Mass Effect 3

 PC
User Score
6.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 7228 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3,703 out of 7228
  2. Mixed: 1,119 out of 7228
  3. Negative: 2,406 out of 7228
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  1. Ashleydenee
    Mar 9, 2012
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The Mass Effect series had been my favorite video games, bar none. As someone playing it from the beginning, I was an avid supporter and introduced the game to numerous friends and family but the ending has ruined the game for me. Taking my time, I picked every perfect choice and at the end I was left with 3 endings all of which made the character I had developed worthless. Was I able to save the galaxy? Yes. However, it was at the cost of a character and relationships which I had become deeply entwined in for the previous 4 years. Though the content pre-ending was good, the terrible ending which Bioware forced on the players makes me wish I had never played the game to begin with. Perhaps it's silly to care so much but I played an enriched game which allowed the players to really learn to love characters who, at the end of my game, were dead, stranded, or abandoned. Thanks for nothing Bioware...… Expand
  2. Rockstorm
    Mar 7, 2012
    5
    After finishing the game I feel conflicted. On one hand I enjoyed the action and the storyline in this game a lot, even though the baddies seemed to have been de-clawed in this game. The choices I had to make also felt difficult at times, which is always a sign of a good role playing game. On the other hand I also had many issues with this game as well. The animation is sub-par at bestAfter finishing the game I feel conflicted. On one hand I enjoyed the action and the storyline in this game a lot, even though the baddies seemed to have been de-clawed in this game. The choices I had to make also felt difficult at times, which is always a sign of a good role playing game. On the other hand I also had many issues with this game as well. The animation is sub-par at best with many weird glitches, the textures are low-res and the ridiculously poorly executed and failed attempt at a Tear Jerker during the opening moments of the game felt way too forced. All this I can overlook...However, the number 1 reason I rate this game as a 5 instead of a 9 is how the game's ending(s) pretty much invalidates every choice you've made during the course of the series. There is no resolution for Shepard, not for his team, no answers for minor details like "WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT RACE BECAUSE OF MY GALAXY ALTERING DECISION?" and absolutely no sense of accomplishment after the ending but rather a dumbfounded feeling of "That's it?". Lackluster, Bioware.… Expand
  3. Mozu
    Mar 6, 2012
    5
    Regardless of what the paid reviews will tell you, this is another excellent example of how Bioware can take a game and franchise which once held promise, and turn it into a lazily-produced money grab, pandering to the lowest common denominator. Gears of War combat through incredibly linear levels, even fewer dialogue choices that don't seem to matter one bit, stripped-down characterRegardless of what the paid reviews will tell you, this is another excellent example of how Bioware can take a game and franchise which once held promise, and turn it into a lazily-produced money grab, pandering to the lowest common denominator. Gears of War combat through incredibly linear levels, even fewer dialogue choices that don't seem to matter one bit, stripped-down character customization and skills, and, of course, the quality writing, roughly on the level of high-school fanfiction.… Expand
  4. jafor004
    Mar 6, 2012
    5
    The first Mass Effect is one of my all time favorite games, with really enjoyable gameplay and immersing story, I rate Mass Effect 2 as good but not as good as the first one, the story just didn't progress enough. Sadly Mass Effect 3 is the weakest in the series in my opinion. While the gameplay is about on par with the previous games, which is good, the story was really lacking. LargeThe first Mass Effect is one of my all time favorite games, with really enjoyable gameplay and immersing story, I rate Mass Effect 2 as good but not as good as the first one, the story just didn't progress enough. Sadly Mass Effect 3 is the weakest in the series in my opinion. While the gameplay is about on par with the previous games, which is good, the story was really lacking. Large plotholes made the game unenjoyable for me and the ending was real letdown. I'm quite sad this trilogy ended on such a mediocre tone.… Expand
  5. Triggerhappy
    Mar 22, 2012
    5
    I´d just recommend to wait with your purchase until the current controversy subsides. If you´re a fan of the series and want to play now, DO yourself a favour and look up how the game ends, spoilers or no, because you might face serious disappointment. There are polls up within Bioware´s social community that show anywhere between 80-90 percent ofI´d just recommend to wait with your purchase until the current controversy subsides. If you´re a fan of the series and want to play now, DO yourself a favour and look up how the game ends, spoilers or no, because you might face serious disappointment. There are polls up within Bioware´s social community that show anywhere between 80-90 percent of players disappointed with the ending. Just... wait. At the very least, you´ll get the game much, much cheaper one month from now. The user score is so low it´s scary, by the way, I think the game by itself still reaches a decent 5.… Expand
  6. Fuzi0n
    Mar 9, 2012
    5
    1. The gameplay (shooting, etc.) is pretty good.
    2. The story just drags on and on. It's mostly just a bunch of worthless chit chat.
    3. Loads of stupid and worthless Errand-Boy Quests. 4. Whatever choices you make, either in this game or in the past mass effect games HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO EFFECT ON THE 3 (!!) possible endings. 5. The 3 Endings SUCK. The writers obviously had their heads up    1. The gameplay (shooting, etc.) is pretty good.
    2. The story just drags on and on. It's mostly just a bunch of worthless chit chat.
    3. Loads of stupid and worthless Errand-Boy Quests.
    4. Whatever choices you make, either in this game or in the past mass effect games HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO EFFECT ON THE 3 (!!) possible endings.
    5. The 3 Endings SUCK. The writers obviously had their heads up their asses.
    6. And most importantly, Bioware (i'm sorry, I meant EA) have officially killed the Mass Effect Series with this terrible, terrible, TERRIBLE Ending. It is so bad, I would rather be forced to watch Transformers all Night.    … Expand
  7. Mysk
    Mar 10, 2012
    5
    Honestly it's a fantastic game til the final 20 mins. The ending of this trilogy doesn't end with Shephard's combat or wit, but with a long cutscene that renders all previous decisions you made in the trilogy moot. The End is what bothers most of the gamers. It's out of character for Shephard, is confusing and is always "bad" regardless of how well you play the game. Basically skipHonestly it's a fantastic game til the final 20 mins. The ending of this trilogy doesn't end with Shephard's combat or wit, but with a long cutscene that renders all previous decisions you made in the trilogy moot. The End is what bothers most of the gamers. It's out of character for Shephard, is confusing and is always "bad" regardless of how well you play the game. Basically skip side quests and such you get the Worst Ending, do the most you get a Bad Ending.

    Gameplay wise it plays similar to ME2. Combat is essentially the same, with the addition of slightly better melee capabilities. They aren't really that good even if you spec for doing melee, simply too many enemies are far to dangerous to get close to. In addition, muliplayer, despite Bioware's assurances, is REQUIRED to improve your ability to get a Not-As-Bad Ending. This may put off some who will feel that a single player rpg shouldn't be reliant on multiplayer. This time around there are no character driven side quests unfortunately. In ME2 the point was to gain loyalty, yet here there could have been SOME reason to help someone do something. Overall, the game feels rushed and is a very unsatisfying end to what was otherwise an outstanding trilogy. 5/10    … Expand
  8. newtee2
    Mar 6, 2012
    5
    As a big fan of multiple RPGs, and fan of the first two Mass Effect games, this game does not live up to current RPG standards. The plot is unusually boring, the gameplay is surprisingly lacking, the graphics and animations have barely been touched since ME2, and worst of all the game's ending is the biggest let down I've witnessed in years. The most outrageous thing about ME3 is that theAs a big fan of multiple RPGs, and fan of the first two Mass Effect games, this game does not live up to current RPG standards. The plot is unusually boring, the gameplay is surprisingly lacking, the graphics and animations have barely been touched since ME2, and worst of all the game's ending is the biggest let down I've witnessed in years. The most outrageous thing about ME3 is that the day one downloadable content contains information that is crucial to the series as a whole. This game was the biggest letdown to me in years, and I almost feel as if I have been ripped off.… Expand
  9. gorgathoon
    Mar 6, 2012
    5
    A lot of expectations came from the first Mass Effect. Unfortunately, Mass Effect 3 delivers on very little of what was promised. ME3 has taken the more casual approach to reach a wider audience. Unfortunately, this has shunned those who played the first one. There's a saying "Dance with who brought you." Bioware did not do this with the Mass Effect series. This cannibalization ofA lot of expectations came from the first Mass Effect. Unfortunately, Mass Effect 3 delivers on very little of what was promised. ME3 has taken the more casual approach to reach a wider audience. Unfortunately, this has shunned those who played the first one. There's a saying "Dance with who brought you." Bioware did not do this with the Mass Effect series. This cannibalization of its fanbase is at the heart of ME3.

    I played through an advanced copy of ME3 and found it entirely underwhelming. It is the weakest game in the series -- this coming from someone who found the story of ME2 a pointless placeholder.

    It's not that ME3's story is cliche, it is but that takes a back seat to how nonsensical it is. It's rushed and never follows through with the story from ME1...in fact, it makes irrelevant most of ME1 despite it having the strongest story in the series.

    The gameplay is nothing special either. Sure it's fine, but it's clunky and several actions are mapped to a single button meaning you'll roll instead of take cover and vice versa. It's on par with say, Kane and Lynch -- a mediocre shooter from a few years back.

    Once the game ends, it prompts you with an advertisement to buy DLC. Th;is is one of the most offensive things I have ever found in a game. Mass Effect 3 is a bad experience. I recommend picking it up used in 6 months for $10 bucks.    … Expand
  10. me_gusta_mierda
    Mar 6, 2012
    5
    Shepherd makes some funny faces but not on purpose xD

