Utterly breathtaking visuals. The levels/areas are just so incredibly detailed and grand in scale, but that seems to be theme of the game as a whole: Grandness. For me this game was a light step down from the last two games. It just didn't feel like you had the same sense of freedom that Mass Effect 1 & 2 offered you. But, I do get that it was the point and due to the narrative. The story is just beyond grandness and it just builds and builds until ...... you get a really anti-climatic ending?! Thankfully the Extend Cut DLC does fix this and gives the ending it should have gotten (even though they still could have done better.) Overall: A fantastic finish to a wonderful trilogy and I look forward to where Mass Effect franchise will head to next.… Expand

A beautiful, thrilling and flawed conclusion to the Mass Effect trilogy. ME3 does not disappoint when it comes to intense action set pieces and an epic story. The abundant drama in this game feels earned after playing the previous games in the series and it is nice to see the decisions made in those games impacting on this one. Multiplayer is a surprisingly effective addition, with a great range of character classes, races and unlockables to keep you hooked. The main problem with ME3 is the character interaction. Shepard's team is not as memorable as before, with few new faces onboard. Conversation options with them are fairly shallow and you miss the loyalty missions of ME2. The exclusion of the latter is understandable since Shepard is on a tight schedule to stop the Reapers. But it is still disappointing. Overall, though, I still greatly enjoyed playing this game and hope to play it again soon. Mass Effect has been the greatest video game trilogy of all time and ME3 is a worthy end to the saga.… Expand

Continuing from the events of the previous game Mass Effect 3 opens with the Reapers attacking Earth and, having narrowly escaped with his life, Commander Shepard yet again finds himself as humanity's last hope for survival. Series veterans will be instantly familiar with the games concept in which a series of core and side missions can be accessed from the Normandy's galaxy map. This time around however it is not just a case of recruiting allies to your cause. Depending on how each mission is handled vital resources, such as fleets of warships, can be gained to aid in the final battle against the Reapers. As has always been the case many of these missions allows for a great deal of freedom with a number of, sometimes very difficult, choices being afforded to the player. The series strong combat remains virtually unchanged from the series second entry and still plays like a simplified version of Gears of War. Responding to audience criticisms a number of features have been tweaked however. While the popular Mako may not make a return the weapon and armour customisation has returned and the dull planet scanning all but removed. For the first time in the Mass Effect series multiplayer has also been included. To be honest it offers only a minor diversion from the main campaign with only one mode (imagine Horde mode from Gears of War or Halo) and six small maps to play in co-op with up to three other players. Since the playing multiplayer aids in preparing for the Reaper assault in the main game however it is worth investing some time in.

And so to the much criticised ending to the game. In my personal opinion some of this criticism is justified as it certainly leaves several plot holes and very much jars with the philosophy of Mass Effect. A few fans have certainly gone overboard however as when you consider the huge influence you are able to wield throughout the game the disappointing final ten minutes in no way spoils the 20+ hours that come before or the epic series as a whole.… Expand

Okay the ending sucked bloody balls! But guys forget about those last 15 Minutes, think of the fun you had with this game before those last 15 minutes, great gameplay, story and many other great things. If only they din't strew up the ending, this game would be almost as good as Mass Effect 2. So far my game of the year but with the ending... I don't think it deserve's it. But I ave high hopes for Halo 4 , Borderlands 2, Far Cry 3 and many other games. Mass Effect 3; 9.0/10… Expand

The galaxy is at war, the Reapers have begun their harvest of all sentient life in the galaxy and only you can stop them. Shepard must assemble his remaining crew members and the rest of their species to form together as a resistance and stop the Reapers. With a 30+ hour story, excellent shooting & RPG mechanics make Mass Effect 3 a fantastic end to the trilogy. The best sci-fi saga in years and one everyone should experience.… Expand

Undeserving of the unanimously negative user scores its receiving, Mass Effect 3 is a fine game, but is hampered by some sloppy writing and laziness on the behalf of the developers. Irritating things include not being able to import my custom Shepard face from a two year old savegame and some immersion breaking bugs (helmets on, helmets off) but despite this stuff, it's still fun to play, which I guess is the most important part. For the sake of a few important details, BioWare have released a game that is above average, when it could have been so very much more.… Expand

Mass Effect 3 could easily have scored a 10, could have been an absolute epic, a poignant storyline in which it felt that you and all the characters within the game mattered and all played their part in shaping the future of the universe. I even thought that a trilogy of movies was possible, however this game is let down by two things, one minor and one major. The minor is the loading times/screens, too many and too often but I could have lived with this as I was so engrossed in gathering my troops for the final battle for earth. The major problems is the ending. It's all over most boards and discussion groups across the net so I'm not going into it in details suffice to say that I felt robbed after playing through three games and hundreds of hours....this is the best that could be developed......what a cop out!!!… Expand

Here we go. My most anticipated game of this year. I have been waiting for this game since Mass Effect 2 mentioned it on its loading screen. I have been playing for 25 hours. I have completed it. From my reviews of the previous Mass Effect games, I highly regard them as one of the greatest Sci-fi stories of this generation and of all time. To make it short, I am a huge fan of this Sci-fi video game series. Mass Effect 3, for the past 4 months, have consumed me with anticipation and hype and I can tell you that for the most part, it was worth it but let me remind you to put emphasis on "the most part". Mass Effect 3 is a great game. The gameplay is the best in the series, the scope and ambition is huge, the story is still great and the characters are still great. All that is probably the big bulk of the game. But I am hesitating to my own surprise. After completing it, I felt completely bitter sweet. It wasn't horrible but It wasn't satisfying. I have read the comments made in this site about the game's ending and how it was a complete let down. From all the the comments, I was still confident that Bioware wouldn't disappoint with the ending of a prolific 3 game trilogy. To my own dismay, the thing that completely prevented me from giving this a 9 or 10 was the ending. It wasn't bad but it gave me such an empty feeling and I didn't like it one bit, especially when I have been lovingly crafting my story ever since the beginning. It felt so abrupt and it made me feel like all my accomplishments from the previous two games and my play through of ME3 inadequate and it left a lot of questions hanging for this series. Maybe its just me. Maybe this is the ending Bioware was planning since the beginning of the game and I wanted a satisfying ending because my Shepard has been working his/her (I have two Shepards) ass off. I wasn't satisfied at all. I have read theories about the ending that made me hopeful but as of now, they're still theories, not facts. The only positive thing that I could say about it is that I have never seen an ending quite like it and doesn't follow the typical Hollywood like ending which made me respect the ambiguity of it. Other than the ending, there are other problems the game suffers from. The dialogue option is very dumbed down to my surprise. If you want a conversation with your squad made on your off time, you only get the option wheels when at certain points of the story. The option wheel is dumbed down as well as I felt there was less dialogue options than in the previous games and the quick time paragon/renegade trigger and the charm/intimidate options are very occasional. All of this makes a very linear story that gives you smaller options on what path you can choose. There are still bugs from the previous games that ME3 suffers from like the random lighting, slow texture resolutions and occasional lag. Oh and the lip-synch is quite off too. The ending is the thing that most people and fans have been complaining about and I agree but unlike most of them who gave this game a straight 0 because of the ending, I still enjoyed this game. I love the story in this game, albeit the bitter sweet ending and it can be very intense, especially when you're doing Priority missions where you gather the entire galaxy for war. The combat is fantastic and will test your strategic skills when having gun fights. The characters are still the characters I know and love from the previous games, some matured from the past 2 games. Garrus is still my loyal sidekick and best friend, Joker is actually at his funniest in this game because I was laughing at his jokes and comments all the time and Liara is still one of my favourite video game heroines. Even when the dialogue option is dumbed down, it was still fun hearing conversations from the npc's. The multiplayer is fun but Mass Effect 3 doesn't really need it and I know that Bioware intended to put multiplayer in the series since the first game. Before I end this review, I should probably mention the one day DLC. I do agree that it is steep in price and felt like a cop out. The mission was absurdly short for a DLC and the character squad mate that you get should have been in the main story but to be honest, I really like the Prothean squad mate. I think he's probably one of the best squad members I have ever recruited because he's pretty much a walking renegade on vengeance mode. Shame you have to buy him (if you bought the game in standard). Overall, this game is really good. It could've been great if not for the bitter sweet, empty pay off it gives you after all your hard work, especially if you've completed the previous games and its limited choices you can make but it's combat, characters and progressing story makes up for it. I'm glad I waited for it and I'm glad that I played it.… Expand

Ignore all of the idiots hating on this game. They are trolls and probably never even played the game. The truth is, this might be the single greatest game in the history of gaming. People complain about the ending, and while I was a bit disappointed, if you actually played all of the game and made the necessary decisions required, the ending you got wasn't perfect but it was still outstanding.

What can you say about a game so perfect and amazing that it makes all other RPG and action games look bad.Except for Skyrim,there is nothing made to date that even compares to this game.Look,the war scenes sound better than any war game ever made,more real, more authentic and that's just the sound part of the game.If you go into this game without ever playing past Mass Effect games then you come away from your gaming session,blown away beyond belief running to the store to get Mass Effect 1 and 2 on the 360 just to play,go into circles with your choices,let downs,saves,changes,ect..Then you start over,make different decisions and see another game.Now,if your involved and your ready for the next episode then your going to be in disbelief not expecting what's in store for you.I can't praise this game enough.They are very different kinda games but if you had me choose between this game and Skyrim,I wouldn't bat an eye to tell you to get that other shxx out of my face and give me my mass effect trilogy.I guarantee everyone that there will never be a trilogy EVER like this one in the rest of gaming's future.Mass effect 3 is nothing less than PURE GENIUS!10...10...10...10… Expand

I absolutely loved Mass effect 1 and 2, the character interaction, the combat and the story were sublime, mass effect 3 delivers this experience in a very mediocre fashion, while playing, I didn't feel the rush I felt when playing Mass effect 2, I felt like I was really in control of what I did, whereas in Mass effect 3 I feel like some of the choices were made for me, there seemed to be less conversation options and I feel like I had less control. The ending was absolutely horrid and did not conclude ANYTHING, in the way it should have. This however was "fixed" by the extended cut DLC which was free, but I more or less knew how the endings would be with the extended cut before it came out, **** covered in sprinkles, it relieved a lot of anger for some people, but not for me, its not a fitting ending at all, I think this game could have been so much more. Overall I did enjoy it, but nowhere near as good as the previous installment in the trilogy.… Expand

this is dumb dumb even with total bad ending the even more problem to it the kinect feature on 360 does not do what we ask it when you say player name advance to attack stay back etc then when u use words like ok let go say it sometimes it pick it up

I score reviews based on how I feel about the game after finishing it, and it is very, very difficult to see past the terrible ending, multiple plot holes, and the utterly stupid "big reveal" of the Reaper's motives in Mass Effect 3. The ending, coupled with the Day 1 DLC (which is wrong no matter how you spin it) really leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The way it's presented makes no sense whatsoever and runs completely counter to the idea that your choices throughout the game matter. The ME series spans 5+ years of generally excellent media, and for it to end in a three way deus ex machina like it did is just mind blowing. It sucks saying that, because the 90% of the game leading up to the end is really, really good, even if it played more like a 'best of' compilation than a completely new game. A quick note about the multiplayer: it's *kind of* good, but in other ways it's really, really bad. Gameplay wise it's a fun (if overpowered), Halo-esque shooter, but the community is beyond terrible, kicking players who are just starting out or have a low N7 score, and verbally berating those who either do too well or too poorly. Also, based on what happened to Mercenaries 2 when EA shut down it's servers, I have little hope for the future of ME3.… Expand

