1966 réponses à ce sujet

[RazorrX]

Well I have had plenty of time to get over the shock that
was the last 10+ minutes of the game, and thought I would try to put a review
that would be a more thought out and not emotional rant.

 

To harp on the ending alone is not imo a review, so I will
start with what I thought was good and then look at what I thought was bad.

 

The GOOD:

1. Game play was awesome for the most part.  Sure the one button does all blew chunks, but the rest of it was so nice.  I tried a couple of classes in the OC and dabbled in Multiplayer a bit.   I enjoyed every one I tried.  I found that, while I am normally an Adept, I loved the Engineer in the single player game.  Being able to throw a turret behind the enemy, hack their turrets and then mop them up in the mass confusion crossfire was just a blast.   I enjoyed the adept being a warp explosion
machine.  I loved sniping the shield wearing guardians through the eye slits.  Every part of the game play just seem to be spot on.  9/10

 

2. Story (as opposed to plot) was very nice.  There were awesome moments of pure excellence in there.  I laughed, cried, screamed in triumph, etc.  This was an awesome ride for story moments.   There were background conversations that were
quite touching (commando, Alzheimer's lady, young girl, etc.) and the former companion stories were, for the most part, quite well done.  The Main huge choices you make regarding entire species were nicely done, and had awesome dialog.  9/10

 

3. Companions.  The companions were both a win and a loss.  I say this because apparently the companions in ME2 did not really count (except for a few side missions).  None of the ME2 original companions would stay with you.  It was always "oh you are out saving the galaxy but I have some personal business to attend to, etc.  yet in ME2 they were all "We are here to save humanity, IF you get some free time I have some personal issues to take care of"  That seemed to me a rather
sharp change that did not make much sense.  I enjoyed the 3 new companions (EDI, Vega and Javik), but it was a step
down to have so few companions after the awesome job that was done in ME2.  I also wanted to put a bullet in the VS's
face during the Mars Mission so that was a good thing I guess.  So I guess companion  wise I would give a 8/10.

 

The BAD:

 

1. The Plot.  The plot was lame to me.  I was looking forward to a united galaxy fighting off the reaper invasion.  I had years to think about how awesome this game could end up being .  Would there be RTS space battle?  Would shep fly a
fighter into battle to take on the Reapers?  So many possibilities lost.
 
Suddenly we were just not able to fight Reapers.  It did not matter that in the previous two games we had found Reaper tech and had better shielding, ship armor and reaper grade cannons (Turians did reverse engineer the main guns on Sovereign).  Suddenly we had to build the super space gun if we were to have any hope.  Still I had hope.  Perhaps the super space gun would simply shut down the Reaper network, causing them to stall for a bit and no longer be in perfect sync anymore.  This would allow our ships to take them out, our ground crews could do the same, etc.  Maybe it will work out.   I was hopeful until the end. 4/10

 

2. The Ending.  Dark endings are okay just as light ones are.  Even in "The Empire Strikes Back" there was hope at the
end.  The endings were so unfulfilling that I sat dumbfounded as I discovered that no matter what I had done, no
matter what fleet I had amassed, it came down to super space gun and 3 'buttons'.  The endings play virtually the same no matter what 'button' you choose.  The ending was not realistically dark, just more like some space magic pimp slap to the face dark.

Where was option 4?  Where was fight and win?  Even if the Earth fell (which it should have before Thessia fell), if the Normandy was destroyed, if all of your companions died in a blaze of glory, if we had won - if the ending was something to the effect of "and the fleets eventually destroyed the last reaper.  The threat to our cycle was ended." I would have been okay with that  (not happy, but okay).  Why not have had an 'optional' good ending?  Where you win and have a party?  Would that have butthurt the grimdark people that bad? 

SO many things were bad about the ending it just leaves me boggled.  2/10

 

3. War Assets.  I was told that I could get the BEST ending by playing single player alone.  This seems to be a lie.  Maybe it was a mistake?  Maybe you guys did not do the math right?  But I have yet to talk to ANYONE who got  and EMS of 5K or more who did not play Multiplayer.  I was sitting at around 3700ish when I was about to go on last mission.  I ended up doing Multiplayer just to get it over the hump so I would have the 'option' for all endings.   A single player franchise should not
suddenly require multiplayer in order to complete the single player game with the 'optimal' ending.  4/10

 

4. Choices Mattering (or its YOUR Shepard).  I felt over and over that for this game it was no longer *my* Shepard.  I felt like I was playing a splinter cell or something.  SO few choices in conversations, so much auto dialog coupled with an
ending that pretty much nullified almost every choice I had made in 3 games pretty much sunk that ship.  Not *My*
Shepard anymore.  2/10

 

Overall I can say the journey to the end of the game was quite fun, but the ending pretty much sucked it dry of the joy I felt from playing your other games.  ME1 and ME2 ended with me saying "Hells YEAH!"  ME3 ended with me saying "WTF?".

 

Overall:  5/10  Rent it if you want to play it, but skip the ending if you want to fully enjoy it.

Modifié par RazorrX, 13 mars 2012 - 05:35 .

[noobslayerz]

I like good stories and good games but never ever have i been so sad and disapointed before like i feel now with this anti-climax at the end of ME3.
Total letdown honestly,atleast put in 1 happy ending(that you are re-united with your romanced mate atleast.)
Really poorly done Bioware,really expected so much more and i'm sure alot of fans agree with me on this.
Honestly hope that you will atleast put in a dlc with a happy ending, i allready wasted 70 euros on this game, i will happilly throw in another 10 euro to let it end as it should.
Score: 4 /10

Modifié par noobslayerz, 13 mars 2012 - 05:43 .

[Kyzee]

[EDITED AFTER MAJOR RETHINKING]

I've been debating over whether to write something here, but this is probably the best thread to get my opinion heard by the developers. I know this is going to be long, and I apologize in advance. But please bear with me.

Technical aspect

Excellent job overall--9/10. I only had two issues:

(1) In regards to the war assets, I was frustrated by the assignments list. There was no indication of what I had/when it was possible to give an asset to someone. This meant I had to try memorizing my inventory (a nigh impossibility with the amount of side quests), and then run around the Citadel looking for the desired receipient. The assignments list in ME1 and ME2 was better, alerting you to where you were in terms of each quest.

(2) The controls in battle were a bit sticky. I found it difficult to get off of wall or out from behind cover. It wasn't uncommon for me to be rolling from one side of a doorway to the other when I was trying to just go through it. Again, annoying.

Both of these issues were minor irritations that I could get past. There was one, however (and by now, it's obvious what it is) that I wasn't . . .

Story aspect

Okay, I want to make one thing clear right off the bat: I LOVED the story. It was deeply engaging, and it generated such strong emotions that I was awed. I laughed hysterically, and (more often) I cried just as hard. All of the characters that I had become particularly attached to in ME2 died, but while it was difficult to witness, I accepted it. The Thessia mission also hit me very strongly; I felt like I had personally failed, channeling Shepard's emotions. And when I read the email from Kai Lang, I cried again, this time in rage, as well as from the sting of being reminded of the failure. (Being a very competitive person doesn't help me, either.) Through all of this, I would give ME3 a 10/10, and it would be one of my favorite games ever.

And then came the ending. I have never, ever had any form of entertainment--TV, movie, or book--devastate me as much as this. I still can't talk about it without tearing up (I'm doing it right now, in fact), and it's been five days since I've beaten the game. I worked hard throughout the ME series to get all the missions and assignments done, to take all the Paragon choices, all in the hopes to see my FemShep save the galaxy and then spend the rest of her life happily with Kaidan. And in the end, that was denied to me by a game that emphasized choices. This isn't simply a matter of wanting a happy ending--I wanted the option to have one. It felt like nothing I had done mattered. It felt like a betrayal. 

Until I looked at others fans' "Indoctrination Theory." I've looked at the evidence, and I must say, I am convinced. That, and the fact that I honestly cannot believe that any company would allow a termendous series to end in such a manner that would guarantee to outrage the fan base. If the story is going where I think it is, then you have managed to do something incredible with the narrative, and you guys should be praised loudly. It it's not (and I am a bit worried about that, given that it has been stated that this is Shepard's last game), then my earlier feelings of betrayal stand. However, I'm not convinced that this is going to be the case.

Was the ending still traumatizing? H*** yes! But god, would it be amazing in the context of the Indoctrination Theory! You have not lost my loyalty, BioWare. I am more cautious, yes, but I will not write you off like others have. I hope we can all get through this, and come out the better for it.

Thank you for your time.

Modifié par Kyzee, 13 mars 2012 - 07:53 .