    The gameplay is OK but the bad facial animations, and well, ALL the animations, make the game unpleasant to look at. You should try it only if you want to view it as a piece of comedy. Me gusta or no me gusta?...I give this game a SITUATIONAL me gusta. Le faces are so funny xDDD
  11. MatDiF
    Mar 6, 2012
    5
    Mass Effect 3 is the latest installment of Bioware
  12. Havingboth
    Mar 6, 2012
    5
    It was kind of ok, I expected way more from the graphics and the "rpg" elements werent as satisfying as i hoped them to be. All in all Im glad i could finish that story, but that ending was a huge leddown too.Im going to send this back to amazon
  13. Aldos
    Mar 7, 2012
    5
    So far i've played 10 hours, and i'm really into the game. The battle system is good, a mix from ME1 and 2, graphics and sounds are lacking though.
    Romances are ok, i like the fact that Bioware has tried to reach a bigger audience and let everyone go according to their taste.
    The story so far is ok, but from what i've heard the ending is not original at all, which is kind of sad, because    So far i've played 10 hours, and i'm really into the game. The battle system is good, a mix from ME1 and 2, graphics and sounds are lacking though.
    Romances are ok, i like the fact that Bioware has tried to reach a bigger audience and let everyone go according to their taste.
    The story so far is ok, but from what i've heard the ending is not original at all, which is kind of sad, because this series had a lot of potential.    … Expand
  14. Guildenstern
    Mar 7, 2012
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It's a great shame that the fanbase is being painted as uninformed, unreasonable and even homophobic. There are a few idiots letting us down, but the vast majority of disappointed fans are unhappy with this game simply because it does not nearly deliver on the promises made by Bioware since the franchise's inception.The endings are particularly poor, not only because the twists are illogical and the tone is so depressing, but because your choices barely make any difference to the final outcome. Favourite characters are reduced to cameos. Long-awaited moments are handled with complacency (for example, the reveal of a particularly beloved character's face, for which a Getty stock photo was used with only the most minor of Photoshop edits). It's a very good game in many ways, but it could have been so much more. We didn't want this to happen. We wanted it to be everything Bioware promised that it would be.… Expand
  15. SublimeShadow
    Mar 7, 2012
    5
    The Good: Interesting (though unoriginal) story tied and linked to your previous Mass Effect excursions. Better gunplay and customization of combat features. Had a few well done story telling elements and ended in a cleverly ambiguous cliffhanger.
    The Bad: Graphics, not enough dialogue, no way to easily change or reverse decisions, on that note not enough decisions, too easy (headshot,    The Good: Interesting (though unoriginal) story tied and linked to your previous Mass Effect excursions. Better gunplay and customization of combat features. Had a few well done story telling elements and ended in a cleverly ambiguous cliffhanger.
    The Bad: Graphics, not enough dialogue, no way to easily change or reverse decisions, on that note not enough decisions, too easy (headshot, headshot, headshot, spacebar), nowhere near enough side-stories or enough gravitas to the few side-stories included (incoming dlc), generally didn't feel like there was much to do.
    The Ugly: Plot crucial day 1 dlc (played without it, regretted it a few times), deus ex machina everywhere, no way to choose what choices you made in the past if you don't have your savefiles handy, mandatory multiplayer for "readiness".    … Expand
  16. lyt2210
    Mar 8, 2012
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Beautiful scenery, wonderful music, and bad endings this pretty much sums up my ME3 experience. No matter what you do, no matter the choices you have made along this road EA has you dying, there is no ending where you see your lover ever again(unless you play mp get +5k EMS then you will get a 1 second clip of someone taking a breath). At the end of the game post credits they a have a grandpa and grandson on what looks like the moon with trees staring at earth. The ending has the mass relays being destroyed so why bother helping the quarians retake the home world they'll never see it. Basically everyone is pretty much stuck in the sol system until somebody figures out FTL without mass effect. To put it simply I emotionally invested myself in this game, in my character, in this mission only to be letdown. I remember when I first made my character Emily, an infiltrator I spent literally an hour just turning her head side to front just so I would have the perfect face. I would redo entire missions in ME2 if I failed the first time to get a crew member's loyalty, I played tedious mining mini-games so I could outfit my ship, I stayed true to my lover from ME1 in hopes of finally having a good ending in ME3 after the disaster called, Horizon. All these choices are moot now thanks to the really rushed ending. The ending was pick the ending you hate the least, not a reward for doing all you could to get a high enough EMS score. No the "3" choices (if you can call them that) are a letdown, just a punishment, no reward. I suggest to those who have not bought it yet wait for it to go down in price, because the bulk of the story is good and some of the scenes will make you a little teary eyed. It is an amazing game right up to the last 30 minutes. Remember peoples the saying goes the only thing that people will remember is what you did...well Bioware what do you have to say for yourself about this atrocious end to a otherwise magical series.… Expand
  17. Snowsve
    Mar 8, 2012
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game built up so much epicness and I said multiple times before the last mission that this was the best SP-game I've EVER played. And it got destroyed under 10 minutes, by creating paradoxes (synthetic life who kills organic life so they don't get killed by synthetics LOOOL), Joker's getting some pstd and decides to run to a mass relay, and shepard is gone forever, putting the galaxy into a dark age and even if he survives he will NEVER see his LI, his friends or another nebula again. They tried to make a Deus Ex 1-ending, but they failed miserable and decided that a deus ex machina-ending would do the trick. I'm honestly depressed, it was my favourite game series of all time and Bioware gave me the finger.… Expand
  18. Almin
    Mar 8, 2012
    5
    The games doesn't make much difference of the choices made in the previous games, and plot holes are there, gaped with duct tape writing.
    There is some minor bugs (like getting stuck in the Normandy **** near joker), a useless quest journal (seriously).
    The endings are disappointing, same animations, different colors. Having a high galactic readiness score barely changes the endings    The games doesn't make much difference of the choices made in the previous games, and plot holes are there, gaped with duct tape writing.
    There is some minor bugs (like getting stuck in the Normandy **** near joker), a useless quest journal (seriously).
    The endings are disappointing, same animations, different colors. Having a high galactic readiness score barely changes the endings (actually, just one).
    Overall it's not a bad game, it has some enjoyable moment and dialogues, but it could have been much better.
    PS: I personally find that the DLC character to be pretty important, give really nice insight of the protean and all, and I really feel that he has been cut from the game (were he blends a little to well for a DLC) to be a juicy $$$ DLC.    … Expand
  19. KRHamilton
    Apr 4, 2012
    5
    Mass Effect 3 is a great game for the most part, but is has some critical flaws that eliminate almost all the replay value of the entire series. The biggest problem is the ending which ruins the whole series for me and many other fans because of its low quality, inconsistencies, flawed logic, and clear indication that none of your choices ultimately matter much for a series that requiresMass Effect 3 is a great game for the most part, but is has some critical flaws that eliminate almost all the replay value of the entire series. The biggest problem is the ending which ruins the whole series for me and many other fans because of its low quality, inconsistencies, flawed logic, and clear indication that none of your choices ultimately matter much for a series that requires a minimum of 100 hours from part 1 to part 3, if you complete every quest and mission. The ending goes against one of the most fundamental features of the game series; BioWare continuously advertised the series as one where almost every choice matters. I'm a big fan of Mass Effect 1 and 2, with the exception of planet scanning in part 2; I hated that boring activity. I played through both games at least 5 times including all DLC. Now I feel I wasted hundreds of hours in those games to reach the disappointing conclusion in Mass Effect 3. It's sad to see how far BioWare has declined since they were purchased by EA in late 2007. How could such a wonderful series have deteriorated this much in 5 years?


    I believe the problem is an ongoing issue caused by EA's budget priorities; too much money goes into their marketing of games and not enough to their development studios. Another problem was EA forcing BioWare to add multiplayer late in the development cycle. This took valuable resources from the development of the single player campaign and it shows from beginning to the end with choppy animations, limited character development, greatly reduced number of squad members, over simplified buggy user interface, sound card problems, lackluster quest journal, an excessive number of planet scanning fetch quests, a disappointingly generic final mission, and an unoriginal anticlimactic conclusion. Even the simple ability to holster your weapon when you don't need it was removed. Having to run around safe areas with only allies standing around while being forced point my gun at them is a major immersion killer for me. Also when you holstered your gun it was possible to better appreciate the beautiful and interesting environments in the game and see how cool your armor looks from every angle. A noticeable reduction in quality is the first thought that came to mind from the moment I started my first mission on Mass Effect 3, because of all these issues. The good news is that Mass Effect 3 has many shining moments of brilliance where everything comes together flawlessly. My two favorite parts were the awe inspiring missions in Tuchanka and Rannoch. I also enjoyed most of the conversation topics with Joker, EDI, Garrus, Liara, and Tali. Adding the ability to dodge and dive for cover as well as the melee combat and grabs took the gameplay to a whole new level of fun. I can't recall any other game, in the past 15 years that had so much potential and so utterly squandered it after building up dramatic tension to such an amazing level while getting so many things right across three installments. I purchased and completed all DLC for the trilogy; that is over $250 cash plus my emotional investment in the Mass Effect franchise. I paid $80 for the Mass Effect 3 Digital Deluxe Edition plus sales tax, my most expensive digital download since I started gaming 15 years ago, and it can't be returned for a refund through Origin. I don't feel Mass Effect 3 is a good deal, until at least some of its significant problems are fixed.


    Fortunately, BioWare has promised to investigate issues being reported to them as constructive criticism; I hope they fix the major problems with Mass Effect 3 so I can enjoy this series again.


    I've read rumors that EA plans to charge for fixing the problems with Mass Effect 3; if they planned to charge extra for a better conclusion to a beloved franchise, it would be a new low in the history of gaming. New DLC should only be sold if isn't directly related to fixing the ending.


    To illustrate the problem compare this:


    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPelM2hwhJA


    To this:


    http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/355/index/10056886


    http://alizrak.wordpress.com/2012/03/18/the-broken-promises-of-mass-effect-3-spoilers/


    Because of the discrepancies between Mass Effect 3 and what was advertised by EA, at least one fan has filed a formal complaint with the US Federal Trade Commission. That is unfortunate, but it shows a level of dissatisfaction with a top rated game that I haven't seen before.


    I love Mass Effect and want it to be remembered in the best possible way. I want it to have replay value as a complete series, because it is the best science fiction interactive entertainment series in the market. There is nothing wrong with improving a product. BioWare doesn't owe it to fans to change Mass Effect 3; they owe it to themselves, after all the hard work they have put in to the series.    … Expand
  20. nnash
    Mar 10, 2012
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. In the last ten minutes of Mass Effect 3, where the culmination of all your choices from the prequels are meant to determine the outcome of the galaxy the catalyst gives you three ways to deal with the reapers; control, synthesize or destroy. Control means aligning with the illusive mans goals, synthesize turns all organic life into a hybrid (which could still be co-opted by reapers in the next cycle) and destroy includes races like the geth and EDI the Normandy's AI as collateral. But here's the catch you don't really get to choose your ending. Your ending is based on your Galactic Readiness and Effective Military Strength. If you play through the game meticulously by exploring each system and completing all the side-quests your readiness rating and EMS are still not high enough to get the "best ending". Unless of course you play the multiplayer. Now if we were to ignore the last ten minutes of Mass Effect 3 I would still say I enjoyed the greatly improved combat and the story of the trilogy as a whole. I had a great experience playing through all three games, and Mass Effect 3 was no different but the last ten minutes left a salty taste in my mouth and general feeling of disappointment that two games worth of actions and choices amounted to nothing. Mass Effect 3 has great gameplay and a captivating story but the ending is bleak and uninspired. I'm also not fond of being forced to play a boring co-op game mode to get a good ending for the single player experience. Based on these factors I give the game a score of 5.… Expand
  21. MMAx001
    Mar 10, 2012
    5
    Mass Effect 3 is a good game which sadly lost what made it great, where you might have felt the outcome of your choices matter and you were shaping the story to what you want, in the end it leaves a lot of question and a feeling of unsatisfaction as your choices in the series are disregarded or marginalized for plot convenience to coincide with the materials they published regardless ofMass Effect 3 is a good game which sadly lost what made it great, where you might have felt the outcome of your choices matter and you were shaping the story to what you want, in the end it leaves a lot of question and a feeling of unsatisfaction as your choices in the series are disregarded or marginalized for plot convenience to coincide with the materials they published regardless of plot holes and not the story you shaped for yourself.… Expand
  22. JPLazyNinja
    Mar 10, 2012
    5
    On the Gameplay/Combat side this game holds its own when compared to Gears of Wars- the mother of all cover-based shooters. And there in lies a disturbing tendency- ME3 is feeling more like Gears of Wars and less like Mass Effect. The RPG and story aspects are much more marginalized in this installment to speak nothing of its conclusion to this series.
  23. Cifie
    Mar 10, 2012
    5
    This was my favorite game ever, until I got to the end. The end ruined the whole series for me and made it so I could never play any of the games again.
  24. 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
  25. 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
  26. Korisana
    Mar 11, 2012
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Mass Effect 3 was meant to and succeeds in ending the Shepard storyline. While Bioware has fine-tuned aspects of the game, such as less time consuming planet exploration, other areas have not been as lucky. As of about a week after release, there are noticeable bugs and glitches which include randomly getting stuck in open areas and graphical glitches. None really detract from the game-play but they are fairly noticeable. An area in which Bioware succeeded with ME3 is storyline. The main plot is well done, for the most part, and does make you feel as if the galaxy really was coming to an end with the Reapers. Side quests, however, have suffered brutally in ME3. Gone are many ME 1/2 side quests which involve landing on a planet or ship for a small map-based mission. Instead, you pick up random side quests simply by over-hearing NPC's talking on the Citadel. you then head to a destination, scan a planet, launch a probe and head back. That's it. The biggest mistake Bioware has made in ME3 is the ending. The entire series as been fun and a wonderful "Space Opera" type of story. However, it all falls apart in the final few minutes. Specifically the choices you have to make. While the choices and Shepard's eventual fate is dark, fitting in with the overall theme of this third game, overall they don't make sense. Nothing is explained about what happens after your victory or defeat. There is also a distinct lack of continuity in the ending. In the final part of the game, all of your ME3 squad is on Earth, yet somehow several are see emerging from a crashed Normandy just before the credits roll.

