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. grmbrand
    Mar 19, 2012
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Contrary to the formula of the first two games, all plots lead to a single set of endings that feel out of place with the rest of the franchise (including much of what happens in ME3 prior to the ending itself). I am hopeful that this was a brilliant marketing move on Bioware's part and that DLC can clarify the outcome. I'll update my rating accordingly should this happen.… Expand
  2. JKflipflop
    Mar 19, 2012
    3
    Game is an epic 10/10 up until the last 10 minutes. The ending of this game is so bad that it not only ruins the rest of this game, but indeed it brings down this entire trilogy. In one stroke this went from being this generation's "Star Wars" to a joke. Your choices don't matter. At all. It was all so you could be force fed some BS by StarChild and forced to picked between differentGame is an epic 10/10 up until the last 10 minutes. The ending of this game is so bad that it not only ruins the rest of this game, but indeed it brings down this entire trilogy. In one stroke this went from being this generation's "Star Wars" to a joke. Your choices don't matter. At all. It was all so you could be force fed some BS by StarChild and forced to picked between different colored explosions. Honestly, I'm still in shock. I can't fathom how the writing team that gave us this series completely imploded on itself in the home stretch like this. Abhorrent.… Expand
  3. Slamdance
    Mar 19, 2012
    3
    An absolutely atrocious wash of bugs and graphic issue, combined with Bioware's DLC pandering and an incomprehensible group of endings make this an easy game to not recommend. If you liked your choices mattering in the final moments of ME1 and ME2 be prepared for massive disappointment. If you still think this games for you, good luck; just don't fall down the plot holes.
  4. FellishBeast
    Mar 19, 2012
    3
    Been a die-hard fan of Mass Effect since it's release. Mass Effect 3 is the best entry in the series...until the end. The end is hollow, half-assed, and does not change REGARDLESS of any of the decisions you have made up to that point. It just feels wrong. There is no closure and it really does ruin the entire series for me.
  5. ChaosSS
    Mar 23, 2012
    3
    We were promised an epic battle for Earth ... The sophisticated dialogues and the consequences of choice. As a result, none of these promises, in the ME3 is not satisfied. The game drags in the first half. And the second is simply FAIL. I will never buy a single BioWare game (
  6. Jhereg
    Mar 24, 2012
    3
    Mass Effect 3 is a great game with a few minor quibbles like the "one key to rule them all" binding and requiring Multi-Player to increase your EMS. Truly well done....until the end! All the endings are functionally identical and there are only three of them. The ending mechanics diverge violently from the accepted process of the Mass Effect Universe both canonically and play mechanicsMass Effect 3 is a great game with a few minor quibbles like the "one key to rule them all" binding and requiring Multi-Player to increase your EMS. Truly well done....until the end! All the endings are functionally identical and there are only three of them. The ending mechanics diverge violently from the accepted process of the Mass Effect Universe both canonically and play mechanics wise.
    I fail to see how they think I am going to buy any DLC when in the end nothing I do changes anything and the work towards the endings is pointless. Why Bioware...Why?    … Expand
  7. Bossk-Office
    Mar 28, 2012
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I am a big fan of Mass Effect who loved the first two games. And this game certainly delivered, just the way I had hoped â… Expand
  8. tekken7
    Mar 31, 2012
    3
    Mass Effect 3 was a major disappointment. I have purchased and played the entire Mass Effect 1-3 series; beginning in 2007 with ME1. Job well done to Bioware for creating such a fun and entertaining product. Unfortunately, EA/Bioware failed to deliver on what it promised customers (per the company's own prior marketing & press release) for Mass Effect 3. Many reviewers of ME3 who areMass Effect 3 was a major disappointment. I have purchased and played the entire Mass Effect 1-3 series; beginning in 2007 with ME1. Job well done to Bioware for creating such a fun and entertaining product. Unfortunately, EA/Bioware failed to deliver on what it promised customers (per the company's own prior marketing & press release) for Mass Effect 3. Many reviewers of ME3 who are critical of the game list many, if not the same problems. Here is my list: (1) players are provided with nothing remotely close to the unique, personal experience they were promised by Bioware; (2) I was left with a sense that all of my carefully weighed choices were really illusory and accounted for nothing; (3) lore errors and plot holes; (4) based on the prior themes, story telling style the ending is out-of-character, confusing & underdeveloped. Such a creative and talented Bioware team could have -- AND SHOULD HAVE -- delivered a more in-depth series of true, multiple endings with a better sense of lucidity and closure to conclude the wonderful Mass Effect series. Let us all remember that EA/Bioware is running a business -- an enterprise to make money to produce shareholder value and employ many, many people in North America, Europe and Asia. The golden rule in business (that is if you wish to stay in business) is to produce products that consumers want to buy. Regardless of your feeling concerning "whiny fans", "artistic integrity", etc... Isnâ… Expand
  9. HellZero
    Apr 4, 2012
    3
    Ending looks like was written by a 10 year old. Full of plot holes, just feels incomplete and full of nonsense. A dissapointment like I never had before in a video game.
    Dumbed down story line in comparison to the first mass effect.
    Again, ending removes all replay value. Combat is more dynamic and fun, but what made the previous games stand all (story, narrative, player engagement) in    Ending looks like was written by a 10 year old. Full of plot holes, just feels incomplete and full of nonsense. A dissapointment like I never had before in a video game.
    Dumbed down story line in comparison to the first mass effect.
    Again, ending removes all replay value.
    Combat is more dynamic and fun, but what made the previous games stand all (story, narrative, player engagement) in this one only ruins the entire franchise.    … Expand
  10. bozlr
    Apr 7, 2012
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Where do you even begin with how bad this game was. I guess the part that was the worst, was the constant homosexual agenda shoved down your throat that you can't do anything about. Games are not the place for the politics of small group to be pushed on the rest of society. We play games to have fun, not to be spoon fed politically correct garbage. If you are going to put gays in a game, give the user the option to get rid of them or kill them off. Then there is how dumbed down the entire game has become. Exploring the galaxy is now just swinging through a system, pinging your sensors a few times, and collecting a few things. Customizing your armor lacks the amount of choices to really do any kind of personalization to your Shepard. A game this size with a multi-player part should have tons of different armors. There was only one location to visit, the Citadel. Seriously, they couldn't come up with some other places we could go to a few times for missions and to pick up side missions? This game was easily missing 20 hours of single player gameplay, if not more. The game should have grown, but instead was dumbed down and shortened with a so-so multi-player element tacked on.

