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. Techstepper
    Mar 9, 2012
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'll try to be objective
    Positive moments of the game:
    - Cool story. I played ME from part 1 just because of storyline
    - They finaly showed Tali's face :D
    - Epic soundtrack
    - - Graphics are good enough

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

    This could be a great game, but ending ruins everything for me    … Expand
  2. wm746
    Mar 9, 2012
    2
    This is very sad... Better go with Deus Ex: HR, Skyrim or the witcher 2 - A great franchise ruined by greed and ignorance to the buyers. I'm very dissapointed :-/ I hate you EA/BW!!! ME1>ME2>ME3 :-( I have no desire to support companies that don't want my support.
  3. Buster69
    Mar 10, 2012
    2
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  4. DosFerret
    Mar 10, 2012
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. With stunning cinematic displays, horribly dumbed down gameplay and the ability for gay luvinz, you might think this title a shoe in for GotY. Unfortunately the story feels like your on rails with only 1 or 2 side missions popping up between main story plot points. If your bringing in a past love interest from ME1 or 2 I hope it's Kaiden, Ashley or Liara, Tali'Zora STAYS masked for all intents and purposes (search it and you'll find the photo is a stock model pic w/ lines drawn on it), Miranda's is ok, the rest are basically in there for bioware to say we did it without putting thought there. Most all of this I could forgive IF they had put ANY thought behind the ending. Controls are pretty smooth but due to almost every action being mapped to the spacebar you will find yourself rolling and taking cover alot instead of picking up that gun mod or looking at a datapad. they completely removed all minigames replacing it with cover your squad mate mechanics.

    Voice acting is still good with few exceptions (femshep is the better actor again) Character models have changed for some, and not for others. Ashley looks like Miranda, Jacob got 10 yrs younger, Zaeed got a personal trainer and a ton of ink, and then there are 2 new people from the Jersey Shore aboard your ship, Tali also looks like Miranda in the picture she gives you.

    Story premise was good until Shep crawled away from Anderson, when that happens turn off the game and just use your imagination to end it how you like. OR So you got the whole universe to work together, collected all the resources, followed paragon/renegade choices like a religion? you can look forward to the Exact same story ending as someone who rushed through the story and got squat (1 ending with 3 color differences) BTW Shep dies and your crew is stranded on a tropic island.

    Character development - I shouldn't have to even go here due to the other games were building the characters we know and love, but alas they screwed this up too in ways I won't get into. in short Bioware and EA rushed this didn't get a full game out (Day 1 Paid DLC) made an action game that a 4 yo can play and a rpg story that makes no sense with an ending sure to piss off anyone who plays it.    … Expand
  5. Jirki88
    Mar 10, 2012
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. First of all: the actual game isn't too bad, a bit too not-involving compared to ME1 and ME2, and the story generally is good (the Quarian-Geth story was great). The very limited options in conversations, the endless overhear-a-conversation-and-fetch-whatever quests, the squadmates uselessness in combat... It's somewhat annoying but not gamebreaking. The fact that Cerberus by defualt is the corrupted-bad-guys-beyond-salvation just feels forced... Even if you actually help Cerberus at every point in ME2, you have no influence over them in ME3. That's pretty crap.

    And then cometh the endings. Honestly, what the actual **** I feel violated. Badly. That the game would end like this, some pathetically copied Deus Ex-style endings? It doesn't work. Not to mention that the endings also makes it feel that every decision you made in ME1 and ME2... Didn't matter. At all. Complete waste.

    I don't know what exactly they were thinking with those endings, and I'll probably never know, but up until the endings I would've rated the game 7.5/10 or so... But after the endings? They lose more than 5 points only at that. The **** forced endings completely destroys the game experience.

    We can also add that with the absence of any loyalty missions and the utter lack of conversation with conversation options makes the game feel very short. It could been done better, and especially, it could have been done to be longer. I feel pretty sad to have to write a review like this, but... Bioware screwed completely here.    … Expand
  6. Em-Man
    Mar 10, 2012
    2
    The game featured a promising start. It was exciting to finally see everything you did in the last 2 games make a difference in Mass Effect 3... Only that it didn't. Nothing you did in the game has a result or consequence in this game, not even the stuff you do in Mass Effect 3. You can't do any major choices during the game. The combat feels like a bad version of Gears of War. The endingThe game featured a promising start. It was exciting to finally see everything you did in the last 2 games make a difference in Mass Effect 3... Only that it didn't. Nothing you did in the game has a result or consequence in this game, not even the stuff you do in Mass Effect 3. You can't do any major choices during the game. The combat feels like a bad version of Gears of War. The ending is horrible and makes the whole story of Shepard from the first game to the third feel irrelevant. The games has lots of glitches and feels rushed and unpolished.… Expand
  7. Andromeda05
    Mar 10, 2012
    2
    This game is the ending to ME3 and the ending to the Gold streak that Bio-ware once had.

    Good The general game play is close enough to ME2 for a player to not notice much however. Bad Politics - Please let me play and leave to propaganda alone. Gay rights - Don't care stop trying to shove a Twinkie down my throat Ending Holy Crap the story was fine until the last 10 min where the writers    This game is the ending to ME3 and the ending to the Gold streak that Bio-ware once had.

    Good
    The general game play is close enough to ME2 for a player to not notice much however. Bad
    Politics - Please let me play and leave to propaganda alone. Gay rights - Don't care stop trying to shove a Twinkie down my throat Ending Holy Crap the story was fine until the last 10 min where the writers must have started doing LSD and wrote what they saw. i mean we work for 3 games total to influence the out come and it come down to 2 cookie cutter endings. - Looks like EA has ruined another great game company!!!!!!!!!!!!!    … Expand
  8. xmf1207
    Mar 11, 2012
    2
    Well lets start the first and second game were epic, so i decided to buy also the third the game is desingned on DX 9.0c so don't expect muttch better grafics as in ME2. pro: + logical story (after ME2), + good game feeling, expecting mutch when gaming
    + new Normandy layout
    + good artwok (coll. ed.) + good soundtrack (coll. ed.) negatives : - dam short (gamed it in 1 day) - the end has 3    Well lets start the first and second game were epic, so i decided to buy also the third the game is desingned on DX 9.0c so don't expect muttch better grafics as in ME2. pro: + logical story (after ME2), + good game feeling, expecting mutch when gaming
    + new Normandy layout
    + good artwok (coll. ed.)
    + good soundtrack (coll. ed.)

    negatives :
    - dam short (gamed it in 1 day) - the end has 3 options, all do nearly the same this ruins the game (die & contol ,die & destroy, die & have peace) WTF!!!!
    - no view on the future - operation Hammer is always a fail (teammats die) (alos if u have 100% battle strength)
    - ME2 choises do not affet the game -New Citadel is Crap
    - less missions.
    - a galaxy card for Noobs ! what have u done !
    - less actions to show charakters attitude - Miranda def. Dies, also when have good Option choosen - teammates are uncharitable (no missions to get them loyal) Multiplayer :: well thats what **** me up the most :) ITS a CLIENT Based Netcode !! WTF!!!!, so write a few lines in hex editor and u have unlimited ammo, or rapid brust fire. 2 lines and everyone can cheat like hell. (or use a game trainer Cheat happens or mogelpower ) !!

    the multiplyer provides just a few maps & u cant choose a server(only quick game) the result is that u get often servers that lag & stuck like hell.
    after 3 days u know all maps & its begining to get bored.    … Expand
  9. Mommaandrea
    Mar 11, 2012
    2
    I finished ME3 this morning at 6:30, staying up all night to finish it. I am a huge fan of the series. Played both ME1 and ME2 multiple times. I love the story and relationships and it makes me laugh and sometimes cry (Talitha "I remember me")
    the Ending utterly SUCKED. The end Ending.was so...anti climactic and stupid. It's the only way I can describe it. I'm fighting with giving    I finished ME3 this morning at 6:30, staying up all night to finish it. I am a huge fan of the series. Played both ME1 and ME2 multiple times. I love the story and relationships and it makes me laugh and sometimes cry (Talitha "I remember me")
    the Ending utterly SUCKED. The end Ending.was so...anti climactic and stupid. It's the only way I can describe it. I'm fighting with giving details because I don't want to spoil it for someone. But for me those last few moments of the game didn't answer any questions or make anything clearer. Honestly, it looked like they had no idea and slapped an ending on. All the sappyness and good byes isn't even my problem, I expected that and in a way wanted it. It is the final choice and the lack of explanation by this supposed higher being, whom I wanted to shoot. Stupid ending to a much anticipated game.    … Expand
  10. Aaron5367
    Mar 11, 2012
    2
    Overall very disappointing. Fails to combine FPS and RPG as well as previous titles and I feel while playing that there is no true direction or motivation. Most of the chat options provide a false sense of choice as the options have little to do with what Shepard will say. Generally any "oh I can do something here" options tend to have Shepard back off and remain on the linear story lineOverall very disappointing. Fails to combine FPS and RPG as well as previous titles and I feel while playing that there is no true direction or motivation. Most of the chat options provide a false sense of choice as the options have little to do with what Shepard will say. Generally any "oh I can do something here" options tend to have Shepard back off and remain on the linear story line laid forth by the developers. Graphics are subpar and look reminiscent of Mass Effect 2. Bugs out the ass with regards to graphics and in some aspects of gameplay. Lots of upgrades and other things to waste player time and seem to take from the gameplay experience rather than give to it. I got about 30% through the game and lost all interest in it.… Expand
  11. SoManyGames
    Mar 11, 2012
    2
    I dont know...I just dont even know. Like the first two, this game is a bland slow game about a space marine fighting a space evil bent killing stuff. You fight it by slowly walking down hallways and slowly aiming at slow moving targets. "fun". I kinda enjoyed the other two...even though they had odd unneeded limitations and were relatively bland, they could have been worse. ThisI dont know...I just dont even know. Like the first two, this game is a bland slow game about a space marine fighting a space evil bent killing stuff. You fight it by slowly walking down hallways and slowly aiming at slow moving targets. "fun". I kinda enjoyed the other two...even though they had odd unneeded limitations and were relatively bland, they could have been worse. This one...I couldnt get into this one. It was particularly poorly written. Without getting into specifics, the "fixes" to the other game's issues were half-assed. The game felt like it was forced, with some kind of agenda...I just dont know. I guess I could give it a higher score based on graphics and production values...but I feel I have to rate this game in comparison to the others, which I already consider average (5)… Expand
  12. schwegs
    Mar 11, 2012
    2
    ME3 has the worst ending to to any game I've ever played. I cannot express how disappointed I am and what a super let-down feeling I have after playing this to completion. The game is literally ruined by the fact that there is NO possible "happy ending" where you save earth and are re-united with your friends -- you know, kinda what you were fighting for the entire series. If they hadME3 has the worst ending to to any game I've ever played. I cannot express how disappointed I am and what a super let-down feeling I have after playing this to completion. The game is literally ruined by the fact that there is NO possible "happy ending" where you save earth and are re-united with your friends -- you know, kinda what you were fighting for the entire series. If they had written an ending as good as the rest of the game/series, this game would be great -- I'd even overlook the plotholes/failures to explain things (which are pretty bad in spots). As it stands, however, it will be difficult to look past this sickening ending to one of my favorite series and characters of all time.… Expand
  13. yimmyyones
    Mar 12, 2012
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'm a huge fan of the first Mass Effect and enjoyed the second almost as much. That being said I am massively let down and overall unsatisfied with this game. It didn't really improve on anything as far as gameplay goes, it essentially the same as ME2. I felt like the exploration was reduced and the game felts incredibly short (18 hours logged on my first complete playtrhough).

