Mass Effect 3

phoenix_prjct

Apr 18, 2023

8

Final Thoughts:

Mass Effect 3 eclipses its predecessors with epic story beats that converge the biggest conflicts bubbling throughout the series into emotional rollercoasters. Characters shine with crackling chemistry and random conversations provide smooth development and excellent pacing between big moments. Gameplay is further refined, keeping what works and ironing out the kinks forFinal Thoughts:

Mass Effect 3 eclipses its predecessors with epic story beats that converge the biggest conflicts bubbling throughout the series into emotional rollercoasters. Characters shine with crackling chemistry and random conversations provide smooth development and excellent pacing between big moments. Gameplay is further refined, keeping what works and ironing out the kinks for an action-focused adventure, an adventure amplified by gorgeous visuals and a tone-setting soundtrack.

It’s sad, however, that from a beginning that sets a galactic apocalypse with such fantastic force and characters that can more than handle the weight on their backs, the ending feels like a completely different team of writers took control…writers that had absolutely no experience with the series. Rendering every choice the player has made moot and betraying even its core story, Mass Effect 3 ends on a bitter, unsatisfying note to what’s largely been one of the best sci-fi RPGs to hit gaming.

For the full review and more posts like it, visit my site: https://thephoenixprjct.com… Expand

ste88883

May 7, 2012

7

The cinematic experience of this game is one of the best and most absorbing in any game I have played. The technical accomplishment of this game is limited compared to the sequels and the production was clearly a sequel rather than a progression. The ending was powerful though I can understand how many conisder it a cop-out. This excellent series deserved more because of the high standardThe cinematic experience of this game is one of the best and most absorbing in any game I have played. The technical accomplishment of this game is limited compared to the sequels and the production was clearly a sequel rather than a progression. The ending was powerful though I can understand how many conisder it a cop-out. This excellent series deserved more because of the high standard it set itself.… Expand

VengeanceUK

May 19, 2012

7

Both good and bad. Plenty of settings to keep noobs and experts happy. The problem with this game though is that at points you can run round aimlessly and the pace is so slow it's really annoying, but then the game steps up everal gears and the pace becomes frenetic. The biggest gripe however are the endings, despite having 3 on offer, no matter which you chose, 90% of the ending isBoth good and bad. Plenty of settings to keep noobs and experts happy. The problem with this game though is that at points you can run round aimlessly and the pace is so slow it's really annoying, but then the game steps up everal gears and the pace becomes frenetic. The biggest gripe however are the endings, despite having 3 on offer, no matter which you chose, 90% of the ending is EXACTLY THE SAME.… Expand

LordKinoda

May 7, 2012

7

Mass Effect 3 is still a great game, however, it falls short in the end. There are some great additions, and just a little too many subtractions. I love the way the guns sound and 'hit' in this game, that was a great little mod. They got rid of 'heavy' weapons except in certain plot points, also nice. You can actually carry all weapons, and not just a select few according to your class,Mass Effect 3 is still a great game, however, it falls short in the end. There are some great additions, and just a little too many subtractions. I love the way the guns sound and 'hit' in this game, that was a great little mod. They got rid of 'heavy' weapons except in certain plot points, also nice. You can actually carry all weapons, and not just a select few according to your class, nice. Biotic powers are great as well, love the new sounds and moves. Sprinting is essentially unlimited, which is more realistic, especially for a cybernetically altered soldier like Shepard. They slimmed down the 'scanning for resources' minigame, definitely better. Did away with the silly hacking minigames and just showing the omni-tool animation, this is cool too. So all said and done the gameplay is improved on almost all levels. Love that they brought Ashley/Kaiden back. Sucked not to have a romance option in Mass Effect 2. However their interactions with Shepard could of been a little more. More is always better when it comes to character development, especially when it comes to romances in a world where you're all set to be the savior of the galaxy. Shepard needs something 'real' to fight for. They do have Shepard say this, just wanted more interaction is all.

Now for the bad. It feels like a lot of the dialog choices were taken away. Way too many instances where there is only 'good' and 'evil' selections. That 'neutral' option is needed sometimes because it just fits better. Rarely any 'paragon' or 'renegade' choices (the blue and red text ones) to use in the dialog as well. The graphics still suck in a lot of places though. Don't know why they couldn't of fixed this somehow. The textures are blurry and lackluster for almost all 'clothing' in the game. The armors are mostly great, but anybody who isn't wearing any has a skewed look to them.

Day 1 DLC, honestly I could care less. I bought the collector's edition so it came with the game. I paid more money yes, but so what ? I like this game and didn't mind shelling out for it. The story is still great, though like many others I'm not in love with the ending either. I won't sit here and say they should come out with DLC to 'fix' it. It's not so terrible that it ruins the entire game. However I will say that the game would of received a rating of 9 from me had it ended somewhere closer to what I would of liked to see happen. Sorry.

All in all, still a great game, but arguably so.… Expand

Snipestrifer

Aug 9, 2012

7

Okay, NOW I realize why people would be disappointed, though I disagree with those saying the game is god awful. Yes, EA monetized the crap out of this game, but that's no where the game fails, that's just bad business practice of the publisher funding the game's development. First, the positives. The combat has been refined and is pretty much as good as it can get at this point, althoughOkay, NOW I realize why people would be disappointed, though I disagree with those saying the game is god awful. Yes, EA monetized the crap out of this game, but that's no where the game fails, that's just bad business practice of the publisher funding the game's development. First, the positives. The combat has been refined and is pretty much as good as it can get at this point, although the new weight system hits infiltrators and non-power based classes REALLY hard. So I have to pick between having all my guns and almost never being able to use Adrenaline Rush now? That's stupid! (Wow, this got negative fast). That negative aside, the AI has been improved and enemy variety and behaviour has improved significantly, it's just slightly irritating most of the time it's cerberus and not the Reapers you're fighting (How did Cerberus build an army of millions in barely half a year, when they're known as a terrorist organisation?). Weapon modding is back and now it also has a visual effect as well as a gameplay effect, which is cool. It's not as deep as ME1's weapon modding system, but it spares us of that horrible inventory system and combined with ammo powers it integrates very well into the gameplay. Also, we get more gun variety and armour variety, which is always a good thing. So essentially combat is much better than before, so why is this game only a 7? It's Mass Effect! It should like a 9 or a 10, right? Well, unfortunately here are many negatives that hold this game back. The intro is boring and sloppy, especially compared to ME2. The reason is one, no dramatic opening and two, a crap ton of auto-dialogue (I'll be getting to that in a minute, believe me). As I'm re-familiarizing myself with the game mechanics I can't get invested into the story because in order to get invested into the story I must have reasonable knowledge of the game mechanics. Placing a major plot point at the time of a tutorial is probably the worst thing you can do with the intro. ME2 did this right, where I only had to run and move the camera in a controlled environment, so I could get invested in the story. The more advanced mechanics were saved for later when nothing as important was happening. The next negative is auto-dialogue, and it's over abundance. WHY? WHY WOULD YOU PUT IN LOADS OF AUTO-DIALOGUE IN A GAME BASED AROUND DIALOGUE CHOICES? That makes NO sense and just robs the player of the feeling that their Shepard is really theirs, and destroys immersion and the freedom the player previously experienced. The next negative is the abandonning of the build-up of ME1 and ME2, specifically Harbinger and the Dark matter plot. For those that don't know, ME3 was supposed to have a plot that revolved around dark matter but was abandoned for the whole "Synthetic vs Organic" thing. This leaves returning players confused as to what's going on and de-means the previous games. Not good. As for Harbinger, he was clearly set-up as the main villain in ME2, why reduce him to a glorified heavy hitter at the end? WHY? Everyone was looking forward to confronting the Harbinger why rob us of that? More abandonning of the build-up of the previous games. So second from last we have the problem that the story itself is more linear and interrupts and dialogue choices don't affect a conversation like they used to. They are generally just there for flavour and that's it now, which a shame considering how genius interrupts were as a concept and how well ME2 did them. And now to everyones favourite part, the ending. Where to begin... Well, even with the EC (Extended cut) it makes ZERO sense, and completely contradicts the themes of the Mass Effect franchise. It's disgusting. Your choices don't matter (As if EMS made your choices matter anyway LOL) apart from this one final choice and they don't even commit to Shepard dying. The EC provides the bare minimum character closure required and closes a few plotholes but it ends up trading them for more plotholes so it really is not much better and the character closure has been done before and BETTER with Dragon Age: Origins. Now THAT was an ending. This game is still very solid and enjoyable even if it is has some serious flaws. It still has those "Magic Mass Effect" moments, and the characters are as cool and well-written as ever (Apart from Vega) with their arcs coming full circle now, but compared to the other two ME games it doesn't even come close to reaching their levels of greatness. There are other complaints, such as the shafting of the ME2 cast, and a lot of fridge logic moments, and the fetch quests, but I could keep going for hours. All you need to know is this game is solid, but if you were expecting an amazing finale, prepare to be disappointed.… Expand

ihQprinsessa

Mar 22, 2012

7

This was a very mixed experience, i understand what other people are talking about, there isn't much to criticize about the core gameplay, maybe the fact that the encounters feel very triggered, step right in and boom, enemies pop and now you need to kill em. Repeat this but change the enemy composition. Made me feel bit like dragon age 2 where i felt there was a great spot for an enemyThis was a very mixed experience, i understand what other people are talking about, there isn't much to criticize about the core gameplay, maybe the fact that the encounters feel very triggered, step right in and boom, enemies pop and now you need to kill em. Repeat this but change the enemy composition. Made me feel bit like dragon age 2 where i felt there was a great spot for an enemy encounter and whoops there it was every single time. There really didn't exist that much choice in the dialogue. You pretty much got all you wanted eventually no matter which way you wanted it. And for the side quests, well i just ended up eavesdropping, and then delivering stuff to people who i happened to pass by and had an indicator on em. I felt i was being held by hand. And everyone wanted to get in bed with me it seemed. But i spent a good 28 hours on the game, and don't think i will more.… Expand

Otkon

Mar 15, 2012

7

Ok, I played all three games for the first time in the span of three weeks. ME3 was hardly terrible, but I can see why it seems like a major disappointment to the fanboys since ME2 was such a leap beyond the seriously-flawed ME1? Expectations were ridiculously high. The gameplay was fine, and the looting not tedious and meaningless. I suppose the passive quest selecting took time to getOk, I played all three games for the first time in the span of three weeks. ME3 was hardly terrible, but I can see why it seems like a major disappointment to the fanboys since ME2 was such a leap beyond the seriously-flawed ME1? Expectations were ridiculously high. The gameplay was fine, and the looting not tedious and meaningless. I suppose the passive quest selecting took time to get used to. The bosses were adequate. The visuals and audio were trouble-free on my PC version. The gay stuff might have been off-putting to some - sorry, the signs were there in the first two games so it just seemed like a natural á¼¹ÎµÏ… Expand

miramax123

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

CazNeerg

Mar 11, 2012

7

Until the last ten minutes or so, Mass Effect 3 is an easy 10. And as a general rule I never consider a game to be a 10, because there is always room for improvement. But as a capstone for a trilogy, the majority of the game was not only beautiful and moving on it's own merits, it did a truly astonishing job of reaching backward and making almost every choice you made in the first twoUntil the last ten minutes or so, Mass Effect 3 is an easy 10. And as a general rule I never consider a game to be a 10, because there is always room for improvement. But as a capstone for a trilogy, the majority of the game was not only beautiful and moving on it's own merits, it did a truly astonishing job of reaching backward and making almost every choice you made in the first two games feel like it really mattered. But then you reach the aforementioned last ten minutes. Without spoiling anything, I would have to say that in the context of a different game, the ending wouldn't have been terrible, but it wouldn't have been great either. It would be a solid seven. In the context of how well it fits into the rest of the trilogy, in terms of tone and overall philosophy, or in the context of how complete and coherent the presentation is, reasonable minds can disagree on how well it caps the trilogy, but I would have to say that objectively, the score range for the end should be 0-5, certainly no higher, and I lean heavily toward zero. But I am going with a 7 overall, because as astonishingly ill-conceived and poorly implemented as the end is, the other 95% of the game is still truly epic and moving, and I can't bring myself to discount that, no matter how much the atrocious ending makes me feel like I should.… Expand

cmchris2

Mar 11, 2012

7

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I went into this game with a concentrated effort not to read any reviews or spoilers. Consequently, I was unaware of any controversy until I finished the game and fired up my laptop. I was not surprised to see most of the reviews agreeing with my opinion. The game ended and I literally froze and whispered, "What? No!" I simply could not believe that all the hype, all the buildup, all the emotional investment ended with such a cheap, chintzy ending. None of my in-game choices or my careful maintenance of my paragon rating mattered at all! What is the point of marketing your game as player-driven when none of our choices make any difference?… Expand

TheAwesomer

Apr 5, 2012

7

Great game, Wicked action sequences, good story.. But it where this ME really failed was the in the decision making part of the game. It was incredible weak and None of the choices you made really mattered. I wouldnt play it again.

saintsofboredom

Mar 17, 2012

7

Mass Effect 3 is a good game, but abandons many of the series's staples about half way through the game. The conversation wheel was which was a staple of the last two game is all but abandoned about half way through the game for more linear conversations. Talking to squad members on the Normandy in between missions is turn into a series of stocked conversation with no way to pick theMass Effect 3 is a good game, but abandons many of the series's staples about half way through the game. The conversation wheel was which was a staple of the last two game is all but abandoned about half way through the game for more linear conversations. Talking to squad members on the Normandy in between missions is turn into a series of stocked conversation with no way to pick the dialog. Another staple that is lost are the Paragon and Renegade points. They are instead replaced with Reputation points which are earned despite the decisions you make. Another minor problems include a less detailed mission journal, which does not tell the how far you have progressed on your missions, but instead just give you a summary of the mission. Changes to the combat system such as weapon selection and modding are a welcome median from the two or three weapons per category in ME2 and the ridiculous over abundance of weapons and mods from ME. The weight vs. power recharge times is great way to make sure players are not over powered with weapons and unlimited fast recharging powers. The new ability to roll away make the actual combat more like Gears of War with powers, which is not a bad thing. The ending(s) does leave something to be desired, mainly an overall explanation of what is happening after you make your final choice.… Expand

Rickin10

Mar 16, 2012

7

Oh, contrasting emotions.... I love Mass Effect, I've sunk huge chunks of my life into it, and now... I feel quite empty. First, the good. Combat is the best it's been all series, with vastly improved level design, weapons -both in terms of feel, customisation and variety. Ai is also much improved and much more aggressive, making for more mobile, frantic skirmishes than in camp-friendlyOh, contrasting emotions.... I love Mass Effect, I've sunk huge chunks of my life into it, and now... I feel quite empty. First, the good. Combat is the best it's been all series, with vastly improved level design, weapons -both in terms of feel, customisation and variety. Ai is also much improved and much more aggressive, making for more mobile, frantic skirmishes than in camp-friendly ME2. Squadmate interaction and banter aboard the Normandy is wonderful and this is where the true spirit of ME is fulfilled and is the game's pinnacle. Now, the bad: It's evident from the opening scene there is much less chance to control what comes out of Shepard's mouth, and whilst some times this makes sense to improve the flow of scenes for the more banal 'Let's get going' stuff, there are far too many instances of 'your' character acting out of it. The lack of any vehicle sections limits variety; there are a lot of awkward animations, lip-syncing is terrible, and the soundtrack lacking Jack Wall is underwhelming.

