451 réponses à ce sujet

[Nozybidaj]

The Ocean Man wrote...

It's almost like video game reviewers are paid to give triple A games good reviews. But there is no way that could be the case. Right? /sarcasm.

I would hope by now most people realize review scores for most big AAA games today are based more on advertising revenue than actual merits of the game itself.  I'm sure the reviewers play a few hours of the games, but I doubt many of the folks reviewing the game ever even saw the endings.  They certainly won't have the emotional attachment to the series, and thus lower expectations, than fans of the series will have.  "Professional" reviews of video games are pretty much a sham, this certainly isn't just an EA/BW specific problem either.

Modifié par Nozybidaj, 16 mars 2012 - 05:52 .

[cipher86]

"Professional" critics don't play games the way the average person does. To the "professional" it boils down to mechanics and execution, they play hundreds of games a year and don't get attached the same way we do.

[Farbautisonn]

InvincibleHero wrote...

I got a new ending for you all that clsoes all plothole and lore violations. ENJOY.
New ending

1. Shepard dead squadmates dead with him

2. Normandy blows up exactly where people think it should be

3. reapers just want to have fun wiping out hated organics and robbing their tech

4. no choices at the end except two linear ones ala the first two games that end at the same place with cosmetic changes: reapers self-destruct or beaten conventionally

5. cycle is broken and reapers ended and BW determines the universe aftermath.


Any takers with their $10. NO anyone? Helllooo.....

It can get more grim and you'd have to say hey they did what I asked so that is acceptable. People would be even more furious so the real issue is we all actually know it.

-Id take that ending over the one we got actually. So if that was the "default" ending Id be impressed. If there was an ending with that and a small survivor base with the LI in an ilos-esque facility, I couldnt really ask for more. However since they dropped the ball, the ante has gone up.

[Getorex]

Obrusnine wrote...

Why is it that not a single one I have seen with a review has even mentioned the terrible ending. I mean seriously, wtf???

Adam Sessler in on X-Play literally said "this is how you end a trilogy!"

That one made me laugh, really hard.

That's easy.  It is one of several things.  First and most obvious is that critiques work for businesses that get money from game companies in add revenues.  They CAN'T give true reviews on how sucky the games are because they will ****** off the money train.

Another reason: The reviewer is a hack.  They aren't someone who plays the games with any devotion or investment.  They get a game, kick the tires, take it for a spin, then judge it on that rather than whether or not is makes sense, is self-consistent, etc.

Anothre reason: They're idiots.

There are idiots that claim ME3 is good because 99% of the play is "fun" with just the last little 1% sucking so they rate it 99/100.  They don't get the reality because they are looking at it as merely a run-and-gun action game and have no investment in the greater story, the history.  They have no investment on the emotional or imagination level so they get to an ending that makes NO sense, comes out of left field, violates the internal logic of the game series, and violates logic in the real world and they don't care because they got to run-and-gun.  Full stop. 

[Nightsider2169]

It's simple... The ending wasn't bad. It was beautifully written and sets the stage perfectly for future releases.

You all could have saving yourselves some stress if you'd simply paid attention to the hints and clues scattered thru out the trilogy.

Mass Effect 3 IS the best in the series BY FAR. Loved all of it 100%. Of course I paid attention to the story as a whole and I put the pieces together. Play thru all three again and pay CLOSE attention... You'll understand, and if you still don't, then once Biowares intended plan goes into effect you'll be kicking yourselves and we'll be there to tell you we told you so lol.

