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. marc5477
    Jan 15, 2015
    4
    Preface: I played the original game without any DLC. For the most part, the game feels like Mass Effect 2. Combat is basically the same and RPG elements are still reduced to minimal. It really does play more like a shooter or adventure game than an RPG. Loot is still minimal and customization is basically non-existent aside from choosing from a very limited number of weapons and armor,Preface: I played the original game without any DLC. For the most part, the game feels like Mass Effect 2. Combat is basically the same and RPG elements are still reduced to minimal. It really does play more like a shooter or adventure game than an RPG. Loot is still minimal and customization is basically non-existent aside from choosing from a very limited number of weapons and armor, many of which were very similar to each other. There is never a feeling of progression that is associated with RPG's but for what its worth, combat was actually fun in the same way that shooters are fun.

    Many things annoyed me in this game aside from not going back to its ME1 RPG roots. The biggest is the planet exploration... if we can even call it that. Orbit a planet, click a button and thats is all there is to it. Very silly and reminded me of playing ET on the Atari. The only challenge to it is to escape from the flying Reapers which was entirely trivial and mind numbingly boring.

    I liked how they tried to make every mission have an impact on the ending of the game. The more you complete the better your odds of getting a better ending. Unfortunately they completely dropped the ball on the impact of the score on the story as all the endings were pretty much the same regardless of score. I also hated the fact that you cannot get the best ending without playing multiplayer. I do not want to play with others in a 1 player game. Yet I could not get my readiness high enough to get the best ending. Besides, by the time I reached the end, I was so bored of the game I just wanted to end it not play more with people I never met.

    Next, I thought the ending was rushed. As it turns out, much of what you do in the game was not necessary because the endings would be about the same if you rushed through the game anyway. You are always presented with the same options and there is very little difference between the high readiness endings and the minimal endings. It felt like I wasted my time running around finishing missions especially since there was minimal RPG progression. I dont think the endings are terrible, but they were definitely not as exciting as I would have expected them to be given it was a trilogy.

    Last, there is only 1 real boss battle in the entire game and it was too easy. Most of the other battle finales were not really bosses but rather assignments like painting a target or surviving a few minutes. There were no imposing battles at any point in the game and I never felt like I was in danger. There were a few battles that were cheap since you did not know where the enemies were coming from but after you saw it once it became trivial. Which brings me to annoyance, there is no mini map. If you want to see the map you have to bring it up manually and it still did not show enemy position thus taking away any form of strategy you might want to employ. its kind of ironic that there was no mini map but you could always see your mission objective target painted clearly without the map.

    I ran into two game breaking bugs that could have ended my games early (and neither were ever fixed). One was on the deck of the ship. Shepard simply gets stuck near Joker and cannot move no matter what you do. This bug can happen any time in the game. It is a well known bug and has not been fixed. The only way to work around it is through loading a previous save and making sure to save before entering the area. If you quick-saved while stuck hoping a reload would fix the issue, then you can really mess up your game because you will load into the game stuck. The only other solution is to get a 3rd party save game editor where you have to manually edit your save and change your save position.

    The other game breaking crash happened while on a mission. At some point, as you progressed, you walk through a door and the game simply crashes every time. This is also a common bug and has not been fixed. Luckily there was a work around. You have to inch through the door and continuously quick save until the game crashes. If you quick saved inside the room, you will be able to load the new save inside the room and the crash will stop. Still, its unbelievable that this has not been fixed.

    Overall, the game was not great. It lacked any innovation compared to parts 1 and 2 and felt rushed when you account for the game breaking bugs, lazy endings, lack of exciting fights/bosses, and weak story tie ins. Essentially, all your decisions ultimately did not matter very much from previous games, and much of what you do in ME3 is pointless since the ending are all very similar. Its not a horrible game but it was definitely boring after the 1st hour due to lack of RPG progression and lack of gameplay-story impact. I do not recommend this game if you are looking for an RPG. If you are a heavy FPS fan I would give this a 6/10 instead of a 4/10.    … Expand
  2. Pallowin
    Oct 16, 2014
    4
    This used to be my favorite franchise. I have put at least 500 hours into ME1 and ME2, all in preparation for ME3. I wanted to have the perfect save file ready, so I could see how my choices would add up in ME3.

    What I got, however, was a rushed mess, that didn't even deliver on half of the promises made. The game knew that it had a lot of knots to tie, relating to the different side    This used to be my favorite franchise. I have put at least 500 hours into ME1 and ME2, all in preparation for ME3. I wanted to have the perfect save file ready, so I could see how my choices would add up in ME3.

    What I got, however, was a rushed mess, that didn't even deliver on half of the promises made.

    The game knew that it had a lot of knots to tie, relating to the different side missions and characters I had interacted with in my many playthroughs of ME1+2. This was solved mostly by lazily sending an email to you ingame, telling you that "This char did this, and now he/she is dead" or "Hello, I am xxx you helped my with yyy a while back, thanks"

    The characters didn't feel like the characters from the first two games, they felt a little "off". Like they were written by a different person (which turned out to be correct). This became blatantly obvious the farther I got. I often had the feeling that "this person would not say this" or "this person would not do this"

    The zones/planets/places you visited felt small and confined, I felt like I traversed one long corridor with no option to explore or branch off the given path.

    Decisions you made felt superficial, and I didn't feel like I had an impact on the world, contrary to the two previous games, This was mostly because the game focused on completing old storylines, poorly, instead of creating some new ones as well.

    The whole game I had a bad feeling about these occurrences, and when I reached the end, the game simply caved in on itself. I could only sit there and stare at the screen completely silent. Then, as something I can only assume was a joke, the DLC message popped up: "Commander Shepard has become a legend by ending the Reaper threat. Now you can continue to build that legend through further gameplay and downloadable content"

    I simply shut the game off, uninstalled Origin, and I haven't touched an EA game since. The fact that I stumbled over this in late 2014 and still feel angry, is a testament to how much this game disappointed me.

    This game has ruined my love for the two previous ones as well, as I sit back with a "what's to point" feeling whenever I feel like playing ME1 or ME2.

    If you haven't played the Mass Effect series, I would recommend you to only play the first two games, and forget that this stinker exists.

    ...And lastly, looking at the professional critic score, is a perfect indicator of what is wrong with game journalism today.    … Expand
  3. BiribiriUC
    Mar 25, 2015
    4
    I loved this franchise, but they really crashed and burned this game, no longer do you feel like you're going on an adventure exploring a galaxy, no longer you get the feeling of your choices making an impact in your game
    Most redeeming feature is the Multiplayer, that's still pretty fun
  4. Inheritance92
    Nov 23, 2018
    4
    The game is one big, unskippable cutscene. Most sidequests deal with your former party members, the space exploration is ruined, and it feels like a big nostalgia train.
    Many mechanics from ME1 are back, there are climbable ladders, and the Sheppard can (finally) move between covers and jump over the obstacles.
    It is a specimen of technical mastery combined with creative impotence.
  5. zbysiek123456
    Sep 16, 2019
    4
    The weakest part of trilogy of Shepard. We get almost identical game like ME2. But this time we have feeling like we saw this somwhere else. Again we need to buy tons of DLC (And some of them was brutally cut from game and you are able to activate some parts with no buying DLC because it is in base game but locked. For example Javik :/) Quest are good, story is also good but after fightingThe weakest part of trilogy of Shepard. We get almost identical game like ME2. But this time we have feeling like we saw this somwhere else. Again we need to buy tons of DLC (And some of them was brutally cut from game and you are able to activate some parts with no buying DLC because it is in base game but locked. For example Javik :/) Quest are good, story is also good but after fighting for many hours in ME, ME2 and this game we going to point where ending is disappointed and have nothing to our decisions in past 2 game and even in what you was doing in 3 :(… Expand
  6. Evil_User
    Jul 6, 2020
    4
    It would be a good game, if not for the ending. She puts an end to all parts of the game. You can safely follow the path of the apostate from the first part, because in the end there will still be garbage that will cover all the good that you tried to do for the world and your team. 4 precisely because of the ending. so would put 9
  7. vova22379
    Jan 30, 2023
    4
    ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
  8. Ltom
    Sep 24, 2021
    4
    Mass Effect 3 is a mess of overdesign and copying from other games it has no job copying from. For clarities sake, I played this game right after I finished Mass Effect 1 and 2. And I got to say, it is by far the weakest Mass Effect game I've played. Playing this game feels like seeing a good friend go down a depression spiral, it's unfocused, it's pacing is trash, character'sMass Effect 3 is a mess of overdesign and copying from other games it has no job copying from. For clarities sake, I played this game right after I finished Mass Effect 1 and 2. And I got to say, it is by far the weakest Mass Effect game I've played. Playing this game feels like seeing a good friend go down a depression spiral, it's unfocused, it's pacing is trash, character's personalities are changed to make this whole game feel more like gears of war and the expendables, instead of what Mass Effect was. It's not all bad of course, it does have it's moments, like any other game does. And it is a really good experience when it wants to be. The problem is, it doesn't want to be good often. The new characters are also painfully bad, such as james who I wish I could let die from the first mission. Or cortez who is a semi replacement for joker, only worse and way more annoying than he has any right to be (but he can die on the final mission so that gave me a smile at least).

    When Mass Effect 3 is good is when it is actually Mass Effect. When you hang around with Garrus, Tali, Liara. You know, the usual suspects, and have fun. It does happen a lot and before playing the casino DLC party ending, I was going to give this game a 1 or 0 out of 10. But I have to admit that, no matter how disappointed I am in this game, and no matter how much I disliked most of the game. It does have those moments that put a smile on your face and a tear in your eye. So, for that alone I'll give it a 4. I don't think it worth more than that and I will get into it later. For now, let's focus on the pros and cons.

    Pros: Biotics have nicer effects and some biotics that used to not have much impact in the game now feel a lot better.
    Gunplay is arguably better.

    Cons: The characters introduced in the third game are borderline horrendous, with the exception of traynor. Other than that, they are either forgettable or asinine.

    The pacing of the story is way off, it tries to give this sense of urgency that is destroyed the moment you stop to find cables for some random schmuck

    Old characters you know and love turn into action movie protagonist level of dumb and annoying sometimes. Something that's fine for the new ones (since that's what they are supposed to be I guess), but not for the older ones who where never like that.

    Shepard feels weird when compared to other games of the series. He feels disconnected and turns into a military **** only to make a 180 in the final mission. Which leads me to believe that there was some push from EA to make him like that. But I wouldn't know and assuming gets us nowhere (nor does it change the fact).

    Side missions and companions feel "weaker" than in previous titles (not combat wise, story wise).

    That's for the big ones, in my opinion. I could go on about how the gameplay feels clunky and a bad ripoff from gears of war, or how the game forces you to interact with characters you don't want to, or how everybody talks too much all the **** time. "Oh, here's a ladder, oh here's the door) it's like a constant tutorial. A constant tutorials I didn't and for and don't want. Or how military mumbo jumbo makes every dialogue feel stupid and annoying and how there are less than half dialogue options, compared to ME2. But, I digress.

    The main problem with ME3 is that it trying to be something it's not. It's trying to be gears of war and the expendables, when it should have just be something more akin to band of brothers. And it works when it is more like it, that's the frustrating part, they know how to make the game good and just didn't. The voice acting is a toss frankly, some voice acting is amazing and some is trash with everything in between. The ending is something that will divide opinions a lot. As a starters, I love bitter endings. I like it when the ending puts a tear in my eye, when someone isn't making it back this time. The last hurrah! If you will. So the ending isn't something I completely dislikes and there is some amazing award worthy voice acting in the final mission in my opinion. But that is not enough to carry this one home I'm afraid. For context. I 100% this game in 35 hours (roughly 3-4 I was afk but just go with it) and for 20-24 of them I was out of my mind, pissed off with how they treated the old characters and the fact that I had to interact with the new, annoying, boring, pieces of **** they put in the story. I got the """good""" ending with 8000 military strength points (you don't need that much you need 7400 I believe) and I would be lying if I said that I didn't like doing any of it. Or that I wasn't sentimental in the final mission. But it's just not enough. So, I can't in good faith recommend this game. If you want to play it for the trilogy, do it. However, be prepared to be disappointed a lot of times. That's that... Hopefully the new one will be better though I wouldn't hold my breath. Oh, one last thing. ME Andromeda was way **** better than ME3    … Expand
  9. bernlin2000
    Nov 12, 2012
    3
    A disappointing game that plays with the edges of the fundamentals of M1 and M2, but otherwise is non innovative. The major problem, though, is the plot, particularly the finale, which is very disappointing considering all the time and effort I (and many other players) put into the entire series. The ending is simplistic and the lead-up to it is long and tiring (the fight to the towerA disappointing game that plays with the edges of the fundamentals of M1 and M2, but otherwise is non innovative. The major problem, though, is the plot, particularly the finale, which is very disappointing considering all the time and effort I (and many other players) put into the entire series. The ending is simplistic and the lead-up to it is long and tiring (the fight to the tower never seemed to end). If you've played the other two in the series, I don't think I'd recommend completing it...this is just too disappointing of an ending to recommend to anyone.… Expand
  10. CazicLFD
    Mar 8, 2012
    3
    This game was a huge dissapointment for me. The soundtrack was terrible compared to what was in me1 and me2, the animations are awful, most of the writing is absolutely horrid. The way they handled the characters from me2(besides garrus and tali) in this game was also a big let down. What pissed me off the most about this game was the story however, more specifically the ending. I wontThis game was a huge dissapointment for me. The soundtrack was terrible compared to what was in me1 and me2, the animations are awful, most of the writing is absolutely horrid. The way they handled the characters from me2(besides garrus and tali) in this game was also a big let down. What pissed me off the most about this game was the story however, more specifically the ending. I wont give away spoilers, if you enjoyed ME1 and ME2, stick with those, dont waste your time with ME3, because when you finish it you will be thoroughly dissapointed with the entire series because of the ending.… Expand
  11. trunk_slamchest
    Mar 6, 2012
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. im about 6 hours in...and im gonna flat out say ME 3 has jumped the shark.

    i had just finished playing through ME1 + ME 2 to get hyped for ME 3...and it just feels

    ....like its made for guidos....i legitimately feel dumber for playing Mass Effect 3. the first thing i said when i got on the Normandy was..."what the **** is Ronnie from the Jersey Shore doing on my ****ing ship?"...then i realized it was James, the new guy...frohawk and all...the first hour alone is 95% cutscenes with 100 BAYSPLOSIONS that you have no interaction with.

    the dialogue and voice acting is horribly done....everything feels force and emotionless. every piece of dialogue is centered around THE REAPERS and THE PROTHEAN DEVICE, which aria magically has the only access to..BUT NO ONE KNOWS HOW IT WORKS. garrus is as souless as a polititian. the council dilibrates and discusses things like theyre a group of high school girls. its so ****ing bad its hard to play.

    the interaction with the game feels like its designed for 10 year olds. scanning consists of pinging for THE REAPERS. there is no planet scannign or resource finding...theres WAR ASSETS...loot finding consists of open your eyes and look for the green reticule.

    the illusive man randomly shows up on mars...goes haha im backstabbing you...and dissappears...WITH NO EXPLANATION. you magically get spectre status which grants you a **** ton of cash...THERES NO DEPTH TO THIS GAME. i played as an adept through ME 1 and ME 2 which was ****ing fun...but the gameplay for adept in ME3 is use power + m1 + wait for cooldown + power + m1 + wait for cooldown...while the game throws hoards of enemies at you. its not fun.

    the worst part is...shepard has been pussified beyond belief...i regrettably saved ashley (who went from unattractive in ME1 + ME2 to super hot in ME3 btw) and the first 3 hours of the game surrounds this bull**** love triangle between ashley and aria...and out of no where...this guidette shows up to replace kelly on the normandy and starts getting jealous of EDI because its giving Shepard orders. theres one really obvious boob shot that was the most obvious ploy for guidos to get hooked on the game, it was pathetic. THE SOB STORY WITH THE LITTLE BOY AND THE DREAM SEQUENCES MADE ME FEEL EXTREMELY HOMOSEXUAL AND FEMININE. I DID NOT EVEN HAVE A CHOICE TO SAVE HIM OR NOT. I HAD TO FEEL BAD.

    i know im just ranting...but im gonna keep trying to push through the game til it gets better...but the more i play the more i feel like im getting dick punched in the jaw.    … Expand
  12. agotmanov
    Apr 30, 2012
    3
    I have but one issue with this game - the writing. I mean really, how hard can it be? ME2 was no freaking masterpiece, but the story was compelling enough to make action meaningful, and occasional stupidities were just something to laugh about and forget. In short, it was fun. I think in general RPG fans (including me) have relatively low standards when it comes to writing, and it's ok. ItI have but one issue with this game - the writing. I mean really, how hard can it be? ME2 was no freaking masterpiece, but the story was compelling enough to make action meaningful, and occasional stupidities were just something to laugh about and forget. In short, it was fun. I think in general RPG fans (including me) have relatively low standards when it comes to writing, and it's ok. It should be just solid enough so that it doesn't spoil the game.

