Mass Effect 3 (2012 Video Game) User Reviews

Mindblowing yet bittersweet

[jakimiku · 10/10 · 14 March 2012]

Spoilers in here, read if you've completed the game.

I looked forward to ME3 like a madman, got it and played (lived) it. I can honestly say that the Mass Effect series is the best i've played: the story is beyond imaginable and the characters are so dimensional and likable. I don't think that lately there has been a more captivating game, book or film where i have grown so into the characters and the world. The fact that i was able to import all my character development and vital decisions through all the franchise is already a sign of how really grande the game is.

First of all, a bit about the gameplay: i liked that the movement was more dimensional, you could sprint a lot (which saved me many a times when i needed cover), using ability combos - again fantastic, and the game was generally a lot faster. New squad members, James and EDI were interesting and brought something new to the table. Soundtrack was very well composed and the atmosphere whilst playing the game was of something significant. That's that, top notch.

The characters... amazing. To see a portrayal of them through all three games was fantastic, because even if you used some of the squadmembers more than others (f.e. i didn't use Liara or Tali in my ME1 playthrough very much, i relied on Ash and Garrus mostly; we all have our favorites), you could still see how they all grew and what the world was like for them. Seeing how Ash reacted to Shepard through different times or how their romance went, how friendship with Garrus grew, how Thane interpreted the world and the meaning of life, what Tali felt in her suit, what was it like for Liara, how Jack opened up, and all about the other characters, all that combined was so heartwarming and astonishing, something i haven't encountered in other games (even in Dragon Age it wasn't that close).

So yes, the thing that enraged me the most was the ending. Massive, massive letdown which bitters the whole saga for me because now we know that ME3 was the last. All the decisions, all the character development, all the romance, all the build up was made irrelevant by the Catalyst god who offered Shepard three choices: control, synthesis or destroy. All the endings were basically the same: energy takes out the reapers, mass relays blow up, Shepard dies, Normandy crashes and galactic army is stuck around Earth with no way to get back home without the relays. The lack of choice and variety was the worst problem. For example, in ME1 you had the choice to save the Council, in ME2 you had the choice to destroy the station and which characters survived (why engaging the characters was so important in the game) but in ME3 whatever you do, with all the endings you get the same cutscene and Shepard dies (even if you see the little scene where he draws breath it's not good enough, because it's the matter of your hopeful interpretation and it's not fair to demand the loyal fanbase to "make up our own interpretations of what the ending means for us"). All the good we can see or make up is just our imagination because Bioware didn't give us clear and different endings (the good, the bad, the ugly and everything in the middle, as in 16 different endings they promised). That leaves literally no point to play the game again (you cannot alter the main ending path like in 2 where you could alternatively help the Illusive Man) because you cannot either return to Ash (or whoever you chose) or to Normandy or to anywhere else. You have three basically identical (save for the color of explosions) choices, none of which are satisfactory. Reading all the other reviews/thoughts, i'm not the only one who would have preferred a more clear, an alternate ending. Bitter, bitter, bitter.

All i can hope for is a DLC which makes a clearer ending or offers a new one which sees Shepard reunite with Normandy and it's crew. The reason i love ME series is because the choices you make feel real, they reach out to you, you fall in love with amazing characters and the world, you're a part of the story, but none of this matters with an ending we have no control over. Sad.

The main concept of Mass Effect is the freedom of choices, creating your own path, living the game as Shepard. Everything you do influences what comes next (f.e. if you sacrifice the Council in ME1 then in 2 and 3 other races see you as someone who puts humanity over the galaxy, therefore it's more difficult to get their support; if you get high approval from squad mates in 2 you get better defense for Normandy, etc.). If you are able to choose every little part of the story for yourself in the matter of choice-consequence way, it is only fair that you should be able to choose the ending as well. Otherwise, what's the point? This ending however doesn't give us a chance to make none of our choices matter (it even doesn't give us a chance to defy the child/god) and abandons the reason why Mass Effect is so great to play and why it differes from everything else.

In the end all i can say is that i loved the series very much. One of the most outstanding sci-fi and fantasy worlds with incredible story and characters. I'll just pretend that the ending was something different, something to my own liking.

10 for the franchise, gameplay, story in general, outstanding characters and the world itself. Thank you for reading.

Star Wars of the gaming industry

[azlaniandevil · 10/10 · 26 October 2015]

Mass effect is the third in the series and its a great one. Now the main question is that is this game better then Mass Effect 2 well the answer for me is that they are equally great. Mass effect 3 has it all on the line, you have to save the earth by destroying the reaper. It may sound simple but then the player starts facing obstacles and thus begins your best RPG experience. You must unite every race to save earth because human alone can't save earth against the reaper and here is where you really get to see the reality of the world. Every race will have a problem to solve before they help you which can be seen as a situation happening in the real world if you think about it. It is in this journey you get to experience once more how it feels to be like Shepard, to have your whole race depend on you. This is as stressful for the player as it is for the character. Because you hear constant news telling you how the situation is on earth. As a human you can relate to this. As you progress through your journey we realize humanity is fading away. And that is what makes this game an experience it is the player being Commander Shepard. The ending is the only problem but you get to chose which one you pick so I am not mad about that. I say this is like a Star Wars for game because the director said its inspired by Star Wars and Trek. This can be seen as a dark version of it. Again from its amazing space experience to its gameplay this is a masterpiece that should not be missed. Highly recommend this.

Awesome, Amazing, Best game trilogy of all time.

[hunter-599-422384 · 10/10 · 28 October 2013]

This game is just amazing. I am gonna do it by ratings from categories below.

Graphics: 8/10. Some texture pop in's. A lot of shaky cam. But I don't really mind it.

Story: 9/10. So intense! I have not been doing much of the main story cause I want to get high EMS for the ending. But the scene where you chase the assassin on the citadel attack by cerberus. Beautiful.....

Gameplay: 10/10. It surpassed 1 by a ton! And improved on what 2 had. So like the punching and melee attacks were added in this game.

CAC: 9.5/10. This is lacking a little in the Female side with actual feminine hair styles. But I can make a shepard who looks nothing like my friends shepard. Which is amazing.

Overall: 9.7

This ending actually had me crying. (I romanced kaiden) and he was so freaking sad. Also, I don't care what your excuse is. Buy this game and download ALL the free DLC's and paid if you want to.

A Romance ?!

[Laevinus · 10/10 · 22 July 2013]

In short, I love this game. I was very surprised at how emotionally affected I was by the romance choices in the game. I've played thru twice (now on my third pass) and I've found that I've gotten pretty quick on the combat sections so I can go converse with my love interest after the action.

On my first play-through, I was new to ME3, and choose to go the platonic route (you know, officers shouldn't fall in love with subordinates.) I had enough on my mind trying to figure out the controls. ME3 has some controls that can do two different things depending on how you long you tap or press a button. Sometimes combat went badly because of this, but I just chalked it up to the controls, and went on. By the end of the first play-through, I found I (or I-as-Sheppard) had fallen for Liara and had never gotten a chance to tell her (after passing through some decision points in the game). Liara's voice by Ali Hillis was wonderful. I thought Jennifer Hale's voice was wonderful too.

On the second play through, I/Sheppard committed to Liara and my heart ached, it was so intense.

A 'Literary' Review of ME3

[nomen_meltdown · 9/10 · 16 March 2012]

If you hated the ending, and don't want to hear why I think your complaints are probably petty, by all means please skip this review.

Whereas Mass Effect 3 was tasked with ending the story of Shepard's accidental drafting as the vanguard against the Reapers and their existential threat to galactic life, I think it succeeded spectacularly. Whatever technical imperfections and gameplay quirks (for me, all the new 'mobility' sometimes hindered me as much as it helped), my focus is on the characterization and narrative, which I found on-par with or superior to any other game I've ever played. I felt moved to more-- more warmth, awe, sorrow, affection, humour, and anguish-- than any other piece of fiction in memory, and I was an English major with a love of stories.

The characterization was riding on the writing, the acting, and the character visualizations. I felt the latter was the weakest-- some of those facial expressions... yikes. But the script showed some real growth in the characters, and made them feel 'alive.' I also loved how-- unlike the mere stationary 'conversation dispensers' of ME1& 2-- NPCs aboard the Normandy and the Citadel moved around, interacted with one another, and revealed their own 'relationships.' Eavesdropping on their supportive intercom conversations and their banter, listening to Joker and Garrus tell racist jokes about each others' species-- some of it was hysterical and some of it was quite touching. There were also some great scenes with Shepard that really showed how close these imaginary people have become.

None of that would have 'worked' if not for some praise-worthy performances by the actors, most of whom 'sold' me almost all of their material very effectively. And at risk of playing unfair favourites (because I've waited 5 years to romance Kaidan Alenko as another guy), I was especially wowed by Raphael Sbarge. He sounded superbly authentic to me, none of it came off as forced or fake, even in the novel role of the finally-realized same-sex romance. (Though Shepard's part in that first 'date' fell a bit flat for me-- equal parts the lines and the delivery, I think-- Kaidan felt really 'real.') And his 'farewell' at the London FOB was heart-wrenching, and changed my mind from "I want him safely as far away from me as possible" to "I couldn't imagine doing this without him by my side." It *would* have been nice to have seen a bit more of our ME2 squad-- I didn't realize how attached I'd actually gotten to them until their bodies started piling up-- but the story was coming full-circle and ultimately I don't mind that they were 'bit players.' They were assembled for a specific mission, it was accomplished, and not having experienced the Reapers' threat as directly as the original team did, they had lives to get back to. Even so, the QEC farewells from London were nonetheless really emotional for me.

And I found overall narrative outstanding; the invasion seemed urgent, its spread felt foreboding, Cerberus' interference sincerely made me *angry* at their meddling, and the push to reclaim Earth really had an 'epic' feel to it. Standing out as emblematic of how immersed and how invested I'd become, during the final battle through the streets of London, it was like I forgot medigel even existed and I fought harder than I think I ever have-- poetry in motion-- to 'defend' Kaidan. Nothing else I've watched or read or played has made me feel so protective of an imaginary person.

As for the much-derided ending(s). I'm unsympathetic to the complaints-- they strike me as churlish and smacking of "the customer is always right" entitlement. Yes, it was sad. Broke my heart in half a dozen different ways, but none of them because "I didn't get" my way, or all my questions answered, or a ticker-tape parade at the end. 'My' Shepard heroically offered up his life to end the threat to everything he loved, and while I could have asked for more-- I deeply longed for a 'happy ending'-- I couldn't presume to expect it given the scope. By that I mean: if Shep had survived then what? A hum-drum retirement? Death of old age? Because that would have been so much more satisfying. No, this was a good old fashioned epic-- given the stakes, victory was always bound to be pyrrhic and agonizing. You don't give birth to a new age without pain.

In the end I felt beat up. I was a mess. But I'd done what I set out to do. The Reapers were stopped and the people I cared about had a chance. There was ambiguity and worry and there were questions, but there was hope. I'd been reminded of feelings that often go untapped by blowing the reservoir wide open, and reminded I was alive by making me think about what a death could 'mean.' The notion that I deserved more-- that BioWare's storytelling artists "owed" me exactly what I wanted because I'd *chosen* to pay to experience this journey they crafted-- strikes me as self-centered. It was always their story to tell and ours to participate in, and I wasn't robbed at the end of any gun. That they gave me some freedom in how I experienced 90 or 99% of that story, that I got to see certain decisions play out over time and certain consequences reach fruition, never deluded me into thinking that I was the ultimate author. But I think audiences today are spoiled for information (the information age tells us nothing need go un-answered) and for 'choice' (often the choice is to escape, to shirk responsibility, and to brush off real consequences to have everything our way), and I think that makes the uproar over ME3's conclusion an indictment of 'bad readers' more than 'bad writers.'

I miss the game severely

[kenyae-cagle · 10/10 · 27 October 2015]

This game was awesome from start to finish. I loved how you could build personal relationships with certain characters in this game but was kind of sad that so many previous characters had to die or left the crew like Grunt because I really miss Grunt. I also, loved how the game really gave me a comfortable feeling as if I were in the future and the game allowed you to say responses whether they were good or bad. I wish I could play more games like this in this nature of the future. I loved the friendship between the character as I played as male Shepard and Garrus. Those two seemed like a really good team. I enjoyed all the final part to the game, when you had to make a choice how the world would end and I choose to fuse the synthetic and organic life, because war could have been ended and I think that's one of the most important things in life.I love this video game and would love to see a Mass Effect 4. The game did bring tears to my eyes to know that there was no more Mass Effect.

Master piece of space history ever told

[argento100 · 10/10 · 1 September 2012]

This is the most epic game i ever played, truly, is blows your brain away. Since the start to the end,is so EPIC.

The game is full of movie scenes, a lot of pieces of history, missions that just gives you more question and finally answer that make it all more epic.

Play it with From the Ashes and Leviathan DLC's, you will get some surprises and some holes of the ME universe will be erased giving you part of the history that you will appreciate much.

The fear, the tension, the despair, the most dark behavior of a person, the cost of war, the drama, the fight for the survival, the threat of annihillation of entire civilizations, all of this in Mass Effect 3. This will get you in the front of the monitor immersing you in the game so hard that you actually will believe that is happening.

A master piece of ART itself, is not just a game, is a HEROIC EPIC HISTORY about survival, believes, friendship, loyalty, union. Moral choices about sentient beings, organic or inorganic, the pain of refugees. You will feel your blood boiling for what happen, you will want to fight and protect your kind, you will feel the necessity and impotence of stop the Reapers while you see what they are doing. You will understand the price of the ultimate survival fight.

This game really is good as is reputation, is epic itself.

It deserves a film about it but i prefer a high budget series rather than a movie, but well, movie is already in shooting stage.

Even with the ending, this game cannot be beat.

[RexAtTheMovies · 10/10 · 13 October 2019]

Let's be honest, they don't make stories in games like this. This is by far the best video games, and sci-fi's in any entertainment medium, period. One cannot but feel disappointed about the ending that basically doesn't sum up the game, instead it acts as a deus ex machina and gives you a final, yet dull set of decisions. 99% of the game was amazing: Each character who was a squad member has a purpose in this game, albeit some more than others. I particularly loved the Aralakh Company mission, the scene where Kai Leng and Thane go toe to toe, and the Miranda mission in search of her father. I can go on and on with what makes this not only the best game in the trilogy, but one of the best pieces of art out there. However, we need to talk about the bad and how it could be better:

I didn't like how it ended, and a few things about the story could have been tweaked or tightened up. I didn't like The Illusive Mans ending, seemed to kinda fizzle out rather than treating him like the true antagonist he was. I hated how on the last mission they go back to Earth. Why not have the Crucible not only a weapon, but be a map to the hiding spot of the Reapers then all the galaxy after being decimated and the Reapers returning only to get obliterated by the many races? In that hiding place there is a planet where the Reapers use drones to operate their infrastructure and its up to Shepard to destroy it. Seems way better. Also, why oh why couldn't all of the people who were in your squad over the past 3 games be on the Normandy for the final mission giving you ample choices on who you want to be by your side at the end. Of course a fan will almost always choose Liara, Ashley, or Garrus. But imagine if you had Wrex, Grunt, Kaiden, Jacob, Tali, and everyone else at your disposal? It would've given the game a final emotional punch. I'm fine with the ending choices and Shepard's ultimate sacrifice, but I think the choices should have just been synthesis, destroy just the Reapers, not all synthetic life, or control. Then we see all civilizations rebuilding either with the aid of the Reapers, or on their own.

To me, that would be the ending this game deserves. However, this game will always hold a special place in my heart because I spent many a sleepless nights playing this, and every time I played it I felt more strongly about my opinion that this is one of the best pieces of art in all mediums. Hopefully a TV Show comes of it, or a remastered and redone game series that will hold true to its original content but give it the many story mulligans it deserves.

Great game and a superb end of trilogy

[851222 · 10/10 · 2 January 2016]

Greetings from Lithuania.

"Mass Effect 3" (2012) is a superb game for everyone who enjoyed the previous two installments. Maybe it is not as addictive as Mass Effect 2, but it is a superb game in every direction, with amazing story, great game play, great RPG elements ant etc. There are some issues with controls in close combat, but those are mind issues in comparison to a whole view - a SCI epic on biggest proportions. I do loved the original ending, never played alternative one.

Overall, "Mass Effect 3" is a great game and a great conclusion of a saga. There will be a new one, sure, but this installment is the culmination, and it is worth every minute of it.

Mass Effect 3 review from a fan of Mass Effect 2

[bondukkevin · 9/10 · 20 March 2012]

After playing Mass Effect 2 and aching to import my character into Mass Effect 3, I played the demo and was blown away. I then read some reviews from fans before getting the game and some were disappointed and others thought it was great. So was time to make up my own mind and on first play through it was awesome and 17 hours in it is still to me awesome! This has got to be one of the best games every made IMO.

The level of detail and the great way you can import the game save from ME2 was astonishing, I cannot praise Bioware enough, sure it has a few flaws i.e. I don't like how you cannot "Drill down" into the missions and see more details like you could in ME2 and also how sometimes when going to cover you roll forward but aside from these little niggles it is an astonishing feat that surely must win game of the year!

Anyone who loves 3rd person shooters and RPGS will love this game! Buy it now!

Still the greatest game ever made

[terrylarosa · 10/10 · 18 February 2022]

Sure the original ending was a bit of a letdown but the rest is so flawless that it doesn't matter. So many great dramatic and action moments and Sheppard ( male, never played as the female ) is the greatest character of all. Incredible graphics and gameplay make this a winner all the way. Legendary edition is even better.

Mass Effect 3 Review

[Moviememmer · 30 January 2022]

Pros:

• Amazing story & characters
• Mostly better gameplay
• More enemy types
• Amazing voice acting
• Amazing music
• Good customisation
• Tons of weapons mods and upgrades
• Some impressive cinematic scenes
• A lot to do

Cons:

• Mapping roll with cover is clunky
• Messy objective list
• Some may be problematic with endings

Verdict: The third and final instalment was a fitting conclusion to the Mass Effect trilogy packed with emotion, high-stakes, action, and drama. Many have found the endings disappointing, however, I was mostly satisfied with it (I played the DLC EC btw). In some instances, ME3 did feel like ME2.5, as something that would have elevated this game could have been proper open-world areas to explore to feel more lively. But I was satisfied either way.

IMO ME2 is the best as it had the largest improvements overall. But ME3 is still great and a fitting end.

8.5 /10.

All's well that ends well, therefore:

[agastler · 7/10 · 8 March 2012]

I won't discuss plot details here, but I will write vaguely about the ending of the game. If you don't want my impressions to enter your mindset before completing the game, I would forgo my review.

Virtually everything about this game is an improvement from the first two games. It strikes a middle-ground between intensive customization and streamlining. For instance, there are more weapons to be had, but we see fewer variations than in the first game, but certainly more than in the second. This allows the player to enter into combat equipped as they see fit - a pleasant change. Also, there are fewer squad-mates than in the first two titles, but the customization of their abilities has been increased. This also was quite good.

The combat is improved. It is quicker, with generally faster ability cool-downs for more active use of squad-mates. They also operate more intelligently, not barreling into crowds of enemies as they did in Mass Effect 2. Grenades were added to the game, though I personally saw little use for them in my first play-through.

My biggest complaint over the first thirty hours of the game also relates to multi-player - there's just too much loading and waiting. I was compelled to seek out my crew during the break between operations, but was torn away from doing so by the reality of loading screens. Though they don't take an excessively long amount of time, it all adds up very quickly. Why the ship itself wasn't one contiguous zone escapes me.

Another improvement is that we're not bothered by trivial missions anymore. There is the occasional scan-and-go-find-this-item mission, but when we step off of the ship with a gun, we're going in for a fully-scripted, voice-acted - and plot-relevant - shootout. No more are we going on trivial side-missions (as we did in Mass Effect 2, finding anomalies).

Some have made attacks against the writing of the game. Most are nonspecific, though I take it they mean how cheesy the writing can be at times. That is to be expected. It's the end-of-days for these characters, and that means a bit more of an "Aw, screw it" sort of basis to build the lines on.

The biggest problem with this game, without question is how it ends. If you haven't completed the game, I encourage you again to refrain from reading below.

The endings are terrible, and uniform. There is little to no variance between endings, other than a few tweaks. This affects the game's chief virtue: re-playability. There's little point in going back to play through it again, knowing that regardless of what choice you make, you're stuck into a very narrow set of endings. It's what killed Deus Ex: Human Revolution for me, and it's what kills the entire Mass Effect series for me personally. Coming off of a fresh play-through of this game's predecessor, which provided endings ranging from the triumphant to the bleak, I can't iterate enough how badly this game failed in its last twenty minutes.

Because the demand for more material will be enormous, there will undoubtedly be some single-player expansion in the form of DLC. It may simply be another squad-mate, but I hope that it carries on where the endings leave off. I have never encountered an ending so unsatisfying in any entertainment medium.

Most of the game is the best storytelling in a game ever

[randomspamaccount2 · 5/10 · 10 March 2012]

SPOILERS GALORE AHEAD! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

What an amazing experience. This is possibly the best storytelling in a game or even movie I've ever experienced. The character development is top notch, the plot itself is outstanding - you get extremely attached to the characters, even more so if, like myself, you've been playing since Mass Effect 1.

That is...until it all comes hurtling down with the endings.

Pros: +voice acting is amazing for nearly all characters +amazing and engrossing plot +most of your decisions from previous games affect events in this game (except the endings...) +music is well placed and the scores themselves, albeit familiar to those who have been playing since Mass Effect 1, are still breathtaking +gameplay is good, shooting mechanics and cover system have been improved +coop multiplayer is actually fun

Cons: -endings -Jessica Chobot and her bad acting -endings -codex is not as fleshed out as previous games -endings -graphics on PC could be much better -endings -random quest bugs and glitches that sometimes make the quests impossible to finish (thankfully these are sidequests) -AND THE GODDAMN ENDINGS!!!

Phew!

So, why are the endings so bad? Note that there are supposedly 16 endings, but in reality, three superficial endings: you either control the Reapers, you destroy all synthetic life, or you create a hybrid so that all life becomes a hybrid of organic and synthetic (i.e. the Geths and the Reapers become biological, organic entities, as well as retaining their synthetic traits and vice versa for all the organic races). All endings are actually the same.

1. Shepard dies in nearly all endings and it is impossible to save him/her without a high war readiness rating; even then it is not a 100% since the cinematic is extremely vague 2. The Normandy randomly escapes our solar system and ends up crash landing on a jungle planet. 3. All the mass effect relays are destroyed, thus ending feasible travel between systems. Even if Shepard survives, some or even all his friends are stuck tens of thousands of light years away! 4. The fate of most of your friends is unknown. Joker survives in all endings. EDI survives if you choose the ending where all life becomes a hybrid of synthetic and organic. 5. Deus Ex Machina. Yes, one of the worst plot devices is used for an ending! Without any forewarning, we're told that the Catalyst that is to be used with the Crucible to destroy the Reapers is actually the construct of those that created the Reapers and out of nowhere, Shepard is given the choice for the fate of the entire galaxy. Without being given the option to challenge the Catalyst. The word of the Catalyst is taken as the word of God - Shepard goes along willingly and resigns himself or herself to the three choices. There is no option to argue with the Catalyst. 6. If you're really invested in your Shepard, you'll probably feel sick for a few hours to a few days after finishing the game. 7. Lack of replayability BECAUSE of this ending. In fact, this affects all the Mass Effect games so the ending makes even them less replayable since you know how it all ends and that it all ends the same. 8. None of your choices matter when they should. It doesn't matter if you saved this race or that race or neither, that you chose to side with this party or chose to fight against them - none of it is of any consequence.

My overall score for the game without the ending: 9.5/10.

My score for the ending: 0/10 (yes, zero!)

My overall score: 5/10

"One Last Fight..."

[slayerjmk95 · 10/10 · 18 March 2012]

I have to say, i was beyond impressed with ME3, and, to all you haters and people who call themselves "fans" who are really trolls, i loved the final conclusion to this epic video game. The Mass Effect universe is, without a doubt, the greatest and most intriguing story set-piece of all time. Not only do you get to visit other worlds, save the galaxy, meet aliens and take on another life in a sci-fi epic's future, but you control the fate of trillions throughout this series as if it were actually happening; THIS is what an RPG is all about and should be. Skyrim was fantastic, but it didn't have any true basis of real RPG game-play and a life-changing, epic adventure; ME3 was beyond mind-blowing and memorable. Yes, i will admit this game has bugs, but who really cares!? I'm so engrossed in the story and witnessing the hell that Shepard has to go through that my thoughts on bugs in the game are ABSENT! That's how damn good this game is!! I've never felt so attached to characters in my life; the voice acting was perfect, the characters were lovable and note-worthy, and the facial captures are stunning (mainly with the romance scenes). The score: Oscar-worthy. Clint Mansell created some of the most incredible tracks of all time with this game. I can understand the uproar over the plot holes in the game, especially with finding out that the Reapers are only pawns in a bigger scheme, but this is a timed effort; Shepard doesn't have time to go searching for other answers. This is war, and he has to see it through because the Reapers will never stop, not until they've won.

All in all, this game was a perfect conclusion to a memorable and phenomenal sci-fi series that will go down in history as a "game-changer," and for just being a true masterpiece of life. When i first played Mass Effect, i felt as if I'd been here before, witnessing these events unfold on familiar worlds with friends I'd already come to know. Now, it all ends; everything will be different, no matter what.

Unforgettable game, the kind it will be remembered like a true ground breaker

[spadurar-271-261202 · 10/10 · 11 March 2012]

I've started playing ME2 and it appealed to me so much that I went back and played the first one, so that I will create - to quote Dr. Okeer - "the perfect specimen". In other words, I love this world and I would recommend to anyone to give it a try. When I've started ME3 I was at first unnerved by what I considered sloppy writing, but the game proved me wrong -it grows steadily and ends up a giant. Don't believe the whiners that complain about the ending. It's not only the best ending that I saw in a long time, it the only possible ending (within the logical frames of the story). This game depth and capability to draw you in the story are unparalleled.

High Science Fiction

[starofflames · 10/10 · 17 November 2012]

What is "real science fiction"? There are many answers. I say, high science fiction is a form of art, that asks questions no other artistic genre can pose. What is the meaning of life? Where is the line between computing and artificial intelligence? How do you define life and is an AI alive?

The Mass Effect series makes the players ask those questions and let them answer them. Mass Effect is more than a game, it is an interactive story that inspires you to think, to wonder, to imagine. Mass Effect is a drama about the value of humanity, our place in the universe, about interpersonal relations and constant values.

The third and (so far) final chapter in this story is no less worthy of the players' attention. The game-play is intensive and exciting, the cut-scenes are even better made and inserted into the main storyline. The game involves deeper social interactions but many who missed the "planetary exploration" part during the second game were even less satisfied. Mass Effect is no more about exploring new planets and getting to know new aliens, now it is all about the heat of the story.

If anyone who has not played the game but has already heard the fans' screams about the ending, may be horrified what they will experience in this game. But rest assured, Mass Effect 3 is dramatic, heroic, deep and artistic, and the story is just well-written and complete. Everything is as they should be, everything fits into a greater pattern. It's not just worth a shot, it's a must-play. It has sorrowful moments just as it has happy ones, and you can experience actually how attached you grew to Commander Shepard and his/her crew. It is pure and elevating. Just how a final part of an amazing story should be.

Best Game.

[kcboo · 10/10 · 8 March 2012]

I'm quite the fan of Mass Effect, after beating ME 1 and 2 Mass Effect 3 is just as good and better then its predecessors. It's everything the last games were and improved. I highly suggest this game to anyone, it is the definition of epic. So amazing and serious, yet humorous and sad. It's a terrific game, and the new features such as being able to dodge and sprint for long distances really improves game play in comparison to the previous games. 1000/10 Fantastic. I've only been playing Mass Effect 3 for roughly 3 hours and already i can say it is one of the best games i have ever played. The Story is so unforgettable. Bioware has once again pulled out an amazing gem! Anyone who is new to the series can probably pick this game up and play it. There are some key aspects you might not get immediately but after awhile all questions are answered. I am in love with this game, and cant wait to see what will happen!

Great end to a great trilogy.

[gradeo · 10/10 · 23 June 2019]

If you havent played yet I couldn't recommend it more. Great as a stand alone game or as the conclusion of the series.

Not a perfect swan song, but a valiant effort

[klantonohlsson · 8/10 · 22 February 2019]

The "Mass Effect" trilogy, developed by BioWare and published by EA, has found tremendous success. The games have been critically acclaimed, and the second title, "Mass Effect 2" really put BioWare on the map together with "Dragon Age" and "Dragon Age: Origins". With a blend of third person combat, impressive story telling and amazing music, the trilogy has sold millions of copies and are beloved by fans. But, how does "Mass Effect 3", the conclusion of Commander Shepard's story, stack up against its predecessors?

Acknowledging the endings controversy Before I start; yes, the endings were poorly handled. I will not go in depth on them, more than why I hated them. BioWare didn't want to change them and even the free of charge "Extended Cut" DLC didn't really help their case. I will not however let that influence me too much on the rest of the game.

Story: 7.5/10

"Mass Effect" has always had a strong sense of world building. From the start, every race felt interesting and unique, and made me want to learn as much as I could about them. And BioWare only improved with each installment. "Mass Effect 2" fleshed out unexplored planets and the races, while having more focus on the characters that were part of Shepard's crew. In the case of Mass Effect 3 however, there wasn't much demand for more race development. Not to say that it wouldn't be welcomed, but the universe had been quite firmly established at this point. That's not to say there aren't indulgences in specific races (one mission sees you land on a salarian planet, for instance, and gives a quick look at how their scientific research look and operates). But, given this is the final game in the trilogy, most of the effort was spent on wrapping up the overarching story of the Reaper invasion.

"Mass Effect 3" takes place quite some time after "Mass Effect 2", where Shepard is no longer an acting commander after the final "suicide" mission in "Mass Effect 2". The Collectors have been defeated, but the real mastermind behind them, the Reapers, have finally revealed themselves. Shepard is contacted by Anderson as reports of Reaper assaults on various systems have put Earth on high alert. Seeing as Shepard has done the impossible not once but twice at this point, Shepard's superiors pleads and requests a solution. Their discussion is unceremoniously interrupted by one of the aforementioned Reaper assaults hitting Earth. Seeing as they descended with little to no warning, Earth doesn't stand a chance. Together with Anderson, Shepard makes their way outside, where the sheer scope of the invasion finally falling into place. Giant squid-like ships descend, killing anyone who stands in their way, while also capturing humans for husk production. The two of them manage to get out a distress signal for a new and improved Normandy to come and pick them up. Anderson, however, decides to stay behind, wanting to protect Earth's surviving humans. After reinstating Shepard as Commander and giving them back control of the Normandy under the Alliance banner, they set off to unite the galaxy against its greatest threat yet.

The story has a strong and compelling opening, with hints to what is yet to come, and had me feeling a bit emotional already with some excellent music as Shepard leaves Earth in order to save the universe. From here, it's your task to find allies, build alliances and acquire an army big enough to take on the Reapers. Some familiar faces return(depending on your outcome of "Mass Effect 2" if you carried over your save) and there's no denying that seeing returning characters made me feel all giddy and excited. That excitement, however, waned as I noticed a significant downgrade in how the cutscenes were structured. When every element falls into place (cinematography, lighting, voice acting, score etc) it's as good as its predecessor. But more often than not, the beautiful and often poetic nuances of "Mass Effect 2"s cutscenes are sorely missed. Some scenes rely on too much reversal shots (cutting from one character to the other, back and forth while they're talking) while others simply aren't interesting at all, either by having a bland score (or no score for that matter) or taking place in uninspired environments to name a few. This didn't stop me from enjoying the game overall, but it certainly stuck out like a sore thumb.

My biggest gripe with the story is sadly not the endings, but the pacing. While it starts off strong, with a few missions where you get to meet and subsequently recruit crew members, it quickly rushes headfirst into busy work. There's not a sense of urgency, and while the game actively tries to communicate to the player that there is no time to waste, it also provides several fetch quests and mundane side quests early on (once the player reaches Citadel). While the main quest line provides engaging quests, it's not as exciting this time around to check out the side content while you're waiting for a new story quest to start. It feels like a step backwards, and the third act is mishandled. The highlight of the third act, in my opinion, is a trio of quests taking place on Tuchanka (two are required to complete, one is optional) with lots of character interaction, an emotional payoff and some beautiful speeches and music. The problem is, the third act doesn't have many of these engaging quests, and apart from Tuchanka and the final 3 quests, it feels incredibly rushed and almost amateurish. There is, of course, a well documented reason for this; the game had only 22 months to be finished. To put that into perspective, "Mass Effect 2" took 3 years to develop. With the trilogy reaching its conclusion, and the story involving almost every race in some way, having only 22 months until release put BioWare under an enormous amount of pressure to deliver, and it shows in how strained and unsatisfying the last act is. When Shepard tells a rousing speech to raise moral and to remind their crew that this is the end, I felt a disconnect because up until that point, I wasn't nearly as invested in the characters as in "Mass Effect 2". I don't think the writing is worse, because it is on par, but BioWare scaled back the interaction with Shepard's crewmates and it's felt, to the point of being a detriment to my experience. Still, the campaign has its moments and there are more hits than misses. Just less home runs this time around.

Gameplay: 8/10

"Mass Effect" was a great start, but it hasn't aged very well. It's clunky, and the animations have dated it severely. "Mass Effect 2" improved on the formula in some areas, while sacrificing other aspects, such as the more in-depth skill tree. Out of the 3 games, "Mass Effect 3" is the most smooth and polished by far. With the addition of infinite sprint, better vaulting, more fluid cover switching and cover takedowns, the game wants you to be on the move. And it's incredibly satisfying to take out one enemy, quickly and effortlessly vault over an obstacle, fire off a power and then killing another enemy. It's visceral, violent and gratifying. As for level design during combat, it's unfortunately very straight forward. Not much there in terms of alternative paths. But it's a substantial improvement over "Mass Effect 2" in my opinion.

Combat aside, you'll be spending a lot of time on the newly revamped Normandy and the Citadel. While you can converse with your crewmates, the dialogue hits an automated response loop after a short while and, apart from revisiting characters after major quests, that's how deep the well goes. Dialogue choices are scaled back even more than in "Mass Effect 2", often leaving the player with only two choices, sometimes having an optional "Investigate" option as well. These are also signs of the rushed development. The writing is still on par with previous installments, but there just isn't enough of it. A small annoyance is the disguised loading screen in form of a scanning wall you have to walk through slowly every time you leave a certain room in the ship, mostly to let the rest of the ship have a chance to load in. It's a necessity, but it still irks me.

The Citadel itself has 5 levels, and there is a lot to do in these levels, most of it sadly being busy work. There are some fun interactions with characters later in the game (a particularly funny conversation with Joker that I will not spoil is a stand out) and the location itself highlights one of my issues with the story.

Multiplayer: -/10

As I have not played the Multiplayer, I cannot comment on it. I've heard good and bad things about it, and the servers are still up as of this writing. I'm not planning on playing it either, so this will be left unranked.

Conclusion and final score: 8/10

"Mass Effect 3" had a huge job ahead of itself. Not only did it have to live up the massive expectations of fans after the major success of "Mass Effect 2", but it also had to wrap up a three game journey for Shepard and the universe BioWare had built. Did it succeed? Well...partly. The ridiculously arbitrary endings are the biggest offenders (with a basic color swap and minor alterations to the ending cutscenes), but the pacing, lacking dialogue and downgraded cutscenes makes Mass Effect 3 a bit of a mixed bag. But, the positives outweigh the negatives. For every grip I have with the story, there is the hugely improved combat system, and for every boring mission and side quest, there are mission like those on Tuchanka. Is it as good as "Mass Effect 2"? No, but that doesn't make it bad. I'd still consider "Mass Effect 3" to be a great game, but perhaps not the smash hit fans were expecting. Still, it made me sad to finally see the credits roll and realize that Shepard's story had finally come to an end. And that's saying something.

Brilliant

[callmanutd · 9/10 · 1 April 2012]

When Mass Effect 3 was first announced I weren't excited about it at all, but that all changed after I actually played ME2 for the very first time, and my initial reaction was wow, one of the best if not the best games ever and from then on I knew I had to pick up ME3 day one. And I'm not the only one who's been looking forward to this, as I cant remember a game ever having as much hype around it such as ME3. And ME3 doesn't disappoint as it improves in every single aspect, the story telling is brilliant, the narrative is brilliant as it makes you literally care about the choices your making, the graphics have been improved, the gameplay, everything. In my perspective its almost a perfect game.

After reluctantly working for Galactic human organization Cerberus and defeating the collectors, still Shepards greatest challenge lies ahead of him. You begin on Earth where Commander Shepard is relieved off duty for his actions in a DLC pack for ME2 called 'Arrival', but after 50,000 years the Reapers arrive and start destroying earth killing millions of innocent people dying on a daily basis, and Shepard now has to fight the reapers not just to save humanity, but for all Galactic races. This leads Shepard with his crew mates Ashley Williams and new character James Vega to venture around the galaxy recruiting each race to help him in the final battle against the reapers, this leads to difficult choices that you will need to make which will literally change the story completely. As you cant make every race happy as the Krogans hate the Salarians and Turians for the Genophae, whilst the Quarians and Geth have been in war for hundreds of years. The conclusion to this game is a little bit disappointing as it doesn't really give you any closure, but trust me that wont ruin the experience for you at all as the whole game leading up to the last five minutes is just amazing.

Gameplay wise, if you thoroughly enjoyed Mass Effect 2 you will also enjoy this game, but if your looking for it to be more like Mass Effect 1, you will still enjoy it, but be wary that like Mass Effect 2, whilst there are decisive moments where only you the player can make the final decision, be aware this game is more of an action game, but don't let that put you off as there are still plenty of RPG moments. So, like I said the gameplay is very much the same as ME2, but there are new additions such as the omni blade and the fact that Shepards a lot more agile this time around. I loved the omni blade as its so relieving killing an opponent with the omni blade as you get more close and personal and when you feel anger because of how much you hate Cerberus and the Reapers it releases a ton of stress and makes you feel pleased. Trust me you will feel anger as the story telling is so brilliant it makes you feel as if your experiencing it yourself. The fact that Shepard is more agile this time around, allows you to be able to roll around the battlefield allowing you to roll out the way of bullets and get to a position to cover quicker. The only problem I found with this was the fact that the roll button was the same as the cover button and sometimes when I wanted to cover he would roll into the open battlefield leading to my death. But everything else in the gameplay perspective is brilliant and perfect.

The graphics are jaw dropping at times such as when I arrived on the Turian planet Pavelon, you could see Earth being destroyed and it was jaw dropping, sure the graphics are no Uncharted or L.A Noire, but they help make the characters feel alive. Especially when it comes to their facial animations as when your talking to a character you literally see emotion upon there face which makes you care about them as individuals when it comes to making decisions that could potentially affect your relationship with them, especially when you look at their eyes, as every decision you make their eyes show there emotion, something that is rare to see in a video game.

The newest addition to the game was the multiplayer, which to be quite honest I am not a massive fan of as whilst it is fun at first, I find it gets amazingly repetitive which leads it to get infuriatingly boring and its not an addition they really needed to add anyway. And the most frustrating part for me is that I don't like the multiplayer so I'm not going to play it regularly, and they've made it so you need to play the multiplayer to get the best ending possible and I find this unfair to the people who share the same opinion as me when it comes to the multiplayer.

In conclusion what Bioware has done is amazing, creating a trilogy which in my opinion is the greatest trilogy in all of gaming history that tells a story as brilliantly as an Oscar award winning movie. Pick this game up, you can even play it in the style you want as if your not a huge fan of the RPG elements you can choose not to have them, if you want more RPG elements and easier combat, you can and if you want a balance between both of them you can. Mass Effect 3 is a brilliant game that everyone should pick up, but if you haven't played any of the previous games and want to get Mass Effect 3, you should definitely pick up ME2 if you have a PS3 and ME1 and 2 if you own a 360 as the experience as a whole will be much better for you.

Great game but a lot of wasted potential.

[kobemackenzie · 10/10 · 26 June 2022]

Now mass effect series I love and mass effect 3 is not that bad of a game, the writing is good and story is always amazing and you keep falling in love with their characters! But there is so much stuff that could have made this game better. The combat is a bit weird but you can get over that. But once you get into the story you feel that more should have happened. There are 3 different endings I've only gotten 2 of them so there is always a reason to go back and play them! Overall still love this game but could have been better!

Bitter-sweet.

[doesitactuallymatter · 7/10 · 13 March 2012]

I'm not gonna review this game in the traditional sense. It's easy enough to figure out: it's a *huge* game. The end to a very successful franchise. The production value and hard cash that has gone into it makes it virtually impossible for this to be a bad game. There's been some improvements. It's more action-packed, for one. There's some flaws in there as well, but nothing too major. By all measures, this is a great game: it looks good, it sounds good, it plays well and it's fun.

With that out of the way, there's a but: it has three relevant issues.

The first one is that the canon the game assumes if you don't import a save is absolutely terrible. A fresh game assumes poor decisions that don't correlate with each other. These decisions involve somewhat major elements in the narrative, such as important characters and whether they're still alive and kicking or not. On top of that, a fresh save also assumes as canon that you haven't met certain characters that were in the previous games' DLC and even some that were in the vanilla game. Lastly, some characters (again, DLC and vanilla alike) won't even show up in this game unless you specifically import a save. These choices the game makes for you often seem completely arbitrary and nonsensical.

If you're gonna play ME3 as a shooter, go ahead and enjoy.

If you're gonna play ME3 as an RPG sequel, I strongly advise that you take your character through ME1 with DLC, ME2 with ALL the DLC and then play this one. The difference in narrative is significant.

My second gripe with the game is the butchery it's gone through to enable DLC later on. From day one, the game was released with a somewhat small DLC package that was actually to be included in the game. But, hey, why not cut that out and charge an extra 10 bucks for it? Expect many more DLC packages down the road. While this is not uncommon in games today, I oppose this unconditionally. It's cheap and petty. Enough for me to advise against buying the game.

Last but not least, the game as it released is plagued with bugs and glitches that render a bunch of side-missions undoable. Some other glitches are just annoying, like characters getting stuck in terrain, animation-seizuring and so forth. They're not so consistent that turn the game unplayable, but they're frequent enough that makes me disgusted with how poorly this game was QA'd before release. Coming from BioWare, it's a pretty sad state of affairs.

Rent it or borrow it, beat it and forget about it.

As a final note, the ending blows. You can read all about that in countless sites if you're interested.

Confused

[srkisrx61 · 5/10 · 11 March 2012]

The only reason I'm giving this game a 5 star rating is... well I have no idea what to give it really...

The storyline is engaging, the game-play is extremely improved, lots of choices to make, bla, bla, bla.

However, there are a number of bugs concerning some missions that appear, but can't be accessed and a very confusing galaxy map for a change. But I'd expect those to be fixed in a patch.

The thing that really bothers me, and without giving any spoilers away, is that the ending of the game is terrible. After having emotionally engaged me in many aspects, and developing relationships with other characters, races, etc, I was just left feeling empty and dissatisfied. It's like, no matter what you choose to do in the entire franchise can change the endings...

Like the title says... I'm confused.Across ME1 and ME2 and throughout ME3, the player is engaged in an epic story of 'galactic' proportions only to be left with a Matrix style ending and someones interpretation of the meaning of life. OK, in the end - that's a spoiler... I don't think that many people played the ME series to find out the meaning of life, but rather to enjoy the story of Commander Shepard and how he/she united a universe... And with polls on the Bioware website reaching 88% dissatisfied customers with the ending... At least I know I'm not crazy.

contains spoilers

[Dragonofomega · 10/10 · 14 March 2012]

This game WAS one of the best video games I have ever played, until the last 5 minutes of this epic POS! The game itself is a wonderful masterpiece of choice as you take your Commander Shepard throughout the galaxy to gain forces in the battle against the Reapers. Then Bioware removes all choices and decisions you have made over the course of the last two games and gives the fans a nice big middle finger!

The multi player is fun but not enough to save the game at all. With no honest replay value to the campaign, just knowing you are going to depressed and upset with what happens to you Shepard that you have spent all this time developing! Whats the point. I can honestly say, and there are thousands of other fans that agree with me, I will probably never buy another Bioware or EA game due to this stab in the back!