Still the game does give you some pretty major decisions, and all the while you feel the urgency of trying to unite and save the galaxy building to a poignant, desolate feeling as you leave the Normandy for the final time. And this is where it all goes horribly, horribly wrong.

Mass Effect is a game that has dealt with a lot of major issues and themes, and overriding it all was the ability to choose, As you reach the end, you're given an insultingly idiotic run-down on why this is all happening and asked to choose one of 3 choices, which are baffling and completely at odds with everything you've done and been bought through the 3 games to believe. And end that not only offers no closure, no vision of what became of some of your beloved team-mates, whilst shoe-horning in colossal plot-holes. It essentially renders everything you've strived for and accomplished to irrelevance.

As a culmination to a trilogy that offered the promise of choices carrying over and through 2 whole games, Bioware was always going to fall short of expectations. However for the most part ME3 offers a very fine ending to the series.... that is until you get to the end.… Expand

Evis03

Mar 17, 2012

7

An excellent game all around, polishing and refinig the mechnanics of ME2 and reintroducing elements people enjoyed from ME1. For the most part it is a well structured game, atmospheric and intense with a cast of well written characters and high stakes narrative.

Sadly, the ending is a complete waste of time. It is the Epiosde One of videogames. It is a badly written, nonsensical messAn excellent game all around, polishing and refinig the mechnanics of ME2 and reintroducing elements people enjoyed from ME1. For the most part it is a well structured game, atmospheric and intense with a cast of well written characters and high stakes narrative.

Sadly, the ending is a complete waste of time. It is the Epiosde One of videogames. It is a badly written, nonsensical mess that aims to be bittersweet, but is just infuriaritng in its slackness and rushes nature. The ending is so bad that it drags down the entire perception of the game, and to a lesser exteent the rest of the series too.

I give this game 7/10 on the basis that while 95% of the title was exceptional, the remaining 5% was so terrible, such an utter betrayal of not only the series but even basic storytelling, that is taints the reast of the game.… Expand

Rizzo

Apr 17, 2012

7

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A great game for the most part throughout. I do have some minor gripes about enemies, gameplay and lack of creativity with characters returning from ME1/ME2 with them still wearing the same attire from last game. The game made it fill like it was building to a massively great ending conclusion. Building war assets is a mindless task for the most part, but it felt like it was going to payoff in the end.

Ultimately though it is the end that fails miserably for one of my favorite franchises of all time. I felt like I had to write this because of how much love I have felt for the franchise and the characters that didn't getting treated properly in the conclusion. There are many reviews about it so I won't go into great detail but I had to put my 2 cents in. Great game, great franchise, one of the worst endings in the history of endings.… Expand

f_type

Apr 12, 2012

7

"The people who are crying about the ending are overreacting," was my initial impression while I was still working my way through this game while having to read a forum post, website update, or blog about fan outcry about the end of the game. As I was still playing through the mid-point of the game, I thought it was fantastic. The visuals and sound are great, the combat is fantastic, and"The people who are crying about the ending are overreacting," was my initial impression while I was still working my way through this game while having to read a forum post, website update, or blog about fan outcry about the end of the game. As I was still playing through the mid-point of the game, I thought it was fantastic. The visuals and sound are great, the combat is fantastic, and everything you love about the series is better than ever. You'll encounter some epic moments, and see all of your decisions come to fruition. My only issue, up to that point, was some outcomes were nearly impossible to change, and were based on some of the most mundane decisions made earlier in this game or in the two prior games. I thoroughly enjoyed the game... until the final moments. Unfortunately, I learned that the fans weren't overrating. The ending is, simply put, bad. In fact, I would go so far as to say it was one of the worst endings I've ever seen in my 2 decades of gaming (yes, including those old "Congratulations! You beat the game!" endings). For all the talk of decisions and choices, the final moments of the game were simply hollow and the ending was anything but an ending, full of plot holes and unanswered questions. For a series that spanned 3 excellent games (minus the end of this game), I was baffled as to how BioWare felt that the final parts of the game were at all satisfactory. I know I'm just preaching to the choir here, but it's all true. Mass Effect 3 was simply fantastic, until the final moments.… Expand

AlienSpaceBats

Mar 10, 2012

7

Undeserving of the unanimously negative user scores its receiving, Mass Effect 3 is a fine game, but is hampered by some sloppy writing and laziness on the behalf of the developers. Irritating things include not being able to import my custom Shepard face from a two year old savegame and some immersion breaking bugs (helmets on, helmets off) but despite this stuff, it's still fun to play,Undeserving of the unanimously negative user scores its receiving, Mass Effect 3 is a fine game, but is hampered by some sloppy writing and laziness on the behalf of the developers. Irritating things include not being able to import my custom Shepard face from a two year old savegame and some immersion breaking bugs (helmets on, helmets off) but despite this stuff, it's still fun to play, which I guess is the most important part. For the sake of a few important details, BioWare have released a game that is above average, when it could have been so very much more.… Expand

mwmike11

Mar 31, 2012

7

While I agree with some on here that the ending wasn't nearly what it should have been for the ending of the series, I definitely feel that flooding MC with negative reviews is a bit overblown. I simply loved the game, and the rest of the game DEFINITELY makes up for the last ten minutes.

ShadowEXP

Mar 11, 2012

7

I really do love ME1, with its flaws it was still an awesome game, for me the best one in the series.
Then came ME2 i still really liked it, but there was something about it that made it not as good. It might of been that it was more action heavy.
Then came ME3 oh dear. About 80% is shooting. I was on normal difficulty but ended up changing it to narrative. I just could not be bothered. II really do love ME1, with its flaws it was still an awesome game, for me the best one in the series.
Then came ME2 i still really liked it, but there was something about it that made it not as good. It might of been that it was more action heavy.
Then came ME3 oh dear. About 80% is shooting. I was on normal difficulty but ended up changing it to narrative. I just could not be bothered. I just wanted to get it done to finish the series. Also sometimes the talking can be a bit choppy when it takes about 2 seconds for someone to talk. Any way. THE ENDING. OMG WHY?
I expected to do what i was doing from beginning. Destroy the reapers, Save the galaxy and settle down with ma babe Ashley. BUT NOOOOOOO. We get s**t. This is not gonna get out of my head for about a month. I'll start thinking of alternatives and dream about it, what could of happened. It makes me annoyed that they couldn't just have you save the galaxy and have a happy ending. I don't care what it takes. Bioware has to do something. Make a alternative DLC ending or something of god. I think if they spent there time a little wiser the game could of been great. I would like to go back to ME1 and have a perfect game all the way through to ME3 to satisfy me but its over now no going back.
Might as well talk about MP now. Its pretty fun did have all my items get deleted tho which was pretty annoying. Other than that it is quite entertaining. Overall they could of done better instead of taking a week to make 1 ending and copy and pasting it about 16 times. And one more thing. Why wasn't the history of the galaxy told at the end like what happened to the galaxy after the events?… Expand

MrMassakka

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, theMass 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

Runfocovah

Apr 18, 2012

7

I will give this game a 7 why?, well it truly starts good, but the last part feels rushed and the ending feels like a book from stephen king... **** ending. Your past decisions does not have much of impact neither your current ones for the ending. then there is multiplayer, its cool and fun but I keep getting booted of EA servers along with tons of other players, besides there is thisI will give this game a 7 why?, well it truly starts good, but the last part feels rushed and the ending feels like a book from stephen king... **** ending. Your past decisions does not have much of impact neither your current ones for the ending. then there is multiplayer, its cool and fun but I keep getting booted of EA servers along with tons of other players, besides there is this glitch where my game freezes at a never ending loading screen at the main menu and I have to do a ritual of disconnecting xbox from internet and such and reconnecting it to be able to play. Game is good but has lots of flaws.… Expand

GhostKnife72

Mar 14, 2012

7

Overall a very solid game. I have been a fan/player since ME1 and ME2. Played through both at least 5 times. Already on new game + for ME3. Game play is good, not great, but just as good as ME2. Weapons, classes, squad-mates are good. Wish I could have a few more of the old favorites (I won't mention for people who didn't get to certain spots in the game yet). In effect, very closeOverall a very solid game. I have been a fan/player since ME1 and ME2. Played through both at least 5 times. Already on new game + for ME3. Game play is good, not great, but just as good as ME2. Weapons, classes, squad-mates are good. Wish I could have a few more of the old favorites (I won't mention for people who didn't get to certain spots in the game yet). In effect, very close visually to ME2 (bit better IMHO) and same goes for game play. Enemies are challenging and different. There are some surprising outcomes and you don't always get to be the "good guy (Paragon)" if you want to get the best outcome. I'm a little annoyed about the Effect Combat Readiness stuck at 50% without extra play (MP, some iOS game, etc.) I think I did almost everything and the best I could get was around 3800. I also bought the guide too (highly recommend or at least the online IGN or Wiki). Endings I've seen so far are a bit weak for the series. I thought they would put more into it. But I have a feeling this isn't the end of ME (or even Shepard perhaps). Maybe EA pushed BioWare to setup for a fourth in the series. Who knows. Definitely has re-playability, so I recommend a buy vs. rent. Also with a buy you get 2 day gold pass for MP (if you don't have an Xbox live account). First DLC is good too, but really should have been included in the main game.… Expand

Benti86

May 8, 2012

7

I used to praise this game, but I never commented after I beat it I was that upset. I won't give this game a bad review because of all the things the only thing that really irks me is the ending controversy and some of the multiplayer.... other than that gameplay is mostly fine, but honestly the amount of plot holes is ridiculous and the negligence of the lore is sickening. I won'tI used to praise this game, but I never commented after I beat it I was that upset. I won't give this game a bad review because of all the things the only thing that really irks me is the ending controversy and some of the multiplayer.... other than that gameplay is mostly fine, but honestly the amount of plot holes is ridiculous and the negligence of the lore is sickening. I won't mention these things as most people already know about these issues and I don't want to spoil. I have every DLC for every Mass Effect and the conclusions literally just tossed it all out of the window...as for multiplayer, it isn't bad, but it isn't good either. Lack of different modes coupled with a small selection of maps with few enemy variations is just too repetitive. Bioware also hasn't helped by openly criticizing the fans for caring and one said that the fans "aren't producers!" This is true, but following the atrocious ending (in my opinion) Bioware should've looked more closely at it, from a fan's point of view. How can you miss your own lore!? The free multiplayer release didn't really help and the extended ending won't fix what most of the fans have problems with, nor will these free DLCs lighten my mood for paying 10$ for a half hour mission. I am sorry, but that is where I stand...… Expand

tomy90

Mar 16, 2012

7

Spoiler free

Plus points Gameplay - interesting map layouts and combat is even better than ME2 Story - Brilliantly happy, sad and awe inspiring moments throughout most of ME3 Your Story - the game crafts itself around your previous decisions and see many of those decisions play out in front of you Graphics - crisp and feels like you are in a real war rather than turf war characters - feelSpoiler free

Plus points
Gameplay - interesting map layouts and combat is even better than ME2
Story - Brilliantly happy, sad and awe inspiring moments throughout most of ME3
Your Story - the game crafts itself around your previous decisions and see many of those decisions play out in front of you
Graphics - crisp and feels like you are in a real war rather than turf war
characters - feel alive and can get attached to characters
online - very much refreshing and good for occasional breaks

Negatives
Ending - no closure, logical explanation of ending and plot holes (probably worst ending I have ever seen)
Dialogue - extremely well done when scenes appear but much more linear than ME2 experience and less often
Galaxy At War - makes it impossible to get the best ending without playing online and reduces your decisions to statistics rather than emotional decisions
Navigation - can be tricky with side missions that are not highlighted on the map where they are which ends up needing using online sources or guides to find out where to go.
Lack of exploration - you can go across the galaxy but only one location you can visit constantly no matter what which is much less than ME1 and ME2.

Overall
Apart from the ending all the issues in ME3 are minor issues that can be easily forgiven because of the overall experience throughout except for the last section. If the ending of the mass effect 3 was satisfactory (not perfect but an improvement) I would most likely give ME3 9.0 or 10 but because of the ending putting a sour note on the entire series and damages replay value it is 7.0 till DLC or something comes along to remedy the issue… Expand

Blidly

Jun 9, 2012

7

I wanted to like this game I swear. I loved the first two games and was prepared for more but I just couldnt love it like the others.
The game plays very similary to Mass Effect 2 , though I have been spoilt by playing other amazing 3rd person shooters and this felt quite weightless and cover mechanic I didnt like. The enemies are quite generic and all follow similar patterns, meaning itI wanted to like this game I swear. I loved the first two games and was prepared for more but I just couldnt love it like the others.
The game plays very similary to Mass Effect 2 , though I have been spoilt by playing other amazing 3rd person shooters and this felt quite weightless and cover mechanic I didnt like. The enemies are quite generic and all follow similar patterns, meaning it felt repetitive.
The game has been updated graphically to make it look fantastic , though with this high polygon count this means shepard always has to have his gun out like a sociopath. The story is awesome and I really enjoyed it, though "cameo-ing" all the characters from the previous game felt very cheesy , though was nice to see what happened to them.
In the end the story was what pulled me through the boring action, if you've never played Mass Effect , play ME2 and then decide to continue. If you played the others, play through this just to finish your story.… Expand