    Somehow (miraculously) ME3 fails to deliver. Writing-wise it's a non-stop *facepalm*. How hard is it to come up with a response that wouldn't sound dumb or out of place? After first 30min I started to suspect that somewhere between the end of ME2 and the beginning of ME3 commander Sheppard got a lobotomy. Or maybe he is a husk? Or secretly mind-controlled by Cerberus and they *make him* say all these things? That would be a cool plot. I'd play that game. Apparently, ME3 is a different one, and it stinks. Bioware, what the hell!?    … Expand
  13. jadelith
    Mar 11, 2012
    3
    99% of the game is very well done and quite fun. Before the ending I was thoroughly enjoying myself (which is why it gets a 3 and not a 0) I even liked the multiplayer.

    Until the ending hit. I don't want to spoil anything, but no matter what you do in the 3 games, you lose, and the ending simply leaves you hanging. and that's absolutely unacceptable. Do yourself a favor, and don't play    99% of the game is very well done and quite fun. Before the ending I was thoroughly enjoying myself (which is why it gets a 3 and not a 0) I even liked the multiplayer.

    Until the ending hit. I don't want to spoil anything, but no matter what you do in the 3 games, you lose, and the ending simply leaves you hanging. and that's absolutely unacceptable.

    Do yourself a favor, and don't play this game - especially if you've played the first 2 games. It will ruin the series for you    … Expand
  14. noobcannon
    Mar 9, 2012
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. i've had some time to reflect and punch a few holes in the wall to get my frustration out and i think i'm ready to put into words how i feel 24 hours after the "good" ending in mass effect 3

    to start, my RI was Tali. once i killed the reaper on ranoch i opted to upload the reaper code to the geth via legion. despite tali not wanting me to, i felt this was the best course of action for her, her people, the galaxy, and even the geth. i was able to talk the fleet out of counter attacking the geth while the code was being uploaded and tali still loves me. whew. this got me thinking however, what if my paragon was too low and the quarians did attack the geth. what would happen? i pulled up youtube to find out.

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

    this was the most moving and emotional punch in the gut i've ever seen in a video game. assuming this had happened in my playthrough, i'd have been devastated. moments earlier tali told me she loved me and i have just wiped out her entire people. heartbroken, she jumps over the edge. thought i was going to cry.

    where the hell was this level of emotion and effort in the ****ing end game bioware? as far as voice acting/ performance go, the quarians being wiped out and tali dying was so difficult to watch, yet so well done, i was completely blown away. that level of devastation and pain should've been put into the endgame and i don't know if i can ever forgive bioware for it. they took maybe the greatest game ever made, at least for me, and complelty half assed the last 5 minutes.

    now, i'll be clear, i wanted a happy ending, but if that's not how it was going to be then fine. i'll get over it. but to do it the way that they did, i, just, uuuuughhh. ......    … Expand
  15. anubite
    Mar 8, 2012
    3
    Mass Effect 3 is a bitter disappointment. I will do my best to briefly explain its flaws without spoiling anything.

    1. Very little care was paid to the story. There are many nagging plot holes that will distract you throughout the game. Glaring logical flaws that have existed since Mass Effect 2 and even Mass Effect 1. More importantly, characters behave very erratically in this game,    Mass Effect 3 is a bitter disappointment. I will do my best to briefly explain its flaws without spoiling anything.

    1. Very little care was paid to the story. There are many nagging plot holes that will distract you throughout the game. Glaring logical flaws that have existed since Mass Effect 2 and even Mass Effect 1. More importantly, characters behave very erratically in this game, seldom true to their original characterization in the previous games. BioWare took the easy way out in most cases, killing off characters at obvious moment. The plot is predictable (I found myself calling out what would happen hours before it did) and the characters and concepts new to Mass Effect 3 are either ridiculous (Kai Leng, the future space ninja) to just shallow (James Vega, token mexican-american space marine). The endings, suffice to say, will leave you in shock with how lazy they were crafted.

    BioWare did impress me with how it handled some of its lesser side characters though, I did not expect so many of them to return as cameos and not simply emails saying, "Hi, remember me?"

    2. None of your choices impact much in ME3. If you played the previous games, you'll find ME3 a little easier to play with some difficult decisions removed (such as choosing one character or another to live), but overall very little changes depending upon your choices in the previous two games. Almost nothing changes based on your choices in ME3, which is a bit surprising. Not even your paragon/renegade status really seems to influence anything.

    This is really wrenching. Major decisions like letting the Rachni living in the first game or not, have no bearing on the game's events in any meaningful manner. But also, deciding who you ally or help or not in ME3 really has no effect on the game's ending... or really much of anything.

    3. This game is ugly. BioWare really outsourced its artwork this time. Facial animations and modeling are inferior to ME2. Many big game reveals (a picture of Tali's face) are stock photo touchups (and by that, I mean literally importing a stock photo into photoshop and putting a lens flare over it). Level design is not as creative as in the original ME. There are occasionally some good in-game environments (such as a certain vegetated piece of Tuchanka) but they are few and far between. In order save memory consumption, BW even had to remove the ability to holster your weapon in combat areas. This broke immersion for me, with my character always hunched over looking down the barrel of their gun.

    Whoever designed Diana Allers' "dress" should be shot.

    4. The voice acting in this game is tolerable, though there are some spotty moments (Wrex stands out at times).

    5. The dialogue wheel is horribly dumbed down in this game - I was shocked. Immensely. There is always a "top" or "bottom" choice to pick (two choices) and every once in a while you'll get an 'investigate' option with 3-5 choices there, but less than 10% of the time do you ever get a "middle" option to pursue in dialogue. You're either paragon or renegade in this game, you can't walk the line through any situation. You're either on their side, or you're not.

    6. The gunplay is a little improved. Some of the new abilities are interesting. However, level design has not been improved from ME2/Me1, I'd say it's gotten worse actually. A lot of corridors, people constantly shouting at you to keep moving -- you can't even stop to look around and enjoy the scenery you like, or even plan an approach to your enemy. Corridors and guns are pretty much all you can expect in this game.

    I did enjoy the aspect of building up an army to fight the reapers though, and for a moment (towards the beginning of the game), I felt a little desperate as to whether I would be able to reach maximum army strength. I thought that the more time I dawdled on side missions, the less chance I would have at beating the game. But I shouldn't have been so silly - of course not. Why challenge the player?

    7. The multiplayer is trashy and I don't understand why they wasted development time on it -- besides marketing purposes anyway.

    8. The different difficulty selections are nice, but narrative is immersion breaking and insanity is pretty much 'dumb' in some instances of the game, where enemies zerg you.

    9. The AI is atrocious. Many encounters in the game are made easy when enemies funnel in through drop points or doorways - you can't just stun them all with a Biotic spell. AI tend to just get behind something and shoot from it.

    10. Not a single boss fight was designed well. They feel really tacked on and lame.    … Expand
  16. TwsitedComplex
    Mar 7, 2012
    3
    Very sad for a once great company.
    Bad dialog
    Using sprites for background characters
    Can't import faces from ME1
    The ending is literally copy/paste from Deus Ex
    Tali's face is a bad photoshop from a models website
    The vast majority of the time there are only 2 dialog options
    The list goes on

    It really is quite pathetic
  17. RyanAbes
    Mar 11, 2012
    3
    Honestly, this game was an utter disappointment. It was going somewhat well (would have got maybe a 6-7 from me) up until the ending. The endings are so bad, so... well... completely out-of-place and unsatisfying, that it justifiably knocks 3-4 points off of it's entire score. Yes, there is fan outrage. And I think justifiably so. It is a short game, it ignores all of your decisionsHonestly, this game was an utter disappointment. It was going somewhat well (would have got maybe a 6-7 from me) up until the ending. The endings are so bad, so... well... completely out-of-place and unsatisfying, that it justifiably knocks 3-4 points off of it's entire score. Yes, there is fan outrage. And I think justifiably so. It is a short game, it ignores all of your decisions (uniting species that have been warring for hundreds, if not thousands of years); there is no reason to be a completionist in this game, it honestly isn't worth it.

    Want to find out what happened with your LI's? Search youtube. Want to know how the series ends... search youtube. Want to buy the game? Don't bother, search youtube...

    The most disappointing end to one of the best series that has come out in the past few years. My biggest regret is there are no returns for PC games.    … Expand
  18. velimrius
    Mar 12, 2012
    3
    Im glad i didnt spent cent on this, go to hell bioware with ur employed game designers whom hates gaming and want option to skip combat....

    First ME was awesome to me, second was good too, but this is disgrace!
  19. tonytopete
    Apr 29, 2012
    3
    Well, one more franchise destroyed by EA. Where they put their hands, they destroy. Dumb animations, low res textures made for consoles, weapons sounds all messed up... Ill never buy another game that have EA in it...
  20. gotthammer
    Mar 16, 2012
    3
    Mass Effect was a great game, the only complaints I can recall being performance (optimization?) issues and the rather clunky inventory.
    Mass Effect 2, counting the DLCs (esp. Lair of the Shadow Broker), was also a great game. It wasn't perfect : some aspects felt over-simplified when compared to the first game, and the resolution of the main story could have used more choices. Still, a    Mass Effect was a great game, the only complaints I can recall being performance (optimization?) issues and the rather clunky inventory.
    Mass Effect 2, counting the DLCs (esp. Lair of the Shadow Broker), was also a great game. It wasn't perfect : some aspects felt over-simplified when compared to the first game, and the resolution of the main story could have used more choices. Still, a great game.
    Mass Effect 3, the finale of a trilogy, was also a great game, for the most part. Decent graphics. Great looking locations/environments. Pretty cinematics/FMVs. Dramatic (if a bit overly so, at times) sequences. Superb score/soundtrack. The dialogue, like the previous game, was mostly solid (ok, there were some cheesy/seeming forced/heavy-handed bits, like a few speeches). The plot was 'ok', but could use some beefing up/more work, but it was, for the most part, 'ok' (not counting the ending). Almost everything was great. Almost.
    The ending, IMHO, ruins, not just the game, but, as it is the ending of a trilogy, the franchise as well.
    The ending doesn't feel to be 'in character' with the setting or even the overall feel of the game and the franchise. The ending seemingly negates any choice and also disregards (or doesn't reward) the efforts of the player throughout the game. It is very, very disappointing.
    The ending alone makes me unable to, in good conscience, recommend the game to anyone I know. Unless Bioware were to 'fix' the endings by providing more options/choices, as well as clarifying the mess that is the current set of endings, I won't recommend the game, nor will I purchase any downloadable content for Mass Effect 3.

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

    Cons: Ending, fewer squad mates, graphics options too limited, lack of inventory/over-simplification of RPG elements, some dialogue, quantity of armor choices, lack of other 'hubs' (there's only the Citadel), some aspects feel rushed (example: under utilization of some characters, the ending, etc.)    … Expand
  21. Tweete
    Apr 5, 2012
    3
    Mass Effect was a great game. Mass Effect 2 was very simple but still a good game. Mass Effect 3 is just not very good. It seems like Bioware is on a crusade to address every social issue known to man and squeeze it into a 40 hour game. I play to have a good time and get away from real world crap. I wont comment on the terrible ending as thats been covered.
  22. moarx
    Mar 7, 2012
    3
    For being a AAA title, Mass Effect 3 seems to be very cheaply made. Somehow the graphics seem to have gotten worse since Mass Effect 2, and it's very noticeable throughout the entire game. Textures are fairly low res (even on the PC version), animations are clunkier than ever, and most levels are very linear/claustrophobic but still lack detail (incredibly small maps with poorly madeFor being a AAA title, Mass Effect 3 seems to be very cheaply made. Somehow the graphics seem to have gotten worse since Mass Effect 2, and it's very noticeable throughout the entire game. Textures are fairly low res (even on the PC version), animations are clunkier than ever, and most levels are very linear/claustrophobic but still lack detail (incredibly small maps with poorly made skyboxes).

    The dialogue is far worse than in the first 2 Mass Effect games, seemingly taking a lesson from Dragon Age 2's writers. The central plot is better, though the disappointing ending(s) and seemingly random character deaths manage to ruin it. Bioware has introduced more of the character customization found in Mass Effect 1, but at the same time the combat is worse than ME2's. The controls are extremely clunky, you'll often find yourself dying due to getting stuck in/randomly leaving cover due to having the space bar bound to several different actions. The AI is fairly basic, generally leaving themselves out in the open though Bioware have given them more shields/health to add artificial difficulty.    … Expand
  23. camoe
    Mar 6, 2012
    3
    Do not listen to the people giving this game a 10 they are lying or bioware ea employers or just plain stupid this game is horrible its the worst in the series bye far their are no RPG elements left in the game at all even when you pick to play the game as an RPG they don't are about the pc you an not use your mouse wheel to scroll you ant access the journal with the j button on yourDo not listen to the people giving this game a 10 they are lying or bioware ea employers or just plain stupid this game is horrible its the worst in the series bye far their are no RPG elements left in the game at all even when you pick to play the game as an RPG they don't are about the pc you an not use your mouse wheel to scroll you ant access the journal with the j button on your keyboard you cant crouch any more like you could in the first game witch i liked the graphics and textures are appalling if you have any sense you will not bye this game if you do wait for it to be on sale or rents it other wise you are wasting your money honestly.… Expand
  24. North
    Mar 18, 2012
    3
    I can't believe you Bioware! How dare you insult your fanbase with such dimwitted story progression, and worst of all, with an idiotic ending that pissed off everyone as hellfire !! Do you guys have any idea how many people are invested in this game, to see their stories achieve a more fulfilling end? What a logically insulting end, with loads of plot-holes?