[Marcin K]

i've just kinda "finished" [well i won't call it unquoted cos the outcome doesn't deserve it] ME3 /*possibility of spoiler warning*/ i've gotta say when i watched the ending i seriously thought i've picked some really REALLY bad option -so as always with ME series after i finish it i went to youtube to explore other possibilities -then it just HIT me there is no WAY to have Shepard survive [ok some may argues that 1 sec movie at the end with N7 logo is called survival, but here are my counterpoints first we don't see Shepard in full so it's not 100% he's alive, second he ends presumably on Earth and Normandy is no matter where-this concluded with Relays destructions means-never gonna see any of them again EVER. and having 100% multiplayer rating to unlock it? [even if multiplayer would work for me ok, and it constantly disconnects me] just UNFAIR
besides all that destroying the relays, and all Tech no matter what you do [red-all destroyed, blue all destroyed but geth survive, green all destroyed plus some unclear event]
ok this becomes my longest post ever so let me conclude: tough choices ok no problem i understand it, resulting in death ok but different choices are about being different not about getting the same in 3 different colors !
The Mass Effect 1-it was GREAT Mass Effect 2-ok, Mass Effect 3 ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC [yes DLC too] but ONLY until you get to the ending -then it's like pushing giant CANCEL button and chainsawing all this [the series] to pieces-siriously now i'm really really and seriously disappointed -to make something so good and yet in the end just wounded so so bad......
but there is light in the tunnel the ending cutscene says "some details are lost it was so long ago" so there is still a way to fix it from storyline point of view even if it would mean replaying of last mission i have no problem with this, so i'm asking no i'm begging BioWare fix it while it's not too late -give fair survival option without total mass relay ideology out of the window [ok u can damage em but at least make it possible to fix em in time not blow to peaces]....
P.S. or contrary to all said make ANOTHER Mass Effect that will fix it it's win win You still get profit and story  is not wounded anymore

Modifié par Marcin R, 13 mars 2012 - 06:02 .

[legion999]

Warning there are spoilers in this post.

Mass Effect 3 was my favorite game of the trilogy perhaps even my favorite game of all time:
The combat is great.
The banter between squadmates is hilarious and even touching.
The dialogue between you and your squadmates is fantastic.
Death scenes are highly emotional.
The story missions are great especially seeing Tuchanka, Rannoch and Thessia.
Aside from a few glitches the game is generally bug free.
Because of this I would have given the game a 95/100 or 95%.

However as some you amy have noticed I called ME3 my favorite in the past tense. Why? Because up until the last 5-10 minutes I was enthralled by this game. Then god child appeared. I won't go into detail as to why it is so awful (look up one of the many in depth explanations if you wish to know). The lack of closure and giant gaps of logic invalidate the entire trilogy. Because of this I can't give ME3 anymore than 70/100 or 70%. If Bioware changed the ending so that it wasn't so illogical and gave us some closure then I would give the game the score it and this trilogy deserves. Until that day I bid you vale.

[RedundantAccount]

Abridged version:

First I was all like this: 
Then I was like this::lol:
Then I was like this:<3
Then I was like this: 
And then I was like this: <_<

Unabridged version: 
Excellent game...except for the endings.
I'm a 33 year old married female gamer with kids of my own. So, I'm definitely not a whiney child.  I LOVED ME1. The ending of that game with my darkskinned paragon femshep's victorious smirk as she limped out of the rubble was epic. Fight like hell for the future and WIN - bruised, bloody and battered...maybe with less friends at the end but for God's sake win - at least do that much. For me, that became the iconic Mass Effect image. But even that joy's not enough to save the sour, depressed and completely unfulfilled feeling I have right now over the endings to ME3.

My first playthrough was my femShep that romancedGarrus in ME2. 
I was SOOOO pleased with the game up to the endings. I mean, what you guys did with the romances (except maybe Jacob's) were absolutely top notch (I mean... just...Garrus:wub:...looks at husband:mellow:...then back at Garrus...but I digress). It seemed like you really listened to your fanbase. The Quarian/Geth conflict resolution, the Krogan/Turian/Salarian conflict resolution - excellent. AND, what was even better about those was that was DIRECTLY affected by your decisions in previous games.(i.e. If Tali had been exiled you couldn't talk down Admiral Gerrel) I really thought we could do this thing. 
Then I got to the end. 

Shepard bloody and limping to the conduit was heartbreaking. Didn't see how it could end well. But, I stuck with it hoping it would come together - I chose what seemed to be the paragon option of synthesis... Edi and Joker seemed to be the only ones that benefited from that arrangement though...I thought, "well at least Shep will get to meet Garrus in that bar since she took him with her to the conduit...but wait...no...he's alive on the Normandy...but how did Joker-? What, did he follow harbinger and grab Garrus and Kaidan??...but then harbinger would have destroyed the ship"...I was so confused. I shut off my pc and went to bed, still crying over Jennifer Hale's delivery of "If I'm up there in that bar and you're not, I'll be looking down...You'll never be alone."  My husband thought I was crazy.

Next day (ok, a couple of hours later), I took a deep breath and imported another ME2 save. "Definitely not going to get a bad ending this time because there are more than enough war assets and I just have to work for it...."

At first, I thought it was like the suicide mission at the end of ME2 where your choices could affect the outcome (not color) of your ending.  So like a good little gamer, I hopped on the internet and did some research. I actually played a second time through with another save (I had several prepped and ready to go) hoping to find some hidden War assets - no matter what I did, I couldn't break ~3300 EMS. "More than enough war assets?" I have no idea where. I did every side quest I could find as tedious as it was, alt-tabbing all the time to find out how to resolve many quests in the broken quest log. Scanned every planet. Multiplayer...just no...

I literally cried again at the final goodbyes - granted they were well written and very very well acted - but also because of the hopelessness. The second playthrough I stopped short of going in to talk to Anderson in London...because what would be the point? It's just awful. 

I'm told with a "newgame+" you just get some breath under some rubble from Shepard. That's great, but Shepard is still potentially forever alone God knows where and we still don't know what happened to the Krogan, the Quarians, the Salarians, the Asari...all of those races and people we spent SO much time getting to know. There's no resolution.

I think what bothers me the most is...okay, if Shepard has to die to preserve "everything we know [that's] hanging by a thread",  then at least make it worth something (although don't get me wrong - I would LOVE for my Shep and her LI to end up retired somewhere collecting royalties from the vids trying to see what human/turian babies look likeB)).  My point is that when Mordin died we knew WHY. He was the only one that could (because someone else might get it wrong) and there was a definite and discernible reward for the sacrifice - a cure for the genophage and Krogan/Turian/Salarian peace...or at least a truce and a future for the Krogan. But for all the honor and beauty that went in to Mordin's sacrifice, just hours later you spit on it with Shepard's. Mordin died so that the Krogan could have a cure for the genophage - not only because we needed them to stop the Reapers, but because he felt personally responsible for stunting the Krogans. He wanted them to be able to have a future through Eve. 
But guess what? They all die anyway since the planet may or may not have been decimated when the mass relay exploded. Just wild mass guessing because I have NO IDEA. It was not resolved in the least. 

This is just an example of the gutwrenching disappointment I'm feeling right now over this. 

Yes, I get that the Reapers deep and incomprehensible modus operandi is that they must save organics from being destroyed by synthetics by destroying organics and/or harvesting them into synthetics eliminating them at the apex of their civilization eliminating the possibility that future organics will create synthetics that will destroy organics.
B-because..the cycle... I get it. Really. Makes perfect sense. 

In all seriousness, how in the heck can Shepard talk indoctrinated Saren and TIM into killing themselves with enough paragon points, but there is NO persuade check option to talk creepy air duct kid/reaper boss from her nightmares out of this insane troll logic? Really? Shep's just like "okay, so where do you want me?" Really?? I guess Shep was just tired...or...something...Must have been that because she couldn't even get her life flashing before her eyes right...(Liara? really?)
I'm sure I'm just rambling at this point. It's just really disappointing that for me there is 0 replay value because it all feels like a futile death march. I'm not going to do anything drastic like cancel my SWTOR subscription or anything because I still enjoy it for now, but I am extremely disappointed for what it's worth which is exactly nothing since you have my money already... sigh.

I'm going to try to remember the good times...Sovereign giving me chills on Virmire, the feeling of accomplishment after completing the suicide mission with 12 surviving party members, shooting bottles with the perfect turian boyfriend on the Citadel...good times...

Modifié par RedundantAccount, 13 mars 2012 - 06:20 .

[adept123]

Give us DLC that will make us happy.
If this was your money making "strategy"

It sure as hell worked.

And I will be happy to buy them all as long as it makes me happy and gives prospect to future Mass Effect titles.

[Boceephus]

I know no one at Bioware will actually read this, so I don't know why I'm typing this. I think I just need a moment to vent. I don't know how I could possibly rate this game as I loved it, up until the end (as with most people it seems).

I'd probably give the game (minus the ending) a 90. All my gripes are minor such as the X button doing too much cover/run wise and the way the ME2 crew (my favourite of the trilogy) are pretty obviously swept aside to focus on the ME1 crew (especially LIs).

But I can't rate the ending. If I did, I'd have to rate it a 2 or something and then I just seem like an alarmist. This ending failed me so grievously that Bioware actually managed to take something away from me:

I no longer want to finish my other 7 playthroughs.

That's how much this ending(s) hurt and disappoint me Bioware. I see these endings and there's nothing there I want to fight towards. There's nothing here that I want to append on the end of the saga of my Shepards. All my choices from the previous games and this game have been negated. I didn't think it was possible after how much I was looking forward to the game but I'm done with it. I'd rather have my own endings in my head then impose any of the 3 offered onto my Shepards.

I'm sorry if I sound accusing, but this franchise is done to me and my other playthroughs will remain untouched. Thank you for Mass Effect 1, 2 and 95% of 3, they have been incredible experiences and I'm sorry it had to conclude like this.

[Fiannawolf]

I beat it on the PC with a different profile. Working on this one for Xbox.

Loved:

All the ME1 references esp when you bring Ash/Kai to Eden Prime, memorial wall in the Normandy, all the different banter on the ship and missions. Made the game seem more natural. Meeting old npcs and crew from both games was a nice touch too. Plus many of my favorite ME2 people got nice cameos.

