User Score

Mixed or average reviews- based on 3437 Ratings

User score distribution:

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
  1. Mar 6, 2012
    I was such a huge fan of this series. Space opera? Sci fi? Really, it was everything I liked. This third edition severely disappoints and makes a mockery of the rest of the series. Bioware, as always, presents the illusion of choice, except in this game they make it obvious that it's an ILLUSION, and that nothing you do/did in the previous games actually matters. The lore established in previous games also gets overhauled. The graphics are mediocre at best - the pre-rendered cutscenes are well made, which is to this game's merit, but apart from that... No. This game includes many instances cheap emotional manipulation, and while I appreciate the attempt to be all-inclusive this game forcibly and unnaturally shoehorns in sexualities and gender issues which, if done well, would be marvelous! In this case, it is not done well. Overall, I am disappointed and upset. This series had so much potential, and I had such high hopes for this game. They have done to Mass Effect what they did to Dragon Age with Dragon Age 2. It's as if the makers of this game simply decided to go, "DING DONG WE WANT CALL OF DUTY'S AUDIENCE", and thus alienated their entire original fanbase. Well, it seems like they have achieved that, but they have also alienated anyone who would have been interested in player-driven RPG games, unlike the several we already have which follow Call of Duty's model. This is why this game gets a 1/10. It does not deserve anything more. It does not get a 0 because, to it's merit, the melee flows better, and as I said before the cutscenes are nice. The dialogue, character interaction, lore, backstories, and so-called player options did not achieve the same level of merit. Bad game overall. I am particularly bitter because I really liked this series. Expand
  2. Mar 6, 2012
    I feel awfully betrayed that the series went from and expansive sci-fi space opera with consequential choices; to a fairly streamlined action adventure with RPG elements. Its attempts at emotional manipulation are slightly hamfisted, not ineffective but very clumsily implemented and unrelated to my character's background - which I imagine Bioware has forgotten about at this point. The writing and designs for some characters also seems out of place, Vega is expected to be a bulky man but not to the extent that he's a jersey Shore cast member, the addition of Jessica Chobot and redesign for Ashley also complement this lovely little tan-orange motif. My largest qualm is with the Day 1 DLC - which I strongly oppose - by all means create new characters that are not plot-integral. But when you create a squad member who is heaily tied to the universe's lore and mystique and then aim to charge an extra $10 for it on top of the game's already hefty pricetag you know you fit a stereotype.The romance system is fine, although I'd like to be able to talk to my companions without the intention of making out with them. I wonÂ´t claim this is a bad game, however compared to the first installment it has lost much of its former glory. Buy it if you want, but if I were you IÂ´d either rent it first or wait for the price to drop. Expand
  3. Mar 6, 2012
    Poor writing and poor decision-making all around derail the grand finale of this series. The main plot developments are insipid and the character writing - normally a saving grace in even subpar Bioware games - seems anemic. This is packaged together with minimal evolution of the setting and little in the way of combat improvements, although some of the revamped character progression system is welcome. Overall the game is mediocre and probably does not deserve the score that I have given it - it might even have deserved as high as a 6! - but Bioware needs to know that it can't get away with such slapdash work. Expand
  4. Mar 6, 2012
    The most glaring problem with the game is not the horribly written and implemented ending, but the fact that 85% of the dialogues and scenes throughout the game are of incredibly low quality. The writing quality on some parts are excellent, such as Anderson and Wrex and From Ashes DLC. From Ashes DLC hands down has the highest quality writing and scenes and cinematics of the entire game, and for them to separate it from the normal game is just an abomination. It is completely unacceptable, an insult worse than all the step down in quality in overall writing quality compared to ME1 and ME2. One of the melee bosses you will see can run in a wall for 5 seconds straight, and just walk around spouting the most ridiculous ridiculous and stupid words that made me feel dirty from how amateurish the game felt, and because of some bug or "skill" he's able to swallow bullets with no damage sometimes, it is the worst combat concept I have ever seen. This game is flawed in its core, the story's foundation is flawed from the beginning, and makes pointless the entire stories of ME1 and ME2. There is nothing epic about this game, it is a husk of a game from a once-great company that will soon wipe themselves from the face of the galaxy by their horrible decisions to alienate all their fans with an iq above 80. Expand
  5. Mar 6, 2012
    A serious downgrade from the first two. Terrible writing, with a story filled with blatant plot holes and dull characters. I don't recommend you buy it, save your money for a game that actually had work put into it instead of a recyclable story in a dated engine.
  6. Mar 6, 2012
    I loved 1 and 2, but 3, it's not the ending, hopeless as it is, or day 1 dlc that i find bad, but it seems as if they wanted to make it as simple as possible for new fans, barely any choices in dialogue, some critical choices later on seem to have the same depressing effect. i know the galaxy is at war and it's a big desperate situation but can't there be 1 moment where it isn't 'well we solved that problem, many died, but now we have a new problem, and another, and another' it's a bit like watching a depressing film. all the choices you've made from 1 and 2, seem a bit pointless now, like stopping the collectors, it did nothing apart from giving people a bit longer, i can't even play 1 or 2 now, all i can think is whats the point in doing anything when death is coming anyway. i'd give it about a 6, but it messed up my love for the series, it's like dragon age 2 all over again. Expand
  7. Mar 6, 2012
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I can honestly say that Mass Effect 3 was the most disappointing game I have ever played. Even more so than Fable 3, which - trust me - is saying something. None of the choices I made in the last few games were visibly relevant at all to any of the gameplay or story. What happened to my ENTIRE CREW being dead in ME2? The alien bug infestation I released in ME1? None of it really seems to matter much at all. The game has been made much more linear than Mass Effect 2, which was one of the largest problems of the game in its' time. I am thoroughly disgusted at how much Bioware seems to disrespect their fans. NEVER should a game aim for a larger audience when it is already successful. You should aim on pleasing the fans you have, not aiming for more fans. Respect is always better than money when aiming to last long in the video game industry, but Bioware seems to just be riding on and abusing the former respect we gamers had for them. This ends with ME3. Never again will I buy a Bioware game. Expand
  8. Mar 6, 2012
    This game was rushed out the door, and it shows. The characters all look plastic and fake, there is seriously something wrong with the faces and how they don't match up to what is being said. The animations are lazy and jarring, the dialogue is uninspired and trite. It also becomes evident very quickly that this game has taken the "roleplaying" elements of the previous two games and turned them into a choose-your-own-action movie. What a waste. The action is big, dumb and meant to impress the ADHD call-of-duty crowd, but likely won't because it too is sluggish and sub-par. Not to mention the idiotic and confusing "galaxy at war" and "war assets" systems whose mechanics are obscured to the player, but are purported to have some nebulous impact on the end game. I can't wrap my head around so many bad design decisions. Why? Expand
