| Author | Review |
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destinee ehgc
204,335
TA Score for this game: 848
Posted on 29 March 12 at 09:42 |
This review has 41 positive votes and 22 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
This post was originally posted on http://gamingirl.com, for which I am a writer.
“We fight or we die! That’s the plan!” – Shepard
Actually, it’s a little more complicated than that, but either way, we’re finally here. The last game in the Mass Effect trilogy has arrived. After countless hours of honing our decision making skills and jumping into bed (both figuratively and literally) with aliens of all different races, has enough been done to save the galaxy from the Reaper’s attack? You play Commander Shepard, and along with your best and brightest your job is to unite the galaxy and prepare the allied forces for the war to end all wars. Either the Reapers will destroy all intelligent organic life or somehow, you must end them.
Mass Effect 3 doesn’t waste any time in immersing you into it’s world. It throws you head first into a tirade of gun fights and decision making, so before you manage to catch your breath you’re already invested in what’s to come. The storyline is littered with cameos of characters you’ve met during the trilogy and every one has a part to play. Some of these cameos are squad-mates, who, providing you kept them alive in the previous games, will be powerful assets. However, you will also find a myriad of NPCs you’ve met before, who have moved up in the world and will now be able to help.
Still the same old Shepard…
As with Mass Effect 2, you can import your Shepard and continue the same story. Even frivolous decisions in the original Mass Effect will be remembered and this really does give the epic story telling we were promised. If anyone is approaching this game without a previous save I would strongly suggest starting at the beginning of the trilogy as you are only robbing yourself of a great and unique experience if you leap in at the end.
Whilst there is no loyalty system in ME3, there’s no doubt that you still see the characters progress personally. This is especially prevalent in those who have been with you from the start. Whilst Liara was once a carefree archaeologist, there’s no doubt her experiences have hardened her and similar effects can be seen on many a friendly face. Instead of worrying about squad-mates, the main goal of the game is to collect “war assets”. These vary from a particularly charismatic general, to an entire race’s fleet. Obtained through main missions and the huge number of side-quests, everything you do can effect these. Even if you want to tell someone to go to hell, you may end up having to play it paragon as an entire race is too much of a help to turn down.
“Kaidan – Overload, Liara – Warp”
Whilst the fighting systems and basic gameplay have not been altered in any major way, there is now a more in depth levelling up system, as ME tries to become the ultimate action RPG hybrid. Another noticeable change is the Kinect capability. Whilst this is purely voluntary I would strongly recommend you experiment if you have the option. It really adds something to the story when you have to speak the lines, making you feel immersed to a degree not really seen before. Additionally, in the battle sections you will be amazed at how seamlessly you can bark out orders to your squad-mates without having to mess about with the power wheel.
If you’re looking for the full ME experience then you’ll now have to indulge in some multiplayer games. Up to four players must defend themselves whilst 10 waves of enemies come crashing towards them. After each game you will find this boosts the readiness of the system you defended. Whilst this is an “optional” extra the readiness level does increases your chance of success in the final mission and can only sit at 50% if you only play single player.
Not perfect, but close enough
Whilst I appreciate that the ME world is running on what is now five year old tech, there are some minor annoyances in ME3. The loading screens are many, and in some cases inexcusably long. Additionally, some jagged frame-rates can be seen and the lip-syncing sometimes makes it look like a badly dubbed Kung-Fu movie. All of these fade into insignificance, however, when you consider the game as a whole. The only fault that can’t be seen as age-related is the quest book. When a mission involves you getting an item and delivering it, there is no update to say when you have obtained it. This can lead to frustrating trips back to the Citadel only to discover you are still empty handed. Whilst this is a small problem it seems like a rookie error for such a successful franchise.
There has been a lot of conflict over the ending of the story, and so it seems worth mentioning that such a furore has occurred that Bioware have said the “concerns have been heard” and that they “promise to address them”. Whether this will mean an extra DLC epilogue or purely an explanation is anyone’s guess, but if this is your reason to avoid the game then don’t let it put you off.
I cannot imagine for one second that this will be the last we’ll see of the Mass Effect universe. If there’s one thing EA are good for it’s creating sequels, especially with such a profitable franchise.
The Bottom Line
Mass Effect 3 is the end game we were all hoping for. It successfully ties up loose ends whilst taking into account every choice you’ve made along the way. It is a fitting end to one of the most epic RPG series seen and if you’ve played the first two games this is a no-brainer. With more than 30 hours of non-stop action and intense story-telling this is easily one of the games of the year.
Hit; It’s just so epic feeling. It sits perfectly in between action game and RPG.
Miss; Whilst you spend the game collecting war assets, they don’t really make much difference and therefore seem a little pointless.
Need; An ending that doesn’t belittle the diversity of choice available throughout the series, but finger’s crossed for Bioware fixing it.
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ApocaLeepse
90,847
TA Score for this game: 1,590
Posted on 28 April 12 at 03:55, Edited on 28 April 12 at 03:56 |
This review has 31 positive votes and 13 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
Let me start off by saying that hardcore Mass Effect fans, especially ones that stand by ME3 despite its many, many flaws, might want to stop reading now. I will be mentioning a lot of them in this review, after all.
With that warning said, I am indeed one of the many Mass Effect fans that exist thanks to Bioware’s work on Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2. That does not mean that I will defend Mass Effect 3 until my dying breath though, because my idea of being a fan is mentioning everything that I disliked about something so then the sequel can be improved. For those who are interested, ME2 was my favourite game out of the trilogy. In my eyes, it represented everything that the series stood for: Story, player choice, great character development and a wonderful blend between a shooter and an RPG.
ME3 however was a completely different story. I’m going to get started by saying that the whole game just feels like EA had given Bioware an extremely low budget to work on ME3 with. The main story is significantly shorter than those of previous games. There are some emotional and some epic moments (a mix of both in certain parts), but aside from that the whole thing just seems rushed. I’m pretty sure that you’ve all heard this from everyone else as well as me, but the ending was terrible too. Not one of the worst ones I’ve seen but definitely not the best one I’ve seen by several light years. Side missions have also been greatly dumbed down in comparison to previous titles. Shepard now must go around listening in to other people’s conversations to collect things from around the galaxy. People who were disappointed by the reduction of the amount of exploration in ME2 will be horrified to learn that exploration is almost absent from the game. Most of the exploration has been replaced with scanning solar systems with the Normandy, then probing planets that have anomalies and collecting assets to help you with the war against the Reapers from them. Mining has also been completely removed - although for most, that might not be such a bad thing.
The dialogue feels like one of the things that has been dumbed down the most. As a result player choice has been heavily reduced. There have been many, many instances where Shepard has said something and I’ve thought to myself “well, that was a bit of a stupid thing to say, and the worst part is, I didn’t even get a choice in the matter!” For example, in the first mission, Anderson tells Shepard that he needs to go to the Citadel and ask the Council for help. Shepard responds by saying “the fight is here!” That was one instance where I got that thought. Shepard, you know more about the Reapers than any other sentient being in the galaxy. You of all people should know that humanity would never be able to stand alone against an army of Reapers.
The whole story is also way too patriotic for humanity. The game revolves around you getting allies to repel the Reapers invading Earth, despite the fact that these allies have problems of their own, which I think is completely and utterly selfish. For example, when you go to collect turian allies, you basically tell them to ignore the fact that Palaven (their world) is being completely obliterated by Reapers (which you can actually see for yourself, I would like to add), because “Earth needs them”. Realistically, that would have NEVER have worked. The turians would've told Shepard to go screw himself/herself.
Finally, where is the humour?! There were indeed a few moments that made me chuckle, but there aren’t even half as many as ME1 and 2 (such as the crazy indoctrinated salarian prisoner on Virmire, or the volus “biotic god” on Illium). I understand that Bioware wanted to go for the whole tragic invasion story thing, but it’s just TOO depressing. Add the ending to that, and it’ll just make some players want to go jump off a cliff or something. Forgive me for saying this, but as I've said before, it just seems like Bioware had ran out of budget about half way through making the game, then decided to spend the remaining funds on a multiplayer mode to make up for it.
The story does have some good points however. As I’ve said before, it can be quite emotional when it really wants to be, and while the ending didn’t allow any of the player’s decisions made throughout all 3 games to be taken into account, the decisions did affect what happened on your way to the end. While the lack of exploration is extremely annoying, it does give you an intense feeling being chased out of a system by Reapers due to your excessive scanning.
Speaking of which, the Normandy is the same old Normandy, aside from a few annoying additions that Bioware insisted that it should have. Firstly, I don’t know how the crew moves around the decks without bumping into each other and random objects. The ship, particularly the CIC area, is dark as hell. Secondly, what in God’s name was the point in adding a scanner in the room that links the War Room to the CIC?! It’s my ship, I shouldn’t have to be scanned every time I go between the rooms and furthermore, what is it doing THERE of all places? You’d think it would be somewhere like, I don’t know, the entrance of the ship maybe? That would make a lot more sense. Otherwise people are just going to smuggle stuff aboard and infiltrate the ship, but will just make a note not to go into the War Room. Most. Useless. Addition. Ever.
Gameplay wise, ME3 has improved on what ME2 had in most aspects (with a couple of flaws here and there). If you liked weapon mods and upgrading weapons in the first game, you’ll be pleased to learn that it has returned after being absent from the second game. ME3 has blended them in nicely with the armoury system that ME2 used. Targeting isn’t as good as ME2 however, as looking around feels sluggish. On the bright side, sprinting speed has been increased and you never run out of breath from sprinting. Oh, and you can climb ladders and drive big mechs, which is always a good thing to have.
