Mass Effect 3 PC
User Score
4.7 out of 10

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 4363 Ratings

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

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  1. Windswept7
    Mar 28, 2012
    10
    Amazing game. Voice acting superb. Fairly realistic depiction of what the future may hold. The game play is heaps of fun. Choice between different game modes offers a tailored experience for every taste and the diversity of character customization offered by Bioware is commendable. You will want to replay this game after completion.
  2. lliam
    May 6, 2012
    1
    If you have Mass Effect 1 or 2 you have better games than this one. Average game not worth the money. Since Origin took over DRM spyware all over your P.C so it is up to you if you want this. No customer support at all. The multiplayer has massive issues with people not getting the stuff they paid for and no means of getting any resolution from customer service you just get your account banned saves them needing a customer service department and with a banned account you have no access to the game you paid for. IMO very similar game to 1+2 and not worth more than $5. Hyped beyond belief in Expert reviews. A very linear game save your cash I wish I did.… Expand
  3. Ardara
    Jul 7, 2012
    5
    This game feels completely different to his predecessors. Bad writing, plotholes and inconsistencies, a forced storyline, "stagnant" characters and autodialogue really prevented me from enjoying this chapter. It just felt.. wrong. Even without addressing the endings issue. Since ME1 (which I loved) it's been a way down.
  4. chronoT
    Oct 18, 2012
    8
    HUGE fan of Mass Effect 1 and 2, the original gets a 9 while the second gets a 10 from me. This game was on its way to a 10 until it abruptly and terribly ended. What exactly happened Bioware, did the creators walk off the stage half way through the show? Its just a bit disappointing that the game looks and plays amazing just as Mass Effect 2 does but they made it shorter and ****ed the ending story of the series. Since release they have fixed the ending, released more content, and the biggest DLC to date, Omega, is to be released soon so my score for this game is certainly improving. Overall, this game DOES NOT warrant a 4.4 user rating and this goes to show too many people are careless and trollfull with their reviews.… Expand
  5. kache
    Mar 22, 2012
    6
    Very nice game overall, but, as others have said, the ending is incomplete, and there are too many missing pieces that have been thought for DLC (see Javik). Enjoyable, from the beginning to the transport laser, but not even close to what it could have been, and what it should have been.
    So sad that EA ruins everything they put their hands on...
  6. benjaminavatar
    Mar 13, 2012
    10
    Awesome game, awseome graphics awesome ending! Everyone who says otherwise are not gamers they are **** Bioware made an exelent ending to the trilogy!
  7. Dean_Demon
    Mar 9, 2012
    10
    Have to say this is a nice and dark sequel to me2,lower system specs than before a big plus,superbly updated character graphics and all round graphics updates,new sfx as well as existing sfx from me2,wonderful voice acting as before,gaming area has been expanded somewhat so feels much larger and it shows,those complaining of not being able to import your old saves well i can tell you that they do work but it's your portrait that doesn't import so you have to re do that ingame but the other info from your me 1 and 2 remains intact. A lot of detail has been put into the design of the characters and put in some very strong emotional content for the story and makes for a very good story by doing this,can't believe the scores of 0 and 1 here and should be removed or even banned,this is a perfect ending to the series and what we all knew would happen as the reapers arrived,top class.… Expand
  8. Niroo
    Mar 15, 2012
    4
    Mass Effect 3 features a decent single player storyline that, despite the early introduction of a fanciful 'Secret Weapon of Awesomeness', is quite entertaining for about 20-25 hours. The gameplay works, even if it's rather repetitive and doesn't really expand on what ME2 had to offer. The much discossed ending of the trilogy is indeed a storytelling disaster, the only part of which that speaks in BioWare's favour being the fact that they had the audacity to make their deus ex machina an actual "god out of the machine". I wasn't too impressed by the multiplayer, which, with it's 11 waves of whack-a-mole, is only mildly more interesting than the bot-servers of earlier FPS games.… Expand
  9. HarveyD
    Mar 19, 2012
    10
    Game was quite good actually. I thoroughly enjoyed the gameplay, they story and the ending. Everyone is just sad that a great series is finally over, so they are giving bad reviews. It's a grief cycle, and they'll eventually get through it. If anyone can tell me an ending they thought was super great and better than the rest of the movie/story/game, I'll give 'em a medal. The journey there, not the destination, was what was important, and it was a journey for the ages.… Expand
  10. makemenuconfig
    Mar 22, 2012
    0
    OK, I really loved ME1 and 2. I anxiously waited for the 3rd game and see how is it going to end, what is going to happen to the characters and the galaxy. Up until the last 5 minutes of the game, it was completely blown!

    But, suddenly, the game took a U turn and started going downhill fast.It betrayed not only me for insulting my intelligence, but it insulted the game itself. It ended wi    thout explaining anything or giving any kind of closure. And on top of it, it doesn't make any sense, not even for fiction standards.

    The reason I am giving a score of 0 is the ending. If I were to score the game prior to seeing the ending I would have given it a 8 or 9.    … Expand
  11. stealthops77
    Mar 15, 2012
    2
    Originally while I was playing through the game, I thought, "this is so epic!" And that thought remained true until the last 15 minutes of the game... Those last 15 minutes pretty much just took a **** on your face and made you feel extremely dissatisfied. It takes away replay value for the entire series because you know that the outcome will be exactly the same, and that you will hate it just as much as you did the first time you played through it.

    The multiplayer on the other hand is not that bad. But it does get boring after awhile since your pretty much going through the same enemies over and over again on five different maps. I know some people absolutely love it and some don't like it at all. So its all about your tastes.    … Expand
  12. DizzyKa
    Mar 12, 2012
    10
    Mass Effect 3 puts the cap ( or does it ) on one of my favorite series. Its been a long time since a game entered my favorites list, a long long time. Its also been a long time since I've been so emotionally invested in the characters and cared for their well being and futures. I credit this fact, at least in Shepard's case to Bioware's attention to the female Shepard option in 3. As a female gamer I felt very included, and to top it off I finally have a protagonist in a major gaming franchise that I can relate to. I can look at the box ( provided I've flipped the reverseable cover art ) and see something of myself in the hero on that cover staring back at me. I've seen the galaxy through Shepards eyes. I saw it as a young commander taking a ship for a test run picking up other rag tag young people along the way. I saw it as an emerging hero, responsibility beginning to weigh on my friends and my decisions. Finally, I saw it all burn. I saw the desperation in my friends eyes as we fought for what we all knew was impossible. It was an amazing journey. A lot of people are angry over the DLC. I for one was also irked by it, but its worth looking past. A lot of people are irked by the ending. I urge you, look deeper, its a lot better than you probably though. Its not as it seems.… Expand
  13. Tryphikik
    Mar 8, 2012
    10
    I love it, gotten goosebumps playing this game more than I can ever recall from a video game. Seeing how so many characters that I care about have grown, is fantastic. I love the job the writers did with many of the characters. Certain ones that I felt lacked emotion early on in the series and didn't like as much as others, really seem to have evolved. Very pleased with Mass Effect 3.
  14. HL2EPThree
    Mar 9, 2012
    10
    Incredible game. Filled with excitement. Great graphics, incredible story. People shouldn't play Mass Effect 3. They should live it. It's incredible, more than we could have hoped for.
  15. Alex_Whatever
    Mar 19, 2012
    2
    There is some merit to what Mass Effect 3 tries to do, but it ultimately fails at the hands of some over-zealous writer who ignores everything that happened during the previous 100 hrs. and shoehorns a new character into the ending that brings in a lot more questions and answers none. There is no pay off to this story, no culmination to your personal decisions, no outcome that make sense, and you ultimately wonder if everything you did actually mattered then. The answer is that in the end, no, it doesn't matter.… Expand
  16. Tweed
    Mar 12, 2012
    1
    I've really enjoyed the Mass Effect series, but this last one, the one that was suppose to be the big climax is one of the biggest letdowns of the year so far. It really seems like Bioware cut every corner that could be cut while trying to maximize the amount of revenue they could generate from their community, there's a heavy emphasis on the multiplayer aspect of the game which actually does greatly hinder your effort to try and get a good ending out of this game. It really doesn't help that the entire multiplayer part is designed to be a complete grind short of spending actual money to buy packs to enhance their characters. Disregarding MP the single player is rife with issues, mostly related to the terrible attention to detail, characters are poorly animated and "pop" and "spring" about unrealistically during dialog so often it becomes impossible to ignore, on the central hub of the game npcs in the background run back and forth to nowhere if they're animated at all, actors in the distance are nothing more than distorted 2 dimensional sprites or unskinned models that look more like cardboard cutouts or paper mache figurines than people. Cutscenes and dialog cannot be skipped making replay a major task for anyone who wants to see the hidden ending that requires finishing the game at least once. Attempts at continuity on Bioware's part are admirable and one of the highlights of the game, but it becomes lost in the mess of a plot, the impossibility of Earth holding out while Shepard gathers the forces of the galaxy is handwaved away and one of the main antagonists of the game winds up being a carbon copy of Mass Effect 1's villain. It also really doesn't help that Bioware decided to shift the focus of the plot right at the very last moment of the game to steal Deus Ex: Human Revolution's plot line and ending style, then expect the player to merely accept this without question. The endings are vague and unsatisfying, leaving any fan who has followed this series right from the very beginning to be extremely disappointed.… Expand
  17. Radzap
    Mar 17, 2012
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Good:
    1. Weapons upgrade system. 2. Getting squadmate's abilities.
    3. Umm, reaching here, but the war effort meter gave me some motivation to visit all the systems.

    Bad.
    1. Your choices in the previous games get retconned.
    2. The cover system is totally stupid and can get you killed if you just want to leap over an object.
    3, The space bar is the default interact button for everything (Blizzard is dumbing down their button schemes too to pander to casuals)
    4. The game will try and force you to go homosexual, freaking Garrus made a pass at me and wouldn't leave me alone! Cortez gets all emo on you and wants to hold hands with you every time you see him.
    5. More retcons: Ashley was a man? So where does that come out in the game? Oh it doesn't, it's just something a writer said in an interview later. 6. Stupid boss fights: Fight a giant Reaper dreadnought and blow it up solo when it takes a whole damn army and loads of missiles to blow one up in the final chapter. WTFPWN Leng in both both boss fight against him using shield drain and maxxed out inferno rounds.
    7. Stupid Ripped Off Ending: Instead of a stupid boss fight (which would have been preferable at this point) they give you a half an hour of UNSKIPPABLE CUTSCENES and then give you a choice of three endings which have no bearing on your progress in the game. Yeah, that was satisfying.
    8. DAY ONE DLC! Yeah, the greedy A-holes want to touch you up for another $10 after you already kickd them the $60. Good job EA.
    9. Stupid missions are all the same. Go in a base, kill a bunch of dudes that rush you. Collect data, mats, or some dude and get back to the ship. Timed missions have no timer. It doesn't matter, all of the missions are stupid easy.
    10. The exploration system got even more simplified so that 100% exploration can be achieved in about an hour.
    11. The War Resources Meter has no effect on the game. I freaking rescued the Volus Dreadnought, and I wanted to see it deployed in the final battle. It was no where to be seen. You liberate a bunch of viscous gangs for T'Lara for the war effort and it has absolutely no consequences. You also free T'Lara's murderous associate from jail and nothing negative happens after she swears to go on a killing spree. You don't even get in to any trouble with Bailey the head of C-Sec about it. Basically, nothing that isn't directly linked to the main story affects the game.
    12. I have a top of the line PC and the game graphics are crap. Artifacting and noise everywhere.
    13. The final encounter with the elusive man is a JOKE. Choose the renegade option or die and restart. LOL!!

