1966 réponses à ce sujet

[ArcanistLibram]

Good Points:
- The gameplay is absolutely perfect.
- The character interactions are very engaging.
- There are a lot of very powerful emotional moments, especially with ME2 characters.
- The inventory system is exactly what I wanted.
- The multiplayer looks really fun.

The Bad:
- I had major issues getting into a multiplayer game last night and I think it was a server-side problem.
- The game feels too linear, especially in the beginning.
- Too much automatic dialogue. I don't mind it all that much, but there were a lot of situations where I felt there should have been a dialogue option.
- The ending is a mess for a dozen different reasons. I don't think I need to reiterate them right now.

Final Verdict: 9/10
The ending is damaging to the Mass Effect setting as a whole, but I can pretend that it doesn't exist. I don't want to let it ruin the game for me.

[Phoras]

Like most of the rest, I loved the whole series and most of ME3... until after the part where Shepard ascends in a beam of light to the top of the citadel.

I'm not going to waste time describing why I was disappointed with the ending. The rest have already stated those reasons. I just want to ask (sorry for the comparison, but I really can't help it): If CD Projekt are willing to released enhanced editions of their games (The Witcher 1 & 2) for free to improve on the game based on the fans' criticism, why can't Bioware/EA?

[bayul]

Though I'm awed by the game, and despite the following critique I absolutely love Mass Effect 3 (dramatic value, graphics and battle system/balance)....I have to say I'm terribly disappointed by the effects of the legacy choices from the previous games. Despite making several choices for the sake of winning the coming war, in Mass Effect 3 they seem to streamline and force feed several scenarios and completely disregard the expected result my previous choices....ergo making the "choice" system merely a conversation system.

Example: The Rachni. I saved them in ME1, I heard in ME2 that rachni ships where being spotted ergo, one can assume they are breeding like crazy and preparing for a war they believe is coming as much as Sheppard. But Instead we get that they where taking it easy in some non toxic atmosphere planet, they have no fleet, no ships, no numbers and the reapers completely obliterate their singular hive.In the end, we have a copy paste rescue the queen again moment, and in the end the Rachni end up as "war assets" in numeric value only. Even worse, they pose no military benefit, will not appear in the final battle sequence, and instead serve as engineers for the Crusible. Engineers, WOW. Thanks for the burning the darkness clean crescendo, fail Queen.

I think most players expected them to be a huge fleet that would add it's numbers to the rest....but the expectations of the 99% percent didn't matter.

NOW double the disappointment for the other thing that one perceived that by saving it, you helped the universe better prepare for the war: The Geth. Despite the best paragon speech I gave to the flotilla in ME2, despite that I rewrote the the heretics...there is no Geth fleet coming. Presumably, the Quarians, the tech nerds of the universe wiped the whole heretic/normal Geth army and their fleet single handedly. What they failed to do for hundreds of years, they achieved decidedly in months under the shadow of a reaper invasion. RIDICULOUS.

So, in the end, the secret to having the best ending IS NOT the choices you made...but playing multiplayer enough.

So I feel like a moron for buying the X-BOX version of the game ( I have a PS3 too)...just because I wanted continuity for the completitionist gameplays of ME1 & ME2. There is no benefit...instead I get to change DISC every 2 missions or so DESPITE the game having bottle-necked the story towards a near linear setup. A LINEAR storyline in Mass Effect 3 (HOW CAN THIS BE. HOW?)

I am disappoint. I am quite deflated of excitement. The game is very good...but now I know that no matter how much I played, the ending will not represent what I fought for (not even close).

Did BioWare transfer the Dragon Age 2 story planners or something?

This is terrible. WTF.

[themanynamed]

Today I finished my first playthrough and I can say it's been a mix of pure awesome and things that make me want to pull my hair out.


That Which Is Loved

More Interactive Team Mates-  This is such a vast improvement that I hardly have the words for me fangirl squeeing.  The added dialog that is responsive the events was exactly what was needed.  The characters no longer seem quite so wooden.  I also loved that they seemed to give a damn about Shepard beyond saying how awesom s/he is, rather than Shepard being the only one who offers compassion.  That the team members wander and have a life outside of the Normany?  Brilliant.

New Abilities-  ME2's streamlined abilities killed a lot of my fun when it came to customizing my character.  There were options but they weren't as many as there were in the 1st game.  The newly expanded ability trees of ME3 find a much better balance between elegant simplicity and variety.

New Team Mates- I have to say that the newbies to Shepard's team are great additions.  That I became so attached in so little time is a real credit to the game.  They were all such interesting people that I almost wish we had them for longer.  Hopefully we'll learn more from future books/games/comics/etc.

Narrative Mode-  I do enjoy the tactical side of combat but sometimes it can turn things into a grind.  After killing that 100,000 Cerberus trooper, it's nice to be able to focus more on the story and characters by being able to trivialize combat as needed.

Emotional Engagement-  ME3 grabbed my by the heart strings and didn't let go for a second.  I really applaud how well it made me react to what happened.    The acting, cinematics, story etc. were easy to become involved it.  In some cases it was a little too much but for the most part I'm impressed.


That Which Frustrated


That Boy-  Yeah, the boy from the beginning and the dream sequences needed to vanish from the game after we see him die on Earth.  The dream sequences and the later VI/AI were cheesy melodrama.  Not to mention the slow motion running was frustrating after the first five seconds.  This was very much a case of less is better.

Quest Bugs-  I had quite a few issues finishing minor quests because the quest givers/receivers weren't rendered or weren't clickable.  I believe I had around four or five that weren't completed for that reason.  I also had a number of war assets that I collected but were never acknowledged.  I really hope that a patch will deal with this.

Dialog-  I have really adored the dialog system of the ME series but I think ME3 used automatic responses and the cinematic clips a little too heavily.  I also had a few issues trying to puzzle out the right responses.  I think the DA2 tone indicator has spoiled me!  A few reloads occurred after selecting something I hadn't intended.

Plot Holes-  There were a few that the Normandy could have been flown through.  Overall, I really enjoyed the majority of ME3's story and its general high quality probably why it makes the bad continuity and oopses all the more noticeable.  I won't harp on about them as they've already been mentioned ad nauseum.  Still, it was disappointing to see so few attempts at reconciling some of these issues.

Multiplayer-  No, I don't want to play online and no I don't want to play with some poor friend who I roped into my personal game world.  I resent that the single player experience is effected at all by multiplayer only content.