Not impressed however with the amount of times one has to change their disc. I personally would have made singelplayer on one disc and multiplayer on another, not put multiplayer on both discs and make it so the player has to change discs on a regular basis. I'm all for more than one disc, so long as I don't have to constantly switch between them.
Graphically, the game does look quite good in most places despite a few hiccups here and there. However, I do miss the colours from ME1 and 2. In ME3, it just looks like they’ve slapped the old fashioned “grey and brown” everywhere in a desperate effort to make everything look better.
So I’m probably going to get a ton of Mass Effect fanboys and fangirls raging at me via my comments, but I honestly don’t care. Mass Effect 3 just felt like it was blatantly a low budget game. I don’t blame Bioware, I blame EA. I do however, think that Bioware should get the hell away from EA fast, unless they want to end up like Westwood.
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Katosepe321
76,947
TA Score for this game: 967
Posted on 06 April 12 at 20:13 |
This review has 19 positive votes and 9 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
I want to start off by saying that by now, everyone has heard all about the ending to Mass Effect 3. Maybe you don't know what it entails but you've heard everyone's opinions about it. I want to let you all know that this review is NOT based on the ending. In fact, I don't even really want to touch the ending with a 10-foot pole in this review. 99.9% of you are happy about this but if you are one of the 0.1% that actually cares what my opinion is, feel free to check out my latest blog posting for my thoughts (I don't change my blog very often so chances are that if you're reading this, it's still the first post). Okay, so, onward with my review.
The galaxy is at war. Earth has been decimated by the horrifying Reaper invasion. Shepard may have escaped the devastation for now, but with his team scattered and the galaxy in shambles, he's got his work cut out for him if he wants to save Earth and stop the Reapers once and for all. Mass Effect 3 marks the end of Shepard's trilogy. This is a story that you have been creating since the original Mass Effect and BioWare is not letting all that time go to waste. According to them, importing a character not only brings over your stats and level from Mass Effect 2, but also 1000 decisions you have made over the course of the last two games. Now, not all of these will be galaxy changing decisions but the large decisions and the small come together wonderfully to make this story really feel like you made it.
Since the story I experienced is likely not the story you will experience, there isn't much point in nitpicking plot bits but I will say that Mass Effect 3 was easily the best in the series for me. The cinematics and set piece battles were truly epic in scale and were a perfect culmination for the series which has spent the last five years leading up to this war. There were times, mostly in the early to mid game, where I felt that BioWare was leading me a bit too much with dialogue that probably should have been chosen by the player but the scope of the story made up for that.
The Reaper are no longer just a monster in the dark anymore, they are attacking and everyone knows it. This isn't just a story point either, this fear of the unknown affects every aspect of the game. Walking around the Citadel, you see refugees crowding the streets. Exploring the galaxy map shows you where the Reapers currently are and greatly impacts your exploration. If you didn't know what a Reaper sounded like before, you will now. The haunting, low, metallic groan will let you know you are in for trouble.
The story was always a known quantity by this point though, what about the gameplay? BioWare heard many people's complaints that Mass Effect 2 was great but no longer felt like a true RPG. For Mass Effect 3, they tightened down the fun gun play from Mass Effect 2 and brought back many of the RPG features that made the first game so enjoyable. While shooting is mostly the same as it was in Mass Effect 2, everything just feels better. Cover mechanics aren't as clunky as they were before, you are provided with more options like dodge rolling and moving from cover to cover. The controls also seem to know what you want just a bit better than they did in Mass Effect 2 so, while you will experience times where Shepard goes into cover when you wanted him to run, it won't happen as often as before.
As for the RPG features, character customization is infinitely better than before. Your characters level now goes up to 60 and while everything looks the same as it did in Mass Effect 2, there are more skills to choose from and each skill goes up to six levels instead of the previous four. The last three levels of each skill also provide you with two options rather than just straight level up trees. If you were hoping for the original level system, you may be disappointed but to me it was satisfying. If leveling isn't enough, they throw items at you like none other throughout your adventure. Weapons can be found all over the place as well as the return of weapon mods both of which can be leveled up. Stores provide you with these weapons, mods and upgrades as well if you don't want to explore every area you go to but this comes at a price. All the stores are located at the Citadel or you can go to your hangar bay and purchase them from a centralized computer much like in the original game. Fortunately, unlike the first game, there isn't any sort of selling mechanic so instead of finding duplicates, you will have your item upgraded to the next level. Thermal clips return so you will have to watch your ammo but, playing through on normal difficulty, ammo was plentiful enough that I rarely worried about it.
Battles also play out much differently than in Mass Effect 2 where sitting in one place throughout a battle was usually fine. Enemy types are plentiful and all require different strategies. The three main categories you will be fighting against are Cerberus, the Geth and the Reapers. The enemy AI has been given a massive overhaul so each enemy feels extremely real and extremely deadly. Cerberus sends normal foot soldiers at you but sets up shield pylons that constantly recharge their shields until you destroy them. Other than normal foot soldiers, you'll be fighting technicians that love to set up deadly turrets, ninjas, snipers and even the occasional giant mech which can be hijacked and driven yourself if you have the skill. The Geth are the same as they were before but they are noticeably more aggressive than before. Unfortunately, you won't be spending much time fighting the giant Reapers on the ground all that much. Instead, you will be fighting Reaper versions of many of the species throughout the galaxy. BioWare clearly drew inspiration from the frightening Flood from the Halo universe but they still made these enemies unique and entirely their own. Marauders support other types giving them armor, Banshees use powerful biotics and teleport from place to place. Frightening Brutes will use their pure stopping power to force you down.
Many cameos and guest appearances show up in Mass Effect 3 but don't expect to be getting all your old teammates back. A year is a long time and your squad have all gone their separate ways. Still, assume that if your people survived the last two games, they will probably show up again in Mass Effect 3. They may even join the war effort but as war assets rather than squad mates. Rather than bulk up your squad with as many fighters as possible, BioWare decided instead to limit the number of teammates you receive in favor of really focusing on the relationships you build with those select few people. While this can make the guest appearances almost nauseating if everyone survived your last games, the focus was not wasted. The romantic choices have been beefed up for this game and are not simply straight lines until you get your lover in the sack. The ties feel meaningful. Likewise, just because a squadmate is of the opposite gender doesn't mean they are either a love interest or nothing. Unlike Mass Effect 2, you can establish your relationship as friends early on and not have it hurt you later. Finally, if you so desire, there are also same-sex relationships that can be pursued but if you are morally against that kind of thing or just not interested, the game far from forces you into it.
Many people wondered about how they would deal with galaxy exploration in Mass Effect 3. Mass Effect had you traveling around in the Mako tank looking for places of interest on mostly barren planets. Mass Effect 2 had you scan every planet in the galaxy looking desperately for minerals and short battles. BioWare was very aware these were boring as none other. Now, instead of all that, they have you scan the entire system at once rather than individual planets. This is done by sending out decently sized bursts of sound while flying around the map. If something interesting is found, you are notified, as well as showing you how many more things there are to find in the system and nebula. This process is infinitely faster and less tedious than before. On top of that, if you are in Reaper controlled space, scanning will alert the Reapers and, if you scan too much, can send them towards you with their terrifying screech. If you don't get out of the system in time, they can catch you with a game over. The game does a pretty poor job of teaching this system to you, hoping, instead, that you'll just kind of figure it out. Still, once you get it, it's infinitely simpler and faster than previous games. While the Reaper thing sounds harsh, it really isn't. In fact, it's more of a minor annoyance than anything. See, the Reapers are pretty slow so making it out of a system before they catch you is extremely easy. Then you can just go back in and make a run for whatever artifacts you missed before. Even if they do catch you, you simply resume in the same system you just died in, losing nothing more than a matter of seconds. While the punishment may sound pointless, it's good that the game did it this way as harsh punishments here would make exploring nearly impossible. While there aren't any minerals like their were before, there's plenty of war assets, money, collectibles and fuel to find throughout the galaxy so you rarely get bored.
Mass Effect has always had a pretty distinct art style and it can be expressed ad nauseam sometimes. Still, this is, unsurprisingly, the best looking Mass Effect of the lot. You won't ever feel like you're just looking at the same old environments over and over again (unless you play the multiplayer) and, aside from a few frame rate stutters, the game keeps up very well. Oddly enough, the only times my game ever stuttered was during down times, never during battle. Loading times are drastically improved and finally, you won't feel dread every time you have to ride an elevator. This is compensated with by making almost every door you open a loading time. Most of the time, this is fine but inevitably, you will experience doors that take forever to open. Still, despite the faults, it's infinitely better than either previous Mass Effect game.
The Multiplayer mode was always controversial and everyone will probably have a mixed opinion about it. The game is basically early horde mode with a few objective-based waves thrown in every 3 waves. If you get through ten waves, you get to survive one more for evac and then you win. There are six built-in maps, all with pretty much the same stuff. You get to make a multiplayer character to play with and this can be any class, gender or race (as long as you unlock the various races). Each character can level up to 20 and levels up the same way the single player works. Along with this, you gain credits for playing and can use them to buy random item boxes that provide you with in-game items like heavy weapons or medi-gel, weapons, mods or characters. Playing multiplayer helps increase your Galaxy readiness factor which affects your single player campaign. While being ready for the Reapers sounds great, the game doesn't ever really explain what this readiness factor means. Look it up if you want but basically, it helps you get the best ending possible in single player. Also, if your character gets to level 20, you can promote the character to single player which gives a boost to your war assets, but sends your multiplayer character back to level 1. The multiplayer isn't bad but it certainly isn't the best out their either. Leveling up is fast and satisfying but most won't stick with multiplayer simply for multiplayer's sake. Still, it's a nice addition that can let you try out other classes you may not have used before.
