User Score
6.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 3849 Ratings

User score distribution:
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
  1. Jun 27, 2020
    5
    A linear experience with a garbage ending. I had high hopes after 2 but this game made me lose trust in game devs.
  2. Jul 25, 2019
    7
    Even years later folks agonize over this game and rightly so. When you take ME2 and combine it with ME3 you get perhaps the greatest gaming experience of all time. UNTIL, you get to the last 15 minutes of ME3. I can’t comprehend how the same team that made these great games decided that this was the way to end it, nodded to each other, and said it was good to go. It still baffles me.Even years later folks agonize over this game and rightly so. When you take ME2 and combine it with ME3 you get perhaps the greatest gaming experience of all time. UNTIL, you get to the last 15 minutes of ME3. I can’t comprehend how the same team that made these great games decided that this was the way to end it, nodded to each other, and said it was good to go. It still baffles me. It’s probably not the worst video game ending of all time; but it’s certainly the worst video game ending of all time for a game that was actually good. Nobody who loves these games, this lore, this universe of gaming will ever get over it. When I did my last replay I stopped before the final mission, I refused to play the ending. But still, this is an incredible game, you just have to ignore the last 15 minutes and pretend something else happened inside your brain. EA daggered BioWare and ME:A was a mediocre, soulless slog, but really it’s the ending of ME3 that ended it for us all. Expand
  3. Jan 3, 2018
    7
    Hikaye = 6
    Oynanış = 8
    Grafikler = 7
    Sesler = 7
    Keyif = 7
    Atmosfer = 8
    Süre = 7
  4. Dec 3, 2017
    6
    /sigh/ Move along, there's no charm or sci-fi here. While Mass Effect 3 is an undeniably fun game it's not a worthy conclusion at all. The fact that the clunky but sincere sci-fi of the original is unashamedly traded in for a full-blown action game is not what breaks the game. As I said the gameplay is fun, but the story... the story is just dogsh#t. I'm sorry, but it's true. I still enjoy/sigh/ Move along, there's no charm or sci-fi here. While Mass Effect 3 is an undeniably fun game it's not a worthy conclusion at all. The fact that the clunky but sincere sci-fi of the original is unashamedly traded in for a full-blown action game is not what breaks the game. As I said the gameplay is fun, but the story... the story is just dogsh#t. I'm sorry, but it's true. I still enjoy the first 2/3rds of the game to a certain extent, but by the finale Mass Effect 3 completely crashes and burns and its clear that the writers had no idea what they were doing. Expand
  5. Apr 20, 2016
    7
    7/10 too much space and bad ending, nevermind the 50+ hours it took to get to it. THOSE 10 minutes ruined gaming for me! Also I'm a little salty because Metacritic censored me on my ME2 review! Censor this, metacritic! (_)_)::::::::::::::::::::::::D
  6. Dec 15, 2014
    5
    This is easily the poorest offering Bioware has given us in many a year, and by far the worst of the Mass Effect trilogy. The original, ME1, was one of my all-time favorite CRPGs. I didn't like a lot of the changes they made to ME2 so much, because they made it more like a FPS and less like a CRPG, but I was able to tolerate the changes because the story was still pretty good. MassThis is easily the poorest offering Bioware has given us in many a year, and by far the worst of the Mass Effect trilogy. The original, ME1, was one of my all-time favorite CRPGs. I didn't like a lot of the changes they made to ME2 so much, because they made it more like a FPS and less like a CRPG, but I was able to tolerate the changes because the story was still pretty good. Mass Effect 3 unfortunately retains and even furthers the FPS feel of the game, eroding what little RPG element is left, and doesn't even make up for this with story this time -- the story is terrible.

