I first thought that people were trolling the user scores on Metacritic. Unfortunately this third installment of the game blows big time. If this was a standalone product I would give it a 7 (it's not utterly rubbish when compared to games like Rogue Warrior or Brink). However as a game that is supposed to be a Mass Effect game I am giving it a big ZERO!
This game does not live up to what it says on the tin.… Expand

Ugh, made my first review ever on Metacritic, and gave ME3 a 5/10, but forgot to set the slider. So the text of the review says 5/10, but the review itself is 10. So I will make this a 0/10, to average the two out to 5/10, which was what I intended.

An entire game experience ruined by the last 15 minutes of the 3rd game the endings have no meaning what so ever. You just UNITED the entire galaxy against the reapers no matter the race or if synthetic or not and yet the ending is about how there will allways be war between synthetics and organics? wtf? wtf? wtf? wtf? there is 1 **** synthetic race that you just gave true SENTIENCE to and they became the nearly as Awesome as Legion from it. Evry part of this game was epic except it started lacking more and more choices like we had in the previous games the part towards the ending was RUSHED allso you started noticing less and less to do before a priority mission well **** in the end it was just NEXT Priority mission. all in all my dissapointment with the ending was so big I was liturally furious for several hours it has ruined the best game i've played to date. How VERY sad on biowares part that they've failed so Insanely.… Expand

The ends are shameeee!!!!!!! Why i built my own Sheppard and my own décision during 3 episode, for finally nothing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I dont say more, its so scandalous, Bioware with EA , its the end of a part of rpg world, now welcome to call of duty rpg , multiplayer, lot of dlc included on dvd , take decision for... nothing, if you want an alternative ending buy the next dlc ending .… Expand

great game but the last 20 min completely overshadows what good was in this game and as a result i found myself not satisfied with what could of been my fave game ever but i was left disappointing and as a result i will never trust bioware again to deliver on their promises

The last 20 minutes of the game appear as brought over from another game; without any logic or closure. A typical deus ex machina with 3 arbitrary choices, and missing is the logical expected one.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I LOVED me1 and me2. Me3 was EA caring solely about money. Day 0 DLC, Online pass, horrendous endings with no effort. A congrats you can pay more to continue. Awful, appalling. Save yourself, skip it, if I didn't get it through Gamefly I would make this the first Xbox game in my 7 years, that I would return. Shame on you,… Expand

Worst ending ever. Mass Effect has been ruined by this game. Hat's off to Bioware for destroying one of the most emotionally stimulating series of our time.

I experienced quite a few bugs, which did impact game, dialogue not working right, etc. Bottom line regardless of what you think of the endings, the build up to the "final" battle was suppose to be the best part "Save Earth", don't bother playing after 20 hours its just not worth it. Think Halo2, its just a joke how awful the back end of this game is, the missions are pathetic, the content on earth is short, and really just a total let down. So the end gameplay sucks, nothing interesting, or at least content that tries to differentiate itself from bulk, its all bland and boring. Which makes the ending options really forgettable, there is no point in playing through the game differently. So to recap, after the initial sequence on earth, there is nothing emotionally driven about the content, its all vapor, there is no challenging sections (scaled for difficulty), and the endings are loose, trival, and without an emotional connection to tie things apart, or together. I could care less if my character is killed, but its the story that ties the content together and there IS NO STORY to feed off of, 2/3 of the game had me in tears, i blew through the dialogue toward the latter stages and ending because there was nothing there. what a waste of time. I picked up ME series late, after all the DLC hit for ME2, so I knew it was a long slog and a wait to see ME3, but the content for ME2, knowing full well the inconclusive nature was much better than the, "climax" of ME3. If the bar is set high, then sometimes you get hit with the bar, I had more fun toward the end of Kingdoms of Amalur, than this game, which is a terrible mocking. ME3 end with bad taste, disappointment, and general disgust, and not cause of how the game ended, but the quality of the final battle, the lack of emotional/character content, and the complete package just sinks after such a great start.… Expand

I have to say the Mass Effect series was a masterpiece. Up until the last 10 minutes of the 3rd game. The ending in Mass Effect 3 has quite literally ruined the whole franchise for me. The ending made all the other games seem absolutely pointless to me. Seeing how nothing I did in the other games mattered in the end. I have to give it to Bioware, it must take careful planning on there part to be able to make a Bioware fanboy, who's favorite game series of all time was Mass Effect, completely hate their company and will never buy another Bioware product again. That is even before I realized that the "From Ashes Mission" was day one DLC we did not get for free. Bioware should be ashamed of what they have become. EA sell outs who have ruined every big game series they have done now, Dragon Age 2, Mass Effect 3 and Star Wars The Old Republic.… Expand

A great game up until the point when you reach the ending. Bioware improve the game play and did a great job in closing all the sub plot of the game. Even the minor characters of the first two games have a role in Mass Effect 3, but the grand finale of the story is just awful. On top of that, Bioware lied (again) to the fans. Despite what they said, itâ

RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH, RUBBISH. Anakin Skywalker says"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO."… Expand

im not a big writer so ill be short(ish). while the game starts off okey, beware its not gonna stay that way. it is plagued by bad lip sinking, technical hick ups, underdeveloped story arcs and general sloppy writing. ive heard many people nowadays say things like a patch will fix it. in my earlier years(im 27 years old now) it was never okey that a game had bug (some of which are game breaking. but nowadays the ''profesional'' reviewers are not to be trusted anymore this is the reason i signed up here today cuz i feel people should be warned about this ''game'' i was a big bioware fan owning all the games and dlc. was being the word, this game has killed that love off after the disaster they called dragon age 2, and the deafening silence of bioware on the fans negative rections. also alot has been said on the ending, ill just say that it feels like the ending belongs in another game its just bad and rushed. and as a result makes no sense.â… Expand

This game was so not what I wanted Mass Effect 3 to be that I was actually shedding tears of frustration by the end of it. As the story unfolded, I lost control of the Shepard I'd spent hours and hours creating through the first two games as he continually did and said things my Shepard would never have done, without any input from me. The narrative has a couple of really good highlights, but is weak on the whole, and the available endings are not only dissatisfying, but in many ways nonsensical. The visual and sound design are strong, but aren't enough to carry the rest. Were it not the conclusion to one of the most promising video game franchises of all time, I'd say this game was simply unremarkable. But it is, and it's beyond disappointing, offering me nothing of what I loved from ME1 but lip service. Mass Effect 3 will be remembered in infamy, if at all, and it's release definitely heralds a truth I've been fearing: the death of the Bioware I'd relied on for exceptional games.… Expand

