Mass Effect 3

 PlayStation 3
User Score
5.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 2029 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,067 out of 2029
  2. Mixed: 218 out of 2029
  3. Negative: 744 out of 2029
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. skinny_mean_man
    Mar 19, 2012
    0
    Mass effect is my favorite next gen console series. but mass effect 3 is a middle finger to the fans who have loved the series since day one. unless something is seriously done to fix this game i will never buy from bioware again. they were my favorite company and now they are my most hated
  2. JasonDaPsycho
    May 20, 2012
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Some people would say they wouldn't allow the final 15 minutes to ruin an entire series, I guess they have their point. If you ask me, you just can't snap out of being crazy. Same case for me here. I just can't "snap out of" letting 15 minutes ruin the entire series.

    The game is severely overrated in the first place. The game is extremely linear. For an RPG that prides on options, the options feel largely irrelevant. Throughout the game, you're trying to gain war assets, which would determine the no. of options you'll get when time comes for you to choose an ending. High no. of war assets would mean more options. War assets are gained through making right decisions, performing repetitive fetch quests, and playing the dull, uninspired co-op multiplayer. In contrary to what BioWare tells you, multiplayer is mandatory to obtain all of the endings. A few parts of the story are amazing, while some are flat out lazy writing. Most of the parts are just mediocre. Some romances are nicely written (eg Garrus, or Tali) while some are just horrible (eg Jack, and especially Jacob).

    When it comes to gameplay, which is largely a secondary feature of any BioWare game, it's actually a massive improvement. However, it's still not good enough for you to purchase it merely for gameplay value. A large part of the gameplay overhaul comes from the Weapons vs Skills scale. Powerful weapons are heavier and increases your recharge time, and vice versa. So if you just go out there with the default rifle and pistol, and upgrade your skills accordingly, you can just spam on the skills repeatedly. One good example would be the charge -> Nova combo for those who play as vanguards. This combo is virtually unstoppable. With that said, the gameplay is still not good enough to warrant a buy merely for gameplay value. For more satisfying shooting fun, just go get Max Payne 3, or even 2 if you're broke.

    There's also a day one DLC character which BioWare claims is not mandatory. Don't kid yourself. It adds so much more to the storyline. Another attempt by EA to milk you by taking content out of the game and charging you. It's kind of like buying a new car which comes with a manual gearbox that can only shift to first gear, with an option for a proper, normal gearbox. Technically speaking, the car can still run on first gear, but it's certainly not what you would normally pay for, at least not 10 years ago.

    On to the controversial ending. Everything boils down to three colors. Pick your poison. They have no differences whatsoever. BioWare has recently announced that they will make an extended cut to the ending. I will update with a more formal review then. For now, don't even remotely consider shelling out 40 bucks for such a game. Just don't.    … Expand
  3. outlawJW13
    Mar 20, 2012
    0
    For some reason the guage didnt change when i submitted my last review so...dont play this game until the ending is fixed. The game was good but the end ruins not only this game but the entire franchise.
  4. dmjrnbsn
    Mar 20, 2012
    0
    One of the most profoundly disappointing endings to any story in any medium. The writers removed the cornerstone in which the entire story was built upon - choice and consequence. So, the entire building comes crashing down at the end. In the end, none of the choices your character makes throughout three games matter. All the relationships you've built are meaningless. There is no closureOne of the most profoundly disappointing endings to any story in any medium. The writers removed the cornerstone in which the entire story was built upon - choice and consequence. So, the entire building comes crashing down at the end. In the end, none of the choices your character makes throughout three games matter. All the relationships you've built are meaningless. There is no closure in the relationships made, whether between LIs or squad mates. They never come to fruition, and there is no resolution. ME3 was advertised to have a multitude of outcomes based upon players' choices. That's what originally made the Mass Effect franchise such a great success. The finale should have raised the player to great heights or taken the player to despair... and everywhere between based upon the consequences of the player's decisions throughout the entirety of the series(Paragon, Renegade, or somewhere in between). BioWare should have finished their remarkable work on the strengths that it was built on. Choice and consequence. It seemed like a given, but... You leave the game feeling complete and utter disappointment. It is truly remarkable how an ending can be so profoundly and remarkably bad. It truly destroys the franchise entirely. This is not an easy thing to say, as I've loved the series from the start. There is no replay value at all. BioWare has ruined years of work in the last ten minutes on what should have been one of the greatest RPGs of all time. It will be a study in the future on how not to end a story franchise.… Expand
  5. coop667
    Mar 22, 2012
    0
    Ending is a joke. This is a great game that suffers from the most god awful endings I have ever seen. Plus Bioware does not do their Multiplayer events with PS3 users and mentions it in the fine print. Save yourself the trouble and the $60 and wait for it to drop in price in a couple months.
  6. Brodesmus
    Mar 23, 2012
    0
    This game is excellent...until the last 15 minutes or so. The ending (there is only one with different colors) destroyed one of my favorite video game franchises. Mass Effect appealed to me because the choices that you made had weight, they affected the story in a tangible way, but no matter what you did in any of the games you always get the same choice of endings. Red, blue, or green.
  7. peterwdawson
    Mar 24, 2012
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Can a game's score really be dropped that low by having an awful ending? Absolutely, especially if it retroactively makes you no longer want to play the earlier games.

