Mass Effect 3

 Xbox 360
User Score
6.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 3849 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,035 out of 3849
  2. Mixed: 461 out of 3849
  3. Negative: 1,353 out of 3849
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  1. freshtoothpaste
    Mar 20, 2012
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I was a huge fan of the series; it was and is a fun, largely open, mostly RPG game that let you watch characters evolve in a galactic landscape over several fun, exploratory adventures. For me at least, part of the fun was the replayability. As you made different decisions, the ending of the game subtly changed; mostly to the point of how easy or difficult the ending was.

    This game, though, failed to meet the hype associated with it. Mass Effect 2 set up the promise of Mass Effect 3. In ME2, the characters that survived (both main party and secondary) had everything to do with the amount of effort you put into the game. That sets up the promise of ME3, to do the same but on a larger scale. Unfortunately, by the time you get to the end, you end up with a game that's closer to the linear Mass Effect 1 ending. Your decisions, in the last ten minutes, don't really have much effect on the outcome. Even the animations for the ending are identical (except for the color). Now, this wouldn't be a big deal, except that the promise/premise of the entire series has been creating your own moment at the end. Having said all that, though, the ending itself (even having similar ones) isn't that big of a deal. What is a big deal are all the strange inconsistencies in the last part of the game. Squad members who die (or were implied to die) suddenly reappear. Your ship, engaged in battle one moment, is suddenly running from a destructive beam that strands it on a strange planet. The lead character suddenly loses their will to argue, without making note of it, in the last few minutes. I was willing to forgive the glitches in the game. The unfinished, sometimes reused sprites. The overuse of stock photos. The lack of depth in the game. The problems with importing custom lead characters; if you had a custom face for the character, it will likely break when you try to import it.

    I think this game is made mostly for people looking not for an epic RPG, but maybe more of a simple version of Halo style space combat. If that's what you want, just to shoot things in space, then this is probably a good title. You can ignore the story, play multiplayer, and marvel at the backgrounds.

    If, however, you're looking for a satisfying story-based RPG, then this game isn't it. Not really.

    Which leaves me, a former fan, feeling kind of, "meh," about the whole experience. That's probably on purpose; EA loves third person shooters. They're much easier to develop and work on than expansive, multi title RPGs, I'd wager.

    SPOILER - look for yourself. The animations are the same
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPelM2hwhJA    … Expand
  2. joshiasi
    Mar 20, 2012
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. For those who thinks the endings make sense are either high or being paid by EA/Bioware to thinking that the ending makes sense. I for one experience such a confusing ending for example on my final push to the port to the Citadel, I had Ashley and Garrus with me then in the ending CGI, Ashley shows up in a planet that the Normandy crashed in without getting scratched by Harbringer's beam. What kind of bad writing is that?

    Such a shame for such a great franchise. The ending just negates all what was good in Mass Effect 3. The ending felt like it was rushed to make deadlines as it did not follow what Mass Effect is all about. The game is about choices you make affecting the outcome. No matter what the choices you make in-game and in the previous installments did not matter at all. Its the same ending with 5% variation.    … Expand
  3. traveler
    Mar 29, 2012
    1
    Let me preface this by saying that I was a long time fan of the series and of Bioware games in general; I played both ME1 and ME2 dozens of times over the years (no exaggeration!), and KOTOR until my eyes bled (ok, slight exaggeration; but not by much). So it really does pain me to give this game such a low score.

    The short of it is: the game is rushed and incomplete. Corners were    Let me preface this by saying that I was a long time fan of the series and of Bioware games in general; I played both ME1 and ME2 dozens of times over the years (no exaggeration!), and KOTOR until my eyes bled (ok, slight exaggeration; but not by much). So it really does pain me to give this game such a low score.

    The short of it is: the game is rushed and incomplete. Corners were obviously cut all about, and it shows. Most notably in the classical RPG elements of story and exploration.