Bioware takes particular care in bringing everything you love about the gampley and storytelly together for most of it, but ultimately renders it unnesesary, efectively turning a "free will" experience into a in-rails ending.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I was set to give this an 8, maybe higher, but the ending destroyed not only all the hard work and sacrifice my Shepard made over the first two games but my love for this series as well. To remove the choice mechanic from the very end of the game is ridiculous as it is the very thing that the series is based on. I described how it worked to people as being that with the combination of choices that could be made over the first two games then my combination was, I would hope, as unique as could possibly be in a game of this generation. That the only person playing the game I was, with my Shepard's own appearance and morality, was me. And to have that removed at the very end felt like a betrayal, like an insult, like a heartbreak. The game mechanics are fantastic, the way Shepard moves now with his combat rolls and ladder slides and his roadie-run removed my over reliance on the Adrenaline Rush power that dominated ME2 combat for me and combat felt fluid, rapid, and truly lethal when you had a kill streak running and got up close for a heavy melee move with the new omni blade. The graphics are simply beautiful. Glossy, polished and detailed in a way that gives each race a unique look and feel, not just physically but in their technology and weaponry and architecture (who wouldn't want to live on the astounding Thessia?) . The characters have never looked so good and their development over the three games is noticeable, Liara especially who went from a naive archaeologist to a hardened information broker to the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of the galaxy (and with who I may be a little bit in love with). I've never played a game in 20 years of gaming that made me feel such a connection with the world and the characters. I didn't like Ashley, I felt protective of Tali, wanted to go drinking with Garrus, and wanted to just see Liara smile. It's sad and strange and weird, but it's high praise to the people who made this engaging world that people loved to spend time in and around the characters they filled it with The voice acting is top shelf again, hats off to everyone who raised the bar compared to other games like this (there aren't many). The run up to the end is one of the most exciting I've ever played, every running battle of Earth is amazing, and brings the weight of what is happening and what your fighting for right home. The interlude to talk to and say various goodbyes to your squad carries notes of finality (in retrospect I should have seen what was coming next) as they all say their goodbyes to you and leave you to fight the last big fight that up until this moment is set to be the best action set piece of the trilogy, equal parts rousing and draining where you as player and as Shepard himself have to give everything you have to finish this fight and win the day. It starts promising, running full speed towards the conduit, in an almost carbon copy sequence from ME1 before the last level. Harbinger lands in front of you and starts lancing death rays at you. Tanks and men are brushed aside with equal force leaving you running for all your might, dodging, rolling, moving ever forward towards your goal with heart pounding in chest and a yell of defiance in your throat lost among the clamour of battle you're ready to bring it all to bear on your enemy. And then the world turned upside down. The epic conclusion to the what should have been, what could have been the greatest series of games in the modern era is stolen from you. There is no face off with Harbinger, there is no gruelling fight to get to the light of morning where victory awaits, just a watered down version of the end of Dues Ex; Human Revolution where all the choices you have made over a hundred plus hours are swept aside and completely ignored. DX;HR gave a fourth option to refuse the choices given and blow it all up. ME2 killed off squad mates you couldn't keep loyal, ME1 gave the option to have Saren kill himself if you played the game right. ME3 offers you no such victory and leaves you feeling hollow and as I said earlier , betrayed. There is no way to "win" Mass Effect 3, you get no closure on your story or those of the people you've fought, sweated and bled with over the past two games and five years, no indication of who lived or died. That was the most frustrating part of the ending, I didn't know what happened to my squad and that hurt, a lot. Mass Effect is a series of games proud of it's emotional investment that it inspires players to have in the characters. Liara isn't real and doesn't love me, but she loves my Shepard, Garrus isn't my friend, but he is my Shepard's. The universe they live in isn't my home, but it is my Shepard's, and the destruction of the Mass Relays and with it them the future of the franchise is a crass move by Bioware to kill any future it might have had.… Expand

ME1 is alot better, got to the ending and my jaw just drop..... plus day one DLC should of been added in game, if your new to ME just play the 1st and 2nd game

The last 15 minutes negates the previous +90 hours worth of gameplay. It's worse than a mediocre game, it invalidates all of the franchise. Proceed with caution.

Seriously disappointed in the end to an otherwise great series. Bought $5 and $10 dlc for all the games, and spent countless hours trying to get perfect play throughs on ME1 and ME2 only to find out that my reward was almost useless war assets. Was seriously disappointed how however you played you still got pretty much the same ending video that yet was promised that the story would branch into unexpected ways. Even more disappointed that to get the "perfect ending"( doesn't really make sense why they would say that their ending is the "perfect" one) one had to participate in multiplayer in a game that is supposed to be a story driven rpg. In summation Mass Effect 3 was not worth the $80 i spent and the 6 month delay.… Expand

Mass Effect 3 was a wild ride but the ending was like punch my (Krogan) quads. I feel utterly betrayed there was no player choice taken into account with the ending. All 16 endings were just a variation on a theme anyhow. The ending boils down to a red/blue/green selection. Don't believe me, check Youtube.

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT!

As a prelude, let me just say that I'm a writer, and I make my living writing. I've been a writer since long before Mass Effect came out, and that's a huge part of what drew me to these games. What I loved about the ME series was how masterfully the story was woven in such a way that the authors (Bioware) crafted a tale that actually permitted input from the readers (gamers) to determine how the story progressed. No matter what path you chose, the story was interesting and engaging, but your decisions always had clear consequences in the end, as the decisions of any protagonist should.

Coming into ME3, I was a little nervous. After all, with the bar being set so high with the other two, could Bioware really deliver a fitting conclusion? I mentally prepared myself for the worst. But then, as I played through the game, my fears were gradually alleviated. Frankly, the experience was Epic with a capital E. I saw how the decisions my character had made in the previous games impacted the galaxy around him. The characters came to life and drew pure emotional responses from me as the plot continued to weave itself together. But the arc of the story was clear: Shepard was not going to survive. I was okay with that, and I was ready for that. And playing through the final mission on Earth, having final conversations with all of Shep's squadmates, the writer in me was satisfied. All the loose ends seemed to be tied up. The ending was in sight, it was just a matter of seeing what exactly would happen.

I'll spare you the details, but in the last 5 minutes of what had essentially been a hundred hours (or more) of story, that story was destroyed. The sad thing is that the story all made sense, it all fit, except for that last 5 minutes. From the perspective of a player, I failed to accomplish my mission. To quote Ecclesiastes, it was all vanity and grasping after the wind. From a writer's perspective, it's like I crafted a beautifully written and engaging trilogy of novels, but made someone else who didn't know the story or care about the characters write the last paragraph of the last book.

As I played through the game, I kept thinking: "This is how video games should be." Now, seeing the end, all I can ponder is what could have been. It was so close to being perfect! But it all unraveled in 5 minutes, FIVE minutes! I didn't want a "happy" ending where Shep lives and has kids and blah-blah-blah (although the option would have been nice, admittedly), I just wanted an ending that kept in step with the series and made sense to a reasonable person. But none of the "endings" meet those criteria. It's just that simple, and just that disappointing.

The endings as they are, if accepted in a straightforward manner, are so nonsensical that anything, even a hallucination or even the Reapers winning, would be more fitting. At the very least I hope Bioware will own up to how mercileslly they butchered the end of such a great story. The optimist in me dares to hope that they actually do something about it; it would not be the first time a game was significantly changed with a patch, or that a game's ending was changed with a DLC pack. No one is going to forget the feeling of being betrayed by the end of ME3, but it would go a long way towards healing those wounds if Bioware would try to make things right somehow.

As a writer, I understand the argument that the creator of a story has the right to determine the ending as they see fit. And I think it's valid. But even in the realm of printed fiction, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle "changed his story" and brought back Sherlock Holmes after the public outcry at the character's death. Even in the realm of literature, there's room for an author here and there to admit they were wrong and change their tune. I earnestly hope Bioware decides to do the same.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. !!!SPOILER ALERT!!!
I LOVED Mass effect 3 right up until the ending which for me destroyed the replay value of the entire trilogy, since nothing I did during the three titles mattered at all in the end. It was all for nothing. The game premise is about morality, choice and submersion. You end up caring about your Shep, your crew and the entire galaxy almost like a second life outside your daily life. I know I did anyway. The concept of the game I thought, was that the choices we made helped shape the future of you as the hero, your crew and the galaxy. That idea was blown right out the airlock during the last 10 min. or so when my Shep totally caved in and accepted Star Child's three suicide choices. My Shep would never have acted like that. My Shepherd would have pulled his gun and planted on between the eyes of that stupid IA or what ever it was..I really don't know how to finish this last sentence, because the end didn't make any sense to me..I'm not really sure what happened.. Other than that, this was by far the best game in the trilogy, if it wasn't for the lazy written ending. I wanted to give this game a score of 1 just to spite EA and Bioware, but that wouldn't be fare. So I'll give it a 3. If the ending lived up to the rest of the game I would have given it a 10 no doubt.… Expand

The game was superb up till the final 15 minutes of the game. But, sadly the 3 choices of at the end just ruin it all. Either you get a green, orange, or blue light show. The so called illusion of choice it absent as well at the end. Giving the fans no closure because they just ended it! Just overall a disappointment because of the terrible ending.