    Gameplay wise its alright, though Bioware really needs to stop having random NPC chatter intrude with regular chat. The sidequests are also a little boring, though still more enjoyable than mineral mining. Also again Bioware makes there more stuff to buy than there is money to be earned which will always irk me as a packrat gamer. Still these are nitpicks.

    The first real damning issue is the fact that multiplayer must constantly be played to ensure oneself the best ending. Multiplayer intruding into singleplay is a giant no-no, at least in this method. Obviously co-op and such is fine so long as it isn't required in what's supposed to be a single-player game, but this is generic multiplayer, that is also quite buggy and has seen players dropped from games for no clear reason, and they decided it would be a good idea to tie it to single-player. And yes, it isn't just play or forget, you have to keep playing to keep your score where it needs to be. This was after it was promised you wouldn't have to play it to do this.

    And then there's the damn ending. People have compared it to Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report and so on, saying there's layers. That really doesn't matter in the end. The fact is, at face value you get a terrible conclusion that doesn't use any gameplay mechanics properly as well as ignores the narrative as it was built up until then. If you buy into such gems as the indoctrination theory, its still terrible, because a game that has been about unity and ending long-standing grudges suddenly decides to get overly artsy and interpretational. That is a massive tonal backlash, and it furthermore fails as art since it fails to convey its intent. Knowing that this is where all the games had been taking me is just horrifying. Shepard dying isn't an issue, it just flat out makes all your decisions amount to diddly squat because the writer wanted to get an interpretational sci-fi ending. Those kinds of endings can work, but not in this series, and especially not with what came before it in the game itself. It's not just building a lead balloon, its building one and throwing it against spikes hoping it only be penetrated. It just doesn't work.    … Expand
  8. Lspeyer
    Mar 29, 2012
    0
    I have been a fan of the series for half a decade, and I was really looking forward to the third installment of Mass Effect 3. As a result the game managed to disappoint me beyond what I thought was possible. Bioware has created something so awful that retroactively makes the whole series pointless, and I doubt I will ever bother with this series again. Add in shameless day 1 DLC, whichI have been a fan of the series for half a decade, and I was really looking forward to the third installment of Mass Effect 3. As a result the game managed to disappoint me beyond what I thought was possible. Bioware has created something so awful that retroactively makes the whole series pointless, and I doubt I will ever bother with this series again. Add in shameless day 1 DLC, which clearly was an important part of the game to begin with, and you have one of the worst sequels in RPG history… Expand
  9. LuckyMcSpanko
    Apr 5, 2012
    0
    Five years of an amazing story in a highly detailed universe with great characters and dynamic choices... all crapped upon in the last 20 minutes of this game. ALL HAIL MARAUDER SHIELDS! He tried to save us from the ending. Down with the rEApers!
  10. abbadona
    Apr 25, 2013
    0
    Great gameplay, phenomenally disappointing story. Since the story is the most important thing to me in a game the horrid ending is simply a massive letdown that trivializes every choice you ever make.
  11. Gonoru
    Sep 7, 2012
    0
    The animations are pitiful, the choices lead you to the same end, and it desperately lacks originality. Do not buy, do not rent, and do not give this game any of your time, unless for mockery's sake.
  12. Exur
    Dec 8, 2012
    0
    All the choices you made in previous games, all the heartbreaking decisions, the entire Mass Effect lore got flushed down the drain with this disaster piece. Nothing you did in the trilogy mattered because in the end, it was all a story. Nothing really happened. Good job Bioware.
  13. sazhman
    Jul 19, 2013
    0
    If it would have been just another random separate game, I would've gave him 8, but being "Mass Effect", it don't deserve any score. After Brilliant Legend Mass Effect 1, which I played 6 or 7 times, and good Mass Effect 2, 3rd part destroyed the whole series. When it comes down to finish the trilogy, everything is Garbage. it's hard to believe that developers backed down, dropped theirIf it would have been just another random separate game, I would've gave him 8, but being "Mass Effect", it don't deserve any score. After Brilliant Legend Mass Effect 1, which I played 6 or 7 times, and good Mass Effect 2, 3rd part destroyed the whole series. When it comes down to finish the trilogy, everything is Garbage. it's hard to believe that developers backed down, dropped their quality bars so much, for just making money as possible. If they would've worked on it 1 year more, maybe everything would've been ok, but no, BioWare stood against every principle that they had, and ruined the BEST SERIES IN THE HISTORY, to whom it was given to be.… Expand
next
Page:

Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best PS3 Game of 2012
2
#2 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2012
6
#6 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
93

Universal acclaim - based on 30 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 30
  3. Negative: 0 out of 30
  1. Playstation Official Magazine Australia
    Apr 10, 2012
    100
    Mass Effect 3 is an amazing experience in and of itself. It's also the perfect capstone to a true AAA franchise, offering a poignant conclusion that'll stick long after the credits have rolled. You're standing on the precipice of one of the best games Earth money can buy. [April 2012, p.60]
  2. Playstation: The Official Magazine (US)
    Apr 3, 2012
    90
    If ever a game was more about the journey than the destination, it's Mass Effect 3. And what a journey it is. [May 2012, p.71]
  3. Official PlayStation Magazine Benelux
    Apr 2, 2012
    95
    The RGP elements have been toned down considerably in favour of more action. For some this will sound like a bad thing, but trust us when we say that Bioware has thought this through. With the Reapers invading, it would be kind off silly to go on a shopping spree on the citadel. [April 2012, p.60]
See all critic reviews »