Hours 1-39 were great gaming moments and reminded me why I loved ME1 so much. I even forgave the wierd Reaper Baby thing from ME2's Suicide mission. It was like a reunion party on steroids. Loved it!


Now for the Minus:

Ill replay ME1 and 2 again but wont be finishing ME3 on Xbox version until the Endings get alot more clarity, It was like a kick in the teeth after an awesome roller coaster ride. Even though me and some of my buddies are anaylzing the ending and hoping its some sort of last ditch attempt by Harbringer/Reapers to Indoc Shepard, its so vauge that even debating doesnt give proper closure.

[MonteZ34]

 Edit to include scores:

Breakdown:

Combat: 90/100 Excellent system.  Not as RPG'ish as ME1, but an improvement over ME2

Graphics: 95/100 Looked great on Xbox 360!  Only very minor issues.

Sound: 100/100 Outstanding!  The sound effects are amazing.  The voice acting is top notch as always.  The music was a high point as always.  Hit the appropriate emotional notes when it needed to and more!

Story and universe: 60/100.  Ouch.  What can I say?  The ending really hurt the score, you can see below for more thoughts on it.  The main plot points were great (save the ending).  However the side stories were little more than fly - scan - return for a push button reward.  I miss the interaction between myself and NPC's.  I also miss really talking with my companions like I used to.  The new system I didn't care much for, it didn't really bring you into a conversation, you just kind of watched, without much choice.  I'm also going to put open world in here.  I loved how big ME1 was.  Being able to explore like that was amazing.  There was less of that in ME2 and almost none in ME3.  Also, my LI, Ashley, got some amazing scenes, but only at the end.  Otherwise, her character needed more dialogue. 

Overall: 70/100 Read more below. It adds the context that numbers can't.

To compare: ME: 95/100, ME2: 99/100


Here is my take:

    I've been a pretty avid fan of the series since its inception.  I became a big Bioware fan becasuse of KOTOR and Mass Effect.  Story driven games like these are what Bioware does best, and they had me hook line and sinker for the ME franchise up until ME3.  Its hard to say disappointed, because it really doesn't convey the deep feelings of loss after playing ME3.  I knew that ME2 would be hard to top, and building a juggernaut of a franchise like ME with everything that is out there is a monumental achievement, and I commend Bioware for doing so.  However, I really feel like the ball was dropped this time through.  I'm not sure what happened in the writing department this time.  I understand the difficulties in being able to tell a story, but allow players to make the important choices.  In this case, the franchise did an awesome job except for the last 1% of the series.  The ending choices,in my opinion. were quite a let down.

    I'll start with an example, a plot hole.  Seeing the characters from my squad I took to earth, suddenly appearing on the Normandy left me scratching my head.  I had agonized about who to take, what might happen to them if I did, etc. but it turned out that decision wasn't really important.  The ME franchise had long featured that YOUR choices would be the ones that drive the story.  It was YOU who was in charge of how it turned out.  This was the central tennant of the series from day one.  To have it taken away from you at the very end was a pretty big breach of trust.  Now, the issue of squadmembers showing up on the Normandy in the final scene isn't really the main example of this, but just a simple survey of a lot of the other reviews posted online will reveal that a lot of others feel the same way (along with many other examples).  If Bioware's response to this is that it is their story, I understand that, but its a betrayal of trust that they engendered to us in both previous games and DLC.

    I think another big problem I had with the ending, was how it left things.  The three endings with different colors and slightly different stock footage left me feeling empty.  Not to be too dramatic, but I, along with many others, have devoted a lot of time to this game and were pretty invested in the outcome.  The endings of ME and ME2 were spectacular.  Amazing examples of how you can take a truly amazing story, and make a game around it.  Perhaps this created a level of expectation that would be impossible to achieve, but I don't think this is the case here.  I left the series wondering what happened to my allies, my love interest and just lost in general.  There was no closure, nothing to make me feel complete.  I understand that it could be a possibility, and that it makes sense, but it doesn't make a good story.  Since plot, storytelling and the devices Bioware used to do these are what made this series so wonderful, it was a failure on their part to let it end like this.  For me it was a combination of no closure, and such a dark ending, really threw it off for me.  I'm glad that there are options for darker endings, and based on the story and choices from previous games, it should be entirely possible.  For example, being poorly prepared for the final assault in ME2, could leave you feeling pretty grim, but in that case, it was the decision you made to not prepare which earned you the ending.  In ME3, this isn't the case.  The ending was decided for me before I put the game into my xbox.  It would have been nice for my character, with all his hard work and effort, to come out on top, see his love interest at the end of the game, and save the day if thats how I played it.  The options of self sacrafice, or going for control make sense, but there really was no way to achieve the ending I felt that I worked hard for across 3 games and hundreds of hours between them over the course of 5 years.

  Having the ending I feel like I worked for, the ability for my choices to matter in a way that the series had allowed us before (saving the council, destroying the collector base, being the true paragon and getting your good endings, or being the complete renegade and letting the council die, keeping the collector base for cerberus, etc) would have more than made up for some of the other problems in the game.  Ashley, my ME interest, felt shallow in this game.  I really looked forward to having her back, but she wasn't around for a lot of the game, leaving me feeling like her character was underdeveloped.  Same with all your other encounters with previous squadmates.  The interaction seemed shallow at best, considering what you went through with them before.  I understand what an undertaking this would be for Bioware and EA to make it more fleshed out (lots more money and time), but I think more was needed and would have been appreciated.  I also think its a problem with the dialogue system.  The "support" one person or the other was a definite step back from what had been established in interaction with others in ME and ME2.

    I knew that letting go of the ME franchise would be painful.  It got me through some hard times, and perhaps that is why I'm so passionate about it.  It is the standard against which all other RPGs are judged.   Bioware, you have something special here. You took an idea and turned it into the best manner of story telling to date.  Movies and other forms of media are not even on the same level.  If you decide that you are done with the ME franchise, that is of course your perogative.  If it is, its a pretty sour note to end on, something I don't think really represents the franchise.  I can't really see myself getting invested into another Bioware series, if this is what I can expect in the future.

    If however, this is not the end, I think the community would respond quite well.  It is within Bioware's power to fix this.  You pretty much have an invested fan base who is wants this franchise to continue.  If its about money, I don't think you'd have to worry about the profit margin not being acceptable if you decided to work out some of the story content.  Either way,  I loved the series and the universe and I want it to continue.  Thank you to everyone who contributed to the success of the franchise.  

    The ball is in your court now Bioware.

Modifié par MonteZ34, 15 mars 2012 - 05:37 .

[Jazzinyourtaco]

My score for ME3 is 65/100. 

I thouroughly enjoyed playing through the game itself and loved the previous two games. I'll outline what i liked and then what i thought was bad.

GOOD:

• Graphics - this game is the best looking in my opinion out of the lot so thumbs and and good job for that
• Combat - having played all three now the fluidity of combat in the third is such a welcome aspect, and the rolling mechanic really helped me in terms of gameplay
• I thought the writers did a superb job at creating emotional bonds with their avatar (shepard) and his squad mates.

BAD:

• conversatinons with crew - i felt that the previous two games had more depth with the characters in terms of conversation, there was always an option to speak with them after every main mission and just general chat should you forget something about them. But in ME3 you sometimes dont have the option to speak to them and instad of a lengthy conversation there is this free speech where you are left standing there like a bit of a nonse
• impact of previous decisions - i didnt find a strong enough connection or impact with the decisions made in the other game. for example, the Rachnii. i saved them in my playthrough and they didnt add much value to my end game at all in my opinion. 

And now to the bit that has the most impact on the story and game for me - the ending.
The endings for me were too vague, and left you with too many unanswered questions. yes the origin of reapers were revieled (sort of) having said that the catalyst is a total mystery and has no scope for being answered as things stand. Shepard dieing i can live with, protaganists die all the time but compiled with the other factors it is a bit too depressing. i mean throughout the series you built shepards reputtion around achieving the impossible but in this instance he doesn't. yes he stops the reapers but at what cost, all the races are trapped round earth so dextro-DNA will die, and why was the normandy performing a light jump that resulted in its crew being marooned? the endings compared to the other two, is very weak. yes they were risky ending and controversial and i admire that factor. But it seems that no matter what you do throughout the series. the galaxy in some way is doomed to isolation. 

The core of the game is excellent and had the ending not been so depressing and morbid, it would have fullfilled all my expectations. but because of this ending i feel much time has been wasted over the three games, this is my favourite series of all time so i personally would love a better ending. 

Please Bioware, this issue needs resolving I, and the many other fans from reading through the forums, need closure. The epic conclusion you so promsed us, and we anticipated so strongly, didnt really conclude much in my opinion. 

[Mayflower91]

  I know everything I am about to say
has probably already been stated before, but I really need to get
this off my chest. First, let me start off by saying that Mass Effect
has been a very unique gaming experience for me. I've never liked any
form of media that's been set in space, and I've always avoided these
sort of games like the plague. That being said, I loved Mass Effect
from the start. It was unlike any other game I've ever played, and I
loved every second of it. I wish I could say the same thing now.



Let's just jump into the nitty gritty
of it. I'm not going to waste time saying what was done right,
because that part is obvious. Bioware has always been well-known for
what they do right, so I'm just going to start with what went wrong.