Since this is TrueAchievements, I suppose I should talk about the achievements before I end this. Almost all the achievements can be won in single player without ever touching multiplayer but many achievements can be won in multiplayer as well. The average player can probably easily get at least 800G with a bit of multiplayer and the single player campaign. Some achievements like beat it on insanity, reach max level, kill 5000 enemies or get level 10 weapons will take more time to achieve but none are ridiculous.
Mass Effect has been a series long in the making. Shepard has been telling us for years that the Reapers are coming and we must be ready. Well, they are here. Are you ready?
Score: 9/10 (rounding up to 5 stars)
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Me7axas
76,586
TA Score for this game: 1,398
Posted on 12 May 12 at 20:28, Edited on 12 May 12 at 20:35 |
This review has 10 positive votes and 4 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
http://christianmetaxas.wordpress.com/2012/05/12/mass-effect...
Mass Effect 3 – Review (X360)
Introduction
I’ll never forget playing through the first Mass Effect. Armed with “Ghosts n Stuff” on repeat, I made three separate run-throughs to rack up some additional achievements. Unfortunately, the original was riddled with mission bugs, freezing issues and thinly veiled, stupidly long loading screens (talk about spending your life in the elevator). Then we had Mass Effect 2, a poignantly refined sequel that expanded and improved on almost everything. I managed to complete ME2 in just under a week during some time off during my high school days, in my prime and able to pump in nine hours a day. When ME3 got announced, I got excited. After grinding out the last days of my sophomore year, I finally got some well deserved down-time to relax and play it.
Mass Effect 3 picks up loosely where its predecessor left off; Shepard is thrust back into active duty to once again save humanity and the rest of the galaxy from a fast impending alien threat. The funny thing about the Mass Effect series is that it allows for the import of previous game saves. I can take that same Shepard I started the trilogy with from 2009 and continue the fight. This means that the games need to operate both in seamless continuity as well as in a vacuum, allowing new players to enjoy this particular chapter without having played any of the others. After a few hours of playing, I found myself at a loss with one particular side-mission on the Citadel. I later learned that the mission was, after two months, still bugged. Some things never change.
Campaign
Maybe it’s because when I played ME2 I had the lights off. Maybe it’s because I was using a headset and sitting no less than two feet away from my 47inch LCD, but ME3 didn’t feel like the same beautiful beast that ME2 was, not by a long shot. While most of the mandatory missions in the game are meaty and original, the rest of them seem to have been tacked on with little creativity or merit. The whole point of the game is to amass war assets for the final fight by completing missions, but unless it was a mandatory mission, the task is usually extremely repetitive or invariably bland. Many (if not all) of these excess adventures are poorly disguised fetch quests, with only a few going that extra mile to feel like real missions. Other than the addition of war assets, the campaign is pretty straightforward: you shoot things and make decisions while using the mass relay to pinball about the galaxy. One of the things that impressed me was that I felt invested in the story. Throughout the game there are decisions that will have a real impact on not only war assets, but characters and the plot as well. After completing these particular missions, I found myself scrambling over to my laptop and looking up how else things could have played out, if I made the right call.
Known for excellent hybrid gameplay, Bioware has made sure that ME3 is still kosher in the combat department. Players outfit themselves and their squad mates before taking their bullet-time option wheel and plunging into the fight. Once in the shit, players can utilize a variety of different strategies to take down enemies and advance the game. Holding down the right bumper you scan the battleground, selecting options and getting ready to make your move. ME3 plays like chess on the higher difficulties, posing continuous on-the-fly tactical questions that demand fast answers. Should I use Warp or Stasis, then what? Where should I place my squad mates? Should I go for the nuts or the face? These are the kinds of questions you face as you chart your course through the beautiful environments of the Mass Effect universe.
The campaign wasn’t all sunshine and lollipops though, it had more than it’s fair share of setbacks and annoyances. For convenience and brevity’s sake, I have decided to outline my grievances in a list:
mission bugs which halted my progress causing me to forfeit side-quests
in a handful of cut-scenes the camera focused on nothing
characters with poor lip syncing, goofy eyes or disembodied limbs
enemies freezing up in combat
my squad mates freezing up in combat
the cover system fucking me (lead is bad for my health, especially on Insanity)
flat characters sending me on mundane and repetitive side-quests
repetitive side-quests
fucking side-quests
people floating in mid air
Shepard getting stuck in walls or other inanimate objects
the game freezing on me
my fish dying in the year 2187, they brought Shepard back from the dead but they can’t keep my fish alive for me? (I later found out about a device that takes care of them for you, but it was too little too late for my amphibious friends)
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In spite of these piss-offs (many of which were present in ME1 and 2), the campaign was pretty solid; it kept me busy and I always felt like I had something to do. As per usual, all the races came into play, some resembling real life racial stereotypes aptly. For a game plagued with bugs and other annoying problems, Bioware still does RPG action better than everyone else.
Online/Multiplayer
In ME3 online play you create a class of character pick a race and get shootin’, fairly straightforward. After getting in there you’ll find that the maps are strangely reminiscent of something; that’s because you’ve played them already in the single player campaign. Now you get to play them again, online! The matchmaking is fairly straightforward, as is the leveling and currency system. But while online I couldn’t help but feel as though the whole thing was a bit of a shill. Walking into the online storefront with 100k of hard earned credits, I didn’t unlock anything that awesome from the booster packs I purchased. As shown in Haley’s ‘case study’, walking in with one hundred real dollars doesn’t make much of a difference either. Guess I’m not walking as far as I thought.
If you ever want to escape the monotony of playing as GENERIC HUMAN 001 you’ll need to sink in enough play-time to earn multiplayer credits and then gamble it in the booster pack-card system that Bioware has implemented in the multiplayer. Not only that, but your online activity directly correlates with your Effective Military Strength. Starting off at fifty percent, the only way to increase EMS and bolster your chances of success in the final push is to play online (there are two apps that can help as well). Even after you have one hundred percent across the galaxy; the percentage will drop if you don’t keep playing. In my Insanity run, I had a Total Military Strength just shy of 6000, and I did literally everything. Without playing online that number is halved to 3500, severely diminishing the odds, options and endings available. While fun with friends, the multiplayer feels like more of an afterthought used to keep the disc in your drive rather than something used to enhance your experience and add to your enjoyment. After almost two weeks of completing the game and acquiring all the achievements, I don’t see myself rushing back to ME3’s online multiplayer anytime soon.
The Ending
Perhaps the thing that drove me to finish this game the most was the much despised ending. For two months I managed to avoid spoilers on 4chan and the other sites I frequent, keeping myself primed for when I finally played the game myself. All I knew was that people really fucking hated it. After playing for thirty six hours and fighting through thousands of Geth, Reaper and Cerberus forces I found the trilogy’s ending to be pretty unsatisfying. For starters, I’m not quite sure how I flunked the final reputation check because my Paragon level was through the roof; not only that, but no matter which path you choose, the endings are all the same.
For the next few hours after I had completed the game, I felt every possible way you could feel about the ending. Over the course of ME3 I had to make calls about whether someone should pull the plug on a loved one in the hospital, whether to wipe out or help a potentially hostile species and, whether or not to the Geth collective should upload the dangerous Reaper code. For a game that had so many socially conscious and intense black and white decisions to make, the ending was extremely grey and ultimately underwhelming. For all the war assets I had, for all the hours I sunk in and for all the difficult choices I made along the way, the fact that the only thing I changed was the colour of the fucking explosion really rustled my jimmies.
After finishing the trilogy, I began to think of how I would have ended it if it were up to me. There would not have been a decision to make at all in my ending. Shepard destroys the Reapers, saving humanity and the rest of the galaxy, the end. Maybe I’m just a happy ending kinda guy, and I know decision making is one of the hallmarks of the Mass Effect series, but perhaps this is a choice that people didn’t want to make. When you really think about it you, as a player who has invested a lot of time in the game (maybe three games), lose with every choice. Some of the hardest decisions I made in the game had nothing to do with the story, they were the little reputation boosters, tidbits of conversations where both individuals were correct and incorrect respectively. I knew that I needed to side with someone for reputation points, but they were questions that I, in real life, would avoid answering if I didn’t have to. Much like with the ending, each choice has its ups and downs. Mass Effect 3’s final choice was a call I would have rather not made.
Mass Effect 3: From Ashes
The ever controversial day one DLC. It was free to those who purchased the collector’s edition of the game, but the rest of had to pay. Having snagged the game on sale for thirty bucks, spending another twelve meant I would still come in under par.
From Ashes features you and your squad landing on Eden Prime to investigate a tremor in the force. Upon landing you find that the colonists and Cerberus had uncovered a Prothean stasis tube. The DLC offers two achievements worth twenty five points apiece, along with a whole slew of information about the Protheans. Only slightly challenging while playing on Insanity, From Ashes definitely feels like content that should have been included in the retail copy of the game. These days developers claim they need to plan DLC, that its part of their business model. Epic made a compelling argument late last year while discussing the mentality behind their Gears of War 3 season pass and scheduled calendar of content. But even Epic waited a month or two before rolling out their new content. Day one DLC, especially things as story-relevant as From Ashes, still feels like a big fuck you to consumers. The DLC includes one mission, new squad mate Javik the Prothean, and the particle rifle. The only worthwhile content here is the particle rifle, a powerful weapon that you can abuse to sweep through the campaign with ease. Having said this, I completed my insanity run without excessive use of it. The DLC is short, and it feels as though Bioware intentionally snipped it out to make a few extra bucks. Not cool.