10/10, endings included. I completely understand the ending leaving people feeling hollow, and for that I am sorry. It's obvious to me now that the majority of people do not understand the endings and how they work into the universe. What Bioware has done is both a writing and marketing masterpiece, leaving an entire series of dedicated fans continually discussing permutations and possibilities. I am certain we will see 'the Truth' in some form of DLC, and that makes me all the more excited. If you want an immersive experience and an excellent (albeit unfinished) conclusion to an amazing sci-fi series, get this game. And please, take every little detail in, no matter how small. Hopefully, you will comprehend the masterpiece that Bioware has provided us.… Expand

If you consider the free DLC of the ending, or at least I guess that it is free, this is one of the best games eva. Although I hate EA. Graphics isnt the thing that really matters in this game, but they are pretty good anyway. Pick it up for a long time spend at your X360 ;)

As with the first the first two titles,Mass Effect 3's strength lies in its story,universe and characters.Though the combat elements have improved,the series will never be remembered for it.Some RPG elements have returned but there seemed to be far less choices,renegade/paragon qte's and exploration in this game which is disappointing.Also the new secondary mission structure was in turn,repetitve,boring and at times confusing with all missions jammed into a single list.Side missions consist of scanning for stuff,then returning it to the Citadel or gaining War Assets.How dull...As for the multiple endings,it pains me to state that the endings I've experienced are totally unsatisfactory.The final choices are little different and game quickly ends without giving real closure.A minute or two worth of cutscene is a disgrace.I gave the first two games 10.Despite the excellent lore,characters and dialogue,as well as the good combat,this one is not getting that.… Expand

This Game needs a couple of lable warnings MULTIPLAYER AND PURCHASED DLC REQUIRED FOR THIS GAME. The final chapter of a very endearing series, to me, left me mostly disappointed. There is no transition in the beginning of the game from ME2 to ME3. You are given a huge plot hole to start the game that took me about ten hours worth of game playing to move on and get over it. The graphics are the same except that it has a much darker look closer to the original ME1. . The weapon's inventory system is mostly about giving you different benefits and not so much on upgrades. Just like ME2, you can only add upgrades to Shepard's armor and it is also all about having different benefits. The rest of the game plays out like what you expect from Mass Effect; get missions, blast away enemy, have some engaging cutscenes for the conclusions. Combat is definitley better. It finally ranks up there with the other top third person shooters. As far as story goes, Bioware still shows why they make the best "interactive cinematic experiences with a more intricate storyline backed up by great voice acting. But in this game, interactive takes a back seat to watching more cinematic cutscenes. The Love Interests don't make an emotional connection in any meaningful way. And the ending? There isn't any that will revel to you your final decision. I feel for the other fans to have to end the series like this. For me, it was disappointing.… Expand

Well the games 80% off in my local store, but due to the hype by the industry hacks and the real gaping plot holes and micro management payments to get a good ending pointed out by real gamers. First time I have review a game that I have not played, because I am too put off to even buy in the first place!? Oh well it is EA so what can you expect...

This is a very fine third person shooter. great graphics, fine gameplay, but very poor use of kinect, no great multiplayer. Buy with major caution..

Let me explain to you what all of this hype is about: the ending. The last 10 minutes. I mean, until the ending, the game was O.K., not as good as the rest of the series, but still pretty good. AND THEN THE ENDING. IT WAS HORRIBLE. HORRIBLE. HORRIBLE.

Very few times in gaming history has a title received so much controversy, so much vitriol, and been the subject of the undiluted ire of so many gamers. The source of the fury? The ending to a five-year, three-game story arc that had, by that point, drawn in so many gamers that it had transformed from game series into legend...it had literally undergone the Halo Effect, where an under-the-radar game ends up being such a huge franchise and dynamo of its own that it begins eclipsing itself. But the difference lies in the games: where Halo is a shooter with a lot of story laid into it, Mass Effect is fundamentally a story with a game built through it. Halo would have to try hard to screw up; as long as it provides the action and the intensity, it wins. Mass Effect never had it so easy. But that doesn't forgive what happened with the finale. Mass Effect 3 is, and may well end up being the textbook example of, a game that was set up to be great, only to be destroyed by the marketing department. The original ME laid the groundwork of a story where the player's actions MADE the story, DECIDED the plot, and were the end-all and be-all of the game. There were so many directions for the plot to go, all decided by the player. ME3 was the original ME's evil twin: a game that started off with hundreds of possible threads, only to ultimately file down to a single possible outcome, a game where all of the player's decisions, past and present, were rendered irrelevant. A great game was sacrificed on the altar of Marketing, as they tried to turn Mass Effect into something it wasn't: a mass-appeal shooter. The mutation began in the second installment, as shooter elements began overtaking role-playing elements. We gamers took this in stride, accepting the changes as some streamlining and minor changes (and, truthfully, some of the elements removed or changed were never our favorites). But something else happened: the storytelling began to be streamlined and dumbed-down as well. ME3 just finished ME2's trajectory -- straight into the dirt. In the quest for money (by trying to appeal to the largest audience), they converted Mass Effect into a nearly-brainless shooter, one which was loosely tied together with story in the game, and required story-seekers to look outside the game for real content -- they turned it into Halo: a game with a massive backstory that is only visible in the game if you know to look for it. Of course, all of this was prior to the Extended Cut DLC -- the amazing concession the gaming industry made to the Voice of the Gamers...which, really, was just placating enough to keep the masses of gamers from taking their beloved money elsewhere. EA knew it was in danger of alienating millions of money dispensers, and sought to make enough amends to avoid losing that cash. Overall, however, after all the changes the game has undergone, while it's still not particularly worthy of the Mass Effect mantle, ME3 is no longer the total pariah it had been. Decisions are back to having some value, and the previously-mandatory mobile game's value has been decreased, bringing fate back into the hands of the game...mostly. I held off on writing a review of this game when the Extended Cut was announced, otherwise it would've been another "boycott EA" pitchforks-and-torches rant. Now, while I'm still not pleased with the game's conclusion, it's not horrible, either, and at least does enough of a job to warrant a mediocre rating. Taken on its own, perhaps it would be considered a better game. But that's not possible. ME3 is part of a series, and a heavily connected series at that. If one of the Halo games had been a dud, it wouldn't significantly impact the others or the series as a whole; they just fix it next time, and judging it against its peers is unnecessary. But ME3 has to be held against the standards set by its predecessors...and it doesn't. Compared to the games that came before, ME3 just doesn't have what it takes to stand alongside. No matter what changes they made to the ending, it will always be a step behind. Thanks, Marketing department. Next time, stay out of the development process.… Expand

While Mass Effect 3 has been on the end of some, lets face it, pathetic criticism lets get one thing straight; Mass Effect, as a series, has never been more than a stellar plot with solid, but not exemplary, game mechanics pushing it along. I understand a LOT of people will be frustrated with Mass Effect 3 an its shoddy delivery but lets grow up a bit shall we? As I said the gameplay as always been basic and functional at best, and Mass Effect 3 deliveries the best game play experience of the trilogy. Its still not brilliant, but it is better. Plot wise I will agree that the ended is quite ham fisted, and liberties have been taken with continuity for the sake of accessibility. Making it the weakest of the series from a story telling perspective. So Bioware have got it nearly half right, and as a result have created a half decent and dreadfully over hyped game. Wait for a price drop, or rent if you must.… Expand

Mass Effect 3 is the perfect ending to a masterful trilogy that's gone from strength-to-strength with each title. It's the conclusion you're hoping for, with each decision demanding that you think twice before pulling the trigger. Thanks for the memories, BioWare... It's been emotional.

To say that Mass Effect 3's ending is polarising would be a great understatement. You either love it or hate it. That said, the ending does not render the rest of the journey null and void. The 30-odd hours it'll take your Shepard to reach the conclusion of this game rank amongst the most memorable experiences in gaming history. Wonderfully fleshed-out characters, beautiful alien worlds and a rich universe have always been trademarks of the series... and the ending does little to diminish the fact that the Mass Effect trilogy is one of the best sci-fi properties ever created. Films such as Star Wars, Star Trek and Alien have crafted amazing worlds... but none have allowed you to create your own place in the universe quite like Bioware's trilogy.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. One of the first games I can remember truly enjoying was Twisted Metal II. The gameplay was okay and the graphics were fine for the time. But what really caught my attention is that each character had his or her own unique ending. They weren't even CGI cut scenes. I mention this, because this is what I want and why I play videogames; for a compelling and interactive story. With Mass Effect, I was drawn in by the story and the fact that I was able to choose my future. When Mass Effect 2 made my decisions apparent, I relished the though of fighting the Reapers in a galaxy that I helped construct. Over the course of the first two game I invested hundreds of hours (with six completions of the first game and twelve completions of the second game including one just to see everyone die). I have a deep emotional investment in this universe that Bioware created. So I do not relish being so critical of the completion to such a rich history. To begin: the gameplay has been improved. Weapons each have an individual feel. Choosing your weapon become a balance of what feels right and what is the most effective. It also affect how you determine your character's skills. Speaking of which, the RPG element of character development have returned. You now not only have a choice of which powers your character have and use, but the characteristic of those powers. This improves upon the strategy during combat as your powers are now adapted to how you want to play. In combat movement and power are more fluid once you adapt to the changes. Th kinect makes it faster but you can still slow the action and formulate strategy. Finally, the story is amazing... for the most part. Moments like Mordin ascending to the top of the spire or Tali removing her mask on her home world or just Captain Anderson and Shepard sitting together looking down on Earth quite literally brought tears to my eyes. I lost it upon the realization that Thane's final prayer was for me. But as much good as the story brings, there is disappointment. A story is as much the ending as it is all other components. If the ending is not rich and full, it tears the audience away from the experience. It leave a bad taste. And the potential endings (of which I have experience three) are lacking in fruition. They seem to destroy as much as they attempt to save... Further, all my efforts building a force seems to do little in the grand scheme of things. There is also very little closure for my friends and for the entire universe. I don't need everyone to live happily ever after, but I want to know who lives and who dies, how the galaxy is shaped, and I want to see all those forces I obtained fighting to the last stand. I didn't get any of that. Further, there were faces missing. Kal Reeger dies heroically without so much a a hello. No Fisk. Very little interaction with the council which I thought would be flushed out. And Grunt's cameo was only a single mission. He disappears after one interaction without so much as a "Stop and see me on the citadel before I ship out." There were also some other minor issues as far as choices. Not being able to remove the helmet on the full armor sets, having less weapon customization than Alpha Protocol, no armor enhancement, and fewer interactive conversations with the crew (like Tali being drunk or any interaction with Zaeed). Plus, what happen to the paragon and renegade opportunities? Mass Effect is not a bad game. It's enjoyable. But as a hardcore fan it's also a disappointment. With how much time and emotion I invested in ME 1 and 2, this should have been an easy 10. While ME3 managed to improve in so many areas, it fell short in some of the very areas that made the other two so compelling: a character driven story where my choices matter. Perhaps it was too large; Bioware may ave created something that was so big they couldn't live up to the conclusion that everyone wanted. But I can't help thinking it could have ended so much better.… Expand

I honestly don't know why everyone is complaining... I've been following this series since Mass Effect 1, and this final installment does not disappoint.