    Overall the game is worth buying if you can deal with major story issues at the end.    … Expand
  27. TobyTucker
    Mar 12, 2012
    5
    While I can certainly see the point of those giving this a 0 score to send a message to EA/BioWare over the DLC issue and the way the ending seems to be tacked on by people who have no idea what Mass Effect is all about, I can't honestly do that. But I didn't give it a terribly high score either because this COULD have been a truly great game. Unfortunately it seems to have been pushed outWhile I can certainly see the point of those giving this a 0 score to send a message to EA/BioWare over the DLC issue and the way the ending seems to be tacked on by people who have no idea what Mass Effect is all about, I can't honestly do that. But I didn't give it a terribly high score either because this COULD have been a truly great game. Unfortunately it seems to have been pushed out the door before it was completely ready. It also appears to have been "dumbed down" as far as its RPG elements go in order to appeal to a mass audience. Knowing what I know now, I would have waited until it went on sale instead of paying full price. Hopefully, with a patch or two, perhaps a (free) DLC to fix the ending and this game will live up to its full potential. Seeing as I have the PC version there's always the chance that modders will come to the rescue! It just a shame that a game with such promise turned out the way it did.… Expand
  28. Mindflow
    Mar 12, 2012
    5
    I really love all the games (ME1+2+3) and spend lots of time for perfect savegames, but the ending of ME3 is the worst ending i ever saw in a computer game! It ruins the story of the whole trilogy! I was planning to get myself a N7 tattoo (not only because i like ME, but also because i'm playing computer games since 1990) ... but the ending of part 3 destroyed that idea... what have youI really love all the games (ME1+2+3) and spend lots of time for perfect savegames, but the ending of ME3 is the worst ending i ever saw in a computer game! It ruins the story of the whole trilogy! I was planning to get myself a N7 tattoo (not only because i like ME, but also because i'm playing computer games since 1990) ... but the ending of part 3 destroyed that idea... what have you done, bioware?… Expand
  29. sainta117
    Mar 12, 2012
    5
    There's a lot to like about ME3 - the voice acting, gameplay, sound, and NPC interactions and characterization are all top notch. Unfortunately, the core plot , which has always been just a touch suspect in the ME series, is outright disastrous this time around

    In some ways, this is a great case study in game design. If someone had been wondering if it was possible for a single bad    There's a lot to like about ME3 - the voice acting, gameplay, sound, and NPC interactions and characterization are all top notch. Unfortunately, the core plot , which has always been just a touch suspect in the ME series, is outright disastrous this time around

    In some ways, this is a great case study in game design. If someone had been wondering if it was possible for a single bad writing decision to ruin a game, then that question has been answered, conclusively. There's almost nothing wrong with ME3, except the final sequence and ending. I've dearly loved the ME franchise for half a decade. I dearly loved the first 90% of this game. But that last 10% was so decisively awful, that I may never play the games (any of them) again. This needs to be fixed, and Bioware can (and should) do so.    … Expand
  30. GI_Biochip
    Mar 12, 2012
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Worst game of the trilogy. Poor graphics, FOV doesn't usually annoy me, but I think I was just getting irritated by the game. I liked the Mordin Solus and Krogan stories, but the whole thing feels like it was rushed out just to get it done. Oh well, at least I can uninstall "Origin" now. A sad end to a once great game.… Expand
  31. Petera_Terra
    Mar 12, 2012
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Having done over 5 playthroughs of Mass Effect 1, 2 of Mass Effect 2 I have to say that gameplay presented in Mass Effect 3 is refined, lives up to the hype advertised by EA & BioWare and should prove to be fun for a lot of players, both RPG and TPS lovers.
    Story-wise - while not presenting many choices to alter any major elements of it, still manages to provide a good impression, thanks to several quests taking place on Tuchanka and Rannoch, along with some other, less meaningful ones.
    Everything however is ruined by the abysmal choice of ending for the trilogy of Commander Shepard, my advice to anyone wanting to pick this up:
    If you have any emotional attachment to characters of Mass Effect universe, or you are simply fascinated by all the possibilities that can happen in Mass Effect universe- Play until the part where you get to London, pretend you killed off the reapers and had babies with you LI.    … Expand
  32. 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
  33. ecarden
    Mar 12, 2012
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Ahoy, Here there be Spoilers:

    Pirate voice off, review voice on:

    Unlike many others, I had no complaints about the day one DLC, or the autodialogue (which mostly consisted of straightforward conversations that would have been difficult to come up with multiple options for). In fact, I really enjoyed the increased ambient dialogue. The character development was top notch and the story did a fairly good job of reconstructing the Macguffin [...] trope. The first (for me as a completionist) 37 hours were really excellent, even if many of my favorite characters from ME2 only had cameos (Though several of those were outstanding: Jack, Thane and Kasumi's for instance). The new characters were quite fun as well. Cortez, Vega and Traynor all had their strong points and none of them bugged me, though I preferred to talk with the old squadmates.

    The reason I'm giving it such a low rating therefore is the ending. Besides coming out of left field (No, broadcasting that something exists doesn't give you license to make it into anything at all) it was massively inappropriate for the genre. It's like if the last Winnie the Pooh book ended with Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, Christopher Robin and Owl murdered, only for the Criminal Minds team to come in and solve it, dragging away Piglet for the crime (Why Piglet? Because the writers say so!).

    A larger problem than the many logical flaws in the Catalyst's stated argument (and why anyone, let alone Shepard would believe anything that comes out of that holographic punk's mouth is another question) is that your character, who you've spent (assuming you played ME1 and ME2 as I did) more than a hundred hours turning into the ultimate badass, facing down the Council, Wrex, Saren, Sovereign, Harbinger, the Collectors, etfc. is unable to give any response but: sure, I'll choose from among the options you give me, because I'm too stupid to point out that your logic is obviously flawed and that even if it was correct, it wouldn't justify your actions.

    In short, even just cutting off everything after the elevator activates would be a superior ending, one that didn't feel like you climbed a mountain just to get booted off when you reached the top. Speaking only for myself, I won't be bothering to replay with any of my (5!) other Shepards until I'm at least given the option to kick back.    … Expand
  34. 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
  35. 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
  36. dirtyferret
    Mar 13, 2012
    5
    good combat, better then ME1
    excellent voice acting
    story is mediocre (better then 1 not as good as 2) poorly optimized for the PC. plays like a direct console port taking little advantage of a PC keyboard
    day one DLC brings nothing to the story previous decisions (from 1 and 2) have little impact in 3
    ending writing is not though out well, poorly written and feels rushed
  37. koodeta
    Mar 13, 2012
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I was really anticipating this game from Bioware. I'm a huge Mass Effect fan but this title was WAAAY off the ball. There were some gaping holes in the plot that really needed to be fixed, graphical errors (shouldn't be too hard to fix in an update), and just the unbelievable lack of care in this. I have played all of the Mass Effect games and this one falls short, QWOP short. The game has progressively moved toward action and less RPG, which is what defines Mass Effect, and more toward Gears of War-ish style of play. True, the story was epic and completes bits of the story left over from other games; but I'm very disappointed in how the game ended. I wanted to play Paragon the whole way through but no, I have to do Renegade actions to even continue the game or I die! At the VERY end of the game I have to choose to control the Reapers, wipe out all synthetic life, or join synthetics and organics together (which just looks nasty at the end picture). These are pretty much all the same choices but enacted in different ways. And after all that Shepard has done, he dies in a giant Michael Bay cliche explosion? Bioware is better than this. It's a terrible way to end the series and I disapprove.… Expand
  38. MicMaky
    Mar 14, 2012
    5
    Before completing the game I was confused at the massive difference between user and critic reviews. However, since finishing the game I now understand why, either the critics have been bribed or they have no seen the absolute mess of an ending. The only reason I give this a 5 and not a 1 is because up until the end the game is all I imagined it would be; it contained rich flowing storyBefore completing the game I was confused at the massive difference between user and critic reviews. However, since finishing the game I now understand why, either the critics have been bribed or they have no seen the absolute mess of an ending. The only reason I give this a 5 and not a 1 is because up until the end the game is all I imagined it would be; it contained rich flowing story and dialog with a very sound game engine. Some people complain about the poor textures and some of the animations but I am fine with that, I don't play the mass effect trilogy for the graphical detail, I play it for the in depth interactive story.
    The negativity of this review is based solely on the ending, which is very vague, full of plot holes and just generally not a "mass effect" ending.
    If it weren't for the ending I would be scoring this far higher, in the range the have critics scored it.    … Expand
  39. Anthony_2012
    Mar 14, 2012
    5
    This is a quality title that is very much let down by a sub-par ending. My Example would be that it starts like the matrix and finishes almost the same as Matrix revolutions.

    It is a great game let down by a incredibly weak ending which to me colors the game in a bad light especially since the company Bioware stated it would end differently. I expect lies from politicians not a video game    This is a quality title that is very much let down by a sub-par ending. My Example would be that it starts like the matrix and finishes almost the same as Matrix revolutions.

    It is a great game let down by a incredibly weak ending which to me colors the game in a bad light especially since the company Bioware stated it would end differently. I expect lies from politicians not a video game company..    … Expand
  40. PasKarma
    Mar 15, 2012
    5
    I loved the ME series. This final game was supposed to bring all the previous choices of the games together, adding replay value, and creating one of the greatest rpg/shooter hybrids to date. Instead, the final moments of ME3 throw all your previous decisions out the window and each of the 3 ending choices are nearly identical, all vague explosions with little to no closure as to whatI loved the ME series. This final game was supposed to bring all the previous choices of the games together, adding replay value, and creating one of the greatest rpg/shooter hybrids to date. Instead, the final moments of ME3 throw all your previous decisions out the window and each of the 3 ending choices are nearly identical, all vague explosions with little to no closure as to what happens afterwords, none of your choices matter. They messed up, bad. Other than those final moments, the game was extremely enjoyable, it was just such a bad ending I can't give it a positive review (it destroys any replay value of the previous games as well, since none of those choices matter). Combat mechanics wise, they mad improvements and complexity to ME2 without making it overly redundant like ME1. As for multiplayer, it's repetitive and not what anyone really asked for, but still fun, mainly since I'm a ME fan though, not because it's anything groundbreaking with lasting value. I would have rather seen that effort put into making real endings based on player choices so I could enjoy replaying all the Mass Effects.… Expand
  41. CenturyChild
    Mar 15, 2012
    5
    The MassEffect seires 1-3, in general is amazing. Its a huge world where choices shape your story. An action pcked, emeotional roller coaster of Love, Loss, Joy and more.
    I honestly can not say enough good about the series in general. Its truly Epic.
    Sadly, the very last 10minutes of Mass Effect 3, takes everything from the trilogy, throws it down the drain makeing all your choices    The MassEffect seires 1-3, in general is amazing. Its a huge world where choices shape your story. An action pcked, emeotional roller coaster of Love, Loss, Joy and more.
    I honestly can not say enough good about the series in general. Its truly Epic.

    Sadly, the very last 10minutes of Mass Effect 3, takes everything from the trilogy, throws it down the drain makeing all your choices youve worked so hard for meaningless.
    ME3 was supposed to answer all questions, and conclude the series. Instead, it leaves more questions than anything, with a non sensical end that evokes no reponse what-so-ever other than ..

    What just happened and why? The conclusion is so poorly done, it actually tarnishes the rest of the series, especially in reagrd to replayablility because you know ultimate .. nothing even matters. There a re 16 different ending, which are all identical other than the color the lights are.
    So for the colorblind, youll only get 1.    … Expand
  42. UniTroop
    Mar 16, 2012
    5
    It's very difficult to rate this game, as player experience will depend a lot on how "in to" Mass Effect they are. In all fairness, 98% of the game is great. Unfortunately, the abysmal conclusion to the story will ruin a lot for players who are even moderately hooked on the Mass Effect story.

    I can't believe Bioware made a trilogy of astonishing quality, and then dropped the ball on the    It's very difficult to rate this game, as player experience will depend a lot on how "in to" Mass Effect they are. In all fairness, 98% of the game is great. Unfortunately, the abysmal conclusion to the story will ruin a lot for players who are even moderately hooked on the Mass Effect story.