    I played this game in order to complete the trilogy and make use of my game saves. The whole thing was a serious let down from the minute I saw the message about the day one DLC. All three endings that I had involved Shepard dying in some way and even though they attempted to give you some closure by talking to the characters on a vid screen before embarking on the last mission, it just felt empty and that the sacrifice was for nothing. If you are just learning about this series, just pass on it. It's not worth the investment as the experience degrades seriously as the game progresses from box to box.    … Expand
  18. krkbomb
    Jul 14, 2012
    3
    I'm not really sure what happened here but this is not a Mass Effect game...

    Mass Effect games had smartly written stories and let you make decisions.

    This game is not that AT ALL.

    It does have some nice music, though not as good as ME2. I will give 3 points for that.
  19. Trebek
    Mar 11, 2012
    0
    While I loved the first two ME games, I just can't get behind the third.

    It seems like for every positive change that has been made, 3 or 4 bad ones have been added as well. For example, while there is finally a good reason to play a soldier rather than an adept which in my opinion was by far the best class in the first two, there are now a few 'features' that I despise. Forced multipla    yer is a massive disappointment to me. I know it can be argued that it's not actually forced since the game can be played from start to finish is true, but multiplayer having *any* effect on gameplay or story is a big disappointment. This game had absolutely no need to shoehorn in multiplayer, but it's now being billed as a 'feature'.

    This leads nicely into my second complaint which is that this so called bonus in the form of multiplayer makes EA feel justified in charging for day one DLC in 'from ashes'. This makes me feel mugged that even after a preorder you can't get the whole darn game on launch day. I like how these days a preorder edition means you'll still need to buy an expansion pack on day one to have the whole game. My third gripe is this business with Origin being a requirement to play the game. The corporate shills at EA are setting up a competing service to steam, all right, fair enough but sleazy statements such as "We believe in absolute freedom of choice to allow customers to buy through whatever retail outlet... as long as they're buying an EA game, we're delighted," show they don't respect their customers when they turn around and pull their games from the most popular digital download services. EA claims they did this same thing with Crysis 2 because the DLC was not available for purchase on steam.... This ticks me off a lot since the DLC for ME2 was so well hidden I spent 45 minutes trying to buy 'the arrival' on their awful maze of websites that I *was glad* valve will now be forcing publishers to make DLC available through steam. I've had quite enough of EA's awful DLC distribution methods in the past and am not looking forward to finding out if this time will be any better.

    So in summary - an allright game, seriously marred by both technical own goals (forcing extra software to be installed), sleazy marketing, greedy day one DLC, and a general aura of disrespect to the community.

    I loved ME1 and ME2, but ME3 leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.    … Expand
  20. VergilAF
    Mar 15, 2012
    1
    Five years! For five years we have been waiting this game. All this time everyone has spent dozens of hours of play to build a character in detail, to get to the final battle and discover that everything we had is not worth anything. The game over all is full of bugs charts, something that his predecessors had not. Pultroppo, we are faced with a great truth: "A wonderful saga begins for passion and ends for the money." When a title is a highly successful publishing house will always tend to derive much money as possible and this leads us to make a game designed with speed and distraction. For me, Mass Effect is the saga of the most beautiful ever created in gaming history, but with this latest chapter in an era ruined. The ending, which I will not tell, it was so absurd as to anger the world for the first time in history.
    The dream is gone, the waiting futile, what remains is the DISAPPOINTMENT    … Expand
  21. FormerHuman
    Mar 15, 2012
    10
    There is a strange, unseemly trend developing on the Metacritic site when it comes to games reviews, and it's extremely conspicuous. It seems any title that develops something of a following (namely, franchises such as this one) will result in such extremely polarised reviews and ratings (typically with extraordinarily vague or unfounded assertions) with one half asserting that the game is quite simply something heavenly, whilst the other half express that the game has basically ruined their lives. Maybe this sentiment is closer to truth - the lives of those who express such outrageous venom for games that don't meet their (usually pretty unreasonable) expectations must be pretty much over from the start. Regardless, ignoring the idiocy of nerd-rage and coming back to the case at hand: Mass Effect 3. I completed my first play through today and so now I feel reasonably qualified to comment. I've been a fan of the series since Mass Effect originally appeared on Xbox, and have since played both the first two games on 360 and subsequently on PC, and now the final installment on PC from the get-go. I've played these games extensively, and have taken great enjoyment in exploring their finer details. None of the games are perfect, but then none of them are identical - each has it's own identity and that is something I am very grateful for. The first in the series had more in common with Biowares classic Knights of the Old Republic, with a rather rubbery combat system that was borrowing heavily if vaguely from Gears of War (reasonably new at the time), to great effect. The RPG elements were effective if occasionally too sprawling for their own good, issues largely addressed in Mass Effect 2, and then also replaced with all new (again, relatively minor) complaints. The issues that came with Mass Effect 2 are again largely well addressed in Mass Effect 3, but at a compromise. The narrative is arguably more streamlined in the third game, but this suits the story exactly - as Mass Effect was a game of exploration, Mass Effect 2 a game of intrigue and darkness, Mass Effect 3 is a game of the horrors of war, the realities of post traumatic stress disorder, the despair of losing friends and the uncertainty of success. At no point during the game was I ever convinced that things were going to go well - an ending I wouldn't be disappointed with so much as perhaps saddened by, in the tradition of games more like Silent Hill 2 rather than your average gung-ho shooter. I was anxious about failing. Success wasn't an eventuality, a guarantee, as it wasn't in ME2 either - you could lose your colleagues all too easily, and they would never come back once they were gone. There is a brutal absolutism in this universe that mirrors our own, and it's uncomfortable and refreshing all at once, because rarely is such a concept really approached so clearly and executed so well in a game. Sure enough, other games may casually kill off central characters, but rarely do you have much emotional investment in them. With this cast, they've been with you for a long time by this point, you've shared a lot of experiences, a lot of character development, a lot of choices. At one point in the game, I had to make a choice, the consequences of which were both tactically sound but also morally reprehensible. Did I make the right choice? Yes, because so much is at stake. Everything is at stake. And this translates from the moment the game starts until it's extraordinary ending sequences. I've seen a number of negative responses to the "ending" (note, there are at least three distinct endings available, though I have only seen one so far) - certainly, the one I chose (and that is a slight disappointment, in as much as it was the case in Deus Ex: Human Revolution - pick your button) was unusual, but in fact quite extraordinary and fascinating and entirely in line with the truly epic scale of the Mass Effect universe, but also reflective of the more cerebral literary and cinematic roots in science fiction that the developers have drawn from (there is more than bit of Arthur C. Clarke in the games' DNA, and that is no bad thing).

    There is little else I wish to talk about. The functional elements, the combat, navigation, are all excellent. The cover system is occasionally problematic, but not in a way that ruins the game in any way. The co-operative multiplayer is very enjoyable and although I have low opinion of EA for using 'Day One DLC' in any title, the quality of the content is such that whilst it's not so much 'forgiven', it is largely irrelevant. It should have been included for everyone, because it's too important to miss. Most elements are improved upon, some are more consistent with the previous game - likely more down to the continuous nature of the games - so there are fewer massive leaps in terms of visuals than some people may expect. Not to say anything is lacking, however, because frankly, there isn't.    … Expand
  22. JohnMaynardK
    Mar 9, 2012
    2
    Well basically, I play Mass Effect games for the exceptionally deep dating and relationship mechanics. Well, OK, they're not perhaps as deep as in some other games, but there are few other mainstream games that give me quite such a wide choice of subsurfaced polygonal ass to seduce, and do so within the context of a 60 hour campaign. Some people call me a "neckbeard" or even more insultingly and prejudicially, a "faggot" (verbatim quote), but I don't care. I have a perfectly healthy sex life, I just find games that can deal with seduction and relationships so much more mature than other games. Anyway, this is basically where ME3 falls down so hard. In the first installment of this franchise, there were only two female companions to choose from: Liara and Ashley. Now, two might be a small number for a romantic partner selection, but don't mistake ME1 for being a dumbed-down game: the two women were completely different. Ashley was a sexy space-marine (beautifully subverting genre stereotypes), and Liara was a sensitive and kind Asari. Both girls were kick-ass, and the decisions one made about about who to sleep with could be really difficult. This was further complicated by the choice of having to sacrifice either Ashley (potential waifu) or Kaidan (absolute bro). This is why I love this series: deep choices. Now, Mass Effect 2 actually extended this further: there were now not only a vastly greater selection of team-members to romance, but they now also had their own loyalty missions, conflicting with the other members of the cast in a beautiful panoply of enmeshed storylines. Want to romance character A? Well, get ready to piss off B and C in the process! In seducing Miranda, I found the game to be incredibly immersive (I felt just like I was seducing a real girl!), and I was truly brought into the game. This, kids, is good game design. Sadly, ME3 has none of this. It portrays its female, romanceable characters in a frankly sexist and stereotyped way. The whole game blatantly views these females as nothing more than sex objects, and it really shows. Just look at the Ashley redesign! Frankly, I no longer find her attractive, with her Barbie hair and boobtastic outfit. Disgusting. Worse, when I tried to bring this up on the Bioware forums, I was told to stop criticising Bioware and given a cautionary infraction. If you value the depth of romantic interaction usually found in Bioware games, steer well clear of this stinker. I give it a 2/10. Wouldn't bang.… Expand
  23. Biokiipper
    Mar 24, 2012
    10
    One of the best games I have ever played. There is nothing wrong with the ending of this game... Unless you like cliche happy or dark endings. They managed to make a great game. Its end is more like those we find in books, instead those from comercial movies.
  24. andvaree
    Mar 11, 2012
    10
    ME3 took 36 hours of my life to complete, but it was well worth it. One of the best, most heart wrenching, sci-fi storytelling experiences of my life - video game, movie, book or otherwise. ...and - for me - the best video game ever!
  25. lyt2210
    Mar 8, 2012
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Beautiful scenery, wonderful music, and bad endings this pretty much sums up my ME3 experience. No matter what you do, no matter the choices you have made along this road EA has you dying, there is no ending where you see your lover ever again(unless you play mp get +5k EMS then you will get a 1 second clip of someone taking a breath). At the end of the game post credits they a have a grandpa and grandson on what looks like the moon with trees staring at earth. The ending has the mass relays being destroyed so why bother helping the quarians retake the home world they'll never see it. Basically everyone is pretty much stuck in the sol system until somebody figures out FTL without mass effect. To put it simply I emotionally invested myself in this game, in my character, in this mission only to be letdown. I remember when I first made my character Emily, an infiltrator I spent literally an hour just turning her head side to front just so I would have the perfect face. I would redo entire missions in ME2 if I failed the first time to get a crew member's loyalty, I played tedious mining mini-games so I could outfit my ship, I stayed true to my lover from ME1 in hopes of finally having a good ending in ME3 after the disaster called, Horizon. All these choices are moot now thanks to the really rushed ending. The ending was pick the ending you hate the least, not a reward for doing all you could to get a high enough EMS score. No the "3" choices (if you can call them that) are a letdown, just a punishment, no reward. I suggest to those who have not bought it yet wait for it to go down in price, because the bulk of the story is good and some of the scenes will make you a little teary eyed. It is an amazing game right up to the last 30 minutes. Remember peoples the saying goes the only thing that people will remember is what you did...well Bioware what do you have to say for yourself about this atrocious end to a otherwise magical series.… Expand
  26. Snowsve
    Mar 8, 2012
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game built up so much epicness and I said multiple times before the last mission that this was the best SP-game I've EVER played. And it got destroyed under 10 minutes, by creating paradoxes (synthetic life who kills organic life so they don't get killed by synthetics LOOOL), Joker's getting some pstd and decides to run to a mass relay, and shepard is gone forever, putting the galaxy into a dark age and even if he survives he will NEVER see his LI, his friends or another nebula again. They tried to make a Deus Ex 1-ending, but they failed miserable and decided that a deus ex machina-ending would do the trick. I'm honestly depressed, it was my favourite game series of all time and Bioware gave me the finger.… Expand
  27. Nakano37
    Mar 9, 2012
    10
    The best parts of the gameplay from the 1st and 2nd combined with a gripping story. The galaxy at war stuff is awesome and Jennifer Hale's voice acting is top notch. Even the multiplayer is far better than I expected.
  28. shnelle
    Mar 9, 2012
    3
    I very much enjoyed playing Mass Effect 3. The story was was well fleshed out. I had a good amount of time spent with my teammates and mostly everyone I knew from the last two games. The gameplay was stellar. I have loved the Multiplayer and I'm one of the ones who thought "Bioware is on Crack" when I first heard about it. My LI (who was Garrus) had a great story. I'm very happy with the romance, it was so much more then I was expecting. The Narrative gave you a great feeling of "OMG can I do this" which is what I think they were going for. I did feel closer to my Shepard then in the first two games. I loved the updated character models compared to the last two games. I loved the new Default Femshep. Not including the ending I cried when my old teammates died. But they died in a way that their death was worth it, they had closure and I was proud of them. I thought the game was made so much more Epic this time around. I really did enjoy every facet of the game, until the end of course.