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

    The only positive thing about this game was the entire process of rallying allies. Because I am a more RPG oriented player, rather than bang bang, pow pow... Yet even at that, I couldn't see any satisfying plot writing. The whole marketing hype, day one DLC, and Xbox kinnect components were already indications that something was off about this game. And yet you were so sure that this would be the best game in the series. EPIC FAIL, by literal definition! You probably can't fall deeper than this. Nonetheless, I gave you 3 for your blood and sweat poured into the making of the game. Please get a grip and revitalize yourselves before the shame becomes too unbearable. But first, get rid of that EA leech! There are a lot better publishers out there, smaller, yes, but treat their developers with respect. My suggestion: strike a deal with Valve or create your own publishing company. The Bioware I have known is capable of doing this.    … Expand
  25. spiderfish
    Mar 13, 2012
    3
    Literally goes from a 10/10 to a 3/10 in the last 10 minutes of the game. What color would you like to destroy the universe with? I literally wasted hundreds of hours wasted on this trilogy.
  26. Powderkeg40
    Mar 27, 2012
    3
    If I had turned the game off instead of playing the last 5 minutes it may have earned a 5. They took an amazing series and ruined it. I lost track of how many times I played ME1 and ME2 all the way through. With ME3 there doesn't seem to be any point at all. I'm not sure if it was hurried out too fast or the designers got lazy. None of the choices you've made in the previous gamesIf I had turned the game off instead of playing the last 5 minutes it may have earned a 5. They took an amazing series and ruined it. I lost track of how many times I played ME1 and ME2 all the way through. With ME3 there doesn't seem to be any point at all. I'm not sure if it was hurried out too fast or the designers got lazy. None of the choices you've made in the previous games really matter at all. Fine myself wishing it hadn't been released yet so I could still be anxiously awaiting what I believed would be a great game.… Expand
  27. MadclownJack
    Mar 11, 2012
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I honestly did not get what all the fuss was about, until i took it upon myself to "dive" into the story and see for myself. And boy was it a shallow dive. First, the story. The story is so simple it verges on pointless. Hell, I'd go so far as to say this is the worst, blandest story of ANY game i have played so far. This is very, very bad. I won't go "spoiling" it for you, because frankly, i CAN'T. I don't remember what i did in this game, aside from amassing an army! I don't remember anything interesting about the missions, nor the side-quests. The Gameplay. Or in this case, the arduous art of playing a very boring game. I'd like to warn future players to finish EVERY side quest, before you take on a priority mission, because then you lose all the side quests you didn't finish, and with that vital characters. Read the manual. That is a **** move to keep you replaying the game and seeing how the gameplay is more of a unsatisfying chore as opposed to a fun experience, you'd do well to remember that if you wish to finish it. Pick your covers, because Shepard can't aim well and will get confused sometimes and get out of cover without your command. Also he's sluggish and badly centered so have in mind that shepard's shoulder or head can get in the way of your aim. The visual experience is the only thing that carries this game across. SOMETIMES. There was only one instance that i remember, while playing the game, that actually got me excited a bit. That's the Tresher Maw vs. Reaper on Tuchanka. It was a lovely sequence that kept me going, hoping there would be more such sequences. There weren't any. There was a mass of cliches and uninspiring story elements though. The graphics are just a little polished, nothing new. The animation is stiff and sluggish. Rent or Beware.

    Bioware, I **** on your honor. EA, I hope you lying, money grubbing bastards get your just deserts. And i hope you choke on it and rid us all of your blight upon this world.    … Expand
  28. WitcherGabriel
    Mar 8, 2012
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Let me put it this way - after this game I'm pretty much done with Bioware as my favorite RPG develoeprs. Lets go from the beginning. First of all - why is ENTIRE crew from Mass Effect 2 left you?! I mean they said that they with Shepard till the end no matter what. They with Shepard till Reapers destroyed. And bam! You have no one. If you romanced the most fragile and complex character in the ME2 - she's not in Me3. Why? Shepard fixed her, Shepard was her fortress sort of speak. And she left him right on trial... what's the point of Vega? I mean he has no idea what is going on with Shepard and other crew members, he has kinda no idea who is Shepard. So Vega is 5th wheel in all that. Also boxing scene is pathetic because of how very slow they were boxing and how repeatetive moves were. And council... I sacrificed them and placed Anderson in there and yet here we are... council is the freaking same and Udina is there (default option if you don't import save game). What was the point of doing what I did? I finished maybe something like 1/4 or 1/5th of the game and honestly I don't want to come back. Also - it's origin only with clumsy controls. So bottom line - I am VEEEEERY disapointed in this.… Expand
  29. Piapia
    Mar 14, 2012
    3
    Never has a game dropped the ball so INCREDIBLY; it is beautifully wrought and so well done that you will overlook many of the plot holes it does have and a lot of the laziness that went into the game; from BioWare's use of stock images to well over a hundred graphical and audio errors and various glitches that will sometimes even make your quest bug out and you can't finish it. ErrorsNever has a game dropped the ball so INCREDIBLY; it is beautifully wrought and so well done that you will overlook many of the plot holes it does have and a lot of the laziness that went into the game; from BioWare's use of stock images to well over a hundred graphical and audio errors and various glitches that will sometimes even make your quest bug out and you can't finish it. Errors with importing save games an inability to even transfer your custom faces over... so many things wrong, but the visceral gameplay and climactic build-up of the game, the choices and the story, well... you' be willing to overlook it... almost. You might have cringed at times and facepalmed at others but chances were, you'd still enjoy it and still had a good game.

    But the ending... dear GODS... BioWare lied on every front; nothing they promised for endings are there. The ultimate tale of Shepard concludes with you losing to the Reapers regardless of how well you fought, and having spent an entire game building a fleet you never get to see in action, ending on a note that essentially says, "Yeah, we're going to make more games because we're sure you'll pay for it."

    With content cut from the game so it could be sold at day one, them finishing the game early enough so you could actually download it before release (as I did) if you pre-ordered but STILL having a host of technical issues... and an ending that would have fit better in an obscure Japanese Anime (and has been known to make fans of that genre just as mad anyway; check out Neon Genesis Evangelion for a reference example) the game has literally dropped the ball on all marks and BioWare has fumbled their chance to make history (beyond being the butt of what will likely be a long standing joke). If you were looking for something to finally dethrone the CoD franchise or Halo or other gaming giants, this game is NOT your champion. And if you DO like those games? Better you stick to them and avoid ME3.    … Expand
  30. JamesX
    Mar 7, 2012
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. My previews review after 30 minutes I gave it a 4, now I am revising it to give it a 3.

    All the holes in the plot just gets bigger and bigger. They sacrifice character consistency for cheap cinematic moments that felt as empty as it is cliche.

    Sad moment where refugee gets wiped out by the Invaders? Would be sad if you don't realize that the main character is standing there dumbfounded on top of a WAR SHIP with GUNS that can easily take out the enemy or at the very lease get the transports time to get away.

    A moment of polarization that set you against Cerebus? Would be motivational if you realize that Shepard (which mine did) had Singularity (or that Liara could do the same). The whole thing with Ashley being disabled is a dumb founding moment as Shepard is once again, yep, stand there mouth gaping dumbfounded, as the opponent RADIOS IN and WAITS for conformation from Elusive Man.

    This pattern repeats through out the whole movie and VASTLY distracts from the plausibility of the story, and is expanded upon things like

    The World is being destroyed, and what does your companions say in the Lift while Alliance Personnel are being slaughtered... "Well.. Shepard... I am not sure I can trust you.... can you comfort me and make me feel better?" all this is within the first 30-60 minute of the game.

    The dialogue is so horrendous, the plot so forced, it is a WORSE attempt at Action RPG than the Dragon Age 2 fiasco. At least Dragon Age 2 isn't a patch work of one liners that can be used on advertising posters.

    Going to struggle through to the end like I did with Dragon Age 2, but so far it does not bode well.    … Expand
  31. krkbomb
    Jul 14, 2012
    3
    I'm not really sure what happened here but this is not a Mass Effect game...

    Mass Effect games had smartly written stories and let you make decisions.

    This game is not that AT ALL.

    It does have some nice music, though not as good as ME2. I will give 3 points for that.
  32. uncalquera
    Mar 13, 2012
    3
    The first day I got this game I was thinking "people is just nuts" while looking at the 3.5 it was rated by user at this very same web page. Now after watching the ending I just can't recommend it even to my worst enemy. The saddest thing about all this is that the game itself is a really good action/RPG, it's probably the best written game I've ever played down to the last minutes of gameThe first day I got this game I was thinking "people is just nuts" while looking at the 3.5 it was rated by user at this very same web page. Now after watching the ending I just can't recommend it even to my worst enemy. The saddest thing about all this is that the game itself is a really good action/RPG, it's probably the best written game I've ever played down to the last minutes of game play. The ending though is something else, unfitting, bad written, plot holed, ... The first day I started playing I would have given ME a 8 overall, second to last days I would have given it 9.5 overall, but after finishing it I can't give it more than 3 overall. As the song by Metallica says: "Sad but true".… Expand
  33. Aiden_Cora
    Mar 10, 2012
    3
    I can't believe I'm actually going to say this but... the game is rather bad. Or rather, the endings (all of them) spoil the entire game and story experience. After ME 2 (which I rather liked) I did not expect an increase in RPG elements, nor the return of a proper inventory system. I was prepared for more of ME 2 play style and in that regard the game delivered what it promised. The storyI can't believe I'm actually going to say this but... the game is rather bad. Or rather, the endings (all of them) spoil the entire game and story experience. After ME 2 (which I rather liked) I did not expect an increase in RPG elements, nor the return of a proper inventory system. I was prepared for more of ME 2 play style and in that regard the game delivered what it promised. The story is decent (as far as I'm concerned) and the side quests make more sense than in ME 1, but the ending... OH MY GOD!! I am a grown man, I realize that this is just a game but still, the disappointment is really very very high. Totally uninspired, plot holes all over the place plus the whole Catalyst idea pulled right out of someones a*ss! Unbelievable, and totally unacceptable. Shame on you!… Expand
  34. Avadon
    Mar 11, 2012
    3
    Finished this yesterday. So we went from really cool, immersive, slightly too fiddly RPG where I spent hours upon hours absorbing the lore and marvelling at what Bioware created (ME1) to quite enjoyable pop-corn shooter-RPG with a passive story (ME2) to retarded Michael Bay movie with ham-fisted drama, frame rate issues, horrendous ending and day 1 DLC. Please, Bioware, do NOT make a newFinished this yesterday. So we went from really cool, immersive, slightly too fiddly RPG where I spent hours upon hours absorbing the lore and marvelling at what Bioware created (ME1) to quite enjoyable pop-corn shooter-RPG with a passive story (ME2) to retarded Michael Bay movie with ham-fisted drama, frame rate issues, horrendous ending and day 1 DLC. Please, Bioware, do NOT make a new Baldur's Gate game. Let it be.… Expand
  35. jonasion
    Mar 7, 2012
    3
    I haven't played the game, [nahhh, dont stop reading, go on:...] and probably wont.[just a bit more...] Having read what other fans of the series ME1+2 have had to say I will keep my money in my pocket and just comment on this: Why is it that game review magazines seem to have completely gone 'corporate'? Look at the difference between the review and the gamers perspective:I haven't played the game, [nahhh, dont stop reading, go on:...] and probably wont.[just a bit more...] Having read what other fans of the series ME1+2 have had to say I will keep my money in my pocket and just comment on this: Why is it that game review magazines seem to have completely gone 'corporate'? Look at the difference between the review and the gamers perspective: "http://www.gamespot.com/mass-effect-3/reviews/mass-effect-3-review-6363906/" Gamespot, which I has always been my guiding star has of late begun completely not focusing on the essentials: Will the gamers actually like what they see? Battlefield 3 was so riddle with bugs it was unplayable. ME3 is so riddled with messy dialogue and bad story line that it seems a travesty to try it out, especially with this DLC being thrown in your face early on. A game is not only good if it has great graphics, sound track and is playable without a patch on day 3. Time to try some Indie games perhaps?

    My point is this: If we can't trust the game reviews we read, then we cant trust MetaCritic's scoring either. Thus, MetaCritic needs to exercise some journalistic control on these review sites.    … Expand
  36. LieuRob
    Apr 23, 2012
    3
    As a game, Mass Effect 3 was both a disappointment and a decent game.

    Straight off the bat, none of the decisions made in the previous titles matter any more. Someone died? They dont show up. They lived? You get 10 minutes of facetime. Or they die. Bioware realised that the amount of binary decisions given to the player made such a complex game that they could not create it, and cut most    As a game, Mass Effect 3 was both a disappointment and a decent game.

    Straight off the bat, none of the decisions made in the previous titles matter any more. Someone died? They dont show up. They lived? You get 10 minutes of facetime. Or they die. Bioware realised that the amount of binary decisions given to the player made such a complex game that they could not create it, and cut most of them out. The main decisions of the previous games matter little. You get a line of dialogue, it dosent matter what you chose, the outcome will always be the same. 1/10
    GRAPHICS
    Graphically the game is worse. Lots of low-resolution textures because of the move to consoles. Thats ok, we can live with that, as its most likely that they will have post-release texture packs, etc. Noticeable, load times are much better; the game runs smoother, polished, and mostly bug free. Overall, it shelved up as a acceptable package, but nothing innovative here. Animations were a bit jarred as well, but its not game breaking - yet. 8/10
    CONTENT
    Mass Effect 3 has the same content as Mass effect 2. Its good, kept me going for a good 20 hours with a bunch of side stuff. Day 1 DLC is a crime; paying 80 dollars isnt enough to give you all the content they made, they want you to give them 20 more. THAT is terrible. Either way, it doesnt dissapoint in that sense. Voice actors and environments are good; no reuse of areas, exotic worlds and planets - its all good in this sense. 8/10
    STORY
    The story started off solid. The lack of previous characters was unsettling, and downright annoying. You spend hours upon hours scouring the galaxy for them, and you barely see them again, or they die. The writers wrest them away from you, killing them off for superficial drama. Its hard to watch. It also felt dumbed down, as if they were trying to simplify it to the point were all the political dealings are gone, and you just shoot things. 3/10
    THE ENDING
    Most dissapointing ending EVER CREATED. I spent weeks under a rock so I could play it spoiler free (I already had the game, but went away for a while), and it just hurt when I played it. !!! SPOILERS !!!; The ending is terrible; I always play paragon, I actually cant do anything else, its just the way I play. I thought I did everything right, did the hero's job, but EVERYONE DIED FOR ME IN THE END. Damn, it was the most heart breaking thing, purely because in a game you should have SOME power to choose your ending in an RPG, not have the developer just decide that for you. I went out of my way to get paragon points, but found those options greyed out at every turn, even at the maximum. You dont get any control over the direction and end of the story. I didnt use any walkthrough but you shouldnt have to read Biowares mind to get a decent ending. Its not worth playing again. 0/10
    Bioware has promised to make a extension to the end of the game, but youll probably have to pay for it. Because its corporates focus has ruined their games (see Dragon Age 2), its just a waste of money. VERDICT
    Skip this entry, just watch the endings on youtube for "closure". But, if you didnt play any of the previous games/ dont care for the story/rpg elements, its not bad, an average entry into the series.    … Expand
  37. mikeh
    Mar 6, 2012
    3
    Everything that was right in Mass Effect 1 has vanished in Mass Effect 3. This series is no longer an RPG with Third-person shooter elements. This game is a really ban gears of war clone with horrible animations, terrible textures and cringeworthy dialogue.