All I really have to critique is, of
course, the ending. When I watched that ending, I was baffled. I was
so astonished that the only thing I could do was put my head in my
hands and cry. I thought it was some sort of joke. I mean, really? I
had spent all this money, bought all these DLCs, and spent all of
these countless hours crafting and tweaking this game so that it was
the way I wanted it to be, all for nothing? I couldn't wrap my head
around it. I was literally in shock. I can only imagine how bad it
was for the fans who waited five years for this moment. I felt like I
had been slapped in the face, like I had done something wrong. That
was one of my first thoughts, “What did I do wrong? What did WE, as
FANS, do wrong?” I couldn't see any other reason for this ending,
except that maybe Bioware was angry at us. There is no other reason I
can fathom. I have never felt so disrespected by a gaming company
before, especially one that has always been so sincere and attentive
to their fan base.




I've heard from a few sources that the
creators saw nothing wrong with their choice of an ending, and
couldn't understand why fans were so upset. Honestly, I can't
understand the fans we AREN'T upset. You took away the fundamental
essence of the game: You are the master of your own destiny. Shepard
was you, and Shepard's choices were your choices, and if you worked
hard and did right by the game, you would be rewarded. I can honestly
not comprehend why you would take a fan who has put so much love and
time into these games, doing all of the side quests, and working so
hard to make sure they got the ending they wanted, and then take
another fan who could just blow through the game and not take the
time to do any off the side missions or play the game as thoroughly
as they could, and put them on the SAME level. Those two fans, the
dedicated hardworking one and the lazy unappreciative one, now have
the same Shepard. Hell, everyone on the planet has the same Shepard.
The game is no longer unique. The experience is no longer unique.
Every second of time spent playing these three games and agonizing
over all these decisions means nothing. You took our story away from
us. You had the opportunity to end this fantastic, amazing, one of a
kind series of games with an epic, outstanding, conclusive ending
that was unique to everyone's Shepard, and you chose not to? Why? I
cannot understand, and I wish someone would explain it to me. I can
understand, to a certain extent, wanting to experiment, to try
something new, but WHY would you do it at the conclusion of what is
most likely going to be your magnum opus? Not only was it a huge
disrespect to your fans, but to your game. I wouldn't have cared if
the game had ending on a depressing note, if Shepard's death was
inevitable, or hell, if the Reapers couldn't be stopped. The fans,
and Shepard, deserved better than what you gave us.




I feel like Bioware had something
special with Mass Effect. Nothing could touch that game. There was
nothing like it on the planet. And now it is like every other game
ever created. And it was all ruined in 10 minutes. I don't think that
has ever been done before. People were actually beginning to respect
western gaming because of Bioware's work with Mass Effect, but now
that is gone. I can honestly say that I will never buy another
Bioware game again, and I will never recommend another Bioware game
again, because I never want myself, or anyone else, to go through
something like this again. And that's one of the saddest things about
this situation. Not only did I lose my favorite game, because I can't
even stomach to look at the case for it anymore without feeling sick,
but I've lost my favorite gaming company as well.  

[Hidden_Prophecy]

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly:

GOOD: The combat is the best in the series and the enemies tactics are intelligent enough to give me problems on normal difficulty which made me like it that much more. The weapon customization is well done and a good mix of the first 2 games. The characters were fun to talk to and I liked them talking to eachother on the Normandy (my favorite ones were James and Javik talking on the crew deck, and Liara and Javik's argument after Thessia). The cameos were well done and fun. (my favorite being Conrad Verner and Major Kirrahe). For me the story was amazing, from every encounter to every death to every battle just felt like a lot was going on and I liked it. The ending, though many people dislike it I felt was a fitting end (I chose the control ending). OFF TOPIC-->At first I was kind of upset at the lack of an epilogue but If you look at the lore of the Mass Effect Universe destroying a Mass Relay destroys the whole system so when all the Mass Relays are destroyed every system goes with it thus killing all the life that use Relays meaning all the Advanced Species get killed while the primitive ones survive. So maybe our Shepard sacrificed his life wanting to protect his friends and loved ones and everyone else but in reality his cycle was already doomed and his sacrifice was for the future cycles as you see in the cut scene after the credits. <--OFF TOPIC

BAD: you can't import your Mass Effect 1 face to Mass Effect 3. when I heard that I really felt screwed over I ended up having to make a Shepard from scratch and tried so hard to make him resemble the original. he vaguely looked like him so I changed his hair and beard to blame his different look on that. psh<_<. also the random bugs, I don't play with subtitles on and when the voice cuts off during a convo it kills the scene. another thing that was bad was the voice recognition, I would have to repeat the same line so many times even when its quiet as hell I ended up just giving up and played without the Kinect. last thing is the Quest Menu, it gives no insight on the freakin mission like if you're doing a quest and get a new objective the menu still says the same little summary, how are you supposed to know what to do like that? sometimes I need a refreshher on what I was supposed to do and that menu just says to talk to person A, what if I already talked to him and forgot what he told me to do? you can't finish the mission. (which is what happened with the Kasumi cameo, pissed me off)

UGLY: The way the side quest's work in this one, its just sloppy you walk around hear like 2 words and get like 3 fetch quest's it would've been a lot smoother if you would have to actually talk to them to get the quest because when im on the Citadel I got stuff to do and it doesn't feel right getting ambushed by quest's like that without even engaging them in conversation.


OVERALL: I give it a 89/100 The story, customization and gameplay are what makes this game amazing like the other 2. the little things make it not so great either way it is a great ending to the series and always makes me sad to know that this the last of Shepard's story. It was a great ride and can't wait to see whats coming for DLC.

[iamthespark]

What a great game. It had me laughing, crying and entertained for 35 hours.

Liara: When I'm saving the galaxy, I'm saving it for the people that are close to me. That's why I felt that Liara's romance was so moving because it touched upon the reason I'm fighting. I thought it was very well written and I'm so glad the writers and the developers allowed the characters do be a little more dynamic. Conversations in the Citadel, meeting in my quarters, and touching conversations in the field added so much and is really moving this medium forward. She should have been in my bed more often though! I also wanted to comfort her after Thessia.. it was disappointing that I couldn’t really do anything like hug her.

Shep: My Shep actually had emotional things to say. Earth being under attack actually affected her and she could talk about it throughout the game. I highly approve of this!!

Action: was executed very nicely. I can't imagine not being able to roll anymore, I used that thing so much to dodge opponents. The hand-to-hand combat was fun too. This was also a huge improvement and I'm thrilled.

War Assets: I thought this was a great substitute for resource mining because it felt tightly connected to the plot and I actually enjoyed scanning the planets without getting caught by the Reapers.

Mods: I really enjoyed modding my weapons, I'm so glad this is back.

Squad: I liked the new additions of Vega, Steve and Traynor and I enjoyed talking to them. I think this is a common problem - if I am not in a romantic relationship with the NPC I am speaking to, they seem to close up. I felt like I hardly spoke to Ashley too. I heart Javik.

Journal: Somehow the journal was better in the previous games, this one didn’t seem to update properly if I was in the middle of a quest.

Voice Actors: As per usual, Bioware picks the best. Puts other games to *shame* with the quality here. My shep needs to live just so J. Hale can continue voicing her.

Dreams: I loved the dreams, I loved feeling like Shep is actually traumatized by what has happened on earth and that she can't do anything about it just yet.

Datapad: I borrowed an iPad and it looks like lots of fun, I hope to see it for Android tablets too! This is the future of gaming - bringing it outside the standard medium and tying it all in.

Ending: Obviously, I really like Mass Effect. The ending actually left me feeling pre-occupied/depressed Not for just a moment, but for a couple of days. If this was not a well written series, I wouldnt have cared so much. Therefore my depression is a testament to the writers and developers skills. Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, right?

The little things I liked that I didn’t mention: Flashlights, shooting while in the Shuttle, using big guns and space hamster.

Things that I thought I would see: being involved in a space battle with the Normandy, being able to equip armour on your squadmates, more stores and more exploration other than just the Citadel, more distress that the galaxy is ending (everyone felt way too calm on the ship).

[DerberAuner]

I will conform to the suggested shape at the beginning of the thread for this (just saying cause noone else seems to)

My Mass Effect Three Score is: 50/100

Now as for the reasons:
95% of the game are good (except for the ending as you might have guessed) i wouldve given the gameplay a 90/100 the dialogue maybe an 80/100so 85/100 on avarage.
Which brings me to the remaining 5% which in my opinion deserve nothing short of a 0/100
Now, you might think that on avarage thats no 50/100, and assuming that the ending only counts for the 5% that it takes up of the game, you're absolutely correct.
Problem is:
I'm a Mass Effect veteran of the first two parts and have a collective playtime of roughly 200+ hours (if thats enough).
Now, I don't see Mass Effect as 3 seperate games, i see the series. The reason I invested so much time into the first two games was because i was under the impression, both by press statements and the style of the first two games, that there was going to be an epic conclusion to the (except for the end) ingenious sci-fi game, which had replaced both star trek and - wars as my favorite sci-fi universe. The 5 minutes worth of cutscenes at the end do not live up to that (hence the 0/100, more on that below).  The ending to this game, and this game alone is acceptable to me, it's not good, or bad, but about 50/100. But as the conclusion to the series, it is utterly unsatisfying and feels like I was kicked in the groin by a 500 kg Rhino.  The ending of the story is the most important part. As such it counts for me as about 40% of the games replay value and the fun i have in playing mass effect 3 in general (which strictly speaking brings the game to 51/100, but i dont think that one point is important).

