Mass Effect 3 reviews

The gameplay has been streamlined and in my opinion an improvement over the earlier games.
The story build was was very compelling and had that epic feel to it.
Alas, the “ending” feels like they ran out of ideas, as there is no closure or satictory conclusion to the story and all the end options feel the same.

The mechanics are terrible.
A single button to do everything, a terrible idea.
Your character wont do what you want them to do most of the time and will end up getting you killed many many times. Could have been all fixed if you were simply allowed to crouch and run without first having to glue your back to a wall.

Story was typical bioware story(excellent), apart from the end, which offered little closure(even with one of the best endings) nor did it enlist any emotion, making all the brilliant story beforehand
Irrelevant.

Reasonable game. Not quite worth what I paid for it.

Enjoyed Me1 and Me2, I found ME3 a bit disapointing!…stu­pid ending!

I have had this game for maybe 2 weeks now and am still unable to install it!

It requires that you have an origin account (a copy of steam for those who dont know). I already had one from playing Battlefield 3 so this wasnt a problem.

The problem occured when I tried to install and it asked for my game code (CD key), which I entered and it it continued past, then it starts to download 10gig instead of installing from the 2 DVD's I have!-!-
WTH is going on here-
Surely I must have clicked something wrong right… Apparently not, I googled it and found pages and pages of people having the same problem and at least 5 different ways, different people have managed to get around it. None of which have worked for me.

I have bounced emails back and forth to EA help to no avail. They continue to send me links to forums about "check for scratches on your CD, or maybe you have a virus/spyware, and other info about updating/changing settings on windows 98/XP/ME when Im running Win7!

I am totally discusted with the level of service from EA and wish I bought it for my PS3 instead because I could have not only finshed the install, but probably even the game!

2 weeks of owning the game and cant even install it…
Wouldnt recommend the PC version to anyone!

Not since Dragon Age 2 has BioWare fumbled this badly. The previous Mass Effect Games were well written Action/RPG adventures allowing you to play in your own Sci-fi movie. However, the third installment leaves much to be desired, the one positive comment I can make is that the combat in the third game shines far and above the other two. That being said it seems they sacrificed just about every thing else. The game is stunningly linear, with a string of main quest planets that you will visit in exactly the same order every time, the dialogue options (when you get them) have been thinned down to a meager 2 choices (Save kitties or burn orphanages) which you will be offered maybe once or twice per cutscene, greatly reducing the interactivity and choice.

When the game launched there was a minor small bug by which if you tried to import a character from the first and second games into the third, it would mess up the face. BioWare have since claimed to fix this issue, however for many the problem persists. I mention this to indicate the kind of Quality this game does not possess, when the CORE FEATURE of the series can have this kind of bug which escaped notice we may glimpse BioWare's focus on their new casual mainstream market and less on their traditional fanbase (Which departs them in droves)

The biggest flaw many have noted is the ending (singular) Promised an ending which would culminate all the choices made over the three games what gamers got instead was a magical ending choice room, where one may choose whatever ending one wants regardless of prior actions and then they show you a cutscene with different coloured lights. Multiple ending games should be a branching tree of diverse endings, not a sharpened pencil. The ending situation is so bad that it overshadows the many other flaws this game has with its roleplaying aspects. If you are a BioWare fan and you haven't already been repelled by Dragon Age 2. Don't buy this game, it may seal the deal.

As an addendum the IGN review quoted above (which I shall again quote here :-
""…All told, Mass Effect 3 is an absolutely amazing game, one that successfully puts a bow on the Mass Effect trilogy while still leaving us hungry for even more. It looks and plays great, but Mass Effect 3's true strength lies in its ability to tell a deeply-woven story. Better yet, the sheer ambition shown by BioWare in announcing an intersecting trilogy complete with save importation becomes fully realized in Mass Effect 3. BioWare deserves applause for not only having the courage to attempt something like the Mass Effect trilogy, but for pulling it off with such exceptional poise and skill. Mass Effect 3 isn't the best game ever made. But it'll certainly be in the conversation for a very long time to come."

IGN RATINGS FOR MASS EFFECT 3 (PC)
9.5
OVERALL
Amazing
(out of 10)"

This must have been written by someone who has either
A: Never played the game
B: Without a clue
Or
C: Received a large sack with a dollar sign on it from EA

** Addendum: It is worth noting that the Better Business Bureau feels BioWare may be guilty of false advertising in regards to Mass 3 particularly in relation to Your choices having consequence and shaping the end.

This game is great… until the last 5 minutes. They really dropped the ball. The endigns are nonsensical. They make no sense and do not feel satisfying or have any closure.

You don't know what happens to your crewmates.

And for those who have played the whole series it feels like a betrayal.

