Mass Effect 3 PC
User Score
4.7 out of 10

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 4360 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,807 out of 4360
  2. Mixed: 367 out of 4360
  3. Negative: 2,186 out of 4360

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  1. DoubleCore
    Mar 7, 2012
    2
    The game is very disappointing. They removed the planet and resources exploration, almost no dynamic dialogs (most of the game if cut scene dialogue), removed completely the RPG from the game..
    A bad way to end a trilogy. Mass Effect 2 was the best in the series because it mixed RPG and action TPS but now with Mass Effect 3, it remains only Action TPS and that's sucks!!
  2. Ardonas
    Mar 11, 2012
    7
    Best game of the series, right up until the "push a button' ending. I still loved it, but God is that ending frustrating. It's like the end "Under The Dome" but even more frustrating. Buy it, just don't finish it.
  3. Rakka
    Mar 7, 2012
    0
    I loved Mass Effect
    I adored Mass Effect 2
    I truly and utterly despise Mass Effect 3. EA and Bioware basically killed one of the best gaming title of the past 10 years with this last installment. It's boring and blatant, it tries to act like an FPS game, it's overly simplified, it's ugly, it's story is nowhere comperable to the previous ones, it forces gay romances down your throat, it's t    oo easy even on insanity, it's...it's just BAD. And this comes from a gamer who even bought ME2 Collectors Edition because of how much I loved these games.

    I strongly suggest not buying this game, Boycott Bioware, BOYCOTT EA, do anything that you can to make them realize this is not what we wanted.

    This is a sad time for gaming.    … Expand
  4. Sir_Recon
    Mar 24, 2012
    8
    Played several times ME1 and ME2, to get a varied experience and it worked in those games, even if I knew how the game played out, ME3 not so much, Game play is very familiar and improved with the combat rolls and powerful imported characters(you get EXP bonuses for imported characters, a nice reward), conversations seem less trite and can be very humorous or candid, but the characters themselves seemed boring even my old friends seemed boring this time. The pacing is good, but the Citidel "Go Fetch" sidequests are really silly, but you want to do them for money and EXP of course but they aren't fun, and for some reason you can miss the conversation completely as there is no cursor it appears in your Journal after you ran by that person, quirky, Story progress under the Reaper darkness gathering forces for the end, Normandy is completely overhauled in Alliance spartan them, gone is the bright clean Cerberus Normandy, although its the same ship. Sound is incredible, Gameplay very good, Story Above Average, Graphics on PC nice but need more settings, Input controls, you know the PC has more than 5 buttons right? apparently BIOWARE forgot, no vehicles to drive around, was hoping to get a MAKO, not that hovercraft tho, DAY 1 DLC for an important story crewmember, not cool at all, RPG elements like building your powers, weapons and armor are very good and I like how the loadout affects your power charging times, but still can't equip other members or your squad how you like, they still specialize in two weapons. Some great new Characters, Loved James, big musclehead Marine, great battlebuddy. ENDING>>>>>>>>>>>>OMG>>>>>>>what your hearing is true, the ending is truly Bazaar, its hard to explain, doesn't matter what choices you make or have made, its Bazaar. Leaves you feeling empty at the end. I love ME series but gotta score it how it made me feel at the end, 90% of the game is pretty good, although Cerberus totally whacking out was hard to swallow too. buy it if your a Sheperd Fan but you too will be singing the Sheperd blues in the end.… Expand
  5. kizzle
    Mar 12, 2012
    0
    You probably think that most of the people on here are just bombing the score, or tolling. But, go play Mass Effect 1 and 2 and then play 3 and I try to come back here and give this a good review. The endings alone are enough of a complaint to warrant outrage
  6. 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
  7. 2real4game
    Mar 9, 2012
    4
    That's not what I was expecting. First ME was a great game - action RPG. You could feel, that you're Shepard. ME2 - epic game but it lost a bit spirit. ME3 - it is still epic but I feel that it's only a game. Not a film nor RPG. It lost everything that was most important in ME.
  8. Honeymonstis
    Mar 11, 2012
    8
    All in all a decent game, nothing special. Good voice acting, decent graphics/sound, memorable charcarters (good and bad) and a somewhat thought through story. I dont get the why people are so angry about the endings? Yeah they arent happy, with kittens on the top, but so what? I would rate this game at 6, but since Lance Henriksen is thrown into the mix.... I cant help it: 8 points to Mr. Bishop.
  9. Prajwal
    Mar 16, 2012
    9
    Great game, The story is the main focus and it's amazing. The endings could have been a bit better but it's still really good. Amazing and enjoyable combat, Great 3rd person shooting, Awesome weapons, and well done cover system. The graphics look fantastic but it has some glitches. The sound effects and the voice actings are amazing. It's one of the main reasons that makes you care for each character. Great game. Recommended for everyone. But it's better if you play the first 2 before this one.… Expand
  10. Cruxador
    Mar 6, 2012
    0
    I wanted an epic conclusion to the previous two games that brought the full weight of my choices to bear in a glorious ending involving the previously lampshaded themes of entropy. The ending I got instead simply didn't fit, it was a hybrid of the endings from Deus Ex and Toppa Tengen Gurren Lagann, and somehow still failed to be compelling.

    The only "positive" aspect of the game that the    y could think of to market being gay romance. As a heterosexual, I don't care about gay romance, and as a gamer I care very little about romance as a sub-plot in the first place.

    Additionally, the visuals and gameplay are both substantially worsened from the previous two games.    … Expand
  11. 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
  12. Etrute
    Jun 1, 2012
    9
    Tight controls, beautiful environments, and fluent combat all make ME3 what it is today, a success. The storyline too makes it a beautifully written book. The largest issue to the "mob" seems to be a lackluster ending, an increadibly small price to play considering the 30 hours i'v put into each game in the series (plus the 60 extra hours from playing two other characters on varying difficulties). Considering all the choices made throughout four games, what the hell did people expect? Turian Strippers and Quarian supremecy? For those of you not stuck up on the Single Player, the multiplayer too has lots of fun to be had. Like short war stories one holds the line and moves forward with valid team combat. The idea that Bioware didn't innovate or expand on the original two is amusing, If they had picked any ending beside the one in now, it would be flamed. If They had everyone wear special hats, it would be flamed. The biggest issue i have with the game is the lack of a Mako, it made the game a bit more interesting, stumbling around in the universe in your own casket-box and being quite suprised when you see your first Maw.… Expand
  13. Krichevskoy
    Mar 6, 2012
    0
    I enjoyed ME 1 immensely but this feels like an empty shell compared to that. My previous choices seem pointless, it's like that story and deaths are ignored.
  14. DoctorBarber
    Mar 6, 2012
    0
    If you look closely at Mass Effect 3 you will see the last tiny bit of Bioware's soul rot away, consumed by EA forever. As someone who has been a fan of their games from Baldur's Gate to Dragon Age: Origins, seeing how far they have fallen has been a painful experience. Writing has deteriorated to the most basic black and white, with most dialogues presenting only 2 options rather than 3. As was feared the series ends with a Deus Ex Machina (quite literally as the ending was almost entirely stolen from the game Deus Ex). Further evidence plagiarism of a desktop wallpaper of all things in the game's FINAL SCENE does not help Bioware's case. The whole thing seems like it was rushed with little care about the game's quality, as if they expected people to buy it automatically no matter how bad it was (and I'm sure they do). Creativity seems truly dead from that studio at this point. Do not buy this game. No not rent it, do not waste the bandwidth of pirating it. Vote with your dollars in the slim hope that Bioware may someday return to its senses.… Expand
  15. ARTHURIUSS
    Mar 6, 2012
    10
    A terrific game.Bioware has really outdone itself in this final installment.Everything including the game play, the story and the music has been improved. This has got to be the most emotionally compelling experience in video game history. The ending though was depressing and I would would have preferred a happier ending. If anyone deserved a happy ending it was Shepard but it was still beautiful. My favorite Mass Effect game and deserves a perfect 10.… Expand
  16. HateApe
    Mar 6, 2012
    3
    Disappointing, derivative and convoluted. BioWare tries to make things deep and emotional but with their Bayesque approach to storytelling it just ends up utterly pretentious. You'd expect better from the supposed masters of interactive storytelling. Speaking of interacting there is barely room for it in Mass Effect 3's dialogue system. With the cinematic presentation taken too far you will be watching Shepard go on and on without any form of player input almost as if you were really at the cinema. While the generic shoot and stop gameplay isn't necessarily bad it doesn't begin to make up for the rancid conclusion of this maudlin space opera.

    Do yourself a favor and play Deus Ex instead.    … Expand
  17. Welp
    Mar 6, 2012
    0
    Day one DLC, forced romances, boring gameplay, terrible graphics, pants on head retarded story, uninteresting characters and the list goes on.

