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. sefrabu
    Nov 17, 2015
    8
    I've come across this comment on the "Mass Effect 3 ending controversy" - "I didn't know the ending was bad until I read it on the Internet".

    This is a "review" inspired by my yet another walkthrough, when - yet again - the story for almost each character was unique, the different class choice resulted in very different playing experience, and the ending provoked some thought. One of    I've come across this comment on the "Mass Effect 3 ending controversy" - "I didn't know the ending was bad until I read it on the Internet".

    This is a "review" inspired by my yet another walkthrough, when - yet again - the story for almost each character was unique, the different class choice resulted in very different playing experience, and the ending provoked some thought.

    One of the best games I played.    … Expand
  2. Nojbee
    Nov 29, 2015
    8
    I don't understand the bad critics. This is a good game. Maybe the ending is not the best, but not as bad as they say. Sure I will play with it some times.
  3. dandalis
    Oct 26, 2016
    8
    Despite the ending its a still bloody great game. They brought back some of the RPG bits from original Mass Effect which is nice. Combat now feels like in a proper third person shooter. There are some writing decisions i find difficult to understand and why they were taken, but then again im nor the developer nor a writer and its their creation and their decisions which i can respect atDespite the ending its a still bloody great game. They brought back some of the RPG bits from original Mass Effect which is nice. Combat now feels like in a proper third person shooter. There are some writing decisions i find difficult to understand and why they were taken, but then again im nor the developer nor a writer and its their creation and their decisions which i can respect at that, but not fully accept.

    Game once again takes you a memorable journey with characters you love and some new ones you might not like at all, but even after the somewhat anti climatic ending i still love this game and the emotions it pulled me through i wont forget.

    You cannot bash it and call it a bad game simply because of its ending, if you do so, youre a bloody fool who's an embarrassment to the Mass Effect fanbase and damaging its reputation for no good.    … Expand
  4. albasile
    Mar 29, 2017
    8
    The final story of the Mass Effect Trilogy delivers on the long anticipated main villains that were pulling the strings from the last two games. The lore and conspiracies that surrounded these puppet masters are now gone, with the long awaited arrival and mass invasion of the Reapers. It's very clear that this is a fight for the survival of the galaxy with an "us vs. them" mentality thatThe final story of the Mass Effect Trilogy delivers on the long anticipated main villains that were pulling the strings from the last two games. The lore and conspiracies that surrounded these puppet masters are now gone, with the long awaited arrival and mass invasion of the Reapers. It's very clear that this is a fight for the survival of the galaxy with an "us vs. them" mentality that puts Commander Shepard in the heart of an all-out galactic war with the Reapers.
    Game play, the graphics and soundtrack are all top notch. The combat mechanics have under gone more improvements from the cover based system of its predecessor. Combat is much quicker and more accurate with a new grab melee attack system, the ability to sprint without fatigue, and a dodge roll capability that all help make combat more fluid in ME3.
    Mass Effect has always been about the characters, conversation, story, and exploration with the characters being ME3’s strongest attribute. Most of your previous characters return just as fleshed out as they were with the second game. There are a couple of newbies: James Vega, and another (Spoiler) who both have interesting personalities and backstories but their characters suffer only from being introduced so late in the series. There are no loyalty missions, so most of the bonding Shepard has with his/her squad mates have already been established by their history together.
    The story although an improvement on ME2's, still has its plot holes. (Examples: Kai Leng, and ME3's ending of course). The Plot of the story is good and it immerses the player for much of the game until the last 40-60 minutes of the story with the plot faltering completely by the game’s conclusion.
    One of ME3’s biggest drawbacks is the stripping down of the ME conversation abilities that Shepard has had in previous games. Conversations have been deprived to just two choices for much of the game with many conversations taking place without any player interaction. This leaves the player with less involvement in making decisions and it streamlines responses of other characters or events. Exploration has been completely gutted from ME3. It’s understandably so giving that there is a full scale galactic war going on, but it is something that is noticeably lacking given that it has always been part of ME’s formula.
    Lastly, ME3’s ending is one of the biggest misfires ever seen in a story’s ending with an incoherent plot, its inability to tie up loose ends, and give a satisfying and logical conclusion. The ending leaves much to be desired and it puts a huge black mark on an otherwise well-made and emotional story. In short, the ending is terrible.
    Mass Effect 3 had the potential to surpass even the original ME had the conversation ability been intact, less plot holes in the story, and had a good conclusion; ME3 could have easily been the best of the trilogy, but instead it's the weakest. Even with its setbacks, ME3 is still a good solid game 8/10    … Expand
  5. Colbigdog67
    Apr 29, 2017
    8
    Just finished the game last night. I am still processing everything so I may come back later and add/edit this. I played ME:A all the way through and then decided to binge-play the trilogy as I never completed it in the past. It was well worth the 2 weeks or so it took me to get through the entire trilogy. Here are my thoughts:

    This was the first time I actually wept from playing a    Just finished the game last night. I am still processing everything so I may come back later and add/edit this. I played ME:A all the way through and then decided to binge-play the trilogy as I never completed it in the past. It was well worth the 2 weeks or so it took me to get through the entire trilogy. Here are my thoughts:

    This was the first time I actually wept from playing a video game. No other game has tugged on the heart strings like this game and I am not the type to cry over movies and games. The music in 2 & especially 3 is just phenomenal and really works well to bring out the emo's.

    Yes, there are problems with the game but it's the characters hands-down that make this game great. More than the story, more than the combat (which is pretty fun in 2 &3 ), more than the graphics, it's the relationships that you develop with the characters that are unforgettable. You really do care about them and if/when one if these characters is killed, you feel the loss for real.

    Regarding romance, it tore me up that I had to choose between 3 women, all of whom I really loved. I had to chose one and it killed me to break the hearts of the other two. This is not a bad thing as it illustrates the emotional impact the game has on you.

    As for the story, it's difficult to say much about it here without spoilers. Overall, I think BW did a good job with it. Especially in making you feel like things were utterly hopeless at times, going against insurmountable odds. I was disappointed in my own ending the first time through playing it blind. I felt a little cheated by my choice for reasons that I can't really divulge here. After the game ended, I went back through the long ending sequence a few more times selecting the other endings and then spent several more hours researching the endings and their meanings.

    Combat was kind of "meh" in 1 but became fun in 2 and was polished up in 3. I played on normal difficulty as I was more into the game for the story and characters than the fighting but wanted to have some challenge to the fights. Most encounters were pretty easy to get through but there were a few times that I had to work for it. If I replay the series at some point, I'll probably go insane mode. Also, I was vanguard all the way through.

    There were things about the game that disappointed and frustrated me as well which is why I am not giving it anything higher than an 8. I think the DLC is way too expensive for a 5 year old game. I played the digital deluxe edition with the included DLC and I decided to purchase the Kasumi DLC as I really liked her character but opted not to pay the high price for the other stuff.

    It should be noted that I watched Christopher Odd play the series along with my own play through, only watching him after I completed the missions first so I was able to experience some of the missing DLC through him. If I decide to replay the series in the future, I may spring for some of the other DLCs but I've already purchased 1 & 2 on Steam back in the day and paid for the Origin annual sub so I feel like EA has gotten enough of my $.