    Probably the #1 issue I have with ME3 is that, far more than the others, it felt like a game on rails. There were very few options, very few choices, and almost no cases where the "choices" they gave you felt like they made any difference. Gone are any real stories relating to your crew-mates. There are none of those. It seems totally random which past crew mates Bioware gives you back again and which ones refuse to re-join you. There are hardly any conversations on the ship with your crew-mates any more, and no chance to do things like learn about them or earn any loyalty. The crew stories are basically gone, and replaced by nothing -- there are no other story elements in their stead.

    Another problem, at least on the Xbox, is the menu system, which is absolutely horrid. For some unfathomable reason, Bioware combined the Journal and the Codex, which is absolutely infuriating - it glows with "new entries" even when they are only just codex entries and not new quests. The side and main quests share the same menu now, which makes for an almighty mess, and there is no "completed" mission menu so by the end of the game you have this list that is like 80 items tall, and the UI always puts you in the middle of it, buried in the "completed" missions, forcing you to scroll up 20 or 3 items to get to the active quests. And then there is the issue that they tell you what planet something is on but NOT the system or the cluster, and they don't mark most quests on the galaxy map, so you have to randomly hop around from sector to sector trying to find quest locations. This is really stupid, as the girl assisting you even says she has marked stuff on your galaxy map (but she just hasn't). This feels like Bioware were just being jerks trying to make my life harder than it needed to be.

    Finally, I will rant a little bit about the ending. If you've heard anything about it, you've probably heard the rumor that the ending is horrible. All I can say about this is - the haters are UNDER-selling it. The ending is absolutely terrible. I'm not sure who at Bioware thought they should end their epic trilogy with a Morton's Fork type of dilemma, but I found it very forced and very unsatisfying. Also, the explanation for "everything that has been happening in galactic history" was really, REALLY lame.