Now, as to why the ending sucks:

The ending of a game should concentrate around the main themes of the game. This, for me, were both the civilizations in the Mass Effect universe and the people I met there as well as the squadmates and crew of the Normandy. The pervious games established, that my choices have an impact on those, and to be fair, I did have an impact. Only the ending does not reflect that. The ending for my crew and the civilizations in the galaxy is largely the same in the "better" endings (I mean those in which earth is not obliterated or uninhabitable or sth.). My crew gets stranded on some god forsaken planet half way across the galaxy where, with conventional FTL, they are unreachable, and galactic civilization collapses du to the Mass Relays being destroyed, oh yeah and the reapers are gone in one way or another no matter which end i choose. I have no impact on the fate of my crew or that of the Mass Relays, which pretty much ruins the universe for me. I cannot stress enough how disapointing the game, and the entire series, concluded. Unless Bioware/EA introduces a DLC adressing those issues, I will never play Mass Effect 1, 2 or 3 ever again. There are a lot of good ideas on the forums how this ending might be fixed, and in my opinion it is not too much to ask. Hell, in order to see a "better" ending, I would even pay for said DLC, knowing that you're ripping me off

That being said, BW/EA just lost a paying customer. I know that doesn't seem like much, but there it is.

Yours Sincerely,

a paying disgruntled customer, and fan of the Mass Effect universe.

[Iakus]

Spoilers ahead:

First, let me say, I was one of the more vocal ME2 “haters” for reasons I’m no going to go into right now. It was with a lot of misgivings that I went and got ME3.

Let me also say, that right up until the very end, I was willing to say “all is forgiven.”  Almost everything I had a problem with in ME2 was rectified.   Then the ending hit and not only ruined the game for me, but the entire trilogy as well.   But I’m getting ahead of myself.

First the good:

Characters felt far more alive in ME3.   “Silent companions” were largely dealt with, even in side missions.   The fact that character would talk to each other on the Normandy and even move around was a welcome surprise (with one exception which I will explain later)  It was nearly Dragon Age in effectiveness.

Second I liked having more options with weapons.  And even better, I could mod them to suit my needs.  Weapon loadouts were actually interesting again.   I do have some quibbles with the limitations squadmates had in what they could use (seriously, why would you not let a character named Ashley Williams use shotguns?)   But that’s a very minor detail.

Third, the game had a strong central story.  That alone would make ME3 better than ME2.  Sure the story was more linear. But I can deal with that.  Now I’m no longer running around blasting random merc groups and claiming it’s to fight the Reapers.   Now I’m fighting servants of the Reapers and claiming it’s to fight the Reapers.


Now for the Not-so-good

First: Narrative was kinda off, especially at the beginning.   Even veteran players are probably going to be scratching their heads going “wtf is going on?”  For example, it’s not until after our first trip to the Citadel that we get any background information on James Vega.  The reason why Udina is the human Councilor even if we chose Anderson is buried in a codex entry.   As is his reasons for the coup attempt.

Second: All too brief cameos/dialogues. This is probably just a limitation of the game and the crushing burden of having so many characters in the game that could have been killed off in previous games.   But I’m pretty sure everyone (save Liara and perhaps Garrus fans) is not going to be happy with the treatment of certain characters. Certainly not Thane and Jacob LI fans, at least.

As an example, I’m a huge Ashley fan and thought she was handled very well right up until the coup attempt is concluded.  Then when she came aboard her dialogue simply ran out.  Unlike other crew members, she was never seen communicating with other characters, through the intercom or in person (I even had to be the go-between when James offered to make her some eggs after her bender)  Even the Prothean got to move around the ship and talk to people, and he was dlc!  She never comes to Shepard’s cabin save in the love scene.  It just seems wrong that she has more character development in a hospital than as a crew member.   But I’m also observant enough to know others got much much worse.

Third: autodialogue/lack of choices.   At some points it became painfully obvious that the dialogue system was built around Action Mode rather than RPG mode.  I don’t recall a single neutral option.  Investigation options were minimal.  Dialogue was largely “click the paragon or renegade response then sit back and watch the show”.   I’d probably be more upset about this if the show wasn’t at least decent to watch.


And finally, and the deal-breaker: The Endings. By the Enkindlers, how they suck!

Let me be clear: I am not opposed to dark stories. Mass Effect 3 was, in its entirety, a dark story. Millions, more likely billions of people died.  Dialogue and banter everywhere showed how horrible the war was, from the traumatized asari commando in the hospital to the refugee teen who kept asking the C-Sec guard about her
parents (whom it became obvious were dead). We get to see Earth, Thessia, and Palaven burning. Several of
Shepard’s friends unavoidably die, several others can be killed off as a consequence of  making certain choices, and we hear about other characters from the previous games being killed offscreen.

One thing I should have put in the “good” category was how well the game portrays the psychological toll fighting the Reapers ahs been for Shepard.  “Rainbows and bunnies” was never an option.

Nor am I opposed to the relays being destroyed.  I had suspected even going back to ME1 that the relays and/or the Citadel’s destruction would be key to stopping the Reapers.  I’m okay with that, if it’s handled well.

But “choose the color of your explosion” is not handling it well.  Distilling all our past choices into a numbers game, while unfortunate and smacking of the human smoothie machine in ME2, is likely a necessity to make these decisions have some kind of impact.   But as far as I can tell, these endings have nothing to do with Military Strength save as an arbitrary number needed to unlock them.   And worst of all, the “best ending” as near as I can tell, cannot be unlocked with just the single player game (something I predicted months ago and was mocked for it).   Not that the “best ending” is much better.

And worse yet, the endings are simply too dark and bleak for Shepard and the crew of the Normandy. I stated before, the game is already dark. And while I have no objections to an Ultimate Sacrifice ending an option, it should not be the only  option. Otherwise the game isn’t bittersweet, it’s just bitter.

Shepard has already died once, forcing a second death is simply too much.  How awful is it to go through the trouble of rekindling the romance with a LI, only to have to have him/her lose Shepard yet again?


And stranding the Normandy on an unknown planet with no apparent means to escape is simply ludicrous. As has been asked before, how did Shepard’s two companions get back aboard? How did the Normandy get to the Charon Relay so fast? Why were they leaving when the battle for Earth was still raging? It makes no frakking sense.

Shepard is dead in six out of the seven possible endings. The Normandy unavoidably stranded in all of them. This is what we had to look forward to for five years?  I’m a fan of Earn Your Happy Ending. But that presupposes that there’s a happy ending to earn.

If people like dark endings, I say that’s fine. They have their endings. But what about those who want the option for happiness or at least the option for their Shepards to lay down their burdens without shuffling off their mortal coil? I am reminded of the advice the krogan Eve gave to Shepard “In the darkest hour, there’s always a way out”  Except for Shepard it seems.

I’ve seen some people say that it’s Bioware’s story and this is the ending they chose.  To that I say that’s only partly true. Casey Hudson himself said that Mass Effect was a collaborative effort between the developers and the players. We were given choices on how the story unfolds.  We were promised wildly divergent endings.  The Shepards are “our Shepards”. But in the end choice was taken away from us, all endings led to the same dark path.

Is this is how Bioware chooses to treat its fans, by giving them bleak endings regardless of choice?  Even the “dark heroic fantasy” Dragon Age series had the option for more cheerful endings!

And thus why the entire trilogy is now tainted for me.  I'm not going to boycott dlc for ME3, I'm just not going to purchase any because I'll have to reason to use it.

Edit:  I see I'm supposed to to put a number value for the game.  Gah, I hate that.  So imprecise.

Okay, up until the very end, I'd give it a 90/100 I guess.  After the end, it can only be expressed in a single digit.  It's not a number.  And it's not a polite digit either.

Modifié par iakus, 13 mars 2012 - 08:03 .

[Menagra]

Please make the ending a hallucination--or harbinger trying to indoctrinate you....it's just...so bad....

Please bioware--- I understand the artistic value of creating a strong reaction, and the metaphors you use that links back to video games core of You vs. Computer....And linking an icon like Buzz Aldrin into the epilogue as an allusion to the science fiction genre bolstered by the space age...


but even being fully aware of the well thought out use of metaphor... the ending is still just awful and cliche ....you already had us convinced Mass Effect was art ... until the last 10 minutes

And it being a hallucination would make perfect sense... you get hit by Harbinger's lazer and he is indoctrinating you. He uses the Illusive Man and Anderson as metaphors for your "good and evil" consciousness. Then harbinger throws you off by making you talk with anderson about how you did it and you let your gaurd down. Then harbinger sees that you've been dreaming about this child and see the child as a symbol of innocence and creates a being that would appear innocent to you to be "the catalyst". Then harbinger forces the same ideas down your throat that he has been all along about how the reapers are your "salvation". Because he's a reaper he sees everything as organic vs. synthetic. And your left with 3 choices--try to control the reapers, synthesis or destroy all synthetic life. Your only way out of indoctrination is to demand that you destroy all synthetic life because otherwise your guard is let down too much and harbinger indoctrinates you. And the reason it takes 5,000 assets to survive is that you are still one earth in the rubble after being hit by harbingers blast and are lying there in the middle of a battle and there needs to be enough military strength to distract anything from finishing you off while you lie unconcious.