    Also, Day 1 DLC should be frowned upon by everyone. It is absolutly unacceptable in this day and age.
  38. flexasaurus
    Jul 5, 2012
    3
    The main problem of this game has to be the fact that they left out Drew Karpishyn, the guy who wrote the first two games, I knew right from the beginning, that it didn't feel right, wen I figured out EA put their dirty little hands on everything mass effect, That was the end of it. I invested to much time and money on the series, only for it to be sabotaged by EA and their minions. IThe main problem of this game has to be the fact that they left out Drew Karpishyn, the guy who wrote the first two games, I knew right from the beginning, that it didn't feel right, wen I figured out EA put their dirty little hands on everything mass effect, That was the end of it. I invested to much time and money on the series, only for it to be sabotaged by EA and their minions. I loved the mass effect universe, it got me through tough times, it meant a lot to me, I know that sounds gay but its true, The first two games hit the right buttons for me.

    But now I feel worse. The extended cut was the nail on the coffin, and now some **** is already laying out the plans for a mass effect MMO. Extended cut.... More like extended disappointment.. Thats my two cents anyways...    … Expand
  39. HALover9000
    Mar 7, 2012
    3
    I really had a lot of fun on Mass Effect. I loved Mass Effect 1, maybe even more on the sequel, but I was generally disappointed on this game. I expected the fun of the first 2 and the great writing, but the story was meh and the gameplay was not as good as the other two. This lived way below the hype of the other 2. Also, DLC on the first day? Really, Bioware? Either the DLC is part ofI really had a lot of fun on Mass Effect. I loved Mass Effect 1, maybe even more on the sequel, but I was generally disappointed on this game. I expected the fun of the first 2 and the great writing, but the story was meh and the gameplay was not as good as the other two. This lived way below the hype of the other 2. Also, DLC on the first day? Really, Bioware? Either the DLC is part of the game, or the DLC is released weeks after.… Expand
  40. GamerUntouch
    Mar 6, 2012
    3
    Choppy dialogue, forced combat, awful storylines, terrible animations.

    Bioware could've done better with this really.
    It's a shame.

    3 because at least, when it was fitting, the music was nice.
  41. KOTORfan1
    Mar 6, 2012
    3
    Bioware. Baby. Darling. Honeycakes. We need to talk. You've always toed the line between a direct narrative and a branching narrative, and in the past it's never been a problem. Probably because the meat of the games was in the character arcs and interactions, and changing incidentals about the characters throughout the game based on choice, while not having a monumental impact, will atBioware. Baby. Darling. Honeycakes. We need to talk. You've always toed the line between a direct narrative and a branching narrative, and in the past it's never been a problem. Probably because the meat of the games was in the character arcs and interactions, and changing incidentals about the characters throughout the game based on choice, while not having a monumental impact, will at least give the player the FEELING of agency. There is no agency in this. None of my decisions matter. Rather than translating into flags with any significant impact on the universe, they translate into "peace points" and galactic readiness points and other hyper-simplistic **** And then there's the dialogue wheels: just like DA2, the 3-word bit of text you pick from the wheel has nothing to do with your answer. **** nothing. At one point Ashley was being emo and one of the options I could pick, in the paragon position (but not needing points), was "We've been through a lot." I thought "Oh, he's going to appeal to her emotionally through shared experience!" I selected it. Cue Shepard angrily growling "You should know me better." This makes me feel as though I'm not a part of events. That's bad. Video games are not movies, Bioware, they are video games. The scene in the demo/opening with the little boy? I know you thought it was heart-wrenching, I do, and that's adorable of you, but it's not. We met that boy literally a minute ago, and had no connection with his emotional state at all. Now he's dead. CUE SAD MUSIC AND SHEPARD LOOK SO SAD. Get over yourselves. You work best doing tongue-in-cheek, not melodrama. Oh, and stop gutting the RPG elements. In ME1 the passives were ridiculous at high levels, and you could highly specialize Shepard. The system in ME3 is the same one from ME2 with the upgrades spread out a bit thinner. The combat sections are largely tedious and laughably easy, even on the hardest difficulty. I will give Bioware one thing: they have improved on the fluidity of TPS control. However, in their fervor to do so, they forgot to make enemies that actually force the player to explore this new fluidity. He can just sit behind his chest-high wall and line up headshots with his x-ray vision… Expand
  42. HateApe
    Mar 6, 2012
    3
    Disappointing, derivative and convoluted. BioWare tries to make things deep and emotional but with their Bayesque approach to storytelling it just ends up utterly pretentious. You'd expect better from the supposed masters of interactive storytelling. Speaking of interacting there is barely room for it in Mass Effect 3's dialogue system. With the cinematic presentation taken too far youDisappointing, derivative and convoluted. BioWare tries to make things deep and emotional but with their Bayesque approach to storytelling it just ends up utterly pretentious. You'd expect better from the supposed masters of interactive storytelling. Speaking of interacting there is barely room for it in Mass Effect 3's dialogue system. With the cinematic presentation taken too far you will be watching Shepard go on and on without any form of player input almost as if you were really at the cinema. While the generic shoot and stop gameplay isn't necessarily bad it doesn't begin to make up for the rancid conclusion of this maudlin space opera.

    Do yourself a favor and play Deus Ex instead.    … Expand
  43. Fourdee
    Mar 12, 2012
    3
    Mass effect 1 - had many issues, but showed promise in a franchise.
    Mass effect 2 - A step forward in combat mechanics and streamlined gameplay, a step backwards in freedom with a linear exploration feel
    Mass Effect 3 - A quick money making title, ignoring the basics of animation and gameplay mechanics. PC ignorance is bliss here. I dont know what game the review companies are playing,    Mass effect 1 - had many issues, but showed promise in a franchise.
    Mass effect 2 - A step forward in combat mechanics and streamlined gameplay, a step backwards in freedom with a linear exploration feel
    Mass Effect 3 - A quick money making title, ignoring the basics of animation and gameplay mechanics. PC ignorance is bliss here.

    I dont know what game the review companies are playing, but its not the one purchased. A huge disappointing to a franchise that has gone from RPG to a FPS with poor movie style cutsceens. The SPACEBAR is used for running, rolling around, selecting world objects. It fails most of the time and you find yourself rolling around when you try to run. You find yourself standing still when your trying to run because a world object came across your hud. The animations are dreadful, for a game that trys to sell itself as a movie, it feels like they forgot about animating your player, the one you stare at. At the start of the game, you are given an option to either play the game as Action/RPG/Social. Action is the default setting, RPG claims to be "the mass effect experience" but none of the options actually provide you with information on what you gain or lose from each. The end product feels rushed, forced on console gamers and a huge disappointing to a player who loved ME1/2. It seems bioware has lost interest in making "SOLID" games, its a company that just wants to roll in on past victories, and forgets why people loved their 1st games.    … Expand
  44. Afterforever
    Mar 9, 2012
    3
    Cover system isn't nearly as bad as ME1 but worse then ME2. Jennifer Hale voice acting is brilliant. Visually ME2 beats ME3. My imported Shepard looked like almost completely different person. In the end all those choices you made over 120 hours of gameplay (3 games) don't really matter. It all boils down to the decision you make in last 15 minutes of the game and no matter what you do, itCover system isn't nearly as bad as ME1 but worse then ME2. Jennifer Hale voice acting is brilliant. Visually ME2 beats ME3. My imported Shepard looked like almost completely different person. In the end all those choices you made over 120 hours of gameplay (3 games) don't really matter. It all boils down to the decision you make in last 15 minutes of the game and no matter what you do, it leaves a lot of unanswered questions about what happens to Shepard friends and brothers-in-arms. Bleh.… Expand
  45. Thaeru
    Mar 6, 2012
    3
    Rather than trying to expand on the formula which set Mass Effect as one of those rpg-shooter hybrids which grow more frequent as the years pass by, Bioware decided to dismiss it completely in favour of Michael Bay-grade explosions and the like.

    Mass Effect 3 starts off almost a year after ME2 where Shepard has done nothing of note except somehow end up on Earth and is being trailed by    Rather than trying to expand on the formula which set Mass Effect as one of those rpg-shooter hybrids which grow more frequent as the years pass by, Bioware decided to dismiss it completely in favour of Michael Bay-grade explosions and the like.

    Mass Effect 3 starts off almost a year after ME2 where Shepard has done nothing of note except somehow end up on Earth and is being trailed by the Alliance for the **** you've done". That's nice, guess he stopped working with Cerberus and the Council's spectre status meant nothing.

    Anyway, auto-dialogue sets in with little to no player input for minutes on end, probably one of their new innovations when impatient people found dialogue boring and then explosions occur and the Reapers are there. The entire galaxy acts shocked.

    Now, maybe I expected too much from the writers but the pacing is horrible. This isn't just for the intro--though the intro does a wonderful job of showing it--with the entire game having Shepard talking without the player's input and the game hoping to imagine you know **** when you don't before explosions happen everywhere.

    It almost seems like they were trying to build a blockbuster movie rather than write the end of the trilogy, Mac Walters and Casey Hudson being supervised by Michael Bay who's constantly yelling "MORE EXPLOSIONS" throughout the entire creation process.

    In addition to this, importing serves little to no purpose. Killed a character before? It's somehow back alive! Spare a character? Well, they died off-screen! The consequences which were advertised for years now, since the very inception of the series, becoming meaningless and serving nothing but wasting a writer's five seconds to create a new line for the sake of importing.

    I feel like I've been robbed, not simply because of my purchase of ME3 being a complete waste but the entire trilogy built up absolutely nothing. Unable to play ME1 or ME2 anymore, ME3 spoils the entire experience. If I wanted automatic dialogue, crappy plots and one-liners I would find myself playing Gears of War, least they have a slightly rewarding ending (Yes, ME3 ends on a downer note that tries to be optimistic and leaves you with hundreds of questions, none which they try to answer).

    Bioware has fallen hard as of yet, I don't trust they'll be able to stand anymore.

    Useless information:
    Gameplay is choppy on PC, one button covering a thousand functions reeks of bad porting.

    Graphics are worse on PC, shadows everywhere try to obscure poor textures. High Res Patch may be coming but it won't matter since everything is hidden under layers of shadow.

    Multiplayer gets tiresome quickly, essentially being singleplayer without the dialogue (oh wait, that is the singleplayer. lol.) which you fight waves of enemies with Hackett telling you to do things here or there. Level up system is poorly thought out, certain characters have huge imbalances and you need to sacrifice your MP character to get assets for the Single Player (REPLAY VALUE!!111 *cough* not).

    Multiplayer is also necessary to get the better endings, which is absolutely **** absurd.

    Day 1 DLC up the ass costing upwards to 900$ for everything.

    Mass Effect 3 is absolute garbage, as much as I hate to say it.    … Expand
  46. HotdogAssistant
    Mar 6, 2012
    3
    What can I say? This is a HUGE letdown.

    It's one step forward and three steps back for Bioware. The Production values, graphics and coverbased shooting is bigger and better the ever. But at the cost of EVERYTHING else. Mack Walters Human-centric story telling is even more pronounced then in ME2. Cheap Melodrama is everywhere. Choices from previous games are just explained away in a    What can I say? This is a HUGE letdown.

    It's one step forward and three steps back for Bioware.

    The Production values, graphics and coverbased shooting is bigger and better the ever.
    But at the cost of EVERYTHING else.

    Mack Walters Human-centric story telling is even more pronounced then in ME2.
    Cheap Melodrama is everywhere.
    Choices from previous games are just explained away in a sentence to get things the same for everyone.
    You need to have played ALL the DLC from ME2, as well needing the novels to "get" this game due to all the changes and ret-cons.
    By the end of the game, I was sick of seeing that kid that died at the beginning. Why does this traumatize Shepard when the death of his lover, his family, his friends and even himself have NO effect on him? Gotta get those Cawwadooty kiddies right?

    The endings are a **** cop out, that serve no purpose but to set up the MMO. The vision was compromised and the narrative is now clearly driven by EA suits, and hack writers trying to push their agendas in the subtext.

    I'm just....sad that it came to this. The talent has left Bioware it seems.    … Expand
  47. Iceforge
    Mar 6, 2012
    3
    I can't believe this.
    I've played ME1, it was a great FPS/RPG hybrid with its flaws, but the story and the art direction pushed it foward, I've enjoyed every single moment of that pearl.
    Then I've played ME2, and I was disappointed, it wasn't BAD but it was suffering from being the middle title, so no real plot progression, most of the game was going around being the fetch boy for the    I can't believe this.
    I've played ME1, it was a great FPS/RPG hybrid with its flaws, but the story and the art direction pushed it foward, I've enjoyed every single moment of that pearl.
    Then I've played ME2, and I was disappointed, it wasn't BAD but it was suffering from being the middle title, so no real plot progression, most of the game was going around being the fetch boy for the local quest givers, but I actually liked how they evolved the gameplay into being more dinamic even though I was worried about it going closer to a over the shoulder FPS and the mediocre quality of the wriiting.
    Now here we are at Mass Effect 3... what is this Bioware ? Did you mistreat your employers and they've decided to release a bad product out of spite ?
    The bad writing got even worse, you have destroyed all of the characters, the reapers have been downgreaded to a generic space conqueror when they were well fledged space death bringers in the first two games. "LET'S FIGHT BACK !" ? Are you joking me ? Should I be scared of a villain who dances between being an unbeatable abomination and Team Roket ?
    The gameplay is Gear Of Wars, plain and simple, you've thrown away the original gameplay and gave the middle finger to the people who made ME famous in the first place, but I should've seen it coming on ME2.
    The graphics are dated, UE3 is good if used right but if you put low resolution blurry textures and badly designed blocky levels with the same level of phantasy as TRON, the game looks bad even if the tech behind it is great.
    The Soundtrack is good at least, doesn't get boring and does its job into helping you immersing in the game.
    There is one thing that really hit me though, none of my choices matter. none. Everything just turns out the same in a different flavour, with some dialogues changing. That is NOT shaping the world on my choices, that is playing Deus Ex on your story and making sure things go the way you want regardless of what we think.
    And I can accept that, but at least don't LIE to us, tell us sincerely that you got over your head, wrote yourself into a corner and were forced to retcon stuff to make the game better, it's understandable and way better than giving yet another middlefinger to your customers.
    Finally, I don't know if Bioware's success got to its head, but they have forgotten their roots, they think they are god and whoever disagree is either a troll or WRONG by divine right, they won't accept critics and improve upon them, which can only lead them into making even worse games.
    I hope EA will do something about the few bad member of your otherwise great dev team.    … Expand
  48. JebusGobson
    Mar 6, 2012
    3
    I created this account just to be able to express my disappointment with the route Bioware has chosen. It's becoming depressingly common that RPG game creators, after carving out a loyal fanbase and establishing their name, suddenly get an aversion from everything that constitutes an RPG and try to craft their games in order to cater to the lowest common denominator (see for instance:I created this account just to be able to express my disappointment with the route Bioware has chosen. It's becoming depressingly common that RPG game creators, after carving out a loyal fanbase and establishing their name, suddenly get an aversion from everything that constitutes an RPG and try to craft their games in order to cater to the lowest common denominator (see for instance: Fallout, Deus Ex, etc. - although the latest games in these series have gone back somewhat to being actual RPGs, somewhat). It's curious how game developers still seem to assume that the average gamer is a 14-year old console player with no taste or opinion. Did they really think that no-one would 'notice' Mass Effect has turned into a Gears of War clone? Of course they do. Also, why in the world would they even want to emulate Gears of War? Isn't Mass Effect at least as big as Gears of War is? It really puzzles me.