    I can't believe Bioware made a trilogy of astonishing quality, and then dropped the ball on the last yard.    … Expand
  43. RiceMuncher
    Mar 18, 2012
    5
    Dumbed down story with glaring plotholes that gets bigger as the game goes on. Saved by improved shooting mechanics. Uplifted by a few emotional + wow moments. Finally sank in the end due to the irrepairable logic and IDENTICAL ending cutscenes that invalidates all choices from ME1 onwards. Rest in Peace Bioware. I saw it coming since Dragon Age 2 came outâ
  44. nexxuno
    Mar 18, 2012
    5
    Everything that made ME1&2 good games is not here (except graphics...).
    No choice and consequence, 1 (well more than one but all feel the same) ending, other characters are non-existant in this episode no way you'll grow attached to any of them, linear and weak story.
    Really pissed off, this is how to ruin a trilogy. The product would have some value but compared to the masterpieces 1&2    Everything that made ME1&2 good games is not here (except graphics...).
    No choice and consequence, 1 (well more than one but all feel the same) ending, other characters are non-existant in this episode no way you'll grow attached to any of them, linear and weak story.
    Really pissed off, this is how to ruin a trilogy. The product would have some value but compared to the masterpieces 1&2 are, this one is just a 5.    … Expand
  45. Spice
    Mar 20, 2012
    5
    For a Bioware game, advertised as having varying outcomes depending on your choices, this game does not deliver. If you are expecting a meaningful, epic finale to a trilogy, this is not it. The last 10 minutes of the game feel like a slap in the face, denying any control over the fate of your carefuly crafted character, and making all your choices seem pointless. For this reason, it alsoFor a Bioware game, advertised as having varying outcomes depending on your choices, this game does not deliver. If you are expecting a meaningful, epic finale to a trilogy, this is not it. The last 10 minutes of the game feel like a slap in the face, denying any control over the fate of your carefuly crafted character, and making all your choices seem pointless. For this reason, it also kills replayability. If it was not for the ending, I would rate this as a 9. As it stands though, it is very disapointing and not at all what was adverstised.My other concern with the game was the questlog, it didn't update and wasn't very clear about locations, making sidequests somewhat confusing.… Expand
  46. aznassassin
    Oct 20, 2012
    5
    First of I have to say, this score is not only indicative of the horrible, degrading and absolutely cheating of an ending that Bioware has cooked up. Its also of the main game also. The main gameplay mechanics have been dumbed down, this time being squad combat. There are less squad members, the new members are generic, unecessary and just plain boring, you cant see squad member health inFirst of I have to say, this score is not only indicative of the horrible, degrading and absolutely cheating of an ending that Bioware has cooked up. Its also of the main game also. The main gameplay mechanics have been dumbed down, this time being squad combat. There are less squad members, the new members are generic, unecessary and just plain boring, you cant see squad member health in the UI AND dialogue options have been reduced to nothing more than a simple response for every longass conversation instead of choosing an option for replying to every segment of these conversations. The gun modification/upgrade element is gimmicky and dont reflect the sophistication of the original game's upgrade system nor the simplicity and accessibility of the 2nd game. Its basically been made into an ugly customization window with boring weapon add-ons. Tho the one thing cool about this finale is the addition of MP AND the Omi-Blade melee attack… Expand
  47. Tristaaz
    Mar 21, 2012
    5
    Boring side-quests, to much repeating. Did not feel the characters, to little time with the ME2 characters. Bugging cut-scenes were heads are turned to the side when having conversations and sometimes just see a wall. Allot of the voice-sounds are gone, use subtitles! Wrong textures., supposed to come on different act. Sometimes strange conversations, were you dont know what they areBoring side-quests, to much repeating. Did not feel the characters, to little time with the ME2 characters. Bugging cut-scenes were heads are turned to the side when having conversations and sometimes just see a wall. Allot of the voice-sounds are gone, use subtitles! Wrong textures., supposed to come on different act. Sometimes strange conversations, were you dont know what they are talking about, like you talking with a different guy. These little mistakes destroys the total experience. Going from ME1 and ME2 to this is a scandal! Seems like Bioware are tired of Mass Effect and now so am I. Not interested in DLCs after this shaite.… Expand
  48. Nauglamir
    Apr 5, 2012
    5
    I won't add to it any further. Some of the reviews down here do already get to the point of what was wrong with this game. To summarize it, the settings in the game along with the streamlined dialogues do lack any depths, while the graphics are blatantly dragged from the previous game, with no polishing whatsoever and at times performing low frame-rate levels. From the second half of theI won't add to it any further. Some of the reviews down here do already get to the point of what was wrong with this game. To summarize it, the settings in the game along with the streamlined dialogues do lack any depths, while the graphics are blatantly dragged from the previous game, with no polishing whatsoever and at times performing low frame-rate levels. From the second half of the game onward, the main plot rises to an acceptable level of narration, only to sink as it draws near to the end. The gameplay is nothing special either. It's mostly fine, but it's clunky and way too "shooterized". Basically, the game has been simplified in order to reach a wider console audience, while the end, sadly enough, encourage the players to buying new DLCs to get further information about the fate of the galaxy. As a result, i recommend purchasing it on budget in the next months to come, as it still delivers some good stories on the mass effect universe, though lacking a major consistency.… Expand
  49. stb97
    Mar 28, 2012
    5
    I have to say, I loved Mass Effect 3, or at least I thought I did. The combat is definitely greatly improved, it is now much more fluid, and shooter fans will have an easy transition to this game, as the combat is rewarding and the abilities are much more fun and necessary to be effective on the higher difficulties. On the other hand, for people playing for the story, the combat can beI have to say, I loved Mass Effect 3, or at least I thought I did. The combat is definitely greatly improved, it is now much more fluid, and shooter fans will have an easy transition to this game, as the combat is rewarding and the abilities are much more fun and necessary to be effective on the higher difficulties. On the other hand, for people playing for the story, the combat can be tuned down so that it is still the same shooty-killy action sequence, but it takes significantly less time so you can easily get through to the story driven sections of the game. However, the one part they seemed to have skipped on is exploration, in Mass Effect one, we had the Mako, which provided a plethora of opportunities for exploration and side missions, in Mass Effect 2, we could scan planets, this provided an alternate currency system for upgrading your ship as well as still providing an avenue for side missions. However, in Mass Effect 3, there's really no exploration elements, which takes a sizable chunk of gameplay out of the game, as well as limiting us to the hub stations and the one time mission areas, making the game feel increasingly confined. But the problem with appealing to both the story and combat players, is that neither field seems that amazing, the story was quite frankly shallow with very few side plots or twists, and the combat alone was no where near good enough to carry the entire game. The ending was bad, but it wasn't enough to ruin the game for me, and the multiplayer was just, while enjoyable, a ploy to draw in more customers.… Expand
  50. elgrinch
    Apr 8, 2012
    5
    i WAS a devoted fan of this saga so i can't say i hated ME3 but...i CAN genuinely say i was very disappointed. Bioware made a few improvements to combat whilst killing ALL the other features that made mass effect what it was... The choices and repercussions from ME1-->ME2 are now worth a **** so the story we had built basically died. Most of the caracters we came to love are no longer withi WAS a devoted fan of this saga so i can't say i hated ME3 but...i CAN genuinely say i was very disappointed. Bioware made a few improvements to combat whilst killing ALL the other features that made mass effect what it was... The choices and repercussions from ME1-->ME2 are now worth a **** so the story we had built basically died. Most of the caracters we came to love are no longer with us cause they were replaced by either gay or pretty looking people...none of which ever really have an edifying conversation with shepard cause roleplay is nonexistent in this release... Even little things like the music in shepards quarters went from epic space tunes to half-assed amature fiddling with keyboard. Now.. the fighting and some of the scenes were actually pretty great but, this little approval suddenly finds itself punched, kicked and spitt on by THE END....
    ... Oh God, the end.... could it suck more?... anyways, mass effect 3 is fun to play for any person that doesn't give a damn about the trilogy nor spent time and money on the prior titles. But for us fans... we got screwed. P.S ---those cash mongering tactics like the day one DLC crap.... results in more loss than gain.    … Expand
  51. gmfreeman
    Apr 7, 2012
    5
    As someone who spent over 300 hours playing the first two games in the series, I don't understand how anyone who has played the previous games could possibly have enjoyed an ending full of plot holes, be satisfied with one of "six" possible endings, or the fact that one of the endings seems to be the right one. The limited conversation options and almost complete lack of side missionsAs someone who spent over 300 hours playing the first two games in the series, I don't understand how anyone who has played the previous games could possibly have enjoyed an ending full of plot holes, be satisfied with one of "six" possible endings, or the fact that one of the endings seems to be the right one. The limited conversation options and almost complete lack of side missions makes the game feel rushed, to climax with no conclusion.… Expand
  52. nyrdl90
    Apr 15, 2012
    5
    All those who don't live in caves in North Africa subsisting entirely on raw meat and the supply of family head lice will know the format of this review. Bluntly expressed: the majority of the game was superb if slightly lacking in narrative depth, while the ending was the biggest pile of tripe since mass seppuku on a japanese poultry farm. The fact that this view has been repeated andAll those who don't live in caves in North Africa subsisting entirely on raw meat and the supply of family head lice will know the format of this review. Bluntly expressed: the majority of the game was superb if slightly lacking in narrative depth, while the ending was the biggest pile of tripe since mass seppuku on a japanese poultry farm. The fact that this view has been repeated and reaffirmed in every civilised country with a stable entertainment economy and a workable internet connection is convincing proof of its validity. Around the world, captivated fans connected with the games' characters and narrative on an unprecedented emotional level, only to receive an ending so irreconcilable with what precedes it as to leave the series effectively unfinished. So many holes are opened in the overarching plot that what finality remains is unfulfilling and unsatisfying. As a series, Mass Effect is established on a set of fundamental points, all of which have come to be both cherished and expected by the gaming community at large: good writing, player choice, and a compelling continuity and flow of narrative. The promised "epic conclusion" of the series consequently shocked and angered players for bluntly denying them these three things; the writing made no sense, what choice players were given had little to no relation to previous events, and the final cinematic left the back-story as devoid of stimulation and open-ended as a limbless corpse. This total reversal of quality is, in many ways, what makes the ending so shockingly and overwhelmingly **** Had the ending been the culmination of "Back Street Tokyo Hand Job Queen 7", the audience feedback would not have been nearly as unanimously negative. Despite making no contextual sense in this scenario, and the illiteracy of any prospective audience, the ending's qualitative relativity would have been a lot less stark. However, arguably more frustrating for hordes of belligerent gamers is the absolute lack of official recognition for this obvious shortcoming. Such critical giants as IGN and Gamespot completely ignore the existence of the game's final sequence in many of their respective reviews, instead brushing over the problem with arbitrary and periphrastic adjectives. Worse still, the developers of the game themselves hide behind the age-old excuse of artistic licence, with the catastrophic final sequence being described as integral to "the team's artistic vision". Certainly, Bioware's errant artistic wankery is evident in their unsubtle use of clichéd visual metaphors and symbols; children representing innocence, naivety, and spiritual purity are possibly only superseded in terms of frequency in Western literature by the colour-coding of blue for good, red for bad. Gamers went in to Mass Effect 3 expecting an ending to which they could play Flight of the Valkyries or the Dies Irae from Vivaldi's Requiem. Instead, they received an ending barely worthy of Messiaen at his most arrhythmic and atonal. In the end, any reviewer's rating is a tip of the scales: to what subjective extent did the final ten minutes outweigh three games' worth of fantastic content? In my personal view, Bioware has unwittingly pushed its three greatest children off a bridge. We can only pray that they follow Conan-Doyle, pull Mass Effect out of the mud, and give it the bad-ass and well-written funeral it deserves.… Expand
  53. VitaminK
    Apr 23, 2012
    5
    Was definitely a let-down but I dont think it deserves the 1-2 that a lot of people are giving it. I do think it lacked a lot of what was promised though and what made the previous games so solid.
  54. GoneTomrrow
    Apr 29, 2012
    5
  55. Rayken
    Aug 4, 2012
    5
    Many people rate this game under 4 because of it's ending. Well, to be honest it had way more problems than the ending alone. The running animations were really bad (especially Anderson's) , there were loads of auto-dialogue which is not acceptable for a game like Mass Effect where dialogue is a gameplay mechanic, wasted potential for characters ( see: Liara as the Shadow Broker) andMany people rate this game under 4 because of it's ending. Well, to be honest it had way more problems than the ending alone. The running animations were really bad (especially Anderson's) , there were loads of auto-dialogue which is not acceptable for a game like Mass Effect where dialogue is a gameplay mechanic, wasted potential for characters ( see: Liara as the Shadow Broker) and killing characters for no reason (see: Legion). Also, the sidequests (or lack thereof). The game had very little sidequests that involved actual gameplay, 75% of the sidequests being fetchquests. Then comes the horrible lore breaking ending. Even with the Extended Cut DLC it still is one of the worst endings to a trilogy I've ever seen. It also has little to no replayability and is extremely linear. Talking about replayability it also destroys the replayability of the other 2 games aswell, seeing as the ending doesn't show the consequences of your choices. The only good part about this game is it's combat, return of weapon mods and actual skill trees. Therefore I rate this game a 5/10.… Expand
  56. opensauce
    May 28, 2012
    5
    ATW - Another Time Waster..... AMW - Another Money Waster..... I got so excited when I heard the 3rd installment for Mass Effect 3 was coming to town.... My wife even pre-ordered a copy for me for the same date release and play...... BUT.... I was sadly dissapointed. I was so impressed with Mass effect 2's dynamic play, control, featres and RPG type feel to your players, I was certainATW - Another Time Waster..... AMW - Another Money Waster..... I got so excited when I heard the 3rd installment for Mass Effect 3 was coming to town.... My wife even pre-ordered a copy for me for the same date release and play...... BUT.... I was sadly dissapointed. I was so impressed with Mass effect 2's dynamic play, control, featres and RPG type feel to your players, I was certain that ME3 would be that much better....but its not. ME2 you could mine minerals off various planets and solar systems, giving you a feel of control and power, but now, you need to dogde aliens from destroying whilest you basically collect 1 item, if you are lucky from some random planet. The gameplay is very much the same as ME2, altough not a bad thing, it was not enhanced, just the same with slightly different damages.... The story feels more scripted then before too. ME2 I could not put down, had to finish, played it day and night till I did..... ME3, I may have played about 8 hours.... and is not currently installed..... Feel that my money was a waste this time round....... Boo....… Expand
  57. JohnnyBeGood
    Jun 5, 2012
    5
    As far as combat goes, this is the best, cleanest, most fluid Mass Effect yet. I would say that it is the best 3rd person game I've ever played, combat and control wise. Story wise, it is easily the worst. The game lacks the bonding with the characters that Mass Effect 2 contained. The dialogue is mostly poor. We have all heard the gripes about the ending. To have an "A, B, and C" choiceAs far as combat goes, this is the best, cleanest, most fluid Mass Effect yet. I would say that it is the best 3rd person game I've ever played, combat and control wise. Story wise, it is easily the worst. The game lacks the bonding with the characters that Mass Effect 2 contained. The dialogue is mostly poor. We have all heard the gripes about the ending. To have an "A, B, and C" choice to end a game based on countless Paragon and Renegade endings is offensive. It's clear to me Bioware wanted to wrap up the series. It seems like they really rished it, even though they had a huge amount of time to work on it. The multiplayer is surprisingly enjoyable, and t made even better when played with friends. The countless unlockables are a nice touch, and free map packs are quite amazing. However, smooth gameplay and captivating multiplayer are not enough to save the game from its deplorable story. This is made worse when you remember that the reason you play a Mass Effect game is for the story. There's even a "narrative" difficulty setting for the campaign that tones the enemies' difficulty down to as though they are being controlled by toddlers. Overall, the game is worth a buy for die hard fans, but you'll end up trading it in after a few weeks. Don't expect the hundred of hours you put into Mass Effect 2 for this game.… Expand
  58. Amig
    Jun 19, 2012
    5
    A weak ending to a promising series. It had it's moments, but the absurd finale and overall low budget feel of the game kill it completely. Gameplay-wise it's still a linear third person shooter with subtle cRPG elements like exp, skill points and minor dialogue choices. The combat isn't as dull as it was in the previous game, but it's still not enough to keep you from falling asleepA weak ending to a promising series. It had it's moments, but the absurd finale and overall low budget feel of the game kill it completely. Gameplay-wise it's still a linear third person shooter with subtle cRPG elements like exp, skill points and minor dialogue choices. The combat isn't as dull as it was in the previous game, but it's still not enough to keep you from falling asleep during some of the longer firefights. The new teammates we recieved were rather uninteresting too, especially when compared to the weirdos we had to put up with in ME2 (Jack, Legion, Mordin, Thane...). On the other hand, Shepard himself seems a little more human and less BA, which is an improvement. Still, in the end the only thing that keeps this game alive is the multiplayer mode, which doesn't get boring quite as soon as one would think. Overall, ME3 is a disappointment, although it could have been worse. Probably.… Expand
  59. dumle
    Apr 30, 2013
    5
    Mass effect 3 disappoints in several important aspects. The writing in the game is extremely uneven which really drags a game like this down. Sure there are some cool moments here and there but the story is overall really weak and the game is full of awkward and cheaply written moments. And it doesnt help that the conversation wheel is dumbed down too the absurd.