Then once we understand he was trying to indoctrinate us and wake up...take us on to our actual ending plz where we actually destroy only the reapers and get to help establish a new galactic government including synthetics like the geth...

It's NOT a happy ending because so many people die along the way! It's just closure and a fulfillment of what the last 2 games seem to promise us: control over the outcome and our choices having effect.

[Saberchic]

I played on Xbox 360 and I give it a 4/10.

What I liked about Mass Effect 3:

 -The graphics- Really amazing and outstandingly done. The environments were extremely detailed as were most characters.

-The sound effects- Spot on! I felt drawn in not only by the rich environments, but the ambient sounds (I’m talking about combat too). Together they made it so easy to become immersed in the ME universe.

-Having one HUB besides the Normandy. I know. It sounds crazy, but for this game I felt it worked. Doing this made the Citadel the focus, and the designers really made it feel alive. People/Aliens were everywhere but it
wasn’t too much. They moved around (on the Normandy too! I was quite pleased!) and talked about different things. I got to interact with them (meaning random people and my crew).

-More friendly conversations with my crew. If having less people on my squad means getting more intimate relationships with characters, I’ll take quality over quantity every time. I love the development of the relationships in this game (friend and romance).

-Party Banter- Totally epic and wonderful. Loved it!

-Uncertainty of missions- Some missions were time sensitive and others not so much. It was a good mix, and it kept the pressure on me. I felt like I had to prioritize because different emergencies would pop up and I would have to decide when to do what.

-Character deaths. By god these were awesome and not because I wanted anyone to die. They were done very well. The characters were treated with respect, and I couldn’t ask more than that. I lost Mordin (cried so hard I had to pause the game—I couldn’t see through my tears), Thane (thank you for not having my mage grey warden appear on the Citadel and cure him), and Legion (so touching when he gave himself to help the rest of his race).

-Planet scanning and exploration- Much improved over the last game. Having the threat of reapers to worry about kept me on edge when I was out in the Normandy. I didn’t even mind not having the option to go down and explore planets in a vehicle.

-Combat- Gameplay in ME2 was superior to me than ME1, and ME3 built off that. While the combat wasn’t as fluid as ME2 (stupid sticky controls!), it was vastly improved. The enemies were more agile and aggressive and I had to think about using tactics more than I already did. The enemies were more challenging, and I admit that every time I heard a banshee shriek in the background, I would curse and start looking for where it came from. Or a brute would appear and I'd holler for Vega.


What I didn’t like about Mass Effect 3:

-There certainly was a lot of auto-dialogue. Good lord was there a lot. While I eventually got used to it, there were times when I missed really having a 3rd option and an opportunity to define my Shep as I had in the past. I always thought there were 3 types of personalities: diplomatic, neutral, and pragmatic (sometimes switched out with a humanity first response in which case I’d choose the neutral response). I didn’t get the feeling I could keep within those personalities that were established since ME1 as I had way less input into the conversation cut-scenes (which is what they ended up being).

-This next point branches off the auto-dialogue issue. My loyal Kaidan-loving femShep was making passes at Vega. Ok, before I start, let me say that Vega is one of my favorite characters and I totally wanted to romance him (another point I have issue with)… but I wanted to do that with a different Shep. I had no choice in most conversations with Vega. My femShep would approach him and have an entire conversation without my input. I felt
that was taking my ability to role play away from me. In a game where I already lost quite a bit control of what to say, it was a little frustrating. I just used Vega because that’s the best example. Otherwise, I’d point to the unfortunate fate of the Jacobmancers where you end up being nice to that b**** Brynn who straight up said she went after your man but thanks for helping them escape from Cerberus…. WTF? Really Bioware? No chance to be a **** right back at her? Epic fail.

-Two words people… Straight. FemShep. Did you realize that straight femShep got screwed over royally in this game? I’m not going to count past games. Let’s just look at ME3.  

Straight ManShep gets: Liara, Allers, and Ashley (if not Virmired)

S/S ManShep gets: Cortez and Kaidan (if not Virmired)

Straight FemShep: Kaidan (if not Virmired)

S/S FemShep: Liara, Allers, and Traynor

Really Bioware? You couldn’t throw us Vega? So if a newfemale gamer picks up ME3 and kills off Kaidan in the Character Creator screen (because she didn’t know), she’s screwed? That’s so not cool. Now Olivia Shepard is forever alone. Thanks for that. 

-One little nitpick- Not being able to customize my crew's weapons until load out. For that, I preferred the ME1 style instead. Not a huge thing, but minorly irritating for sure. Oh, and the journal needs to be updating itself. Sometimes I lost track of whether I actually did a sidequest and just hadn't turned it in yet.

-The last 10 minutes of the game. I have to say that the indoctrination theory that has been floating around, while I don’t agree with everything that person put forth, is a good one and does make sense. If Shep was indoctrinated (and I did think they were because every time they dreamed there were those damn whispers and shades) then the game should not have ended like it did. Even if Shep wasn’t, it still should not have ended like it did. Here’s why I feel so passionate about it:

We were promised closure. We were promised our choices would matter in this game. It felt like a slap in the face. What was needed was some kind of follow up as to the fate of our allies. What happened to the krogan?
Did Wrex survive and was he able to steer the krogan in a new direction or is the galaxy really screwed over now because I cured the genophage and someone else (maybe Wreav didn’t die after all) is going to take over and exact some revenge? Do the quarians and geth really maintain peace or did I open the biggest can of worms ever? 

Also, what about my companions? Did Kaidan and Vega really die (I took them with me) and did Joker too and they’re in “heaven,” or did they somehow magically transport to the Normandy which for some odd reason was using a mass relay instead of fighting? And if Joker wasn’t using a mass relay, that should have been made clearer.  What about Garrus? Liara? Tali? Etc… Whether or not Shep was indoctrinated or killed, the player deserves to know. We’ve been on this journey for a long time, and we were promised closure. The game
did not deliver. 

I never expected sunshine and rainbows, though I hoped for the option to at least be available (actually I hoped for a variety of options), but the ending left way more questions than answers. All endings appear to have the same outcome. There was no real diversity in the endings as was promised, which left me with the feeling that my decisions were meaningless. Regardless if Shep was really indoctrinated and the battle was mental or if Shep really did die (I chose Destroy because that was really the only option that made sense to me and I only had 3595 in war assets because I can’t play MP on that particular login) there was more that needed to be addressed in the core game itself. The reaper child (or Morrigan’s Old God Baby as I like to call him because it’s like he came out of nowhere) had extremely flawed logic that I wasn’t allowed to debate. I guess one could argue that by picking the Destroy ending that you could show your disagreement with him that way. But if that’s the case, that’s not what it felt like. And that means Bioware dropped the ball.

Now Bioware may have plans to release more DLC that explains this, but if that’s the case, then I argue that should have been included in the vanilla game. The game should ship with the complete ending. Case closed. Closure achieved.

The game was epic until the end. It was an amazing ride up to that point. You had me in your grip. I cared and cared so deeply. But the ball was majorly dropped. You can’t deliver an incomplete game (especially one
that ends a trilogy) and expect players to hang in there for DLC that (I’m assuming is coming) will further explain the story. Endings to a series need more finality than what was delivered.

So why did I give it a 4/10 when so much was done right? When the ending leaves me with as little satisfaction as it did, that's a major issue. Unfortunately, that taints the rest of the series for me. There's no replayability for me. I had 10 Sheps ready to go, and I don't have the heart to do another playthrough.

Editing to add: If it hadn't been for the incomplete ending, I would have given in a 9/10... even with the other issues I had with it.

Modifié par Saberchic, 13 mars 2012 - 09:47 .

[oldag07]

I tried not to read any of the above reviews to try not to be influenced by everyone else.  I do know about the DLC controversy and the fact that a good proportion of people did not like the ending.

Moreover, I only played a male pure paragon character, with my paragon player imported from all the other games.  I also saved all of the characters from ME2, so I don't know how that affects my story experience. I played on PC, so I don't know much about the kinect controls.  I haven't played multiplayer yet either.  Also a testiment to how good the series is, I am simply a lot better at this game than I was at the first to games because, I have so many hours logged on the game.  Here are my thoughts.

The Good:

• I really liked the story up until the ending.  The characters were much more developed than they were in the first two games, including the Prothean. I liked how it was a good combination of the linear plot of the original game, and the "gotta catch them all" style game ME2 was.  Bioware tied a lot of the loose ends down very well.  I liked how the Qurians and the Geth made peace with one another.  I liked the fact that the genophage was cured.  EDI getting a body was also a good touch.
• As a reader of the novels, I like how Kai Lang and Kathee Sanders were put into the game.
• Bioware put a lot of time and effort into letting us get to know the characters that were saved from ME2. Even Kasumi and Zaeed, had larger than expected cameos.
• While the point/ galactic readiness system wasn't perfect, it felt good building a larger and larger force to retake Earth, and having even minor decisions made past and present, affect this score.
• The upgrade system was the best of the series.
• I liked the button that showed me were my objectives were.  That saved me a lot of time and frustration.
• The cinematics were amazing!!
• I haven't played multiplayer yet, but I can imagine it being a whole lot of fun.  Something is better than nothing, and  applaud bioware for giving more replay value to this game.
• The exploration mode is far from perfect, but again it is the best of the series.  It wasn't tedious, and it was fun.
• The music, sound, and visuals were again top notch.
• This game was way more stable than ME1, and just as stable as ME2.  While this is something often taken for granted, I still appreciate it.
• It played on my intel sandy bridge i5 without a dedicated GPU.  