  9. Mar 6, 2012
    I have never been more disappointed in my life. I absolutely loved the first two games in the series. However, I was a little disappointed with the fact that they dumbed down the RPG elements in Mass Effect 2, but I knew they would improve it, and the storytelling was still top notch. But now, they've released this, the Call of Duty of sci-fi games. There is still some dialogue there, but what is left is pathetic. The paragon and renegade options mean nothing anymore. The entire game has been casualized into explosions. EXPLOSIONS EVERYWHERE. I have lost my hope in Bioware; first Dragon Age 2, now this. Expand
  10. Mar 6, 2012
    Instead of an amazing finale to one of the best franchises in last 10 years, all we get is one big grim disappointment. Either way, endings can be described as "Life sucks then you die". Can't say this is what I was expecting. Ironically, it turned out to be that what Bioware was to Mass Effect is what Reapers were to the galaxy in game. You could say it's hard to believe that developers have dropped their quality bars so much, but after Dragon Age 2 and Old Republic, it was more or less predictable. Expand
  11. Mar 6, 2012
    This is seriously dissappointing and I've lost all faith in bioware as a rpg developer. They took what could've been the coup de grace of their mass effect trilogy and pulled a dragon age 2, just phoning it in completely. I'm not going to give it a 0 because no game deserves that, but after playing this for a while I can't give it anything over a 2. Shame on you bioware, shame on you.
  12. Mar 7, 2012
    PROS: - Shiny new cutscenes - Wonderful Clint Mansell soundtrack - Better combat, particularly melee (plays like the melee in Dragon Age 2, one button does everything), improved powers - Smarter enemy AIs CONS: - One button does everything in combat - Ridiculously **** dialogue - Forces sexuality into everything (I could give concrete examples, but I may give away spoilers). I will say this much: EDI, and, this small segment of dialogue: Shepherd: I hope you're alright, Kaiden Kaiden: Are you flirting with me, Commander? This is literal dialogue and not a joke - Rubbish, rubbish, dialogue. Cringe worthy. Nearly all the time. Some characters do save the ****show, like Garrus. - They actually used a voice changer (blatantly obvious) to use less voice actors (if you don't believe me, once you get to the Citadel you will be able to hear it) - Rehashed animations from the last game (lack of innovation) -Filters, filters everywhere -Cheap emotional pulls and attempts at emotional manipulation EVERYWHERE. It's like they used this to replace bad writing. - SEVERELY LIMITED DIALOGUE OPTIONS. If I wanted to play a shooter, I would have. Two dialogue options? Most dialogues with no options whatsoever? Poor show. -Totally retconns the lore established in the previous games Overall this game shows a shocking lack of attention to detail and blatantly ignores what the fans wanted (contrary to what the developers claim all the time. No one wanted this). The voice acting is stiff and so is the animation. Complete lack of innovation and the only thing they improved was the fighting - to add to this, they even used well-known stock images as some of their sources and the copies are glaring - look up "winter on mars" and you should see what I mean, if you've beaten the game. They force sexuality on the player, and if you reject it then the characters hate yours. This series has ended on a bad note. For fans of the series, it sucks majorly. For people who want a shooter, play Call of Duty or Gears of War instead Expand
  13. Mar 6, 2012
    Bioware's shot for a wider audience backfired tremendously. They focused to much about making a story-centric game, only to have the story, the dialogue and especially the ending be absolutely terrible, derivative and at times, off-the-wall nonsensical, from a writer's standpoint. Graphics are barely above the 2nd installment, gameplay is a mix between the first and the second, cutscenes absolutely everywhere and absolutely no sense of accomplishment by finishing the game. Couple that with day 1 DLCs and Origin's requirements and you've got the blunder of the year right here. Would not recommend. Expand
  14. Mar 6, 2012
    It's a shame that Bioware couldn't end this trilogy on a high note. The game is an absolute mess both in story and basic design. The Day 1 DLC is just salt on the wound. They also managed to remodel existing characters and model new characters using the likenesses of Jersey Shore cast members which look horribly out of place. Don't waste money on this!
  15. Mar 6, 2012
    Mass Effect 1 was an exciting, innovative new type of Action-RPG. It had an epic story in a unique, diverse universe, very good writing, great characters and real choices for the player. Little is left of that. In their desire to cater to the fans of shooters and casual games, BioWare has reduced the RPG elements, trivialized the dialogue and taken away much of the character development and choices that make a proper RPG. The story that started in Mass Effect 1 as an interesting and mystic space opera has been transformed into a predictable soap opera with mostly mediocre, sometimes outright terrible, writing. It might still be better than most of the other stories in video games these days, but that's of course not very difficult, and it's nowhere near the quality that BioWare used to deliver. Probably the worst example of the inability of the writers are the endings. On the other hand, perhaps they too were imposed by EA, to reduce the required work and costs. One complaint against Mass Effect 1 was the somewhat uninspired combat system. This had already been replaced in Mass Effect 2 with a clone of the usual cover-based shooters. Not very innovative and in my opinion still quite repetitive and not very challenging, but many players seemed to enjoy it. So in that regard, Mass Effect 3 certainly delivers the expected. But that's of course not nearly enough to make it a great game, and it's also not the reason why I play BioWare games or RPGs in general. Expand
  16. Mar 6, 2012
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Like many others, I have been a ME fan since day 1. All the anticipation and excitement fans had for this game, and Bioware chose to disappoint. Overpriced day one DLC is a pretty low move, but with the CE that is not an issue. And the DLC really makes no true impact on the story. As promised, Bioware lets you really get to know your crew in ME3 - but dialogue seems awkward and forced. Wrap-up stories with your ME2 crewmates seem painfully unrealistic at times. Gameplay is different, but not horrible. The armory system takes some getting used to, and instead of an improvement it seems like an over-complication. What ultimately ruined this game for me and alot of other fans was that, in the end, no matter what you did there is no way to end anything even semi-happily. I'm not looking for happily ever after - it shouldn't end that way, it's a galaxy-wide war- but no matter what ending you choose, everything, all the realtionships you built with your crew, and many of the decisions you've made over the years, mean nothing. It's all thrown away. You can save the galaxy or not save the galaxy - but either way, it's not really *the* galaxy anymore. To tear everyone apart at the end is heartwrenching. (As well as leaving some serious questions about their actual chances of survival, even if they *survive* the end sequence)
    The game may be over, but there is no closure. Could new DLC fix this? I don't know...but the replay value of something you know will never end well is very low.
  17. Mar 6, 2012
    Bought it, noticed that my savefile from mass effect 2 was ignored, as I had to remake Shepard's face, returned it.