    The story was, overall, good. I enjoyed several of the mission sequences and the dialogue was what I was expecting and hoping for. Until the ending. I'm having trouble finding words to describe my disappointment and unhappiness. The ending alone was C-rate at best. I felt no closure to the story (which may have been intentional with EA/Bioware's new view of DLC) and felt like a complete asspull by Bioware.

    But hey, there's choices right? Maybe the ending I choose was crummy but I'm sure the other two are better. Spoiler alert, there is only one ending. The cutscene might look a little different and the dialogue might change a bit but there's still one outcome. Everybody dies. The Mass Relays are destroyed. The cycle is broken and the Reapers are gone. The End. Never before has a video game left such a bad taste in my mouth.    … Expand
  14. Sun_Tzu
    Mar 12, 2012
    2
    Most of the main missions are well done, you can generally get the resolutions you want, with some consequences sprinkled in. For this, the game gets about a 9. I truly enjoyed myself.

    Side quests are weak, they mostly consist of mindless grinding, which is never a good thing in a game. I wanted more on-site side quests as in ME1 and ME2, but was sorely disappointed. For this the game    Most of the main missions are well done, you can generally get the resolutions you want, with some consequences sprinkled in. For this, the game gets about a 9. I truly enjoyed myself.

    Side quests are weak, they mostly consist of mindless grinding, which is never a good thing in a game. I wanted more on-site side quests as in ME1 and ME2, but was sorely disappointed. For this the game gets maybe a 3.

    And then there's the ending. In fact, the entire final mission was a huge letdown for me. It's the greatest betrayal of a gaming franchise I've ever experienced, and I've been around since the Commodore-64 days. It makes no sense, it spits in the face of the loyal fan, and it has ruined not only this game, but every preceding game for me. The ending is so bad that it eclipses every positive thing you could ever say about the game. It's a -10 experience. So we end up with a final score of 2. Until Bioware fixes the ending, I'm warning every friend of the franchise and friend in general not to play/buy me3. This was not an experience I'd wish upon my worst enemy.    … Expand
  15. Qantaqa
    Mar 12, 2012
    2
    Horrible animations, story, and dialogue. Nice audio and voice acting. Watch ending from youtube and save your time.. this is not an RPG. If you like the Sims you might like this.
  16. SilentMobius
    Mar 12, 2012
    2
    This game should be a 9, I cared about the characters, the sense of drama was palpable. The action was furious without devolving into a pure shooter, even the side missions didn't feel as forced as they have in the previous games, for the most part it was fantastic.

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

    However, I have to knock off a point for general inexcusable QA failures (LI's not responding to actions in the previous games) another point for some horrific animation glitches (characters not facing each other when they talk eyes rolling back into heads, necks twisting 180 degrees), a point for the poor integration of the From Ashes DLC (Seriously, a Prothean? much more content was needed for such and important character, I'd have been happy to pay more for it), another point off for the multi-player which is good but the matchmaking is horribly unstable (On PC at least) making it a frustrating process, And finally a massive 4 points off for absolutely horrific and poorly thought out ending that has soured the whole series for me, and obliterated any replay value. Hence we go from a "near-perfect" 9 to an "Oh goddess what have you done" 2    … Expand
  17. greenlady
    Mar 12, 2012
    2
    This game can barely be called an RPG, it is much more of a rail FPS than anything. If you enjoyed ME2 but were hoping they'd deliver on their promise of adding more RPG elements... well too bad they lied. You get way less dialog choices, can only roam around on the Normandy and the citadel because every other place you just land, kill the bad guys, then leave - and not by choice, theThis game can barely be called an RPG, it is much more of a rail FPS than anything. If you enjoyed ME2 but were hoping they'd deliver on their promise of adding more RPG elements... well too bad they lied. You get way less dialog choices, can only roam around on the Normandy and the citadel because every other place you just land, kill the bad guys, then leave - and not by choice, the screen just fades to black and your back on the Normandy. Then came the ending. What a giant obscene piece of garbage. No closure at all, most of it doesn't make much sense and feels very contrived. This was more than just a slap in the face, this was like BioWare came up with a big stinky rotten mackerel, beat me unconscious with it, pulled down their pants and dropped a deuce right on the back of my head.… Expand
  18. BiowareLied
    Mar 12, 2012
    2
    Bioware said that the choices we made throughout the series would shape the ending. It turns out the only choice we have is: "red, blue, or green?" I don't know what kind of drugs the developers were on when they made that decision, but they can shove em.
  19. Pyrotechnik
    Mar 12, 2012
    2
    Terrible ending that utterly destroyed the series. I feel cheated, cheated out of the money I have spend on ME1, ME2, and ME3. Bioware will not receive a dime from me until they fix this mess. If they fail to acknowledge the fans then I will never purchase another Bioware product again.

    The only reason why I gave this a 2 is because of the solid gameplay, otherwise it would have gotten a    Terrible ending that utterly destroyed the series. I feel cheated, cheated out of the money I have spend on ME1, ME2, and ME3. Bioware will not receive a dime from me until they fix this mess. If they fail to acknowledge the fans then I will never purchase another Bioware product again.

    The only reason why I gave this a 2 is because of the solid gameplay, otherwise it would have gotten a 0 from me.    … Expand
  20. Shazbot69
    Mar 12, 2012
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The ending was so lame and lazy because it forced a set of copy pasta choices on me that provided no closure to your character or story. Just a space magic ending with different colored lights. I'm absolutely furious because they said all along that this would not happen. Not can I not play ME 3 again, it has killed any desire for me to even look at anything in the ME franchise. This is pretty serious since I've been on board with ME 1. To do me like this is a utter betrayal. If EA thinks I'm going to go buy DA 3 after this heinous crime, good luck. Until this issue is resolved by fixing the lame ending choices with real choices or something, I doubt I will pay one red cent to EA for anything. For crying out loud, this is exactly why they left the Lucas arts franchise behind when KOTR 2 got rush job now they do it to their own game like this? I'm sorry to all the voice actors who worked so hard on this and I still appreciated all their hard work. Most of the game was good and well voiced. However, the ending is just such a betrayal that it has destroyed any inclination to pick up this game or any other in the series because nothing I do has an effect on what architect/ghost dad/star child makes you choose to do.… Expand
  21. gobSIDES
    Jan 18, 2014
    2
    An absolutely terrible end to a great series. Reeks of a company trying to expand the target market of their game at the worse possible time and without taking proper concern as to the affect it would have on the game.

    Many of the original choices and decisions you make in previous game are not addressed and completely forgotten. The introduction of new character undermine existing ones    An absolutely terrible end to a great series. Reeks of a company trying to expand the target market of their game at the worse possible time and without taking proper concern as to the affect it would have on the game.

    Many of the original choices and decisions you make in previous game are not addressed and completely forgotten. The introduction of new character undermine existing ones and have zero depth.

    Gameplay is largely the same though let down by very far behind the times graphics and laughable animations.

    Bioware made a power play for the market when joining with EA and releasing 3 utterly abysmal games in TOR, ME3 and Dragon Age 2. These have pretty much condemned their reputation with the gaming community and undone over a decade of hard work from the company.

    Sad and poor.    … Expand
  22. jaggysnake57
    Mar 13, 2012
    2
    well i liked me 1 and 2 but this is a huge disappointment. from the poor ai to the stop start nature of the story the game nver flows. but the thing that really disappoints is how different the official and user scores are. clearly this is a poor game and yet it sores so high. i feel that the days of impartial reviews are gone as is original game making.
  23. jesperc
    Mar 13, 2012
    2
    I mostly loved the game as I played true it , it has a great atmosphere and you can really feel how the war was creeping in everywhere, as the game progressed, sorrow for the lost, people in misery, and how Shepard becoming more and more stressed, and really taking it hard when old friends die. It touch a lot of emotions in me, and it felt kind of cool.

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

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

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

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

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

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

    I will not recommend to people that loves the Mass Effect series to buy it or it you really have, to quit the game before the ending.    … Expand
  24. aznrap1st
    Mar 13, 2012
    2
    This was supposed to be the game that completes the mass effect series and gave closure to its loyal fans. Instead, this game was dumbed down to the levels of COD. Mass effect 3 focused more on shaking screens and big explosions than good story/gameplay. Through the whole thing, while we still had choices to make, it felt like my hand was being held between the times we could makeThis was supposed to be the game that completes the mass effect series and gave closure to its loyal fans. Instead, this game was dumbed down to the levels of COD. Mass effect 3 focused more on shaking screens and big explosions than good story/gameplay. Through the whole thing, while we still had choices to make, it felt like my hand was being held between the times we could make choices in dialogue.
    The world was also disappointing. The normandy got smaller with fewer interactable characters and objects, and so did the citadel. There was less time spent exploring new places.
    When shopping for weapons, you don't see the specs of the weapons in the shop compared to the weapons you already own. You'll have to buy the weapons to see how it stacks up against what you already have.
    And like the others have said, the biggest screw up is that the choices that you make during me1, me2, and me3 don't matter in the end. All in all, the game was like a bad movie: They put all the good parts in the trailer, and the rest of the movie sucks.    … Expand
  25. gimmeabreak
    Mar 13, 2012
    2
    The music is very good, but a mixed bag due to the number of different writers. The sound effects are very good but the sound engine doesn't give realistic sound. Going from one room to another (through an opening, not a door) often results in the sound abruptly changing -- no mix of the sounds from the two rooms. The graphics are good to excellent. Animation generally is very buggy. GoingThe music is very good, but a mixed bag due to the number of different writers. The sound effects are very good but the sound engine doesn't give realistic sound. Going from one room to another (through an opening, not a door) often results in the sound abruptly changing -- no mix of the sounds from the two rooms. The graphics are good to excellent. Animation generally is very buggy. Going from cinematic to live action can be laughable. So can going from one cinematic to another. Often the characters will jump into new body positions. The story this time sucks IMO. They put this out way before it was ready!… Expand
  26. pavi132
    Mar 14, 2012
    2
    The combat was pretty fun, the multiplayer started fun but got repetitive since it is entirely co-op horde mode and there was no competitive multiplayer. The story had a few strong moments. Never in my life did I think that just the ending of a piece of entertainment could retroactively destroy the positive experiences I had with that piece of entertainment. Mass Effect 3 managed to doThe combat was pretty fun, the multiplayer started fun but got repetitive since it is entirely co-op horde mode and there was no competitive multiplayer. The story had a few strong moments. Never in my life did I think that just the ending of a piece of entertainment could retroactively destroy the positive experiences I had with that piece of entertainment. Mass Effect 3 managed to do just that. I had heard the ending was bad before I even started the game, but I wrote this off as only a few people who were very vocal, and believed that I would enjoy the ending when I got to it. I was completely mistaken. The ending not only made no sense, but it took away any possibility for the player to make a significant choice, and made the player feel like all the choices made up until this point of the game were utterly worthless and had no impact on the game whatsoever. It left me feeling incomplete, as if the reapers were never defeated and the Mass Effect series never really got an end. It caused me to immediately uninstall the game and not even think about playing through the game again, which I was originally planning on doing. I didn't think it was possible, but this game single-handedly in the last 10 minutes or so, ruined my love for the Mass Effect series and Bioware. It was a disappointment and what could have been a terrific game was ruined because of it.… Expand
  27. JonChanger
    Mar 14, 2012
    2
    This games ending was a major disappointment. Everything was great up until the all choice, freewill, and consequence were taken away from the player in the final moments. If it weren't for the ending I would easily give this game a 9/10. However, the ending was so terrible that I (almost) wish I could unplay all of the other games and never had wasted time on them. I felt similarly whenThis games ending was a major disappointment. Everything was great up until the all choice, freewill, and consequence were taken away from the player in the final moments. If it weren't for the ending I would easily give this game a 9/10. However, the ending was so terrible that I (almost) wish I could unplay all of the other games and never had wasted time on them. I felt similarly when lost ended but at least I could respect it was not my decision. In this case, Bioware led the players to believe the ending was our decision (through the choices we made in the game). Apparently, not... I sincerely hope that Bioware adds additional post-game content in upcoming DLCs to make sense of this pointless ending.… Expand
  28. michael998877
    Mar 16, 2012
    2
    Great series ruined by a bad ending. I wasn't expecting everything to be ponies and rainbows at the end, but a lot more choice and a more fulfilling, coherent ending was what I expected and was promised from these master storytellers, who have let me down.