    I had the same feelings when I played Dragon Age II, but I hoped that was just a fluke. After Mass Effect 3, it has become obvious that this is really a new strategy. I wish them well, but in me they have now lost a customer. I own every RPG they ever made - except that MMORPG - but I will be buying no more Bioware games, until I feel confident they've improved on their current trend of mediocre gameplay and (especially) terrible writing. It's never a good idea to alienate the most loyal and (because of age) most financially capable of your fanbase, in a stupid attempt to gain 'new fans'.    … Expand
  49. wwefan1089
    Mar 6, 2012
    3
    Its no secret this game failed expectations for all fans, sadly this is that terrible excuse of a writer
    who wrote M.I.T.H. (wont say her name or nickname to keep band-wagoners off) terrible terrible writing
    as a business owner id fire this employee immediately i want to be successful and dropping a load to make a load of cash is necessary to me, the fact this writer wants to represent    Its no secret this game failed expectations for all fans, sadly this is that terrible excuse of a writer
    who wrote M.I.T.H. (wont say her name or nickname to keep band-wagoners off) terrible terrible writing
    as a business owner id fire this employee immediately i want to be successful and dropping a load to make a load of cash is necessary to me, the fact this writer wants to represent homosexual is beyond me
    nobody has asked for this, thinking they need any representation in video games is completely asinine and immature, but apart from that making DLC which is very important to the lore and day one which means if you want to know something that should be included in the game already you got to fork over money to see it, think if a movie at the theaters made you pay another ticket just to see deleted scenes and another ending would be outraging this how we feel, bioware drop the poor writers its for your own good i know good writing i frequent 9gag daily. in my opinion remake ME3 and make it good    … Expand
  50. fosuno
    Mar 6, 2012
    3
    After playing Mass effect one and two for hours on end I was heartbroken when I lost my save-files, So I decided before this came out too marathon through the first two games. However I later found out that wasn't even necessary as with the dumbed down choices and for the most part Ignoring of past decisions playing the first 2 games was not even necessary at this point. This was a hugeAfter playing Mass effect one and two for hours on end I was heartbroken when I lost my save-files, So I decided before this came out too marathon through the first two games. However I later found out that wasn't even necessary as with the dumbed down choices and for the most part Ignoring of past decisions playing the first 2 games was not even necessary at this point. This was a huge let down because ME2 showed us just how important our choices were. as for the game it self Multi-player is decently fun however sacrificing the quality of single player to add it is a extreme let down. Overall If you enjoyed the overall feel of the first two games this will feel like a let down however if you just want a bro-op game wait for it to go on sale and it should give you some hours with a friend.… Expand
  51. RanleyStoo
    Mar 6, 2012
    3
    Mass Effect 3 is yet the latest disappointment from BioWare. Gone are the days of a solid RPG setting taking the foreground and a plausible story in the background. With the addition of Autodialogue you are now forced to witness a story first and a game second. Calling this an RPG is an insult to real RPG's like Planescape, Fallout, Baldurs Gate and Neverwinter Nights. The first MassMass Effect 3 is yet the latest disappointment from BioWare. Gone are the days of a solid RPG setting taking the foreground and a plausible story in the background. With the addition of Autodialogue you are now forced to witness a story first and a game second. Calling this an RPG is an insult to real RPG's like Planescape, Fallout, Baldurs Gate and Neverwinter Nights. The first Mass Effect game was truly great, it had the classic RPG elements and focus while still telling a good story. The second game began to discard RPG elements for a more Gears of War style shooting game. By the time the third arrived all hope was lost, the "decisions" you make can be skipped over in auto-dailogue mode, the reprecussions of the decisions have little to no impact upon the endings except at the very end. ME3 will be heralded by many as some truly great game in a series of great games. Perhaps, and for that it earns at least 3 points from me. However, to see it called an RPG and created by the same people who were responsible for great ones such as NWN BG2 and DAO it's a massive step backwards and thus lost 7 points.

    But you know what? You'll just ignore all of this and claim I'm being a homophobe instead.    … Expand
  52. luluebelle
    Mar 6, 2012
    3
    to me the graphics its not that good when i look to naughty dog masterpiece uncharted3 mass effect looks very bad!!! i hate the story its very predictable ..its very disappointed..i preordered it a year ago i thought it gonna be like mass effect 2 but its not..bioware can do better..i think mass effect is the worst of the series. thank you bioware for ruined it lets hope we hear abotto me the graphics its not that good when i look to naughty dog masterpiece uncharted3 mass effect looks very bad!!! i hate the story its very predictable ..its very disappointed..i preordered it a year ago i thought it gonna be like mass effect 2 but its not..bioware can do better..i think mass effect is the worst of the series. thank you bioware for ruined it lets hope we hear abot dragon age 4 soon .… Expand
  53. donkeygames
    Mar 7, 2012
    3
    WOW,after dragon age 2 i didnt think bioware could go any lower than that...day one DLC's,even worse animation than bethesda.2D SPRITES IN 2012,talis face is just bioware at their prime,lazy as hell and trying to milk buyers like...jesus christ,an important character is in the dlc
    this game doesnt deserve the 3 i'm giving it
  54. Pareus
    Mar 7, 2012
    3
    If this was a new IP this game would be fine, but it is not a worthy successor to ME1/2. The game makes it very clear that you are playing Bioware's Shepard not your own. Whereas previous games allowed you to choose almost everything Shepard said, here you are railroaded with autodialog and few conversations options through the entire game. The dialogue itself is much worse than previousIf this was a new IP this game would be fine, but it is not a worthy successor to ME1/2. The game makes it very clear that you are playing Bioware's Shepard not your own. Whereas previous games allowed you to choose almost everything Shepard said, here you are railroaded with autodialog and few conversations options through the entire game. The dialogue itself is much worse than previous games as well.
    he game assumes you have read the novels and makes them canon for your Shepard, there is not even a expository line about Anderson stepping down. If you havent played arrival you are similarly left without adequate explanation for the events leading up to ME3. As well, the game is buggy as hell. Expect random freezing/crashes at some missions, missions that wont update, and numerous graphical bugs. You cant even import your ME1 face, I cannot even understand how they thought it was ok to release the game without fixing that one.
    While ME's story has always had a lot of problems with logic and plot holes, the ending to ME3 goes off the deep end. I have no problems with a grim ending, if it is done well, but the ending here, the ending to your Shepard's story now and forever is illogical as hell and poorly written. Nothing you have done throughout the entire series makes a difference in the end, you will be forced into one of three stupid choices, none of which make a damn bit of sense.    … Expand
  55. oatzsquatz
    Mar 7, 2012
    3
    PROS: - Shiny new cutscenes - Wonderful Clint Mansell soundtrack - Better combat, particularly melee (plays like the melee in Dragon Age 2, one button does everything), improved powers - Smarter enemy AIs CONS: - One button does everything in combat - Ridiculously **** dialogue - Forces sexuality into everything (I could give concrete examples, but I may give away spoilers). I will sayPROS: - Shiny new cutscenes - Wonderful Clint Mansell soundtrack - Better combat, particularly melee (plays like the melee in Dragon Age 2, one button does everything), improved powers - Smarter enemy AIs CONS: - One button does everything in combat - Ridiculously **** dialogue - Forces sexuality into everything (I could give concrete examples, but I may give away spoilers). I will say this much: EDI, and, this small segment of dialogue: Shepherd: I hope you're alright, Kaiden Kaiden: Are you flirting with me, Commander? This is literal dialogue and not a joke - Rubbish, rubbish, dialogue. Cringe worthy. Nearly all the time. Some characters do save the ****show, like Garrus. - They actually used a voice changer (blatantly obvious) to use less voice actors (if you don't believe me, once you get to the Citadel you will be able to hear it) - Rehashed animations from the last game (lack of innovation) -Filters, filters everywhere -Cheap emotional pulls and attempts at emotional manipulation EVERYWHERE. It's like they used this to replace bad writing. - SEVERELY LIMITED DIALOGUE OPTIONS. If I wanted to play a shooter, I would have. Two dialogue options? Most dialogues with no options whatsoever? Poor show. -Totally retconns the lore established in the previous games Overall this game shows a shocking lack of attention to detail and blatantly ignores what the fans wanted (contrary to what the developers claim all the time. No one wanted this). The voice acting is stiff and so is the animation. Complete lack of innovation and the only thing they improved was the fighting - to add to this, they even used well-known stock images as some of their sources and the copies are glaring - look up "winter on mars" and you should see what I mean, if you've beaten the game. They force sexuality on the player, and if you reject it then the characters hate yours. This series has ended on a bad note. For fans of the series, it sucks majorly. For people who want a shooter, play Call of Duty or Gears of War instead… Expand
  56. kingofparades
    Mar 7, 2012
    3
    I loved mass effect. It had it's flaws, but it seemed like the start to a promising series. And yet somehow, bioware managed to make each game a parody of the previous one. The gameplay is weak, the writing is atrocious. The game pretends that it's trying to be progressive with it's same-sex relationships, but more than anything it just seems like it's fetishistic gays, which is franklyI loved mass effect. It had it's flaws, but it seemed like the start to a promising series. And yet somehow, bioware managed to make each game a parody of the previous one. The gameplay is weak, the writing is atrocious. The game pretends that it's trying to be progressive with it's same-sex relationships, but more than anything it just seems like it's fetishistic gays, which is frankly offensive. Worst of all, it feels like previous choices didn't actually make any difference. Mass Effect 2 disappointed me: Mass Effect 3 makes me feel WRONGED.… Expand
  57. diula3
    Mar 7, 2012
    3
    this is very disappointing lack of variety of combat elements. just shoot and run shoot and run and thats it binding every action into one key responsible for run,pick, cover, heal is absolutely retarded this will get you killed very often when you try to run but it ducks into some ridiculous cover rpg elements are ridiculously insufficient. poor graphics on pc lack quality anti aliasing ,this is very disappointing lack of variety of combat elements. just shoot and run shoot and run and thats it binding every action into one key responsible for run,pick, cover, heal is absolutely retarded this will get you killed very often when you try to run but it ducks into some ridiculous cover rpg elements are ridiculously insufficient. poor graphics on pc lack quality anti aliasing , just some ridiculously blurry silly fxaa instead of msaa and high texture also lacking no match for skyrim and previous mass effect titles what a shame bioware such a huge let down… Expand
  58. huah27
    Mar 9, 2012
    3
    I don't know how those who gave good review can be satisfied with ME3. I think either they are newbies who only played ME3 or paid by Bioware/EA. First of all, all the choices I have made in ME1 and ME2 seemed not to have impact at all in ME3. Saving or killing queen rachni didn't affect so much in ME3. Saving or destroying Maelon data at ME2 didn't really help in making genophage cure.I don't know how those who gave good review can be satisfied with ME3. I think either they are newbies who only played ME3 or paid by Bioware/EA. First of all, all the choices I have made in ME1 and ME2 seemed not to have impact at all in ME3. Saving or killing queen rachni didn't affect so much in ME3. Saving or destroying Maelon data at ME2 didn't really help in making genophage cure. And the thing that disappointed me so much is the ENDING. I have spent many hours for all these 3 series to make sure I have the best ending (and had most of the alliances, and was "forced" to play MP to get 100% galactic readiness in ME3). However, the ending is just horrible, HORRIBLE! My effort seemed like nothing when I saw the ending. I was so sad bcoz ME series could have been the best sci-fi story ever. But, I am quite satisfied with side mission where I can meet my old friends in ME2.… Expand
  59. puzzlemaniak
    Mar 8, 2012
    3
    I'm just feeling so terribly disappointed with ME3, it's like either Bioware doesn't give a damn about their fans, or EA purposely makes them create games like that. At the first glance it doesn't look bad, you can import your old character, game tells you what choices have you taken (the most important ones naturally), you can customize looks like in ME, classes have close resemblance toI'm just feeling so terribly disappointed with ME3, it's like either Bioware doesn't give a damn about their fans, or EA purposely makes them create games like that. At the first glance it doesn't look bad, you can import your old character, game tells you what choices have you taken (the most important ones naturally), you can customize looks like in ME, classes have close resemblance to ME2 ones (similar abilities, new "specialization"-like forks though + some additional skills sometimes), and god, after you're done it starts. Intro might look ok, but certainly graphics don't - engine got old, but it's not a excuse, you feel like playing some low grade console port instead of major game, textures are hideous, animations as well (especially Anderson's, and omg, he's footaged even in demo), nothing special in lightning or mimics departments, so in short - it's like ME2, bah, maybe even worse. Art direction makes up for it though, as it did before, some views are really stunning plus majority of "open" areas (open only by name, zones are as small as they used be) really feels deep. No major concerns about music/sound, even though like 50% or more is reused which hurts. You'd think they moved some budget elsewhere (like story, dialogues etc.), but then "fun" begins. Main plot is really shallow, each subsequent mission kinda pushes you through, pace is just too high, I admit, some turns really are decent, but imho, everything is just too blatant and easy to anticipate, especially closer to ending - it's like they either ran out of cash or EA pushed devs so game could be released earlier. I don't know, but for sure, ending in this game is just very weak (at best), and can really cause outrage in some impatient fans. Anyway, it's still better than what was done to all the sidequests, now they're close to inexistent - like 80% them is simple "get the item' (usually by snapping it from shops or finding in new user unfriendly galaxy exploration), bring it to Citadel (no other quest hub), talk to NPC and claim reward. No dialogue choices (bb persuading or threatening npcs for greater rewards), just probe-item-reward cycle over and over again. You can feel lucky if npc actually has anything to say, mostly it's just simple 1-liner w/o choice, just like it was with Kasumi and Zaeed ship dialogues in ME2. Now imagine it dumbed down even more, and you get brief look on how npc interaction looks, really. Yes, even with important persons, including team mates. When dialogue wheel appears you can be certain it's either opportunity for some questions regarding landmarks, persons etc. or binary paragon/renegade choice, "Do or do not" like Yoda would say, and it applies here in a very bad manner. You don't feel like you have control over action any more, not mentioning choices you've done before (if importing) are barely touched, should you kill or spare certain people (notably ME2 squad mates), outcome is basically the same, npc gets replaced by some random other, lines stay the same, and it just keeps turning like it was. Hell, I even tried dialogue with 'Irritating Man' with opposite choices and it was just the same, only Shep's lines changed. For the joke's sake you had paragon/renegade limited choices, and they didn't do the trick either, which is just ridiculous (not enough money for creating proper dialogue scripts and doing VA? I don't think so) and pushes you away from game. So far I could name only 2 things that changed in plus - combat and weaponry. Fighting is much faster than it was in ME2, you get some new skills and ways to customize them, also choice of weapons is much larger, with additional customization in that field by adding 2 mods of choice for each. Now you have to decide if you want, let's say super strong Black Widow rifle or some small SMG, because each one differs in weight and your overall balance changes cooldowns on abilities, by either shortening them or lengthen by as much as 200% (if really encumbered). You have some fancy new mechanics like shooting through walls and such. All in all not too shabby, but not with these controls, especially often cumbersome space usage. Since I'm close to 5k limit, I'll just do a quick balance:
    +fast-paced fights with various tactics applicable +weapons customizable again! +overall design -gfx -story -dialogues -interaction -exploration -side quests
    -"flat" choices
    -close to 0 influence on story outcome
    -certain plot turns are just plain stupid
    -npcs have no character (especially new)
    -multiplayer
    -ME badge in spite of being that bad
    -horrid endings
    -general lack of polish
    -1st day DLC not free (greedy much?)
    -Origin
    Yup, it's really that big let down, no BW games for me anytime soon, unless they repent and leave leeches from EA.    … Expand
  60. Nichtswisser
    Mar 8, 2012
    3
    Welcome to to the future of Bioware.. It really seems that all those guys that know what they were doing left Bioware and were replaced by characters inspired by the movie "Ideocracy". There is that otaku women which is probably a virgin and who seems to have a yaoi (gay male romances) fetish. Than there is that crazy dude I saw in a DA2 video and who came up with the "awesome button". AndWelcome to to the future of Bioware.. It really seems that all those guys that know what they were doing left Bioware and were replaced by characters inspired by the movie "Ideocracy". There is that otaku women which is probably a virgin and who seems to have a yaoi (gay male romances) fetish. Than there is that crazy dude I saw in a DA2 video and who came up with the "awesome button". And there is probably one EA suit dude who is never without his statistics why call of duty is so successful and who spams his opinion in every meeting that more explosions are needed. And with those 3 responsible for game design ME3 is what we got. Lots and lots of gay romances, just as much explosions, and the evolution of the "awesome button", the "awesome does all button"! And it really is awesome when you try to run away and instead take cover with your back exposed to the enemy! Yet just like with DA2, the most "awesome" button is the one which removes this **** from your hdd!… Expand
  61. LEMIEUX66
    Mar 8, 2012
    3
    What the heck happened after Mass Effect 1? The story is dumbed down the feeling of the first and partly the second game is gone...Have they fired all veterans at Bioware and replaced them with people who makes action games for 13 year olds??? where is gaming headed??im genuinly scared and sad i really loved Mass Effect 1:-(
  62. Hippari
    Mar 8, 2012
    3
    This doesn't feel like it cost 50 million dollars to make. I'm wishing it didn't cost me 80 dollars to buy.

