feels like it is taken from BF3,but it still made me able to design my weapon to my playstyle (one of the guns you get at the end, one that has a large clip, if not for the recoil reducing addon would be left in my closest). The Bad: Ending, horse is beaten enough, but the ending just sucked. Great, 3 different colors, and for some reason all the relays are blown up although only one of the options was supposed to destroy em (i believe). And your crew on earth magically appeared on the ship, and for some reason Joker wasn't on planet earth, wtf? Story, i honestly felt 0 connection. ME1 I wanted to kill sarin, I was sad that i had to let my crew mate die back there (i forgot his name). ME2, Collectors must die! killed by crew, blew up my old ship, destroyed my relatinonship with Ashley. Must die! Harbinger was a pain as well, i really wanted to stick it to him. And the ending was influenced by how well you maintained realtionships with your crew. Mass Effect 3 had none of that. your standing with the crew doesn't matter, **** got removed, who comes with you on the final mission is also pointless. All your decisions are meaningless in the end. So, would i recommend it? Yeah sure, if you want to play the game and just kill some time, but other than that, i would not. Worst 60 dollars i have ever spent.… Expand
  19. Dethstar
    Mar 26, 2012
    5
    More of the same nonsense. I never was a fan of the series finding the camera angles and character control system very annoying. It is pretty I will give it that but there its another one for the big fans of the ME series. Nothing to recommend it to someone who never thought it was anything but a good game if forced to play console games for a week. Did not meet my expectations.
  20. mrcoolman
    Mar 7, 2012
    6
    Mass Effect 3 is a game science fiction game about Star Wars. You play as Captain John Luke Pircard but everybody calls you shepherd for some reason, and you have to kill the grim repars who want to kill everyone in the galaxy. you travel in your spaceship so you can shoot the reaper with your laser guns. One thing i didnt like is that you have to reload your gun because why would you haveMass Effect 3 is a game science fiction game about Star Wars. You play as Captain John Luke Pircard but everybody calls you shepherd for some reason, and you have to kill the grim repars who want to kill everyone in the galaxy. you travel in your spaceship so you can shoot the reaper with your laser guns. One thing i didnt like is that you have to reload your gun because why would you have to reload a laser gun? Overall this game was fun but I give it 6/10 because there are no lightsabers and the klingons look funny… Expand
  21. Lycanthrope
    Mar 15, 2012
    6
    I have never been so disappointed in a game as I have been in Mass Effect 3. The story, for the most part, is well-constructed and engaging--essentially the kind of stuff you'd expect from BioWare.

    But the ending? It's the epitome of a deus ex machina plot mechanic. It is random, incomplete, invalidates your choices throughout the entire series by throwing three incoherent and    I have never been so disappointed in a game as I have been in Mass Effect 3. The story, for the most part, is well-constructed and engaging--essentially the kind of stuff you'd expect from BioWare.

    But the ending? It's the epitome of a deus ex machina plot mechanic. It is random, incomplete, invalidates your choices throughout the entire series by throwing three incoherent and indeterminate "choices" at you and then nothing.

    Everything you've done, everything you've looked forward to turned completely meaningless. The questions that need to be asked: Was this deliberately done by BioWare with the intention of selling post-launch "proper ending" DLC to us? In which case, it is a sorely underhanded sales tactic. Was this unintentional and the result of rushing to complete a game that they slapped an ending to it and hoped nobody would notice? In which case, shoddy development shows the true state of what BioWare has become.

    Either way, the disappointment remains. The damage is done and for me, someone who used to laud the ground BioWare walked on, I will always be cautious of any and every BioWare game from now on. Clearly underhanded sales tactics is the norm these days.    … Expand
  22. IwanaBEvergreen
    Mar 24, 2012
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Mass Effect 3 was a game that had such great potential, and in fact the majority of the game lived up to the expectations that I had for it. There were so many scenes that I was utterly amazed when watching. In the introduction when the reapers finally reach earth, and you stand by, helplessly watching earth decimated by these creatures that you worked so hard to warn the galaxy of. I literally felt devastated. But after playing through the whole game, and the whole series, slowly building up the anticipation of the final moment, possibly the final battle, you are shocked to find out that the ending falls completely flat of anything you had ever anticipated or hoped for. All those choices you made, ones that you had worked so hard for, were gone. Most of them were chalked up to raising your galactic readiness rating. Not only that, but a few of the choices that you made in the first and second games, you were forced into making them over again a second time, as if the choices you made in those games really didn't count. For instance, saving the rachni queen in the first game made little difference, because later you had to make the choice all over again. Another instance can be seen with the geth. In the second one, you are forced to decide to kill or save the geth, which ultimately made no difference (except for the galactic readiness rating), because again you were force to make the same choice a second time. This is not the only area where the decisions fall short. In the final moments of the third game you find that all those decisions combined had little to no effect on the actual ending of the game. There were a total of six endings possible, three for paragon, and three for renegade, but the difference in these endings were so minute, it was as if the choice was already made for you. It is hard to explain what I am feeling after watching the ending, I can only say that it just was not what I expected or had hoped for. It just did not fit with the game, and left me feeling unfulfilled. I find myself thinking back the ending of Lord of the Rings. You spend countless hours watching through the three movies, and when you reach the ending, it left you fulfilled, you felt happy, and at the same time, you felt that all was right with the world. The ending wrapped up all the loose ends. You saw what happened to the characters after the ring was destroyed, and when it was finally over, you knew that middle earth was finally at peace again. In short, the ending was epic; this was the kind of ending that I had hoped for in Mass Effect 3. A good fifteen to twenty to thirty minute ending, where all the characters are seen, and you know how things turn out for them, where the world is saved or destroyed, according to the decisions and actions you had made. Unfortunately this was not even close to what we got. There were a few other graphical problems/glitches that got annoying. Every time you go into the **** you had to be very careful, or the game would glitch out and you would be forced to reload to a previous save. Some of the dialogue was glitch. I remember having a conversation with Admiral Hackett at the end of the game, and he started to say something, but the game glitched and it skipped over that sentence entirely. Another thing that I had a problem with was the character Steve. I do not like how his issue with homosexuality was forced onto you; it was quite frankly rude, unnecessary, and annoying. Every time you talked to him, he had something to say about his boyfriend. It got to the point where I just did not want to talk to him anymore, because I didn't want to hear it. I felt alienated; like Bioware or EA was trying to make a statement, and make you believe that homosexuality is ok. Why? I don't want to be completely negative, because the game was amazing. It filled in a lot of the history of previous wars and whatnot, the customization and weapon selection was amazing (except for not having a heavy weapon). A majority of the cut scenes were phenomenal. The action and rpg/level up for the game exceeded that of the first and second game, and a majority of the conversations that you had with crew members were meaningful and informative. But the ending, along with some other problems, marred my image of the game, and the entire series as a whole. I just hope that Bioware gets it right the second time around.… Expand
  23. vincesz
    Oct 10, 2012
    6
    Not a terrible game like people make it out to be (after hating the ending) but it's not as good as the last two either. For me ME2 reflects the pinnacle of the series and this was definitely the nadir. The main issue with this game is that it's been 5 years since ME1 came out and 2 since ME2, but there's been virtually no innovation since then. ME2 didn't have too much innovation eitherNot a terrible game like people make it out to be (after hating the ending) but it's not as good as the last two either. For me ME2 reflects the pinnacle of the series and this was definitely the nadir. The main issue with this game is that it's been 5 years since ME1 came out and 2 since ME2, but there's been virtually no innovation since then. ME2 didn't have too much innovation either but it streamlined everything down and expanded on ME's strengths with a better class system and weapon's system etc. This game feels more like an expansion of ME2 rather than a full fledged stand alone title, sadly. There's also a very distinct 'cookie-cutter' feel here that makes it seem like you've played this game before beneath a different coat of paint. It doesn't really feel like a lot of love was thrown into the project, just following a formula and spitting out the results. It feels very artificial and contrived and there's very little in the way of surprises. It makes the whole thing feel a bit tired and boring. As negative as this all sounds it's still a decent game; you can't really suck when you copy ME2. Not as thrilling or as suspenseful and addicting as its predecessors.… Expand
  24. dimon94xx
    Mar 31, 2012
    6
    Game plays well. Some RPG elements came back, gameplay is smoother now. Multiplayer is kind of fun. Graphics are alright. Soundtrack could've been better. Voice acting is alright. Seems like everything's fine, right? Well, my biggest problem with this game is that Bioware promised all questions to be answered. Unfortunately, this game fails dramatically at explaining anything. Instead, inGame plays well. Some RPG elements came back, gameplay is smoother now. Multiplayer is kind of fun. Graphics are alright. Soundtrack could've been better. Voice acting is alright. Seems like everything's fine, right? Well, my biggest problem with this game is that Bioware promised all questions to be answered. Unfortunately, this game fails dramatically at explaining anything. Instead, in the end you'll have twice as many questions which do not seem to be answered in the near future. A very disappointing end to the trilogy.… Expand
  25. destrega
    Mar 12, 2012
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. 1. Gameplay/Multiplayer
    Relatively solid gameplay, a few problems with have sprint dive and cover all done with 1 button, separate button to go into cover would have been a good idea imo. Enemies have generally all the same weakness as far as shot placements go (head) which is weak when you're dealing with a variety of different model types. Minigame of running from reapers in star systems is not well thought out and adds nothing to gameplay apart from frustration, shooting pyjaks in Tuchanka in ME2 had more gameplay.

    Final battle has as much creativity as a normal level sequence although harder, it does not present the player with anything new whatsoever reusing existing enemies in greater number with no end boss at all. The whole final level regarding earth feels rushed and pieced together instead of a fluid experience.

    Multiplayer is fun and a solid experience but adds very little to the game due to copied aspects of other games and the fact that microtransactions cheapen the whole experience, inspiring very little reason to play it over other games for MP purposes.
    Inclusion of MP required to advance single player goals is poorly done, feeling more like a tagged on afterthought than something that was built into the experience.

    2. Level design, graphics and UI
    Interface works however is crippled by the clumsy mission log tracker which has no sorting and very little in the way of explanations/updates when you complete sidequests in particular which is problematic if you're completing several at the same time.