    The long of it: in ME3 what you see is that Bioware/EA are quite obviously trying to appeal to the massive consumer base that loves shooter games. Great (and in a sense so was ME1). But the results are that a great deal of time seemed to have been spent copying shooter elements from other games, in an effort to create a fairly mediocre corridor shooter experience, with wonky controls. The glaring thing is what is gone with all this effort. Exploration. Astounding that a game that markets itself as as RPG has so little of it. There are limited hubs, much smaller than those in the previous installments, that provide little interaction for engaging with the world. NPC interaction is either highly scripted, as in, no the player doesn't choose what to say; or it just is a matter of eavesdropping on two people talking in order to get a quest that actually doesn't contain any gaming elements other than go here on the map and press a button. Old RPG standards like equipment and journal logs are streamlined to the point of being non-existent (the journal in particular is totally inept and incomplete; it doesn't update or provide you useful information on the quests - a real step down from the previous games).

    Why? Well, because the game appears to be trying to force you into a linear narrative. In other words, the whole 'choose your own adventure' motif of the brand has taken a backseat for brief corridor shooting experiences punctuated by lengthy cut scenes with limited interaction. Think Gears of War, only worse (and that is saying something!). The plan to do this is so blatant that the game actually has options to switch it from an RPG to a straight story-shooter, right there on its opening screen.

    What is most glaring in this rushed and incomplete experience is the real drop in story telling. Now it is no secret that Bioware was purchased by EA, and that some fans were concerned about how that would effect the culture of the company. But it also is no secret that the people writing this game are not the same ones who wrote the first. And it shows. Lore is forgotten, conversations seem forced, character development can be childish, etc. Its like they inherited a world to write and imagine in that they either didn't understand, or didn't care about. I'm not sure which is worse.

    And don't get me started on that ending....

    OK, DO get me started on that ending. It's here that the evidence of how quickly and with such little care the game was cobbled together is most glaring. Some people have complained that the ending lacks choice (true), and closure (also true), or is confusing (not so much; somebody apparently copied Deus Ex). But the most repugnant aspects of the ending are just how lazy it is. Reused cut scenes, short, simplified conversation options. The whole thing smacks of 'rush it out the door, we have a deadline!' And back to the writers not being the same crop or the same caliber, the ending also doesn't seem to be connected with the rest of the series either in ideas or themes. You remember 'dark energy'? You know, the raison d'etre for Tali's presence on Haestrom, as well as mentioned at other parts of ME2 (like Illium). There was this whole big setup for 'dark energy' throughout ME2, it was foreshadowed as being of some galactic importance. And in ME3. Nada. Nothing. Zilch. The storyline was just abandoned and forgotten. Oops. No dark energy concerns here. This smacks of just lazy writing, and inept plotting.

    (Rumor has it that this was originally to be a part of the buildup for the conclusion - a connection between the middle act of the trilogy and its finale. But was abandoned for.... who knows. Instead you get a series of rushed deus ex machina developments. And then, over.)

    It pains me as a longtime fan and customer of bioware to see how little regard they have for quality here. That was the brand really, immersive RPGs with engaging, high adventure stories. That apparently is not the brand anymore. I don't know what is.

    Finally, I think I should point out the discrepancy between the 'professional critics' and 'user reviews' here and elsewhere. This is amazing. The reasons for the discrepancy are unclear, but I think the ramifications are going to be long reaching. The central question (for me at least) is one of trust: Is there any spirit of consumer protection left in software review or is it just caveat emptor, and have a nice day?    … Expand
  4. Chapperz
    May 15, 2012
    0
    Pure garbage, i adored the first game hell i even liked the MAKO the idea of exploring foreign planets in a jumping buggy was an amazing prospect however im going off topic. The series started going downhill with the second game which did improve massively in terms of combat but failed so much on the story front and the grand finale was an utter disappointment full of plot holes crummyPure garbage, i adored the first game hell i even liked the MAKO the idea of exploring foreign planets in a jumping buggy was an amazing prospect however im going off topic. The series started going downhill with the second game which did improve massively in terms of combat but failed so much on the story front and the grand finale was an utter disappointment full of plot holes crummy voice acting and butch women bioware have gone along way downhill since the days of ME1 and the original Dragon age...rip… Expand
  5. Teelo
    May 28, 2012
    3
    A good game until the last 5 minutes. The controls are ok but still bugged at cover. Seeing most of the character from the previous game is very cool. But it will be the only mass effect game I don't want to re play: the end is to crappy. The day one DLC is also a slap in the face. As the fact that playing coop as an impact on the solo game (when i play mass effect, i play a solo game!)
  6. WindAeris
    Oct 27, 2012
    1
    It's highly repetitive, has no real values, and doesn't serve a point. I am greatly disappointed. I didn't see a value in the game play, it seemed more of shooting things, end of the world, we need to get a move on it. It tries too hard to imply the severity of the situation.
  7. aidanpscott
    Feb 14, 2019
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. To this day, I believe that Mass Effect 3 could have been, and SHOULD have been, one of the greatest games of all time. Instead, what we got was, not only a disappointing sequel, but one of the most disappointing games of all time.