    The dialogue options    Mass effect 3 disappoints in several important aspects. The writing in the game is extremely uneven which really drags a game like this down. Sure there are some cool moments here and there but the story is overall really weak and the game is full of awkward and cheaply written moments. And it doesnt help that the conversation wheel is dumbed down too the absurd.

    The dialogue options are extremely binary and quite often they lead to the same result. The only difference is whether you get some paragon or renegade points in the end. And when you do get to make an important choice then the dialogue wheels poorly explained choices in simply not enough. The renegade/paragon options in the cutscenes also feels really cheap since you have no idea what kind of choice you are making.

    Overall the game lacks the kind of interaction you would expect from a roleplaying game and the games mission-design feel extremely linear and more like an action game than a roleplaying game. Another thing worth mentioning is that this game is much more combat oriented than previous games in the series. There are very few hub-based areas in the game and you will spend the majority of your time in combat missions. Now the combat is quite good for a roleplaying game. For an action game however the combat is extremely average. The combat is a pretty basic cover-mechanic based shooter with the normal peak-shoot-duck and wait for the shield to recharge type of gameplay. It is by no means a catastrophe but it simply cant carry an entire long game like this. And chances are that you will get bored of the combat before beating this game which is a shame since that is what you are going to spend your time doing.

    The focus on combat sadly also mean that a lot of the environments you are in are nothing more than boring grey/brown ruins which is kind of sad since there is a lot of cool places to the explore in the universe. You do thankfully also get to visit some pretty neat places in the game which is nice. The exploration in the game do however leave a lot of things to be desired. The maps are often extremely linear and the lack of side quest and stuff to find leads to you not feeling the need to explore. I should also note that both the item and enemy variety is quite limited which i really thought hurt the game. I believe that the limited enemy variety is particularly sad since games like this can make up all kinds of cool faunas and cultures to fight. You are sadly forced to fight the same quite boring enemies over and over again which doesn't really help the combat.

    The visuals are for the most part alright but there are some low-res textures in the game here and there that just look awful by contrast. I also have issues with the weird camera angel they have chosen for the game. Something you cant fix in the extremely basic options menu.

    Now despite being quite critical of the game i must mention that the game is by no means so bad that some people make it out to be. I would say that its extremely average. The game have a long list of flaws but it also have a decent amount of alright content in it. I picked it up for a cheap price and i dont regret doing that despite the games flaws. if you however go into this game expecting a traditional bioware rpg or a worthy continuation of the mass effect saga then chances are that you will be disappointed. I should also mention that the were some quite shady dlc practices involved with this game. But you should try to make up your own mind regarding that.    … Expand
  60. ackka
    Jul 4, 2012
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I would give this game a 8 for the gameplay and a 3 for the overall story line, which resulted in a 5. The combat system is fun, the weapons feel real and the environments are awesome. Only downside is the covert system feels a bit clunky at times, especially moving from cover to cover.

    The plot and the direction they decided to go were so bad as to be almost laughable for a company like Bioware. Without going into too many details you pretty much spend 95% of the game fixing plot elements from mass effect 1 + 2 and then 5% of the game finding all your work meant absolutely nothing.

    There were so many different ways they could have done this, why they decided to kill off this franchise, I don    … Expand
  61. Vangriffeth
    Jul 5, 2012
    5
    While I enjoyed the game play on its own, it most definitely was not the Mass Effect I remember. This game is to Mass Effect what a personal plane is to a personal jet, good on its own, but not what you wanted.
  62. Ardara
    Jul 7, 2012
    5
    This game feels completely different to his predecessors. Bad writing, plotholes and inconsistencies, a forced storyline, "stagnant" characters and autodialogue really prevented me from enjoying this chapter. It just felt.. wrong. Even without addressing the endings issue. Since ME1 (which I loved) it's been a way down.
  63. dragonxrage55
    Jul 9, 2012
    5
    I waited for the Extended Cut before submitting a review because I felt that was the most fair way to rate the game. As a stand-alone game, I think ME3 would have been pretty good. I enjoyed the combat system and a good portion of the plot. The characters are written in such a way that they truly become human to you, and you come to care about them. However, I feel this game was onlyI waited for the Extended Cut before submitting a review because I felt that was the most fair way to rate the game. As a stand-alone game, I think ME3 would have been pretty good. I enjoyed the combat system and a good portion of the plot. The characters are written in such a way that they truly become human to you, and you come to care about them. However, I feel this game was only average because I followed all the developer updates and advertisements on it, and I played the first two games in the series. I do not agree with the people who are giving this game a 0, because that certainly isn't fair, although I do understand that some people feel betrayed by Bioware with this game. I also feel that a perfect or ridiculously high score for this game isn't fair because it does not take into account that so much more was promised for this game. I will detail this as best I can without spoilers.

    The first thing I have to talk about it the multiplayer. Time and again, Bioware said that it was completely optional and that it was an alternative way to get the best ending. However, it turned out not to be true- mulitplayer was required to get the best possible ending. The Extended Cut changes this, and so that problem is rectified. However, I feel it is worth noting that Bioware claimed time and again that multiplayer was optional, and yet the only thing that caused them to fix this problem was the fan outcry.

    Something amazing that I have to say about this game is that the soundtrack is the best I have heard in a game in a long time. I wish they had this kind of soundtrack for the previous two games, because it is just that good.

    The bulk of the plot includes a pretty good story and side stories, as I said, but in the scope of the trilogy there are some problems. Many of the choices from previous games have little to no consequences. While I understand that it would not be possible to incorporate every little choice into this game, the game was advertised to show the consequences of the player's actions. Some choices were even stated by the developers to have "huge consequences" only for such statements to turn out not to be true. There are minor variations in the plot to account for player decisions, but at no point in the game are there "huge consequences."

    Another good thing about the game I found was the improved combat system. Combat is much more tactical and fun than the previous games. Even the multiplayer is a lot of fun. As stated previously, my only issue with the multiplayer was that it was forced initially. The combat system is fun, regardless of whether it is single or multi player.

    Finally, there is the controversial ending. If I could submit a review solely on the ending, that would be a 0. However, if I could review the entire game except for the ending it would be a 6 or 7. The initial ending would have been mediocre if it were the end of a standalone game. As the ending of a trilogy the prided itself on choice, the original ending was downright insulting, given that despite the player's final choice the endings were almost entirely the same. The Extended Cut keeps the endings thematically the same while essentially making them look different. It provides a significant improvement, and for many (including myself) it adds replay value to the game and the series. I have to say though, as someone who has been a fan since the original Mass Effect, that ending was not the ending that Mass Effect deserved. To people who have followed the trilogy, the ending was a massive disappointment. I am not letting that fact influence the score I give the game, because I do not think that is fair. The majority of the game is pretty good, and if it were not for the couple of other problems, the score I gave would be a few points higher, but the emotional part of me wanted to give this game a much lower score. Again, that isn't fair, and that is why I didn't, but to anyone who was a hardcore fan of this series, the ending, which essentially leaves what happens up to the player's imagination, is ridiculously disappointing.    … Expand
  64. Ghost67
    Jan 7, 2015
    5
    Mass Effect 3 was a difficult game to score. In fact it's been one of the most difficult games for me to review.

    You can tell right off the bat that something is off with ME3. Something is seriously wrong. And you know what is wrong with it? It was released way too early. And it shows. When the game begins, you are forced into auto-dialogue. The pacing is terrible. All of a    Mass Effect 3 was a difficult game to score. In fact it's been one of the most difficult games for me to review.

    You can tell right off the bat that something is off with ME3. Something is seriously wrong. And you know what is wrong with it?

    It was released way too early.

    And it shows. When the game begins, you are forced into auto-dialogue. The pacing is terrible. All of a sudden, Reapers are attacking and everyone is shocked. Really? The intro is just...bad.

    I remember the release for ME3, it was painful. Yes, this is the game with the near legendary infamous Day 1 DLC. The game release is an obvious console port. The textures are awful; the game looked worse than ME2. That's a big red flag right there. When a sequel's graphics are worse than the preceding title, something is up.

    Some people say that "it's the journey, not the destination", that matters, and I agree with that to a certain extend. The journey itself is not bad in ME3. It follows a similar formula to ME2. ME2's hybrid FPS shooter gameplay is enjoyable in ME3. It's been improved and built upon in ME3. I like that.