    Then there are the endings....
    After playing through 3 games with ~100 of my life, this ending was like EA coming to my front door and personally spitting in my face.
    It's easy EA/Bioware, here I'll fix it for you.
    Shepard gets to the Citadel after fighting his way there, hits a switch, and the Crucible docks. People onboard the Crucible fire it and it Destroys all the Reaper tech locally, then spreads through the mass relays, then balloons out of the galaxy, destroying any trace of the Reapers. The Citadel is now in Earth orbit and Earth becomes the new hub of the Galaxy because of this. The Citadel is fixed up and peace reigns in the galaxy till a new enemy from another galaxy emerges for us to fight in Mass Effect 4. Epic ending, everyone gets what they want, and another game is set up.

    EA will be lucky if I buy another one of their games after this mess.    … Expand
  11. KaityUK
    Apr 7, 2012
    3
    Game was way over hyped prior to release and with to me rings alarm bells. Played the PC version at a friends, appalled, poor graphics, poor story, poor voice acting, poor continuity, poor game play. ME2 was great, ME3 is pap.
  12. Rougan
    Apr 10, 2012
    3
    Im a game developer and i cant believe what i get on ending of ME3. This is clearly unchecked and against the previous experiences (and major fanbase expectations). The only way to repair [some of] this mess is move to indoctrination theory. But.. if indoc is true.. then the ME3 is INCOMPLETE: we dont retake Earth as advertised, not yet.. This is the major destruction of a fanbase inIm a game developer and i cant believe what i get on ending of ME3. This is clearly unchecked and against the previous experiences (and major fanbase expectations). The only way to repair [some of] this mess is move to indoctrination theory. But.. if indoc is true.. then the ME3 is INCOMPLETE: we dont retake Earth as advertised, not yet.. This is the major destruction of a fanbase in entire game history.… Expand
  13. OneCoolMF
    Apr 11, 2012
    3
    There are plenty of very thorough and complete reviews out here now, so I'll just try to add some extra value for someone still trying to decide whether to buy this game. Like many other reviewers, I've been playing since ME1, and also as many other reviewers have said, I cared enough to take the time to get on Metacritic and throw in my 2 cents.

    BOTTOM LINE: I regret buying this game    There are plenty of very thorough and complete reviews out here now, so I'll just try to add some extra value for someone still trying to decide whether to buy this game. Like many other reviewers, I've been playing since ME1, and also as many other reviewers have said, I cared enough to take the time to get on Metacritic and throw in my 2 cents.