    if you are going to make a trilogy, at-least make it work properly 'bioware'
  18. Mar 6, 2012
    I'm very disappointed how this series ended. There's plenty of flaws that one could overlook, such as the horrible graphics and the general awful animations. Doesn't change the fact that the story is one of the biggest letdowns in video games. What's the point of playing a Bioware if the writing is subpar?
  19. Mar 6, 2012
    is a disappointing game from start to finish
    mass effect 3 is the worst job bioware to date, being a waste of time to play
    sin duda el flop de este 2012
  20. Mar 6, 2012
    Greedy people demanding 10 bucks for dayone dlc. That is not acceptable. For all paying customers is should have been free. Just like in ME2. Also, the RPG elements are very much cut down, making this game more COD-alike.
  21. Mar 6, 2012
    Day 1 DLC, seriously? This is a disgrace! Bioware made 2 fantastic games in Mass Effect and Mass Effec 2 where you controlled Commander Shepard. Your Shepard. In Mass Effect 3 Bioware has taken the commander back. Many choices from the first 2 games have minimal changes with some flat out retconned. The dialogue is gone, even with full decisions on it's like watching a movie instead of an interactive story. Expand
  22. Mar 8, 2012
    My goal here is not to disuade anyone from buying the game. I do however wish to let every fan, who from day 1, invested time and emotional connection to your character know this: you will walk away absurdly disappointed. You couldn't live with yourself not knowing the conclusion but know this...It is the most lazy, ill conceived slap in the face conclusion ever conceived. I cannot express in words eloquently enough my disdain. The gameplay is improved, the graphics more polished, and you even have some real connection with your character and crew. But I am telling you, the conclusion undermines all of the relationships you've worked on for the last 5 years. For actual gameplay and enjoyment I would say it's on par with the critics, 9/10. But when you factor in that the whole point of the series, the culmination of all your work, is swept out from under you in one fell blow....well... It stands to reason that I'm giving this a 4/10. You(Bioware) cannot ask us(fans) to invest hard earned money and, if your like me, time probably better vested in family activities (I just couldnt put it down...sorry kids!) just to hand us an ending that 1.) Was ripped from another game, 2.) Gives no real choice(all the endings are essentially the same), and 3.) Answers nothing! In fact it leaves more questions than actually answers. So do buy it, just wait until you can get it pre-owned, or it's marked down. I'm going to gamestop tomorrow to trade in my copy, maybe give someone the chance to feel how empty and pointless their 120+ hour, 5 year journey is. And that's how I truly feel folks. One more thing, to the people hating the haters...I tried. Okay! I have loved my Shepard since I created her 5 years ago. The zeros, yeah, little much I agree. But there is no way the improved gameplay, better levels, and enemies( I have died a whole lot more in this one) can make up for Bioware completely dropping the selling point and ruining the end. Choices! Because the little ones just aren't as impacting as the grand finale...and we don't really have any choices there, my friend. Expand
  23. Mar 6, 2012
    I recall going to gamestop on the release day of Mass Effect 1 and picking up what turned out to be one of the best games I have ever put inside my xbox 360 game tray. It had story which showed truly got me involved in the game with the decisions I made actually making a difference in the way the story formed. the dialogue was superb and the voice acting was nothing but. In addition, the levelling system was fantastic with tons of different perks and skilltree options for the player to choose from. I obviously chose to purchase ME2, only to be somewhat disappointed by the lack of the great dialogue, options and skills which made the original such a joy to play. I soon realized that these choices were made in order for this game to appeal to a larger audience. I decided to give Bioware another chance at making the final game of the series. I was even more disappointed with the horrible dialogue which was used in the game. The choices give the player a false sense of freedom, when in actuality, the choices barely affect the story. In addition, Mass Effect 3 includes many gears of war-esque cheesy dialogue, which really got me thinking: "what happened to the great writers that amazed me in the first game of this series". The gameplay was also clunky with weird animations which just made the entire experience awkward. My entire experience with this game was ruined and I hope Bioware can find it's legs and create the great games which we are so used to them creating. cheers. Expand
  24. Mar 6, 2012
    The first thing that sticks out for me here upon purchasing it, it's suppose to be an emotionally driven game... yet EVERY character either sounds like a Vulcun or Data from star trek. The game has no emotion what so ever. I'm sorry, am I missing something here? I'm disgusted by the clearly paid off media acting as advertisements for the game rather than reviewers none of them even attempted to pick this (obviose) problem up. Collapse
  25. Mar 6, 2012
    Bioware made 2 fantastic games in Mass Effect and Mass Effec 2 where you controlled Commander Shepard. Your Shepard. In Mass Effect 3 Bioware has taken the commander back. Many choices from the first 2 games have minimal changes with some flat out retconned. The dialogue is gone, even with full decisions on it's like watching a movie instead of an interactive story. Add in mandatory DLC for the "best" possible on day 1 and what you get is a game that spits in the face of fans of the first 2 installments and ruins what should have been the best triology of games in the past decade. Expand
  26. Mar 6, 2012
    This is game had potential but it was ruined by bad writing, horrible Animation and plenty of other things, This game Doesn't even compare to the other mass effects or bioware's older games. Pick up this game if its ever on a sale under 20$ but don't you even dare buying it above that. Along with day one DLC and origin required for PC, this game was a massive disappointing adventure. If you are a hardcore bioware fan just rent it if you have doubts like I did. Expand
  27. Mar 6, 2012
    EA claimed that free, day-one DLC for new owners and online passes were meant to reclaim revenue "lost" to used sales. I never really agreed with those tactics; if EA thinks used sales are a problem, they should persuade the consumer to buy their games new, not twist their arms. However, it was never about used sales, it was about control. Their enemy isn't just the aftermarket, it's consumer choice, and the way they handle DLC for ME3 proves that. If you don't pay extra for the deluxe edition of Mass Effect 3, you have to shell out ten bucks ON DAY ONE for what seems like significant and interesting portion of single-player content for the game. New, used, doesn't matter, if you didn't spend extra up front, they'll juts try to squeeze it out of you later. EA are extremely anti-consumer, and as much as I love Mass Effect I'm glad they won't be able to use the series to bend me over a barrel any more. EA, you may make a little extra money now, but the customers you mistreat wish for you to fall apart and make way for better, more innovative publishers who will treat them right. Expand
  28. Mar 6, 2012
    The rest of Reddit is making their voices heard against this travesty of a sequel so i feel like it's my duty to help warn people of it's subpar quality.