    It just...the storytelling. The storytelling and choices, the choices and their results are lacking. Choices that have been made in previous games for some reason do not matter. If someone is killed off, they are convieniently replaced with someone else that has a similar sillset. Some characters are once again completely taken out and you can't get them back in your party. If you made some romance options in ME2 - you might find a half assed romance plot instead. These characters and their stories are just thrown to wind.
    There are scenes incorporated into ME3, but they feel like add ons and not the full experience. Once again, rushed content and development. These feelings of relationships of both friendship and romance being "tacked on" is felt throughout the ENTIRE GAME. And it sucks. Bioware has gone to far to kill some characters off screen. That is a cardinal sin in a Bioware game.

    For example - I romanced Miranda in ME2. Guess what? In ME3, shes not there. She just - disappears. Literally. There is really not fitting conclusion to your relationship - unless of course, you cough up the money for the Citadel DLC. And for some reason, she is....completely out of character. Doing things and acting in ways that you would have never seen in ME2.

    Now, multiply this times 10.

    Painful.

    And unfortunately, the ending is completely and totally botched. Sorry to say it. The ending is awful. Not only is it dark and depressing, but it's relatively obscure in the fact that your choices did not really seem to matter. I understand that it tried to be a self contained game, but that just isn't going to fly for ME3. In the age of DLC's and online downloaded content, Bioware could have taken the risk of making ME3 completely dependant on ME2's save.

    The ending is so bad, gamers had to come out and demand that Bioware offer a better ending. Yep. You read it right. Bioware actually - was forced - to change the ending. Get it? Gamers had to tell Bioware - let them know - that the ending was botched. How utterly embarrassing for Bioware. This resulted in another embarrassment for the industry, with an editor from IGN coming out defense of Bioware in a stupid, arrogant video, something about "Gamer entitlement." Yes, you gamers are not entitled to a good ending. Bioware can do anything they want, and you better shut the hell up and enjoy it, damnit!

    In ME3, in order to gain resources you must play with other players online. This is a bad decision. Bad, bad bad for a single player game. This was clearly a result of EA meddling in development. The requirement to play online with other players is asinine. Though its not completely mandatory, if you want the "good" ending, you pretty much need to do it unless you want to...uhh.."manually edit" your game. Cough...

    Overall, ME3 is not a terrible game. But it is not a satisfying conclusion. In fact, the ending itself is kind of laughable. The whole ending sequence, even with the DLC is just too ambiguous and poorly done.

    It's a real shame. I wanted to like ME3 but its a poor and disappointing conclusion to the series.    … Expand
  65. oliver1h
    Feb 7, 2013
    5
    What to say that has not been said already? Importing your save files from the previous games is a must... Meeting old friends, and doing missions with them was the biggest fun for me. The story was decent, even some characters were total clichés (Kai Leng the Asian space ninja for example...). The combat was slightly improved compared to ME1 and ME2, but the cover system remained aWhat to say that has not been said already? Importing your save files from the previous games is a must... Meeting old friends, and doing missions with them was the biggest fun for me. The story was decent, even some characters were total clichés (Kai Leng the Asian space ninja for example...). The combat was slightly improved compared to ME1 and ME2, but the cover system remained a litttle crunchy. RPG elements felt a little less developed than in ME2 (Renegade options for example were pure evil...They could have balanced the reputation system a little more...). Everything else basically remained the same as it were in ME2. I think the developers stayed on a safe ground on purpose. The music and sound effect were really good. Now let's talk about the infamous ending. Well they really screwed this up, and the "Extended cut" did not really makes it much better (When I first finished the ME3 my gaming experience was ruined...They can not make that back anyways with some cheap slide show, sugar coating stuff!) About the indoctrination theory! I think the developers at one point (might ...not sure) wanted to implement it, but they did not....The theory is now refused by Bioware and EA so it is not part of the original Canon. Overall a decent game that stays in the safe path, with a bad ending. Could have been the best science fiction game trilogy ever, but they failed!… Expand
  66. 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
  67. faceless-1
    Aug 13, 2013
    5
    The problem with ME 3 is, that you will need citadel DLC and extended cut to be a good game. Even with these DLC it is still inferior to ME 2. Ending is trash but the rest of the game is ok. Weakest in Mass Effect trilogy by far.
  68. randylin26
    Nov 1, 2013
    5
    Great game, ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE ENDING. It is your same old Mass Effect with crap ending. Giving it 5/10 cause its Mass Effect but the ending just killed it.
  69. Evergence
    Sep 28, 2012
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. There has been enough time past to review the game in a hopefully objective manner but all reviews are to an extent subject to some bias so I apologise for that.

    Mass Effect 3 is to all intents and purposes a flawed gem; i don't deny the production values, the time and the hard work that went into making it. What I do dislike are the departures from the Series past successful mechanics.

    Story Telling - It    … Expand
  70. MeritCoba
    May 31, 2017
    5
    Is the Mass Effect trilogy as good as people make it out to be when criticizing Andromeda?
    I haven't played Andromeda, so I can't say from experience how good or bad it is, but to say that the Mass Effect Trilogy was better seems to me more an attempt to spite Andromeda rather than draw a fair comparison. Take ME 3 as an example.
    Rehash of Lord of the Rings. All the mass effect    Is the Mass Effect trilogy as good as people make it out to be when criticizing Andromeda?
    I haven't played Andromeda, so I can't say from experience how good or bad it is, but to say that the Mass Effect Trilogy was better seems to me more an attempt to spite Andromeda rather than draw a fair comparison. Take ME 3 as an example.

    Rehash of Lord of the Rings.
    All the mass effect episodes based on Lord of the Rings. There is a threat on an epic scale against which only you can do something special to defeat it(ME1: Conduit; ME2: IFF, ME3: Crucible). Nobody appreciates the seriousness of the threat, either because nobody believes you(ME1) or trusts you(ME2/3) or because of politics(ALL). You have to gather forces and support often against the odds(ALL). The enemy always has some very powerful fighters(Ringwraiths) and corrupts your allies(ALL). Every next episode you have lost your hero status and nobody believes you even though by ME3 you have thrown the damn ring into mount doom twice.
    The only difference is that ME1 has actually got an interesting adversary with a personal story(Saren) and an interesting arch nemesis(Sovereign), while ME3 has nobody(no the illusive man isn't interesting and has no personal story and Kai Leng is a misplaced character).

    Boring side missions and ambush tactics.
    ME3 basically follows two paths: the central story and side missions. The central story leads to situations which are at least interesting.
    It is, however, the side missions which are trite. They follow the same pattern almost every time. You enter an area that is clearly set up for multiplayer games, you have to pick up something or activate/deactivate something which will trigger an ambush, which consists of enemies appearing out of thin air and sometimes on top of you. Most of the time you can't setup for defense because they play a movie that takes you and your squad mates out of cover.
    This pattern of springing ambushes plagues the whole game and is the single most mechanism it uses, even in the main battles. I don't mind ambushes once in a while, but using it in almost every encounter is aggravating.
    To extend the often brief encounters, they have you look around for upgrades that are spread around over the area and which can't be bought. Imagine five minutes of battle followed by few more minutes of you roaming around to find stuff, then going to the next area doing five minutes of battle and searching that area again. If it wasn't for the need for upgrades, the money, and the experience, I would have skipped these boring missions altogether.
    What is even worse is that almost every side missions ends with Admiral Hackett telling you that they will send a special team to the place you just liberated or conquered to protect it against further enemy incursions.

    Exploration dud
    All three ME have you explore the galaxy. Which sounds great, but in practice are fetch quests of the most annoying kind. In ME 3 it comes down to having to find planets while dodging pursuit and battling fuel shortage to find war assets, credits, and items. There is not feel of exploration. Planets are just presented as a picture with a side story.

    Unskippable story sequences
    The game is beset with unskippable movies. Which is okay unless you want to try out classes or have to redo a battle. You can only try a class after having watched ten minutes of babble.

    Limited Squadmates
    ME 3 has the gall to offer you only four squadmates to pick from or possibly six depending on how you play out a certain encounter or decided on someone. All the others are from DLC's, temporary or dependent on your save game from ME2. Some DLC's are still not free up to this day!

    Boring Classes
    The classes in ME have a few effective powers and so you to do the same thing every time. The only other way of playing is to play a different class, which forces you through ten minutes of unskippable sequences.

    The ending
    I don't mind the ending itself, but to force a favorable ending by having you collect all war assets is downright bad, especially when you have to import a savegame from a previous game to have a better chance for a good end. This forces a player to do all the boring side missions and the trite exploration and play through another game. Endings should depend on story choices and, possible, strategic decisions.

    Kai Leng
    A special mention of badness is Kai Leng, which is a character dropped into the game from some Asian setting with Katana, who is so obviously scripted not to die and be awesome cool at your expense. You're expense because you are scripted to be stupid when faced with his awesomeness.

    ME3 is a mediocre game at best and hailing the whole trilogy as superior to Andromeda seems laughable: ME has always been mediocre. so it is no surprise if Andromeda is mediocre too. But then again I haven't played Andromeda so I can't judge.

    There is much more to tell, but I ran out of space.
    Re-evaluated in 2017    … Expand
  71. KillerCornflake
    Feb 5, 2013
    5
    My first experience of the Mass effect series was through the second game in the trilogy, and that really did set the standard high straight from the off. I thought the best idea would most likely be to purchase the 1st game before playing the 3rd one as to account for decisions made throughout the saga. This turned out to be a rather meaningless venture as determined by Mass Effect 3.My first experience of the Mass effect series was through the second game in the trilogy, and that really did set the standard high straight from the off. I thought the best idea would most likely be to purchase the 1st game before playing the 3rd one as to account for decisions made throughout the saga. This turned out to be a rather meaningless venture as determined by Mass Effect 3. With the good, the graphics in this game are neat and arguably the best out of the bunch, it's polished and tidy with a few exceptions that require the gamer to overlook. Combat has been unstuck slightly from what in my view was a more static system in ME2 and ME1, refinement can be observed.

    With the bad then, bearing in mind that most fans of the series will (rightly so) compare this title to it's predecessors, thats what these points are based off. The dialogue options came as a shock to my system, they took away what made the previously fun and exciting conversation choices and beat them down to formulaic two way cutscenes. Even if a player is to explore every single option in a wheel with more than two choices, it merely serves as providing information that mostly accounts for the people who have never played ME before, this trend is also visible with BLATANT repetition of the lore of some species (geth quarian war) that it makes long term players sit and think 'hmm i knew that'. Compared with the other two games, the "sidequests" in ME3 are for the most part dull fetch and return tasks to introduce a feeling of galactic warfare, yet in actual fact it is just another way of EA herding people to spend money in a cash shop to upgrade for the multiplayer seeing as it is the easiest way to increase "galactic readiness" which is ESSENTIAL if you want to end up with a "good ending", i won't get into that one.

