Mass Effect 3 PC
User Score
4.7 out of 10

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 4368 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,813 out of 4368
  2. Mixed: 368 out of 4368
  3. Negative: 2,187 out of 4368

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  1. KaityUK
    Apr 7, 2012
    3
    Game was way over hyped prior to release and with to me rings alarm bells. Played the PC version at a friends, appalled, poor graphics, poor story, poor voice acting, poor continuity, poor game play. ME2 was great, ME3 is pap.
  2. 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!
  3. SpaceXDebris
    Apr 18, 2012
    0
    I agree with what pretty much everyone else here has said. It's all the more worse because it craps on what I had considered a near masterpiece (ME1). I'm done with Bioware.
  4. MrBuckie
    Nov 13, 2012
    1
    Allright, I was wrong about my last review, after seeing the dlc. Now the story changed to crap, which really disappoints me. Thank you EAWare for this game.
  5. scifi_lover
    Jul 7, 2012
    2
    As a stand alone game, it was mediocre at best. As the 3rd installment in a trilogy, if failed in almost every way possible.
    Your character is no longer yours but a forced character by BW.
    Autodialog forces conversations in directions that go against the players choices.
    Boring, uninspired fetch quests inundate the game.
    Exceptionally linear in design, unlike the pseudo-free style of     the previous games.
    Endings that nothing to smile about and everything to hate. Infused with massive, game breaking, space magic.
    Overall, a childish attempt at ending a trilogy. Not worth the purchase price.    … Expand
  6. AutoNix909
    Sep 6, 2012
    4
    This game is utter garbage compared to ME one and two. I seriously cannot understand why so many people propped this game as a wonderful experience when the ending was boring as could possibly be. The fact that NO new characters were available and that they wanted you to mix and match characters from the first two games who had no correlation to one another on most fronts didn't help either. The voice acting is terrible and overall it's a huge let down from two's ending let alone one which was rough around the edges yet ultra playable. This game made me want to chuck the install disk into the street. Don't waste your time. Sheppard isn't doing so well these days.… Expand
  7. Montanker
    Mar 10, 2012
    9
    Honestly, I really don't understand the overwhelming amount of negative fan reviews for this game. I can understand some of the problems people have, such as the ending and such, but that really shouldn't determine the score of the entire game. For me, the game was amazing. The characters were still enjoyable and deep, the missions were epic, the environments were gorgeous, and the multiplayer is repetitive but addicting. The PC version also performs very well, even on my somewhat dated laptop. If you have any investment or interest in the Mass Effect universe, this game is an absolute must-have.… Expand
  8. GenuineOpinion
    Mar 24, 2012
    10
    Definitely not worth anything below a 6, those people are exaggerating out of rage for the ending, which is very much like Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Game play is sturdy, and in fact improved on everything from the first two games. It was fun.
  9. Maximo
    Mar 30, 2012
    4
    Somehow, everything good about Mass Effect left with the writer that was responsible for the opening part of the trilogy. I cant think of any positive thing about ME3, none, only the terrible things remain. Suddenly, I realized how poor of a sci-fi ME is, things that didnt matter suddenly became game-breaking for me. For example, the animations, the "every species speaks english", the sci-fi clichés, the bisexuality, etc. All in all, the story is just plain boring, not to mention it has many plot holes. Dialogues were terrible and the ending was a colosal dissapointment, something for people to gloat about for decades to come.… Expand
  10. Rastrelly
    May 31, 2012
    0
    Disappointing and internal law breaking product, that lowers the plank raised by previous games. Uninteresting and not original waste of time and money.
  11. nirax
    Mar 18, 2012
    1
    i wrote a review before finalizing the game. unfortunately the game ending as it stands ruins everything. dont play/buy it until it gets fixed. the writes somehow thought it would be cool to change a (Great) mainstream popcorn emotional decision driven action-rpg to a linear pace ending with three "pick your color" option endings (completely meaningless) trying to move to "art" and not closing anything.
    its very unsatisfactory and dumb. AVOID.    … Expand
  12. PhiloHippus
    Mar 18, 2012
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Amazing game. Granted, from a hardcore paragon point of view, who does want his hero to live to fight another day in the DLCs, the ending is a bit disappointing. Saving Shepard means killing the Geth and after all the emotional investment put into getting them to make peace with the Quarians, that's just nonsense. Plus, destroying all Mass Relays and setting the galaxy back to the dark ages of space immobility is plain bad closure. Still, I don't feel I can judge the game by the last 10 minutes, and considering the other 41 hours were pure awesome, this game gets a perfect 10.… Expand
  13. moifoi
    Jun 3, 2012
    2
    Sigh, the ending was far to short and being paragon or renegade meant nothing in the end. The endings didn't reflect your play style. I didn't have any probs with the style of ending, the mist is one of the best ever and heaps of people vote it down furious over it but it still maintains a high ranking proof the movie was good.