    Before all that, I never really got into any Bioware games beyond Mass Effect, but the first one really snagged me. I bought it on a Steam sale for 5 dollars because it was so highly praised. I saw why! Its combat was moderately challenging, had a great story, cool characters and    This doesn't feel like it cost 50 million dollars to make. I'm wishing it didn't cost me 80 dollars to buy.

    Before all that, I never really got into any Bioware games beyond Mass Effect, but the first one really snagged me. I bought it on a Steam sale for 5 dollars because it was so highly praised. I saw why! Its combat was moderately challenging, had a great story, cool characters and I enjoyed their interactions with each other and the universe they lived in. It was a living breathing environment that I was simply enraptured by. As soon as Mass Effect 2 was announced, I preordered the Collector's edition because I had no idea that things were going to get cheesey. Still, the game didn't disappoint me. It looked better, put me in some great new environments while cutting out a lot of the generic copy paste elements from the first and best of all, introduced some more great characters with genuinely cool interactions between them. Sure the classic combat got thrown under the bus in favor of the tried and true bootleg Gears of War system, but it wasn't broken by any means. It still left me with a good enough taste in my mouth to preorder the CE of ME3. Besides, I was this invested in the series, I had to see it end.

    Oh boy. Too put it simply, Mass Effect 3 is lazy. The characters look, move and sound terribly. On the design front, I could take or leave most to f the new outfits and the textures are also hit or miss, but some character's faces look positively simian (Ashley). Margaret Cho bot makes a cameo in the game for whatever reason that is, taking the place of Kelly Wong's established character. From a quick google search, she is actually pretty, but you wouldn't think so from the way she's rendered in game with her ginormous squirrel face and mouth that moves independent from the rest of her features. I heard that a lot of the development was put into voice acting ,which is believable because there are loooots of it, but the volume normalization is really off and on to the point of me wonderig where the money went. Margaret Chobot in particular has a bad habit of leaning away from the mic every now and then. If she were saying anything important I'd doubtlessly be more irritated.

    The game's animations are also sloppy; there are LOTS of poorly thought out loops mixed with awkward general movements. I giggle everytime I knock an enemy down and they break dance windmill flare there way back to their feet, but I can't help being disappointed with the stupid looking running animations.

    Oh, the breakdance comment reminds me of the developers decision to make the spacebar do everything. Sometimes it works! Really! On tuchanka I found myself just holding spacebar and marvelled at how my character ran and jumped over the stuff I wanted to jump over, and slid and rolled everywhere I inted them to. Theeeeeen... there are cases where I'm trying to pick up an item on the ground and my Shepard instead chooses to do kumbi rolls around it for 45 seconds before sliding into cover behind a chest-high wall, not having picked up the item I tried telling them to. Nobody's perfect.

    One thing that really broke my heart though was the fact that all my Saved character faces were imported poorly. I could recreate them, sure, but that's just pathetic. I don't understand why it's like that. If they added more options to the character creation bits, yeah sure, but they didn't. Why couldn't my sheps be imported properly?

    Of course, aside from character continuity, none of these previously mentioned issues were the thing that made me enjoy this series. After all if I want good and fluid combat I'll play Gears of War. If I want great animations I'll play GTA4. I wanted to see what became of these characters that I'm so invested in, of their universe that fascinates me so. I don't want to spoil anything, but God, this is where the ball was dropped. A lot of characters are cameos and after thoughts, like an old friend who stops by to give a quick hello in the middle of a roadtrip. The story has also drowned in nacho cheese to the point that it has simply become predictable when not outrageous and kinda generic where it used to be something special. It almost makes me feel as if Mass Effect 2 was a completely pointless existence. I have a sneaking suspicion that they knew the old players would come back no matter what and they had to focus on roping in new ones.

    The multiplayer's cool though, I guess. If you're into that. I'm not.

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

    But the biggest were the endings or should I say ending. The purpose of an ending is to give closure not raise more questions. Ignoring the fact that the ending has plot holes everywhere, it's still so poorly written that it's incredible anyone at Bioware thought it was acceptable. Is that to say the game is poorly written? Of course not, it's very well written, but the end that's supposed to explain the series is so badly executed it detracts from the experience as a whole. As a player, we should have to ask questions like, why isn't the normandy fighting the reapers on earth in the end, or why are the squadmates on the ground suddenly on board the normandy, or why are the mass relays always destroyed regardless of the choices made? To anyone playing this game currently, do not play past the conversation on board the citadel with anderson and he illusive man, everything afterwards gives no closure whatsoever and in fact forces the player to follow Bioware in the hopes that they'll achieve the closure they want. This is simply terrible decision making on the part of Bioware. I would have easily given this game an 8/10 if I ignored the glitches and absurdly bad ending, and while it can be argued that the game should be viewed as a whole, the ending's negative impact was strong enough to suck any joy I had in the experience getting there. So NO, 3/10 is the best I can do    … Expand
  64. Whyowhy23
    Mar 9, 2012
    3
    I will say that this game has some amazing content, that being said, most characters are cameo appearances if not just a footnote in a message. The last 20 minutes of the game will literally shock and awe those who have been giving Bioware and EA the benefit of the doubt, it is really that bad. It was a horrible ending. There are some that will try to say some nice things, but reallyI will say that this game has some amazing content, that being said, most characters are cameo appearances if not just a footnote in a message. The last 20 minutes of the game will literally shock and awe those who have been giving Bioware and EA the benefit of the doubt, it is really that bad. It was a horrible ending. There are some that will try to say some nice things, but really Bioware needs to damage control the ending if it hopes to save the franchise with spinoffs or its name. I used to be a Bioware/EA fan like I was a Colts fan, not anymore. I will not buy anymore content from them, and finally put the controller away, and no longer take the 3 day break when the new game of the year comes out.… Expand
  65. shnelle
    Mar 9, 2012
    3
    I very much enjoyed playing Mass Effect 3. The story was was well fleshed out. I had a good amount of time spent with my teammates and mostly everyone I knew from the last two games. The gameplay was stellar. I have loved the Multiplayer and I'm one of the ones who thought "Bioware is on Crack" when I first heard about it. My LI (who was Garrus) had a great story. I'm very happy withI very much enjoyed playing Mass Effect 3. The story was was well fleshed out. I had a good amount of time spent with my teammates and mostly everyone I knew from the last two games. The gameplay was stellar. I have loved the Multiplayer and I'm one of the ones who thought "Bioware is on Crack" when I first heard about it. My LI (who was Garrus) had a great story. I'm very happy with the romance, it was so much more then I was expecting. The Narrative gave you a great feeling of "OMG can I do this" which is what I think they were going for. I did feel closer to my Shepard then in the first two games. I loved the updated character models compared to the last two games. I loved the new Default Femshep. Not including the ending I cried when my old teammates died. But they died in a way that their death was worth it, they had closure and I was proud of them. I thought the game was made so much more Epic this time around. I really did enjoy every facet of the game, until the end of course.

    No matter how much I enjoyed it and how good it was the endings completely ruined my Mass Effecet 3 experience. The rest of the game was awesome. If the endings had made me feel just a little like a hero/savior, something to make me smile at the end then this would probably have been one of the best games I've ever played. If you ignore the endings ME3 really is a great accomplishment. When I finish a game I should have a great feeling of acomplishment. I should feel on top of the world. Even if there is a tragic ending with sacrifice I should feel that everything is going to be better. When I was finished with Mass Effect 3 I was hit with such a huge whammy of depression and unhappy that I still haven't recovered from it hours later. A game should never make you feel this way. I don't mind crying because something is sad. But if I cry it should be with the feeling of hope or "they did good". There was none of that when I finished Mass Effect 3.

    1) I would have exposition explaining what happens with the citadel, relays, crew galaxy, races, etc. If Shep lives I would show he gets reunited with his/her LI. If he doesn't I would show Shep getting mourned. I would show the Normandy getting repaired and being picked up by the Alliance and Shep reuniting with his/her crew and LI.

    2) I would have the Blue Ending be destorying the reapers ONLY along with the Citadel and the relays because a main paragon theme of Mass Effect series has been not using the reaper tech as a short cut. The galaxy has to develop on its own.

    3) I would have the Red ending being controlling the reapers. Because one of the main renegade themes of the Mass Effect series has been about gaining power you cannot control. I would show that Shep becomes either the catalist, or some kind of Reaper AI. The Citadel and relays are damaged but they are still around. Maybe he uses the reapers to help the galaxy or mankind only

    4) I like the idea of the green ending, its imaginative. I would like to keep it. I would still blow up the citadel and the relays with the green ending

    5) I would give Shep a chance to live on each ending depending on your assets and reputation.

    I think the endings are imaginative. I also think they go against the main themes of Mass Effect (controlling Reapers gaining unlimited power with the Reaper tech is a Renegade theme) (Destroying Reapers only and all their Tech to allow the galaxy to live on its own and develop on its own is a Paragon theme) and suddenly its switched at the end. I like the synthesis theme.

    I can't stand the feeling that my crew, all the people I was fighting for that are still alive are doomed. Thats what I don't like. Yes the galaxy will recover in thousands of years, thats a given. But I want to know that the people, my crew, people I fought for that survived have hope of making a better life. The lack of exposition and the way things were presented leaves you with a sour feeling of despair. It is the lack of exposition for me. Also the stand off against TIM is so Saren 2.0. Please give us something different.

    I would rather have the choice (since choice has always been a serious theme of Bioware) that if I work hard enough to make a perfect perfect ending then my Shepard gets a happy ending with their LI. Cause they have put some awesome work into making us fall in love with these characters. It gives me a reason to play a new game+.    … Expand
  66. Adain
    Mar 9, 2012
    3
    Its an amazing game all the way up till the last 5 mins. I didn't think it was possible but we have an ending so bad that it ruins the entire series. I can't even think about playing any of the other ME games after watching this ending.

    So in short its a 9 up til the last 5 mins The last 5 mins are so incredibly bad that it pushes the game down to a 4. The fact its origin exclusive    Its an amazing game all the way up till the last 5 mins. I didn't think it was possible but we have an ending so bad that it ruins the entire series. I can't even think about playing any of the other ME games after watching this ending.

    So in short its a 9 up til the last 5 mins

    The last 5 mins are so incredibly bad that it pushes the game down to a 4.

    The fact its origin exclusive knocks off another point.    … Expand
  67. someasianguy
    Mar 9, 2012
    3
    I do not blame Bioware for the insult that is ME3 - I blame EA, for they have obviously leaned on Bioware to push this out way before it was truly ready, and the ending is where that rushedness is most obvious.

    The storyline gets you going at places, and the cinematic scenes can be quite attractive at times, but you can just feel the DLC spam waiting to pounce. When it comes to sci-fi    I do not blame Bioware for the insult that is ME3 - I blame EA, for they have obviously leaned on Bioware to push this out way before it was truly ready, and the ending is where that rushedness is most obvious.

    The storyline gets you going at places, and the cinematic scenes can be quite attractive at times, but you can just feel the DLC spam waiting to pounce. When it comes to sci-fi games, the original KOTOR and ME1 trumps this anyday, hell, the KOTOR gfx arn't that far off ME3.    … Expand
  68. Valc
    Mar 9, 2012
    3
    The ending. Oh god. THE ENDING.

    Why Bioware, WHY!?!?

