Mass Effect 3 PC
User Score
4.7 out of 10

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 4363 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,810 out of 4363
  2. Mixed: 367 out of 4363
  3. Negative: 2,186 out of 4363

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  1. petarded2
    Apr 16, 2012
    4
    The Mass Effect series started out with Mass Effect 1 as an interactive science fiction epic, reached middle age with Mass Effect 2 as a solid action game with dialogue options, and with Mass Effect 3, develops Alzheimer's disease and becomes Gears of War + occasional purposeless choice.

    I loved this series; the first game's universe and narrative blew me away, and I had a soft spot for     Mass Effect 2, even with it's lack of main plot, developed antagonist, or any real sense of purpose. At least Mass Effect 2 was distinguishable from its predecessor. At least Mass Effect 2 introduced and developed a cast of interesting characters. At least Mass Effect 2 didn't *completely* forget the aspects of exploration from Mass Effect 1. I cannot say this much for Mass Effect 3.

    The majority of "player" dialogue in Mass Effect 3 is automatic, and the dialogue wheel *never* has more than 2 options on it, maybe the occasional "inquisitive" option for the rare gamer who wants more than chest-high cover and a big gun. Maybe this would be admissible if the choices had any considerable difference, but typically both options just say the same things in different ways.

    The Citadel in ME3 is much improved over any city in ME2. This struck me as peculiar until I realized that it was literally the *only place* in the entire game where Shepard isn't constantly shooting things (other than the Normandy, of course). It's the only place with stores. The only place that gives nonessential quests, the last remnant of RPG in this series packed into one location.

    The nonessential quests are just insulting. I refuse to dignify them with the title "Side Mission." They are 3 lines of dialogue: (1) "Gee, I wish I had item X," (2) "Here you go," (3) "Thanks." I'm not even exaggerating. Literally 3 lines, every time. You don't even enter into a conversation.

    One impressive feat is that this game manages to find time for all of the immense Mass Effect 2 cast of characters, but these encounters are brief and generally don't provide much closure for the characters (with the notable exceptions of Thane, Mordin, and Legion).

    The combat is an improvement over ME2, that is to say, "it's slightly more like Gears of War." It feels a bit like clunky and you can roll around to your heart's desire. However, it has somehow found a way to be even *more* segregated from the story. You could replace all the combat situations with black screens saying: AND THEN SHEPARD SHOT THE THINGS, and the story would make complete sense. No decisions are made outside of the designated decision-making areas.

    This isn't even touching on the cliched story. After countless generic often-forced self-sacrifice scenes, generic space marine characters, and innumerable poor attempts at adding emotion, the game tries to save itself in the last 15 minutes with a forced twist ending. It'd take over 5000 characters to explain just how many different ways this ending is awful.

    Overall: Lazy game, what little that distinguishes from predecessor is negative, if you liked the previous installments just replay them. Had potential, but extremely poor execution.    … Expand
  2. Doomsdayman
    Apr 15, 2012
    9
    Summary: A spectacular game. Well worth the money and time. The combat is unique to the RPG genre and the reason this is the only RGP series (to date) I can stand playing long enough to get into the story. The story is just incredible. The main plot is thrilling by itself, but add the "chose your own adventure book on steroids", aspect and you have a narrative that was so emotionally gripping it had me on the verge of tears at times. On that note, play from ME 1, it's worth it.

    Single player:

    Play/Combat - Excellent: I understand many people do not like the trend of ME away from the traditional RPG standards, but I love it because I venomously HATE several of those standards. Inventories are a cumbersome nuisance that just punish me for not taking time to manage the annoying buggers, and in ME 3 they are happily gone! Learning the intricacies of every single enemy so I know which of my 20 different skills to use is just frustrating (If I want to painstakingly memorize information I'll read a scientific paper on something useful), in ME 3 they simplify this to a reasonable level. On harder difficulties you still have to chose your ammo and prioritize your targets, but you have only a few options to worry about. Granted that can make the game-play a little repetitive. I'm okay with that; part of the reason I enjoyed ME 3 is that it is a first-person shoots, my genre of choice, and any good FPS has to sacrifice a little repetitiveness for well ironed out mechanics and enemies. ME 3 is definitely well ironed out. Which bring us to..... Classes, here I think the 3rd instalment shines. In ME 3 where you put your skill points obviously changes what abilities you have access to and how powerful they are, but quite significantly it entirely changes how effective your play style is. For example I love being a stealthy SOAB, so I play the Infiltrator class. In the last two games, like many others as soon as I chose the class at the start of the game I was stuck as a long range killer with no ability to hold my own in close combat. As it would happen that's how I like to play and so I followed the same path in ME 3, but even as i was doing that I realized that by putting my skills into the other abilities I could make myself a close combat killing machine, appearing in the middle of the enemy, wrecking havoc and beating people to death, only to disappear again. The ability to customize your character to your play-style then is terrific.

    Story -Out of this World: I can't describe it. play the game twice from ME 1 and you'll get two completely different experiences in ME 3, in almost every mission, every interaction I could sense subtle variations based on my previous actions, that level of impact on the narrative is what sets the ME series a head above the rest. I made decisions that made me proud as thanks to me everyone survived, I made decisions that made me cry as my actions caused my team-mates suicide; NO other game has ever made me feel like my choices have an impact on the story, ever. Which bring us to the one reason this review is not a 10. The last 15 mins. Oh YES I hate the ending, but only because the rest of the game was so incredible. After all that impact you had, you're given ending A, B, or C, and all of your previous decision mean squat to how any of them turn out.(On that note I hope the future DLC will fix the ending situation. After all the hard work the writers must have put into weaving the coherent web of different experiences you can get, I have to believe they would have up and quit Bioware if additions/changes to the ending were not planned from even before release. Here's hoping the "Indoctrination Theory" is right)