[Getorex]

I'm going to help Bioware out as well as any other aspiring codemonkey hacks here who many want to throw together a game without concern as to its ultimate quality. There is an ending that works on ALL genres. It can be used as is or with slight variations to fit into a high-tech scifi setting but it works. It works in love stories, mysteries, suspense or horror, or action-adventure. What you do is just as you are getting to the end of the story/movie/game, whatever, where we would learn whether the star-crossed lovers will finally be together, whether the villian will get his comeuppance, whether the mystery will finally be made clear, you simply introduce a piece of reality. Out of left field you have a 5 mile wide iron core asteroid slam into the middle of the Pacific ocean. BLAM! There. All questions answered, all mysteries closed, all done. The star-crossed lovers ARE together at last IN DEATH. The villian DID get his comeuppance IN DEATH (along with the good guy). The questions left unanswered are all answered because all questions die when EVERYONE dies. Ta-da!

For sci-fi you may want to dress it up a bit. Instead of a 5 (or hell, let's make it 10) mile wide iron core asteroid, lets make it a small stellar black hole that happens to drift in from galactic north or south and zips right through the earth. It is small and adrift so there's no accretion disc to give it away, it's coming in FAST from north or south so there no chance to detect perturbations in planet orbits. Clean kill. All mysteries, all questions answered and solved.

More sloppy is what the artless codemonkey hacks at Bioware gave us in ME3. That wasn't just from left field, it was from slightly left and out of high earth orbit. BLAM!

[LinksOcarina]

cipher86 wrote...

"Professional" critics don't play games the way the average person does. To the "professional" it boils down to mechanics and execution, they play hundreds of games a year and don't get attached the same way we do.

Again, not exactly true.

A game like Mass Effect you need to look at the storyline and delivery of dialouge critically, otherwise the review would be half baked. A good critic should know this, especially for a story-driven game that is an RPG.

[Getorex]

LinksOcarina wrote...

cipher86 wrote...

"Professional" critics don't play games the way the average person does. To the "professional" it boils down to mechanics and execution, they play hundreds of games a year and don't get attached the same way we do.

Again, not exactly true.

A game like Mass Effect you need to look at the storyline and delivery of dialouge critically, otherwise the review would be half baked. A good critic should know this, especially for a story-driven game that is an RPG.

Half-baked.  That is the only word that needed to be written.  "Professional " reviews at corporate magazines paid with advertiser dollars are ALL half-baked.

The ONLY reviews that carry any weight are those of users/gamers in the field.  People who actually PLAY them rather than make a hack business out of them.  Read the reviews by USERS at Amazon.com, Meta-Critic, Youtube, etc.  You get the REAL thing right there.

[teh_619]

Stanley Woo wrote...

Perhaps they had no problem with the ending, and/or felt the endings did not detract from their game experience.

Woo in all his glory

[Alright-Television]

I might be in the minority but I never expected it to end any other way. The moment Sovereign showed up and started boasting that the Reapers motivation was "too complicated for everyone to understand" I knew we'd be up for an extremely poor showcase called "BioWare tries to write their way out of a corner without ripping off Frederick Pohl's "Gateway" entirely".

So Mass Effect was always more about the journey rather than the inevitable lackluster ending I knew was coming. Chalk it up to apathy if you want. I simply didn't care one bit how the series was gonna end.

[AkiKishi]

Nightsider2169 wrote...

It's simple... The ending wasn't bad. It was beautifully written and sets the stage perfectly for future releases.

You all could have saving yourselves some stress if you'd simply paid attention to the hints and clues scattered thru out the trilogy.

Mass Effect 3 IS the best in the series BY FAR. Loved all of it 100%. Of course I paid attention to the story as a whole and I put the pieces together. Play thru all three again and pay CLOSE attention... You'll understand, and if you still don't, then once Biowares intended plan goes into effect you'll be kicking yourselves and we'll be there to tell you we told you so lol.

Ah you clearly buy into the "indoctrination" theory. The flaw in that is not 100% of people who bought the game are online and thus able to get the "intended" version. Those people will be very pissed off , and may even have grounds for legal action if this was indeed a plan.

[LinksOcarina]

Getorex wrote...

LinksOcarina wrote...

cipher86 wrote...

"Professional" critics don't play games the way the average person does. To the "professional" it boils down to mechanics and execution, they play hundreds of games a year and don't get attached the same way we do.