    In the end, it felt like Bioware had a bunch of different ideas, wasn't sure which one would work, half-implemented all of them, and then slapped it together into a package and called it "done." There was too much mindless combat, and not enough interesting conversation options in this game. It's a poor successor to the first two MEs and does not deserve to share their name. The only good thing I can say is that the voice acting is still pretty good, and the basic way combat worked was enjoyable (although HIGHLY repetitive). The game is playable, but only as a shooter. Not for the story or RPG elements. Those things, which are normally Bioware strengths, were the major weaknesses of this game.
    Expand
  7. Jan 3, 2014
    7
    Overall I enjoyed this game and the prior series. I've played it multiple times as a new game and importing a previously played character from ME1, ME2, and ME3, and as a male and female, and that had full Paragon and Renegade so I got my moneys worth out of it.
    What I found disappointing is that not all of the choices I made in ME1 and ME2 affected my ME3 character. For example: I know
    Overall I enjoyed this game and the prior series. I've played it multiple times as a new game and importing a previously played character from ME1, ME2, and ME3, and as a male and female, and that had full Paragon and Renegade so I got my moneys worth out of it.
    What I found disappointing is that not all of the choices I made in ME1 and ME2 affected my ME3 character. For example: I know I destroyed the Collector base, but in my imported game it said I saved it, and the illusive man even mentions it in conversation that I saved it, but I know I destroyed it.
    I also didn't like they way they changed the look of Ashley! She looks like Miranda.
    I didn't have a problem with the graphics or sound. I think they were good. I don't recall if there was music, but if so I usually turn off the music in my games so I can't comment on it.
    I bought and downloaded the weapons packages only to find out that in some of the missions you get better ones, like rescuing the student on the space station (where Jack is teaching, if you saved Jack) so that DLC was a waste of money.
    The searching for minerals was rather tedious, but better then ME1's way of collecting them.
    And the other DLC missions should have been part of the game or at least free to download/add on.
    I'm really torn between giving this game a 7 or 8. I'd like to give the game a 7.5. Maybe I'm cheap, but I'm going to give a 7 just because the DLC weapons, additional uniform, and mission should have been part of the game or available for download.
    Expand
  8. Dec 17, 2013
    7
    MASS EFFECT 3 is an excellent game with a top notch story, gameplay and the presentation is phenomenal. Bioware couldn't have ended the Sheppard trilogy any better. Throughout its 12 hour campaign i never got bored and just wanted more, the game is vast and you will have a lot of locations and planets to visit before the finale on earth and the ending is spectacular but not to everyone'sMASS EFFECT 3 is an excellent game with a top notch story, gameplay and the presentation is phenomenal. Bioware couldn't have ended the Sheppard trilogy any better. Throughout its 12 hour campaign i never got bored and just wanted more, the game is vast and you will have a lot of locations and planets to visit before the finale on earth and the ending is spectacular but not to everyone's tastes, which i understand. Its a (A,B,C) ending with very little differences but it was well written, even with the extended cut version there were still plot holes which need explaining big time Expand
  9. Aug 17, 2013
    7
    At first, I gave this game a 9 for the fact that the music wasn't as rushed as ME2 majority of sounndtracks, for their aesthetically-compensating atmosphere, the moderate depth in characters' feelings about the Reaper War and the improved gameplay movement, flow, speed and resolution, although the power recharge system is still there which was kind of a bummer since ME2 you can'tAt first, I gave this game a 9 for the fact that the music wasn't as rushed as ME2 majority of sounndtracks, for their aesthetically-compensating atmosphere, the moderate depth in characters' feelings about the Reaper War and the improved gameplay movement, flow, speed and resolution, although the power recharge system is still there which was kind of a bummer since ME2 you can't constantly use powers without having them all charging just to use one power. And the soundtracks were absoulute emotional originality! However, despite thinking and thinking more about how MUCH potential this game seriously had, I realized that the EA gaining full control of the franchise after ME2 was just middle finger to veteran fans and a cynical step TOO FAR! The flaws are established; The villains weren't at their most authentic evil, like Kai Leng, who I thought was a superficial rather than a dangerous assassins, Harbinger not getting enough establishment at all, Sovereign was by far the most terrifying verbally and villanous character in the trilogy from ME1, no planetary exploration and instead like ME2, you get an even worse and less captivating side missions just to prolong the original game time, storyline was the main crap that was a bloody punch to the face by Bioware to all of us ME fans, the vaguely rushed, inexplicable and confusing endings were just a mockery to the entire trilogy!! Bioware needs to get their magic back that once manifested in ME and ME... ME3 just had NO diversity in missions, not enough ndifferent enemies, and the most ridiculous of them all, is on the Insanity mode, you instantly get cheap deaths by three randomly stupid husks and a ridiculously annoying Marauder shooting at you while your Shepard is annoyingly shaking from the targetting system, preventing you to kill that last idiot! Bioware just shoved their heads down with EA, not enough impact from decision making from the previous ME and ME2 decisions, although the Javik and Citadel party DLC's were fun, this was just overall bullcrap to me. Satisfactory for gameplay, but replay value for story and real gameplay is no worth whatsoever. BIOWARE MAKE MASS EFFECT 4 COUNT whatever you tend to call the next game! Expand
  10. Jul 31, 2013
    7
    Mass Effect 3 refines the combat and action of the previous games and presents a conclusion to the story with plenty of memorable moments and tough decisions. However, the pacing dulls a bit, the game becomes repetitive and predictable and the ending, while good in concept, was poorly executed. Not the best in the series, but in the end, a decent game nonetheless if you can overlook the flaws.
  11. Jun 9, 2013
    7
    I think what hurts this game most is its own hype. By being the final installment of a trilogy, it has a tremendous amount of pressure to tie all loose ends and satisfy story arcs so that gamers will be whetted for a new hero and new series.
    If one plays this stand-alone, which I think is a ridiculous idea, but the game is set up to accustom one for such a scenario it would rank much
    I think what hurts this game most is its own hype. By being the final installment of a trilogy, it has a tremendous amount of pressure to tie all loose ends and satisfy story arcs so that gamers will be whetted for a new hero and new series.
    If one plays this stand-alone, which I think is a ridiculous idea, but the game is set up to accustom one for such a scenario it would rank much higher.
    But as part of a set and the end of that set, it grades lower. The ending, is such a punch, It really robs the whole theme of the trilogy, perseverance. There was an attempt to fix it, and it works for some, not for others.
    There is good here, it doesn't deserve the absolute bottom of the barrel scores. The Multiplayer gets little mention but has a lot of options as far as if you play an alien, guns, level buildup. When the game was young MP was bustling, but now is old enough the updates have stopped it will be a slow death for it.
    Expand
  12. May 30, 2013
    6
    Mass Effect 3 was a great improvement from Mass Effect 2, but it falls flat in a lot of areas. To its credit, Mass Effect 3 has much more intelligent A.I and your enemies use more coordinated attacks and aren't as predictable but this game still continues to be mediocre. I liked the campaign, because once again it had great characters and side missions that weren't delivery missions, butMass Effect 3 was a great improvement from Mass Effect 2, but it falls flat in a lot of areas. To its credit, Mass Effect 3 has much more intelligent A.I and your enemies use more coordinated attacks and aren't as predictable but this game still continues to be mediocre. I liked the campaign, because once again it had great characters and side missions that weren't delivery missions, but without ripping apart its ending, Mass Effect 3 doesn't have the same appeal as Mass Effect 1. It seems that they're straying away from its original RPG elements and becoming more of a tactical shooter. It's not bad in that setting, but I loved the original for being its own unique little adventure. This isn't a bad game, but not my favorite. Expand
  13. Apr 30, 2013
    6
    Well, again a mixed bag. The game is quite amazing up until that dang ending man. MP is fun, even a year into it, and still rolling on. The one thing that holds this game down is that crap ending.
  14. Apr 3, 2013
    7
    Mass Effect 3 has it's flaws and I am not sure how to judge those. The franchise really has identity issues.
    The game has done things right: graphics, soundtrack, combat, multiplayer, these "touching moments"... yet it still fails to satisfy completely. Some important story-arcs are completely cut off, certain characters were simply dismissed, side-missions are almost non-existent, the
    Mass Effect 3 has it's flaws and I am not sure how to judge those. The franchise really has identity issues.
    The game has done things right: graphics, soundtrack, combat, multiplayer, these "touching moments"... yet it still fails to satisfy completely. Some important story-arcs are completely cut off, certain characters were simply dismissed, side-missions are almost non-existent, the writing is laughable at points and (this has already been discussed to death) the terrible ending happened.