    Graphics are decent however for pc version its obvious that it is a console port, making very little use of advanced hardware modern gaming computers offer. Repetitive use of assets in places that there should be more detail is an issue.

    Levels are unique and fairly well thought out, offering different paths to take more often than just a single hallway to roam. Lack of exploring in the galaxy as a whole however cripples the RPG element of the game making it feel more like a first person shooter, even more so than ME2 which is disappointing.
    Having only one main commercial/mission hub is weak and repetitive given the galaxy wide travel that your character is engaging in.
    Some bugs involving characters exist and some characters models are poorly done or repetitive where they should not be, i should not find characters that look exactly like my crew members of the Normandy sitting around that actually are just copied random npcs.

    3. Sound

    Sounds/soundtrack are the strong point in the game which are plentiful and varied adding to immersion.
    Weapon types sound unique and appropriate for the type of weapon used.

    Bugs and cut off conversations need to be addressed which happen sometimes to the point that you miss entire lines of dialogue without knowing it.

    4. Story
    Story starts off weak and juvenile, blatantly trying to grip simple minded action players with big action scenes at the start which have no context or reason for the player character to truly care about what just happened which is huge from a story standpoint since earth is under a massive attack by enemy forces.
    At no point in any of the games do you visit earth and apparently your character has just been sitting around on earth for a while now, yet you don't get to explore or see what its like leaving the player disjointed from the whole attack scenario.
    Without getting into spoilers the lack of decent storyline scenarios involving your team members is frustrating given the precedent of the previous games.
    Storyline throughout the game is engaging and definitely the strong point of the game coupled with the awesome soundtrack to back it up, many defining moments throughout.

    And now the big one

    The ending level not only changes gameplay style of previous games but even of itself, leaving little to no choices in what Shepard does or can do, and then finally ends the series off on a note so sour that cripples not only this game but the series as a whole, sadly this lowers the score from a solid 8 to a 5 because of how unbelievably poorly thought out and presented it turns out to be.

    Altogether the game is worth buying but not at current pricepoints (basically 70$ due to day 1 dlc for 10$ which is pretty much required for a complete experience)
    A half price sale would make you feel better about yourself.    … Expand
  26. mineda
    Mar 27, 2012
    7
    Let me start by saying that Mass Effect 3 is a good game. Story is not as deep as previous titles of the franchise but you have really good moments. Unfortunately the ending is generic, short and fails to deliver any closure. It's a game that you don't feel like playing again once you finish it, because there's just one ending.
    Graphics are ok most of the time. There are some graphical    Let me start by saying that Mass Effect 3 is a good game. Story is not as deep as previous titles of the franchise but you have really good moments. Unfortunately the ending is generic, short and fails to deliver any closure. It's a game that you don't feel like playing again once you finish it, because there's just one ending.
    Graphics are ok most of the time. There are some graphical glitches (like people looking to the roof while speaking to each other), but they are not game breaking.
    ME3 has the worst quest system of the franchise. The quest journal is annoying and quests are just variations of "retrieve artifact X from the Y system". The Reapers mini game is not cool at all and the scanning system from ME2 was dumbed down.
    Combat is really entertaining. There's some flaws (like using the spacebar to do a lot of different things), but the overall experience is really good.
    Multiplayer is a lot of fun. The only problem being the lack of maps to play.

    Overall Mass Effect 3 is a really good game. Not a masterpiece but something worth playing.    … Expand
  27. gotaman
    May 9, 2012
    6
    don't buy this if you are a fan of the series. I waited off buying it, and finally gave in. I felt cheated that is all i can say. After Dragons age 2 and this I will not buy another Bioware game again.
  28. wildmandan
    May 29, 2012
    6
    If you've enjoyed this series the last 5 minutes of this game may infuriate you. As a capstone to a great franchise this game fails to deliver in the most important area: The end. This is the game that is supposed to bring the Mass Effect story to a close and leave us wanting more. It fails abysmally to deliver on this account.

    The rest of the game however is epic, enjoyable and a    If you've enjoyed this series the last 5 minutes of this game may infuriate you. As a capstone to a great franchise this game fails to deliver in the most important area: The end. This is the game that is supposed to bring the Mass Effect story to a close and leave us wanting more. It fails abysmally to deliver on this account.

    The rest of the game however is epic, enjoyable and a testament to what made this series so great, which further compounds the failure of the final chapter. Somehow in the entire series the worst writing has come at the end. Breaking basic tenets of storytelling in the last act is a sure way of losing the admiration of your fans.    … Expand
  29. MidnightOutlaw
    Jul 13, 2012
    7
    As an honest gamer, I will keep this short and sweet: Mass Effect 3 was an exciting start to the "beginning of the end" for the series. While a lot of problems originated mostly from the ending and a few problems upon launch, the game itself is a remarkable experience. It does what it set out to do: And that was entertain as a cover-based, third-person RPG-shooter. While I disagree withAs an honest gamer, I will keep this short and sweet: Mass Effect 3 was an exciting start to the "beginning of the end" for the series. While a lot of problems originated mostly from the ending and a few problems upon launch, the game itself is a remarkable experience. It does what it set out to do: And that was entertain as a cover-based, third-person RPG-shooter. While I disagree with some of the choices made to the story, the game itself was the ending players wanted to Shepards story. And with the multiplayer experience shaping up to be an unforgettable experience (albeit some of the weapons are being fiddled with for no reason) as more and more content is being released free of charge. And to top it off, the Extended Cut is free DLC, allowing everyone to choose which endings they liked best. All in all, I'd say Mass Effect 3 earned it's place in history.… Expand
  30. sandal53
    Jul 19, 2012
    7
    After all that build up of epic choices with people dying and the Illusive Man fighting with Shepard and Anderson and then.... no end boss.... empty promises broken.... Was this really what you wanted to do with one of the best franchises of all time? Is this really your ending to Mass Effect Bioware? And with this "extended cut" dlc is just more **** taped onto the ending... With thatAfter all that build up of epic choices with people dying and the Illusive Man fighting with Shepard and Anderson and then.... no end boss.... empty promises broken.... Was this really what you wanted to do with one of the best franchises of all time? Is this really your ending to Mass Effect Bioware? And with this "extended cut" dlc is just more **** taped onto the ending... With that said... It was an amazing game all the way up to the ending with Casper and his stupid "choices." Oh how the mighty have fallen in this game. I just hope they do something to make it different change the ending maybe? Probably not but i had such high hopes for Bioware to show us the ending of Shepard's story and how he destroyed the Reapers. A big disappointment. The game was good the ending was terrible so i give this game a 7 the music, game play and story was really good all the way up till the tile floated up into the white and you woke up in front of the so called "catalyst." A solid game that could have been a perfect 10 if they just made the ending better.… Expand
  31. thelighttheligh
    Nov 4, 2012
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. As a person who's played both ME and ME2, I would have to say that this is a welcome addition to the trilogy. There are certainly flaws, but overall the plot is solid, the story is immersive and Bioware has really upped the maturity level. ME3 feels like a more mature, emotional game than ME and ME2 (not saying it's better). The various cutscenes of Shepard running through her dreams after the boy (although being goddamn annoying and slow) added a certain emotional depth. The dialogue is still brillaint, the romances are fun and seem realistic. I definitely liked the reoccurring characters who appear again from ME and ME2. Overall, solid game, great continuation of the story, great graphics.… Expand
  32. 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
  33. TheBank
    Apr 16, 2012
    5
    Graphics: 8.5/10
    There's nothing that new to see here. The graphics are top notch, but the engine is the same that made the rest of the series. Gameplay: 8/10
    If you enjoyed the other mass effect titles then this won't disappoint. The scan for minerals system is gone, which in my opinion is nice. Story: 7/10 Mass Effect 3 tries to take on completing a very diverse story, and does a pretty    Graphics: 8.5/10
    There's nothing that new to see here. The graphics are top notch, but the engine is the same that made the rest of the series. Gameplay: 8/10
    If you enjoyed the other mass effect titles then this won't disappoint. The scan for minerals system is gone, which in my opinion is nice. Story: 7/10
    Mass Effect 3 tries to take on completing a very diverse story, and does a pretty good job of it. Sound: 8/10
    Many of the same interludes from the previous games are recycled throughout (galaxy map, etc). The main score is very good though.

    Overall: 7/10
    Mass Effect 3 straight out of the box (not the collectors edition) is purposefully incomplete with the hope of making money off DLC. Day zero DLC, along with certain areas in the game that seem lacking will make you appreciate how complete other games by bioware are. This game is worth buying in my opinion, but it might be a better idea to hold out until the all inclusive edition comes out. This games got a lot of minor bugs to be worked out as well (no crashes, just little things like missing dialogue and graphic glitches.) All in all a little bit of a disappointment, but it will probably wind up being amazing when it is actually sold in its entirety (instead of its purposefully amputated form).    … Expand
  34. draculdracul
    Mar 14, 2012
    6
    For me is playing ME playing in an interactive movie. This is what i expect and this is what i got. The story is so well written that during the game the main story effected my decisions drastically. Where i normally choose for a peaceful and "good" solution, now i did not hesitate to do evil just for the greater good. ME3 had convinced me that the menace of the reapers was so immense thatFor me is playing ME playing in an interactive movie. This is what i expect and this is what i got. The story is so well written that during the game the main story effected my decisions drastically. Where i normally choose for a peaceful and "good" solution, now i did not hesitate to do evil just for the greater good. ME3 had convinced me that the menace of the reapers was so immense that i decided to eliminate entire species. The convinced threat made me decide to even shoot a friend and old teammate in the back just for the greater good. This convinced me that even in real life there is a devil in everybody if the circumstances are that way. The story is so great that you expect a grand final. You live up to this moment. I even cancelled all my appointments when i started the last and final chapter. This was it. I made some terrible decisions just to get ready for this moment. My expectations of this end was huge. ... Then i started to play the final mission. It started good but after a while the story ended in a way i totally not expected. Suddenly i had a choice of 3 options where non of them where satisfying referring to the epic intro of the first missions. It felt like there was no more budget to end this game properly. When i tell bedtime story's to my children and i want to finish it fast i say in dutch: dan een olifant met een dikke snuit blaast het verhaaltje uit. In english this means "then an elephant comes with a big snout and blows away the story". I had the exact same feeling with this end. It felt like there was no more time to end it properly. The gap between the high expectations before the last mission and the final end was so big for me, that i had the same emotions like most of the people who graded this game here. I was so disappointed. I could not believe that such a good story and overall game(s) ended this way. It took me a few days of setting aside my disappointment to look at the game objectively. This all says 2 things in my opinion. ME 3 is such a good game with a great story, it moves you and makes you think about real life decisions. However, because this game is so good you expect something extraordinary for a final. And in this last part i think ME3 completely failed. This effects the overall opinion of the game so much that most of the loyal fans of ME judge the game so badly. Just because of this bad ( or to psychologically difficult) ending.