Conclusion
For what it’s worth, after all my bitching and moaning, Mass Effect 3 was a solid video game. The graphics, soundtrack and game play all came together to create a pretty enjoyable experience. I’m not sure I would recommend the game to people who haven’t played the previous two; the DLC adds a fair amount of cool content to the game, but the fact that I got charged twelve dollars Canadian for: a squad mate, a mission, a gun, and all of Javik’s potential story immersion just soured the deal way too much for me. Is this the last we’ll see of Mass Effect? I doubt it, the brand has been way too profitable for Bioware and EA to hang up their omnitools for good. As I brace myself for the inevitable cash grab in the years to come, I can only hope that Shepard stays dead this time.
Mass Effect 3: B+
From Ashes: C
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Slackerchan
179,242
TA Score for this game: 2,316
Posted on 25 March 12 at 05:48 |
This review has 16 positive votes and 10 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
2007 was a great year to be a gamer. Infinity Ward was set to release a modern Call of Duty title with an advanced multiplayer suite, Bungie was going to conclude the Halo trilogy and Valve decided to bundle up all their recent achievements and release them in a pack called The Orange Box. There were plenty of great experiences to be had but hidden amongst the crowd of assassins, underwater cities and police crackdowns was an RPG from a developer whose previous game had become near legendary last generation. Bioware, having come fresh off of a fantastic Chinese mythology RPG title called Jade Empire, released Mass Effect, a sci-fi epic that had you exploring alien worlds, meeting new sentient species and fighting against an unknown, extra-galactic threat. It was released to rave reviews and fans eagerly awaited its impending sequel.
Fans got it just a few years later in 2010 and while some design decisions put gamers at odds with one another it was still one of the best experiences to have that year. Over a year’s worth of downloadable content kept gamers coming back to Mass Effect 2 for more but with the epic conclusion to the series was just on the horizon. The final journey of Shepard and the SSV Normandy is upon us and the anticipation for it couldn’t be higher. Does the conclusion to the Mass Effect trilogy deliver us unto salvation?
Assuming Direct Control
Six months after the destruction of the Alpha Relay during the Arrival DLC in Mass Effect 2, Shepard finds himself on Earth, court-martialed for his actions in the destruction of the relay and the subsequent annihilation of a Batarian colony. Ordered before a frightened admiralty board, Shepard realizes that the day he has spoken frequently of to deaf ears has finally come: the arrival of the Reapers. Humanity’s fleets are decimated in a matter of minutes and before the board can even react, the galactic menace lands in Vancouver. Shepard barely manages to escape aboard the Normandy and is given one last order before he leaves the planet by long time friend Admiral Anderson: bring together the species of the galaxy and take back Earth.
Uniting the various races in this galactic war is no small task and it in and of itself will be a task almost as large as fighting the Reapers alone. Long standing divisions are your biggest obstacles to overcome and with the Reapers attacking every sector of the galaxy each race has to sacrifice their own worlds in order to bring together their collective firepower. To convince them to do so, Shepard has to solve long-standing issues and do his best to build up enough resources to insure a strong fighting force for retaking Earth.
One thing that absolutely has to be mentioned is the overall nature of the game’s story. To put it mildly, Mass Effect 3 is a dark game. Death is all around you, comrades you’ve grown to love will die for the cause and you’ll be left to ask whether their sacrifice was truly worth it. Shepard himself is haunted throughout the story by the image of a child he tried to rescue but ultimately was killed as he was attempting to escape Earth at the beginning of the game. Having to abandon Earth alone eats at Shepard as the game goes on and your eventual return is just as devastating to his character. Many of the decisions you make can also have a significant effect on entire races, possibly leading to the downfall of entire civilizations. In several cases there is not right call to be made at all so you have to live with the consequences no matter what direction you go in with them.
Given the controversy raging throughout the gaming community I fear that it wouldn’t be prudent to not address Mass Effect 3’s ending. I would like to say that the way Bioware chose to end this fantastic trilogy is certainly a ballsy way of doing so. The impact of your decisions has never hit home quite as strongly as your choice in the ending and there is no one right ending to choose. By comparison (and not to put too fine a point on it), the endings present feel a lot like those the player is forced to make in the Deus Ex series as your choice will affect the galaxy as a whole, not just your allies and the survivors fighting on Earth. While it isn’t what many people would feel is the proper, best way to end Shepard’s story, it can be said with absolute certainty that it’s an ending that you will be talking about for a long time to come.
Regardless of your choice of conclusion, Mass Effect 3 is a fantastic, desperate story of struggle against an almost insurmountable foe. If you weren’t already a fan of the series you will be by the end of the game.
Salvation through Destruction
Mass Effect 3, like its predecessors, is a galaxy hopping, exploration-focused epic that takes you everywhere you didn’t know you wanted to go. From the ruined battlefields of occupied Earth, to the home planets of the Turians and the Asari and even the refugee-laden docks of the Citadel, Shepard will travel to every known corner of the galaxy to help destroy the Reapers. Many of the places you had only read or heard about can be or is visited throughout the course of the story so for those who have wanted to visit and see what the worlds of various races look like (albeit at war time) you certainly get your chance in Mass Effect 3.
The overall experience is not unlike that which you got in Mass Effect 2 as the combat remains the same with the addition of several new abilities and smarter AI for both your enemies and your teammates. Your teammates seem to be even smarter this time around and rarely seem to be knocked out in battle. Many enemies, such as some of the more powerful Reaper creatures, offer significant challenges to overcome in a game based on cover-based combat as they will charge you ruthlessly. Still though, ME2 veterans will find themselves right at home with the core ME3 combat mechanics.
Two new additions to the combat system make for an interesting twist. Melee, only briefly feature in the previous games, actually gets a proper reworking in Mass Effect 3. You (as well as your teammates and enemies) can utilize heavy attacks using your omnitool which are particularly devastating, all but killing most of your lower tier foes. Players can also deploy explosives to the battlefield in the form of mines and grenades. Coupled with biotic powers such as Pull or Throw Shepard can easily clear an area of enemies in a way that biotics couldn’t. These explosives are mighty handy when faced with a horde of enemies such as Cerberus or Geth troops in tight conditions and can be a great equalizer at the right moment.
Like the structure of Mass Effect 2, Shepard’s final mission hinges on a certain aspect you are supposed to be doing throughout the entire game. Whereas ME2 had you focus on collecting allies and upgrading the Normandy for the suicide mission, ME3 has you collecting what are called War Assets. These assets range in number and diversity from personnel to tools, equipment, soldiers and even entire fleets of ships in your struggle to take back Earth. War assets tie directly into the number of endings you have available at your disposal as well as just how these endings play out. Your war asset count is also affected by the Galaxy at War multiplayer component which I will get into in a moment.
Many of these resources you gain are earned or even multiplied by the characters present in the game. Almost every character you have encountered in the two previous games makes an appearance here, many of whom you probably forgot about, and your interactions with them help determine whether or not you earn new war assets to help fight the Reapers. Characters that died in Mass Effect 2 will not appear if a save is imported but a replacement character will take that role over. These replacement characters will not join your party though and, beyond their initial appearance, aren’t necessarily memorable and don’t yield as strong a war asset count as you’d get with the core characters they are filling in for.
Importing your Mass Effect 2 save data into the third title yields far more benefits and consequences than what was done between the previous two games. Whereas only eight decisions in ME1 carry over to ME2, nearly a thousand decisions are counted and calculated when imported into Mass Effect 3. Many of these decisions you won’t remember even committing to but simple ones like rescuing the crew of the Normandy immediately in ME2 can yield significant benefits like retaining old crew members and even aiding refugees at the Citadel. Your skill level is retained if you import your save and for those wanting to try a new way to play you can change your character class as well. There are even incentives for players to go through the story a second time as your character level, skills, credits, armor and weapons are all ported into your next playthrough. This also applies to your reputation which gives you access to new Paragon/Renegade decisions that you previously couldn’t choose from.
On a disappointing side note though (at least to me) a Mass Effect 2 save that saw Shepard dying at the end of the suicide mission cannot be imported into ME3. This is understandable as the main character is dead but I’d have loved to see how Shepard would have been brought back to combat the Reapers. Clone? Rebuilt again by Cerberus? We’ll never know but it certainly would have made for an interesting twist.
We Fight Together or Die Alone
Bioware is well versed in creating a masterful singleplayer story (despite their design controversies with some of their recent games) but their experience with the multiplayer realm has, up until now, been quite limited. Mass Effect 3 changes this as it introduces multiplayer to the universe for the first time. Called the Galaxy At War, it is a four player cooperative experience that sees you playing as a member of an N7 Spec Ops squad sent on missions to secure resources in the galactic war against the Reapers. While N7 distinctions are primarily reserved for humans, the Spec Ops nature of these unofficial operations allows for any of the primary races to be played as. This includes Asari, Turian, Krogan, Human, Drell and Quarian so for those who were hoping to play as a badass Hanar, Elcor and any of the other races I’m sorry to say you’ll be disappointed. For the rest of us however we have a variety of characters to choose from across all six classes, though each race will only correspond to their appropriate class (ie. Asari Adept, Quarian Engineer, etc.).