    No matter how much I enjoyed it and how good it was the endings completely ruined my Mass Effecet 3 experience. The rest of the game was awesome. If the endings had made me feel just a little like a hero/savior, something to make me smile at the end then this would probably have been one of the best games I've ever played. If you ignore the endings ME3 really is a great accomplishment. When I finish a game I should have a great feeling of acomplishment. I should feel on top of the world. Even if there is a tragic ending with sacrifice I should feel that everything is going to be better. When I was finished with Mass Effect 3 I was hit with such a huge whammy of depression and unhappy that I still haven't recovered from it hours later. A game should never make you feel this way. I don't mind crying because something is sad. But if I cry it should be with the feeling of hope or "they did good". There was none of that when I finished Mass Effect 3.

    1) I would have exposition explaining what happens with the citadel, relays, crew galaxy, races, etc. If Shep lives I would show he gets reunited with his/her LI. If he doesn't I would show Shep getting mourned. I would show the Normandy getting repaired and being picked up by the Alliance and Shep reuniting with his/her crew and LI.

    2) I would have the Blue Ending be destorying the reapers ONLY along with the Citadel and the relays because a main paragon theme of Mass Effect series has been not using the reaper tech as a short cut. The galaxy has to develop on its own.

    3) I would have the Red ending being controlling the reapers. Because one of the main renegade themes of the Mass Effect series has been about gaining power you cannot control. I would show that Shep becomes either the catalist, or some kind of Reaper AI. The Citadel and relays are damaged but they are still around. Maybe he uses the reapers to help the galaxy or mankind only

    4) I like the idea of the green ending, its imaginative. I would like to keep it. I would still blow up the citadel and the relays with the green ending

    5) I would give Shep a chance to live on each ending depending on your assets and reputation.

    I think the endings are imaginative. I also think they go against the main themes of Mass Effect (controlling Reapers gaining unlimited power with the Reaper tech is a Renegade theme) (Destroying Reapers only and all their Tech to allow the galaxy to live on its own and develop on its own is a Paragon theme) and suddenly its switched at the end. I like the synthesis theme.

    I can't stand the feeling that my crew, all the people I was fighting for that are still alive are doomed. Thats what I don't like. Yes the galaxy will recover in thousands of years, thats a given. But I want to know that the people, my crew, people I fought for that survived have hope of making a better life. The lack of exposition and the way things were presented leaves you with a sour feeling of despair. It is the lack of exposition for me. Also the stand off against TIM is so Saren 2.0. Please give us something different.

    I would rather have the choice (since choice has always been a serious theme of Bioware) that if I work hard enough to make a perfect perfect ending then my Shepard gets a happy ending with their LI. Cause they have put some awesome work into making us fall in love with these characters. It gives me a reason to play a new game+.    … Expand
  29. Mdhneo007
    Mar 9, 2012
    4
    SPOILERS!

    As an avid Mass Effect fan, I was really looking forward to this game. I even did the Origin predownload so I could start playing at midnight exactly. I loaded it up and at 12:03am started playing. 14.5hrs and like 20 rockstars later I sat facing my computer with tears running down my face. Hey maybe I am emotional, but when 71hrs of my life (ME1 +2 +3) goes down the drain, I     have a right to cry.

    Honestly, I didn't mind the ending I got, in as much as it was an "epic conclusion to an epic MOVIE". Yep, Bioware took a great video game series and converted it into a movie blockbuster where the hero sacrifices all to save the galaxy. Well guess what, a video game isn't supposed to play like a movie! The ending should work in accordance with the actions the players have taken to ensure the final outcome while providing an emotionally (for an RPG like this) enthralling story. Not move inescapably to an inevitably gut wrenching conclusion. Additionally, the game has reduced the replay value of the entire trilogy to virtually nill. Why should I replay ME1-ME3 when I know that regardless of my "numerous and poignant choices" the end is depressingly the same? Moreover, the addition of "gameplay types" (or whatever its called) is nothing but an excuse to cover an irritating reduction of player control over dialogue, another irritating movie-like feature of the game. Furthermore, Bioware's attempt to give players more 'sexual freedom of choice' is just downright disgusting! Introducing male homosexuality this late in the series as a casual (and awkward) fling is demeaning to the community, especially when lesbian romance has been a choice since ME1! If Bioware wished to make a statement about gender homosexual equality, put it in a news release or do it with some respect at least. Finally, when the face importing issues are included in the tally, I can only give this game a 4/10. If it had been a $9 movie ticket and not an $80 game, I would have given it a 12/10.

    Oh well, maybe I should have realized the tone that was set in the opening minutes when the child Bioware didn't allow me to rescue was killed by a machine Bioware made nearly invincible while I stood upon a retreating ship listening to an irritatinally opressive score would have been carried through to the end of the game. So its my own fault for playing the game hoping that what I KNEW was going to happen wouldn't. (As a side note, didn't a thresher maw take down one of them and I took down a thresher maw on Tuchanka, right? So if A beats B and I beat A, shouldn't I beat B?) P.S. The multiplayer aspect of the game is quite enjoyable has been the redeeming aspect of the game in my opinion.    … Expand
  30. gvision
    Mar 9, 2012
    0
    Until now, I really wouldn't have thought any game would ever deserve a 0. Bioware spent a series built on personal decisions endearing us to our characters as the Mass Effect universe only to destroy it with a Deus Ex ending and the destruction of everything we cared about. I can't go into specifics because of spoilers, but there is absolutely NO CLOSURE of anything in the game. The entire series lost it's replayability because the ending will always be the same 3 choices (none of which have much variation) that do not take into account anything you've done in the series up to that point. It was all a waste of time, you may as well have let everyone die, been a total prick the whole time and not given a damn about anyone but yourself and you would still have the exact same outcome as someone who did the exact opposite.

    Couple that with the increasingly simplified gameplay, the jittery animations, the complete removal of exploration and dimming RPG features, the tacked on Multiplayer, etc., etc., etc...I will never play another Bioware game again. I'm even going a step further, and will be warning any gamer I meet that playing Bioware's games are not worth the price of admission.

    I have no doubt the obviously rushed ending is due to EA pushing Bioware to release ME3 long before it was ready, in effort to recoup losses over the tragedy that was Dragon Age 2 and the ridiculous amount of money spent on that Wow-clone SWTOR. Someone PLEASE save Bioware, buy them out, hire them away from EA, SOMETHING. I fear my once favorite game developer will never be even a fraction of what it used to be until they're pulled away from the EA turds.    … Expand
  31. Wulfburk
    Mar 19, 2012
    6
    The game has its problems, most of the time you cant really choose what to say, most of it is automatic, even if you picked otherwise on the start of the game and on the options, there arent enough "renegade/paragon" choices either, completed the whole game and only saw 3 or so. So this game is way more linear than ME2 and ME1, but i guess it is because there arent that many choices to make, all the choices you had were made on the previous games. But there are some good parts, gameplay has been improved ALOT, combat is way more satisfying, i didnt got bored the whole time i was fighting (unlike Mass Effect 2), some of the creatures they added were AWESOME (Brutes per say), and it was very interesting that some choices you made on Mass Effect 2 and 1 that you thought would help you against the reapers actually helped your enemy! Good job on that Bioware! Characters felt alive, i am glad from my three favorite companions two survided! Was sad to see five of my companions to die, one specially, i gotta say that was the saddest moment in the trilogy! Multiplayer is fun, but can get exhausting, but it sure is great! Plot was really good, but the last minute kinda made no sense, specially the scene after the credits, but even so i was satisfied! I gotta say the soundtrack was good, specially two specific musics, but it doesnt compares to Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 1, they were much better! The beginning of the game was the worst part in my humble opinion, if you compare to the epic start of Mass Effect 1 (the other Turian spectre is awesome!) , and specifically Mass Effect 2(as epic as any game gets) it will let you down! But overall a great game, Worst than Mass Effect 1, and slightly better/equal comparing to Mass Effect 2. Graphics were really improved, animations as well (taking out Anderson's walking animation.. of course) lighting way better, great anti-aliasing, and great voice acting. Levels were way better designed than the previous games, specially Palaven's moon, that was my favorite mission! So because all of that i give this game a 6! (gave an 8 to Mass Effect 2 and a 10 to Mass Effect 1)