    BOTTOM LINE: I regret buying this game at full retail price. Wait until you can get it cheap, hopefully after they've fixed the bugs and added some worthy DLC.

    Here's why I feel this way: Much of the game feels rushed, dumbed-down, and simplified, and in the end, I just feel like it didn't work out like it should have. And I really mean it didn't work! Besides issues noted elsewhere, I had my own. I ignored the bad reviews here and got the game a couple of weeks ago. I held my nose and bought the Day 1 DLC. But my extra squadmate never showed up. I looked all over the galaxy. I looked at the online walkthroughs. I did what i was supposed to do (as near as I could tell) and searched where I was supposed to search. But I never hooked up with my would-be Prothean buddy. I got the extra duds for the rest of the squad, but that didn't justify the expense of the DLC. I still feel ripped off about this.

    There were also vital elements of the game that were just simply never explained. For example, how do you raise your war readiness? The game never tells you that you have to play the multiplayer to do this; I had to read that in another review tonight. Oh well, I've already completed my playthrough, and I won't be going back.

    HELLO ..... how about including a game manual; even a rudimentary, rinky-dink manual that covers the basic game elements? Also, as other reviewers have stated, dialogue choices seemed narrower and shallower. This specifically affected me in the romance part of the game. I flirted with a couple of characters, and then BAM I'd completed some sort of irreversible step which locked me into romance with a character I didn't even like (Ashley). So when it came time to bend her over in my cabin, I told her I was too busy for her. But the game still had my character telling her he loved her later. Oh well. In ME1 and 2, It was a lot more obvious that you were taking an irreversible step with any of the romance options.

    As an aside, I'll note that I wasn't very thrilled with my squad choices. More, please. All this time saving the galaxy and I only get 5 squad members? The only real new choice I had was indeed a novel addition and I brought her on lots of missions, but I still felt more choices would have been better. If only the DLC actually worked!

    On the positive side, they fixed the tedious scanning borefest with something much more workable. And I enjoyed the combat, for the most part. After I leveled up my Vanguard, I had plenty of fun charging into battle.

    But I got tired of all the melodrama, which seemed forced on my character. I felt like I was in a bad WWII shooter that served as thinly veiled propaganda. The dream sequences with the child were annoying and nonsensical at best, and the forced emotionalism of the child in the game just really seemed out of place.

    As for the ending ........ yeah it wasn't great. But the real issue I had was that the actual choice you have at the end isn't obvious. Heck, it just looked like two outcomes to me, and not three as I see reviewers here have mentioned. I literally flipped a coin and went up the right platform, not really clear as to what I was doing. When I got close enough to guess which outcome this would result in, I realized this was not the choice I wanted ..... but the game would not let me turn around and go the other direction. Not because of a door or barrier, nay, but just because the game wouldn't let me walk back the way I came once I got past a certain invisible point.

    Overall, I had some fun playing it and and I enjoyed the missions that tied up lose ends from ME1 and 2 around the galaxy. But in the end, this could not overcome my disappointment in the glaring faults I've discussed, nor the other issues that previous reviewers have noted.

    I feel bad for Bioware. I've been a fan for a long time and I think they genuinely care. But I can't say this was a good game when it has so many faults that should have been remedied before release. Guess I'll just blame it on EA. I don't really care to go back again even if they add DLC to fix things.    … Expand
  14. AthanasiosT
    Apr 12, 2012
    3
    Well, let's put it that way : ME1 was top of the list. ME2 comes second. I played ME3 because I felt I had to follow the story, but I was deeply disappointed. It's clearly the worst of the three (poor scenario, repetitive shooting, poor RPG elements) and really has a weird (being polite here) and non rewarding ending. Sorry Bioware....
  15. Rurouni
    Apr 14, 2012
    3
    The game was a solid 8 for the first third of the game, a 5 as I neared the ending and a 0 at the finale.

    I was really looking forward to ME3 to build on the fantastic experience of ME2. I even bought the collector's edition in anticipation of a fantastic closure to the series. Sadly the plot holes that emerged, as well as a sense that the ending sequences were rushed out led to probably    The game was a solid 8 for the first third of the game, a 5 as I neared the ending and a 0 at the finale.

    I was really looking forward to ME3 to build on the fantastic experience of ME2. I even bought the collector's edition in anticipation of a fantastic closure to the series.