    And finally

    Multi-player -Good: I haven't played that much of this, but what I have I like. It's not as addictive as Halo, or Call of Duty, but its a solidly fun experience. Grab some friends and blow some enemies away, nothing wrong there. The maps are varied enough to add some diversity and the horde-mode style waves are supper fun to mow down in co-op.    … Expand
  3. lod757
    Apr 15, 2012
    1
    i am still recovering from the shock , the entire game right upto the last ending part was amazing , and then it fails so hard , i don't think there is no excuse for ruining such a awesome game this way , on top of that , they are extending the horrible ending with a dlc nice :X what good is a game if the ending has been a joke
  4. xminus
    Apr 15, 2012
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I have thought about what could be said about Mass Effect 3. I really wanted to like this game, I believe Mass Effect 1 was and still is the greatest Sci-Fi Rpg ever made. The second Mass Effect improved the fighting system and neutered the Rpg side of the game into oblivion. Mass Effect 2 was an adventure game that was just a fair game. But Bioware made it a lot better with dlc I played it again before the release of Mass Effect 3, it was long, the story made more sense. All in all it turned out to be a good game even though it was not the Rpg Masterpiece Mass Effect 1 was. Mass Effect 3, where does it fit into this? The problem is it does not. Seeing all the characters from the previous games was cool regardless of where the story took us. But the story only took us to the end. The big deal that everyone has made about the end? Silly you say? Bioware started it, the whole game is about the end, even when it is not being said, you feel it this is the end of the story. My seven year old daughter has that figured out. This is Bioware fault for making such a big thing about the end. With every step you know you are closer, with every familiar face you realize this is the last time you are going to see them. That is the story they choose to tell. They choose to shortcut any real story about what was going on, and made it about the journey to the end. If this game was the first in the series you would not see the inflated gamer scores on some of the web sites out there. You know who you are! ( Now Hang Your Head in Shame) this game is the first game that should be scored differently even though the story was bad, really bad. Even though the plot mechanics were bad, like talking to someone turning away and walking away only to find them sitting in the other room. Sliding down the ladder only to see you team at the bottom waiting for you, why did I have to deal with the ladder? And did not get to use magic like my team members? But seriously the art in this game is fantastic, it makes it a must own just for the art and environments the level designers created. The artist and level designers should start there own company. And hire some good writers to showcase their awesome work. They were truly trying to make a great game, this is where the artist integrity was, in the art, not in the lame story or half baked ending. That Bioware is still claiming that was in the writing of the end of a great story that spanned two Mass Effect games and was totally absent in the third one. Can Bioware fix the story, only if they can face the story and plot problems they created. But last I heard they just plan to explain the out of character bad ending just a little better, what ever that means. I am giving Mass Effect 3 a 6 score. I apologize to the artist's for the low score. I apologize to the writers for the high score, twice what you deserved. I really hope the writers can redeem themselves for plot holes that you could drive a truck through. But only time will tell.… Expand
  5. DulyNoted
    Apr 15, 2012
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. [Note: I originally (and accidentally) posted this under the PS3 version when in fact my review pertains to the PC one. Re-posting here.] The first user review I read was a 10 out of 10 and began, "Do not listen to the people rating this game badly. Mass Effect 3 is utterly amazing..." First of all, I agree that ME3 is utterly amazing. And that's what makes its end all the more disappointing. Consider yourself lucky if the endings of ME3 didn't disappoint you--you've been spared a sense of loss and disappointment that dwarfs any feelings of annoyance you must "suffer" when reading fans' complaints. I loved the first game, actually think ME2 was better (though I initially hated what they did in the opening sequence), but found myself thinking I enjoyed playing ME3 more than either of the first two. It really is a fantastic game that I should be able to love and agree deserves a 9 out of 10 score (endings aside, it still had some flaws). BUT... This game was the end of a trilogy. As such, the ending had to not just provide some level of satisfaction for the particular story that began with Shepard escaping Earth, but also the one that began with Shepard being sent to Eden Prime way back when. In other words, there was a lot riding on the ending of this game. There are several very good articles out there articulating why fans are disappointed with the way ME3 ended and I'm not going to rehash them here. Suffice it to say, the options provided to the player at the end of the game as well as the outcomes and consequences of those options left many long-time fans feeling like their investment in Mass Effect ultimately wasn't respected by the developers in the end. More than not just getting a "happy ending", we're left with what can only be described as a bleak, depressing one, in which no matter what option you choose, no one lives happily ever after. Sure, you saved earth from the Reapers as expected, but at what cost? The universe we're left with is a dismal one (two words: Mass Relays). If you read through all the Harry Potter books and got to final few pages of the series and read that Harry destroys Voldemort, but it costs him his life, and all his friends would be forever trapped in the world of Muggles, cut off from ever using magic again, would you feel entitled to be a little disappointed? No? Great for you. But don't go telling everyone not to listen to those who would. Mass Effect 3 was a 9 out of 10 game until the final few minutes. The turn it takes in those few closing seconds, ruined not only the game, but an entire trilogy because when the credits roll and you ask yourself, "Was the cost of saving the universe from the Reapers worth it?" the haunting answer for many of us was, "I don't know. I really don't know."… Expand
  6. crnppscls
    Apr 15, 2012
    2
    Annoying. Bought this off the back of a lot of favourable reviews. Are there any actual reviewers who arent in bed with ea ? The graphics are fine but the writing and some of the gameplay are truly awful. Worst game in the series but on the upside i learned something
  7. Smiley15
    Apr 15, 2012
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Honestly in this game, everything good they add they add something terrible to even it out. The biggest improvement, by far, is the gameplay. They added tons of new weapons, rolling in cover, and to make Trench-Warfare a bit easier, quick-killing(grabbing). The singleplayer isn't as monotonous, in Mass Effect 2 it was recruiting and helping squad mates with the occasional mission against the collectors. However, the squadmates are a let down. Javik and James are the only new ones that haven't been seen before(forgive me if I'm wrong). Garrus, Tali,Liara, and Javik are the only alien squad mates, and there's no Drell or Salarian squad mates, much to my dismay. The graphics and animations are pretty much the same, if not slightly better. You can still upload from Mass Effect 2, so you aren't starting from scratch. For the ending, I am quite furious about it. Anderson is a fixed death (alongside other Mass Effect 2 squadmates like Legion and Thane) and apparently the indestructible Reapers are led by a ghostly kid who is also the Catalyst, a componet for the Crucible that you spend a lot of time looking for. Also, 2 randomly chosen squadmates will appear with Joker on survival island at the ending, not saying a word. However that's something that they're changing, so I will not be giving this game the 6 it deserves with it. As I mentioned before, many former squad mates are fixed deaths and die no matter what you do. However, all of the deaths, even the optional ones, are fitting. Thane dies saving a life rather than removing it. Legion dies either in defense of his species or to save them from annihilation. Mordin CAN(but doesn't have to) die curing the genophage, his biggest mistake. Samara CAN die fulfilling the code. Of course they add a heap of stupid and soulless characters, including a lesbian and a gay person. They also added Kai Leng, which I have concluded is a female after watching Thane hit him in his nonexistent balls 10 times. At least you get to slay him when it's over, I didn't hesitate for a nanosecond about the renegade interrupt. Also, they added Co-op Multiplayer which is the biggest new thing out of all the epic updates. You can FINALLY play as Salarians, Turians, Quarians, Asari, Drell, Geth, Krogan, Batarian, and even as a Asari Justicar. It's hard to implement slow motion attacks like Biotic Charge and such when others don't want random slow-mo, but they executed it very well. And a very prevalent topic is the day 1 DLC. I hated it too, but it's not a good reason for plop a 0 down as your score. The new War Assets idea was brilliant. Now you can do side quests and scanning parties for something more important than research material(removed, sadly). Anomalies and random missions were pretty much worthless in mass effect 2, except being very fun. Now they are fun and benefit you by giving a War Asset. Depending on the final decision in Mass Effect 2(destroying the Collector Base or not) you need a certain amount to keep Shepard alive and to keep Earth from utter destruction. A HUGE problem for me was the enemies. Besides having fairly stupid 1-shot kills (unavoidable once it starts), there's only THREE FACTIONS. It would be fun to have a boss on wave 11 in multiplayer, like a Geth Colossus or a Gunship, but no. In fact, in single player, the final boss is the infamous Marauder Shields, in which you have no choice but to use the limitless ammo M-3 Predator(Which I never used after I found my first Weapons Bench). At least they added gun modifications like extended barrels, and upgrading the guns to I and V and X. All in all, this game is excellent but if you're a poor starving person on the streets, prepare for the attack of the DLC.… Expand
  8. LewisMweiR
    Apr 15, 2012
    3
    Great game until you reach the anti-climax deus ex machina lost ending,the mass effect franchise is one of the best of the game industry and is sad that the trilogy end is such a disappointing way
  9. nyrdl90
    Apr 15, 2012
    5
    All those who don't live in caves in North Africa subsisting entirely on raw meat and the supply of family head lice will know the format of this review. Bluntly expressed: the majority of the game was superb if slightly lacking in narrative depth, while the ending was the biggest pile of tripe since mass seppuku on a japanese poultry farm. The fact that this view has been repeated and reaffirmed in every civilised country with a stable entertainment economy and a workable internet connection is convincing proof of its validity. Around the world, captivated fans connected with the games' characters and narrative on an unprecedented emotional level, only to receive an ending so irreconcilable with what precedes it as to leave the series effectively unfinished. So many holes are opened in the overarching plot that what finality remains is unfulfilling and unsatisfying. As a series, Mass Effect is established on a set of fundamental points, all of which have come to be both cherished and expected by the gaming community at large: good writing, player choice, and a compelling continuity and flow of narrative. The promised "epic conclusion" of the series consequently shocked and angered players for bluntly denying them these three things; the writing made no sense, what choice players were given had little to no relation to previous events, and the final cinematic left the back-story as devoid of stimulation and open-ended as a limbless corpse. This total reversal of quality is, in many ways, what makes the ending so shockingly and overwhelmingly **** Had the ending been the culmination of "Back Street Tokyo Hand Job Queen 7", the audience feedback would not have been nearly as unanimously negative. Despite making no contextual sense in this scenario, and the illiteracy of any prospective audience, the ending's qualitative relativity would have been a lot less stark. However, arguably more frustrating for hordes of belligerent gamers is the absolute lack of official recognition for this obvious shortcoming. Such critical giants as IGN and Gamespot completely ignore the existence of the game's final sequence in many of their respective reviews, instead brushing over the problem with arbitrary and periphrastic adjectives. Worse still, the developers of the game themselves hide behind the age-old excuse of artistic licence, with the catastrophic final sequence being described as integral to "the team's artistic vision". Certainly, Bioware's errant artistic wankery is evident in their unsubtle use of clichéd visual metaphors and symbols; children representing innocence, naivety, and spiritual purity are possibly only superseded in terms of frequency in Western literature by the colour-coding of blue for good, red for bad. Gamers went in to Mass Effect 3 expecting an ending to which they could play Flight of the Valkyries or the Dies Irae from Vivaldi's Requiem. Instead, they received an ending barely worthy of Messiaen at his most arrhythmic and atonal. In the end, any reviewer's rating is a tip of the scales: to what subjective extent did the final ten minutes outweigh three games' worth of fantastic content? In my personal view, Bioware has unwittingly pushed its three greatest children off a bridge. We can only pray that they follow Conan-Doyle, pull Mass Effect out of the mud, and give it the bad-ass and well-written funeral it deserves.… Expand
  10. Rurouni
    Apr 14, 2012
    3
    The game was a solid 8 for the first third of the game, a 5 as I neared the ending and a 0 at the finale.

    I was really looking forward to ME3 to build on the fantastic experience of ME2. I even bought the collector's edition in anticipation of a fantastic closure to the series.

    Sadly the plot holes that emerged, as well as a sense that the ending sequences were rushed out led to probably     one of the biggest games related letdown I have experienced in a long while. I can not in good faith recommend this game to anyone.

    I suggest that the game websites that reviewed this game on launch do a before-after review after they have finished the game. I would be interested to see the final score on metacrtic.    … Expand
  11. Qwertie
    Apr 14, 2012
    8
    It's hard to know where to begin with this game. First, prerequisites: ideally you'll play ME1 and ME2 first. The default FOV (field of view) is terribly narrow but you can alter the config files to fix it (google "qscribble fov"). And the game is not designed for stereoscopic 3D vision but fans have hacked it, so it can look great in 3D. I played the game this way on a 10-foot projector screen which makes the whole experience pretty sweet. NOW, it's true what everyone says, the ending is all screwed up (google "5 reasons the fans are right" for spoilers). Luckily, since you know it's screwed up, at least you can prepare for the disappointment in advance. But right up until the ending, ME3 is great. It's fun, production values are high, it contains some momentous choices. Best of all, it respects all the major choices and consequences from ME1 and ME2. Wrex (whom you could have killed) plays a solid role, there is a mission for the Rachni (who you could have wiped out), and there are cameos or better for most of your old crew (any of whom might have died in ME2), and the dialogue sometimes mentions things you did in earlier games. You can find faults if you look, like Cerberus suddenly becoming extremely powerful, the decrease in dialogue options compared to ME1 and ME2, etc., but it wasn't a big problem to me. Bottom line: while I hope the low user scores prompt Bioware to alter the ending, ME3 doesn't deserve a low score. The game is still worth buying if you enjoyed ME2. It's less RPG-like and more shooter-like, but whether that's good or bad depends on who you are. And you might want to wait for the improved ending DLC. I would give this game 10/10 if not for the dumb ending, low FOV, the failure to import my ME2 face, and the obnoxious "Origin" software (you are not allowed to install ME3 from disk until after you install Origin, sign up for an online account and download updates; and they say that if you buy DLC, you can't start single-player without an internet connection!)… Expand
  12. strong1494
    Apr 13, 2012
    10
    Guys this is the best game of 2012 so far. Your low scores is an indicator of confusion the gaming industry. BioWare have created a masterpiece. If you do not understand, I feel sorry for you
  13. Krown90
    Apr 13, 2012
    0
    total **** I hope EA goes bankrupt. Always **** titles.. They are the cancer of the gaming world. STOP!!! Close yours fk*ng offices EA, just do damage and ****
  14. ultraviper
    Apr 13, 2012
    8
    The good: The story kept me not wanting to put the mouse down until I was done. A lot of decisions you made back in the previous 2 games come up in conversations pretty often which is a nice touch. Many cameos from the previous games' characters as well. Graphics are very nice and really well optimized, ran great on my 4 year old PC at 1920x1080 with max settings. The multiplayer is pretty good, better than what I was expecting it to be like. Much more fun than the combat in the single player mode.

    The bad: Combat got pretty monotonous after the first couple hours. Every fight in the game is the same except for the rare occasions when you get to pilot a mech. The ending was lackluster, yes, but that shouldn't make the game an automatic 0 or 1 score, the ending is just one tiny part of this amazing series.    … Expand
  15. Understated
    Apr 12, 2012
    6
    I have just completed a complete play-through of the Mass Effect series. This following plays of the individual games numerous times including two play-throughs of ME 3. In the complete play-through I migrated a save to each game utilizing the same developing character and important plot points in order to experience story continuity and empathy so highly lauded and promoted by the maker Bioware. I found too much disparity comparatively to call this a true trilogy in the better sense of trilogies. Most importantly the writing for this never achieves more than just beyond comic book level writing and they at Bioware could certainly use some people on their team that have more understanding of human behavioral dynamics and interaction. Shepards gestures within the framework of very important decisions was painful and embarrassing to watch! The knuckle breaking just before the choice to perform a levering action was childish and insensitive. His sudden shifts of behavior in dialogue choices and actions was heavy/ham handed. There is the invitation to get more involved with characters along the way only to have that short-shrifted terribly in ME 3. At one point I felt as if Bioware wasn't really capable of handling what they had designed in concept, fully realizing it and fleshing it out. It isn't to my mind and could have been so much more. At this particular juncture I have no real interest in further participation in this series. The bottom has fallen out . I have no interest in any future dlc or ending changes. I am a painter/artist and I wouldn't change the colors, patterns, designs to suit someones taste or to coordinate it with someones sofa. The potential patron can see the results up front and choose. I have no backers I am in collaboration with that would influence quality or choices. But Bioware's efforts, admittedly, do include the players, their hard earned money, time, and energy. Their advertisements are replete with participation rhetoric. ME 3's multi-player for example. So there is a different context and responsibility. I will say lastly, that the way the "Return from Ashes" dlc was presented was a hurtful thing to do! The very important information given up by Javic in various conversations throughout the game, especially during the Thessea mission with Liara, betrays, to my mind, underhanded marketing behavior on the developers/publishers part. Javic's participation seemed crucial to better understanding and meaning in the storytelling. Yes I got the synthetic(order), organic(chaos) dynamic, which has been around and argued about for some time now, nothing new, which is this series's ending note and the other various models of philosophic thought concerning self-awareness and perception. But in the end it all isn't pulled together very convincingly and the end sort of 'hangs' there by itself. For myself I really thought that the Geth involvement and the partial integration of the Geth faction, the Heretics, was going to be the galaxies 'back door' to the Reaper demise. Something a little more classical and redemptive in grand fashion as the end of ME 2 seemed to be heralding. Awe, that would be too simplistic, but more achievable. This also was my last involvement in anything EA. I know that Biowares top generals are also on the board of EA, and I question the future of fairness and consideration for the consumer at this point. Does the proposal for a changed ending to ME 3 have to do with the players opinion of the story or their pocketbooks and falling out of favor?… Expand
  16. survivor_686
    Apr 12, 2012
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Warning Spoilers ahead:

    I must admit I eagerly awaited Mass Effect 3. I was eager to see how all my decision from the previous game carried across. Needless to say I left Mass Effect 3 with some very mixed feelings. However one thing I can say is that 95% of the game is amazing. The story is tight, the characters feel alive, the environment has come to life and the weapons feel unique and powerful. That is to say however until the last 15 minutes of the game.