    Let's get the big issue out of the way: the endings. They sucked when they launched and yes, they sucked after the DLC. But everything that can be said about these endings has been said many times over and I don't want to beat a dead horse. Still, if you want to know exactly why, I did a review of the old and new endings in my review of the extended cut DLC on this site as well.

    The reason I don't want to focus on the endings is because, while they are objectively the worst aspect of the game, they are by no means the only bad thing about this game and most people seem to skim over many of the major flaws the game has largely because of how utterly awful the endings were.

    Let's start with the good:

    The multiplayer. While not traditional PvP like most people wanted and were expecting, the wave based multiplayer is a TON of fun and allows you to experiment with different races and class setups you wouldn't get in the campaign. While the single player campaign is severely flawed, there are a ton of really excellent character moments with your squad mates. The Citadel DLC is excellent as well.

    The bad:

    The game was severely rushed (only had 2 years to develop the game) and many of its key staff, including legendary writer Drew Karypshan (lead writer of KotOR) left after Mass Effect 2. Of the 10 writers of Mass Effect 3, only 2 worked on the previous 2 titles and one of them (Mac Walters) is not a particularly good writer. Keep that in mind.

    The single player campaign, while it has some good moments, is filled with plot holes that completely break the world and lore. The dialogue is significantly worse in this game. Not only is most of the dialogue chosen for you without a dialogue wheel, but the neutral option is completely removed from the game and much of the dialogue doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The characters are constantly reference passed events from the previous two games as though you are completely new to the franchise and it is really off-putting.

    Most of the decisions you made in passed games DO NOT MATTER AT ALL and/or are completely thrown out the window as though they do not exist. Some examples: The Rachni Queen decision from Mass Effect 1, you have the chose to either kill her or free her. If you free her, she gets captured by the reapers and is enslaved, forced to give birth to rachni that the reapers turn into husks and force to fight in their armies. Actually, that sounds pretty cool, doesn't it? Well, here's why that's not the case. Let's say you killed her instead, well it doesn't matter because another queen is captured by the reapers to do the same deed. No matter what you did in ME1, the outcome is the same. Your decision did not matter. Other examples include what you did with Maelon's data, what you chose to do with the geth heretics, etc.

    Mass Effect is a game about choice. Aside from the fact that most of your choices did not matter, you are limited in your choices in this game and, in some cases, don't have any choice at all. Mordin, Thane, and Legion all die in this game and while they are good deaths, they are unavoidable. Going back to Mass Effect 2, ME2 is a game where you build a squad and your decisions can either save them or kill them. There is a best-case scenario (everyone lives) and a worse case scenario (everyone, including Shepard, dies). In this game, their is no best case scenario, not truly, and it's a damn shame.

    Cerberus is the villain and, somehow, the Illusive Man is indoctrinated and has been since before Mass Effect 2. This makes no sense as he helped you literally destroy the collector base and ruin the reapers plans. Kai Leng is a deus ex villain with no personality and is only there to provide an artificial challenge for you. Whenever you lose to Kai Leng, bad choices aren't the reason, and good choices don't prevent it. For half the game, you aren't even fighting reapers, you're fighting Cerberus. Why?!

    The game is also tonally inconsistent as it wants to portray the reapers as this invincible, overwhelming doom that can't be defeated by conventional means, but is constantly switching to we can beat the reapers if we work together.

    Many of the games romances are underwhelming or insulting. If you romanced Jacob in ME2, he cheats on you with someone else, which goes against who he is as a character completely (Jacob is honest). Tali's face is revealed as a STOCK PHOTO and not through gameplay. Thane dies, etc.