People are rating this game bad based on things to do with, Homosexuality,day 1 DLC, and other stupid reasons. First of all, the day 1 DLC is not mandatory, it's just a DLC that feeds you more of a side story then anything else, and they made this AFTER they finished creating the game. What difference does it make if they release it on day 1 or waiting a month to release it? The DLC has nothing to do with the main quest, it isn't vital. The people giving this game a 0 shouldn't review games, because I'm sure this game is better than a 0 or even mediocre. Most people giving this game a 0 haven't even played the game or they say the story sucks but they also say that they only played a few hours of the game. First of all complete the game before reviewing it. That is like rating a movie based on it's trailer. I'm not reviewing this game, because I haven't played it yet. But I was compelled to write to all those people who cry about dumb crap. They also say that there is hardely any gameplay it's all cutscenes.... Ok so why rate it 0? If that was the case then Metal Gear Solid 4 should of got a 0 too. I doubt that Mass Effect 3 had lenghty cutscenes like Metal Gear Soild 4. The Elder Scroll games get praised all the time (except for PS3 version) and everytime you walk through a door or o to a next area, it has to load. I don't see anyone complaining about that. But people complain about cutscenes. I'd rather watch a cutscene then watch a loading screen. Anyway you people destroy gaming, and are not happy with anything. maybe that is the reason games are becomming less fun, because the creators don't know what the "fans" want anymore. How come people go all crazy about any Call of Duty game and it's all recycled crap and they are all the same game, but they don't complain about that, they sell the same game every year, and people don't complain, but they will complain about Day 1 DLC for 10 bucks.. Bioware atleast tries to make a decent game. Same with Guitar Hero, people use to buy every Guitar Hero when infact it's all the same game. Just like Call of Duty. Yet these games get praised. Hmmmm..... Give the game a serious review, because a 0 isn't fair. Go play Call of Duty.… Expand

People seem to be mad because the ending isn't "what they expected" and while BioWare could've done a better ending, instead of everyone getting the same 3 possible endings, you can't deny the game itself is beautiful and perfectly crafted, the gameplay is flawless and the multiplayer was a surprisingly pleasant addition.
The story is perfectly made, however, BioWare was unable to put all the pieces back together in the ending, which is slightly disappointing.
But people are being way too harsh with the game, a bad ending doesn't make a good game the worst game ever. People are overreacting.
And while it is obvious that EA took out the Prothean and made it DLC to make money, I actually found myself preferring Javik over all the in-game characters, a bit overpriced.… Expand

From the start I felt a sensation of profound responsibility placed on my shoulders. At times the stories urgency seemed to drift away but it never hurt slowed the story progression or deteriorate the plot. I went into it considering how annoyed I was with Mass Effect 2 and the feeling that the game was one big checklist. I never really had that feeling in Mass Effect 3 and the missions seemed to link together (main quests) and tie in (side quests) really well and that was something I truly appreciated. The emotion that Mass Effect 3 inspired in me was unlike any game I've played before. I felt pulled in to consider the feelings of the characters and try to understand what they where going through. The decisions felt meaningful and weighted with no clear option that would seem fitting of the stereotypical Sheppard. As for the mechanics of the game I was extremely impressed. Combat felt good and I hardly ever ran out of ammo which I was frustrated with at first, for having removed the authenticity of the situation, but later came to appreciate as it allowed me to focus on the game. Being able to customize weapons to the extent and ease at which Mass Effect 3 allowed was highly enjoyable. I loved being able to go from a shop which sells upgrades to buying new guns to then choosing my gun set up and finally to customizing my armor all within an area aboard the normandy. I only caught glimpses of the environment in between the action but from what I saw I was extremely impressed. Every planet I visited felt distinct aesthetically as well as layout. Sure the game had a set path for you but when the path looked as good as it did I had no issues with it. Graphically the game was a step up from its predecessor but by no means a highlight of this generation. The audio however was truly an immersive experience. The ability of the music and soundstage to go from a casual point A to point B moment and then scale up to an epic fast paced section and pull me right in was brilliant. The audio was definitely something that will bring me back to this game just for the sheer feeling of grandeur and tragedy that it invoked in me. Now that I have beat the campaign once I have been playing a lot of the multiplayer and while I was initially concerned it was going to be another online shooter it really has taken on its own form and done it in a way that suits Mass Effect very well. The fact that it ties back into the single player is also a nice feature that while probably won't have a huge effect on my play style and where I devote my time I like the fact that the two are not totally disjoint. After finishing this game I could not help but want more, something that I have not felt from a game in a while, and something that helps this game earn a perfect score in my book.… Expand

It's really a shame people give the game a low score just because the last 5 minutes of the game aren't good. You have to review the game has a complete package, the action is the best in the entire trilogy, weapons are much better, the story is very emotional, the war is at grand scale at different places, and every decision you take is crucial to the life of many characters or races. Plus the ending will be fixed, I have hopes that it will be, it was all indoctrination there are so many facts that prove it. We can say a game sucks, just because of a writer or some writers went all weird on the story when the other people that worked hard on other aspects did an excellent job.… Expand

The game has been out for over a year, long enough for me to recover and think how do I rate this game. To be honest, I want to give this game a 10 before the ending, i still remembered how exciting when playing the last mission on earth and how emotional I got towards the final push. Then the original ending, which is total crap and I want to give the game a -10 after finished the game the first time, it deserved a negative score. the ending made me depressed and lost interesting in playing games for months, the reaction and PR bxx**** from bioware towards ending and fans was just disgusting and made me sick. For me, the ending was just rushed, no excuse, no deep meaning behind it. if a video game can give me so much negative feelings, i can only rate it with negative score, in this case, a zero.… Expand

I thought I was going to hate this game but in all honesty It's a great game, feels pretty much like me2 but with improved combat although the enemies seem less varied, and story wise everything's decent but it seems like party members have a lot less to say. The endings are retarded monkey garbage but hey at least it's closure(still waiting on shenmue 3 sega). I hate EA and I have no respect for Bioware as it is now but they made a Game that wasn't nightmarishly terrible which I honestly didn't think was possible after playing DA2 and the tortanic beta. Buy it if you feel like you've come to far to stop.… Expand

Somehow my review was deleted. So im saying it again. I pity the fool who hates on Mass Effect 3! V. V. V. V. V. V v.

The Mass Effect series for me has been one of the best for this generation and now Bioware is bringing us the final show down we have been waiting for since 2007. I must say this is one of my favorite games ever. The story is naturally awesome because the player makes it with the many more complex decisions and epic battles. The galaxy is in chaos and the only way to survive is to unite and to do this Shepard must bring the galaxy together. This idea allows Bioware to add those tough decisions and those epic battles so the game isn't so action centered like Mass Effect 2. Talking about the action all the shooting and power distribution mechanics have been smoothed and the game feels less static than ME2. The set pieces and the remarkable battles have made even more epic and weaves dialogue into it all. The graphics are great but not the best on 260 and the soundtrack was great and weapon sounds had a great bang bang to them. 360 users can also use Kniect to issue commands on the battlefield and speak in cutscenes. This was good most of the time but sometimes I did a really loud "ohhh what do I do" and it chose for me which sucked. This game is suitably awesome with the whole shooter rpg mix done perfectly. Mass Effect 3 also includes co-op multiplayer which is a first for the series and I really enjoyed this. Most co-op multiplayer isn't really that compelling but this was great. It's a wave mode with bonus objectives which you gert credits for which you can spend on new characters,weapons and upgrades. There has been 2 free dlc packs with new characters and bonuses.
Story-10-Mass Effect has always had a great story but this is amazing
Graphics-8-Great sci-fi sfx and battlefields
Sound-9-Weapons have great kicks and effects and the soundtrack is another sci fi epic
Value-10-Mass Effect has always been about replaying for that perfect ending and this is no different
Gameplay-9.5-Great shooting and cover mechanics, never gets old but a few tech glitches here and there
Overall-46.5/50… Expand

Having played through several times now, I am adjusting my score down. Whilst there are some brilliant parts of the story the ending is a wimper which makes no sense due to poor programming and writing. I don't care if the 'Extended Cut' pieces some of it together - it is poor finishing and Bioware should be ashamed of their sloppiness.

I don't understand all the bad reviews of this game. Ending aside, it's up to the high standard of the previous two games, though not quite scaling the heights of ME2 it's still easily one of the best video games ever made. There is simply so much to do with all the character classes, upgrades, customisation, side missions, etc. Despite it's flaw this is the kind of game most game developers can only dream of making.… Expand

It's quite simply everything I could hope for. Amazing presentation, beautiful graphics, epic story and intense on-the-edge-of-your-seat gameplay. You won't be disappointed.

While the ending to the epic trilogy caused probably the largest controversy a game release has ever had, Mass Effect 3 is a perfect game. At least until the last 15 minutes. Let me just say I have not played the "Extended Cut DLC", not have I seen the new endings on YouTube. My opinion is only on the physical release of the game, not its content. Mass Effect 3 delivers an emotional suckerpunch. With cameos from the original games and an epic story, Mass Effect 3 seems like the ending to a TV show you really love. I found myself crying more than once because of events that occurred. Look, the ending might turn you off, but the entire experience is only slightly marred. Mass Effect 3 is worth a try.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. ME3 is one the best games of the year, but there are huge problems also like the dialouge circle doesn't much through out the story and the biggest problem was the ending, in ME1 & ME2 your decisions matter for the sake of the story but in ME3 just takes that out completly and the ending you have 3 options : Control Reapers, Destroy all synthethic life, or synthesize all organic and synthetic life together and all the endings
are the same and are different only alittle. The good things about ME3 is THE GRAPHICS, THE CAMPAIGN, THE GAMEPLAY. But I say that ME3 is my least fave ME game.… Expand

First off the Game is Amazing, when you play through the game you will love almost every aspect of it. BUT then you get to the last ten minutes, and everything is thrown into the trash. It really pains me to admit it because i love this trilogy so much, but Bioware couldid a hell of a lot better with the ending. Its like they worked so hard on the game that when they got to the ending they just halfassed it, Otherwise if it werent for the ending this game woulda been the perfect 10/10 it shoulda been but fanboy or not i cant rate this game any higher. Like i said the game is Brilliant but once you beat it, you wont want to pick it up and play it again(atleast thats how I felt) And the collectors Edition just feels like a lie that i slightly regret purchasing, buts thats just me, otherwise all gripes aside, this game is EXCELLENT. So idl where the future of the franchise is going, but if they can have a HALO4, im pretty sure there will be a ME4 in the future.… Expand

Surprised by the user score. However I have never seen the original ending which apparently was shocking. To start with the positives graphics where excellent, gameplay was great . One thing that really annoyed me was if you imported your character from ma1 and ma2 you started at level 30 with the majority of your abilities not far from being maxed out. Not much of a challenge in that. Overall i feel that with the revised ending mass effect 3 was a fantastic game. Good ending to the trilogy. All in all i would say the best trilogy of games that have been released in gaming history. A must play game for rpg fans.… Expand

The battle begins but it didn't end the way anyone wanted (which can be seen from the user score). I have never seen such outrage from a game before, the gaming community went crazy over this title and the fate of those in the series. The first levels seemed beta'ish and unfinished. The rest of the game was great... But, why in the hell would you get rid of the Elevator scenes that replaced load screens??? Why??? And the vehicle aspect... gone? Why? A great game that did not stand up to everyone's expectations. Did it make the game of the month on the podcast... Take a listen... http://liquidgamer.podbean.com/… Expand

I thoroughly enjoyed Mass Effect 3. The mechanics have been improved again and combat is still the fast paced and fluid combat it was in the second entry in the franchise. The story obviously takes a more serious tone because the galaxy is being annihilated by the Reapers in this entry. But the journey is fantastic and it is cool to see how decisions you made from back in the first or second game come back to change outcomes in the third. Multiplayer is also a nice addition and again Bioware integrates it with the single player outcome so that you are motivated to participate in it. As far as the ending goes it does leave a little more to be desired but I commend Bioware for trying something different. For me personally the ending wasn't a big deal because I enjoyed the journey along the way and characters I met. Overall a great title and worth your time!… Expand

I will start by saying, if this was a new IP the score would be in the 5-6 range, but it is the final game in a trilogy and therefore I have certain expectations going into it.