Again, not exactly true.

A game like Mass Effect you need to look at the storyline and delivery of dialouge critically, otherwise the review would be half baked. A good critic should know this, especially for a story-driven game that is an RPG.

Half-baked.  That is the only word that needed to be written.  "Professional " reviews at corporate magazines paid with advertiser dollars are ALL half-baked.

The ONLY reviews that carry any weight are those of users/gamers in the field.  People who actually PLAY them rather than make a hack business out of them.  Read the reviews by USERS at Amazon.com, Meta-Critic, Youtube, etc.  You get the REAL thing right there.

No, all I see is a sea of angry people with buyers remorse or an axe to grind.

Professional reviews are not half-baked, only the quality of the writer who is making the review should be on the table in that regard. Who wrote the review for Mass Effect 3 on IGN? On Gamespot? On Destructoid? On Game Revolution? Hell, it took me three days to write and edit my official review for BT, and I had to argue my reasoning for the recommendation because they felt I shouldn't give it out to the game. Giving it an 8/10 was tough, because I had to reason why it deserved that over a 7 or a 9, and why, in the end, the score is actually meaningless in the grand scheme of things.

The world is not as black and white as you make it out to be. I started out doing user reviews, but over time I realized the only way to do user reviews is to actually do them like a reviewer. Having a sense of structure on the review, discussing all facets of a game, showcasing pros and cons and doing research on the title. Thats a key one that people tend to forget. Having a one paragraph "review" saying the game sucks means nothing, its just some faceless shmuck on a soapbox complaining. Same with entertainers like TotalBiscuit, they express opinions and cater to their audiences, but they are no more professional as those on metacritic giving the game a 0.

In the end, you trust your gut, but don't be so quick to dispose the good professionals out there. 

Modifié par LinksOcarina, 16 mars 2012 - 06:16 .

[Getorex]

BobSmith101 wrote...

Nightsider2169 wrote...

It's simple... The ending wasn't bad. It was beautifully written and sets the stage perfectly for future releases.

You all could have saving yourselves some stress if you'd simply paid attention to the hints and clues scattered thru out the trilogy.

Mass Effect 3 IS the best in the series BY FAR. Loved all of it 100%. Of course I paid attention to the story as a whole and I put the pieces together. Play thru all three again and pay CLOSE attention... You'll understand, and if you still don't, then once Biowares intended plan goes into effect you'll be kicking yourselves and we'll be there to tell you we told you so lol.

Ah you clearly buy into the "indoctrination" theory. The flaw in that is not 100% of people who bought the game are online and thus able to get the "intended" version. Those people will be very pissed off , and may even have grounds for legal action if this was indeed a plan.

Indoctrination theory nonsense is rendered null and void by the "Last Hours of Mass Effect 3" leaked/released developer notes.  There is no indoctrination deal.  The end is what it is and intended to be taken at face value.  It was intended to get a rise (though I'm sure not the OVERWHELMINGLY negative rise that it has gotten).  Sorry, but 9/10 users HATE the ending.  The BEST numbers for the ending I have seen at 8/10 hating it.  

So, it's fine to be in the minority but if you buy into the indoctrination nonsense or that there will be something more POST nonsense ending, you are out of luck.  The developer notes make that clear.

[teh_619]

LinksOcarina wrote...

Getorex wrote...

LinksOcarina wrote...

cipher86 wrote...

"Professional" critics don't play games the way the average person does. To the "professional" it boils down to mechanics and execution, they play hundreds of games a year and don't get attached the same way we do.

Again, not exactly true.

A game like Mass Effect you need to look at the storyline and delivery of dialouge critically, otherwise the review would be half baked. A good critic should know this, especially for a story-driven game that is an RPG.

Half-baked.  That is the only word that needed to be written.  "Professional " reviews at corporate magazines paid with advertiser dollars are ALL half-baked.