P.S. There are only 3 endings.
P.P.S. You destroy the galaxy you want to save to save it.

Other wise this game is fun, well designed and worth playing.

I am going to try to be fair considering the internet comment on this game.
Bad points:- Really bad combat weapons to begin your quest, an fairly bad journal; character heads on backwards
Good points: Story is excellent; contrary to others, my imports from ME2 work fine; the decisions from ME2 and ME1 do have some effect; graphics good; some very humorous pieces; beautifully crafted; nice soundtrack.
Generally speaking the ‘bad points’ are a pain in the butt, the new journal system is crap – it's hard to tell if you have actually collected something (like no inventory), initially I couldn't figure out if I could go back a second time to find someone (Thane for example). And for your benefit – you can't…
The initial weapons are really weak compared to the opposition; you character needs to be up around level 50 to do real damage. The cut scenes are long and fairly boring, and in a great many places you can't ‘esc’ to take a break.There are arbitrary ‘saves’ that make little sense for re-loading.
The storyline follows the earlier games, the graphics are good, although, in ageing some of the characters they now look 1000yrs old! The backward heads are very funny at inappropriate moments…or annoying…

Some of the battles are excellent once you figure out how to do any damage – the crouch control for Shepherd can be really bad – you can often not use biotics from the cover position, they simply don't work, as indeed your squad ones don't either, or you have to click on them so many times you're already dead.
The journal is bad for an RPG – ok for an FPS where there is little story and no need to figure out if you have collected something or given it to the appropriate person.

Strangely, the multiplayer is fast and fun – bit irritating being forced into it for war assets, but it is surprisingly good.

I was expecting this game to be an 11/10, as I enjoyed the second game immensely, I did not enjoy the first game as I found it tedious with controls etc. I love this series as a whole, to be honest game 3 is as good as the second – UP UNTIL the ending/s. I now have various characters sitting at the base before ‘the final push’ – everything up until ‘the beam’ is fine.
I agree with the general dissatisfaction regarding endings and plot holes, Bioware dropped the ball there. However, I am now on my 6th runthrough, I enjoy it , there are slight variations each time – the most irritating thing is still not being able to change the character's names – why Bioware don't have a handle on that…sigh…30 John Shepherds played over 3 years making different decisions requires a word document to figure out what the hell you've been up to!
Lastly, there's an earlier mention in one of the reviews about the Hitler utube clip – it's called Hitler Retakes Mass Effect 3 – that is very much worth a look.

Game 3 easter egg:-Salarian Base – keep playing with the computer when you are told not to…

It's like playing a movie.

It's a lot better if you've been through the first two. But still great on it's own.

Played through twice, intend to play through again as a lady…

Well, I'm sure you've heard all the people moan about the game, but take a step back, 99% of the game is amazing, it took what we liked from mass effect 1 and streamlined it to be, yes a more “Generic” shooter, but all in all, it was done pretty well, there's plenty of customisation, the multiplayer is average, really fun with a group of friends, but that's not why you bought Mass Effect 1, 2 or 3! It's got an amazing single player, hours of fun, heaps of re-playability, very enthralling, you'll find yourself unable to tear yourself away from the screen on your first play through and you'll have trouble in the next few too! Highly recommended buy.

The game was very enjoyable, the graphics are great and the story line carries on from the pass mass effect games. There is also lots of DLC you can download. I downloaded a heap of DLC including an exstended ending to the game. Which i recommend doing. I thought the game was really well made. Didnt find any problems with the game apart from how addictive it was.

The game allows you to import an existing character from the previous mass effect game if you dont want to create a new one. I thought the exstended ending to the game i got from the DLC was really good and really bought the game to a good end. I definatly recommend playing Mass effect 3.