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

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

    Nice combat system and very emotional, but the ending really did overshadow things for me, hence the score. I will go back to playing ME1 and 2 for now. My advice is stay away until the bugs are fixed and (hopefully) the devs wake up and add some more endings - decent ones. Play ME1 and 2 and enjoy very successful story arcs which manage to be interesting and emotionally involving whilst retaining coherence and choice and not being excessively bleak.    … Expand
  29. snapp
    Mar 18, 2012
    2
    Just BAD. not just the ending... the whole story, the no interaction, at least not at the level of the previous titles, you don´t get to know more about Tali (Tali didn't deserve a model for her face either.. getty images... lazyyyyy) or Liara or Garrus or anyone else, except for the history behind the geth and quarian war.. i dont recall anything else that reveals any part ofJust BAD. not just the ending... the whole story, the no interaction, at least not at the level of the previous titles, you don´t get to know more about Tali (Tali didn't deserve a model for her face either.. getty images... lazyyyyy) or Liara or Garrus or anyone else, except for the history behind the geth and quarian war.. i dont recall anything else that reveals any part of the ME universe. And on top of it all, the Ending.. come on... seriously? Huge let down. On the brighter side, the combat was much better than in ME2 i liked the mix between ME! and ME2 features. but its far from enough.… Expand
  30. EvilMayorofTown
    Mar 19, 2012
    2
    Sadly, the ending of this game severely detracts from the otherwise positive feelings I had playing Mass Effect 3. What has always been the greatest strength of this series - compelling and emotional storytelling - failed completely.
  31. krotznapopulov
    Mar 19, 2012
    2
    Though a great game, the last few moment ruin the entire experience of the entire ME series. Like so many other players, I really enjoyed Mass Effect 3. If not for the last 15 minutes, I would give this game a 9 or more. However, the ending is so abysmal (plot holes, inconsistencies, unsatisfying explanations, not to mention exactly the same whatever you do throughout all three games...)Though a great game, the last few moment ruin the entire experience of the entire ME series. Like so many other players, I really enjoyed Mass Effect 3. If not for the last 15 minutes, I would give this game a 9 or more. However, the ending is so abysmal (plot holes, inconsistencies, unsatisfying explanations, not to mention exactly the same whatever you do throughout all three games...) that I can't give this game any more than a 2.… Expand
  32. lucaburzum
    Mar 19, 2012
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The best game in the series for sure..... until the last 10 minutes.
    The ending is absolute crap, confused, nonsensical and full of "space magic".
    Adding insult to injury, all the choices you've made in the prevoius games do not count toward the ending, which is basically a "pick your favorite color" choice.    … Expand
  33. Thourne
    Mar 19, 2012
    2
    I found that the endings completely destroyed any and all enjoyment from the franchise as a whole. They seemed illogical and almost in complete disconnect from the style of game play presented through out the entire series up to the final 10-15 minutes.
  34. Travaligno
    Mar 19, 2012
    2
    Incredible production values with great combat design and customization, topnotch voice-acting, writing, art and music / sound-design can't hide that the conclusion to the ME trilogy was rushed. Cut-corners are visible everywhere but it isn't until the finale that the game falls apart. The level of failure here is spectacular and historic: game ends in a disappointing, disjointed,Incredible production values with great combat design and customization, topnotch voice-acting, writing, art and music / sound-design can't hide that the conclusion to the ME trilogy was rushed. Cut-corners are visible everywhere but it isn't until the finale that the game falls apart. The level of failure here is spectacular and historic: game ends in a disappointing, disjointed, contrived mess that betrays the trilogy's themes and your earlier choices. No matter what ending you play towards, the result is portrayed in the same cut scene with minor cuts and a different color scheme. The implications of the choice are so nihilistic, they sap your will to replay through the story again. The fan backlash is not about entitlement but about poor game design. Trust the hype: the end really is as bad as people say.… Expand
  35. Sshodan
    Mar 19, 2012
    2
    While the game is self is everything you expect ME to be - interesting, emotional and engaging all pleasure of playing it is destroyed by horribly done ending. Not one it invalidates all your efforts and choices, but it although renders replaying 2 older games differently pointless - no matter what you do or done you get the same 3 options and no variations around them to speak of. I canWhile the game is self is everything you expect ME to be - interesting, emotional and engaging all pleasure of playing it is destroyed by horribly done ending. Not one it invalidates all your efforts and choices, but it although renders replaying 2 older games differently pointless - no matter what you do or done you get the same 3 options and no variations around them to speak of. I can although say that emotionally speaking it is profoundly upsetting without any redeeming qualities or hope for the future, so if you like me play games to have good time and live with good mood afterwards tis is one game you should avoid.… Expand
  36. BigPush
    Mar 19, 2012
    2
    Whereas Mass Effect 1 and 2 were conventional action-adventure stories set against a sci-fi background, the third and final installment in the Mass Effect trilogy attempts to address "darker", "deeper", and more "mature" themes. Unfortunately, the writers lacked the depth and maturity themselves to properly execute this sort of change in tone. The result is a poorly-constructed storyWhereas Mass Effect 1 and 2 were conventional action-adventure stories set against a sci-fi background, the third and final installment in the Mass Effect trilogy attempts to address "darker", "deeper", and more "mature" themes. Unfortunately, the writers lacked the depth and maturity themselves to properly execute this sort of change in tone. The result is a poorly-constructed story poorly told.

    While I would argue that these problems begin almost as soon as the game does (where Shepard watches a child -- the first ever portrayed in the series -- being killed), the game's ending has generated the most controversy and so is where I will focus the rest of this review. It's an attempt at a tragic ending without understanding what makes tragic endings work.

    Tragedies have a long history in Western literature. While there is and has been a great deal of debate as to the structure of a tragedy, the core idea that makes a tragedy work well is that the hero's sad fate is the inevitable result of his or her character. Aristotle referred to this as the tragic hero's hamartia (which means "mistake", though it's often translated as "fatal flaw"). This is a very important idea because as Nietzsche argued, tragedies resonate with us because they contradict, not confirm, a pessimistic view of the universe: the tragic hero doesn't experience pain and misfortune for no reason, but instead experiences this pain as a direct consequence of his or her own nature. In other words, an ending is only truly tragic if it's the result of the tragic hero's shortcomings; an ending where "rocks fall, everyone dies" may be rather sad, but because it happened at random it's not tragic.

    Mass Effect 3's ending fails because Shepard is not a tragic hero. In fact, Shepard does everything absolutely right up until the last 5 to 10 minutes of the game. Only then, by pure writer fiat, does he or she fail. There's no catharsis for the player, no satisfactory explanation, no hope. There is only "deep", "mature" death and despair.

    If games are ever going to be art, they need to pay better attention to the artistic traditions that have shaped our culture.    … Expand
  37. Serian
    Mar 19, 2012
    2
    I would have given it a 9 for gameplay alone, but I had to say 2 to represent how satisfied I was with this poor end of such an amazing series. The ball was dropped, and an entire story ruined by 10 minutes of plotholes and a failure to give Shepard the real chance to succeed as he/she would have if they had stayed true to the character. Mass Effect deserved better than this.
  38. pitufos38
    Mar 19, 2012
    2
    SPOILER FREE CRITIC:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    9- Wraping up. A few closer too mainstream thrid person shooter that previous games and less RPG. Still would be a good game with a good ending but...    … Expand
  39. mxfox408
    Mar 19, 2012
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This was an epic disappointment. Compared to the other two games in the trilogy, it is bland and lacks clarity. The story also has a lot of inconsistencies and plot holes that fail to match the actual series. There is issues with concluding the game as well.… Expand
  40. wasawsolos
    Mar 19, 2012
    2
    **SPOILER ALERT**
    For the past 5 or so years, I have been a huge mass effect fan. I loved the idea that my choices mattered from game to game. In fact, this game would have gotten a 9.5 from me (not a 10 because I got stuck because of a glitch that caused me to have to restart a mission) but the ending of ME3 is the most plot hole ripping, out of context, jacked up thing I have ever seen    **SPOILER ALERT**
    For the past 5 or so years, I have been a huge mass effect fan. I loved the idea that my choices mattered from game to game. In fact, this game would have gotten a 9.5 from me (not a 10 because I got stuck because of a glitch that caused me to have to restart a mission) but the ending of ME3 is the most plot hole ripping, out of context, jacked up thing I have ever seen in a story. It is like watching the last of a super awesome trilogy movie, that has been hyped to the moon, then the film stops in the last 10 minutes, the screen goes dark, and the theater catches on fire. BioWare has essentially destroyed their entire universe that they have created because without the mass relays staying intact, the stories of mass effect cant happen. They somehow managed to kill their entire franchise within 10 minutes. Up until the last 10 minutes, the game is great. After that 10 minutes though, ME3 goes from great to crap. Don't buy until BioWare does something to change the ending.    … Expand
  41. spikie1011
    Mar 24, 2012
    2
    Love all the game but the end is a joke, sorry bioware i love u , but seriously this end kill all ur game ... The 3 choices are just a joke, and if this ' end ' is just a ' dream ' for waiting the real end in DLC , it's a joke too.
  42. dorko1
    Mar 24, 2012
    2
    Bioware managed to ruin my favorite game series ever in less than 10 minutes. Don't play this game if you want some sort of satisfaction with your story.
  43. sushimpp
    Mar 28, 2012
    2
    Bioware replaced quality content, intelligent dialogues with plenty of options and a great overall RPG experience with more guns, more explosions, bigger **** fine asses and high heels. Feels like playing Resident Evil 5 except you get to say something every now and then. You can't speak to anyone on the citadel unless it's somehow mission related. Side missions appear and disappear fromBioware replaced quality content, intelligent dialogues with plenty of options and a great overall RPG experience with more guns, more explosions, bigger **** fine asses and high heels. Feels like playing Resident Evil 5 except you get to say something every now and then. You can't speak to anyone on the citadel unless it's somehow mission related. Side missions appear and disappear from your journal by themselves. The whole experience feels like the shell of what it could have been, but it is not. To conclude, the game would deserve a 5 but considering how much of a let down it was, it's getting a 2. Haters gonna hate.… Expand
  44. JR13
    Mar 31, 2012
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Game ends with "Whatever decisions you've made up to this point are irrelevant now. BOOM! Joker flees in panic! Everybody else dies!" None of the questions are answered.… Expand
  45. SkilgannonPT
    Mar 31, 2012
    2
    Loved all the mass effect games, why would they destroy such a wonderfull series with such a blatantly illogical LAST 5 MIN... I justify my score with the following articles and videos:

    1- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M0Cf864P7E
    2-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MlatxLP-xs


    Fix this ending plz.
  46. MKOBANER
    Apr 1, 2012
    2
    Im a big fan of the series and like other people i think the ending was incomplete however for me that wasnt the biggest problem. in ME and ME2 there was a connection in story and you can effectively see the actions you make changes galaxy and open up new path , sometimes you even have to sacrifice one path for other. However in ME 3 there are no connection between missons. Even worse atIm a big fan of the series and like other people i think the ending was incomplete however for me that wasnt the biggest problem. in ME and ME2 there was a connection in story and you can effectively see the actions you make changes galaxy and open up new path , sometimes you even have to sacrifice one path for other. However in ME 3 there are no connection between missons. Even worse at final misson you dont see the effects of your missions. I gathered entire galaxy to help world but no interaction with them ? That game seriously broke my faith in bioware. I think swtor was lousy too and now this. Funny thing is all the game sites say game is perfect, well it is NOT !!! i dont know how much they pay you to write this but i dont even look at game review pages anymore thanks to your inaccurate fanboy reviews. Games ending was only the part of the problem, this game has lost its soul...… Expand
  47. drogondoldos
    Apr 4, 2012
    2
    What can I say that hasn't already been said? They cut corners **** the previous choices had no major impact on the story (As we had been promised), I could go on but honestly I have better things to do.
  48. shadowchaser076
    Apr 5, 2012
    2
    Mass Effect 3 is an absolute amazing brilliant game until the very last ten minutes. The very last ten minutes ruin the entire franchise. SPOILERS AHEAD......

    Our Choices we made from the very beginning with ME1 doesn't matter. Seriously, Bioware threw everything out the window in the very last ten minutes. The problem with the ending is that its broken storytelling. You just cannot    Mass Effect 3 is an absolute amazing brilliant game until the very last ten minutes. The very last ten minutes ruin the entire franchise. SPOILERS AHEAD......

    Our Choices we made from the very beginning with ME1 doesn't matter. Seriously, Bioware threw everything out the window in the very last ten minutes. The problem with the ending is that its broken storytelling. You just cannot introduce a totally brand new character that has never been mentioned, such as the Starchild/Catalyst, at the very end of any series. Also, you just can't introduce a whole NEW theory as to why the Reapers were created to do. That was never mentioned at all only up to the last 10 minutes. For these to work, they were have to be mentioned throughout ME1 and ME2. Also it has been mentioned many times that we would have gotten 16 different endings due to our choices throughout the series. We didn't get that. In the end, all the choices we made though out the game and war assets doesn't matter, because Bioware threw that out the window with lousy storytelling in the last 10 minutes. It would be like, in Fight Club, we find out who Tyler Durden really is, and the screen goes black. It would be like, we find out Darth Vader is Luke's father at the end of Return of the Jedi, the Death Star blows up and wipes out along Endor with it. Bioware are still defending this as this being a piece of art. If an artist promises their client you're going to get this and that, you'll love the finished product, then 2 years later, the artist gives the client completely something different. What makes you think the client would not get upset over this. Bioware has just become another game company to make money and screw their fans over along with EA. They should be ashamed of themselves.    … Expand
  49. Rainbow_Dazed
    Apr 8, 2012
    2
    I love the series, but for me the ending just ruins the whole experience. With a better ending the game would be a 10/10 game, but I guess the way a story ends is just so important for me, that a bad ending equals to a bad experience. The ending was full of plot holes and took away all desire to replay the trilogy. None of the choices I made mattered in the end, so what was the point.
  50. kinraze
    May 4, 2012
    2
    It's BAIT and SWITCH at its lowest, a fun game at its highest. Unfortunately the more invested you are into the story and the universe, the worse off you are for it. If its your first Mass Effect game, you don't read the codex, you don't really care about anything other than how it plays and if its fun, your in for a treat. If you got all the merchandise, books, dlc, and get thoroughlyIt's BAIT and SWITCH at its lowest, a fun game at its highest. Unfortunately the more invested you are into the story and the universe, the worse off you are for it. If its your first Mass Effect game, you don't read the codex, you don't really care about anything other than how it plays and if its fun, your in for a treat. If you got all the merchandise, books, dlc, and get thoroughly into a game for its world, you may find the ending very off-putting. Its not as bad as MetalGear switching out the main character a quarter of the way, but its 3 quarters of rad-ness followed by an 8th of ferocity, and an 8th of WTF?!!!!!! The gameplay is the same as ME2 but polished, duck-cover shooter but weapons are now far more powerful to the point that you don't require combinations within your team to pass levels (again, power you probably don't have if you haven't xferred experience over from previous games, so more fun if you haven't played before). Spawning mobs comes from dark walled patches like every other game. Side games like hacking consoles, and scouring each planet for resources are gone. Choices don't even offer alternate combat paths like cookie-cutter FPS's do in their single player mode. As a full priced expansion, this would be an 8 in my mind, but as a solid sequel, this game falls far from expanding on its engine and system other than technical mechanics that i'm sure developers and critics are hailing it for. If i were rating a movie where i got to shoot stuff every now and choose which rad decisions the hero made, then the medium itself would warrant a 10. But as a video game this is a 3. Let's save polished remakes for programming school shall we?… Expand
  51. Rangerage
    May 15, 2012
    2
    What a pathetic excuse for a game in comparison to its predecessors and the game we were promised.
    The gameplay is still as bad as the previous two, but the character, writing, choices and atmosphere from the previous two have been stripped as much as possible to appeal to the Call of Duty audience.
    What a shame.
  52. Chagga
    May 15, 2012
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I find this game hard to score. As a game, until the last 10 minutes, it's very good (perhaps an 8 or 9), but the last 10 minutes basically trash the whole Mass Effect experience (ME 1, 2 and 3 to that point) so completely that the end is clearly a 0, both as an end to ME 3 and as an end to the series.

    Deus Ex Machina, lack of logic and things that exactly contradict specific quotes from the devs. 2 is about as high as I can go, as the end is so atrociously bad in any way I can analyze it.    … Expand
  53. Cuz
    Jun 23, 2013
    2
    Over-dramatic and silly plot killed this one for me. I really had to muscle through the last half just to say I finished and this is from a huge fan of the first two games, I would suggest that you stay away if you can... not worth giving Bioware/EA any of your money for this mess.

    The professional reviewers that gave this game such high scores have to be on the payroll, it's just not    Over-dramatic and silly plot killed this one for me. I really had to muscle through the last half just to say I finished and this is from a huge fan of the first two games, I would suggest that you stay away if you can... not worth giving Bioware/EA any of your money for this mess.

    The professional reviewers that gave this game such high scores have to be on the payroll, it's just not a good game. Some of the worst writing I've sat through in years, unbelievable cringe-inducing.    … Expand
  54. joem282
    May 27, 2012
    2
    I am sorely disappointed by this game. For the past five years, I have enjoyed shaping one of the most engrossing, and exceptionally written Sci-Fi franchise of all time. Not only were each of the individual Mass Effect games exceptional in their own unique ways in terms of gameplay, but they also had an extraordinary storyline that held true to canon even as the player's choices shapedI am sorely disappointed by this game. For the past five years, I have enjoyed shaping one of the most engrossing, and exceptionally written Sci-Fi franchise of all time. Not only were each of the individual Mass Effect games exceptional in their own unique ways in terms of gameplay, but they also had an extraordinary storyline that held true to canon even as the player's choices shaped them. This made for an extremely immersive gameplay experience that can be rivaled by few others. This also applies to 99% of the third entry to the Mass Effect series. While I find the first Mass Effect unique because of the sense of discovery and mysteries of the galaxy (much like Star Trek) and the second Mass Effect had a unique focus on the development of your crew and pretty good action; the third Mass Effect was unique because it was a story, an emotional and inspiring story that had been crafted personally to you based off of your actions in the third game. The over-the-top action that would make most third person shooters titles weep was a nice bonus, as well (this is in an RPG to top it off). But, to be honest, I am going to skip past the majority of the details of the game and get right to the part that affected this review's rating the most- the terrible ending. When I heard the game's ending was bad, I could have never imagined as terrible of an ending to a game, let alone the ending of an entire series, especially the Mass Effect series. To avoid spoilers, I won't go into too much detail as to the ending, but it was bad! Plot holes, circular logic, explanations pulled out of thin air and a horrific WTF moment destroy what would have been one of the best games of all times and inadvertently destroy the entire Mass Effect series. The ending doesn't even reflect a single choice you made throughout the series, NOT A SINGLE CHOICE. One could even say that the ending make the events of the first game entirely moot. I didn't want this ending, I wanted closure based off of my decisions throughout the series, you know, like the last two games. In summary, the game was epic, including the final battles. Sure there were flaws here and there, but most of them could be overlooked, up till the last 10-15 minutes of the game of course. I never thought that 15 minutes could dismantle over a hundred hours of gameplay spanning three games, not until I played Mass Effect 3… Expand
  55. HrtBrk1
    Jun 9, 2012
    2
    Gameplay was decent, but overall; this game did not feel as if it was "complete." In the second Mass Effect, there was so much to do and you could TELL Bioware put their hearts and souls into it! But in this game, I don't get that feeling, there was just no depth and the interaction with the characters was disappointing, to say the least, Bioware seems to have forgotten that Liara, GarrusGameplay was decent, but overall; this game did not feel as if it was "complete." In the second Mass Effect, there was so much to do and you could TELL Bioware put their hearts and souls into it! But in this game, I don't get that feeling, there was just no depth and the interaction with the characters was disappointing, to say the least, Bioware seems to have forgotten that Liara, Garrus and Tali aren't the only characters in the game. This game seemed to be around 65% complete and the lack of detail is unacceptable for a Bioware game.… Expand
  56. GRANIT_Salvo
    Jun 30, 2012
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Promises broken. The entire experience of the 3 games is destroyed by the end. It feels as if EA forced them to remove the true ending and put this ending in to force-fit a 4th game. I predict a Mass Effect 4. . .and I will not buy it.… Expand
  57. Deadgraphics
    Jul 1, 2012
    2
    As a fan of the two previous mass effects I have to say this was a let down, some gameplay issues, story is decent to a point, but what hurt most was the ending. Bioware not think that throwing there own lore out the window would hurt the fans really took me aback. Since the extended cut was released it fixed some issues but still leaves a bad taste in your mouth, plus a few new plotAs a fan of the two previous mass effects I have to say this was a let down, some gameplay issues, story is decent to a point, but what hurt most was the ending. Bioware not think that throwing there own lore out the window would hurt the fans really took me aback. Since the extended cut was released it fixed some issues but still leaves a bad taste in your mouth, plus a few new plot holes. An unfortunate ending to what was a good series.… Expand
  58. scifi_lover
    Jul 7, 2012
    2
    As a stand alone game, it was mediocre at best. As the 3rd installment in a trilogy, if failed in almost every way possible.
    Your character is no longer yours but a forced character by BW.
    Autodialog forces conversations in directions that go against the players choices. Boring, uninspired fetch quests inundate the game. Exceptionally linear in design, unlike the pseudo-free style of    As a stand alone game, it was mediocre at best. As the 3rd installment in a trilogy, if failed in almost every way possible.
    Your character is no longer yours but a forced character by BW.
    Autodialog forces conversations in directions that go against the players choices.
    Boring, uninspired fetch quests inundate the game.
    Exceptionally linear in design, unlike the pseudo-free style of the previous games.
    Endings that nothing to smile about and everything to hate. Infused with massive, game breaking, space magic.
    Overall, a childish attempt at ending a trilogy. Not worth the purchase price.    … Expand
  59. thugmuffin
    Jul 8, 2012
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It is not often that the last game in a series manages to effectively ruin the work of its predecessors and their replay values, along with its own. But Mass Effect 3 does exactly that. The extended cut does nothing to alleviate the problems introduced by the original ending, just as patching a few holes in the hull of the Titanic wouldn't stop it from sinking because of the ginormous hole created by the impact with the iceberg.