The ONLY reviews that carry any weight are those of users/gamers in the field.  People who actually PLAY them rather than make a hack business out of them.  Read the reviews by USERS at Amazon.com, Meta-Critic, Youtube, etc.  You get the REAL thing right there.

No, all I see is a sea of angry people with buyers remorse or an axe to grind.

Professional reviews are not half-baked, only the quality of the writer who is making the review should be on the table dude. Who wrote the review for Mass Effect 3 on IGN? On Gamespot? On Destructoid? On Game Revolution? Hell, it took me three days to edit my official review for BT, and I had to argue my reasoning for the recommendation because they felt I shouldn't give it out to the game. 

The world is not as black and white as you make it out to be. I started out doing user reviews, but over time I realized the only way to do user reviews is to actually do them like a reviewer. Having a sense of structure on the review, discussing all facets of a game, showcasing pros and cons and doing research on the title. Thats a key one that people tend to forget. Having a one paragraph "review" saying the game sucks means nothing, its just some faceless shmuck on a soapbox complaining. Same with entertainers like TotalBiscuit, they express opinions and cater to their audiences, but they are no more professional as those on metacritic giving the game a 0.

In the end, you trust your gut, but don't be so quick to dispose the good professionals out there. 

Since when are game reviewers regarded as "professionals"?

I know they make money, but they're not the "professionals" you think they are.

[Getorex]

LinksOcarina wrote...

Getorex wrote...

LinksOcarina wrote...

cipher86 wrote...

"Professional" critics don't play games the way the average person does. To the "professional" it boils down to mechanics and execution, they play hundreds of games a year and don't get attached the same way we do.

Again, not exactly true.

A game like Mass Effect you need to look at the storyline and delivery of dialouge critically, otherwise the review would be half baked. A good critic should know this, especially for a story-driven game that is an RPG.

Half-baked.  That is the only word that needed to be written.  "Professional " reviews at corporate magazines paid with advertiser dollars are ALL half-baked.

The ONLY reviews that carry any weight are those of users/gamers in the field.  People who actually PLAY them rather than make a hack business out of them.  Read the reviews by USERS at Amazon.com, Meta-Critic, Youtube, etc.  You get the REAL thing right there.

No, all I see is a sea of angry people with buyers remorse or an axe to grind.

Professional reviews are not half-baked, only the quality of the writer who is making the review should be on the table in that regard. Who wrote the review for Mass Effect 3 on IGN? On Gamespot? On Destructoid? On Game Revolution? Hell, it took me three days to write and edit my official review for BT, and I had to argue my reasoning for the recommendation because they felt I shouldn't give it out to the game. Giving it an 8/10 was tough, because I had to reason why it deserved that over a 7 or a 9, and why, in the end, the score is actually meaningless in the grand scheme of things.

The world is not as black and white as you make it out to be. I started out doing user reviews, but over time I realized the only way to do user reviews is to actually do them like a reviewer. Having a sense of structure on the review, discussing all facets of a game, showcasing pros and cons and doing research on the title. Thats a key one that people tend to forget. Having a one paragraph "review" saying the game sucks means nothing, its just some faceless shmuck on a soapbox complaining. Same with entertainers like TotalBiscuit, they express opinions and cater to their audiences, but they are no more professional as those on metacritic giving the game a 0.

In the end, you trust your gut, but don't be so quick to dispose the good professionals out there. 

I absolutely DO have buyer's remorse.  So do my sister and father.  I warned them of the reality of the ending last evening - they wont be playing now even though they were full on with 1 and 2 and looking forward to 3.  I will be strongly recommending against ME3 to ANYONE who mentions buying it or asks me about it.  I am one of HUNDREDS of reviews at Amazon.com that have made sure that it has no better than a 2 star rating.  I am one of the many hundreds who tanked it at Meta-Critic.  The users don't lie.  The numbers don't lie.  Bioware lies.