    At the ending the player is treated to what happens to be a complete mistake. The ending breaks all the rules of narrative coherence, contradicts several plot points, introduces alien concepts and characters and creates several plot holes. Regardless of how you played your Shepard, all are treated to the same lackluster, half-baked, ending. Were this any other company it would be understandable. This being Bioware; an entity that has prided on its writing skills, this is shocking. Its as if someone decided to add random, metaphysical concepts in order to generate pointless speculation. This is NOT how one ends a story. Perhaps the best simile for Mass Effect 3 is that of a five star, three course meal. The appetizers whetted your palate, the main courses were splendid and then it was time for dessert. Unfortunately it would seem that someone dropped the dessert, scraped it back up and then threw some crap on top of it. Sure you'll remember the other four amazing courses, but its the crappy dessert that will stay with you. I would consign this game to the rental or discount bin.    … Expand
  17. AthanasiosT
    Apr 12, 2012
    3
    Well, let's put it that way : ME1 was top of the list. ME2 comes second. I played ME3 because I felt I had to follow the story, but I was deeply disappointed. It's clearly the worst of the three (poor scenario, repetitive shooting, poor RPG elements) and really has a weird (being polite here) and non rewarding ending. Sorry Bioware....
  18. osimandias
    Apr 12, 2012
    10
    DONT LISTEN TO THE USERS SAYING THAT YOUR EARLIER CHOICES DONT MATTER! Its just not true, depending on who survived the suicide mission and dozens, if not hundreds of other choices, this chapter will unfold in surpriningly, and yes, satisfying ways. I think most people judged this depending on their first playthrough, and you just cant do that. Its amazing and its a work of genius worth defending. End of story.… Expand
  19. OneCoolMF
    Apr 11, 2012
    3
    There are plenty of very thorough and complete reviews out here now, so I'll just try to add some extra value for someone still trying to decide whether to buy this game. Like many other reviewers, I've been playing since ME1, and also as many other reviewers have said, I cared enough to take the time to get on Metacritic and throw in my 2 cents.

    BOTTOM LINE: I regret buying this game a    t full retail price. Wait until you can get it cheap, hopefully after they've fixed the bugs and added some worthy DLC.

    Here's why I feel this way: Much of the game feels rushed, dumbed-down, and simplified, and in the end, I just feel like it didn't work out like it should have. And I really mean it didn't work! Besides issues noted elsewhere, I had my own. I ignored the bad reviews here and got the game a couple of weeks ago. I held my nose and bought the Day 1 DLC. But my extra squadmate never showed up. I looked all over the galaxy. I looked at the online walkthroughs. I did what i was supposed to do (as near as I could tell) and searched where I was supposed to search. But I never hooked up with my would-be Prothean buddy. I got the extra duds for the rest of the squad, but that didn't justify the expense of the DLC. I still feel ripped off about this.

    There were also vital elements of the game that were just simply never explained. For example, how do you raise your war readiness? The game never tells you that you have to play the multiplayer to do this; I had to read that in another review tonight. Oh well, I've already completed my playthrough, and I won't be going back.

    HELLO ..... how about including a game manual; even a rudimentary, rinky-dink manual that covers the basic game elements? Also, as other reviewers have stated, dialogue choices seemed narrower and shallower. This specifically affected me in the romance part of the game. I flirted with a couple of characters, and then BAM I'd completed some sort of irreversible step which locked me into romance with a character I didn't even like (Ashley). So when it came time to bend her over in my cabin, I told her I was too busy for her. But the game still had my character telling her he loved her later. Oh well. In ME1 and 2, It was a lot more obvious that you were taking an irreversible step with any of the romance options.

    As an aside, I'll note that I wasn't very thrilled with my squad choices. More, please. All this time saving the galaxy and I only get 5 squad members? The only real new choice I had was indeed a novel addition and I brought her on lots of missions, but I still felt more choices would have been better. If only the DLC actually worked!

    On the positive side, they fixed the tedious scanning borefest with something much more workable. And I enjoyed the combat, for the most part. After I leveled up my Vanguard, I had plenty of fun charging into battle.

    But I got tired of all the melodrama, which seemed forced on my character. I felt like I was in a bad WWII shooter that served as thinly veiled propaganda. The dream sequences with the child were annoying and nonsensical at best, and the forced emotionalism of the child in the game just really seemed out of place.

    As for the ending ........ yeah it wasn't great. But the real issue I had was that the actual choice you have at the end isn't obvious. Heck, it just looked like two outcomes to me, and not three as I see reviewers here have mentioned. I literally flipped a coin and went up the right platform, not really clear as to what I was doing. When I got close enough to guess which outcome this would result in, I realized this was not the choice I wanted ..... but the game would not let me turn around and go the other direction. Not because of a door or barrier, nay, but just because the game wouldn't let me walk back the way I came once I got past a certain invisible point.

    Overall, I had some fun playing it and and I enjoyed the missions that tied up lose ends from ME1 and 2 around the galaxy. But in the end, this could not overcome my disappointment in the glaring faults I've discussed, nor the other issues that previous reviewers have noted.

    I feel bad for Bioware. I've been a fan for a long time and I think they genuinely care. But I can't say this was a good game when it has so many faults that should have been remedied before release. Guess I'll just blame it on EA. I don't really care to go back again even if they add DLC to fix things.    … Expand
  20. tatchely87
    Apr 11, 2012
    2
    Wow, Bioware turned my favorite RPG series of all time down to a Gears-of-War-type sci-fi shooter. I'll admit, the combat is 100% better. But Bioware has changed the formula from what made us all love the first two Mass Effect games. The conversations with NPCs were the best part of the first two games -- now they aren't much more than cutscenes. In Mass Effect 3, instead of feeling like you are actually conversing with NPCs, you merely watch Shepard talking to them. Its so frustrating to see "my" Shepard get turned into a cookie-cutter gaming action hero. You get a couple of options every now and then, which I'm not sure even cause differences in the dialog. Contrast this to the first two games, where Shepard didn't say anything without you telling him what to say, and those conversation choices made it feel like you were actually making a difference. Bioware tries really hard to make every cutscene (of which there are way too many) super epic and emotional. It turns out most are just really corny. Its a lot like Gears of War, which I enjoyed. But I'm not looking for Gears of War here, I'm looking for Mass Effect!

    It makes me really sad that somehow, Bioware just isn't the studio they used to be. I feel like they are trying to just appease 8 year olds that just want to play to blow things up.

    I makes me more sad that I can't REALLY continue the amazing experience that was Mass Effect 2. Its their same Dragon Age II mistake, all over again.    … Expand
  21. Boro666
    Apr 11, 2012
    1
    Mass Effect never was a great game, not even good. It was passable, if you had few hours to kill. But ME3 is basically the worst part. Its short, simple, boring and insanely small. It's a hallway shooter for kids, with difficulty level acceptable even for sea slugs.
  22. Vicissitude
    Apr 11, 2012
    7
    I think a lot of the user reviews here are unfair. Yes, the game has some surprisingly nasty technical issues. For one mission, Garrus disappeared for about 20-30 minutes. Sadly, he was integral to the mission, so characters kept turning to talk to him, but there was nobody there. Much of the time I couldn't hear what he was supposed to be saying. Also, there are tracking issues during conversations. They tried to make the characters turn to face the current speaker, but this mostly just confuses them when there's more than one speaker. The most hilarious was when Liara's helper bot flew by during a conversation, and Shepard flipped out. He started thrashing about with his eyes rolled back in his head. Reminded me of the Exorcist.

    I'm not convinced the ending was bad, but I don't think it was very explicit about how your choices impacted the ending. Looking around online I found the ending thresholds, so it turns out it does matter what you do. It's just hard to directly see the impacts. The different endings are apparently pretty similar.

    The technical issues are my main gripe. I would say I still liked this better than the first Mass Effect but less than the second. I did not find it as disappointing as Dragon Age 2. I feel like people are comparing Mass Effect 3 to some ideal of what they hoped the game would be instead of comparing the game to its peers. Comparing the game to its peers shows that it some things well. It's a beautiful game graphically, and I enjoyed the cameos from throughout the series and seeing how choices I made came back to affect the third game.    … Expand
  23. chinoxa
    Apr 11, 2012
    10
    Since finishing this game, I have felt incredibly depressed. Not necessarily because of the infamous ending but because I was so completely immersed in another world that returning to reality came as a bit of a shock. I've never felt emotional about a computer game before. It's a phenomenal experience.
  24. Rougan
    Apr 10, 2012
    3
    Im a game developer and i cant believe what i get on ending of ME3. This is clearly unchecked and against the previous experiences (and major fanbase expectations). The only way to repair [some of] this mess is move to indoctrination theory. But.. if indoc is true.. then the ME3 is INCOMPLETE: we dont retake Earth as advertised, not yet.. This is the major destruction of a fanbase in entire game history.… Expand
  25. MrFist
    Apr 10, 2012
    0
    CAUTION The author is not afraid of repercussion of this article, unlike ââ
  26. nickobom
    Apr 10, 2012
    1
    The game at all is reasonable but the Ending DESTROYS everything.
    All choices along ME1 and ME2 really doesn't matter... the ME2 choices about collector base etc .. they are ignored. BioWare said that would be 16 different endings, but what we got was 3 different colors. RED BLUE or GREEN.

    There is no narrative coherence, the ending is filled with plot holes, ME1 and ME2 story was destroy    ed in a matter of minutes, they doesn't review their own games before launching? This doesn't make sense really.

    Why am I giving a 0?

    The answer is: The ending not only destroyed ME3 but the story of ME1 and ME2 too. ME3 became a action-shooter, there is only auto-dialogue, a few choices that i can count with my fingers. The game forces you to do some things, there is no roleplay anymore. I won't talk about the plotholes because in youtube you can find a lot of videos highlighting everyone one of them. They have done the same thing with DA2, they are trying to reach another kind of gamers, but to do that they are sacrificing their own fanbase. ME3 feels exactly like DA2: RUSHED. They didn't had the time to review their own creation what a crap!

    Hire another writer. Only your writers can screw a incredible story like ME in a matter of seconds.