    What is Mass Effect 3's iceberg? Why does it ruin the first two games in the trilogy for me? Because of what the ending does to the reapers, and how it invalidates 3 games worth of work. The reapers in the first two games were a mysterious, godlike force that were, as Sovereign told us, beyond our comprehension. Mass Effect 1 was shrouded with an ominous enigma; we had no idea what motivated the reapers or what their true purpose was. All we knew is that they wanted to end sentient life in the galaxy, and that this wasn't the first time they had done it. Mass Effect 2 kept this up. Even before the ending in Mass Effect 3, the reaper on Rannoch tells Shepard that the reason for the mass genocide is "not something you can comprehend". But I noticed something was amiss in the proceeding dialogue. The reaper continues to say, "Without our intervention, organics are doomed. We are your salvation." This was just a hint at the **** that would occur in the last 5 minutes of the game. As it turns out, according to the Star-kid-god-deus-ex-machina, the reapers are merely puppets; he controls them. They are well within our comprehension. They aren't mysterious at all. Now when I play the first 2 games, I know that Sovereign and Harbinger are talking out their asses when they say that we cannot imagine their realm of existence. It's just sad how they effectively made two badass bad guys in the first 2 games into stupid little dolls. It makes the first two games hardly bearable.

    The Starkid tells us that they were his solution to the problem of how organics inevitably create synthetic life, which inevitably kills organic life. So his solution is to kill all organic life before this really happens. Are you kidding me? First of all, that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Why not just let organics get themselves killed instead of forcibly doing it? Second, why did I just spend the last 3 games repairing the relations between the Geth and Quarians? Does it mean nothing at all that I manufactured a peace between them? Oh, you're telling me it happens in every cycle? ****. Third, why all of a sudden is the core theme of the game synthetics vs. organics? I thought it was about making my own decisions, crafting my own destiny, and uniting all species under a common goal, organic or not? Now, all of a sudden, oh it turns out the Geth will eventually kill you, so we'll kill you before that happens. Simply unacceptable. Honestly, a third grader could write a better ending. And I'm forced into making a stupid decision at the end of the game that doesn't really incorporate any previous decisions, like the developers promised. Saved the Rachni queen? Cured the genophage? Created peace between the Geth and the Quarians? LOL DOESN'T MATTER. Pick a color.

    Now when I try to replay the series, I know I will be forced into this awful ending, none of my decisions matter, the bad guys are just tools, the Geth will kill everyone if unchecked, and Ashley/Kaiden will still not trust me despite everything I've done for the galaxy.

    Also, what was the point of Mass Effect 1? If the Starkid is a part of the Citadel, why didn't he just open the relay instead of letting stupid Sovereign fumble around like a fool? He can apparently generate a blinding light that merges synthetic life and organic life, which is far more complicated than anything that's ever existed ever, so I'm sure he's capable of pressing a damn button. And even if he couldn't, it apparently only takes 6 months for reapers to get from dark space to the galaxy, so why didn't they just do that in the first place?

    The only reason I'm so upset is because how much I loved the first 2.9 games. I saw the Mass Effect trilogy as this generation's Star Wars, a space opera of epic proportions that has a meticulous and interesting universe. But Mass Effect 3 really just makes me.. sad. Because its ending did not do the series justice. The Rannoch, Tuchanka, Mordin, and Thane scenes all brought me to tears. The entire series was astounding up until the last few minutes. Bioware had the chance to define the Mass Effect trilogy as the new standard for story driven games. But now? It's just.. bleh. I will probably never buy a Bioware game again. First Dragon Age 2, then SWTOR, and now this. They have fumbled 3 great franchises. Oh well.    … Expand
  60. vazait
    Jan 5, 2013
    2
    This game is not good as an RPG, it's not good as a cover-based shooter, and it's certainly not good as a hybrid of any sort. This game is atrocious, it truly is. And this comes from someone who liked ME2, despite its flaws. But anyways, what's wrong with the game? Well, I think the ridicilous ending has been covered well enough by a lot of other reviewers, so I won't go into detail on howThis game is not good as an RPG, it's not good as a cover-based shooter, and it's certainly not good as a hybrid of any sort. This game is atrocious, it truly is. And this comes from someone who liked ME2, despite its flaws. But anyways, what's wrong with the game? Well, I think the ridicilous ending has been covered well enough by a lot of other reviewers, so I won't go into detail on how stupid it was. Let's talk about the dumbed down dialogue instead. BioWare and EA apparently thought three choices as a standard was a bit overwhelming when playing ME1&2, so they had to remove the middleground. What is left is the **** and "Good Guy" options, and the occasional Renegade and Paragon option. The Renegade & Paragon system is also pretty stupid. 'If you aren't nice to people, you can't make rational choices'... The **** kind of sense does that make?
    And with the removal of dialogue options, comes the removal of dialogue too. Which I can see makes all kinds of sense. Why would you shift the focus from shooting endless hordes of Cerberus troops, over on the thoughts and psyche of the interesting and beloved crew. We all know thats why we loved the original games, right? It was the neverending cover-based shooting that attracted us all... ... right?
    With all irony aside, I find it pretty annoying that the crew is even less talkable in the third installment, than in the second. In like 19 hours, I had the total of THREE, unique dialogues with Liara (whom I had romanced in the previous games), whereas only TWO of them were private and on the Normandy. That kinda sucks, especially since she's one of my favourite characters in the entire series.
    Also: what's up with the character design? How come everyone dresses in the sexiest "armor" in the entire universe? Don't get me wrong, I am in fact a fan of the female body. But, why did Ashley throw away her giant power armor from ME1, in favor of the sleek, sexy outfit in the third? It looks stupid, and it doesn't make sense. But if she hadn't changed the armor, it would be significantly less time to show of her enlarged bazoongas. I'm not **** you when I say that the size of her **** have been increased from the first game. The entire game is so sexualized it just becomes silly. And to top it all off, they had to make EDI sexy too. I'm actually surprised she isn't a romance option. It would go along with the rest of this **** of a game perfectly. And while we're at EDI: what's her deal? Why does she act so out of character? She's not an AI, but she acts like one. When I think about, practically everyone acts out of character. The only one who doesn't do so, is Harbinger. He does the best job of sticking to his... 'personality' and agenda in the entirety of the game. Even Shepard acts out of character. What's the deal with the homosex-romance? I don't dislike homosexuals in any way, but the sudden change of sexuality is just weird.
    So, is there ANYTHING good about the game, you may ask. Well, kind of. The skill system is decent, better than ME2's (worse than ME1's). The weapons and attachments are pretty good, I prefer it over both the first and second installments' take on it. The armor and armor customization is vastly superior to both 1&2, so there are some good things about the game. One could say it looks pretty too - and I somewhat agree, but you feel like you don't always belong there. The game shows off what it can do and how beautiful it is, and sometimes, one ends up just as a watcher.
    My final complaint is in regards to Cerberus. Why did the story shift the focus away from the Reapers, and onto Cerberus? I don't feel like I'm saving the galaxy most of the time when I'm playing. Battling wave after wave of Cerberus-troops isn't fun, it doesn't make you feel like you're saving the galaxy, and it only makes you wonder why you are bothering with it. Feels kinda like busywork.

    All in all, this is one of the most disappointing games I have ever encountered. Mass Effect was one of my favorite games, and together with sequel one of my favourite game series. But now I can't even thoroughly enjoy the first installments, because I know it will all be in "vain", as this game is so butt****ingly stupid. This game is abominable. Steer clear away from this thing. The only reason this game isn't getting 1/10, is because it has Liara, Tali and Garrus in it (even though none of them want to speak with me).    … Expand
  61. Morfiss
    Feb 9, 2013
    2
    Day 1 DLC: Disgraceful. taking content out of the game and selling it,
    Giant Plot Holes: Every 50,000 years the reapers wipe out everyone to stop synthetics from killing everyone.
    Game play: Is so boring it's just run and gun.
    1 Point: Customisation was good and the N7 armour looked cool.
    1 Point: Multiplayer had some simple but fun aspects.
  62. Metacriticfan4
    Mar 30, 2013
    2
    The fan reviews doesn't lie, the ME franchise was ruined with this game. The way the ending was done have completely ruined the great ME experience for me. This a long with other poor choices made in ME 3 has laid a foundation for a terrible game. 2 out of 10 is what I have given it. This development of the franchise really has me fearing for the future of the ME series.
  63. Isengrim
    Sep 28, 2013
    2
    Disappointment, is the word I would sum this game up with. Mass Effect 3, being a last game in a ME trilogy abandons most of the things that made Mass Effect 1 or 2 so successful.
    The story of this game, revolving around a mysterious alien device nobody knows anything about is full of plotholes and irrationalities. The gameplay is an improved version of Mass Effect 2, which still abandons    Disappointment, is the word I would sum this game up with. Mass Effect 3, being a last game in a ME trilogy abandons most of the things that made Mass Effect 1 or 2 so successful.
    The story of this game, revolving around a mysterious alien device nobody knows anything about is full of plotholes and irrationalities. The gameplay is an improved version of Mass Effect 2, which still abandons most of RPG qualities as it's predecessor did. If that wasn't bad enough, Bioware decided to strip the player out of choices and if there is any they consequences are very similar making the choice itself meaningless. The characters and the world respond to every dialogue option in a very similar way making the whole Paragon/Renegade morality system totally worthless.
    While a player can import a save from the Mass Effect 2, he/she have to be aware that it doesn't make much of a difference, as possibly dead characters from Mass Effect 2 are replaced on the spot with another new/old character without any noteworthy consequence.
    There is no choice which mission you want to do, unlike in Mass Effect 1/2, here you just jump from one main mission to the other, linearly going forward to maybe the most disappointing ending in history of videogames.
    Bad writing, lack of logic, lack of choices and consequences means that this game isn't what it is advertised to be. Add annoying control scheme on PC and you have one of the worst game I have ever played and certainly the most disappointing one.
    Only redeeming quality of this game is it's soundtrack.
    Overall, 2/10 stay away.    … Expand
  64. cappugino
    Jul 3, 2013
    2
    Repetitive game! After 3-4 hours playing the game is going to get boring.
    Bad and boring K.I. and sometimes unfair difficulty.
    Only for fans! For people who never played such games its wasted money.
  65. Type4101
    Sep 14, 2013
    2
    Still a letdown, years later. ME3 is a reminder that the world needs a real RPG revival. The age of dumbing down must end. Unfortunately, EA has announced that it has no intention of supporting future RPGs that don't involve micro-transactions, so there may be more dark days ahead. ME3 is, however, a decent cover-based shooter. It certainly has more characterization than mostStill a letdown, years later. ME3 is a reminder that the world needs a real RPG revival. The age of dumbing down must end. Unfortunately, EA has announced that it has no intention of supporting future RPGs that don't involve micro-transactions, so there may be more dark days ahead. ME3 is, however, a decent cover-based shooter. It certainly has more characterization than most shooters, which is nice. That is small consolation for RPG fans, who have plenty of options in the over-saturated shooter market, if that is what they wanted to play (it isn't). Don't support ME3, even if it is on sale in the bargain bin.… Expand
  66. EckSi
    Sep 10, 2013
    2
    The gameplay itself was great, but the direction that the writing leads decided to take the story at the end was terrible. Their faisco at writing a logical and well written ending on the first go around it why I am writing this review.