    So much did EA/Bioware pay the reviewers?
  18. Frosty1627
    Apr 23, 2012
    1
    First game was great. Second was even better. So you can assume that third will be the best in the series and again Game of The Year ???. Not in this case. To begin with do you remember how many side quests there were in first game and each of them were interesting in their own way. Second game was little bit different, it tried to be action game with RPG elements so quests weren't that awesome as in first game but still were good. Well in third game there are two types of quests: N7 "missions" and Citadel "missions". First one nothing as N7 missions in previous games. All maps that feature in this "missions" are from multiplayer and tasks are "find and bring something back" or "kill everything". For quests were you need to find something and bring it back you would want a journal so you would know were to go. The "Journal" in ME3 has only description of quest, nothing about were we can find item or were bring it. New Citadel also sucks. It just sucks. Now I would like to skip part about interaction with NPCs and Normandy cause it will take a lots of time. The major problem with game is endings. Remember when developers said that non of the endings will be the same ??? Remember when they said that multiplayer won't be connected to single player ??? Remember when this bastards said that all choices we made in previous games will huge influence on ending ??? Either I play it wrong either developers are really bad liars. To get different endings we need war assets. To get them we need to play multiplayer a lot and a little bit of single player. Then we need to choose between 3 different lights. Light which we choose will be color of explosion. There is some difference like Reapers will destroy Earth or Shepard can survive but you got the point. So what EA did looks like Call of Duty when it was just a baby. With each game it gets worser and worser until they will find another company... Awful quests, ugly locations, f****d up ending, day one DLC and unnecessary interactions make this game worst game of this year. Yes, worser than Amy...… Expand
  19. Vigil
    Mar 7, 2012
    1
    To me, the Mass Effect franchise was something that symbolised and epitomised what a sci-fi video game could be. The only other francise to have captured my mind in the Science Fiction videogame genre like this was Homeworld. I have fond memories of the original Mass Effect; ones that I'll likely never forget, like meeting Vigil on Ilos the first time and hearing the fate of the Protheans.

    ...and now we have a Prothean as a squad member. Drew Karpyshyn must be able to taste the bile in the back of his throat.

    Where to begin with Mass Effect 3? Origin? Sexualisation of characters that don't need sexualisation? The Jersey Shore effect? Day 1 story integral paid DLC? Dumbing down of gameplay mechanics? Two choice conversations? Your decisions mean nothing? When in doubt, retcon earlier games? Cerberus? Mac Walters? Forced emotional engagement? Shepard having post traumatic stress disorder about things that should be water of a ducks back? The list goes on, and on, and on.

    There is a lot wrong with Mass Effect 3. A lot. It's the whore direction the francise has taken. Bioware, I am disappoint. I'm giving ME3 a 1/10. It's the best I can do.    … Expand
  20. Sharky70
    Mar 7, 2012
    0
    Loved Mass Effect 1 and 2, this is a linear piece of **** I find myself watching TV in the background simply to keep myself somewhat entertained. Characters lack emotion, and don't have the same feeling in the previous games. Bioware pretends that the criticism is purely hate, when by looking at the negative reviews, this is clearly not true. Dialogue options are simplified and boring, combat is about the same, hardly any improvements, and explore-able environments have completely disappeared. This game is a giant joke. Personally, I'm pretending that Mass Effect 1 and 2 are true to the series, and 3 never happened. This is what the Crystal Skull movie did to the Indiana Jones series, it raped it.… Expand
  21. NextGenFilter
    Mar 6, 2012
    0
    This review is going to be a book of revelations to many readers. In particular, many will be surprised to learn that Mass Effect 3's capable of monstrous effrontery and infamous misrepresentation. The nub of what I intend to say here is that Bonapartism has its stronghold among vainglorious, picayunish nutcases. Why does that matter? It matters because the time has come to choose between freedom or slavery, revolt or submission, and liberty or Mass Effect 3's particularly sententious form of parasitism. It's clear what Mass Effect 3 wants us to choose, but he's like the man behind the curtain in the Wizard of Oz. Pull back the curtain of mysticism and you'll see an inarticulate cumber-ground hiding behind it, furiously pulling the levers of cronyism in a postmodernist, stingy attempt to progressively narrow the sphere of human freedom. That sort of discovery should make any sane person realize that Mass Effect 3 is like a stray pigeon. Pigeons are too self-absorbed to care about anyone else. They poo on people they don't like; they poo on people they don't even know. The only real difference between Mass Effect 3 and a pigeon is that Mass Effect 3 intends to silence truth-tellers like me. That's why if Mass Effect 3 isn't abhorrent, I don't know who is.

    I would like to put forth the possibility that some people are responsible and others are not. Mass Effect 3 falls into the category of "not". If you will pardon me for mentioning it, he maintains a "Big Brother" dossier of incriminating information about everyone he distrusts to use as a potential career-ruining weapon. Is your name listed in that dossier? The answer is rather depressing, but I'll tell you anyway. The answer begins with the observation that at this point in the letter I had planned to tell you that the cure for corruption, conspiracy, and treason must start by exposing the problem to people who care and are not themselves corrupted. However, one of my colleagues pointed out that people like him make me sick. Hence, I discarded the discourse I had previously prepared and substituted the following discussion in which I argue that this makes me fearful that I might someday find myself in the crosshairs of Mass Effect 3's raving half-measures. (To be honest, though, it wouldn't be the first time.)

    Mass Effect 3 is still going around insisting that all it takes to solve our social woes are shotgun marriages, heavy-handed divorce laws, and a return to some mythical 1950s Shangri-la. Jeez, I thought I had made it perfectly clear to him that he contends that people find his unrelenting, over-the-top hostility rather refreshing. What planet is he from? The planet Querulous? Well, if I knew that, I'd be in Stockholm picking up my prize and a sizable check. If you want truth, you have to struggle for it. This letter represents my struggle, my attempt at tackling the multinational death machine that Mass Effect 3 is currently constructing. It is also my soapbox for informing the community at large that you don't have to say anything specifically about Mass Effect 3 for him to start attacking you. All you have to do is dare to imply that we should transform our culture of war and violence into a culture of peace and nonviolence. To reiterate the main message of this letter, in this case, the obvious solution is also the correct one.

    Mass Effect 3 overall makes for a disappointing game and a even bigger disappointing close to the trilogy

    Pros:
    Sometimes enemies die when you shoot at them
    Reused music from previous games reminds me of better times
    The ability to delete files of the game to remove macho bro character from the game.

    Cons:
    Choices made across the games don't really matter the writer retcons them as they see fit to tell their cliche little story rather than the player's personal story
    Nonstop parade of fan pandering from a computer being put into a fembot to a D-list gaming celebrity making a appearance.
    As the game progress enemies take too long to kill and feel like fake difficulty to pad out the game length
    No prompt or option to immediately kill party members upon their introduction.    … Expand
  22. CRIPLEDPRIEST
    Mar 6, 2012
    0
    Honestly Bioware? after setting up so many good characters you give us the **** ones for our squad and completely hack apart the interior of the normandy.
    not to mention the fact that 90% of your choices from the previous games do absolutely nothing.
    dissapointed bioware so dissapointed
  23. oh_brother
    Mar 6, 2012
    10
    This has been some ride, since Mass Effect first grabbed my attention. I have played through every bit of the first two games, and loved every minute. Now the final comes, and I feel equal parts excited and sad. Sad that it will have to end, but thrilled to get a chance to play it.

    And it does not disappoint. The emotion - always the strong point of Mass Effect - is brought to another le    vel. The characters that I have come to care so much about are even more fleshed out. And the goosebumps at certain points of the game...well, I won't spoil. Just get it.… Expand
  24. fastblood
    Mar 6, 2012
    2
    In all honesty, 2/10 is being generous. Bioware has consistently proven that they are one of the worst video game companies. The fact that they rely so heavily on downloadable content, and squander their funds on shooting copies of the game into space instead of actually putting effort into it will forever astound and confuse me. The first Mass Effect was a decent game, and I would give it an easy 8/10. However, over the second and third installments, more and more content was taken away and casualized. On top of this, great chunks of the game were cut out to later be sold for more profit in DLC. This portrays Bioware as the money-grubbing gamer-hating company that they really are. They capitalize on the popularity of a product, and cast aside the devoted fanbase in order to garner more sales from less involved gamers who buy annual releases of Call of Duty. It's a sickening fact, but it's true.

    The writing is also piss poor, and almost insulting to those who enjoy quality storytelling in their video games, or any other medium in general. Gameplay has further been dumbed down to include a one hit kill melee button, and squad members have lost all of their interesting angles by becoming strange amalgamations of jersey shore contestants and jocks, or characterized versions of their former selves.