    edit: i actually thought the ending through, and well, it kinda ruins the game, wont do another playthrough, but mainly because of the ending, the first 3 minutes and the auto dialogue, music is great, combat is great and areas are great, but the ending in a RPG game defines the experience, and sadly, in this particular game, it sucked. -1 point for too much auto dialogue and a few bugs, -2 for the ending, -1 for the first 3 minutes.    … Expand
  32. howlincroft
    Mar 9, 2012
    6
    I think I get it now. Freedom of choice in the end of ME3 is almost like elections in Russia. I mean, this guys telling you 'Feel free to build your own game! Your choice is important and all, but in the end we show you how it must be, regardless of your opinion'. Btw, the whole series is just superb, I never had such a nice gaming experience since old good Arcanum back in the days. But see it crash like this... And because I love BioWare so much made it even worse.… Expand
  33. Taliesyn
    Mar 9, 2012
    1
    Mass Effect 3 started out heads and shoulders above Mass Effect, and even better than Mass Effect 2, and threw it all away in the final five minutes. Bioware removed the parts that people really hated - specifically, probing planets - and 'exploration' in a much less tedious way. The writing for the majority of the game was exceptional, they created a real sense of desperation, and they even made a lot of people cry in a few places. Unfortunately, it turns out that not only is multiplayer play REQUIRED in order to get the best ending, despite Bioware's promises, but the possible endings are all absolutely terrible, both in the the choices available and in the dialogue in the very final scene before you make that choice. Unfortunately, it really comes down to a deus ex machina, which is never acceptable in modern stories. If I could ignore the ending, i'd give the game 10/10, but the ending is SO terrible and disjointed that it utterly ruins the experience.… Expand
  34. Speech500
    Mar 10, 2012
    3
    I feel that i have to give a fair review of Mass Effect 3, though there will be minor spoilers throughout, but i will try not to give too much away.
    1. Graphics
    The graphics in this game are, i am unhappy to say, just not up to scratch for 2012. Though they didn't empair my experience too much, there were definitely scenes that were nice but i know that if they were in better quality, the     game would have been stunning.
    2. Cutscenes
    I think bioware uses so many cutscenes because their textures aren't very good. Needless to say, the cutscenes are very nice, but they don't give much to the overall experience, as i can think of only one or two that looked really cool.
    3. Conversations
    I have to say that the conversations in this game took a turn for the worse. In ME2, Shepard doesn't say anything unless you make him, this gave players a feeling that it was their character. In ME3, you are given a very mean line or a very nice line, and this gives it a bit of a Fable 3ish Feeling. These give you lots of reputation as you very rarely even get to choose what Shepard says at all.
    4. Carry Over Choices
    Not many things carry over from ME2, Though the couple that do are just about if Ashley died or if your team died, you get a memorial in the Normandy. ME3 was more about ME3 than the trilogy.
    5. The Boy
    This was really something i wish i could forget. Shepard obsesses over this kid right up to the ending, no doubt in an effort to pull our heartstrings. It's not like (spoiler) Mordin dying, as we know and love him. What do we care if some badly textured kid gets blown up!?
    6. The End
    The End was..... God no... (spoilers)
    The player has a readiness rating going from 0 to 5000, the readiness rating is increased by playing multiplayer. At the very end of the game, the player can choose from three options, all pretty **** for the galaxy. The more you played multiplayer, the more of the tree are open to you. You can either Control the reapers, killing yourself, to make them go away; You can turn every race into cyborgs of sorts, making the reapers go away; or you can Destroy them. These three vary depending on how much you did multiplayer. If you didn't do multiplayer, you can only choose destroy, and you kill all life on earth. The fact that the single player campaign has nothing to do with the end is completely shocking, and the multiplayer addition is worse still. The endings aren't even good! I finished yesterday and I just feel cheated.
    7. DLC
    This is an important part of the trilogy, and i am not going into why i am not happy that it isn't in the game in the first place. Though i can understand why it isn't on the disk, it should not cost me money. In my opinion, this is worth pirating, but don't quote me on it.
    8. Combat
    I chose narrative, so for me it was EZPZ but it was also fun. As an adept, I looked forward to playing. I liked to pull people into the air and then either explode them with a throw or make Liara use stasis, making the guy just hang there for a while. It's a laugh.
    9. Interface
    The interface is really nice and clean in Mass effect 3, something i loved. Everything is easy to do and the power system is flawless. The map is nice as it gives markers for certain places of interest.
    10. Minigames
    I actually missed the Mining interface. It game people a reason to visit planets and explore. I just couldn't afford a lot of the things that needed researching, and i felt the research option in ME3 really went down hill. I am very happy that the Debug and Hack mini games are back, because i personally always hated the **** out of them.
    11. Citadel
    I loved the Citadel this time around, though it was at the sacrifice at Omega and Illium. I'm not sue it was worth it, but forgetting those two, the citadel is bigger and better! Instead of the colorful techno feeling to it, there is a vibrant metropolis filled with sunshine and terrorists. It's a lovely place to go and relax after killing evil monsters from outer space.
    12. Characters
    The characters were really well done, when you don't count the jersey shore cast... Forgetting Bioware's slip up with the romance stuff, i really felt an attatchment to a few of the characters, I.E Garrus, EDI, Liara, and Tali. not having as many people in the team was worth the fact that they really come into their own as individual people. And yes, the loyalty missions are gone, but bioware gives you a sort of loyalty mission for watch, like a central mission revolving around that person.
    13. Antagonists
    The Baddies (Geth, Cerberus and Reapers) are really good and well defined in this game, you can tell instantly who your fighting, as each has it's own fighting styles and representatives. This was one of the things Bioware and Sata... EA did right.

    I'm not going to tell you which is the best, that's up to you to decide, but the information i gave you is mostly unbiased. Thanks for reading my review on Mass Effect 3!    … Expand
  35. SIckTired72
    Mar 10, 2012
    0
    Canâ
  36. c700
    Mar 10, 2012
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I am horribly disappointed in how the mass effect franchise was mistreated by it's makers.

    First of all I have to say that, although Mass Effect 2 took a little dive in quality and storytelling.
    I started this game with high expectations reasoning that they have learned from their little faults in the second game of the trilogy, like too linear storytelling for example.

    After I started playing I noticed that the digital acting system was mostly worse than in the first Mass Effect game (which was released 5 years ago!!) and that the story very early in the game on the Mission on Mars already started to fall apart. But more about the story later. It also annoyed me, that they changed the dialoge-system to a intense stupyfied level, understandably for pleasing everyone in the audience. And that is exactly the problem of Mass Effect 3.
    Bioware made such an effort in creating the action and choosing the sceneries, that they forgot to create a coherent story. Many holes started to pop up in the game. For example:
    In the Grissom Academy I met Jack (Subject Zero) which I romanced in Mass Effect 2 and even though she immediately started to kiss Shepard with all passion, my Squadmate Liara, which my Shepard romanced in Mass Effect 1 and 2 (dlc) stood on the sideline without commenting anything, apparently alright with a threesome or so... Bioware stated that there would be definity repercussions by not being loyal to your loveinterest from Mass Effect 1, but there weren't any.

    And so it is about the end. I would have easily loved Mass Effect 3 besides it's faults but the end is just a kick in the balls for all folks, who were fans from Day One. That's because all failed Storylineplots fall into, like into a dark, bad writing hole.

    The fact that the Crucible was "something" that could stop the reapers without even understanding the technology and the fact that all last civilisations added some parts to it, doesn't even make sense. How can they add stuff, when they don't even know what they are building?
    And the crucible which ends up to be the exact hologram of the child which died on the attack on earth suddenly comes into the story, like the worst macguffin ever, and states that synthetic life can not live in peace with organics. Wait? Why is it the child from earth. Hm. Let me get this straight.. So the crucible is a synthetic who want's to prevent synthetics from wiping out all organics with the explanation that synthetic life would do so with certainty? I mean... maybe I got it wrong but the crucible's existence seemed to disprove it's own theory. Also by creating the reapers, who basically do so he is solving the problem how exactly? My Shepard reconciled the Geth and Reaper, and I also helped EDI becoming quiet human (to a extent which seems very unrealistic) and attached as I am to Legion (he was my favorite squadmate in ME2) I thought: Well, here we go. Now I am gonna disprove the little cruciblekid in a great paragoncoloured choice forcing the story to a reasonable ending at last. But all the choices I made in the three games were suddenly ignored by Bioware and before I could realise what was happening my Shepard sacrificed himself, so that Bioware could create the illusion of a meaningful ending. And as my Shepard fell into the beam of light (I chose synthesis because I couldn't let Legion, the Geth and EDI down like that) I became very depressed, because Bioware lied to us. All along. My choices didn't affect the 3 possible endings at all. It was just an dialogue thing to sell the product.
    And because all the characters that I came to love in the last three games (especially the first) just disappeared behind the greedyness of Bioware, who lost the charm of a small developer-company with all their passion they would put into one game, because they themselves appreciated the characters and the story and the fans. And it wasn't about choices anymore. It was about money.

    And if Bioware want's me to every buy a game from them again they have some real apologizing and catching up to do. Preferably in form of no charge dlc's for Mass Effect 3 that mend the lacerated ending of the game so there can finally be some closure to what happened to all my favorite characters.

    But the other side of my brain (the left side) says that this won't happen. No at free charge for all I know. Because my favorite game series got raped...    … Expand
  37. animaniac
    Mar 10, 2012
    1
    What was there of the game to "play" was comparable to ME2, but the actual play time seemed few and far between and the endings were the worst thing I have ever seen. Really and truly awful. I was already unhappy about requiring Origin, but those endings have finished any good will I had for Bioware or EA. Whoever wrote or approved that crap should be ashamed. Ruined what was otherwise one of my favorite sci-fi game series of all time.… Collapse
  38. Bronston
    Mar 10, 2012
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Hey Shep, can you grab that medigel please. Shep!? No, what are you doing, planning on competing in the Olympics? If you're done somersaulting around go ahead and come back over here and grab that medigel. Hey Shep, you bored? It's just that you're speaking with Admiral Hackett and staring off into space with a goofy look on your face, probably ought to pay attention, wait maybe I accidentally fired up Garry's Mod. Shep, did you see that? I think it was Tyler Durden, or am I just seeing random flashes of people for no reason again. Hey Shep I like Joker and Edi too but you really need to get back to work, seriously you can't just stand here forever, Shep, HEY SHEP JUST MOVE WHAT"S WRONG WITH YOU.

    Ok, seriously I just finished this game, Man I am not in a real great mood now. Let me start by saying Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2 were some of the best examples of video games of all time. This game made me want to smash things so many times as I played it I probably shaved a couple years off my life from the rage. If it had been any other game I would have stopped playing and uninstalled it, unfortunately this was supposed to be Mass Effect so I did not give up cause that's what you do in Mass Effect. From a technical stand point I am unimpressed. I've read that it is a visual improvement over 2, I think I missed that part of the game, maybe it was on Jack's mission cause I missed that one. The controls are terrible. Why does shift do so many things? I have a keyboard in front of me, it has a ton of keys can I use them please? So many times I tried to pick something up just to go flying through the air, other times I was in a hurry cause, you know, impending galactic destruction, and I'd slam straight into a door while mashing the E key, didn't work. At one point I decided it was a stupid irritation to have to find the M key in the dark with my not that side of the keyboard hand so I said hey tab doesn't do anything so I went to the options menu and looked, hmm can't change the Map key huh? That's pretty much idiotic. Of course there's the whole thing where in combat I'd be in cover and try to move to different cover and instead jump over the cover straight into the line of fire, or I'd be shooting things and all that and then just stand up and get my head blown off. All that really increased the overall experience for me. Then there's the screwy behavior during conversations. People teleporting from place to place, or being just plain invisible. Then there's the constant flashes of characters during conversation where they just randomly appear for a split second. Now none of these dialogue are game breakers, just things that completely break your disbelief suspension. No the game breaker is how, as many people have already said, this is not my Shep, this guy says random crap that I don't understand and often doesn't even mean the same thing as what I picked, of course usually that's not much of a problem because I'm usually not given any options.

    I did think most of the voice acting was good, except that reporter chick, I'm sure they'll get it in editing. Oh yeah and that whole DLC thing, that's pretty ridiculous, gluttons.
    Now, on to the real problems. Mostly of course revolving around the ending. My God, you people don't deserve a nickle you made as a result of your initial fan base. I can see uninvested new comers being alright with this, with me however, that was my Shepard you destroyed, and was my hours upon hours of work you disregarded in that two minute waste of space ending cut scene. This was without a doubt the best part of the whole experience for me. So I get there, I talk to the stupid kid that tells me that absolutely moronic story I assume he made up on the spot and attempt to figure out which options the directions represent, so I walk up to the power conduit, first option I looked at and bam the **** bug apparently works here to, my feet are nailed to the floor I guess, so even though this is not the option I want I'm forced to shoot the conduit cause I can't walk around anymore, maybe there's a limit to the number of steps you can take throughout the game. Fortunetly turns out all three endings are the same thing anyway so who cares, I'm not playing it again was a waste 90+ hours anyway, 90 cause the ending negates all three games.