That Which Is Forever Damned Into The Darkest Hells


The Endings-  As much as we fans probably sound like babies crying over having our candy taken away, the endings sucked.  It didn't help that although I supposedly met (and exceeded) the requirements I was not able to access the green ending.  Still, no matter which choice is made it's a huge anticlimax very similar to DA2.  In both games the player is thrown into uncompromising situations where no matter what they do nothing improves or they have a choice of bad options.  All three endings in ME3 are the final touch to a program of learned helplessness.  This is not a pleasant process.  People don't play games to be punished.  While bad choices, impossible odds etc. do make the game more gritty and/or realistic I can't help but feel it was too heavily used.  I've heard that possibly the endings aren't all they seem or there is some vital element that will make sense later.  Hmm, well, if that's the case then it seems most gamers didn't 'get it' and that's a big problem in and of itself.  I'm not sure if later DLC will help.  I remember how upset people were at the end of NWN2.  As fantastic as the MoTB expansion was, most fans agreed the ending of NWN2 should have given more of a lead in.

Where Was That Again- There were many, many times that I cursed
the journal.  Anymore minimalistic and there wouldn't be one at all. 
Basic information is left out more often than it ever should and worse
is the fact that many quests, often side quests are not updated.  This
is particularly annoying for minor fetch quests as there are so many of
them and little details are hardest to remember.  More than once I
couldn't remember if I've done something or where I was supposed to go, assuming I knew in the first place.



I think if I had to give ME3 a score, I would give it a 3 out of 5.  There was a lot I loved but there were a lot of mistakes I had hoped wouldn't be repeated in future Bioware games.

Modifié par themanynamed, 09 mars 2012 - 03:16 .

[T-0pel]

I will not go into detail, everything has been said already.
I finished the game in 30 hours with doing every quest and dialog possible - this is an ok length for me.
Overall I didnt have any major issues until the end. Graphics were fine, dialogs were sometimes cheesy but that was a minority of them, 95 percent it was great.
Visiting homeworlds, resulting old hatereds in preparation for reapers, all that was great. Even the sidequests were not as much of a problem, but it would be helpful if at least the journal updated everytime I aquired an item or something.
So overall till the ending scene it was a very solid 9/10, I was really looking forward to some last epic battle and some closure that will make it a 10/10 and elevate this game to my top 10 list...
Instead I recieved something that does not make any sense whatsoever. First of all I hated that stupid kid and the dream parts of the game so I was not very happy when I saw him walking towards me on top of the citadel. Then in one minute he tells me basically that everything I have done in the previus and this game was all for nothing. Presents me with 3 choices that only differ in color of the blast that comes out of the Citadel, does not tell me anything about what happend, shows me some cheese black-white pictures of Joker, Anderson and Liara, shows me Normandy flying somewhere with no explanation whatsoever with crewmembers that were not suposed to even be there. Then I get some grandpa-kid weird WTF scene that again does not make any scence and does not explain anything and to top it all, I am told that Shepard became a Legend and now I should buy DLC'S?! Are you serious? That is the epilogue for us? Buy DLC's?
Well overall I just feel that my era of gaming is coming to an end, I am not sure I will make a second playthrough because there is really no need for it.
So, an objective score taking all things to account this game deserves a 9/10. For me the ending ruined it so much I am not even sure I can give it a score...

[FuzzyFreaks]

Ending 10/100
Rest of game 80/100

I was thoroughly enjoying ME3, it is honestly one of the best games I have played.
And then the ending/s pretty much sucked all the fun out of the game, I have six more Sheps ready for an ME3 run and I cannot be bothered to do it because the literal deus ex machina ending renders all your decisions pointless.
I won't even start on the plotholes.

Modifié par FuzzyFreaks, 09 mars 2012 - 03:17 .

[Templar Fox]

I made a full review here:
http://social.biowar...index/9686336/1

As it stands...

I'd like to give the game a solid 9.0/10, but the ending botches it.

A 6.5 here. The ending really made me feel distraught. I think the main problem is that you're supposed to feel GOOD, about the finale, like ME 1 and 2, and instead you just walk away depressed and not wanting to touch the setting for a long, long time.

[wollert]

 Review score: 70/100 (96 for game, -26 for endings)
ME1: 90/100
ME2: 95/100

The Good:

• Fun gameplay; better cover mechanics, player movement & skills.
• Dialogues with old friends, Mordin (all of them), Garrus misbehaving on Citadel, Grunt holding rachni off, drunk Tali, drunk Ashley all stand out, bro-moment with Wrex.
• Feeling of accomplishment throughout the game, prior choices were more tangible than an e-mail or news announcement.
• Artstyle; the locations were beautiful & the different armors and weapons were wonderful (love the official Alliance armor and uniforms.
• Armor & weapon customisation found it´s sweet spot.
• Tone, (menu and citadel music) bringing flashbacks to the first game back, playing on the colored glasses of nostalgia is always a good bet. Overall very good ambience.
• Story elements were good and reeked of desperation, giving the Quarians their homeworld back and exposing their narrow minded bigotry of the Geth stand out.
• The conclusions of ME2 crew members scripted demise, really pulling on the heartstrings there Bioware.
• Soundtrack, I was worried over loosing the now symbiotic tune that was in the first game and the evolution of it with the second one. But the music was top notch, the music from the launch trailer still echoes in my mind constantly and in a good way.
• Camera angles, the use of angles and depth of perception was something you would expect out of a high budget movie.