    I probably graded ME3 with a 2 or 3 myself the first days, now i think ME3 is a victim of its own quality. If you are good, there is no place for errors. At least not if this magnitude.    … Expand
  35. saiyadjin
    Mar 10, 2012
    6
    1. of all - > I enjoyed every single game you made from Mass Effect series. 2. - > When i heard you were importing multiplayer into ME3 i thought "what the hell, could be fun, but i hope SP stays as good as it was, maybe even better since it was "final game" of the franchise", but i was wrong. 3. [spoiler] - > when i saw that ending i was like "WAT". i spent 2 days 0-24 hours1. of all - > I enjoyed every single game you made from Mass Effect series. 2. - > When i heard you were importing multiplayer into ME3 i thought "what the hell, could be fun, but i hope SP stays as good as it was, maybe even better since it was "final game" of the franchise", but i was wrong. 3. [spoiler] - > when i saw that ending i was like "WAT". i spent 2 days 0-24 hours playin' the game,
    to be sincese i actually enjoyed that, killed some **** followed illusive man over the galaxy, collected defense for citadel, fleeets over the galaxy etc... got it all done. green bar max. and then i get like useless ending that didn't mean **** are you **** kiddin me BIOWARE?
    even if you don't really know it, you let a LOT, like few million people down with that ending. i was unsatisfied 2 days and i felt like **** for 2 days because i didn't get a proper ending. yes, i'm not gonna buy any game that your **** company makes. ever. i watched youtube like 3 times how ME2 ended. it was in a way spectacularl. yes it was good, awesome. but here in this game... REALLY?
    so as i said i wasted 40H of playin or less to get all the war assets and **** and in the end it doesn't mean anything. DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING. REALLY? also when you finish it.... you don't feel any satisfaction at all... whole galaxy lost it's way of traveling... really? what? what?
    i'm still dazzled by that ending. totally useless and dumb. i feel like there's been a stop on game development. yes i know how it probably is. EA sets the date = 9.3.2012. game has to go out in sale. you were doing a nice job up to a month before. and then you probably saw = no more time = let's end the game as ****tiest as we can. = dumb end = dumb game. i'm telling you, game without a good ending = bad ending. i'd give a game 6 / 10, if last 5 mins weren't last 5 mins and you let one more mission in there (like say, running around the citadel, chasing illusive man, last fight with him etc..) and then that boy **** you came up with, with normal ending and satisfying animation = i'd give your game 9/10. jsut because ending would be epic = saviiour of the galaxy, also it would be emotional if you gave your life to save the galaxy, but not the way this crap of game ended. it's just hooooooorrrrriiiiiiibleeeeee. horrrible. i'm also not gonna say how much you **** up dialogues, check'd me1 and me3. heaven and earth. me1 - > lost of talking, choices everywhere, could be even better - > me 3 = yes - no, **** s**** **** horrible again. but i can't say everything is bad. i can see combat improved, yes, i'm glad it did, still not enough different enemies, saw more in me1 or me2. could have been better. you see BIOWARE ... you made 3 games where you made like 5 000 000 people who play ME series attach to the character, and expect them to give them emotionally satisfying end where you feel like a hero who saved galaxy. but you gain **** and don't feel **** it's just ****.
    and that animation? joker and 2 characters on some planet... WAT? what's that supposed to be? i'm really dissapointed into this. i REALLY REALLY HOPE that you will make DLC for i'd buy it anyway 10- bucks or so - which would add next things:
    1. - satisfying ending (citadel doesn't explode, reapers die, shepard dies, energy beam goes over mass relays throught galaxy and destroys reapers, but mass relays stay intact) (in this ther'es like whole fleet of turians, krogans, salarians and other battlecruiser ships near earth.. how would they go back? really? )

    2. - another citadel mission where you chase illusive man, and fight him (he's supposed to be stronger then kai leng) and implanted with lots of implants.

    3. more more more more more dialogue options.

    4. add use of that war assets on citadel that you looked up for. 5. add more stuff to find, check, more systems. 6. CHECK 1 aGAIN! i was really disappointed in the end, and i hope if there is ever mass effect 4 or some dlc that you won't be interrupted by EA games's RELEASE DATES. because i know how it is. we would RATHER BUY A GOOD GAME, then a half product that was rushed because your publisher said so. **** PUBLISHERS and give us a good game, it's gonna bring you money.    … Expand
  36. CrashOverride
    May 20, 2012
    6
    It's an OK game on its own, but easily the worst of all three games. The models look terrible and the animations are clumsy (why do they keep rolling their eyes all the way up?). It just feels cheap compared to ME1 and ME2.

    And yes, the ending. The ending is something else. And by something else I mean horrible.
  37. 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
  38. 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
  39. ToRrRrR
    Mar 13, 2012
    5
    The Good: Character interaction, fun combat, enjoyable story (until the end), stable game, very quick loading.

    The Bad: Low resolution textures, No FOV slider, No Xbox 360 controller support, Day one DLC. I enjoyed playing the game, until the awful ending. Basically all the difficult choices you made in ME 1 & 2 do not impact how the third game ends. As if this wasn't bad enough, when    The Good: Character interaction, fun combat, enjoyable story (until the end), stable game, very quick loading.

    The Bad: Low resolution textures, No FOV slider, No Xbox 360 controller support, Day one DLC.

    I enjoyed playing the game, until the awful ending. Basically all the difficult choices you made in ME 1 & 2 do not impact how the third game ends. As if this wasn't bad enough, when you've watched the credits a cheeky message appears saying you can expect lots more DLC.

    Day one DLC is awful, especially when it affects the single player experience. Bioware/EA spent three months creating this money making scheme, if only they had focused their efforts on including higher resolution textures, gamepad support and an FOV slider. Unfortunately, EAâ    … Expand
  40. aimlessgun
    Mar 8, 2012
    6
    Most of the game is amazing _________________________________________________________________________________ -Good combat _____________________________________________________________________ -Great atmosphere _________________________________________________________________ -Amazingly done little details __________________________________________________________ -A lot of very emotionalMost of the game is amazing _________________________________________________________________________________ -Good combat _____________________________________________________________________ -Great atmosphere _________________________________________________________________ -Amazingly done little details __________________________________________________________ -A lot of very emotional moments _______________________________________________________ -Some of the toughest and most heart wrenching decisions I've had to make _____________________ -Thoroughly addicting and enjoyable (until the end). ______________________________________________________________________________ So-so stuff: _______________________________________________________________________ -Slightly too much autodialogue. Not a huge deal though. ____________________________________ -Effect of many previous choices given mention but not explicitly detailed, left to your imagination (works for some) _________________________________________________________________________ -Dialogue ranges from great to cringe inducing _______________________________________________________________________________ The horrible: ______________________________________________________________________ -Ending is some of the worst writing/storytelling of all time. NOT because it is a "sad" ending. Because it comes out of nowhere and makes no sense. It would take an essay to detail everything that is wrong with it. ________________________________________________________________________________ 90% of the game is awesome. By that measure, I could give it a 9/10. But endings are important. ________________________________________________________________________________ Worth buying and playing.… Expand
  41. mammary_glands
    Mar 20, 2012
    7
    For the most part, Mass Effect 3 is a beautiful and functional game through and through (save for a rushed feeling and ultimately disappointing end-game and some awful game import bugs that still need addressing). Even the multiplayer gameplay was better than expected. If not for said disappointing ending, ME3 would be the best title in the franchise so far. With some DLC andFor the most part, Mass Effect 3 is a beautiful and functional game through and through (save for a rushed feeling and ultimately disappointing end-game and some awful game import bugs that still need addressing). Even the multiplayer gameplay was better than expected. If not for said disappointing ending, ME3 would be the best title in the franchise so far. With some DLC and acknowledgment from EA/Bioware over a few hiccups, ME3 could easily be elevated to a 10 (a rating it otherwise deserves).… Expand
  42. wiski
    Mar 9, 2012
    7
    It's a fun game, with some pretty glaring problems. : PROS : -- fun gameplay -- seeing the finish of the story with the characters you've played with in the previous games -- cool guns and armor : CONS : -- buggy gameplay -- outdated graphics (at times worse than ME2) -- buggy visuals (invisible characters, constant clipping, bad animations, etc...) -- lack of content (2 explorableIt's a fun game, with some pretty glaring problems. : PROS : -- fun gameplay -- seeing the finish of the story with the characters you've played with in the previous games -- cool guns and armor : CONS : -- buggy gameplay -- outdated graphics (at times worse than ME2) -- buggy visuals (invisible characters, constant clipping, bad animations, etc...) -- lack of content (2 explorable locations instead of multiple worlds and stations, most missions are short and to the point, less stuff to do outside of missions than either ME1/2, etc...) -- railroaded through the story without even the illusion that it's an open world game -- dialogue doesn't give you much option beyond BAD GUY/GOOD GUY -- every character in the game is presented to you on a platter, in the way that it might as well say "Do you want to sleep with this person? YES/NO" -- lack of mission depth (select mission, loading screen, kill stuff, loading screen, done) -- story important DLC provided on the first day -- Your decisions from previous games, and even this one, don't seem like they will matter, because most of the people that could have died in previous games aren't usable in this one and there are new characters anyway. It seems like they made the script for the game and decided how everything will end, and then looked at your past save to see how they could shoehorn any previous surviving characters into the game without disrupting the story. : : It's a good game, but not nearly as good as the previous two, and definitely not as good at the professional reviewers scores might lead you to believe it to be. The main reason to play this game is to see how it ends.… Expand
  43. Wulfburk
    Mar 19, 2012
    6
    The game has its problems, most of the time you cant really choose what to say, most of it is automatic, even if you picked otherwise on the start of the game and on the options, there arent enough "renegade/paragon" choices either, completed the whole game and only saw 3 or so. So this game is way more linear than ME2 and ME1, but i guess it is because there arent that many choices toThe game has its problems, most of the time you cant really choose what to say, most of it is automatic, even if you picked otherwise on the start of the game and on the options, there arent enough "renegade/paragon" choices either, completed the whole game and only saw 3 or so. So this game is way more linear than ME2 and ME1, but i guess it is because there arent that many choices to make, all the choices you had were made on the previous games. But there are some good parts, gameplay has been improved ALOT, combat is way more satisfying, i didnt got bored the whole time i was fighting (unlike Mass Effect 2), some of the creatures they added were AWESOME (Brutes per say), and it was very interesting that some choices you made on Mass Effect 2 and 1 that you thought would help you against the reapers actually helped your enemy! Good job on that Bioware! Characters felt alive, i am glad from my three favorite companions two survided! Was sad to see five of my companions to die, one specially, i gotta say that was the saddest moment in the trilogy! Multiplayer is fun, but can get exhausting, but it sure is great! Plot was really good, but the last minute kinda made no sense, specially the scene after the credits, but even so i was satisfied! I gotta say the soundtrack was good, specially two specific musics, but it doesnt compares to Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 1, they were much better! The beginning of the game was the worst part in my humble opinion, if you compare to the epic start of Mass Effect 1 (the other Turian spectre is awesome!) , and specifically Mass Effect 2(as epic as any game gets) it will let you down! But overall a great game, Worst than Mass Effect 1, and slightly better/equal comparing to Mass Effect 2. Graphics were really improved, animations as well (taking out Anderson's walking animation.. of course) lighting way better, great anti-aliasing, and great voice acting. Levels were way better designed than the previous games, specially Palaven's moon, that was my favorite mission! So because all of that i give this game a 6! (gave an 8 to Mass Effect 2 and a 10 to Mass Effect 1)