    It's quite funny, bioware have made the following since EA to    ok over. mass effect 2 and 3 dumbed down, dragon age 2 the worst dumbed down rpg, SW the old republic complete junk. Oh well sell outs.… Expand
  14. Manuelexar
    Mar 14, 2012
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A really good game, Initially I gave it a TEN, because I thought that people were just bashing the game for the same sex scene, now after seeing the endings I can say that It's a GREAT GAME, It would score 10/10 'til the "conduit" scene, It's full of citation from the other games and for someone like me that finished the other titles 10 times each IT'S GREAT! The final scene (and the last battle itself) it's REALLY BAD WRITTEN, -The fact that the citadel moves? WTF? All mass effect 1 and the Sovreign thing is USELESS if the reapers can move the citadel. GUYS COME ON!! WTF????? Did the guy that wrote this thing ever played me1? Does he know the story?
    -WTF? Where does TIM come from? Did the reapers let him in?
    - THE CHOICES? 3 ray of different colours? Man, It could have been the best game ever. I'm really sorry.
    I'm giving it a 6. The Game deserve a 10/10, the ending a 1/10.    … Expand
  15. six30two
    Mar 30, 2012
    6
    The gameplay on this was fantastic, and very similar to Mass Effect 2. However, none of the sidequests or final mission choices have any affect on the endings. Remember in ME2 if you didn't get that upgrade for the ship, it'd kill your engineers? Or how if you didn't send the right guys on the suicide mission, they would die? Yeah, none of that happens. It doesn't matter who you pick or what you do, the game ends the same 3 ways. Total Deus Ex: Human Revolution style copout. Gameplay was fun, ending was crap.… Expand
  16. TheEverglow
    Apr 9, 2012
    0
    What a joke. Mass Effect 2 was easily my favorite game this gen and I couldn't have been more letdown playing through this game the first time. I'm working through my second play through and I just can't make it. I'm selling it back and never buying a Mass Effect game again. Easily the worst and most disappointing ending of a game I've ever seen and I refuse to pay EA for a better ending. They ruined it for themselves and I'm not letting them get any more of my money.… Expand
  17. StavrosDim
    Mar 17, 2012
    7
    Mass Effect 3 is promoted by its publisher as a shooter game,while Mass Effect 1 was promoted as an RPG.Many RPG elements are absent in this game,and any improvement done is on the battle/shooter department.That was something I didn't liked,as I also didn't liked the fact that the actual places you can visit are fewer,the actual dialogues you can have with people are fewer,and the gameplay variety of this game is also shorter.While ME3 is the most linear of all the games in the series,it was bearable enough up until the end.I didn't had enough fun as I had with ME1 and ME2 while playing ME3,because many elements that I liked from past games were absent or in very short quantities in this one.
    While the actual battles aren't as predictable and annoying as in past game of the series,the fact that most quests in this game have battles tacked on gets them repeatitive and boring after an amount of time,and I ended up feeling that the game's gameplay was a chore I had to do just to see what happens in the end.So I played it up until the end expecting a great finale and to see how the game would evaluate my decisions and gameplay,by seeing what kind of ending I would get.
    The ending wasn't what I expected.I could deal with a not so happy ending,but this goes beyond that.
    The game ends without showing me what happened to the main characters of the plot and the universe. I didn't saw anybody's reactions to the decision the main protagonist,Shepard took. I didn't saw how their lives changed,what happened in anybody's life after the final event of the story.The game ends in a way that makes whatever Shepard accomplished in all 3 games to be rendered absolutely useless,and the player is left to wonder if it was even worth it taking all these decisions or not,and eventually destroying the Reapers or not,and actually if it was even worth it doing all that things that happened,and playing through 3 games to achieve them.
    I can't say I enjoyed or had fun with this game as with the rest of the series.
    Mass Effect 1 was like finding an airport full of various airplane models you could fly and got me all excited.Mass Effect 2 was like a lift off,like actually flying one of those planes,and it drove my enthusiasm to the hights of the skies.Mass Effect 3 was the landing,and a rough one where you realise that something went wrong,and you get to smash on to the ground with your face.
    While as a series it was one of my best ever until before ME3,I decided that the best thing to do is to forget ME3 ever existed.Shepard's story closes with the worst possible way it could close.Everything turns out to be futile,and the universe I loved so much by playing the first two games of the series got damaged so bad,it wouldn't make sense to make a new game with it.In the last minutes of this game Bioware destroyed every reason I had to do whatever I was doing in the games of the series,which also devastated any replay value the whole trilogy could have,by killing the motives a player might had to replay these games.This is sad.Sadder than the actual ending.    … Expand
  18. Scyrenus
    Mar 9, 2012
    10
    This game is amazing, the best game i ever played. I must say its the most emotional game ever with a great finish. I also admit that i cried once or twice feeling sorry for the characters from the older games and i really left there sadness and fear. This game is a masterpieace.
  19. derOlifant
    Mar 11, 2012
    10
    First, since the question of the genre seems to be so important to a lot of people, I want to say that I do not usually play action games. My favourite genres are roleplaying and turn-based strategy, and I think two of the most brilliant games ever developed are "Baldur's Gate 2" and "Planscape: Torment".
    "Mass Effect 3" is no classical RPG like BG2 or Torment, but neither can you do it ju    stice by labelling it a simple or even "dumbed-down" action game. Sure, there are lots of action in ME3. Few care to mention, however, how well this action is implemented into the overall concept of the game and how utterly believable it feels. This is no action for action's sake. This is no Roland Emmerich kind of action, spectacular but hollow once the smoke of the explosions has settled. The game makes you care about this universe in danger and creates an atmosphere of extreme urgency and desperation that is manifest in almost every single action sequence. The fights are not very tactical, but neither are they too easy or banal. They feel grim and desperate and immensely important (and what is equally important: they are a lot of fun and very satisfying). Characters you care about (and many of whom already appeared in the previous games) die, and their deaths really leave you shocked and sad, because this is something one does not normally expect in this kind of game, but also because the characters around you actually feel like real living people (or aliens). And this is where the game really shines. After or during missions, the patient listener is rewarded with lots of dialogue. The writers avoided almost every cliché you'd expect and deliver very good â… Expand
  20. Qwertie
    Apr 14, 2012
    8
    It's hard to know where to begin with this game. First, prerequisites: ideally you'll play ME1 and ME2 first. The default FOV (field of view) is terribly narrow but you can alter the config files to fix it (google "qscribble fov"). And the game is not designed for stereoscopic 3D vision but fans have hacked it, so it can look great in 3D. I played the game this way on a 10-foot projector screen which makes the whole experience pretty sweet. NOW, it's true what everyone says, the ending is all screwed up (google "5 reasons the fans are right" for spoilers). Luckily, since you know it's screwed up, at least you can prepare for the disappointment in advance. But right up until the ending, ME3 is great. It's fun, production values are high, it contains some momentous choices. Best of all, it respects all the major choices and consequences from ME1 and ME2. Wrex (whom you could have killed) plays a solid role, there is a mission for the Rachni (who you could have wiped out), and there are cameos or better for most of your old crew (any of whom might have died in ME2), and the dialogue sometimes mentions things you did in earlier games. You can find faults if you look, like Cerberus suddenly becoming extremely powerful, the decrease in dialogue options compared to ME1 and ME2, etc., but it wasn't a big problem to me. Bottom line: while I hope the low user scores prompt Bioware to alter the ending, ME3 doesn't deserve a low score. The game is still worth buying if you enjoyed ME2. It's less RPG-like and more shooter-like, but whether that's good or bad depends on who you are. And you might want to wait for the improved ending DLC. I would give this game 10/10 if not for the dumb ending, low FOV, the failure to import my ME2 face, and the obnoxious "Origin" software (you are not allowed to install ME3 from disk until after you install Origin, sign up for an online account and download updates; and they say that if you buy DLC, you can't start single-player without an internet connection!)… Expand
  21. Arcero
    Mar 15, 2012
    10
    I have not yet finished the game but I am three quarters of the way through it. So far, this has been the best game I have ever played; the content is amazing, the events I predetermined in the previous installations are flawlessly synced to the plot-line. Mass Effect has not been my favourite series before this game.
    Perhaps the ending does ruin the game, I wouldn't know I have not yet re    ached it.
    But even if it does ruin the series, I will not give this game any less than 10/10 for the journey and for BioWare.
    BioWare was, is and in prospect will be the ONLY good RPG developer, you will not find any other developer (perhaps excluding square enix) that makes such elaborate stories. If BioWare dies... RPG dies.
    Also, somehow people seem to completely misunderstand this business. The choices from previous games CAN'T decide the whole outcome of the game because (1) they need to appeal to a range of audiences, not just complete Mass Effect fans or complete old-style RPG fans because they just wouldn't make enough profits and (2) the old decisions which predetermine the games mechanics would make the game either laughably easy or terribly hard plus would add another couple of years to cover every plot hole which comes with them, etc. You can't appeal to everyone, e.g. I like text based RPG's and action in Mass Effect does a lot to aggravate me, I play and always have for the story, if they took out the action, they would appeal to a minority but lose a lot of clients whereas when they pump up the action, slacking the story slightly, they will gain customers. Although I won't like it, I will still play it as if you really play for the story, you have to continue whereas when you play for action, you just drop it without caring.    … Expand
  22. fatdada1
    Mar 13, 2012
    0
    Completely killed the entire series with only three extremely poor and stupid ending choices. It doesn't matter what you do in this game of any previous games because they mean absolutely nothing.
  23. 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.
  24. Arona
    Mar 7, 2012
    10
    All these comments seem like a bad flash-mob and nothing more.
    I've played about 10 hours so far, but I've shed tears twice already. No other game affected me so much. Awful animations? Bad plot? Oh come on!!!
  25. JonathanM
    Apr 5, 2012
    2
    Why, oh why did this game get good reviews? It's very poorly done compared to the first two (I was a big fan of the first one, and the second one was okay.) This newest addition to the mass effect series is beyond flaws with not-so-flowing storyline, poor animation, and poorly optimized for the pc. To make matters worse, the storyline is full of holes as well, with parts becoming inconsistent or unnecessary. I am a fan of Bioware, but this is by far the worst game I've ever seen them put out. Nice job, guys, you wasted my money. I truly say do not bother with this one, it will only ruin the series for you. Go play the first one.… Expand
  26. infallibleineff
    Mar 13, 2012
    10
    Is there some sort of smear campaign going on here? This game is way better than it's current user score of 3.5. I've played about 7 hours of this game, and so far it seems every bit as solid as ME2 (and, as ME2, better than ME1). In fact, in some ways it's better - improved voice acting, better musical score (Clint Mansell owns Jack Wall - seriously), better combat, and the cutscenes are more fun to watch. There are a few minor bugs and glitches - but not enough to ruin the experience, and I'm sure they'll be fixed soon.… Expand
  27. doomleika
    Mar 22, 2012
    0
    I would give this game 9.0+ score, if Bioware did a proper ending.

    Yes, the ending, the ultimate insult to Mass Effect series and the fan. To keep it spoiler free: your choice don't matter a single bit.
  28. luke10123
    Mar 20, 2012
    9
    I feel compelled to give Mass Effect 3 a quick review trying to avoid repeating what everyone else has already said. i felt I had to say something mainly to counteract the shameless review-bombing the game seems to be getting everywhere, which I feel is undeserved. First, let's consider the game.
    NOT the ending, but the game.
    It's technically sound, the graphics are nice, performance is ex    cellent on high settings, the cover-based shooting (while not as good as some pure 3rd person shooters) is better than it's ever been. The missions themselves are a lot of fun and dead interesting, the only exception being the missions on unexplored planets but these are short enough that they don't get annoying. I have to point out, that I have NO IDEA what people are on about with auto-dialogue, honestly not a clue, my conversation wheel was there in all it's 6-sided glory. I also liked how the game remembered all my little decisions dating back to the original ME, it was a really great touch that i would love to see more in games. In almost every way this game is a perfect 10.
    However, the ending. Yes, it was full of plot holes, but at the end of the day, it was their game, their ending. I learned my lesson from Knights of the Old Republic II: ending are never what you want. I hated the binary ending choices, but not so much that i'm not already replaying the series for another play-through. I didn't enjoy the lack of a proper epilogue, but I knew there would be no happy ending.
    but here's the funny thing. I didn't like the ending, but it didn't make me angry. I just felt sad. Sad that such an amazing series that I've loved for years was coming to an end. This really is a compelling, beautiful game that, if you've invested in the whole series, will blow you away. Don't listen to the trolls, I beg you, this is a certainty for at least half a dozen GotY awards, no question.

    Also, one word on the game pegging DLC. THIS IS EA. what did you expect?    … Expand
  29. Darkslighter
    Mar 16, 2012
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Mass Effect 3 has changed story-telling forever. Never has a game had such an emotional punch. I'm not going to lie, ME3 left me emotionally wrecked, and I'm still trying to recover. But the fact that a game can do this is to me, and make me care so much is a testimony to its greatness. That's why this game deserves a 10.

    If you have played the other games even once or twice through these characters mean something to you. When they live and die, emerge victorious or are crumpled in defeat you feel authentic emotional responses. After one poignant moment with a character I had to stop playing. It wasn't that I didn't like what happened, it's that I needed a moment to process the emotions. That is storytelling.
    If you are jumping into the game Universe for the first time, there is room for you too. However what you will get is just a pretty good game with simply (but fun) action, large set pieces, good visuals and a war story.

    You will read many negative reviews about this game, but it's not because they didn't like the game. I have trouble believing people are really angry about that. The anger comes from the ending. When I first played through my only complaint was that it was too short. It needed more exposition, it needed to show what the results of at least some of my choices were, it needed some dialogue between characters about rebuilding, or a shot of everybody dead. Whatever you thought, the ending was very classic hardcore science fiction. If it makes you angry, that only proves that you cared about this game so stinking much that it was worth picking it up in the first place.    … Expand
  30. Anarion25
    Mar 7, 2012
    10
    Awesome game. A great end to the series. 10 for sure. Not sure why the trolley are hammering it..........we weird. Up there with the first two without a doubt.
  31. Understated
    Apr 12, 2012
    6
    I have just completed a complete play-through of the Mass Effect series. This following plays of the individual games numerous times including two play-throughs of ME 3. In the complete play-through I migrated a save to each game utilizing the same developing character and important plot points in order to experience story continuity and empathy so highly lauded and promoted by the maker Bioware. I found too much disparity comparatively to call this a true trilogy in the better sense of trilogies. Most importantly the writing for this never achieves more than just beyond comic book level writing and they at Bioware could certainly use some people on their team that have more understanding of human behavioral dynamics and interaction. Shepards gestures within the framework of very important decisions was painful and embarrassing to watch! The knuckle breaking just before the choice to perform a levering action was childish and insensitive. His sudden shifts of behavior in dialogue choices and actions was heavy/ham handed. There is the invitation to get more involved with characters along the way only to have that short-shrifted terribly in ME 3. At one point I felt as if Bioware wasn't really capable of handling what they had designed in concept, fully realizing it and fleshing it out. It isn't to my mind and could have been so much more. At this particular juncture I have no real interest in further participation in this series. The bottom has fallen out . I have no interest in any future dlc or ending changes. I am a painter/artist and I wouldn't change the colors, patterns, designs to suit someones taste or to coordinate it with someones sofa. The potential patron can see the results up front and choose. I have no backers I am in collaboration with that would influence quality or choices. But Bioware's efforts, admittedly, do include the players, their hard earned money, time, and energy. Their advertisements are replete with participation rhetoric. ME 3's multi-player for example. So there is a different context and responsibility. I will say lastly, that the way the "Return from Ashes" dlc was presented was a hurtful thing to do! The very important information given up by Javic in various conversations throughout the game, especially during the Thessea mission with Liara, betrays, to my mind, underhanded marketing behavior on the developers/publishers part. Javic's participation seemed crucial to better understanding and meaning in the storytelling. Yes I got the synthetic(order), organic(chaos) dynamic, which has been around and argued about for some time now, nothing new, which is this series's ending note and the other various models of philosophic thought concerning self-awareness and perception. But in the end it all isn't pulled together very convincingly and the end sort of 'hangs' there by itself. For myself I really thought that the Geth involvement and the partial integration of the Geth faction, the Heretics, was going to be the galaxies 'back door' to the Reaper demise. Something a little more classical and redemptive in grand fashion as the end of ME 2 seemed to be heralding. Awe, that would be too simplistic, but more achievable. This also was my last involvement in anything EA. I know that Biowares top generals are also on the board of EA, and I question the future of fairness and consideration for the consumer at this point. Does the proposal for a changed ending to ME 3 have to do with the players opinion of the story or their pocketbooks and falling out of favor?… Expand
  32. Quiett
    Mar 7, 2012
    10
    If nothing else, they added options for mouse sensitivity and hiding your helmets. I really give it an 8, just putting 10 to counter all the zeros.
  33. OrbD
    Mar 7, 2012
    10
    I have not played this game, but I have read the user reviews posted over the past day and I am disgusted by them. Having only played the content found on the demo of this game I can comfortably say that it is an expertly crafted gameplay experience and that that alone deserves a 7, at the least, but aforementioned reviews do not care for the quality of gameplay, fantastic story, deeply crafted world or fabulous musical score, no; they only care for the fact that it is not the same game as previous instalments.