    I urge you to stay away from this game, or at least buy it used so Bioware does not get any of your money. Gamers who buy these releases should be ashamed of themselves for hurting the industry further by giving Bioware the ability to make more low quality games for ridiculous amounts of money.    … Expand
  25. ThirteenthOwl
    Mar 6, 2012
    0
    Even after the tragedy that was Star Wars: The Old Republic I thought my favorite game developers at Bioware couldn't be able to mess up another game, I mean every band has at least one bad album and every studio a bad movie right? Well turns out the Bioware I knew and loved died with SW:TOR as their most recent release ME3 has created a new level of failure in video game development. The animations are terrible compared to those of any game post 2005, and the sky is a single jpeg. I could have forced my way through the **** that is this game if only to hear what would happen to the characters i had grown to love from past games, but the story took a turn for the worse from moment one. Bland dialog and expressionless faces were everywhere, how could it be that they actually managed to take a step back in animation and writing from their previous games? Combat is bland and what you choose to do does not matter in the end as the story funnels back to where Bioware wants it to be (unless of course you buy the $100 non-****ty ending DLC[available on the disk at launch of course]) I mean now they are forcing you to decide whether you are hetero/homosexual IN THE ACTUAL GAME not in some pre-game customization but in the actual story completely breaking what little immersion the game held at that point. Does Shep have amnesia? did you forget if you liked men or women until that very moment? no. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS GAME.… Expand
  26. nuttex
    Mar 6, 2012
    0
    Instead of an amazing finale to one of the best franchises in last 10 years, all we get is one big grim disappointment. Either way, endings can be described as "Life sucks then you die". Can't say this is what I was expecting. Ironically, it turned out to be that what Bioware was to Mass Effect is what Reapers were to the galaxy in game.
  27. stargategod1989
    Mar 6, 2012
    0
    i had already read the spoilers for this but i decided to pick it up just to check it out im sorry i did and will be taking it back for a full return since it "somehow" stopped working. this is a terrible game, with a terrilbe plot and a horrible ending that sucks any tiny enjoyment one got from the game
  28. F_U_Wannabes
    Mar 6, 2012
    10
    since when its a reason to give bad score for dlc or origin? well Trolls thinks so, so ignore them.

    sure isn't mass effect 1 but if you liked mass effect 2 you'll like this one too, same mechanics if not even better, story isn't bad and since its triology we true ME fans we already knew how this triology would end and now this is the last chapter. mass effect 2 in a short version this was     more a scounting mission and at end preemptive strike, but now this gets more weight and tension then ever before, its WAR .

    game is fluid, animations too, more weapons and costumization too (also weapon mods). story is good but it feels like you're racing against time (obviously its war of survival), fight on earth, mars and everywhere this is great. decisions more then ever effects the outcome on a much bigger scale, no longer they stay with you if you take the worst decisions or act like jackass-selffish human.

    multiplayer is great and very fluid and various classes, characters and weapon mods and unlocks and its co-op featurings 6 maps (for now). i reccomend this game and i give 10, sadly majority here gives 1 and 0's but based on something wich isn't the game itself "dlc, EA, origin, no sense" ........    … Expand
  29. sparklesf
    Mar 6, 2012
    0
    This game has been ruined by EA. The Bioware that made Mass Effect 1 and 2 is gone. Mass Effect 3 has been made to cater to the lowest common denominator. While the first one was a little rough around the edges, the second was perfect. Three however, is too far. In terms of visuals, they are too dark, made to look like the current CoD games. This is an RPG, not an seasonal shooter. Please EA, get your hands out of where they shouldn't be, and let game studios make games for their fans, not for your wallets.â… Expand
  30. uddehh
    Mar 6, 2012
    0
    Greedy people demanding 10 bucks for dayone dlc. That is not acceptable. For all paying customers is should have been free. Just like in ME2. Also, the RPG elements are very much cut down, making this game more COD-alike. PC version has worse graphics. Outrageous!
  31. Mothhive
    Mar 6, 2012
    0
    Day 1 DLC, reduction in graphics and animation quality, dumbed down even further than ME2, requires Origin, not available on Steam... how on Earth Bioware and EA are still in business are beyond me. First Dragon Age, then KOTOR and now the Mass Effect franchise? From great games to lazy cash ins. I hope they made enough money out of nickle and diming their customers over the years, because I really can't imagine many people buying any more of their games after their last few failures and complete disregard for their customers (besides their wallets).… Expand
  32. Myster2
    Mar 6, 2012
    1
    Unfortunately this game just does not stand out in any way shape or form and it seems to just be a recycled game design. Multiplayer is fun for an hour or two as well then just kind of gets boring as well.
  33. horsemnonkey
    Mar 6, 2012
    0
    Hardly any actual gameplay, just cutscene after cutscene after cutscene. For **** sake.
    The cutscenes would have been bearable if they actually were worth the storytelling. But it was just plain awful and cringeworthy to have to sit through. I felt ill irl.
  34. saroDimz
    Mar 6, 2012
    0
    Hundreds of day 1 DLC's, explosions like a Michael Bay movie, bad story, bad ending, mediocre gameplay. Do NOT buy. This game was marketed only for the COD fanboys and is just a sad attempt at cashing in. Shame on you Bioware.
  35. ed103
    Mar 10, 2012
    1
    Short and sweet: the endings are soo badly written and contrived that it ruins the entire game. They endings do not make any sense, none of your decisions in ME3 much less other games really impact the outcome in a meaningful manner, huge holes in what's going on and why these events are even possible are present, etc... I'm not talking bad endings like say the Soprano's, I'm talking like they had to have a totally different team do the ending; like made up of marketingexecutives or something horrible. In anycase, I feel like I would be doing my fellow men and women a disservice if I did not make this review warning people not to waste time and money on this.… Expand
  36. skulltac
    Mar 6, 2012
    1
    So is Bioware even trying anymore. This game really is just a letdown for me. I really enjoyed Mass Effect 1 a ton, but playing this game is really quite depressing. Everything seems just off. All of the animations are terrible, the voice acting is beyond horrendous. (Seriously I was cringing while listening to some parts.) And one of my biggest complaints is the release day DLC. What that essentially means is that they have they content out and ready and it could've been on the disk but whatever I'm sure people would love to spend TEN DOLLARS for a new ending.

    Please don't waste your money on this game. It's almost as big of a let down as TOR which guess what. Was ruined by Bioware.    … Expand
  37. Mynter
    Mar 7, 2012
    0
    The day-one DLC makes this a 0/10 title. Under NO circumstances should it be okay for developers to release day-one DLC unless itâ
  38. MerpanDerp
    Mar 7, 2012
    0
    Day 1 DLC aside, this game was quite possibly the biggest disappointment so far. The story and especially its end was an incredible let-down, driven by boring, static dialogue. All of the 'new' characters lack depth and character or end up being completely irritating due to bad writing. Gameplay is lacking, RPG elements almost completely removed and the oh so praised 'Cinematic Experience' destroyed by awkward animations.

    0/10
    Try again without EA, Bioware.    … Expand
  39. oatzsquatz
    Mar 7, 2012
    3
    PROS: - Shiny new cutscenes - Wonderful Clint Mansell soundtrack - Better combat, particularly melee (plays like the melee in Dragon Age 2, one button does everything), improved powers - Smarter enemy AIs CONS: - One button does everything in combat - Ridiculously **** dialogue - Forces sexuality into everything (I could give concrete examples, but I may give away spoilers). I will say this much: EDI, and, this small segment of dialogue: Shepherd: I hope you're alright, Kaiden Kaiden: Are you flirting with me, Commander? This is literal dialogue and not a joke - Rubbish, rubbish, dialogue. Cringe worthy. Nearly all the time. Some characters do save the ****show, like Garrus. - They actually used a voice changer (blatantly obvious) to use less voice actors (if you don't believe me, once you get to the Citadel you will be able to hear it) - Rehashed animations from the last game (lack of innovation) -Filters, filters everywhere -Cheap emotional pulls and attempts at emotional manipulation EVERYWHERE. It's like they used this to replace bad writing. - SEVERELY LIMITED DIALOGUE OPTIONS. If I wanted to play a shooter, I would have. Two dialogue options? Most dialogues with no options whatsoever? Poor show. -Totally retconns the lore established in the previous games Overall this game shows a shocking lack of attention to detail and blatantly ignores what the fans wanted (contrary to what the developers claim all the time. No one wanted this). The voice acting is stiff and so is the animation. Complete lack of innovation and the only thing they improved was the fighting - to add to this, they even used well-known stock images as some of their sources and the copies are glaring - look up "winter on mars" and you should see what I mean, if you've beaten the game. They force sexuality on the player, and if you reject it then the characters hate yours. This series has ended on a bad note. For fans of the series, it sucks majorly. For people who want a shooter, play Call of Duty or Gears of War instead… Expand
  40. ancient_serpent
    Mar 7, 2012
    0
    Hey Eric Kain, believe it or not, my negative review has nothing to do with any gay or lesbian choices. It has to do with the terrible endings that absolutely negate any choices I made in the previous two games. hours getting those exactly the way I wanted. You know why? Because I cared about the characters and the results of my characters decisions. The ending choices are a non-choice. I will never support Bioware or the freaking retard Helper that wrote this abominations with my money again. To everyone saying "Oh, they're just mad at the gay sex": Grow up. This has nothign to do with you wanting to be a victim, it has everything to do with poor writing, crappy endings and the disloyalty Bioware has shown ME fans.… Expand
  41. Enigma_Syrus
    Mar 8, 2012
    7
    I'll get this out of the way, I was disappointed with Mass Effect 3. The graphics in ME3 are very hit and miss. During gameplay, its fast, responsive and it looks great. But cutscenes are terrible; the animations are atrocious and the shading it lackluster at best. I really do believe that Bioware took a step backwards by going with the Unreal3 or putting last time in the art assets of the game. Now, a pleasant surprise was multiplayer. I didn't think it'd be good. I thought it'd be some side distraction, something to play once and toss away. But the multiplayer is actual good in its own right; just not worth $60. It does however give a really good example of what the core gameplay of the ME series is capable of. I would honestly like to see it expanded into an MMO or expanded multiplayer experience; so long as they leave the gameplay intact and perhaps allow more customization.