SpaceCoyote

Apr 3, 2012

7

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. So much of a game, so much to say, but I think I'll start before it even released. The Cerberus Daily News feed was supposed to have new articles immediately prior to the release of the game. Instead, it got a couple tweets of news, for fewer days than was originally promised. This would have been massively disappointing, were it not for the Emily Wong tweets. For those who weren't following, twitter became a live news source for the initial invasion taking place in Southern California. The story IT told was really cool and helped set the tone for the game itself. As for the game, the single-player portion may not have explored as many of the characters as I'd have hoped, but it DOES give the humor and OH *#^@ moments that I've enjoyed since the beginning in 2007. Finally however, there are plot inconsistencies that creep in to break some of the fiction. Things like Shepard restraining a Justicar and not being killed for it, or the Batarians learning FTL travel...from ruins on a planet in a different star system that required them to know FTL travel to get to in the first place. These are relatively minor but still, that sucks. They are the small blemishes that slightly mar the campaign as you attempt to save the galaxy. Then comes the part where you save the galaxy. At the end of ME1 and ME2, I had a sense of excitement for what the future held in the ME Universe, and how I could save it. There are NO endings that allow you to do that. With the destruction of the mass relays, (which for some reason doesn't necessarily destroy the systems they reside in) there is NO hope that the galactic community can continue to exist as it had because they are isolated in their own systems. I have no problem with Shepard being killed in the process, soldiers give their lives for lesser causes, but no matter what I do, the Citadel and the relays are destroyed, fundamentally altering how societies can interact. Garrus can't return to Omega to clean house after the war and Tali can't go back to her home world cuz they're both stuck on Earth. Or at least they should have been since they were in my squad and NOT on the Normandy which, oh yeah I forgot, had retreated to either FTL or a relay jump for some reason and ALL of my squad was there and not with me somehow. The last 20 minutes of the game, however you decide to end it, are disappointing. No matter what you do, you can't save the Citadel, you can't preserve the galactic community, and you're crew ends up in the exact same forest (though to Joker's credit, he was able to crash the SR2 delicately enough so as to NOT disturb any of the trees). Other decisions that don't matter but probably should have... ME1: Save the council or let them die. Anderson or Udina Save the Rachni or don't ME2: Blow up the Collector base or give it to Cerberus 3 of those decisions come in the final 10 min of each game, they are all among the most influential decisions Shepard ever makes...but the councilors all speak to you in the same manner. Udina will always be the human councilor, Anderson will always be an Admiral, the rachni will either be the ones you saved or some others will fill in the blank, and Cerberus will gain technology for the base or from salvage. DISAPPOINTING! Multiplayer was ok, tho I never got excited for the combat or gameplay of Mass Effect. In the campaign, I happily set it to story mode and blaze thru enemies so that I can get to the conversations quicker. But about the conversations and multiplayer...I felt as though there were fewer lines of dialogue in ME3 compared to ME2. I understand there is only so much room on 2 discs for content, but how much more fulfilling could the campaign have been if the multiplayer portion wasn't included? Could there have been more dialogue from characters left off the Normandy? Could my choices have made more of an impact? Could Tali have had an actual face instead of a stock internet photo? I may be wrong about the amount of dialogue created, but I'm not mistaken in my disappointment with many of the features I had hoped for. Overall a 7. I almost cried in my 1st playthrough when I thought I could save the Geth and the Quarians and ended up driving my good friend to her death. I've had to collect my jaw from the floor many times, and the humor of Joker, EDI, Wiks, and Mordin are amazing. But despite putting over 120 hours into a single character, no matter what I did or chose was enough to save the galaxy.… Expand

bgreen

Mar 24, 2012

7

Rented at Redbox first to try it out. It was good enough to buy so I purchased. Not the best of the series but fun anyway. I have not got to the end yet so I cannot say how disappointed I will be by that; but overall gameplay is good, graphics solid. Guess I was hoping for a little more.

GFierce

Mar 6, 2012

7

Have loved the mass effect series since the beginning. Have played quite a bit of this game there are just some things that really seem like they are over looked. First why did they have to add more stuff to the button to take cover. This is very frustrating sometimes when it does not does what you want it to. The graphics are great and so is the story there just seems to be parts of theHave loved the mass effect series since the beginning. Have played quite a bit of this game there are just some things that really seem like they are over looked. First why did they have to add more stuff to the button to take cover. This is very frustrating sometimes when it does not does what you want it to. The graphics are great and so is the story there just seems to be parts of the game that were forgotten. I really was hoping the cover system would be better then the second game and it is even worse. I would highly recommend this game I just give it a seven because they did not improve over the last one. The game was just made to make money not to satisfy fans and that cost it some in the production.… Expand

TomatoTornado

Mar 7, 2012

7

It's interesting that when the developers listen to the players and implement changes the fanbase was whining about, the same fanbase complains.

At any rate, Graphics - pretty flaky, even for this generation of consoles. Controls - pretty good, given it's not a keyboard/mouse Story - Excellent once you get started, though the presentation is rushed and obviously made for a currentIt's interesting that when the developers listen to the players and implement changes the fanbase was whining about, the same fanbase complains.

At any rate,
Graphics - pretty flaky, even for this generation of consoles.
Controls - pretty good, given it's not a keyboard/mouse
Story - Excellent once you get started, though the presentation is rushed and obviously made for a current generation of gamers with attention deficit disorder
Gameplay - flaky at times, a complete tactical BOOYAH at others, sometimes an utterly blatant copy of Gears of War at others, often times it contains spots of brilliance in others.

The game certainly is polarizing. Some obviously love it, some obviously hate it. Some of the whinier people give it all zeroes because they are incapable of seeing the whole game, some others give it all tens to counteract the whiners. It's utterly sad there aren't more mixed reviews of the game.… Expand

RUST

Mar 13, 2012

7

While Mass Effect 3 has been on the end of some, lets face it, pathetic criticism lets get one thing straight; Mass Effect, as a series, has never been more than a stellar plot with solid, but not exemplary, game mechanics pushing it along. I understand a LOT of people will be frustrated with Mass Effect 3 an its shoddy delivery but lets grow up a bit shall we? As I said the gameplay asWhile Mass Effect 3 has been on the end of some, lets face it, pathetic criticism lets get one thing straight; Mass Effect, as a series, has never been more than a stellar plot with solid, but not exemplary, game mechanics pushing it along. I understand a LOT of people will be frustrated with Mass Effect 3 an its shoddy delivery but lets grow up a bit shall we? As I said the gameplay as always been basic and functional at best, and Mass Effect 3 deliveries the best game play experience of the trilogy. Its still not brilliant, but it is better. Plot wise I will agree that the ended is quite ham fisted, and liberties have been taken with continuity for the sake of accessibility. Making it the weakest of the series from a story telling perspective. So Bioware have got it nearly half right, and as a result have created a half decent and dreadfully over hyped game. Wait for a price drop, or rent if you must.… Expand

joydivision92

Mar 7, 2012

7

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game is a touchy subject for all fans of the first two in the series. The amazing thing about this game is that it is an emotional investment, every choice that is made appears to have far reaching consequences, or at least thats what we had believed. In Mass Effect 3, by the end of the game, all the choices you made really dont change the ending all that much, which is disappointing in a way but understandable because the whole series is about one goal and the ending must be the conclusion of that goal. so as to why people are so angry... i am not too sure.

the whole game, minus the ending, is very well paced, very fun to play and pretty well written. i find the major flaws to be the lack of conversation choice, which seems to guide the player into certain paths due to the lack of choice, but its definitely not hand holding. All in all, if you played the first two and imported that character, then i am sure you will have a great time. you have invested years into this series, it had to end somehow. my only big big gripes are with Biowares laziness, in not showing talis face directly, which when shown indirectly it is a photoshopped stock picture of a girl, and the after credit scene, also a stock photo. if you are investing years and years in a very in depth series, dont cut corners like that, you can write a whole species history and back story no problem but cant design your own winter landscape? righttttttt.

play this game if you loved the first two.… Expand

Sparkypants

Mar 8, 2012

7

If you have developed ANY sort of attachment to this series, be prepared to be extremely disappointed. Mass Effect 3 is a beautiful game, a testament to the industry, and worth every penny, but you will, ultimately, be let down. Before launch, BioWare assured its fanbase that the ending would be just that: an ending to Shepard's story, that all the questions would be answered, and that theIf you have developed ANY sort of attachment to this series, be prepared to be extremely disappointed. Mass Effect 3 is a beautiful game, a testament to the industry, and worth every penny, but you will, ultimately, be let down. Before launch, BioWare assured its fanbase that the ending would be just that: an ending to Shepard's story, that all the questions would be answered, and that the majority of fans would be pleased with the direction they took. This simply isn't true. The final scene is akin to the Deus Ex: Human Revolution "push a button" ending. It is a huge disappointment to an otherwise brilliant magnum opus. While your 'war assets' (a mechanic that keeps track of how well you're doing in preparation for the final assault) will play a small role in the multiple endings possible, you will not readily see the effects. The ending sequence is convoluted and cringe-worthy, breaking completely with the Mass Effect universe as a whole. BioWare chose an artsy sort of direction for the third installment and, frankly, it just does not fit with the first and second games at all. If anything, the ending will raise MORE questions. The decisions some characters make in-game during these last scenes are, well, extremely uncharacteristic. The secret clip after the credits is just insulting.

Despite the atrocious ending, the writing is otherwise in tip-top shape: many lines will bring a smile or a laugh, characters (despite the above) feel completely real, and the various sacrifices and hard decisions the game confronts you with will, in fact, hurt. The choices made in ME1 and ME2 will effect gameplay, but not in the hugely drastic way fans speculated. Familiar faces will return, old names will be dropped, even the squad's roles from ME2's Suicide Mission will be mentioned.
Gorgeous lighting removes the Neanderthal faces Shepard and many characters had at times in ME2. Textures and graphics as a whole seem to be slightly less sharp, but this is offset by the new lighting, creating a beautiful atmosphere and a truly believable world. Combat is relatively smooth and every class can now carry whatever weapons the player desires, utilizing a weight system. The more guns (or the heavier they are) Shepard carries, the longer power cool-downs are. Guns can be upgraded and modded to fit a specific play style.
Planet scanning and resource mining returns to a degree, but this mechanic is much less tedious. You now search for "war assets" to assist in the final battle. Large action set pieces are fun and engaging (despite a few oddly placed turret sections) and will leave lasting impressions. Several of these set pieces are the epitome of epic.

However, in a bizarre fit of back-tracking, BioWare has largely removed conversation options: it seems Shepard now runs the show, rather than the player acting through Shepard. Auto-dialogue is rampant. You will have an opportunity to say something for every three or eight lines Shepard says on his or her own, if given the option at all. The dialogue wheel has largely been reduced to two options, mainly Paragon and Renegade and the occasional Investigate and left-side Charm/Intimidate (and I really do mean "occasional"). Paragon seems to no longer mean "good" and Renegade no longer implies "evil", rather "diplomatic" and "direct", respectively. This new system presents a glaringly obvious illusion of choice in most cases: you're confronted with two slightly different ways of saying the same exact thing. Trigger Interrupts make a return and are still satisfying, but again, not in force as they were previously. The new Reputation system is a welcome change.
Squadmates now usually engage in one-liners with Shepard (those familiar with Mass Effect 2's DLC characters will understand). This is disappointing on many levels. Because of the reduced squad size, we were promised increased interaction, and this, a teammate saying "Hey" and "Krogan sure are fierce, huh?" does not qualify as such. In some cases, Shepard responds. Do you have the option to chose what to say? No.

It feels as though Shepard is no longer an in-game personification of the player or a specific roleplay set-up. Shepard's responses can severely break character with whatever the player has developed. A previously down-right evil, real piece of work Shepard seems to very nearly tear up over the death of some random child during the opening sequence. And you don't get to decide how to respond. You're stuck with this character, rather than your own creation. My Shepards no longer feel "mine", I feel like I'm playing another game, with some other hero saving the galaxy. It is hurtful to know something one has placed hundreds of hours of one's life into has essentially been crushed.

This game is not 10 material, but it is certainly not a 0. Do not trust extremist reviews, whether critic or user: the only way to know for certain how you feel about this game is to play it yourself.… Expand

ry1490

Mar 8, 2012

7

So I thought the game was pretty good. I found the combat to be less repetative then the last game and required some more tactics. Also the game does a good job of setting up the mood and maintaining that feeling of desperation. My only problem seems to be the same problem everyone else has with this game and that is the endings, they are far too simple and give no real explanation whatsoever.

wanda

Mar 9, 2012

7

Just to give some perspective, its not a 0 or a 1 nor is it 9 or a 10

Graphics- Above average some unpolished animations but not completely horrendous Gameplay-again above average , NOWHERE near Gears of war or Vanquish I would say about the same level as Uncharted 3 Sound- Again above average nothing amazing or memorable but its not rubbish either Story- this is where it gets dicey yourJust to give some perspective, its not a 0 or a 1 nor is it 9 or a 10

Graphics- Above average some unpolished animations but not completely horrendous
Gameplay-again above average , NOWHERE near Gears of war or Vanquish I would say about the same level as Uncharted 3
Sound- Again above average nothing amazing or memorable but its not rubbish either
Story- this is where it gets dicey your CHOICES impact parts of the game in some interesting ways but the ending is essentially the same regardless of what you do. The ending is very very disappointing and a bit of a kick in the n*ts I have no desire to replay it. Its on the level of crappiness as Lost and The matrix trilogies, there is no closure and brings up more questions. I would advise long term mass effect fans to hold on to their money and wait for a price drop or buy secondhand you owe to yourself to finish this trilogy, but don"t go in with high expectations. In many ways its a lot like Dragon age 2 a massive disappointment as far as its predecessors are concerned but a decent game nonetheless

And yes the DLC issue is messed up the character you get in my opinion is one of the best and explains quite alot, get it if you are a fan skip if you don"t care for the lore… Expand

daaaaaan

Mar 9, 2012

7

In Mass Effect 3, I was loving feeling like I was in control of the fate of the galaxy. I was pumped that due to my decisions, I solved conflicts between warring races, acquiring assets that would help in the ultimate resolution of the game. With every new race that I got on board, I could not wait to see how they would aid in the end. I brought the geth and quarians back together. IIn Mass Effect 3, I was loving feeling like I was in control of the fate of the galaxy. I was pumped that due to my decisions, I solved conflicts between warring races, acquiring assets that would help in the ultimate resolution of the game. With every new race that I got on board, I could not wait to see how they would aid in the end. I brought the geth and quarians back together. I helped the Krogan and Turians fight together. I kept thinking that I could not wait to see all this pay off in the end. But it doesn't. It doesn't matter what you do in the end.… Expand

Seafarinhare

Mar 10, 2012

7

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Everyone loves a good sci-fi game. And that's just it, this game is amazing. The mechanics are fun, the lore is fantastic, and as one of those people that has been following Commander Shepard's exploits since that fateful mission on Eden Prime, I cannot say the same for the story. Where Mass Effect 1 and 2 had several outcomes possible, with choices made affecting the world you experience in Mass Effect 3, I simply can't imagine playing the game without having experienced 1 and 2 first. However, that illusion of choice is shattered with the ending. Despite having 3 branching choices at the ending, and preparations of war to make throughout the game, every choice ends in a similar fashion.

Don't get me wrong, the game leading up to the end is amazing, and gives you a real sense of severity that this invasion brings, with every civilized race in the galaxy feeling the Reaper's wrath. But, with so much empathy invested in Shepard's story, and his relationship with his peers and possible love interests, the ending was a huge blow. Under any other circumstance, this ending would have been perfectly fine.