    Sadly the plot holes that emerged, as well as a sense that the ending sequences were rushed out led to probably one of the biggest games related letdown I have experienced in a long while. I can not in good faith recommend this game to anyone.

    I suggest that the game websites that reviewed this game on launch do a before-after review after they have finished the game. I would be interested to see the final score on metacrtic.    … Expand
  16. LewisMweiR
    Apr 15, 2012
    3
    Great game until you reach the anti-climax deus ex machina lost ending,the mass effect franchise is one of the best of the game industry and is sad that the trilogy end is such a disappointing way
  17. Broxigar
    Apr 27, 2012
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I am so sad I had to do this, I never thought I would have to. Mass Effect WAS an epic series. However I cannot condone what they have done with this game. If you don't buy this game new you will have to pay more to access the tacked on multiplayer. Yea, you heard me. There was Disk Locked Content that you had to pay $10 to unlock, which most people were going to given that the character was a Prothean. They promised you would not need to do multiplayer to get all the endings, however the best ending (a five second scene of Shepard taking a breath) is not possible to obtain without doing the multiplayer currently. Excluding 2 or 3 the side quests are atrocious. The gameplay is improved and the characters are great, Garrus being the stand out, but all this is forgotten as you try to figure out what happened in the last 10 minutes and realized it wasn't written by the same people who did the rest of the game. It's a disaster I won't even bother to go into detail as I'm sure every other review hits on it. This is the single worst ending in the history of gaming. It's like Bioware doesn't want anyone to buy from them again. Giving me a terrible ending and adding the text "Buy more dlc" isn't going to make me happy.… Expand
  18. Naherven
    May 20, 2012
    3
    Mass Effect 3 can best be summed up in one sentence; a slap in the face to fans. Major decisions made in previous Mass Effect games barely matter, as the story either glazes over or outright replaces player-made choices. Neutral choices seem to be absent from most dialog, removing a lot of the Role-playing from the Role-playing game. Renegade choices, which were mostly a MachiavellianMass Effect 3 can best be summed up in one sentence; a slap in the face to fans. Major decisions made in previous Mass Effect games barely matter, as the story either glazes over or outright replaces player-made choices. Neutral choices seem to be absent from most dialog, removing a lot of the Role-playing from the Role-playing game. Renegade choices, which were mostly a Machiavellian "ends justify the means", "I did what I had to do" mindset in previous games, now come off as just plain, absurdly evil decisions with no real justification. The pacing is bottom-tier as well. The opening level, which is supposed to be an amazing, exciting scene is reduced to a railed tutorial level. Scenes, which try to depict Shepard as suffering from the stresses of saving the galaxy, come off as hilariously bad, as if written by someone who had never heard of the proper definition of PTSD. Strangely enough, there are some beautifully-written, tear-inducing missions and scenes, scattered about the rest of the game, making the overall experience feel very jarring. As many, many other people have stated. the ending is just god-awful. It feels incredibly rushed and (without spoiling much) adds a Deus Ex Machina from nowhere, watering down any possible chance at a well-written, open ended ending and ending up with an "A", "B" or "C" cookie-cutter end. It's incredibly sad to think that most Creative Writing 101 students could come up with a better ending than what Bioware and Hudson pulled. The most ironic part seems to be that, of all things, the multiplayer is the most enjoyable part of a supposed RPG game, as the multiplayer is surprisingly well-made and has a high replay value. Being an idealistic man, I honestly hope that Bioware didn't mean to make the game as bad as it was. I hope that the ending was so poorly-written, so incredibly bad because EA demanded the game meet a very exacting deadline, causing parts that required great care and thought to be sloppily churned out. But with Bioware and others scoffing at fans' disapproval, labeling it as just "whiners" or "a vocal minority" and Bioware planning to release "Ending DLC" not to retcon the atrocity of an ending, but to "clarify" it makes me lose any hope of seeing this injustice made against the fans, the story, the RPG genre, the medium, and the art of story writing as a whole from ever being rectified.… Expand