    If I wanted to play make a Gears of War i would bought GoW. BioWare and EA are destroying every game they have. I feel sorry for them and for us cause we are losing a great developer. EA SUCKS.    … Expand
  27. Chazrh
    Apr 10, 2012
    10
    Great game. I am amazed at the public backlash for a game this good. I played each game in the series and this was my favorite. It was challenging and action packed while still maintaining a RPG feel. I have played countless hours of the multiplayer. ME 4 please!
  28. Flastie
    Apr 10, 2012
    10
    Possibly the best scifi story i ever saw in game. Ending is just brilliant, Deep philosophy in ending. this game just deserves 10/10. Keep it on Bioware, hater will just gona hate. Too bad that ME3 is another game hit by the HATE syndrome.
  29. OcelotFox
    Apr 9, 2012
    9
    Though the ending may sour the taste of an otherwise amazing experience, BioWare must be applauded for creating a tale that has engrossed the minds of many through its compelling storytelling, varied gameplay, beautifully-realized universe, and incredible characters. Mass Effect 3 isn't the pinnacle of the series, but it's certainly not the terrible ending that so many people would make it out to be. That said, BioWare, that last 15 minutes was pretty awful.… Expand
  30. TheEverglow
    Apr 9, 2012
    0
    What a joke. Mass Effect 2 was easily my favorite game this gen and I couldn't have been more letdown playing through this game the first time. I'm working through my second play through and I just can't make it. I'm selling it back and never buying a Mass Effect game again. Easily the worst and most disappointing ending of a game I've ever seen and I refuse to pay EA for a better ending. They ruined it for themselves and I'm not letting them get any more of my money.… Expand
  31. josiahlo
    Apr 9, 2012
    9
    The game itself was quite amazing, your choices in the first 2 games did affect outcomes in the 3rd game. It did not affect the ending unfortunately. The ending outrage is overblown. Personally I did not like the ending but the game itself is amazing and the multiplayer is quite enjoyable. Giving it a 9 instead of a 10 just because of the ending
  32. mr_cupcake
    Apr 9, 2012
    2
    This game showed great promise for being GOTY 2012 but based on the fact that the whole ME series so closely copied other sci-fis the whole prothean device idea was figured out by me and my brother before the game was released. Despite this let down the game had some great features throughout which were suddenly pushed to one side by that horrific ending. Considering the how game was based on the choices you make through out these had no effect on the three ghastly choices at the end which all end the game in exactly the same terrible way… Expand
  33. Martell
    Apr 9, 2012
    1
    After Dragon Age 2 you thought EA would stop.. but no!! they did it again!! let's be honest the game is a let down compared to ME2 and the fact that the reviewing sites acclaim this with a 10/10 or a 9/10, it's just ridicolous. the game is fine until you discover that your decisions, the allies you find along the way and the difficulties you overcome during the game have no weight in the final battle. if you expect something similar to the suicide mission in ME2 where your choice mattered you'll be very disappointed!… Expand
  34. SaintR21
    Apr 9, 2012
    10
    In my opinion Mass Effect 3 wasn't the best in the series(Mass Effect 2), but it is still an outstanding bit of video game entertainment. My score would usually have been 8.5 but the amount of hate that the game is getting for its ending is just absurd. I think the people who are giving it 1-5 are being immature, if they can honestly say that they did not enjoy the 20+ hours leading up to the ending then they are totally blinded by fanboy hate and entitlement and feel that the IP is more theirs than it's Bioware's. Well done Bioware for another stellar role playing experience.… Expand
  35. elgrinch
    Apr 8, 2012
    5
    i WAS a devoted fan of this saga so i can't say i hated ME3 but...i CAN genuinely say i was very disappointed. Bioware made a few improvements to combat whilst killing ALL the other features that made mass effect what it was... The choices and repercussions from ME1-->ME2 are now worth a **** so the story we had built basically died. Most of the caracters we came to love are no longer with us cause they were replaced by either gay or pretty looking people...none of which ever really have an edifying conversation with shepard cause roleplay is nonexistent in this release... Even little things like the music in shepards quarters went from epic space tunes to half-assed amature fiddling with keyboard. Now.. the fighting and some of the scenes were actually pretty great but, this little approval suddenly finds itself punched, kicked and spitt on by THE END....
    ... Oh God, the end.... could it suck more?... anyways, mass effect 3 is fun to play for any person that doesn't give a damn about the trilogy nor spent time and money on the prior titles. But for us fans... we got screwed. P.S ---those cash mongering tactics like the day one DLC crap.... results in more loss than gain.    … Expand
  36. john-117
    Apr 8, 2012
    2
    Bad graphics for the PC, maybe worse than ME2, but that didn't bother me. You all know what's really wrong... the ending. Great game until the end, but then, like a friend of mine said, WTF?
    Seriously, fix the ending Bioware or else you are never, ever going to get a dime from me again.
  37. Angus
    Apr 8, 2012
    4
    The Mass Effect trilogy was great, many great moments in Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2. I know a lot of people loved 2 but it was a step away from what made ME1 so great. Mass Effect 1 was an RPG with inventory management, gear options in the field, looting and so on. The story was stellar, all the characters came off well. It was a well rounded and near perfect game. Mass Effect 2 simplified it, no more inventory, no more gear changes in the field, little to no inventory management, but the story was just a titch under how great ME1 was. ME2 was bit harder to get into and took 2 playthrus to start making sense to me. There was no distinguishable bad guy and over 70% of the games storyline was just gaining the loyalty of your squadmates which only 2 came from the previous game. The bad guy you do find out in the end, but I missed it the first time around. The games combat mechanics and exploration were nothing like ME1. ME1 had cover but it was not Gears of War cover which it became in ME2 and ME3, the exploration in 1 was great imo, but the vehicle to explore in did not work well with the terrain they gave you to explore. I wish they would have kept open worlds and open world quests like ME1 so exploration was a part of ME2, but the simplified it for "new customers." ME2 still was good, but with so much removed from gameplay it was hard to swallow. No spoilers but if you play ME1 then 2 you will see they retconned Shepherd into a bad situation for 2. It ended up working out though after a few playthrus.
    Now to ME3. So much was built up for this game. Anyone who played Shepherd was expecting a grand finale with challenges and all the choices you made to matter. The choices you made from ME1 thru ME3 are just a number which grants you only 1 second extra on one of the 3 endings. The 3 endings are near identical in everyway except the 1 second cutscene at the end of the Red Ending. There is also the other 2 endings, Blue and Green. No matter what you do, you get this one ending that comes in 3 colors and in the Red one you can get 1 second extra with a high enough score. Nothing you did showed up in the cutscenes for the end game which should have been bare minimum. The endings in my opinion turn the main Character into the worst villain in history rather than send him off like a hero. It is ok to kill the main character in story like Mass Effect 3 and in fact he could have died in ME2, but to send him off as horrible person even if you played the good guy options through was unforgivable and it kills the entire experience.
    This review is based on Mass Effect 3, not the whole series. The reason I gave it a 4 is that it is the same combat system as 2, add in Weight which reduces your ability times the more you carry, but still no inventory, no in field changes, once you leave your ship you got what you got, also all exploration is gone, everything is level based now. The game is a Gears of War cover shooter clone.
    It is not plausible that you did all that you did in such a short time in the story. Leaving Earth and going out to get resources and items to come back and based on advertisement, "Retake Earth." This is not an option based on the current endings though so the avert is basically just smoke and mirrors. Nothing new is added to gameplay, choices are removed from dialogue, no more neutral options, its jerk or good-two-shoes Roleplay, nothing in between.
    The whole great trilogy was awesome, but the last 10 minutes of Mass Effect 3 makes you feel like crap. The last 10 minutes invalidates everything you accomplished throughout 1, 2 and even 3. Now some would say, "it's the journey," "not the destination." That is not the case in ME3, everything fit together at least on a base level, the story remained the same throughout even with the RPG element removal, then all of a sudden a different story starts, plot holes are thrown at you, new characters are introduced, people are hoping for "the dream ending," and all the choice you had before is now removed. One never seen before character at the end forces you into Red, Blue, Green options even though the protagonist would never listen to this new character ever before.
    The producers told us no A, B, C endings, but that is what they gave us. Mass Effect Series rating prior to ME3 = 9 out 10, after 5 out of 10 considering all 3 games, due to fond memories of 1 and 2, but realizing they meant nothing and are not the same game/story as 3. I did not think you could ruin such a good story even with a bad idea, but Bioware actually found a way to pick exactly the opposite of everything they did before.

    I sure hope Bioware gets back to its roots someday and remakes ME3 into the game they promised. Only if they could get away from EA.    … Expand
  38. Rainbow_Dazed
    Apr 8, 2012
    2
    I love the series, but for me the ending just ruins the whole experience. With a better ending the game would be a 10/10 game, but I guess the way a story ends is just so important for me, that a bad ending equals to a bad experience. The ending was full of plot holes and took away all desire to replay the trilogy. None of the choices I made mattered in the end, so what was the point.
  39. Bruinbear
    Apr 7, 2012
    1
    The ending ruined this whole series for me. I have zero desire to replay any of the series ever. I will raise this score if they fix the ending. Until then, this game destroyed the ME universe for me. Ending had zero closure, gaping plot holes, and was literally an A B C choice. This game did not meet the promises that were made pre-release. Sadly, up until the end it was pretty good. But since this was a story based game, the ending had to live up to at least some expectations. It did not. I will raise this score, if Bioware fixes the end.… Expand
  40. Colonello
    Apr 7, 2012
    0
    Wont even mention the ending since all know it was crappy. But other problems are present too, way too many holes in the plot. Day1 dlc ripoff. And worst of all, forcing to use EA´s totally crappy Origin service. Come on, we got steam already, rly not fun to use another, way crappier service just cos EA is too creedy to pass the opportunitu to make more money.
  41. mackswift
    Apr 7, 2012
    4
    This is probably one of the few times I've written my review of a game, and those other few times were games like the original Deus Ex and Red Alert 1 & 2. But this.....this....ending, even a week after finished the game; nay the trilogy, and I've still got a bad taste in my mouth.
    Here I was on Earth with my squad and we just handed another Reaper its ass. And we're hightailing it to that     transporter up to the Citadel. No clue what was going to be up there. And then one big laser blast from Harbinger......and it was the series finale to the Sopranos all over again.
    The first game was a great sci-fi RPG that introduced us to the universe and laid out the plot, problem, and all the tantalizing little bits and hints of what was to come. Mass Effect 2 was phenominal. I was so drawn into the story, I literally played all weekend until I finished.
    I was stoked for the third game, and while playing it; I was having a blast. I jumped into the multiplayer and had some fun there too. Remember the Reaper on Rinoch and all the choices you made right after that. My choice seriously **** things up and I ended up taking a mulligan! I never took a mulligan like that before; so understandably I was even further stoked as to what the end of the game was gonna entail.
    Yeah, um, Bill Lumburg style, um, yeeeahhh, that ending......
    It sucked. What happened to my squadmates? To Garrus? Tali? Liara? What a letdown. Not to mention that I read what was intended to be the ending that Drew Karpyshyn had drawn up for the series; that the use of the 'Mass Effect' fields was creating a large buildup of dark energy that was going to destroy the galaxy. And the Reapers were creatures that absorbed technologically advanced races and used their genetics in the hopes of finding an answer to stop the dark energy buildup.
    Now that would have been a cool frakking ending!!!!!!