Ending aside, this game is quite amazing, but if you're someone who gets sucked into the world and the characters, and grow to CARE about the outcome, this will likely be hard to swallow. You have been warned.… Expand

Dante11

Mar 12, 2012

7

First of all everybody in this site has to calm down....I finished the game yesterday and created an account here just to comment on this game...First of all, i'm rly disapointed from the so called gamers who on 6 march gave this game a 0 without even playing it or those who may have just downloaded it!!I want to say smthg to u people....U cant talk not even complain because u haven'tFirst of all everybody in this site has to calm down....I finished the game yesterday and created an account here just to comment on this game...First of all, i'm rly disapointed from the so called gamers who on 6 march gave this game a 0 without even playing it or those who may have just downloaded it!!I want to say smthg to u people....U cant talk not even complain because u haven't spent a $ on this game and everything u play is worth a 10 no metter what!!!Second i have to say that the game is really good!!The combat is great and gives u nice moments,the cinematics are beautiful and the decisions u take IN THIS GAME seem relevant in crucial moments...The script sometimes was rly boring but it had moments of excellence....I found the design very good and sometimes jaw-dropping.The graphics are those of ME2 with some better details maybe...So all and all is a very solid shooter but not a solid RPG (and i'm sorry to say this)....Side missions are rly good but u never get the sense of need to explore more because there is nothing too explore only scanning isnt enough.So it is a good shooter but a poor RPG!!!Third:The decisions of the previous games doesnt really matter in a big way and thats was a really big letdown for everybody i think...im not putting spoilers here but take my word on this.U feel really happy when u see that smthg u did in the previous games shows up,but that doesnt happen often and thats a big letdown too!!Fourth and most important thing: the ending.This is the best trilogy ever created with the worst ending.Dont get me wrong i liked the idea and that was my idea of a great ending but the execution of it was bad really bad and many people know what I'm talking about!!I'm a big fan of the series and have played the whole trilogy so i understand all the others who gave this game bad votes...The first day DLC is a scandal...And the ending is almost as scandalous....But after 1 night of thinking i have come up with my conclusion!!THEY DID THIS ON PURPOSE...u would say why??Because they want more money and they want u to buy an another DLC that maybe will show what really happens when ME ends ;)!!Im sorry to say this and i would be disgusted if smthg like this happened!!Ultimately im judging this game on a ME rating scale...and that's a 7...if this game was a stand alone with a declared sequel it would be easily a 9 or 9.5!!Thank u for reading I'm sorry for my poor vocabulary but I'm not American nor British.Cheers to all!!!… Expand

Swinns

Mar 12, 2012

7

If you have Played any of the previous ME games, play this game now, it is a master piece. Until the last 15 minutes, it just raises more questions, don't provide and closure but feels like it was written by someone who didn't write anything else in the game. It feels like someone was trying to be profound but failed on the exicution. This games is a MASTERPIECE if you've enjoyed the lastIf you have Played any of the previous ME games, play this game now, it is a master piece. Until the last 15 minutes, it just raises more questions, don't provide and closure but feels like it was written by someone who didn't write anything else in the game. It feels like someone was trying to be profound but failed on the exicution. This games is a MASTERPIECE if you've enjoyed the last 2 games, but the ending took everything you did before udderly meaningless.… Expand

Gatorsurfer

Mar 12, 2012

7

There are no spoilers contained in this review so no worries. Also. this is my first and I feel I should give my honest opinions instead of just "review bombing."

Pros: The combat works a lot better and it feels more fluid unlike the previous games that felt more clunky.Returning Characters from the different games. The story was "OK" and I really enjoyed the different characters throughThere are no spoilers contained in this review so no worries. Also. this is my first and I feel I should give my honest opinions instead of just "review bombing."

Pros: The combat works a lot better and it feels more fluid unlike the previous games that felt more clunky.Returning Characters from the different games. The story was "OK" and I really enjoyed the different characters through out the entire game. A lot more guns, upgrades armor and levels than in Mass effect 2. Cons: The MP feels out of place and doesn't really belong. It is very easy to get the "best" possible ending. It was very short, I finished about 100% of the game in nearly 20 or so hours. I feel the ending left a lot to be desired but it wasn't "THE WORST ENDING EVER OMG!!!!11!!" Also, the writing felt a little lack luster in places and there are fewer dialogue options across the board. The Day 1 DLC and Importing a character and getting to skip half of the leveling experience. I started at level 1 and was about 40 by the end and I heard you could import a Mass Effect 2 save and retain that level. Overall I say this was a good game but it still has it's flaws I personally enjoyed the combat and characters and it was a hell of a ride! I may do a insanity play through next.… Expand

Senbonsakura

Mar 13, 2012

7

First of all, ME is one of my favorite video game franchises. I completed the previous games a couple of times, I played all the DLCs and I have read all the comics and books. My expectations were very high and I was counting the days until ME3 finally hit the stores. Overall, except the last 10-15 minutes of the game (I will talk about this atrocity later), there is no reason to complainFirst of all, ME is one of my favorite video game franchises. I completed the previous games a couple of times, I played all the DLCs and I have read all the comics and books. My expectations were very high and I was counting the days until ME3 finally hit the stores. Overall, except the last 10-15 minutes of the game (I will talk about this atrocity later), there is no reason to complain about this game. The game play is satisfying, your squad mates are likable, players are rewarded for playing the previous games with some special moments and the story is - as always - exciting and well told. The ME franchises proves how video games can make you care about characters you think about your actions. You can support or betray former squad mates and sacrifice entire civilizations for the greater good. If you played the previous games and developed any sympathy for the characters, there are no easy calls to make. Nothing seems right or wrong, which makes you care about your decisions and reflect them afterwards. But then comes the ending. To begin with, it is one of the most frustrating endings in video game history. As a big fan of the franchise and so much dedication, it felt like Bioware punched me in the face. For a company, that emphasizes their ability of good story telling and the possibility of influencing of the outcome of the story, this ending cannot be excused. It lets you down, does not reward you whatsoever, makes the previous games pointless, reveals all of your decisions as pointless and comes up with new questions, that remain unanswered. There is no reason to invest your emotions in the ME games again, with an ending like that. It feels like Bioware wanted to come up with something creative and unexpected. The ending was unexpected indeed, but a big letdown for every fan.… Expand

ASD4-4

Mar 13, 2012

7

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Chronus719

Mar 13, 2012

7

Great until you reach the end. No real closure to the series, nor is there the emotional gravity that is present throughout the rest of them game. The game is absolutely incredible on every other front, but the ending breaks the experience for this one. Sad to say that what should (and could) have been the gem of the series turned into its downfall.

Kokkeli

Mar 14, 2012

7

Like many of the people here, I've been a fan of the series since day one. I fell in love with the awesome storyline, the vast amount of decisions and the immense depth in the characters. When I heard that you can import your character to Mass Effect 2 and 3 I nearly climaxed.

But about the third installment, I loved nearly the entirety of it. I don't find the "3 shots to a weak spot toLike many of the people here, I've been a fan of the series since day one. I fell in love with the awesome storyline, the vast amount of decisions and the immense depth in the characters. When I heard that you can import your character to Mass Effect 2 and 3 I nearly climaxed.

But about the third installment, I loved nearly the entirety of it. I don't find the "3 shots to a weak spot to kill a reaper" thingy at all distubing. The codex (read it, 0 voters?) said that there are different classes of reapers, and the one on Rannoch was obviously a lesser one. I don't get all this "dead squad members coming back to life" - hassle. In my first game (I was young and foolish) Wrex died, and remained dead in the third. Clearly some players experience bugs, corrupted savegames or just a deep hatred for everything EA that they have to complain about everything.

The reason I give this game a 7, and not the 9 it would deserve is for the ending. Seriously, Bioware?
I loved the feeling of the whole galaxy having one common enemy, and everything in me longed for the moment we blow the reapers sky high, only to learn that in the end the reapers weren't necessarily evil.
Why, oh why Bioware did you have to confuse the player at the very last moments?

The ending was a steaming pile of excrement. Not at all "a worthy conclusion to Shepard's tale" as some claim. A cheap Deus Ex ripoff, without any information on what happened to the crew you spent HOURS AND HOURS to get to know.

Oh btw, the whole thing with the multiplayer required to get the perfect ending?? What went wrong with you, Bioware...… Expand

EngineExe

Mar 15, 2012

7

Seriously, I know a lot of you are trying to prove a point on how disappointed you were with the ending, but 1's and 0's? Do you have any idea of how bad and broken a game would have to be to rightfully deserve a 1 or 0 score? You're just being childish. The game play mechanics are exactly what you would expect after 1 and 2, which is fine. The playtime length is just as long if not a bitSeriously, I know a lot of you are trying to prove a point on how disappointed you were with the ending, but 1's and 0's? Do you have any idea of how bad and broken a game would have to be to rightfully deserve a 1 or 0 score? You're just being childish. The game play mechanics are exactly what you would expect after 1 and 2, which is fine. The playtime length is just as long if not a bit longer than 2. Voice acting was great (at least with the main characters) and the overall story was superb excluding the ending. Graphics were alright other than some texture pop ups, but that's do to the 360 hardware being outdated. My year old laptop has way better specs than the 360. The multiplayer is enjoyable, nothing truly groundbreaking other than that your progress reflects in the singleplayer. I don't think I've seen a game do that before so that's pretty cool. So that's most of the good, on to the bad. I played 1 and 2 on pc so couldn't import my game. I thought by picking Kaidan and not choosing "Numerous" in the Deaths option I'd be fine. But no, even when I chose just Kaidan most of my team was dead already. Wrex, Jack, Grunt, Thane, Samara, Legion, and Zaeed... all dead presumably, or at least nowhere to be seen in the default none import campaign. A few bugs here and there in conversations, also finished a couple sidemissions that didn't register complete so I had to do them a second time. Now to the ending, what all these 0 scoring trolls are whining about. A big problem for me is there wasn't a final boss battle. In the last mission you kinda just fight your way through hordes of normal enemies 'til you get to the final area and cut scenes. For it being the last mission of the game, finishing it didn't really feel like much of an accomplishment. Then you get to the end and the whole Reaper situation is explained to you. I actually thought that part was pretty great. The problem though is after that you get to make one of 3 decisions and no matter which one you choose they are the same ending cinematic with slight tweaks depending on what you chose to do. Don't believe me, check youtube for the endings. Shepard does 1 of 3 actions and then it's all the same cutscene after that unless you picked destroy, then you get a few extra seconds which are not really exciting. The lack of drastic differences in the endings just makes it seem like BioWare got lazy or ran out of ideas. In either case it makes the game feel like none of the decisions I made really had any impact on the outcome of the story, which is defiantly a letdown. That being said it was the last 3 minutes of a game that I had previously spent around 26-27 hours enjoying. Disappointing but not game breaking. Then there was the part after the credits. I don't even know why this was included. Maybe it was meant to be a twist, but it came across as cheesy and kind of stupid. Anyways, it was a good game. The ending was pretty lacking but I still enjoyed playing it. Worth a zero? I think not. Grow up and get over yourself.… Expand

westh

Mar 14, 2012

7

I love, Mass Effect. It's addicting, it's funny, and the story is perfect. But will Mass Effect 3, be the best out of all of them?

Single-player: We start with Commander Shepard, on Earth. Just in time for, the Reapers to attack. So he has to go out into space, fighting Cerberus, Geth, Reapers, and build his army to stop them from, destroying every intelligent life-form in, the Milky Way.I love, Mass Effect. It's addicting, it's funny, and the story is perfect. But will Mass Effect 3, be the best out of all of them?

Single-player: We start with Commander Shepard, on Earth. Just in time for, the Reapers to attack. So he has to go out into space, fighting Cerberus, Geth, Reapers, and build his army to stop them from, destroying every intelligent life-form in, the Milky Way. The story is, pretty simple. Gather your team, and kill the enemy. No pressure, you've been doing this since the first game. Except, it's bigger, and, youâ… Expand

mike21

Mar 19, 2012

7

This game was not as good as I had hoped. Perhaps I was expecting too much, but I did not enjoy it as much as the previous 2. Having said that, it was still fun, and it was definitley not sa bad as some people make it out to be.

Bomberman

Mar 19, 2012

7

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Don't get me wrong, the Mass effect experience is awesome in more ways then one. Telling us our choices would have an impact on the ending and that we would get 15 - 17 different endings is PURE BLISS!!!. Getting to the end of the game and finding out that not only is there only three very veery similar endings, but they completely butchered the lore of mass effect and managed to piss off this fan with the last 10 minutes of the ending. No longer will I be purchasing DLC, games nor any mass effect memorbilia that i was planning on getting until this situation is fixed and hopefully soon. Bioware, you have let me down completely.… Expand

lemiel14n3

Mar 19, 2012

7

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Mass Effect 3 is, up until the last 15 minutes, absolutely superb. If it weren't for the ending (the same ending that there has been so much vitriol about) In playing the game I was playing something that I felt would succeed in rewarding all my hopes and expectations for the conclusion of Bioware's magnificent series. For the most part, ME3 delivers, even the multiplayer is good. The characters are well thought out, the story works well (again, right up until the end) and there are some genuinely touching moments.

And then I get to the last half hour of the game. I will tell you this right now. The ending is so terrible that I'm going to open my thesaurus to help me describe this. It's dreadful, appalling, horrendous, horrid, abhorrent, sickening, atrocious, distasteful. Nothing could have prepared me for this horrible conclusion. It succeeds to make the choices that were such a big part of the series absolutely meaningless, everyone gets the same idiotic morality choice regardless. This is even more disappointing because not only were we promised something more but I've even seen plans that would have fulfilled their promises and our expectations that Bioware and EA failed to deliver on.

I don't know who was responsible for this. Bioware falling asleep at the wheel, EA for lacking a soul and trying to dumb down the series for the Call of Duty playing lowest common denominators they're trying to sell the game to.