    edit: i actually thought the ending through, and well, it kinda ruins the game, wont do another playthrough, but mainly because of the ending, the first 3 minutes and the auto dialogue, music is great, combat is great and areas are great, but the ending in a RPG game defines the experience, and sadly, in this particular game, it sucked. -1 point for too much auto dialogue and a few bugs, -2 for the ending, -1 for the first 3 minutes.    … Expand
  44. absolutpi
    Mar 10, 2012
    7
    Bioware has said many a time that this is a great place to jump into the Mass Effect universe. I'd disagree, a lot of work has been put into the game to reward players of Mass Effect 1 and 2. If you haven't played them you are doing yourself a disservice, and much of the game loses a lot of meaning and context to character interactions. The story is great, but unravels right at the end.Bioware has said many a time that this is a great place to jump into the Mass Effect universe. I'd disagree, a lot of work has been put into the game to reward players of Mass Effect 1 and 2. If you haven't played them you are doing yourself a disservice, and much of the game loses a lot of meaning and context to character interactions. The story is great, but unravels right at the end. The shooter aspect of the game is highly enjoyable as is the multiplayer aspect even though I tend not to be a fan of multiplayer. The graphics are middling, with some inconsistent texture quality. A high quality facial texture with a lower quality applied to the rest of the body on many models. The RPG and exploration elements of the game are a mixed bag. They've added back weapon modifications, but simplified conversations with NPCs to the point where they are little more than short cut-scenes. Exploration prevalent in Mass Effect 1 and 2 has all but vanished. You fly around star systems scanning for War Assets while avoiding reapers, but you can't land on planets except for assigned missions. There is also only a single hub world(narrative rather than combat driven location) as opposed to three or four in earlier games. Minigames and vehicle levels have been completely removed as well. A lot of this seems negative. For the most part even with all that had been stripped out its highly enjoyable. For me, it occupies a strange place in that it both delights and disappoints me at the same time.… Expand
  45. SrMoure
    Mar 8, 2012
    6
    This is not bad game, unless you compare it with mass effect I or mass effect 2 which were really awesome games where you were driving the character and the history. All that magic is gone, thus I understand why people give this game low ratings . For a mass effect game this is lame. For the average games this is agood one. Probably people who never played the previous ones of like fpsThis is not bad game, unless you compare it with mass effect I or mass effect 2 which were really awesome games where you were driving the character and the history. All that magic is gone, thus I understand why people give this game low ratings . For a mass effect game this is lame. For the average games this is agood one. Probably people who never played the previous ones of like fps game style would vote this one higher. What is unbelievable is all the (paid?) critic reviews who are giving only top scores and highlighting how good is the game almost without negative aspects. Fortunately here in metacritic most of the users have expressed their opinions so everyone can read that this game is not the perfect product paid reviews are trying to sell. I imagine Bioware is trying to get users to vote and comment in their favour, but that would be a bit more difficult than to heavily advertise in a bunch of gaming publications. I mean, if Bioware is paying you a los of money for publicity, you won"t be talking down their new star product .That wouldn't be a business wise decision.… Expand
  46. Harpy9
    Mar 10, 2012
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'm not going to give the game a very low score because of the ending, but if not for the ending I would have given it a 9 or 10 out of 10.

    They did a great job with the dialog, music, animation, character development and most of the story -- Then we faced the end and so much disappointment. I didn't think it could get much worse after the destruction of the Asari homeworld. That made me feel so down, but it also reminded me how much I enjoy the series. The ending made me angry and disappointed -- But I really just sat dumbfounded after finishing the game.

    The end seemed so disconnected from the rest of the storyline. And the last thing I wanted to think about was Shepard becoming basically a lifeless organism that controlled the Reapers. I mean, that's just a horrible way to end it all.

    All we can really hope for now is some DLC to correct the upsetting and disappointing ending. There are a lot of angry fans out there already and with the game being out less than a week, in the next few weeks there's going to be a whole lot more. I feel that Bioware really needs to do some damage control or the entire legacy of the game will be ruined.    … Expand
  47. 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
  48. makseffect
    Mar 21, 2012
    5
    the game Mass Effect is excellent, but Mass Effect is a complete disappointment (((In the pursuit of a new audience Bioware f*** up a second time and this time of thing will not spoil. As a fan of the first part I do not believe them anymore. Let them do simulations gay. It's what they are now able to
  49. RobDYoung
    Mar 11, 2012
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The short version: As an action game, Mass Effect 3 is a fantastic success thanks to its improved combat system. As an RPG, it's less phenomenal, due to a pulled-by-teeth story, rampant sentimentalism, and limited options for character development. Even so, this game could have been fantastic all around if it weren't for an ending that undermined much of what the first two games accomplished.

    Combat: 8/10

    While the game could have used a bit more polish on controls, the new combat pacing, wide array of enemies, and the improved cover system are all phenomenal. Two complaints: 1) Spontaneous dialogue is often left incomplete because you run so quickly from Point A to Point B that the next dialogue interrupts the previous one. 2) We still have a global cooldown on abilities that makes combos or even training multiple abilities feel useless.

    Non-combat Systems: 6.5/10

    In an attempt to hybridize the weapon and armor system of the first and second games, ME 3 gave us the flaws of both worlds. While it was great having weapon statistics and upgrade options again, the methods for upgrading were too complex and tangled to be fun.

    The map system of ME2 is, more or less, back as expected. They eliminated the annoying probe/scan system, but didn't implement anything truly interesting in return. Still, it's a step up.

    Role-playing elements: 6/10

    As far as actually leveling up, improving abilities, and using them in combat, this game did a great job. Top marks overall â    … Expand
  50. kzotra
    Mar 11, 2012
    7
    Being one of the people who had prepared my game files ME2 just the way I wanted them, I was very happy when playing the game. I think the game is very good, and a lot of the changes are for the better, especially the loading times.

    However there is one huge letdown; the ending is terrible. Even if the ending was half-assed, I would have given the game a 10, but the ending is so bad I    Being one of the people who had prepared my game files ME2 just the way I wanted them, I was very happy when playing the game. I think the game is very good, and a lot of the changes are for the better, especially the loading times.

    However there is one huge letdown; the ending is terrible. Even if the ending was half-assed, I would have given the game a 10, but the ending is so bad I give it a 7 instead.    … Expand
  51. DeGinner
    Mar 22, 2012
    7
    While this game is way off the mark from ME1 and ME2 this is still a good game. The story can be a bit forced and it's clear were you are going, but I still enjoyed the journey, and the same can be said for the ending, poor ending but I enjoyed the journey to get to it. This Mass Effect is not more of a Action Shooter with RPG elements but it is competent (if not spectacular) at both.
  52. thenthomwaslike
    May 2, 2012
    5
    i would have given it a 10 if i could bind my key for sprinting, taking cover, exiting cover, rolling, entering dialogue, interacting with objects, climbing up ledges, jumping off of ledges/ ladders and whatever the hell else the spacebar did in this game to separate keys. we have 128 keys, allow us to use them to avoid this ridiculously clumsy control scheme. I would have given it a 9 ifi would have given it a 10 if i could bind my key for sprinting, taking cover, exiting cover, rolling, entering dialogue, interacting with objects, climbing up ledges, jumping off of ledges/ ladders and whatever the hell else the spacebar did in this game to separate keys. we have 128 keys, allow us to use them to avoid this ridiculously clumsy control scheme. I would have given it a 9 if their were any graphical options besides the resolution and anti-aliasing.

    i would have given it an 8 if day one dlc was not inside of the files and COMPLETELY necessary to the story.