    Not that Sopranos style series finale mess we were left with.    … Collapse
  42. gmfreeman
    Apr 7, 2012
    5
    As someone who spent over 300 hours playing the first two games in the series, I don't understand how anyone who has played the previous games could possibly have enjoyed an ending full of plot holes, be satisfied with one of "six" possible endings, or the fact that one of the endings seems to be the right one. The limited conversation options and almost complete lack of side missions makes the game feel rushed, to climax with no conclusion.… Expand
  43. KaityUK
    Apr 7, 2012
    3
    Game was way over hyped prior to release and with to me rings alarm bells. Played the PC version at a friends, appalled, poor graphics, poor story, poor voice acting, poor continuity, poor game play. ME2 was great, ME3 is pap.
  44. bozlr
    Apr 7, 2012
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Where do you even begin with how bad this game was. I guess the part that was the worst, was the constant homosexual agenda shoved down your throat that you can't do anything about. Games are not the place for the politics of small group to be pushed on the rest of society. We play games to have fun, not to be spoon fed politically correct garbage. If you are going to put gays in a game, give the user the option to get rid of them or kill them off. Then there is how dumbed down the entire game has become. Exploring the galaxy is now just swinging through a system, pinging your sensors a few times, and collecting a few things. Customizing your armor lacks the amount of choices to really do any kind of personalization to your Shepard. A game this size with a multi-player part should have tons of different armors. There was only one location to visit, the Citadel. Seriously, they couldn't come up with some other places we could go to a few times for missions and to pick up side missions? This game was easily missing 20 hours of single player gameplay, if not more. The game should have grown, but instead was dumbed down and shortened with a so-so multi-player element tacked on.

    Then there are the endings....
    After playing through 3 games with ~100 of my life, this ending was like EA coming to my front door and personally spitting in my face.
    It's easy EA/Bioware, here I'll fix it for you.
    Shepard gets to the Citadel after fighting his way there, hits a switch, and the Crucible docks. People onboard the Crucible fire it and it Destroys all the Reaper tech locally, then spreads through the mass relays, then balloons out of the galaxy, destroying any trace of the Reapers. The Citadel is now in Earth orbit and Earth becomes the new hub of the Galaxy because of this. The Citadel is fixed up and peace reigns in the galaxy till a new enemy from another galaxy emerges for us to fight in Mass Effect 4. Epic ending, everyone gets what they want, and another game is set up.

    EA will be lucky if I buy another one of their games after this mess.    … Expand
  45. pottman
    Apr 6, 2012
    1
    Since you won't make my choices matter, Bioware. Here's my choice then: You can shove that ending down wherever it came from. You lost another customer, trying to pander to those gaming sites.
  46. kjc001
    Apr 6, 2012
    8
    I think Mass Effect 3 is a good game overall. It could use more filler content and more creativity/variety with the ending, but the game is decent. All these people complaining about the ending and rating the game extremely low still played through the entire game to see the ending. If a game is bad enough for me to rate below a 5 I'm definitely not going to be finishing it. I like the addition of multiplayer as well. It could use some different game modes, more maps and general variety, but it's fun as is for a while at least.… Expand
  47. craig8304
    Apr 6, 2012
    0
    Overall interesting and engaging in concept and some content. The black box idea of decisions having consequences was what hooked me. Who were the writers trying to copy, Arthur C Clark? Ursula K LeGuin? My fault for trusting that I was in the hands of capable writers. I find no basis for developers to claim artistic integrity. The current ending has an incongruousness that belies the so called pursuit of artistic integrity. It is lazy. it is cobbled. it is Bad Art.… Expand
  48. walshy2142
    Apr 6, 2012
    0
    The game was an awesome ride right up until thessia after this point the whole game feels rushed, especially the ending, for this reason I'm giving it a 0, as the ending undermines everything you done across all games.
  49. FormicSapien
    Apr 6, 2012
    10
    Don't pay attention to the low scores. This game is a masterpiece. The reason for the extremely high amount of low scores is because BIOWARE mad the mistake of creating an ending that people didn't expect, and when people get something they didn't expect, they don't like it instinctively. I played through all 3 games start to finish, and if this weren't in the hands of call-of-duty-playing gamers and it was in the form of a film or book series it would be heralded as one of the greatest pieces of fiction ever made.… Expand
  50. JonathanM
    Apr 5, 2012
    2
    Why, oh why did this game get good reviews? It's very poorly done compared to the first two (I was a big fan of the first one, and the second one was okay.) This newest addition to the mass effect series is beyond flaws with not-so-flowing storyline, poor animation, and poorly optimized for the pc. To make matters worse, the storyline is full of holes as well, with parts becoming inconsistent or unnecessary. I am a fan of Bioware, but this is by far the worst game I've ever seen them put out. Nice job, guys, you wasted my money. I truly say do not bother with this one, it will only ruin the series for you. Go play the first one.… Expand
  51. nuevecuervos
    Apr 5, 2012
    0
    Loved ME1, enjoyed ME2 though the story elements seemed a bit repetitive, but ME3 was an absolute let down, crikey. Dumbed down conversation and massive plot holes paired with an absolute lack of give-a-**** for how much thought and investment players have put into the purportedly all-important decision-making process to date, since it all ends up about the same in the end anyway. blergh. I wasn't going to spend the money after the day one DLC debacle, but I decided to give Bioware the benefit of the doubt. Never again, thanks. My *** is sore enough.… Expand
  52. Tweete
    Apr 5, 2012
    3
    Mass Effect was a great game. Mass Effect 2 was very simple but still a good game. Mass Effect 3 is just not very good. It seems like Bioware is on a crusade to address every social issue known to man and squeeze it into a 40 hour game. I play to have a good time and get away from real world crap. I wont comment on the terrible ending as thats been covered.
  53. zyntin
    Apr 5, 2012
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Long term Role-Playing Gamer here. I tell people I like Role-Playing Games for the stories. I suppose that's why I read novels as well. With Role-Playing games I usually get to live the action rather than just reading what is going to happen. With the Mass Effect series when you could choose your path of character's personality. I thought it was awesome( Story AWESOME!). Mass Effect 2 came out with the import feature AWESOME! Story AWESOME!. Mass Effect 3 Story to the end AWESOME! till the end......

    WTH Reapers are Order to Chaos? IRONIC! INDIGNANT!

    Only a reasoning engine can come up with Order to Chaos. More like we have power that we refuse to let others have.

    Who created the reapers? AI? 3 choices and you still lose..... Mass Relays destroyed no matter what. Reapers still win. Galactic Travel crippled for who knows how long maybe billions of years.

    I leave you with a quote that I enjoyed reading. â    … Expand
  54. savagess2546
    Apr 5, 2012
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. After finishing the game, I do have to say that the ending was good and bad. It really struck home in the emotional aspect but the fact that there's no way to save Shepard and that fact that all three endings are identical besides some colors and graphics overlays, makes me disappointed. It also seems like NOTHING I did throughout the game really had any effect on the ending. All that time spent gathering resources and military strength didn't really do anything except unlock ending options. I still loved the entire game but it definitely could have been better.… Expand
  55. VectorX
    Apr 5, 2012
    9
    The people writing about the horrible ending have a point, but it isn't as extreme as many people peg it to be. There are seven endings and the perfect ending requires a lot of work. Honestly, the ending wasn't all that bad (I've seen far worse) and it wasn't a plot breaker or an ending that made no sense. The developers created an ending that brought closure to the entire universe. In order to avoid the spoilers check, I won't go into what actually happened.

    Still, in terms of an ending, it was very well done (It has a modular ending much like the Fallout series, where what you do affects the outcome). The plot was stellar and the character development (following the same style as Mass Effect and Mass Effect II had the Paragon/Renegade dichotomy) was incredible. The all inclusive relationship system between the people your character interacts with was very strong and the ability to cultivate a relationship with anybody of any gender of any race was a very interesting aspect.

    The combat mechanics were solid. I found the third person shooting style very conducive to the game, and while I am a die hard FPS fan, it was necessary to allow you to control your team mate AI while being able to keep aware of your combat situational awareness. I found the battle mechanics addictive. I literally found myself skipping the intro scenes to less important missions just to get into the fight. Being able to try out all the different battle styles also made me play through the game multiple times.

    I highly recommend this game for people who want a mix between good plot lines and good shooting mechanics. For those people who rate the game down because of the ending, you need to realize this game isn't YOUR story, it's the developers. That's how they chose to end the series, get over it. For the people who say your choices in the previous installments don't matter, have you played the game through without using your save data? Things happen VERY differently...including your ability to cultivate relationships with certain characters and your ability to influence the outcomes of intergalactic politics...    … Expand
  56. shadowchaser076
    Apr 5, 2012
    2
    Mass Effect 3 is an absolute amazing brilliant game until the very last ten minutes. The very last ten minutes ruin the entire franchise. SPOILERS AHEAD......