It may as well have been the best game I have ever played in my life and I have been gaming all my life. Everything they do is PERFECT... until the last 10 minutes. The last 10-15min of the game is the thing I have ever come across in gaming it takes the greatest series of all time(in my mind) and just runs all 3 games into the ground for no apparent reason. Bioware has lied to and now turned on their fans who only ever truly cared about the ME series. DO NOT BUY THIS GAME WHATEVER YOU DO UNTIL... Bioware undoes the mistakes they made with the ending. Please don't pay them to screw over their fans.
Thanks you everyone. :D… Expand

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.

Mass Effect 3 is a very entertaining game that follows closely the formula of ME2, but there are several MASSIVE PROBLEMS with it. I would recommend you do NOT purchase it at this time.

If you consider yourself a loyal fan of the series, and appreciated the direction of the stories in the previous games, there is an excellent chance you will find the endings deeply unsatisfying. There is currently a campaign underway to convince Bioware to add an alternative to the current endings. You can find out more by searching for Retake Mass Effect. Multiplayer is a component Bioware decided to include with this game. Normally this wouldn't be a concern for single player focused players, but a player's participation in MP has a direct effect on your SP experience, specifically the ending. Even if you are a completionist type of player who carefully goes through the game checking everything, you may not have enough of a certain score to achieve the "best" ending if you do not play multiplayer. For those without a reliable internet connection, this is a serious problem.

The day one DLC is a sore point for many gamers. While I would not call the content "necessary" for full enjoyment of the game, your squad would seem fairly bare without the inclusion of the character in this dlc, and considering the free squadmate offered very soon after Mass Effect 2's release, there is no reason this couldn't have been free as well (aside from corporate greed, which is exactly what this is).

Finally, a smaller complaint, but one I suspect many fans will be upset about. A certain character's true appearance is revealed in this game. If you are a long time fan you will know exactly who I speak of. Let's just say the reveal is quite disappointing, and it involves photoshop. All these issues (minus the MP) are based on my own opinions. I have been a big fan of the series since the beginning, and 99% of the trilogy has been an absolute blast. I don't expect Bioware to remove or change the offenses I have listed above, but I would sincerely appreciate an alternative. If you share my opinion on some of these missteps, I would again ask that you do not purchase the game at this time. Affecting Bioware and EA's profits is the best way to voice your opinion.… Expand

The ending... is all I have to say . I have to wonder what went through their minds when making this. Did they not learn from DA2? Nope of course not because in the end when you have space magic and money who cares about the customer reaction. Very sad to see the ending of the trilogy come to this.

I have been a die hard ME fan from day one, having spent countless 100s of hours playing through nearly every class, every side mission, exploring all romances, seeing every world, and painstakingly making every choice in the anticipation of how it all would come together right now. Sadly, I share the feeling of disappointment expressed by many of my fellow gamers. ME has become a shell of what it once was. Instead of getting an in depth story with interesting characters and relationships that I care about and the feeling that every decision, both big and small, would play a part in the shape of this world, I got a straight forward action game with little depth and characters who I don't know or care about(e.g. James, Kai Leng). Every mission from beginning to end consists of your goal to gain war assets and at some point someone dies or nearly dies. Which was emotional at first, but once you realize it's happening every time it losses its affect. There is also a clear de-emphasis on everything besides the main action, you can't do a side missions until their location is unlocked through progressing in the story. Side missions consist of over hearing conversations and going to seek out what they were talking about by scanning a planet or finding it during the main quest. If the item is passed over during the main quest, though, it can be purchased cheaply later on. The other side missions have replaced the scanning/resource mini game from ME2. It is poorly executed on several phases. Before you can scan a particular planet you have to ping it, which isn't a problem unless there are reapers in the neighborhood. In which case, if you can't find it in the first few tries the reapers chase you out of the system and you have to wait before you can come back and try again. Once you ping the correct planet you have the option to scan the planet, the same as scanning planets in ME2. This is a waste of time since there is only one spot and it points you right to it and about 90% of the time it is on the opposite side of the planet. There are also no updates added to your codex or galaxy map as you attain your side mission or the items associated with them, so you will be flipping to your codex before you go to your galaxy map to find which system and planet you need to travel to, and when you find the item for the mission you'll need to either complete it immediately or have a way to remember you recovered it, otherwise there's nothing to say not to go back. The reward for completing the missions is gaining war assets which along with completing multiplayer missions affects your total readiness for the final Reaper assault. In actuality, doing these have little affect on the ending of the game, which as many have already stated is very poor. All other mini games/puzzles have been removed. There is also lack of subtlety/emphasis in your relationships with everyone around you. Very early on in the story you are either given the option or it is blatantly obvious that a particular person is going to be a romance option, and other than that, with a few exceptions (mostly Garrus and Tali), they have nothing particularly interesting to say. Multiplayer consists of a horde mode which can provide a diversion from the main story but doesn't add anything particular interesting. Biggest gripe is the randomness of unlocking new weapons/characters/perks instead of letting me use my credits to choose how I would prefer to play. The combat mechanics and graphics, aside from the ridiculous "enhanced" character models, are the best of the series, but the de-evolution of the series, the feeling of being mislead (e.g. choices affecting the game, being able to get the best ending without playing multiplayer), and the sense that a money grab played a huge part the final product (they even message they give after beating the game is more or less an urge to buy dlc) felt like a slap in the face. I understand the need to make money but not to the extent compromising the essence of something that millions of people have come to love.… Expand

Imagine you started reading a "Choose your own adventure" series of books. Then imagine you spent $180 dollars and invested over 100+ hours into the books. Imagine that you had serious decisions to make about things such as who lives and who dies in your story. Imagine that these books were very well written and full of unique encounters and situations. Then imagine no matter what decisions you made, every storyline ended the same way with a last second twist that you didn't really even care about and contradicted all the decisions you had made previously. Would you recommend these books? Would you go back and reread the books and make different decisions knowing you were going to dislike the ending and your decisions didn't matter? That's the dilemma with Mass Effect 3. It is like reading a good book/trilogy, only to find out the author didn't know how to handle all the different possibilities and ended up with one crappy ending.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. First off, there are plot-holes galore. Huge gaping plot-holes. Squad mates who were with you on Earth magically appearing back on the Normandy. Joker randomly deciding to flee before the Crucible even goes off. Anderson saying he's behind you then magically appearing in the room ahead of you. The Illusive Man appearing on the Citadel with no explanation. Etc.

Secondly, there is a complete lack of choice as to how the game ends. Nothing you've done in the previous 120 hours has any bearing on the options available to you in the end. Nothing. Your choices did not matter at all. No matter what you did you are offered three choices as to how to finish off the Reapers. They sound different, but the only difference between the three endings is that you get to watch a different colored explosion. Really, that's it. In a series that was all about real choices with real consequences this is completely unacceptable.

Thirdly, you get no sense of closure. You watch the Reaper attack end, the Mass Relays blow up, the Normandy crash land on a planet, and possibly Shepard draw a breath, proving that he lives. Roll credits. What? Are you kidding me? Is my crew just going to die on that planet? Will Shepard ever see his love interest again? What will happen to Galactic civilization without the Mass Relays? Are all the peaces I brokered between the different races meaningless now that they're never going to see each other again? (In this way choices you made hours ago are completely negated.) What about that giant fleet that gathered at earth and is now stuck there? Are they just going to starve to death? I have no idea what the future holds for all the characters I've come to care so much about.

Fourth, and perhaps most importantly, the ending goes completely against everything the rest of the series has stood for. For three games Shepard has been running around trying to convince everyone to work together against a common enemy. He has forged deep friendships with members of every species and solved centuries old conflicts (including, importantly, that between the Geth and the Quarians). They drive home the point that the Protheans were doomed by their homogeneity and that this cycle has a better chance because it consists of diverse races working together. Peaceful coexistence and cooperation are encouraged again and again and again.