    In conclusion, whether or not I ever play the series again, it will leave a lasting impact and I will consider the trilogy to be one of my most memorable gaming experiences.    … Expand
  6. Greko03
    May 9, 2018
    8
    Claro que no esta a la altura de mass effect 2, pero en ningún aspecto es mal juego, muy disfrutable con grandes momentos que son inolvidables para mi, quizá el final no fue lo esperado, pero eso no justifica notas tan bajas de algunos jugadores exagerados.
  7. yota71
    Jan 10, 2020
    8
    Not as good as ME2 but this is a solid game that leaves a sign, this is a game (one of the few) that i played more than two time, yes maybe the end was weak, but not that bad
  8. CoKronakan
    Feb 12, 2018
    8
    I'm purely rating this game for it's amazing game-play, overall awesome coherent story, character writing and amazing characters that offer a lot of content. Obviously the ending didn't satisfy many fans but considering the scale of the war which the story depicts, became 10 fold in size since the first game, we could all appreciate the somewhat realistic ending. In terms of innovation,I'm purely rating this game for it's amazing game-play, overall awesome coherent story, character writing and amazing characters that offer a lot of content. Obviously the ending didn't satisfy many fans but considering the scale of the war which the story depicts, became 10 fold in size since the first game, we could all appreciate the somewhat realistic ending. In terms of innovation, not much happened, but was there it was definitely quality over quantity.… Expand
  9. FrostormNidhegg
    Nov 16, 2018
    8
    Игра понравилась, а концовки - ну, подход издателя абсолютно скотский, ту-самую-концовку получить без доната почти невозможно. Другой момент - я выбрал слияние органики и синтетиков (чтоб получились Строгги), для меня эта концовка самая логичная. Как игра - хороша. Но политика издателя мерзкая, не поспоришьИгра понравилась, а концовки - ну, подход издателя абсолютно скотский, ту-самую-концовку получить без доната почти невозможно. Другой момент - я выбрал слияние органики и синтетиков (чтоб получились Строгги), для меня эта концовка самая логичная. Как игра - хороша. Но политика издателя мерзкая, не поспоришь
  10. 4ya5h1
    Jun 7, 2021
    8
    i dont understand why so many people doesnt like the ending of this great trilogy, in my opinion its pretty good. the reason why it is only 6.0/10 is only people's expectations, which are their problem. if you didnt played ME saga yet, dont listen to them and make your own opinion
  11. Babylon6
    Feb 25, 2019
    8
    Well, Bioware totally ruined the ending of this great franchise, but there is a fix if you play it on PC anyway. Just install one of the various "happy ending" MODS. It's not a simply "make it happy" Mod, instead it allows you to have different endings ranging from pretty bad to very good, depending on your choices in the game - like it should have been made by Bioware themselves. GOODWell, Bioware totally ruined the ending of this great franchise, but there is a fix if you play it on PC anyway. Just install one of the various "happy ending" MODS. It's not a simply "make it happy" Mod, instead it allows you to have different endings ranging from pretty bad to very good, depending on your choices in the game - like it should have been made by Bioware themselves. GOOD STUFF!
    It makes you actually want to replay the game, unlike what Bioware produced by themselves. PRAISE THE MOD SCENE!    … Expand
  12. FrpMan
    Dec 19, 2020
    8
    Sonuyla hayal kırıklığı yaratsa da oynanış olarak yine güzel bir oyundu. Sonu hakikaten kötüydü ama.
  13. Wweald
    Jul 7, 2021
    8
    Don't get the hate for this game, it lived up to the other two games imo. The only issue I had with 3 is that the majority of the side quests are empty fetch quests. And the mission journal didn't show updates on progression which bothered me. I prefer me2 but this one was really good as well. It had a lot of epic moments, some of them might have been too out there in terms of realism butDon't get the hate for this game, it lived up to the other two games imo. The only issue I had with 3 is that the majority of the side quests are empty fetch quests. And the mission journal didn't show updates on progression which bothered me. I prefer me2 but this one was really good as well. It had a lot of epic moments, some of them might have been too out there in terms of realism but I didn't mind. Felt it was a good ending that tied up things nicely.… Expand
  14. MaxmilianKohler
    Sep 24, 2019
    8
    Part of a wonderful series.

    Better than ME2: Dialog skipping finally doesn't accidentally trigger. Worse than ME2: Mission statuses don't update in the journal, meaning that you have to check online to see what the next step is. You get missions that you can't complete till later in the game, but no telling when or where. They let you do all this f*ggitty male on male    Part of a wonderful series.

    Better than ME2:
    Dialog skipping finally doesn't accidentally trigger.

    Worse than ME2:
    Mission statuses don't update in the journal, meaning that you have to check online to see what the next step is.
    You get missions that you can't complete till later in the game, but no telling when or where.

    They let you do all this f*ggitty male on male degeneracy, but if I wanna be a hot little femshep slut that sleeps around with my whole crew somehow that's immoral. Slut shaming c*nts.    … Expand
  15. PeetApiwat
    Feb 2, 2021
    8
    It continues what is good from the Mass Effect 2, but just not as great. On the plus side, there's Liara.
  16. Genek13
    Nov 19, 2019
    8
    Conclusion to beloved Shepherd, hero of Mass Effect series, which was disappointing on the end...
    Every other aspect of this game is EPIC as was on previous installment.
  17. Gearetic
    Dec 3, 2019
    8
    I've recently taken it upon myself to replay through the entire trilogy back to back and I suppose I have to be the one to say it:

    Mass Effect 3 is not a bad game. Shocking, I know. The user review score would have you believe this is some sort of failure but you have to understand the context of these reviews, especially now, years after release when everything has settled. Mass    I've recently taken it upon myself to replay through the entire trilogy back to back and I suppose I have to be the one to say it:

    Mass Effect 3 is not a bad game.

    Shocking, I know. The user review score would have you believe this is some sort of failure but you have to understand the context of these reviews, especially now, years after release when everything has settled. Mass Effect 3 was the very first sign of EA's descent into madness that Bioware unfortunately got caught up in. This is the first single player game that featured the now notorious micro-transaction system we all despise. These monetization methods and publisher meddling have proven to be game killers, and Mass Effect 3 was the first warning we got. Couple that with an unfortunate handling of the game's ending sequence that resulted in the outrage and barrage of negative reviews you now see before you. With all that said, I can now begin to explain why this game is actually fantastic and still worth your time.

    VIsuals:
    The visuals in ME3 are a significant upgrade to the previous entries. Although it definitely is not ahead of it's time in any way, we have to remember that ME1 came out in 2007 and somehow looked worse than a lot of games from 2 years prior. This is a third person RPG, meaning that it is not beholden to the standards of a linear FPS, let's say. Even so, the visuals in ME3 somehow manage not to look particularly dated even close to 2020. That said, there are still some issues that permeate throughout the entire trilogy. The animations tend to look very stiff and awkward a lot of the time and the facial animations leave a lot to be desired. In fact, I can't say the quality of the animations changed much at all since the first game, leaving most of the characters looking pretty deadpan even in an RPG that is 80% all about character interactions. Another issue are all the character models besides the important, handcrafted ones. All the ME games have used the same shoddy system of generating side characters that ends up making human NPC's look laughably unrealistic compared to any of the main characters. Everything else, however, the visual style, textures, lighting, environments and most of the models do their job well.

    Gameplay:
    This is where ME3 truly surpasses its predecessors. The previous games have been little more in terms of their gameplay than sitting behind cover, poping up to shoot every now and then and casting the odd ability to kill things faster. Sometimes you would have to leave cover and find a different place to shoot from. It felt horrendous in ME1, it was significantly changed and improved in ME2 and ME3 combines elements of both and improves them further. While ME1's RPG mechanics were certainly more fleshed out than the actual combat, ME2 was kind of in reverse, with less options for customization and more emphasis on quality of combat, which worked surprisingly well in that game. ME3 has both, with more options and returning features from the original along with a much tighter and more intense combat system that gives enough wiggle room to actually become good at the game. With the now much expanded arsenal of weapons, mods and equipment, all of which feel different to use, they give you the freedom to tailor your experience to your preferred play style. Firing weapons in this game feels amazing and chaining that with dodging, running, meleeing, and using powers all flow wonderfully together. My only issue is that the enemies feel a bit too bullet-spongey.

    Story:
    This is where it gets tricky. The overall quality of the writing is about the same as in ME2. So that's great. Right?
    Well, it is but the caveat here is that ending. I've never actually experienced the endings of the vanilla game, which was said to be not only lacking in variety, but also confusing and open-ended. Not good for capping off a complete trilogy. That's the thing though, they actually IMPROVED the ending via DLC by changing or providing additional scenes and context. That's something at least and they didn't need to do it either. They could have just left it where it was and not bother correcting their mistake so I appreciate their corrective efforts with the added complaint that it did not need to happen in the first place if they had done it properly the first time. It is not unfair to mention that ME3 has some of the most memorable and epic moments in the series and features what is probably one of my all time favorite DLC campaigns. The one in question is the Citadel DLC, which is absolutely bonkers in terms of its tone and narrative compared to anything we've seen in the series and I love it.

    To sum up, ME3 is an excellent game that has made some mistakes and rectified a lot of them. So long as you get the version of the game that includes all of the DLC and ignore any and all MTX's, you are in for a great experience, provided you've played the previous games of course    … Expand
  18. AlexeySoltan
    Nov 6, 2021
    8
    there is only one thing u should know about this game: it must have been 12/10 but an awfull final destroyed everything((
  19. Corefitz
    Feb 15, 2020
    8
    Everything from Mass Effect 2 survived and Bioware added what needed to be added, polished what should have been and basically did everything right...