  19. Lulgrim
    May 22, 2012
    3
    A good action title with gameplay massively polished since ME and ME2 and similar cheesy epicness, this time the scale is a bit larger so even more epic, really. Until you reach the ending, which leaves a sour taste in your mouth and basically makes you never touch a ME title again. Not the new one with the smoother gameplay and not even the previous ones, since they are now also ruinedA good action title with gameplay massively polished since ME and ME2 and similar cheesy epicness, this time the scale is a bit larger so even more epic, really. Until you reach the ending, which leaves a sour taste in your mouth and basically makes you never touch a ME title again. Not the new one with the smoother gameplay and not even the previous ones, since they are now also ruined for you story-wise. Replay value is actually *negative* since there is no reason to replay ME3 but you won't replay 1 or 2 anymore either. Yes, I also didn't believe it can be so bad as people complain but it IS. What utter garbage.… Expand
  20. aleyas
    May 25, 2012
    3
    For those new to series, ME3 as a stand alone game is probably not bad, though without playing ME1-2 it's rather difficult to understand multiple references to earlier series events. But again, if to play with pressing SPACE all the time to skip dialogues to short cut to action - then neither story no its end matter and you have only to worry about some bugs and your characterFor those new to series, ME3 as a stand alone game is probably not bad, though without playing ME1-2 it's rather difficult to understand multiple references to earlier series events. But again, if to play with pressing SPACE all the time to skip dialogues to short cut to action - then neither story no its end matter and you have only to worry about some bugs and your character refusing to move properly according to your commands from time to time.
    But I used to be a ME series fan and I was playing and paying for entertainment I was getting. I have started with ME2 and soon dropped it for a while to play ME1 first and then returned to replay ME2 for better ending. And I was ready to replay ME3 to get desired outcome. And here comes not only ingame issue with linear plot and bad joke devastating ending - but also an ethical issue with Bioware managers publically lying to users, encouraging them to play and replay by assuring them that it's possible to achieve higher scores necessary for a secret ending without myltiplayer. Which is not true. But people believed, why should not have they - it worked like this in ME2. And purchased and played and replayed.
    And then the stupid ending itself, promised to be variable, not a display of RGB colour model. Amazing how Boiware been building its loyal userbase for 5 years managed to ruin the best RPG franchise in one go acting as if there was no tomorrow and the only thing important was to make people buy the copy of the game regardless. No apologises, no explanation, quite the contrary...Looks like Bioware regards its users as a cattle which exists only to be soothen with **** if necessry and milked.    … Expand
  21. BlueB52
    Jun 17, 2012
    3
    The ending honestly just brought anger and depression. It literally ruined the series it was quite terrible. Bioware let down it's fans on this one.
  22. avrell
    Nov 18, 2013
    3
    Storytelling, RPG elements and dialogue have all disintegrated a significant degree since ME2. Any illusion of some greater adventure is no longer there. You have an L shaped corridor after another to clear of enemies.