    As for the story, I can't tell you too terribly much. It definitely appears to be on rails, much more so than ME1 or ME2. I play as a FemShep and Jennifer Hale's acting is still great, too bad my custom face didn't import worth a damn. I won't even get started on the "default" FemShep. Terrible... if you compare male and female Sheperd, you can see where they spent their time.

    So in the end, is it worth getting? Right now, I'd have to say no. I was really looking forward to this game and it has ended up as a disappointment. But you should get it when the price lowers to around $30-$40. That's the price should've paid for closure (sorta) and the multiplayer experience.    … Expand
  42. belaziel
    Mar 9, 2012
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Review number 3, since my first two reviews were deleted.

    This was a serious letdown. Closure was not provided. Instead, I was forced to relive my choices from Deus Ex.

    I'm thoroughly disgusted with Bioware's lack of effort to ensure story continuity and that the much touted "user choices" had absolutely no meaning whatsoever, outside of a *slight* change in each of the 3 basic endings.

    Time, effort, emotional investment...all out the window.

    Bioware has forever lost a customer.    … Expand
  43. wiski
    Mar 9, 2012
    7
    It's a fun game, with some pretty glaring problems. : PROS : -- fun gameplay -- seeing the finish of the story with the characters you've played with in the previous games -- cool guns and armor : CONS : -- buggy gameplay -- outdated graphics (at times worse than ME2) -- buggy visuals (invisible characters, constant clipping, bad animations, etc...) -- lack of content (2 explorable locations instead of multiple worlds and stations, most missions are short and to the point, less stuff to do outside of missions than either ME1/2, etc...) -- railroaded through the story without even the illusion that it's an open world game -- dialogue doesn't give you much option beyond BAD GUY/GOOD GUY -- every character in the game is presented to you on a platter, in the way that it might as well say "Do you want to sleep with this person? YES/NO" -- lack of mission depth (select mission, loading screen, kill stuff, loading screen, done) -- story important DLC provided on the first day -- Your decisions from previous games, and even this one, don't seem like they will matter, because most of the people that could have died in previous games aren't usable in this one and there are new characters anyway. It seems like they made the script for the game and decided how everything will end, and then looked at your past save to see how they could shoehorn any previous surviving characters into the game without disrupting the story. : : It's a good game, but not nearly as good as the previous two, and definitely not as good at the professional reviewers scores might lead you to believe it to be. The main reason to play this game is to see how it ends.… Expand
  44. Anomaly88
    Mar 9, 2012
    0
    I was disappointed with the treatment this once great game received. First of all, I'm not a homophob but including gay relationships in a game is unnecessary. Stop trying to appeal to everyone, this is not COD this is not WOW, but I guess now it's becoming just like them. Corporate greed is the main force that ruins great titles today, it can literally turn a creative idea into complete watered down mass appeal piece of **** Plus making your customers get out of their way to use Origin just to "prevent piracy" is just a fatal mistake. This excuse for a game is not even worth pirating. Every great business model is based on great customer service and customer satisfaction, which EA completely lacks. Maybe you should look at the way Valve does their business and then figure out why they are becoming more loved by the fans every coming year.… Expand
  45. Adain
    Mar 9, 2012
    3
    Its an amazing game all the way up till the last 5 mins. I didn't think it was possible but we have an ending so bad that it ruins the entire series. I can't even think about playing any of the other ME games after watching this ending. So in short its a 9 up til the last 5 mins The last 5 mins are so incredibly bad that it pushes the game down to a 4. The fact its origin exclusive knocks off another point.… Expand
  46. UltraD00d
    Mar 9, 2012
    1
    Don't get me wrong, this game is playable and I'm sure if you had no standards or simply didn't care you could pick up this game and have a midly enjoyable experience. BUT the atrocities EA and Bioware committed mean I cannot give this game a decent rating with a good conscience. So what is so bad about this game? Let me tell you:
    1. Day 1 DLC: Whether it was EA or Bioware (Biowhore, if yo    u will) that decided to take this course I don't know, but releasing DLC on the day of release, particularly DLC which is important to the plot, at 1/6 the price of the game itself is unforgivable in of itself. It seems they are laughing in our face as we shell out money for something that should have been on the disc, available to everyone. It is obvious that it was done simply to milk as much money out of the fans as possible.
    2. Casualisation: The game was geared towards Call of Duty players in order to cash in on the series' success, while abandoning the loyal fanbase. Not much else to say here.
    3. Shoddy Writing: Many uninformed people think that the attacks on the Bioware employee Jennifer Hepler was simply a display of hate for the sake of hate. While they certainly did go overboard, it wasn't without good reason. She was the physical manifestation of the quality of writing coming from Bioware. Examples: Dialogue is awkward, the ending is notoriously bad, after seeing so many people die and killing so many himself, Sephard is emotianally effected by the death of a random kid above all. Overall you would expect something better from a Naruto fanfiction. 4. Laziness of Bioware: For a big budget, triple A game you would expect a certain level of effort from the developers. Bioware, however seemed to have taken shortcuts left, right and centre. There are images circulating the internet which demonstrate this quite well. For example, Copying a stock image for the portrait of a character who dies in the game, and copying another 7? year old image lying around in the internet for the ending.
    5. Ininspired Multiplayer: Another cash-in, Wave survival modes have been done to death, nowadays every game seems to have one. It seems this was added in to artificially extend the life of the game and make an excuse for future half-assed DLC releases.
    6. Gay Sex: people reading this may call 'Hurr durr homophobe" - but wait to read my reasoning. Homosexuality IS a sin. Being implemented in such as fashion acts to 'casualise' it, pressing on the impressionable 13 year old minds (whose uninformed mothers will be buying this game) that it is fine and acceptable. I do not hate **** I care about them, just as I do any other person. For this reason I oppose it.
    Even if this is an attempt to cash-in with the gay audience rather than a political agenda, it gets in the way of the average straight player and does not belong. I do not want to have gay passes made to me by my squadmates when I'm playing a game.
    7. Reviewers are sellouts: This goes for every major game release nowadays, but is absolutely appalling. While I'm not implying that EA is necessarily directly paying reviewers to give the game good reviews (not that I'd put it past them) there is certainly a feel that if you don't give it a good review the publisher early access to future releases. I have heard of cases where people have lost their job because they wrote how the felt rather than what they were told to write. This is why I'm writing this review in fact - to help get a bit of truth out.
    Instead of a proper, objective review we are fed tripe with 10/10 would play again bs.

    Due to all these aformentioned problems with Mass Effect 3, I cannot take it seriously, thus it receives a score of 0/10. The only reason it has earned a 1 from me is because the Biodrone tears are absolutely delicious.
    Have a good day sirs.    … Expand
  47. randomness1000
    Mar 10, 2012
    1
    Mass effect 3 a epic conclusion? More like a epic disappointment.
    I felt that the ending was a major slap in my face and leave a bitter taste
    in your mouth!
  48. SIckTired72
    Mar 10, 2012
    0
    Canâ
  49. VendettaBB
    Mar 10, 2012
    0
    Oh man this will be difficult to express in words as I cannot seem to make a coherent sentence when it comes to expressing the devastating amount of disappointment I was subjected to all throughout my experience with Bioware's latest game: Mass Effect 3...

    I want to start off by saying that I found the first two games incredibly exceptional (Some didn't like 2 but I loved it in terms of i    ts story, characters and pacing) but the third installment is quite possibly the most disappointing game I have ever played that I can think of due to the fact that I have spent so much time and invested quite a bit of emotion into this series... The choices made from previous games are simply irrelevant and very little effort has been placed into implementing the power of choice and its consequences as the earlier games did so well.

    The story itself, from which Bioware has built its reputation, is laughable, cheesy, predictable, and just plain infantile. It seems EA perhaps has dispersed all of Bioware's writers or they simply left to companies that were offering a higher salary because the difference in the quality of the script and story between this game and the first two is seriously night and day, I mean words cannot describe how bad the story has gotten. People have compared the story to that of a Michael Bay movie and that is not far off, although Bay atleast gives some sort of conclusion to his stories, here there is none, just youtube the "perfect ending" and you will see for yourself.

    I believe the forced homosexuality and the day-one 10$ DLC (crucial to the main story btw..) as well as the horrible multiplayer crucial to achieving the optimal ending (lets kill waves of enemies like a cheap knockoff of CoD's survival mode) have all been touched on by others here but it goes without saying that these were all decisions made without any respect or care to the fanbase that made the company what it is. Those idiot doctors sold out big-time, as if they didn't have enough money, they do not care at all about their integrity, their image, or more importantly their fans - this is a complete spit in the face to all who invested their time and money in the previous games and it goes to show the absolute corruption of capitalism seeping into the gaming industry at last. Oh and the critics? lol.. if there ever was a case of them being bought out by these giants like EA or Activision, well here it is folks, do not trust the critics, if you must - pirate the game and see for yourself but I would strongly not recommend that either simply because you will come away even more disappointed than after having read this review. And I haven't even touched on the technical aspects or the gameplay or their obvious marketing ploys which have become, as others have stated, incredibly subpar.. The overall package that is Mass Effect 3 is one of the biggest dissapointments in entertainment history and is a very very bad game - do not put yourself through the pain and agony and sadness that I did by playing this game (I even re-played the first 2 before this.....)