    In short ME3 takes a few steps forward in combat and graphics departments, even so these are still not perfect by any means, even small matters of convenience such as in ME2 your squadmate's ability they were using was highlighted on the tactical menu so you could see what you selected, here it's not, little things like that. ME3 takes a major step back in terms of dialogue choice, i can't even talk to my own companions without the game deciding when it it "the right time", even then i can only say a selection of similar phrases. I'd get the game purely for it being ME3 and the end of the series, but don't go in with a high expectation of it matching what you had come to expect.    … Expand
  72. creotine
    Apr 7, 2013
    5
    Simply put, its a fun 3rd person shooter with rpg elements and a bad ending. The only people who don't think the ending is bad are the fan-boys or those with ADD who didn't pay attention to the story. The choices you make in the game do not affect the outcome of your ending. You get to the end and are presented with A, B, or C choice for an ending like Deus Ex did. On top of it theSimply put, its a fun 3rd person shooter with rpg elements and a bad ending. The only people who don't think the ending is bad are the fan-boys or those with ADD who didn't pay attention to the story. The choices you make in the game do not affect the outcome of your ending. You get to the end and are presented with A, B, or C choice for an ending like Deus Ex did. On top of it the ending makes no sense, and contradicts itself. It's still a fun game but the story does dissapoint.… Expand
  73. voiders
    Apr 26, 2013
    5
    What to say? Im not a totally fan of Mass Effect fan, i bought the the trilogy at origin with a lot of expectations but i could not understand why this game are so famous. The entire series are so regular.
  74. troberts92
    Aug 31, 2013
    5
    I played this game for about an hour, walked back into town and traded it straight back in. Being new to the franchise I instantly disliked the clunky-ness of the gameplay and controls. Not as many choices and too many cut-scenes for me to get into the game.
  75. Avalord
    Jul 23, 2021
    5
    What good are professional critics for? The rated this almost as high as ME 2.
    While ME 1 and 2 deserve praise the third installment of the series does not.
    Missing skill and equipment development that makes a difference, story dragging on and without any real choices and most of all clunky, un-precise controls like swimming against a strong current that's Mass Effect 3. It really was a    What good are professional critics for? The rated this almost as high as ME 2.
    While ME 1 and 2 deserve praise the third installment of the series does not.
    Missing skill and equipment development that makes a difference, story dragging on and without any real choices and most of all clunky, un-precise controls like swimming against a strong current that's Mass Effect 3. It really was a test of my endurance to see through the game just to get to know how Shepard's story ends. Yeah, predictable...    … Expand
  76. Munkey
    Feb 16, 2015
    5
    Mass Effect 3 is a disappointing ending to the series.
    Mostly combat based, lacking in good story telling and less dialogue options then in previous titles.
    From the start you feel that something is wrong. The change of lead writter for the third game was a mistake. NPC characters are still good but there is not that much interaction then in ME and ME2. The day one DLC NPC was a big    Mass Effect 3 is a disappointing ending to the series.
    Mostly combat based, lacking in good story telling and less dialogue options then in previous titles.
    From the start you feel that something is wrong. The change of lead writter for the third game was a mistake. NPC characters are still good but there is not that much interaction then in ME and ME2. The day one DLC NPC was a big mistake also. The DLC character Javik being the last of the Protheans is vital to the story but you make him a DLC. You see the money hand of EA in this game.
    The ending is so disappointing even the extended cut didn't make it better.
    Game is solid mechaniclly and combat is fluid but the story and more combat focused character of the game and lackluster ending make a weak game.
    For me 5 out of 10. EA why...    … Expand
  77. ROK1992
    Dec 13, 2013
    5
    Personally, I do not normally read any reviews on games before playing it as it may give me a biased perspective on it. However this is the first time I totally regret not reading any reviews on ME3 before playing it. Although I admit i've been hearing countless praises for its prior titles.
    Mass Effect 3 was my introduction to the series as I have not played the prior games yet (and I    Personally, I do not normally read any reviews on games before playing it as it may give me a biased perspective on it. However this is the first time I totally regret not reading any reviews on ME3 before playing it. Although I admit i've been hearing countless praises for its prior titles.
    Mass Effect 3 was my introduction to the series as I have not played the prior games yet (and I must admit, ME3 is totally preventing me from playing it). Im sure ME fans know that this game has its own very unique atmosphere while containing many moral and philosophical twists. I was immediately hooked on to the game thinking this might be one of my favorite games in my life. To be honest, ME3 Gameplay was pretty good at the least above average in my opinion. It was very interesting, entertaining until the end where (keep in mind, ME3 was an introduction to Mass Effect for me) it just became flat out abysmal and insulting.
    Non, and I mean NON of my hard thought decisions throughout the game even mattered in the end and I can't imagine what it would have been like to the players who spent so much time on previous titles. Im not sure what the writers were thinking but when I heard that damned space kid at the end telling me the few options I have, I knew they made a BIG mistake. Simply said, the ending ruined the game 100%. Im afraid the ending was one of the saddest and most pathetic close ups in video game history and I offer my sympathy to those who played throughout the whole series.    … Expand
  78. 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
  79. MDAdorable
    Mar 18, 2014
    5
    Mass Effect 3 was most defiantly a good game in the series. I enjoyed the gameplay, the choice making, story, and characters. Unfortunately, the ending will make you puzzled at the fact of why you couldn't do something different. The ending will most likely abandon the series as a lost cause. We could say to Bioware "There is always another way." Bioware probably knew this, but we areMass Effect 3 was most defiantly a good game in the series. I enjoyed the gameplay, the choice making, story, and characters. Unfortunately, the ending will make you puzzled at the fact of why you couldn't do something different. The ending will most likely abandon the series as a lost cause. We could say to Bioware "There is always another way." Bioware probably knew this, but we are dealing with the publisher EA Games.… Expand
  80. Voodoo123
    Sep 12, 2014
    5
    I highly regret this full price preorder this is one of the few times I have ever pre purchased a videogame believing it a solid bet. I played and completed both ME1 & 2 but something about this title really offended me as PC gamer. The plastic and lifeless visuals coupled with a bland 'illusion of choice' script leaves the characters feeling unrealistic and the locations static. Maybe II highly regret this full price preorder this is one of the few times I have ever pre purchased a videogame believing it a solid bet. I played and completed both ME1 & 2 but something about this title really offended me as PC gamer. The plastic and lifeless visuals coupled with a bland 'illusion of choice' script leaves the characters feeling unrealistic and the locations static. Maybe I have just been spoiled by recent gaming highs (TLOU, GTAV, BF4) but where is the quality this time? Where are 2012 level AAA character animations, voice emotion and smart dialogue. Makes me think then why bother releasing this rubbish? Looks like the space RPG genre still has room on the shelf.
    Highly regret this purchase.    … Expand
  81. smeeeee
    Mar 29, 2015
    5
    Behold Mass Effect 3, a victim of greed, the "good enough" approach, and America's corporate devil assuming direct control (yay puns) of an innocent Canadian developer. Mass Effect 3 had the potential of being a masterpiece, and even showed signs of it- BioWare improved the combat system, adding new guns, keeping the epic old ones (Mattock FTW!!!), and adding heavy melee, combat rolls, andBehold Mass Effect 3, a victim of greed, the "good enough" approach, and America's corporate devil assuming direct control (yay puns) of an innocent Canadian developer. Mass Effect 3 had the potential of being a masterpiece, and even showed signs of it- BioWare improved the combat system, adding new guns, keeping the epic old ones (Mattock FTW!!!), and adding heavy melee, combat rolls, and instant kills from cover. The graphics are truly stunning, the new enemies are challenging and sometimes can scare your socks off, and BioWare brought back the awesome characters from previous games- Garrus, Grunt, or anyone you didn't kill. But what mainly brought the game down was the all-too famous ending (or endings). Even with the Extended Cut DLC (which is a cheap way to squeeze even more $$$$$ out of you, it only adds a few lines to the "ending"), it's basically like a magician saying, "Pick a card! Any card!" It's basically just choosing between A, B, and C (and D with EC). The worst part: It's littered with plot holes. For the sake of those who haven't played it yet, I won't say too much about the ending, but I can assure you, it's one of the worst endings in video game history. What also brought the game down was the INSANE amount of DLCs. There's literally like 14 DLCs! It's crazy! Why on Earth must someone pay more for a game that's already theirs?! Also, characters like Jack, Miranda, Kelly, and Jacob were like completely left to hang and dry. In the end, Mass Effect may be addicting for its sweet game-play, and interesting characters, but the rest of the game just sends you away empty.

    So yeah. EA Mass ef*cked Mass Effect 3. Or at least they came very close to doing so.    … Expand
  82. whitepawn
    Oct 23, 2014
    5
    This would be better if it wasn't such an obvious cash grab. The game you buy is half the game. Get the other half in installments for $8 here and $20 there. They listened regarding the repetition of the minigames, but didn't supply an alternative for unlocking doors and such, just erased all challenge.

    Minor hints of spoilers below without giving too much away. PROS: -No more    This would be better if it wasn't such an obvious cash grab. The game you buy is half the game. Get the other half in installments for $8 here and $20 there. They listened regarding the repetition of the minigames, but didn't supply an alternative for unlocking doors and such, just erased all challenge.

    Minor hints of spoilers below without giving too much away.

    PROS:
    -No more mining planets for minerals.
    -That one bears repeating: no more mining planets for minerals
    -ingenious follow through to a third game on the romance/baggage train
    -weapon upgrades
    -dialogue & companions with humor
    -finishes the story, offers closure
    -graphics
    -combat

    CONS:
    -obvious cash grab in the final hour, only half the game provided with base price
    -the Kaiden storyline (your already made choices in other games win or lose you points to keeping him)
    -you get like 3 companion choices unless you buy more...no lie.
    -inability to get enough war resources unless you buy that opportunity (changed recently)
    -ability to acquire more resources with co-op play which is impossible to find a viable group for
    -repetition in resource gathering
    -over scripted finale

    I didn't mind the ending(s). I thought there was cheese there but it was fine. I also think a trilogy with an actual end is good. A lot of the screaming here is likely because you become attached to Shepard and want to play her in a Mass Effect 4, you want it to keep going because you made her and you like her and you're invested in her. Trilogies are good for movies and books and they can be good for video games too. Let BioWare move on...I'm interested to see what they do after DA is done...they'll need a new adventure trilogy and look at what they've done/learned with their DA and mass effects series. Mass Effect being done in three is a good thing when you think about it.    … Expand
  83. RimJobson
    Sep 27, 2014
    5
    Bioware has been progressively dumbing down the immersion felt in the Mass Effect universe, starting with the transition from Mass Effect to Mass Effect 2 and now dealing the killing blow with the final game in this wonderful trilogy.

    Don't get me wrong, Mass Effect 3 was a solid single-player experience; however, this is not about a "solid single-player experience", this is about the    Bioware has been progressively dumbing down the immersion felt in the Mass Effect universe, starting with the transition from Mass Effect to Mass Effect 2 and now dealing the killing blow with the final game in this wonderful trilogy.

    Don't get me wrong, Mass Effect 3 was a solid single-player experience; however, this is not about a "solid single-player experience", this is about the third game in a series known for its immersiveness and ability to make you feel empathy for its characters. In this game, that immersion has been diluted to the point of many characters having their purpose in the overall plot made negligible and simply added in to provide a cameo for the fans of other Mass Effect fiction (see: James Vega), and this unfortunately includes our protagonist: the one character you were supposed to feel connected with given the game's status as an "RPG".

    Sure, some of this was solved by DLC, but the simple fact that we're talking about "solving problems" for a game that spent a sizeable amount of time in development means that there is a problem. But, that is all about the immersion.

    The crippling point of this game - for I had foolishly thought that the game could still be saved - was not the lack of immersion, it was the poorly developed plotline that had great beginning. Having been built-up by the first two games in the trilogy, I expected that the pacing and ultimate resolution of the plot would not leave me with a sour taste in my mouth as it did. The plotline is developed in a ridiculously cliché manner, to the point that it feels like I was watching a series of overly edited cinematics with gameplay only serving as a buffer between viewings. Is it a bad thing per se? No, but this takes us back to this game's position as the third game in its series, meaning that it has a certain standard to live up to and a certain method of gameplay that a player of such a series would expect. The new method of delivering the plot is disjointing at best and game-ruining at worst, with me leaning closer to the latter end of the spectrum.

    Finally, we get to the ending (with me addressing the vanilla ending, as I should be). While not absolutely terrible, it does leave enormous gaps of "What happened?" moments that should NOT be happening with the closer of a series. Sure, inference and speculation are alright if another game was to be expected, but the this is the final game of the series that would star Commander Shepard, so this game - as the other 2 provided - should have given us a sense of finality even if it was not decisively final. While Leviathan fixed many of the holes that were exhaustively mentioned by reviewers, there should not have been anything to fix (refer to my DLC rant).

    Tl;dr - The game was decent as a single-player experience, awful as a multiplayer experience, atrocious as a Mass Effect game, and the apotheosis of plot failure as a Mass Effect trilogy finisher.

    Mass Effect 3 made me experience a thought that should never be experienced with an RPG, much less one as wonderful as Mass Effect: "Do I really want to play this again?"    … Expand
  84. zylaser
    Dec 8, 2014
    5
    A disappointing end of the series. It tried to be a self-contained game, but that just renders most of the plot of previous games irrelevant; you stop the Reapers time and time again, and they come anyway. Very few decisions in previous games matter - killed a character earlier? A very similar substitute fills the exact same role.

    The story has its ups and downs, but doesn't make much    A disappointing end of the series. It tried to be a self-contained game, but that just renders most of the plot of previous games irrelevant; you stop the Reapers time and time again, and they come anyway. Very few decisions in previous games matter - killed a character earlier? A very similar substitute fills the exact same role.

    The story has its ups and downs, but doesn't make much sense overall. And that's without getting into the ending - out of place, illogical, just plain dumb. The extended ending does give some nice fluff and closure, but doesn't fix the core issues.