    They tore apart the lore by giving us an aweful space child. It completeley devalued and ruined the fear that I had of the reapers that I had had for    The gameplay itself was great, but the direction that the writing leads decided to take the story at the end was terrible. Their faisco at writing a logical and well written ending on the first go around it why I am writing this review.

    They tore apart the lore by giving us an aweful space child. It completeley devalued and ruined the fear that I had of the reapers that I had had for years since the first Mass Effect. They suddently because the mere toys of this stupid little ghost boy who just happened to be at the final place and happend to solved everything for you with some color.....

    I could have written an ending with an awesome battle scene involving you and all your collecting war assest fighting alotside you, showing strength through diversity... you either had enough to overcome and prevail with a phyric victory or you didnt have enough and were crushed. Either way, I would have given the fans of the series on hell of an awesome ending battle scene. Not some stupid ghost starbrat.    … Expand
  67. Evaldazz
    Dec 12, 2013
    2
    I tried to see this game through to the end, I truly tired. But I just couldn't do it. It is just appalling. I loved Mass effect 1 and though some people disliked mass effect 2 I thought the story was good enough to follow through and keep me entertained. Mass effect 3 has no redeeming qualities. The game play and physics are clunky, the graphics very outdated, the cover system gets youI tried to see this game through to the end, I truly tired. But I just couldn't do it. It is just appalling. I loved Mass effect 1 and though some people disliked mass effect 2 I thought the story was good enough to follow through and keep me entertained. Mass effect 3 has no redeeming qualities. The game play and physics are clunky, the graphics very outdated, the cover system gets you killed more often than it saves you. The Reapers, who are supposed to be the most devastating enemy we've ever seen, are so easy to take it, its laughable. I could go on and on like this, it really doesn't have anything going for it at all.

    If you want a good 3rd person shooter go for the dead space series, don't waste your time with this. I give it a 2/10 in honor of mass effect 1 and 2.    … Expand
  68. morten_doboj
    Dec 12, 2013
    2
    I really enjoyed the first Mass Effect as I had almost all other Bioware titles, most of all the really immersing story. The story elements were continued in ME2, although the progress was halted quite a bit. Sadly Mass Effect 3 is without a doubt the weakest in the series. Even though the gameplay is a bit better than the previous games, and the story as engaging as ever, the endingI really enjoyed the first Mass Effect as I had almost all other Bioware titles, most of all the really immersing story. The story elements were continued in ME2, although the progress was halted quite a bit. Sadly Mass Effect 3 is without a doubt the weakest in the series. Even though the gameplay is a bit better than the previous games, and the story as engaging as ever, the ending ruined the whole trilogy for me. This is the first time that I ever stopped playing a series altogether because of a single flaw, but what a flaw.… Expand
  69. marelus
    Feb 24, 2014
    2
    This game is only for the series fans I guess.

    I felt like it had unbearably long, and boring cutscenes every 5 minutes, and horribly linear gameplay with an illusion of a choice. Annoyingly consolish controls for not demanding players, operated basically by one button to cover/use did not help either. Graphics were pretty good so not a complete zero. But this game was so seriously    This game is only for the series fans I guess.

    I felt like it had unbearably long, and boring cutscenes every 5 minutes, and horribly linear gameplay with an illusion of a choice. Annoyingly consolish controls for not demanding players, operated basically by one button to cover/use did not help either.

    Graphics were pretty good so not a complete zero. But this game was so seriously story oriented that in my case was just unplayable. I would rather spend that time watching good movie, than playing it as a video game.    … Expand
  70. gamesgonewild
    Mar 22, 2014
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Anyone who gives this game a good review is being payed to do so.

    Mass effect 3 could not be a worse conclusion to the story if Bioware had tried.

    This game has really put me off buying from E.A ever again. E.A's new game titanfall, can sit on the shelf until a sale comes along because i now refuse to pay full price for games anymore. Now i wait until a steam sale.

    I genuinely believe that somebody in E.A decided that it would not be cost efficient to produce a decent game and instead convinced everyone to produce a game that was quick and poor quality because lets face it, the fans will buy the game regardless. Fans have already invested in the other two games so who cares about this one lets make the game as cheap as possible and maximize profits.

    I cant believe that in the second game you have an extremely advanced ship with A.I computers and for some reason, you don't have a camera installed so you can prove to the rest of the galaxy that the reapers are coming so get prepared for war. Nope..that would be too simple. Instead you (the player) has to (for the second time) act like a diplomat to get other races on your side. Then to add insult to injury your crew, for the most part is gone...why? you just spent a whole game recruiting them, why wouldn't you use them in the third game you stupid fools!!

    then there are the small things, like every time you go from one side of the ship to the other (the cic to the war room) you have to go past airport scanners....why????? your the captain for **** sake!!

    This games not worth your time, so invest whatever time you have left on this planet into something else.    … Expand
  71. pjmeyer22
    Mar 31, 2014
    2
    Let's call this game what it is, a POS game. From the the word go Shepard's fate is sealed. Bioware spit in my face and kicked me in the groin. All my choices were rendered meaningless. In ME 2 an Arsai told me the rachni " Would burn clean the sky." I thought this meant they would come save me when things seemed hopeless. In other words they were the key to defeating the Reapers. BiowareLet's call this game what it is, a POS game. From the the word go Shepard's fate is sealed. Bioware spit in my face and kicked me in the groin. All my choices were rendered meaningless. In ME 2 an Arsai told me the rachni " Would burn clean the sky." I thought this meant they would come save me when things seemed hopeless. In other words they were the key to defeating the Reapers. Bioware "fixed the problem" when they killed most of them off by the Reapers.