If the ending were at all good, Mass Effect 3 would have earned itself a 10/10, as the ending is now, 7 is high praise.… Expand

CaptKikuta

Mar 19, 2012

7

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. My thoughts on the game without the ending, and a lil rant about the ending. I found the game play flawless, dialogue interesting, cinematic cut scenes very moving, game world breathtaking and an epic score of musical talent. It isn't hard to believe that the awe inspiring sight of a thresher maw being used to destroy a reaper was the highlight of the game for me and even at that high point it still managed to keep me glued for 3days. But at that stratospheric heights of the euphoria one feels when thinking they are playing the new benchmark for all RPG games, the cold vacuum of space sucks the air from your lungs and your are left to float aimlessly in the void. Leaving the amazement and wonder of the last 72 hours is reduced to a "Uh..wait a minute!?" moment. Personally, I feel that the game wasn't done justice and Bioware and EA should be apologizing for the awful, hideous and tone deaf sonata of an otherwise perfect symphony. (ps. An ending with simply a picture of everyone who survived giving a thumbs up would have been far superior to the dribble that was served.)… Expand

vguara

Mar 20, 2012

7

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. As I see it there are 2 opinions dominating the reviews here. People who wanna complain some aspects of the game (especially the ending) and therefore give very low scores to the game and people who believe it is an improvement from the already great ME2 and one of the best games ever and most likely have not played until the end.
I am on neither group. I am one of the few people to give an slightly above average score. And I am a big fan of the series, played all 3 games with the DLCs, read the books and the comics.
Don't let the trolls fool you, it is a good game, it is based on the second game, it cannot get much worse. But there are serious flaws that could have been corrected from the second game or were poorly changed from the second game (which I consider to be the best of the 3).
Most of the good points were already on ME2 and for those I give the slightly above average score. Besides what was already on ME2, the biggest improvements IMHO are the weapons mod system which merged the first and second game beautifully and the fact that you can see more of your past decisions taking effect in this game than there were from the first game into the second. So I will focus on what could be better
First of all, I understood the story at the beginning because I played all the DLCs, but those who have not played it are going to get a bit lost, the game itself does not provide much insight for new players or those who have not played the last DLC from the 2nd game (Arrival).
Second, quest organization is terrible, you can't track your current progress on each quest and are often wandering around the citadel looking for the quest giver who you completely forgot the face or location.
The only "city" (as the place you get quests and buy stuff in) in the game is the citadel, just like on the first game, which was a major let down for me, the second had Elysium and Omega in addition to the citadel and where great.
The game basically focus on 2 big quests inside of the main quest which is defeating the reapers. Those quests are making an alliance between the Krogans and the Turians and doing the same thing between the Geth and the Quarians. Of course there are other quests like on Thesia and the Cerberus headquarters, but they are single mission quests not like the first two mentioned. I feel like the second game was much longer and had more quests than the 3rd.
The number of squad members has reduced, this would have been explainable if the purpose was the develop each story with more depth, but that doesn't happen, loyalty missions are out and there are no squad member specific missions, in addition to this point, there is the day 1 DLC From Ashes, which adds the Prothean squad mate to your team, I am not getting into the point of how low it is to release a day 1 DLC, but the new character could add much more depth to the story and could come with more than the recruit mission.
The developers still haven't thought a good way to make space exploring more engaging and interesting, on this game this aspect has been put on the third plane, of course it makes sense considering the plot, but they could come up with good ideas to put it in the game in a interesting and coherent (according to the story) way.
Multiplayer is the most difficult thing for me to comment, I liked the fact that they've added multiplayer to the game and even more that it somewhat affects the singleplayer campaign. But it could have more maps (there are about 6) and more game modes.
Lastly on my list, the thing that has put everyone on edge on the internet, the ending. And here I agree with almost everyone, it was a let down. This has nothing to do with the fact that Shepperd dies and almost every scenario except one, this was almost expected, but the fact that your decisions have very little to no impact on the ending besides the "war effort" value. You have three (or two) options regardless of your decisions and the ending sequence is almost the same: the reapers are destroyed or leave earth (it earth is not destroyed, depending on your war effort value), the normandy escapes from a beam and falls on a planet full of plant life, depending on your war effort some people survive (or all of them). But there are no explanation on how your decisions impacted the outcome, many questions are left unanswered which led to many theories on the net (look up on youtube). It is a game worth playing specially if you played the other two, but the ending destroys replay value which was one of the most fun things about the second game.
Sorry for any English mistakes as I am Brazilian.… Expand

Gruntt

Mar 21, 2012

7

A good game. Very emotional game i almost cried at some times and very well done dialogue once again. Everything is right about this game, all the classes get to use assault and sniper rifles along with shotguns. This game is so good until the ending. The ending is sooo bad and out of place that this game was a set back for me. BioWare needs to do something fast before they lose there loyal fans.

Hevilath

Mar 27, 2012

7

Sound design: Musical score is excellent. In previous games music resembles space-opera in ME3 music has different tone, more depressing which perfectly matches Sheppard current mission - save sapient life in Milky Way galaxy from Reapers. Voice acting is superb and guns sounds heavy as it should be. Great achievement.
Graphical presentation: I'm little disappointed. After replaying ME2Sound design: Musical score is excellent. In previous games music resembles space-opera in ME3 music has different tone, more depressing which perfectly matches Sheppard current mission - save sapient life in Milky Way galaxy from Reapers. Voice acting is superb and guns sounds heavy as it should be. Great achievement.
Graphical presentation: I'm little disappointed. After replaying ME2 and switching directly to ME3 you can see low resolution textures on character models, maybe it is subjective but still is hard to distinguish different items on casual outfits. Some armor models looks better then others. Lightening and reflection on armor are far worse then in previous title. Backgrounds on early stages of game looks like it made in first Xbox times, but it seems as story progresses you loose track and graphic start to look better. Like I said - completely subjective feeling.. In the begging of game on Earth, when you look down you can see strange 2D people running from the building which reminds me first games on PS1 and there are some glitches - Sheppard have some problem with eyes in early stages of game ;)
Gameplay: Action oriented, fast and rewarding. Your squad mates are usually helpful, but sometimes when you order them to shoot at Banshee they charge right in front of her dying in result. On harder difficulty levels this can be irritating. N7 Cerberus missions are taking place on Multiplayer maps and are quite boring - same with multiple fetch quests. I miss hiding gun animation and roaming freely.
Story: First act of game is quite boring, but as you play you get more and more immersed into universe. Characters from ME2 and quests feel a little forced and doesn't have depth - example: Zaed or Kasumi, but this is minor accusation
Ending: It's true. Rage is acceptable. Full of plot holes and doesn't explain anything. If you take it directly the ending could be explained as: Reapers has won - either they destroy everything, or you inflict so massive damage to galaxy that you wiped out all species and solar systems with reapers. The only explanation is Indoctrination Theory. We all could be indoctrinated by Bioware - if it's true, and we will now in April then it's most incredible achievement in gaming history - but still making DLC for incomplete game is horrible act - even when it will be released free of charge.
To sum up: AWSOME!… Expand

AsymetricForce

Apr 1, 2012

7

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I have Been thinking about the ending quite a bit, and I propose a new theory: Sheppard, Anderson and The Illusive Man did not make it to the control panel by accident, they were invited by The Reapers! (Close Encounters of the Crazy Kind!). So hear me out: If the Indoctrination Theory is wrong, then an alternative "Organic Theory" is in order and it goes like this: The Reapers cannot simply destroy all space faring life because they MUST receive INPUT from an ORGANIC to do so as they are the CREATOR of the Reapers! To this end they have sought out the most charismatic/Paragon (Sheppard), Militaristic (Anderson), and Maniacal/Renegade (Illusive Man) and have guided all of their paths to the control panel to determine which of them will DETERMINE the final fate of all cycles! Why all cycles? Because the catalyst VI mentions that Sheppard is the first organic to arrive to his location ever (please keep reading for more on this). If you look at the final sequence it is obvious all three men are under some level of control from the Reapers, and yet they are not a Thrall. They can still make decisions, and do so in the ending sequence according to their own will (agenda) be it to control, destroy, or combine (evolve), but only one can met the Reaper/Catalyst VI. The Reapers are standing by to see which of these men will dominate the others (classical Darwinian theory) and he who wins the battle, wins the right to choose! I think most players would choose as I did given my choices throughout the three games: To evolve the species at the end of this cycle. I recall Javik mentioning that in his time there were Protheans who believed they could control, destroy or work alongside the Reapers. Are these not the same choices being presented to the chosen three? They who have been determined, skillful, and strong willed enough to make it to this crucial point! As an aside, Wiki the number three and check out all of the interesting possibilities as to why Bioware chose this special number! I believe the first cycle's organics created the Reapers to prevent greater disaster as organics were either threatened by machines (or maybe something else), just as the Protheans worked to build the Crucible in their time to do in the Reapers which now threatened them (a cycle within a cycle?). So what does it mean? It means the Reapers are loyal to the creator (organics) and are simply following protocol in the logical manner that machines do. They are not being "mean" in destroying the space faring races, they are simply "doing" what they were built for. Again, without organic PERMISSION the Reapers have never been able to fully complete their original programming which is why all three men arrive to the control panel in the order that they do (because it is ALLOWED). So what is the threat that the reapers and citadel were created for? Simple: The Mass Relays are the threat! Something, Synthetics, Cthulhu maybe?, has come through the relays many cycles before, and the Reapers were the weapon that destroyed them and remained afterwards to guard against this threat and/or to destroy the relays. Whatever came through the relays will come again and the Reapers use the Space Faring Races as "fuel" to keep them going until the threat or relays can be destroyed for good by an organic giving them permission to do so via the catalyst! Sheppard being there with the catalyst VI allows him/them (Reapers) "more hope than he(they) knows" which is to say that for the first time in all cycles the Reapers can do what they were programed to do as an organic is there to decide for them the fate of the remaining organics in this cycle. Sheppard allows for the destruction of the relays, the elimination of the threat for which the Reapers were built, the completion of the Reapers programming (so they are no longer needed), and the survival of the races (even if now separated) is ensured!! As an aside, We are also assuming that time is linear after entering the portal, however, if this is not the case then it seems logical that the Normandy would attempt to regroup (as mentioned by the remaining commanders after Hammer's fall) to fight another day which explains that sequence after the choice is made. As with other lore, books, movies, the final choice to destroy, evolve, or control is up to the player and does involve real choice! That and the fact that half of us cant decide if we want chocolate or vanilla, window or isle, or blue tie vs. black tie, this seems to be more choice than we can normally handle! I'm curious to know what others think of this alternative proposal to explaining the current ending :). Upgrading my score to nine as this would be a cool way to end the series and quite explainable and consistent with what Bioware has been saying about the final act! Cheers, --ASF--… Expand

Weremutt

Mar 29, 2012

7

I have severally mixed feelings about this game. ME1 was one of the best games I have ever played to date with all of the different options that a character has. Granted the cover and combat system was not too good, but the story was incredible and gripping. Once I finished the game I would always start another character to play with. ME1 was not perfect by any means, but it was still anI have severally mixed feelings about this game. ME1 was one of the best games I have ever played to date with all of the different options that a character has. Granted the cover and combat system was not too good, but the story was incredible and gripping. Once I finished the game I would always start another character to play with. ME1 was not perfect by any means, but it was still an incredible game. I have gone back an played ME1 again since ME3 came out and I still enjoyed it more. I liked the writing a lot more and how the story pulled you in. ME2 did away with a lot of things but still allowed for a lot of conversation/story telling/ and choices that a character could make. The combat was improved, weapons and armor were stripped out. But the game was still good. The story line was still grabbing but not nearly as much as ME1. It was highly character driven through your squad. The enemy and allied AI was greatly improved over ME1. I did not like the auto dialogue that took place with Zaeed or Kasumi. I felt it was a cope-out by the developers. ME3 did one thing right that the other games did not have nearly as well and that was combat. I felt that the combat in the game was just about flawless. I could not have asked for more in the combat department. The inventory was a great improvement. The game really lets a person customize how they want Shepard and their squad to play. I felt that allied AI was much worse in ME3 then ME2 and was on level of ME1. Most of the time I found my squad doing nothing except ducking for cover or standing out in the open in the middle of a fire fight. Enemy AI was improved but for some reason on the hardcore difficulty which is what I always play on, I felt the game was way too easy. I died twice on my first play through. In the other 2 games I died much more then that on hardcore. I felt the game was way to easy and it could have been more difficult. I still enjoyed playing the game but not nearly as much as I did the other two. The conversation choices were just not there. The majority of them only gave you two options and barely anything to ask. Your decisions from the first two games were almost non-existent. The majority of your squad from the second game was reduced to cameo roles which is just wrong. They all should have gotten a mission were you went into combat with them again. They should have all been there at the final mission as a major task force. While the writing was greatly improved upon from the other two games in terms of delivery of lines, there was not enough selectable conversation between squad members. The majority of your conversations came from EDI, Vega, Javik (if you had bought a collectors edition or the DLC). Honestly they should have brought back the elevator scenes for the squad banter. I never disliked them. I actually enjoyed them. It was something different and new and there was barely ever any loading screens. You had something to listen too while the game loaded. There was way too much auto-dialogue and I felt that it pulled away from the game. The character import for the third game is horribly broken and i hope they fix it soon. Only one of my characters imported over correctly. Thankfully Bioware has stated they are working on a fix and it is on the testing phase. The game has a lot of glitches and I feel that it was actually rushed. I wish they could have spent more time on it. For those that have completed the game they know that there is only one true ending with a true resolution which is kind of wrong. I will not get into it but lets just say that Shepard has spent too much time around the Reapers and Reaper artifacts. I did like the way the game ended, I am not always a fan of happy endings and I knew this trilogy was not going to have one. War never has a happy outcome. Mass Effect 1 was easily a 10/10 for me even with the broken combat/inventory system. Mass Effect 2 was a 9/10. The removal of inventory and the addition of ammo made the game not nearly as good. I give ME3 a 7/10 because of all of the negative features which I have listed for the game. While the game was fun to play, I never played Mass Effect for the combat. If I wanted to play a game for combat I would play some battlefield or gears of war. There was simply just too much wrong with it for me. It took too much away from the experience and immersion factor of the trilogy. I now know why so many people have left Bioware since the game went gold. They knew the game was not up too par and had a lot of flaws. They do not want to be associated with a substandard product again. I would not pay full retail of $59.99 for this game. It is honestly not worth it. I would wait for the $39.99 price drop. I thought Skyrim was a better game then this and that game has a lot of problems and it is not even a style of game that I like too much. Bioware you were once my favorite developer but EA has destroyed your company.… Expand

LiquidGamer

Apr 3, 2012

7

The battle begins but it didn't end the way anyone wanted (which can be seen from the user score). I have never seen such outrage from a game before, the gaming community went crazy over this title and the fate of those in the series. The first levels seemed beta'ish and unfinished. The rest of the game was great... But, why in the hell would you get rid of the Elevator scenes thatThe battle begins but it didn't end the way anyone wanted (which can be seen from the user score). I have never seen such outrage from a game before, the gaming community went crazy over this title and the fate of those in the series. The first levels seemed beta'ish and unfinished. The rest of the game was great... But, why in the hell would you get rid of the Elevator scenes that replaced load screens??? Why??? And the vehicle aspect... gone? Why? A great game that did not stand up to everyone's expectations. Did it make the game of the month on the podcast... Take a listen... http://liquidgamer.podbean.com/… Expand

Harthacnut

Apr 17, 2012

7

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. **Please be aware my review does contain minor spoilers**