    I loved this game, seeing all my old comrades, everything leading up to the deciding moment where I'd save Earth and ultimately the galaxy. Then Bioware took a dump on my monitor.
  69. DvorkaM
    Mar 10, 2012
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I do realize it will sound a bit strange but if you turn this game off 5 minutes before ending, I would give this game 80%(-20 for combat, they implemented wave system from dragon age 2) Game was thoroughly enjoyable, I even felt moved to the point of tears at certain point, but then came the ending, not only did it seem that developers just ran out of time to finish it, it didn't matter if you are paragon renegade, whatever choices you made you were simply put in front of three choices (bluntly ripped off from deus ex). And to add an insult to an injury all three are basically same just a different color show. With the number of plot holes making all endings confusing, I was mostly angered that it basically ruined the reason to play any three of the installments again, because it will end all the same anyway. Had the retirement house from pinnacle station? forget it. Freed rachni quee? doesnt matter. Romanced someone? Well aside from three f***s you got, that is it. Yeah you saved he galaxy, yeah you busted your hump for three years, but no, you cant get a break. I loved mass effect 1 and 2 but now I wont be able to play it again, because it is pointless. That is why I put only 3, because the ending was so bad that it effectively ruined three games… Expand
  70. Speech500
    Mar 10, 2012
    3
    I feel that i have to give a fair review of Mass Effect 3, though there will be minor spoilers throughout, but i will try not to give too much away.
    1. Graphics
    The graphics in this game are, i am unhappy to say, just not up to scratch for 2012. Though they didn't empair my experience too much, there were definitely scenes that were nice but i know that if they were in better quality, the    I feel that i have to give a fair review of Mass Effect 3, though there will be minor spoilers throughout, but i will try not to give too much away.
    1. Graphics
    The graphics in this game are, i am unhappy to say, just not up to scratch for 2012. Though they didn't empair my experience too much, there were definitely scenes that were nice but i know that if they were in better quality, the game would have been stunning.
    2. Cutscenes
    I think bioware uses so many cutscenes because their textures aren't very good. Needless to say, the cutscenes are very nice, but they don't give much to the overall experience, as i can think of only one or two that looked really cool.
    3. Conversations
    I have to say that the conversations in this game took a turn for the worse. In ME2, Shepard doesn't say anything unless you make him, this gave players a feeling that it was their character. In ME3, you are given a very mean line or a very nice line, and this gives it a bit of a Fable 3ish Feeling. These give you lots of reputation as you very rarely even get to choose what Shepard says at all.
    4. Carry Over Choices
    Not many things carry over from ME2, Though the couple that do are just about if Ashley died or if your team died, you get a memorial in the Normandy. ME3 was more about ME3 than the trilogy.
    5. The Boy
    This was really something i wish i could forget. Shepard obsesses over this kid right up to the ending, no doubt in an effort to pull our heartstrings. It's not like (spoiler) Mordin dying, as we know and love him. What do we care if some badly textured kid gets blown up!?
    6. The End
    The End was..... God no... (spoilers)
    The player has a readiness rating going from 0 to 5000, the readiness rating is increased by playing multiplayer. At the very end of the game, the player can choose from three options, all pretty **** for the galaxy. The more you played multiplayer, the more of the tree are open to you. You can either Control the reapers, killing yourself, to make them go away; You can turn every race into cyborgs of sorts, making the reapers go away; or you can Destroy them. These three vary depending on how much you did multiplayer. If you didn't do multiplayer, you can only choose destroy, and you kill all life on earth. The fact that the single player campaign has nothing to do with the end is completely shocking, and the multiplayer addition is worse still. The endings aren't even good! I finished yesterday and I just feel cheated.
    7. DLC
    This is an important part of the trilogy, and i am not going into why i am not happy that it isn't in the game in the first place. Though i can understand why it isn't on the disk, it should not cost me money. In my opinion, this is worth pirating, but don't quote me on it.
    8. Combat
    I chose narrative, so for me it was EZPZ but it was also fun. As an adept, I looked forward to playing. I liked to pull people into the air and then either explode them with a throw or make Liara use stasis, making the guy just hang there for a while. It's a laugh.
    9. Interface
    The interface is really nice and clean in Mass effect 3, something i loved. Everything is easy to do and the power system is flawless. The map is nice as it gives markers for certain places of interest.
    10. Minigames
    I actually missed the Mining interface. It game people a reason to visit planets and explore. I just couldn't afford a lot of the things that needed researching, and i felt the research option in ME3 really went down hill. I am very happy that the Debug and Hack mini games are back, because i personally always hated the **** out of them.
    11. Citadel
    I loved the Citadel this time around, though it was at the sacrifice at Omega and Illium. I'm not sue it was worth it, but forgetting those two, the citadel is bigger and better! Instead of the colorful techno feeling to it, there is a vibrant metropolis filled with sunshine and terrorists. It's a lovely place to go and relax after killing evil monsters from outer space.
    12. Characters
    The characters were really well done, when you don't count the jersey shore cast... Forgetting Bioware's slip up with the romance stuff, i really felt an attatchment to a few of the characters, I.E Garrus, EDI, Liara, and Tali. not having as many people in the team was worth the fact that they really come into their own as individual people. And yes, the loyalty missions are gone, but bioware gives you a sort of loyalty mission for watch, like a central mission revolving around that person.
    13. Antagonists
    The Baddies (Geth, Cerberus and Reapers) are really good and well defined in this game, you can tell instantly who your fighting, as each has it's own fighting styles and representatives. This was one of the things Bioware and Sata... EA did right.

    I'm not going to tell you which is the best, that's up to you to decide, but the information i gave you is mostly unbiased. Thanks for reading my review on Mass Effect 3!    … Expand
  71. Singu
    Mar 10, 2012
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game delivers a lot of good moments and for a nutcase like me who spent far too much time on the first two games it felt very good to have my choices in those games revisited in ME3. Gameplay is smoother than ever, and the classes and their abilities show that they've polished an already great thing going on from ME2. Sound was great. Both the music and the environment is brimming with quality, and it takes your auditory senses and immerse them in this world. In general I would say that the game is perfect, and my emotional involvement with the story was made even deeper by the time the final act of the game was finishing up. So, with all this praise there is no big secret that the score reflects what comes next. The ending(s) where horrible. There was a moment of actual physical pain experiencing them, because I was so emotionally involved with the world they had invited me into. I shouldn't experience a feeling of betrayal from something like a fictional story in a game, but that's how I feel. Maybe my love for the game was too strong, I don't know, but the hurt is there and it's reflected in the score I give it.… Expand
  72. Peterski
    Mar 11, 2012
    3
    ME3... Gears of War in Mass Effect universe. I did love Mass Effect 2, played it so many times. ME3, I do not even want to finish it once. Disappointment on all the levels - quite shocking how can one mess such a great title.
  73. dmy
    Mar 11, 2012
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The March 6th was the happiest day yet of the year 2012 -- the long awaited (and preordered) ME3 was out. The March 9th was the saddest -- I've completed playing the story. Now let me tell why it was so sad I wanted to cry.
    Last thing first -- the endings. So Deus Ex-ish choices... and three same-looking animation sequences that are mostly completely irrelevant to what was going on before. It totally killed all the previous story, the feel, all what I expected to see. Next is the 12-year-old game play tucked into an M-rated title. It made me chuckle to see ALL the human characters wearing underwear, even when it is completely inappropriate by the story. Why not make less body area available to viewing but let it go naked and let the power of imagination do the job for you? This worked perfectly for Tali, you know, until we saw that stock photo. Guys, are you seriously thought that nobody will notice that?.. It is Tali we are talking about, the one that gave both male and female gamers so much to dream about! There is more to go on with, but I think I won't make it into 5000 chars limit if I do.
    In the strive to make the game "more accessible for new players" (why? are you saying we pay too little -- $60 for a title plus extra bucks for DLCs, that army of fans you _had_?) you went too far. It is not acceptable product from the point of view of ones that really loved the series' story and feel. Those who like to play CoD and GoW will surely like the "less story, more shooting" way it was going with ME->ME2->ME3, but they won't bring any value to the community -- they won't draw, they won't make fan fiction stories. Why? Because there is little of that story left in ME3. As a conclusion... If the company wanted the buck -- here, you have it, every one fan has bought (preordered, I think) a copy. But you lost something you cannot buy back with the bucks you got -- faith in BioWare as a trademark of high quality role-playing games, loyalty to ME series and active community you once had.    … Expand
  74. Dralium
    Jul 7, 2012
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I gave 0 last time. now the ending makes it less worst. I won't write a new review since I think like everyone else. Don't buy, rent. and stop when you kill the illusive man. no point going further.… Expand
  75. Lauz
    Mar 11, 2012
    3
    Such a let down. First two games in the series were amazing. Such amazing character interaction, the paragon/renegade options and control over how your characters personality grows throughout the game. Engaging side quests and interesting story twists. All of these things that made the series great have been removed for Mass Effect 3. The amount of choices in the first two games gaveSuch a let down. First two games in the series were amazing. Such amazing character interaction, the paragon/renegade options and control over how your characters personality grows throughout the game. Engaging side quests and interesting story twists. All of these things that made the series great have been removed for Mass Effect 3. The amount of choices in the first two games gave the user a great sense of control over their Shepard and led to satisfying results, Mass Effect 3 (not unlike Dragon Age 2) give the user the illusion of pretending they have a choice in the storyline yet no matter the choice, the result is generally the same; give or take a few minor details. They have effectively taken the role playing out of this role playing game and turned it into a typical shooter with dull cut-scenes and a real lack of control over the character's development and personality.

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

    Bioware, what happened?    … Expand
  76. Staph
    Mar 11, 2012
    3
    I'm really sorry to give this game such a low score, but I found the way it rounded up the trilogy outright offensive. The first ME got me hooked by the level of writing that is uncharacteristic of most video games and some of other mediaâ
  77. malra
    Mar 11, 2012
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I would like to preface my review with this statement: As a stand alone game, ME3 kicks a***, it is the best gaming experience in a long time. However, as part of a series I have invested hundred of hours in, 15 plus replays each of ME1 and 2, working through the universe, the relationships, figuring out the lore and the canon, ME3 is the worst gaming experience ever. As I looked at the screen in the final scenes I couldn't understand what was happening, how did I get to this? I fully expected this Shepard to die, that is who this Shepard was, but to say he's dead but controlling the reapers? what does that even mean? To say he lives because he magically endured the explosion of the mass relay inside the citadel or the descent through atmo to earth? I want t replay, to get that ng+ secret ending, but ME3 is so emotionally taxing, especially to a fan who has invested so much time and effort in replaying the first two games, just to get to the ending that left me staring at my t.v. screen and asking "what just happened?" I don't see how I can take that roller coaster ride again.

    I would also like to state that this is not meant to cast aspersions on Bioware's ability to create great games or great franchises. I still play Baldur's gate and Neverwinter Nights, and given the fanbase backlash across the gameverse, not just on the BSN, I would say ME in totality proves that Bioware can write games that totally, emotionally invest the player in ways that no other company has ever been able to do. As someone who has been part of that fanbase for so many years, it is hard for me to see them not only go all Firefly-Battestar-Xfiles-Farscape with unsatisfying plotholes and canon destroying finality but what was up with all that stargate-ascension-existentialist crap?    … Expand
  78. chickymug
    Mar 14, 2012
    3
    BioWare did some great things with Mass Effect 3 in terms of character moments and inclusiveness. It's a shame that the incomprehensible ending overshadows all of it. I can't, in good conscience, recommend a game if I have to add "just stop before the end" on to the recommendation.
  79. ChrisCat378
    Mar 11, 2012
    3
    I was a huge fan of Mass Effect 1 and 2. Not to the point of having Shepard posters in my room or wearing N7 hoodies, but I really enjoyed the Mass Effect story and more importantly the characters I have come to know and love. I was loving Mass Effect 3 and everything in it. How stories where wrapping up, seeing familiar faces triumph, and watching some choices unfold in the last chapter.I was a huge fan of Mass Effect 1 and 2. Not to the point of having Shepard posters in my room or wearing N7 hoodies, but I really enjoyed the Mass Effect story and more importantly the characters I have come to know and love. I was loving Mass Effect 3 and everything in it. How stories where wrapping up, seeing familiar faces triumph, and watching some choices unfold in the last chapter. That was up until the last 10 minutes. Nothing I had done mattered, no resolution, nothing even close to being satisfying. What happened to the divergent story lines? What happened to the characters I have invested so much time getting to know? How can a game franchise built on choice and decisions boil the last and most important 10 minutes down to a few outcomes that are largely the same? I was planning on playing this game over and over like I have with ME1 and ME2 but now.... I dont even feel like starting it up. The ending has sucked so much enjoyment I had in this series its amazing. I wasnt expecting miracles or a story book ending... but certainly not this. I have no motivation to play again or any of the previous games. I didnt think it was possible to rob so much enjoyment out of the series with the last 10 minutes.. but they did. It would take a lot of effort to think of a worse way to end it. As a player you should want to finish the game, you want to see the outcome, and you want to see the repercussions of you actions from the 100+ hours of gameplay before. We get none of that and its why I am very disappointed in this final chapter.… Expand
  80. MrsMod
    Mar 12, 2012
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I have never been a huge gamer, that is my husband, but when I discovered the Mass Effect series I fell in love. I loved everything about it, I felt like I was part of the story and that my choices mattered in the larger picture. I have never played a game where I felt so connected to my characters and emotionally involved with the entire game. I have played the series faithfully and waited anxiously for the final chapter of Shepard's story. Sadly I felt like there was not enough interaction with my crew, just standing there listening to a dialogue that was I had no say in. I didn't feel like there were enough side quests and I was disappointed when it felt that I spent more time fighting Cerberus than the Reapers. For the most part though I enjoyed the the game. It just felt to short to, this is a story that people love and they could have gone so much farther than they. I could have also lived with that. But the end of the game was the biggest disappointment that I could have ever imagined. I was expecting my choices to matter, to have a say in what my Shepard chose, but I was given 3 choices that my Shepard would have never made. There were gaping plot holes and all of the choices that I made in the previous games were thrown out the window. Ex. I made Anderson councilor but now Udina is councilor. My ending choices should not have been made up of choosing what color I want my ending to be.… Expand
  81. kesup26
    Mar 12, 2012
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I just finished this and.... wow just wow. I mean all right, the game didn't have the best story and also had those crappy dream sequences, but it was fairly okay(not good though).... until that DAMN ending and three "choose your bad ending/death" choices! Why the heck nothing we do during the game(and the previous ones) matters? Why the relays exploding doesn't destroy their solar systems? Why is the Normandy mid-jump when this is happening and how is that sequence even possible since the jump is almost instant? Shouldn't the Normandy be fighting above Earth? And how the **** do your squad mates especially those that were with you till the end find themselves on the Normandy? I mean there are a lot of annoying gameplay decisions that I could describe but the ending is SO crap and with so many plot holes and questions, that it takes the cake for most disappointing aspect of the game. It's like seriously, I know fanfiction better than this!… Expand
  82. MunchySnacks
    Mar 12, 2012
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. As a huge fan of the other 2 games in the series I think that ME3 was a huge let down at the end. I can't deny that the game leading up to it was fun and full of good choices. I think that getting the Quariens and the Geth to work together was the best moment in the series. However that only made the ending more of a let down for a game all about choice and being able to change peoples minds the game does not give you that chance when it is most important. Not only can you not make the 3rd paragon choice with the illusive man on the first play through it is also not based at all on your actual paragon status that I could have let slide actually if not for the whole uninteractive conversation with the star child. Why couldn't I point out to him that the Geth and Quariens are making it work!? This was supposed to be a game that honored player choices but instead just gave you a big middle finger to the one choice you actually wanted to make the most.… Expand
  83. gigacorona
    Mar 12, 2012
    3
    Despite is technical/narrative issues as a long time ME fan it was a blast to play right to near the endgame, and then it choked and undermined the entire series forever. Ultimately this game has reduced the franchise to a bad joke in only 20mins. Rent, sell, and boycott any DLC for this game, bioware should not be rewarded for this.
  84. Absolver
    Mar 12, 2012
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Mass Effect 3 starts out as a dark thriller of resolutions, where every choice you made up throughout the game series either comes back to bite you in the rear, or leads to one little gleam of triumphant hope in the middle of a race to save the galaxy.
    It ends, however, with a literal knife in the back of not only your choices throughout three games, but also for many in the very character of Shepard. No matter how successful you have been - no matter if you went back to the very beginning of Mass Effect 1 for a replay to 'fix your mistakes' and truly work towards your impression of a perfect ending, the single-lane locking towards a conclusion at the very end defies logic and leaves only a sour taste in my mouth. There's really no way to describe the intense let-down this is, and only the game's excellent progress through the other forty hours I spent playing it before the last fifteen minutes saves it from a resounding "1" on the rating scale.    … Expand
  85. trouble1019
    Mar 12, 2012
    3
    EA should be ashamed of them selves. The Day 1 DLC was built into the through line of the story and then removed. This is what I would call taking advantage of my loyalty and insulting my intelligence. It's hard to believe that the folks over at EA are clever enough to fully integrate a complete story arc and then remove it before the game is finalized, and then sell the part they removedEA should be ashamed of them selves. The Day 1 DLC was built into the through line of the story and then removed. This is what I would call taking advantage of my loyalty and insulting my intelligence. It's hard to believe that the folks over at EA are clever enough to fully integrate a complete story arc and then remove it before the game is finalized, and then sell the part they removed back to the people who paid a premium price for the game on the same day that the game hits the street, BUT they were unable to keep the BIOWARE team focused enough to create an appropriate ending for an EPIC piece of popular culture. This defines FAILURE in my humble opinion.… Expand
  86. sniperking
    Mar 12, 2012
    3
    ME1 set the grand standard for the whole series. The best of the trilogy and I started playing ME2 first.

    ME2 had some problems but was still a great game. Tied in well with 1. To show that I am not trolling Bioware by writing this, I want to highly endorse playing ME1 and 2, they are why this series has such a passionate fanbase and are achievements in gaming in themselves. BUT BELIEVE    ME1 set the grand standard for the whole series. The best of the trilogy and I started playing ME2 first.