    The gameplay is mostly the same as in ME 2, but with some decent improvements. There are more abilities and choices when levelling characters. Weapon modifications are nice, but limited in their variety. Having more movement options is nice, but the "one button does all" system is annoying as **** You want to roll? Or run, or press a button, or vault over cover, stick to cover, leave the cover? Too bad you're dead as you shuffle around desperately, fighting the contextual controls instead of the enemy.    … Expand
  85. 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
  86. Mattyx22
    Oct 24, 2015
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The awesome game series with nice story... destroyed by the ending...
    In every minute of the game I was so excited. Even at the last mission. But the last few minutes of game was terrible. It made that I'm still confused because the ending was weird?
    Anyway. Good game destroyed by the ending. The worst ending in game ever.    … Expand
  87. 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.
  88. RadReviewer
    Feb 8, 2019
    5
    The combat is polished, the graphics are beautiful, the story is fine, the last 20 minutes trash everything we knew and love about mass effect. In addition, it turns out that decisions were not actually decisions and you would be streamlined into 1 of 3 decisions you didn't actually want/need to make. Such as sad outcome for a franchise with the potential to be the greatest franchise of all time
  89. laertan
    Feb 3, 2020
    5
    Bad new characters, weak story with no logic in it, boring cliche dialogues ("how bad is it" - "it is bad" - "we will fight back" for 60% of conversations), and final which I can't describe other then as an insult. Combat system is more or less close to ME2, and there are some nice continuations of small stories / relationships from previous chapters - thats the only reason I gave it 3Bad new characters, weak story with no logic in it, boring cliche dialogues ("how bad is it" - "it is bad" - "we will fight back" for 60% of conversations), and final which I can't describe other then as an insult. Combat system is more or less close to ME2, and there are some nice continuations of small stories / relationships from previous chapters - thats the only reason I gave it 3 points. DLC are responsible for other 2 points.… Expand
  90. K1ller
    Mar 15, 2012
    4
    Excellent game till the end. Oh boy how can someone screw the 5 years long series of 3 parts in a five minutes is beyond me. Well, RIP Bioware, I am finished with you.
  91. Niroo
    Mar 15, 2012
    4
    Mass Effect 3 features a decent single player storyline that, despite the early introduction of a fanciful 'Secret Weapon of Awesomeness', is quite entertaining for about 20-25 hours. The gameplay works, even if it's rather repetitive and doesn't really expand on what ME2 had to offer. The much discossed ending of the trilogy is indeed a storytelling disaster, the only part of which thatMass Effect 3 features a decent single player storyline that, despite the early introduction of a fanciful 'Secret Weapon of Awesomeness', is quite entertaining for about 20-25 hours. The gameplay works, even if it's rather repetitive and doesn't really expand on what ME2 had to offer. The much discossed ending of the trilogy is indeed a storytelling disaster, the only part of which that speaks in BioWare's favour being the fact that they had the audacity to make their deus ex machina an actual "god out of the machine". I wasn't too impressed by the multiplayer, which, with it's 11 waves of whack-a-mole, is only mildly more interesting than the bot-servers of earlier FPS games.… Expand
  92. HomeCritic
    Dec 30, 2012
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Mass Effect 3 has probably the most convoluted, lore destructive, narrative disaster of story telling I've seen in recent years. Despite few good episodes involving geth and the krogan it really isn't anything good. Introduction was confusing and not following the lore and events after the Arrival DLC, it's not the best decision if Bioware wanted to market this more towards the masses. Secondly, what was the point of ME2 if only in ME3 we are introduced with probably the most narrative breaking Deus Ex Machina device I have ever seen - the Crucible. No one knows what it does or what its for, except the hope, that this big clunk of metal can defeat antagonists - the Reapers. Shouldn't the trilogy had gone like this:
    ME1 - introducing the threat
    ME2 - learning how to stop a threat
    ME3 - stopping the threat Again, ME2 serves no purpose.
    Cerberus and their motives are as confusing as the whole TIM indoctrination by the reapers. What was the point of reapers letting to play with their mind game toys if they later on they destroyed the whole facility?
    The whole lore is utterly destroyed. Alliance are idiots, Cerberus are idiots, Reapers are idiots and Shepard is an idiot. ME1 epic was changed into ME2 space opera.
    And now the ending... Ugh.. Do I even have to start? It was the worst thing I've ever seen in story telling. The Extended Cut DLC, believe it or not, made it even worse. The ending single hand destroyed the ME1 lore, let me question Alliance strategies how to take down Reapers, and finally made antagonists into complete an utter morons. Not only the main theme was destroyed, but the fact that reapers wants to save us from ourselves by committing mass genocide of entire galaxy is the most logic breaking nonsense I've ever heard. I see what writers tried to do here, showing as much ideas and philosophies in to the main narrative, but they just didn't work, because of poor writing. So what we got is a third person RPG shooter with refined shooter elements, but extremely poor execution of RPG elements. The Quest system is probably the second worst thing in the game, it is completely broken, so is the customization. Multiplayer inclusion wasn't necessary at all.
    Overall its a convoluted package of nonsense. 2/10    … Expand
  93. Maximo
    Mar 30, 2012
    4
    Somehow, everything good about Mass Effect left with the writer that was responsible for the opening part of the trilogy. I cant think of any positive thing about ME3, none, only the terrible things remain. Suddenly, I realized how poor of a sci-fi ME is, things that didnt matter suddenly became game-breaking for me. For example, the animations, the "every species speaks english", theSomehow, everything good about Mass Effect left with the writer that was responsible for the opening part of the trilogy. I cant think of any positive thing about ME3, none, only the terrible things remain. Suddenly, I realized how poor of a sci-fi ME is, things that didnt matter suddenly became game-breaking for me. For example, the animations, the "every species speaks english", the sci-fi clichés, the bisexuality, etc. All in all, the story is just plain boring, not to mention it has many plot holes. Dialogues were terrible and the ending was a colosal dissapointment, something for people to gloat about for decades to come.… Expand
  94. Kyrgsh
    Jul 17, 2012
    4
    Possibly the most disappointing release I've ever played. I will, in all honesty, never forgive the developer for taking narrative control away from a character I'd spent _years_ with and forcing her to engage in the least satisfying ending- and least in-character actions- imaginable. I haven't even logged into multiplayer in months. Regardless of how many new "cool" weapons andPossibly the most disappointing release I've ever played. I will, in all honesty, never forgive the developer for taking narrative control away from a character I'd spent _years_ with and forcing her to engage in the least satisfying ending- and least in-character actions- imaginable. I haven't even logged into multiplayer in months. Regardless of how many new "cool" weapons and commendation packs they throw at me, the game is dead to me. I paid for it and have no interest in ever going back. And all those "critics" who gave the game a 10/10...I doubt I'll be trusting your opinions from here on out.… Expand
  95. domak
    Jan 16, 2013
    4
    Anyone who played the previous Mass Effect game and still thinks that this one is good in comparison is just a delusional liar, this sad excuse of a game isn't even HALF of what the previous one was and the conclusion of the story is just unbelievably bad I wonder how is it possible to utterly destroy such a promising franchise.
  96. Yasuchika
    Mar 6, 2012
    4
    I feel awfully betrayed that the series went from and expansive sci-fi space opera with consequential choices; to a fairly streamlined action adventure with RPG elements. Its attempts at emotional manipulation are slightly hamfisted, not ineffective but very clumsily implemented and unrelated to my character's background - which I imagine Bioware has forgotten about at this point. TheI feel awfully betrayed that the series went from and expansive sci-fi space opera with consequential choices; to a fairly streamlined action adventure with RPG elements. Its attempts at emotional manipulation are slightly hamfisted, not ineffective but very clumsily implemented and unrelated to my character's background - which I imagine Bioware has forgotten about at this point. The writing and designs for some characters also seems out of place, Vega is expected to be a bulky man but not to the extent that he's a jersey Shore cast member, the addition of Jessica Chobot and redesign for Ashley also complement this lovely little tan-orange motif. My largest qualm is with the Day 1 DLC - which I strongly oppose - by all means create new characters that are not plot-integral. But when you create a squad member who is heaily tied to the universe's lore and mystique and then aim to charge an extra $10 for it on top of the game's already hefty pricetag you know you fit a stereotype.The romance system is fine, although I'd like to be able to talk to my companions without the intention of making out with them. I wonÃ… Expand
  97. DKN
    Mar 28, 2012
    4
    *Spoilers Ahead*
    99% of the game were very good, gameplay wise I think its the best game in trilogy, it also has a great main story. There were some concerns, about the game, for example some decisions from previous parts were not transferred to this game as well as i'd hoped, some side quests were boring, your quest log is a disaster, some bugs etc., but nothing game braking... up until    *Spoilers Ahead*
    99% of the game were very good, gameplay wise I think its the best game in trilogy, it also has a great main story. There were some concerns, about the game, for example some decisions from previous parts were not transferred to this game as well as i'd hoped, some side quests were boring, your quest log is a disaster, some bugs etc., but nothing game braking... up until last 10 minutes.

    The ending was just awful. when i first seen it I thought i did something wrong, i was literally stunned. At the end you are given 3 choices DeusEx:HR style. The endings do not take in to consideration any of your decisions you made during your journey as Shepard. It gives you three choices, but in the end your choice comes down to the color of explosion that will probably destroy all civilizations as we know them, no matter what you do.

    The ending did not just didnt give you any choices or didn't provide closer, and it was completely out of place. It felt like in the last ten minutes developers decided to change the trilogy story and values.

    For me ending completely destroyed the experience from otherwise great game.    … Expand
  98. Turix
    Mar 9, 2012
    4
    I played through the game, and generally enjoyed the content - most of the game felt like a significant improvement over Mass Effect 2.... however, the game has several aspects that completely ruin immersion and just feel like a company grabbing for profit rather than wanting to build a good games or supporting their fan base - which is seriously upsetting. The main gripes are theI played through the game, and generally enjoyed the content - most of the game felt like a significant improvement over Mass Effect 2.... however, the game has several aspects that completely ruin immersion and just feel like a company grabbing for profit rather than wanting to build a good games or supporting their fan base - which is seriously upsetting. The main gripes are the graphical quality, which hasn't improved at all over ME2 on PC, the controls feel even more like a console port than before with your character going off and doing entire actions without you even asking. Parts of the game feel very rushed, specifically the beginning and end - the beginning just kind of drops you in without letting the game get going, or providing any setting. And the ending.... well I don't know where to start... all of the options are simply appalling, lazy cop outs - I was getting very involved in the story for a good part of the game and then the ending just ruins that completely. In the end I don't mind that I've spent money on the game, I can deal with that, but that I feel betrayed that Bioware doesn't seem to care about their IP beyond how much money it can make... its just plain sad.… Expand
  99. dakphillips
    Mar 13, 2012
    4
    While the gameplay has improved since the first game in terms of combat mechanics, ME3 marks a distinctly unsatisfying story. Fans of the first two games who import their characters will be dissapointed in the endings especially compared with the previous two installments. This extremely illogical ending to a great IP is only made worse by the inclusion of an important character to theWhile the gameplay has improved since the first game in terms of combat mechanics, ME3 marks a distinctly unsatisfying story. Fans of the first two games who import their characters will be dissapointed in the endings especially compared with the previous two installments. This extremely illogical ending to a great IP is only made worse by the inclusion of an important character to the lore of the Mass Effect universe as a paid DLC when it is clear that the character was originally meant to be included with the standard game package.… Expand
  100. Ghostrider
    Mar 14, 2012
    4
    10 for all of the game up until the ending. 1 for the ending. Bioware managed to destroy 100+ hours of great gameplay across all 3 parts of the trilogy with last 10 minutes of the game. Impressive achievement, but I don't like it.

    The game is awesome in every aspect up until the very end. Don't know why Bioware did this but they did. They killed DA franchise with DA2 and now this.    10 for all of the game up until the ending. 1 for the ending. Bioware managed to destroy 100+ hours of great gameplay across all 3 parts of the trilogy with last 10 minutes of the game. Impressive achievement, but I don't like it.

    The game is awesome in every aspect up until the very end. Don't know why Bioware did this but they did.

    They killed DA franchise with DA2 and now this. Not pre-ordering any Bioware game. Will wait until reviews come in.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
89

Generally favorable reviews - based on 23 Critic Reviews

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