I've been a big fan of Mass Effect ever since the game first launched on the xbox back in 2007. Its fair to say i haven't been a fan of some of the changes through the trilogies history so it was with trepidation that i awaited the release of the conclusion.
Since Mass Effect 3 was launched i have meticulously played through it twice to try and see what the consequences of my different decisions for my male and female character would have on the conclusion. I start with this point because for me it is the biggest failure of the game and the games as a whole. I think i would have much rather the developers not given us these big choices between games because unfortunately all they were doing was setting themselves up for a fall. If your going to do something as involving and dynamic as offering choice it needs to be done well. The problem you have is simply its lack of consequence because regardless of what choices you've made the alternative would only be a slight tweak. A good example is If you saved the Rachni Queen from the original game then she turns up in ME3 and you have the choice to save her again which is all well and good. However if you choose to kill her then she turns up again in ME3?? ok so technically she isn't the same apparently she's a creation of the reapers but the point is the character model, the dialogue and the choices are almost 100% identical. Just using the same skin and calling it something else is just lazy. What made it even worse was on the shuttle after the mission my renegade femshep who killed the Rachni in the original game had a discussion with Garrus who said i had saved her in the first game when i didn't! Talk about breaking my immersion. The Rachni incident isn't the main culprit of this because the alternative skin method is used throughout the game. Sure extra dialogue options and slighlty different skins textures are used to disguise this but for the most part once you've done one play through the outcome of your consequences for the plots elements will be the same. There are some differences and if you don't have tali on your team in ME3 you'll know what i mean when it comes to the Quarian homeworld missions but for the most part there is little difference. In fairness to the game this happened in ME2 as well although not nearly to the same extent.
Another issue i have which i briefly touched on is the sheer number of bugs in the game. The worst one being that anyone on xbox can't import their original character from the first game. Yes it has now been patched but its still very rough around the edges. Other bugs to name a few include, getting stuck in the environment, the wrong voice acting used for certain characters at points in the game, talking to characters who aren't there (jacob mission), character head turning 180degrees during a conversation, eyeballs from hell and the game freezing on many occasions to name but a few.
Obviously one of the biggest flaws of the game is its ending. I won't say much because everyone keeps going on about it, but it is very poor and i think just lazily written. Forget artistic integrity because you lose that when you put out an ending out as bad as the one on ME3. Yet despite all these issues (and there are plenty more i haven't listed) the game in its self plays very well. The shooter mechanics are an improvement over the last game. The graphics are slightly better. The character development is very good for the most part (there are a few notable exceptions) and missions themselves are exciting and interesting. The level design is the best its been since the first game and towards the end the difficulty really does ramp up (which is good) and the music is excellent (especially the Clint Mansell tracks).
Therefore ultimately it is a fun game thats worth playing, perhaps more so if you haven't played either of the preceeding two. If you have there is still alot of good in the game but you will be disappointed. Not least because of the promise the game had, it could have been amazing instead it was just lazy, very lazy which is a real shame.… Expand

Mattyice

Jun 10, 2012

7

This is a very fine third person shooter. great graphics, fine gameplay, but very poor use of kinect, no great multiplayer. Buy with major caution..

Nizzy

May 16, 2012

7

If you are looking for a game that gives you a real sense of accomplishment at the end, ME3 is not the game for you. That being said, the rest of the game is top-notch. I would have liked more characters as well, but complaining about wanting more out of your game says a lot about how well what is there really is. Multiplayer gameplay in particular is superb with a simple design thatIf you are looking for a game that gives you a real sense of accomplishment at the end, ME3 is not the game for you. That being said, the rest of the game is top-notch. I would have liked more characters as well, but complaining about wanting more out of your game says a lot about how well what is there really is. Multiplayer gameplay in particular is superb with a simple design that nonetheless manages to remain fresh and different every match. Add to that the sound quality which is phenomenal; monsters sound monstrous, robots and technology sounds are totally immursive, and the voicework is entirely organic with no sense of separate sound stages strung together.

Is the last 10 minutes bad enough to ruin the rest of the game? Maybe. I don't really have any argument against the opinions of all those who gave it a "0," but for me it remains a solid game I'll probably play again; I just try not to think about the emptiness I know will come when I am done.… Expand

Tubey

Jul 2, 2012

7

Here's the problem - Mass Effect is a magnificent series; but I can't recommend ME3 as a 10/10 game, or even anywhere close. The problem with it for me isn't really the ending (yes, it's true, it was unbelievably bad), but rather the fact it should be renamed "Gears of Modern Battlefield 5". I honestly don't class ME3 as an RPG; rather, it's an on the rails mediocre shooter, interspersedHere's the problem - Mass Effect is a magnificent series; but I can't recommend ME3 as a 10/10 game, or even anywhere close. The problem with it for me isn't really the ending (yes, it's true, it was unbelievably bad), but rather the fact it should be renamed "Gears of Modern Battlefield 5". I honestly don't class ME3 as an RPG; rather, it's an on the rails mediocre shooter, interspersed with a lot of cut scenes and dialogue, which is again on the rails. Even if you are a big fan, go back and think about it - you are treated to a lot of dialogue, you make choices etc. but no matter what you choose you move forward to the very same portion of the game as everyone else - you shoot stuff and run through corridors. I didn't feel like I was "role playing" as Shephard, unless you consider Call of Duty an RPG as well!

Unlike ME 1 & 2, I felt very little for the plight of Shephard because throughout the game the overall writing is a bit sub-par compared to previous games. This is, in my opinion, symptomatic of the problems at Bioware at the moment; style over substance. It was like after two superb games I was being abandoned as a fan in favour of commercial appeal above and beyond anything else.

Don't get me wrong, this isn't a "bad" game; you'd have to be completely out of your mind to say that ME3 is anything other than decent as a total package. But - and it's a big but - it's nowhere near the perfect game and in relation to the franchise it takes a giant turd on what has gone before.

So it's bizarre to sum it up in this way, but there's no other way to put it - if you're a Call of Duty fan, looking for a more "in depth" game without sacrificing the mindless shoot 'em up FPS experience, then Mass Effect 3 is for you. However, if you're a fan of Mass Effect 1 & 2, then this game may very well disappoint you. At the very least, if you play this game, switch it off as soon as you see a glowing holographic image of a child - you'll thank me for doing so.

So yes, I'd be wrong to score it any less than 7/10, but what I will say is that after the debacle that was Dragon Age 2 and now the less than stellar Mass Effect trilogy conclusion, I will be careful to spend money on a product bearing the Bioware logo, simply because the once accepted measure of excellence they held in a gamers heart has been lost. Let's hope a return to form is just around the corner.… Expand

GooBear

May 23, 2012

7

Not the best of the Mass Effect series but it definitely doesn't deserve anything under a 5/10. Anything rated below are reviews based on bias opinion and nothing more. The gameplay has changed since the 1st two installments. AI and shooting mechanics have been largely improved but to the disappointment to most fans of the 1st game, the gameplay has evolved into more a shooter than RPGNot the best of the Mass Effect series but it definitely doesn't deserve anything under a 5/10. Anything rated below are reviews based on bias opinion and nothing more. The gameplay has changed since the 1st two installments. AI and shooting mechanics have been largely improved but to the disappointment to most fans of the 1st game, the gameplay has evolved into more a shooter than RPG style. Skill building has actually improved from ME2 as now there are a lot more ways to evolve your squads abilities. In my personal opinion I enjoyed the story and I don't need to debate why. It seems like it's always a question of why I don't hate it. Your choices from the previous games are reflected all throughout the game but some choices within ME3's story aren't reflected where they should be. Now, to criticize on the actual flaws of ME3 (*note: these are mostly opinion). My #1 issue w/ it is the absence of Jack Wall. Suicide Mission/ The End Run was the best composition within a video game and was at least half of the epic-ness of ME2's ending. I know he chose to leave BioWare for other projects but still: Why work w/ the 1st 2 games then bail. Also, Clint Mansell's "Leaving Earth" is a complete rip-off of John Murphy's compositions from the main theme of the movie "Sunshine". It's even in my opinion that the Observation Room aboard the Normandy was practically ripped straight from this movie. Second: Ashley's appearance. She went from a "girl you'd bring home to mama" to a "don't tell my boyfriend" kinda girl. It kinda reminds me of young pop-stars who debut as a sweet innocent teen then turn to a raunchy sleaze as soon as they hit 18. The only other thing wrong w/ this game is some slight continuity issues w/ "some" decisions made in previous games and so-called plot holes discovered from over-analysis but they aren't enough of an issue to lose faith in this game or the development team behind it.… Expand

TheShakyMatty

Aug 16, 2012

7

Mass Effect 3 is a journey that tugs at heart strings, makes you ask big questions and ends multiple story archs. The Mass Effect trilogy has been phenomenal, and has excelled in scope and story telling although the illusion of choice is ever present. While I invested my time in Mass Effect 3 it soon became clear that the game was telling an end of the story from the very beginning. ThisMass Effect 3 is a journey that tugs at heart strings, makes you ask big questions and ends multiple story archs. The Mass Effect trilogy has been phenomenal, and has excelled in scope and story telling although the illusion of choice is ever present. While I invested my time in Mass Effect 3 it soon became clear that the game was telling an end of the story from the very beginning. This is how I suggest you treat the game.The multiplayer is a fun edition and greatly expands the life of the product it was not somthing I asked for but fun regardless. It is not without fault so i cannot in good conscience give it a amazing score cause it is not. These faults are very minor and do not subtract from the game very much i.e. Trouble finding quest related people on map, lackluster epilogue, your choices do not feel as important as it could be and multiplayer connection problems. The game is great overall and deserves a 7/10 I recommend you buy it, you could do a lot worse.… Expand

Scourge626

Jun 30, 2012

7

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Just saying, the first part of this review will be me ranting about the end. I will no go into great detail, but seeing as how this is a review and reviews for games do entail the development for stories and the ending is, unfortunately, part of a story, I will have to talk about it. So you can skip that or take enjoyment in my displeasure for that god awful ending. Even with the extended ending, the ending for Mass Effect 3 is still crap. Albeit, the ending doesn't smell as bad as the first one, but crap is still crap. This game has not been redeemed. It does not matter how well they explain the ending; the way Mass Effect decided to take the Syfy Channel movie route and give the most asinine plot twist in gaming history has ruined the entire series for me. Even with their little PowerPoint Slideshow ending showing just how good life is regardless if you were a Paragon who went through pains to keep everyone alive or a Renegade who could care less who died as long as you got what you wanted. And the Synthesis ending is just too perfect of an ending. All the endings are devoid of any major consequences, there is little to no emotion for them, it does not show all of the effects of your decisions, focuses too much on the results of the three major endings, and has no epilogue for the characters in the third game. Just choosing any of those endings were a problem for me because they went against everything I and my Shepard stood for and stomped on all of the themes that the game developed over the course of three games. The only good ending was the Refusal ending and I still didn't like that one. I have no problem dying for what I believe in, but it's hard to enjoy an ending where everyone dies for your beliefs as well. I'm pretty sure plenty of people are going to say: "You can't have your cake and eat it too", and to that I say: It's my damn cake, I'll eat it if I want to! The endings do explain some things but does a mediocre job of it and adds even more plot holes to the unanswered ones from the original endings. And I am just not feeling the closure that many others are claiming to feel. If anything, I just felt like I wasted $180+ and only god knows how many hours for and ending that I could have read in a crappy fan-fiction. Actually, that's exactly what I did. And the worst part is, there are actually fan-fictions based of Mass Effect that have a better ending. That being said, Mass Effect 3 is still a good game. It just has an ending that deserves a spot in the albuquerque landfill. Okay that's the last thing I'm going to say on that ending. Probably. Any who, the game play was very fast paced and the enemy ambushes felt a lot more natural in this one then it did in the second game, which were as obvious as the outcome in a romance anime. The gun choice was extensive, but some didn't feel that different. And the gun and suit customization both were lacking. The suits were mainly the same ones from the last game so why couldn't I just drag those over? And I only used two of the gun customization the entire game. They should have kept the ones from the first game in this, come up with more or, I don't know, give each weapon their own custom add-on. The story-related levels and ME2 companion levels had more of an originality to them then the other games and actually gave each planet it's own feel. But the side missions were all stages from the co-op which is just plain lazy and diminished the value of the game's inherent originality. But back to the story related levels, I had the most fun playing those in compared to the other two games. I loved how the game became increasingly difficult as new enemies were added. Instead of just bombarding us with enemies to increase the difficulty, whenever a new enemy came onto the scene, I had trouble fighting them. And the levels they were introduced in did an amazing job of giving me time to cope with their unique fighting styles and capabilities. What really irked me was how the War Assets had no other function than raising the EMS and the fact that both Renegade and Paragon options were still open instead of being specific to the choices you have made throughout the game. One of the biggest problems with this game would have to be Javik and Vega. I have to seriously wonder why they were put into the game at all. I mean Vega really had little time to develop during the roller coaster ride the game had us experiencing and Javik was rather static. Aside from being the obvious black guy getting back at Imperial England by being a better imperialist, there was no point in him being in the game other than to tick me off. The best part of the game would have to be the sheer intensity I felt throughout the game.My favorite experience was the epic stare down with that Reaper on the Quarian/Geth home world. And each event after that just got more intense until the game pushed me off a cliff with that sorry excuse for an ending.… Expand

DetectiveEyes

Jul 2, 2012

7

Mass Effect 3 starts some time after the 2nd one ended. You are given the choice to go with the Role-play perspective of the game, with little combat throughout the game, or you can choose to go with the action perspective of the game with little Role-play and dialog, and more of the shooting and blowing stuff up. At the beginning it took me a moment to actually grasp what was happeningMass Effect 3 starts some time after the 2nd one ended. You are given the choice to go with the Role-play perspective of the game, with little combat throughout the game, or you can choose to go with the action perspective of the game with little Role-play and dialog, and more of the shooting and blowing stuff up. At the beginning it took me a moment to actually grasp what was happening but eventually it became pretty clear. Almost instantly you are given a gun and told to kill all the aliens in your path. Pretty soon after, you are given the choice to be nice and understanding of your friend or to be a complete jerk to him and tell to suck it up and fight. Then there's the whole decision making standpoint of the game, where you choose to do the right thing, or to do the wrong thing. Now for the problems, there's an equal amount of pros as there are cons in this game. The good parts of the game would definitely be its engaging storyline. However its bad counterpart is the 3 endings you are faced with. I wont get very deep into spoiler and whatnot, but the endings are all bad, and look like they were halfway done in order to make the Mass Effect 3 release date. The ending completely has nothing to do with everything you have done in the story whatsoever. However there is still hope. The game still had its relationship aspect where people could be your friends, your enemies, or your lover. Without the game you can alter the relationship at almost anytime, as you can talk to almost anybody, at any time. The game still has its aspect of freedom, to a certain point at least. Another problem with the game is the dialog system. When you are talking to somebody your facial, and body movements are not the most realistic. As with the person you are talking to. But I think most people would have to understand that the game would have come out sometime is early May or late April if the facial expressions were better than they are now. And it could have released sometime in June if they made the endings better. Overall this game is, in my opinion, worth the 60 dollars to pay for it, and also has some very nice sex scenes in it.… Expand

mikker44

Jul 8, 2012

7

played ME 3 as a first timer and couldn't get past the second to end stage. Bought ME 2 and plated through that twice and each time imported character into ME 3. Thoroughly enyoed all the challenges and gameplay. the game plays differently for each character played. however the end seems to remain the same. great game. really addictive. I shall play again as all the different types. justplayed ME 3 as a first timer and couldn't get past the second to end stage. Bought ME 2 and plated through that twice and each time imported character into ME 3. Thoroughly enyoed all the challenges and gameplay. the game plays differently for each character played. however the end seems to remain the same. great game. really addictive. I shall play again as all the different types. just wished the ending changed with the decisions made.… Expand

pixleking

Aug 6, 2012

7

I rented this for a solid month.While,I don't think I'll be buying it anytime soon,it's certainly a good pickup if you're into it.The atmosphere is great.Every area and fight is certainly distinct.The characters and AI are great.