    When I first read about Mass Effect Bioware had just finished Knights of the Old Republic. They were making a trilogy where your actions in all three games would affect the ending in third one. Bioware lied to me to the tune of 160 bucks. They only gave one ending with four options. In order to have your actions truly affect the ending, a happy ending has to be possible. The extended cut DLC is nothing more then damage control and selling Mass Effect 4. For me though, Bioware has noway to correct the mess they made. I can only hope they pissed off enough people so there is no Mass Effect 5.    … Expand
  72. aciphex
    Oct 14, 2014
    2
    Mass effect one and two were among the best story driven experiences available across any medium...which evokes the rage of the real mass effect fan base...the ones who played over and over again, the ones who feel in love with this galaxy and all its occupants...the ending is worse than "he woke up it was all a dream"..the developers gave a big **** you to the fan base which they laterMass effect one and two were among the best story driven experiences available across any medium...which evokes the rage of the real mass effect fan base...the ones who played over and over again, the ones who feel in love with this galaxy and all its occupants...the ending is worse than "he woke up it was all a dream"..the developers gave a big **** you to the fan base which they later regretted by giving us dlc they intended to charge us for to shut us up...yes the ending is bad enough to be considered worst ever across any medium… Expand
  73. malcolm22
    May 9, 2017
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. There are some things that are just so dam stupid about this game... If you spend millions on a finely tuned graphics engine, you would there be some cool boss fights or something other then the exact same mobs over and over gain. The worst part of the game is the missile battery defense level at the end where they just add more high HP mobs instead of coming up with anything interesting. The result is a frustrating terrible experience where its you VS an dumb AI enemy's HP bar over and over again,thinking the whole time, these stupid monkeys who got this far and gave up by the last level.... Screw you level designers resorting to that, you are huge idiots. Just look at all the 0 reviews below.... speaks for itself.… Expand
  74. Goden
    Mar 6, 2012
    1
    They intentionally cut STORY-HEAVY content from the game in order to sell it on the side as DLC. Inexcusable business practices. I cannot give this game more than (1) for that reason. Abusing and manipulating your trusting fanbase for extra money is NOT acceptable.
  75. babymaru
    Mar 10, 2012
    1
    BW should really stop faking their quality with marketing. This is a bad game.
    They lost their writing. Since they are not good at gameplay or graphics, game is horrible.
    Ending is worst ending I have ever seen. It was very piontless. Mass Effect is not about synthetics vs. organics like Matrix. It's about struggle of galactic society and beauty of the people or their action within it.    BW should really stop faking their quality with marketing. This is a bad game.
    They lost their writing. Since they are not good at gameplay or graphics, game is horrible.
    Ending is worst ending I have ever seen. It was very piontless. Mass Effect is not about synthetics vs. organics like Matrix.
    It's about struggle of galactic society and beauty of the people or their action within it.
    Only good thing I saw was naked Liara. That was truly beautiful. Other than that, this game was completely waste of money and time.
    BW is dead. I will never buy game from this company.
    0/0    … Expand
  76. thesisko
    Mar 6, 2012
    1
    Another turd by the BioWare sequel-machine. If you're looking for a B-movie plot combined with a weak and repetitive on-rails shooter this will suit you. But if you're a fan of BioWare's earlier work, such as Baldur's Gate and Dragon Age: Origins you're better off forgetting this development house existed and look towards more serious RPG developers like Larian Studios or Piranha Bytes.Another turd by the BioWare sequel-machine. If you're looking for a B-movie plot combined with a weak and repetitive on-rails shooter this will suit you. But if you're a fan of BioWare's earlier work, such as Baldur's Gate and Dragon Age: Origins you're better off forgetting this development house existed and look towards more serious RPG developers like Larian Studios or Piranha Bytes. Also keep an eye out for Brian Fargo's upcoming "Wasteland 2".… Expand
  77. crescent
    Mar 6, 2012
    1
    After Dragon Age 2, I didn't believe that bioware will have what it takes to throw out another bad game. What has gone wrong with this once top-notch developer? Are they all short sighted with only cash in mind, or have they fired all those who actually cared about making a good game with pressure from EA to crank out more dough. What happens in the end, non of us would know. One thing weAfter Dragon Age 2, I didn't believe that bioware will have what it takes to throw out another bad game. What has gone wrong with this once top-notch developer? Are they all short sighted with only cash in mind, or have they fired all those who actually cared about making a good game with pressure from EA to crank out more dough. What happens in the end, non of us would know. One thing we are sure though is that Bioware is no longer the esteemed developer it once was, its reputation going down the drain in a year, with ME3 being the final nail to the coffin. Disappointed.… Expand
  78. danu22
    Mar 6, 2012
    1
    Another piece of trash spewed out from the depths of the money hungry company we know as Bioware. I honestly can never trust Bioware games ever again, I thought after the abomination of Dragon Age 2 I could give them one more chance, but they have gone too far now. This game is completely brainless, and worst of all the day one DLC.
  79. Zireael_Ua
    Mar 8, 2012
    1
    This game was great, interesting, brilliant, before...This is MOST STUPID end ever!!!1 I cant believe this **** is end Mass Effect 3. Hate ME series now.
  80. kofelovr
    Mar 25, 2012
    1
    I originally gave this game a 6, but I'm reducing that to a 1 because of all the BS public relations rhetoric BiowarEA is putting out there to defend that travesty of an ending instead of acknowledging it was flawed. Falling back on the old "artistic vision" crap just isn't going to quell the outrage of an, arguably, good percentage of the people who have finished playing the game.I originally gave this game a 6, but I'm reducing that to a 1 because of all the BS public relations rhetoric BiowarEA is putting out there to defend that travesty of an ending instead of acknowledging it was flawed. Falling back on the old "artistic vision" crap just isn't going to quell the outrage of an, arguably, good percentage of the people who have finished playing the game. "Artistic vision", my a$$. People had those kind of visions back in the 60's when they: "Turned on, tuned in, and dropped out". That coupled with the "we'll have more information for you in April" crap which is a painfully obvious stall tactic to not tank sales even more -- it couldn't be more transparent and it's insulting to the player's intelligence. It's dismissive in tone and nature. Way to go -- alienate even more of your core fan base.… Expand
  81. Golem25
    Mar 7, 2012
    1
    Strike 1: Adding multiplayer (oh come on really?) to a beloved SINGLE player series of games. If I wanted a multiplayer shoot em up I would play Counterstrike (don't even get me started on MW3). Strike 2: From Ashes DLC fiasco . Seriously? you're charging for DAY 1 DLC because you gave us multiplayer that we didn't even want in the first place? Strike 3: Boy am I glad I saw the leakedStrike 1: Adding multiplayer (oh come on really?) to a beloved SINGLE player series of games. If I wanted a multiplayer shoot em up I would play Counterstrike (don't even get me started on MW3). Strike 2: From Ashes DLC fiasco . Seriously? you're charging for DAY 1 DLC because you gave us multiplayer that we didn't even want in the first place? Strike 3: Boy am I glad I saw the leaked script and videos. "Yo dawg we made synthetics to kill organics, so organics wouldn't create synthetics to kill organics!" It's painfully obvious that the writing talent that made the first game so compelling is no longer involved. Maybe Bioware should think about hiring writers who, ya know, actually enjoy playing the games too. EA/Bioware, you have broken my heart for the last time. Multiplayer and Day 1 DLC I could *just* about have lived with, but the lack of choices carried over, and the contrived, lazy endings are a step too far. I will not be giving my hard earned money to you ever again. Fortunately I played a friend's copy of ME3 and can get my online version refunded (thanks Origin 14 day return policy!). Oh yeah, don't even bother pirating.… Expand
  82. dmz82
    Mar 9, 2012
    1
    The Mass Effect series has carried much promise. The first two games were real winners and successfully implemented the notion of player choice influencing the plot in meaningful ways. It's hard to think that with such a demonstrably successful formula in their possession BioWare could do anything to damage the series, let alone ruin it. But that's exactly what they've done--in asThe Mass Effect series has carried much promise. The first two games were real winners and successfully implemented the notion of player choice influencing the plot in meaningful ways. It's hard to think that with such a demonstrably successful formula in their possession BioWare could do anything to damage the series, let alone ruin it. But that's exactly what they've done--in as little as five minutes. Of course, I'm talking about the ending everybody is in fits about. From a plot perspective, the ending to this game is unforgivably bad--a true facepalm moment in the history of gaming. The game purports to have numerous endings, but the reality is that this isn't true. They are, for the most part, the same. Mass Effect 2 had much more variance in its endings, which is ironic considering Mass Effect 2 had to account for an upcoming game when mapping out its endings. Mass Effect 3 had no such constraint, and yet it funnels all your choices into what is the same ending at its core.

    I rated this game a 1 because the ending is truly THAT bad. It's just horrible.    … Expand
  83. nirax
    Mar 18, 2012
    1
    i wrote a review before finalizing the game. unfortunately the game ending as it stands ruins everything. dont play/buy it until it gets fixed. the writes somehow thought it would be cool to change a (Great) mainstream popcorn emotional decision driven action-rpg to a linear pace ending with three "pick your color" option endings (completely meaningless) trying to move to "art" and noti wrote a review before finalizing the game. unfortunately the game ending as it stands ruins everything. dont play/buy it until it gets fixed. the writes somehow thought it would be cool to change a (Great) mainstream popcorn emotional decision driven action-rpg to a linear pace ending with three "pick your color" option endings (completely meaningless) trying to move to "art" and not closing anything.
    its very unsatisfactory and dumb. AVOID.    … Expand
  84. JJDrakken
    Mar 6, 2012
    1
    Your lured & lulled into a sense you'll finally make a difference. When you get to end you realize nothing you did matters, your herded into endings that no matter what will leave very bad taste in your mouth. They have flat out ruined emotional investment in the series you may of put into it.
  85. Freestate
    Mar 10, 2012
    1
    Unfinished business.All the hype about the fate of your decisions is a lie.Mass effect Story and RPG turned into a naive shooter with a i´m a monkey ending! 5 years of entusiasm to the dump!
  86. PC-Gamer-Fan
    Mar 6, 2012
    1
    Really bland game. An almost 1:1 360 port. No gamepad support on PC either yet Bioware can tell us they had to make day 1 DLC for 3 months but not enough time to support the 360 gamepad this UI is designed around!! You be the judge of how credible that statement is!

    Bland UT3 gfx & even worse average story which is little different to 1+2 just more of the same & confusing as well. ME1    Really bland game. An almost 1:1 360 port. No gamepad support on PC either yet Bioware can tell us they had to make day 1 DLC for 3 months but not enough time to support the 360 gamepad this UI is designed around!! You be the judge of how credible that statement is!

    Bland UT3 gfx & even worse average story which is little different to 1+2 just more of the same & confusing as well. ME1 got away with it 5 years ago now its just whatever......

    If you like bland sub-std sci-fi with dated gfx & almost no PC enhancements then please buy as many copies as you can to let Bioware know they can get away with this & the approx â    … Expand
  87. Honeybadgers
    Mar 11, 2012
    1
    I'm not one to just bomb a game for silly reasons. I can find redeeming features in almost any game to at least call it mediocre. But Mass Effect 3 is the biggest letdown in PC gaming history. ME1 was plagued with wonky, unintuitive controls and menu navigation, but painted a rich, colorful universe that just demanded exploring. And explore we did. The Mass Effect universe was second onlyI'm not one to just bomb a game for silly reasons. I can find redeeming features in almost any game to at least call it mediocre. But Mass Effect 3 is the biggest letdown in PC gaming history. ME1 was plagued with wonky, unintuitive controls and menu navigation, but painted a rich, colorful universe that just demanded exploring. And explore we did. The Mass Effect universe was second only to Dune. The storytelling and acting were deep and meaningful, and the game just FELT enormous, even if it wasn't. You had so much freedom to do things your way, that it was mind boggling.

    The sequel narrowed the scope to your ship and your companions, telling a deeper, more personal story that blended wonderfully with the broad moral strokes in the first. Sure, you had to be a completion junkie to get the perfect ending, but the characters were fascinating, their stories meaningful, and the voice acting was superb. I really cared about the people I went to battle with, so much that I happily replayed it entirely just to make sure that one crew member survived.

    And then comes three. It starts out very serious, if a bit disjointed. You have saved the galaxy twice, and you still got court-marshaled? Your estranged companion is thrust upon you and then taken away. Relevant members jump in and out at complete random, you have no control over whether or not people live or die, and the woefully limited, boring citadel (seriously? How do you make the CITADEL boring this time?) is just a place where you go to get side quests that are essentially a dull minigame that doesn't even encourage exploration. Your companions are very mismatched, with Garrus and EDI being the only really meaty characters. Joker is thrust into some disjointed, ultra-serious role, and the animations make his eyes look downright crazed. All the animations are pathetically stiff and wooden. Why not simply use the wonderfully animated SWTOR engine and simply transplant the gorgeous textures? The stories are short, the side quests are almost meaningless and always presented exactly the same way. You either fly around collecting items whose relevance is never explained, and running from reapers in the minigame, or you are on a tiny, repetitive map fighting for equally irrelevant resources. The combat is okay, but feels so sluggish and imprecise that you can feel the "controller-itis" in its DNA. So low marks there. Also, I don't know about the other classes, but the Vanguard feels downright worthless, with absolutely no synergy in its skills, whereas in the first two, it was a fast paced engine of destruction.

    The new relationships are shallow, jerky, and forced upon you so quickly and back-to-back that it's laughable.