    I'm not going to just say, it's **** because it has some merits, however those rest solely in adequate shooting mechanics that games have done better, back in 2006.

    The ending leaves people with almost no closure, instead paving the way
    for DLC and the inevitable next game in the universe to cash in on the name. The choices you make have no impact on the end result, nothing done over the course of THREE ENTIRE GAMES makes any difference to your ultimate ending, absolutely inexcusable and lazy.

    The characters added in are sterotypical in their inclusion (guy has to have xbox hueg muscles, chobot has to have **** bigger than what she actually has and have them poking out in a suit that's supposed to represent what a crew part of a branch of the military would wear as standard issue.

    The animations and graphics are also inferior to ME2, that i don't understand, how can a game, released 2 years after it's last installment, actually move BACKWARDS in terms of animation and graphics, i'd be happy if they remained the same; Instead, we get hands that look like they came from the PS2 and we get animations that aren't even taken from ME2, they're just haphazard animations that look slapped on without any refinement.

    Reddit can not and wil not let this game get the praise and perfect reviews it so unjustly is getting, how can a game that has a number of flaws still get almost perfect/perfect reviews?

    If people think these aren't being paid for, pressured for, or just written by plain old terrible "journalists" then they are retarded.

    and you are retarded if you buy this game.

    le Reddit will never bow to the pressure of people who insist on buying **** games
  29. Mar 6, 2012
    A massive disappointment, where is the rpg system? And can we speak about the awful story? A series that has declined every step. The dialogue is embarrassingly like the decision-making-system. Bioware has ruined a great game and a great saga, generating a simple tps...
  30. Mar 6, 2012
    Repetitive Gameplay, little has changed since ME2 gameplay wise; don't know why reviewers have given this game such praise when it's clearly no different innovation-wise and more of the same The only reason I even bought this game was for the Story and so far it's alright but I regret buying it since i could of easily of watched a let's play on youtube, saved my money and avoided this outdated mess of a cover system Expand
  31. Mar 6, 2012
    The facial modeling is awful; essentially everyone in the game has a screwed up looking face. The story is some weird romantic kinky **** This is not what AAA games should look like. 0/10: I don't think this game should exist.
  32. Mar 6, 2012
    Bioware has made a terrible game. Choices from previous games don't matter. Lets see the endings go from bad to absolutely terrible, so much for being an open ended game.
  33. Mar 6, 2012
    The game is a shadow of Mass Effect 2, which in itself was a shadow of the first Mass Effect. Almost all RPG elements are taken out of the game, even in RPG mode. None of your choices matter at all, in this game or previous games. SPOILERS For example, whether you killed or saved the Rachni Queen in the first game, the reapers either mind control the queen or find a new one, so you have to fight another Rachni Queen no matter what. Also you are forced to either be gay yourself or walk in on two gay crewmembers. I didn't find this to be that big of a deal, but this could negatively effect or even traumatize some children playing the game. I have been playing the game nonstop since I got it last night and just beat it, and I can say that the ending leaks are real. All possible endings are terrible. No matter what, the entire crew of the normandy gets screwed over and either dies or is stranded on a barren planet without any food to die shortly. Shepard dies in all endings but one. In the one ending shepard lives, the entire galaxy is stripped of advanced technology and is practically sent back into the dark ages. END SPOILERS What could have been an amazing trilogy turned into one amazing game with two terrible sequels. The actual game aside, there is a few hundred dollars of DLC and a very important squadmate is only availiable in the collector's edition which costs $10 extra. Unfortunately like this game, Bioware is a shadow of its former self. Please do not support them by buying this terrible game and maybe they'll turn back in the right direction. Expand
  34. Mar 6, 2012
    Almost no content, one ending, bland dialog, repetitive and incredibly easy combat and animations that look like the game came out in 2007 make this game look rushed. Do not buy this for any reason other than to see what NOT to do when making a game.
  35. Mar 6, 2012
    I still remember the day the very first Mass Effect game was announced. It was a day when the EA merger with Bioware was just a whisper on the wind. Though anyone who had read a sci-fi novel could play connect the tropes, it was still something moderately fresh for the mainstream. It's sequel followed soon thereafter, managing to hold its own in key moments, and leave people chilled for a third. I can say now, with total confidence, that they should have simply stopped there. I am extremely skeptical that these board 10 reviews are totally EA-dollar-sponsored free. This feels like the third cashout in a series of blunders by a nerf team that dares to print 'Bioware' on the cover of their games. When I wasn't watching the game effectively play itself for me, I was entranced by all of the thinly veiled fringe-plagiarism the game undertook with it's visual and story direction. That is, when it simply wasn't just agitating old wounds with the combat engine, breaking promises of your decisions mattering from the prior games, and bearing visuals I reveled at in 2003. Ladies and gentleman, this is a cash cow brought out to slaughter. If you came looking for a Bioware product that stands up to it's predecessor classics (ME2, BG1+2, etc etc), I'm afraid to say you've been utterly mislead. There are a slew of 0 bomb reviews on this board, but I genuinely believe a 3 fits the mold. To summarize: The combat is broken and incomplete. The story is practically ripped from the pages of classics before it, hopelessly juggling 'dark impending doom', and soap opera quality romance. The sound is an uninspired synth orchestra that we've all heard hundreds of times before. Stiff and utterly unimproved visuals hide behind a global darkening texture pack. I actually watched explosions in cutscenes that looked like .bmps. Completely unacceptable for a self proclaimed AAA game. If Mass Effect 2 was a space opera, this is the Bollywood re-imagining. I wish I had never spent the money. The disappointment takes me back to levels of walking out of the theatre for The Matrix Revolutions. Too bad this cost me nearly six times as much to suffer. 3/10. Expand
  36. Mar 6, 2012
    Bad ending to the series, even worse the developers are charging for day 1 dlc. could have waited another month if it meant getting my full game. Some design of the game was alittle off and some voice acting was very cheap
  37. Mar 6, 2012
    Overall, the game is disappointing, the writing is sloppy, the game play isn't perfect, the graphics are dark, dull, and bland, which wouldn't have been a problem, but I know that's not what this game should have been going for the immersion is also terrible, almost feeling like you're being forced to do something rather than having it be your decision
    the first two games are definitely
    worth it, however, this one, may have been better off back at the game store, your money spent on something better of course... Expand
  38. Mar 6, 2012
    The face importer is broken, if I can't play as my Shepherd, I'd rather not play at all. Truly disappoionting Bioware, sticking it to your oldest and most loyal fans.
  39. Mar 6, 2012
    nÃ£o gostei desse jogo cheio de conversinha fiada e vocÃª acaba perdido no jogo sem falar do protagonista andar sempre mirando...........bem que a bioware podia ter caprichado mais
  40. Mar 6, 2012
    >Day 1 DLC
    >1000 dollars worth of accessories tied with exclusive DLC
    >Endings that blow off ME1's Canon

    I was a fan, then this happened. Multiplayer is a step in the right direction though.
  41. Mar 6, 2012
    This game has been ruined by EA. The Bioware that made Mass Effect 1 and 2 is gone. Mass Effect 3 has been made to cater to the lowest common denominator. While the first one was a little rough around the edges, the second was perfect. Three however, is too far.

    In terms of visuals, they are too dark, made to look like the current CoD games. This is an RPG, not an seasonal shooter.

    Please EA, get your hands out of where they shouldn't be, and let game studios make games for their fans, not for your wallets.
  42. Mar 9, 2012
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. If you haven't played the game, why are you giving it a review?

    Having played ME1 & ME2, ME3 was a COMPLETE AND UTTER LETDOWN. My choices from previous games obviously didn't matter. Gameplay was only marginally refined over ME2. Character animation was still "off." Character development was only cursory in most cases. Story progression was there, to a point, then it simply dropped off the map. Did the writers forget this is the conclusion to an EPIC storyline? Having played the first two, I can honestly say I'd have been better off by 1) by not having played Me1 & ME2 or 2) not having bothered with ME3 and just read some fanfic. I'm not even concerned with the DLC issue (that wasn't an ideal situation, but meh). What disgusts me is the years and countless hours that went into this series, both in development and fanbase terms, and it was all for naught. If I had wanted all my money, time, effort and emotional investment to boil down into three ridiculous choices I'd have skipped ME3. I'd honestly have been better served by dusting off my DEM:GOTYE, reinstalling it, and playing it. Gay/Lesbian romance? Didn't bother me (and I'm straight), but shoehorning in a homosexual romance when none previously existed absolutely reeked of political scheming. The storyline was okay through most of the game, but was lacking in the depth and scope of its predecessors. For any other developer, this wouldn't be an issue, but for Bioware, known for its incredible writing, this is unforgivable. NONE of the endings ties into the Mass Effect series. It's nothing more than a blatant attempt to pass off laziness as quality work. I'm not asking for an ending where everyone lives and is holding hands, skipping through a meadow of daisies, singing "It's a Wonderful World." What I am asking for is some sort of thought process to be used. Who believed this was a good idea to shaft the fanbase/revenue-producer like this? I'm thoroughly disappointed with Mass Effect 3. This was a pitiful attempt to capitalize on two previous games (both incredible in their depth and scope) by half-stepping to the finish line...and I was suckered into the lie. Way to take an EPIC story/franchise and drive it straight into the ground. Obviously EA's influence has rubbed off. Shame on you Bioware. Shame on you.
  43. Mar 6, 2012
    Honestly believe this game is a solid 3/10 for its lack of gameplay and emphasis on cut scenes. When you make the story your main priority, you need to make sure it's actually good.
  44. Mar 6, 2012
    I feel awfully betrayed that the series went from an expansive sci-fi space opera with consequential choices; to a fairly streamlined action adventure with RPG elements. To start its attempts at emotional manipulation are slightly hamfisted, not ineffective but very clumsily implemented and unrelated to my characters background - which at this point I'm pretty sure BioWare have completely forgot that they even wrote. The writing and designs for some characters also seem out of place, Vega ( given his class and VA) is expected to be a bulky man but not the the extent he is a Jersey Shore cast member, the addition of Jessica Chobot and redesign for Ashley also complement this lovely little tan-orange motif. My largest qualm is with the day one DLC - which I outright refuse to purchase - by all means create new characters that are not plot integral but when you write a squad member who is heavily tied to the universes lore and mystique but when you aim to charge an extra $10 for it on top of the games already hefty price tag you know you fit a stereotype. I have no qualm with the love interest system, it was a nice feature in the last few games to add depth to the characters beyond some comments throughout missions, if anything I'd just like to interact with my crewmen without the intention of **** them.