I would like to take legal action to get my money back since they have gone full retard with digital downloads - you cannot return a digital download for a refund.  A feature rather than a bug from codemonkey hacks who merely want money but don't want to perform the tricks required to EARN it.

[Sharn01]

Stanley Woo wrote...

Perhaps they had no problem with the ending, and/or felt the endings did not detract from their game experience.

Hi, do you remember when you defended Dragon Age 2's flaws and told all the fans they where wrong only to have to back down months later?

[LinksOcarina]

teh_619 wrote...

LinksOcarina wrote...

Getorex wrote...

LinksOcarina wrote...

cipher86 wrote...

"Professional" critics don't play games the way the average person does. To the "professional" it boils down to mechanics and execution, they play hundreds of games a year and don't get attached the same way we do.

Again, not exactly true.

A game like Mass Effect you need to look at the storyline and delivery of dialouge critically, otherwise the review would be half baked. A good critic should know this, especially for a story-driven game that is an RPG.

Half-baked.  That is the only word that needed to be written.  "Professional " reviews at corporate magazines paid with advertiser dollars are ALL half-baked.

The ONLY reviews that carry any weight are those of users/gamers in the field.  People who actually PLAY them rather than make a hack business out of them.  Read the reviews by USERS at Amazon.com, Meta-Critic, Youtube, etc.  You get the REAL thing right there.

No, all I see is a sea of angry people with buyers remorse or an axe to grind.

Professional reviews are not half-baked, only the quality of the writer who is making the review should be on the table dude. Who wrote the review for Mass Effect 3 on IGN? On Gamespot? On Destructoid? On Game Revolution? Hell, it took me three days to edit my official review for BT, and I had to argue my reasoning for the recommendation because they felt I shouldn't give it out to the game. 

The world is not as black and white as you make it out to be. I started out doing user reviews, but over time I realized the only way to do user reviews is to actually do them like a reviewer. Having a sense of structure on the review, discussing all facets of a game, showcasing pros and cons and doing research on the title. Thats a key one that people tend to forget. Having a one paragraph "review" saying the game sucks means nothing, its just some faceless shmuck on a soapbox complaining. Same with entertainers like TotalBiscuit, they express opinions and cater to their audiences, but they are no more professional as those on metacritic giving the game a 0.

In the end, you trust your gut, but don't be so quick to dispose the good professionals out there. 

Since when are game reviewers regarded as "professionals"?

I know they make money, but they're not the "professionals" you think they are.

Well now here is a question then, how are they not professionals? 

I was hired as a contributor basis for one website, contract and all, with promises of compensation for my work. It's basically freelancing at its finest. By definition, that is handing in quality, professional work to a company. 

Once again, it boils down to the writers, not the websites as a whole. I agree, some writers out there are just terrible, and can't even formulate a sentence structure properly. That is something that needs to change, but since we get paid so little and anyone with a passing semblence of grammar and a passion or degree in journalism can do it can be hired. But to disregard a group of people as not being professionals...I don't know man, why do you say this?

Getorex wrote...

I absolutely DO have buyer's remorse.  So do my sister and father.  I warned them of the reality of the ending last evening - they wont be playing now even though they were full on with 1 and 2 and looking forward to 3.  I will be strongly recommending against ME3 to ANYONE who mentions buying it or asks me about it.  I am one of HUNDREDS of reviews at Amazon.com that have made sure that it has no better than a 2 star rating.  I am one of the many hundreds who tanked it at Meta-Critic.  The users don't lie.  The numbers don't lie.  Bioware lies.

I would like to take legal action to get my money back since they have gone full retard with digital downloads - you cannot return a digital download for a refund.  A feature rather than a bug from codemonkey hacks who merely want money but don't want to perform the tricks required to EARN it.

 


thats whats you believe, fine, but don't say that professionals don't know what they are talking about. Most do. Plus you got to deal with people who disagree with you, something it seems like you can't handle yet.