The multiplayer part of Mass Effect 3, as previously stated, is a cooperative one and not a competitive one in nature. Much like that of the Gears of War horde mode, Galaxy at War pits you against ten waves (and one extraction wave) of either Reaper, Cerberus or Geth enemies in one of six locales seen in the singleplayer experience. Players earn points for kills and assists in eliminating enemies and completing objects which, in turn, level up your character in the same manner the player would upgrade Shepard in the main game. Participants also earn credits to spend in the multiplayer store which purchase packs of randomized weapons, items and characters to use in combat.
Perhaps the most interesting (and controversial) part of the multiplayer is its relevance to the singleplayer. For the first time in recent memory, the multiplayer component actually has a strong influence on the singleplayer campaign. As you complete N7 missions and level up your character your galactic readiness in each sector of the galaxy rises, starting at (and never going below) 50% and rising depending on the circumstances of the mission. This percentage acts as a multiplier on your in-game war assets which, if left untouched, can significantly alter Shepard’s mission to retake Earth. This all but forces you to actually play the multiplayer instead of leaving it alone, something that can be an issue to some players who simply want to experience Mass Effect 3 alone.
This would have been an even bigger issue in people’s eyes had the multiplayer turned out to be crap. I’m happy to report however that this is anything but the case as Bioware has yielded a surprisingly interesting and fun component. Combat is fun, mission objectives are randomized to insure different experiences every time and enemies are tough yet exciting to fight. Each race of enemies has unique minions to combat and can drastically change your battleplan going in based on what they choose to spawn. In short, the multiplayer is never boring and with a little more fleshing out could be a remarkably interesting experience to come back to in a genre that is, more often than not, sees players playing only once through and then never again. A couple more pieces of DLC and a few refinements and the multiplayer could be just as celebrated as the singleplayer is.
The Vanguards of Our Ascension
It was clear from the start of the series that Bioware wanted to craft the Mass Effect universe into one that both they and their customers will love. Three games in and five years since players first got to play as Commander Shepard, the game still looks as remarkable as it did before. While the Unreal Engine 3 has been showing its age as of late Mass Effect 3 still looks fantastic and has some of the best looking character and object models in the industry to date. Faces still look great, animations seem to have been improved over what we saw in the previous games and particle effects and still wonderful eye candy.
One noticeable thing players should be made aware of is the setting of the environments. While Mass Effect 1 and 2 were about putting the combat of the game in the moment and focusing the player in on it this series-ending entry takes that focus and de-blurs the rest of the world, allowing you to take in far more. Whereas in the previous games you saw yourself as the focus on the conflict going on Mass Effect 3 allows you to see that you are but one small (if very important) part of the war as a whole. In several missions of the campaign you will be able to look around and see Soverign-class Reapers landing and destroying a city, fighters desperately trying to evade pursuing Reaper Harvesters and even entire starships being blow to smithereens. You really get the sense of being in a losing war against a merciless, nearly omnipresent foe and it makes you feel both enthralled as well as intimidated. Kudos to Bioware for taking the blinders off this time around.
The work on the game’s sound and music was really hit home as well. Though Jack Wall, the composer for the previous two games, did not return for Mass Effect 3 his replacement, Clint Mansell, does just as good a job. Though Mansell’s soundtrack doesn’t have much in the way of Wall’s electronic soundtrack (save for the classic galaxy map track) he does deliver a power, brass score that sells the chaos-ridden struggle against the Reapers excellently. His inclusion of piano work conveys a sense of loss and sacrifice explicitly well and all but demands that you put some money down on the soundtrack when it is eventually released. This might be Mansell’s first foray into designing music for video game but if this is typical of his future works then I look forward to what he’s going to bring to the table.
Breaking the Cycle
Mass Effect 1 was an RPG of exceptional caliber. Mass Effect 2, despite having fierce competition and launch in January, went on to be one of the best games of 2010. For all the controversy Mass Effect 3 has landed itself in though it still garners the outstanding praise its predecessors enjoyed. It’s an epic conclusion to a groundbreaking trilogy whose campaign is immensely memorable and whose multiplayer is very well done for a first effort such as this.
With this generation of games more than likely coming to an end next year Bioware’s epic saga is one that deserves to be heralded as one of the pinnacles of the last seven years. This wonderful game more than worthy of your hard-earned cash for series veterans and for those who have yet to put their feet in the boots of Commander Shepard it is all the more reason for them to sit down and find out why this series is so remarkable. Only three months into 2012 this is easily my favorite game on the Citadel.
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Dreddwulf88
108,342
TA Score for this game: 2,316
Posted on 26 March 12 at 23:00 |
This review has 14 positive votes and 9 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
This highly anticipated conclusion to the Mass Effect trilogy definitely succeeds in delivering the goods for gamers this year. For being the first major release in 2012, Mass Effect 3 has set the bar very high in virtually every aspect.
Story-Line
The epic conclusion picks up after Shepard's court-martial after the events in ME2's DLC Arrival with the now Admiral Anderson dragging Shepard off to meet with the leaders of Earth to discuss strategy for defeating the invading Reaper forces. Rather than load this with spoilers, I'll keep it brief. Death is a very strong tone throughout the entire game starting right from the beginning, leaving the player, and obviously Shepard, with the feeling that death is an inevitable result in this war without the will to fight and sacrifice everything to survive.
That is another key word that truly defines ME3's story: Sacrifice. Who or what will you, the player, choose to sacrifice to destroy the Reapers? Will you sacrifice your closest friends and crew members? Will you sacrifice your love interest? Will you sacrifice one race to gain the alliance of another? So many choices will tear at your heart every second of the game that you might even have to break away from your character and make a personal decision because it would make you physically sick to choose otherwise.
That kind of attachment to the storyline will keep you going through this game until you fall asleep in your chair every night until you reach the ending....which is where I have a problem. This Deus Ex style ending just left me feeling very empty, despite the fact I had the power to choose the fate of the entire galaxy. Despite that, the game lacked a final conclusive boss fight, instead leaving you with conversation choices to finish your final confrontation before deciding the fate of every sentient being in the galaxy. I have my own theory about the end of ME3, which leaves me feeling like the game didn't end at all, but that was based off following the final scenes to the ending I chose and discussing the other options with several other gamers. If you want to hear my theory on that feel free to message me.
Combat
Players from ME2 will fall right into this game with ease as they start popping rounds or whipping biotic powers at their foes. The addition of the omni-tool weapon makes melee combat a much more viable option, not to mention flashy. I prefer repeatedly pistol whipping an enemy that has earned a death by fist, but shoving a holographic blade into their face is just as satisfying in the end. After testing each class once again, I actually fell in love with the Vanguard and Infiltrator this time around.
The Soldier is exactly what you would expect just like ME2 and they use every gun like they were born with it in their hands. The Sentinel offers the most balance in my opinion since you get tech and biotic powers and you really don't need any other gun other than the Carnifex to beat ME3. The Vanguard is definitely the equivalent to Resident Evil 5's Albert Wesker as you bounce all over the field with a biotic charge and pummel your foes with a follow up Nova and if that doesn't bring them down you have a shotgun to mop up the remains.
If you prefer the Sam Fisher approach, the Infiltrator lives up to it's name. Being able to sneak across the field and pump rounds through enemies heads makes them a great distraction or boss killer (running away screaming like a school girl works very well too). If you are feeling a little Jedi even after playing The Old Republic, then the Adept fills that role quite well by offering straight up support by pinning down enemies with singularity, freezing enemies with stasis bubbles or ripping apart armored enemies with warp. If all that fails...Carnifex.
The Engineer was my least favorite class yet again since most every character has something the Engineer has already and with two other characters with Overload, it makes the Engineer obsolete in this game. Despite that, their focus on support like the Adept does make them useful, but not as much as I wanted/needed them to be.
The variance in enemies really makes you focus on different ammunition types or combining tech/biotic powers to crush armored opponents or stop the endless hordes from overwhelming you. Even a few enemies have the pleasure of infecting Shepard with a case of death after one fell swoop. Typical video game rule of thumb: If it's huge or can do cooler moves than you, it can potentially kill you in one hit.
Multiplayer
Despite the multiplayer being a cheap knock off of Gears of War 2 and 3 for their Horde Mode, the multiplayer adds a great skill aspect to the game. Rather than relying on the fact you gain cash and weapons at your leisure, you buy equipment to restock yourself after every match (depending on how much cash you earn) that could include medi-gel, Ammo Packs, Cobra Missiles, quick heals or new guns, characters or special equipment like ammo types for one mission use. Every character class is available, but it's a stripped down version (implying that Shepard's Spectre status and skills just make him a BAMF). Other races like Salarians, Asari, Drell and Krogan are available for certain classes as well that can be unlocked via package purchases that can be bought using cash or MSP.
Adding a bit of depth to the Multiplayer is the ranking system, Bronze, Silver and Gold. Each level of difficulty adds more enemies released at different intervals and frequency leaving players to rely on strategy and each other to clear each wave and survive the last wave to extraction. Each map available is based on the N7 missions made available to Shepard in the single player campaign where you play as special forces unleashed to defend the territory from invading Reaper, Geth or Cerberus forces. Each enemy type packs its own special enemies that require a different strategy and sometimes a bit of luck to effectively take down without ending up splattered all over the map.
Overall
Easily a contender for Game of the Year if not a shoe in at this point based on all the strengths. It's only true weakness is the end of the game, but despite that, the game is practically perfect across the board. 9.5/10
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Teysacs
61,725
TA Score for this game: 2,084
Posted on 19 March 12 at 19:29, Edited on 20 March 12 at 23:31 |
This review has 16 positive votes and 12 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
Editor for GamingCollege.net
The Mass Effect series has always been a staple in the industry for what a good story should include. The level of dedication and depth that is put into the world is staggering. But even before the game came out, a plethora of questions surrounded the game and players questioned the very components that made this series rise to the top. Will I be able to beat the game fully if I do not play multiplayer? Can the single player story be changed that much due to an online component? How can the Rachni help me save Earth? If I forgot or neglected a species, does that mean the entire galaxy would fail? Well after playing the game I can safely say, I’m confused.