At first I didn't like Mass Effect 3. I played through the beginning sequence and found it very lacking in emotion and scope, and frankly didn't see the purpose of that kid which becomes a recurring dream to Shepard. Also the Mars part felt far too Deus Ex Machina to be. As the weeks dwindled on I decided to give it another go, and I'm glad I did.
This isn't just a rehash of ME2's combat system as I first thought, though it is very similar. Updated powers, and different characters' powers shine when used in unison, and an overall polish has made it exhilarating once again. The sound effects on weapons and powers is satisfying as well, kudos to the sound designers. Level design has been overhauled with greater levels of depth to allow for many ways of play. One irk I do have is the loss of heavy weapons, and the weak weapon modification system which cannot compare to ME1's.
Contrary to my original belief the sense of scope does grow as you continue with the story and become more invested in the events unfolding. Some levels are absolutely stunning and cinematic, beautifully rendered in the ME3 engine which although may not be the most graphically intense, Bioware have certainly created vistas I haven't seen in any other game yet to date.
The story, in my opinion, is filled with many typical ME moments (which I enjoyed) but depending on if you wanted a deeper RPG story, you may not like. It is what you'd expect from the last of the trilogy, dealing with the Reaper invasion and such. The decisions you make however do have long reaching consequences. My favourite part of the ME trilogy has always been characters however, and the characters in ME3 are strong, especially old ones such as Kaiden (who never did much in ME1) which are brought to life.
I've seen many complain about the ending giving no closure, though no one ever seems to elaborate about what they mean. I see nothing wrong with closure, as your decision at the end is clearly explained. I can understand the anger at not being given the ending you want but throughout the ME series it has never been about what you want. It has always been about picking between choices that are available (such as in Bring Down the Sky in ME1, no “right” choice really existed just whichever you deemed to be the lesser evil); and this is just the same. The lead up to the final ending is incredible, and sacrifice has always been a theme in Mass Effect. I'm rather glad it had an epic ending instead of one which drones on about all your decisions and what each and every character then went on to do. You know what you've done, those decisions impacted on you and the story throughout the game, and you can most likely predict what the character's will do as well. It would make no sense to conclude a game retelling the game.
Sorry I didn't play any multiplayer, so no thoughts on that (though it did irk me how your galactic readiness was based on it).
Anyway that is my honest review of the game. Hope you have as much fun as I did.

I am a big fan of the Mass Effect series and was amped for this release, however in my opinion it didn't live up to the hype, or my standards. While still a reasonable game I felt there was that something special missing that grabbed me from the first two titles, a somewhat un-polished game but still a few hours of entertainment.

This game rocks until you get to the end and your all like, eh,but still an amazing game worth owning

Looks like a movie, feels live a movie but with a much better story than anything Hollywood came up with in the past years. Played Mass Effect 1 & 2 before this one and this is the best of the series. Also loved to bring my commander across the series. Actions done in Mass Effect 1 & 2 affects Mass Effect 3. Looking forward for a Mass Effect 4 !

Brilliant game, challenging and fun, with multiple options available

Good game, graphics are awesome and the trimming to the UI from ME2 is good too. Have not finished the game yet but I am liking it alot!

The gameplay has been significantly improved from the other 2 games in the series, it feels more streamlined and the one button cover control works well (unless your a total noob). The story line was great up until the end, which I felt was a bit of a let down (due to the lack of character dialogue it didn't really have a sense of closure) although Bioware is apparently looking at this issue in the up-coming “extended cut” DLC which will be free to download in a few months. I have decided to give
Mass Effect 3 four stars because I feel that, its about the journey not the destination.

i love it until the last part of it… the choice was well below par..

the game got great story lines and true to other mass games.. but again the ending .

also the game came with a installing problem. when u install it it will try and install it online rather than the disk.
there is a way to fix this as EA (last i time i check) still working on it…

install then pause download at 1%.. unzip game from disk to the game directory… un ready only everything… restart orign and it continual from 99 % and install…

hope that helps

I played many classic role playing games, big ones include titles like the Witcher series, the Dragon Age Origins series, and the Fallout sagas. Of all them, nothing can beat my love for the Mass Effect series. All the series were well constructed with great gameplay but the main strength of Mass Effect lies with its great storyline that draws a strong connection of players with the main character; Commander Shepard, his companions and the outcome of the decisions he makes that have an affect on the storyline of the game.

I would say Mass Effect 3 is the best of all 3 series. However as with others in their reviews below, I couldn't agree more that the last 5 – 7 minutes of the game screwed everything up. It is very sad for most who have followed the previous series to see the game ending in that matter and is indeed a slap in the face.

Mass Effect 3 was heading towards golden perfection and would have achieved that golden perfection if it is not for the ending. Despite its flaw this is still a great game which I will recommend to those who love RPG games, but would strongly advise to play the previous ones first before playing this one.

Great game, ending is a bit of a fizzle though.

Mass effect3 lives up to its predecessors, in gameplay, imersion and combat experience.
A few quibbles though, for one, making the interact, pickup, revive, sprint, roll and cover keys the SAME key is inconvenient at times.
The other, is the end sequence, which is very lacking and, in my opinion, unfufilling.

After waiting months for this game to release, when it finally arrived I was over the moon I ripped open the packaging, quickly looked through all the extra's then slammed the disk into my PS3. As I waited for the day one patch to install I continued to look through the extra's and was delighted with them, with the day one patch all installed I started to play and was blown away by how much better the graphics to the game were. I played for hours and hours, intrigued and astounded by the story line, the characters development and as always the amazing voice acting. After 1 week I got to the end of the game and that's when things started going down hill, the ending (without giving spoilers) was absolutely terrible, I was upset, bewildered and down right angry. 98% of the game was amazing, just for that to be destroyed in the last 10 minutes.