    Not to mention they wrote reviews within 16 hours of the release of a game easily requiring at least 50+ hours of gameplay.    … Expand
  34. Oliverbr
    Mar 7, 2012
    10
    Mass Effect 3 as the other games of the series is amazing in many ways, the soundtrack is good, the gameplay is very fluid,the graphics are great, and the game's storyline is not just good is huge.

    The aspect of RPG in Mass Effect is amazing, can not help but remember the classic RPG that you playd with your friends using books, you can develop the character as you want and your actions h    ave a real effect in the game.
    Mass Effect not only brings an FPS game, but brings an RPG game where you have to make your own decisions, decisions that affect your character and the history of the game.    … Expand
  35. TwoGamingFellas
    Mar 7, 2012
    10
    So far, Mass Effect was the ONLY franchise that grabbed me. I love its story and how it evolved through the trilogy. The visuals are stellar, with a few minor graphical glitches. Its controls could've been better. Middle-mouse button is a real awkward control because of the way my mouse is set up. Its day one DLC deal was unfortunate, but won't stop me from enjoying the game.

    (Pro tip for     all the haters: Its nice to stand up for your principles, and I encourage to continue doing so, but don't shove it into other people's faces)… Expand
  36. Petator
    Mar 7, 2012
    10
    Wow, there are so many low reviews here that I'm pretty sure some group is doing a troll raid. There are enough genuinely angry looking reviews here, though, that I registered just to give my opinion The Prothean has as much story involvement as Zaeed in ME2, no more. It's day 1 dlc, but it's got no involvement with the main story, just a little bit of interesting character banter. I feel that this is the best game in the series. It's simplified, but not cut down to the point of ME2. The characters and story are really well done as always, and the combat and level design is better than it's ever been. My favorite thing, however, is how tough some of the choices are. Don't let the trolls here fool you, this is the best game I've played in a long time.… Expand
  37. Frisbiek
    Mar 7, 2012
    10
    It's really hard to take Metacritic seriously when so many "gamers" are allowed to write whatever they want. I seriously hope nobody reads all these negative comments. Am I dissapointed with the first day paid DLC that should have been included in the game? Absolutely. It was an obvious attempt at getting more money. It's greed, no matter how EA tries to spin it. They knew the prothean character would be well recieved, and exploited it. Am I disturbed with the gay love scenes? ya... it's pretty corny and disturbing, but I'm not ever going to watch it. If nobody ever talked about it, this wouldn't even be a big deal; the majority of players wouldn't even know it's in there.

    Anyone that is a fan of Mass effect needs to play this game. It is straight up AWESOME. I love the graphics... I love the story. Everything feels very epic. The battles are more involving and open; large scale battlefields!! And there are some surprising characters that got me excited to play with. Despite the details I mentioned, this game is still worth every penny. So much work was put in to this game by Bioware. I'm frustrated that EA has their greedy paws wrapped around it, but even they will eventually realize their mistakes.    … Expand
  38. DerFurst
    Mar 9, 2012
    0
    This review is coming from someone who was a true fan of Mass Effect since its first installment. Mass Effect from the beginning was an excellently crafted game, providing intriguing dialogue, decent gameplay, and an excellent universe in which an even better story was set. The ending of the first Mass Effect was one that reflected all of your actions, and defined your character as a person, setting the stage for a sequel and presumably having actions that would echo throughout the upcoming trilogy.

    Mass Effect 2 streamlined most of the RPG fighting mechanics, but was entirely forgivable by the updated graphics and most certainly superior character development and storybuilding. Everything had been done right for me in ME2, but I saw that it was largely a transitional game. Something that acted as both a satisfying piece of work and visibly a transitional story piece. Ultimately, Mass Effect 2 was made as a buffer between 1 and 3 so that 3 could be the greatest installment yet. Bioware had been marketing Mass Effect 3 as the game that would be "The epic conclusion of the Mass Effect saga", which would "tie up all loose ends" and "be influenced considerably by the choices you've made in the previous games". As one can see, Mass Effect 3 strays so far from these expectations that they've marketed their fans to believe. If the user score isn't evidence enough, I don't know what is. After all, the users of this website are the consumers of the game, not the companies paid to write soulless reviews about a topic that they've only half heard about since its release. They aren't the ones that matter. The people matter, and I'll be exact on every problem that ME3 faced so that hopefully Bioware is listening.


    Mass Effect 3 starts out as everything that I could have ever hoped for. The dramatic introductions of the Reapers unto Earth is exactly what I wanted. Earth is in ruins, and Shepard is the only one who has the influence and the ability to step outside the realm of politics to deal with the threat he had warned everyone about. He begins to gather resources from planet to planet, forming alliances with previously warring factions, and solving galaxy wide problems centuries in the making. This is the Mass Effect 3 I had expected, and I thought it was perfect, until I realized later on what had been happening. My major decisions from ME1 and 2 weren't showing up, and some breaches in continuity via retcon were blatantly obvious, like the human council I worked towards getting being replaced by wax museum automatons in the mirror image of the council I had killed. Then, I noticed a couple of references to previous choices in the game, which I accepted as amusing references, but realized that they were nothing beyond references. Decisions like killing the council, putting Udina on top as the chairman, killing the Rachni queen, making Liara the Shadow Broker, Destroying Maelon's data, killing the Geth on the Heretic Station, continuing work on Project Overlord, etc, had all been reduced to nothing but a few additional pieces of dialogue. All the work I put in to the previous games in decision making had turned into nothing but 4 minutes total of additional dialogue. A sucker punch like that can be accepted grudgingly, but it doesn't end there.

    Paragon and Renegade choices don't change the outcome of the game like they did in the previous games. Paragon and Renegade are basically two ways of saying the same thing now, which completely defeats the purpose of moral choices, safe for a few well done instances which I will take into consideration. On a whole, alignment has been dumbed down to mean nothing this time around. All the hard work anyone has done becoming a virtuous paragon or a scheming xenophobic renegade will be put to waste. This comes full circle in the ending, which accounts for more than half of the reviews.

    The ending of a trilogy makes or breaks all 3 episodes. Imagine Darth Vader at the end of RotJ taking off his helmet to reveal that he's no Luke's father, but Jar Jar Binks. Would you be able to accept an ending like that? No, you wouldn't. Mass Effect 3's ending works to the same effect. The reason the Reapers exist is to save organic life from synthetics by killing organics with synthetics. Not only does this take a complete 180 turn from the entire story thusfar, it doesn't make any sense considering the previous information in the story. EDI successfully integrates into a synthetic body and actually falls in love with Joker. Then, the Geth finally become at peace with the Quarians, and show that they can live together harmoniously. This shows that synthetics can live with organics, thus creating a huge plot hole. And here comes the worst part. Your decisions in the past games do not effect the ending. No plot details, and no alignment choices. Everything you have done is void. This is why Mass Effect 3 has failed us.    … Expand
  39. RPGMaestro
    Mar 9, 2012
    1
    Very poor dialogue, and is a clear move towards FPS arena. Safe to say, I will not be purchasing any of the DLC packs, nor buying any more in this franchise, game was trying to be politically correct with gay lord scenes, on top of the poor RPG elements.
  40. Beldamon
    Mar 9, 2012
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. To say I am disappointed with the ending to an otherwise excellent series would be the understatement of the year. I honestly feel like I was stabbed in the back.

    We were led along with themes of hope and free will, and in the end neither one exist in the spectrum of endings available.

    If I was into the combat, I might have enjoyed that. I'm more of a story kind of guy -- one reason I've repeatedly returned to Bioware as my favourite gaming studio.

    Now I am considering terminating my SWTOR subscription, in spite of the fact that I'm genuinely enjoying that game. I cannot justify any studio of Bioware getting any more of my money after promising a satsfying conclusion and failing to deliver.

    I realize there are people who appreciated the endings available, and I say more power to you, but I found it soul crushing.

    And it's not even that the ending required the death or stranding of my character. Several of my characters friends and squad-mates died along the way and each one, while heart rending, had an undercurrent of satisfaction and purpose to it.

