Well Mass Effect 2 faired well when we looked at it a while back, so lets move onto the third entry in the series. That’s right, it’s time to take a look at Mass Effect 3, and just how everyone feels about the ending to BioWare’s space-faring trilogy.
Of course, the ending is the key bit isn’t it? Some aren’t all that happy about with it, in fact there seems to be an almost worrying level of fury about the game’s conclusion. BioWare have responded with the Extended Cut DLC, although we don’t know just what that will change or clarify when it arrives in the summer; perhaps it will just enrage fans of the series further and we’ll see an Extended Extended Cut at some point.
For now though we’ll have to content ourselves with looking at what’s in the game so far. I haven’t quite gotten around to it yet, in fact I’m only about five hours into the first Mass Effect right now, but, fortunately, Blair took a look at the game when it released.
He picked out the scale of the war the game centres around as particularly enjoyable, and found that the side missions which aid in your war effort are every bit as epic as those which form the game’s main story. Although he did enjoy the main plot, he found that at points the writing slipped a little and that a few areas in the game didn’t quite live up to its own high standards.
Overall though he was pleased with the game, rating it at a very good 9/10. In summing up the game he had this to say:
In some ways, Mass Effect 3 isn’t as fresh or as satisfying to play as its predecessor. In others though, it’s a much grander game with the true galactic scale being fully realised in this final instalment of the trilogy. Whilst there’s some issues with writing, some of the mechanics and various other glitches, the epic scale and relatively strong narrative push these aside, giving Mass Effect 3 its rightful place amongst the great, sci-fi epics of our time and acting as a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.
Whilst Mass Effect doesn’t tower above its predecessors in terms of innovation, sheer entertainment or narrative, the scope of this Galatic War is unmatched in most games. Playing Mass Effect 3, you’ll truly feel as though you’re a Commander, saving not only the human race and Earth but many more planets and races from the brink of extinction.
So that’s our review out of the way, now it’s time to ask you what you thought of Sheppard’s third outing. Were you one of those who felt the ending let things down, or did you think it wrapped things up nicely? Did the stakes of the game’s core story appeal to you, or was it all a bit too much? Ultimately, we want to know whether you left feeling satisfied, let down, or somewhere in between.
If you feel like sharing your views all you need to do is drop a comment below by Sunday afternoon. Once you’ve done that you need to select a rating for the game from the Buy It, Bargain Bin It, Rent It or Avoid It scale. Simply pick which of those labels best represents your opinion of the game and add it to your comment. In Monday’s Verdict article I’ll take your ratings and work out what the community’s overall rating of the game is.
uncleniccius
I loved the game, I thought it had the sense of emotion, scale and everything that goes with it near perfect. My problem with it is the menial tasks that you carry out; even though a massive galactic was is going on!?!? The ending isn’t fantastic, but was not worthy of the criticism it had. Buy it.
Haz
most people have never heard of this game but i love it most people hate mass effect 3, personally i prefer number 2 but i still love number 3
yogdog
I prefer Mass Effect 2, which was (minus the combat at points) pretty much a perfect game for me.
I’m conflicted on what to say about this, but I think bargain bin it just edges it. The multiplayer is actually pretty good and very enjoyable with friends and the single player is, for the most part, great too, but that ending really put me off doing several runthroughs of the game like I did with ME2.
Yep, bargain bin it, is my suggestion.
elpablo79
I founbd Mass Effect 3 the be an enjoyable game, with the sense of galactic war and impending doom to be very effective. I only came to the Mass Effect games with the PS3 iterations. The gameplay mechanics of Mass Effect3 are solid, cutscenes handled very well, and it was good to see so many familiar faces from the 2nd one.
Also intesresting to see how choices alter who you interact with being carried over from the previous games. I quite liked the ending, maybe I controlled my expectation levels well. I felt the edning mya have been brief but to the point and what it does is open the door for further adventures in a whole new world. I don’t see why the ending should go all LOTR: Return of the King. It would have been nice to see what happened to some, I simply went along with it and enjoyed it, rather than pick it apart.
The Multiplayer element is also handled very well and I’ve certainly sunk in more hours than I thought I would. It is quite rewarding and proves quite a challenge on harder levels.
Overall, as a continuation of a series which opens up new possibilities, it is a rewarding and, at time, exciting experience supported by a solid multiplayer portion. It may not have been an evolutionary leap but it never needed to be. BUY IT
elpablo79
Sorry for double post but so many spelling errors. Silly PC…..cough cough
Adiemus
Ok, where to start with my views on Mass Effect 3 and the Mass Effect series as a whole. Personal backstory I suppose would help.
I love the Mass Effect series. I own all the games (multiple times infact), have read all the books and own several pieces of merchandise. If you asked anyone who knew me which series I loved the most! It’s very clear what they’d say!! Final Fantasy.
But, Mass Effect is definately my second favorite. So this should give you some idea of how invested I am with the series (If not, well I am. So there.).
So how do I view the third….
Grapically it’s what you’d expect, same old unreal engine with a few more tweeks this time around.
The music is absolutely the best in the series in my opinion. There was some worry before the release that the composer/s had been changed and that this would move it away from what made it unique and cause the game to loose its ‘spacey’ feel. But, the music is perfect for conveying the emotions impact being felt by the characters within the scenes.
Gameplay can be summed up pretty easy, take what Mass Effect 2 had and sprinkle some customizing from the original Mass Effect. The enemies feel smarter and the weight consideration of your weapons was nice, but it still feels that it’s getting in the way of what it’s all about… The story.
So, The story! This is where having as much knowledge about the universe helps a great deal with enjoying the game. The addition of story elements from the books coming into the game was a welcome treat, Kai Leng and Grissom Academy being the best examples.
The game itself can be seen as one long sequence of endings as you say your goodbyes to each of the races at the end of several story arcs all coming together to provide one glorious meta ending for Shepard. Or so it would seem.
The endings….. well. Taken at face value they are bad, VERY bad. The extreme amount of plot holes, stuff that comes out of nowhere and the fact that none of your choices really mattered makes the backlash kind of understandable.
Having said that, I actually enjoy the ending to this day! For a game written so well to move me emotinally on different levels only to turn ‘odd’ in the last 20 minutes leads me to believe something else is going on. Which is supported throughout the game itself, the first game and by the books description of certain elements as to what I believe is truely going on.
I could go on for hours about the ending, but theres a video out there that allready goes on about it for hours soooo….. Also spoilers.
So my verdict, Do not play this game without at least having played Mass Effect 2 as you won’t be invested! You need the character interactions from previous games to understand what it’s all truely about!! So my verdict, despite loving this game! Rent it!
BIGAL-1992
Mass effect 3 will be a lesson in the industry as to how you should carefully plan an end to a trilogy of an Open-world RPG for all the wrong reasons. For a series based on player choice, the ending for Mass Effect 3 seemed to be based primarily on how high your War assets rating was, as well as not showing the consequences of the players action throughout the trilogy. For players who had played thoughout the series for the past 4-5 years, this was without question a bad move. Anyway enough about that, let’s focus on the game.
The gamplay has seen some improvements, with increased speed in movement and a focus on weapons balancing. Do you want to use that Powerful sniper-rifle ,or do you want to have a Assault rifle and shotgun instead? On the whole, Mass Effect 3 feels like a step-up to Mass Effect 2, with inprovements in the RPG elements of the game, the graphics (Although the 360 DOES have a cleaner and more ploished look to it then the PS3), sound, a surprisingly good multiplayer element, and some top-notch voice acting to tie in to the story. That said however, there is an inconsistency to the quality of the writing, along with a somewhat jarring change in the voice acting on several occasions. The biggest problem, however, is that as much of a great game Mass Effect 3 is, it’s a great game for players who are fans of the series. The games open-ended storyline can become a drawback for people who are newcomers to the series at this stage, who may feel overwhemled by the game.
With that in mind, I have two verdicts for Mass Effect 3; If you are a fan, BUY IT, as despite the final 10 minutes of the game, this is still a great game, HOWEVER, if you are new to the series, I would suggest a RENT IT, as I can’t guarentee you’ll feel the same about it.
Foxhound_Solid
Mass Effect….The Matrix of the gaming world. Still….a definite buy….That is all.
Scythegpd
Simplistically I’d say there are 2 approaches depending on your history with the Mass Effect series:
1 – If you’ve never played a Mass Effect game then ME3 is great. Solid gameplay and compelling story. It works well as a stand-alone game where the only time you’ve spend on Mass Effect is via Mass Effect 3, buy it
2 – If you have played the prior Mass Effect games then ME3 is a disappointment. No difference between paragon/renegade paths, no tangible impact from your choices, cutting out a major character to sell on to you on day 1, horrendous ending. It basically looks at your decisions from the first 2 games, then poops all over them. Works terribly when you’ve invested upwards of 60 hours with the first 2 games and expect a reasonable conclusion to “your” story, bargain bin it.
Mickey2010
It’s Good but it does not compare to the previous 2 games! It kind of felt like it steared away from the RPG elements and went more into just all out action which is great at times but it gets repetitve quick! i love Bioware and the games they produce but to me it felt rushed framerate issues,Shepard kept dissapearing in battle’s i was an invisible man with an invisible gun (Which was fun at first then it beacame a pain in the ass).
It’s galectic war on an Epic scale but unfortunatly Mass Effect 3 is not Epic it’s average but till a decent filler game..Bargain Bin It