    I would have given it a 7 if online multiplayer was optional to having a good story in the single player ( after finishing ALL of the fetch quests in the entire game i still had only 3200 "war assets" and thus was damned into receiving...

    the WORST ending of any trilogy i've ever seen/read/played. (this now drops the score TWO MORE points because it is a carnal sin in my book to destroy a story with a bad ending.) It's so illogical, anti-lore oriented, and obviously rushed. We are now at a score of 5. Since Bioware is responding to the outcry about how disappointed people were by the game by releasing free dlc to add clarity to the ending, this review will absolutely be subject to change.    … Expand
  53. TJ295
    Mar 11, 2012
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Gameplay: 90/100
    Graphic: 95/100
    Platform + Origin functionality: 60/100
    Cutscenes: 100/100
    Main Story: 95/100
    Conversation: 70/100 - Too much auto conversation with the crew mate and very shallow dialogue options.
    Paragon/Renegade: 95/100 - It's very amazing of how I can choose between two of these in combinations make Sheperd seem very organic. Nice work on this tho.

    The endings: 90/100 - When the scene hasn't focus on Joker attempting to escape the blast. This is for Blue & Red. Sad Sad Sad, you killed my heart you know. When I see my shep dissipate away to control the reaper, he smiled thinking of Kaiden before burned away. I'm ridiculously depressed from this intense bittersweet ending.

    30/100 - When the scene change to Joker escape the blast and then crashed into this random planet. Worse, my crew that fight on earth somehow got on The Normandy. Joker manages to pick them up faster and escape from the blast travel faster than the speed of light and he was right beside the crucible too. Then all the ships were destroyed too then. If you choose blue, that's even worse, b.c The Reaper changes its mind and retreats safely while ships like the Normandy to all the fleets got burned!!
    Then there is no after story conclusion of what happen with the one that survive, who died, who live, the empires recovery.... so on.
    10/100: This green ending is completely stupid. Synthetic+ Organic doesn't give a full evolution. Synthetic can coexist with Organic. It's because organic has a tendecy to teach violence rather than compassion. It's like Terminator vs EDI.
    I recommend you to read novel from R. J Sawyer: Wake, Watch, Wonder trilogy. It has so much more insight on Organic + Synthetic coexistence. ....And for Tali's face..... way too obvious that somebody is being lazy. -_-    … Expand
  54. DSstryker
    Mar 12, 2012
    5
    Combat was fun and enjoyable well still being some what RPG like (although it feels more prominent on the TPS then RPG like the first and second games). Characters feel improved and voice acting seems better. On the bad side though the entire plot is filling with holes and lots of dues ex machinas. Even more so then the other games. Writing is pretty good but often feels worse the theCombat was fun and enjoyable well still being some what RPG like (although it feels more prominent on the TPS then RPG like the first and second games). Characters feel improved and voice acting seems better. On the bad side though the entire plot is filling with holes and lots of dues ex machinas. Even more so then the other games. Writing is pretty good but often feels worse the the first game. There are very few dialogue options which is a big disappointment even for RPG and story modes. Also in some ways the endings are interesting but some what disappointing. I like there being that ending but I feel like there should be more. Bioware threw some good story elements out the window for "coolness factor" and such. The plot also seems simpler and less knowledge requiring for new players (which can make the ME1 and 2 players suffer a bit). ME3 might be fun but that's not what makes an interesting game. In some ways I mean it is quite good but this barley makes neutral rating in my opinion. Maybe bioware should have paid more attention to what made the last two games some of the best RPGs I have seen.… Expand
  55. Balazs31
    Mar 29, 2012
    7
    I really like this game but it is very far away from perfect. The story is touching and characters are amazing, but the combat is very frustrating sometimes and gets boring and absolutely not realistic. The atmosphere is a bit plastic. I haven`t finished it yet but it`s starting to get boring. In the beginning I was amazed. Again an over hyped game.
  56. WaterWoman
    May 18, 2012
    6
    This game was, well, whatever. I didn't play 1 or 2, so I didn't care if the ending was "bad". It was more like watching a movie than playing a game, but some of the guns were OK. I thought this game would be great, but the more I played the less I cared. I did like the female voices, and never understood the war map. Never cared either.
  57. Ghoster
    Aug 20, 2012
    6
    I give this game 6 only because ME2 had 10. It's not a bad game. It's pretty nice game. But TBH it's at least half worse than ME2 so cannot give more points.

    Worst thing about it is that they spoiled all good things they improoved from ME1 to ME2. Starting with map system, shooting, character improvements, ... It's really pitty ME ended with game like that. Could be awesome!
  58. lordythegreat
    Jun 23, 2012
    6
    The main problem with mass effect three compared to the last two is that all these decisions, all those player deaths, all those events and consequences that you have caused to happen in the lead up to this game, most of them seem to have very little final impact on the finale (which was rubbish btw). some plot lines just plain dont make sense (The reapers, a killing race of machines, wereThe main problem with mass effect three compared to the last two is that all these decisions, all those player deaths, all those events and consequences that you have caused to happen in the lead up to this game, most of them seem to have very little final impact on the finale (which was rubbish btw). some plot lines just plain dont make sense (The reapers, a killing race of machines, were sent to destroy us because in the future we would create a race of machines that would end mankind. um wtf?!?!) the build up to the last few battles was nigh on brilliant, all the characthers you fall in love (or hate) with have their fitting stories and some fitting conclusions, but then the final battles and final outcome takes all of those stories, completely discards and disregards them and gives you a supposedly "artistic" end sequence. again i call bs, its a cop out, its like the script writers went on strike for the last month of development so they called in a college psych student to finish it off. I wasnt angry the night i finished it, but sleeping on it i woke up really p-off.

    the combat is improved from number two, and the multiplayer is a nice touch if lacking any real depth, i would say it feels like an experiment rather than a key part of the game. You will find yourself in some explosive chaotic moments that hold you on the edge of your seat, which is great, but the final pay off is just a big nothing, could be the worst ending to a game since metal gear solid 2. In conclusion, its a great end to the series BUT it sacrifices great rpg elements for third person shooting elements that gears of war did better. To add insult to injury bioware is now making dlc to change the ending. So... is that an admittance of failure on your part Bioware? cheers bro    … Expand
  59. Dheu
    Jun 25, 2012
    7
    So, I share the same gripe that everyone else has with ME3: it only has 3 endings. And by 3 endings I mean 1 ending with 3 different color overlays. Red, green and blue. Now the 1 ending is fine, but I was expecting no less than 6 distinct endings and frankly I was hoping for more like 9 or 12 given all the hype over how our choices would impact the end. But no, all those choicesSo, I share the same gripe that everyone else has with ME3: it only has 3 endings. And by 3 endings I mean 1 ending with 3 different color overlays. Red, green and blue. Now the 1 ending is fine, but I was expecting no less than 6 distinct endings and frankly I was hoping for more like 9 or 12 given all the hype over how our choices would impact the end. But no, all those choices culminate in 1 ending with 3 color overlays...

    That said, ME3 is a great game. Graphics are great, story is great, the soundtrack is excellent. It has in depth character development and ties up all the loose ends. You will meet all the (surviving) characters from the first two episodes and help them out at least one more time. It will make you smile, laugh and cry... or at least look really solemn. The game does NOT deserve a score less than 5 from anyone. It is a shining example of the kind of games the industry should be producing and deserves your vote and purchase. How the user score on this is lower than the likes of Alan Wake or Duke Nukem Forever is beyond me. But yeah, I have to dock it some points for having no visually distinct endings.    … Expand
  60. athleos
    Jul 12, 2012
    6
    I purchased ME1&ME2; but, while I like the game play of ME3 I am protesting it, by not buying it. They got rid of the original story writer, they crapped on the graphics, ruined the game ending and put homosexuals on my ship. Gamers are not defined by gay ideologies or self-righteous straights, for crying out! we are just gamers. Fun games should not be used as devise where staff writersI purchased ME1&ME2; but, while I like the game play of ME3 I am protesting it, by not buying it. They got rid of the original story writer, they crapped on the graphics, ruined the game ending and put homosexuals on my ship. Gamers are not defined by gay ideologies or self-righteous straights, for crying out! we are just gamers. Fun games should not be used as devise where staff writers bow to the political right or left. So, with these three negatives I will not buy this game. If the graphics and the game ending were really amazing, I would still not buy it - unless - the ME3 configuration utility allowed me to decide/change the gay/straight themes for my personal game preferences. It is when game developers force you to play their way instead of allowing the gamer to make their own personal choice, then I say **** you Bioware and EA, I will start downloading free games from torrent sites from now on, until you stop nailing gamers up the ass with your nickel and dime DLC and politicking ideology crap. Please stop doing this to gamers.… Expand
  61. Nenvolk
    Dec 9, 2014
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is a tough one. I really enjoyed the first 2 Mass Effect games, and most of it is really great: I like the normal missions, who are like ME 1 and 2, and I even enjoy the multiplayer part alot.

    BUT the ending is horrible! Not just gameplay-wise, which suxx so hard. You need to watch a movie while it plays out, because it's like 40 minuttes of cutscenes you can't skip, and choices without any real effect. And then there are the ending itself: Possibly the worst ideas I have seen in a game. My guess is the developing team was out sick or maybe they just hate everyone playing their games, but it's a serious torture to get through that hour or so it takes to get to the ending. I hope they all got fired, and that people spit on them whenever they meet them...