    By no means is the game uninteresting but when measured against the vast and interactive universe of the first it dulls heavily in comparison, I'm not saying don't buy it - I'm just saying try and pick it up as a rental or second hand.
  45. Mar 6, 2012
    this game is not good an very bad desighn is copy to mass effect 2 story is very bad and etc One of the melee bosses you will see can run in a wall for 5 seconds straight, and just walk around spouting the most ridiculous ridiculous and stupid words that made me feel dirty from how amateurish the game felt, and because of some bug or "skill" he's able to swallow bullets with no damage sometimes, it is the worst combat concept I have ever seen. This game is flawed in its core, the story's foundation is flawed from the beginning Expand
  46. Mar 7, 2012
    I liked everything about this game overlooking many downsides until the end. Last mission with game ending were one of the worst things that happened to me ever. I just don't get it how an ending to 100+ hours beautiful experience of 3 great games could be so bad and uninspired.
  47. Mar 9, 2012
    Metacritic started to remove User Reviews. Not only gaming magazines and sites are nowadays bought with EA advertising money but also User Review pages delete User Reviews to please the great EA overlord. This is really poor. So I'm gonna repost my review and lower the rating from 2/10 to 0/10 due to the influence EA obviously tries to take on the consumer's opinion: ----------------------------------------------> First things first: NOTHING YOU DO DURING THE ADVENTURE CHANGES THE ENDING!!!!111111 The end videos are static and you do not even get the text boxes Dragon Age had. Even if you spend your money on DLCs it changes nothing. Also no matter who you had a romance with in ME2 its not gonna change anything. If you had a romance with Tali in ME2 don't count on her being nice to you in ME3. ---- This game is really a letdown. --- HAMMERHEAD LEFT OUT AGAIN TO BE PAID DLC!!!!1111 --- HUUUUUGE PLOTHOLES EVERYWHERE!!! Seriously. Whoever that writer guy is should take a serious break and start all over again with trying to make a good plot that makes sense and somehow manages to draw the player into it --- End sequence picture and Tali's face are just random pictures Bioware stole/licensed off the internet (google has them) --- A lot fewer People you have as squadmates to save money for EA --- Less than half the playtime of ME2 to save money for EA --- Really bad graphics when compared to many titles that come out nowadays. Not even any graphics settings on PC. Bad Frame Rates --- Repetitive gameplay from minute one. --- Repetitive enemies --- Bad AI --- Badly designed dialogues and options not telling you what you gonna say. --- Fewer places to visit so it saves a lot of money for EA! You can only buy stuff in the citadel. --- No character special missions so it saves EA a lot of money but less stuff for you to do --- Really bad presentation. Like the Normandy coming in like a WW2 bomber and dropping a bomb? Srsly!? A whole fleet opening fire and it looks more like 80mm mortars hitting something!? --- The endings are just lol. If you think you've seen bad endings try the ones from ME3. Biggest let down for a triology ever --- Bad Voice Acting --- Many bugs --- Uninteresting Characters Collapse Expand
  48. Mar 6, 2012
    This is it, this is where I say goodbye to console and multiplayer video games. We, as the consumer, have had our opinions marginalized because the big publishers have dissected us by every concept in Marketing. A lot of you complain about the abuse that is wrought upon us, but you still buy it. EA and Activision got you, just like the drug pusher on the street corner, and that's what it's become. I hate the "Random Loot" of the multiplayer in Mass Effect 3, when will I get the Turian Sentinel? Who knows? Just keep wasting my time plugging away on a worthless horde mode? Or play a single player campaign that is incomplete with open ended questions so I can be gouged later with even more lame DLC?
    We have to grow up and realize our childhood hobby has been twisted by corporations. What can we do about it? Support PC independent game companies, or just stop playing video games. Microsoft, Sony, EA and Activision are corporations, which behave as sociopaths of greed, only money is the language they speak. I plan on using my new free time to become a better person, not continue this self destructive path of victimization from corporate abuse.
  49. Mar 8, 2012
    StaleGameplay Disconnected Dialogues use of Stock images instead of making models for characters. Use of 4 frame 8bit sprites for the background. That is SUPER lazy. Illusion of Choice: no choice whatsoever, to roads which lead to the same road, and endings. Your choices dont matter Day 1 DLC. They remove parts of the game and make them DLC the very first day to gouge more money out of the customer.
    The gameplay is stale. this si a space opera/Sex simulator in space with stale gunshooting once in a while.

    This is my opinion. This is my review. It is hamburger-tier Entertainment. I give it a 4 for the graphics and the hilarity of the poorly written dialogue (and no, we're laughing at how bad it is, its not intended humor from their part).

    Please stop deleting my Reviews because this is my true, honest opinion.
  50. Mar 7, 2012
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. If you like Lost TV show you will love this game. If you hate Lost or Alias for its contrived ambiguous ending and if you think J. J. Abrams or Hollywood as a whole plays the viewers for a fool you will dislike this game. ME3 is a low quality game if you care about story and think your choices in all 3 ME games will matter and determine the game's ending. They won't. Your choices will not change the adventure. You will not meet your love interest, Shepard will die except one ending, galactic civilization will always collapse, Normandy will crash on an unknown planet, no FTL travel will be available, Shepard won't meet the squad or Normandy crew. Aside from that cinematic cutscenes and voice acting are top notch. But dialogs are cliche and full of Hollywood crap. The game is juvenile, not mature. It is also over dramatic and melodramatic. Gameplay is good, action is good but combat mechanics are clumsy because you use the same button nearly for everything. There is no happy ending, but actually there is no ending. You do not know anything about the fate of the galaxy when you hit the end. Crew members and squad's fate are also unknown. Bioware had promised that our choices made in this game and prequels would matter but they don't. You don't get any resolution. Game suddenly ends. Bioware wanted to appeal Call of Duty FPS fans. They don't care about RPG genre or older fans. They think that old people go but there are always teenagers to fool with shocking content. They thought that FPS fans won't care about story so making a bad ending and destroying Mass Effect campaign setting is good because it will allow them to create a dumbed down brainwashed ME MMORPG like the SWTOR. Ambiguous endings will allow an open ended MMORPG where developers and writers don't commit anything. Endings are ambiguous because 1 they want to please everybody so they cannot make a definite choice or ending and 2 shocking endings will appeal to script/plot poor people. Beta leak had better endings like ME2. There you could save your team if you did everything right. But here you die even if you do everything right. ME3 lead writer Mac Walters says journey is everything and destination is nothing. This is the typical volunteered mass consumption slave brainwash and whitewash behavior and an ill attempt of damage control. The contrived endings are probably dictated by Bioware or EA executives at the last moment. Because Lost TV show like endings are very cost effective and since they are not conclusive the producer company can create a totally different sequel which has nothing to do with the original Mass Effect premise but having the same name for branding purposes. So to summarize if you like Lost TV show you will love this game, if you hated Lost for playing the audience for a fool you will probably not like Mass Effect 3. Expand
  51. Mar 6, 2012
    I will start by saying, if this was a new IP the score would be in the 5-6 range, but it is the final game in a trilogy and therefore I have certain expectations going into it.