    I would say more, but this review is limited to 5000 characters only. I'll finish with this: Is Mass Effect 3 an enjoyable game? Yes, absolutely. There's fun to be had. Is Mass Effect 3 a good game? Not even close. Is Mass Effect 3 a bad game? Close enough.    … Expand
  8. Capulingo
    Apr 3, 2020
    0
    absolutely **** game had to reload hours of progress for a mission I don't want to
  9. Jerik02
    Jul 26, 2013
    0
    Casey Hudson ruined Mass Effect. The ending is terrible, but the combat mechanics are simply awful. Tapping a button to get into and out of cover is buggy and more often than not doesn't do what you need it to. The third person camera does a terrible job of maintaining a clear view and often clips into the wall. Mass effect 3 is a perfect example of how EA ruins games. It is no wonder theCasey Hudson ruined Mass Effect. The ending is terrible, but the combat mechanics are simply awful. Tapping a button to get into and out of cover is buggy and more often than not doesn't do what you need it to. The third person camera does a terrible job of maintaining a clear view and often clips into the wall. Mass effect 3 is a perfect example of how EA ruins games. It is no wonder the founders of BioWare quit during the resulting Mass Effect 3 outrage from the players. It is silly really a game marketed as allowing you to tell your own story was ruined because an egotistical (seriously, go look at his web page), childish Casey Hudson wanted to end the story his way denying players what they loved about the game. Like a petulant child, Casey Hudson locked out the other writers to make his own ending and as an EA employee put it, "it shows". Couldn't agree more. Way to alienate a core fan base, tarnish what was a successful IP, and further prove to players why EA cannot be trusted. Even the extended DLC content doesn't fix the plot holes in the ending. It is simply a few more lame slides, that don't really improve anything.… Expand
  10. MrBlack
    Jul 2, 2013
    0
    I have to say, the first 95% of the game, leading right up to the very last 15min or so, was excellent. Gameplay was improved, and I actually enjoyed the war asset strategy much as I had enjoyed the overall structure of Mass Effect 2. And this is why it is so astonishing how the final sequence is all it takes to make this very good game into a very bad one. All the excitement that had beenI have to say, the first 95% of the game, leading right up to the very last 15min or so, was excellent. Gameplay was improved, and I actually enjoyed the war asset strategy much as I had enjoyed the overall structure of Mass Effect 2. And this is why it is so astonishing how the final sequence is all it takes to make this very good game into a very bad one. All the excitement that had been building up over the course of the game, and also it's two predecessors, is extinguished immediately and in the worst way, leaving you with the inescapable feeling of being ripped off. The worst part is that there is absolutely no closure to any aspect of the story. The ending didn't just ruin Mass Effect 3, it ruined the entire series. For this, I can not justify any other score.… Expand
  11. John117
    May 20, 2012
    0
    This game was a huge disappointment. The combat was boring, the story was terrible, and the ending essentially ruined the previous two games for me. Mass effect 2 was dumbed down from ME1, but it was still a pretty good game. This one takes it ten steps further. "Action mode" says it all. The graphics are worse as well, many of the landscapes look blocky, the water looks awful...theThis game was a huge disappointment. The combat was boring, the story was terrible, and the ending essentially ruined the previous two games for me. Mass effect 2 was dumbed down from ME1, but it was still a pretty good game. This one takes it ten steps further. "Action mode" says it all. The graphics are worse as well, many of the landscapes look blocky, the water looks awful...the list goes on. I don't know what happened, if some of the better writers left between games, but the story in this one is cringe-worthy at every turn with few exceptions. I'd have rather this game had not even came out, which is saying a lot since I'd been looking forward to this conclusion of commander Shepard's story for the past 5 years or so. Don't buy this game.… Expand