    Until the ending.
    And some alternate ending cooked up as a 3rd option isn't going to make up for how much you destroyed.
  20. GraysonUA
    Mar 31, 2020
    8
    В принципі той самий Mass effect 2, тільки веде до завершення трилогії. Мінус нічого особливо нового.
  21. hoanns
    Jun 6, 2020
    8
    still a great mass effect. the ending is not good, but until then you can have a great time
  22. MattKingsbury
    Jun 19, 2020
    8
    When you look back at Mass Effect 3, after all the DLC was released, the game is a much stronger package than it was at release. You can't help but feel that the game was rushed: streamlined journal, repeating multiplayer maps in singleplayer, few dialogue options. And despite all its flaws, and all the controversy, Mass Effect 3 is still an enjoyable game until its conclusion. A shameWhen you look back at Mass Effect 3, after all the DLC was released, the game is a much stronger package than it was at release. You can't help but feel that the game was rushed: streamlined journal, repeating multiplayer maps in singleplayer, few dialogue options. And despite all its flaws, and all the controversy, Mass Effect 3 is still an enjoyable game until its conclusion. A shame that such a ground-breaking series ends on such a hollow note, however it is the journey that counts...and the journey is truly something special.… Expand
  23. Blint31
    Aug 13, 2020
    8
    Mass Effect 3

    Positives
    -Great characters
    -Choices which have consequences
    -Cinematic cutscenes
    -Great soundtrack

    Negatives
    -The ending is weird
    -Gameplay doesn't feel very good

    Overall Mass Effect 3 is a great end to the trilogy and I really enjoyed it.
  24. dempzeez
    Jul 20, 2020
    8
    The end leave a bit to be desired, but overall, it's an amazing experience!
  25. ahrek
    Jun 22, 2020
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. masterful videogame. though not perfect. needed more missions on alien homeworlds and to allow the use of vehicles that were available in the ME1 and ME2. music, story, and gameplay are amazing. hard to believe that the only females of alien species that finally show up are just two turians. and only one nameless child. why is it that the entire galaxy seems to be made up exclusively out of adults? also the game should have resolved the mystery of Haestrom's sun.

    the whole drama with Tali's photograph and the presence of Diana Allers on the ship is well deserved. someone did not have their priorities straight.    … Expand
  26. apokalipto
    Aug 9, 2023
    8
    Very good game. I enjoyed playing this game a lot. I strongly recommend this.
  27. mikesgold2K
    Jan 11, 2023
    8
    W zasadzie to 8,5 dałbym. Bardzo dobre zwieńczenie trylogii, satysfakcjonujące zakończenie wielu wątków, rozgrywka przyjemna jak w poprzedniczce. Ogólnie fajna
  28. Antictra
    Mar 7, 2021
    8
    9 years after: I played the game just when it was released in march 2012, had a part in the "ending war" with EA and Bioware, replayed game again anno domini 2021 under covid curfews. My vision did not change that much since 2012: Mass Effect 3 was a magnificent ride as it followed and given a closure to so many emotional story arcs, just like a flawless "Rachnia sound symphony" just up to9 years after: I played the game just when it was released in march 2012, had a part in the "ending war" with EA and Bioware, replayed game again anno domini 2021 under covid curfews. My vision did not change that much since 2012: Mass Effect 3 was a magnificent ride as it followed and given a closure to so many emotional story arcs, just like a flawless "Rachnia sound symphony" just up to the last 5 minutes of the game spoiled and corrupted by the "reapers". Whoever they were, they were severely punished back in 2012 and then again for Anthem occasion.

    The inconsistent pacing of the very ending with the rest of game is still there and will remain forever, even though certain mods give the possibility to somehow limit it's "cliffhanger feeling". I would describe it as solipsistic, not because of the sense of its' different variants but because of its delivery, completely out of place and logic of the rest of the game.

    Beyond that ME3 has the very nice flow both in gameplay mechanics and storytelling, while giving a certain liberty of action, influence on the events and characters in that vibrant, fascinating world. Stylistically original it will remain for a long time in the minds and hearts of the players. Clearly I recommend to play the game for itself, while being prepared for not satisfying ending.

    Remaining and recurrent problem with EA's game is its intrusive DRM and selling the 9 years old bare game with no DLC. Now they plan their new legendary edition, yet, while it may be interesting for new players, for old ones it risks to be an expensive acquisition (and still with intrusive DRM).    … Expand
  29. marijn2112
    May 17, 2021
    8
    Combat is simple but well implemented, choices are sometimes too extreme but genuinely interesting, the maps look cool and the other story aspects are just good except the ending which makes me lower it to an 8
  30. IronWolfFang
    Sep 30, 2022
    8
    I do love this game, there are some brilliant moments. For example, the use of the song 'Leaving Earth' gives me chills to this day. One thing I would note is that playing the other two games in the series makes the game so much fun as you can meet all of your past friends and I think thats how it should be played. Ending was meh to be honest but its hard to compete with mass effect twosI do love this game, there are some brilliant moments. For example, the use of the song 'Leaving Earth' gives me chills to this day. One thing I would note is that playing the other two games in the series makes the game so much fun as you can meet all of your past friends and I think thats how it should be played. Ending was meh to be honest but its hard to compete with mass effect twos beginning and end.… Expand
  31. Gekyll
    Nov 16, 2021
    8
    Хорошее продолжение 2 части, сюжет стал более масштабным. в целом эта та же игра только чутька хуже
  32. AgentLvi
    Dec 27, 2022
    8
    Great game. The story is decent. The scoring is great, visual is really amazing, the voice & sound is also amazing
  33. Gwend
    May 3, 2022
    8
    По сравнению со вторйо частью подтянули графику, систему прокачки. Сюжет остался на прежнем отличном уровне. Не могу поставить больше 8 из 10, так как концовку безбожно слили
  34. Giero
    Jan 4, 2023
    8
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  35. Hike0403
    Jan 20, 2023
    8
    Not so bad as all say. Worse than ME1 and ME2, but still better than Andromeda. Have some troubles with fiction and gameplay, but i love this game and all series.

    Advantages: + Characters is still amazing, you can romance most of the characters and the love lines are pretty well written. + Choices and their consequences from all ME series + Music is gold + Design and locations    Not so bad as all say. Worse than ME1 and ME2, but still better than Andromeda. Have some troubles with fiction and gameplay, but i love this game and all series.

    Advantages:

    + Characters is still amazing, you can romance most of the characters and the love lines are pretty well written.
    + Choices and their consequences from all ME series
    + Music is gold
    + Design and locations good tho

    Disadvantages:

    - Final RGB mission (I won't spoil it, but the ending is potboiler)
    - Lack of navigation for secondary tasks (almost all this tasks have to be googled)
    - Gameplay has become more clumsy than ME2    … Expand
  36. Magical_Viktor
    Apr 30, 2023
    8
    Существуют просто Зло и Большое Зло, а за ними обоими в тени прячется Очень Большое Зло. Очень Большое Зло, Геральт, это такое, которого ты и представить себе не можешь, даже если думаешь, будто уже ничто не в состоянии тебя удивить. И знаешь, Геральт, порой бывает так, что Очень Большое Зло схватит тебя за горло и скажет: «Выбирай, братец, либо я, либо то, которое чуточку поменьше»Существуют просто Зло и Большое Зло, а за ними обоими в тени прячется Очень Большое Зло. Очень Большое Зло, Геральт, это такое, которого ты и представить себе не можешь, даже если думаешь, будто уже ничто не в состоянии тебя удивить. И знаешь, Геральт, порой бывает так, что Очень Большое Зло схватит тебя за горло и скажет: «Выбирай, братец, либо я, либо то, которое чуточку поменьше»
  37. Orlandu84
    Dec 31, 2012
    7
    It wasn't bad, and it wasn't superb either. I cannot comment upon the original ending because I played it with the extended ending. Having said that my complaints with the game have to do more with character interactions, scope, and pacing than anything else. First, unlike Mass Effect 2, Mass Effect 3 never made me care about the characters all that much. The magnitude of the Reaper WarIt wasn't bad, and it wasn't superb either. I cannot comment upon the original ending because I played it with the extended ending. Having said that my complaints with the game have to do more with character interactions, scope, and pacing than anything else. First, unlike Mass Effect 2, Mass Effect 3 never made me care about the characters all that much. The magnitude of the Reaper War made characters and their own personal problems quite trivial. This point begs the question of scope. The game attempts to achieve an epic feel while maintaining familiar with the main characters. Unfortunately, it fails in this respect. Despite its giant space battles, the game never created an atmosphere that conveyed the gravity of the situation the characters found themselves. Then again, this could equally be my failing as much as it is the game's. For after two previous installments of Shepherd saving the cosmos, I am kind of used to the stakes being very high. Lastly, the pacing just felt off to me. The final battles did not seem to build all that much dramatic tension. Also, we learned too many important facts too quickly at the end for their significance to be comprehended. Having said that, the game is still good. The plot does make sense. The voice acting is really good. The action is engaging. I had fun. Unfortunately, it was not the masterpiece most of us were hoping it would be.… Expand
  38. Gene
    Mar 8, 2012
    7
    I'll leave the moaning to others, here are the basics: Running, dodging, and hugging a wall are all handled by the spacebar, which means if you try running from an enemy close to a wall, you are just as likely to crouch behind it and have your face eaten, combat is way more twitchy and less tactical than either of the two previous games. Quick time events with no prompts, I went throughI'll leave the moaning to others, here are the basics: Running, dodging, and hugging a wall are all handled by the spacebar, which means if you try running from an enemy close to a wall, you are just as likely to crouch behind it and have your face eaten, combat is way more twitchy and less tactical than either of the two previous games. Quick time events with no prompts, I went through half the game before realizing that those overlong death animations are actually quicktime events where I had to mash the F key. Story was very solid, I loved it up until the just before the end, and then was massively enraged. The writers spent way too much effort making s*** epic and mystical, and as a long time fan I felt robbed, although I don't think new players will feel effected. I just wanted an end to a war 5 years in the making and finding out what happened to all my friends, the loopy nonesense they gave for an ending just completely broke the flow of the entire series.… Expand
  39. Tridus
    Mar 25, 2012
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game is a glorious middle bookended by a lame opening and a weak ending plagued by plot holes. People who say there's nothing wrong with the ending must not have been paying attention, because there's continuity errors you can fly Sovereign through. How did EDI go from being *in my party* on Earth onto the Normandy in the middle of the last battle? How did the Normandy get into the Mass Relay network to be ahead of the blast, during the last battle when they had no idea what the Crucible would do? It makes no sense. The ending itself is basically the same no matter what you did in the rest of the game at all, provided the green millitary bar was filled up enough. It turns out there's a God AI that's really doing all this, but didn't think of how to fix it until you showed up and is willing to let you doom all organic life to extinction if you want to. Why would it let you do that when it's been protecting organics for so long with the Reapers (protecting by destroying, yay!)? Makes no sense. It's a real shame because there's great stuff elsewhere in the game. The missions around Rannoch are awesome and some of the best in the franchise. That makes it hard to rate this game. Do you ignore the problems with the ending like the critics mostly did? Do you rate it into the ground like most of the users are doing? I'm trying to balance it off because I had 33 hours of fun along with the bad at the end, so I'm docking 2 points for that and another one for the lame opening with a kid that was thrown in as a ham-fisted attempt to add impact.… Expand
  40. MikeMaximus
    Mar 11, 2012
    7
    Lets get the bad stuff out of the way first, and sadly it is mostly bad. Yes the game comes with day 1 dlc, but if you've bought a big release EA game in the last 3 or 4 years you should be used to this by now. It's not worth coming on here and giving a zero over no matter how much it sucks. The biggest fault of ME3 is that it feels even more linear in comparison to the previous games,Lets get the bad stuff out of the way first, and sadly it is mostly bad. Yes the game comes with day 1 dlc, but if you've bought a big release EA game in the last 3 or 4 years you should be used to this by now. It's not worth coming on here and giving a zero over no matter how much it sucks. The biggest fault of ME3 is that it feels even more linear in comparison to the previous games, you are funnelled along a set path of main quests with other systems only randomly appearing on your map once you reach a certain place in the story line. It's almost like a linear FPS trying to pretend that it's still an RPG. The side quests are also extremely lame fetch types that you generally come across while running by conversations in the citadel with the odd extra N7 mission during your journey. Mining has been replaced with another "scanning" mini-game to find extra resources for your war effort, it feels like a cheap waste of time, mostly because there isn't much to explore really and it could have been a lot more interesting. Thankfully the hacking and circuit mini-games from ME2 have been removed completely. The story & dialog is really hit and miss, mostly miss, your choices from the previous games don't seem to have any kind of large meaningful impact on the big picture, but I need to test this more with multiple playthroughs. The differences between your paragon and renegade choices seemed, odd to me in a lot of cases, almost like they were mixed up. It seems a lot less thought went into story, dialog and character development this time around, or it was rushed. Now the good things, the combat has been streamlined and in my opinion it's probably the best out of the series. It's a little faster, there are more powers and they are fun to use. The production values are extremely high, it looks good, sounds good and the voice actors all did an incredible job for the most part. It isn't much of a boost technically when compared to ME2, but it is still an improvement in most areas, my only issue is some of the animations, especially running, just looks wrong. Now oddly enough my personal saving grace for this game is what most think is blasphemy, the multiplayer. I find the multiplayer extremely well done over all, it's easy to hop into, it's fun and addicting and provides a good challenge. It also gives a little boost to your single player campaign but it ISN'T required to get the best ending as some idiots on here have been giving a 1 or 0 over.… Expand
  41. Aepervius
    Mar 26, 2012
    7
    Mass effect is a great ending to the trilogy , albeit with a sever flaw. The graphic are great , but there is no way to change the setting, and console limitation are forcing some design decision. For one you can't change FoV, you can't change graphic setting much, and you are forced to watch the back of a shepard taking 1/5 of the screen the whole time (Typical console trick to avoidMass effect is a great ending to the trilogy , albeit with a sever flaw. The graphic are great , but there is no way to change the setting, and console limitation are forcing some design decision. For one you can't change FoV, you can't change graphic setting much, and you are forced to watch the back of a shepard taking 1/5 of the screen the whole time (Typical console trick to avoid calculating world geometry in a part of the screen). Often I found myself unconsciously using the mouse wheel to zoom out or in to go into FP , and sadly this is not possible. Graphic option include anti aliasing, screen resolution, brightness, and shadow, that's it. Still the graphic are great, only it is a bit sad to be saddled with console limitation. Sound wise , It is relatively good. Music is good. Sound effect sound stock or did not leave me with a strong impression. Dialogs OTOH are good sounding, and the sound of the reaper still leaves me a chill in the back. Plot : I found the story fitting. The ending was OKish. On its own I found it OK, what I was sorely missing was to know what happens to the various folk/species taking part into the battle. I won't spoil it for you for the content of the ending, but I had been hoping for a little bit more, like the diagshow at the end of fallout saying you what happens afterward. It does not happen. Nonetheless the ending were satisfying enough for me, just lacking a tad bit. Big big big bad things : the screen at the end telling you to wait for DLC. They could have sparred that, or made it more discreet, as if the main menu "downloadable content checking" was not enough. That blue screen with DLC at the end was .... Over the top. Multiplayer is OK, consist in you and 4 trying to fight off waves, with XP reward and a store to buy items. but is problematic due to 2 things : they tied part of the game (effective military rating force) to the multiplayer. Now some people are playing it so finding coop player is easy. But what in 2 month ? What in 6 month ? If you find nobody you WILL be stuck at 50% rating, thus making it harder for you to get certain ending. This is definitively a BAD BAD BAD decision. Overall, I enjoyed Mass Effect 3 very much, but I think it has been clearly bracked by financial decision, and attempting to cash in, by having day 0 DLC (a clever marketing and salesman would have made it a week 1 or week 2 DLC) the shop/multiplayer influence on single player and the problem described as above, and the endings, which looks actually as if they had to make them on the quick due to financial reason. All in all, the lasting appeal of this game is IMHO lower than for ME1 and ME2 and the console influence has make it much more evident the lowering of the RPG element in favor of FPS element. I would still recommend it to anybody having played ME1 and 2 , but as a stand alone I cannot recommend it too much. Final verdict : 7. Would be a 8 if not for multiplayer undue influence on single player Military rating, and would be a 9 if only they had added , even a few still picture telling us what happens afterward as in fallout or other game did. This is after all the END of the trilogy.… Expand
  42. Vasot
    Mar 6, 2012
    7
    The game is not as bad as some people say but it is not that great either. I have to agree with some people that the gameplay is more of a brainless shooter. Even if you choose to play this as an RPG experience from the game settings the game feels like mostly Gears of Wars than a Action-RPG like it was with its prequels. Most battles are easy and game A.I is a bit stupid too....As aboytThe game is not as bad as some people say but it is not that great either. I have to agree with some people that the gameplay is more of a brainless shooter. Even if you choose to play this as an RPG experience from the game settings the game feels like mostly Gears of Wars than a Action-RPG like it was with its prequels. Most battles are easy and game A.I is a bit stupid too....As aboyt the story of the game well it is Ok but some dialogues feel like a chore oi be honest there is nothing really that memorable from the game story perspective and you will probably feel disappointed from the game ending. Anyway it is not a bad game but not that great either in my opinion i was expecting something more epic and smart… Expand
  43. Vicissitude
    Apr 11, 2012
    7
    I think a lot of the user reviews here are unfair. Yes, the game has some surprisingly nasty technical issues. For one mission, Garrus disappeared for about 20-30 minutes. Sadly, he was integral to the mission, so characters kept turning to talk to him, but there was nobody there. Much of the time I couldn't hear what he was supposed to be saying. Also, there are tracking issuesI think a lot of the user reviews here are unfair. Yes, the game has some surprisingly nasty technical issues. For one mission, Garrus disappeared for about 20-30 minutes. Sadly, he was integral to the mission, so characters kept turning to talk to him, but there was nobody there. Much of the time I couldn't hear what he was supposed to be saying. Also, there are tracking issues during conversations. They tried to make the characters turn to face the current speaker, but this mostly just confuses them when there's more than one speaker. The most hilarious was when Liara's helper bot flew by during a conversation, and Shepard flipped out. He started thrashing about with his eyes rolled back in his head. Reminded me of the Exorcist.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    It's hard finishing such trilogy like that...    … Expand
  66. Ardonas
    Mar 11, 2012
    7
    Best game of the series, right up until the "push a button' ending. I still loved it, but God is that ending frustrating. It's like the end "Under The Dome" but even more frustrating. Buy it, just don't finish it.
  67. NTripleD
    Mar 9, 2012
    7
    I thought the game was enjoyable, the gameplay is fun, and the graphics are good. With that being said, ME3 is nothing close to the game that ME2 & ME1 were. There is a feeling of inevitability throughout the course of the game, it is far too linear. The endings are the biggest disappointment I've ever experienced in any game that I've ever played. I got the "perfect" ending, and itI thought the game was enjoyable, the gameplay is fun, and the graphics are good. With that being said, ME3 is nothing close to the game that ME2 & ME1 were. There is a feeling of inevitability throughout the course of the game, it is far too linear. The endings are the biggest disappointment I've ever experienced in any game that I've ever played. I got the "perfect" ending, and it still left me feeling queasy.