The Bad:

• Quest tracking; I had no idea where to go for either finding the random things people on the Citadel were talking about, nor always where I could return it. The quest log did not update, and with the lack of markers on the galaxy map atleast a system name for when only a planet is named was needed. As well as all turn-ins appearing on the map.
• Finding out the fate of Kal´Reegar in an e-mail and no subsequent conversation with Tali about it.
• Lack of closure with some love interests, I have only done the one with Miranda but I had hoped for more.
• Too much auto dialogue. However if this was done to make more room for interaction with crew and crew to crew interactions I can accept it.
• Runnings animation did not look good.
• THE ENDINGS!  Sorry for the caps but it needs to be highlighted to the utmost degree. Completely throwing away any action taken in previous games and this game and forcing the player into three different types of failures. There are so many things wrong with the endings, not with them inthemselves but that they´re the only ones. I was dead-set on Shepard sacrificing himself to save the galaxy, but the fact that whatever you do destroys the mass relays, plunges the galaxy to a primitive state and strands all those armies in the Sol system just does not compute as the best possible scenario. I wanted to play through all three games in sequence several times, but knowing that whatever I do the best I can hope for is barely surviving but never seeing the family I gathered during 5 years again just does not entice. There should be more options, as well as a "best of all" scenario where Shepard survives, Mass relays survive but friends die and worlds are destroyed... but hope remains. This has gutted me to the point where I regreted the investment of time and money I spent over these 5 years (3xME1, 2xME2, 2xME3, 3 books, litographs, hoodie) because I felt betrayed by the narrow variations of outcome. Endings should range from total reaper victory, several shades of in between (current ones) and a victorious "happily forever after with reservations" one for those that put down the time and effort into their playthroughs (not counting mp). Just bringind things to closure with an epilogue of what actually happened to all these characters you tried so hard to get me invested in over the years etc.

Closing word:

Mass Effect has been a fascination of mine since I picked up the first one when it launched on PC, I had never touched RPG´s before but that game peaked my interest and since then I´ve been all over the genre and anything from Bioware (that releases on PC). In anticipation of the 2nd game I was ill for 2 weeks prior to launch, food had no taste and my mind was whirling with possibilities in expectations. I tempered myself in anticipation for the 3rd but in the days leading up I was giddy for several days in a row, much to the amusement of my peers.

I found myself getting the chills, watery eyes, holding my hand in front of my mouth in disbelief and praising this game all throughout... until the endings. I have now resorted to denying the ending in the game as real, Sheppard passes out when hit by Harbinger and has a dream. I make up the real ending in my head and now I dont feel as dissapointed and might just play all three games again. It is really a shame that a couple of minutes can destroy a memory so fond I get a simular feeling in my belly when thinking back on my time with the first 2 games, as when you´re recently in love.

Just to throw it in there my different Shep endings will range from:
-Total failure.
-Sacrifice on the citadel blowing myself up to bring down Reaper shields.
-Same as previous but with love interest present.
-Die from wounds holding/in the arms of -love interest.
-All council homeworlds are devestated, Anderson is dead but Shepard survives as does most of his crew and lives happily forever after. 
-And to be completely silly, point out he co-operation of Quarians & Geth as making the creepy child AI´s argument invalid causing it to self destroy itself and all the reapers due to "does not compute".

Modifié par wollert, 09 mars 2012 - 03:48 .

[xiaoassassin]

Game 8.5/10

Ending 0/10

[Tyranniac]

FlamingFlyingV wrote...

Bioware, ME3 was seriously the best game I had ever played up until the endings. After TIM's base, I felt like the Reapers could really be beat and that we could save Earth, and that Shepard and Kaidan could have a future together (that romance arc was amazing by the way), but there was this feeling of dread in my stomach. A friend of mine who I had introduced to the series had messaged me a couple hours earlier on Facebook, pretty much pleading with me to try to get the best ending possible. She had read spoilers and even she, someone who is just now on ME1, sat down and cried about them.

So, I took out my laptop and looked ahead at the endings. I too was brought to tears at the thought of my Shepard's story ending like that.

I'm never going to finish the game now. Not until a DLC comes out where the ending is fixed. I don't care if you're pulling a Bethesda, I want it fixed, and so do everyone else who's played the game.

Quoting Jensen Ackles's character on Supernatural; "We've been though enough"

Most of the game, up until the endings: 9/10
The ends themselves: 1/10

This sums it up for me as well. Why? Why?!

[Xerxes Black]

I am currently going to college hoping to be a writer in the game industry. Bioware was one of my top 5 companies that I thought I could only dream of working at. Mass effect 3 was going to be my game of the year, 5 stars, two thumbs way up... until the ending.

SPOILERS!

Don't get me wrong, i knew/expected my Shep to die ever since thane's death. I might have watched a "happily ever after ending" but unless shep died to save everything it wouldn't have seemed right. Hell, every character I saw die was very well done and felt true to the story. But then the ending came along... God... Dues ex machina? Really? The child from the dreams wasn't just emotionally repressed stress? he was actually suppose to be foreshadowing of... a blue baby god/creator of the reapers? Ok, ok... they did hint at it with the VI on Thessia talking about some overall master behind the infinite cycles... but this? The reapers having a law vs. chaos complex jived with me. But the little blue child's reasoning makes no sense at all to me. here is why.

Organics always create synthetics. They will also eventually fight. So to stop this i made an army of super synthetics to kill all organics every 50,000 years and use their biomass to make more super synthetics so that they will not make synthetics that will try to kill them...

Need i explain why this reasoning is... well unbefitting of a apparent god? With this in mind, why did we not get to point out this crap to this blue child? Not beg for him to see "reason" and let us choose for ourselves, nor roar in defiance, but point out the fact that this makes no sense and he needs to extrapolate more.

Ok. I can't dwell on this any longer, too much disapiontment. Bioware, from one writer to another, just because a predictable ending seems too easy/clithe'/whatever doesn't mean it is the wrong ending. The reason so many great works have these easy/clithe'/whatever endings is because they work and satisfy the audience. Which in your line of work is your job.

[Kroot_Empire]

OMG BIOWARE, DAT ENDING OMG, sorry but it so bad it destroyed all replay value, do a update or anything but fix this thing, it horrible, just update that ending, give us 2 more choice and put a epilogue and evryone will be happy. It not THAT hard to do, or else fan will do it for sure.

[Nonsense4]

I appreciate that with so many variables (squaddies, choices etc. etc.) it was a big ask to make this a great game - and it isn't so surprising that you failed at it. You delivered too much tension and not enough relief. Yeah, end of the world, I know - but where's the hope? The game says the word a few times, but I don't see it anywhere but in Paragon Shep's deluded and probably clinically insane eyes.

When I play a game, I don't mind being thrown a few loops, but I came out of my one and only playthrough feeling like a battery of root-canals would be a pleasant change. I feel so sick thinking about how much I looked forward to this game, about the months I spent on ME2 building Shepards that will never be played. It's probably my own fault, for liking to be happy so much. Yeah. Stupid computers.

In any case, I'll look over here every now and then to check out the DLCs, but I likely won't buy and/or play them and I'll remind myself of this every time I think about buying another Bioware game. Obviously, you don't suit me - like an allergy.