    Our Choices we made from the very beginning with ME1 doesn't matter. Seriously, Bioware threw everything out the window in the very last ten minutes. The problem with the ending is that its broken storytelling. You just cannot intro    duce a totally brand new character that has never been mentioned, such as the Starchild/Catalyst, at the very end of any series. Also, you just can't introduce a whole NEW theory as to why the Reapers were created to do. That was never mentioned at all only up to the last 10 minutes. For these to work, they were have to be mentioned throughout ME1 and ME2. Also it has been mentioned many times that we would have gotten 16 different endings due to our choices throughout the series. We didn't get that. In the end, all the choices we made though out the game and war assets doesn't matter, because Bioware threw that out the window with lousy storytelling in the last 10 minutes. It would be like, in Fight Club, we find out who Tyler Durden really is, and the screen goes black. It would be like, we find out Darth Vader is Luke's father at the end of Return of the Jedi, the Death Star blows up and wipes out along Endor with it. Bioware are still defending this as this being a piece of art. If an artist promises their client you're going to get this and that, you'll love the finished product, then 2 years later, the artist gives the client completely something different. What makes you think the client would not get upset over this. Bioware has just become another game company to make money and screw their fans over along with EA. They should be ashamed of themselves.… Expand
  57. GrumpyReviewer
    Apr 5, 2012
    8
    Tell you what. It's not better than ME2, which remains as the best in the franchise. But It's an absurd to say it's a bad game. It's a good game with a couple of bad choices. But it has the franchise's DNA, we cannot deny it. I understand that many purists will be offended with the overhaul but we should not be too picky. Criticize, yes; crucify, no. ME3 does not deserve, by all means, an average 3.8. It's not a 10, definitely, but it deserves a solid 8.0 in my opinion.… Expand
  58. BrightCandle
    Apr 5, 2012
    1
    Major technical problems including inability to set vsync on, stuttering with high performance graphics and zero support for eyefinity. Unplayable due to the stuttering
  59. Omega4
    Apr 5, 2012
    10
    Thanks to EA's announcement that a clarification to the ending will be made, I can finally give the score this game deserves. My playthrough was an absolute blast. Meeting my old squadmates again, meeting new ones, travelling to new places... I've never been so emotionally invested in a game. It was an absolute blast to play, and I can't wait to see the ending.
  60. Nauglamir
    Apr 5, 2012
    5
    I won't add to it any further. Some of the reviews down here do already get to the point of what was wrong with this game. To summarize it, the settings in the game along with the streamlined dialogues do lack any depths, while the graphics are blatantly dragged from the previous game, with no polishing whatsoever and at times performing low frame-rate levels. From the second half of the game onward, the main plot rises to an acceptable level of narration, only to sink as it draws near to the end. The gameplay is nothing special either. It's mostly fine, but it's clunky and way too "shooterized". Basically, the game has been simplified in order to reach a wider console audience, while the end, sadly enough, encourage the players to buying new DLCs to get further information about the fate of the galaxy. As a result, i recommend purchasing it on budget in the next months to come, as it still delivers some good stories on the mass effect universe, though lacking a major consistency.… Expand
  61. wigglybacon
    Apr 4, 2012
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Gameplay - The Good: The combat is much faster paced, being able to use any weapon but balanced by the weight factor is a nice improvement, being able to dive/roll is a nice improvement. The enemy variety, particularly the Cerberus troops with their deployable turrets and shield generators, as well as high priority targets and dangerous melee opponents forces much more tactical and engaging combat. The mounted turret combat and the mech you can pilot are nice breaks from the cover shooter gameplay. Powers are also a bit more responsive and easy to use. The Bad: still the annoying problem of 1 button does about 6 different things. and now roll is added to the list making it even more annoying when your Shepard doesn't do what you want because everything is the same button. The quest log is an absolute disaster, every single stage of every quest is static text for that quest. there is no way to tell if you have an item for a fetch quest or not. you may end up flying around systems dodging reapers looking for something only to realize you already have it, and then you have to go and find the person that needs it, and the quest tracking is sketchy at best, and non-existent most of the rest of the time. There are also about half the squad members as the previous game. Squad AI is still pretty dumb. Also. the multiplayer is required to get the best ending for singleplayer... this is absolute garbage, I don't intend to ever play multiplayer and trying to force me to play it so you can try to milk more cash with the "buy the mystery box" thing? seriously? f*** you. disconnect singlplayer and multiplayer and I would have no problems with it, despite the obvious money grab. Graphics, atmosphere and technical - The Good: Facial Textures are improved, and the game runs a lot cooler on my system, so an optimization improvement only a couple crashes in around 45 hours. the music may be composed by someone else but its still very good and captures moods well. The voice acting is top notch as always, and the characters are as good as ever. The Bad: some blocky shadows and some really low res textures every now and then particularly distant textures with a bit of texture pop-in but nothing terrible. The Story- The Good: 98% of the game is just as brilliant as the other 2 games in the series, you can see all the effects of your choices from the previous 2 games, characters may help you out if you saved them in a previous game ect... the war assets system is quite good as it gives an additional bonus to just fetching something, it adds the number, and a little flavor text making it feel like everything you do is helping the war effort. and the entire tone and pace of the game are very desperate, as it should be for a war against super machines of doom. The Bad: THE ENDING... omfg the ending is appalling. suffice it to say, all the negativity about the ending is well founded. full of plot holes, ignores all choices made and comes down to choose a color, but it doesn't even matter they're all the same. Other than the ending, the rest of the game is brilliant and well made. Another complaint I have is the complete removal of the neutral option from the conversation wheel, its only paragon or renegade now and there seem to be fewer conversation choices during cut scenes overall. kind of annoying but not game breaking, and it doesn't take much away from the story. Also, why is Shepard being so bothered by some little kid's death after all the s*** hes seen? Also, Tali's Face... wtf is that Bioware? couldn't be bothered to make a 3d model? Now you may be wondering, why the 6/10? 5 reasons. 1. the ending is a steaming sack of s*** -1 2. After the crap ending there is a screen telling me to buy DLC... rubs salt in a fresh wound -.5 3. forcing multiplayer that effects singleplayer -1 4. Have to deal with that pile of crap called origin to play it. -.5 5. Day one DLC on the Disc, just to be greedy and milk consumers with corrupt business practices. -1 The only serious issues with the game itself is the ending and the forced multiplayer. But I can't stand by and deal with such horrid business practices, part of the product being reviewed is the purchasing options and service, and these should be included in the rating ihmo. I blame EA for these failings of service, Bioware made a great sequel to a great series (minus the ending) and EA mired the whole thing with their greedy corruption. EA, gtfo, and bioware, fix the damn ending, and disconnect multiplayer and singleplayer please… Expand
  62. OrangeFish
    Apr 4, 2012
    2
    The first half of the game is quite enjoyable as you progress into the second half of the game it is clear that quite a few missions are missing. Developer interviews confirm this(from the Final Hours of ME3 iPad app).

    The most damning indictment about the quality of this title is saved for the ultimate conclusion of the game. The ending does not work, does not make sense, and feels lik    e its tacked on from a different universe. It certainly does not feel like it belongs in Mass Effect`s universe.

    Another 6-9 months of development time likely could have fixed the problems, unfortunately that didn`t happen so I would suggest unless this is fixed sometime during 2012 I would recommend skipping this game.

    Perhaps the best thing you can do is to is play Mass Effect 1 and just pretend the whole thing ends right there.    … Expand
  63. snowmyr
    Apr 4, 2012
    0
    This is my favourite game series of all time. And yes... the Ending of the game is as bad as everyone says. If you haven't played it.. you probably am not able to comprehend how much of a slap in the face it is to all fans of the series. I won't spoil anything. The first 95% of the game is great. The last 5% sucks. EA killed Bioware with one hell of a bang.
  64. heinz
    Apr 4, 2012
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Game was good up until Priority:Earth. Felt very rushed then.
    Engaging combat.
    Well written and acted story arcs.
    Citadel as a hub was well done.
    Bottle shooting with Garrus was incredible.
    Emotionally engaging.

    Cerberus missions felt repetitive.
    Character interaction was sub par to ME2 and ME1;
    Tali's face reveal was very poorly handled,
    Romancing Liara felt forced and is also bugged.
    Fetch quests and war asset gathering was a chore.
    Gaping plot holes and no closure.
    Shortest game of the trilogy.

    Conclusion:
    Scrapping elements which made both previous game truly great in favor of targeting a broader audience wasted the potential of being a worthy ending to a great trilogy.
    The gaping plot holes, nonsensical ending and butchered role playing system transformed a once great action-RPG into a mere TPS with remnants of its former franchise.

    Rating: 6/10    … Expand
  65. HellZero
    Apr 4, 2012
    3
    Ending looks like was written by a 10 year old. Full of plot holes, just feels incomplete and full of nonsense. A dissapointment like I never had before in a video game.
    Dumbed down story line in comparison to the first mass effect.
    Again, ending removes all replay value.
    Combat is more dynamic and fun, but what made the previous games stand all (story, narrative, player engagement) in thi    s one only ruins the entire franchise.… Expand
  66. Blackjack217
    Apr 4, 2012
    0
    An excellent series destroyed by a terribly flawed ending. From false advertizing, Day one DLC, false advertizing about said DLC to the terrible ending, this game gets a zero.
  67. rturtzer
    Apr 4, 2012
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I have played Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2. I loved this story.

    Before Mass Effect 3 I had utter confidence in Bioware's mantra of "interactive storytelling." It was true. Stepping into the game was like my own imagination had come to life.

    Gameplay wise, this game is fun. Nothing that hasn't been done before, but compared to the previous two games the combat is significantly improved.

    All issues come down to design. From war assets being just text to multiplayer being necessary for the "best" ending, not to mention rampant DLC advertising, many elements feel unfinished, bugs feel unpolished, and the 4th wall is repeatedly and shamelessly broken.

    But worst of all is the ending. Not only is it littered full of plot holes, it makes no sense as to what an "epic" is. Not the word used as slang, but a readily definable genre with rules of decorum that only great writers are able to break.

    Mac Walters is not a great writer. Hell, the quality of the conversations this time around means the writing team has gotten pretty lousy. SSSTEEEEEVVVEEEE!

    But imagine if Return of the Jedi had ended with the Death Star exploding and then finishing with the end sequence of 2001: A Space Odyssey. It's kind of like that.

    Which makes this unforgivable. You can't screw up the story when your company's greatest pride is "interactive storytelling" and then botch both aspects.    … Expand
  68. Morring
    Apr 4, 2012
    0
    The whole game, except the last five minutes, is above average. It has some GREAT moments and some considerable shortcomings, The technical department is poor, the few improvements over the previous game are balanced by many flaws, which become obstacles during gameplay. Action could be a lot of fun, too bad you only have one button to crouch, run, and jump over obstacles. Most of the times you'll die it's going to be because of this. Some good moments about the plot, but some errors and contradictions are very easy to notice. The soundtrack, that's probably the only thing that really went right. Given all this facts I'd give it a 7/10 BUT: the ending. The plot becomes meaningless, all your choices: discarded. The explanations are incredibly dumb at best, and even if you assume it was all just a dream, or an indoctrination induced vision, it keep not making sense. Even if it did, you still don't see what happens to the galaxy you learned to love in the course of three games. What you get is the same cutscene, with an explosion of a different color based on a choice you make in the last 30 seconds of gameplay. This is no hyperbole, it's actually what you get. The whole plot is based on something the devs explicitly said they would'n do: add a "kill reapers" button. They aren't even above adding the cliche child dying seeking some easy drama, and getting shepard out of character a bit more. I'd make it 4/10 then, even with no reasonable plot it's still a nice action game with some control issues and a few good moments with your old companions, right? No, because a game is not just the final product. Everything reeks of the scent of some money-craving horrible beast. You get day one DLC that is already on disk. That character was intended to be meaningful to the plot, and you can see why: it's a prothean. But they just accepted to sacrifice some of the plot meaningfulness so that it could be an optional you could sell. As you finish the game, a message appears: you are reset before you start the last mission, and you're invited to buy some DLCs to further shepard's adventures. This behaviour is unacceptable. Remember when DLCs were stuff they made months AFTER the game was released, and you got to play THE WHOLE GAME simply by paying its price? Maybe it's me, maybe I should't have standards. But I do, and so do many people. That's why after a second playtrough I'm modifying my review and giving this a zero. That's why this game has such a low score. I understand you may really want to play this, but DO NOT BUY. These people can only understand money.… Expand
  69. drogondoldos
    Apr 4, 2012
    2
    What can I say that hasn't already been said? They cut corners **** the previous choices had no major impact on the story (As we had been promised), I could go on but honestly I have better things to do.
  70. KRHamilton
    Apr 4, 2012
    5
    Mass Effect 3 is a great game for the most part, but is has some critical flaws that eliminate almost all the replay value of the entire series. The biggest problem is the ending which ruins the whole series for me and many other fans because of its low quality, inconsistencies, flawed logic, and clear indication that none of your choices ultimately matter much for a series that requires a minimum of 100 hours from part 1 to part 3, if you complete every quest and mission. The ending goes against one of the most fundamental features of the game series; BioWare continuously advertised the series as one where almost every choice matters. I'm a big fan of Mass Effect 1 and 2, with the exception of planet scanning in part 2; I hated that boring activity. I played through both games at least 5 times including all DLC. Now I feel I wasted hundreds of hours in those games to reach the disappointing conclusion in Mass Effect 3. It's sad to see how far BioWare has declined since they were purchased by EA in late 2007. How could such a wonderful series have deteriorated this much in 5 years?