    So, if you're considering buying the game, my advice is this: Stop when you get to the last missions (back on earth), and write some solution yourself. It can only be better, even if it means the Reapers win!!    … Expand
  62. 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
  63. Bryjoered
    Jan 31, 2013
    6
    God this game just isn't very good at all and seeing it in the top 10 for 2012 kind of sickens me. Yes, the combat is equally as fun, maybe a little more fun that its predecessors, but the skill system is this stripped down 3rd person shooter now. Also, the great storylines and side missions that were the absolute best part about the first two games are pretty absent from this one. TheGod this game just isn't very good at all and seeing it in the top 10 for 2012 kind of sickens me. Yes, the combat is equally as fun, maybe a little more fun that its predecessors, but the skill system is this stripped down 3rd person shooter now. Also, the great storylines and side missions that were the absolute best part about the first two games are pretty absent from this one. The side missions are so dull and I just rush through them not caring at all about my dialogue choices, and the main story is pretty sub-par as well. Let's all face it, Bioware has sold their souls to make some cheap bucks. It started with the horrendous Dragon Age 2 and now this. Don't even get me started on DA2 and how much of a fail that was considering how phenomenal the first entry was.… Expand
  64. Aeryx
    Jan 3, 2013
    5
    Mass effect 3 is solid proof that Bioware has no intention of continuing their honorable tradition of making great games. It's just generic releases now to make the most amount of cash before EA runs this company to the ground. The glaring inconsistencies, bad character writing and poor choices make this a disgraceful sequel to Mass Effect 1 and 2. If you feel that Dragon Age 2 was aMass effect 3 is solid proof that Bioware has no intention of continuing their honorable tradition of making great games. It's just generic releases now to make the most amount of cash before EA runs this company to the ground. The glaring inconsistencies, bad character writing and poor choices make this a disgraceful sequel to Mass Effect 1 and 2. If you feel that Dragon Age 2 was a downer compared to DA:O, multiply that by 5 and you have Mass Effect 3. How this game got positive reviews from "critics" only shows that they absolutely have no idea of what made the original games great. How the hell do they keep their jobs!? Unbelievable.… Expand
  65. Bloov
    Feb 17, 2019
    7
    Разочаровывающий финал трилогии. Это вдвойне обидно из-за наличия в целом отличных механик и отличного сетевого режима. Советую по прилёту на Землю в самом конце игры, просто перезапускать и начинать новую, не нужна вам эта концовка, не нужна.Разочаровывающий финал трилогии. Это вдвойне обидно из-за наличия в целом отличных механик и отличного сетевого режима. Советую по прилёту на Землю в самом конце игры, просто перезапускать и начинать новую, не нужна вам эта концовка, не нужна.
  66. Lynnux
    Jun 25, 2013
    7
    Obviously the parallel development of Star Wars: The Old Republic took a toll on both games.
    ME 3 seems to be hastily assembled to finish the series in the given time frame. The ending strongly reminds me of another game series of the Cyberpunk genre which I also like. But this ending style is imho not fitting to the ME series.
    The last two missions felt right out of place. But face it:    Obviously the parallel development of Star Wars: The Old Republic took a toll on both games.
    ME 3 seems to be hastily assembled to finish the series in the given time frame. The ending strongly reminds me of another game series of the Cyberpunk genre which I also like. But this ending style is imho not fitting to the ME series.
    The last two missions felt right out of place.
    But face it: these are the most the negative points of the third part. ME3 is still clearly above average and is never worse than a 7.0. No way Sorry, just because you've expected a happy end doesn't make the whole game bad.

    The "Galaxy at War" mechanics is simply brilliant. It allows all your deeds of the three parts and two additional games, the cooperative multiplayer (included in ME3) and the mobile app "Infiltrator" to be integrated and add to your effort to save the galaxy.
    And don't believe everything you read here. E.g. multiplayer is not necessary at all to get the best endings but you need a pretty good score which is maybe not possible if you killed everything and everyone possible in the first two parts ;-p You'll just feel the consequences of your previous actions.
    And this is clearly a benefit of this game series which also contributes to ME3.

    My advice to all players who gave a score below 5: play the ME series a second time and you'll see the game a little bit differently.    … Expand
  67. post_no_bills
    Mar 4, 2018
    5
    A very strange combination of bad design and good execution. It's a difficult game to review. And I suppose that reviewing it at this late date is pointless, but it feels sort of cathartic.

    I just finished playing (and "finished" in this context means "gave up on") Mass Effect: Andromeda, and thought I would go back and give this one another try. Time has, I believe, given a bit    A very strange combination of bad design and good execution. It's a difficult game to review. And I suppose that reviewing it at this late date is pointless, but it feels sort of cathartic.

    I just finished playing (and "finished" in this context means "gave up on") Mass Effect: Andromeda, and thought I would go back and give this one another try. Time has, I believe, given a bit more perspective on ME3, and of course the added DLC has provided more depth.

    The individual elements of the game are actually pretty good. The graphics are good, the combat is good, the DLC is good, the game is generally well engineered. But these, mostly (excepting the DLC), are generally just incremental improvements from the last games.

    And then, unfortunately, there are the creative aspects. The creative decisions on story arc, the choices on companions, and - of course - the ending. Those are simply disappointing.

    I found it more that a bit disappointing that almost all the romantic interests from ME2 were effectively cut from ME3. Well, OK, not "cut" per se, but reduced in scope to meaningless. So much for emotional investment.

    It was also more than a bit disappointing that all of your choices narrowed down to...nothing. Good or evil, everyone ends up in the exact same place. That certainly makes a mockery of any choices you agonized over, as well as failing to align with any of the world's religions. Again, so much for emotional investment.

    Lastly, the ending. I will admit that the revisions they made after release changed the ending from absolutely terrible to simply disappointing, but disappointing nonetheless.

    So...a serviceable game, but not the equal of its predecessors. Disappointing.

    So...ME3...Andromeda...after killing two games I wonder what Mac Walters is doing now?    … Expand
  68. Gor1945
    Apr 8, 2017
    5
    Увы это больше не РПГ, а унылый шутерок, сюжет банальный - мы опять собираем силы для последней битвы а абсолютно убогая концовка сливает в утиль не только третью часть, но и всю трилогию вместе с ней - жаль, но Биовар своими руками зарубили все на корню.Увы это больше не РПГ, а унылый шутерок, сюжет банальный - мы опять собираем силы для последней битвы а абсолютно убогая концовка сливает в утиль не только третью часть, но и всю трилогию вместе с ней - жаль, но Биовар своими руками зарубили все на корню.
  69. GarethB
    Oct 21, 2018
    6
    I was on board with all that was happening until the ending... what a flat non experience. The mechanics of the game work well and you really feel the oppressive nature of the invasion, but it ends up feeling really hollow...
  70. nn123
    Mar 9, 2012
    7
    Signed up just to review this one. It's important to me since I loved the first two, apparently one of the only ones that liked the second better than the first but I digress. Simply put, this game is good but not great. It fails at importing the character face used in game two, so right off the bat there's no way it can be a 10. The dialogue system has also been over-simplified,Signed up just to review this one. It's important to me since I loved the first two, apparently one of the only ones that liked the second better than the first but I digress. Simply put, this game is good but not great. It fails at importing the character face used in game two, so right off the bat there's no way it can be a 10. The dialogue system has also been over-simplified, probably to make space for the multiplayer... which I don't plan on using. I have encountered bugs that have made missions unplayable. The graphics are good, although perhaps Skyrim has spoiled me since I really did expect more. Extremely skeptical of all the 'pro' reviewers giving high scores, guess that's what money gets you.… Expand
  71. voiceofunreason
    Mar 10, 2012
    7
    As a game this is perfectly acceptable. I played it on PC and had very few graphic issues. Joker was kind of weird looking but that was my only problem on that front. The gameplay is like mass effect 2 but better. I enjoyed the gameplay. You can snipe or shotgun and use your powers tactically no matter your class. Its a fun game. I've gone back and played ME1 since getting ME3 and franklyAs a game this is perfectly acceptable. I played it on PC and had very few graphic issues. Joker was kind of weird looking but that was my only problem on that front. The gameplay is like mass effect 2 but better. I enjoyed the gameplay. You can snipe or shotgun and use your powers tactically no matter your class. Its a fun game. I've gone back and played ME1 since getting ME3 and frankly ME1 is comparatively, a slow doddering affair and in modern day terms ugly. While the decisions of the last 2 games don't have the impact I thought they would neither are they irrelevant. Most if not all lose ends are wrapped up and in a satisfactory manner. In fact the only major disappointment was the ending. 7 years of this game and that's how they wrap everything up? This game was good. Whatever else you read, know that it as fun as all getout. But the ending is a nice kick to the balls. Buy it, play it, just don't expect to be leaving it happy. This score is 100% based on the ending. everything else is is worth the price.… Expand
  72. ThomasBerg
    Mar 8, 2012
    7
    After reading most of these user reviews while playing the game i couldnt belive what i was seeing. I thought the sheer production value and epicness of the game/scope and how promising the end was stunning to say the least and while i missed most of the exploration and RPG elements from ME1 and ME2 i understood why they were dumbed down since you have more pressing matters to attend toAfter reading most of these user reviews while playing the game i couldnt belive what i was seeing. I thought the sheer production value and epicness of the game/scope and how promising the end was stunning to say the least and while i missed most of the exploration and RPG elements from ME1 and ME2 i understood why they were dumbed down since you have more pressing matters to attend to and running around wasting time would break my immersion. I wasnt suprised when i saw that the from ashes dlc would be an extra feature, i am a bit puzzled as to why they chose a prothean for this DLC, while not critical to the plot, it does answer a lot of the main questions i had about the epos. Since they made such a huge deal around the protheans and its mysticism, the more i talked with my prothean squadmate and got immersed into his story i was more and more suprised why this wasnt part of the main game.
    Ive been a fan of the mass effect genre since the first game came out, ive read all the comics, books studied the lore and i even loved mass effect 2, perhaps not for the dumbed down RPG elements, but the game was genuinly challenging and fun, characters and storytelling and voice acting was stellar.

    When i looked at my time played how it felt and how my war asset bar was nearly full, thats when i first started to worry.
    After a certain cuscene with tali i was so moved i nearly broke a tear, thats how immersive the game was.

    As i progressed feeling soon my long pondered, unanswered questions would or would not come to a close, i got more and more worried since the last hours felt somewhat rushed but was put to a rest when i got the grand epic feeling when the fleets arrived at earth. I was nearly standing in my chair, awed at the greatness of the moment.