    So here's the short and sweet, this got a four because I suspended my bias and the crushing blow this game was to a former fanboy, I wanted to put a zero. If you're a fan of this series, pirate this one, they don't deserve any money for it. Hope Bioware goes down in flames.

    Verdict
    Piece of Crap

    P.S. Not revising this, it's way too long to read.    … Expand
  39. Peterski
    Mar 11, 2012
    3
    ME3... Gears of War in Mass Effect universe. I did love Mass Effect 2, played it so many times. ME3, I do not even want to finish it once. Disappointment on all the levels - quite shocking how can one mess such a great title.
  40. Hater123
    Mar 11, 2012
    0
    I personally find the whole series boring as hell. Here's why:
    1) dialogues, dialogues, dialogues, dialogues and the some more dialogues. NOT bad in itself, but the amount of interesting (or at least useful) info in said dialogues is miniscule, which makes them deadly dull.
    2) Combat system is still almost as primitive
    3) I just didn't enjoy the story, but that's personal

    Gay Sex in my game??
  41. jackie_chan
    Mar 11, 2012
    0
    The **** part in all trilogy, with pathetic cutscenes, completely idiotic story and the worst ending in the history of vidya. I ll beat the **** out of all this 10/10 morons, who were paid by EA, as soon as i ll be released from jail. Burn in hell, bioware, burn in hell, EA.
  42. enworbo
    Mar 11, 2012
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. First off, i don't really think this game deserves 10/10, but nor does it deserve 3.4, where it's currently at.
    It's also hardly a role playing game, ultimately, the decisions you made count for nothing, apart from a few of them being literally converted into numbers, and the plot is almost completely linear.
    But, I was OK with this. I was ready to just assume all of these low scores were the EA hate. But then, I met the catalyst. Here I was, looking forward to see exactly how my decisions shaped the war, like in ME2 where I watched my squad-mates live or die based solely on my decisions (whether i'd picked the right person for the job, or whether i'd bought the right ship upgrade). Instead, I'm presented with 3 choices.
    My Shepard, was just expected to trust this catalyst? Regardless, I chose to control the reapers. Arguably the biggest decision of the entire series. And what do I get? A prerendered cutscene of reapers retreating after a blue flash, and the normandy crash landing on a planet, and a moongazer telling a story about "The Shepard" (honestly, we'd gone almost 3 games without that pun being used, why use it now?).
    I was left completely speechless. A game about decisions and consequence, without being shown any of the consequence. I talked to friends who had chosen different options, for which the only differences were the colours of the bangs, and where the reapers went. I'm mostly fine with the depressing endings themselves, but the presentation just felt lazy, and rushed, and I can't bring myself to play through it again (I played through me2 at least 4 times).    … Expand
  43. Acsmix
    Mar 11, 2012
    10
    Bioware promised a lot with the game, and in fact, they did acquire their objective, that was to make the people think it was the better game bioware ever designed, which is not. the game is ful of graphic glitches or issues, call them as you want, and the story isn't pretty good, not at all as the trailers were promising. a mafia man appears from nowhere? dude i taught mafias would be a little different in the future! well, the gameplay hasn't changed a lot, and that's good. Also about graphics i wanted to say that they're extrEmely good in the cutscenes and aliens but extremely careless in humans ans suits. I hate so much the fact that EA was giving a **** to swtor, the best game i've seen since kotor1 and 2, and millions to me3, but the user opinion is the one that is important. This game deserves the worse just for being the most competitive game with swtor. SWTOR ROCKS! ME3 SUCKS!… Expand
  44. Ninjastyle
    Mar 13, 2012
    0
    Game is Excellent until..... the Ending the last part of the game is rushed and then the ending makes you feel angry, sick og just plain weird as in WTF happend there? Plain and simple the game is a total failure that makes the two previous games feel like **** games that had no point to them. such a sad sad ending for what was going to be the most fantastic Trilogy game to date. From this point onward I will never buy a bioware game again nor will I sub to their mmos i've allready unsubbed from SWTOR becaus of the utter redicules states these two games have been given to us in.

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

    Please do not support Bioware again if you must have their games dont buy them atleast.    … Expand
  45. TobyTucker
    Mar 12, 2012
    5
    While I can certainly see the point of those giving this a 0 score to send a message to EA/BioWare over the DLC issue and the way the ending seems to be tacked on by people who have no idea what Mass Effect is all about, I can't honestly do that. But I didn't give it a terribly high score either because this COULD have been a truly great game. Unfortunately it seems to have been pushed out the door before it was completely ready. It also appears to have been "dumbed down" as far as its RPG elements go in order to appeal to a mass audience. Knowing what I know now, I would have waited until it went on sale instead of paying full price. Hopefully, with a patch or two, perhaps a (free) DLC to fix the ending and this game will live up to its full potential. Seeing as I have the PC version there's always the chance that modders will come to the rescue! It just a shame that a game with such promise turned out the way it did.… Expand
  46. Hez
    Mar 12, 2012
    1
    Accidental 10 in my first review. Still hate what EA/Bioware did with the game so 1 rating from me.
  47. jclark123
    Mar 12, 2012
    0
    I love Mass Effect. I loved Mass Effect 2. Arguably some of the best games I've ever played in my life. I won't go into detail.

    I even loved Mass Effect 3. It was an epic tale that even made me choke up at certain points. I've never had such an emotional response from a game.

    Then there was the ending. It wasn't because Shepard dies (although it would be nice if he lived). It was because     it made no sense. The game feels dumbed down. Deus Ex Machina stolen crappy ending that leaves a sour taste in my mouth. No thought from the developers and writers. I can't even restart the series again because of this. I'll never play a Bioware game again. Mass Effect died with the release of ME3. Bioware sold out to EA. If you played Mass Effect 1 and 2, stay away from this game. You'll regret playing it.… Expand
  48. Tocy
    Mar 13, 2012
    3
    I was and still am a big fan of the first two episodes of the series and I've been waiting for the third one as if it was some sort of messiah - in vain. The graphics and the combat system are ok for me, however many elements of the story line - including the so-called "endings" themselves - are simple rip-offs of other games.

    One of the most annoying aspects of the game is, however, that     if you haven't had a save from ME2, then you can not really make good choices. I can not explain it further without revealing details from the story, but I can tell you that the game punishes players who did not play the previous episode(s), trying to motivate players to purchase those episodes as well.

    Summa summarum, the bad business model, the really... controversial ending and the constant feeling, that I have seen this before somewhere else makes me to advise everyone to avoid this game. I am, at least, seriously pissed because I spent money on this.    … Expand
  49. jesperc
    Mar 13, 2012
    2
    I mostly loved the game as I played true it , it has a great atmosphere and you can really feel how the war was creeping in everywhere, as the game progressed, sorrow for the lost, people in misery, and how Shepard becoming more and more stressed, and really taking it hard when old friends die. It touch a lot of emotions in me, and it felt kind of cool.

    The missions was to shooter lik    e with no real dialogs and explorations of area, that is OK for the side missions, but I had hoped for the main missions to be more like ME1.

    It was to short as well, took me 36 hours to complete(the first 2 spend around 60 hours pre-DLC), to bad they didn't spend the resources from the multi player part to put the final touch on the single player game.

    I wont comment on the multi player part. I haven't played it and have no intentions to do it

    Then I hit the ending of the game and my mass effect world crumbled to dust. I loved all 3 ME games and that ending destroyed that.

    I give it 2 out of respect for the game up until the ending the last 8 points has the worst game ending in history swallowed.

    I will not recommend to people that loves the Mass Effect series to buy it or it you really have, to quit the game before the ending.    … Expand
  50. deex
    Mar 13, 2012
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The final conclusion of what was an epic series is pathetic and disappointing. As a fan of the Mass Effect games, which were truly inventive, creative and ground breaking, I expected so much more out of the finale. But instead, EA Games and Bioware failed to deliver. For three games, players shaped the fate of the galaxy through their actions, decisions and choices. This was what Mass Effect was at heart, choosing your own path, crafting your own story, and facing the consequences of your actions. And for three games, players expected that their self made paths within the game would determine the fate of the Galaxy. But rather it's the opposite. The last 10-15 minutes of the game throw out the qualities that made the Mass Effect games so amazing. What I mean is, despite all the work and effort you put into the three games, everything you did does not matter. Your actions throughout perhaps 100 hours of gameplay boil down to a general, and universal ending. Despite what it may initially appear, there is only one true ending. Granted this ending has tiny tweaks depending on whether or not you played multiplayer or downloaded some iOS app, but these differences are so puny, so miniscule, that it is almost unnoticeable. This game is a slap in the face to the fans.… Expand
  51. LostInReverie
    Mar 13, 2012
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'm only rating this down so much, because Bioware and EA need to pay attention. The rest of Mass Effect 3 up until the end was great, dare I say even fantastic with a few flaws. The biggest flaw during the main game was how they treated the romances from ME2, especially Thane, Miranda, Jacob and Jack. Thane doesn't even get a Codex entry in the game, for God's sake. His romance is treated almost identically to the friendship path in ME3. But by far the worst part of the game is the end. It's extremely poorly written and seems like it was smashed together with little thought for plot continuity or even coherence. It also relies on one of the biggest and most unforgivable deux ex machina's I've seen in a long time in the god/child/AI, which is ironic because deux ex machina of course means god from the machine. If that was supposed to be a little joke on Bioware's part, it's not funny. I was so disappointed by the end of this game that I felt physically sick. We fans were more than just let down; we were slapped in the face by an ending that seems like little or no thought was put into it at all, that doesn't take into account any of our choices and doesn't fit in with the narrative the previous games had been expanding upon. Bioware, your fans deserve better, and that is not entitlement. It is a simple fact.… Expand
  52. Masseffectfail
    Mar 13, 2012
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. *spoilers*