    The endings as they exist are meaningless.    … Expand
  41. DuncanIdahoTPF
    Mar 11, 2012
    0
    I am so sad they sold out. I know it makes sense for them financially to just bribe review sites and put tons of money in advertising, but you are estranging millions of fans.
  42. Khalisto
    Mar 9, 2012
    10
    I never tried Mass Effect one but really enjoyed Mass Effect 2 and this 3rd version is even better! I love the graphics, the soundtracks, the story plots are well written and very well voice acted. I am really enjoying this game.
  43. KRHamilton
    Apr 4, 2012
    5
    Mass Effect 3 is a great game for the most part, but is has some critical flaws that eliminate almost all the replay value of the entire series. The biggest problem is the ending which ruins the whole series for me and many other fans because of its low quality, inconsistencies, flawed logic, and clear indication that none of your choices ultimately matter much for a series that requires a minimum of 100 hours from part 1 to part 3, if you complete every quest and mission. The ending goes against one of the most fundamental features of the game series; BioWare continuously advertised the series as one where almost every choice matters. I'm a big fan of Mass Effect 1 and 2, with the exception of planet scanning in part 2; I hated that boring activity. I played through both games at least 5 times including all DLC. Now I feel I wasted hundreds of hours in those games to reach the disappointing conclusion in Mass Effect 3. It's sad to see how far BioWare has declined since they were purchased by EA in late 2007. How could such a wonderful series have deteriorated this much in 5 years?


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


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


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


    To illustrate the problem compare this:


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


    To this:


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


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


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


    I love Mass Effect and want it to be remembered in the best possible way. I want it to have replay value as a complete series, because it is the best science fiction interactive entertainment series in the market. There is nothing wrong with improving a product. BioWare doesn't owe it to fans to change Mass Effect 3; they owe it to themselves, after all the hard work they have put in to the series.    … Expand
  44. menaciation
    Mar 9, 2012
    6
    1. me very confuse with the story. too much plot that we much choose, and too much endings we must get. yeah, i wanna know all endings.
    2. graphic is very standard. bioware said that the pc version will get more graphic options. but where?
    3. i think more paid DLCs will release. oh my... i haven't got much money for these craps.
    4. combat, ok. it's more intense than the sequels.
    5. me very     hate with readiness rating concept. we must playing multiplayer for get 100% point or lock at 50%.… Expand
  45. nnash
    Mar 10, 2012
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. In the last ten minutes of Mass Effect 3, where the culmination of all your choices from the prequels are meant to determine the outcome of the galaxy the catalyst gives you three ways to deal with the reapers; control, synthesize or destroy. Control means aligning with the illusive mans goals, synthesize turns all organic life into a hybrid (which could still be co-opted by reapers in the next cycle) and destroy includes races like the geth and EDI the Normandy's AI as collateral. But here's the catch you don't really get to choose your ending. Your ending is based on your Galactic Readiness and Effective Military Strength. If you play through the game meticulously by exploring each system and completing all the side-quests your readiness rating and EMS are still not high enough to get the "best ending". Unless of course you play the multiplayer. Now if we were to ignore the last ten minutes of Mass Effect 3 I would still say I enjoyed the greatly improved combat and the story of the trilogy as a whole. I had a great experience playing through all three games, and Mass Effect 3 was no different but the last ten minutes left a salty taste in my mouth and general feeling of disappointment that two games worth of actions and choices amounted to nothing. Mass Effect 3 has great gameplay and a captivating story but the ending is bleak and uninspired. I'm also not fond of being forced to play a boring co-op game mode to get a good ending for the single player experience. Based on these factors I give the game a score of 5.… Expand
  46. MMAx001
    Mar 10, 2012
    5
    Mass Effect 3 is a good game which sadly lost what made it great, where you might have felt the outcome of your choices matter and you were shaping the story to what you want, in the end it leaves a lot of question and a feeling of unsatisfaction as your choices in the series are disregarded or marginalized for plot convenience to coincide with the materials they published regardless of plot holes and not the story you shaped for yourself.… Expand
  47. THEKeeper_71
    Mar 11, 2012
    10
    It is AMAZING GAME 10/10 good work boware, nice multiplayer very epic end of trilogy.And two firts parts of this game amazin too you must play in this game.
  48. Jirki88
    Mar 10, 2012
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. First of all: the actual game isn't too bad, a bit too not-involving compared to ME1 and ME2, and the story generally is good (the Quarian-Geth story was great). The very limited options in conversations, the endless overhear-a-conversation-and-fetch-whatever quests, the squadmates uselessness in combat... It's somewhat annoying but not gamebreaking. The fact that Cerberus by defualt is the corrupted-bad-guys-beyond-salvation just feels forced... Even if you actually help Cerberus at every point in ME2, you have no influence over them in ME3. That's pretty crap.

    And then cometh the endings. Honestly, what the actual **** I feel violated. Badly. That the game would end like this, some pathetically copied Deus Ex-style endings? It doesn't work. Not to mention that the endings also makes it feel that every decision you made in ME1 and ME2... Didn't matter. At all. Complete waste.

    I don't know what exactly they were thinking with those endings, and I'll probably never know, but up until the endings I would've rated the game 7.5/10 or so... But after the endings? They lose more than 5 points only at that. The **** forced endings completely destroys the game experience.

    We can also add that with the absence of any loyalty missions and the utter lack of conversation with conversation options makes the game feel very short. It could been done better, and especially, it could have been done to be longer. I feel pretty sad to have to write a review like this, but... Bioware screwed completely here.    … Expand
  49. Nahilas
    Mar 10, 2012
    10
    Thank you BioWare for creating one of the best games I've ever played! Don't listen to the haters, the Mass Effect trilogy is truely something special and something I'll keep coming back to over the years. BRILLIANT WORK!

    If anyone hasn't played any of the Mass Effect games. DO. IT. NOW.
  50. absolutpi
    Mar 10, 2012
    7
    Bioware has said many a time that this is a great place to jump into the Mass Effect universe. I'd disagree, a lot of work has been put into the game to reward players of Mass Effect 1 and 2. If you haven't played them you are doing yourself a disservice, and much of the game loses a lot of meaning and context to character interactions. The story is great, but unravels right at the end. The shooter aspect of the game is highly enjoyable as is the multiplayer aspect even though I tend not to be a fan of multiplayer. The graphics are middling, with some inconsistent texture quality. A high quality facial texture with a lower quality applied to the rest of the body on many models. The RPG and exploration elements of the game are a mixed bag. They've added back weapon modifications, but simplified conversations with NPCs to the point where they are little more than short cut-scenes. Exploration prevalent in Mass Effect 1 and 2 has all but vanished. You fly around star systems scanning for War Assets while avoiding reapers, but you can't land on planets except for assigned missions. There is also only a single hub world(narrative rather than combat driven location) as opposed to three or four in earlier games. Minigames and vehicle levels have been completely removed as well. A lot of this seems negative. For the most part even with all that had been stripped out its highly enjoyable. For me, it occupies a strange place in that it both delights and disappoints me at the same time.… Expand
  51. 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
  52. xmf1207
    Mar 11, 2012
    2
    Well lets start the first and second game were epic, so i decided to buy also the third the game is desingned on DX 9.0c so don't expect muttch better grafics as in ME2. pro: + logical story (after ME2), + good game feeling, expecting mutch when gaming + new Normandy layout + good artwok (coll. ed.) + good soundtrack (coll. ed.) negatives : - dam short (gamed it in 1 day) - the end has 3 options, all do nearly the same this ruins the game (die & contol ,die & destroy, die & have peace) WTF!!!!
    - no view on the future - operation Hammer is always a fail (teammats die) (alos if u have 100% battle strength)
    - ME2 choises do not affet the game -New Citadel is Crap
    - less missions.
    - a galaxy card for Noobs ! what have u done !
    - less actions to show charakters attitude - Miranda def. Dies, also when have good Option choosen - teammates are uncharitable (no missions to get them loyal) Multiplayer :: well thats what **** me up the most :) ITS a CLIENT Based Netcode !! WTF!!!!, so write a few lines in hex editor and u have unlimited ammo, or rapid brust fire. 2 lines and everyone can cheat like hell. (or use a game trainer Cheat happens or mogelpower ) !!

    the multiplyer provides just a few maps & u cant choose a server(only quick game) the result is that u get often servers that lag & stuck like hell.
    after 3 days u know all maps & its begining to get bored.    … Expand
  53. Mommaandrea
    Mar 11, 2012
    2
    I finished ME3 this morning at 6:30, staying up all night to finish it. I am a huge fan of the series. Played both ME1 and ME2 multiple times. I love the story and relationships and it makes me laugh and sometimes cry (Talitha "I remember me")
    the Ending utterly SUCKED. The end Ending.was so...anti climactic and stupid. It's the only way I can describe it. I'm fighting with giving detail    s because I don't want to spoil it for someone. But for me those last few moments of the game didn't answer any questions or make anything clearer. Honestly, it looked like they had no idea and slapped an ending on. All the sappyness and good byes isn't even my problem, I expected that and in a way wanted it. It is the final choice and the lack of explanation by this supposed higher being, whom I wanted to shoot. Stupid ending to a much anticipated game.… Expand
  54. worstendingever
    Mar 11, 2012
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Mass Effect was my favorite series of all time. Because of this game's ending, I now regret ever having played at all. I have looked forward to a climatic conclusion to this series for years and have only received disappointment. Ultimately, the story I built, I choose, and I experienced meant nothing. Three incorrect choices are presented with no satisfaction of a job well done or that I made a difference.… Expand
  55. Aaron5367
    Mar 11, 2012
    2
    Overall very disappointing. Fails to combine FPS and RPG as well as previous titles and I feel while playing that there is no true direction or motivation. Most of the chat options provide a false sense of choice as the options have little to do with what Shepard will say. Generally any "oh I can do something here" options tend to have Shepard back off and remain on the linear story line laid forth by the developers. Graphics are subpar and look reminiscent of Mass Effect 2. Bugs out the ass with regards to graphics and in some aspects of gameplay. Lots of upgrades and other things to waste player time and seem to take from the gameplay experience rather than give to it. I got about 30% through the game and lost all interest in it.… Expand
  56. schwegs
    Mar 11, 2012
    4
    ME3 has the worst ending to to any game I've ever played. I cannot express how disappointed I am and what a super let-down feeling I have after playing this to completion. The game is literally ruined by the fact that there is NO possible "happy ending" where you save earth and are re-united with your friends -- you know, kinda what you were fighting for the entire series. If they had written an ending as good as the rest of the game/series, this game would be great -- I'd even overlook the plotholes/failures to explain things (which are pretty bad in spots). As it stands, however, it will be difficult to look past this sickening ending to one of my favorite series and characters of all time.… Expand
  57. Kussie
    Mar 11, 2012
    4
    It was a great game right up until the final 15 minutes. But those last 15 minutes were enough to sink the entire game and the entire series for me. Truly truly disappointed. Bioware has seriously lost it's touch after Dragon Age 2, SWTOR and now Mass Effect 3.
  58. Mugumaster
    Mar 12, 2012
    10
    I'm glad I didn't buy this game and listened to my gut feeling. I downloaded it and thought "if it can stand up to the rest of the series I will buy it afterwards...." No money from me here! This game is a total letdown! And what dissapoints me the most is that EVERY gamemagazine gives it a rating of 90+. This clearly shows that those game magazines just write what they are told from the gamecompanys .... very sad indeed.