This confusion isn’t necessarily a bad thing mind you; it’s a confusion that makes me want to keep playing to see if I can make sense of it. It makes me want to reread all of those codex entries to find out what part of let’s say the Asari culture made them make this decision or another. It’s the little things we miss the first time around that makes the second time so much better. Now before I begin with the review let me just say this, I won’t be talking much about the specifics of the story lines, but I will make references to places or sections of the story. This is mostly because major spoilers aren’t nice and secondly, and let’s be honest, we all know that the story line is epic…at least up until the last 10 mins of the game, but that will be reserved for the end. I will say right now though, if you haven’t beaten the game and don’t know about the ending controversy, that means you either are very good at avoiding Mass Effect on the internet or you don’t use the internet. So if you didn’t know about this…well surprise! But do not fret my friends, I won’t be spoiling the ended for the one person who hasn’t beaten/bought the game yet, I will just give my take on it all. So with that cleared up, let’s look at Mass Effect 3!
The visuals are just as stunning as ever. Honestly, it is some of the best graphics that this generation of games have produced. Light refracts off of your armour with precision and you can see the dust in the rooms you’re blowing up. When Earth is falling, every Reaper looks like it could really fall out of the sky. And it is not just the in game graphics that give you wowzers in your trousers, as evidence by the trailers; the CGI is so amazing that it quite literally looks real during certain moments. So good, in fact, that you can’t tell if it is live action or CGI at times. Remember in Mass Effect 2 when you looked up at the star from your swiss cheese of a ship? It was stunning, all I could say to myself was “wow Bioware…you are just showing off now!” So I must give kudos to Bioware for really pushing what the generation’s hardware can do.
But there are some flaws with these graphics and it mainly comes from the characters and people. I’ve always turned the other cheek when alien’s mouths didn’t match with the words they were saying only because I remember that they aren’t speaking English. It is whatever technology that allows for the change in language. So I just suspected that a Turian would be speaking his language, but it would come out as English. And the same for every other species. With this train of thought, it’s obvious that the lips wouldn’t be synced up with what they were saying because it was a translation. Now flaws aside in that logic, I can’t say that I have the same sympathy for the humans. At the beginning you notice that when Anderson or Shepard talk, their mouths aren’t in perfect sync. You brush it off and don’t really pay attention for a while. Chances are, if you are like me, you were paying attention more to the subtitles or to the world around the conversation. But at some point later on in the game you notice it again and then it sticks. At times, I was caring more about why their lips were out of sync than the storyline itself. For the amount of effort Bioware puts into its games, it seems odd to me that this is even an issue. My only suggestion would be for Bioware to try and integrate the same technology used in L.A. Noire for the faces of all species, not just humans and then build on it with incorporating the whole body. With this, I truly believe that the lines between live action and CGI would be blurred.
Now when we look at a sequel to any game, we first tend to look at what has been changed from the previous game(s) and for some reason we then hone in on the negatives. I’m happy to see that the mechanics are smoother and the maneuverability is better than ever. Taking out a page from the Gears of War cover shooting handbook, Shepard now has the dexterity of Nathan Drake with the brutality of Marcus Fenix. I know that sounds weird, but for some reason it works. Moving around from cover to cover is quick, fluid, and easy to grasp. You feel like a feather you jump around so much. When you go into cover, you get a good sense of where you will stay. There wasn’t a moment where I wanted to go to one piece of cover and Shepard decided to go to another that was close by. They even devote a portion of the “first” mission to show off how easy it is. It is also nice that they have added a little arrow to show where you will be moving. I know that this sounds trivial and apparent, but when games have become more about the visuals on screen, the little things are easily overlooked or underappreciated.
The only mechanic I would have liked to see that wasn’t added was blind shooting. Because of how cover shooters have developed in the past couple of years, it does seem like an aspect that is needed. It would take so much weight off of your shoulders if you could just blindfire your assault rifle or pistol from cover instead of straight up exposing yourself, especially on insanity. It wouldn’t have to be a perfect shot and no one should expect it to be.
The second part of the game that has had a noticeable improvement is the AI, both ally and enemy. They finally understand that there is a firefight going on and will actively try to figure out what the best place to set up is and sometimes try to flank. Also, they for the most part don’t stand in the middle of the battle shooting; the first thing they do once the bullets start to fly is find cover and go from there. There were a couple of times when Ashley decided to try her hand at being Master Chief, but outside of those few moments it was never a problem. It was also nice to see that they would coordinate their abilities in order to take out targets. I know that they did this in the past, but now it seems like the order is more responsive. There were plenty of times when I told Liara to throw out a singularity and then Garrus hit the soldiers with a concussive shot. However, there is an unfortunate problem that is still lingering with the ally combat system. There will be many times when I’ll tell Garrus or Javik to hit an enemy with Concussive Shot or Dark Channel while I’m in cover and all the power does is hit the wall that I’m behind. Even if the game acknowledges the fact that the enemy is targeted. I have no idea if this is just my own stupidity with the game or just something that happens from time to time and everyone just says “oh darn, that was stupid of me.”
Furthermore it is great to see non squadmate allies fighting with you as well. In the mission on the Salarian homeworld, seeing Major Kirreh being active in the fighting instead of just being another character to talk to is great. And it’s not just this one moment, which is something I think everyone loves. Because this is a galactic battle, we all understand that it just can’t be Shepard and his posy beating up the bad guys. There are an absolute butt load of other able bodied fighters out there and they all want to save their worlds as much as you do. And thankfully, Bioware realizes that it’s not just battles with Major Kirreh’s and Shepards, it’s also the soldiers held up in Big Ben or an adept artillery group shelling from behind the lines. This puts everything into a bigger and better perspective for all of us. And these other people around you aren’t just background people or shells; they actually attack and help you take out targets. It’s not revolutionary to have random soldiers around you in games, but for the Mass Effect series, it really does help show you that you are not alone in this battle.
Ok so here comes the controversial part, the storytelling. Well not quite yet. As far as I am concerned, this is the best story out of all three of the games. At every twist and turn you feel engrossed and connected on more of a level then I thought I could ever feel for a game. It affected me so much that in my delusions while I was sick last week, all I could think about was that I’m letting my squad and the galaxy down. I seriously thought that I was Commander Shepard. Looking back it’s embarrassing as hell…I mean come on; I’ve never shot a target let alone killed thousands of enemies for the good of the galaxy. But to me this shows how enticing the story is. You take yourself out of reality and the world of Mass Effect becomes a new reality for you. When you see an old friend die, you get a lump in your throat. When you see Ashley or Kaiden for the first time, you feel happiness at being with your right hand man/woman again. I think other games have done this on some level, but not on the level that Mass Effect does.
I thought this euphoria was going to ride into the wind with me, forever and ever…but then the ending came. To be fair, the last mission is the most epic mission in the series, hands down. It is perfect as far as I am concerned, up until quite literally the last 5 or so minutes. I won’t tell you what the ending is and if you want an alternative take on it, be sure to check out GOODKyle’s theory about it (link to video at bottom). What I will say is that whether it goes down in the record books as being the most famous or infamous moment of the series, I am with Bioware 90%. After watching the ending plus the secret ending, I will say that I understand why they went the route they did and I respect them for it. It makes you learn acceptance and how you can’t have everything that you want in the end. On the other hand, there is a tiny hole in my heart. Some things that I’ve been wondering since the first game were not answered and I can’t tell if that is how Bioware wants it to be (which I’m sure is part of it) or it’s something that will come up in a later game or in DLC or never at all. Bioware was never really one for leaving plot holes or lore out of the equation so I still have hope for them.
And with that somber note, let’s get into multiplayer. It is not innovative at all, it’s not revolutionary and in my opinion, not nearly as deep as I would like it. But by George it is addicting and fun as hell. The basic overview is that you can choose to play any of the types of Shepards that you can be from the game. So you can be an adept, sentinel, infiltrator, etc. and within each class you can choose from either a Human Male or Female and then two other species. This means that for the sentinel class, you can be a Human male, a Human female, a Quarian or a Salarian. But if you want to be a soldier, you can only be a Human male, a Human female, a Turian or a Krogan. This gives you enough variety where you can play countless hours as one class and still play countless more with another.
The one part about this that I feel is a double edged sword is that when you rank up, every unlocked species in that class raises to the same rank as the species you were just playing as. This means that if I unlocked a Drell vanguard and ranked him up to level 20, then all of my other vanguards would be level 20 as well. It is a neat idea that makes it so you don’t have to grind back up to the top, but at the same time you don’t get as much out of the classes as you would hope. After I hit level 20, I felt like there was nothing more I could do with the class. And with no “prestige mode” in multiplayer, it didn’t take long for me to just power rank with all of the other classes.