Modifié par LinksOcarina, 16 mars 2012 - 06:26 .

[AkiKishi]

Getorex wrote...
I absolutely DO have buyer's remorse.  So do my sister and father.  I warned them of the reality of the ending last evening - they wont be playing now even though they were full on with 1 and 2 and looking forward to 3.  I will be strongly recommending against ME3 to ANYONE who mentions buying it or asks me about it.  I am one of HUNDREDS of reviews at Amazon.com that have made sure that it has no better than a 2 star rating.  I am one of the many hundreds who tanked it at Meta-Critic.  The users don't lie.  The numbers don't lie.  Bioware lies.

I would like to take legal action to get my money back since they have gone full retard with digital downloads - you cannot return a digital download for a refund.  A feature rather than a bug from codemonkey hacks who merely want money but don't want to perform the tricks required to EARN it.

Someone really does need to test that legally at some point. DD is still relatively minor but it's getting bigger. There must be some sort of consumer protection to cover it.

[Getorex]

LinksOcarina wrote...

teh_619 wrote...

LinksOcarina wrote...

Getorex wrote...

LinksOcarina wrote...

cipher86 wrote...

"Professional" critics don't play games the way the average person does. To the "professional" it boils down to mechanics and execution, they play hundreds of games a year and don't get attached the same way we do.

Again, not exactly true.

A game like Mass Effect you need to look at the storyline and delivery of dialouge critically, otherwise the review would be half baked. A good critic should know this, especially for a story-driven game that is an RPG.

Half-baked.  That is the only word that needed to be written.  "Professional " reviews at corporate magazines paid with advertiser dollars are ALL half-baked.

The ONLY reviews that carry any weight are those of users/gamers in the field.  People who actually PLAY them rather than make a hack business out of them.  Read the reviews by USERS at Amazon.com, Meta-Critic, Youtube, etc.  You get the REAL thing right there.

No, all I see is a sea of angry people with buyers remorse or an axe to grind.

Professional reviews are not half-baked, only the quality of the writer who is making the review should be on the table dude. Who wrote the review for Mass Effect 3 on IGN? On Gamespot? On Destructoid? On Game Revolution? Hell, it took me three days to edit my official review for BT, and I had to argue my reasoning for the recommendation because they felt I shouldn't give it out to the game. 

The world is not as black and white as you make it out to be. I started out doing user reviews, but over time I realized the only way to do user reviews is to actually do them like a reviewer. Having a sense of structure on the review, discussing all facets of a game, showcasing pros and cons and doing research on the title. Thats a key one that people tend to forget. Having a one paragraph "review" saying the game sucks means nothing, its just some faceless shmuck on a soapbox complaining. Same with entertainers like TotalBiscuit, they express opinions and cater to their audiences, but they are no more professional as those on metacritic giving the game a 0.

In the end, you trust your gut, but don't be so quick to dispose the good professionals out there. 

Since when are game reviewers regarded as "professionals"?

I know they make money, but they're not the "professionals" you think they are.

Well now here is a question then, how are they not professionals? 

I was hired as a contributor basis for one website, contract and all, with promises of compensation for my work. It's basically freelancing at its finest. By definition, that is handing in quality, professional work to a company. 

Once again, it boils down to the writers, not the websites as a whole. I agree, some writers out there are just terrible, and can't even formulate a sentence structure properly. That is something that needs to change, but since we get paid so little and anyone with a passing semblence of grammar and a passion or degree in journalism can do it can be hired. But to disregard a group of people as not being professionals...I don't know man, why do you say this?

Ahhhhhh, so there you have it.  Self-defense, self-interest from a hack paid out of advertiser dollars to fellate games.

[dkear1]

Nightsider2169 wrote...

It's simple... The ending wasn't bad. It was beautifully written and sets the stage perfectly for future releases.

You all could have saving yourselves some stress if you'd simply paid attention to the hints and clues scattered thru out the trilogy.