  12. CaptKai
    Mar 20, 2012
    4
    I just watched what was a phenomenal, even cinematic franchise commit inexcusable storytelling suicide. It's not that the ending is depressing or even bittersweet, as PR would have it spun; The ending makes zero sense - it flies in the face of it's own canon and creates numerous plot holes in the last ten minutes alone. To top it all off, the defining element of Mass Effect, choice, isI just watched what was a phenomenal, even cinematic franchise commit inexcusable storytelling suicide. It's not that the ending is depressing or even bittersweet, as PR would have it spun; The ending makes zero sense - it flies in the face of it's own canon and creates numerous plot holes in the last ten minutes alone. To top it all off, the defining element of Mass Effect, choice, is stripped away from you. No choice you agonized over has any consequence.
    .
    If you're a fan of the series and absolutely cannot bring yourself to wait to play this, do yourself a favor and either rent ME3, or purchase a used copy at your local Gamestop and return it before seven days are up to get your money back. I admit it can be a relatively fun game, up to a point, but you will regret paying full retail price for this disaster.    … Expand
  13. czombie
    Mar 20, 2012
    4
    This game obviously doesn't deserve a 0 or 1 rating, but to say that the ending was extremely disappointing is an understatement. At the game's end, I felt like I didn't really have a choice at all, despite what was advertised by Bioware and what consistently occurred throughout all three of the titles in the series. I think it's apparent that they are eventually going to make anThis game obviously doesn't deserve a 0 or 1 rating, but to say that the ending was extremely disappointing is an understatement. At the game's end, I felt like I didn't really have a choice at all, despite what was advertised by Bioware and what consistently occurred throughout all three of the titles in the series. I think it's apparent that they are eventually going to make an alternate ending with more choices, as they are going to lose a ton of money in DLC if they don't. The conspiracy theorist in me thinks that this was their plan all along, to get more people to buy a better ending as DLC. If the DLC costs anything, I'm done with Bioware, but a free DLC alternate ending with some actual choices will let me forgive them because, besides the ending, this is a good game.… Expand
  14. MantonX2
    Mar 20, 2012
    4
    If you are here trying to decide if you want to buy this game, then do yourself a favor. Honestly, any review you see that gives this game a 10 and calls it perfection, ignore. That's not realistic. Likewise, any review that says it's utter garbage and a 0, ignore. It to is not driven by reality. The rating system is not complex enough here for me to give a visual score so I will putIf you are here trying to decide if you want to buy this game, then do yourself a favor. Honestly, any review you see that gives this game a 10 and calls it perfection, ignore. That's not realistic. Likewise, any review that says it's utter garbage and a 0, ignore. It to is not driven by reality. The rating system is not complex enough here for me to give a visual score so I will put it here. Assume the game takes 30hours to beat. If I were to score the first 29hrs and 50mins this game would easily get an 7-8. If I curb my desire to have more RPG elements that were closer to the first ME then I could easily give it an 8-9. In a nutshell, the majority of players are going to love those first 29hrs and 50mins. It's a wild and at times emotional ride full of action and loss. The graphics aren't ground breaking, but they are more than enough to carry this game and convey the enormity of it all. The final battle is epic in scale and amazing even if I wanted to see so much more of it and all of those assets that I put into place during the game.