Then Shepard reaches the the Crucible and the Starchild says that war between synthetics and organics is inevitable. You have three choices for how to deal with this: genocide (kill all synthetics, including friendly ones, [red]), slavery (take control of the Reapers, [blue]), homogenization (merge all synthetic and organic life [green]). Shepard responds by fighting back and saying that there must be another way. His presence there is proof that cooperation is possible. He demands another solution that doesn't involve destroying the Mass Relays or synthetic allies like EDI and the Geth. Oh wait, that's not what he does at all. HE JUST GOES ALONG WITH IT AND PICKS ONE OF THE THREE AWFUL CHOICES. Are you @#$*ing kidding me Bioware? After all that Shepard just abandons everything he believes in without a fight and picks a color coded ending? This is about as believable as your whole crew suddenly turning into cowards and running away before the fight ends.

Finally, the (only) ending is incredibly negative and depressing. If you want to say that I'm whiny and want an ending that's full of rainbows and unicorns and ice cream, fine, but hear me out. First consider how bleak the existing ending really is. The Mass Relays are gone. The civilization that you've come to know is torn apart completely. All the races you've just united really aren't going to interact anymore. The giant fleet hanging over the smoking ruin that was earth has no way to get home. Are they just going to starve to death? Where the hell is your squad? Will they ever get off that jungle planet? Are Tali and Garrus just going to starve to death (they can't eat the same food as us, remember)? We're left with small numbers of survivors cut off from each other on ruined planets. Call me crazy, but I don't think this is much better than letting the damn Reapers win.

I don't object to the fact that this ending is possible. I object to the fact that its the only ending possible. As I've said, choice is a huge part of this series. If you did things a certain way in ME 1 you could convince the final boss to shoot himself in the head. If you were adequately prepared in ME 2 you could have a 100% survival rate on a "suicide mission." If I've been a solid paragon and completed every side mission for three games straight (which I did) I want the possibility of a happy ending. Screw this "the hero has to die" nonsense. This is Mass Effect! The hero doesn't "have to" anything! I want endings that differ in respects other than color of explosions, and I want at least one of them to be somewhat happy.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Shoddy controls? Check. Dialogue that was written by a Neanderthal? Check. Graphics that would make 2009 blush? Check. Disk locked content that doesn't add jack **** to the experience? Check. An ending that breaks all promises made by the developers, shoddily closes Shepard's story arc, and only gives you a choose between what color explosion you get at the end? Check, check, and DOUBLE **** CHECK! Do not buy, do not borrow, do not even pirate, it is not worth the hard drive space… Expand

Terrible ending that ruin the whole game... The three ending cinematics are barely le the sames, only the colors are different... It's really a shame... Mass effect is dead with an ending like that.

Pretty much what everyone else is saying. Me thinks EA has some critics in their pockets. Did these guys even play the previous games? Did they get finished copies of the game, or did their versions end before the whole Citadel-gate fiasco?

This game is excellent...until the last 15 minutes or so. The ending (there is only one with different colors) destroyed one of my favorite video game franchises. Mass Effect appealed to me because the choices that you made had weight, they affected the story in a tangible way, but no matter what you did in any of the games you always get the same choice of endings. Red, blue, or green.

As a big Mass Effect fan, this game was a must have for me. I loved every minute of each game. The action in this part has improved over the second one, the graphics look better and the story is still top notch. While playing the game, i noticed my options (choices) were less than the other parts, but I didn't find it to be a big problem. The thirty or so hours were great, until I got til the ending...

Sadly but true, the series took a dive I couldn't have seen coming. The ending felt unfinished, non sensical and just plain out of place. Normally, I replay the Mass Effect series multiple times. I haven't felt like playing this one any more. The ending truly was the downfall for the series.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I had purchased Mass Effect 1 and 2 in addition to all the DLCs because the games were very good. The first one focused on the ME universe while the second focused more on your squad. They each had teething problems, but they were well done.

ME3 had some great scenes such as the Genophage issue between the Krogan and the Salarians as well as the Geth and Qurian conflict, however, after that it seemed to fall apart. It was if two different writing teams were involved. Bioware was pushing this whole idea about take back Earth, instead it was just a straight run with waves of enemies. If you felt you were going to make the tough decisions such as the ME2 sUicide mission, it doesnt even come close. You would think that all the decisions made previously, the major conflict resolution such as the Geth and krogans and the war assets would make an impact at the end. Nope, nothing they are counted as war assets which remain at 50% unless you play the coop multiplayer. They are counted as points and you don't see anything of them, except for the Krogan at the end for a brief cameo. Of course, don't get me started about the ending which Bioware lied about, essentially saying the end will be different and we won't give you a choice A,b or C, when in fact they do, instead they are red, green and blue.

I could go on, but I am sure by now, you will see the gist of it. I canal understand people who say they played the entire game including the ending, they cannot say that it was rushed or just a complete mess.… Expand

There's never been a better game with a worse ending. A crack team of N7 ewoks, defeating the Reapers by tripping them with vines, would have made for a better ending to ME3.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Yes the ending is that bad and yes the fan outrage is wholly justified. Even putting the ending aside it is by far the worst entry in the series no planetary exploration, all the side quests are fetch quests, theyâ… Expand

Lets take an incredible 3 course meal made by superb chefs, and then take a big fat steamer right on top of it. This is what mass effect 3 would be like, if it was food.

A great game, but one with an ending that is so terrible it ruins not only the whole of ME3, but of ME1 and ME2 as well. It is unfathomable how a studio like BioWare would ever think that what it incuded as the conclusion to the series would be palatable to the fans of the series who invested hundreds of hours and untold thought into tough decisions along the way. If reviewer articles included their opinions of the game's ending, score would be a lot lower.… Expand

Awesome game with great graphics, fun action and characters. Except for an awful ending that negated or ignored most things Shepard had done in the games.

My review is way too long, so here's a link to the full review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R20FQY6HQ2S1ZR/ref=cm_aya_cmt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B004FYEZMQ Now here's the beginning of my review: So, letâ

Completely killed the entire series with only three extremely poor and stupid ending choices. It doesn't matter what you do in this game of any previous games because they mean absolutely nothing.

a game that completely destroys everything you've done over the first two, it's a complete slap in the face. Not to mention the graphical issues, bugs, multiplayer being very repetitive, and other things. but the ending, oh god the ending.

I'm changing my previous review in light of the new Extended Cut. I'm changing it to ZERO!

Despite the Extended Cut this game still has the worst ending in the history of video games. They actually took the time to polish the turd instead of addressing the numerous and serious flaws in the game. Bioware has completely lost all credibility in the last few years. Not only because their new games are rushed and come nowhere near the level of excellence they used to, but because they treat their fanbase like **** and lie to them.… Expand

This game starts out well but finishes terribly. I didn't think it was possible for a story to have such powerful momentum and crash miserably into a wall. Aside from that, the game has some serious bug issues. I played ME2 on day 1 and never encountered anything quite as awful as the bugs in this game. On top of that, the side missions are a joke and I think are there just to distract you for a few minutes at a time, essentially forcing you to stick to the main story. This wouldn't have been so terrible, if the main story didn't end so terribly and lose all credibility.… Expand

A fun game with a bad ending is a bad game. I would say the same for TV show of Movie. If the last act is very poorly done. I would give low marks.. The fact the quality drops so suddenly, so late in the game is more shocking than anything else.

I would not recommend this game to anyone.

Utterly boring. The most boring game in a long time. Bioware has gone deeply downhill since EA's interference. Keep rushing games. Not much made any sense, surely not the ending.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A good game until you reach the end. The ending is so poorly written that I can not conceive it was written by experienced professionals. The ending ruins the whole series.

The game has multiple good elements but seems to fall short in other areas. Some of the minor issues include: The fact that the choices of sacrificing people to save others is trivialized by the poor presentation and that every second conversation from Shepard sounds like a poorly veiled come on to other characters.