    First, the endings are just awful, so rage inducingly awful, like throw my controller through the TV for playing through 3 games to end with this awful. The dialogue is hilariously poorly written, as if they hired
    the lead writer from MW3 to write it. The choices made through the first game barely matter because everything plot important comes back regardless of previous choices. There are a bunch of shoehorned unnecessary characters such as **** McGee (Jessica Chobot) and meathead mcmulligan (Freddie Prinze Jr.). The game play itself is littered with terrible design decisions such as arbitrary timers, the scanning mechanic where you die, and the killing off of characters for unexplainable reasons. There is the stolen artwork for the ending sequence and Tali's real face. The DAY 1 DLC! I could go on for a long time, but I am tired from typing so I will end with this: I feel Bioware has betrayed me and the series by this atrocious bomb of a game and by selling out the franchise to EA. I was devastated by this game, and before it came out I thought Bioware could do wrong, but now I know to never buy a game from them again. Expand
  52. Mar 6, 2012
    the game is pretty poor with massive plot holes and bioware completely raping the lore of mass effect im pretty pissed at this game. forced relationships horrible bloody ending to a series that really had potential. bioware are a shell of there former selves most of the talent left years ago.
  53. Mar 7, 2012
    Compared to ME 2 this would be a 7. Compared to other games maybe even an 8. But compared to what was set up in ME 1 as the story, this is abysmal. Imagine Michael Bay taking on a sequel to blade runner, and you have ME3. The story is so ridiculously hokey that it might as well be a different game in a different universe altogether, because it's clearly different writers from a different company in a different country. Shame on you bioware, you have fallen. This is now you're 3rd strike, and it's servers as only proof positive that your games will never be what they should have been. You are no Irrational Games or Rockstar Studios, and you once were. Expand
  54. Mar 10, 2012
    From start to near finish, probably the best ME out of the trilogy, minus a few annoying characters (the Jersey Shore wanna be Freddy Prinze Jr. jerk Jame Vega and the horribly voiced acted Jessica Chobot look a like Diana Allers). And right there, you'd expect it all to mesh nicely and finally end on a high note. The thing is, it doesn't end on a high note. Or a mediocre note. Or even a note that makes any lick of sense whatsoever. There's absolutely nothing that makes me believe that this is how the ME universe was supposed to originally end. If this is what they added in at the last few months that they asked for before releasing earlier this month, then it was the biggest mistake they could have made. Because basically it invalidates everything you've done from ME1, ME2 and most of what you've done through ME3. So you'll excuse me if I think that, despite the overwhelming number of good things in this game, the 90% so to speak, it's that last very heavy and very important 10% at the end that ruins not only the entire franchise/trilogy for me, but the game here as a whole. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be leaving this negative review score here. P.S. I'm not a troll. But I am a very disappointed fan. Expand
  55. Mar 6, 2012
    what happened to bioware?i used to love them but after dragon age 2,star wars and mass effect 3 i am really starting to hate them.i am really dissapointed by this game.
  56. Mar 7, 2012
    Absolutely horrible, the first Mass Effect was good, I actually enjoyed it. The second one was a sinking ship. Now look what we have. Some space dating sim with shooting abilities. Is this the future of modern RPG's? (it's a rhetorical question, don't answer that). It's linear and the conversations are dull and boring . Can you imagine this game had a multimillion dollar budget? Look what they made. It's a disgrace and it makes me sad. And what about the first day DLC? What is this **** If you pay 60 dollars for a game you pay for a complete version of the game! I don't want to pay for a 56kb file to enable content in a game. At least the graphics are nice. Expand
  57. Mar 12, 2012
    Best of the series EXCEPT FOR THE ENDING! The foundation of this series was choice and it has been destroyed. Hopefully Bioware has some plans to address this in DLC otherwise ME3 is an epic failure.
  58. Mar 9, 2012
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I love Mass Effect, and I love this installment. It's great. It feels the most polished and entertaining of the series. I don't have any issues with the gay or lesbian scenes, I didn't feel like a political agenda was being shoved down my throat. What I do take issue with, however, is the ending. Without giving too much away, it destroys the universe everyone has come to love over the years. Your choices mean nothing, and, no matter what you do, it will always end in one of the same ways. Even though throughout the entire game, they're pushing you to get as much aide as possible, it doesn't mean anything if you don't get the bar completely filled. Mass effect tries to be Deus Ex, and it does a terrible job of it.

    If something was added to amend the ending, I'd give the game an 8 or a 9. Till then, I left the game feeling cheated of what was an otherwise spectacular experience.
  59. Mar 7, 2012
    Terrible game. The series has turned from a great rpg experience to a call of duty clone. The ending is ripped off of Deus ex and the synthetic/organic idea is copied from ttgl. Not to mention, tali's face and the ending scene were both taken from a stock image and a desktop wallpaper.
    Don't buy, none of your previous choices matter, dialogues choices are meaningless and the writing is
    horrible and awkward. Expand
  60. Mar 15, 2012
    If it were a stand alone, this game would be pretty good. If you've played through from the beginning at least once (about 60 hours just to get to ME3) this game will be a massive disappointment. Until the last ten minutes it is one of the greatest games I have ever paid. From then on it robs you of any significant choice, throws out years of great writing for over-done cliches piled upon each other and less of a playback of an investment than when Fallout 3 first came out. I have spared three of my friends the let down of this game, and would do so for you the reader. DO NOT BUY THIS GAME. Expand
  61. Mar 6, 2012
    Horrible textures, horrible lighting, horrible controls, horrible story, Day 1 DLC, $70 price tag for PC game, Horrible Origin. This game screams console port for the PC.
  62. Mar 6, 2012
    Strike 1: Adding multiplayer (oh come on really?) to a beloved SINGLE player series of games. If I wanted a multiplayer shoot em up I would play Counterstrike (don't even get me started on MW3). Strike 2: From Ashes DLC fiasco . Seriously? you're charging for DAY 1 DLC because you gave us multiplayer that we didn't even want in the first place? Strike 3: Boy am I glad I saw the leaked script and videos. "Yo dawg we made synthetics to kill organics, so organics wouldn't create synthetics to kill organics!" It's painfully obvious that the writing talent that made the first game so compelling is no longer involved. Maybe Bioware should think about hiring writers who, ya know, actually enjoy playing the games too. EA/Bioware, you have broken my heart for the last time. Multiplayer and Day 1 DLC I could *just* about have lived with, but the lack of choices carried over, and the contrived, lazy endings are a step too far. I will not be giving my hard earned money to you ever again. Fortunately I played a friend's copy of ME3 on PC (it's still the same game as X360 and PS3 - arguably the "best" version.. lol) and can get my online version refunded (thanks Origin 14 day return policy!). Oh yeah, don't even bother pirating. Expand
  63. Mar 7, 2012
    this game is absolute garbage. The writing is plain horrible. The dialogue sounds like it was written by robots or interns. The animations closely resemble Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney (before the 2003 renovation). Overall this game left a bad taste in my mouth, I want my money back EA and BIoware!
  64. Mar 7, 2012
    Game overall is good as expected, BUT... and that is a big "but"... considering that Bioware/EA screwed not only the trilogy but the ME fanbase as a whole by giving us exactly one ending with very little variation (and in every ending, not only is Shepard and his crew screwed, but also the whole galaxy for centuries to come) despite claiming otherwise for MONTHS and the fact that Shepard, despite all the sh*t he has been through finally mentally breaks, due to seing some random arse boy he met for like 5 seconds getting killed off by the Reapers (imagine you playing a w*nkster renegade Shepard who kills people for fun, breaking after such crap :D), I simply cannot endorse this game. Thanks Bioware for screwing your fans BIG TIME.
    btw, to those who think giving a bad rating is just because of the DLC 1 thingy... just wait for the ending. You'll get royally screwed as well. Don't worry. The sh*storm regarding that matter already hit BSN a couple of days ago.
  65. Mar 7, 2012
    I wouldn't have imagined that they would have went off the deep end when finishing the story. An insult to the players who played the first game. Bioweare needs to understand that it should have had it's intended story completely written before starting to work on this series. The endings make no sense, and they will only continue your adventure if you pony up for dlc, which probably won't be worth it if it is anything like the campaign. Expand
  66. Mar 10, 2012
    This game would have been a solid 10/10 for me if it were not for those horrid endings. They managed to keep me entertained and invested in the story until the last five minutes. Getting stuck with 3 terrible endings with the same consequences is a terrible way to end one of my favorite game series. Never buying another Bioware product unless this is rectified.
  67. Mar 16, 2012
    First I have to say in fairness their were emotional highs and lows over the course of this game that have never been matched by a video game in my life I laughed at myself even as I cried when characters I had grown attached to died. But all that goes to crap when you get to the end. The ending makes every single action and choice you have made in the previous 3 games irrelevant. No matter what everything ends the same and no matter what you do that ending is bad. Full of plot holes and bad. All those promises about choice mattering and a variety of endings are LIES if you don't believe me find the same 3 endings on youtube. All the same all bad. I can't even look at any of the 3 games without feeling sick. The replayability of the entire series ends when this game ends because you know no matter what you do THIS is how it ends and that sucks all the will to play right out of you. Don't ruin your previous 2 games by playing this piece of garbage. There are also a couple of buggy missions where enemies don't spawn and you have to restart and NOT kill the enemies, and Shepard does not run he/she floats with no footfall sound the lip syncing is immersion breaking its so bad. My advice to new fans get a different game. My advice to old fans. RUN AWAY! And don't look back Expand
  68. Mar 7, 2012
    Let me start off by saying, I adore the Mass Effect universe, and loved both the first and second games. Mass Effect three, on the other hand, feels like a watered down version of the previous titles. The areas are smaller, exploration is all but gone, and combat is easier than ever. I blazed through the game in no time, and felt cheated at some of the 'emotional' payoffs the story team tried to unload on me. Compared to other games available on the Xbox 360, its still a very decent game, but compared to the other Mass Effect games, this is inexcusable, and I'll never get the resolution that this series rightfully deserved. Expand
  69. Mar 6, 2012
    All the work I put into ME1 and ME2 feel like a waste. Looks like bioware decided to make any choices from the previous 2 games pointless so they could bring in the shooter crowd as evidenced by the new character added in the last of a trilogy so that anyone can pick this up a play. Why did I even bother with the first two then?
  70. Mar 6, 2012
    Why do I need to pay money for something that should already be in the game? It's absolutely preposterous. This isn't the only thing I dislike about this game. When you make a series you are supposed to build on each game you create, they have not done so with this game.