    That said, the final 10mins completely undoes everything that comes before it and that the franchise stands for. You go from being an active participant in the story of -your- Commander Shepard to a bystander. In those ten minutes, they undo almost every important fact that they disclosed and you realize that all of those huge and small decisions you made over 3 games and 5 years brings you to the exact same place as everyone else who played with only very small variations to the same exact ending. And in the process, they have ruined the entire franchise for me. For that, the ending gets a 0.

    Combined, I can't give ME3 more than a 4 even if it hurts my heart. Some are going to say that giving the ending a 0 is ridiculous, but let me ask you this. Ignoring the plot holes, inconsistencies, spurious and circular logic and the rest; does it seem right that I take my "Everyone Lives/Super Paragon Blew Up The Collector Base" ending ME2 Shepard into ME3 and my friend takes his "Man I screwed up and almost every squad member died and I handed over the Collector Base" joke ME2 Shepard and we both get the exact same ending without variation? For a franchise like ME, that's a completely broken end system and doesn't deserve a good or even mediocre score.    … Expand
  15. Fatbastad
    Jan 31, 2013
    3
    This game was FANTASTIC all the way to completing the Cerberus base mission. Then, it crashed and burned. It seemed like they poured their talent and resources into this game and ran out of both before they finished it. Both my wife and I played all three games and we both had the same reaction to the end. What interns made this ending? The concept philosophy of the end was right on theThis game was FANTASTIC all the way to completing the Cerberus base mission. Then, it crashed and burned. It seemed like they poured their talent and resources into this game and ran out of both before they finished it. Both my wife and I played all three games and we both had the same reaction to the end. What interns made this ending? The concept philosophy of the end was right on the mark for a Sci-Fi. But it was poorly poorly executed and the choices you made through out the series were rendered completely irrelevant. My wife and I in 20 minutes could brainstorm a better execution of the ending and still leave their philosophical concept intact. What's their excuse?… Expand
  16. marcusJohnson
    May 15, 2012
    2
    Gay ass game I regret buying it. Will pirate it 30 times to damage EA.

    This is my last EA Game, Battlefield 3 sucked so hard man I can't believe they can get money with this even CoD was better
  17. OverLordLuigi
    Aug 12, 2012
    4
    This game is some of the worst work Bioware has done. For a game focused on decision making, there isn't that many decisions in most cases you are only granted 2 options that are obviously Renegade or Paragon choices and nothing neutral. Very rarely do you even get a 3rd option in dialogue. There are also less RPG elements than before making this game more of a 3rd person shooter than anThis game is some of the worst work Bioware has done. For a game focused on decision making, there isn't that many decisions in most cases you are only granted 2 options that are obviously Renegade or Paragon choices and nothing neutral. Very rarely do you even get a 3rd option in dialogue. There are also less RPG elements than before making this game more of a 3rd person shooter than an RPG. The new squad members were not nearly as interesting as the previous ones. Finally the two worst parts the ending which the extended cut did not fix that well you, just get a 5 minute slideshow and of course **** day 1 DLC .… Expand
  18. norborb
    Aug 16, 2012
    0
    A watered down experience with many cut corners, Mass Effect 3 needed to be something better. A rushed production, on disc DLC, and strong handed DRM are not acceptable. The Mass Effect trilogy could have really been more than this.
  19. ferarco1
    Aug 24, 2012
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Mass Effect 3: Mass Disappointment
    The game controls and AI are average but this series was living on the story so what have they done...ruined that too, bioware lied time and time again, insted of supporting the fans they spit in face of anyone who gave a damm for the series, the ending does not reflect any choices you have made, if anyone played ME1 and ME2 with imported characters in the end of ME3 it doesnt count for nothing, the choices you made are irrelevant because in the end you have to choose from 4possible outcomes and guess what you die in all of them and you stay witlh more doubts because so much is left unsplained.

    But Bioware seeing this as lauched a DLC ( because everyone in EA belives that everybody who bought de game has the console conected to the internet... ) and guess what insted of making something usefull like adressing what the comunity has said, no...its the same thing but now adicional slides of information without changing nothing...the gamers for whom you made a DLC did not wanted a narration, just a decent closure, and for the users who said they liked the game as it was, the delivering of the DLC proves that bioware realized the crap they did...but even knowing they still insisted on it...