An especially low note in the game is Kai Leng. Kai Leng is a horrible stereotyped Mary Sue which nearly ruined the game. His boss battles are lame and should never have been included. The game designers failed to follow a basic game design rule: If you don't want a PC killing a NPC then don't have them fight. Simple, no? They follow this with the Illusive Man (uses holographs instead of being there in person) but they fail with Kai Leng. Just when you thought that cliched character was the worst part the game in roles the game's ending. It involves a ghost child AI which is the citadel but was never foreshadowed. (Nor does it make sense as there would be no need for Mass Effect 1 or 2 if this was true. After all an AI secretly existing in the Citadel could easily notify the Reapers without the need of outside Reaper prompting). Besides this obvious flaw the game then presents 3 possible endings: 1) Mass murder of all synthetic life 2) Take control of the Reapers
3) A childishly simplistic option of merging synthetic and organic life without wiping all current beings. How this is possible is never explained nor does it make any sense in the end.
Also the Mass Relays are destroyed in every ending and the Normandy crashes in every ending. This is disheartening but also means that you have destroyed the main means of intergalactic transportation and destroyed every spaceship in the galaxy. Hurray? So in closing all the endings means you have saved galactic civilization by destroying all galactic civilization. WTF? This game if viewed individually would be a 6 or 7 out of ten. When viewed in light of what it does to the series a 4 is generous.… Expand

Everyone's complaining about the ending, but I don't give a **** about that. The game itself is pretty bad overall. There's almost no RPG in it and the action part is pretty clumsy and tiring. Better not waste time playing this and play Binary Domain instead if you want a good story in a GoW-like 3rd person shooter.

Being the best gaming series I have played it is a sad day when you reach the finishing line and it is as horrible as it is. I love the Mass Effect games, heart and soul and I've played them through countless times. This rating is purely to voice my utter dissatisfaction with how the game ends. I'm not one of those that want a good happy ending and it is not because of some gay sexscene (seriously, do journalists actually believe the crap they are putting out??). It is simply because the current ending (NOT endingS, mind you) makes absolutely no sense. Why is there no difference between the endings? WHY doesn't my choices make any difference what so ever. In a stroke of sheer genious BW implements transfer of savegames which all amounts to a **** nothing come the absurd end. I never write reviews but I love this game to damn much to not make my voice heard. This game doesn't deserve this, it should have top ratings.… Expand

This game series was one of the good ones, where personal decisions and actions influenced a vibrant and expansive galaxy. Unfortunately, the random freezes, overly streamlined storyline, and Dues Ex ending which disregarded everything that made this game series great sours the overall experience. Until some of the glaring issues are addressed I'd give this one a pass.

Can't believe how Bioware can get as lazy as that; they HAD 2 GREAT SERIES (Mass Effect and Dragon Age) full of potential and suddenly they become lazy, self entitled, money hungry and do stuff half way and then sell it as DLC. I mean using photos on GOOGLE? How stupid can you be? The same happen with dragon age 2, they did it lazily wanting to get as much money as possible and destroying their series. I just hope people stop buying from them so as to see if they change a bit.

ALSO NONE OF ALL YOUR CHOICES MATTERED! So mad, i hope bioware gets destroyed… Expand

this game is the flop of 2012. Mass affect 1 is rather then 3. Mass affect 1 is het best.
no more a game from bioware of EA this game is Poor writing.

I must agree with many others, the ending ruins the game. I was skeptical that the ending could indeed be as bad as everyone has claimed-I was wrong. Gone is the choice that exemplified this series. Gone is the hours of fun (not work) that preceded this game. Gone is the sense of accomplishment, however minor, that marked the completion of the previous Mass Effect games. Truly, what disgusts me about this game is I feel betrayed by the developers. The sense of control over your character's actions, and the consequences of your decisions are for naught. In the end, nothing you have done matters. If you are new to the series, flip a coin for every choice; they are meaningless. Once I was an ardent Bioware supporter, no longer. My ties with bioware are cut, beginning with credit from Gamestop for this game, followed by a cancelling of SWTOR and a refusal to play any other Bioware games.… Expand

After 7 playthrough of ME and 6 of ME 2 a nearly 400 hours and bunch of buck i spend on this franchise iË

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

The game would have been better if I waited until it was $10 because DLC is getting expensive. They made a pretty interesting platform for a game, but EA/Bioware have only a good concept of a game. After playing the 3rd of this trilogy I understand the concept. The problem without good closure for a concept is that unlike a book or movie I would not pay for an incomplete cinematic ending in an interactive game. The plot holes are not what a player should use to write his/her ending. As a dedicated fan I trusted the vision of the writers so much that I completed the first 2 games numerous times. Honestly they should have been shorter. How many times was I lead to believe my choices would matter? Before ME3 there was a lot of buzz from Bioware that I should believe my choices would matter. The choices, replays, times I wanted to engage myself with fictional moral choices were numerous, and it was that much time my life and money was wasted on these hacks.… Expand

Having played both previous ME games multiple times, this latest series feels like a complete slap in the face. I was already put out by the lack of deep character interaction, tiny team roster and military style emotionless mission grinds, but I never expected the ending to utterly destroy the ME franchise. ME3 made me a very sad panda.

The game was 10/10 until the end. The game itself had some flaws, particularly the new characters were not as fleshed out/ interesting as they could have been. But it also had some of the most satisfying, unbelievable triumphs I've ever witnessed. The Rannoch mission and its multiple conclusions convinced me that "this is the greatest game I've ever seen." Sadly, the ending killed it- but its still "bearable" as long as you can accept that you get the same crappy ending regardless of your choices in the previous or current games. Hopefully DLC will include more options/ more epicness for the ending.… Expand

The most important parts of a story are the beginning and the end. The end fails so completely that it can't be reasonably scored as an enjoyable game at all until it's fixed.

And give us Tali's face in the game, not in a damn picture. How lazy can you get? I can photoshop Tali from a stock picture from the internet myself. Years and years of game development and that's your answer to a huge reveal like Tali's face?… Expand

Don't get me wrong, ME3 is an AMAZING GAME! It's just the ending that pisses me off. I've spent five years on this franchise working hard making all the right choices in order to have a closure that suits my expectations! However, the ending made me feel as if none of that mattered! I've lost interest in continuing the game or even replay it anywhere in the near future. I was also frustrated by BW's Day-One DLC policy! It made me feel cheep! As if I'm nothing but money-milking machine for the Big Gaming Kahunas. THE ENDING MUST BE CORRECTED! BW is a great company that makes great RPG's. I'm confident that they won't disappoint their fans for long. Maybe!… Expand

Great story, excellent gameplay... WORST ENDING EVER. This feel like a slap to the face to every Bioware fan that invested time in this game. The ending could be described as follow: PAY FOR THE NEXT DLC TO KNOW THE REAL ENDING! Absolutely and terribly disappointing.

Mass Effect 3 is a mere shadow of the game that its predecessors were. There are so many glaringly poor design choices made throughout. Things that worked perfectly well in Mass Effect 2 have been "fixed" so that the overall experience is frustrating. From side quests being dumbed down to poorly updated quest entries on the journal to the limited speech options, it is almost like Bioware wanted to ruin this game.… Expand

I know the game had to end at some point, but this could have been implemented in a much better way. The writers made every decision made in the previous games, and even in this game, mean absolutely nothing. There are "multiple" ending, but all of them have the same basic outcome.

The last 15 minutes destroys the game and the entire franchise. The end contradicts the entire series and makes any future DLC irrelevant. It's far better to just pretend the mass effect series ended at ME 2.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It is with a heavy heart I feel obliged to negatively review mass effect 3, I loved the series and ME3 does everything right up until the final ten minutes. The conclusion they have provided for this loved trilogy is nonsensical, leaves glaring plot holes and hammers home the fact that nothing you have done in the last one hundred and thirty odd hours of gaming makes any difference or impact to the ending, which is ridiculous in a game where the nature of choice and consequence is a key theme.