    Then came the final assault on earth. This was also grand in scale. Ive wanted to see earth in mass effect ever since i glared at its magnifisence on the lunar base mission in ME1. The war torn earth looked grim and desperate and upheld my expectations. Then came the ending. Not since the conclusion to the ace seeries, sopranos have i felt such a black hole in my stomache. I felt betrayed at first waiting til after the credits. I searched all the forums i could about what i did wrong how i could get this abysmal ending and how i could fix it, seeing as i had nearly 100% completion and full paragon. Was this a bug? A mistake on my part on an important desicion? I pondered this for many hours until i was forced to accept, that was it. This was the ending to the biggest sci-fi epos in gaming history.    … Expand
  73. 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
  74. NTripleD
    Mar 9, 2012
    7
    I thought the game was enjoyable, the gameplay is fun, and the graphics are good. With that being said, ME3 is nothing close to the game that ME2 & ME1 were. There is a feeling of inevitability throughout the course of the game, it is far too linear. The endings are the biggest disappointment I've ever experienced in any game that I've ever played. I got the "perfect" ending, and itI thought the game was enjoyable, the gameplay is fun, and the graphics are good. With that being said, ME3 is nothing close to the game that ME2 & ME1 were. There is a feeling of inevitability throughout the course of the game, it is far too linear. The endings are the biggest disappointment I've ever experienced in any game that I've ever played. I got the "perfect" ending, and it still left me feeling queasy.

    There are only 3 reasons I give the game a positive rating at all:

    1. The universe/storyline that Mass Effect is set in is so great that even screwing it up it is still solid. 2. The length of the game is about perfect, I hate games that are too short, and this isn't one of them.
    3. The "final battle" is great, it was very intense, and I was about to forgive all of this game's failings after it (until I got to the crappy endings).

    Also, in spite of the complaining, the Multi-Player is actually very fun.    … Expand
  75. 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
  76. 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
  77. 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
  78. GoneTomrrow
    Apr 29, 2012
    5
  79. 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
  80. 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.
  81. Samiba
    Mar 8, 2012
    7
    The whole game was being marketed with the promise that every decision you have made matters. Well that is nice, the only problem is, it is not true. Of course the story becomes a little bit different with each and every one of your decisions, but in the end it will not matter. Think about it like this, you can go to work in a 100 different ways, but when you are there, will it matter howThe whole game was being marketed with the promise that every decision you have made matters. Well that is nice, the only problem is, it is not true. Of course the story becomes a little bit different with each and every one of your decisions, but in the end it will not matter. Think about it like this, you can go to work in a 100 different ways, but when you are there, will it matter how you got there? No. You will still have to do, what you are told. Sadly this is the case in Mass Effect 3 as well.

    The War Assets system. Sounds good, seems good, even smells good, but it does not taste well, why? Because Bioware forces you to play multiplayer in order for you to basically achieve a perfect or even good playthrough. Why? Because they were probably afraid that people will not play it. How does multiplayer reflect in the actual game? Simple, your Effective Military Strength ( which in theory decides the outcome of the game ) is calculated via your Total Military Strength * your Galactic Readiness, which can be increased by playing the multiplayer. (It will start off at 50% and you lose 1% each day, tough it can not go under 50%) The conversations. The script is great, but that is expected from Bioware. My only take on it is that it feels way too binary sometimes, of course most of the time it makes sense, but I still feel like that there was some laziness on Bioware's part in this matter.
    The scanning. It's an improvement from Mass Effect 2's abysmal scanning system, but I still find it somewhat boring after the first couple "catch me if you can"s. And the fact that you have to do 90% of the sidequests this way does not make it any better.

    If you have read this review so far, you might wonder why I gave the game the score I did. That is because gameplay wise the game runs very smooth, the combat system is great, and the graphics are nice. Also where I live we have a saying:"The path you take is more important than the destination". And while I was disappointed in the ending of the game, I think the way the whole game plays out and actually integrates the story of other Mass Effect media in the game is amazing. I can also understand why the community is mad at Bioware and EA. The DLC in my opinion has either the greatest integration of a DLC ever known to man, or was really cut from the actual game. I want to believe that it is the first, but the way corporations and people work today I feel that it might be the latter. Overall, it is a good game, but I am sure Bioware could have done better.    … Expand
  82. 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
  83. Zelx
    Mar 10, 2012
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Is this the grand game we have been waiting for? Sorta?
    A good game but nowhere near perfect
    Good:
    Gameplay-Like Mass Effect 2 it has very solid gameplay(besides the ammo clips)
    Story-Unlike Mass Effect 2 the story is much better and feels more vital and important like in Mass Effect 1
    Dialog-Some characters have very good dialog(Garus) but others don't(will get on that later
    Exploring-They removed the awful planet scanning in ME2 and simplified it for the better, Plus reaper attacks while exploring is fun

    Bad:
    Dialog-Some of the Dialog is dreadful to listen to, its repetitive or stupid(send ships to save earth! But our own planets are under siege too. I dont care save Earth!)
    The Child-Bad attempt to make you emotionally attached, you know nothing about him and don't care, he is probably one of millions who are dieing, so why care
    ME2 crew-Your crew from ME2(probably the best and well developed crew) barely are in there and don't even join back up with you, so you get stuck down with very few crew members who are mostly from the first game
    Jersey Shore Characters-Do they really need to be here? I mean they are uninteresting and serve only points to fans of the show(which im not), they could have put in old or more interesting characters
    Blatant ripoffs from the internet and games-Endings ripoff Deus EX pretty badly, pictures from the internet directly shown and Photoshopped models

    Overall is it good, Yes, There are more bad complaints I made but most are minor to the whole thing, better not to ignore them then let them slip over our heads    … Expand
  84. 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
  85. SOAR21
    Mar 11, 2012
    6
    I've played this series since game 1, and I've read a lot of the negative reviews. While I was disappointed with this game, and while I did note many (most) of the mentioned issues with the game. Yes, Bioware should've foreseen the fallout of the DLC, and just released it as part of the game. Corporate world; welcome to it. It's not like this is uncommon these days in the industry (or anyI've played this series since game 1, and I've read a lot of the negative reviews. While I was disappointed with this game, and while I did note many (most) of the mentioned issues with the game. Yes, Bioware should've foreseen the fallout of the DLC, and just released it as part of the game. Corporate world; welcome to it. It's not like this is uncommon these days in the industry (or any industry). However, I think lamentations of the writing issues and gameplay have been blown out of proportion. When I finished the game I was quite disappointed since I don't think I've played a game with higher expectations. My main issues were the stub of a story they called the main plot. I did reach 25 hours or so of singleplayer gameplay, but a lot of it was chasing war assets in every cluster of the universe. Also, the half-hearted ending that made me feel like my 100 or so hours of ME gameplay were wasted. Multiplayer is not required for the best ending. I played 25 hours of singleplayer and got the best possible ending, though admittedly collecting war assets was quite tedious. They could've done more with the characters; I only lost Kaidan in ME1, yet, felt like all my efforts saving my team were useless since I saw some characters only a few times. The new party member they add is a complete joke, a dead-end of a character. However this game is not a 0 out of 10. Anyone who rated a 0 is someone who underwent the same feeling of disappointment I did then just lashed back. Story-wise, definitely the worst game of the series. Characters come and go in a blur; relationships consist of just a few conversations. Gameplay-wise, however, ME3 is much better in my opinion. Harder fights, more varied enemies, smarter enemies, more organic-feeling powers. More customization than ME2, thankfully, but also thankfully less than the smothering options in ME1. Environments were very varied, as were the situations. Multiplayer is just coop wave gameplay over and over again, but the combat is good enough that I'm finding myself playing a lot of multiplayer and still not getting bored, as are thousands of others. I don't expect to log that much more time on multiplayer, but it'll last me longer than such a simple system should, and that is because of the excellent combat. I am still a great fan of the series though this one dropped the ball a little. I'm considering another playthrough from the very start. All in all, a feasible buy, but hardly the game of the year.… Expand
  86. kendiara
    Mar 11, 2012
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Its pretty bad when a series can destroy itself in the last 10 minutes of a trilogy, but ME managed it. I loved the game (even with the bad cover quirks and the occasional everyone breaks their neck staring off stage left while having a conversation), but the ending pretty well scorched it. The writers at Bio-Ware are still top notch, and it was fun seeing who did and didn't make it in from the previous games. The standing conversations with teammates felt more natural, and having the opportunity to advance your relationships was done well. And then the ending. Remember Fallout with that huge plot-hole about being with a guy immune to radiation and yet you can't send him into the radiated room to hit the button so you have to sacrifice yourself? Yeah its worse than that.… Expand
  87. SpaceyCasey
    Oct 13, 2012
    6
    I played the demo and I'm very disappointed. I would play this game if one of the following were not true: (1) Same graphics; What was very advanced in 2007 (ME1) par in 2010 (ME2) is now simply sub-par in 2012. (2) I like to sit back with a logi/xbox360 style controller. A keyboard, while very good, can limit you in certain situations. While many games released in the past 2 years haveI played the demo and I'm very disappointed. I would play this game if one of the following were not true: (1) Same graphics; What was very advanced in 2007 (ME1) par in 2010 (ME2) is now simply sub-par in 2012. (2) I like to sit back with a logi/xbox360 style controller. A keyboard, while very good, can limit you in certain situations. While many games released in the past 2 years have instant support for controllers, this game has none. (3) Same engine. ME2 was a great game but I struggled to finish due to the robotic engine. The great story, art, music and characters kept me playing through the bland game. Adding a halo-blade animation to your punch and changing health to blocks instead of bars doesn't change the gameplay. My skills were 90% exactly the same as the last game! (4) horrid user score; from what people are saying, this is a big ME2 expansion, not a $60 new game. Oh Bioware, how far you have fallen.… Expand
  88. Jaz
    Feb 24, 2013
    6
    The third part of the ME trilogy had to compete with two masterpieces. It failed. Combat is ok, but combat was never its strong point. The trend to remove RPG components like ME2 did, continues. For example in order to get side quests you don't even talk to NPCs anymore, you simply overhear conversations. But ME2 had a saving grace, its story was still very strong. ME3 doesn't have thatThe third part of the ME trilogy had to compete with two masterpieces. It failed. Combat is ok, but combat was never its strong point. The trend to remove RPG components like ME2 did, continues. For example in order to get side quests you don't even talk to NPCs anymore, you simply overhear conversations. But ME2 had a saving grace, its story was still very strong. ME3 doesn't have that and its not just the ending. Main story is predictable and boring. Last but not least, your companions are simply not interesting this time. Their stories too. An average game, nothing to really set it apart from other shooters.… Expand
  89. 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
  90. 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
  91. dave1904
    Mar 12, 2012
    7
    I loved mass effect from day one and waited 4 years for this part. I haye to say this game will be a very big disappointment for anyone who was a fan from day one. 99% of the game is 10/10 but if you ask me a story with a bad ending makes the hole series pointless and the biggest letdown in gaming history. Giving it a 7 out of 10 is very hard but honest and to everyone out there giving itI loved mass effect from day one and waited 4 years for this part. I haye to say this game will be a very big disappointment for anyone who was a fan from day one. 99% of the game is 10/10 but if you ask me a story with a bad ending makes the hole series pointless and the biggest letdown in gaming history. Giving it a 7 out of 10 is very hard but honest and to everyone out there giving it a 0 I understand you but to give a game a 0 because of the day one dlc and ending is not justified.… Expand
  92. 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
  93. Bojo
    Mar 8, 2012
    7
    Here lies an honest review...