The plus side to being at level 20 though, is that you actually have a halfway decent chance of surviving a couple of waves of the Gold difficulty. Let me say this, I’ve seen and been part of teams that got completely wiped out on the lowest difficulty. Multiplayer is hard, and anyone that tells you otherwise is either lying or is a liar. There are only three types of enemies that you can face: The Reapers, Cerberus and Geth. Plus there are only three difficulty levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold. I’ve never been more afraid of the weakest difficulty than I’ve been with this game. It doesn’t matter what difficulty I’m on, if I hear a Banshees scream I flip out and start looking all around frantically screaming “KILL IT, KILL IT, KILL IT!!!!!!!” It’s exhilarating, fun, and always keeps you coming back. The best analogy I can give is that it’s like golf. You might play the worst game of your life, but for some reason that one great shot or moment keeps you coming back for more. And killing that Banshee was my one great moment. I can’t explain it, I just feel like a BAMF every single time. Like I stopped the zombie apocalypse single handedly or convinced Florida to vote for Gore in the 2000 election. After that moment, nothing can stop me…except the 3 other Banshees that are behind that first one on Gold difficulty :’(
My last and quick complaint about multiplayer is that in order to gain new unlockables, guns, ammo types, equipment, everything, you have to pick from these random boxes. It bugs me only because you could get 10 upgrades for a weapon you have never used. Also, rarer items are obviously harder to get, which I understand, but the amount of time you have to put in before you get them doesn’t seem worth it to me. But then again, my patience level isn’t godlike yet so this probably is just me.
When we look at Mass Effect 3, we are not looking at this individual game; we are looking at quite literally a galaxy that took seven years to build and that we have all become part of. I’m still waiting for us to discover the Prothean ruins on Mars or the Relay next to Pluto, that’s how real this world feels to me at times. It’s great to see it all come together in a final hoorah and really blow my sox off. Outside of the ending, Mass Effect as a whole is the pinnacle of storytelling, in my eyes, and all writers should take notice. Even if you are not a video game writer, what these men and women have created is a spectacular display of why video games should be considered an art form. As far as I am concerned, this game should be up for nomination for an academy award. There are a few hiccups here and there, but that’s fine with me. As long as the Bioware team learns from their mistakes and makes their futures games even better.
Quick end note, Mass Effect 3 has made me so stoked for the movie simply because Bioware writers are doing it and now I know it will not disappoint.
Link to GOODKyle's theory http://youtu.be/ynYgr1rqEec
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Spellers
41,149
TA Score for this game: 857
Posted on 17 April 12 at 15:20 |
This review has 10 positive votes and 7 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
I'll openly admit i'm slightly apprehensive writing a review of this game. Bioware have found a certain neiche action rpg market and they have built on it and gathered a huge fanbase starting back with knights of the old republic and winding up here. But the thing that has struck me as odd is the almost complete consensus that with the exception of the ending this game is a instant hall-of-famer, so at the risk of upsetting a few people here's my view...
We've been here before, the galaxy is in imminent danger and we're all out of heros, well except you. For those of you that have played the first two mass effect's you know the score, their are some nasty things ominously named 'the reapers' coming to kill everyone. Shepard and friend have been warning each of their respective races for some time but it appears the warning have not been heeded.
The game start with a quick introduction to some characters and news that something is heading towards earth, you guessed it the reapers are here.
For the opening scenes of the initial invasion was some of the most dramatic and really gave the sense of the magnitude of the task of saving the galxay. Once the invasion begins you go through a fairly standard tutorial area which introduces you to the combat which is largely unchanged from the previous games. The combat feels a little clunky at times but after some time to get used to it provides a solid core to the action elements of the game.
During your escape from the invasion there is a moment where you character notices a child and there is a pointless conversation option just to get those who havent played before an idea of the moral choice system you will be using.
you finally complete your escape and witness an excellent cutscene to complete the opening sequence. so far so good!
From here the next 20 - 30 hours will be taken up by primarily gathering the combined forces of the galaxy and searching for something, anything that can help put a halt the the reaper onslaught.
Throughout this time you will visit alot of familiar sights such as the citidel, and of course your ship the Normandy, altho it's grown somewhat from the original version. You'll also meet alot of familiar faces on your travels some of which will join you, some wont. Here i think for me is where things start to lose their way just a little.
The first two mass effect games introduced you to a fairly large cast each of which had their own plots intricately woven into the epic tale, this was something that really gave life to the story. The problem is it's alot to try and squeeze into what is a relatively short game in reality, becasue of this you can't help but get the feeling some of the characters that make appearances are being forced in and don't really play any proper part to the story which is a little dissapointing. I'm missing something out a little here but i'll get back to it later on i promiss...
Regardless of the choices you make you will inevitably wind up at the games conclusion (there are some tough decisions to be made) and the now infamous ending. The game on the whole provides well to it's players with a genrally well polished feel, and most people again despite the ending will feel pretty satified with what they have accomplished.
So to tackle the ending.... might be a bit of a spoiler but i'll try to dance around it as best i can.
I understand where the anguish of so many of the fans has come from as seemingly no matter what happens the multiple ending are essentially the same with a few minor details changed. This sadly is a bit of a big deal and as bioware are now aware people aren't going to stand for it. However there has always been a bit of a theme running through the mass effect games, sacrifice for the greater good. Especially throughout this installment you will see alot of people giving everything, afterall it is the end of the galaxy.
I personally had no real issue with the ending, I won't deny it probably could have been done better and feels a little like they didn't really know where to turn.
Something that has recently crossed my mind is that this may well end up being a placeholder with the possibility of multiple DLC you've got to think bioware might pull a bit of a fallout 3 and change the ending on us.
The multiplayer also deservers a mention, it's a team based wave defence game agasint the computer with upto 4 people revisiting some of the mission spaces from the campaign to battle it out with the fiecest enemies the galaxy has to offer.
Be warned this is not for the faint hearted and has a very challenging element to it. the average player can expect to regularly complete the bronze levels, silver is tough and many runs will end in failiure and gold well... yeah.. it's seriously hard.
The multiplayer also ties back into the main story with the galactic readyness which isn't really ever explained so for those planning on running through the story first it's worth the effoprt to split your time just to grab a few extra achievements.
I enjoyed the multiplayer but was left with the sense that there was no real direction to it. but despite that it was definately a positive experiance.
All in all mass effect 3 is a very well put together game, but the question remains "was it good enough to end the series?" I'm inclined to say no, there was alot more than could have been done with several characters, multiple now well documented plot holes and a ending that really didn't feel like it was the right way to end it, for such an epic series it ends with a bit of a whimper rather than the bang it deserved.
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irohma
59,710
TA Score for this game: 1,398
Posted on 28 June 12 at 19:35, Edited on 20 August 12 at 18:31 |
This review has 7 positive votes and 6 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
Mass Effect 3 - 9,5
Veredict:
The original Mass Effect prepared the terrain for the huge space opera trilogy that was about to come. Mass Effect 2 used this foundation and delivered one of the best games of this generation. What about Mass Effect 3? Well, the game is simply superb is most terms. While it may be not a huge experience as ME2, it's certainly not far from it. Rest assured for those who are hearing complains about the ending, ME3 has a great conclusion for the plot, it only leaves open holes for those who want detailed answers to imagine and debate.
When you look at the gameplay you'll see little have changed from ME2. The controls, shortcuts, buttons, etc all remain the same. The game is still more of a shooter than the original ME, but it got a bit more of an RPG flair this time. You have a more vast and customizable array of weapons this time, with options to add mods like in ME, but without the item-drop structure of before. You also gain more freedom to customize your skills, with a bigger skill-tree and the addition of a weight system that balance the amount of gunpower you carry and the duration of your recharge for special abilities. This weight addition, in fact, makes playing with Biotic, Engineer, and other skill-based classes a lot more fun, as they can really grow powerful and move through the game without the need of weapons at all.
The game suffers from some bugs though, especially in the earlier parts. Many times I managed to get Shepard tunneled, or my allies ngot stuck in the map, or the screen started to flip insanely when I crouched, etc. All minor issues, but they really annoyed me in the first hours.The rest of the game is fairly robust comparing with other recent releases, but be ready to face your common bizarre bugs sometimes.
The plot continues where ME2 left, with grounded Shepard and the incoming invasion by the reapers. The game kicks in right when they invade earth, and is Shepard's task to gather the allies and solve ancient conflicts in order to resist the inevitable end. The story does not develop new twists like the previous games, it's pretty straight forward and direct. Shepard get to Normandy, travel to where people are struggling, save their butts, solve their problems, and move on. Nothing new, nothing bad as well, it's only more... "simple" perhaps, but nothing offensive.
What made Mass Effect a famous series was not its combat or shooter mechanics, but its dialogue system and the choice-and-consequence build. This is the weaker Mass Effect in this area, but it's still great and rewarding. The choices are more limited now, with only small aspects of the plot changing with each choice you make, many times only Shepard's speech is what changes. The infamous end is perhaps fruit of this problem. While the ending is certainly awesome, it doesn't offer information about things you decided to do previously. But I can understand, because well... why would it matter what kind of alien you laid with or how much I punched a reporter when I'm about to save the galaxy? What difference does it make if I lied to some transport guy when I'm about to destroy titanic warship-like beings? Nothing I think.
Characters make a return, but probably not all you wanted. Some are left to secondary roles, some die, some disappear, etc. It's a shame you don't have control over a huge number of people like in ME2, but you won't be having problems here as Shepard's is not as dependent on his friends like before.
The multiplayer part is nothing really worth mentioning. It's like a horde mode with interesting skills and a good replay value, but it's like any multiplayer co-op out there. So if you like this kind of thing you'll be pleased, else you can stick away from it.
Pros:
- More RPG elements to customization
- Weight system makes biotic/tech classes more fun
- Even better graphics and better map design
Cons:
- Weaker immediate impact of your choices
- Very straight forward storyline
- Many nice characters put to the sidelines
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joedahoc93
76,445
TA Score for this game: 1,648
Posted on 17 June 12 at 05:42, Edited on 17 June 12 at 05:47 |
This review has 7 positive votes and 8 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
Overview: The end of one of the most beloved space operas in history.