    Bioware you have fallen far indeed - DA2 , then TOR (don't get me started), and now this... Although you will keep selling, know that you have lost all the fans that made you who you are today and that you will never be releasing a quality game ever again with executives like this.    … Expand
  50. Em-Man
    Mar 10, 2012
    2
    The game featured a promising start. It was exciting to finally see everything you did in the last 2 games make a difference in Mass Effect 3... Only that it didn't. Nothing you did in the game has a result or consequence in this game, not even the stuff you do in Mass Effect 3. You can't do any major choices during the game. The combat feels like a bad version of Gears of War. The ending is horrible and makes the whole story of Shepard from the first game to the third feel irrelevant. The games has lots of glitches and feels rushed and unpolished.… Expand
  51. Dralium
    Jul 7, 2012
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I gave 0 last time. now the ending makes it less worst. I won't write a new review since I think like everyone else. Don't buy, rent. and stop when you kill the illusive man. no point going further.… Expand
  52. SSJ5
    Mar 11, 2012
    1
    The game itself is pretty damn good. Not the best of the series, but you know, pretty damn sold. The thing that bugged me is as you probably know the ending. It annuls everything you have worked for in the past games and DLCs. I have spent countless hours studying the games online, and have got over 100 hours of gameplay combined for the first two games, to get the perfect ending possible. But, apparently I have to play multiplayer to get the best ending. Bioware will tell you otherwise, but I know what I experienced. And the ending is inevitably grim and hopeless. You just can't get the ending you were working for all this time. I bought every DLC to make sure I had all the assets I needed to fight the Reapers and win. But Bioware would have me denied that. Well, you know what? I will deny Bioware my money. I give it a zero because the ending ruins the experience to such a degree that even though you can replay the game with different choices ... What's the point? You get the same thing over and over. Bittersweet ending with a grimdark future for the galaxy. I honestly regret buying the Collectors Edition. I sold it yesterday to a poor fool who doesn't know what he's in for. If you like Mass Effect series, stay away from this game. It bring your spirits up, only crush you utterly at the end.… Expand
  53. cerberusd
    Mar 11, 2012
    10
    When all is said and done, this is the first game since Half Life 2 where every second I felt the blood sweat and tears of those who toiled to engineer this titan of a game. That hard effort doesn't quite manifest itself in the same awe-inspiring perfection the way it did in Half Life 2, but Mass Effect 3 comes pretty damn close. Every aspect of gameplay, from the pacing, variety, balance, story, and art design, sets industry standards. The only place where ME3 falls flat is in its format, the third person shooter. It simply doesn't lend itself to a immersive, cohesive experience that the FPS format did for Half Life 2. The other weakness is that it doesn't utilize any revolutionary technology. The game looks nearly identical to Mass Effect 2 -not that that's necessarily bad- but a complete revamp of the engine would have been better for a game of this magnitude. These are pretty big negatives I know, and the critic in me wants to give the game a 9.3 or 9.4. But given the current state of gaming development, where designers opt for security rather than ambition, and truly epic, monumental gaming experiences exist only in our memories, this game truly 'deserves' a 10/10. I am writing this review of any true gaming fan who is having doubts about whether to spend his or her hard earned money on this game. If you felt that gaming changed in the last several years, that developers lost that ambition to achieve in a game the human mind's greatest, most powerful imaginations and desires, then this game is your answer and cure. This is undoubtedly Bioware's Magnum Opus, and a testament of the highest order to what games can achieves as an art form.… Expand
  54. Ninjastyle
    Mar 13, 2012
    0
    Game is Excellent until..... the Ending the last part of the game is rushed and then the ending makes you feel angry, sick og just plain weird as in WTF happend there? Plain and simple the game is a total failure that makes the two previous games feel like **** games that had no point to them. such a sad sad ending for what was going to be the most fantastic Trilogy game to date. From this point onward I will never buy a bioware game again nor will I sub to their mmos i've allready unsubbed from SWTOR becaus of the utter redicules states these two games have been given to us in.

    I cannot see Bioware being an active game makeing company in 3 years from now if this continues for I for one will Never EVER support this new "EA" direction that Bioware has taken with all their games lately Dragon Age 2 definently started showing this to me directly but just sick I feel now is allmost impossible to describe.

    Please do not support Bioware again if you must have their games dont buy them atleast.    … Expand
  55. AJ6432
    Mar 12, 2012
    9
    Mass Effect 3 is a fantastic game, despite a few flaws. Compared to Mass Effect 2, ME3 seems less polished. Graphically, the game looks fantastic, particularly the character animations and faces. However, there are some of the slow-loading textures that plagued the the first game, though not as abundant or drastic looking. I have also sparsely encountered this weird "glitch" where characters heads turn back and forth sporadically during conversations; there have even been one or two incidents where a character is fully glitched out of whole cut-scenes. Overall, though, the presentation is very well done. The sound is superb, from the voice-acting to the orchestral background music, living up to the Mass Effect name. However, the music doesn't stick out to me as well as the music from the second game. In terms of gameplay, the game is the best in the series, with solid shooting, squad, and cover mechanics; my only qualm with it is that the space bar, used for cover, is also used to roll (double-click) and interact with the environment, and when trying to perform one of these actions one may perform one of the others. The menus are more streamlined, except for the journal. Perhaps my biggest issue with ME3 is the journal. In the second game, your journal was separated into two categories: main missions and secondary missions. If you clicked on one of the missions, an outline would appear and display what you should do next in a mission. This is gone in ME3 and all of the mission appear under one category, and are not very organized. The codex is strangely also located under the journal, but this for me is not an issue. There is also the matter of obtaining secondary missions. In the second game, one had to engage in conversation with characters in an area to start sidequests. In ME3, one simply overhears conversations in an area and most of the secondary missions are automatically started. This feels less interactive and, simply, less engaging. My last issue with ME3 is searching the galaxy. While some (or more likely many) did not like the planet scanning/mining feature of the second game, I enjoy it, making me feel that I had to explore the whole galaxy and read all of the lore. In the third game, there a new system that involves avoiding Reapers in the galaxy; if they catch you while you are exploring a system and scanning objects, it's game over. While this system is fun, it also feels limiting. These issues aside, Mass Effect 3 is overall a wonderful game. It is definitely the most emotionally engaging game of the trilogy, and does not skimp on any story-telling quality. It is amazing to see how one's actions in the first two games culminates in the third game. While I do wish that your squad was larger than six options (downloadable content aside), the squadmates in combat and in conversation are seemingly flawless (graphical hitches aside). I highly recommend Mass Effect 3, but I even more highly recommend you play the first two games before this one for a truly emotional, interactive, and exciting experience!… Expand
  56. trouble1019
    Mar 12, 2012
    3
    EA should be ashamed of them selves. The Day 1 DLC was built into the through line of the story and then removed. This is what I would call taking advantage of my loyalty and insulting my intelligence. It's hard to believe that the folks over at EA are clever enough to fully integrate a complete story arc and then remove it before the game is finalized, and then sell the part they removed back to the people who paid a premium price for the game on the same day that the game hits the street, BUT they were unable to keep the BIOWARE team focused enough to create an appropriate ending for an EPIC piece of popular culture. This defines FAILURE in my humble opinion.… Expand
  57. GrizzleFist
    Mar 12, 2012
    0
    this is probably one of the worst endings to a trilogy I have ever seen. Its not that the ending is sad or not what I "wanted" I could deal with that. Its the fact the the whole last 15 minutes is full of dozens of plot holes that make no sense and gives us absolutely no closure or clue what the hell happened, it just goes straight to the credits when you would expect some more info. If you bought the game already, then your like me and pissed off and out of 60 bucks. ( if its the PC version)

    If you haven't bought the game, either play a friends copy or wait 3 months until game stop is so stocked up on returned copies that you''ll get a 80% discount on it. Graphics - 9/10 - Great Graphics
    Sounds 7/10 - Voices for most part are great, music is horrible Story 7.5/10 until last 15 minutes then it goes to a 0/10    … Expand
  58. laughing_man
    Mar 13, 2012
    1
    Being the best gaming series I have played it is a sad day when you reach the finishing line and it is as horrible as it is. I love the Mass Effect games, heart and soul and I've played them through countless times. This rating is purely to voice my utter dissatisfaction with how the game ends.
    I'm not one of those that want a good happy ending and it is not because of some gay sexscene (s    eriously, do journalists actually believe the crap they are putting out??). It is simply because the current ending (NOT endingS, mind you) makes absolutely no sense. Why is there no difference between the endings? WHY doesn't my choices make any difference what so ever. In a stroke of sheer genious BW implements transfer of savegames which all amounts to a **** nothing come the absurd end.
    I never write reviews but I love this game to damn much to not make my voice heard.    … Expand
  59. Peturd
    Mar 13, 2012
    10
    I actually waited to play the game before commenting on it. I thought it was outstanding. I tried not to look at it as the game it could have been if they had of stuck with and refined the RPG elements. I would have liked that. The squeaky wheel got the grease though, and ME2 was more of a shooter. ME3 brought back a bit more RPG depth. So I'm not sure why the hate. It was an improvement as a shooter from ME1 and an improvement as an RPG from ME2. The experience was greater then the sum of it's parts.