The Bad:

• I don't want to be seen as a homophobic gay basher.  I don't mind that there are gay relationships in this game.  I just felt it very awkward being hit on by other guys.  In my mind, the characters should already know Shepard's sexual orientation and would not hit appropriately. I don't mind if other characters are expicitly gay like the pilot. Therefore an option to turn off the people of the same gender's hitting on mewould be appreciate.  Admittedly I don't know how such a option would be received by the LBGT community.
• The dream sequences were a bit confusing, and annoying.  I know the Arkham Asylum thing was trying to be done.  I liked those.  I think it is because I knew were to go in the dream sequences in Arkham Asylum, whereas being stuck in the middle of a forest with no clear indication of where to go is a bit confusing.  I lost track of that little boy several times.
• The lack of hub worlds made the game seem less expansive.  Where as in ME2 you had Omega, Illium, Tuchanka, and the Citadel, in ME2 you had just the citadel.
• The ending:  First off, I do not support the people who want Bioware to change the ending.  This is Bioware's ending, they have every right to made the ending whatever they want it to be.  That being said, yes, the journey is important, but the ending is also is an important part of any story. It should have a disproportional influnce on how someone judges a story because it has a dispropotionate influnce on how someone enjoys a story right or wrong.  First off, I know I should have paid closer attention to the cinematics, but when faced with my "choice" for the ending of the game, I wasn't sure which direction led to which outcome.  If I went left what happened.  If I went to the center, what happens.  If I go right what happens. Second, I think the thing that I most disliked about the ending it made the work the player did earlier in the game seem irrelevant.   I just made peace with the Geth and the Qurians. I just cured the genophage, and in all of the endings the mass relays and the citadel is destroyed.  Again, this is Bioware's choice, and I respect that.  But I would have liked something more traditional along the lines of special addition of the Return of the Jedi.  Watching the Reapers being destroyed or leaving the planets on all of the various planets we saved and with cheering crowds everywhere amongst a good song in the background.  Again that is personal preference, but it seems to be a widely held one.

The ugly:

• Not Bioware's fault, but I spend several days up late playing the game affecting my work performance.  It was nothing unrecoverable, but noticable.  Just a really good testimate to how well made the game really is.

 :-)

Score compared to other games
ME1- 89
ME2- 95
ME3- 91

Modifié par oldag07, 13 mars 2012 - 08:17 .

[saracen16]

I'm going on the record to say that I LOVE Mass Effect 3 and the Mass Effect trilogy right up to the ending. (Copied from another thread), I played the whole trilogy from ME1 and read ALL the books and
comics. Both ME1 and ME2 constituted of hours and hours of gameplay
(about 30 hours each), and the books and the comics took a while to read
as well. Mass Effect 3 is at best 30 hours long (without DLC, and ME2
is much longer than 30h with DLC). Imagine if they CRAMMED every single
sub-plot ending in the last few minutes of the game. What a convoluted,
non-succinct and non-punchy ending that would be. You know what happens
to Wrex after the genophage: he got his wife Eve pregnant. You know what
happens to the Quarians after the geth peace: they install themselves
in their hardsuits to allow for rapid integration with Rannoch's
atmosphere. There are a lot of mini-plot endings as well, etc. etc.

The
fact that the final ending involves the destruction of the Reapers and
their technology (the mass relays) leaves the galaxy in a different
state than it was prior, and the survivors of this new galactic order
are the ones you let survive in the many quests. The rest is up to your
imagination. And because the ending had such a strong emotional
impact and it actually forced me to think about what happened to the
empires after the destruction of the mass relays comes to show how
powerful it really was. If it was a run-of-the-mill ending full of
dancing teddy bears, Ewoks, and bunnies in a bright sunshiney day, that
would be boring and forgettable. I really do have a galaxy to save, and I made that galaxy. Trying to imagine what the post-Reaper galaxy would be like would be aided only by the choices I made and how they got their closures in ME3 (genophage, etc.).

It forced me to care and to think about the future of the galaxy I created.

Story - the writing here has been kicked up a notch compared to ME2 and in some parts it's even better than ME1 (though ME1 still remains the best story-wise). The scale is even more epic than ever imagined, and every planet, every corner of the galaxy is encompassed in a frighteningly convincing way. I like how the story geared it towards being a sort of apocalyptic galactic war, and that every one from every planet had something to say or do about the end of the galactic order as they knew it. Even the ending was satisfying (read above). No absolute, singular closure meant that the experience was mine alone and not someone else's. I just wish that the Catalyst conversation was just a tad more fleshed out (though I was still satisfied nonetheless), and that some of the subplots (e.g. dark energy in Dholen's core (Haestrom's sun)) and others were satisfied (nothing that DLC can't fix, eh?).

Graphics and Environments - I thought Ilos and Virmire were stunning... until I crawled out of those Krogan tunnels and emerged into the City of Ancients, entered an Ardat Yakshi monastery, fought my way on a beautifully sunlit Thessia to a gorgeous Temple of Athame, rescued a Krogan female in lush, green Sur'Kesh, killed a Reaper on Rannoch, and fought Cerberus on Ontarom. The graphics and environments in this game are absolutely stunning. The scale is epic. I especially liked how they portrayed Thessia near the end. The red sunlight bathing the city of Armali (or Serrice?) was spectacular, and the rays that emerged from between the first Reaper's gigantic silhouette were an embodiment of hope against galactic annihilation. Mass Effect 3 is truly a masterpiece in the work of art, equalling and even surpassing Deus Ex Human Revolution.

I have to admit, I had little confidence in Mac Walters being the sole lead writer, but seeing that ME3 was uber-faithful to the lore, even moreso than ME2 was, changed my opinion. Mac is an amazing writer, and he and his team outdid themselves on this one.

Combat and Enemies - BioWare wasn't kidding about the combat: it's much better and more challenging than in the previous two games, and the weapons feel AMAZING. Everything from the N7 Eagle, to the Phaeston, the Disciple, the Javelin, the Particle Rifle... I liked the sound and mechanics of the weapons in this game. But even more frightening was the enemy. Cerberus Phantoms were bad, but there is nothing that sends shivers down your spine like the roar of a Brute or the terrifyingly nightmarish cry of a Banshee lumbering towards you with calculation and deliberation, ready to rip your heart out and feed you to the Reapers. The enemies are generally well-designed and unique. I especially like the design behind the Marauders: they're just so cool, and the sounds they make are also awesome. I find myself constantly on the move because different enemies are coming into the battlefield, and I have to avoid them or prevent them from flanking me. And while Kai Leng isn't a Saren, at least he isn't a Harbinger. His voice actor successfully managed to make him a menacing, professional assassin.

Gameplay - the new RPG style is definitely a plus and an improvement over ME2 and in some instances ME1 (e.g. intel research, Spectre terminal). I just wish that the mission log was as structured as it was in the previous two games, separating priority missions from assignments. The lack of vehicle segments was brilliantly made up for by the new galaxy map mechanic of questing for war assets and running away from Reapers, which is not as bad as it sounds, and it's not as tedious as planet scanning was either). I think the developers finally got the exploration part of the trilogy right without need for a ground vehicle like the Mako or Hammerhead. The Atlas filled its role, and I especially liked hammerring at the Cerberus troops near the end of Grissom Academy with one of their own toys. It felt... satisfying.

Soundtrack - leagues beyond ME2, but still nowhere near the sheer awesomeness of ME1.

Overall - The whole trilogy, in my opinion, is a PHENOMENAL success that has taken a life of its own. It left me with questions about the future of the galaxy I made, and looking back at my choices, I just realize the massiveness of the effect (hence Mass Effect, but yes, I know that the name is intended for dark energy and the scope of your choices) my actions had on the post-Reaper galactic civilization, one with all the races I saved, without the mass relays, without the Citadel, and by extension without the council. This work of science fiction is definitely up there with the greats in terms of its scope, its sophistication, its epicness: Dune, Blade Runner, Deus Ex, Star Trek... This game, the trilogy... gets from me a perfect score: 10/10. No more, no less.

To BioWare and the Mass Effect team... Thank you for one of the best if not the best sci-fi experiences I've ever had. Farewell.

[Favourite store on the CitadeI]

Endings suck. Game is quite short (by this i mean the story). the journal was awfully painful to use.

thats about it really

[Tassadarus]

Update on my post here.

I finished the game with Paragon Shepard, saw all three endings plus bonus scene. Felt emotionally empty and disappointed. Took solace in the fact that Garrus and Tali survived. Garrus old friend take care of her for me. Had 7 more Shepherds to play through. I just uninstalled the game. This was the last game I’ll ever buy from BioWare...

Modifié par Tassadarus, 13 mars 2012 - 08:22 .

[Killer3000ad]

Having just finished the game, feelings of disappointment at the ending are no doubt clouding my judgement somewhat. Mass Effect 3 WOULD HAVE BEEN the best sci-fi game of the next few years, had Bioware actually given the endings some thought. Did none of them ever consider that a PERFECT ending where all the bad guys die and most/all of the good guys live and life goes on? No they shafted ME3 with three horrible flawed endings that when you think about it, are so far out in the left field that it's impossible to reconcile them at all with the first 2 games.

Ending 1: Control the reapers, you die. Okay....