My own personal review for you is 3/10. I got some minor enjoyment out of certain parts, but overall I wish I had never bought this game.

[Captain_Obvious]

70/100

I like the character creation and how your level imports from ME2.  I'm not crazy about the weight of weapons but I think all Shepards being able to equip what they want is a fair trade-off to cool down times.  Imported faces look, well, disturbing, but it's not been really an issue for me.   

The leveling system is much better than ME2 since now I didn't have any "stranded points" that I couldn't use.  +5 for fixing that. 

There was a distinct lack of neutral options, no attempt to allow Shepard to develop as a balance between paragon or renegade.  -5 points for that.

The action was improved, but near the end of the game the action was overwhelming for an RPG.  The last hour is pure shooter, for good or bad.  To me it was too action, not enough role-playing.  -5 points for that. 

The scanning system was much improved, and the threat of the reapers finding you as you scanned was both frustrating and exciting.  Many of the scanning quests were a little too much like the fed-ex quests in DA2.  I'll say that's neutral. 

The cameos were nice, but felt contrived to a certain extent.  I think this is more the fault of ME2's large crew, and Bioware trying to deliver on resolving outstanding relationships.  I'm going to say that's neutral. 

The squad as a whole just did not resonate with me, but I think that's more a one-playthrough thing.  Again, I'll give that a neither good nor bad rating. 

The ending gets a whopping -25 points from me.  The ending is so completely unsatisfying as to detract from the game experience as a whole.  I have absolutely no desire to replay the game because the ending will not substantially change.  I have no desire to import any more Shepards and "try again" because I know that nothing relevant will come of it.  I have no desire to explore relationships with new squadmates like Vega because in the end it won't matter.  

All in all, the game was pretty fantastic, but the ending killed all replayability for me.   Thanks to Bioware for making a great game.  It's just not one that I will be playing again.   

[hroshagul]

 To everyone who is disappointed with the ending please join us in a unified group to present to Bioware  www.facebook.com/DemandABetterEndingToMassEffect3  
https://twitter.com/#!/RetakeME3

[Isis 524]

I'd give it a 4/10
I'm not goin to rant about the endings, that's all been said. They ruined the ME universe.
Character development and LI scenes were good, even though your ME2 squadmates were pretty much screwed. Graphics are mediocre, and the quest glitches & import tool need patching.
Oddly enough, if not for the multiplayer, it would have gotten a 1/10. I was not a fan of them adding it in, but somehow it makes it feel like the universe is still together in some way.

[rinoe]

hroshagul wrote...

 To everyone who is disappointed with the ending please join us in a unified group to present to Bioware  www.facebook.com/DemandABetterEndingToMassEffect3  
https://twitter.com/#!/RetakeME3

I was so against the FB, but I will make an account just for that reason.

Bioware - Why can't you make ppl simply happy? Whats wrong with that?
Why complicate a simple things? Epic ending? This is epic? I don't understand why, if you just can put one with Shepard lives... why not? WHY?

Can you fix it? Is it still possible? Good ending DLC?
It is so frustrating. I'm sad. I'm not playing games to be sad....

I was so happy playing, but I can't play now, lost my heart.
I'm going to see a movie...

Or maybe someone tell me it is not true, please?

Modifié par rinoe, 09 mars 2012 - 04:37 .

[SLonergan]

6/10

In short, the gameplay was incredible (as always), but Mass Effect is a story driven game, and the story was ruined.

The endings managed to not only ruin Mass Effect 3 for me, they ruined Mass Effect 1 and 2 as well. What's the point in playing those games when I know that in the end my choices won't matter?

As much as I'm against the idea of a real ending coming in the form of DLC, I'd gladly make an exception for Mass Effect 3. Mass Effect was my favorite game series of all time until I beat ME3 last night. Please fix this...the Mass Effect Legacy is ruined.

I wish I had never bought this game. I wish I had kept my $80, and been left with the infinite possibilities of my imagination...

I wish my two favorite games of all time weren't just ruined.

Modifié par SLonergan, 09 mars 2012 - 04:44 .

[NeoVassal]

Good:
* How certain characters' deaths were handled - they were emotional and I cried like a baby, but their deaths "suited" their characters in ironic/realistic ways (BUT this does not apply to who randomly died on a distant planet of starvation. What the fudge. >.>+ )
* Weapon upgrades and a lot of different weapons - also able to switch them when you find a weapon in the battlefield instead of just grabbing that gun you find off the floor like in Halo
* Some of the writing was really good
* Romances were handled better/more fleshed out then "HI." "LET'S TALK ABOUT MY PAST." "OK." "I LOVE YOU, LET'S DO IT."
* That hunky, bastardo, Cerberus assassin. Unf.
* Laugh-out loud moments (Conrad being a genius, Jack and her kids, Liara and her father talking) to counter all the bleakness and emo-Shepardness
* A lot of sidequests (BUT see below)
* Combat is fun

Bad
* THE BUGS. Especially the ending bugs. Didn't you all learn your lesson from Dragon Age 2? God, what is with gaming companies now-a-days and their bugs? In my days games.....
* A lot of the sidequests were the multiplayer missions in disguise - even with the infinite ammo caches
* Journals don't track your progress and are very vague on what you have to do and how much time you have to do it
* The random, terrible ending. Garrus and Tali, the most two beloved characters in your franchise, DIES OF STARVATION? Wow. Are you guys trying to figure out how much you can push us before we stop throwing money at you? It was a kick in the teeth and completely random. Especially with how tastefully the other characters' deaths were handled - even Shepard's in some way.
* The plot. The Reapers' reason for killing everything is weak and their attack seemed so random. Really? No one was preparing for them? No one saw them coming?
* Space magic.

[Smeffects]

-To bioware

Let me get this clear, the game was simply perfect until that very spot. Lets focus on the ending and what was done wrong, what could have been done better and what was done right. (Spoiler, long post and bad english ahead)

The mission in cerberus base was really fun and tied some of the plot element togheter.

The mission in london was also pretty nice and hard on insane, serverd me right to have killed samarah.

Then running toward harbinger was epic, everyone dying around you, i figured while i was running harbinger was gona yell something stupid like: Sheppppaaaaaarrrrrrddddddd! But he actually stayed quiet which made him more manacing then assuming direct control everywhere. Also if we were gona fight his freaking avatar like sovereign in the middle of an invasion i would have face plamed. Well done on that.