    Now for Mass Effect 3:
    - Horrible long cutscenes with uneeded explosions everywhere to beef it up
    - Most of the time you had only 2 dialogue choices (Paragon, Renegade) and it was obvious which was what since paragon was always the upper choice and renegade the bottom choice
    - Missions were at first interesting but after 1-2 hours you get the feeling that there is no more innovation. Either you fight enemy waves, defend a point and fight off enemy waves, reach a checkpoint and survive while fighting enemy waves or fight enemy waves to push a button to fight more enemy waves ....
    - Combat system was a total letdown, I played as a biotic but most of the time i just used a sniperrifle or a slow firing rifle because it just owns everything else.
    - Biotic skills were totaly useless, I ended up reskilling and learn the talents my teammates gave me like infernogrenade or carnage
    - Flying around searching for stuff to beef up the army while avoiding the reapers got VERY boring VERY fast
    - The dialogue choices you had with your squadmates were too dull and you weren't able to bond a connection to them like in the previous games
    - Storywriting was bad, tried to skip all the time after a while since it just was plain bad
    - No matter which choices you made (like fake cure or real cure for krogans, save geth or quarians, save the arachniqueen, recruit alien races etc.) nothing did matter at the end. There was nothing that said what happened afterwards and the only reason to gather allied forces is only to make the end a little less bad than it already is.
    - The endings were a complete rippoff from deus ex
    - The endings were ALL bad, basicly you watched the same clip with a different coloured explosion and small changes but basicly all the ends lead to the same result without explaining ANYTHING

    I could go on with this list but I guess you get the point I'm trying to make clear ..    … Expand
  59. Tunapiano
    Mar 12, 2012
    0
    Great Game, all the way up to the last 15 minutes and then it turned into a disaster...Worst ending to any video game i have ever played in 15 years of console and PC gaming going all the way back to the atari.

    I have never seen an ending that gave absolutely no closure to anything, you don't know what happens to the normandy crew, magically somehow crew members crash landed on some unkno    wn planet when they were just with you on earth, shepard somehow just accepts death and destroying all artificial life in the galaxy and shepard either dies or you see some body that may not even be his take a gasp of air before the end. no happy ending, not even close to a perfect ending and the worst ending ever.… Expand
  60. DukeGrimm
    Jun 27, 2012
    9
    Bioware stepped up and made the changes that bring the game to what it should have been. The game is not complete. As such my rating is what I feel the product should be alloted based on its story, gameplay, and functionality.
  61. HonestlyTrue
    Mar 13, 2012
    1
    Day 1 DLC with obviously cut out material is instant 1/10 from me, even the game might be good. What they are doing is milking off money from the uninformed mainstream. Day 1 DLC are a disgrase and you should boycott this company for doing this!
  62. Arcadio21
    Mar 13, 2012
    0
    Quoting SacredJefe from ign comments:
    "Fans of the ME series are mad because there are GLARING plot-holes in the endings and because NONE of our decisions in the three games MATTERED in the end. No matter how you played the game, there were only three endings with slightly different variations that were only barely noticeable. Bioware promised us sophisticated endings, not this crap wher    e every ending is pretty much the same damn thing with different color lights. Ignore the people who say "we" deserve better, because the matter of the fact is MASS EFFECT deserves better."

    it sure deserves better.    … Expand
  63. Ezekiel_Frost
    Mar 13, 2012
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. First of all: The game doesn't deserve a "1" as rating. Nevertheless I'm rating this way as a warning to everyone thinking about buying.

    Have you ever read an awesome book, or watched an amazing movie that touched you emotionally on a level never experienced before. I have - with the with the Mass Effect series! Now imagine at the end you get the very worst ending you can think of where everything the characters did or stood for was rendered useless. I have - in the final minutes of Mass Effect 3.

    I consider myself mentally stable. To see an ending like that has left me devastated. I experience physical symptoms of a minor depression - lack of appetite, lack of motivation.

    I played Mass Effect since the first game. And Bioware games since the first Baldur's Gate. Despite being a grown man, waiting for this game made me feel like a seven year old again. Eagerly waiting for Christmas. Now I feel like my parents have pulled a cruel, cruel joke on me. For years hinting that I would get an amazing present. Bulding up my expectations. Then under the Christmas tree, the most amazing package, artfully wrapped. I unpack it, laughing, crying all the time. And then inside I find a weird looking remote control with three buttons (red, green, blue), I'm confused! Yet I press one of the buttons - still hoping - and all it does is annihilate everything around me. Now I sit in the ashes of the greatest game ever and cry bitter tears. All I can hope for is sparing others what I had to go though.    … Expand
  64. harperino
    Mar 13, 2012
    1
    Mass Effect has always been a hyrid of RPG & shooter. After 2 amazing games they have removed the key feature of the previous games, ability to shape who Shep is and what he says. Their idea of canon shep is like a cancer in the game as shep is regularly talking on his own, spouting opinions that aren't based on the character built over 2 games. Full decisions equates to some decisions in reality. If you like Mass Effect 2 characters you are not going to like how they are sidelining and for the main part weak storylines. I was especially disappointed in Miranda's while Legion/Mordin probably had the best.

    Me3 squad is lacking diversity. On the bright side the DLC character is truly amazing. If you are going to buy the game make sure you play it with Ashes to ashes dlc installed. I would have liked more proper dialogue with crew and less prerecorded chatter.

    The endings are truly terrible. In a game about choice all your choices matter for nothing. There's no diversity at all in the endings, just the same railroaded results with a minor aesthetic difference. As a conclusion to a trilogy it is an epic fail as evidenced by the hugely unfavourable response from players. I don't like multiplayer and especially don't like fact they've made it pretty much a necessity to get certain things happen at end.    … Expand
  65. Papagolfwhiskey
    Mar 13, 2012
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'm sure you heard it all before. If you haven't then:

    http://social.bioware.com/group/7047/
    https://www.facebook.com/DemandABetterEndingToMassEffect3

    Hold the line.    … Expand
  66. desol007
    Mar 14, 2012
    0
    It gets a zero from me. Bad ending, your choices do not matter, disappointing relationship . If you like the Mass Effect series do not play this third installation it negates the whole series.
  67. iN7
    Mar 13, 2012
    4
    Epic..astonishing..breath-taking..classic - these could`ve been words describing Mass Effect 3. Yet different words come to mind after you see the final scene and start to read credits. Below you will learn why.
    1. Plot Weak at some points, strong in others, total failure by the end. It`s worst parts are these: the starting mission on Earth - Shepard`s totally confused by people running ar    ound and has no clue of what`s going on, yet seconds later is asked by the Commettee about "what`s going on" and "how do we stop them". Shepard`s been locked in his room, had limited contacts, but just one short look on an iPad - and he`s got the answer. Guess it was just written on the Pad`s screen - " The Rippers are here (tragic voice)". Second worst part of the plot - it`s ending. But let`s make it clear: bad ending when Shepard dies is Ok. It fits the situation. But three bad endings is just too much. Shepard deserves good ending too, he deserves to live. His adventures, his decisions, his relations with different persons - it wasn`t always about death and violence. It was also about love, passion, friendship and honor - things that so many people lack these days. And Bioware seems to ignore their value as well, there`s no reward for being good by the end of the game. 2. Graphics
    It`s worse that in ME2. Just install ME2 and you`ll notice the difference at once. ME3 uses the same engine, yet textures are low-res on most objects, except faces. Shadows are totally messed up, they look terrible and tend to disappear from time to time. There`s no "film-grain" effect which was the game`s feature before. Plus the animation..my eyes get red in pain every time I see Shepard charging, it`s the worst running animation I`ve seen in years. Face mimic became weaker too. But again, things were Ok in ME2, so God knows why Bioware ruined the animation part. Got bored with perfection ? 3. Sound/Music
    Sounds are there and are well-made, no doubt about it. Ambient sounds fit locations rather well. Music is on an average level, you will hardly remember most tracks, yet the one named "An end once and for all" is touching. This part of the game is mostly fine.