Ending 2: Destroy the reapers and ALL SYNTHETIC LIFE, the geth and EDI included. You die unless you have certain conditions are met. Ahhh......

Ending 3: You turn all life into synthethic/organic hybrids, you die.

And in all 3 endings, the mass relays are destroyed.

Clearly the endings all break the mold of previous Bioware games which were usually, Really Evil Ending, Really Good Ending, both with some minor variations. The Baldur's Gate series, KOTOR and Jade Empire are a few excellent examples.

Now with ME3 instead, we've got 3 endings that are all made bad for the following two reasons:

Reason 1:How does life go on without interstellar travel? What about the millions of aliens and humans stranded across the galaxy? What about that big fleet left hanging over a devastated Earth and they have nowhere to go cause the relays are gone? 

Reason 2: Was it necessary to kill Shepard in at least 2 of the endings? I worked my butt off to keep my Shep alive and all I get in return is a dead Shepard.

These two reasons alone just about ruins all the endings. But that's not to say that the endings themselves are alright even when the above two are ignored.

Ending 1: You control the reapers and send them where? If the relays are gone where do all the reapers go now? How much does/did Shepard control them? What will they do? With relays gone, where do the reapers head to?

Ending 2: Was it necessary to tack on the "all synthetics will be destroyed, EDI and geth included"? This pretty much ruins what would be the perfect ending, the destruction of the reapers. Why build up EDI and the geth only to have you pretty much betray them at the end? And then there's the whole claim by the Catalyst that all synthetic life is destined to turn on their creators. The retcon the reapers as some sort of galactic police force simply trying to impose order on organics is so mindbogglingly hard to swallow.

The Reapers were an evil bogeyman since ME1 and their use of the Collectors was villainous enough in ME2, plus their practice of melting organics into goo to make more reapers. Come ME3 we get told by a ghost kid that he controls the horde of evil machines and makes it sounds like we organics should be bloody happy to be preserved as Reapers.

Right.... see the problem here Bioware?

Ending 3: WHAT? Like seriously? Magic? This whole spreading Shepard's DNA into all life in the galaxy turning everyone into synthetic/organic hybrids just sounds like something out of the bible or some other creation myth. BECAUSE IT IS!

Really I would have given ME3 a solid 10/10 had Bioware just stuck with the tried and tested, Good Ending, Evil Ending. Because what we have here is THREE BAD ENDINGS.

So my final score is a 7/10, cause I am taking 1 mark of for each bad ending.

PS do not confused BAD ENDING with EVIL ENDING. A well thought out Evil Ending can still be suitable, example the Sith Ending of KOTOR 1.

Modifié par Killer3000ad, 13 mars 2012 - 08:35 .

[Iylara]

 Xbox 360 Game Review

The Good:
1.Dialogue- I feel as if the dialogue between characters has become better since the first ME game. You really feel like you could get to know the characters a little more intimately instead of just focusing on war.
2. Romance- The romance between Shepard and other characters, was to say the least, beautiful. You made it so touching and poetic that now I see Dragon Age:Origins can't compare. I have never cried so hard during a game because of how tender the romance was. It felt believable. 
3. Plot- The plot itself I felt was really detailed and it gave us a glimpse of the true destruction and devastation of war. 
4. Transportation and scanning planets. Thank you thank you for not making me drive the Mako or any other real transportation. I feel in the last two games it was just frustrating to have to do the side missions of driving or flying. Scanning the planets this time was nice in the fact I didn't have to find huge amounts of resources. 
5. Weapons- Thank you thank you thank you for bringing back customizing weapons! I missed it so much in the previous ME that I was a little worried when the newest installment came out. But ya'll brought it back which made me squeal like a little girl.
6. Allowin me to cure the genophage.
7.Allowing me to shoot Udina (never liked that guy)
8. Voice Acting- You always seem to choose the best voice actors that make the characters believable. That's been one of the bigger reasons why I've always stuck with your games (besides the good writting of course)
9. Warfare- Warfare was clean and wonderful to use. The kinect made it very fun and easy (except when my husband talked on the phone in the same room, it would pick the renegade option always)
10. Beautiful soundtrack.


The Bad and Ugly:
1. The Ending- So I know you've already read this before, but I was so disappointed with the ending. Don't get me wrong, it was poetic, and as a writer myself I would've done the same thing to get a reaction. However I feel betrayed in a sense. (a) I romanced Garrus and was promised Turian-Human babies and retiring on a small beach somewhere. Though the romance was very well done, I think I cried the hardest thinking my FemShep would never get so have the beautiful experiences of life. This made me quite distraught. ( I put all this work into falling in love with my FemShep and to see her die (maybe? she did breathe amongst the rubble that makes me wonder if you are going to let me have her retire with Garrus-doubtful because the Mass Effects have been destroyed and Garrus is in a different part of the galaxy!) So to see her just die? at the end was absolutely heart wrenching for myself. It just didn't seem fair to have nothing really good happen in the end. (Maybe I love fairy tale endings too much) But I at least expected some actual resolution. Instead I feel empty inside that it was all for naught. On top of all that, Bioware is known for giving us choice in the end. You gave us this cookie cutter choice that didn't make sense at all. By destroying the mass relay's, (if we learned anything from Arrival) it blows up the entire system. So it was really for nothing. Doesn't matter which choice I made, everyone is going to die anyways. Whether they got blown up, or they starve from being stranded on a different planet. 
2. War Assets- I enjoyed this and at the same time I didn't. I enjoyed it because I thought hey this will give my FemShep an edge so she can live and create peace in the galaxy and then retire making Turian-Human babies (obviously I know they would have to adopt) The reason I didn't like it because I feel it didn't make one iota of difference. It just honestly made me feel bitter that I just wandered around gathering these items that gave me an extra 5 minute clip after the end and I still died even after wiping out all synthetics (I know you still die, regardless of which ending you choose. BOO!). 
3. Galaxy at War (Multiplayer)- Okay so first off I want to say, I love Multiplayer! I play it all the time with my husband! And it really is fantastic. However I don't like that it has an affect on my single player game. Once again it's that false sense of security that everything will be alright in the end. (Seriously, I feel betrayed by my favorite video game company)
4. The Hair- I know for the most part, this game is played mostly by males. However, there are still a lot of fangirls out here who love and enjoy your game! I've only been asking for better romance options (dates, sex scenes...etc) and hair styles. I get that you want it to be military style and true to that style, but really the hair and make up options fall...flat. Literally. 
5.FemShep Face- I'm not asking for Lara Croft's boobs or butt. But why can she not have a pretty face? I have several friends who go into the military and they are gorgeous women! One actually does resemble Lara Croft in the face. 
6. Citadel Side Quests- This was an okay side quest, but it got excessive.
7. The Journal- It felt...annoying to see which quest I was on. It kept jumping to quests I had finished and was just a long long list. The other thing was it never really told me where to go or find things necessarily, and that was frustrating.

Overall:
First off, I want to thank you for listening to us fans. No one says that you have to, and yet you still take the time to listen to us whine and complain about what you did or didn't do wrong. I appreciate Bioware and it has been creating my favorite games since I was an angsty teen just hitting puberty, and I don't think people take the time to thank you for the hard work you do. So thank you Bioware, for being a company that works hard, looks out for its own and for listening to us complain even if some of us are a little over the top. 
 
I enjoyed the game regardless of the things I didn't like. You have always done an amazing job at immersing me into the world so that I feel as if I am truly FemShep and experiencing everything she experienced. I'm happy you made her seem (and as it turns out she still really was human) human this time. She seemed so distant and emotionless, that it really was a wonderful and beautiful surprise that she was still like us and cared. I really still feel quite resentful and bitter about the ending and it makes me doubt if I should play any more of your games if I'm not ever going to get a happy ending. It just leaves me feeling empty and there is no real closure of the Shepard character. I am really hoping that you give her/him a happy ending regardless  through DLC. I really want a DLC that actually concludes Shepard with her/his lover so that we, the fans, can also get some real closure before we take a new journey with a new character. I desperately didn't want to see this horrible ending, and was hoping it was some kind of sick joke that the fans were playing on each other. 

However, I have faith in your writers and staff that you have something wonderful up your sleeve to give us that sense of closure that we have been craving since we were introduced to the Mass Effect story. I know that hope and faith isn't misplaced. You've always done an amazing job of linking things together. However, if you don't wrap it up through DLC or at least give me some kind happy ending, I know I will be really skeptic of continuing playing your other games if the outcome is constantly ruined by a bad ending. Also I had 4 other Sheps to play through, but I don't have the heart to play it through again because I know it doesn't change anything and I still die. 

So I have two ratings for you! 
Before the end: 99.9/100
After the end: .1/100


*UPDATE* 
After reading this 
http://social.biowar...index/9727423/1  I have some sense of hope that you didn't bone us. Which is why I was so shocked at the ending. I hope everyone else is right <3

Modifié par Iylara, 15 mars 2012 - 02:19 .

[Kinross]

Score 6/10

Having played ME1 & ME2 I was looking forward to seeing how this would end. Now that I have I wish I'd stopped at ME2 and not bothered with ME3. I can't get my head around how lame the ending is given the quality of the previous two games and I can't see myself playing this again while it remains in it's current state. As a final nail in the coffin the need to participate in Multiplayer to get the "Best" ending is unforgiveable. After seeing what you've done to this game I plan to give DA3 a wide berth until after the user reviews are out.