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

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

    Also, in spite of the complaining, the Multi-Player is actually very fun.    … Expand
  68. QuantumHD
    Mar 15, 2012
    7
    I am a fan of the ME series. I've been playing with involving my self into the game and choosing the actions as I think i would choose in situations presented in the game. I've never had this feeling of being emotionally connected with the game and with the characters in game. I've felt like part of the world and each actions were sometimes very emotional for me. I cared about my friends,I am a fan of the ME series. I've been playing with involving my self into the game and choosing the actions as I think i would choose in situations presented in the game. I've never had this feeling of being emotionally connected with the game and with the characters in game. I've felt like part of the world and each actions were sometimes very emotional for me. I cared about my friends, I've tried to do the be myself in the game. I felt real emotions and that was beautiful from the first ME to the last. Amazing game with amazing epic story, incredible characters and design the best sci-fi game EVER! But why then I gave 7/10 but not 10/10? Because of ending witch is just terrible. It is hard to describe what i feel without spoilers so I will leave this topic. I feel like we deserve something else. Or do they have room for new DLC's? I hope not and that someone will explain the ending.… Expand
  69. seuche
    Mar 6, 2012
    7
    its an "ok" first-person-shooter with a movielike displayed story and absolutly no innovation. with other words: its the call of duty of the action-adventures.
  70. Gil8ert
    May 28, 2012
    7
    Feels more like an expansion than a standalone game which is why I'm giving it a 7. However, I very much enjoyed it, just as I enjoyed Mass Effect 2. It reminds me very much of He-man the cartoon I watched as I was growing up because you do get a lot of morality spat in your face which, whilst at the time can come across as patronising and vomit inducing, actually fleshes out theFeels more like an expansion than a standalone game which is why I'm giving it a 7. However, I very much enjoyed it, just as I enjoyed Mass Effect 2. It reminds me very much of He-man the cartoon I watched as I was growing up because you do get a lot of morality spat in your face which, whilst at the time can come across as patronising and vomit inducing, actually fleshes out the experience. For the most part you are asked to make decisions which generally don't affect how the game will play, but everynow and then you are faced with making a hum-dinger of a choice which is where Mass Effect always excels. Most games require a simple choice of this or that which doesn't affect the outcome all that much, but here you are faced with choices between entire races which feel like big decisions to make and you might be thinking about the choice for a couple of minutes. And if a game can cause you to pause and think about the consequences of what you're doing for more than a nano-second then it has done good! The game itself is really more about living the story than it is being technically proficient, and I don't remember dying at any point - although I probably did. But if I did then it was only once or twice so it wasn't particulalry challenging. It did feel a little dumbed down from ME2. But for me it was a fine ending to the franchise. Not great, but fine. I would still recommend the whole lot to any gamer out there as an excellent example of an immersive experience.… Expand
  71. Mothhive
    Nov 13, 2013
    7
    After all the DLC and extended endings, and having picked it up on sale a year or so after release, I'd say I was pleasantly surprised. Not perfect, and the endings are still pretty weak, but the journey was enjoyable, but doesn't come close to the level of the previous games.
  72. Nadisaint
    Mar 7, 2012
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game is good, really good. The combat system is the best one yet, and the emotions the characters makes you feel- you will get teary eyes for sure. The things that bugs me are the endings. The choices you got brainburn thinking about the previous games barely even matters here. I wanted an ending that actually offers some kind of closure, this ones feels rushed, like a last minute change. There are many unfilled holes. Fans of the saga deserved better than that. Still, good experience.… Expand
  73. ruggly
    Mar 7, 2012
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I found it to be a really engaging game, until the end. Yeah, I came across a few bugs and glitches here and there, but the dialogue did not bother me much. I found the voice acting to be quite good. But the ending...it just does not sit well with me...So the Reapers are synthetics that were created to kill organics to prevent them from building synthetics that would kill organics? From what I remember, the only other synthetics in the game were the Geth, which are only a few centuries old, and they were being controlled by the Reapers in the first two games. I would also like to know what happened to my old ME2 squad members, such as Miranda or Grunt, did they survive the events of ME3? The fact that they made no mention of any other squad members, other than those that get off the Normandy after it crashes on some random planet, at the end really, really bothers me. And the final scene after the credits, was this all just a story being told by some grandparent? As well, it did seem like my choices in the previous games got disregarded, though it could be I was just not paying that much attention. I also wanted to make little blue children...Other than that, I did enjoy the game.… Expand
  74. SehrEinsam
    Mar 7, 2012
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I can't give it a better score. So much went wrong. Biggest ****-up I see are the Canned Endings that all end in same thing(more or less). Really guys? You like Deus Ex so much you had to make a dumbed down ending for ME3 based off it? And really? Killing off a character you've progressed from start finish is just... well, Someone else here put it this way; "like a rollercoaster that ends in a brickwall." Dunno about ya'll but I didn't invest all the time in playing these games and developing my character just so I can watch you hit him/her with a "noble" death scene. If that's gonna happen, why keep up with the Romances? Speaking of Romances, not really my issue, but I'm willing to bet there's a massive horde of pissed off Talimancers who are up in arms over the "reveal". I was at least hoping they'd render the character but all you get a little picture next to your bed. So, Bioware artists should probably steer clear of the SciFi Conventions. But this all goes back to my beef with the ending. Why even have romances, friendships, ect, when you're gonna kill off the main character anyway? At least in the DA/KoTOR series' your character develops these and even in the end, they don't simply DIE(unless you're a suicidal Warden I guess.), they move on and even got a little post-plot story. In ME3 you're SOL. Nice Job Bioware. You really screwed the pooch on this one. Story is good, though it seems like someone was behind the writers with a pistol shouting "FASTER!" Everything is rushed and doesn't have the same depth as the first two. If you play for the story, Rent it. If you don't play for the story, don't bother buying it. Just go read the ending spoilers.
    Gameplay? Well, They introduced Easy Easy Easy mode. Last play through I never even lost my shields in the Narrative mode. Other than that it's Mass Effect 2 gunplay. Oh and there's Gears of War, I mean Multiplayer too. But you gotta have a Gold Live account! More money. Like Release DLC... I thought I was hearing things when they asked me if I wanted the DLC stuff when I picked up my copy.
    All together, the only redeeming factor is that I can, in fact, not feel guilty about going back and killing off everyone in ME2, since they all die anyway. There's no real way BioWare can make up for the Ending(s). At least I got to shoot the Irritating Man. Thanks BioWare, for that one little redeeming tidbit.    … Expand
  75. Bojo
    Mar 8, 2012
    7
    Here lies an honest review...

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

    To summarize, the story is good, if not somewhat linear. However this may come out of necessity to finish the story. While plot holes are noticeable and some pieces don't make sense, most of this can be credited to bad pacing. While given time the story and pacing become more bearable, it is a disappoint given the polish we experienced from the first two. Further more, while it is disappointing many of the decisions in the first two games make little difference here, the progression of the story is set with emotion, and can be over looked when one realizes it wasn't much different from the first two. Gameplay is good, an improvement overall. Combat is good and improved, with more variety in weaponry and tactics, though a somewhat clunky cover system hold it back in some areas, the variety you can get out of a character is amazing.
    Presentation is amazing. A great soundtrack and good voice acting bring you into the experience. Set pieces are huge and bring about a feeling of desperate times and hopelessness. The wars feel like battlefields, and covert missions feel sneaky. The story can hold this back as it isn't as polished as it could be.
    This game was extremely looked forward to by fans, and it simply couldn't please everyone, however it is stupid to rate this game low because of some disappointment. Review correctly, or don't review at all. Oh, and I forgot to review the Multiplayer, that's because it was a stupid idea, and honestly, maybe if they'd put the time they put into multiplayer into the story there would have been less pacing and plot hole issues.    … Expand
  76. Samiba
    Mar 8, 2012
    7
    The whole game was being marketed with the promise that every decision you have made matters. Well that is nice, the only problem is, it is not true. Of course the story becomes a little bit different with each and every one of your decisions, but in the end it will not matter. Think about it like this, you can go to work in a 100 different ways, but when you are there, will it matter howThe whole game was being marketed with the promise that every decision you have made matters. Well that is nice, the only problem is, it is not true. Of course the story becomes a little bit different with each and every one of your decisions, but in the end it will not matter. Think about it like this, you can go to work in a 100 different ways, but when you are there, will it matter how you got there? No. You will still have to do, what you are told. Sadly this is the case in Mass Effect 3 as well.