The entrance of the citadel and the confrontation with illusive man was not bad either. It was interesting and much better then earlier idea bioware had where you would fight him like a boss. It would just be out of character and terrible. You made the correct choice here.

The very ending here is the very problem. Its poorly tied up.

-The kid is completly out of place. Why does the catalyst of a device billion years old have the shape of a human boy with a hood.... 2 ways to handle this correctly. Making it a VI like vigil that you simply cant see or investigate option actually doing something and being able to ask himabout his apparence, the logical answer being he took the form of something you know. The problem with this is that this kind of occurance in scifi do happen often. But to be realistic the hero will always wonder and ask about his interlocuter appearance. You have to tell your audiance that, because your audiance is the hero.

-The problem with the green/red/blue endings. Those arent bad endings per say and if handled correctly in the perspective of a game series like mass effect could have been just fine. The problem is that mass effect is all about the choice you made before. Hell i think for most of your player base the ending could have not been a choice and shepard could have died everytime, but their choice would have decided the faith of all your friends, while their war asset decide of the faith of the galaxy itself.

-The 3 choice of ending could have still been ok, but the problem is really no choice changes anything to anyone in the galaxy after the ending. Happy ending is not required here. Having shepard survive with enough war assest is also not good, again your choice did not have any impact. You can hit maximum war assest doing anything in the game, decided to go on a killing spree in mass effect 1 & 2, no problem youll still get max war assest.

-The normandy crashing. This one simply do not make sense, we are told its bugged right now because for exemple liara and edi(singularity, incinerate, overload= yeah on insane) where on the final mission with me, for all i know they died when harbinger hit us. But they somehow found a way to fly to the normandy and escape to the relay in the last 5 minutes. Which is also strange because the rest of the human fleet does not flee. Who gave joker the order to flee? Im sure hacket would order the whole fleet away if he judged the crucible dangerous but no, joker decided on his own that it was, whens the last time joker bypassed orders? Whens the last time joker ran away from a fight? Pretty sure he was ready to go down with the ship in mass effect 2.

Mass effect 3 ending did somethings right, but it went flat trying to force 2 things: Meaningful ending for the galaxy having a cliffhanger. Neither of these was required to make this story perfect. You had already succeeded in the first 20 hours of the campaign. All you had to do was show choice mattered to something in the last 5 minutes in a brutal and sad ending if you wanted. Happy doesent = good. Good is something else on its own and mass effect last 5 minute, simply does not qualifie as good when takken on its own and its simply turned way down by the fact the rest of your game was flawless story telling wise.

Score 8/10 for the whole game, despite poor quest logging.

1/10 for the ending, simply tried too hard to have the kid matter, even when it was out of place with no scifi style explanations. Forced a cliffhanger just to have one ( not everything needs one) Your story was good enough not to require any cliffhanger.

overall story: 7/10
gameplay: 8/10
Visual on pc: 8/10
multiplayer: 4/10 (simply not into these type of brain dead kill x wave type of games). If i want to cooperate with other players i want it to be story driven, which mass effect 3 mp is simply not. Or cooperate competitivly to take down other humans. The AI are simply never smart, making them do ridiculous ammount of damage on gold does not stop the fact that they are walking in straigh line and taking cover in idiotic way. Mabye if it was handled like bosses battles in most rpg where you need to play as a group to use certain tactics to survive. But its simply a run around and shoot em down coop with no story.

Modifié par Smeffects, 09 mars 2012 - 05:16 .

[Taure]

Honestly, for the first 35 hours and 55 minutes, it was the best damn game I have played in a very long time. Amazing story, gameplay, characters and just game in general.

Then we get the Guardian AI/Child thing and I am forced between 3 choices. I can't even try to argue with the Guardian that it is wrong and that my actions have proven that Synthetics and Organics can live together in harmony. Why can't I try to convince him of this and have him disable the reapers or have the reapers leave the Milky Way forever?

[Tigerjunky]

DONT FORGET to continue to vote on the ending poll to hope bioware changes the endings! Show them how we feel!

[Doomhams]

Firstly, the game play is good. Fixed a lot of crappy aspects of Mass
Effect 2, like probing planets for upgrades. Cash becomes petty
irrelevant, especially if you focus your purchases into one or two guns
and leave it at that. The added heavy melee strike I really liked. The
change to leveling up powers was also nice.

The glaring bugs
bring it down some. It was no fun trying to recreate my Shepard's
appearance from memory because it couldn't import it correctly. I
haven't messed with the DLC so I can't comment on that beyond what I've
seen.

On side objectives, it would have been better if the
description would update and let you know which ones are ready to be
turned it as you get their objective. It never seemed to do so for me
and it took some time to remember which ones I had done and need to hunt
down the person for and which ones I still need to do.

I can't
comment on multiplayer since I've only played one game, but it seems
like standard fair. It is a nice added touch though that playing in
multiplayer affects the single player game. I also like how it the idea
was integrated into the story of the single player game as you're
playing it.

The music was great, I thought that the scores fit
extremely well with the moments they were played. The scores themselves
were spectacular in my opinion.

The story was great for the most
part, except when it involves the end. I had played through the entire
series with near as a perfect happy ending I could manage. I had
everyone from Mass Effect 2 alive and it was nice to see the impact some
of them had, like Mordin and Thane. Makes me think of what would have
had happened had they not lived. Every moment was awesome, except the
end. I think the only thing that would have made it better would have
been to have Shepherd really showing the wear and tear of the fight
more. The dreams were a nice touch, but I think they were underdone. The
only thing I would have changed is adding something that explains the
origins of the reaper a hell of a lot better. These are a nemesis of
apocalyptic proportion spanning three games in one of the most epic
trilogies ever and we don't even know where they came from or how they
came to be other than some white energy thing's solution to a problem, a
problem we don't even know anything about.

The idea that the galaxy cycle repeats itself, even down to general
events that happen was very interesting and should have been built up
and used as a foreshadowing device for the end encounter with the
catalyst I think.

Harbinger
also having a way bigger role would have been nice. He was the major
enemy in the second game but is relegated to just being mentioned a
handful of times in this game.