First, the endings are just awful, so rage inducingly awful, like throw my controller through the TV for playing through 3 games to end with this awful. The dialogue is hilariously poorly written, as if they hired the lead writer from MW3 to write it. The choices made through the first game barely matter because everything plot important comes back regardless of previous choices. There are a bunch of shoehorned unnecessary characters such as **** McGee (Jessica Chobot) and meathead mcmulligan (Freddie Prinze Jr.). The game play itself is littered with terrible design decisions such as arbitrary timers, the scanning mechanic where you die, and the killing off of characters for unexplainable reasons. There is the stolen artwork for the ending sequence and Tali's real face. The DAY 1 DLC! I could go on for a long time, but I am tired from typing so I will end with this: I feel Bioware has betrayed me and the series by this atrocious bomb of a game and by selling out the franchise to EA. I was devastated by this game, and before it came out I thought Bioware could do wrong, but now I know to never buy a game from them again.… Expand

Okay, NOW I realize why people would be disappointed, though I disagree with those saying the game is god awful. Yes, EA monetized the crap out of this game, but that's no where the game fails, that's just bad business practice of the publisher funding the game's development. First, the positives. The combat has been refined and is pretty much as good as it can get at this point, although the new weight system hits infiltrators and non-power based classes REALLY hard. So I have to pick between having all my guns and almost never being able to use Adrenaline Rush now? That's stupid! (Wow, this got negative fast). That negative aside, the AI has been improved and enemy variety and behaviour has improved significantly, it's just slightly irritating most of the time it's cerberus and not the Reapers you're fighting (How did Cerberus build an army of millions in barely half a year, when they're known as a terrorist organisation?). Weapon modding is back and now it also has a visual effect as well as a gameplay effect, which is cool. It's not as deep as ME1's weapon modding system, but it spares us of that horrible inventory system and combined with ammo powers it integrates very well into the gameplay. Also, we get more gun variety and armour variety, which is always a good thing. So essentially combat is much better than before, so why is this game only a 7? It's Mass Effect! It should like a 9 or a 10, right? Well, unfortunately here are many negatives that hold this game back. The intro is boring and sloppy, especially compared to ME2. The reason is one, no dramatic opening and two, a crap ton of auto-dialogue (I'll be getting to that in a minute, believe me). As I'm re-familiarizing myself with the game mechanics I can't get invested into the story because in order to get invested into the story I must have reasonable knowledge of the game mechanics. Placing a major plot point at the time of a tutorial is probably the worst thing you can do with the intro. ME2 did this right, where I only had to run and move the camera in a controlled environment, so I could get invested in the story. The more advanced mechanics were saved for later when nothing as important was happening. The next negative is auto-dialogue, and it's over abundance. WHY? WHY WOULD YOU PUT IN LOADS OF AUTO-DIALOGUE IN A GAME BASED AROUND DIALOGUE CHOICES? That makes NO sense and just robs the player of the feeling that their Shepard is really theirs, and destroys immersion and the freedom the player previously experienced. The next negative is the abandonning of the build-up of ME1 and ME2, specifically Harbinger and the Dark matter plot. For those that don't know, ME3 was supposed to have a plot that revolved around dark matter but was abandoned for the whole "Synthetic vs Organic" thing. This leaves returning players confused as to what's going on and de-means the previous games. Not good. As for Harbinger, he was clearly set-up as the main villain in ME2, why reduce him to a glorified heavy hitter at the end? WHY? Everyone was looking forward to confronting the Harbinger why rob us of that? More abandonning of the build-up of the previous games. So second from last we have the problem that the story itself is more linear and interrupts and dialogue choices don't affect a conversation like they used to. They are generally just there for flavour and that's it now, which a shame considering how genius interrupts were as a concept and how well ME2 did them. And now to everyones favourite part, the ending. Where to begin... Well, even with the EC (Extended cut) it makes ZERO sense, and completely contradicts the themes of the Mass Effect franchise. It's disgusting. Your choices don't matter (As if EMS made your choices matter anyway LOL) apart from this one final choice and they don't even commit to Shepard dying. The EC provides the bare minimum character closure required and closes a few plotholes but it ends up trading them for more plotholes so it really is not much better and the character closure has been done before and BETTER with Dragon Age: Origins. Now THAT was an ending. This game is still very solid and enjoyable even if it is has some serious flaws. It still has those "Magic Mass Effect" moments, and the characters are as cool and well-written as ever (Apart from Vega) with their arcs coming full circle now, but compared to the other two ME games it doesn't even come close to reaching their levels of greatness. There are other complaints, such as the shafting of the ME2 cast, and a lot of fridge logic moments, and the fetch quests, but I could keep going for hours. All you need to know is this game is solid, but if you were expecting an amazing finale, prepare to be disappointed.… Expand

To sum its all up as neatly as I can think of it this way, the game isn't based totally on graphics and game mechanics. Its always been about story and choices you make for the story so the ending really needs to be held to the same standard. Yes leading up to the ending it was a great game but the ending just wasn't up to the quality of the rest of the series so that's why it leaves people feeling upset.… Expand

The new standard of decision-making and storytelling in games, Mass Effect 3 sets an example of a narrative which will make you consider your decisions thoroughly, or regret otherwise. The Clint Mansell composed music is emotional and the soundtrack pays homage to many sci-fi series of the past with its electronic touch - the presentation is also exquisitely refined with vastly improved lighting and art design which far exceeds most games. That being said, besides an otherwise improved combat system, the enemies are quite dull and mainly runs towards you in a very outdated and unintelligent fashion. I also resent the idea of having to purchase the Day 1 DLC, especially in this case since it involves a major story arc which should have been part of the game in the first place - and I refuse to endorse the abuse of loyal fans who have become invested in the story thus far, and are being exploited monetarily in order to have complete narrative experience. To purposely leave out the answers to some of the most important questions in this otherwise wonderful sci-fi universe comes across as non-appreciation towards loyal fans, and I cannot with my principles intact overlook such an inconsiderate move upon giving a numerical score - in addition to the publisher's behavior towards Windows fans who were not able to buy the game for their Steam library along with previous installments and the rest of their collection, making the whole process very inconvenient for them as consumers. In regards to previous installments it is an improvement in certain aspects such as the leveling system, at the same time however, Mass Effect 3 also appears more dumbed down by introducing genre stereotypes such as characters who seem to have been put in place only to appeal to a more casual audience - instead of remaining true to the initial values of the series. To conclude, this is quite possibly one of my favorite sci-fi universes, and I cannot recommend the journey enough. Though towards the end of the ride I didn't truly feel like I was given complete closure, and the game wasn't quite the improvement Mass Effect 2 was either. All in all I don't think I'm alone in conveying my dislike for the way BioWare has decided to treat their loyal fans. I would still recommend the game to those who would like to see how it all ends, though I would add to that recommendation and advise to disregard the DLC, and perhaps buy the game at a later date - when it's much cheaper. Because otherwise publishers such as EA will continue to set a bad example by withholding important content for monetary gain in order to exploit gamers.… Expand

This game is of the hook the story is so perfect the gameplay is smooth the graphics is fantastic and once again Mass Effect 3 is very addictive having played mass effect 1 and 2 and having all 3 games I must say the mass effect franchise was amazing and very addictive I have given my review on the fist two games and will still not give a review on the first two but will give both mass effect 1 and 2 a solid 10 out of 10 and Mass Effect 3 deserve's the same rating as the first 2 games.This game is a masterpiece the entire franchise is a masterpiece.… Expand

This is a great series, unfortunately this final chapter lays much to lose in two crucial moments, the beginning and end of the game. Since the beginning in my opinion the worst moment of the game, and the end is extremely short, not correctly explain the many existing questions, and the player's previous choices are irrevelantes.
Continues to be a fantastic game, enriched by multiplayer, but they put too much to lose the final common poorly done.… Expand

This game was good, I enjoyed most of it. Mainly because by the time it kept getting closer to then end, it got a little retarded. For some reason, an anchor lady knows Kung-Fu. I laughed my head off at that part, and then the endings were AWFUL. They were bland, or at least that's what I though, and they were all way too similar, only with slight differences.

I went into this game extremely sceptical and critical because of the last game, which I hated. But I am happy to say that ME3 has made me a believer again. Its took me about a week to get through it all, and I still miss the deeper RPG elements, and planet exploration from ME1, but at the same time, I gotta admit, ME3 actually does feel like a return to form in many ways, and now that it can stand on its own two feet as a solid Third Person shooter comparable to GoW, its actually a pretty fun game. In fact it can get quite tactical on the harder difficult settings, due to the much smarter A.I. So game-play wise I was impressed.

As for the ending, I quite liked it. It was a bit ambiguous, left open to interpretation, perhaps even too vague for some, but at the same time it did actually end, and thankfully, it wasnt your fan service, typical Hollywood ending in which everyone rides flies off into the sunset together. Instead it ended with some pretty big metaphysical questions about the purpose and evolution of life. So I was satisfied with the finality of it all, even if smaller individual questions didn't quite get the attention that some fans feel they deserved. Personally though, most of the story and characters arcs that I cared about did come to a conclusion during the course of the game, before the final push, so I didnt feel like there was much else left unanswered that bothered me. And really, the revelation at the end didn't leave much room for the smaller concerns. The bigger picture took priority.

I think the developers set out to make the ending, open-ended. To encourage fans to examine the various endings and creatively discuss their meanings. Problem is, it seems many fans wanted a more closed ending. A final CGI cutscene with black and white conclusion to their personalised story, so that they wouldn't have to spend any more time pondering what it all meant. But that ending would have left less room for fan creativity and hypothesis. Which in my book would have been an uninteresting ending, because sci-fi is supposed to be about stimulating the imagination. Having said that, they probably could have done better with the final couple of scenes and individualised them a bit more to represent one of the three choices that we made.
But anyway, I liken the endings to 2001 A Space Odyssey, not in content or context, but in the way that the individual viewer (gamer) makes of it what he will. I.E. the ending is only limited by the scope of our own imagination.