    I believe the problem is an ongoing issue caused by EA's budget priorities; too much money goes into their marketing of games and not enough to their development studios. Another problem was EA forcing BioWare to add multiplayer late in the development cycle. This took valuable resources from the development of the single player campaign and it shows from beginning to the end with choppy animations, limited character development, greatly reduced number of squad members, over simplified buggy user interface, sound card problems, lackluster quest journal, an excessive number of planet scanning fetch quests, a disappointingly generic final mission, and an unoriginal anticlimactic conclusion. Even the simple ability to holster your weapon when you don't need it was removed. Having to run around safe areas with only allies standing around while being forced point my gun at them is a major immersion killer for me. Also when you holstered your gun it was possible to better appreciate the beautiful and interesting environments in the game and see how cool your armor looks from every angle. A noticeable reduction in quality is the first thought that came to mind from the moment I started my first mission on Mass Effect 3, because of all these issues. The good news is that Mass Effect 3 has many shining moments of brilliance where everything comes together flawlessly. My two favorite parts were the awe inspiring missions in Tuchanka and Rannoch. I also enjoyed most of the conversation topics with Joker, EDI, Garrus, Liara, and Tali. Adding the ability to dodge and dive for cover as well as the melee combat and grabs took the gameplay to a whole new level of fun. I can't recall any other game, in the past 15 years that had so much potential and so utterly squandered it after building up dramatic tension to such an amazing level while getting so many things right across three installments. I purchased and completed all DLC for the trilogy; that is over $250 cash plus my emotional investment in the Mass Effect franchise. I paid $80 for the Mass Effect 3 Digital Deluxe Edition plus sales tax, my most expensive digital download since I started gaming 15 years ago, and it can't be returned for a refund through Origin. I don't feel Mass Effect 3 is a good deal, until at least some of its significant problems are fixed.


    Fortunately, BioWare has promised to investigate issues being reported to them as constructive criticism; I hope they fix the major problems with Mass Effect 3 so I can enjoy this series again.


    I've read rumors that EA plans to charge for fixing the problems with Mass Effect 3; if they planned to charge extra for a better conclusion to a beloved franchise, it would be a new low in the history of gaming. New DLC should only be sold if isn't directly related to fixing the ending.


    To illustrate the problem compare this:


    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPelM2hwhJA


    To this:


    http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/355/index/10056886


    http://alizrak.wordpress.com/2012/03/18/the-broken-promises-of-mass-effect-3-spoilers/


    Because of the discrepancies between Mass Effect 3 and what was advertised by EA, at least one fan has filed a formal complaint with the US Federal Trade Commission. That is unfortunate, but it shows a level of dissatisfaction with a top rated game that I haven't seen before.


    I love Mass Effect and want it to be remembered in the best possible way. I want it to have replay value as a complete series, because it is the best science fiction interactive entertainment series in the market. There is nothing wrong with improving a product. BioWare doesn't owe it to fans to change Mass Effect 3; they owe it to themselves, after all the hard work they have put in to the series.    … Expand
  71. kabbi
    Apr 3, 2012
    0
    Terrible game, ridiculously mind-numbingly BORING...the last squeeze from a exhausted cash cow who's moments are long past the ole' family farm. You'll ask yourself while playing "wow? are people actually buying this slop?" The answer is EA games...they don't make games, they make deadlines! and they **** over everyone else in the moneygrubbing process. Too many business degrees who never played games now trying to sell them.... I don't even recommend the pirated version of this game ...it's that bad.… Expand
  72. kiminkwon
    Apr 3, 2012
    10
    best freaking game ever!!! =D it deserves an 11/10 score xD.... although personally i kind of think the 2nd part was a little bit better idk why ppl dont understand the ending... imho it was perfect....
  73. Victorian
    Apr 3, 2012
    8
    Let's be honest, Mass Effect Three was a pretty damn good game. However, I will admit two was a little bit better in my opinion. Mass Effect three strayed a bit from the RPG elements and went into TPS mode. Despite all of this though, I don't think it deserves the 1,642 negative ratings it got. I mean, the endings sucked and it was filled with plot holes and didn't make any sense. But I don't believe a game should be rated only by its ending.

    In conclusion, I believe Mass Effect Three deserves an 8 out of 10. Hopefully they'll release a DLC fixing their mistakes.    … Expand
  74. mycccroft
    Apr 2, 2012
    1
    The Good: Some of the character writing is the best I've seen in a video game. The Bad: Frequent bugs (I started saving before I stepped foot on the bridge). With the exception of a few superb missions, the story writing falls apart in this game (especially in the second half). The overall plot is weak and the ending is as bad as advertised. The entire last mission (London) feels like it was done by a different team. I don't know whether this game was rushed, a victim of corporate politics, or had some massive turnover in the writing staff, but this was a massive disappointment. What makes it transcend the average failure are the moments of brilliance. The game keeps sucking you back in and then smacking you every time you engage in it. A bad game is just dull. This one is painful. If you haven't played ME1 and ME2, avoid this series at all costs.… Expand
  75. antoinedumont50
    Apr 2, 2012
    8
    When the time for change has come, one must welcome it. Mass Effect 3 is in no way a bad game. This game is shot down in flames either by people who dismiss the day 1 DLC or homophobes. Mass Effect was the best of the three, but ME3 is a huge improvement on ME2. I played it on a high-end PC and it looks gorgeous. No glitches, no slowing down. I agree that Dragon Age 2 was a real failure, but it is not the case here. Alright, it is more action-oriented than ME1, kind of in the vein of ME2. But it is definitely not a bad thing. The plot could have been much better, but I think that it fits the series well. Now, there's also the question of the endings. At first, I must say that I was really disappointed. But in the end, it was a very good lesson of life. Sometimes, you must make a choice even though you don't have many options. Life is hard and death is a part of it. The users have taken it too far here. Come on, the user score is almost as bad as Postal 3! Users also complain about the addition of a multiplayer feature. Let me tell you something : it's just amazing. And challenging too. There are a few glitches/bugs that haven't been fixed yet (the flying vanguard bug for instance), but all in all it is nice.… Expand
  76. Billy_Basso
    Apr 1, 2012
    10
    I normally never review anything online, but after seeing the absolutely asinine amount of negative reviews I felt obligated to speak up. First off, Mass Effect 3 is a fantastic game overall. The universe it continues to build on from the first to games is probably the richest in videogame history. The voice acting is mostly excellent. The combat's more refined than in Mass Effect 2. Although it only uses the unreal 3 engine, the graphics are still very nice -- the upshot being that it will run well on a wide range of systems. I've never felt so emotionally invested in a game's universe and plot as I've felt while playing Mass Effect 3. The fact that Bioware actually managed to carry so many things over from the first two games, and follow through with there original ambitions is extremely impressive. Okay. Sure. The ending could certainly be better. But to say it retroactively ruins the rest of the game is ridiculous. I must assume all the disproportionately negative reviews are being written by a very outspoken minority. If this were any other game, the ending would never get this much attention. If anything, it's a testament to the exceedingly high quality and player's investment in the series; any perceived flaw is going to be that much more difficult to deal with.

    Also, I almost forgot, Origin is really dumb. I hate using it, and I felt shameful downloading Mass Effect 3 through it. Once I starting playing the game, however, I quickly forgot about it. And I can't punish the developer for EA's lame, anti-consumer, business decisions. I hopefully will never have to download another origin game again.

    As the game goes, ff you enjoyed either of the first two Mass Effects at all, you should play Mass Effect 3. The developers put an immense amount of hard work into wrapping up their trilogy. Just about every aspect of the game is topnotch, and the series, as a whole, sets a new standard for story telling in the medium. Bioware deserves recognition for their hard work. If you were at all excited for Mass Effect 3 before launch, buy it. Ignore all the immature slander and pay attention to the critics reviews. Most normal people will love Mass Effect 3.    … Expand
  77. Radgeon
    Apr 1, 2012
    10
    Es la conclusión de una de las mejores trilogías de los tiempos, con un final polémico que esta dando que hablar con la formulación de varias teorias interesantes.

    Obligatorio probar algún mass effect
  78. Octoowl42
    Apr 1, 2012
    6
    I have to say a lot of the game was great. The mix of Mass Effect 1 and 2 as far as gameplay was concerned was great, combat has never been as fun and the environments were dynamic and interesting for the most part. Team interactions were good, although a bit sparse for my liking (character interactions were what drew me to the series) However there are many major flaws. Yes the ending is pretty weak for a lot a of reasons. A lack of catharsis with your teammates, it's too open ended with far too few questions answered. Another problem with it that irks me, but doesn't seem to have come up in other reviews is how little the choices I made in the game seemed to effect the ending. I worked my butt off scraping together every little resource I could find and every ally and army I could muster and for the most part it seemed to have no impact on the end fight at all. There was a 5 second extra cutscene of two of the armadas I put together but that was it? Why did I bother? Why did I only see Turrians, Humans and Krogans and Assari at the end? Why did I have a lame human strike force when I worked so hard at making allies with various alien races? The Journey was great but the end seemed... well pointless. The series offered so many choices I feel like bioware thought they couldn't wrap everything up... so they didn't… Expand
  79. tonytwoton
    Apr 1, 2012
    10
    Mass Effect 3 is probably the single greatest game I have ever played. The writing, storyline, and voice acting are what set it apart from every other game I have played in my life, and there have been many...What Avatar was to the movies, Mass Effect 3 is to the video game industry. Bioware/EA have set the bar awfully high. Every time I sit down at my computer now, I am filled with nostalgia and sadness that I have finished playing this truly wonderful game. I don't understand how anyone could give this game a negative review. It was never designed to be exclusively a shooter or an rpg. It's a mix between the two. The graphics are beautiful, the action is exciting, the story is interesting and imaginative. It's a testament to human ingenuity, a real modern work of art. To everyone who wrote a negative review, I challenge you to do better.… Expand
  80. dark1984
    Apr 1, 2012
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Horrible game. Repeating gameplay elements (boring combat and "kill spawning enemies" events), awful voice acting, dumb story turns and no-sense drama elements. The whole game can be described with one phrase: What the hell is going on on the screen?

    Why Sheppard, who decided the fate of the galaxy and entire alien races in past 2 games, gets so concerned about the death of one stupid random boy on earth in the middle of invasion, when millions are dying? is he got mental problems when off duty between 2 and 3 parts? This stupid "boy running away" dream scenes and whole Earth invasion begging scene are of the scale even for "trash movies". Pathetic...

    The endings...well...everybody knows - there is none, just some cheap matrix-like crap "the red or blue pill". Epic fail.    … Expand
  81. MKOBANER
    Apr 1, 2012
    2
    Im a big fan of the series and like other people i think the ending was incomplete however for me that wasnt the biggest problem. in ME and ME2 there was a connection in story and you can effectively see the actions you make changes galaxy and open up new path , sometimes you even have to sacrifice one path for other. However in ME 3 there are no connection between missons. Even worse at final misson you dont see the effects of your missions. I gathered entire galaxy to help world but no interaction with them ? That game seriously broke my faith in bioware. I think swtor was lousy too and now this. Funny thing is all the game sites say game is perfect, well it is NOT !!! i dont know how much they pay you to write this but i dont even look at game review pages anymore thanks to your inaccurate fanboy reviews. Games ending was only the part of the problem, this game has lost its soul...… Expand
  82. zimm
    Apr 1, 2012
    2
    I shall be succinct: Mass Effect 3 fails to do what was asked of it by the "hardcore" (old school RPG) fans. Bioware did not bring back any type of inventory, the Itemization is still too small and understanding of the mechanics does little to help one play better or lay out skills better. Even more disturbing is the horrendous way Bioware has concluded this game. I will not give any specifics but suffice to say the ending offers no real choice or closure. If given the opportunity, I would return my copy.… Expand
  83. casellacrack
    Apr 1, 2012
    0
    Mass Effect 3 is the least successful episode in the saga: you play it because it is a bond that lasts for years, because the vulgar scifi also always has a shot (even if only in some microexperience side), because the mechanical augmentation between phases play with the characters and relationships always work, but basically is a way to appeal to the full only to those who still enjoys this kind of epic onanistic… Expand
  84. meediocre
    Apr 1, 2012
    8
    The good: great galactic apocalyptic story (albeit a bit weird at the end), excellent third-person shooter action with varied enemies and situations, lush environments, excellent voice-acting, multi-player is surprisingly addictive and frenetic.