The developers made several promises in the run up to the release, mostly revolving around how your choices would impact the ending and it wouldn't be just a "press a, b or c" ending omatic, which is precisley what it turned out to be.

It is sad that the ending ruins any inclination to replay the series, if they were to change the ending into something more linked to the themes and offering a bit more choice I would be happy changing this 1 score to a 10, as up until the final 10 minutes, the game is an awesome, emotional rollercoaster, but the current ending is so bad it completely destroys it.

Follow the Retake mass effect 3 campaign, raise some money for a great charity and maybe convince Bioware to fix what could have been a great game and an amazing send off to the series.… Expand

This should have been the crown jewel in the ME trilogy, 90% of the game play was great, but the ending stinks on ice. I also think that Miranda should have had a greater role in the game, been a member on the crew. I find the idea of her and Ash sharing a room to be comic gold. Bioware needs to improve the ending and give us what was promised, an ending where our choices make an impact. Not one where everything essentually blows up and nothing makes sense. This also needs to be a free DLC, I paid for the whole game, I have no objections to paying for extras, thats why I bought the CE, but to pay extra for the 'true' ending would add insult to injury… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Huge Mass effect fan. Took five days off of work to play Mass Effect 3. Great game until the last ten minutes of the game. Where the story does. Complete 180 and your choices don't matter. Ruins the whole build up of the series.… Expand

While I enjoyed Mass Effect 3 and would recommend it for people to try out, the ending was a crushing blow to the face: none of my decisions mattered, nothing was explained, all the endings were virtually identical, Bioware used a "in your face, deus ex machina" to wrap it all up. The ending did not stay true to the game, the trilogy or the fans. Worst of all, the ending ruins any replayability for most fans. Of course there were several positive things to the game, but since many are considered spoilers I will not be posting them. It's painful for me to do this, but since the ending is truly all that stays with you (and not in a good way) I must give this game a negative rating.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I loved the original mass effect and mass effect 2, I must've played through both at 6 times making different choices because I wanted to see how they played out in ME3. For the first 98% of the game it was great, clearly oriented towards previous mass effect fans, but great nonetheless. And then I saw the ending. We were promised multiple endings, we got the same ending with a different color explosion no matter what. We were promised that our previous choices would change how everything played out, and yet no choice we made is in the least bit relevant in the last 20 minutes or the final choice. We were promised that it would end like Lost 'with more questions than answers', and yet Shepard apparently commits space genocide because of the most flimsy excuse ever and with big enough plot holes to drive an aircraft carrier through. Furthermore there is no indication at all of how any other character or race fared after you destroy the very fabric of galatic community, so cross any kind of closure off the list as well. Apparently this is due to the writer thinking the ending needs "Lots of Speculation" but he's the one who told us it won't end with more questions than answers. If I wanted to speculate I'd never of bought the game, that's what my imagination is for. Bioware lied to us through their statements and that's just not acceptable. Furthermore since nothing I did in any of the previous games matters once I get to the end of ME3 they've retroactively ruined any replay value of not only ME3 but ME and ME2 as well. How could I possibly care about any choices in those games now when I know for a fact it's all irrelevant to how it all plays out? I'd also like to state I didn't need an ending where shepard lives happily ever after (though I do challenge the concept that a hero dying is somehow better writing), what I wanted was an ending that A) made logical sense B) reflected the decisions I'd made in some way C) If shepard had to die at least make him die for something good, not dying to kick off an era of starvation and unrest. I gave you the benefit of the doubt with DA2 Bioware, I gave you the benefit of the doubt with the day 1 DLC character, but this is the last straw. Unless they fix this I can't recommend this game to anyone, play ME and ME2 if you want, but since the way it all plays out is based on "Everyone like lots of speculation" you're better off imagining the end up yourself and saving the $60, it'll almost without a doubt still hold up better than the real ending.… Expand

Mass Effect 3 is a revamped version of ME2 combat and nothing more. Virtually none of the choices made in ME1 or ME2 are taken into account, and a fresh ME3 characters game experience is nearly identical. Plots holes and generally a lack of vision with the 3 possible endings make any invested effort a waste of time. If I had to sum the game up I would say "lazy" is about right, with a dash of "the ILLUSION of choice", since you don't actually impact the plot with your choices. The sheer number of public domain images you can google (or find on getty images) that are used in the game are shocking (is it really so hard to draw your own picture of an alien for Tali, or use some of the great user images out there? Rather than use a getty images, barely photoshop'ed picture of a human?).

The gameplay was fun. The multiplayer was the most enjoyable aspect for me. Story wise, this is not a "Bioware" game as we remember the golden era of quality Bioware games. It's just not the same company anymore. Mass Effect 2.5 is worth a rent, at best.… Expand

Mass effect is my favorite next gen console series.
but mass effect 3 is a middle finger to the fans who have loved the series since day one.
unless something is seriously done to fix this game i will never buy from bioware again.
they were my favorite company and now they are my most hated.

Worst ending to a series ever. Thanks for making none of my choices made in any of the 3 games ultimately matter. What the hell was the point either saving/destroying the collector base anyway? Oh, that's right....there was none. You know what else? What happened to the expansive dialog wheel, or even FACIAL EXPRESSIONS? Why does everyone on the game look like they are made of wax? Epic fail. Bioware has now permanently lost a customer with this mess-up. I don't say this just because of how Mass Effect 3 turned out, I say this because they have been consistently releasing ****ty games in the past few years. I guess this is what happens when you sign on to the EA team. R.I.P Bioware.… Expand

As a longtime fan of the Mass Effect series it is painful for me to give this game such a low rating. The fact is that while the majority of the game is very good, though not without its shortcomings, the finale of Mass Effect 3 is atrocious; riddled with plot-holes and contradictions, vague, unsatisfying, non-sensical, and ultimately left me feeling bitter and empty.

The most obvious strength of ME3, like previous installments, is its characters. The voice actors bring them to life masterfully (if of course you ignore the shameless inclusion of a certain IGN personality), and they are rounded and interesting enough to make you genuinely care about them. The story is fairly simple, but easy to follow, and grand in its scope; after discovering the plans for an ultimate weapon, you must rally the races of the galaxy, resolve long-standing grudges, and bring them together to combat the Reapers while this weapon is constructed. There are some exciting, cinematic moments, and it is very satisfying to see events and characters from the previous games melded into the narrative, even if some of these are only token, or cameo, appearances. The combat is very similar to ME2, with various tweaks that improve the system. It's much more challenging this time around, and I found myself constantly experimenting with my load-outs right up until the final moments.

The quest system is very poorly implemented. Many scanning side quests will be heaped on you just by overhearing conversations as you walk through the Citadel, and there is no way to track your progress. With the lack of any real context, it makes the side quests rather tedious. There are also very few characters available as squadmates, when compared to the previous games. Two of which are only available about half way through the game, and another only if you buy the From Ashes DLC. Generally, I couldn't help but feel that many elements of this game were clumsily put together, but it all seems to work nonetheless.

These gripes, however, are irrelevant when held against the ending. What truly makes it such a travesty, aside from all the ridiculous lapses in logic that the ending is rife with, (and all the lies it now seems we were told by Bioware prior to release), is that it totally overshadows and negates the many positive aspects of the series that have come before it. All the characters you've come to care about, all the relationships you've built, all the hard choices and sacrifices you've had to make, and all the problems you've solved, ultimately all mean nothing. This is the reason for such a low-scored review, and the reason why so many others are doing likewise; the aspects that made Mass Effect great are all scrapped and tarnished in the final hour in favour of a pseudo-philosophical, nihilistic, non-sensical conclusion. Bioware even have the audacity to leave you a little message after the credits role telling you to buy more DLC. Disgusting.