Still peeved off about the day 1 dlc though, and all the weapons and armour DLC cut out of the game for use in other promotions. Also there seems to be a couple of achievements I cant get because they require online play. Oh and the MP component was pretty pointless, since i'll never play it again. Wished they had spent more time on SP content instead.… Expand

A decent yet highly flawed finale to a great trilogy, that feels really quite dated. GOOD: Fantastic presentation and production values gives the game a fantastically epic feel at times (Palaven level in particular); Fun and varied combat that improves upon both ME1 and 2 by presenting the player with a greater diversity of enemies that require radically different techniques to beat; Generally stunning graphics and crisp, clean textures; Most character interactions are superb with a mostly decent script; Around 90% of the story is brilliantly told and exciting to participate in; Voice acting is top-notch and fleshes out the characters well; Much improved powers progression over ME2 with a slight decrease in overall linearity; Weapon mods are a welcome return as are the armour upgrades from ME2; Seeing the conclusions of many of your choices in previous games play out is generally pretty well done; Multiplayer is very good and offers a wealth of customisation and character progression; Space Hamster, Auto-Fish feeder and Blasto! BAD: Journal is terribly designed and does not update when new items for a quest are found, so quest progression can be confusing; When opening quest log it does not default to top of screen so you have to scroll through all the quests you've completed whenever you open it which is irritating and totally unnecessary; Graphical pop-in during many different parts of the game creates an unfinished look in an other wise highly polished game; Characters vanish during cutscenes and necks twist in weird laughably bad directions to compensate for bad character placement during some cutscenes; Human faces look awful at times compared to other Alien races and detract somewhat from the emotion of many cutscenes; During cutscenes graphical bugs occur wherein pistols are holstered on back or are invisible where Bioware always expected players to apparently be using an assault rifle; Shepard has an awful script which is positively cringe worthy in most instances and again detracts from the quality of cutscenes; Story has many exhaustingly contrived instances, such as the sudden emergence of a weapon that can destroy all the Reapers highlighting some terrible writing in parts; The Ending is horridly put together and highlights Bioware's inability to conclude compelling stories (Space Jesus? Why? Deus Ex Machina anyone?); Many quest bugs which require reloading from previous saves to proceed; The one-button-for-every-action is at it's worse now that Bioware have introduced rolling to the combat - having the same button for running, going into cover, interacting with an item, rolling and reviving team mates reeks of bad game design and causes far too many frustrating moments (See Vanquish for how to do this correctly); In multiplayer there are many gameplay bugs such as falling through floor, enemies becoming invisible/invincible, not being able to forward roll and use heavy attack for minutes at a time and being stuck on the spot forcing you to quit out of the game; The galaxy map is now at its most redundant with sections cut off until you reach "that part of the game" meaning actual exploration in Mass Effect 3 is incredibly linear; Scanning for War assets is dull and requires almost no input from the player; Side-quests are incredibly shallow and mostly require you to scan a planet to find some lost religious texts for a species and then find the numbered NPC on a map of the citadel to complete it (bearing in mind the journal never updates, so you only know if a mission is complete if a new numbered NPC appears on the map); Other side-quest follow a sloppy pattern of coincidently bumping into old team mates from ME2 under increasingly dull and contrived circumstances; Zero customisation of your teammate armour; Weapon mods are uninteresting and are mostly just scopes and bigger clips; Character progression is still immensely shallow, especially for your teammates; All aspects of character progression are combat based and there are no class specific skills to give you an advantage in any moments out of combat so your class has zero identity outside a combat situation; No mini-games for hacking doors now, just stand and watch Shepard wave his omni-tool around for a good 20 seconds (fun?...no); Reaper awareness meter on galaxy map is badly implemented and just becomes a nuisance instead of creating a feeling of actual panic; War Assest acquisition is wholly artifical and is quite simply a bar to raise so you get more of a choice of the same badly written and horribly presented ending. Overall Mass Effect 3 is a fun game to play, but it's shallow, buggy, has some terrible scripting blunders and horrid design choices that really tarnish what could have been a superb game and a definite contender for my GOTY.… 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.

A tragic ending for an excellent game, what a pain, just like it slam out everything you have made so hard going this far. Nevertheless, if we look at the positive sides, there are many things can be approved for this game: intense combat, focus gameplay, the epic galaxy's apocalypse. Beyond the single player, the multiplayer is a lot of fun and require many tactics to survive. Overall this is the game which we will not get bored so fast, do not let your hatred throw away a marvelous game that you can hardly find.â… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I had 24 hours of the best single player I've played on the 360. But, the ending is just so unbelievably awful (up there with Matrix Revolutions). It leaves you with the feeling that all the decision making of the past 3 games was completely pointless; it has spoiled the series for me and it's a shame because it was amazing up until then. How do Bioware and EA expect to sell the DLC after this is beyond me.… Expand

This game is a joke. Why build a series, made famous by the power of gamer choice, only to throw the story players crafted out the window with a crap ending? Why build up the suspense of finally seeing Tali's face only to rush a crappy photoshop job of a stock image photo? EA has ruined Bioware just like it ruins every other gaming company it consumes.

Most people seem to be jumping on a bandwagon about this game. Secretly they love it, but you know what teenagers are like, they want to impress everyone. Yes, the end isn't all sunshine and rainbows, and no it won't tailor itself to the decisions you made throughout the series - but that's okay! Is it really that bad to have an end that feels like something is happening for the greater good? No. That's what makes an awesome ending. I've been a fan of this series since it first came out and I still love it. I love each character and the intricate details within Mass Effect 3. Rating this game 0 is insulting when so many idiots go out and rate games like Skyrim a 10 for no reason other than joining in with the hype. You have to ignore what is being said and play it for yourself - you'll love it!… Expand

Space gay waifu simulator 2012 edition.

Mass Effect 3 is the final chapter in this thrilling and epic franchise created by Bioware. Let me start off saying this has been a pleasure to play all through all 3 games. Mass effect has gone through changes from 1 to 3 for the better (examples: shooting mechanics, graphics, character management). With movie like productions Bioware did an excellent job from creating relationships with all characters involved and the decision you need to make to building a huge universe to explore and navigate through. Mass effect 3 succeeds the expectations by a long shot. With an epic story of a race against time to gather help from all edges of the universe to save Earth and other home worlds before the reapers destroy every living being. Simply put it has the drama and action you crave from the last 2 to keep you happy for a while. This one gets a 9.5/10 from me. Hope we see another franchise like this from Bioware for the next gen consoles.… Expand

Mass Effect 3 is great in some parts, but horrible in others, balancing out to an average game, I docked 1 point off because you're paying $60 for something that isn't a full game (Day 1 DLC)
+ Great Storytelling
+ Great Story concept
+ Blends shooter elements with RPG, sort of like an action oriented Fallout
/ Story wasn't that great, they could've definitely done better, the story drags out too long for each level
- Horribly awkward romance sequences
- RPG elements are somewhat useless (I always found myself just swapping between the Frost and Shock bullets, rarely doing anything else)
- Dialogue branch is too Black and White, not much room for an in-between
- Side-Quests are too linear
- Levels structured too much like other linear games such as Uncharted and Gears… Expand

The Mass Effect trilogy receives it's latest and last chapter. After starting up the game I immediately noticed big differences. You have 'less say' in the dialogue options. Comparing it to Mass Effect 1 it's a huge leap backwards. Why would you take away something that made the first one so great?! Don't get me wrong, you still have times where you have to choose between outcome A or B, and believe me when I say that those choices are immensely difficult, that because you realy care about the characters and story... also Mass Effect 3 hugely improved on the combat system, it's near perfect. You realy enjoy using the weapons and powers to take town hordes of enemies... this all on a great galactic scale while explosion and reaper invasion-sounds hurl around you. Epic, I'd say. The Multiplayer has this great combat aswel, minus the epicness that you get in the single-player ofc. ... After having several friends telling me the ending is completely out of place... I finally got to the end. I have to say, it's not THAT bad... It's still epic and the climax is there! ... but I do have to agree, it gives no closure on Shepard or everyone else around him/her. Mass Effect 3 is a great game, you notice the hard labor that Bioware made for making this title, and the Original Score + the graphical design and presentation makes this one hell of a trip into the sci-fi universe of Mass Effect. So all in all, I know the ending could've been much better, but since EA announced they will give us more closure in the near future, I believe it will make this game jump that one step higher on my personal scoreboard.… Expand

Welcome to the future of Bioware.. It really seems that all those guys which know what they were doing left Bioware and were replaced by characters inspired by the movie "Ideocracy". There is that otaku women responsible for the romances which probably is a virgin and who seems to have a yaoi (gay male romances) fetish. Than there is that crazy dude I saw in a DA2 video and who came up with the "awesome button". And there is probably one EA suit dude who is never without his statistics why call of duty is so successful and who spams his opinion in every meeting that more explosions are needed. And with those 3 responsible for game design, ME3 is what we got. Lots and lots of gay romances, just as much explosions, and the evolution of the "awesome button", the "awesome does all button"! And it really is awesome when you try to run away and instead take cover with your back exposed to the enemy! Yet just like with DA2, the most "awesome" button is the one which removes this **** from your hdd!… Expand

If the user score wasn't so low I'd give it a 9 or 8, but a 10 because it's so low... Why is it so low?! This game was absolutely incredible. It wasn't as good as the first or second, but this game is epic. Multiplayer was a worthy inclusion to it and everything else came together... An awesome game

Some of you people need to grow up with your 0's. Obviously this game is not getting a 0 It makes you people looks childish.
Anyway---another great installment in the series, if you liked the others you will surely enjoy the third.

This is a great game. Visually it is a masterpiece. Content wise I too was disappointed with how short the game is and that includes release date DLC--which is a complete and utter rip off move. ME2 was by far the most fun of the series, but ME3 still delivers. And despite what the whiners say, the ending was a satisfactory conclusion to a great trilogy. My only real complaint is that the game is too short. ME2 felt much more open for exploration, whereas ME3 is much more limited and closed off. I also wish there was more continuity between ME2 and ME3. All those characters I devoted so much time into building relationships with were mostly chucked within the first 10 hours of ME3. Ultimately though, I wish more games were like Mass Effect 3. Except for the release day DLC. That's a total dbag move.… Expand

Well i will start by saying that im amazed that critics scored this game nearly perfect but not many went into detail about ending, never mention it @ all or simply (and boldly) allowed readers to think the game was great from start to finish, then i happened 2 go "outside the bubble" and found smaller, more obscure reviews and the score factored in that the ending was "literary suicide" as one wrote. as quoted by r. ebert "if you had to ask what it symbolized, then it didnt" and i can say that this very much sums up the ending, struck in awe like many, i wasnt even sure if i had beat the game and had to check mt trophy in order to sort out if i did. thats just it, i felt like i did not know what had just happened and had to wait for the credits to scroll to know its over,and so i convince myself that ok maybe i just did not see the right ending and maybe i got the bad ending, "yes that must be it, w/ so many endings i must have screwed up along the way and got the bad ending" come to find out i got the desired and the most "definative" ending.. so then i go back and replay the mission etc and all the other endings are pretty much identical beside a different color or "end sequence" which consisted of a minute or so animation of walking another direction etc. i wont get into conspiracy theories or anything which is out of context but its kind of hard not to fall prey or offer self to some distraction or debate because we not only invested time, we invested emotion.. hours upon hours of carefully making right choices for a desired import etc, and for what? if i kind of got a heads up from critics that "decisions do not play as significant a role in mass 3 as it did in the prior 2" then i wouldve been able to prepare,lol.. but we are hearing words like art, story telling masterpiece also we were told by bioware that this would have multiple endings, a deeper consequence/decision mechanic, an end which would the opposite from lost, well no it may actually take the belt away from lost for the wtf just happened moment but the fact is that i shouldve known that a game which has a formula that works almost seamlessly, based primarily on decisions as well as story driven sequences which make the gamer care, think and DECIDE, it works so good that while i played every mass efect i made every decision carefully to prep my shep for the import into the next game, so if i am playing a game and already thinking of the next one then the system is almost flawless imo.. BUT it is obvious E.A had a bit of influence and brings me back to my point with this "formula", they deserted it and decided for MASS APPEAL rather than mass effect and i noticed this during the demo and how much emphasis was put on how one can play the game how one wishes and that the game can be toggled to suit any style, dont like stories? choose combat.. hate decisions? well you can toggle that too.. but wait, isnt that the part of mass effect which makes it like few others? and isnt that what i have spent many hours doing to have a desired and effective playthrough as well as end? was it just me or did it feel silly to scan planets this time around? as to say "hey dont want to waste time scanning for elements, well we fixed that too" huh? call me a loser, call me what you want BUT i enjoyed taking my time scanning for minerals and elements and launching probes with a feeling of purpose, because that was one of the many things which made me love this game, felt like what i did mattered and fulfilling. i can understand E.A 's stance from a business perspective, their knowledge and tactics of knowing that the fanbase of mass effect are going to buy this game regardless so lets find some fresh blood, but did the solid core and fan base have to feel jipped, let down, disappointed, confused and as well as angry in exchange for new profits/gains? well the core, the fans well we are mass effect. it breaths because we let it, we let it because it was great ,brought quality and emotion and stood apart from many other games and the exp was one like few others. but as much respect a game/developer may get through time can be undone in ten minutes.. i can not say that mass effect 3 was a bad game, but after putting in hours of decisions, careful choices to have it not effect anything in regards to the end , other than the war assets and "co-op"readiness , well i feel like it was more of a "okay hurry up and get this over with and go play co-op after" the fact remains that mass effect 3 is still a solid game, but an ending which was promised to be the finale we dream about also being admittedly rushed well how does anything rushed ever result to anything other than sub par to par? a game is about the exp, mass effect is about a unique and gripping exp BUT the end ruined both.. its obvious a lot has changed in the gaming industry in the past 5 years, mass effect supports this in every respect, reapers went from FEAR INDUCING to PAWNS… Expand