    4. Multiplayer
    One word - boring. It`s hardly a Mass Effect experience, just a tribute to modern tradition adding multiplayer wherever possible.Here it`s just a silly feature, which is supposed to give you certain benefits in the single-player part of the game. And it`s not interesting. Conclusion:
    The worst part of the trilogy both technically and story-wise. And it`s really hard for me as a fan to write such words. Mass Effect is the universe with GREAT potential. It may become "Star Wars" of the 21st century. Yet it may not.. Bioware must re-think its attitude to this franchise. And stop destroying its own great creation by bad scripts, bad visuals and predator marketing. Bioware must remember, that games are made for players and players have their voice. Some game journalists while protecting the quality of ME3 say, that " this is Bioware`s game, don`t tell them what and how to do". It may be their game, yet they want US to play it and pay OUR money. So we,as customers and fans, deserve quality product as a sign of respect and good will. Don`t we, Bioware?    … Expand
  68. BlackThor
    Mar 14, 2012
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Steaming pile of crap.
    I just played the Mission where you are forced to choose between Quarians and Geth. It's a lie. there is no choice. Either way is inconsistent with the choices made in the previous game. Hours of forced cinematics, no real game play based on choice. It's like a weekend of bad D&D with the worst power-tripping DM ever.
    This game sux all ass and I refuse to play to the end.
    DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY! Bioware is ****    … Expand
  69. maFio2Zy
    Mar 14, 2012
    1
    Worst game ever IMHO. At first, what I dislike - Bioware said that gameplay id about 40 hours. Where is this 40? I playing very slowly and finish this game after 20 hours. Ok, its not the general problem. Everybody whos saw 3 ending is shoked, as me. First 15-20 hours is amazing, but ending.... I cant give more than 1 point out of 10. A lot of fans whaiting epic ending of this game. After final movie I have a lot of questions, but whos give me answers for them? DLC? Ok, I dont say that developers must give us content for free, but general story must be comlited without any DLC. Now about positive side of the game. Weapons upgrade and shooting me pleased. Thats all.… Expand
  70. pavi132
    Mar 14, 2012
    2
    The combat was pretty fun, the multiplayer started fun but got repetitive since it is entirely co-op horde mode and there was no competitive multiplayer. The story had a few strong moments. Never in my life did I think that just the ending of a piece of entertainment could retroactively destroy the positive experiences I had with that piece of entertainment. Mass Effect 3 managed to do just that. I had heard the ending was bad before I even started the game, but I wrote this off as only a few people who were very vocal, and believed that I would enjoy the ending when I got to it. I was completely mistaken. The ending not only made no sense, but it took away any possibility for the player to make a significant choice, and made the player feel like all the choices made up until this point of the game were utterly worthless and had no impact on the game whatsoever. It left me feeling incomplete, as if the reapers were never defeated and the Mass Effect series never really got an end. It caused me to immediately uninstall the game and not even think about playing through the game again, which I was originally planning on doing. I didn't think it was possible, but this game single-handedly in the last 10 minutes or so, ruined my love for the Mass Effect series and Bioware. It was a disappointment and what could have been a terrific game was ruined because of it.… Expand
  71. Alesv88
    Mar 14, 2012
    3
    Mass Effect is in my opinion one of the best games ever. The first game I finished at least 4 times but the second I finished more than 8 times. Mass Effect 3 gives me no desire to re-play it again unless Bioware change the ending that I think is a complete sh@t. I hate it and hate Bioware to destroy what for me was the best game ever.
    I will not buy any Bioware game anymore.
  72. CoyoteLovely
    Mar 14, 2012
    4
    Like everyone else, I loved the game - and hated the ending. I would say that the unfortunate thing is that five minutes of ending have made me question keeping the games. I think fondly back on months of talking with my friends about what the ending would be - only to really have it make no difference. Its stunning really, how quickly the game turns south too... it goes from being a game of loss, and battle, and trudging through the war, praying that the answers get easier at the next turn.... And then, the last five minutes, where nothing makes sense, and all the endings are (for all intents and purposes) exactly the same. Buy it, don't buy it. Be aware that the game itself is magnificent - but there's this underlying feeling that some pencil pusher asked the dev team where they were with the game, and the Dev Team said "We've got everything done but the last hour of the game. We're at this weird place in the Citadel right before the final battle." And the pencil pusher said "You've got two days, wrap it up, and ship it - whatever it is. We'll fix it with DLC." My further impression of this is how very short the game was. As a comparison - I picked up Mass Effect 2 about a week before Mass Effect 3 was released, and I only got about a third of the way through the game in that week (this is with knowing EXACTLY where everything was, and exactly how to complete all the missions - there was no fumbling or wasting time). I'm done with Mass Effect 3, finished it on Monday, having put in a very similar block of time - and that would mark day 6 of my ownership of the game. Ultimately, I'm part of the outraged many. I had problems with EA's Origin system, and getting a preorder from them - but I didn't let that deter me. I just ordered it from Best Buy instead... I was a defender of Bioware when the DLC scandal came up. But the ending? I feel like an abused girlfriend at this point.

    Seriously, play the game - but at the moment where you're about to beam up to the Citadel, turn off your console, put down your controller, and go write fan fiction of what your ending should be. It will be more satisfying.    … Expand
  73. leonson
    Mar 15, 2012
    3
    The first 95% of the game is a 9. Solid gameplay improving in every way over ME2. Combat mechanics are tighter. There are more weapons and weapon mods. Classes make more sense. Load times are better. I mean, I really can't say enough positive about the first 95% of the game.

    But that all falls apart at the climax. The minute you head for the point of no return, the games plot and logic     fall apart, culminating in a confusing nonsensical ending that resolves nothing.

    The ending of the game damages more than just this game, but the previous two titles as well. You are left with complete and utter disappointment that also ruins the replay value of these games. When one portion of a game not only ruins your enjoyment of the title you're playing, but also of two additional games that you can never bring yourself to play again, it's worth more than just a point or two off the total score.

    I've been a gamer my whole life. I can remember using a tape drive to load games on a C=64 at school. Never in my history as a gamer have I seen a company drop the ball this badly at the 1 yard line.

    If something is done that fixes the ending (doesn't have to make it happy, just make sense), I'll reconsider my score.    … Expand
  74. PasKarma
    Mar 15, 2012
    5
    I loved the ME series. This final game was supposed to bring all the previous choices of the games together, adding replay value, and creating one of the greatest rpg/shooter hybrids to date. Instead, the final moments of ME3 throw all your previous decisions out the window and each of the 3 ending choices are nearly identical, all vague explosions with little to no closure as to what happens afterwords, none of your choices matter. They messed up, bad. Other than those final moments, the game was extremely enjoyable, it was just such a bad ending I can't give it a positive review (it destroys any replay value of the previous games as well, since none of those choices matter). Combat mechanics wise, they mad improvements and complexity to ME2 without making it overly redundant like ME1. As for multiplayer, it's repetitive and not what anyone really asked for, but still fun, mainly since I'm a ME fan though, not because it's anything groundbreaking with lasting value. I would have rather seen that effort put into making real endings based on player choices so I could enjoy replaying all the Mass Effects.… Expand
  75. UniTroop
    Mar 16, 2012
    5
    It's very difficult to rate this game, as player experience will depend a lot on how "in to" Mass Effect they are. In all fairness, 98% of the game is great. Unfortunately, the abysmal conclusion to the story will ruin a lot for players who are even moderately hooked on the Mass Effect story.

    I can't believe Bioware made a trilogy of astonishing quality, and then dropped the ball on the l    ast yard.… Expand
  76. endtherapture
    Mar 16, 2012
    8
    The gameplay of this game is great, it builds on both of the previous games and refines the gameplay into a perfect, challenging whole. The story for the most part is great, really great, it has emotions and is really engaging and the characterisation is great. However then you get to the last 15 minutes of the game it it ruins everything. It was great up to there, but then it gets ruined, a great game up to that point, but the ending sequence leaves a sour taste in your mouth.… Expand
  77. New_Order
    Mar 17, 2012
    4
    the game exciting, interesting and amazing, exactly to the last mission! The ending is just disgusting! No epic battles, the last mission is ugly boring, the ending totally illogical and senseless. What happened to the rest of the team is unknown. I was very disappointed BioWare, which I did not expect from them.
  78. miczall
    Mar 17, 2012
    0
    WE WILL HOLD THE LINE!!!
    As a sign of protest, I advise everyone to boycott reviews of ME3. If proper DLC is delivered our reviews can be changed to positive ones.
    RETAKE MASS EFFECT 3
  79. fjalke
    Mar 18, 2012
    3
    ME1 was a really, really good game, ME2 was amazing - ME3 is a huge letdown to its fans. ME3 is basically a dumbed down version of ME1 and ME2 with a poorly written story and disappointing ending.

    They have removed a lot of the RPG elements, converting the game to a FPS instead - there is no inventory and no selling of unused equipment. I actually liked the graphics, but, especially with     female NPCs, many of them look alike and you get the feeling "hey, i already saved you before".

    The rich story and involvement in your crew mates from ME1 and ME2 have been reduced to meaningless chatter that can be boiled down to "Its all so hopeless, I don't know if I can handle it - but now that you are here Shepard, everything is going to be fine". In ME1 and ME2 there were some interesting game choices during the game, both for crew mates and story - none exist in ME3, it has been reduced to "Are you going for Paragon or Renegade?". There are no storyline attached to your crew mates which really hurts the game.
    The worst thing about ME3 is the ending - for fans it is a huge letdown. None of the choices during the game has any impact on the ending, and the ending doesn't really make any sense.
    If this game becomes a box-office hit, it is due to the success of ME1 and ME2.    … Expand
  80. MassExodus
    Mar 18, 2012
    0
    This game should be judged as two separate entities awkwardly conjoined rather than one whole individual entity. The first part consists of the first 99.9% of the game, of which the story telling, the build up to the climax and the tension were all very well done, as expected for the final title to this series, and would earn a maximum score. HOWEVER, the last 0.1%, also now known as the infamous "last 10 minutes" was a very poorly executed of what is a brave and interesting concept, which had failed so catastrophically that the last part can get but zero score. Unfortunately, as the whole product is not whole without an ending, and the ending is but a fraction of the whole, the two scores must add up, however it must be "calibrated" for weight of importance. As the "definitive" end to the hitherto awesome series, the ending, despite its short length in this epic journey, has the heaviest weight, not only in the series concerning Commander Shepard, but also the entire franchise based on the story and trials of the Commander (as Bioware announced no future spinoffs will be based past the events of ME3), therefore its massive disappointment wiped away all the hard earned high score to bring the total down to 0, rounded down. This is not due to some petty tantrum but rather a summary of how that single misstep has probably destroyed the franchise's future, as already many have lost incentives for a second playthrough for ME3, let alone a replay of the first games, thus replayability has been thoroughly killed off. In addition, further spinoffs for the franchise in the future will suffer from similar disincentives due to them all inevitably based before the events of ME3, or at least before the last 10 minutes of it. Therefore, this franchise is lost, and lost because of this game, Mass Effect 3, or more precisely, the "last 10 minutes". I would like to take this space now to sincerely thank Bioware's staff for their time and effort to make these games, that it had been a wonderful journey, and that I really appreciated it. HOWEVER, that does not mean I will not deliver a scathing review on their products where and when it is needed.… Expand
  81. Alpha91
    Mar 18, 2012
    1
    Not only is ME3 the worst in the series but it's entire ad campaign was a blatant lie. Your choices in the previous games are not taking into account, and the ending is a gigantic mess of plot holes and nonsense.
    If you must play this game wait for the price to bottom out at 20 bucks
  82. Spoons
    Mar 19, 2012
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. From a purely game mechanics perspective I felt that this is the best of the Mass Effect games. Sure the journal and quest tracking system for minor quests was unusable, but the increased variety of weapons and modifications available adding something that was lost in the transition from 1 to 2.