However,the fights and talk sequences are very monotonous.I just don't enjoy this series as much as others.The generic feel kind of throws me off. OverallI rented this for a solid month.While,I don't think I'll be buying it anytime soon,it's certainly a good pickup if you're into it.The atmosphere is great.Every area and fight is certainly distinct.The characters and AI are great.

However,the fights and talk sequences are very monotonous.I just don't enjoy this series as much as others.The generic feel kind of throws me off.

Overall Mass Effect 3 is a very good game.It has solid features and is very enjoyable.But it's more of a rental,as opposed to a buy."Mass Effect 3" gets a 7/10.… Expand

PatrykG

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

Mwoullard

Oct 4, 2012

7

Good game. But has a lot of cons.

CKRI

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

McFungus

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

jul320

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.

Seamus100

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 knowOverall 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

SilentSputnik

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.

Mothman13

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.

endings

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 muchI 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

greatbernard

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.

PicklesOfWar

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

UncoloredPage

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

CenkAlp

Jan 3, 2018

7

Hikaye = 6
Oynanış = 8
Grafikler = 7
Sesler = 7
Keyif = 7
Atmosfer = 8
Süre = 7

gentlebenno

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

dupplawt

Jun 19, 2012

6

Having played through several times now, I am adjusting my score down. Whilst there are some brilliant parts of the story the ending is a wimper which makes no sense due to poor programming and writing. I don't care if the 'Extended Cut' pieces some of it together - it is poor finishing and Bioware should be ashamed of their sloppiness.

M3ta

Aug 31, 2012

6

The gameplay (i.e. combat) is good. The graphics are amazing. The presentation and story is bad. Sidequests involve either flying somewhere and shooting Cerberus people in a combat zone, or using the Galaxy map to scan planets. That's it - scan planets. You don't actually VISIT the planets, you just scan them, which allows to to magically recover artifacts, and rescue entire races. ByThe gameplay (i.e. combat) is good. The graphics are amazing. The presentation and story is bad. Sidequests involve either flying somewhere and shooting Cerberus people in a combat zone, or using the Galaxy map to scan planets. That's it - scan planets. You don't actually VISIT the planets, you just scan them, which allows to to magically recover artifacts, and rescue entire races. By pressing the scan button. These sidequests are picked up by eavesdropping on people's conversations in the Citadel (which, by the way, is the ONLY hub in the entire game... funny how everyone wants to meet you on the Citadel - there's nowhere else to go). "Hey dude, heard you talking on the phone to your buddy, saying you needed an antidote to a Reaper poison... I just happened to travel to a planet, and bring you back the antidote... here ya go." "Orly? Thats... awfully convenient... thanks?" You do get to meet your allies from Mass Effect 2, but it's more like "Oh hey Grunt/ Samara/ Jacob, how're things? What's that, you'd like me to kill some stuff for you? Sure. OK, we've killed all the stuff... guess I'll catch you later." It is nice to see how small decisions from ME1/2 played out, but you only really get to see it in small ways, like extranet messages. And finally, the ending seems to have been written by someone with no grasp of concepts like "logic", and is probably the most unsatisfying experience I've ever had with a franchise I used to love. Oh, and the DLC? With ME2, DLC like Shadow Broker was great since it added to the game and expanded on the universe and the characters - this Leviathan DLC is basically pointless for people who have finished the game. In short, the game looks great, but really disappoints - the polar oppoosite to the game that started it off, the first Mass Effect.… Expand

Sceptic

Mar 9, 2012

6

As with the first the first two titles,Mass Effect 3's strength lies in its story,universe and characters.Though the combat elements have improved,the series will never be remembered for it.Some RPG elements have returned but there seemed to be far less choices,renegade/paragon qte's and exploration in this game which is disappointing.Also the new secondary mission structure was inAs with the first the first two titles,Mass Effect 3's strength lies in its story,universe and characters.Though the combat elements have improved,the series will never be remembered for it.Some RPG elements have returned but there seemed to be far less choices,renegade/paragon qte's and exploration in this game which is disappointing.Also the new secondary mission structure was in turn,repetitve,boring and at times confusing with all missions jammed into a single list.Side missions consist of scanning for stuff,then returning it to the Citadel or gaining War Assets.How dull...As for the multiple endings,it pains me to state that the endings I've experienced are totally unsatisfactory.The final choices are little different and game quickly ends without giving real closure.A minute or two worth of cutscene is a disgrace.I gave the first two games 10.Despite the excellent lore,characters and dialogue,as well as the good combat,this one is not getting that.… Expand

Worrker20

Mar 6, 2012

6

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I had high hopes for ME3, Ive been a fan since the beginning. I like the game so far, gameplay is vastly improved, dialogue is strong, everything that was bad about the first two games was corrected in ME3. I feel like I have less dialogue choices now. there's no middle option, so that detracted my experience a little bit. Overall, this game is quite enjoyable, and a nice fitting end to Mass Effect. I like the characters, some have developed, The little retcons here and there are annoying but bearable, but it is kind of sad. Gameplay is fantastic, plays a bit like a Gears of War clone, but it still plays better. The sound and music are phenomenal, and the Graphics have improved, but could be better. Im giving it a 7 because despite the pros of the game, EA/Bioware have destroyed this game. their marketing strategies, dlc, day one dlc that has a pretty important character, and the feeling that it's about making money rather than making a great game. dont get me wrong, it's a fun game, but it could have been even better than what it was if the meta stuff was removed. EA, you are a terrible company. Bioware, you have lost a fan. this is my last EA/Bioware game I will ever buy, despite the fun I am having, you have lost a fan.… Expand

harmattan

Mar 7, 2012

6

Make no mistake, ME3 a good game and finale to one of the monumental video game series of this generation. Apart from the some Michael Bay'ed ultra bombasta-fest material that will make anyone with a monikom of taste and discretion want to retch (think ending of ME2 10-fold), this game hits hard on almost every level. What I don't abide is EA's approach to effecitively force gamers toMake no mistake, ME3 a good game and finale to one of the monumental video game series of this generation. Apart from the some Michael Bay'ed ultra bombasta-fest material that will make anyone with a monikom of taste and discretion want to retch (think ending of ME2 10-fold), this game hits hard on almost every level. What I don't abide is EA's approach to effecitively force gamers to purchase add-ons to experience the complete story -- a god awful milk-them-for-all-we-can strategy to compartmentalize and monetize what should be a cohesive and inclusive package. If you buy this game, know that you are in for a penny, in for a pound and are essentially voting for this sort of corporate malarky to continue.… Expand

SuperCeller

Mar 9, 2012

6

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I am not one who is hard to please, but Mass Effect 3 had one of the worst endings I have ever come across in all the years I have been playing games. The overall story was good, I was engaged and immensely interested in what would come next. For most of the game I felt like the decisions I made in the past two games had actual weight, and well before actually finishing the game I couldnâ… Expand

Agarwel

Mar 12, 2012

6

Very difficult game to judge. The 99% of the game is awesome - dialogues, storytelling, characters and mainly the decisions from the previous games really matters here (at least mine were present. Even the fact that I collected all "Arasi Writing" collectibles in the first game played some small role in ME3). But the last 1% of the game is huge dissapointment. The ending is terrible. NotVery difficult game to judge. The 99% of the game is awesome - dialogues, storytelling, characters and mainly the decisions from the previous games really matters here (at least mine were present. Even the fact that I collected all "Arasi Writing" collectibles in the first game played some small role in ME3). But the last 1% of the game is huge dissapointment. The ending is terrible. Not because the story itself. Not because it isnot a "sugar and rainbows" happy ending. But because it will not tie up the game. And dont tell you at leasts the results of the final battle. But the problem is that these last minutes will make a lasting impressions of the game. So even when I was enjoying myself for more that 40 hours, now I feel really dissapointed, tricked and not motivated to play this game ever again.… Expand

FragCzar

Mar 9, 2012

6

I've paid and played all of Bioware's ME and DA games (and DLCs), and both series have shown a consistent trend away from action RPG and toward something like an interactive movie. DAO and ME1 were standout games -- they had engaging stories, challenging missions, sufficient map variety, interesting characters and companions, *romance*, variable plot lines involving player decisions.I've paid and played all of Bioware's ME and DA games (and DLCs), and both series have shown a consistent trend away from action RPG and toward something like an interactive movie. DAO and ME1 were standout games -- they had engaging stories, challenging missions, sufficient map variety, interesting characters and companions, *romance*, variable plot lines involving player decisions. They were FUN games that left us wanting more (except the Maco -- we had enough of the Maco). ME2 and DA2, and now ME3, are not like those former games. Cinematics have gotten way too long (so they added the flashing LT/RT prompts to try to keep you from skipping them or leaving the room). Maps are tiny and are reused way too much (see DA2 for the worst of it). They try to cover up the scarcity of real playable content with filler side-quests like ME3's inane Citadel terminal hopping nonsense and tedious resource/war-asset scanning. ME3, in particular, adds more content filler by spreading out a simple character management menu over a four level ME3 ship with 30 sec load times between each level (do i really need to go all the way down to the shuttle bay to see my loadout?). And under all that filler the main ME3 mission is a scifi retelling of Henhouse Henery (Warner Bros). DAO and ME1 were well-crafted games that did not suffer for lack of Hollywood glitz or novelty shooter mechanics (not getting caught and killed by the ME3 cover system is the most challenging part of the game). They were compelling and tasty. Sadly, their successors are not -- their successors are Happy Meals.… Expand

Erathil

Mar 12, 2012

6

Mass Effect 3 is a good game with some crippling flaws that prevent it from being great. Combat and gameplay are easily the best in the series; it retains 2's more visceral shooter-oriented changes while accommodating increased effectiveness of various powers and boosting elements of player choice. In short, it's the best of Mass Effect I and II; you can play as a gunning soldier orMass Effect 3 is a good game with some crippling flaws that prevent it from being great. Combat and gameplay are easily the best in the series; it retains 2's more visceral shooter-oriented changes while accommodating increased effectiveness of various powers and boosting elements of player choice. In short, it's the best of Mass Effect I and II; you can play as a gunning soldier or fight almost entirely through special abilities, and both are fully valid. While combat is a definitive improvement, changes with other aspects of gameplay are lateral at best. Gone are the earlier installments hacking mini-games (Yay!) and unwieldy vehicle segments (also, Yay!), but exploration seems significantly curtailed. Side missions are few and planetary exploration is gone, but I can't bring myself to miss either from Mass Effect 2. The tedious resource gathering aspect is scrapped, and in its place is a faster but no less vexing 'search and recover' mechanic. In a sense, de-focusing exploration makes perfect sense in the context of the game's story; the galaxy is at war with a race of synthetic invaders vastly more powerful than all native civilizations combined, and said armada is focused on the extermination of all advanced life. The story is darker than before, and if you listen to the NPCs talking around the game hubs you'll hear tragic stories of loss and hardship. The game's writing is, overall, superb; plot lines connect coherently and sync up with character motivations and development which extend over the course of the series. Mass Effect 2 had a couple truly touching moments, and it's clear to see that the authors wanted to replicate that here, too. They had mixed success; there are some very powerful, emotional moments, and a few that just fall flat due largely to the writing team just trying too hard. Mass Effect I and II were some of the best RPGs of this console generation, and I was ready to call ME3 the best of the lot... until the last half hour of the game. I should address some of the other concerns I've read here before going onto the game's true failing. The day one DLC is fun, entirely non-vital, and a decent investment if you like the game. It's absolutely comparable to the character DLCs in ME2, and I personally don't find anything to object to about it. The inclusions of multiplayer had me weary, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by how fun it ends up being. Shooter fans may find it simplistic and lacking, but if you like Mass Effect's combination of guns and special abilities, then you'll probably get a kick out of it. As it is, it's the only thing I've ever seen in four years to make me buy an Xbox Live gold pass. Really, the game is great... right until the ending. The grand resolution to the Mass Effect trilogy, easily the most engaging RPG franchise of the last five years... simply sucks. It's pointlessly arbitrary, nonsensical, and deeply unsatisfying. The sheer sense of betrayal it left me with makes it easy for me to understand the slew of negative reviews on this site. Allegedly, there are sixteen endings with variations along three primary choices you make in the last minutes of the game, but they're almost identical and all disgusting. I can't recall such a sharp whiplash in tone and enjoyment. It's the sort of ending that sucks the fun out of a franchise. If the ending of a grand trilogy had been... well, better, I would have happily given ME3 a 9/10. It improves on so many things of its predecessors (combat flow, character design, strategic choices, enemy variety, the list goes on), but in the end it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. It came so close, and it could have easily been so much better...… Expand

ThinkPplThink

Mar 11, 2012

6

Wow, I don't think I've been more mad at a video game than I have right now, after finishing Mass Effect trilogy. What other reviewers are saying is true. If you were a fan of Mass Effect franchise, you are gonna feel like you've been kicked in the balls and f-ed in the a$s by the ending (any 3). It is a great freaking game before that, especially story- and gameplay-wise. I spent 40+Wow, I don't think I've been more mad at a video game than I have right now, after finishing Mass Effect trilogy. What other reviewers are saying is true. If you were a fan of Mass Effect franchise, you are gonna feel like you've been kicked in the balls and f-ed in the a$s by the ending (any 3). It is a great freaking game before that, especially story- and gameplay-wise. I spent 40+ hours completely engrossed by the beautiful environment and choices that I had to make. Combat system is a bit clunky because of flawed cover mechanic, but it's manageable. Multiplayer is pretty fun, too, for around 10 hours (for me). But if you are a fan of Mass Effect franchise and have not bought this game yet, play up to the part after missile is launched on Earth, and use your own imagination. That will save yourself from a LOT of disappointment.… Expand