This is the first mass effect game i have ever played. In short i like it. I have not officially beaten the game but i have played it enough to get the gist of how the game runs. One thing so far i do not like about the game is i just hit disc two and i have done two sections so far in the game where i actually get to shoot things, in between that time are two very long and drawn out parts where you talk to people on the citadel to recruit new members for the alliance and get resources for the war and get to know the characters, at first i didnt mind then i thought,, hmm i wanna shoot stuff. And the shooting and combat is something i really like about this game its fluid fast and fun and you have alot of options going into batlle. You have your standard stuff like guns and stuff but you also have powers and abilities as do your aliies which you can direct them to do at any given time after the cooldown. The story is good even to someone who hasnt been with the series for the whole ride it does a decent job of getting you up to speed of whats going on, since i havnt played the other mass effects(yet) its safe to say im not getting the whole experience because im pretty sure if had played one and two my decisions in those two games wouldve made the experience completeley different for me because thats how things work in mass effect, your desicions. Over all i like this game and i hate to see all these people knocking it because they didnt like the ending thats not a factor in a game that should determine whether or not it is good or not… Expand

This is the best looking of all the Mass Effects, they finally used some decent anti-aliasing on the edges.

It's a perfect game except for midway through when you have to switch discs back and forth about 8 times. A few boss battle's difficulty are 10x higher than the rest of the game (or even the level they're on). And using the A button for everything is infuriating, especially on multiplayer when you NEED to revive a team mate, but instead you send your character into cover and everyone dies.

The Day 1 DLC doesn't even matter, because the rest of the game is just packed with missions and story and cut-scenes. To finish all of those takes around 35 hours.… Expand

I know lots of gamers think that the ending is very disappointing, but Bioware will bring the extended cut and then I decide about the ending-thing. Besides that ME3 is a solid third part of the franchise with good graphics, great voice acting, good story and perfect gameplay. Its multiplayer is also very addictive and you can have hours of fun with it. Great game, could be better but I love it and I am a big fan since the first Mass Effect.… Expand

A very big disappointment. You can tell bioware (EA especially) went to large lengths to make this game mainstream. As a result, we get an actioner that has few bright moments that gave us a peek of what the game could have been with diligence in development, instead of rushed release dates. Few ambitions are achieved in Mass Effect 3, despite its core being pretty solid in its own right. Perhaps we expected too much. But I have a feeling they could have delivered.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Great game, like Mass Effect 2 and 3. But too many damned bugs (2 mission impossible to get accomplished) and i got a bit disappointed with the ending. The ending itself is OK, but... all the choices made in 3 games became... nothing! Or at least, nothing i can see in the end. I would give it 10 if all the bugs are corrected and a decent ending (maybe the same ending but with many consequences made by previous decisions)… Expand

How dare you Bioware! How dare you release a game that was awesome but not as awesome as it should have been! How dare you even toy with the notion of giving players options and then not have a unique ending for every single player that picks up a controller and enjoys every your enormous trilogy? How dare you actually CREATE something and try things instead of churning out the same staple crap year in and year out. How dare you omit details like what quarians look like under their suits, but instead give us the unknown origins of krogan and geth civilisations.
Bah, this is like Ewoks in Jedi all over again!… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I think it's a shame that these so called "fans" have given Mass Effect 3 such a low score here in Metacritic. They are giving it anything from 0-6 simply because the last 20 minutes or so were disappointing. And yes, they are disappointing but I'm not going to rant on Bioware simply because I felt that the end destination of this series was less than satisfactory. They say "that its not the destination that matters, but the journey there is what truly matters". And you know what? I agree.

This game was payoff after payoff. It was the coup d' etat from Bioware--one which closed out the series in utter perfection (for the most part)--and I enjoyed it immensely. The graphics were fantastic if a little bit dated. The presentation was flawless. To say that this is one of the most cinematic games of all-time is an understatement. The score was fantastic. Clint Mansell and series mainstay Sam Hullick bring this finale to life, invoking all the right emotions at all the right times. This is a very balanced orchestral. At times it is somber, other times it is sinister with a hint of ominous danger. The gameplay was perfectly balanced. ME1 was more RPG than shooter and ME2 was more shooter than RPG, but ME3 is what Mass Effect has always sought to be: a perfect hybrid of shooter and RPG elements. If I could've changed something about the gameplay, I would add more side quests that weren't so reliant on avesdropping on people from the Citadel. Also, scanning for War Assests completes over 10 side quests, which is a shame, because exploring more locations during this time for turmoil (ex. The hanar, elcor, and volus homeworlds were being attacked as well; I would've loved to see the actual conflict on these places rather than overhearing it).

Anyways, the story is amazing, just as you expect from this stellar series. Most of the characters--both major and minor--return in ME3 in some form or another. These appearances, wheter it'd be a major crewmate or a cameo role, are almost always rewarding. Seeing what has become of these characters is a very satisfying aspect of this game. All of the characters, except for a select few, are given finality and closure. There are some sappy scenes to be had in ME3, but they are handled with deft precision and skill.

These scenes, if you're a true fan of the series and if you are very connected to these characters, will have you crying like very few stories can. Bioware has hit a homerun for making us care about these characters in such a personal way. It is very hard to say "goodbye" to these people that you've known for the past half a decade or so. To you & me, these people are family, friends. We care about them and the universe they inhabit.

Maybe that's why people are so angry about the ending. Bioware had a great concept for its ending, but their execution of said concept was mediocre at best. Had they put in a "happy" ending and had they shown how these characters' lives are affected by your final decision, then I think Bioware wouldn't have received any criticism whatsoever. A more elaborate ending cinematic, as well as some 5-10 minute expositional epilogue could've worked wonders for this game and the universe that both Bioware and players have built over the course of so many years. That being said, the ending closes out Shepard's story with well-enough finality that I can accept it, despite the obvious plot holes and uncertainties that are brought up by some aspects of the endings.

Am I disappointed by the ending (s)? Yes, to a certain extent, but I won't let that ruin my appreciation for this game and this series in particular. Bioshock and Fallout 3 had terrible endings. Did these games get under a 5.0 in "User Score" here on Metacritic? No, they did not. Both of those games are complete and utter materpieces and they received their own share of criticism for their endings, but not to the extent that ME3 has endured. Nevertheless, gamers want Bioware to change the ending to Mass Effect 3, even though it is not our story, it is Bioware's. Irrational Games never changed their ending and yet Bioshock is still revered as one of gaming's finest moments. Bethesda Studios, on the other hand, caved into the peer pressure of the gaming community and they tried to rectify the backlash they initially received by releasing the "Broken Steel" DLC that got rid of the original ending in favor of the new one. Gamers rejoiced, and now Fallout 3 is rightfully acclaimed as one of the greatest games of all-time as well. Will Bioware follow the example of Irrational Games or that of Bethesda Studios? We'll see. But, no matter what, I feel that Mass Effect 3 is a masterpiece and the perfect finale to one of the greatest, if not the greatest, series in the history of gaming. Thank you, Bioware, for all the memories. I can't wait to relive the trilogy, again and again, until the end of time...or gaming.… Expand

Mass Effect 3 is probably the best game in the series and deserves nothing less than a 10 on a rating scale.the Graphics are superb,and the story is top notch,and let's not forget about the awesome musical score that keeps you're heart pumping and the controller going crazy in you're hands.I know this review is very late,but I wanted to wait until all the bugs were addressed with patches before I give my final review.also the multi-player is awesome and a great addition to an already awesome game.too all you Trolls on here giving ME3 awful reviews,get over you're BS and stop bashing this game.… Expand

This game is simultaneously overrated and underrated. Overrated because critics and fanboys blindly gave the game a pass without addressing its glaring, near deal-breaking faults such as a curious lack of choice, wonky dialogue, a cumbersome cover system, vague journal entries, Jessica Chobot, James Vega, an inexcusable glitch not allowing me to import my Shepard from ME1 and 2 (really, Bioware?) and the now infamous ending. However, I would argue that ME3 is also slightly underrated because, well, the game STILL has solid combat, fun weapons (I love the Scorpion, a heavy pistol that shoots out sticky proximity mines), great music and a some genuinely rich emotional moments that strike a chord. The game's horrible conclusion and inability (or unwillingness) to weave "my Shepard's" actions from ME1 and 2 may not enough to "ruin" the game/series entirely and, for that matter, retroactively (a la Matrix Revolutions) but it's certainly enough to elicit a sense of regret over what could have been the best science fiction story of this current console generation (Portal 2 is safe!). Bottom line: an ominous shadow has been cast over this nearly spotless series.… Expand

Poor shooting. Linear schematic. Mainly for the 13 year old. Dialogues for children, the world too. A simple, requiring no trivial for pseudo player. Graphics poor. The combat system poor. Pseudo dialogues could not be. Overall, kitsch and trash.

'm not a big fan of Mass Effect 3's ending. I thought it was convoluted and anticlimactic for anticlimatic's sake. Though a lot of about the ending actually does work. I loved the fade out while I was rushing down to the last destroyer with my brother's in arms. I loved the fade in to Shephard badly injured and slowly walking towards her/his destiny awaiting him/her deep inside of The Citadel. I loved Anderson and Shepard communicating for opposite ends of The Citadel discussing what was going on. The long walk way up into The Illusive Man's secret hideout. It was all very atmospheric and epic and kind of beautiful. I thought the paragon/rendegade prompts were good as well during the "standoff". And I actually liked the twist that the little boy was The Catalyst. But the 3 choices he gives you were indeed pretty lame. And the lack of exposition following said decision was just plain bad. You can't end a game that encompasses over 140 hours of gameplay and millions of decisions made by the player with just 3 crew members walking off of the Normandy and just cut to the credits....EVEN IF you're planning on releasing DLC. There is a lot of room for criticism for that horrible decision made by whoever at Bioware that made it. I can't believe that ending got all the way to the final product. Its actually kind of sad. But, it DID NOT ruin the game or the series for me. Because it wasn't the fact that Shephard was destined to die (or not...we still don't know do we) that actually is kind of good when you think about it. Its life. Sometimes no matter what decisions you make you can't fight your fate and what is going to be is just going to be. Your destiny is something you must embrace. Which is why I chose the middle option and made Shephard sacrifice herself. Yes, HERSELF. Female Shephard is a MILLION TIMES better than male Shephard and I'm a dude. From the voice acting (Jennifer Hale is amazing and the guy voices male Shepard is very boring) to character design she is just so much more fun to play with. Seriously if you haven't played the games thru with Fem Shep you are doing yourself a HUGE disservice as I have found the game way better controlling her. But back to 3, the game is incredible. There are so many jaw-dropping moments and sheer brilliance (if you haven't played thru with the From Ashes DLC you are missing out on what I find to be the best addiction to the game - Javik and his story). The improvements in shooting and offensive strategy are borderline limitless. And I had a remarkable experience playing the game. To think someone can really give this game a 0-5 based off the ENDING ALONE is proposterous. Are you guys really even Mass Effect fans? Or narcissists?… Expand

All I have to say on this matter.