    The main plot was extremely strong for the most part. It was a bit more linear then in 2 but it had to be given what we were trying to do this time. However now to address the elephant in the room. The final 10 minutes of game. Now I was fine with the game until right after I went up the beamto the citadel. Sure it was odd that the Citadel had been taken over entirely off screen but I can't get everything. Heck I even was ok with the assumption that my squad mates at the time, EDI and Liara, had died in the Reaper blast. The Anderson/Illusive man stuff was strong if incredibly full of plot holes. The star child crap though was ridiculous. I already suspended my disbelief enough to allow the use of a McGuffin as the driver of the main plot, but now you use a literal deus ex Machina that's spouts offcrap that we directly refute during the course of the game (EDI, and saving the Geth/Quarians). Then what happens is the worst game of "Let's Make A Deal" I've ever seen since the same dam thing is behind every door. Then the weird ending where my whole squad turned tail and ran inexplicably with at least one of the people who were fighting with me on earth.

    Also without mass effect drives I realized A)Quarian fleet likely to starve B)Krogans likely to die out due to loss of Wrex and it is now impossible to import food C)my apparently cowardly crew is likely going to die of starvation and or exposure at some point on some deserted planet in the middle of nowhere.

    Somehow Bioware you snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. You basically ruined all replay value for this game and its predecessors. Awesome job.

    P.S. I have a terrible sinking feeling this was done on purpose so you could at a later date sell us a less bad ending and epilouges. You probably weren't expecting sush a viceral reaction from the vast majority of fans so nice job.    … Expand
  83. silverkiller
    Mar 19, 2012
    3
    ME3 it's a game that could have been a very good game, it has good ideas and a beautiful universe, but fall short in several important things positive: -story -some scene -atmosphere and immersion negative: -low res graphics on pc -animations (look at shep run!) -short (as an rpg, 30 hours aren't a lot) - some dialogue - need tp re-romance old romances -1 button to do every things? i have a freaking keyboard!
    -the log! fix the quest log!
    very bad:
    -half of secondary quest are just go-fetch task
    -ENDINGS! (that alone has pulled down my vote for at least 4 points!)
    -plot-holes
    -BW/EA DLC policy it could have been the star wars of this generation, but sadly, right now has too many problem to even reach mediocrity    … Expand
  84. 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
  85. Irraticspasm
    Mar 19, 2012
    1
    Mass Effect 3 is nothing less then BioWare and EAs betrayal of their fan base for the sake of making money. Any reviews touting this game as a ten are lies! Im pointing my finger at Game Informer and The Escapist, two sites which I frequent.

    The trilogy once hallmarked an epic story, a story where the players decisions matters, and shape the future of the universe. This has all been sacri    ficed, cut out of the game leaving nothing but a hollow sixty dollar shell of a game, seventy if you bought the DLC, seventy five if you purchased the Collectors Edition.

    The story and writing are an utter wreck, characters you have come to care about are as hollow and lifeless as the rest of the game. Most of the squad mates you grew to know and love as the first two games unfolded make a cameo appearance, become war assets that do nothing come the end of the story. The day 1 DLC is an overpriced joke containing a character that everyone who has played the first two games will want, but in the end shows to be lifeless and lacking dialog. In the end the DLC is worth it, if you want to spend ten dollars on a powerful Assault Rifle. (Its not worth it!)

    Dialog is lifeless, far fewer renegade and paragon options appear during dialog replaced with dialog options that are more reminiscent of games from a decade ago. The Normandy is a wreck remodeled and empty, with a skeleton crew that are essentially skeletons. The ambient dialogs and chatter that filled the halls of your ship are no longer there, most rooms have no purpose whatsoever filled with silent characters that do nothing. The few ambient conversations that take place only serve to remind players of the first two games that this is a very different beast of a game.

    Ever mission, every conversation, every decision is a tortured reminder of how good the first two games were compared to the third. The ending which answers no question, fufills no expectations and does not reward you decisions is the final blow to anyone that loved this franchise.

    Add to that the Gay Romance they have shoehorned into the game. I dont mind homosexuals, I really dont but this character just will not leave me alone. Every time I speak to him it seems I get the opportunity to start a romance with him. I said no on this play through so just stop already, stop asking! Stop trying to make me romance the poor guy BioWare! If you want to make a political statement on gay marriage why shoehorn it into Mass Effect 3? Speaking of that, when did it become legal in Mass Effect 3, and not only that why isnt Ashley furious about it? In the first game shes conservative, xenophobic, she believes in god and BioWare is telling me she wont start a conversation about the gay marriage issue?

    The multiplayer is tacked on and pointless, with one mode to play to gain system control for single player, system control that does not even matter. Spend your time playing a good online game, like World of Tanks, or Call of Duty, or even Dead Space 2s tacked on multiplayer.

    As for the ending of the game, I am going to let someone else rage on that, check out this link.

    http://angryjoeshow.com/2012/03/top-10-reasons-we-hate-mass-effect-3s-ending/

    The first two games I played non stop until completion, I enjoyed them, even with Mass Effect 2s dumbed down game mechanics I still enjoyed it and played it numerous times as well as purchasing the DLC. With Mass Effect 3 I cant wait to get away from it, to think of what could have been. Play anything else, spend your money elsewhere. Make a statement in the only way you can, DONT BUY THIS GAME. DONT RENT IT! DONT EVEN LOOK AT IT! DONT LISTEN TO THE REVIEWS OF PROFESSIONAL REVIWERS ON SITES LIKE GAME INFORMER AND ESCAPIST, THEY ARE LYING TO YOU TO LINE THEIR POCKETS!