    I don't know if more time for the development would have helped, but this game seemed rushed and unfinished at every end. It was an enjoyable game up until the ending, but certainly not the outstanding quality fans are used to.
    Expand
  15. Mar 29, 2013
    5
    I don't know what the people who poorly rated this game were thinking but this is one legendary game. It immersed me in the first couple of hours and I can't leave ME3 for long hours once I start to play it. Despite a few flaws (especially the same button used for cover, running and jumping over obstacles), this game is pure FUN and it surely deserves my score of "9".
  16. Mar 26, 2013
    6
    I absolutely LOVED this game, but the only problem I have, and this was a HUGE problem, is the ending. The ending was just SO terrible it's not even funny. I was so disappointed.
  17. Mar 16, 2013
    7
    I'll start right off the bat that Mass Effect 3 is a good game.It isn't as good as Mass Effect 1 & 2 and as a final part of Commander Shephard's story it doesn't fully deliver. The choices you made in the last games don't effect the story that much and the ending seems forced and not fitting at all. It is easily the weakest of the otherwise amazing trilogy.
  18. Feb 11, 2013
    5
    Boy, talk about a game developer living by the idea of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". This could easily be a Mass Effect 2 expansion pack as it plays, feels, and looks just like the previous game. And although this would seem like a good thing, the story is now bogged down by too many chance encounters and contrived story telling. I don't want to by chance run into everything characterBoy, talk about a game developer living by the idea of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". This could easily be a Mass Effect 2 expansion pack as it plays, feels, and looks just like the previous game. And although this would seem like a good thing, the story is now bogged down by too many chance encounters and contrived story telling. I don't want to by chance run into everything character I ran with in the previous game in a massive universe unless it makes sense to and ME 3 forces me to see my fellow squad mates in the most random and coincidental ways that it makes it all feel icky.
    The game has been replaced by all out action which will keep some people happy. It just lacks the heart of the first 2 games. Which is odd because its supposed to be a game the deals with the possible idea of extinction and instead of dealing with that, Im babbling politics with a krogan and turian? Boo
    Expand
  19. Feb 11, 2013
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Positives:
    -Story is engaging and ties subplots together well
    -Refined game play mechanics
    -Character leveling is well balanced
    -Most choices made in ME1 2 are reflected (some much more than others)
    -Multiplayer is well executed