    Please, for the love of God do not buy this product.
  71. Mar 7, 2012
    The day-one DLC makes this a 0/10 title. Under NO circumstances should it be okay for developers to release day-one DLC unless itâ
  72. Mar 7, 2012
    as a competitive call of duty player this is my favorite scifi game on the pc

    i like how there are aliens and you can have magical abilities, i also enjoyed having sex with every crew member and i liked the vega character the most because i can identify with him. he is very tough and looks very good. i want to be like him one day. hoo-rah.
    11/10 i also liked the story very much, its about
    reavers that are like space zombies and an illusion man that is your father or something. and there is a really cool assassin called mai king, she tries to kill you because she works for the reavers.

    its a very deep game, i hope they make a sequel one day because i want to know what happened to vega. or a prequel that is more about vega. they also make an animated movie that is about vega, which is awesome, ill totally watch it with my dad.
  73. Mar 7, 2012
    As someone who really enjoyed the other games in the series, this is a huge let down. From the dumbed down story, terrible animation and graphic issues, and the gaping plot holes this game is just BAD. Truly disappointing. What a joke.
  74. Mar 7, 2012
    Painful. I loved the Mass Effect saga, but this installment utterly ruins it. It's an insult to gamers worldwide. Bioware approaches the story telling as if they are attempting to make a brain damaged turtle comprehend. Consequently, it is HIGHLY flawed, simplistic and lacking. An awful result. Addtionally, they have taken a break from anything that made the previous installments interesting and unique(choice-based storytelling; intriguing plot turns; emotional commitment) and replaced it with blatantly ostentatious cinematics that would only impress the aforementioned ''turtle-minded''. It's not just a shame, it's an insult. Bioware has gravely insulted and disappointed me by ruining what used to be such a great story. Don't go look for it and don't buy it. The only thing this game has to offer is a lesson in how blatant greed can ruin absolutely anything. Expand
  75. Mar 9, 2012
    What happened to Mass Effect? This was supposed to be the thrilling conclusion to a wonderful space epic. Instead we are given a game which feels like it was written by two different groups. The first 90% of the game (story wise) is compelling and exciting. However the ending and the last hour or so leading up to feel like they were written by someone with no understanding of how to truly write at all. Plot holes opening up all around you and with the endings ripped off from Deus Ex makes me wonder what exactly Bioware/EA were thinking when the final script was approved. The endings completely go against the spirit of the series and more than that they are all essentially the same my making every other choice up to that point completely null. I find it even more offensive that almost all of the RPG elements have become so watered down as to be unrecognisable. The conversation wheel which longtime fans of the series such as myself have come to know and love rarely shows up now. And even when it does all it offers is two ways to say the same thing. Even worse, your choices in the previous two make no really substantial difference in this entry either. Even the illusion of choice is gone. You almost don't get to converse with your crew at all. Instead your interaction is mostly limited to selecting them like you do with Zaeed Massani in ME2 and they talk a little bit while you just stand there. This becomes a big problem because ME3 throws in with no real introduction or background characters who are completely new or have only been featured in the Expanded Universe. I like the voice acting and appreciate that the world feels more alive now with background characters talking to one another when you walk by, that is when the sound doesn't drop out. It's unfortunate that the coders haven't learned anything, all the cut scene glitches are back in full force. Including the one where everyone uses the same assault rifle during the cut scene, regardless of whether or not they can even use one. It's nice to see all characters from the first two one last time, a little family reunion if you will. It's a shame that almost none of them will be joining your squad again. I do like the direction ground combat has taken though the removal of heavy weapons is another negative in my book. The day one DLC feels more like game content that was cut out rather than an actual add on. And having this nearly story essential DLC on day one is just plain greedy.

    Mostly though I just can't get around the endings. It feels like a punch in the gut to those of us who were big fans of the first two. It's so out of left field that I almost expect M. Night Shyamalan to be responsible for this travesty. It's almost like ending The Lord of the Rings with Frodo riding a nuke into Barad-dÃ»r with a cowboy hat on. I almost wish it would have been a Dallas-"It was all a dream" ending.
  76. Mar 6, 2012
    #1 No controller allowed for PC
    #2 The grfx suck balls for a game released in 2012
    #3 The story is boring by THE FIRST CUTSCENE (in other words it starts boring)

    EA ate this developer (BioWare) and they turned the good things going on there into mush. Mass Effect 2 and now Mass Effect 3 are crap and it is a damn shame because any real gamer who played Mass Effect knows how cool it was and
    knows how awesome it would have been if BioWare had just been left alone to do their thing. If EA never came along with their whore money then we'd probably just be seeing Mass Effect 2 right now and it would be epic, but instead we've already had 2 sequels and a Dragon Age game in the amount of time it used to take BioWare to make one real game. Add to that, Dragon Age 2 was as appetizing as cold puke.

    Well, that is what you get when EA comes around with their whore money. You get sold out. You get a game like "The Simpsons". This game sucks and I hate EA, like every other real gamer out there. Killzone 3 was far better than this drivel, this crap fest, and Killzone 3 wasn't the best showing.

    ME3 is a masquerade of a dead developers old ideas. ME was awesome, but it is dead and EA has been wringing money out of a corpse, much like a record label does to its dead artists. And, that is exactly what EA does, it buys talent and then whores it to death using only the name of something that was once great. EA may have a hundred thousand talented developers but it doesn't matter one bit. It is well known that EA rushes their games to the market in order to get cash. Their MO is buy a popular game and whore it out. That's what you have here ME3 is an ugly whore of pimp daddy EA, just wants your cash, doesn't give a crap if you come back for more ME4 or 5 because they'll have new whores soon.

    And, BioWare can kiss my ass too. Sellouts.
    Enjoy your yachts and whatever else you bought.
    I don't care. You aren't getting anymore of my money.