The ending. What a let down.
Everything was great right up until it comes to resolving everything
with the Catalyst thing. Also, the crash landing on some mysterious
paradise world doesn't make any sense. The reason for the cycle also
doesn't make any sense in the context of the game. It lacks perspective.
The reason for the cycle is to prevent organic life from being wiped
out by synthetic life because they are destined to rebel against their
creators? This theme isn't really present at all in any of the games. It
has token moments of being suggested at best. Actually, just the
opposite was suggested and when that was mentioned I instantly thought
Shepard would be able to present that idea to the catalyst.

You
have the counter to the catalyst claims present very strongly in the
game with EDI and the geth. EDI was at first a rebellious AI when it
first became self aware on the moon that killed everyone present and had
to be put down. However, this was due to the sudden shock of becoming
self aware in a strenuous situation and was a lashing out in fear of
survival.

However, after she is shutdown and brought back in a
gentler manner in Mass Effect 2, she starts out as a standard computer
program able to think for itself and everyone is scared of her killing
them all, hence the shackling. However, after she is unshackled, she
does just the opposite of killing everyone and saves everyone. She is
then accepted as a person. In Mass Effect 3, she further evolves away
from the cliche'd paradigm of machine AI killing all organics. She
develops love. She evolves away from simple survival instincts and
develops a greater sense of purpose beyond simply being. She rejects
what the catalyst claims all synthetic life is suppose to be and she, to
use a cliched term, becomes human.

And the geth are even a
bigger expulsion of the myth that synthetics are destined to destroy
organics. In the first Mass Effect, everyone thought that the geth were
just hell bent on killing organics, which they were. However, we learn
that this was actually a small portion of geth and they only wanted to
kill organics because Sovereign wanted them dead and they were working
with Sovereign. Their motives were tainted. The true geth were probably
the most peaceful faction the galaxy has ever seen. They did not wage
war, the engaged in defense. From the beginning they did nothing but
fight for their survival. Once the threat on their existence left, they
stopped fighting. They turned instead to peace and improving their
lives. It wasn't the geth that made that war happen, it was the quarians
that did started it and continued it out of their ignorance and their
arrogance. They only thought the geth wanted to kill them all because
that is what they wanted to think. They were too invested in it and they
let fear control them. However, once Shephard got involved and talked
to Legion and he witnessed the key moments in geth history, he realized
the truth. The situation with the geth are the exact opposite of what
the catalyst suggests. The geth wanted nothing but to live and determine
their own path. They did not want to destroy all organics.

Here is what I would do for an ending.


After Shephard gets beamed up to the Citadel everything progresses as
normal right up to the point of getting to the console. As you are being
confronted by the Illusive man, instead of shooting anderson when you
do, the Illusive man does something else. After going through the
argument of destruction vs control, the illusive man sets out to prove
how much control he really has. He stands next to Anderson, poitning at
him and orders Shephard to kill him. Shephard try to resist but is
failing as Anderson is helpless but to just stand in place because of
the influence of the Illusive Man. There is one last dialogue where you
are presented with two choices: shoot anderson or shoot the illusive
man. This impacts the ending afterwards. However, if your renegade or
paragon are high enough (ie maxed out) then you can resist it all
together and break the indoctrination hold and become immune to it
through shear force of will.

If you have to choose to kill one
of them, then your choice in the end will be forced. After the choice is
made, then you proceed as normal with the crucible docking with the
citadel and the both of you are lifted to where the catalyst is at.

The
end here plays on what is mentioned in Thessia, the cycle repeating the
dicotomy of control or destruction and which is the way to salvation.

If
anderson lives, then when you get to the top the catalyst says that you
are here to destroy the reapers and that this is what the crucible was
meant to do, however, the destruction will be catastrophic as is already
suggested the relays will be destroyed, which would essentially make
life as the world knows it unliveable since all of civilization is built
upon and around the use of the mass relays. Anderson then enters into
some short bitter-sweet  victory speach thing about how they will push
on and they will rebuild and you both proceed to engage the destroy
mechanisms.

If the illusive man lives, then you both go up to the
top and talk to the catalyst. This time, it is revealed that the
crucible had been built up for the purpose of controlling the reapers.
The catalyst then mentions the same destruction dilema and the illusive
man iterates that they will rebuild stronger than ever with the aid of
the reapers. Then, with shephard under his control, proceeds to engage
the crucible.

In each case, the crucible only has one function,
either destroy or control, to represent what was the chosen path in each
cycle and to represent the fact that everything has been pre-ordaned as
this theme suggests.

However, if you have enough paragon or
renegade points then you can break the hold of the illusive man and
destroy kill neither of them. Then all three of you go up to where the
catalyst is at. The catalyst enters as a blinding flash and knocks
everyone unconscience. In this state you are met by the catalyst. The
catalyst marvels that you were able to break the hold of indoctrination
and even immunize yourself against it, something no one or thing has
ever been able to do. Shephard says this is the power of hope, a power
that can pierce the darkness to let the light shine through. The
catalyst dismisses this.

Shephard asks for the reason for the
cycle and the catalyst answers that it is a solution to what almost
destroyed his people, the first inhabitants of the galaxy. They advanced
so far, built the relays, spread their civilization across the galaxy.
Then, at their apex, they created synthetic life. The purpose of this
synthetic life was like the geth, aid them in making their organic life
better. This synthetic life evolved much like the geth did and
eventually an all out war broke out and the synthetic life was
exterminating all organic life in a brutal galatic war. The catalyst
then says that and they built the first reapers out of their own people
and with the power of the reaper vessels they were able to destroy the
synthetics. It was then determined that organic life was still possible
in the galaxy, however, they also determined that this outcome was
inevitable in the future. They then decided to begin the reaper cycle to
prevent the inevitable extinction of all organic life by synthetics.
They decided that they would leave the mass relays in order to guide
them along and monitor and return every 50,000 years, just short of how
long it took them to create the synthetic life that almost destroyed
them, and harvest the organic life preserving them in reaper craft and
then erasing them from history.

The catalyst then says that as
time went on, they weren't able to destroy everything. Scant traces were
left and it was just enough for the next civilizations to build upon.
This culminated in the current situation. They were suppose to be here
little over 300 years ago, but the protheans were able to create a delay
in the end of the cycle by cutting the catalyst off from the keepers,
which are the synthetic life that they created. Sovereign, the first
reaper, then had to formulate a way in which to restart the end
sequence. Once Sovereign made contact with the citadel, the first thing
it did was to reawaken the catalsyst and restablish its control over the
citadel. The catalyst then remarks that they would have succeeded if it
were not for shephard interveneing when he did, that they were mere
moments away from restablishing the catalysts control over the station
before Shephard intervened with the control program given to him by
vigil, something else that had been created through the ages, piece by
piece, each cycle adding the next component. The catalyst was awake, 
but could not control the station. He sent out a signal to the rest of
the reapers to awaken and harbinger began the work with the collectors.