    The story, individual plots within the story, the music, sound effects and voice acting were all great. The graphics weren't top notch on my PC, but it's limited by the consoles, and lower end machines. This was countered greatly by the overall aesthetic choices I've loved from the start. Some animations were a little weird. Sometimes it seems a characters hands or other things are moving just for the sake of having animation to make them seem more life like, ironically making them dip down in the uncanny valley. Overall the animations were very good though. Very visceral, and gave a great sense of impact. The animations of the powers make the game much more splashy. Others might find it a bit less boring to watch you play as compared to ME1 and ME2.

    Finally, the changes we have seen are a direct result of YOU, the consumer. Game makers make games. They then sell them to make money, so they can go on to make more games. Without money they have to get other jobs, and can't make the games they want. So they compromise on what they want to do with what the consumer wants to buy. This way they have money to get to make things that are 70% of their vision, and 30% what the market wants. If people had of supported Mass Effect 1 better, and bought it, they would have stayed true to it. It's not like traditional art with little monetary input needed to produce a final product.

    TL;DR:
    Haters are ridiculous. This is by far the best Mass Effect game of the three. Refined, improved, and well executed in almost all regards. Deserving of the critical acclaim it is receiving, not the petty down votes from spoiled kids.    … Expand
  60. Gonzi
    Jun 27, 2012
    10
    I loved almost everything about Mass Effect 2 and yet Mass Effect 3 delivers even better game. Action parts are perfect, flanking works flawlessly and I really like different types of enemies. I like the plotline and while I must say, that potential from previous saves is rather underused, it still feels like "mine" universe and whole story of all three games works with it rather nicely.
    PS: DON'T PLAY IT WITHOUT EXTENDED ENDING DLC… Expand
  61. Hurzt
    Mar 25, 2012
    6
    Looking back, I enjoyed playing Mass Effect 2 the most; to me the story, gameplay and atmosphere rocked big time, giving me a cineastic experience and a feeling of immersion only few games have given me so far. Although ME2 was mostly linear, the sheer variety of satisfying setpieces and well-done scripts/dialogues made "collecting" character for character (your team/allies) and the over-arcing story much fun. I went to every location and even scanned most of the planets for resources, although it was quite tedious. After a few hours in Mass Effect 3 and some satisfying hours in the multiplayer mode (never played 'Gears') I began to realize there was "something missing". And then I started to feel like "please let me just get through this and don't annoy me too much". Kudos to Bioware for creating a great SF-lore/galaxy with many great characters, but in ME3, the whole recipe felt sooo "been there, done that". I went to earth (in order to finish the game) as soon as I could. There were some great moments and some sparks flying on the way to the ending, too, but most of them had to do with already well established characters. "On the way to the ending" kind of expresses it, too. It should feel like "the end is closing in, but I don't want it to end!". All in all, I enjoyed this game but can only repeat there's "something missing". It could have been so much more... Oh, and all the military stuff with Hackett, war map, soldier talk etc.? Boooooooring -.- Of course it's also difficult so begin a story with an invasion which seems to erase a whole planet's population within hours, just to then start flying through a whole galaxy for weeks(?) in order to be able to "fight back"...… Expand
  62. ceppi
    Mar 14, 2012
    4
    After DA2 and SWTOR, I was really scared that Mass Effect 3 would be really bad, and oh boy, was I right... First of all, you are forced to play multiplayer or most probably you get the bad ending. This is a problem now, but in 3-4 months, when people stop playing multiplayer, its going to be an even worse situation. Second of all, the goddamn first day DLC, when its already present of the disc I goddamn buyed few days ago, and Bioware lying about it just makes things worse. Overall I am just disappointed, I will most likely will not check the next Bioware game even tho it was one my favorite gaming companies... RIP Bioware that delivered us Baldurs Gate, Neverwinter Nights, KOTOR...… Expand
  63. coloradosarge
    Mar 14, 2012
    10
    I thought the game was awesome up until the end. I hating the ending and I think BW can do much better. That said, the triology was still one of the most awesome gaming experiences that I've ever had and will be much better if they change the ending. While I think the real score I would rate this is about a 7 or 8 I am giving it a 10 based on the rest of the game and previous games and to try and offset the other people trolling on here that are obviously marking the score low because of the ending. I think BW deserves a fair score.… Expand
  64. Bacong
    Mar 15, 2012
    6
    Honestly it's a good game but I'm giving it a 6 because:

    1. Screw EA.
    2. WTF @ the textures? EA is the most "evil" company in gaming today and the things they do is changing gaming for the worse.
  65. IAmSovereign
    Mar 21, 2012
    0
  66. Audustum
    Mar 15, 2012
    0
    Fantastic game in almost all senses of the word. Great story, great characters, great gameplay, but then it all gets ruined by an awful ending. I mean bad. If you do buy it, stop it right after Shepard talks to his crew before the final push and don't go further.
  67. boddilyfluids
    Mar 16, 2012
    0
    Breaks cannon, massive plot holes, incomplete game. While this is the final chapter in one of my most cherished series, there is very little that remains after a botched ending that can be considered good.
  68. turbo_chuffa
    May 17, 2012
    8
    Absolutely awesome game. Right up until the last 5 minutes, when it completely drops the ball and ends up smacking of a juvenille 4th rate sci fi novel. This is the weakest of the trilogy. They say the theatre of the mind is the most powerful theatre of of them all.. but that doesn't excuse the vague, lacklustre ending that BioWare saw fit to hack on to this otherwise brilliant original IP
  69. mythandoryx
    Mar 18, 2012
    4
    Don't get me wrong, ME3 is an AMAZING GAME! It's just the ending that pisses me off. I've spent five years on this franchise working hard making all the right choices in order to have a closure that suits my expectations! However, the ending made me feel as if none of that mattered! I've lost interest in continuing the game or even replay it anywhere in the near future. I was also frustrated by BW's Day-One DLC policy! It made me feel cheep! As if I'm nothing but money-milking machine for the Big Gaming Kahunas. THE ENDING MUST BE CORRECTED! BW is a great company that makes great RPG's. I'm confident that they won't disappoint their fans for long. Maybe!… Expand
  70. Umberto
    Apr 18, 2012
    9
    Even though there are many negative reviews, and i didn't like the game as much as ME1 and ME2, it remains a good game, with an intriguing story, a charismatic character and an enjoyable gameplay
  71. nexxuno
    Mar 18, 2012
    5
    Everything that made ME1&2 good games is not here (except graphics...).
    No choice and consequence, 1 (well more than one but all feel the same) ending, other characters are non-existant in this episode no way you'll grow attached to any of them, linear and weak story.
    Really pissed off, this is how to ruin a trilogy. The product would have some value but compared to the masterpieces 1&2     are, this one is just a 5.… Expand
  72. Skyhawk02
    Mar 18, 2012
    10
    This game totally blew me away. Mass Effect 1 was a pretty good start for the series. Mass Effect 2 streamlined the experience so you could focus more on the story and dialogue. Mass Effect 3 has taken the entire experience to another level. I have never experienced such strong emotions playing a video game. I cried a lot during the whole thing, I was so sad when it was over. This is probably the most theatrical video game ever made, it is still very much a video game Not a movie, but the voice overs, writing, animations, etc. all come together to create something unlike any other game out there. Don't trust all the negative reviews out there, most of those people are fans of old school RPG's who don't like Bioware's new direction. They care more about choosing stats than interacting with great characters.… Expand
  73. Jamesyht
    Mar 19, 2012
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Great game until ending.....

    which color do u like? oh, doesn't matter, everybody screwed

    u take nothing back....

    It's only just a lie....

    what's more, they think this is a good idea....    … Expand
  74. outlawJW13
    Mar 20, 2012
    1
    Shepherd lies disgraced

    Bad end ruined good story

    I am heartbroken

    I can't put my disappointment into words greatest game ever razed to the ground by it's own ending. If you enjoyed the other games avoid this one until they fix the end. Check out retake mass effect on facebook and twitter.
  75. dmjrnbsn
    Mar 20, 2012
    0
    One of the most profoundly disappointing endings to any story in any medium. The writers removed the cornerstone in which the entire story was built upon - choice and consequence. So, the entire building comes crashing down at the end. In the end, none of the choices your character makes throughout three games matter. All the relationships you've built are meaningless. There is no closure in the relationships made, whether between LIs or squad mates. They never come to fruition, and there is no resolution. ME3 was advertised to have a multitude of outcomes based upon players' choices. That's what originally made the Mass Effect franchise such a great success. The finale should have raised the player to great heights or taken the player to despair... and everywhere between based upon the consequences of the player's decisions throughout the entirety of the series(Paragon, Renegade, or somewhere in between). BioWare should have finished their remarkable work on the strengths that it was built on. Choice and consequence. It seemed like a given, but...

    You leave the game feeling complete and utter disappointment. It is truly remarkable how an ending can be so profoundly and remarkably bad. It truly destroys the franchise entirely. This is not an easy thing to say, as I've loved the series from the start. There is no replay value at all.