    Negatives:
    -Day of release DLC (800 MS Points)
    -Freddy Prinze Jr
    -Shoehorned Jessica Chobot cameo
    -Several loose ends in the story are "tied" up with e-mails
    -Citadel is still (circa ME2) confined to a few small areas of exploration
    -Insignificance of War Assets!!!!

    The game is centered around the final battle between the Reapers and a unified army of races. Shepard must gain as many 'war assets' as possible before the showdown begins. This is why ME3 is fun. It's up to you to resolve long standing conflicts and issues so that a unified galaxy will stand against the invincible Repears. All the time, narrative and game play involved in series builds up to a finale that thousands of fans have imagined for over 5 years. Yet, this is where Bioware fell short, so very very short.

    It's not so much that I am essentially given three identical options for how the game will end. Rather, it's the fact that nothing I did since ME1 resulted in any kind of variance for the ending. Where are the mercs I secured through Aria? What about the friggin Krogan and Salarians? Why doesn't anything I accomplished matter?

    Bioware released DLC in an effort to shed more light on the "ending they wanted to tell". This failed since the ending they wanted to tell sucked in the first place. Shedding more light on a pile of dog sh*t won't make it more pleasant to smell.

    For such an engaging and fun series, ME was not granted the resolution it deserves. I don't know why Bioware chose the route that it did. Unfortunately, you can't unsee what has already been seen.
    Expand
  20. Feb 8, 2013
    7
    Decent. The multiplayer addition is basically crap. It's just a whole lot of forced grinding against standard waves of enemies. The single player was great but the ending was absolutely embarrassingly bad. Bioware's PR is atrocious as well.
  21. Jan 17, 2013
    5
    As a fan of the series, this game deviated from its original roots as a predominant RPG with shooter elements to now a predominately a shooter with a skin of a RPG elements. Even neglecting the rampant on disk DLC and plot hole ridden ending, the game is blatantly average. As a shooter it is adequate offering the staple cover shooter. However, the cover mechanics are often clunky inAs a fan of the series, this game deviated from its original roots as a predominant RPG with shooter elements to now a predominately a shooter with a skin of a RPG elements. Even neglecting the rampant on disk DLC and plot hole ridden ending, the game is blatantly average. As a shooter it is adequate offering the staple cover shooter. However, the cover mechanics are often clunky in comparison to other games in the same genre. The game has roughly the same RPG elements as Mass Effect 2, while limiting, adds at least some flavor to the shooter Bioware/EA have turned the series into. The gameplay is not where Mass Effect 3 does poorly. It is the practices regarding story-necessary DLC and essentially the last 20 minutes of the game's story. The game wraps up many of the persisting conflicts of the series, only to introduce rampant deus ex machina and plot holes in the games final minutes. The altered Extended Cut DLC fails to address many of these plot holes as well. Bioware games are usually renown for their story and setting, but this game essentially throws this all to the wayside and leaves a bad taste in the mouth of many fans of the franchise. In all, the end result is an average cover-shooter and a series whose universe is tarnished in the name of "artistic integrity". Expand
  22. Jan 6, 2013
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Been a long time fan of the series but I feel this is by far the worst of the trilogy. I'd give it a 6.5 if I could. Spoilers below but will try to keep it vague.