    To summarize, the story is good, if not somewhat linear. However this may come out of necessity to finish the story. While plot holes are noticeable and some pieces don't make sense, most of this can be credited to bad pacing. While given time the story and pacing become more bearable, it is a disappoint given the polish we experienced from the first two.    Here lies an honest review...

    To summarize, the story is good, if not somewhat linear. However this may come out of necessity to finish the story. While plot holes are noticeable and some pieces don't make sense, most of this can be credited to bad pacing. While given time the story and pacing become more bearable, it is a disappoint given the polish we experienced from the first two. Further more, while it is disappointing many of the decisions in the first two games make little difference here, the progression of the story is set with emotion, and can be over looked when one realizes it wasn't much different from the first two. Gameplay is good, an improvement overall. Combat is good and improved, with more variety in weaponry and tactics, though a somewhat clunky cover system hold it back in some areas, the variety you can get out of a character is amazing.
    Presentation is amazing. A great soundtrack and good voice acting bring you into the experience. Set pieces are huge and bring about a feeling of desperate times and hopelessness. The wars feel like battlefields, and covert missions feel sneaky. The story can hold this back as it isn't as polished as it could be.
    This game was extremely looked forward to by fans, and it simply couldn't please everyone, however it is stupid to rate this game low because of some disappointment. Review correctly, or don't review at all. Oh, and I forgot to review the Multiplayer, that's because it was a stupid idea, and honestly, maybe if they'd put the time they put into multiplayer into the story there would have been less pacing and plot hole issues.    … Expand
  94. 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.
  95. ruggly
    Mar 7, 2012
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I found it to be a really engaging game, until the end. Yeah, I came across a few bugs and glitches here and there, but the dialogue did not bother me much. I found the voice acting to be quite good. But the ending...it just does not sit well with me...So the Reapers are synthetics that were created to kill organics to prevent them from building synthetics that would kill organics? From what I remember, the only other synthetics in the game were the Geth, which are only a few centuries old, and they were being controlled by the Reapers in the first two games. I would also like to know what happened to my old ME2 squad members, such as Miranda or Grunt, did they survive the events of ME3? The fact that they made no mention of any other squad members, other than those that get off the Normandy after it crashes on some random planet, at the end really, really bothers me. And the final scene after the credits, was this all just a story being told by some grandparent? As well, it did seem like my choices in the previous games got disregarded, though it could be I was just not paying that much attention. I also wanted to make little blue children...Other than that, I did enjoy the game.… Expand
  96. yiffy99
    Mar 13, 2012
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. My critical review: *Contains Spoilers

    Combat: 7/10

    + More guns and the improved gun upgrade/customisation is great.
    + More skills and variation of them
    + Combat is still fun and chanllenging especially on higher difficulties
    + Multiplayer is chanllenging and a nice new addition.

    -You seriously can't get mo fore than 9/10 for using mostly the same thing as the last game. It is faster but more intense, but the same old flaw remain.

    -Squadmate AI is crap (they are as useful as 2 extra hp bars and their powers) as usual as you painfully see them walking into obvious traps, hiding cowardly when they can obviously finish a enemy, stand in the open and get shot to smitherines, and so on. In fact, I feel squadmate AI is even worse than ME2, and ME2's squad AI was not great to start with. Hell, I even think the enemy's AI is better than my squadmates who are supposedly battle-harderned well-trained veterans. - What also baffles me is that the great feature of ME2, where your squadmates shouts when they use a power, spots an enemy flanking attempt, or kill an enemy, is almost completely gone.

    Story: Before the ending: 8.5/10, after the ending, 5/10

    +Some nice moments, rescuing Jack, some old reunions.
    +Some nice humor.
    +Some good representations of ethics.

    - Painfully familiar and similar. ME3's main story reminds me of Dragon Age, Origins:
    In Dragon Age: Origins, the hero and his group needs to unite the races of Feralden to defeat the Darkspawns.
    In Mass Effect: 3, the hero and his squaddies need to unite the races of the Milky Way to defeat the Reapers.
    Sounds familiar? You bet.

    -The ending.
    I'm not angry about the lack of logic in the ending, or the fact that it is bittersweet. It could all just be a reaper indoctrination attempt. I hope so. What I am angry about, at the moment, is the incredible lack of effort Bioware put into this ending. This is the end of a wonderful triology, this is the end of an epic story, it deserve more than a 30 second short movie of nosense.

    Hell, I would gladly pay 10 bucks for a 10 minutes epilogue DLC movie that details what really happend with the Normandy, the surviving troops, and the plans for the future without the mass relays.

    Sound and Music: 8/10
    +Music is still great, although a lot more dark and sad for most part of the game, compare to previous titles.
    + Reworked sound effect is good.

    - Why do you remove the squadmate power usage barks? :-(

    Graphics: 8/10
    I dont have a high-end computer so that I can't comment on some of the issues. Overall, rendering looks good.

    Final Verdict: 7/10
    It would've been a great game, but again, the ending is a BIG letdown. I repeat, I'm no philosopher, I don't care how nosensial the space-kid is. I repeat, what make me angry about the ending is the apparent lack of effort. I repeat, the ending of a great triology deserves a little more than a stupid 30second cutscene.

    Overall, a good game, but unfortunately falls below my hype and expectations for a grand finale for a great series.    … Expand
  97. 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
  98. Swordguy
    Nov 18, 2012
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. So, a few months have passed since this game was released, and I have decided to do a straight up and honest review of this game. I have a full 1080p play through on YouTube that backs my review.---------------Mass Effect 3 is a mixed bag of nuts. visually it's stunning and well choreographed. the voice acting is mostly superb. The soundtrack is spot on and will leave your spine tingling, but is also reused when it shouldn't be. There is constant chatter between characters. the combat is fluid and enjoyable. The humor is refreshing at times even when the game is trying to be serious. Every area of the game has been refined compared to 1 and 2, and yet somehow this game has not ruined the fun of replaying the first 2 games, because all three games are unique and special in their own way. --------In spite of what Bioware did right with this game, It is disheartening to think of the corners that were cut in a few spots. Be it a budget issue, or a time crunch factor, there are at least 2 noticeably gaping holes in ME3 that made me rage like only a nerd can. --------------------The first is the unmasking method of Tali, which was done so cheaply and nonchalantly that long time fans of the series instantly felt betrayed, especially Tali'Mancers. no one asked to see every Quarian without a mask, Just Tali. Instead we got a stock photo from the internet, with a couple fingers lopped off and some some half baked photo-shopping. The second Major blunder is the writing in general. Words cannot describe how poorly written and contrived the storyline of Mass Effect 3 was. The First 2 games build up in anticipation for an incredible and epic climax. When you finally get there, you are punched in the stomach, kicked in the groin, It's revealed that all the main characters in Mass Effect are idiots (i.e. - Shepard finding out how to kill a reaper, then never bringing it up again like it was a fluke, this happens twice) and then, after the fecal matter finally stops showering on us and the game is over, we are told by a pop up window to pay more money for DLC even though Shepard just died because the Catalyst is stuck in a logic loop. Again, I have an entire playthrough on YouTube that backs up my opinion.---------------All in all, a masterpiece of a game, but ruined by a storyline and conclusion that will make you wish you never played ME1 or 2 so that you never had to experience such a heartbreaking case of bad writing.… Expand
  99. AlienSpaceBats
    Feb 4, 2013
    6
    Painfully disappointing, and I can't have been alone in expecting better. 50% of the game is mindless pandering and fan-service (unnecessary). Corners were cut and the game was clearly rushed out the door, worst: lies were told by members of the development team pre-release. Mass Effect 3 is a minefield of immersion-breaking lazy (or poor) coding, audio and graphic glitches, low resPainfully disappointing, and I can't have been alone in expecting better. 50% of the game is mindless pandering and fan-service (unnecessary). Corners were cut and the game was clearly rushed out the door, worst: lies were told by members of the development team pre-release. Mass Effect 3 is a minefield of immersion-breaking lazy (or poor) coding, audio and graphic glitches, low res textures, no DirectX 11 support, horrible animations and embarassing, fan-fic quality writing. The dialogue wheel is now completely arbitrary and the auto-dialogue is very poor, the journal is an unusable mess (bordering on non-existent) and the game cannot correctly import a character file without it looking FUBAR. In terms of gameplay, the shooter element is better than ever (fluid, fast-paced), and action sequences are great fun (although BioWare's insistence to use the SPACEBAR for everything borders on the ridiculous). Dialogue in general is riddled with clichés (the line "I'll sleep when I'm dead" is actually spoken, without irony) and the less said about the god-awful ending the better. Despite all this, the game is enjoyable at key points and some semblance of what-could-have-been is glimpsed during the Sur'Kesh, Tuchunka and Rannoch missions, however this means the game peaks halfway through before taking a nosedive. Special mention should go to the soundtrack artists (Sam Hulick especially) and the fantastic cut-scene direction, Most surprisingly though, the much dreaded multiplayer (pre-release) turned out to be an excellent addition that for me has extended Mass Effect's life by 9 months (and counting).… Expand
  100. 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.
Page:

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.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »