The more times I see the ending the more it puzzles me... there are so many things that are off. Indoctrination!
Mass Effect 3 Review
Game Emblems
The Good
Mass Effect 3 is a remarkably satisfying conclusion to a beloved trilogy, and a poignant and memorable role-playing action game in its own right.
The Good
- Fantastic, moving story that balances plot and character
- Past and present choices impact the game in wonderful and unexpected ways
- Much-improved level design leads to challenging, exciting battles
- Fantastic art design makes great use of color and composition
- Top-notch voice acting brings every major character to life.
The Bad
- Some glitches and bugs
- Galactic travel and scanning aren't much fun.
Sacrifice. It's Mass Effect 3's major theme, and rightly so. After all, the reapers were coming--it was only a matter of time. And now, those sentient space vessels are here, and with them, a galaxy's worth of destruction. Mass Effect 3 brings the sound and the fury, but these aren't meaningless shows of laser fire and alien devastation. The series has earned its right to showcase such destruction by drawing us close to its characters and teaching us of its universe.
Mass Effect was about time and place; you discovered the Milky Way's landmarks and races, guided by memorable characters like Tali and Garrus, who served as representatives of their cultures. Mass Effect 2 was about people; you learned more about old friends and made new ones, and drew each of them close to your heart. Mass Effect 3 fearlessly manipulates those personal bonds, forcing you to make difficult choices and consider the greater good--even when the greater good isn't always clear. The game is structured less like Mass Effect 2 and more like Dragon Age II: three dramatic acts, each concluding with major events that might leave you in tears, or at very least, shivering from the emotional impact.
Mass Effect 3 is focused more on plot than the previous installments were, and at first, you might miss Mass Effect 2's more obvious personal touch. You meet some new characters, but you develop few new meaningful relationships. A couple of notable exceptions aside, your party members are familiar faces, and as Commander Shepard, you aren't traveling the galaxy seeking individual crew members, but rather the assistance of entire races. Some of the plot devices seem a bit transparent; what are the chances that Shepard would just happen to find an old acquaintance on almost every random planet? But once the plot is in motion, the human element returns, and poignantly so. Mass Effect 3 frequently reminds us that the loss of a single shining soul often takes on more meaning than a planetwide massacre. (After all, what carried more emotional weight in Star Wars: Obi-Wan's death or Alderaan's destruction?)
Like Star Wars, Mass Effect 3 is an incredibly fulfilling story that deftly balances plot, character, conflict, and resolution. After a short exposition, an opening combat scenario cleverly combines the "big" of a reaper attack on Earth with the "small" of a single death. That one death haunts Shepard until the moving and jaw-dropping conclusion. While there is plenty of action, developer BioWare subverts our expectations. Every so often, the shooting heats up, only to lead to a climax that comes not in the form of an explosion or a boss fight, but in a simple quiet conversation, or a few limping steps.
The reapers aren't your only adversary in Mass Effect 3: the pro-human organization known as Cerberus, led by the Illusive Man, complicates the conflict. Your ultimate goal is to rid the galaxy of the reaper threat with the use of a superweapon, yet the Illusive Man has different ideas and goes to some disturbing lengths to implement them. Discovering his goals and means is one of Mass Effect 3's better story threads, in part because the Illusive Man is such a strong presence. Actor Martin Sheen brings a calm, chilling strength to the character, but also exudes a touch of vulnerability when the Illusive Man is forced to confront his own demons. Not that Sheen outshines any given actor. A few inessential characters aside, the galaxy's inhabitants seem authentic. You hear stoicism, fear, or resignation in the simplest of line readings.
The series' focus on player choice is as vital as it has ever been in Mass Effect 3. The effects of choices in previous installments have an impact in extraordinary ways here, more so than in Mass Effect 2. Sometimes the nods to prior choices are subtle. A lover might fondly recall her previous entanglement with you, while still supporting your new romantic interest. At other times, the impact is far more dramatic. Entire quests, conversations, and characters shift as a result of your actions in previous games (not to mention, your decisions in this one). As a result, you might be delighted by characters other players never meet, share intimate talks with crewmates other players never interact with, and deal with decisions other players never make. And as in previous Mass Effect games, your entire attitude when choosing dialogue options (paragon or renegade) can drive you to conclusions other players could never consider.
By
Kevin VanOrd, Senior Editor
Kevin VanOrd is a lifelong RPG lover and violin player. When he isn't busy building PCs and composing symphonies, he watches American Dad reruns with his fat cat, Ollie.
275 comments
1 Like Mass Effect 3 is highly overrated. It's a good title on its own, but considering the strengths of the previous two games, it falls short in several respects.
1 Like Evidently not, considering how he thought this was a remarkably satisfying conclusion when in reality the "conclusion" was appalling
@The_Beanster
Agreed 100%%. Not only does he not mention fundamental problems with the game (axed dialogue wheel and increase in auto dialogue) but he mentions flaws in the written portion of the review that don't even end up in "The Bad" section at the top. What is with that? Are uninspired side missions not considered important enough to mention in that section over "some glitches and bugs?"
1 Like @NBAmaster33 @kratospete @IamMrBlonde
Yeah this review is a smelly mountain of BS from Mr. Van Ord, just like almost all the professional reviews of this game were.
Just goes to show how out of touch reviewers can be with gamers - their supposed audience - sometimes.
8 Like It had been a while since i decided to do a several days non-stop (or close) playing of video games. I had never played the mass effect series and I decided, given all the positive reviews, to give it a try. So I played, for the past two weeks, Mass Effect 1, 2 and 3 (on PC). At a very intense pace, yes. Also, in a difficult level, because i like a challenge (not the most difficult though, just something that makes you understand this is war, not Sonic the hedgehog).
Mass Effect 1 got me for it's very impressive scenario, universe and characters. I didn't know it was possible to make a TPS that developped. But now, Mass Effect 1 sucked also on many aspects. The gameplay was just average, with functions like inventories that were just awful. Also, it wasn't that beautiful; ok time has passed since, but, still, places were just so empty (of people, of objects, of big freaky monsters). Despite these obvious problems, I think Mass Effect 1 is a great game, for all its qualities just make it stand out. At this point, I decided I would buy number 2 and 3, and to see if they could make it better.
Mass Effect 2 consitutes the real improvment in the technical aspect of the series. Gameplay becomes really good (no more nonsensical inventory!), some places were full of life where some places were a nuclear wasteland: each location had a feel that was unique. And, far from being just a technical beauty, the game shows an even more impressive story line. With an ending "suicide" mission that was really epic.
But then I played Mass Effect 3. And I redefined the meaning of epic. Come on... running between Reapers' leg, under their fierce red eye, stunned by their awe-inspiring roar... and while fighters, frigates and dreadnoughts come crashing all around you... just after you realized you lost one (and maybe more) of your crew... and hearing the warning of dreaded foes up ahead while you realize you've been flanked, and you just have 43 bullets left, and one squad member is down... Come on... Yes it has bugs (not that many), and a few minor flaws. But the story is as great as ever, and brings closure to pretty much everything. The characters, that i met only two weeks ago, died or lived in meaningful ways, allies or foes (and yes i'm thinking about this great President Bartlett... uh i mean Illusive man). The end choice was great in that the final twist really had me wondering when I was walking up this surreal platform. Ok, i had the extended cut, so maybe I didn't get the initial frustration. I don't know why people didn't like the ending. I only tried once (and i'm not planning on redoing it soon, i like the impression that this "THE" way it has ended). Mine was kinda Deus Ex Machina, admiteddly, but up until the end, I had no idea it was a possible solution. Deus Ex Machina, yes, but very novel.
I hear a lot of complains here, but seriously I'm wondering if we all have played the same game. We can sit down and go through all the flaws of the game, all the bugs that could have been corrected, all the kinda-dropped-out-of-the-blue situations of the scenario, etc. But come on... it doesn't get better than this. :)
Or if it ever does... man... i wish I can play that!
@Isyriand The kicker here, is literally that you had the extended cut. The extended cut is infinitely better than the original ending. It doesn't change anything in terms of the story line, just fixes plot holes and adds enough closure. I personally was still hoping for more info about what happened after the war with your companions and with the major decisions you made between all three games, even if it was just words on a screen, like the first Dragon Age, a game with one of the best endings I've experienced. That said the extended cut fixes the original very hated ending that really left a lot of people, myself included, "betrayed" in a sense. Mass Effect 3 was still a great game regardless, but it definitely left a bad taste in people's mouths. The extended cut, fixes that issue.
@Isyriand I have all 3 ME games but since I can never finish ME1 I haven't even tried to play 2 or 3.I'm not saying ME1 is bad but I have no desire to finish the game despite getting about half way through.Recently I tried some of ME3 and liked it alot so I want to try and play the series from the beginning again.I know if I play from the beginning I will get so much more out of the series than starting with ME2 or ME3.I don't even know why I can't finish ME1 but I get half way and have no desire to finish it.
1 Like @Isyriand totally agree with you ....... although i will rate ME2 ever so slightly higher than ME3 but still ME3 is an awesome game ...... & i for one totally loved d ending ...... i hv seen many games where d hero fights with d huge final boss and still comes out without even a scratch ..... compared to that ME3 ending is just amazing ........ dont know why people complain about d ending ......... i just loved it ......
@Isyriand You hit the nail on the head. The ending is amazing. I have every reason to believe that my Shepard could possibly be with Tali right now. I made a huge post about it on my blog.
1 Like @NBAmaster33 @Fartman7998 @Isyriand Not at all sir. I loved every minute of the entire series, including all DLCs to date. I am not unsatisfied with it in any amount imaginable
i loved the game, enjoyed the full game ,i found bit of problem in ending other then game was just fine \m/
1 Like The biggest problem with this game isn't even the game itself, it's actually more about my motivation and wanting to play anything that has to do with DLC or prequel. I loved this game, it was a really great experience, but the fact that it has ended, and not because of the way it ended, since I am fine with it for the most part, I'm not sure if whatever Bioware has to show off from now on when it comes to Mass Effect it'll motivate me enough to jump back in. Everything was about leading up to this finally from the very beginning of Shepard's story, and as much as it is amazing (I think) to visit the future Bioware crafted, I just don't know if I can do it. Maybe I can though, I don't know, but we'll see! Or, I'll see.
i am a little disappointing with the game and i loved ME2 more ,on 2 there is a lot much things to do, there is many side missions and stories and relations , but in 3 it's kinda strict and one-line going , the battle in ME2 was better and easy to handle especially taking cover and move out from it and that kind of things , there was the materials gathering from the un-explored planets in 2 which isn't in 3 , even the interior of the normandy become so bad that i hate it too much , and a lot of long loading that make u bored and out of your mood many times ..
so in my opinion ME2 was much better
Just bought the game, I have never played any Sci-Fi game before (Except Halo), let's see I will like it or not.
1 Like @vishalduggal01 That is a shame, really. If you're a fan of sci-fi, than you're missing out. Go play Dead Space.
1 Like "I just love how everyone hates Mass Effect 3 based on the ending."
No one must think their own endings due to devs being lazy.
And wait - endings only? C'mon. Mass Effect was going downhill always. Bioware did a hell of a job building such a cool Lore. And They RUINED it. In 1st game we are clearly told that NO ONE EVER MADE IT OUT after contact with Geth. So now, they are so cute-friendly. You can pick a lot of mistakes they've made so far. Game mechanics was not good back there, it has minor changes now. ME2 seems just a side-story, all this Collectors thing leads to nowhere. There is a huge pile of quests which are just Illogical. Woman, licking a PSP on a photo got its own avatar in the game as a reporter, whereas famous and loved by fans Tali got what? Yes, a stock photo edited pic. And Yes, Reapers know Shepard and do nothing except shooting with their dubstep laser everywhere, but Shepard.
ME2 and ME3 especially give us both empowerment and Shepardocentrism.
Ending. last 15 minutes of pure bullshit, pretending to be epic and so intelligent, lol. It's funny, how Bioware told us at 1st that "it is so epic each decision is epic ending is epic etc. and we make game with our fans", but then they said "oh, it's our vision". Putting a pseudo-philosophical ending in Sci-fi game is ridicilous in the 1st place.
ME is not a game by an Author. It's casual mainstream, where Form was choosen over Substance, sadly. Trilogy had so muhch potential. now laid to waste.
P.S. In the "final hours of mass effect" most attentive can see a note about ending.
"Lots of speculation from everyone".
LOTS OF SPECULATION BY EVERYONE.
Goodnight, sweet prince, all hail to Buyoware.
I love Mass Effect 3. So much that i hope they milk it by adding more DLC and maybe more games. The adventure still continues in my mind.
2 Like I just love how everyone hates Mass Effect 3 based on the ending. Mass Effect 3 is great, expanding on all fronts. The TPS gameplay is some of the best I've seen, even better than games that take TPS as their primary mechanic. Also, the story is top-notch and the emotional involvement in the story's characters and events is amazing.
Also, BioWare released the Extended Cut, which does an okay job fixing the ending. So just go and download that and you'll have an experience in a video game unlike any other,.
2 Like What ? Are you high. I paid 60 something bucks for a crappy ending to my character.The ending sucked, everything else was fine.I could deal with the crappy scanning and the photo shopped Tali picture. Hell I could even handle the glitch while talking to EDI from Jokers side and getting stuck. But Dying in the end because I don't play multiplayer part of it sucks balls.Who the hell likes a sad ending ? I play games to get away from sad or "realistic" endings.Whomever ok'ed the ending should get beaten with a keyboard.
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@adamomars I love Fable, but I have to admit that you're right. They lost the original vision that they had when they made Fable 3. My kid brother, who is arguably a bigger fan than I am, said this, paraphrased: "Fable was about a nobody, an orphan, rising to power and having everything that comes with being famous. It was about doing what was right and becoming a hero that saved the world. In Fable 3, you're already the Prince. You have everything. What's to save?"
it's really cool game to eat the time. your review helped me to make my decision. actually i was browsing discount coupons for my new shopping and found a twenty dollars discount code at topincoupons website to use with newegg purchase for the mass effect 3 game. i thought its good for the price and give a trial.i wonder its really cool, thanks for the great review by Kevin Vanord
1 Like I didn't love the ending either. That is not what popped the bubble of this game for me. My character had a relationship with Tali in Mass Effect 2.Things fell apart in Mass Effect when i decided to side with the Geth. An emotional scene when Tali commits suicide.That was tough.But, guess what!! On the eve of the big finish,Tali,who Shepard saw die,shows up in his bed.That was unexpected!
That blew it for me.I was on Autopilot after that.Just finish this. I am disappointed that a gamemaker that is so story driven could allow that to happen.
@SASHA I want to know what screwed up, unpatched, fail-tacular version of this game that you guys buy. Just like Skyrim, I swear to God. I never saw any backwards flying dragons, not once. I'll tell you what I told everybody: from the very beginning of Mass Effect one, I played the Paragon route. Did everything like a good guy. Romance: Mass Effect was Ashley, Tali in Mass Effect 2, and Tali again in Mass Effect 3. I saved my entire squad in Mass Effect 2's suicide ending. In Mass Effect 3, everything went perfectly the way I always envisioned it. None of this bad stuff happened at all. What the heck did you guys do in your playthroughs?
1 Like *** BEWARE! SPOILERS AHEAD! ***
For me the ending was bad because it effectively killed the galactic civilization. When the Crucible went off and the relays were all destroyed, there was no way for any of the people you recruited to go home. The ones that survived the final battle were stuck here in our part of the Milky Way.
I want to know what effect that had on our civilization. And the Citadel would still be floating around near Earth too. No relay = no getting back to it's original place.
The core concept of the game was the mass relay and how it allowed a truly galactic community. It made me sad to know they were all destroyed. Then it made me mad to know they weren't going to show the effects of their destruction on the galactic level.
@Viracocha78 that was modified in the extended cut ending, they edited out the "no one can ever use the relays again" part...
its good story for most of the game =the ending does count points off though and its got more than a few BUGS its got a lot of them and this speaks to me of a game that was not finished but they were too busy adding the multiplayer to clean up what they were doing and write a proper ending-actually i think that the ending was the last thing they did and that was the problem with it they took so long making everything else but couldn't come up with an ending till it was the point of no return and said this is the best we have -and it wasn't very good -its C grade as endings go.
I think ME3 was fantastic for the most part, I can even count the amount of problems I had with it. I think what makes ME2 stand out was that it had some fantastic DLC. I mean, originally, ME2 brought great new characters, and added on the beloved ones that already existed, making that one thing stand out very much, and most of the main mission stuff was fantastic (especially the Suicide Mission), and overall it streamlined and improved on a lot of the stuff from the first.