The
catalyst then mentions that the civilizations of each cycle could never
agree on which course would lead to victory, control or destroy, so
they built the crucible to do both. At this point, the crucible is how
it currenlty is in the game. The catalyst says that either he must
control the reapers or destroy the reapers but either way the damage
will be catastrohpic as it will destroy the mass relays. Then shephard
wakes up. He gets both the illusive man up and anderson. They are
standing there and the catalyst is there in the form of the boy as it is
now. Shephard explains that he must either control or destroy the
reapers and says that this will also destroy the relays. The catalyst
says that if they want to end the cycle, these are their only choices.
They both go into their schpeel trying to convince shephard to their
side. However, a third option eixsts (and no not that synthesis thing).

After
talking the catalyst then goes to the stream in the middle, and stands
before it waiting for shephard to decide. If the player walks up to the
catalyst, they can talk to it. Shephard then says that the catalyst is
wrong. Things don't have to turn out the way that the catalyst says they
have to. The catalyst says it must, this is the only way to preserve
life, the only alternative is destruction at the hands of their own
creation. Shephard counters saying that this hasn't happened this time.

At
this point, the choices made in the previous games will matter. the
catalyst and shephard go back and forth, shephard trying to prove the
catalyst wrong. Each bring up key point decisions throughout the game,
such as choosing to save the council, what happened between the geth and
the quarians, bring up the past saying that one form of organic life
will rise up and destroy the others, etc, the catalyst trying to
convince shephard that one way or another, organic life will cease to
exist if it is not preserved as the reapers have done. If the player,
through the three games, has worked in a manner that promotes peace and
unifaction to a point of perfection, then shephard can counter each
point brought up and eventually get to a point to which the catalyst
agrees it is possible, but they cannot take that chance. Then shephard
says that they have acted out in fear the entire time. they lost all
hope and in their fear, they chose to cause the samething to happen over
and over, out of fear of the situation turning out exactly like they
thought it would. He then says that while they were paralyzed by fear
and are controlled by it, he has managed to unite the galaxy. The
catalyst says that he was only able to unite the galaxy because of the
reapers and shephard says that the only reason he was able to unite the
galaxy was because of hope. If it weren't for hope, then the people of
the galaxy would have never chosen to unite at all. It was hope that
defeated the reapers. He also says that the only reason the
civilizations preserved inside the reapers carry out this act of
extinction is because they are controlled by the catalyst. That without
the catalyst telling them to destroy, they would remember what happened
to them in their cycle and would not wish to repeat the act again. The
catalyst hears his words and is convinced. The catalyst calls off the
attack and releases control of the reapers, all of which act in a kind
of surprised manner, like having waken up after a bad dream, and all of
them immediately realise what is going on and immediately stop attacking
and leave. The catalyst then thanks shephard and wishes luck or
whatever.

Then some epilogue that has meaning with shephard
giving a speach about the way forward being paved by the strength of
hope and something. Perhaps some shots of the main characters of the
game reclaiming and rebuilding their lives or how they live in the
future. Something to provide closure on over three games worth of
attachment. Certainly something more than 'just one more story'.

Well thats the end of my schpeel which turned slightly stream of conscousness. Hope it makes sense.

[Aspex]

A Review 
Writing and Characterization
First off, I personally feel that it is unfair to say that '2 minutes of ME3 ending destroyed 6 years of Mass Effect', or anything like that.  Mass Effect 3 is, through and through, one of the most incredible games I have ever played, evoking all sorts of emotions and reactions I never expected to be possible.  

The writing is absolutely fantastic - the tailored LI dialogues and conversations were incredible in particular, the twists and turns were unexpected, the universe as gritty as it should be in a state of total, hopeless war.  Oddly enough, moments of pure epicness and astonishing quality were contrasted with incredible failure and poor implementation.  Enough has been said about Tali's picture, which I will not cover since I have nothing more to add than to that which has already been said before, though I should add that I have no issue with the method of implementation of Tali's face - the only thing it could use is a cleanup in quality of delivery.  Animation is, once again, Bioware standard, which is pretty bad.  The journal is, quite frankly, a mess to go through.

Which is why, given the amazingly high quality of the game as a whole, the ending for ME3 was such a terrible shock and met with such (justified) anger.  I will cover that in a separate section later on.  But ultimately Bioware deserves praise here - for all the fears of ME3 turning into a pure 'action' game, I believe a new standard has been set for the level of immersion and living, organic characters for all games beyond ME3.  The inclusion of squad members on the Citadel and at various parts of the Normandy doing various things was the winner here as well as the development of relationships between them, and for me was the best aspect of the entire game, and deserves significant praise.  

Gameplay and Combat
Although ME3 is much more linear in both a story and mission respect than ME1 or 2, I believe this was a good decision - with the galaxy at stake, it only makes sense for the plot to relentlessly drive forward.

The pulse system of scanning for artifacts/resources is very clever - it reduces the dreariness of probe-scanning every single planet for resources, but it also adds to the delivery of the Reaper threat tremendously if you use it too much.  An effective tool, and one that both contributes to story and ease of gameplay.

I was also very pleased to find out that powers and abilities worked across the board as opposed to only for specific situations as was the case in ME2 (such as Overload being completely useless against biotic barrier targets, i.e. Collectors and Eclipse mercs).  I feel that this offered players much greater freedom in choosing their squadmates for missions for story reasons, as opposed to being handicapped by the fact that they might have been utterly useless for a particular mission.  The allowance of all classes to use various weapon types at the expense of power recharge speed was also very clever, and was a major boost to custom playstyles.

The Ending
From my (admittedly limited) experience in studying English Literature, I can see why Bioware chose the endings they did.  From the very onset of ME3 with the fall of Earth and failing to save the young boy, sacrifice has been the predominant theme of the game, and the defining aspect of it.  We see it in how characters give up lives for the cause, how they are forced to leave the planet they fight for, how people die so senselessly under Cerberus.  