These reviews... they're some of the best trolling I've ever seen! Marvelous. As for the game, it's very good. It also has a poor framerate.

ME3's ending = LOST ending ?!?! First of all - please disregard those 0's or 1's for user scores. Thats simply dumb and irrelevant. And it doesn't give this game proper credit. Let's hop to the review. I am a ME fan. A big one, I must say. I really enjoyed both ME1 and ME2, even as they were different games. Did I enjoy ME3? Hm... yes, but I am not overwhelmed. The ending CAN be dissapointing, but mostly due to the fact, that it depends on your overall score in SP and MP. Therefore BioWare wasn't completely honest with us. You HAVE to max out the MP experience and max out the SP experience for the best possible ending (with all possible choices).

This is the game's biggest flaw - the ending. No matter how complete it is. It just ... brings the whole experience down. To be honest, I found the ending of my first game a complete atrocity.
I think the best way to describe would be the Lost series finale. It feels exactly the same. We've been promised miracles, all the answers and we get... if you've seen it, you'll know what to expect.

The rest of the story, on most occasions is proper, but feels written in a hurry. The chance of one of your comrades sacrificing for your cause is almost 90%. And it probably will happen - sooner or later.

There are a lot more technical bug than in both games before, IMHO. The sound glitches ( you see the subtitles, you can't hear the voice), camera glitches or interface problems (for the first time in history I had trouble pressing a button due to the introduction of roll-overs for Shepard mapped to the same button).

The visuals are generally better than before. The obvious anomaly is Ashley Williams. I am sorry, but her facial animations are at moments simply grotesque and I AM NOT ROMANCING that thing ever again (really!). The rest is, luckilly, better than okay.
The lightning and models have been improved (in majority). Occasional glitches ruin the mood from time to time, but overally it's an enjoyable experience.

The music is very well in the place it should be. Kudos for that.

The MP experience is fun, quick paced and satisfactory. I bet I will spend a few hours enjoying it.

To sum up - for a fan of this universe, the final moments are unworthy of the overall masterpiece that Mass Effect trilogy is. That's suprising, when it's a BioWare game. On the road to the finale a few tear bringing moments are to happen for sure. It's just that when you watch the ending, your eyes are dry and your somewhat bored. And that's the one thing I didn't expect from this game.

Therefore, I can't give it more than a 9. If I didn't play the whole thing, it'd be an 8.… Expand

#1 No controller allowed for PC
#2 The grfx suck balls for a game released in 2012
#3 The story is boring by THE FIRST CUTSCENE (in other words it starts boring)

EA ate this developer (BioWare) and they turned the good things going on there into mush. Mass Effect 2 and now Mass Effect 3 are crap and it is a damn shame because any real gamer who played Mass Effect knows how cool it was and knows how awesome it would have been if BioWare had just been left alone to do their thing. If EA never came along with their whore money then we'd probably just be seeing Mass Effect 2 right now and it would be epic, but instead we've already had 2 sequels and a Dragon Age game in the amount of time it used to take BioWare to make one real game. Add to that, Dragon Age 2 was as appetizing as cold puke.

Well, that is what you get when EA comes around with their whore money. You get sold out. You get a game like "The Simpsons". This game sucks and I hate EA, like every other real gamer out there. Killzone 3 was far better than this drivel, this crap fest, and Killzone 3 wasn't the best showing.

ME3 is a masquerade of a dead developers old ideas. ME was awesome, but it is dead and EA has been wringing money out of a corpse, much like a record label does to its dead artists. And, that is exactly what EA does, it buys talent and then whores it to death using only the name of something that was once great. EA may have a hundred thousand talented developers but it doesn't matter one bit. It is well known that EA rushes their games to the market in order to get cash. Their MO is buy a popular game and whore it out. That's what you have here ME3 is an ugly whore of pimp daddy EA, just wants your cash, doesn't give a crap if you come back for more ME4 or 5 because they'll have new whores soon.

And, BioWare can kiss my ass too. Sellouts.
Enjoy your yachts and whatever else you bought.
I don't care. You aren't getting anymore of my money.

You can feel in every corner of this game from the menu to the action that this is not a BioWare game. ME 3 is ME2 with a different story, there is absolutely no difference between the two. If you liked ME then you will hate this, just like ME2.

Why are you so tasteless EA?
Why can't you make a game that does more than taste like stale cardboard?
I've got nothing against you except for the fact that you just SUCK at making anything fun.… Expand

I literally just finished the game a few minutes ago, and I have to say, this is one of the best games I have ever played. Bioware did a fantastic job of neatly wrapping up the Mass Effect universe, plain and simple. Anyone that thinks otherwise, while entitled to their opinion entirely, isn't taking into account the scale of the actions in the game. I won't spoil anything, but almost every major story mission has huge consequences that already alter the game world tremendously, and the ending is simply more extreme. The ending now brings me to my next point. Unlike popular belief that the choices you made in the earlier games do not have any impact, contrary to a statement by Bioware, they really do. There are subtle occurrences that can and will alter the game's multiple endings drastically.
Now that the controversy around that has been dealt with let me get on with the game. The game is spectacular! The gameplay is nearly identical to Mass Effect 2, but nothings wrong with that, because it works. The combat is fluid, with a slightly tactical edge to it, and even on Normal difficulty, will force you to think, and solve through each combat situation because it is quite challenging compared to most games' normal difficulty. There are several more weapons added into the game, improving on that part of the second game, and even adds simplistic modifications to them to allow for increased stats as you see fit. Outside of the combat, Mass Effect still is heavy story based game, and the story is fantastic, epic, impacting, and fills the player with a sense of desperation, and dread (a rare accomplishment in most games). The multiplayer is some of the best I've seen in a long time, being far more enjoyable, and fun then anything else in a long time, and I mean who hasn't wanted to play in the Mass Effect universe as Turian, or Salarian, or Quarian, or Krogan?
There are really only a few things that can be said to harm the games rating. At times, the frame rate will get a bit choppy, but thankfully never have I experienced frame rate issues while in combat, and on one occasion the animation for jumping through a Mass Relay played when it should have loaded the next cluster of planets in a system. Aside from these minor issues, there is also downloadable content that can be bought on launch day that contains an overpowered character, and an overpowered weapon. To truly experience the full game, this content is necessary, and its unfortunate to see Bioware forced to do this because of their publisher, EA.
The game, even with these flaws accounted for, is still nearly perfect. It's clear that Bioware was aiming to make a perfect 10/10 game, but unfortunately due to EA, and the minor graphical issues, the game looks perfect, sounds perfect, plays perfect, and feels perfect. I wish I could give the game a perfect rating of 10/10 but because of its flaws I have to give it the one less regardless of how minor they feel. Bioware has done an outstanding job with Mass Effect 3. I'm proud to call myself a citizen of Edmonton, Bioware's headquarters in Alberta, Canada. A fantastic way to conclude the trilogy.… Expand

I have to address the elephant in the room. Many of the users who gave this game a negative review might not have understood what the ending signified. With that said, I will not reveal here what it means. That is for those who complete the game and have questions to try and solve. The fact of the matter is that this game had such a large scale of intergalactic drama that it was byfar the best Mass Effect to date. The amount of time invested in the game was a complete payoff to what I discovered about the end of the game. The fact that fans didn't understand the ending is a problem though. Hopefully, Bioware will release something to let everyone know what I discovered after looking into the game deeper. I'm not going to bash anyone who didn't like the game, but I urge them to wait and see. It really is an intelligent ending to a game. Just look at Knights of the Old Republic 2's ending. It was a total WTF moment, and fans really didn't freak out about that. If you want an ending that isn't roses and tulips, play this one to the end. Go on game help sites to figure out how to get the best ending. You won't regret it.… Expand

Here's the problem - Mass Effect is a magnificent series; but I can't recommend ME3 as a 10/10 game, or even anywhere close. The problem with it for me isn't really the ending (yes, it's true, it was unbelievably bad), but rather the fact it should be renamed "Gears of Modern Battlefield 5". I honestly don't class ME3 as an RPG; rather, it's an on the rails mediocre shooter, interspersed with a lot of cut scenes and dialogue, which is again on the rails. Even if you are a big fan, go back and think about it - you are treated to a lot of dialogue, you make choices etc. but no matter what you choose you move forward to the very same portion of the game as everyone else - you shoot stuff and run through corridors. I didn't feel like I was "role playing" as Shephard, unless you consider Call of Duty an RPG as well!

Unlike ME 1 & 2, I felt very little for the plight of Shephard because throughout the game the overall writing is a bit sub-par compared to previous games. This is, in my opinion, symptomatic of the problems at Bioware at the moment; style over substance. It was like after two superb games I was being abandoned as a fan in favour of commercial appeal above and beyond anything else.

Don't get me wrong, this isn't a "bad" game; you'd have to be completely out of your mind to say that ME3 is anything other than decent as a total package. But - and it's a big but - it's nowhere near the perfect game and in relation to the franchise it takes a giant turd on what has gone before.

So it's bizarre to sum it up in this way, but there's no other way to put it - if you're a Call of Duty fan, looking for a more "in depth" game without sacrificing the mindless shoot 'em up FPS experience, then Mass Effect 3 is for you. However, if you're a fan of Mass Effect 1 & 2, then this game may very well disappoint you. At the very least, if you play this game, switch it off as soon as you see a glowing holographic image of a child - you'll thank me for doing so.

So yes, I'd be wrong to score it any less than 7/10, but what I will say is that after the debacle that was Dragon Age 2 and now the less than stellar Mass Effect trilogy conclusion, I will be careful to spend money on a product bearing the Bioware logo, simply because the once accepted measure of excellence they held in a gamers heart has been lost. Let's hope a return to form is just around the corner.… Expand

Mass Effect 3 is both a testament to show how low EA has dragged Bioware. On the other hand, it IS a good game. Graphics look great, the RPG elements have been improved and the general gameplay is great. You can pretty much cut ME3 in three. Average/Amazing/Bad, for Opening/Majority of Game/Ending. Even with the Extended Cut, the ending is not satisfying for long time fans of the series, and it's really a shame. Other issues include tons of auto-dialogue, a focus on Cerberus instead of the Reapers and the fetch quests they replaced normal side quests with. Your ME2 squadmates are completely sidelined, but that is Mass Effect 2's Suicide Mission's fault. So why did I rate it 8/10? Because it is a good game. Just not a great Mass Effect game.… Expand

Mass Effect 3 provides a stunning end to the trilogy. The voice acting is top-notch, and the attention to details of previous installments is gratifying (if you've imported your Shephard). The game looks great and the combat is more streamlined from ME2, with a much needed heavy melee option. The story is very well done, and wraps everything up quite nicely. Definitely worth the wait.