    ME2 had some problems but was still a great game. Tied in well with 1.

    To show that I am not trolling Bioware by writing this, I want to highly endorse playing ME1 and 2, they are why this series has such a passionate fanbase and are achievements in gaming in themselves.

    BUT BELIEVE THE OTHER GAMERS WHEN THEY SAY THAT ME3 IS BAD, IT IS FULL OF PROBLEMS.
    To break it down here why you should not support the direction Bioware took with ME3.

    1. Three bad endings. Let's get one thing straight, fans love this game for its story, characters and world. Its combat was good but not its true selling point. So for Bioware to give us endings which provide no closure and instead tons of plot holes is a big disappointment. Not to mention that if you were involved with the game's 'lore', the ending would make absolutely no sense.

    I personally found the dialogue in this instalment particular dry, even boring. Not a good thing in a game where you spend a lot of time talking to NPCs.

    2. The renegade/paragon system seemed more superficial in this instalment. Do not believe that you control the way the story develops by your so called choices. In the end you have 3 set endings and it seems like your choices are illusory at best.

    After a while I either forgot or didn't care about being renegade/paragon because the game seemed absent of truly reflecting the moral decisions I made. I couldn't change a major part of the story from my decisions, I couldn't stop a crew mate I liked from dying, then what was the point of the decision system?

    They could have stepped it up on how your decisions impacted your universe but they didnâ    … Expand
  87. Tocy
    Mar 13, 2012
    3
    I was and still am a big fan of the first two episodes of the series and I've been waiting for the third one as if it was some sort of messiah - in vain. The graphics and the combat system are ok for me, however many elements of the story line - including the so-called "endings" themselves - are simple rip-offs of other games.

    One of the most annoying aspects of the game is, however, that    I was and still am a big fan of the first two episodes of the series and I've been waiting for the third one as if it was some sort of messiah - in vain. The graphics and the combat system are ok for me, however many elements of the story line - including the so-called "endings" themselves - are simple rip-offs of other games.

    One of the most annoying aspects of the game is, however, that if you haven't had a save from ME2, then you can not really make good choices. I can not explain it further without revealing details from the story, but I can tell you that the game punishes players who did not play the previous episode(s), trying to motivate players to purchase those episodes as well.

    Summa summarum, the bad business model, the really... controversial ending and the constant feeling, that I have seen this before somewhere else makes me to advise everyone to avoid this game. I am, at least, seriously pissed because I spent money on this.    … Expand
  88. Mortensus
    Jun 29, 2012
    3
    After the release i gave this game a score of 1 because in my feeling not only the end was rushed/ full of nonsense, most of the game was way behind the 1st and 2nd, and none of what they promised (i mean, the things that make good rpg, and that made the 2nd and especially the 1st very good and enjoyable games), none of theses promises were kept.
    So the end was the cherry on the cake.    After the release i gave this game a score of 1 because in my feeling not only the end was rushed/ full of nonsense, most of the game was way behind the 1st and 2nd, and none of what they promised (i mean, the things that make good rpg, and that made the 2nd and especially the 1st very good and enjoyable games), none of theses promises were kept.
    So the end was the cherry on the cake.
    After so much time and a so huge dlc (almost 2 gigs) they somewhat 'fixed' things, well, they think they did. Not for me, but i have to admit they did something.
    But that doesn't make of me3 a good game, just a less bad game (bad for the price and announcements, it would be amazing for a game 5 years in the past and 20    … Expand
  89. purpleoctopus
    Mar 13, 2012
    3
    Seriously horrified by the ending. Horrified. This game went from a serious 9-10 to a 3. No joke - it's that infuriating. You play for 100+ hours being told that your choices matter and the game developer, after taking your cash, essentially says "well, sorry, we don't care about your decisions - here's the worst ending of all time. Enjoy." Buy this game used or rent. And you'll probablySeriously horrified by the ending. Horrified. This game went from a serious 9-10 to a 3. No joke - it's that infuriating. You play for 100+ hours being told that your choices matter and the game developer, after taking your cash, essentially says "well, sorry, we don't care about your decisions - here's the worst ending of all time. Enjoy." Buy this game used or rent. And you'll probably want to do the same when they release Dragon Age 3. I know I will.… Expand
  90. Alesv88
    Mar 14, 2012
    3
    Mass Effect is in my opinion one of the best games ever. The first game I finished at least 4 times but the second I finished more than 8 times. Mass Effect 3 gives me no desire to re-play it again unless Bioware change the ending that I think is a complete sh@t. I hate it and hate Bioware to destroy what for me was the best game ever.
    I will not buy any Bioware game anymore.
  91. jessejplatt
    Mar 14, 2012
    3
    They really have been dumbing this game down since the first ME. I didn't really mind it because I actually really enjoyed the story and getting to know all the characters and spending hours learning back story and molding my story how I wanted. However the "ending" of the series really bothered me. It just plain out sucked. I've read all the theories behind why it was the way it was butThey really have been dumbing this game down since the first ME. I didn't really mind it because I actually really enjoyed the story and getting to know all the characters and spending hours learning back story and molding my story how I wanted. However the "ending" of the series really bothered me. It just plain out sucked. I've read all the theories behind why it was the way it was but it still doesn't explain why I get an ending that I have no say in. I can go through the 3rd game literally just do the story arc and get the same ending as someone who has played through all 3 games making all the big decisions and putting their time in to get to know the whole background of other characters. So many plot holes and unanswered questions. I literally would've given this game a 10 if not for the ending. The ending really ruined this game for me that I don't even want to go back and play the multiplayer. Which is actually decent in my opinion. It just bothers me to think about it. Bioware has really left a bad taste in my mouth. I can kind of forgive them for what they did to Dragon Age, but what they did to ME, no. Been a fan of the company since Neverwinter Nights and thought they could do no wrong, but this was the final straw.

    On a side note to people saying "quit whining it's their game and can do what they want, you just want a stupid happy ending!" No. Just no. I wanted a game like Bioware promised where my choices actually made a difference. Instead of them abandoning all the idea and themes from the first two games and forcing me a **** ending. I wouldn't mind a happy or sad ending. I just want a good ending with some closure and not huge plot holes. It is their game but they owe to the fans to deliver what we want. We are the ones who pay for the experience. $120 for a lot of people just to be slapped in the face and told that your choices didn't matter like we said they would. I specifically made an account just so I could rant about this. It felt good.    … Expand
  92. leonson
    Mar 15, 2012
    3
    The first 95% of the game is a 9. Solid gameplay improving in every way over ME2. Combat mechanics are tighter. There are more weapons and weapon mods. Classes make more sense. Load times are better. I mean, I really can't say enough positive about the first 95% of the game.

    But that all falls apart at the climax. The minute you head for the point of no return, the games plot and logic    The first 95% of the game is a 9. Solid gameplay improving in every way over ME2. Combat mechanics are tighter. There are more weapons and weapon mods. Classes make more sense. Load times are better. I mean, I really can't say enough positive about the first 95% of the game.

    But that all falls apart at the climax. The minute you head for the point of no return, the games plot and logic fall apart, culminating in a confusing nonsensical ending that resolves nothing.

    The ending of the game damages more than just this game, but the previous two titles as well. You are left with complete and utter disappointment that also ruins the replay value of these games. When one portion of a game not only ruins your enjoyment of the title you're playing, but also of two additional games that you can never bring yourself to play again, it's worth more than just a point or two off the total score.

    I've been a gamer my whole life. I can remember using a tape drive to load games on a C=64 at school. Never in my history as a gamer have I seen a company drop the ball this badly at the 1 yard line.

    If something is done that fixes the ending (doesn't have to make it happy, just make sense), I'll reconsider my score.    … Expand
  93. Gyrolin
    Mar 15, 2012
    3
    I bought the game. The gameplay was fun. The ending was horrible. The decision resolution was atrocious. The co-op multiplayer is redundant. The day 1 DLC felt like exploitation.

    EA has ruined both Mythic and Bioware. I am severely disappoint.
  94. ivan_ru
    Mar 17, 2012
    3
    Mass effect 3 has become more shooter than RPG, all of these settings are more similar to weapons purchase in a counter-streak, and the skills needed for the opponents of deportation from the walls. The ending is absolutely stupid. Diagnosis: a shooter that is worse than counter-strike, with dialogue from the mass effect 1-2, and very stupid ending.
  95. ckostovny
    Mar 17, 2012
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game improved the game play of Mass Effect 2 and included some of the features lost from Mass Effect, and was on track to be one of my favorite games, maybe ever, until the last act of the game. I feel that none of my actions from previous games had any impact on the ending. I feel that none of my preparation of the galaxy (I estimate 80% of the time spent playing the game!) had any impact on the ending. I actually bought the iOS game and played multi player to get 100% of my forces ready for the final battle, only to face the exact A, B, or C ending choice that the developers said this game would not have. The worst part about this game is how truly great it was until the end-- how BioWare and EA squandered the potential of this game and the epic conclusion to this heretofore great series. Had the game been uniformly bad, I would have been less severe on it, but to ascend to such great heights only to plummet to the ending we were given is a failure I never would have expected from BioWare. I'm willing to overlook the consolization, the failure of the game to update its onscreen messages with my changed key bindings, the comparatively poor resolution of the character's bodies compared to their faces; none of that would have greatly impacted my opinion of the experience if I was not so immensely let down by the conclusion (or lack thereof).

    I understand this is a product, and we are consumers, but did you really have to throw a DLC sales pitch in my face after you shattered my hopes for this game and this series?

    Shame on you, BioWare. I can no longer associate "BioWare" with "great games" after this experience, and I'm not alone in this. How long with you wait before you directly address our issues, without this PR sidestepping and pretending that we just don't understand your supposed "art" ?    … Expand
  96. fjalke
    Mar 18, 2012
    3
    ME1 was a really, really good game, ME2 was amazing - ME3 is a huge letdown to its fans. ME3 is basically a dumbed down version of ME1 and ME2 with a poorly written story and disappointing ending.

    They have removed a lot of the RPG elements, converting the game to a FPS instead - there is no inventory and no selling of unused equipment. I actually liked the graphics, but, especially with    ME1 was a really, really good game, ME2 was amazing - ME3 is a huge letdown to its fans. ME3 is basically a dumbed down version of ME1 and ME2 with a poorly written story and disappointing ending.

    They have removed a lot of the RPG elements, converting the game to a FPS instead - there is no inventory and no selling of unused equipment. I actually liked the graphics, but, especially with female NPCs, many of them look alike and you get the feeling "hey, i already saved you before".

    The rich story and involvement in your crew mates from ME1 and ME2 have been reduced to meaningless chatter that can be boiled down to "Its all so hopeless, I don't know if I can handle it - but now that you are here Shepard, everything is going to be fine". In ME1 and ME2 there were some interesting game choices during the game, both for crew mates and story - none exist in ME3, it has been reduced to "Are you going for Paragon or Renegade?". There are no storyline attached to your crew mates which really hurts the game.
    The worst thing about ME3 is the ending - for fans it is a huge letdown. None of the choices during the game has any impact on the ending, and the ending doesn't really make any sense.
    If this game becomes a box-office hit, it is due to the success of ME1 and ME2.    … Expand
  97. VeryNoob
    Jun 22, 2017
    3
    I spent more than 160 hours in this trilogy. Bought all available DLCs to date, always bought the most complete version of the game. And as a such hardcore Mass Effect fan I must say that I'm nothing more than sad. I had high expectation towards the trilogy ending. But ME3 did the impossible, they just screwed up the series.
    I can't do anything but laugh from some magazine reviews that    I spent more than 160 hours in this trilogy. Bought all available DLCs to date, always bought the most complete version of the game. And as a such hardcore Mass Effect fan I must say that I'm nothing more than sad. I had high expectation towards the trilogy ending. But ME3 did the impossible, they just screwed up the series.
    I can't do anything but laugh from some magazine reviews that says that ME3 is a proper ending to the series. Sadly many reviews don't even understand the idea behind the game, or just forgotten how awesome ME and ME2 were. The user's score can't lie, just compare ME and ME2 user's score to this one.. it speaks by itself.
    The combat is too much simplified, the game is about go to the planets, scan, delivery assets and sometimes do some mission. And that's it, no epic bosses, no epic battles, even my last section of game had a taste of "common battle". The games looks rushed, no proper characters involvement...

    Didn't think Bioware would miss twice.. first my deception with Dragon Age 2, now this? Why would you guys screw up Mass Effect? It's supposed to be THE epic trilogy. Be the benchmark, the reference to follow, simply the best. But today, Mass Effect is just one more.

    The 3/10 score is due to the hard work I saw in Bioware trying to do the game, sadly the execution failed. A lot.    … Expand
  98. silvs
    Mar 18, 2012
    3
    An amazing series, and for the most part a great game. But the ending is so unbelievably poor that it ruins the ENTIRE SERIES. It's like the rest of the game they spent years working on, and the ending they put together in 5 minutes. Seriously, it will destroy your appreciation for the franchise.
  99. paxbanana
    Mar 19, 2012
    3
    For some reason, Bioware decided to make ME3 a third-person shooter game with pretty cut-scenes. The RP element that made the Mass Effect series so unique was largely missing from the game, along with side-quests. I can't say I understand that, given there's a 'combat-only' game option. And, for pretending to be a shooter, there was actually no ending boss fight. I probably would forgiveFor some reason, Bioware decided to make ME3 a third-person shooter game with pretty cut-scenes. The RP element that made the Mass Effect series so unique was largely missing from the game, along with side-quests. I can't say I understand that, given there's a 'combat-only' game option. And, for pretending to be a shooter, there was actually no ending boss fight. I probably would forgive some of the dialogue shortage if the ending had actually been worth the tediousness of playing through the game. I was insulted by the ending that was played off as "16 wildly different endings". Bioware didn't even have the respect for their fans to make ONE different cut-scene and instead recycled the same one for every ending. If they had actually delivered, I probably would have forgiven the fact they dropped the RPG element from the game. As it stands, I can't bring myself to play through the game again. It says something when you'd rather read a book than watch a cut-scene again. In ME1 and 2, at least you could vary the dialogue. 30 hours of mediocre game play (riddled with graphics and sound issues that do not do the excellent VA cast and OST justice) is not worth $80.… Expand
  100. silverkiller
    Mar 19, 2012
    3
    ME3 it's a game that could have been a very good game, it has good ideas and a beautiful universe, but fall short in several important things positive:
    -story -some scene
    -atmosphere and immersion negative: -low res graphics on pc -animations (look at shep run!) -short (as an rpg, 30 hours aren't a lot) - some dialogue - need tp re-romance old romances -1 button to do every things? i have    ME3 it's a game that could have been a very good game, it has good ideas and a beautiful universe, but fall short in several important things positive:
    -story -some scene
    -atmosphere and immersion
    negative:
    -low res graphics on pc
    -animations (look at shep run!)
    -short (as an rpg, 30 hours aren't a lot)
    - some dialogue
    - need tp re-romance old romances
    -1 button to do every things? i have a freaking keyboard!
    -the log! fix the quest log!
    very bad:
    -half of secondary quest are just go-fetch task
    -ENDINGS! (that alone has pulled down my vote for at least 4 points!)
    -plot-holes
    -BW/EA DLC policy it could have been the star wars of this generation, but sadly, right now has too many problem to even reach mediocrity    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
89

Generally favorable reviews - based on 23 Critic Reviews

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