    Last night I was so excited because I was at the final mission. I was thinking to myself, "This is the best game I have ever played." Tonight I feel saddened because I went from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. The ending was cheap. I am fine with the 3 choices provided at the end but the execution was miserable. You get 3 almost identical scenes with a lousy text message at the end asking you to buy more DLC. I know the only real way to effect change is to vote with your dollars so I will be boycotting all future bioware games. It's a sad day to be a gamer when it's clear the companies would rather try to exploit you to buy more DLC than provide a good ending to a series they put so much work into.    … Expand
  53. Balguren
    Mar 13, 2012
    0
    All I can honestly say is I am not impressed this feels rushed in story and graphics. This game takes risks where they didnt need to be taken. Af far as I see it a lot of their choices were for a quick money grab nothing more IE day one DLC etc. The seem to have pushed a whole lot of peoples wrong buttons and enraged/upset etc them I see why in many ways. I honestly loved part one and enjoyed part 2...Part 3 is a disgrace and I cant even find enough of interest to finish it..… Expand
  54. purpleoctopus
    Mar 13, 2012
    3
    Seriously horrified by the ending. Horrified. This game went from a serious 9-10 to a 3. No joke - it's that infuriating. You play for 100+ hours being told that your choices matter and the game developer, after taking your cash, essentially says "well, sorry, we don't care about your decisions - here's the worst ending of all time. Enjoy." Buy this game used or rent. And you'll probably want to do the same when they release Dragon Age 3. I know I will.… Expand
  55. paynesgray
    Mar 13, 2012
    0
    It was the best game I'd ever played, since Pong, but frankly the ending boiled down to Choose Your Own Adventure "Pick a color. All rails lead to Page 37" ruined the game as well as killing the replayability of ME1 and 2 for me. Why bother making a new Shep, with new decisions, if it's all running to one of three railroad tracks? All the Twitter teases about "if you knew what was coming you'd save your copy forever" don't mean much to me. I rate the game by what's on my computer, not what hypothetical DLC that might come later. Many players are also concerned that the 3 endings are a scam to leave players needing to "buy the rest of the ending" in a DLC. If a free DLC comes out that finishes the game logically and in a way that my choices and accomplishments matter again, then I'll change my review.… Expand
  56. iao
    Mar 14, 2012
    0
    Mass Effect 3 was such a disappointment. Really just feels like they're just trying to get money without giving the product in exchange. Nothing that you do in the game actually matters, the endings are incredibly similar and unsatisfying. The release-day DLC was just a slap in the face on top of it all.
  57. ygolnac
    Mar 14, 2012
    1
    the endings are really a big letdown, and what you did in the previous chapters does not matter at all contrary to what they advertized. Even importing old saves does not work regarding the decision you made. Also bioware is fraoudolent company selling a day 1 dlc with contents very important to understant the story for 10$. The game is subpar and the company behaviour horrible.
  58. sacredcowkiller
    Mar 14, 2012
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Mass Effect 3 undoes every decision made throughout the entire series in the last 15 minutes. The 3 endings are too similar and create plot holes larger than the Milky way. The only choice you have at the end is what color explosion do you want to send throughout the galaxy. The game engine hasn't made any significant improvements but I don't really mind that so much. The biggest problem is the ending. This is perhaps the largest letdown in gaming history.… Expand
  59. TotalBiscuitXXX
    Mar 14, 2012
    0
    A forgettable experience! From its copy and paste level & characters its copy and paste waves of enemies, frustrating controls over its run and cover system (binded to space on PC). Its like EA/Bioware forced the Devs to design multiplayer, kinect and dlc instead! Mass Effect 3 leave you with a real hunger for a more then lackluster experience. The trouble with this game steams from its re-write, and I'm guessing corporate or hierarchical interference overwhelming common sense and appealing for a money grab. Was a shameful display I was really looking forward for Mass Effect 3 but I had my hopes dashed when I first read about the script leak last year!… Expand
  60. JonChanger
    Mar 14, 2012
    2
    This games ending was a major disappointment. Everything was great up until the all choice, freewill, and consequence were taken away from the player in the final moments. If it weren't for the ending I would easily give this game a 9/10. However, the ending was so terrible that I (almost) wish I could unplay all of the other games and never had wasted time on them. I felt similarly when lost ended but at least I could respect it was not my decision. In this case, Bioware led the players to believe the ending was our decision (through the choices we made in the game). Apparently, not... I sincerely hope that Bioware adds additional post-game content in upcoming DLCs to make sense of this pointless ending.… Expand
  61. Bandicool
    Mar 14, 2012
    4
    I really don't know what went wrong but those endings and their consequences must be the biggest letdown i've ever experienced in gaming history. The game (without the 10 mins in the ending) deserves a 9/10 but the ending is so horribly full of plot-holes and unansweread questions that I am left speechless.
    In a game where the story and it's characters are the main reason for buying it, ho    w can you end it like this?… Expand
  62. sjh0399
    Mar 14, 2012
    0
    ME3 is really worst ME series

    i want to refund Deluxe

    ME3's Ending lacks consistency

    and only color magic ending

    i'm so disappointed

    i never will buy Bioware games
  63. Pr0wl4r
    Mar 14, 2012
    0
    Absolutely and completely disappointed. I played the first two games and thoroughly enjoyed them, the feeling of my decisions making a difference to the outcome of the overall story was great. I was also thoroughly enjoying watching the final story unfold - even with, lets not kid, the lack of proper dialogue between missions and lack of dialogue options with characters and random civilians (a real step back from what the ME series is about, UNFORGIVABLE!! Those side quests were horrendous, listening in for them? Absolutely no involvement. Just like a couple of the quests from ME2 on Illium.) and the lack of armor and armor mods/weapons mods etc featured in the first game which were 'to come back'. I would have given the game a 7 at this point. And then I got to the ending. What a pile of horse manuere! It went aggainst everything we were promised. The decisions made in the first and second game meant absolutely nothing to how the finale played out and were quite minimal to how the mid-game played out, instead of an unforgettable climactic satisfying ending we got "DOOR ABC, YOUR CHOICES DON'T MEAN ANYTHING TO ME" rubbish.

    My recommendation to anyone who has played ME1 and ME2 and hasn't picked up ME3. As many below me have stated, stay away, its a huge let down to the franchise.    … Expand
  64. jessejplatt
    Mar 14, 2012
    3
    They really have been dumbing this game down since the first ME. I didn't really mind it because I actually really enjoyed the story and getting to know all the characters and spending hours learning back story and molding my story how I wanted. However the "ending" of the series really bothered me. It just plain out sucked. I've read all the theories behind why it was the way it was but it still doesn't explain why I get an ending that I have no say in. I can go through the 3rd game literally just do the story arc and get the same ending as someone who has played through all 3 games making all the big decisions and putting their time in to get to know the whole background of other characters. So many plot holes and unanswered questions. I literally would've given this game a 10 if not for the ending. The ending really ruined this game for me that I don't even want to go back and play the multiplayer. Which is actually decent in my opinion. It just bothers me to think about it. Bioware has really left a bad taste in my mouth. I can kind of forgive them for what they did to Dragon Age, but what they did to ME, no. Been a fan of the company since Neverwinter Nights and thought they could do no wrong, but this was the final straw.

    On a side note to people saying "quit whining it's their game and can do what they want, you just want a stupid happy ending!" No. Just no. I wanted a game like Bioware promised where my choices actually made a difference. Instead of them abandoning all the idea and themes from the first two games and forcing me a **** ending. I wouldn't mind a happy or sad ending. I just want a good ending with some closure and not huge plot holes. It is their game but they owe to the fans to deliver what we want. We are the ones who pay for the experience. $120 for a lot of people just to be slapped in the face and told that your choices didn't matter like we said they would. I specifically made an account just so I could rant about this. It felt good.    … Expand
  65. darkdefeat220
    Mar 15, 2012
    0
    I actually find myself disagreeing with many of the reviewers here: the bulk of the game was rock solid storytelling, filled with the harsh choices and consequences you have come to expect from Mass Effect. The story ventured into emotionally wrenching territory more times than I can count, even several times with NPC -to-NPC dialogue. If you hear two characters talking, keep leaving and coming back until you hear their whole story and then google it if you still don't get it, you won't be disappointed. The character-driven subplots have fitting, satisfying endings that never fail to bring a tear to one's eye (the emotion represented by the tear changes).

    HOWEVER, bioware tried to be clever with the ending and failed more completely than I ever would have imagined possible. I always feared a trite ending, but what ME3 contains is far worse. Not "worse" as in "dark", "worse" as in "doesn't achieve any goal which an ending might be expected to achieve" and "makes a mockery of the entire series". An ending is supposed to bring a certain amount of closure, it's supposed to be the culmination of decisions made throughout the story (in ME's case, choices you get to make). ME3's ending HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE CHARACTER'S ACTIONS (well, you can choose between 3 nearly identical endings, but the choices I'm referring to are the ones you made over the entire series). Parts of the ending make little to no sense (in order to make sense of them you have to inject MAJOR plot points that AFFECT the story) or simply yell "hah, nothing you did mattered" in your face. We were promised differently (explicitly, several times). BioWare, what were you thinking?!?!?!    … Expand
  66. Praedor
    Mar 15, 2012
    1
    I have been a huge fan of the series since it began with Mass Effect 1. I played ME 1 six time and then played ME 2 eight times and was anticipating playing ME 3 a similar number of times. I had 4 different Shepards I was looking forward to importing and playing through. I played it once. One time. That was more than enough. The game is actually fantastic, with a great score, some pretty good interactions and dialog, some of it quite moving. It works well until the last 15 to 20 minutes then it goes to hell in a handcart. A game that was touting as being all about player choice affecting the outcome, a game where the developers promised that your decisions in ME1, 2, and earlier in game 3 would impact the final outcome was a COMPLETE lie. There is ONE ending. One. It is identical in all ways no matter what you do in all the previous games, no matter how you play, what decisions you make, it ends the same but with different colored terminal explosions. Woohoo. ALL the time you spend on side missions, doing good or bad deeds, making peace treaties, ending conflict, uniting alien civilizations, collecting allies and materiel is all for naught. No matter how you do it you get the exact same nonsensical, blatantly illogical (in game and in real life) ending. It only takes ONE playthrough to the end to lose all enthusiasm for the series and lose any interest in ever playing any of the previous excellent titles ever again. If I could I would return my digital copy. So terribly depressing.… Expand
  67. Trompello
    Mar 15, 2012
    1
    I am so sorry I have to give this game a 1 but it is the truth. The Mass Effect trilogy is my favorite game series of all time..hands down. The story is incredible. The music, intense. And the characters seemingly alive. The trilogy was a gold mine until ten minutes before the third game's ending. Bioware has utterly RUINED the best game series I have ever known. Your choices mean nothing because it all ends the same. The fact that they would give this ending is appalling and shows that EA has truly corrupted what Bioware used to be. Do not buy this game. Even if they change the ending, they have already ruined it. They screwed up Dragon Age by making it for 12 year old kids who just want to see things explode and don't like to think.… Expand
  68. HendelMasad
    Mar 15, 2012
    10
    This is a powerful and moving story about sacrifice and selflessness. I highly recommend it. The complaints that your choices in this or previous games don't matter, ring hollow with me. Would I welcome a follow up where the character's fates are resolved? Sure thing, but its lack did not diminish my enjoyment of the game.
  69. nantaeg
    Mar 15, 2012
    0
    NON. Apres une trilogie si rondement menee sur le plan scenaristique, les 5 dernieres minutes sont catastrophiques. Aucun libre arbitre, des cinematiques baclees et quasi-identiques peu importe la direction selectionnee par le joueur. Bref, le nom de Mass Effect se fait salir comme un malpropre sur une conclusion qui bafoue les codes de la serie.
  70. Audustum
    Mar 15, 2012
    0
    Fantastic game in almost all senses of the word. Great story, great characters, great gameplay, but then it all gets ruined by an awful ending. I mean bad. If you do buy it, stop it right after Shepard talks to his crew before the final push and don't go further.
  71. A_Person
    Mar 16, 2012
    0
    When I see all these glowing reviews by game websites giving it nigh perfect scores, its glaringly obvious that their integrity and objectivity is compromised. In fact its almost comical how much the websites try and cover for its flaws. My favorite was one where they condemned bioware changing the endings because "oh its art you'll ruin it by changing the ending." I like to think that if somehow a 6 year old drew a big turd on the Mona Lisa, the museum would do everything it could to restore the painting by TAKING OUT THE BIG TURD ON IT. What they are really praising isn't the game it is the amount of money they received in advertising from the game's publisher. Mass Effect 3's ending (because its really only one) is a slap in the face, a total disgrace to the brand. Whoever the lead writer was for the ending, and whoever gave the okay for that crap needs to be fired. Furthermore I've never encountered an ending that made me hope for a cliched "It was all a dream" sequence as much as this one. This ending is so poorly put together it is on par with the likes of Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions, wer're talking total plot and lore breakdown. The final offense was the after credit sequence which just adds insult to injury. The only person that could of made a poorer ending was George Lucas.… Expand
  72. Magniir
    Mar 18, 2012
    4
    My rating's slightly higher than the average and that's simply because I played the game knowing the ending was horrible but went in with an open-mind anyway.