    Pros: Felt like they did a good job building up to an epic conclusion.
    A lot of dialogue and the decision about the genophage was the hardest decision I had in the series.
    For me, ending did a good job tugging on emotions.

    Cons: They completely killed any meaning behind choices. Choices from previous games are whittled down to very small/short parts which are then boiled down to a readiness number for ending purposes.
    In the end you really realize there was no purpose behind any choice.
    Ending does a poor job of wrapping up the series and really felt flat.
    Expand
  23. Jan 2, 2013
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. ME3 is one the best games of the year, but there are huge problems also like the dialouge circle doesn't much through out the story and the biggest problem was the ending, in ME1 & ME2 your decisions matter for the sake of the story but in ME3 just takes that out completly and the ending you have 3 options : Control Reapers, Destroy all synthethic life, or synthesize all organic and synthetic life together and all the endings
    are the same and are different only alittle. The good things about ME3 is THE GRAPHICS, THE CAMPAIGN, THE GAMEPLAY. But I say that ME3 is my least fave ME game.
    Expand
  24. Dec 26, 2012
    7
    Mediocre end to a great. I am a fan of the ME world, but ME3 was just above average. The importing of character relationships and decisions was great, but how they showed what your actions only made me go "ok, cool". And kinect didn't help much... But even with all that, I enjoyed myself quite a bit.
  25. Dec 25, 2012
    6
    Even without the infamous ending, this game is still a mess. The patches and DLC have made improvements but many plot problems still stand. It's still an enjoyable game but could have been so much better, and the ending can ruin what preceeded for many people.
  26. Dec 14, 2012
    5
    This game was good, I enjoyed most of it. Mainly because by the time it kept getting closer to then end, it got a little retarded. For some reason, an anchor lady knows Kung-Fu. I laughed my head off at that part, and then the endings were AWFUL. They were bland, or at least that's what I though, and they were all way too similar, only with slight differences.
  27. Nov 11, 2012
    7
    How dare you Bioware! How dare you release a game that was awesome but not as awesome as it should have been! How dare you even toy with the notion of giving players options and then not have a unique ending for every single player that picks up a controller and enjoys every your enormous trilogy? How dare you actually CREATE something and try things instead of churning out the same stapleHow dare you Bioware! How dare you release a game that was awesome but not as awesome as it should have been! How dare you even toy with the notion of giving players options and then not have a unique ending for every single player that picks up a controller and enjoys every your enormous trilogy? How dare you actually CREATE something and try things instead of churning out the same staple crap year in and year out. How dare you omit details like what quarians look like under their suits, but instead give us the unknown origins of krogan and geth civilisations.
    Bah, this is like Ewoks in Jedi all over again!
    Expand
  28. Nov 2, 2012
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. (continued)
    And no more is this evident than in the ending
    Expand
  29. Oct 16, 2012
    7
    The closing epic Mass Effect trilogy is here, and with it we deserved conclusion to five years of prodigious adventures. The latest saga of Commander Shepard is up to the quality standards of the saga of BioWare, and despite some complaints interpelarle can focus their efforts almost exclusively on the main story, the fact is that it is a wonderful event and uploaded action and emotionalThe closing epic Mass Effect trilogy is here, and with it we deserved conclusion to five years of prodigious adventures. The latest saga of Commander Shepard is up to the quality standards of the saga of BioWare, and despite some complaints interpelarle can focus their efforts almost exclusively on the main story, the fact is that it is a wonderful event and uploaded action and emotional moments. A good game say what you say. Expand
  30. Oct 4, 2012
    7
    Good game. But has a lot of cons.
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. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.