The 30 hours of enjoyment you'll get from most of the game are not enough to justify the final emptiness it will leave you with. It is simply not worth it.… Expand

Up until the ending, this game is an 8.5, due to a myriad a minor issues like too much auto-dialogue, a worthless journal, some gameplay issues and a weak intro. It's ruined by the ending, which really is as bad as you've heard. It's 5 minutes pretentious, non-nonsensical garbage masquerading as avant-garde, postmodernist Cosmicism that negates all the decisions you've made, forces Shepard to speak and act out of character to enact one of several virtually identical and equally ridiculous endings. It offers no explanation, no closure, no sense of accomplishment, no epilogue and makes absolutely no sense. All it does is leave the player feeling betrayed and robbed.
I can't believe this ending was created by the brilliant writers of the first two games. Oh wait, that's because it's not: those writers write for The Old Republic now. It's not enough that you're expected to pay for day one DLC, if you want decent writing you have to pay a monthly fee for their MMO. I blame EA.… Expand

Simply not worth 60 euros. I would have expected this kind of experience from some smaller and less established publisher - not Bioware. The game was in overall balless and shallow. I didn't mind the ending (although it sucked) but the fact that there were so few really good scenes in this play.

The ending of this game ruined over 5 years of Mass Effect gameplay. The developers are dishonest, deceitful, and have done an enormous disservice to their fans. The people who say they like the ending are not objective or smart enough to see the enormous plot holes and inconsistencies with ANYTHING pertaining to this game.

I have been a huge fan of the entire Mass Effect trilogy. Most of ME3 carries on the trend, allowing the player to continue identifying with Commander Shepard...until the ending. Unfortunately, all decisions, choices, actions, and events leading up to the finale have no impact on the ultimate end. In addition, though Bioware specifically stated there would be "wildly different endings" and that the multiplayer would be completely non-obligatory, those statements are false. The multiplayer is essential to gain significant war assets required for the "best" (same ending, slightly different final scene), and the "wildly different endings" is one ending with three different colored explosions that all do the same exact thing with the same exact result.

#RetakeMassEffect

Hold the Line.… Expand

pathetic ending to a great franchise. i loved all the games and played all of them. spent countless hours keeping my self updated on this franchise. but in the end they give us the worst ending in gaming history

In a vacuum, this game doesn't suck. Objectively, it was the weakest of the 3 and that is why it deserves the low rating. Therefore in context, this was just not a good game. Likely you already know the ending was so bad that it overshadowed so much of the rest of it. In an RPG, the story is kind of important to the overall enjoyment of the game. Part of the problem is that the story was so weighed down from the previous 2 games that it collapsed under the weight. Nothing was new. It was boring and predictable in quite a few places. Somehow planet scanning even got worse! Also, there were major flaws that mechanically drug it down also. I don't recall a single mini-game. It was just walking around pressing "A" button. Without giving anything away, the mechanic in the downtime makes Sheperd an eavesdropping weirdo. He just walked around like a creepy guardian angel. The multiplayer is surprisingly fun and the combat is better in someways, but on the whole, its just not as good as its predecessors. That is what I think bothers so many people. I pre-ordered the CE from amazon. Currently, I am torn about sending it back and just forgetting the whole thing ever happened. Swing and a miss.… Expand

There was something disturbingly familiar about the ending before me. the three choices was all deus ex machina

"you're the reaper, shepard"

the truth split my skull open, a glaring green light
washing the lies away.
all of my past was just pointless choices, words hanging
with no meaning.

i was the reaper

funny as hell, it was the most horrible ending i could think of.

This game does not belong on the shelves of public video game stores. It might as well be half a disk, since the disk itself you'd be getting would have essentially the same amount of content and care put into it. For all I know, the game may be fantastic. It might. However, I'll never know as long as it's incomplete.

Been a fan since the first article I read about mass effect 7 years ago. What a disappointment. ME3 has been dumbed down from the great rpg it was. I will agree that the combat is tight and smooth, but thats not the main reason why I chose to play it, even after I started to hear the ugly rumors. Had to find out for myself. "Official" reviews sing praise after praise, even while the fan base has spoken very loudly of their displeasure. I couldn't agree more, after playing through myself. I don't even want to go into what I thought about the ending. I honestly feel ripped off. Now I see bioware tap-dancing and trying to put a positive spin on a turd, while condemning people's criticisms. Chalk one up for EA. You got my 50 bucks and could care less.… Expand

A good game at first, but it has a bugged and broken quest log that can't help itself, a watered down side quest system where you just "hear" stuff while running around, RPG elements being ditched and disregarded and the ending is a borderline scam on the players. As a standalone shooter, it has a pass, but I was told I was buying a RPG where my choices mattered. In the end, the game is best returned to the retailer if you have a refund option. Shame, it could have been a great game.… Expand

This game was a major disappointment. The game itself was actually pretty good, up until the last twenty minutes or so. But the ending was so horrible that it honestly ruins the entire series. Most would say it was the journey, not the ending that makes this game amazing. But using that logic would mean that the Titanic survivors shouldn't have anything to complain about. It was the journey they should remember, not the ending where the unsinkable ship sank in the cold dark depths of the ocean. This game is a rental at best, if you are a fan of the series don't even bother playing it.… Expand

This is a true disappointment. It would be easy to blame a generic deus ex rip off ending for my disappointment or day 1 DLC that was poorly handled. Or even the insulting ABC choices that lead to the same cut scenes. In reality, the problems come from a shift in design and goals of a company that once triumphed the greatest RPG's the world has ever seen. It's a problem of sacrificing what you're best at not for the sake of innovation, but for the sake of being more appealing. When this happens, the little things that make a game great get missed. For instance, Mass Effect moved from twelve squadmates to six (unless you bought the DLC so I'm not counting it). This was supposed to give greater conversation in the mission and lead to a more intense interaction. But that was not the case. Further, when you do re-encounter old squadmates, they don't even join you for a single mission. They may follow you around the citadel, but never do you get the full interaction; it feels rushed and forced. Another major loss is that of actual side missions. Where once I traveled to planets and few to the surface to retrieve key items, I now scan a planet while reaper chase me like the ghosts from Pac-man. There's no exploration. Multiplayer was obviously tacked on to prevent us from selling the game back. But most insulting of all is the fact that Bioware lied. Straight up, unmistakably lied. They promised no ABC ending and that's what they gave us. They promised complete resolution and they left thing purposefully cryptic. It's not the fact that they did these things; it's that they lied. "There are many different endings. We wouldnâ… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. i was so upset by the ending that i moved the cover behind all my other games so i couldint see it.....
and even if the indoctranation theory is correct that means my mass effect universe is screwed because i would of chosen the controll or synthesis endings NOT the destroy ending… Expand

Mass Effect 3 is the culmination of all your adventures as Commander Shepard. Unfortunately, Bioware screwed the pooch with the worst ending to anything ever. All your choice in the first two games? Irrelevant!

Did you want to feel a sense of triumph? Too bad, you get to choose between lime, blueberry and cherry flavors.

On top of it all, the hacks at Bioware defend this steaming pile with claims of "artistic integrity". EA (the worst company in america!) lets its PR dogs out, to get companies to call gamers entitled. The only positive to come out of the fiasco of this game is the farce of gaming "journalism" has been exposed

Multiplayer is designed to frustrate you into spending money, unlike other games where you choose your unlocks, or are rewarded for play style , you're at the mercy of a random number generator here. And when you really think about it, since nothing in SP matters, MP doesn't matter either

Never has being a gamer been more detestable… Expand

The game at all is reasonable but the Ending DESTROYS everything.
All choices along ME1 and ME2 really doesn't matter... the ME2 choices about collector base etc .. they are ignored. BioWare said that would be 16 different endings, but what we got was 3 different colors. RED BLUE or GREEN.

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

Why am I giving a 0?