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

    If you have read this review so far, you might wonder why I gave the game the score I did. That is because gameplay wise the game runs very smooth, the combat system is great, and the graphics are nice. Also where I live we have a saying:"The path you take is more important than the destination". And while I was disappointed in the ending of the game, I think the way the whole game plays out and actually integrates the story of other Mass Effect media in the game is amazing. I can also understand why the community is mad at Bioware and EA. The DLC in my opinion has either the greatest integration of a DLC ever known to man, or was really cut from the actual game. I want to believe that it is the first, but the way corporations and people work today I feel that it might be the latter. Overall, it is a good game, but I am sure Bioware could have done better.    … Expand
  77. Enigma_Syrus
    Mar 8, 2012
    7
    I'll get this out of the way, I was disappointed with Mass Effect 3. The graphics in ME3 are very hit and miss. During gameplay, its fast, responsive and it looks great. But cutscenes are terrible; the animations are atrocious and the shading it lackluster at best. I really do believe that Bioware took a step backwards by going with the Unreal3 or putting last time in the art assets of theI'll get this out of the way, I was disappointed with Mass Effect 3. The graphics in ME3 are very hit and miss. During gameplay, its fast, responsive and it looks great. But cutscenes are terrible; the animations are atrocious and the shading it lackluster at best. I really do believe that Bioware took a step backwards by going with the Unreal3 or putting last time in the art assets of the game. Now, a pleasant surprise was multiplayer. I didn't think it'd be good. I thought it'd be some side distraction, something to play once and toss away. But the multiplayer is actual good in its own right; just not worth $60. It does however give a really good example of what the core gameplay of the ME series is capable of. I would honestly like to see it expanded into an MMO or expanded multiplayer experience; so long as they leave the gameplay intact and perhaps allow more customization.

    As for the story, I can't tell you too terribly much. It definitely appears to be on rails, much more so than ME1 or ME2. I play as a FemShep and Jennifer Hale's acting is still great, too bad my custom face didn't import worth a damn. I won't even get started on the "default" FemShep. Terrible... if you compare male and female Sheperd, you can see where they spent their time.

    So in the end, is it worth getting? Right now, I'd have to say no. I was really looking forward to this game and it has ended up as a disappointment. But you should get it when the price lowers to around $30-$40. That's the price should've paid for closure (sorta) and the multiplayer experience.    … Expand
  78. ThomasBerg
    Mar 8, 2012
    7
    After reading most of these user reviews while playing the game i couldnt belive what i was seeing. I thought the sheer production value and epicness of the game/scope and how promising the end was stunning to say the least and while i missed most of the exploration and RPG elements from ME1 and ME2 i understood why they were dumbed down since you have more pressing matters to attend toAfter reading most of these user reviews while playing the game i couldnt belive what i was seeing. I thought the sheer production value and epicness of the game/scope and how promising the end was stunning to say the least and while i missed most of the exploration and RPG elements from ME1 and ME2 i understood why they were dumbed down since you have more pressing matters to attend to and running around wasting time would break my immersion. I wasnt suprised when i saw that the from ashes dlc would be an extra feature, i am a bit puzzled as to why they chose a prothean for this DLC, while not critical to the plot, it does answer a lot of the main questions i had about the epos. Since they made such a huge deal around the protheans and its mysticism, the more i talked with my prothean squadmate and got immersed into his story i was more and more suprised why this wasnt part of the main game.
    Ive been a fan of the mass effect genre since the first game came out, ive read all the comics, books studied the lore and i even loved mass effect 2, perhaps not for the dumbed down RPG elements, but the game was genuinly challenging and fun, characters and storytelling and voice acting was stellar.

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

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

    Then came the final assault on earth. This was also grand in scale. Ive wanted to see earth in mass effect ever since i glared at its magnifisence on the lunar base mission in ME1. The war torn earth looked grim and desperate and upheld my expectations. Then came the ending. Not since the conclusion to the ace seeries, sopranos have i felt such a black hole in my stomache. I felt betrayed at first waiting til after the credits. I searched all the forums i could about what i did wrong how i could get this abysmal ending and how i could fix it, seeing as i had nearly 100% completion and full paragon. Was this a bug? A mistake on my part on an important desicion? I pondered this for many hours until i was forced to accept, that was it. This was the ending to the biggest sci-fi epos in gaming history.    … Expand
  79. wiski
    Mar 9, 2012
    7
    It's a fun game, with some pretty glaring problems. : PROS : -- fun gameplay -- seeing the finish of the story with the characters you've played with in the previous games -- cool guns and armor : CONS : -- buggy gameplay -- outdated graphics (at times worse than ME2) -- buggy visuals (invisible characters, constant clipping, bad animations, etc...) -- lack of content (2 explorableIt's a fun game, with some pretty glaring problems. : PROS : -- fun gameplay -- seeing the finish of the story with the characters you've played with in the previous games -- cool guns and armor : CONS : -- buggy gameplay -- outdated graphics (at times worse than ME2) -- buggy visuals (invisible characters, constant clipping, bad animations, etc...) -- lack of content (2 explorable locations instead of multiple worlds and stations, most missions are short and to the point, less stuff to do outside of missions than either ME1/2, etc...) -- railroaded through the story without even the illusion that it's an open world game -- dialogue doesn't give you much option beyond BAD GUY/GOOD GUY -- every character in the game is presented to you on a platter, in the way that it might as well say "Do you want to sleep with this person? YES/NO" -- lack of mission depth (select mission, loading screen, kill stuff, loading screen, done) -- story important DLC provided on the first day -- Your decisions from previous games, and even this one, don't seem like they will matter, because most of the people that could have died in previous games aren't usable in this one and there are new characters anyway. It seems like they made the script for the game and decided how everything will end, and then looked at your past save to see how they could shoehorn any previous surviving characters into the game without disrupting the story. : : It's a good game, but not nearly as good as the previous two, and definitely not as good at the professional reviewers scores might lead you to believe it to be. The main reason to play this game is to see how it ends.… Expand
  80. nn123
    Mar 9, 2012
    7
    Signed up just to review this one. It's important to me since I loved the first two, apparently one of the only ones that liked the second better than the first but I digress. Simply put, this game is good but not great. It fails at importing the character face used in game two, so right off the bat there's no way it can be a 10. The dialogue system has also been over-simplified,Signed up just to review this one. It's important to me since I loved the first two, apparently one of the only ones that liked the second better than the first but I digress. Simply put, this game is good but not great. It fails at importing the character face used in game two, so right off the bat there's no way it can be a 10. The dialogue system has also been over-simplified, probably to make space for the multiplayer... which I don't plan on using. I have encountered bugs that have made missions unplayable. The graphics are good, although perhaps Skyrim has spoiled me since I really did expect more. Extremely skeptical of all the 'pro' reviewers giving high scores, guess that's what money gets you.… Expand
  81. Zelx
    Mar 10, 2012
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Is this the grand game we have been waiting for? Sorta?
    A good game but nowhere near perfect
    Good:
    Gameplay-Like Mass Effect 2 it has very solid gameplay(besides the ammo clips)
    Story-Unlike Mass Effect 2 the story is much better and feels more vital and important like in Mass Effect 1
    Dialog-Some characters have very good dialog(Garus) but others don't(will get on that later
    Exploring-They removed the awful planet scanning in ME2 and simplified it for the better, Plus reaper attacks while exploring is fun

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

    Overall is it good, Yes, There are more bad complaints I made but most are minor to the whole thing, better not to ignore them then let them slip over our heads    … Expand
  82. absolutpi
    Mar 10, 2012
    7
    Bioware has said many a time that this is a great place to jump into the Mass Effect universe. I'd disagree, a lot of work has been put into the game to reward players of Mass Effect 1 and 2. If you haven't played them you are doing yourself a disservice, and much of the game loses a lot of meaning and context to character interactions. The story is great, but unravels right at the end.Bioware has said many a time that this is a great place to jump into the Mass Effect universe. I'd disagree, a lot of work has been put into the game to reward players of Mass Effect 1 and 2. If you haven't played them you are doing yourself a disservice, and much of the game loses a lot of meaning and context to character interactions. The story is great, but unravels right at the end. The shooter aspect of the game is highly enjoyable as is the multiplayer aspect even though I tend not to be a fan of multiplayer. The graphics are middling, with some inconsistent texture quality. A high quality facial texture with a lower quality applied to the rest of the body on many models. The RPG and exploration elements of the game are a mixed bag. They've added back weapon modifications, but simplified conversations with NPCs to the point where they are little more than short cut-scenes. Exploration prevalent in Mass Effect 1 and 2 has all but vanished. You fly around star systems scanning for War Assets while avoiding reapers, but you can't land on planets except for assigned missions. There is also only a single hub world(narrative rather than combat driven location) as opposed to three or four in earlier games. Minigames and vehicle levels have been completely removed as well. A lot of this seems negative. For the most part even with all that had been stripped out its highly enjoyable. For me, it occupies a strange place in that it both delights and disappoints me at the same time.… Expand
  83. voiceofunreason
    Mar 10, 2012
    7
    As a game this is perfectly acceptable. I played it on PC and had very few graphic issues. Joker was kind of weird looking but that was my only problem on that front. The gameplay is like mass effect 2 but better. I enjoyed the gameplay. You can snipe or shotgun and use your powers tactically no matter your class. Its a fun game. I've gone back and played ME1 since getting ME3 and franklyAs a game this is perfectly acceptable. I played it on PC and had very few graphic issues. Joker was kind of weird looking but that was my only problem on that front. The gameplay is like mass effect 2 but better. I enjoyed the gameplay. You can snipe or shotgun and use your powers tactically no matter your class. Its a fun game. I've gone back and played ME1 since getting ME3 and frankly ME1 is comparatively, a slow doddering affair and in modern day terms ugly. While the decisions of the last 2 games don't have the impact I thought they would neither are they irrelevant. Most if not all lose ends are wrapped up and in a satisfactory manner. In fact the only major disappointment was the ending. 7 years of this game and that's how they wrap everything up? This game was good. Whatever else you read, know that it as fun as all getout. But the ending is a nice kick to the balls. Buy it, play it, just don't expect to be leaving it happy. This score is 100% based on the ending. everything else is is worth the price.… Expand
  84. Harpy9
    Mar 10, 2012
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'm not going to give the game a very low score because of the ending, but if not for the ending I would have given it a 9 or 10 out of 10.