    With above in mind, this game can only be seen as a cover shooter such as Gears of War. Considering how other game elements have been either abandoned, simplified    Storytelling, RPG elements and dialogue have all disintegrated a significant degree since ME2. Any illusion of some greater adventure is no longer there. You have an L shaped corridor after another to clear of enemies.

    With above in mind, this game can only be seen as a cover shooter such as Gears of War. Considering how other game elements have been either abandoned, simplified or streamlined, it is curious how clumsy and void of fun the shoot em up bits are. Nothing about moving and controlling Shepard feels intuitive. Decision to cram taking cover and sprinting behind same button results in plenty of mid combat situations where you really have no idea what will happen when you press the lottery button.

    ME3 is essentially a clumsy cover shooter among others. I would not recommend this game to anyone. I am amazed meta score among reviewers is as high as it is.    … Expand
  23. AidanByrne
    Jul 6, 2012
    3
    The entire game focuses on a story which doesn't relate to Me and ME2 very well. Most missions you do come across as tacked in just to add gameplay hours, at least 3 Deus Ex Machina plot points (We don't have a cure for the genophage....wait...yes we do now; How can we know what the catalyst is? Hey, there's prothean beacon over there! Reapers cannot be defeated. There's a thing calledThe entire game focuses on a story which doesn't relate to Me and ME2 very well. Most missions you do come across as tacked in just to add gameplay hours, at least 3 Deus Ex Machina plot points (We don't have a cure for the genophage....wait...yes we do now; How can we know what the catalyst is? Hey, there's prothean beacon over there! Reapers cannot be defeated. There's a thing called crucible, no one knows what it is or what it does, but hey, it's big! Must work!), and many more senseless things happening.
    Also, using cerberus as villains was simply a retarded cop out for enemies, and they ruined TIM in the process, turning the "ultimate renegade" into a deranged power hungry maniac.
    It's just sad how they handled ME2 characters, especially when romanced.
    The gameplay flows a bit soother than ME2, but it still has rather stupid cover mechanics. Also in the gameplay, the auto-dialog... Probably the worst idea they could have!
    Now, to the endings... Well, it is said that if a part of the story feels completely out of place, it can be disregarded from the plot so logically, the game ends before the companions are picked up by the Normandy during harby's nap time, therefore, I'm still waiting for the endings.    … Expand
  24. jerjud45
    Aug 3, 2012
    3
    Most people may concentrate on the ending, but there is so much more that this game got wrong, especially when comparing it with previous releases in the series. The writing in many parts of the game was absolutely terrible, and Shepard did not feel like Shepard in many scenes. The overusage of memes from previous games was cheesy, out of place, and down right irritating. TheMost people may concentrate on the ending, but there is so much more that this game got wrong, especially when comparing it with previous releases in the series. The writing in many parts of the game was absolutely terrible, and Shepard did not feel like Shepard in many scenes. The overusage of memes from previous games was cheesy, out of place, and down right irritating. The journal/quest system, which they nailed in the first and second games, is an absolute mess in Mass Effect 3. The people responsible for the new journal system in 3 should be shot in the face for their incompetence, when they had 2 examples to build off of in the previous games. The ending, even with the Extended Cut, is still very unsatisfying and breaks the flow of the entire trilogy.

    I will give it props on its combat system, which is an improvement over Mass Effect 2's system. Personally though, I would have preferred it to stay more like Mass Effect 1, since these games were intended to be rpgs and not shooters.

    Although the writing sucked most of the time, there were indeed some memorable moments and decent scenes. Overall, this game just needed more work. The game seemed rushed, and is not a typical Bioware release because the quality just isn't there. It's really disappointing to see this happen to such a great franchise and developer. Since DA2, Bioware just can't seem to do it anymore. First DA2, then SWTOR, and now ME3. Bioware is a developer to stay away from in the future as their quality has severely diminished, and I am sure this is largely due to EA's influence.