    Frankly, Day 1 DLC doesn't bother me. It's going to come out anyway, I don't think it really matters when it comes out. Sure, it being on the disc might suck, but nobody has actually proven that every piece of data included in the D    LC is on the disc as well.

    As for the game itself? Some of the best 20+ hours I've spent in a game. No really, it is. That 28 hours I spent on my first run-through wasn't bad, much of it felt really good. The environments were a bit repetitive from the second game but the character writing was absolutely fantastic, and much of the plot was fine until the last 10 minutes of the game.

    That's honestly the deal breaker for me. I give the game a 4 because the gameplay and character design were sold extremely well for me, but everything else was just plain crud. From the whole gimmicky "War Readiness" metagame to the absolute horrible ending. Those last 10-15 minutes are some of the worst minutes I've ever spent on any video game.

    It's not that it's bad that's the problem, it's that the ending doesn't really change that drastically from each option. Not only that, but your actions leading up to that point might as well not have happened, because doing the side-missions in the game doesn't really do much more than alter your "War Readiness" level, which doesn't change the endings as much as you'd expect. Other than these points, many of the ending scene is just absolutely confusing, non-sensical and it leaves you with much more questions than answers.

    That last one's really important. If I finish a story and I've got more questions than answers, and there is no sequel planned, then I really hate that story. Essentially it ends the story on a sort of cliff-hanger that you know you'll probably never get to see the bottom of, and that's just disappointing and somewhat cruel.    … Expand
  73. Chafilao
    Mar 18, 2012
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Experience the beginning, middle, and end of an emotional story unlike any other, where the decisions you make have absolutly no influence in your final experience and outcome.

    Probably the worst ending of a videogame I ever seem, and totally against the spirit of the Mass Effect series. It will stop you from replaying it, because no matter your actions, the end will remain almost the same.    … Expand
  74. VeryNoob
    Mar 18, 2012
    3
    I spent more than 160 hours in this trilogy. Bought all available DLCs to date, always bought the most complete version of the game. And as a such hardcore Mass Effect fan I must say that I'm nothing more than sad. I had high expectation towards the trilogy ending. But ME3 did the impossible, they just screwed up the series.
    I can't do anything but laugh from some magazine reviews that sa    ys that ME3 is a proper ending to the series. Sadly many reviews don't even understand the idea behind the game, or just forgotten how awesome ME and ME2 were. The user's score can't lie, just compare ME and ME3 user's score to this one.. it speaks by itself.
    The combat is too much simplified, the game is about go to the planets, scan, delivery assets and sometimes do some mission. And that's it, no epic bosses, no epic battles, even my last section of game had a taste of "common battle". The games looks rushed, no proper characters involvement...

    Didn't think Bioware would miss twice.. first my deception with Dragon Age 2, now this? Why would you guys screw up Mass Effect? It's supposed to be THE epic trilogy. Be the benchmark, the reference to follow, simply the best. But today, Mass Effect is just one more.

    The 3/10 score is due to the hard work I saw in Bioware trying to do the game, sadly the execution failed. A lot.    … Expand
  75. snapp
    Mar 18, 2012
    2
    Just BAD. not just the ending... the whole story, the no interaction, at least not at the level of the previous titles, you don´t get to know more about Tali (Tali didn't deserve a model for her face either.. getty images... lazyyyyy) or Liara or Garrus or anyone else, except for the history behind the geth and quarian war.. i dont recall anything else that reveals any part of the ME universe. And on top of it all, the Ending.. come on... seriously? Huge let down. On the brighter side, the combat was much better than in ME2 i liked the mix between ME! and ME2 features. but its far from enough.… Expand
  76. ROGUE-BOLO
    Mar 18, 2012
    0
    I was a huge fan of the Mass Effect franchise (and Bioware games in general). Honestly, I even really like SWtOR. But Mass Effect 3 was a huge disappointment! What I hated most: 3. Meaningful interactions with most of your love interests from ME1 & ME2 reduced to unsatisfying cameos, 2. New movement options for Shepard in combat that can be horribly frustrating because they all share the same key as the one used to enter cover (i.e.: I have several times tried to sprint through a door only to find myself rolling back and forth between one side of the door and another, or attempting to leap over cover to flee attackers only to have the game decide I would rather "go into cover" on the wrong side, etc.) and worst of all 1. Three almost identical but horrible endings that totally ignored all of my choices made in the saga up to that point. In my opinion, they not only removed 100% of ME3's replay value (I played ME1 & ME2 dozens to times) but tainted the rest of the saga for me. As far as I am concerned, Jar Jar Binks did less to ruin Star Wars... After all, I did not sink 100+ hours into playing Star Wars after being told my choices would carry through and they would matter! And putting further salt in our wounds, these endings were abrupt, incongruous with the pace and story of the games up to that point, and glaringly inconsistent with established canon (For instance: If one Mass Relay detonating in The Arrival took out an entire star system what does losing ALL of them mean to the survivors in the galaxy?!!! How about a little QA, guys?) If EA/Bioware have any hope of painting themselves out of this corner, I would suggest they look on the Internet for all of the threads discussing "Indoctrination Theory" and deliver us a DLC to 'fix" the endings along those lines ASAP. I know, it is your "art" and your "artistic vision", blah, blah, blah... But you sold the whole ME franchise with the promise of "Real choices that make a difference. Honestly, guys, for ME3 it is time to live up to that.… Expand
  77. grmbrand
    Mar 19, 2012
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Contrary to the formula of the first two games, all plots lead to a single set of endings that feel out of place with the rest of the franchise (including much of what happens in ME3 prior to the ending itself). I am hopeful that this was a brilliant marketing move on Bioware's part and that DLC can clarify the outcome. I'll update my rating accordingly should this happen.… Expand
  78. CTSV
    Mar 19, 2012
    0
    I'm almost ready to take it back and demand a refund. Most will comment on the endings, but the fact is, nearly the entire game is linear to the point of being comical. Frankly from what I can gather, none of your decisions in ME 1 or 2 have any real meaning past dialog or EMS changes in ME3. There is so much extra opportunity built in that anyone can pick the game up and play through it nearly identically as if someone had imported their save game. You can recruit the same species and complete the same quests.… Expand
  79. Travaligno
    Mar 19, 2012
    2
    Incredible production values with great combat design and customization, topnotch voice-acting, writing, art and music / sound-design can't hide that the conclusion to the ME trilogy was rushed. Cut-corners are visible everywhere but it isn't until the finale that the game falls apart. The level of failure here is spectacular and historic: game ends in a disappointing, disjointed, contrived mess that betrays the trilogy's themes and your earlier choices. No matter what ending you play towards, the result is portrayed in the same cut scene with minor cuts and a different color scheme. The implications of the choice are so nihilistic, they sap your will to replay through the story again. The fan backlash is not about entitlement but about poor game design. Trust the hype: the end really is as bad as people say.… Expand
  80. BigPush
    Mar 19, 2012
    2
    Whereas Mass Effect 1 and 2 were conventional action-adventure stories set against a sci-fi background, the third and final installment in the Mass Effect trilogy attempts to address "darker", "deeper", and more "mature" themes. Unfortunately, the writers lacked the depth and maturity themselves to properly execute this sort of change in tone. The result is a poorly-constructed story poorly told.

    While I would argue that these problems begin almost as soon as the game does (where Shepard watches a child -- the first ever portrayed in the series -- being killed), the game's ending has generated the most controversy and so is where I will focus the rest of this review. It's an attempt at a tragic ending without understanding what makes tragic endings work.

    Tragedies have a long history in Western literature. While there is and has been a great deal of debate as to the structure of a tragedy, the core idea that makes a tragedy work well is that the hero's sad fate is the inevitable result of his or her character. Aristotle referred to this as the tragic hero's hamartia (which means "mistake", though it's often translated as "fatal flaw"). This is a very important idea because as Nietzsche argued, tragedies resonate with us because they contradict, not confirm, a pessimistic view of the universe: the tragic hero doesn't experience pain and misfortune for no reason, but instead experiences this pain as a direct consequence of his or her own nature. In other words, an ending is only truly tragic if it's the result of the tragic hero's shortcomings; an ending where "rocks fall, everyone dies" may be rather sad, but because it happened at random it's not tragic.

    Mass Effect 3's ending fails because Shepard is not a tragic hero. In fact, Shepard does everything absolutely right up until the last 5 to 10 minutes of the game. Only then, by pure writer fiat, does he or she fail. There's no catharsis for the player, no satisfactory explanation, no hope. There is only "deep", "mature" death and despair.

    If games are ever going to be art, they need to pay better attention to the artistic traditions that have shaped our culture.    … Expand
  81. Zenks
    Mar 19, 2012
    0
    This is the first metacritic review I have ever done as I have never felt inclined to do so before on any previous games. Mass Effect 3 was nothing short of the biggest disappointment in recent gaming history, the day one DLC was insulting to the fan base to say it nicely, the ending was a sheer abomination that has disgraced the franchise terribly with Casey Hudson simply going on to talk about more dlc to be released pre game ending that doesn't address any of the current issues. All in all it's honesty 120+ hours of my game time I'd rather have back… Expand
  82. JKflipflop
    Mar 19, 2012
    3
    Game is an epic 10/10 up until the last 10 minutes. The ending of this game is so bad that it not only ruins the rest of this game, but indeed it brings down this entire trilogy. In one stroke this went from being this generation's "Star Wars" to a joke. Your choices don't matter. At all. It was all so you could be force fed some BS by StarChild and forced to picked between different colored explosions. Honestly, I'm still in shock. I can't fathom how the writing team that gave us this series completely imploded on itself in the home stretch like this. Abhorrent.… Expand
  83. Slamdance
    Mar 19, 2012
    3
    An absolutely atrocious wash of bugs and graphic issue, combined with Bioware's DLC pandering and an incomprehensible group of endings make this an easy game to not recommend. If you liked your choices mattering in the final moments of ME1 and ME2 be prepared for massive disappointment. If you still think this games for you, good luck; just don't fall down the plot holes.
  84. mxfox408
    Mar 19, 2012
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This was an epic disappointment. Compared to the other two games in the trilogy, it is bland and lacks clarity. The story also has a lot of inconsistencies and plot holes that fail to match the actual series. There is issues with concluding the game as well.… Expand
  85. FellishBeast
    Mar 19, 2012
    3
    Been a die-hard fan of Mass Effect since it's release. Mass Effect 3 is the best entry in the series...until the end. The end is hollow, half-assed, and does not change REGARDLESS of any of the decisions you have made up to that point. It just feels wrong. There is no closure and it really does ruin the entire series for me.
  86. wasawsolos
    Mar 19, 2012
    2
    **SPOILER ALERT**
    For the past 5 or so years, I have been a huge mass effect fan. I loved the idea that my choices mattered from game to game. In fact, this game would have gotten a 9.5 from me (not a 10 because I got stuck because of a glitch that caused me to have to restart a mission) but the ending of ME3 is the most plot hole ripping, out of context, jacked up thing I have ever seen     in a story. It is like watching the last of a super awesome trilogy movie, that has been hyped to the moon, then the film stops in the last 10 minutes, the screen goes dark, and the theater catches on fire. BioWare has essentially destroyed their entire universe that they have created because without the mass relays staying intact, the stories of mass effect cant happen. They somehow managed to kill their entire franchise within 10 minutes. Up until the last 10 minutes, the game is great. After that 10 minutes though, ME3 goes from great to crap. Don't buy until BioWare does something to change the ending.… Expand
  87. jeep232
    Mar 19, 2012
    1
    Not a very good game, I was expecting more from a highly anticipated rpg. The ending totally destroyed it and made it unworthy for what the game was expected to be. Overall I would say the graphics and game play cannot make up for the story and ending for any rps. Also the fact of day one dlc was a major turn off and didn't seem like it should have been dlc. This is more evident when the game files for the dlc were in the game itself and not even a download.… Expand
  88. outlawJW13
    Mar 20, 2012
    1
    Shepherd lies disgraced