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

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

    All we can really hope for now is some DLC to correct the upsetting and disappointing ending. There are a lot of angry fans out there already and with the game being out less than a week, in the next few weeks there's going to be a whole lot more. I feel that Bioware really needs to do some damage control or the entire legacy of the game will be ruined.    … Expand
  85. kzotra
    Mar 11, 2012
    7
    Being one of the people who had prepared my game files ME2 just the way I wanted them, I was very happy when playing the game. I think the game is very good, and a lot of the changes are for the better, especially the loading times.

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

    However there is one huge letdown; the ending is terrible. Even if the ending was half-assed, I would have given the game a 10, but the ending is so bad I give it a 7 instead.    … Expand
  86. SWLover123456
    Mar 11, 2012
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The Mass Effect trilogy has always been about decisions. Decisions, decisions, decisions. Bioware advertised that all of your decisions and all the work you have done over the last for years over, for some, a variety of play-throughs would come to fruition. This is sadly not the case, and that is the fatal flaw of Biowares conclusion to the most brilliant space opera of the young generation.

    That last sentence contradicted itself. And it should, the way I'm about to go off on one of my favorite games this year. I'll say it right from the get-go: I loved Mass Effect 3. But I would have loved it if you went rogue and destroyed Earth before the Reapers could, in some ridiculous psychotic rage. Because in all honesty, that would have been a better ending. That said, I will address right from the start the major flaw of this game: The Endings. Instead of putting all your decisions together, like how you handled all the struggles in the current game, how you finished Mass Effect 2, Who lives, Who dies and the other couple hundred decisions, and putting them all in a big old formula to see how your game ends, it multiplies the entire formula by zero and asks you to chose between three relatively-equal endings. That is however, the only really diminishing feature of a stellar game. The gameplay is solid and flowing, the graphics and audio are fine, and it runs like a dream. It's a very well-built game. I think all we have here is Bioware being too great. Mass Effect 3's story is comparably worse than the first two titles. But that's only because the first two are some of the greatest in the medium's history. The series before was simply too great for fulfilling gameplay to cap off. It needed more story and a better conclusion to be accepted into the Hall of Fame, with Bioware's Baldur's Gate 2 and Neverwinter Nights.    … Expand
  87. dave1904
    Mar 12, 2012
    7
    I loved mass effect from day one and waited 4 years for this part. I haye to say this game will be a very big disappointment for anyone who was a fan from day one. 99% of the game is 10/10 but if you ask me a story with a bad ending makes the hole series pointless and the biggest letdown in gaming history. Giving it a 7 out of 10 is very hard but honest and to everyone out there giving itI loved mass effect from day one and waited 4 years for this part. I haye to say this game will be a very big disappointment for anyone who was a fan from day one. 99% of the game is 10/10 but if you ask me a story with a bad ending makes the hole series pointless and the biggest letdown in gaming history. Giving it a 7 out of 10 is very hard but honest and to everyone out there giving it a 0 I understand you but to give a game a 0 because of the day one dlc and ending is not justified.… Expand
  88. yiffy99
    Mar 13, 2012
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. My critical review: *Contains Spoilers

    Combat: 7/10

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Overall, a good game, but unfortunately falls below my hype and expectations for a grand finale for a great series.    … Expand
  89. jimlock
    Mar 13, 2012
    7
    Truly... TRULY disappointing. Unfortunately, Bioware's downfall since DA2 is being grandiosely confirmed with ME3.
    The ending is so badly written and laughs at all players who were living in the illusion of "Choice-Matters".
    Not only choice does not matter, but the single... yes SINGLE ending for all Shepherds out there, is shallow, two dimensional and simplistic (yes... not simple). I    Truly... TRULY disappointing. Unfortunately, Bioware's downfall since DA2 is being grandiosely confirmed with ME3.
    The ending is so badly written and laughs at all players who were living in the illusion of "Choice-Matters".
    Not only choice does not matter, but the single... yes SINGLE ending for all Shepherds out there, is shallow, two dimensional and simplistic (yes... not simple).
    I would love to see an ending rewritten, even though the chances for that to happen are very close to 0.    … Expand
  90. Blastooo
    Mar 19, 2012
    7
    The game was fairly good until that damned end, I ignored the crappy cover based combat system and silly scanning part, all because the story that really sucked me in, i made peace between Geth and Quarians, made Turians and Krogans cooperate, and for what? So i can watch some 2001:Space Odyssey wannabe ending. Horibble. Not to mention the whole thing was such an anticlimax, no harbingerThe game was fairly good until that damned end, I ignored the crappy cover based combat system and silly scanning part, all because the story that really sucked me in, i made peace between Geth and Quarians, made Turians and Krogans cooperate, and for what? So i can watch some 2001:Space Odyssey wannabe ending. Horibble. Not to mention the whole thing was such an anticlimax, no harbinger final fight, no nothing just multi-color explosions.… Expand
  91. Quichotte9
    Mar 20, 2012
    7
    ME3 is what I expected after the ME-ME2 transition -- simplified and less open. As a PC player, I was annoyed at the control changes -- got over it, but not at the environment constraints (exploring the Citadel anyone). Can't over that one. As for the decision paths, well they are more of a railroad in ME3 than ME2 and more so than ME.