    Slightly annoying: wearing a type of armour that boosts your shields has a visor, meaning that in some of the "emotional" cut-scenes you can't se    e Shephard's face! Also, I hate not having a button specific to "cover". The amount of times I got stuck to a wall or something and I didn't want to! Also, when you're speeding around in the Normandy and get spotted by the Reapers, it's not much fun trying to evade them as their ships are somehow faster. Finally my one criticism of the multi-player option is that the environments could have been more varied, plus it would have been nice to have to fight a combination of enemies, such as Cerberus and Reapers etc ..

    The bad: The game is possibly a little too easy, so it could have been slightly more challenging, especially at the end. The ending is, as you all know by now, a little bit "WTF", and I agree that its ambiguity is ultimately a bit frustrating.    … Expand
  85. izazael
    Mar 31, 2012
    8
    Fans of the first two Mass Effect games might find the return of the weapons/mods system a little frustrating and the dialogue a little lacklustre and forced. Aside from those two things, the rest of the game is on par with the previous two: action, adventure, awe-inspiring cinematics. The decisions made by your Shephard do have serious consequences in the third game but no one seems to want to recognise that fact, focusing instead of how little impact they have on the very final cut-scenes and decisions of the game. I don't see any reason why they should.

    Regardless of how much people think the ending was disappointing or pick on a few minor problems with the game mechanics, ME3 is still a very good game and hardly deserves a zero score. It falls short of being a 10 experience, but play it through, finish it, give it a few days and you'll start to appreciate how good the game actually is.    … Expand
  86. dimon94xx
    Mar 31, 2012
    6
    Game plays well. Some RPG elements came back, gameplay is smoother now. Multiplayer is kind of fun. Graphics are alright. Soundtrack could've been better. Voice acting is alright. Seems like everything's fine, right? Well, my biggest problem with this game is that Bioware promised all questions to be answered. Unfortunately, this game fails dramatically at explaining anything. Instead, in the end you'll have twice as many questions which do not seem to be answered in the near future. A very disappointing end to the trilogy.… Expand
  87. nightbringer
    Mar 31, 2012
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Don't get me wrong. Mass Effect 3 is great, I love the music, gameplay, characters, multiplayer.... 99 % of this game is amazing... The ending just bugs me. It is terrible. It is stupid and illogical. It feels rushed. There are too many inconsistencies. It introduces spirit-ghost-child as new antagonist? in the LAST minute of the game. It gives some lame, stupid reason for reapers existence. I REALLY didn't care about that... Seriously if you tell your audience for 2 games and most part of the third that the reason for reapers reaping things is inexplicable and incomprehensible (I remember Sovereign and Harbinger mentioning something about it), you can't just explain it in three sentences, especially when the reason is stupid.... oh wait Bioware did that.

    Is it enough to give this game such low review?
    In my opinion it is, because it is that crucial to the story and mass effect was always about the story...    … Expand
  88. SkilgannonPT
    Mar 31, 2012
    2
    Loved all the mass effect games, why would they destroy such a wonderfull series with such a blatantly illogical LAST 5 MIN... I justify my score with the following articles and videos:

    1- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M0Cf864P7E
    2-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MlatxLP-xs


    Fix this ending plz.
  89. tekken7
    Mar 31, 2012
    3
    Mass Effect 3 was a major disappointment. I have purchased and played the entire Mass Effect 1-3 series; beginning in 2007 with ME1. Job well done to Bioware for creating such a fun and entertaining product. Unfortunately, EA/Bioware failed to deliver on what it promised customers (per the company's own prior marketing & press release) for Mass Effect 3. Many reviewers of ME3 who are critical of the game list many, if not the same problems. Here is my list: (1) players are provided with nothing remotely close to the unique, personal experience they were promised by Bioware; (2) I was left with a sense that all of my carefully weighed choices were really illusory and accounted for nothing; (3) lore errors and plot holes; (4) based on the prior themes, story telling style the ending is out-of-character, confusing & underdeveloped. Such a creative and talented Bioware team could have -- AND SHOULD HAVE -- delivered a more in-depth series of true, multiple endings with a better sense of lucidity and closure to conclude the wonderful Mass Effect series. Let us all remember that EA/Bioware is running a business -- an enterprise to make money to produce shareholder value and employ many, many people in North America, Europe and Asia. The golden rule in business (that is if you wish to stay in business) is to produce products that consumers want to buy. Regardless of your feeling concerning "whiny fans", "artistic integrity", etc... Isnâ… Expand
  90. Sirithariel
    Mar 31, 2012
    10
    The haters are idiots, if the indoctrination theory is true then the ending is pure genius and not just rubbish, everyone buy this game! Don't believe the stupid 0 and 1 star ratings people who don't understand the ending are giving it.
  91. JR13
    Mar 31, 2012
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Game ends with "Whatever decisions you've made up to this point are irrelevant now. BOOM! Joker flees in panic! Everybody else dies!" None of the questions are answered.… Expand
  92. TmDevice
    Mar 31, 2012
    0
    I loved this game and couldn't find anything wrong with the ending but every nerd here says it's horrible so I'll just vote 0 so the Internet won't think I'm stupid or anything
  93. Poebeer
    Mar 31, 2012
    2
    NO SPOILERS: THE GOOD: - lots of weapons, powers and customisation. Interesting dialogues and story. Good voice acting. THE BAD: - Journal doesn't update/ keeps track. - It became more like watching a movie. - The camera didn't go to "talk mode" like it did in ME1 and2. - There isn't mutch to explore in the cidadel, - plot holes, Some stuff in the ending is not believable. - bugged quests
    - Contrast between very good and very bad/ uninished graphics is very very noticable in some missions. - Doesn't feel like an RPG at all.    … Expand
  94. HunterZolomon
    Mar 31, 2012
    9
    ME3 is a SPECTACULAR GAME with a HORRIBLY AWFUL ENDING. Everything up to the end is superb. The ME trilogy is the best rpg experience I've ever had. However, I do understand the massive disappointment displayed here. It just goes to show just how deeply people care about this franchise, and especially the characters in the game. I can't bring myself to give it less than a 9. It would have been f**king 11 if the ending had rocked.… Expand
  95. Youjutsusha
    Mar 31, 2012
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The Plot Hole Ridden Ending ruins the series. The Dissappointment face when finally getting to the End is incredible. The Cerberus base was fun then at the end of that mission it was all down hill. The Deus Ex 3 choice ending rip off
    The Deus Ex Machina StarChild which seems to come from Wintersun - StarChild reminds me of the idiocy they pulled in the Matrix with the Architect same thing "God out of the Machine" its totally ridiculous
    Harbinger says nothing the main enemy for ME2 had more lines in the Arrival than the whole of ME3. The Arrival wasn't particularly good either. The Normandy running away from the fight. The last shooting/fight area is just a horde of monsters no end game Boss just Harbinger frying which is when full dissappointment sets in. Its absolutely heart breaking that the ending was allowed to be released like this you'd have to be a complete moron to like it and completely irrational to think that others who don't only do so because they don't understand it. Its not clever its a cop out its a load of cheap tricks to appear complicated, but its just convoluted and a mess.    … Expand
  96. MemoryCrow
    Mar 31, 2012
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Mass Effect 3: A truly wonderful and terrible game.

    "Why?" you may ask me. Now before you jump to the conclusion that this is a rant about the fiasco concerning ME 3's (Mass Effect 3's) ending i would like to tell you it isn't, not entirely. this is actually a rant (yes... a rant) partly concerning ME 3, Bioware and EA. So, with that said, lets continue.

    Why do i dislike this amazing game? was it because the ending was terrible? that you need an online pass to even touch the multiplayer? that the multiplayer has the potential to be (so far beyond) astronomically better than it actually is? or perhaps you may guess that it's because i'm just generally PO'd at this game. All of these are correct.

    But lets get a little more into the details, shall we?

    Reason #1 "YES, we know! the ending was awful!" okay, okay, i'll keep this one short. yeah, it's pretty bad, horrible actually. it's just there, in your face like pile of elephant crap in your livingroom. you simply can't ignore it because no one else will let you and it gnaws at the back of your mind after you see it, like some kind of parasitic insect.

    Reason #2 the online pass... Really? Seriously? Bioware isn't trying to win a popularity contest, that's for damn sure. maybe you guys are okay with this but Bioware isn't wining points in my book for this one. but who does the blame really go to here? shall i blame Bioware for this? for cowing down to EA or should i blame EA themselves and their disgusting lust for profit at the expense of all else? i choose both. why? because i can. AND before you say i'm angry because i had to pay for the online pass, you are wrong sir/madam. i bought an unused copy of ME3 and had to pay for no such thing. this pisses me off purely out of principle. it's simply >wrong    … Expand
  97. Bulldozer
    Mar 30, 2012
    0
    This game could have been a masterpiece but the final result is only a forgettable mix of bugs, holes in a childish plot with the "wish" to be serious, a ton of shadows and emphasis everywhere, no exploration, no puzzles, flat dialogues and the worst ending in videogame history. In certain things it could deserve a 11 but in others not more than a -20 so my balance is 0. Nothing more than a "project" of a game, an interesting project never terminated and poorly done, or at least that's not good to be released like this.… Expand
  98. DigitalVeil
    Mar 30, 2012
    2
    This game is a major disappointment. Incredibly repetitive combat and missions. Go from point A to point B, taking wave after wave of enemies on. Missions do not stray from this formula. Dialogue is simplified with less options and less renegade/paragon actions. Game is also more linear with less side missions and exploration. Also has one of the worst quest tracking systems I have ever experienced in any game. Dialogue and combat animations are horrible as well. Multi-player is awful, just a horde mode tacked on to the game. Gets tiresome after a couple matches. Entire game feels like it was rushed and the ending is absolutely trash. Such a shame what has happened to Bioware. Will be the last dime I spend on their games, as they've fallen victim to the almighty EA… Expand
  99. Timson
    Mar 30, 2012
    1
    Total disappointment. This game is not even remotely as good as second one and of course . Graphics and design are pretty impressive, but that's not not an excuse for ruined gameplay, story and character development.
  100. Panther117
    Mar 30, 2012
    9
    â
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Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
89 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 23 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 23
  3. Negative: 0 out of 23
  1. CPUGamer
    Apr 11, 2012
    90
    BioWare captures the scale of the conflict well, but always focuses on the people involved in it. It's pretty amazing just how badly EA disregarded the heart of the game – the characters and the world – when they began their marking blitzkrieg, but don't worry, it's oh so definitely there – Day 1 DLC, controversial endings, and questionable use of resources be damned. This is a fine, lovingly crafted game with a clear vision despite the realities of corporations and damning business practices.
    Read full review
  2. PC PowerPlay
    Apr 5, 2012
    80
    A game that's more shooter than role-playing, and a conclusion that's more spectacular than dramatic. [Apr 2012, p.47]
    Read full review
  3. Absolute Games
    Mar 31, 2012
    85
    Finishing a trilogy is always difficult. Tying off dozens of story threads which had been woven by players into many different tapestries is a daunting task. Mass Effect 3 is the first game that succeeded at this colossal undertaking.
    Read full review
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