    BioWare has ruined years of work in the last ten minutes on what should have been one of the greatest RPGs of all time. It will be a study in the future on how not to end a story franchise.    … Expand
  76. mmadbzfan
    Mar 25, 2012
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. First of all I like this games single player and love the multiplayer and glad they added it. Making Shepard die is bs and day one dlc just makes me rage. If there was a good ending and no dlc this game is a 10 but EA's greed has made it to a 6.… Expand
  77. Gamecrafter
    Mar 28, 2012
    9
    Enough already! Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but that doesn't mean you get to act like a child and call yourself valid. Ok, you don't like the ending - it wasn't what you expected or wanted. That's fine, and I can somewhat understand. But you know what that means? You played this somewhat lengthy adventure game to its completion, hell you probably completed the entire trilogy. SUCKY GAMES DON'T GET COMPLETED. You play them for ten minutes and then you're out. So I'm calling on you crybabies to man up and admit that the game is GREAT ENTERTAINMENT which is why you got to the ending. It's awesome in fact. So you can't turn around and give it a sucky score simply because you have a problem only with the creative decisions of its ending. What you're doing is literally like ordering a meal at a restaurant, finishing it through dessert, and then saying - "I wanted ice cream not cake, I'm not paying for any of this! This meal sucks!" Ridiculous! The journey was the value. And I loved it, and I know many that do. Don't be a whiney hater, admit that Mass Effect was awesome soup to nuts. MP alone is worth the price of admission. I for one thank Bioware and EA for it. One of the best gaming franchises ever.… Expand
  78. Lspeyer
    Mar 29, 2012
    0
    I have been a fan of the series for half a decade, and I was really looking forward to the third installment of Mass Effect 3. As a result the game managed to disappoint me beyond what I thought was possible. Bioware has created something so awful that retroactively makes the whole series pointless, and I doubt I will ever bother with this series again. Add in the lack of PC customization options and PC controller support, together with day 1 DLC, which clearly was an important part of the game to begin with, and you have one of the worst sequels in RPG history.… Expand
  79. Nexus2132
    Mar 29, 2012
    8
    I can't and will never understand how other fans of Mass Effect series found this game to be a let down. Bioware is changing the endings with a DLS/Patch in april, but regardless of that fact I still found the endings satisfying. Yes the various endings to this game weren't led up to by previous decisions within the game series, that being said they weren't "Bad". I Loved this game just as much as the previous ones in the series. Sure its my opinion but enjoy the experience people, Bioware has taken one of the top 5 spots on my favourite game developer company's, and I respect and loved them and their work. Also another note that people seem to not understand, the multiplayer is NOT REQUIRED to get the best endings, You can unlock the others threw longer and better play threw out the singleplayer campaign. Please people before you storm off and call this masterpiece crap do some research.… Expand
  80. 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.
  81. 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
  82. Zethril
    Dec 6, 2012
    0
    Any company that supports false advertising and not completing story critical characters then tries to sell the patched in contact on day 1 DLC gets a ZERO! Gamers have right to expect better.

    EA's continuing saga of buying studios with good names then dragging them through the dirt needs to end. STOP BUYING EA PRODUCTS!
  83. HeartlessFinale
    Apr 19, 2012
    8
    ** This is my own opinion on the game, It should be noted that these reviews aren't exactly completely trustworthy because of this.
    Mass Effect 3 isn't a perfect game, the whole first day DLC fiasco and disappointing endings are some of the major let downs of the game. Despite this Mass Effect 3 succeeds in delivering good game-play blending in RPG elements (leveling up, picking specific b    onuses to powers/characters) with a shooter creating something that is a decent hybrid. The ems system is somewhat effective and actions that were previously taken can impact your general story as certain scenes and missions are only available if certain choices were previously taken. Exploration with the Normandy SR2 is available in a simple system. The story itself is decent. The main things pulling it down is that fact that our decisions don't have a direct impact to the ending (this was promised). With the plot holes and lack of explanations in the ending it just feels better to play the game up to the ending and then stop. If the endings do get fixed though, this is a game that should be tried in my opinion (of course after the other two games of the trilogy ).… Expand
  84. Plucx
    Apr 23, 2012
    0
    I never was a Huge fan, but I played the two first and had fun. However ME3 is BARELY a ME game! 1) First is Disregards for announced gameplay: a)Promised closure : -No closure depending on what you did in 3 games. No difference. -Cheap loophole, stuff made before is IRRELEVANT - PERIOD -Old crew is not to be part of new crew so, if they died or not have NO impact beyond some score (20pts on 5000 total, yeah it's that cheap, Miranda is now some points ... )
    -Xenophage or not, end stat, no more
    -Saved council in first one or not ... who cares? Same with Anderson In Council, nope whatever you chose in any games i'ts Udina. Yep, in a way they tell us to shut up and swallow!

    2) Poor quality ending that disregard the working of it's own story mecanics.
    -Deux-Ex writing mecancis ... writer did an asspull in the end. CHEAP ONE TOO!
    -Reaper having circular logics, really they seems to be there because of a simple logic loophole ... but it's even worse than that in term of writng skill!
    -Illogical and inconsistent ... so much stuf going wrong here!

    3) Unacceptable answer from BOTH company. They ignored that we spent OUR money on stuf we THEY promised in their product but did not.

    4) Low quality pre-ordor edition that is NOT worth it!
    -Bad weapon mecanics. Special weapons are all broken. Who need a shotgun with medium damage and pinpoint precision! It got no range too ... jeez. All basic weapons are beter than the 'special' sones.
    -They cna't even be there for the show! You can only see them in single player!

    5) Day one DLC! Enough said

    6) Trough the whole ME3 experience, you feel like a cash cow. and up to the end game. Deep rooted impression that the publisher or makers are pushing too hard on their client wallet.
    -Day one DLC
    -Cheap end game pop up (yeah, they do a 3 line epilogue saying "Game over, shepard is hero and wait for more in DLC).
    -Pre-Order Art book is in fact a DEMO of the "real one". They also advertise it along the way (Do you really think that afther 80$ spend on DIGITAL i'm going to break another leg and buy a 80$ book from these guys?)
    -Their PR keep to the players not as customers but as "emotional fans". Oh, I'm getting emotionnal alright and I'm sure NOT a fan. I'm a human being and i'm spending my FXXXXXXX money on falsely advertised prodcuts! -These guys have NO respect for their clients. I wonder what we are in fact, I cows are at least well cared for so they can be milked for years. Yeah, it's THAT bad ... 7) EA and Bioware Refused to appologise that is/feels sincere. If you read between the lines it says : Shut up whiny kids. Hey i'm over 30 with two kids and i'm not that rich. If I spend 80$ on a product that is badly advertised I'm expecting at least a little respect from those who sold **** to me and called it gold!

    8) The interconnection inbetween game journalism and publisher is not to be dismissed. We all know it, we don't beleive the big review guys anymore. Especially thioses who gave a 10/10. And chowbot, com'on! A journalist should not be part of the story she's reviewing! Imagine if Lucas tell you phantom menace is great, will you beleive him?

    9) One of these mistake in itself would not be too bad. Actually there is a ton of games that have similar or bigger issues. However, it's when you put it ALL together that you get a pile of **** soooo smelly and soo disgusting that you don't want to go trough the ME3 experience. Play 1st and 2nd but don't ever play the THURD one!

    Do they think we are morons? Do they care calling 90% of their client idiots? WE, the hard working players, we don't seem to matter for these guys, In fact, we are less important than the lowest of corporate scumbag at EA.

    Why should I care anyway, i'm not here to help these company, i'm here to tell you guys:

    DO NOT BUY THIS GAME!!! IT'S NOT WORTH YOUR MONEY!

    And if you love ME, Please please , don't finish the game in ANY way. Get your character killed and call-it a day. Avoid the rage. Marauder-shield forever. He tried to warn us :(    … Expand
  85. neal121
    Apr 30, 2012
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I purchased the game solely based on the reviews I have been reading - very mixed.

    I personally was not a fan at all of ME1 or 2 but I bought 3 anyways. I understand people were probably upset at "fresh start" and unable to continue from game 2. Overall the game was pretty good. Todays games are being rushed by the publishers so its common to expect glitches but I find it pathetic people are complaining about the small things like the gun not matching what they are equipped in the video. Who cares? If you want a REAL glitchy game with no story and no unique things to it - go play Force Unleashed 2.

    This game had it all - story, twists and turns, good ending, good music, etc. Now about the ending - the ending was fine. Yes its controversial but ITS A TRILOGY PEOPLE! Its gotta end some how. And if you pay attention between the lines at the end, its not really "the end." Maybe if some people weren't so focused on clicking positive or negative actions, they would listen to the story. The ending fit well. Deal with it.    … Expand
  86. ivanovich101
    May 9, 2012
    6
    For me the game was mostly a disappointment. My decisions mattered, but not necessarily in the way I thought they would. They affect how the game plays and not the ending. Which I am generally okay with this. The ending was actually really good, I wish they had personalized it about your crew and the people you had met. However, that isn't necessary just would have been nice.

