Mass Effect 3: Special Edition

Mass Effect 3 on its own is still easily one of the best games of the year – and some (like me) would argue that it's the best game in the trilogy – and that hasn't changed on Wii U. The only thing that's changed is your access to the rest of the series.

An absolutely amazing game. The lack of sixty hours of content leading up to it does rob the story of some of its impact and many characters don't get the proper time needed to fully flesh them out, but the great writing and high stakes of the events still make the game's thirty or more hours exceptionally compelling.

Without doubt, Mass Effect 3: Special Edition is easily one of the best offerings on the Wii U right now, but it simply cannot be stressed enough that players must seek out the two previous games in the series before playing this one.

Despite the rare occurrence of frame rate drops, and the stunted online play, Mass Effect 3: Special Edition is a love letter to video game and science fiction enthusiasts everywhere, as it does all it can to please the fans and engage newcomers to its immense and beautiful universe.

The same game as previously released on other systems, but the first two games of the series are glaringly absent from the Wii U. To make up for that, the developer included a motion comic to catch players up on the previous story. It's lacking, but what can you do?

Mass Effect is also a masterpiece on Wii U, despite the fact that Bioware did not push some of the features of the New Controller in the game as strongly as we hoped.

All in all, those new to the franchise would be better served to pick up the Mass Effect Trilogy releases that came out at the same time and would get all 3 games for the same price. However, if you don't have access to an Xbox, PS3 or a gaming PC, this isn't the worst way to go.

As an adaptation, it's somewhere between PS3 and Xbox 360, but one way or another it's an outstanding game. However, it's quite weird playing the end of a story, no matter how many comics we find along the way.

A great port, with some decent gamepad functionality. A pity the previous chapters aren't on Wii U though, since the legacy comic doesn't really compensate for their absence.

The differences from previous versions of the game are miniscule, but Mass Effect 3 still offers a fantastic story with grand moments. A great place to start your Wii U collection.

Mass Effect 3 for the Wii U is exactly the masterpiece that we experienced on the other systems, plus some welcome new GamePad features. If there were a way to import the saved games from the previous chapters, this would have been our preferred console version.

The Special Edition of Mass Effect 3 is an interesting release that those gamers with only a Wii U shouldn't miss. For everyone else, the fullest experience can be had elsewhere.

Mass Effect 3 on Wii U is a tough sell. The game on its own is fantastic. The shooting is solid, the narrative is great and the characters are memorable, but you are simply missing so much of the experience by not having played the previous two. In the case that you have played them on other consoles, there is no incentive to lose your save and progress to migrate to Wii U.

Mass Effect 3 retains its powerful impact on a new platform, merging action and storytelling into an exciting and memorable adventure across the Milky Way.

If Mass Effect 3 Special Edition is your only shot at dipping into BioWare's universe, you may as well take it. If you've already experienced the previous games, and you don't mind missing out on importing your character, you'll find a competent port with a few novel extras.

If you really, really want to play Mass Effect and simply can't get your hands on it for other consoles, the Wii U version will definitely work, and it's a fine iteration. But unless you fall into that niche, it's likely worth grabbing the games on other consoles so that you can get the full experience.

Still great, but the port should have had more. [Feb 2013, p.77]

An interesting port for the Wii U, despite the unstable frame rate and minor flaws. Using the Wii U GamePad you can experience new ways of fighting against the Reapers. The game includes some interesting DLCs content, but not all of them. Mass Effect 3 Special Edition works fine if you didn't play the original game.

I liked Mass Effect 3 when it first released and I have to say I am liking it even more on the Wii U. Again, I think it is the graphics and the controller that do it for me.

Despite the missing Omega DLC and the frugal use of the gamepad features Mass Effect 3 conquers the Wii U with its well-known qualities as the war for survival wages on.

Mass Effect 3 Special Edition for the Wii U is a good game. The Mass Effect 3 experience was kept intact, but the new functionalities offered by the Wii U aren't anything special.

Mass Effect 3 plays and looks nice on the new Nintendo console, but it's a must buy only for those who didn't get the chance to play it yet and only have a Wii U at their disposal: it's not the best version overall, and still it's pretty damn expensive, considering that one could get the whole trilogy on the other platforms at the same price.

Undoubtedly the best-playing Mass Effect game so far, but you can't possibly get the full feel of the Mass Effect universe from it. One to weigh up carefully.

This special edition comes with all the free multiplayer DLC, as well as the extended cut of the ending and bonus mission From Ashes. It's a pretty good package overall, and the Genesis motion comic fills in the story of the two preceding games. The inhumanly long loading screens of the Wii U version do put a damper on the experience, and Genesis skips plenty of important decisions from previous games that makes the story feel a little incomplete. But for newbies to the Mass Effect universe this is a damned good purchase.

The game itself, however, is still out of this world, with Wii U users benefiting from the new and improved ending and a more efficient touchscreen control system. If this is your only opportunity to put an end to the Reaper invasion, we can't recommend the game enough, but if you access to a different gaming system, it's better to look elsewhere.

A must have for every role-playing game lover. However it must be said that the version for PS3, Xbox and PC is better than the Wii U version if it comes to gameplay and graphics. The GamePad is not that innovative in this case.

The story is great and the battles are entertaining.

A correct port, which doesn't benefit as much as one would think from the Wii U GamePad touch screen. Still the only way to hold this galaxy in the palm of your hands.

Not the best version of Mass Effect 3, but also not the worst – indeed it's only the lack of the other games and their DLC that makes this difficult to recommend.

While it's an excellent game, it's hard to recommend Mass Effect 3 for the Wii U unless you missed out on the series before and only have the Wii U to play it on. Even with this 'special edition' including the From Ashes and Extended Cut DLC to extend the campaign, knowing that not all of it will be coming to this version hurts its overall value. It's hampered more by the upcoming ME Trilogy release coming to both the 360 and PS3 that will allow you to get all three core games (sans DLC) for the same price as this. Given that both the PS3 and 360 versions of ME 3 go for $25 tops now, it's impossible to recommend if you own either of those systems.

Why is there no release of the complete trilogy for the launch of a new console? That would have been added value. Nonetheless this is basically the same game that you can get on other systems, give or take some interesting additions as well as nagging faults: An entertaining and sometimes tragic ending to a space shooter that doesn't live up to its potential.