After the first of this series, I was hooked. The Mass Effect franchise was the thing a cared about most in video games, and I was not disappointed with ME3. The game starts off quick and hooks you immediately and the story progresses as fast or a slow as you want it to depending on how many of the side quests you partake in. Some of the side quests did feel boring but the boring ones were quick, so the gripe is a small one. But the priority missions are where its at, there insanely fun and none of the missions disappointed me. There are three main enemies in this game, each diverse and different from one another (Cerberus, Geth, and of course the Reapers). The multi-player is fun and a great little edition, this is still very much a single player game though. And despite what most people are saying, in my opinion the decisions you made in ME2 and the original do impact your game. If you expected them to have a massive impact then I guess you'll be disappointed, but it does affect the way certain characters treat you, and which characters carry on into Mass Effect 3. Another complaint I keep hearing about is the ending, I could see where people would complain about the ending of ME3, but I thought it was a beautiful way to end the series. The ending would have been more well received if Mass Effect 3 was a movie, because its not your typical video game ending in any way shape or form. Aside from some short but boring side quests there is one more gripe, you will often times find yourself rolling instead of jumping in and out of cover, this for me was really annoying and is pretty much the reason why I'm giving the game a 9 instead of a 10. But overall, this was a fantastic way to end the series and I was not disappointed in the least, a must buy in my opinion.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Apparently, after DA2 and TORtanic, BioWare have now pinched-out another classic game, enhanced with Day-1 DLC, linear gameplay, ORIGIN for the PC, and a tripartite ending choice that makes many gamers, after having invested dozens upon dozens of hours of gameplay with the franchise, want to commit hari kiri. . . . Apparently, eschewing much player-choice in this latest sequel to the MASS EFFECT series, BioWare have included their "awesome-button" with this dreck, which might be better named MASS APPEAL 3, due to limited exploration, near-complete disregard for historical player-choice and odd design implementation. Aside from some XBOX technical guffaws, such as my femShep falling through the world during the Tuchanka Eve series with the Hammer activations, extensive plot-changing cutscenes with minimal player-input have derailed a MASS EFFECT series that was originally a player-driven RPG and not a combat-heavy, awesome-button homage to stilted dialogue choices with nearly-identical outcomes. How BioWare's continuity department envisioned MASS EFFECT 3's wrangling with philosophical, social and moral issues such as implied xenophobia, homosexuality, interspecies coupling and the biological-species-rule, while omitting or ignoring coherent closure with a myriad of player-driven endings is mind-numbing. Simply put, it is apparent that more design and interplay have been woven into the story arc regarding Shepard's "top or bottom" status than the ending of the entire trilogy. In other words, BioWare had the will, the time and energy to craft homosexual plot threads and allude to interspecies sexual trysts throughout the subtext of MASS EFFECT but could NOT be bothered to make any ending that had consistency with lore, player-choice, the intrinsic MASS EFFECT experience? This following observation might be simplistic; BUT, what kind of DLC should I buy for a universe that no LONGER EXISTS? -In other words, shall I play the game AGAIN and see if it turns out any differently? /facepalm.… Expand

As always, Mass Effect pushes the boundaries of game experience. The characters, lore, and depth of the universe and the sheer quality of every square inch of the game is the pinnacle of video gaming. The single-player and multi-player are both near perfect for what they are, and I'm not budging in saying that this is the greatest trilogy in the gaming world to date. That said, the ending of the series confuses the hell out of me. Whereas I thought the ending would be about the bond between Shepard and his squad-mates in their flawed attempts at trying to survive the impossible together, this game completely deviates from that. The ending of ME3 is suicidal in that it destroys it's own legacy, a legacy greater than any other game I've played. Not sure if I can ever play Mass Effect again.… Expand

Nothing less then perfection. I managed to get a copy a few days early and I never thought the story and game could top what the last two games have delivered, but this keeps getting better and better! You really do feel the weight of those decisions you made. Its great to finally see the outcome of these shaping after waiting for 5 years in curiosity as to what would happen. Certainly doesn't disappoint! Gameplay mechanics have taken a sharp turn for the better and have progressed a long way since ME2. It great a lot of mods that were a fun point of ME1 have returned also. Shepard's story could not have asked for a better conclusion then this! Massive credit to Bioware to improving on a series that is already top of its league! No easy feat, but they have done it with flying colors!… Expand

ME3 did not feel as good as ME2. The story was a bit clumsy, the characters unfriendly and the relationship in-between them vacuous or unrealistic. I felt like I was watching a young girl playing with barbie dolls, but with a science-fiction plot instead of a pink play house. Don't get me wrong, the Sci-Fi idea behind all of ME is epic, I loved it. But this last chapter failed to deliver because of the story-telling and the quite repetitive console-like gameplay.

Here's how you beat the game: Move forward, shoot, repeat. You have nothing to think about or care about to beat the game.… Expand

I will give this game a 7 why?, well it truly starts good, but the last part feels rushed and the ending feels like a book from stephen king... **** ending. Your past decisions does not have much of impact neither your current ones for the ending. then there is multiplayer, its cool and fun but I keep getting booted of EA servers along with tons of other players, besides there is this glitch where my game freezes at a never ending loading screen at the main menu and I have to do a ritual of disconnecting xbox from internet and such and reconnecting it to be able to play. Game is good but has lots of flaws.… Expand

This game could have been a masterpiece but the final result is only a forgettable mix of bugs, holes in a childish plot with the "wish" to be serious, a ton of shadows and emphasis everywhere, no exploration, no puzzles, flat dialogues and the worst ending in videogame history. In certain things it could deserve a 11 but in others not more than a -20 so my balance is 0. Nothing more than a "project" of a game, an interesting project never terminated and poorly done, or at least that's not good to be released like this.… Expand

A fantastic conclusion to the best sci fi rpg saga to take place on home consoles. Mass Effect 3's inclusion of all your decisions from the first two games and their DLC is an amazing achievement and adds a deeper affection for you character and his/her surviving allies from it's predecessors. The combat has been improved over Mass Effect 2 to be more responsive and free moving but still includes the weapon and thermal clip progressions made in that title. The graphics have improved again giving the game more feeling from being on an ominous dark space station to a foreign planets landscape it all looks stunning. The multiplayer is also compelling with a Gears Of War style 'Horde' mode in which four players can fight waves of enemies from varying factions Cerberus/Reaper/Geth to level up their favoured character class/race and earn money to buy card packs which unlock random weapons/characters/upgrades in an addictive one more game fashion.
Once again, an exquisite gaming experience full of emotion and replayability that fans of the series will love.… Expand

I'm not here to rip on ME3 just for the sake of doing so or because its what's cool to do on the internet like so many others.

Basically ME3 is the worst of the series in every way possible compared to the other 2 games because it doesn't build or improve anything. It simply just tries to hurriedly finish the series for the sake of a cash in on the title.

1- There is no sense of exploration. The game as efficiently as possible holds your hand every step the way and has you actually being on the ground doing things the least amount possible. Side missions are carried out by quickly scanning a planet ala ME2 and then firing a probe. That's it. You don't explore, you don't get to check out uncharted worlds simply for the sake of curiosity or anything. Scan, shoot probe, side mission done all without even leaving the galaxy map. This tactic accounts for the majority of side missions. ME1 you could explore the galaxy drive around in that horribly handling buggy and had a sense of discovering things, ME2 you could land on planets and explore doing side missions with some not even firing a single shot like the crashed cruiser balanced on the mountain peak but all of those things are gone in 3. The game just holds your hand and ushers you from mission to mission.

2- You don't get to actually chose anything, everything is pre determined for you. Even if you chose the renegade or paragon path you get the exact same result and no one treats you differently and you get no alternative paths depending on your karma scale which makes it all incredibly pointless and just window dressing for the fact the story is entirely linear and so is your character.

3- The characters are all the same ones, only less compelling. There are a couple new characters but they are highly disposable and not even worth messing with. James for instance is basically just a guy who talks 90% of the time like a generic white guy, 10% of the time he throws out some Mexican phrases like saying "loco" a lot in his generic white guy trying to impersonate a Mexican guy and he looks like he was taken from the show jersey shore. When a old character returns you can see it coming a mile away. For instance you go into a area where the mission briefing talks about geth then you can see 45 minutes before which old character is going to come back. All the characters themselves seem hollow and rushed, they lack the personality that made them endearing in the other games and most are there only long enough to be overly obvious in a very specific mission or they simply show up for 3 minutes of camera time practically winking at the player with a nod and then are gone.

4- The story compared to the others sucks. The other games had side stories, character stories, side missions with their own short stories and so on. ME3 on the other is basically this "Everything is going to be destroyed". That's pretty much it because no matter where you go or what you do its always about the war specifically and nothing else. I also got sick of hearing phrases like "were here to save lives", "were doing this to save lives", "this weapon will save lives", "we need to stick together to save lives", "billions of lives are on the line and were here to save them", etc and after about 8 hours I was sick of hearing about the war and saving lives.

5- The game play was basically just one big shooting gallery and hiding behind chest high walls. Every single fight is basically you hiding behind chest high walls to peak out and fire a few rounds only to hide back behind said wall. It was incredibly boring and has been done to death in dozens of other games. The combat was mindless and mediocre. It felt like they put absolutely no effort into the combat at all and rushed you through it in order to get to the next scene of hearing Sheppard say "saving lives".

6- The ending was atrocious. This is a series that prides itself on story, characters and dialogue. We all spent over 100 bucks playing all 3 games and spent over 100 hours playing all 3 games but bioware seemed to say "This is the end of the trilogy so who cares about the ending". The ending is the most important part of any story of any kind because its the very last thing you leave the person with and its supposed to be a reward, the climax to everything leading up till then, basically the ending is the most important part of any story. But the ending of ME3 was over in just a minute or so despite the dozens of hours of dialogue, cut scenes and story in the rest of the series they got lazy at the end. It gives no satisfaction at all. I can honestly say it is the laziest segment of the series. I did like though they had the balls to do what they did with Sheppard, but the ending still sucks and doesn't make you glad to have finished the series.… Expand

Very difficult game to judge. The 99% of the game is awesome - dialogues, storytelling, characters and mainly the decisions from the previous games really matters here (at least mine were present. Even the fact that I collected all "Arasi Writing" collectibles in the first game played some small role in ME3). But the last 1% of the game is huge dissapointment. The ending is terrible. Not because the story itself. Not because it isnot a "sugar and rainbows" happy ending. But because it will not tie up the game. And dont tell you at leasts the results of the final battle. But the problem is that these last minutes will make a lasting impressions of the game. So even when I was enjoying myself for more that 40 hours, now I feel really dissapointed, tricked and not motivated to play this game ever again.… Expand

Great game, Wicked action sequences, good story.. But it where this ME really failed was the in the decision making part of the game. It was incredible weak and None of the choices you made really mattered. I wouldnt play it again.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. ME3 was a good game the combat was fun and most of the story was good. The problems start with no ME2 squad mates on the Normandy, the love interests have very limited interactions, and less for ME2 li, we don't get to see Tali's face, etc. The star-child is forced into the story, and all the endings are anti-heroic in my opinion even with the extended cut it still sucks. But you should try for yourself.… Expand

The only hint people need is NOT to buy the game. Only way you will get Bioware to take notice of all the crap that is wrong with their series..creatively and technically. Ending terrible..Engine framerate terrible on PS3. No excuse for these companies anymore..its the greedy people at the top of the food chain taking advantage of the consumer by cutting back talented people. Heck I even loved the terminator boss in ME2..what happened to that? Gamers, consumers, unite and stay clear of anything Bioware puts out in the future.

Save your money and buy the art book instead. It will be worth something down the road..more then this game ever will be. Only praise goes to the artists who did a magnificent job in creating the universe..hell even Bioware didn't credit them in the book.… Expand