We see how Legion sacrifices itself to give the Geth intelligence, how Thane/Kirrahe sacrifices himself to save the Salarian councilor, how the hopeless charges after charges of Hammer at the very end only to die mean nothing in the face of the Reapers.  Sacrifice has been the key word of ME3, and it only makes sense for ME3 to end fittingly in such a manner as well.  

The problem, however, is that they are so badly done.

First, what is the purpose of an ending?  Sometimes it can be a bridge to another section of the story (as was the case in ME2, where the 'end' clearly shows the coming of the Reapers).  Sometimes it is to bring a final, definitive closure.  ME3, as the last tale of Commander Shepard, clearly fits in the latter, or at least is supposed to do so.  The end in ME3 is supposed to be -the- end.  As a result, it is incredibly odd as to why about 99% of everything that had happened throughout the story was left UNRESOLVED in the ending.

In fact, it is easier to go through what's definitive, simply because there are so few of those.  The Reapers are, invariably, defeated in some form or another.  Commander Shepard almost certainly dies (except for the reports on his survival following the 'destroy' option with 5k EMS, but I cannot verify that myself).  The Citadel and Mass Relays almost certainly stop working.  Admiral Anderson dies.  Synthetic life is wiped out if the destroy option is taken.

And...that's it.  What happened to Admiral Hackett?  The largest military fleet in the galaxy?  The aliens, stranded in the Sol system following the failures of the Mass Relays?  What happened to ALL of Shepard's squad members, past and present?  What happened to the Love Interests in particular?  Did anyone survive the final 'victory' at all to begin with?

Then there are several content issues.  Why do squad members that accompanied Shepard on the final run for the teleporter manage to miraculously appear ON the Normandy after the 'good' (control Reapers) ending?  Shouldn't they, along with most of Hammer, be dead?  Why was the Normandy even fleeing the battle to begin with?  it didn't help that the key difference between the endings seemed to only be colour as well, with little variation in actual content.

Normally, these would be acceptable to be left open as a plot device.  Given that ME3 is supposed to resolve the story, though, it is hardly justifiable to leave so much out.  It's one thing to use ME3's ending as the 'ultimate sacrifice' scene, and an entirely different thing to not give any indication of anything at all.  WIth the ending, more questions sprung to mind than answers - I feel this is unfair as ME3 is supposedly the final stage of a grand, epic story coming to an end.

Furthermore, the impression that nothing in the game matters with respect to the ending is fully justified, and the lack of player control over how the game ends is completely unacceptable.  This also happens to be the argument for a 'happy' ending, not because it will appease the fanbase, but because it is a right decision in giving the player freedom as to how Commander Shepard's story ends, no matter how much Bioware wants to push the 'sacrifice' theme.  Bioware did push the 'hope' theme pretty hard as well, after all.

Several thematic and symbolic elements do not make sense either, a mark of poor quality writing.  The young boy from the fall of Earth symbolizes without doubt the loss that humanity has faced, the shattering of innocent belief in the falsity of the Reapers, the sacrifice which would haunt Shepard in his/her dreams.  The boy represents everything that humanity and the galaxy has lost, by having what would have been their future (in the form of the young) taken away from them.

So why does the Catalyst (or the personification thereof) take the form of the young boy?  As far as last minute characters go, the Catalyst has to take the cake.  It represents nothing, except to have Shepard make a choice, and professes belief in the need for Order to prevail over the Chaos of organic life.  The discrepancy in what it represents is massive, and never addressed.  This, I feel, was the fatal flaw of all three available endings - an utterly new, insignificant and incorrectly portrayed character suddenly is the one holding power over what Shepard can and cannot do.  

I'll be clear - while on a personal level I would greatly desire a 'happy' ending, at a thematic level I would perfectly understand the need for there to be no option but sacrifice of self to save the galaxy.  There would have been no greater personfication of the end than Commander Shepard, who has to lose everything - potentially even the heartbreaking loss to the Love Interest - in order to save the future.  There could have been no greater dignity in death, no better cause - instead, what we are given appears to be a poorly thought out, poorly planned and poorly designed climax to a series so many have been eagerly following.  if these endings had been years in the making, I have to wonder what exactly the people set to work on it were thinking.  

To use an example: Halo 3's ending likewise saw the 'death' of John-117, in an act of self-sacrifice to ensure the Flood would never threaten the universe again.  There is much to compare between the two, but the key is in contrast: in Halo 3, we are given cutscenes, details and what happened at the very end.  Master Chief is honoured, there is peace between humanity and the remnants of the Covenant, the fate of each character is clearly shown and defined.  Halo 3's ending brought true closure, because we as the audience of the game know what the end means - Mass Effect 3 did not, because it ended off with one gigantic question mark.  My disappointment (and undoubtedly many others) was compounded by the fact that the game was -extremely- good, and writing throughout had been some of the best in my opinion.  To have an ending like that just seems...disjointed, and not representative of the standard of Mass Effect's quality.  

Conclusions
Of course, there is the argument that the 'canon' ending is much more mysterious and deeper than a gigantic troll move, and it may come in the form of patches or DLCs.  But that, of course, is another topic, and does not belong in a review.  

But at the end of the day, how can the ending be salvaged?  Simply offering a 'happy' ending to appease fans will not by any stretch solve the problem, because this is an issue inherent in the capabilities of Bioware's writing, not in the content they decide to produce.  The same resolution for Tali's picture can be applied here - cover all your bases.  The game was incredibly immersive, and there's no reason to break it at the final climax.  Simply by knowing what actually happens afterwards will be a major boost, and I mean more than simply the Normandy crashing someplace in the galaxy.  

I still have hope, all in all.  Bioware has shown that they can make incredible, emotional games like ME3 - now if they can salvage the ending and improve on the quality of other things like Tali's picture, animation, things that help in so many ways to engage the player in immersion - they can still retain the faith of their fanbase.

[Valk72]

Not even talking about the choice we made in the first and second opus, the fact that even choices from the ME3 are not taking in consideration for the end of the game is quite incredible, in the bad way. The biggest letdown about the ending is that the Quarian/Geth war outcome doesn't have an impact of the end of the game while it should. This part is even more important if the two races made peace because it actually proves that organics and synthetic can co-exist peacefully, and that the Catalyst is not exactly in the truth.

The fact that we cannot point this to him is one of the reasons, and for me the principal one, prove that Bioware do deserve criticism for ignoring a such simple and logical fact.