    If you have never played the Mass Effect series before, I would recommend staying away from it, as you are in for some disappoint in the 3rd installment. The first 2 are great games, but you will want to play this one too, which will ruin everything for you.    … Expand
  25. SleepingDog
    Aug 23, 2012
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A terrible ending, your choices from ME1 and ME2 doesn't have any impact. The game feels rushed, the story doesn't add up at all. Too many plot holes, terrible quest system, lack of dialog choices. Most of the time your Shepard will speak on his/her own. Compared to the previous games ME3 is much more linear and depth less.… Expand
  26. stern
    Jan 8, 2014
    3
    In this third and final release, slowly the narrative coherence of Mass Effect eroded, until near the end, at a fast pace it completly crumbled.
    In ME2 you could say that the villains were unjustified and meaningless in a narrative sense, you could say that choices, events and positions were forced into your character and many were literally asspulls, but at least ME2 provided plenty of    In this third and final release, slowly the narrative coherence of Mass Effect eroded, until near the end, at a fast pace it completly crumbled.
    In ME2 you could say that the villains were unjustified and meaningless in a narrative sense, you could say that choices, events and positions were forced into your character and many were literally asspulls, but at least ME2 provided plenty of well written and thoughtful content in the form of loyality missions for example, to couterbalance this. In ME3 there is no such thing and what starts as a contrived, average to bad story, end as a complete mess with giant holes where obviously the writers or devs didn't know what they were doing.
    Or if you played Deus Ex 1, a classical and mind-blowing game unlike ME3, you'll simply know that ME3 ending is a rip off, out of thone, feel and athmosphere from the rest of ME series and even from the rest of the third game itself, not addressing any of the questions and propositions that the ending should address.
    Mission after mission asspulls are thrown at the player and they are supposed to contain core elements of the narrative without any connection with the previous games. "Oh, you know, we found the ancient plans to this super-weapon, we don't even know what it does, but it's our only hope! Why didn't I mention these ancient plans before? I don't know", "Oh, the genophage was stabilished as a necessary evil, was even fully approached in a previous game? Too bad, let's use it again in the narrative in a total different way!", "You reproggammed heretic Geths? Nah, it didn't change anything!", "Forget Ilos and the Conduit, forget Haelstrom!" and so on, with even poorer resolutions than before, sometimes even with implausible forever happy conclusions, where magically everything worked out for everyone and butterflies and rainbows are in the sky.
    As for other aspects, some can be praised: they finally fleshed out powers, cooldowns and shields/armors/barriers, even adding power combos, making the gameplay as a pure adept or as an enginner very interesting. Too bad the game fail to explain this and you are supposed to search in the internet for a guide to which power detonates the other and what defense is vulnerable to what power (for example, energy drain is useless against armor, carnage is useless against shield, etc). The combat system is finally fun and interesting if you have patience to micromanage your squadmates, because they are useless otherwise and never use the proper powers if left by themselves.
    Other aspects must be criticized: the missions journal is confusing and doesn't match the missions name in the galaxy map, the weapons customization is dumbed down and mostly useless, upgrading equipment is a chore, side missions are utterly boring and repetitive, re-using multiplayer maps and the same mission model (active console A, hold postion B, etc), there are plenty and I mean plent of bugs even so long after release, sometimes advancing the main plot makes side missions expire and several, several characters are out of character or at least with very poorly written lines. The game feels short and I wonder if this is because they decided to focus on multiplayer instead.
    Unlike ME2, I can't recommend any DLC except for Javik. Citadel is cringe worthy and apparently made for 15 years old, Leviathan is stupid, inspired by movies such as Abyss and presents more implausible asspulls than answers, Omega is boring and will make you skip full dialogues out of boredom.
    ME3 is so bad that makes ME1 a master piece in comparison, it'll age bad and be a waste of your time. I recommend reading the relevant plot in wikis and skip this game.
    Too bad they are making a 4th installation, I predict a even worse product.    … Expand
  27. TailGunnner
    Aug 13, 2013
    3
    EA ruined this master piece and it made to suck it fans money. The every singe chose you make gets you to a realy stupid ending and each of all doesn't matters a little bit. They didn't relise the whole game so they can suck the money of their fans and lought at them and them make a "DLC" to fix it and say that they made it for fans... what kind of a sick mind would ruin a great fanbase.EA ruined this master piece and it made to suck it fans money. The every singe chose you make gets you to a realy stupid ending and each of all doesn't matters a little bit. They didn't relise the whole game so they can suck the money of their fans and lought at them and them make a "DLC" to fix it and say that they made it for fans... what kind of a sick mind would ruin a great fanbase. I am not inculuded to this fanbase. The only reason I gave this 3 is that the action might be good enught for someplayers who doesn't goes and chack out the storyline...… Expand
  28. GamersUprising
    Jul 23, 2013
    3
    It's by no means a bad game, the game play is amazing, the dialogue is great, the characters are relatable and it has that emotional tone that the first two games carried. What brought it down from a positive rating is the ending which managed to piss SO many gamers off. The ending of this game is a total slap in the face to fans of the Mass Effect games. It was like the developersIt's by no means a bad game, the game play is amazing, the dialogue is great, the characters are relatable and it has that emotional tone that the first two games carried. What brought it down from a positive rating is the ending which managed to piss SO many gamers off. The ending of this game is a total slap in the face to fans of the Mass Effect games. It was like the developers completely forgot about the fact that all of the games are based around choice, but the ending betrays that fact. All three endings are incredibly similar, which made us feel as if our choices never mattered in the first place. I love the Mass Effect games but the ending of this game just brought it down. Never has a game ending developed so much controversy than the ending of Mass Effect 3, and that's a damn shame.… Expand
  29. M8ass
    Sep 4, 2013
    3
    Mass effect 3 will have a special place in my heart, as my first rapist. They said when you were a kid never to take candy from strangers, never go into their creepy van, and never enter their homes, well the stranger was EA and they raped us, good and well.

    Their master plan involved deception and building the hype with excellent writing and clever storytelling, and they decide to end    Mass effect 3 will have a special place in my heart, as my first rapist. They said when you were a kid never to take candy from strangers, never go into their creepy van, and never enter their homes, well the stranger was EA and they raped us, good and well.

    Their master plan involved deception and building the hype with excellent writing and clever storytelling, and they decide to end it by raping the fan base, and destroying years of hype, destroying one of the most original sci-fi franchises in order to make a profit.