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

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

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

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

    Now did I enjoy the game experience -- yes. Did I get my money's worth -- yes. Could it have been better -- yes. Still, I give it a 7. Good game.    … Expand
  92. mammary_glands
    Mar 20, 2012
    7
    For the most part, Mass Effect 3 is a beautiful and functional game through and through (save for a rushed feeling and ultimately disappointing end-game and some awful game import bugs that still need addressing). Even the multiplayer gameplay was better than expected. If not for said disappointing ending, ME3 would be the best title in the franchise so far. With some DLC andFor the most part, Mass Effect 3 is a beautiful and functional game through and through (save for a rushed feeling and ultimately disappointing end-game and some awful game import bugs that still need addressing). Even the multiplayer gameplay was better than expected. If not for said disappointing ending, ME3 would be the best title in the franchise so far. With some DLC and acknowledgment from EA/Bioware over a few hiccups, ME3 could easily be elevated to a 10 (a rating it otherwise deserves).… Expand
  93. Armis
    Mar 21, 2012
    7
    Just echoing what I'm sure many others have said. The game itself is OK. It's not nearly the 10 that bought off critics seem to be giving it. It's simply a mediocre shooter with above average dialogue. But. The ending. Not only is it amazingly bad, but in order to make it even slightly less **** you'd have to grind at the horde-mode multi-player. In a single-player game. Boycotting BiowareJust echoing what I'm sure many others have said. The game itself is OK. It's not nearly the 10 that bought off critics seem to be giving it. It's simply a mediocre shooter with above average dialogue. But. The ending. Not only is it amazingly bad, but in order to make it even slightly less **** you'd have to grind at the horde-mode multi-player. In a single-player game. Boycotting Bioware from now on.… Expand
  94. Redwing2b
    Mar 21, 2012
    7
    I will not deny the fact that the game is a great game and so is the series, but with one major issue. I don't remember any of all the great moments of the series or the 3rd game. Why? All I remember is the last 20 minutes and the ending and how I was left feeling like something was seriously wrong. I wont spoil it, but the choices we all made shaping our characters all boil down to justI will not deny the fact that the game is a great game and so is the series, but with one major issue. I don't remember any of all the great moments of the series or the 3rd game. Why? All I remember is the last 20 minutes and the ending and how I was left feeling like something was seriously wrong. I wont spoil it, but the choices we all made shaping our characters all boil down to just three possible ending choices. Each choice is literally identical to each other save for the color. I mean literally the only difference is the color. For those who have not played yet you will see exactly what I mean when you get there and see the ending. Save for a few very slight differences. I will not say that the endings are totally bad, but that only works if the theories running around out there end up being true. The plot holes are too many to just be written off as this is the ending deal with it. Things do not make any sense, and we the players are left feeling totally put out by the series we love so much. All the choices, all the customization, all the freedom we had through the entire series are all thrown away in the ending. What we are left with is a hollow shell of what the Mass Effect series really has been. The signs are there that something is wrong with the ending. The tone, the feel, the way it pushes the player into literally a corner and says here make a choice that ultimately doesn't take into account all the choices and hard work you did over the course of three games. I was left searching for clues, much like everyone else, I was talking, searching, and sharing my thoughts on the game and the ending. So I must give props to Bioware and EA, if you wanted us all talking about the ending and the game long after it was over, you did it, but not in a positive way I'm sad to say. Sure the reviews on Metacritic can be flooded with BS bad reviews, but the real reviews I think are easy to spot. I loved the Mass Effect series and I recommend people play the 3rd game, its amazing and really makes the player feel part of the entire situation. It's just lost right at the end and it makes me sad to say that honestly. I rated it a 7 because the ending took so much away from the experience it literally made me upset. All the fun, all the deep enriching choices, all the torment over making hard choices, it all was leading to a final battle that ultimately was a let down, with little to no closure. I wanted to see the forces I worked to bring into the fight actually kicking some butt. I wanted to see the entire race of beings come in and unleash fury on the reapers, but I say none of that, instead I get a great space building to a battle that just sorta fades away. The ending for me was not bad per say but it clearly was wrong in how it feels. Something is missing, something is wrong, something more is coming. This can't be the end, it just feels so terribly wrong. When I look back on the experience I say it was worth it, but I struggle now to remember all the great and tough moments all because the ending clouds it all up. Makes me sad, and I pray that I am right in that there is something more the developers intended that is coming, I pray.… Expand
  95. textor44
    Mar 21, 2012
    7
    I've been playing Mass Effect since the first game came out. Before even playing Mass Effect 3, I went through the trouble of replaying the first and second game just so that I could remind myself of the story in full, as well as ensure that all the choices I wanted to have imported were made properly by the character I was bringing into the game.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Bioware has released a statement saying they would take the fan backlash on the endings seriously, and attempt to address them. If they do this, and create a new ending that allows players that were fans of the game since the beginning to feel as if their choices really mattered in the end, then I believe that Mass Effect 3 has the potential to be the best in the series. If these concerns are not addressed, however, Bioware's historically positive list of games will forever have a dissatisfying footnote next to what should have been the pinnacle of one of their most ambitious properties.    … Expand
  96. DeGinner
    Mar 22, 2012
    7
    While this game is way off the mark from ME1 and ME2 this is still a good game. The story can be a bit forced and it's clear were you are going, but I still enjoyed the journey, and the same can be said for the ending, poor ending but I enjoyed the journey to get to it. This Mass Effect is not more of a Action Shooter with RPG elements but it is competent (if not spectacular) at both.
  97. IwanaBEvergreen
    Mar 24, 2012
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Mass Effect 3 was a game that had such great potential, and in fact the majority of the game lived up to the expectations that I had for it. There were so many scenes that I was utterly amazed when watching. In the introduction when the reapers finally reach earth, and you stand by, helplessly watching earth decimated by these creatures that you worked so hard to warn the galaxy of. I literally felt devastated. But after playing through the whole game, and the whole series, slowly building up the anticipation of the final moment, possibly the final battle, you are shocked to find out that the ending falls completely flat of anything you had ever anticipated or hoped for. All those choices you made, ones that you had worked so hard for, were gone. Most of them were chalked up to raising your galactic readiness rating. Not only that, but a few of the choices that you made in the first and second games, you were forced into making them over again a second time, as if the choices you made in those games really didn't count. For instance, saving the rachni queen in the first game made little difference, because later you had to make the choice all over again. Another instance can be seen with the geth. In the second one, you are forced to decide to kill or save the geth, which ultimately made no difference (except for the galactic readiness rating), because again you were force to make the same choice a second time. This is not the only area where the decisions fall short. In the final moments of the third game you find that all those decisions combined had little to no effect on the actual ending of the game. There were a total of six endings possible, three for paragon, and three for renegade, but the difference in these endings were so minute, it was as if the choice was already made for you. It is hard to explain what I am feeling after watching the ending, I can only say that it just was not what I expected or had hoped for. It just did not fit with the game, and left me feeling unfulfilled. I find myself thinking back the ending of Lord of the Rings. You spend countless hours watching through the three movies, and when you reach the ending, it left you fulfilled, you felt happy, and at the same time, you felt that all was right with the world. The ending wrapped up all the loose ends. You saw what happened to the characters after the ring was destroyed, and when it was finally over, you knew that middle earth was finally at peace again. In short, the ending was epic; this was the kind of ending that I had hoped for in Mass Effect 3. A good fifteen to twenty to thirty minute ending, where all the characters are seen, and you know how things turn out for them, where the world is saved or destroyed, according to the decisions and actions you had made. Unfortunately this was not even close to what we got. There were a few other graphical problems/glitches that got annoying. Every time you go into the **** you had to be very careful, or the game would glitch out and you would be forced to reload to a previous save. Some of the dialogue was glitch. I remember having a conversation with Admiral Hackett at the end of the game, and he started to say something, but the game glitched and it skipped over that sentence entirely. Another thing that I had a problem with was the character Steve. I do not like how his issue with homosexuality was forced onto you; it was quite frankly rude, unnecessary, and annoying. Every time you talked to him, he had something to say about his boyfriend. It got to the point where I just did not want to talk to him anymore, because I didn't want to hear it. I felt alienated; like Bioware or EA was trying to make a statement, and make you believe that homosexuality is ok. Why? I don't want to be completely negative, because the game was amazing. It filled in a lot of the history of previous wars and whatnot, the customization and weapon selection was amazing (except for not having a heavy weapon). A majority of the cut scenes were phenomenal. The action and rpg/level up for the game exceeded that of the first and second game, and a majority of the conversations that you had with crew members were meaningful and informative. But the ending, along with some other problems, marred my image of the game, and the entire series as a whole. I just hope that Bioware gets it right the second time around.… Expand
  98. Sperkowitz
    Mar 25, 2012
    7
    I honestly cannot understand the huge dissatisfaction with the game here. Sure, it's not perfect nor groundbreaking, but nowhere deserving of of a zero or even a 1. However, it may be due to the fact that I am not a hardcore fan of the series so plot holes and other abnormalities are missed by me. I believe there is a lot of passion for the franchise that when it doesn't go in a particularI honestly cannot understand the huge dissatisfaction with the game here. Sure, it's not perfect nor groundbreaking, but nowhere deserving of of a zero or even a 1. However, it may be due to the fact that I am not a hardcore fan of the series so plot holes and other abnormalities are missed by me. I believe there is a lot of passion for the franchise that when it doesn't go in a particular way it is completely dismissed. It is suppose to be the last installment of the series, and it seems many were expecting more. I know I was expecting a better and more grand ending, but I wasn't going to let it completely destroy the other experiences I had. (And, I almost forgot, there was a lot of controversy on the first-day release of DLC. That move by EA caused a lot of anger and probably another reason for the very low scores.)

    The one flaw I felt with this game is that I felt like I wasn't playing anything new. Just a continuation of the last game. The graphics and the game play felt exactly the same. The only difference is the story is continuing. That being said, I still enjoyed the story and what was going on in the Mass Effect universe. That in itself made the game difficult to put down, and it was the only game I played for the week I purchased it.

    To easily summarize: if you've played the first and second game, you will know what to expect with the third installment, with the exception of the boring exploring or scanning on the planets.    … Expand
  99. mineda
    Mar 27, 2012
    7
    Let me start by saying that Mass Effect 3 is a good game. Story is not as deep as previous titles of the franchise but you have really good moments. Unfortunately the ending is generic, short and fails to deliver any closure. It's a game that you don't feel like playing again once you finish it, because there's just one ending.
    Graphics are ok most of the time. There are some graphical    Let me start by saying that Mass Effect 3 is a good game. Story is not as deep as previous titles of the franchise but you have really good moments. Unfortunately the ending is generic, short and fails to deliver any closure. It's a game that you don't feel like playing again once you finish it, because there's just one ending.
    Graphics are ok most of the time. There are some graphical glitches (like people looking to the roof while speaking to each other), but they are not game breaking.
    ME3 has the worst quest system of the franchise. The quest journal is annoying and quests are just variations of "retrieve artifact X from the Y system". The Reapers mini game is not cool at all and the scanning system from ME2 was dumbed down.
    Combat is really entertaining. There's some flaws (like using the spacebar to do a lot of different things), but the overall experience is really good.
    Multiplayer is a lot of fun. The only problem being the lack of maps to play.

    Overall Mass Effect 3 is a really good game. Not a masterpiece but something worth playing.    … Expand
  100. Balazs31
    Mar 29, 2012
    7
    I really like this game but it is very far away from perfect. The story is touching and characters are amazing, but the combat is very frustrating sometimes and gets boring and absolutely not realistic. The atmosphere is a bit plastic. I haven`t finished it yet but it`s starting to get boring. In the beginning I was amazed. Again an over hyped game.
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
89

Generally favorable reviews - based on 23 Critic Reviews

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