A fitting finale that deserves multiple plays – your choices have meaningful consequences. Good narrative choices in the story lead to differing outcomes. A glimpse at the future of gaming storytelling…

Bioware started with a great game, Mass Effect. They dumbed it down and called it Mass Effect 2. Mass Effect 3 is better than ME2, but not by much. Except for the journal – that is much worse.

Squadmates who don't do what you tell them to do- Check.
Inability to equip squadmates with items- Check.
Unskippable cutscenes before dying horribly with no save point- Check.
Emotional scenes rammed down your throat like a bad Spielberg movie- Check.
Fights that are so annoying that all emotional impact is lost- Check. (After one very major fight my only thought was “great, it's done, can I go to bed now-”)
Useless map- Check.
Useless journal- Check. It doesn't, for example, tell you if you've actually picked up the quest item or not.
Use of one button for cover and sprint, so you get stuck on items when trying to run around- Check.

I had high hopes for this finale to the trilogy. None of them were realised.

Bottom line: If you liked ME2 then you'll love this. Me though, I wish I hadn't spent money on it. After the mess Bioware made of Dragon Age II I should have known better.

A must buy for any Mass Effect 3 fan. In comparison to ME2, the overall flow of the game is improved, making for some spectacular scenes and story line. However, the additions to the combat system are glitchy, especially in multiplayer. This is made worse that ‘spacebar’ is bound to do every non shooting action during combat.

Apart from these small frustrations, the game is highly enjoyable and has more replayability now that multiplayer has been added to the franchise.

The third in the Mass Effect series you play as Commander Shepard fighting to save the Earth from the Reapers by uniting the galactic nations against them. A role playing game that has everything, action, romance, self sacrifice, honor, trust, betrayal and warfare on a massive scale. This game is special and I highly recommend it.

The story is one of a space faring civilization being invaded by another race with superior technology. It has better graphics and the story is good. If you have played earlier games in the series it brings up previous characters, so long as they survived and so you learn their fates and their responses to the situation. There is humour and sadness.
Compared to earlier games in the series its combat and movement is smoother and there are multiplayer aspects.

ZM rated this a MUST buy and as a gamer who has played the first two, they cant be any more right!

The game has brilliant combat, story line and every character you meet you make an emotional connection with!!!

RECOMEND TO ALL

In the blur of titles that are out there these days, I hadn't even looked at the Mass Effect titles until my friend introduced me to Mass Effect 2.

Firstly I was blown away by the graphics in the first cutscene. Then the game just went from strength to strength with how it deeply draws you into the character, starting with a personalised avatar if you decide to spend the time on it, or otherwise go with the default; The combat gameplay is unique and brilliant, fighting in a squad of 3 with the ability to use your squadmates' ‘powers’ at your command, or let their AI intelligently fight with you (the best friendly AIs I've seen in any FPS/3PS game). You can develop your weapons, skills and powers as you go through the game, gathering resources and discovering technologies – a little exploration goes a long way.

These attributes alone would make a great game, but what really gives the Mass Effect series it's X-factor is your ability to chose your responses, including to ethical dilemmas. In this way you carve out a ‘personality’ type as a Renegade or a Paragon, or a mixture of the two.
The specific choices you make also effect your character's re­lationships with other characters, not only in the one game, but continuing through the rest of the series, and can be for better or worse.

Now that Mass Effect 3 promises even better combat, weapons, graphics, and overall experience, I can't wait to get this conclusion to the story arc, and I will probably get the deluxe edition!

I hope YOU enjoy this game as much as I know I will, and I can guarantee you it will be an EPIC experience!

Mass Effect 3 is the final installment in the Mass Effect trilogy concerning Commander Shepard of the Alliance and his attempts to avert galactic destruction by the powerful Reapers.

A Science-Fiction FPS/RPG crossover, this has aspects of first-person shooters, as well as a deep and complex Role-playing storyline that can be affected in both minor and major ways by the player's choices.

The choices and decisions made in Mass Effect 1 and 2 can be carried forward into the game via savegame import, but a default history is available for the new player.

ME3 promised multiple improvements and innovations to the game's combat and role-play sections, based on how people played the first two games.

A promising and much-anticipated title.

I got Mass Effect a year or two after it came out.
I got Mass Effect 2 a month or two before it came out.
I -will- be pre-ordering Mass Effect 3, likely a collectors edition.

This is a series with excellent pedigree, BioWare having a command of graphics, music, scripting and pacing. A science fiction masterpiece for our generation, beyond all of it's compitition.