    I have learned my lesson and will never, ever again purchase another product by EA ever again on release date, i will wait until other suffers before i decide if i want to be a part of the carnage or not.    … Expand
  30. AndrewLB
    Apr 21, 2014
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Mass Effect 3 had some absolutely wonderful high points, but the lows completely ruined the series I had come to love over the years. Lets get the high points out of the way first since they are few and while great, are completely overshadowed by what's wrong with the game.
    First off, the graphics were outstanding even though the game was a console port, as was the music. The genophage cure series of events were absolutely incredible as long as Rex was not killed off in ME1. The paragon resolution to the genophage was heartwarming and the renegade resolution (if Mordin didn't die in ME2) was one of the most painful things I've ever done in a video game. Shooting the guy in the back was soooo wrong.
    I also enjoyed many of the aspects with previous squad members and friends from both ME1 and ME2. Running into Major Kirrahe from ME1 was a real treat and the deathbed prayer was so unexpected and moving that I actually got all teary eyed... a feat no video game had achieved in almost 30 years of gaming.

    Now... onto the bad. The whole opening sequence was absolute garbage. You can't just throw a new player into a situation assuming they already know these key people from previous games... add in a brand new main character not even ME veterans know even though the game treats the player like they should (Meat-head Vega), and after no buildup have earth attacked where they slap a pistol in your hand and expect you to fight wave after wave of f*cking aliens. You want to see a great opening to a game? Just look at Mass Effect 2. That introduction was one of the most brilliant in video game history. The player gets a sense of how to control movement through the environment, allowing them to get a feel for things, and aren't pressed to instant combat with zero idea what they're doing.
    Second... whatever happened to the promise that all these decisions in ME1 and ME2 having clear and distinct effects on the end of the trilogy?? Where was the payoff for saving/killing the Rachni? Or saving/destroying the Geth deep-space station? or most importantly... saving/destroying the Collector station at the end of ME2? And WTF is up with Cerberus still having the human-reaper even though I nuked the station from orbit? Only my ship had the Reaper IFF to activate the Omega 4 relay and my ship was dropped into Alliance hands as soon as I returned from the galactic center.
    Those are just a few of my problems with the game, but the biggest issue started from when you set foot on the Illusive Man's space station and didn't end till the credits stopped rolling. The entire space-ninja thing with Kai was beyond retarded, and as I said earlier... the human-reaper being there was complete BS... but it really got bad when you return to Earth. The space battle started good, but with no clear payoff for gathering every race in the galaxy to help other than one heavily damaged reaper and no show of the massive firepower you've amassed for the Normandy herself was deplorable.
    The "say goodbye" sequence was hollow, unfeeling, and didn't contain anything that showed the player the deep emotional bonds you've developed with your friends and loved ones. The whole thing was pointless.

    Last and least is my problem with the run to the beam and the f*cking star-brat. Your whole squad gets vaporized, no fight with Harbinger, no dialogue with him. Nothing. He just fries Shepard and leaves the scene. Oh... I can't forget the final boss battle!!! Shepard VS Marauder Shields!!! Bioware were too stupid to come up with a proper end fight so instead they had Shepard face THE ONLY MARAUDER IN THE GAME WITH SHIELDS.... as the final battle. Pathetic.
    Then... after three games where Shepards life was completely dedicated to stopping the reapers, preventing human extinction.... the trilogies antagonist.... the reapers... are pi$$ed out the window for Martin Sheen and a light-up ghost of the brat you tried to help at the beginning of ME3. W....T....F....

    Casey Hudson said in an interview prior to ME3's release that all your decisions mattered and how you would NEVER see a cookie cutter ending where you choose A, B, or C. But that's exactly what they did. It's like the development team at Bioware all went on vacation just after finishing the Illusive Man's space station, handed the keys to the newest Intern who previously was fetching them coffee, and told him to finish the game himself even though he had never played ME1 or ME2 and only was allowed to see a few bits and pieces of ME3 while in development.

    I, along with millions of others absolutely loved the Mass Effect series. So much so that we actually had an emotional attachment to the characters. Other game studios would KILL to achieve such a thing. And the way that Bioware said "f*ck it" and rushed the game out the door to meet EA's deadline for release, which was just in time boost quarterly profits for EA has disgusted me to a level that i'll never pay money for another one of their games. Pi$$ off!    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
89

Generally favorable reviews - based on 23 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 23
  3. Negative: 0 out of 23
  1. CPUGamer
    Apr 11, 2012
    90
    BioWare captures the scale of the conflict well, but always focuses on the people involved in it. It's pretty amazing just how badly EA disregarded the heart of the game – the characters and the world – when they began their marking blitzkrieg, but don't worry, it's oh so definitely there – Day 1 DLC, controversial endings, and questionable use of resources be damned. This is a fine, lovingly crafted game with a clear vision despite the realities of corporations and damning business practices.
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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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