    If you find yourself in the sorry state I am in, having wasted seventy dollars on this game only to be unsatisfied with what you got, keep it in mind for the future. EA and BioWare did this with Dragon Age 2, but even that was better then Mass Effect 3. I will not purchase any more of EAs products, not after they have back stabbed me by ruining the franchise Ive come to know and love. I just wish they had held the same love I had for it, apparently not.    … Expand
  86. najreo
    Mar 19, 2012
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Amazing game that builds up to what I thought would be an ending where all the big choices I made through the game(s) would come together and decide the outcome of the story. But that's not what happens. In the last 5-10 minutes Bioware manages to not just ruin Mass Effect 3, but the two previous games as well(quite impressive really). Everything you've done through the game is made worthless as this starkid(!) comes out of nowhere and gives me three choices that all have the same outcome, and I have no choice but to accept what he tells me. This feels like a really lazy and cheap ending. It's a 1/10 by me. The first 99% of the trilogy is AMAZING, but when the ending completely destroys everything else that was before it the ending doesn't matter.… Expand
  87. ninjamanppp
    Mar 21, 2012
    0
    Before ending 95/100 After ending 0/100 No replay value whatsoever since I played these games for the actual story. I would have been willing to wait longer and pay extra for a garanteed gem. Right now i feel like i wasted both money and time.
  88. JimmyWhistles
    Mar 21, 2012
    9
    I was seriously enjoying this game for 95% of the time I played it. In fact, if I could have, I would have given it an 11 out of 10. But then I reached the end. Don't worry, no spoilers, but let's just say the ending seriously leaves something to be desired. The gameplay aspect is just as good as that of Mass Effect 2, and the story itself (except the end) is nearly flawless. Mass Effect 2 is absolutely my favorite game ever played, and Mass Effect 3 (Singleplayer) is a great game with a flawed ending. What bumps this game from the 8/10 I would have given it to the 9/10 I am giving it is the multiplayer. While it isn't the main focus of the game (not for me anyway), I foresee it entertaining me for a while while I rank up all the various classes. In summation, it would be a 10 from me, but the ending was flawed at best, so it's a 9.… Expand
  89. ArminW
    Mar 22, 2012
    4
    The game itself is mostly a 9, with great, emotional moments, good fights, some RPG moments from part 1 brought back and overall only a few minor flaws (boring fetch quests, confusing useless journal, and one insufferable enemy with script immunity).
    But the ending is such an monumental, epic fail, that I actually have to rate that a -1. Yes, it DOES have to be negative, because, honestly,     it not only spoils ME3, it manages to somehow spoil the entire series.
    It is way to short, badly written, shamelessly stolen from Deus Ex, makes NO sense whatsoever, it negates EVERYTHING you have done over 3 games, ignores al your choices and basically offers the same lame end sequence video with 3 different colored explosions. Unbelievably bad, and even worse if this is just a ploy to sell some kind of "epilogue DLC" later.
    So, the average between a 9 and a -1 is what I have to rate this.    … Expand
  90. drewhoover
    Mar 22, 2012
    0
    The game is beautiful and polished, but in no meaningful way do Shepard's actions in previous games impact this game. The only difference between the three endings is the color of an explosion. Yes. You heard me. THE COLOR OF AN EXPLOSION is the fruit of your labor. There is no epilogue. I am angry that I wasted $70 on this game. ME1 and ME2 are still outstanding games, and I do not regret playing them, but I would be happier imagining the ending than being disappointed by the meaninglessness of my actions in ME3.… Expand
  91. slackrabbit
    Mar 22, 2012
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Wow - what can I say about Mass Effect 3? Well simply as the late stand up comedian George Carlin said ' you have to marvel at that level of Bull ****
    This review will take this from a business point of view. I did my MBA in turning around failing software companies back in 2002.
    In 5 minutes Bioware / EA completely destroyed the intellectual property of Mass Effect.....you have to marvel at a feat like that!
    All those 8 years building it up, millions of dollars research, creating, developing and marketing that game.
    For those that don't know, marketing games cost even more than the development itself.....and that's when you're not buying off the critics. Yep; if I was a shareholder I would be really pissed right about now.
    As an investor I would be wondering how to short their share price.
    This game fails on so many levels. All I can say is "Decide what your product is and completely rule out what your product is not". If Mass Effect 3 is a Role Playing Game, then it must by nature involve choice right up till the end.
    This game does not.
    I have heard people speck of the 'indoctrination theory'; frankly, that doesn't matter. Whether or not you are fighting indoctrination or not is irrelevant. The question is, does the game give you choice when it counts? The answer is no.
    Therefore customers, who purchase this game under the illusion that there is choice WHEN IT COUNTS! The customer does not get that choice.
    Choosing what tropical fish to buy is not a real choice; itâ    … Expand
  92. GTD1973
    Mar 24, 2012
    0
    What a huge disappointment. The game felt like it was a platform for the liberal agenda with all the rampant and flamboyant homosexual occurrences throughout the game. I found it vulgar and disgusting. Everytime I had a "homosexual encounter" in the game it just made me want to stop playing. It was really stomach turning. I'm not a homo phobe, as I'm not afraid of gays. I do however dislike it as it is immoral, anti-Christian, and a political agenda by the liberals. This will be the last Bioware game I ever play. I play games to be entertained. Not to have some perverted opinion forced upon me.… Expand
  93. MKOBANER
    Apr 1, 2012
    2
    Im a big fan of the series and like other people i think the ending was incomplete however for me that wasnt the biggest problem. in ME and ME2 there was a connection in story and you can effectively see the actions you make changes galaxy and open up new path , sometimes you even have to sacrifice one path for other. However in ME 3 there are no connection between missons. Even worse at final misson you dont see the effects of your missions. I gathered entire galaxy to help world but no interaction with them ? That game seriously broke my faith in bioware. I think swtor was lousy too and now this. Funny thing is all the game sites say game is perfect, well it is NOT !!! i dont know how much they pay you to write this but i dont even look at game review pages anymore thanks to your inaccurate fanboy reviews. Games ending was only the part of the problem, this game has lost its soul...… Expand
  94. gmfreeman
    Apr 7, 2012
    5
    As someone who spent over 300 hours playing the first two games in the series, I don't understand how anyone who has played the previous games could possibly have enjoyed an ending full of plot holes, be satisfied with one of "six" possible endings, or the fact that one of the endings seems to be the right one. The limited conversation options and almost complete lack of side missions makes the game feel rushed, to climax with no conclusion.… Expand
  95. Colonello
    Apr 7, 2012
    0
    Wont even mention the ending since all know it was crappy. But other problems are present too, way too many holes in the plot. Day1 dlc ripoff. And worst of all, forcing to use EA´s totally crappy Origin service. Come on, we got steam already, rly not fun to use another, way crappier service just cos EA is too creedy to pass the opportunitu to make more money.
  96. Angus
    Apr 8, 2012
    4
    The Mass Effect trilogy was great, many great moments in Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2. I know a lot of people loved 2 but it was a step away from what made ME1 so great. Mass Effect 1 was an RPG with inventory management, gear options in the field, looting and so on. The story was stellar, all the characters came off well. It was a well rounded and near perfect game. Mass Effect 2 simplified it, no more inventory, no more gear changes in the field, little to no inventory management, but the story was just a titch under how great ME1 was. ME2 was bit harder to get into and took 2 playthrus to start making sense to me. There was no distinguishable bad guy and over 70% of the games storyline was just gaining the loyalty of your squadmates which only 2 came from the previous game. The bad guy you do find out in the end, but I missed it the first time around. The games combat mechanics and exploration were nothing like ME1. ME1 had cover but it was not Gears of War cover which it became in ME2 and ME3, the exploration in 1 was great imo, but the vehicle to explore in did not work well with the terrain they gave you to explore. I wish they would have kept open worlds and open world quests like ME1 so exploration was a part of ME2, but the simplified it for "new customers." ME2 still was good, but with so much removed from gameplay it was hard to swallow. No spoilers but if you play ME1 then 2 you will see they retconned Shepherd into a bad situation for 2. It ended up working out though after a few playthrus.
    Now to ME3. So much was built up for this game. Anyone who played Shepherd was expecting a grand finale with challenges and all the choices you made to matter. The choices you made from ME1 thru ME3 are just a number which grants you only 1 second extra on one of the 3 endings. The 3 endings are near identical in everyway except the 1 second cutscene at the end of the Red Ending. There is also the other 2 endings, Blue and Green. No matter what you do, you get this one ending that comes in 3 colors and in the Red one you can get 1 second extra with a high enough score. Nothing you did showed up in the cutscenes for the end game which should have been bare minimum. The endings in my opinion turn the main Character into the worst villain in history rather than send him off like a hero. It is ok to kill the main character in story like Mass Effect 3 and in fact he could have died in ME2, but to send him off as horrible person even if you played the good guy options through was unforgivable and it kills the entire experience.
    This review is based on Mass Effect 3, not the whole series. The reason I gave it a 4 is that it is the same combat system as 2, add in Weight which reduces your ability times the more you carry, but still no inventory, no in field changes, once you leave your ship you got what you got, also all exploration is gone, everything is level based now. The game is a Gears of War cover shooter clone.
    It is not plausible that you did all that you did in such a short time in the story. Leaving Earth and going out to get resources and items to come back and based on advertisement, "Retake Earth." This is not an option based on the current endings though so the avert is basically just smoke and mirrors. Nothing new is added to gameplay, choices are removed from dialogue, no more neutral options, its jerk or good-two-shoes Roleplay, nothing in between.
    The whole great trilogy was awesome, but the last 10 minutes of Mass Effect 3 makes you feel like crap. The last 10 minutes invalidates everything you accomplished throughout 1, 2 and even 3. Now some would say, "it's the journey," "not the destination." That is not the case in ME3, everything fit together at least on a base level, the story remained the same throughout even with the RPG element removal, then all of a sudden a different story starts, plot holes are thrown at you, new characters are introduced, people are hoping for "the dream ending," and all the choice you had before is now removed. One never seen before character at the end forces you into Red, Blue, Green options even though the protagonist would never listen to this new character ever before.
    The producers told us no A, B, C endings, but that is what they gave us. Mass Effect Series rating prior to ME3 = 9 out 10, after 5 out of 10 considering all 3 games, due to fond memories of 1 and 2, but realizing they meant nothing and are not the same game/story as 3. I did not think you could ruin such a good story even with a bad idea, but Bioware actually found a way to pick exactly the opposite of everything they did before.

    I sure hope Bioware gets back to its roots someday and remakes ME3 into the game they promised. Only if they could get away from EA.    … Expand
  97. Rougan
    Apr 10, 2012
    3
    Im a game developer and i cant believe what i get on ending of ME3. This is clearly unchecked and against the previous experiences (and major fanbase expectations). The only way to repair [some of] this mess is move to indoctrination theory. But.. if indoc is true.. then the ME3 is INCOMPLETE: we dont retake Earth as advertised, not yet.. This is the major destruction of a fanbase in entire game history.… Expand
  98. survivor_686
    Apr 12, 2012
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Warning Spoilers ahead:

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

    At the ending the player is treated to what happens to be a complete mistake. The ending breaks all the rules of narrative coherence, contradicts several plot points, introduces alien concepts and characters and creates several plot holes. Regardless of how you played your Shepard, all are treated to the same lackluster, half-baked, ending. Were this any other company it would be understandable. This being Bioware; an entity that has prided on its writing skills, this is shocking. Its as if someone decided to add random, metaphysical concepts in order to generate pointless speculation. This is NOT how one ends a story. Perhaps the best simile for Mass Effect 3 is that of a five star, three course meal. The appetizers whetted your palate, the main courses were splendid and then it was time for dessert. Unfortunately it would seem that someone dropped the dessert, scraped it back up and then threw some crap on top of it. Sure you'll remember the other four amazing courses, but its the crappy dessert that will stay with you. I would consign this game to the rental or discount bin.    … Expand
  99. DulyNoted
    Apr 15, 2012
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. [Note: I originally (and accidentally) posted this under the PS3 version when in fact my review pertains to the PC one. Re-posting here.] The first user review I read was a 10 out of 10 and began, "Do not listen to the people rating this game badly. Mass Effect 3 is utterly amazing..." First of all, I agree that ME3 is utterly amazing. And that's what makes its end all the more disappointing. Consider yourself lucky if the endings of ME3 didn't disappoint you--you've been spared a sense of loss and disappointment that dwarfs any feelings of annoyance you must "suffer" when reading fans' complaints. I loved the first game, actually think ME2 was better (though I initially hated what they did in the opening sequence), but found myself thinking I enjoyed playing ME3 more than either of the first two. It really is a fantastic game that I should be able to love and agree deserves a 9 out of 10 score (endings aside, it still had some flaws). BUT... This game was the end of a trilogy. As such, the ending had to not just provide some level of satisfaction for the particular story that began with Shepard escaping Earth, but also the one that began with Shepard being sent to Eden Prime way back when. In other words, there was a lot riding on the ending of this game. There are several very good articles out there articulating why fans are disappointed with the way ME3 ended and I'm not going to rehash them here. Suffice it to say, the options provided to the player at the end of the game as well as the outcomes and consequences of those options left many long-time fans feeling like their investment in Mass Effect ultimately wasn't respected by the developers in the end. More than not just getting a "happy ending", we're left with what can only be described as a bleak, depressing one, in which no matter what option you choose, no one lives happily ever after. Sure, you saved earth from the Reapers as expected, but at what cost? The universe we're left with is a dismal one (two words: Mass Relays). If you read through all the Harry Potter books and got to final few pages of the series and read that Harry destroys Voldemort, but it costs him his life, and all his friends would be forever trapped in the world of Muggles, cut off from ever using magic again, would you feel entitled to be a little disappointed? No? Great for you. But don't go telling everyone not to listen to those who would. Mass Effect 3 was a 9 out of 10 game until the final few minutes. The turn it takes in those few closing seconds, ruined not only the game, but an entire trilogy because when the credits roll and you ask yourself, "Was the cost of saving the universe from the Reapers worth it?" the haunting answer for many of us was, "I don't know. I really don't know."… Expand
  100. Reahunt
    Apr 19, 2012
    0
    To have spent so much time in the first 2 games, only to discover that everything you did and stood for would'nt change a tiny bit in the closure of Commander Shepards story is just...
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Critic Reviews

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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.
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  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]
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  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.
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