    And then the whole story draws to a conclusion. All that work you did to unite the galaxy, seems to have no impact or weight whatsoever. The final mission is disjointed, and all it appears to change is the length of your cutscenes, because it all boils down to the ending. The choices you're presented with mirror nothing that makes sense, let alone what your goal was. No matter what type of person you chose to play in the Mass Effect series, the ending presents nothing that you have any interest in pursuing. Not to mention glaring plot holes and absurdities. The ending was so bad, it single handedly ruined the entire series for me. After learning how things turned out, I will probably never pick up a Mass Effect title again. Nothing you can do will alter the eventual outcome, either. Finally, we get to the day one DLC. I didn't knock off a point from Portal 2 for having it. That DLC was cosmetic and completely unnecessary. But the DLC that adds 1% to the game and costs 20% of its retail cost and should have OBVIOUSLY been included, is the final nail in the coffin for bioware. I don't like making broad generalizations, but after the awfulness that was I can't help but get the feeling that EA has finally destroyed what was once my favorite RPG makers. The Mass Effect universe was the most astonishingly well-conceived, lore-ridden universe in gaming history, and EA just destroyed it. The user score (and it's not like the /v/ bombing of portal 2, which I stood against) clearly shows that EA just pays for ratings, because while barely tolerable as a game itself, the second you finish it, there is no way you can seriously sit back and think "That made sense. That ending was totally logical."    … Expand
  88. lod757
    Apr 15, 2012
    1
    i am still recovering from the shock , the entire game right upto the last ending part was amazing , and then it fails so hard , i don't think there is no excuse for ruining such a awesome game this way , on top of that , they are extending the horrible ending with a dlc nice :X what good is a game if the ending has been a joke
  89. Nil
    Mar 6, 2012
    1
    So, let's start. My last review got deleted.
    Why? This game genuinely deserves a 1.
    -Disregards previous installments. -Gameplay is akin to Gears of War, this is not a good thing. -Graphically inferior to the previous game in the series. -Horrible, uncanny valley, character models. -Favors "sexy" over logic. -Story driven game with a story so badly written, including cheap emotional    So, let's start. My last review got deleted.
    Why? This game genuinely deserves a 1.
    -Disregards previous installments.
    -Gameplay is akin to Gears of War, this is not a good thing.
    -Graphically inferior to the previous game in the series.
    -Horrible, uncanny valley, character models.
    -Favors "sexy" over logic.
    -Story driven game with a story so badly written, including cheap emotional manipulation attempts. Oh sorry, I am meant to cry about a child who turns out to be important just because.
    -Old characters die in unimpressive scenarios and for no real reason. Remember those characters from previous games? They are not important anymore.
    -Enemies are simple, gameplay tediously repetitive whack-a-mole.
    -Disregards choice, it gives you the illusion of selecting where or what happens, but in the end this doesn't affect outcome. Ending choices happen LITERALLY at the end. Whatever you did beforehand plays no role in the end.
    -The ending.
    -The dialogue throughout.


    Overall this game took everything that is wrong with modern games and tacked it onto this franchise, a franchise we once loved and cared for.
    This is completely unacceptable.    … Expand
  90. GhostDog24
    May 3, 2012
    1
    The game graffics just the same as the ME2 with a little update. The game easier and faster than the ME or ME2. And not to mention the awful story... just a question for BioWare: Why the f**k did you fired Drew Karpyshyn out (ME and ME2's writer) and changed him to, no name writers such as Mac Walters and Neil Pollner? I can give this game 1 point because, I'm a huge Mass Effect fan and IThe game graffics just the same as the ME2 with a little update. The game easier and faster than the ME or ME2. And not to mention the awful story... just a question for BioWare: Why the f**k did you fired Drew Karpyshyn out (ME and ME2's writer) and changed him to, no name writers such as Mac Walters and Neil Pollner? I can give this game 1 point because, I'm a huge Mass Effect fan and I used to love these games. Either way, if you wanna destroy this game history, play with it, and !no complain! because a lot of people warned you.
    PS.: Do me a favour EA/BioWare/Legendary Pictures/WB: Do NOT make a movie from this game 'cause I do NOT want a piece o cr*p from it. This game and the story already bad enough (and not because someone die at the end or not if you "lucky"...)    … Expand
  91. killer3000ad
    Mar 19, 2012
    1
    99% of the game is brilliant but the last 5 minutes just destroys the entire franchise and removes any replay value. I was so disappointed that I could not do another playthrough. It's sad that an otherwise superb game was ruined by it's absolute rubbish of an ending. Some may think that giving it a 1/10 because of just the ending is harsh, but the fact is I judge games/movies/books based99% of the game is brilliant but the last 5 minutes just destroys the entire franchise and removes any replay value. I was so disappointed that I could not do another playthrough. It's sad that an otherwise superb game was ruined by it's absolute rubbish of an ending. Some may think that giving it a 1/10 because of just the ending is harsh, but the fact is I judge games/movies/books based on the whole. I do not cut out bits and rate them individually. That the rest of the game is so good makes the ending even worse as it ruins it all.… Expand
  92. Fanton
    Mar 7, 2012
    1
    Second time that a sequel to Bioware ruins the game! Dragon Age 2 ended up with everything I would expect from a sequel to Origins and Mass Effect 3 now takes all the epic trilogy in a way ridiculous in every way (graphics, story and game play). Bioware from today I'll never buy anything produced by you!
  93. zsec
    Mar 9, 2012
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. When the mass relays were destroyed, Mass Effect was destroyed.

    Mass Effect isn't Shepard, it's not the Reapers, it's not a single galactic species. Mass Effect is the connection of the galactic species, it's their bickering, their politics, waring, and friendship; with the mass relays gone that connection is severed.    … Expand
  94. Tweed
    Mar 12, 2012
    1
    I've really enjoyed the Mass Effect series, but this last one, the one that was suppose to be the big climax is one of the biggest letdowns of the year so far. It really seems like Bioware cut every corner that could be cut while trying to maximize the amount of revenue they could generate from their community, there's a heavy emphasis on the multiplayer aspect of the game which actuallyI've really enjoyed the Mass Effect series, but this last one, the one that was suppose to be the big climax is one of the biggest letdowns of the year so far. It really seems like Bioware cut every corner that could be cut while trying to maximize the amount of revenue they could generate from their community, there's a heavy emphasis on the multiplayer aspect of the game which actually does greatly hinder your effort to try and get a good ending out of this game. It really doesn't help that the entire multiplayer part is designed to be a complete grind short of spending actual money to buy packs to enhance their characters. Disregarding MP the single player is rife with issues, mostly related to the terrible attention to detail, characters are poorly animated and "pop" and "spring" about unrealistically during dialog so often it becomes impossible to ignore, on the central hub of the game npcs in the background run back and forth to nowhere if they're animated at all, actors in the distance are nothing more than distorted 2 dimensional sprites or unskinned models that look more like cardboard cutouts or paper mache figurines than people. Cutscenes and dialog cannot be skipped making replay a major task for anyone who wants to see the hidden ending that requires finishing the game at least once. Attempts at continuity on Bioware's part are admirable and one of the highlights of the game, but it becomes lost in the mess of a plot, the impossibility of Earth holding out while Shepard gathers the forces of the galaxy is handwaved away and one of the main antagonists of the game winds up being a carbon copy of Mass Effect 1's villain. It also really doesn't help that Bioware decided to shift the focus of the plot right at the very last moment of the game to steal Deus Ex: Human Revolution's plot line and ending style, then expect the player to merely accept this without question. The endings are vague and unsatisfying, leaving any fan who has followed this series right from the very beginning to be extremely disappointed.… Expand
  95. getsomepie
    Mar 6, 2012
    1
    I don't want to spoil the ending, but this game was really, really bad. I don't have a problem with the gay scene, but the gameplay here fell extremely short and the ending left much more to be desired.
  96. Timson
    Mar 30, 2012
    1
    Total disappointment. This game is not even remotely as good as second one and of course . Graphics and design are pretty impressive, but that's not not an excuse for ruined gameplay, story and character development.
  97. Boro666
    Apr 11, 2012
    1
    Mass Effect never was a great game, not even good. It was passable, if you had few hours to kill. But ME3 is basically the worst part. Its short, simple, boring and insanely small. It's a hallway shooter for kids, with difficulty level acceptable even for sea slugs.
  98. SirCabbage
    Mar 16, 2012
    1
    ** SPOILERS ARE IN THIS REVIEW ** The game was amazing, every story felt tailored to my choices and I felt rewarded when I could chose things others could not due to my diligence in the end of the game. The sound, music, both amazing, and while the graphics seemed a little aged they still worked. (well, bar the random 2D sprites and textures that sometimes popped up which looked like they** SPOILERS ARE IN THIS REVIEW ** The game was amazing, every story felt tailored to my choices and I felt rewarded when I could chose things others could not due to my diligence in the end of the game. The sound, music, both amazing, and while the graphics seemed a little aged they still worked. (well, bar the random 2D sprites and textures that sometimes popped up which looked like they were done in paint. As of now, I would have put a rating up for 9, or 10 for this game, it was fun, loads of stuff to do, explore, listen to, learn about.. the multi-player is damn addictive and the pokemon trading cards TCG booster pack system is both annoying but addicting. Then comes the bad, the bad that is so bad I am forced to rate this amazing game so low. The bad that is so terrible that it not only ruined ME3 for me, but also made me less likely to ever replay ME1 and ME2. Im sure you all see where I am going, and that is the ending. The endings themselves were weakly explained in story, full of story cannon errors and worse.. but thats not what makes me hate them. The fact is, that no matter what you do, no matter how well you play, no matter if you saved the rachni, made the geth and quarians be at peace.. anything.. Nothing you have done in the past 3 games matters to the ending, you could be good, or evil, and still get the exact damn same choices. The differences between the ending movies are also minor, with a simple colour change being the only thing to stand between controlling them, joining them and destroying them. In all three endings the major transport hubs used by the galaxy are destroyed, meaning that burning civilizations are basically forever alone in the universe and unable to build, travel or anything. A huge fleet of ships is either destroyed, or remains in orbit around earth with no way to get home, and basically all your choices didn't matter since in the end you essentially destroy the universe. Plotholes like my LI who was presumably killed during the final run to the beam mysteriously showing up on the normandy after, the weird joker trying to escape the beam for no reason, The starchild's excuse not mentioning anything to do with the dark energy mentioned all through ME2, or Shepards apparent inability to even question his reasoning. So lets recap why ME3 is good/bad

    Good
    - Epic Soundtrack
    - Rewarding to Import Savegames (during game itself)
    - Fun gameplay/combat
    - Improved squad interactions

    Bad - Ending Scenes are identical. - Ending ignors 3 years of your choices, no epilogue or future games possible unless during/in past. - Plotholes all over - Getting 100%, doing everything correctly, still you get punished by dying in all but one ending.

    Overall. Bleh

    Game 10/10
    Sound 10/10
    Ending -20/10
    Total 0/30 :P Seriously, dont pass this game if you want to still love the franchise.    … Expand
  99. VergilAF
    Mar 15, 2012
    1
    Five years! For five years we have been waiting this game. All this time everyone has spent dozens of hours of play to build a character in detail, to get to the final battle and discover that everything we had is not worth anything. The game over all is full of bugs charts, something that his predecessors had not. Pultroppo, we are faced with a great truth: "A wonderful saga begins forFive years! For five years we have been waiting this game. All this time everyone has spent dozens of hours of play to build a character in detail, to get to the final battle and discover that everything we had is not worth anything. The game over all is full of bugs charts, something that his predecessors had not. Pultroppo, we are faced with a great truth: "A wonderful saga begins for passion and ends for the money." When a title is a highly successful publishing house will always tend to derive much money as possible and this leads us to make a game designed with speed and distraction. For me, Mass Effect is the saga of the most beautiful ever created in gaming history, but with this latest chapter in an era ruined. The ending, which I will not tell, it was so absurd as to anger the world for the first time in history.
    The dream is gone, the waiting futile, what remains is the DISAPPOINTMENT    … Expand
  100. bilwit
    Mar 9, 2012
    1
    Gameplay is enjoyable. Plenty of stuff to do. The real problem is the weak and contrived writing. For an RPG, where it's all about the story, it fails miserably on all accounts. All decisions you've made up to your last decision in the game makes virtually no difference, as they slap on the old Hamlet deus ex machina device that completely overwrites everything.
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
89

Generally favorable reviews - based on 23 Critic Reviews

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