The reason ME3 hasn't made people believe it's quite as good yet (and maybe never can for some for the same reason) is because there hasn't been much of anything other than what we've gotten from the start. Now, I'd like to say I wouldn't want to play any DLC because it won't change the ending, but regardless, ME3 is (for the most part) a superb game, so I'd probably buy the DLC that comes out, and I'd bet many of you would as well.
If this ending add on that comes out later helps calm the problem for most, then that'd be great, but then if they could come out with just as many quality add-on content that they did with ME2, I think every single fan (or at least most) would be back on board and say it all turned out great. They should put enough out so when all is done, it makes up for what the game lacks. I think the biggest problem isn't even the ending; it's the repetitively mundane fetch-quests that feel like filler.
2 Like ME1 and 2 where amazing games and i could not wait for ME3 . Got it the same day it came out and although it was not as good as the first 2 i still enjoyed it until i got to the end, i had heard that the end was crap but thought that was just some hard core gamers moaning again..... Until i got to the end myself and was in total shock at how bad this ending was:-( Hell i think its the worst ending to any game i have played. So much for the 16 different endings we were promised and why the hell did i spend over 40+hrs building up my military strengh just to get the same S*** ending. All the choices we made in the all 3 games was a waste of time because the ending is the same for everyone thats right 3 Crap endings with the only change being 3 different colours and a different character stepping out of the normandy, And don't get me started on that none of it made any sense what so ever, So much for the choices we made that would affect the ending Hey, Please BIOWARE give us an ending worth the 90+ hrs must of us spent on ur 3 games.
Reading all the backlash about the game's ending should surprise no one. EA disappointing its fans is nothing new. Don't blame this on BIOWARE, EA forced them to do it. Just look at what BIOWARE is capable of story wise with ME1.
All I have to say is when you compare ME3 to 1 and 2, ME3 disappoints. There were some good parts but I didn't get the "I love this game" feeling when I played ME3. I was looking for more depth in this game. There were a lot of shortcuts and the entire time I was playing, I felt like the game was about to end. I wish all the details that were in part 1 and 2 carried over into 3. I was not addicted like I was with the previous titles and too many people died off in 3. I'm not just really disappointed with the ending but much of the game was just a let down.
Other than getting the distinct feeling some things were ignored in order to put together a singular, cohesive ending (which, in itself, felt slopped together and rushed considering whole aspects of it made little to no sense), ME3 was an impressive feat, even considering some of its flaws and glitchiness. And, no, as much as I've been in love with the series and characters, I wouldn't let one little sequence (even if it is the conclusion) spoil my feelings about an entire series but... let's face it, someone somewhere got lazy or in too big of a hurry to pull that final conclusion together into something the fans who have been with this series for so long could appreciate. I don't care about some cheesy message or artsy fartsy idea on how the universe (or galaxy, rather) works--we needed something that actually made sense, paid a little more attention to the details. And, for the love of all things good and holy, didn't introduce concepts and/or characters we've seen little more than an easily missed blurb about into the very goddamn end of the game! >.<
*steps off soapbox*
That is all.
2 Like I will say that the ending of the game left me a little cold I wasn't expecting the cookie cutter ending, Shepard kill the reapers and life goes on. I felt that the ending was too general lacking the punch of the rest of the series. I would have to disagree with the the review when he says that choice played as big a part of ME3 as in the rest of the games, that was the problem your choices did not seem to matter in the ending only how many races you brought into the fold. That aside I still thought that ME3 was a great game with great combat and a great story and for the most part had a very personal feel for the player.
2 Like @AxemanPhil I can only say that I didn't like the ending because it felt to "general" I wanted to know how the war panned out. Did people rebuild, did the galaxy continue on as it had before the reaper war. I want to know that their is some possability that ME will rise again as a franchise in some similar form as it has before. The ending was decent but for a series I've been following since 2007 I will say it left a lot to be desired. Bottom line, I just wana know how all my favorite aliens and even us humans fared after the war... we all know what happened to Shepard (without spoiling it for those who haven't played), but the setting in total diserves some form of closure or even... to be continued?
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Mass Effect 3
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- Publisher(s): Electronic Arts
- Developer(s): BioWare
- Genre: Role-Playing
- Release:
- Classification Board: MA
Mass Effect 3 Navigation