Redfordsto

Mar 13, 2012

6

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. One of the first games I can remember truly enjoying was Twisted Metal II. The gameplay was okay and the graphics were fine for the time. But what really caught my attention is that each character had his or her own unique ending. They weren't even CGI cut scenes. I mention this, because this is what I want and why I play videogames; for a compelling and interactive story. With Mass Effect, I was drawn in by the story and the fact that I was able to choose my future. When Mass Effect 2 made my decisions apparent, I relished the though of fighting the Reapers in a galaxy that I helped construct. Over the course of the first two game I invested hundreds of hours (with six completions of the first game and twelve completions of the second game including one just to see everyone die). I have a deep emotional investment in this universe that Bioware created. So I do not relish being so critical of the completion to such a rich history. To begin: the gameplay has been improved. Weapons each have an individual feel. Choosing your weapon become a balance of what feels right and what is the most effective. It also affect how you determine your character's skills. Speaking of which, the RPG element of character development have returned. You now not only have a choice of which powers your character have and use, but the characteristic of those powers. This improves upon the strategy during combat as your powers are now adapted to how you want to play. In combat movement and power are more fluid once you adapt to the changes. Th kinect makes it faster but you can still slow the action and formulate strategy. Finally, the story is amazing... for the most part. Moments like Mordin ascending to the top of the spire or Tali removing her mask on her home world or just Captain Anderson and Shepard sitting together looking down on Earth quite literally brought tears to my eyes. I lost it upon the realization that Thane's final prayer was for me. But as much good as the story brings, there is disappointment. A story is as much the ending as it is all other components. If the ending is not rich and full, it tears the audience away from the experience. It leave a bad taste. And the potential endings (of which I have experience three) are lacking in fruition. They seem to destroy as much as they attempt to save... Further, all my efforts building a force seems to do little in the grand scheme of things. There is also very little closure for my friends and for the entire universe. I don't need everyone to live happily ever after, but I want to know who lives and who dies, how the galaxy is shaped, and I want to see all those forces I obtained fighting to the last stand. I didn't get any of that. Further, there were faces missing. Kal Reeger dies heroically without so much a a hello. No Fisk. Very little interaction with the council which I thought would be flushed out. And Grunt's cameo was only a single mission. He disappears after one interaction without so much as a "Stop and see me on the citadel before I ship out." There were also some other minor issues as far as choices. Not being able to remove the helmet on the full armor sets, having less weapon customization than Alpha Protocol, no armor enhancement, and fewer interactive conversations with the crew (like Tali being drunk or any interaction with Zaeed). Plus, what happen to the paragon and renegade opportunities? Mass Effect is not a bad game. It's enjoyable. But as a hardcore fan it's also a disappointment. With how much time and emotion I invested in ME 1 and 2, this should have been an easy 10. While ME3 managed to improve in so many areas, it fell short in some of the very areas that made the other two so compelling: a character driven story where my choices matter. Perhaps it was too large; Bioware may ave created something that was so big they couldn't live up to the conclusion that everyone wanted. But I can't help thinking it could have ended so much better.… Expand

Regal4point1

Jul 31, 2012

6

A very big disappointment. You can tell bioware (EA especially) went to large lengths to make this game mainstream. As a result, we get an actioner that has few bright moments that gave us a peek of what the game could have been with diligence in development, instead of rushed release dates. Few ambitions are achieved in Mass Effect 3, despite its core being pretty solid in its own right.A very big disappointment. You can tell bioware (EA especially) went to large lengths to make this game mainstream. As a result, we get an actioner that has few bright moments that gave us a peek of what the game could have been with diligence in development, instead of rushed release dates. Few ambitions are achieved in Mass Effect 3, despite its core being pretty solid in its own right. Perhaps we expected too much. But I have a feeling they could have delivered.… Expand

Legotwin

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.

ce111

Mar 11, 2012

6

I'll start off by saying that I am a big fan of the Mass Effect series. I was fairly pleased with the majority of the storyline and dialogue in this game. The tone of this game is a lot more grim than the previous two games but I feel that is appropriate given the circumstances. Sometimes the voice acting can get a bit cheesy and some of the situations seem like they were ripped from a badI'll start off by saying that I am a big fan of the Mass Effect series. I was fairly pleased with the majority of the storyline and dialogue in this game. The tone of this game is a lot more grim than the previous two games but I feel that is appropriate given the circumstances. Sometimes the voice acting can get a bit cheesy and some of the situations seem like they were ripped from a bad action movie. The game play has had some tweaks and combat feels a bit more tuned. There are still bugs galore though and the AI still seems terrible despite claims of upgrades to it. Most bugs aren't extremely noticeable; heck sometimes they are downright funny but then you get the really frustrating bugs such as getting stuck and having to restart. Those bugs are one reason why this game lost a point. Another reason is how it seems that the events of the previous two games don't seem to have made as big a difference as I thought they would. Pretty much all of the key character's from the previous games make an appearance. Some are a big more significant than others but its certainly nice to see. The biggest problem I had with it was the ending. Its as though they were driving along on the nice little path of a storyline and then decide to just blindfold the driver at the end and hope for the best. The endings all make very little sense and just create more loose ends than they tie up. Hopefully we see more content in the future that makes things a bit more clear but until then I feel very disappointed with how the game ends. A little obscurity isn't necessarily a bad thing since it is nice to have the fans piece together certain aspects. But when the fans are left feeling cheated then its clear that something isn't quite right.
So in closing, its not a terrible game by any means but it certainly isn't the game that the Mass Effect series deserves. For all the lore and background of the series very little of it is truly represented and the game feels more like an action game than a sci-fi roleplaying game.… Expand

BOSTONJOHN32

Mar 19, 2012

6

Well i will start by saying that im amazed that critics scored this game nearly perfect but not many went into detail about ending, never mention it @ all or simply (and boldly) allowed readers to think the game was great from start to finish, then i happened 2 go "outside the bubble" and found smaller, more obscure reviews and the score factored in that the ending was "literary suicide"Well i will start by saying that im amazed that critics scored this game nearly perfect but not many went into detail about ending, never mention it @ all or simply (and boldly) allowed readers to think the game was great from start to finish, then i happened 2 go "outside the bubble" and found smaller, more obscure reviews and the score factored in that the ending was "literary suicide" as one wrote. as quoted by r. ebert "if you had to ask what it symbolized, then it didnt" and i can say that this very much sums up the ending, struck in awe like many, i wasnt even sure if i had beat the game and had to check mt trophy in order to sort out if i did. thats just it, i felt like i did not know what had just happened and had to wait for the credits to scroll to know its over,and so i convince myself that ok maybe i just did not see the right ending and maybe i got the bad ending, "yes that must be it, w/ so many endings i must have screwed up along the way and got the bad ending" come to find out i got the desired and the most "definative" ending.. so then i go back and replay the mission etc and all the other endings are pretty much identical beside a different color or "end sequence" which consisted of a minute or so animation of walking another direction etc. i wont get into conspiracy theories or anything which is out of context but its kind of hard not to fall prey or offer self to some distraction or debate because we not only invested time, we invested emotion.. hours upon hours of carefully making right choices for a desired import etc, and for what? if i kind of got a heads up from critics that "decisions do not play as significant a role in mass 3 as it did in the prior 2" then i wouldve been able to prepare,lol.. but we are hearing words like art, story telling masterpiece also we were told by bioware that this would have multiple endings, a deeper consequence/decision mechanic, an end which would the opposite from lost, well no it may actually take the belt away from lost for the wtf just happened moment but the fact is that i shouldve known that a game which has a formula that works almost seamlessly, based primarily on decisions as well as story driven sequences which make the gamer care, think and DECIDE, it works so good that while i played every mass efect i made every decision carefully to prep my shep for the import into the next game, so if i am playing a game and already thinking of the next one then the system is almost flawless imo.. BUT it is obvious E.A had a bit of influence and brings me back to my point with this "formula", they deserted it and decided for MASS APPEAL rather than mass effect and i noticed this during the demo and how much emphasis was put on how one can play the game how one wishes and that the game can be toggled to suit any style, dont like stories? choose combat.. hate decisions? well you can toggle that too.. but wait, isnt that the part of mass effect which makes it like few others? and isnt that what i have spent many hours doing to have a desired and effective playthrough as well as end? was it just me or did it feel silly to scan planets this time around? as to say "hey dont want to waste time scanning for elements, well we fixed that too" huh? call me a loser, call me what you want BUT i enjoyed taking my time scanning for minerals and elements and launching probes with a feeling of purpose, because that was one of the many things which made me love this game, felt like what i did mattered and fulfilling. i can understand E.A 's stance from a business perspective, their knowledge and tactics of knowing that the fanbase of mass effect are going to buy this game regardless so lets find some fresh blood, but did the solid core and fan base have to feel jipped, let down, disappointed, confused and as well as angry in exchange for new profits/gains? well the core, the fans well we are mass effect. it breaths because we let it, we let it because it was great ,brought quality and emotion and stood apart from many other games and the exp was one like few others. but as much respect a game/developer may get through time can be undone in ten minutes.. i can not say that mass effect 3 was a bad game, but after putting in hours of decisions, careful choices to have it not effect anything in regards to the end , other than the war assets and "co-op"readiness , well i feel like it was more of a "okay hurry up and get this over with and go play co-op after" the fact remains that mass effect 3 is still a solid game, but an ending which was promised to be the finale we dream about also being admittedly rushed well how does anything rushed ever result to anything other than sub par to par? a game is about the exp, mass effect is about a unique and gripping exp BUT the end ruined both.. its obvious a lot has changed in the gaming industry in the past 5 years, mass effect supports this in every respect, reapers went from FEAR INDUCING to PAWNS… Expand

rykeith

Mar 27, 2012

6

After I finished the first Mass Effect in 2007, I couldn't wait to play the two scheduled sequels. I was a little disappointed in Mass Effect 2, as there were less RPG elements in the game. It felt more commercialized. Mass Effect 3 feels even more commercialized than the second game. The addition of multiplayer was not something I was looking forward to at all, and it was just as terribleAfter I finished the first Mass Effect in 2007, I couldn't wait to play the two scheduled sequels. I was a little disappointed in Mass Effect 2, as there were less RPG elements in the game. It felt more commercialized. Mass Effect 3 feels even more commercialized than the second game. The addition of multiplayer was not something I was looking forward to at all, and it was just as terrible as I imagined. Having to suffer through disconnections, annoying people online (think any popular FPS online chatter- that kind of annoying), and the exact same gameplay over and over (the only game mode is where waves of enemies spawn, you kill them, repeat) validated my concerns about the multiplayer. I firmly believe it was put in there solely to appease a wider audience and thereby increase game sales ($$$). The single player game was amazing up until the last 10 minutes. The ending was one of the worst I have ever experienced in my 23 years of playing video games. Also, if they are planning to release a different ending via DLC, that only further proves the point that it seems to be more about the money than it does the game, Mass Effect canon, gameplay, or the fans. In summary, much of the game is amazing, but I am overall very disappointed. Wish I would have stopped playing after the original Mass Effect.… Expand

JAMR92

Mar 8, 2012

6

This was an unfortunate step backward for the franchise, it's lost a large amount of its charm. Now mind you, this isn't as bad as the whole Dragon Age 2 fiasco, but Mass Effect was once a magical experience. That feeling of a fun sci-fi rpg has been cast aside for an action movie pornography that tries too hard to have a great story and in the process became a mediocre B movie. TheThis was an unfortunate step backward for the franchise, it's lost a large amount of its charm. Now mind you, this isn't as bad as the whole Dragon Age 2 fiasco, but Mass Effect was once a magical experience. That feeling of a fun sci-fi rpg has been cast aside for an action movie pornography that tries too hard to have a great story and in the process became a mediocre B movie. The animations do not look like that of a triple A title and its now Gears of War in Space, except with dialogue and romance options. If I wanted to play a visual novel I would Bioware. The game is heavily flawed and one could see why it's being so poorly received, the overly positive reviews are incredibly unsettling and makes me disgusted to see these gamers through away their dignity and integrity to defend a game and company, who do not deserve to be defended.… Expand

RexReqz

Mar 10, 2012

6

Felt average and I didn't see anything new. I've played the first two and 3 was not what I expected. The writing didn't have as much depth as previous games. Also there wasn't enough combat to satisfy my gaming need. Too much talking not enough teeth-clenching moments. This game was not memorable in any sense I doubt I'll be looking back years from now and telling myself "Wow MassFelt average and I didn't see anything new. I've played the first two and 3 was not what I expected. The writing didn't have as much depth as previous games. Also there wasn't enough combat to satisfy my gaming need. Too much talking not enough teeth-clenching moments. This game was not memorable in any sense I doubt I'll be looking back years from now and telling myself "Wow Mass Effect 3 was great. Now that's how a series should end.". What horrible endings as well. Not worth 60 dollars.… Expand

JDub123

Mar 7, 2012

6

Meh, boring as always. Story and character development are fine and necessary, but Mass Effect tends to spend too much time on its hackneyed story at the expense of being enjoyable to play.

Xenugears

Mar 28, 2012

6

This game is simultaneously overrated and underrated. Overrated because critics and fanboys blindly gave the game a pass without addressing its glaring, near deal-breaking faults such as a curious lack of choice, wonky dialogue, a cumbersome cover system, vague journal entries, Jessica Chobot, James Vega, an inexcusable glitch not allowing me to import my Shepard from ME1 and 2 (really,This game is simultaneously overrated and underrated. Overrated because critics and fanboys blindly gave the game a pass without addressing its glaring, near deal-breaking faults such as a curious lack of choice, wonky dialogue, a cumbersome cover system, vague journal entries, Jessica Chobot, James Vega, an inexcusable glitch not allowing me to import my Shepard from ME1 and 2 (really, Bioware?) and the now infamous ending. However, I would argue that ME3 is also slightly underrated because, well, the game STILL has solid combat, fun weapons (I love the Scorpion, a heavy pistol that shoots out sticky proximity mines), great music and a some genuinely rich emotional moments that strike a chord. The game's horrible conclusion and inability (or unwillingness) to weave "my Shepard's" actions from ME1 and 2 may not enough to "ruin" the game/series entirely and, for that matter, retroactively (a la Matrix Revolutions) but it's certainly enough to elicit a sense of regret over what could have been the best science fiction story of this current console generation (Portal 2 is safe!). Bottom line: an ominous shadow has been cast over this nearly spotless series.… Expand

Acquiredempire

Mar 17, 2012

6

Doesn't do what the series promised from the start, make your choices matter. We and the series deserved better. BAD BAD BAD ending! Keep saying to my self after I beat the game, "What a horrible game!" The non-ending really puts a damper on the whole series. Feel like I wasted my time since the first one (and I LOVED the first two games)I I assumed I would learn how MY choices changed theDoesn't do what the series promised from the start, make your choices matter. We and the series deserved better. BAD BAD BAD ending! Keep saying to my self after I beat the game, "What a horrible game!" The non-ending really puts a damper on the whole series. Feel like I wasted my time since the first one (and I LOVED the first two games)I I assumed I would learn how MY choices changed the Mass Effect galaxy.And no I wasn't expecting too much, but was expecting SOMETHING, ANYTHING! EA better not try to sell a DLC ending or I will officially declare Bioware a EA money grab casualty. At least right now their good reputation still has them on life support. But I think the writings on the wall.… Expand

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

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