Mass Effect 3 IS the best in the series BY FAR. Loved all of it 100%. Of course I paid attention to the story as a whole and I put the pieces together. Play thru all three again and pay CLOSE attention... You'll understand, and if you still don't, then once Biowares intended plan goes into effect you'll be kicking yourselves and we'll be there to tell you we told you so lol.

So the masses are stupid and don't like the ending because they don't get it?  Way to sound like a turd on a stick there spanky.

It could be we just think it sucks and didn't fit with the rest of the series.  You stick to your opinion and I will stick to mine, how about we leave it at that.

[LinksOcarina]

Getorex wrote...

Ahhhhhh, so there you have it.  Self-defense, self-interest from a hack paid out of advertiser dollars to fellate games.

If i'm supposed to be paid out of advertisment dollars i'm getting gypped, since all I get is a copy of the game for free and the decision to do what I want with it afterwards. Hell, we get no advertiser dollars for our website. At all. 

Maybe you should stop attacking folks and think about what you are saying, because all I am trying to do is showcase some common sense on the matter. But its clear you are very distraught so this is probably not going anywhere.

[Joker1117]

Not everyone buys games for the endings. Shocking, but it's true. The rest of ME3 greatly makes up for the ending, and that's what those critic reviews reflect. The story means a lot to me too, sure, but there's no way the last <1% is going to have a big influence on my overall opinion on the game when the rest kicks ass.

[Getorex]

Actually, I am navigating the labyrinthine EA/Origin website trying to find anywhere where one can get info on returns. Technically, ME3 is a defective product because they sold it without an ending. Apparently some codemonkey at Bioware goofed and slapped on an ending from a BETA of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, probably as a filler until they could find someone with skill to come up with a real ending that actually fit with the entire story, universe,etc. I want money back for my defective product. So do my sister and father. But they do not make it easy to seek instructions for this. I suspect for fraudulent purposes seeing as how it IS a corporation.

[OMGOSHNESS]

Ultimately, a 5 minute ending will not impact my feelings on a 30 hour game. Call me insane, but I don't play games for the endings. It's probably the least important component of a game to me, TBH. It's understandable to think the ending was horrible(I do too) but saying the whole game suffers from it is extremely ignorant IMO.

[Getorex]

Joker1117 wrote...

Not everyone buys games for the endings. Shocking, but it's true. The rest of ME3 greatly makes up for the ending, and that's what those critic reviews reflect. The story means a lot to me too, sure, but there's no way the last <1% is going to have a big influence on my overall opinion on the game when the rest kicks ass.

I addressed this earlier.  Some people come into a game as dillitantes who don't give a crap for story, don't care for character, don't invest anything but a few minutes of time to run-and-gun, FPS style.  Cool.  Go for it.  But ME was NEVER mainly designed nor advertised nor sold as a run-and-gun mindless game.  It was intended and sold to be something far more.  Something far different. 

My 100% HONEST reviews of ME3, unlike paid hacks ("professionals") has always stated that if you don't know or care about the series story and universe and just want to run-and-gun, then ME3 fits the bill fine, like Modern Warfare or Call of Duty or Crysis2, etc.  If you actually CARE about the story, got involved in the story both emotionally and imaginatively, then you will NOT like the game as it renders EVERYTHING (literally) you did in 1, 2, AND 3 up to the very end, moot.  No matter what choices you made, no matter whether you were paragon or renegade or mix of the two, no matter who you saved, who you killed, who you allied to, no matter resources you collect, no matter what mods you make to weapons, no matter what abilities you setup for yourself and squadmates, it all comes to nothing.  It ALL comes to the same end with just a choice as to color of explosions.  That's it.  The entire series wiped in an instant.  No need to import a Shepard at all so the face issue is of no account.  Start from scratch or import a beloved Shepard from previous games it all comes to the same steaming pile of crap in the end. 

THAT is an honest review.