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

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

If I wanted to play make a Gears of War i would bought GoW. BioWare and EA are destroying every game they have. I feel sorry for them and for us cause we are losing a great developer. EA SUCKS.… Expand

Mass Effect 3 presents a text book example of "Just finish it so we can sell it." The game is riddled with cut corners; Be it sprites in the game, stock photos, plot holes deep enough to fit the Reaper Armada in, and content cut from the finished product, everything combines to paint ME3 as a sloppy, unfinished product. The gamplay is the average coverbased shooter that ME is known for. The RPG elements for the game are surprisingly better since ME2, more reminiscent of those found in ME1. The writing in the game is, like I said earlier, riddled with plotholes but still offers fleeting moments of genuine goodness which makes me wonder if someone else was in charge of them. And of course, there's the ending. Pre-release comments stated that ME3's ending wouldn't be just "an A, B, or C choice" and that "player choices would really matter", these statements are completely false. The game ends based on a final A, B, or C choice resulting in virtually identical endings, differing only in color. Mass Effect 3 dies not with a bang but a slow whimper that begs to just be forgotten.… Expand

Best game so far this year but the ending ruins rest of the trilogy. They changed the theme of the story at the last 15 minutes and does not belong with the rest of the game. Tons of plot holes in the end scene. Ignores the story and lore of the rest of the trilogy. The endings do not live up to the promises made before release. Less dialogue choices. They made the game less of an RPG and more 3rd person shooter. Rest of the game is great but ending weighs my score down.… Expand

Terrible ending, devolution of game play, auto dialogue.. It's clear EA wanted this game made to cater to the most broad, widest, biggest, general audience possible and in doing so destroyed what made the game good to begin with. The unique setting,story, and character interaction blended with third person shooter action made Mass Effect 1 and 2, two of the greatest games of all time, and lead to Mass Effect 3 being one of the most anticipated games of all time. Despite the great critical and commercial success of the first two entries in the ME trilogy that most game developers could only dream of, EA and Bioware wanted to broaden the target audience to appeal to a much wider demographic, and in doing so, shot them selves, and the ME fiction in the foot; effectively killing what could very well have been the greatest trilogy of games the medium had ever seen. The uniqueness of the game, and cohesion of the story, were sacrificed for something that only die-hard, mountain dew chugging Michael Bay fans would be proud of.

In their commercially driven motivation for Mass Effect 3, Bioware made the mistake of thinking that making the game more like the handful of other action-oriented shooters out there would make this game better; which was a tremendous mistake. the unique blend of story, characters, player driven narrative, impactful decisions made by the player, and solid TPS action is what made the game so popular. Attempting to make the game like every other TPS game out there, turned a master piece into just another bland, white/black, piece of gaming mediocrity. The most sad part of it all, is just the fact that had they stayed the course, the ME universe wouldve remained a cash-cow for years and years to come. EA has showed incompetence on a major level in the past 5 years of gaming, and their lack of foresight on this game alone goes above and beyond "dropping the ball". This kind of blunder in any other industry would see entire executive boards sacked, and call for serious coming-to-jesus meetings within the company to determine where they went wrong and how to make it right. Time to stop focusing on marketing, and start actually making good games. Just because the critics on game review sites THAT YOU FUND, think your game is perfect; doesnt mean anything.… Expand

I am tired of being nickel and dimed by greedy companies. They should have just added ten bucks to the price of the game. Although I enjoyed the ending I would have liked it ten dollars cheaper.

I cannot believe this is what happened to the series. I made three different Shepard's, plugged in hours crafting each one for a specific play through. I held off on playing the game until I was done with this semester of classes because I wanted to seriously throw myself in. I've been dreading it because of what I've been hearing about the fiasco of an ending. Well I finally sat down and played it, DAY 1 DLC included on my purchase because EA believes unfinished games being released are a great way to introduce content. Well never again.

I have been following Bioware since knights of the old republic and I've enjoyed nearly every game (Dragon Age 2 excluded) flaws and all. Mass Effect 3 however, has somehow managed to instill a serious and incredibly ANNOYING sense of betrayal. How can a game company betray me? I'm not asking as though, "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS ME BIOWARE??" It's more, "No no this makes no sense, you are not an individual capable of actually betraying me Bioware, you are a game company. The concept is ridiculous." But even so! It's as if an old friend suddenly spit in my face and left smiling after I handed him seventy dollars. It's that feeling that has me just so disgusted that I would even feel like that over a video game. I was genuinely invested in this series and now I'm left just mulling over from time to time how horrible it was at the end.

My choices didn't matter, my time put into the series had no real effect on the outcome. Killing or saving the Rachni Queen has no real impact. Uniting the Geth and the Quarian's has no real impact. The replay value of this game in my opinion is non-existent. My three Shepards have no genuine purpose other than to succumb to the will of a genocidal star child that shows up at the last ten minutes of the game. Why are there such massive plot holes in this final installment? If the Mass Relays exploding don't wipe out billions of lives and strand countless more can't the writers see how sloppy their work is? I've never made a review before, and this is my first time posting on metacritic. This final game to a wonderful series has left me with a bitter taste and a hole in my wallet. My opinion may not matter EA, but my loyalty and money once so freely given to Bioware will be taken elsewhere. I strongly suggest others do the same.… Expand

Too have spent hours playing across three game, just to be able choice the color of an explosion and weather or not Joker has his toy, is just wrong.

Hate ME3 with a passion. I swallowed ME2 because the non-existing storyline was compensated by great characters (Mordin, Garrus, Thane, Samara, Illusive Man). All the major characters in ME2 are irrelevant to ME3, because all but one becomes brief, un-join-able NPCs and their deaths are inconsequential to the story. While Tali returns as playable, her role is moot in the storyline. What is worst is that all the new team members are bland.

The Collector story from ME2 is pointless other than vaguely explaining indoctrination and introducing the Illusive Man, who goes from a major protagonist to antagonist in ME2 to a side character in ME3. He even went from a racist to a racist who turn himself to another race. Ironic?

Bioware ripped out the great character developments in ME3 and left us with a bad story. "Hey guys! I found something that looks like a blueprint to something. It might be a weapon but we don't know. This blueprint is from a race that was wiped out by the very entities threatening us, so we should gamble and put the entire galaxy's resource into building it!." WORST PREMISE EVER! The details of the device should have been placed before the making than after the making of the device!!!

What the hell was Shepard doing for the past 6months or a year between ME2 and ME3? I can keep going like the story of IT, But all the other bullcrap can be viewed in bioware's social forum. Bioware you disappoint me. Time for me to go back to Bethesda.… Expand

While the story, voice acting, and cinematics may be great, it still doesn't make up for the fact that as a game it is horrible. In ME2 they went for a more tactical combat approach and it worked. This time they tried to throw in some Gears of War style faced paced action into the combat and it completely screwed everything up. Every battle field is littered with cover that your character gets on the wrong side of half the time, and there is so much debris it makes it nearly impossible to navigate, even outside of combat. To make things even more difficult, the controls are clunky, making it even further difficult to move anywhere.
Another thing that ruined the tactical combat is that in half of the combat scenarios, you have enemies flanking simultaneously from literally every direction, making it nearly impossible to stay alive even on the easier combat settings.
Every single combat situation is nothing more than a clusterf***.
There are tons of side missions, which I love! But alas, they screwed that up as well. There is so much dialogue it is impossible to keep track and even decipher all the tasks you're given. The mission journal offers little to no information on objectives, and don't ever update as you progress.
This is an incredibly disappointing game. Were I to hold it up against the other games in this franchise, I'd have to give it a 1 out of 10. But to be fair I've graded it on it's own, not up to the hype or expected greatness Bioware commands. Ultimately the game feels unfinished. They focused so much on the dialogue and story it feels like they only got half way through testing the actual gameplay then shipped it to market. I can't imagine it is even fixable through patch. Shame on you EA and Bioware for such a pathetic display.… Expand