    Bad end ruined good story

    I am heartbroken

    I can't put my disappointment into words greatest game ever razed to the ground by it's own ending. If you enjoyed the other games avoid this one until they fix the end. Check out retake mass effect on facebook and twitter.
  89. Jute
    Mar 20, 2012
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. SPOILER ALERT*** This game played fairly well, was interesting enough, and seemed to be fulfilling the 3 story arch's conclusion nicely. Not cutting edge or even inspired graphics at times, but great voice acting and pretty good cut scenes. Sure, the cut scenes got to be a bit much sometimes, making the game feel way too cinematic and not enough like an RPG, but we all knew the payout would be the resolution of the Reaper threat based on all the things we had done before. Then the developers got lazy, rushed, or both, and put out an ending which has been discussed extensively and yes, sucks every bit as much as the other reviewers said. It is a complete ripoff of the Battlestar Galactica ending as well - only done very poorly on what seemed to suddenly be a shoestring budget. Other things that will annoy you: You HAVE to download Origin, EA's game portal and online management system, in order to play. If this is the wave of the future for PC gaming, count me out. Steam worked just fine for the other 25 games I have, why make me switch to Origin for their 3rd installment? Also, finding resources on planets is so boring that you'll wish it was automated. Each planet has 1 location, which you mouse around to and fire a probe at. That's it. But really, it is the ending that will have you wishing you had never bought into the hype 3 games ago. They are all substantially the same, and all completely dumb. Seriously, the best explanation is that the producers were out of time, had just watched Battlestar Galactica, and said, "Let's force the players into an ending like that! They'll love feeling like they've been shoehorned into the end of such a great series. What? This is supposed to be at least slightly based on their decisions and input over 3 games? Bull! We're the creators and we get to decide what the ending is that we force upon them." Also note, many people think that we as gamers are just whining. (See the comments of some guy from WEDBUSH Securities, Michael Pachter, in this article: http://www.technewsworld.com/story/74668.html)
    Wrong. We paid a bunch of money and spent a bunch of time on this game because they made an explicit representation of it as a game where the ending would be based on your decisions. It wasn't. At all. Period. We're not whining. We're pissed and we want our money and our time back. And no, EA, charging me more money for a DLC that abates some of the colossal suckiness of this game is not a fix. Having great plans for the future of the game and stringing me along while you suck up my hard earned cash is also not a solution. How about releasing a game that resolves the plot based on our input, like you said you would when we started this journey, and I started handing over my cash, 5 years ago?    … Expand
  90. WHITECJ2OW
    Mar 20, 2012
    1
    I would like to start my review by asking you, as a review reader, what makes a story GOOD. Well first lets look at some "good" stories......pick any 10, any 10 will do. Now look for a common theme, a common element that they all contain that plays an integral part in it's enjoyment and goodness. The ending. For a story to be good, the ending has to be good, and if you are wondering yes cliffhangers can and are good for the most part when necessary. Now with that in mind, let me just sum it up: Mass Effect 3 Does not have a good ending. Notice how i did not type ending as a plural because to be completely honest all the endings are the same. They truly are. Without going into much detail I recommend you keep this in mind because other than the ending this game is 9/10, or 10/10 on a good day no doubt. But the atrocity of the ending just overshadows and takes away the replay-ability of the game and as such I do feel a 1 is truly needed for this review to be effective.… Expand
  91. cullaxthefirst
    Mar 21, 2012
    0
    what the hell? Does this website not believe in paragraphs? I just seperated everything I wrote and it was still all jammed together. Too long didn't read, is the main reason no one reads user reviews.
  92. romanser
    Mar 23, 2012
    0
    You heard it was bad but its worse. Much worse, there are bad games and then there is what EA did to bioware just releasing garbage. Dragonage2 was garbage SWTOR was garbage and ME3 is complete garbage.
  93. holdtheline
    Mar 23, 2012
    1
    Bioware releases a game that contains 95% goodness and a 5% utter, soul-crushing, promise-cutting, canon-killing conclusion. This game is the least entertaining of the entire series and certainly the saddest.
  94. wombatman10
    Mar 23, 2012
    6
    Good combat and fresh characters are sadly ruined by the lack of meaning for long term fans. Major decisions from the first two games are made so meaningless they are expressed with single dialogues and some (rachni and Councillor) are completely ignored and explained with an unsatisfactory explanation. Possibly a good standalone game but fans of the Mass Effect series can only be left feeling disappointed and wanting more.… Expand
  95. spikie1011
    Mar 24, 2012
    2
    Love all the game but the end is a joke, sorry bioware i love u , but seriously this end kill all ur game ... The 3 choices are just a joke, and if this ' end ' is just a ' dream ' for waiting the real end in DLC , it's a joke too.
  96. dorko1
    Mar 24, 2012
    2
    Bioware managed to ruin my favorite game series ever in less than 10 minutes. Don't play this game if you want some sort of satisfaction with your story.
  97. LeBronaldReagan
    Mar 26, 2012
    0
    Bioware screwed up so masterfully at the end of this game that it not only ruins the game, it ruins the first two Mass Effect games as well. The only positive side of the ending is that it doesn't also ruin Dragon Age: Origins. I would only suggest buying this game if you are the type of person who skips through all the dialog scenes and cutscenes. If you enjoy dialog, story, and making choices that impact the rest of the game DO NOT BUY this game.

    The one major problem with this game is the ending. It is a fun enjoyable game similar to its predecessors up until the finale. How this ending seemed like a good idea to the studio is mind-boggling. It is bad storytelling in addition to other factors which leaves the player frustrated and unfulfilled. Forget replay value, you will have no motivation or desire to replay this game or Mass Effect 1 and 2.

    Save your money. Don't buy this abomination. If anything, wait and see if Bioware will release a fixed ending. The price of this game should be falling quickly anyway due to poor reception.    … Expand
  98. Raynulf
    Mar 26, 2012
    4
    The Mass Effect series as a whole is an amazing piece of storytelling, backed by enjoyable and interesting gameplay and a cast of well crafted characters. The rating given reflects the complete experience of Mass Effect 3. Had the game concluded with the themes and narrative quality of the majority of the game, it would rate 8/10.

    The game is immersive, reasonably well paced and takes pai    ns to reintroduce the majority of 'fan favourite' characters at least for a cameo and is thoroughly enjoyable, if by no means 'perfect'.

    In terms of gameplay, the combat is much improved, with the protagonist being far more mobile on the battlefield - however linking all movement commands to a single button which is interpreted situationally can be immensely frustrating - and the enemies are tactically more varied and force rapid shifts in player tactics. Unfortunately, the opponents are far from varied: Throughout the game there are essentially two factions you fight against in almost every encounter. Despite the focus on one-squad-vs-the-horde throughout the game, it does introduce a little variety in the form of shooting-gallery turret sections and a section in virtual reality.

    As a roleplay game (RPG), Mass Effect 3 is far more restricted than its predecessors, with fewer dialogue options and ultimately less choices, however the immersiveness of the first two acts will cause most players to generally forgive this, at least on their first play-through.

    If there is a complaint to be had (excluding the ending), it is in the fact that little of the prior decisions made in the series are actually taken into account within the Mass Effect 3 storyline: Species the player rendered extinct can be found throughout the game, artifacts the player destroyed utterly can be found on display, and so forth. While it is by no means uncommon or even unusual for sequential games to make assumptions and establish a 'cannon' series of events, the fact that Mass Effect 3 was specifically marketed as this not being the case causes it not to live up to expectations in that regard.

    Additionally, regardless of player choice, Mass Effect 3 will force feed the protagonist with a lot of previously nonpresent anguish over certain events, which is very much out of keeping with the concept of player-determination.

    Still, despite these flaws, it easily rates 8/10 for the first two acts, when viewed on its own merits. And for these first two acts, I would recommend this game to any fan of the Mass Effect series, with the caveat they immediately stop playing the game afterwards, and do not complete it.

    And then, theres the ending.

    On the chance that somehow, someone is not aware of this fact: A lot of customers are not happy with the ending (to put it mildly), and frankly, their dissatisfaction is perfectly justified.

    The final act of the game dismisses the overall game theme of player choice and consequences thereof, railroading the player along a series of events - some agreeable, many not - until the point the game ends. Specifically the game, not the story.

    In the final hour of one of the greatest epics told in the computer game medium, Mass Effect 3 utterly fails to deliver, from a narrative, psychological and philosophical perspective. Themes established from the beginning are discarded, new and inexplicable characters are introduced the very end, illogical and circular 'exposition' contradicts established story and background and last but not least, established characters are forced to act completely against their nature as the player is shoe-horned into an A/B/C choice, regardless of their prior actions through the series. Even the very narrative style is switched in the very last minute.

    To make matters worse: The ending also, for no reason, destroys the entire premise of the game universe with utterly inexplicable and near-identical, emotionless CGI animations.

    So sadly, despite 5 years of excellence in the series, 15 minutes of cutscenes (with no player control) quickly and thoroughly ruin the overall experience, and the game must be rated with that in mind.


    As a disclaimer: Bioware are, and hopefully will continue to be, an excellent developer, who have produced some of the most enjoyable stories in the gaming media, which is one of the reasons the terribly written ending to ME3 is so surprising.

    I would recommend people do NOT boycott the brand, or anything equally extreme, but instead avoid pre-ordering their products or relying on pre-release reviews, and instead wait for peer reviews, such as these here on Metacritic.    … Expand
  99. nuevecuervos
    Apr 5, 2012
    0
    Loved ME1, enjoyed ME2 though the story elements seemed a bit repetitive, but ME3 was an absolute let down, crikey. Dumbed down conversation and massive plot holes paired with an absolute lack of give-a-**** for how much thought and investment players have put into the purportedly all-important decision-making process to date, since it all ends up about the same in the end anyway. blergh. I wasn't going to spend the money after the day one DLC debacle, but I decided to give Bioware the benefit of the doubt. Never again, thanks. My *** is sore enough.… Expand
  100. walshy2142
    Apr 6, 2012
    0
    The game was an awesome ride right up until thessia after this point the whole game feels rushed, especially the ending, for this reason I'm giving it a 0, as the ending undermines everything you done across all games.
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Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
89 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 23 Critics

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