Gameplay:
Mass Effect 1 wasn't known for it's shooter aspect. The game was remembered solely for it's RPG element. As the series has evolved into this epic sequel, it was clear that the RPG core elements that made ME1 a success were a thing of the past. Mass Effect 3 is a shooter at heart, with some tacked on RPG aspects to it. But spite this the game does it very well. The powers are evolved compared to the last entry. The armor components are plentiful, but seems like you'd have seen most of them from ME2. Nothing really new in the armor department. The gun customization doesn't really live up to its name. Each gun type is given two "modification" options. A scope that can see through smoke or perhaps a stabilizer that keeps the recoil down are just a few to name. But they aren't really needed. The melee system is improved, but not perfect. A cancel option when you miss your intended target would be nice. The cover system and character dodge system are both welcome additions to the game. While the gameplay is above average, it really didn't seem like it took center stage.
*There will be spoilers, and for that I am sorry.
Story: The story of the Mass Effect universe is what has kept me going through to this point. Allowing you to make a character that made choices in the original 2, and to see those choices come to fruition in Mass Effect 3 is incredible. I've played through the game as a paragon male, and a renegade female. The renegade & paragon choices in this game are truly some of the best moments. The renegade makes choices more brashly and that leads to many more confrontation and some truly morally questionable actions. For example, when Legion tries to upload the reaper code, Shepard shoots him close range in the chest three times. Whilst the Paragon Shepard, creates peace for the Quarians and the Geth. Both moments are incredible in their aspects. The cinematic aspect of the game is more grand then both of it's predecessors. Never has a game shown what can happen if you follow an open minded path of peace, or closed minded path of war. Each has it's own set of rewards, and punishments. The game has plenty of interesting wordplay through out the experience. There are fewer crew-mates for you to interact with then ME2 (and less interesting), but I hardly noticed playing through the story.
*"Ending" comments: If you look for problems in the ending, you will find them. Some people were even going as far as saying that Shepard dreamed up the entire final Citadel sequence because he was being indoctrinated by reaper forces. I'm not really sure where I stand on the subject. I enjoyed the endings while they happened when the game was complete, but I could see why people were so angry. Let's be honest, if you are colorblind, then the ending are really all the same.
Final verdict: Amazing. Sure, the end is open to discussion, but there is no arguing that the journey to the end was a hell of a ride.
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Current Future
111,651
TA Score for this game: 2,316
Posted on 05 June 12 at 06:11, Edited on 05 June 12 at 06:14 |
This review has 9 positive votes and 13 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
What you are about to read is not so much a review, as the game has been out for 3 months and most likely the only people that want to play it but haven't are waiting for a substantial price drop. Instead I thought I'd focus more highlighting a few things the that surprised me, confused me or disappointed me (I will spend little, if any, time on the ending until the Extended Cut is released.) I've played ME and ME2 many, many times since the release in an effort to explore all the options, and implications of my actions in the sucessive titles. While I haven't read any of the books, and by no means consider myself more knowledgeable than the creators of the Mass Effect universe, these are my unanswered (and likely will always be) questions if you will.
WARNING - If you have not played 1, 2 or 3, or want a fresh experience when you play 3, I advise you to stop now.
The opening - Shepard in "chains"
After completing my journey to the Collector Base in ME2 and before I pressed start on ME3, I was curious as to how Shepard would be in an Alliance uniform. Then the Arrival DLC for ME2 was released. I could have not invisioned a more perfect bridge between games. The paragon response to Hackett's debrief is "I'll turn myself in..." So Shepard does that, as well as turns over the rebuilt Normandy. This excited me, as what better way to see Shepard's actions over the last 2 games than to have the surviving crew from 2's suicide mission sing Shepard's praises along with (ME1) Shiala and the Feros Colonists, (ME1) Rana Thanoptis and the freed salarians on Virmire, (ME2) the wounded batarian on Omega, (ME2) the wounded salarian on Illium, (ME2) Kal'Reegar or others I can't think of right now. The possibilities seemed endless. But none of it happened; when the games starts Shepard's trial is essentially over, now just awaiting punishment, before the chaos begins and the Reapers arrive.
Two conflicts that lasted a combined 1,700+ years are resolved in a handful of missions, and Shepard yelling.
My math could by way off on this, but bear with me. In ME1 were told the Geth/Quarian conflict has lasted 3 centuries. Wrex in ME3 give an exact figure for the amount of years they've lived with the genophage, like 1,456 years or something. That's a LOT of history to negate, considering the minor problems of attempted genocide and sterilization (I know Mordin didn't see it that way, but I find it hard not to see it from Wrex's perspective.) I know that the Reapers are a threat to pretty much everyone, but I find it hard to believe the krogan would fight for the turians no matter what, especially after the Tuchanka: Bomb mission. As I understand it for a majority of play throughs you will have to choose either the Geth or the Quarians. I was lucky enough that the first Shepard I imported had all the boxes checked that would allow you to get both, as long as Shepard was "persuasive" (AKA yelled loud enough) to get the Quarians to stand down.
Dark Energy on Haestrom and Noveria
If you helped Gianna Parasini on Noveria in ME1, you can help her again on Illium - before she leaves she mention she's looking into hacking attacks. To paraphrase "A lot of people are intersted in dark energy." Didn't ring any bells of foreshadowing, until Tali's recruiment on Haestrom where it's star was affected by ... you guessed it... dark energy. I thought for sure this would be mentioned in 3, especially when I saw Wendy Braun (the voice for Parasini) listed on IMDB as part of the cast. But once I completed the playthrough with my first Shepard - there was no mention of dark energy. Imported another file, this one where I got Tali exiled - still no dark energy.
Ashley Williams
I was excited to see her return to the squad, maybe even more so than Garrus, Tali and Liara. I know that sounds like blasphemy, but let me explain. I know that Ash was a bit xenophobic at first, but considering at that time humanity had spent how many thousands of years thinking they were alone, suddenly to find out they're not - and the first alien race the meet wants to bomb them out of existence? Given that was only a few decades ago and her Shanxi storyline - can you really blame her?
Kaidan - I didn't like, not because of his character, but because he was Carth Onasi in Knights of the Old Replublic, the most self-rightous character I'd ever seen (of course that opinion was skewed, as I played that game many times too, mostly dark side. I was a kid; force lightning was cool.) My opinion of him changed from 1 to 3; in 1 he was a character I rarely took off the ship. In 3, he was pretty much in every mission I could bring him on for his tech and biotic skills. He was a likeable character on ship as well.
Wrex - vital to my insanity playthrough as he was both a tank and a biotic, and I grew to like him on the Normandy through our talks as well.
Liara - it took the Shadow Broker DLC for me to appreciate her. On my Insanity playthrough on ME1 she spent most of the times I took her on missions on the floor. On the ship, no matter if I was nice to her, indifferent to her or (I regret this) mean to her, either way she thought there was something between us. So I began pretty much ignoring her through my multiple playthroughs to see everything. She's so much more a complex character now.
Garrus - I was indifferent to him as well at first, but saw that he was the most ethically malleable squad mate. I mean that in terms that you could mold him into a protoge whether you were Paragon or Renegade.
Tali - I immediately liked her, but my talks with Legion in ME2 gave me a different perspective of the Quarians. While they were all refugees from a hostile race in two counts, they made the race and made them hostile. I'm pretty sure she had the least to say in ME1, and she also was extremely fragile in ME1 on Insanity.
All that said, I was happy Ash was coming back, though it felt natural for her only to be in one mission in ME2. But unless you're a Shepard's a male, and had a relationship with her in ME1, they don't give her much to do.
Closing
I could go on for hours and hours on the subject of this game. Out of a 5 star ranking system I still give it 5 stars, because due to it's obvious faults(Shepard can now run forever - but it looks like a video of a penguin waddlng stuck on fast forward, and of course the ending) I really enjoyed it. The combat is vastly improved over ME1. Using powers was clunky and imprecise, ME2 improved them, but 3 almost perfected them. Many of the characters seem like friends (that said, I do have a life.) I understand that you don't want to alienate an audience, but this is the third game in a largely linear series; if you haven't played 1 or 2 why would 3 be your first? I was hoping for more of a reward (gameplay-wise) having imported a file that incorporated the first two games. The only difference I have seen is that the Geth/Quarian conflict can end positively.
My final opinion is that if they had focused more on building a game for those who whave played the first two it could have been so much more.
P.S. And no I haven't tried multiplayer.
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VoodooN88
45,771
TA Score for this game: 1,398
Posted on 21 April 12 at 11:26, Edited on 25 April 12 at 03:52 |
This review has 7 positive votes and 13 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
The game in of itself, everything we've come to expect from Bioware.
The beauty of new worlds, the cultivation of friendships and developing plot. Working towards the endgame in hope.
The multiplayer I may have skipped over if it wasn't for the achievements, I actually found quite fun. To say it would possibly become boring after so long, very likely. Yet hours of fun before it wares off.
The gameplay itself was awesome, no issues, and what I expected from previous ME games. Didn't use it with the kinect, I can only imagine it would make the game more enhanced.
The storyline was everything I'd come to expect aswell, right up to the ending.
The endgame really trashes ME3 and is more than unsatisfying.
It has ruined the desire to replay the game on infinite levels of disgust.
I recommend getting as many achievements as possible before you see the ending, you could be so disappointed you rip the disc out and never see it again.
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