Mass Effect 3 was a great game. I got to see my decisions from the previous games have an impact. The game play was fun and enjoyable. The game had poignant, tear-jerking moments. It had emotional ups and downs that drew me along with the story. I, playing as Commander Shepard, united the galaxy in the face of an overwhelming enemy and impossible odds. The game even had a fun multiplayer component that felt like part of the story. Yes the game was perfect right up till almost the end. Almost to the end, but in those last few moments of the game it all comes to nothing.
It is not that the endings were sad; it’s that the endings don’t make sense. A sad ending I could have lived with. The deaths of Mordin, Thane, and Legion were all sad, but they fit in the story and had meaning. I could have accepted Shepard’s death or even the destruction of most of the earth, but to have everything I as a player had become so emotionally invested in completely destroyed was a huge let down.
At the end of Mass Effect I dove straight into a NG+ play through. At the end of Mass Effect 2 I loaded up one of my alternate play throughts from ME. I bought all the DLC for both games. I really wanted to have the same response to Mass Effect 3. As it stands now though there wouldn’t be any point. I don’t understand why a developer would want to so completely salt the earth of their own IP in this way. The ending dissuades me from wanting to play the game again. In fact it makes me want to tell people who haven’t played it yet to stay away. It even manages to reduce the amount of enjoyment I get from the multiplayer component of the game.
This makes two disappointing games in row for me from Bioware, the other being DA 2. It is sad that the number of big name developers I can trust to deliver a satisfying experience is becoming so small.