    this is the ultimate insult to anyone who played since the first game and invested hours and hours in it, and for those who play mass effect 3 for the first time without de previous game its mediocre because this series lived on the story and not in the controls, people can say the motion capture is this and sound is that, anyone in this time and after all these years in corrent generation of consoles expects no less...what is to be expected is a good game and a good history from a company that brougt us games like KOTOR almost a decade ago and now fails to provide...a game to avoid    … Expand
  20. Wiffyjustus
    Aug 27, 2012
    1
    The journey over all three games was fantastic. The destination sucked. I loved this game, until I got to the end. I respect Bioware's adherence to their 'artistic vision', but I whole-heartedly disagree with it. The endings felt like a spit in the face to all the hours invested in this series by the consumer. It must be worse for those who worked tirelessly on this series to see suchThe journey over all three games was fantastic. The destination sucked. I loved this game, until I got to the end. I respect Bioware's adherence to their 'artistic vision', but I whole-heartedly disagree with it. The endings felt like a spit in the face to all the hours invested in this series by the consumer. It must be worse for those who worked tirelessly on this series to see such negative fan reaction. Sadly, I believe the negative reaction is warranted.… Expand
  21. FLovegrove009
    Oct 15, 2012
    2
    I liked the first installment pretty well; and the second STILL stands as one of the most enjoyable gaming experiences I've had; it showed remarkable improvements from the first in terms of character (richer back-stories, more dialogue), better pacing (no endless roams on the dune-buggy, the mining was maybe tedious but brief), and streamlined game-play (shooting, squad orders; no wonkyI liked the first installment pretty well; and the second STILL stands as one of the most enjoyable gaming experiences I've had; it showed remarkable improvements from the first in terms of character (richer back-stories, more dialogue), better pacing (no endless roams on the dune-buggy, the mining was maybe tedious but brief), and streamlined game-play (shooting, squad orders; no wonky upgrades/menus). This installment started out ... amiss. By the time I reached Rannoch and attempted FAR TOO MANY TIMES to dispatch the Reaper on even the easiest setting (only doing so as a last and final resort, and dying my first two and final attempts barely getting a shot off). So I've quit. I don't know what else to say about it that hasn't already been said. I DO HOPE that EA/Bioware etc. take the time to carefully look into the feedback they've gotten from the fans regarding this franchise and take it to heart... somehow that seems a bit futile too.… Expand
  22. souljah77
    Dec 2, 2012
    0
    I loved ME1 and ME2. The story was superb and the gaming experience was fantastic. However, I recently purchased ME3 and after several days of trying to get the disc to work, I've given up and returned it. My low review is not related to the ME3 content or the ending, I never got that far. I spent hours scouring the forums and web for fixes, but ME3 was simply unplayable on my XBOX 360I loved ME1 and ME2. The story was superb and the gaming experience was fantastic. However, I recently purchased ME3 and after several days of trying to get the disc to work, I've given up and returned it. My low review is not related to the ME3 content or the ending, I never got that far. I spent hours scouring the forums and web for fixes, but ME3 was simply unplayable on my XBOX 360 even after the Oct patch. I encountered multiple locking and freezing issues on the first night. Then, I was able to get it to work past the intro but the following day, none of my saved games would load.… Expand
  23. FierroSuave
    Jan 20, 2013
    4
    I let my Mass Effect 3 experience sit and gestate for nearly a year before I felt I could properly describe the sensations that it evoked. It was a single feeling, it was like somebody with less knowledge of the source material was telling a condensed ending over mouthfuls of hamburger in a high school cafeteria. True there were parts that ended exactly as they should and it played exactlyI let my Mass Effect 3 experience sit and gestate for nearly a year before I felt I could properly describe the sensations that it evoked. It was a single feeling, it was like somebody with less knowledge of the source material was telling a condensed ending over mouthfuls of hamburger in a high school cafeteria. True there were parts that ended exactly as they should and it played exactly like I expected it to with multiplayer in the mix. Just felt as though there was more to the story than fist bumps and Freddie Prinze Jr. would allow,… Expand
  24. bigchocolate69
    Jun 28, 2022
    4
    Doesn't hold up to the other Mass Effect titles due to the game being far too linear and a terrible ending.
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Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best Xbox 360 Game of 2012
1
#1 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2012
14
#14 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
93

Universal acclaim - based on 74 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 74 out of 74
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 74
  3. Negative: 0 out of 74
  1. Gamer.nl
    May 12, 2012
    95
    Mass Effect 3 is an emotional rollercoaster ride with lots of tension and moving moments. The threat of the Reapers make every decision a hard one and your relationship with other characters will be tested. This, in combination with tight gameplay, makes this the complete experience.
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  2. Polygon
    Apr 26, 2012
    100
    As a bombastic action-RPG with no previous context, Mass Effect 3 is a dark, engaging game with great combat, a well-written story, and all the epic space-opera you could want. But for those who have played through Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2, it's something much more.
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  3. GameFocus
    Apr 18, 2012
    96
    The storytelling itself, the more refined combat, the voicework, the visuals, et all, stand as a fine example of some of the best this industry has to offer, and with my minor complaints aside, there's no doubt that Mass Effect 3 will be deservedly at the top of everyone's list come this year's award season.
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