    What bothere    d me was that the series has gone from an RPG based on FPS elements to an FPS with a little bit of RPG elements thrown in. If this game hadn't been mass effect 3 I wouldn't have even thought of buying it.… Expand
  87. paralitos
    May 21, 2012
    8
    I was very excited for this game, and i bought it besides that i had problem with the dlc practice of the company. the game itself is fun to play and there are some very emotional moments and some excelent music in it... i am not a big hater of the ending but i do have some problems of reasoning with it.
  88. aleyas
    May 25, 2012
    3
    For those new to series, ME3 as a stand alone game is probably not bad, though without playing ME1-2 it's rather difficult to understand multiple references to earlier series events. But again, if to play with pressing SPACE all the time to skip dialogues to short cut to action - then neither story no its end matter and you have only to worry about some bugs and your character refusing to move properly according to your commands from time to time.
    But I used to be a ME series fan and I was playing and paying for entertainment I was getting. I have started with ME2 and soon dropped it for a while to play ME1 first and then returned to replay ME2 for better ending. And I was ready to replay ME3 to get desired outcome. And here comes not only ingame issue with linear plot and bad joke devastating ending - but also an ethical issue with Bioware managers publically lying to users, encouraging them to play and replay by assuring them that it's possible to achieve higher scores necessary for a secret ending without myltiplayer. Which is not true. But people believed, why should not have they - it worked like this in ME2. And purchased and played and replayed.
    And then the stupid ending itself, promised to be variable, not a display of RGB colour model. Amazing how Boiware been building its loyal userbase for 5 years managed to ruin the best RPG franchise in one go acting as if there was no tomorrow and the only thing important was to make people buy the copy of the game regardless. No apologises, no explanation, quite the contrary...Looks like Bioware regards its users as a cattle which exists only to be soothen with **** if necessry and milked.    … Expand
  89. Dkashola
    Aug 12, 2012
    10
    Gave it a 10 to *try* to balance the score out. Is that the correct and honest thing to do? Probably not, but ME3, especially after the ending DLC doesn't deserve a 4.3 user score, imo, a 7 or 8 would probably be more appropriate.

    Just my opinion, no need to go spreading it around... :P
  90. DarthKate8215
    Jun 5, 2012
    0
    The professional reviews of this game are so ridiculously similar that I'm not completely convinced that there isn't some kind of conspiracy in the gaming industry. It is dishonest and unethical not to mention the **** ending to this game, if only for it's extreme polarization.
  91. Duratan
    Jun 19, 2012
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Mass effect is a game that tries to appease old fans and be a natural starting point for new fans sadly it fails at both new fans will feel overwhelmed by the situations while old fans will feel betrayed by the lack of differences in choices, i will elaborate on both but i would like this time to say the there will be spoilers

    spoiler alert

    new fans wont understand the gravity of the geth quarian conflict and wont feel the much passion when the shepard (the protagonist) talks about the sacrifice of a squad-mate that occurred in the first game, its also a bit overwhelming to be dumped in to this world with a lack of understanding of the different races

    older fans will play a much more dumbed down version of the game, as the organization that you may have helped in previous game will be your enemy no matter what you did before, the game is also much more linear then previous games, and your a pigeon-holed in the the ending no matter what happens

    if your new to the series, you will still be taken on an emotional roller coaster that you may enjoy and this game should be rated a 6/10

    however if your a new fan the ending (at least for me) actually makes the two previous games worse meaning that this game should be given a negative score, as i am a fan of the previous games i will give it the lowest possible score of "0", as im not allowed to give the game a negative 20 for ruining the other two 10/10 games in the series    … Expand
  92. FemShep
    Jul 1, 2012
    10
    The problems that everyone had with the ending have been fixed with the Extended Cut and additional closure and clarification was added making this game the ideal choice for purchase if you haven't already. :)
  93. Vangriffeth
    Jul 5, 2012
    5
    While I enjoyed the game play on its own, it most definitely was not the Mass Effect I remember. This game is to Mass Effect what a personal plane is to a personal jet, good on its own, but not what you wanted.
  94. dannytran555
    Jul 11, 2012
    10
    first time i play mass effect 3 i hate the ending but now when bio ware decide to released extended ending DLC i love it again now i will play from part 1 again to write my own story
  95. JahnUlrik
    Jul 18, 2012
    0
    Truly a greater loads of garbage has never been made. I can't even bother to finish the game. 59$ my arse. I would never buy any product from Bioware again.
  96. Gman24
    Nov 3, 2012
    9
    Fantastic game - combat and presentation are simply at the best and this game sets a new standard to 3rd person shooter games, for sure! The story itself, while I agree that the ending is confusing somewhat, is still awesome and I don't think it's bad and frankly with the new free "ending" DLC, things feel a lot more clear. Even if you won't like the ending - it's not something that affects the rest of the game IMO and thus you shouldn't miss this game just because of a small section of it!… Expand
  97. SympathyChan
    Jan 7, 2013
    7
    My favorite color is red. I like orange too. Choices, choices, choices. Why does life have to be so complicated? Why, Lord? Why? Hristos se rodi, D
  98. Minigun
    Mar 29, 2013
    8
    Here's a different kind of review: I actually liked the ending!

    Ok, so I started my Mass Effect journey with a bargain purchase of the first game in 2010, followed by a bargain purchase of the second part of series in late 2011 and now the final part in 2013. I still clearly remember the whole story and the feelings I had while playing it, so I can speak both for ME3 and the trilogy as     a whole.

    Technically speaking, ME3 had superb audio and nice graphics. Very satisfying and enjoyable audiovisually. Game never crashed, I did not encounter any bugs either. Game felt very solid all around. The Origin requirement is a downer, but a small one. The atmosphere of the game (ie. the despair of the war) was a bit forced at times, but in the end held quite nicely. In ME1 I liked the feeling of vastness, how the plot spanned a lot of places on a huge scale. ME2 had perhaps did not have as epic a feel to it, for most of the game you spent hiring squad members from not-so-epic places and fights. I think ME3 went back to the roots in the epicness of scale.

    In ME1 I liked the fighting system and finding and upgrading new weapons. ME2 kind of streamlined the combat, but also removed all those micro-management details such as weapon mods. ME3 took somewhat a middle road in that regard: weapon mods return, but the weapon arsenal is quite limited. The biggest problem in fighting I had was Shepard getting stuck in cover when trying to run, resulting in a couple of unnecessary deaths in some of the harder fights. Other than that, gameplay felt pretty smooth.

    On terms of dialogue I think ME2 was the high point of the series. I really liked especially the female Shepards delivery of her lines. ME3 is not that good, but certainly not bad, either.

    The galaxy map mini-game this time was avoiding reapers, who were alerted by scanning the space for artifacts etc. I think ME1 had the best mini-game in that you actually landed on the planet and searched for stuff, even though it did get quite repetitive after while. In ME2 the mineral scanning was just dumb, as it did really not offer any challenge and there really was no big difference in the tactic you did it. The reaper mini-game in ME3 is again quite unnecessary, but at least you can apply some tactics to it, and it isn't really that much of an annoyance.

    And then there is the ending. I did play the extended cut, but also watched all the original ending videos from YouTube. I didn't really see the necessity of the extended endings, although they were perhaps a bit more satisfying. And the fourth ending type was indeed a smart move, which should have been in the original release also. On a side note, I also have played Eye of the Beholder, which threw you right back into DOS prompt after finishing the game, so I'm used to not having any fancy ending scenes. Anyway, most comments I've read about the ending being bad had two things in them: previous choices in the games had little to no effect, and not everything was explained. I think both are wrong accusitions.

    Choices in the previous games mainly affected your companions: who you were working with. At no point do I recall making any huge decisions directly regardin the forthcoming reaper invasion. Killed or saved the rachni queen in Noveria? Who cares, no one probably even knew she was there in the first place. Killed Wrex or was his best friends? Doesn't matter, there are plenty of krogans to be their leader, and plento of people on Normandy to be your wingmen. My point is, all the choices you made only affected the people around Shepard not things on a galactic scale. Therefore, I don't see how can someone expect so see any huge change in the outcome no matter what they did in the previous games. On the other hand, I still think they did a hell of a job with all the different combinations of who are alive and who you are with: dialogue changes according to the setting, and there are a huge number of different settings, which your previous choices _do_ affect.

    And the other thing, about leaving stuff open. I think the ending tied all the knots there were to be tied regarding galactic scale. Again, what happens to your mates is a different story, and left open. But that was not the point of the big picture. The point was the reaper invasion, and that was concluded in satisfying enough a way.

    The multiplayer requirement for the "better" endings was a stupid move, but I hear it was removed in the extended cut patch. I wouldn't know, as I ended up hacking my save game just to be sure I get the best ending: there were no multiplayer games anymore to boost your rating.

    All in all, a highly recommended game, and nowadays very good entertainment value for the cost: I only paid 9,95 in Origin store. I would give the game 8.5/10, which rounds to 8 just because of the multiplayer thing possibly affecting your single player campaign ending.    … Expand
  99. alsec
    Feb 5, 2013
    7
    Mass Effect 3 will not force you to make tough decisions on a galactic scale. The RPG element from the first one has been taken away, and replaced with longer action packed combat. Having 3 games to tell a story, but leaving the player with an ending less desirable, greatly disappoints. If with those gripes, I give it a 7 because it is still a fun game, and the story leading up to the ending held me with suspense. It is no means as good as the first, or second games in the series, and that does disappoint. But taking a seat back and looking at it for what it is, I enjoyed the game.… Expand
  100. RakAttack
    Mar 7, 2013
    9
    True. The ending storyline didn't live up the the incredible standards we have become used to with the Mass Effect series. I was upset with the ending the first time I finished the game. But i've completed the game 3 more times(with the slightly improved new ending they made for free DL) and I now realize that the ending is a small 1% of a game that is otherwise a very enjoyable work of art. 9/10. Loses 1 point for ending storyline.… Expand
Page:

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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