    You can feel in every corner of this game from the menu to the action that this is not a BioWare game. ME 3 is ME2 with a different story, there is absolutely no difference between the two. If you liked ME then you will hate this, just like ME2.

    Why are you so tasteless EA?
    Why can't you make a game that does more than taste like stale cardboard?
    I've got nothing against you except for the fact that you just SUCK at making anything fun.
  77. Mar 6, 2012
    I may not have played Mass Effect before, but on friend recommendation, I tried it just this once. I've heard of Bioware's reputation of late. I find it to be very true in this case. This game is rancid. Do not waste any of your money on it. As many have said, it needs work in story, character, voice acting, and gameplay. Ohhh yes, it needs substantial work in gameplay. I literally had to try as hard as I could to play through the game for the frist four hours, but after that I promptly threw the game into a fire and hid in a corner. Expand
  78. Mar 7, 2012
    Mass Effect 3
    Average User Score: 2.9
    Rather than trying to expand on the formula which set Mass Effect as one of those rpg-shooter hybrids which grow more frequent as the years pass by, Bioware decided to dismiss it completely in favour of Michael Bay-grade explosions and the like. Mass Effect 3 starts off almost a year after ME2 where Shepard has done nothing of note except somehow end
    up on Earth and is being trailed by the Alliance for the **** you've done". That's nice, guess he stopped working with Cerberus and the Council's spectre status meant nothing. Anyway, auto-dialogue sets in with little to no player input for minutes on end, probably one of their new innovations when impatient people found dialogue boring and then explosions occur and the Reapers are there. The entire galaxy acts shocked. Now, maybe I expected too much from the writers but the pacing is horrible. This isn't just for the intro--though the intro does a wonderful job of showing it--with the entire game having Shepard talking without the player's input and the game hoping to imagine you know **** when you don't before explosions happen everywhere. It almost seems like they were trying to build a blockbuster movie rather than write the end of the trilogy, Mac Walters and Casey Hudson being supervised by Michael Bay who's constantly yelling "MORE EXPLOSIONS" throughout the entire creation process. In addition to this, importing serves little to no purpose. Killed a character before? It's somehow back alive! Spare a character? Well, they died off-screen! The consequences which were advertised for years now, since the very inception of the series, becoming meaningless and serving nothing but wasting a writer's five seconds to create a new line for the sake of importing. I feel like I've been robbed, not simply because of my purchase of ME3 being a complete waste but the entire trilogy built up absolutely nothing. Unable to play ME1 or ME2 anymore, ME3 spoils the entire experience. If I wanted automatic dialogue, crappy plots and one-liners I would find myself playing Gears of War, least they have a slightly rewarding ending (Yes, ME3 ends on a downer note that tries to be optimistic and leaves you with hundreds of questions, none which they try to answer). Bioware has fallen hard as of yet, I don't trust they'll be able to stand anymore. Useless information: Gameplay is choppy on PC, one button covering a thousand functions reeks of bad porting. Graphics are worse on PC, shadows everywhere try to obscure poor textures. High Res Patch may be coming but it won't matter since everything is hidden under layers of shadow. Multiplayer gets tiresome quickly, essentially being singleplayer without the dialogue (oh wait, that is the singleplayer. lol.) which you fight waves of enemies with Hackett telling you to do things here or there. Level up system is poorly thought out, certain characters have huge imbalances and you need to sacrifice your MP character to get assets for the Single Player (REPLAY VALUE!!111 *cough* not). Multiplayer is also necessary to get the better endings, which is absolutely **** absurd. Day 1 DLC up the ass costing upwards to 900$ for everything. Mass Effect 3 is absolute garbage, as much as I hate to say it. Expand
  79. Mar 6, 2012
    Terrible writing, half-baked gameplay, Scrooge-esque DLC issues, and the removal of everything that was likeable about the franchise from before. Bioware is pushing the cart, and EA is cracking the whip.
  80. Mar 6, 2012
    At time of writing a major feature of this game(the ability to carry over your character from a previous game) does not function. The vast majority will play this game to continue the story with THEIR character making it arguably the most important feature in the game. How this made it through QA or was never tested is beyond rational thought. This is tantamount to selling something you cannot deliver. Expand
  81. Mar 6, 2012
    Mass Effect 1 was a great game and didn't deserve to end like this. Its like lovingly raising a son then having him backstab you when he gets older. Mass Effect 3 is a generic corridor shooter with pukingly bad dialog and a laughable story. The ending is like something my 5 year old niece wrote if I gave her 6 beers, yes it is THAT bad. Way to wrap up the story to your flagship IP Bioware. Day 1 DLC? We got that too. Anybody who supports this needs to have their head examined. I could go on but writing this is making my blood boil as it is. SAVE your money, DON'T support sloppy game development. Expand
  82. Mar 6, 2012
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It's eye of the beholder I supposed, because I've beaten this game and find it to be, at best, mediocre. The boss fights, aside from Kai Leng, were lazily created. (the reaper fight is awful, you find the reapers weakness and its never brought up again) The missions were incredibly linear and shoddily designed. The cyberspace stage made me want to kill myself it was so lazily designed, my god. The ONLY relevant item which carried over from the previous games regards Quarians and the Geth. That's it, aside from that it's throwaway lines and the same results as Bioware would have you get regardless. The story itself is silly. Honestly, Mordin's death was the only part which was really handled well. 5/10 game. Expand
  83. Mar 7, 2012
    Day 1 DLC aside, this game was quite possibly the biggest disappointment so far. The story and especially its end was an incredible let-down, driven by boring, static dialogue. All of the 'new' characters lack depth and character or end up being completely irritating due to bad writing. Gameplay is lacking, RPG elements almost completely removed and the oh so praised 'Cinematic Experience' destroyed by awkward animations.

    Try again without EA, Bioware.
  84. Mar 7, 2012
    Between the clunky and poor animations to the seemingly rushed, ret-conned and overall poor story ME3 was a real slap in the face. The games only redeeming feature is it's TPS gameplay and better example could be found in other modern games. The soundtrack in not memorable although the voice acting is par for the returning cast. Conversation options decreased to selecting either a Paragon or Renegade response and most conversations are automatic. Expand
  85. Mar 9, 2012
    In an early area in Mass Effect 3, you enter a group of rooms in the Citadel. There are over 40 NPCs there. You can talk with exactly two characters, overhear a conversation between one other pair, and, for the rest of the 40some NPCs, you can stand next to them, while they do nothing. Like Dragon Age 2, this game's not finished. The world's empty and cold, even though there are tons of NPCs around. It feels lonely, even when it's full of what should and could be life. Expand
  86. Mar 16, 2012
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Apparently, after DA2 and TORtanic, BioWare have now pinched-out another classic game, enhanced with Day-1 DLC, linear gameplay, ORIGIN for the PC, and a tripartite ending choice that makes many gamers, after having invested dozens upon dozens of hours of gameplay with the franchise, want to commit hari kiri. . . . Apparently, eschewing much player-choice in this latest sequel to the MASS EFFECT series, BioWare have included their "awesome-button" with this dreck, which might be better named MASS APPEAL 3, due to limited exploration, near-complete disregard for historical player-choice and odd design implementation. Aside from some XBOX technical guffaws, such as my femShep falling through the world during the Tuchanka Eve series with the Hammer activations, extensive plot-changing cutscenes with minimal player-input have derailed a MASS EFFECT series that was originally a player-driven RPG and not a combat-heavy, awesome-button homage to stilted dialogue choices with nearly-identical outcomes. How BioWare's continuity department envisioned MASS EFFECT 3's wrangling with philosophical, social and moral issues such as implied xenophobia, homosexuality, interspecies coupling and the biological-species-rule, while omitting or ignoring coherent closure with a myriad of player-driven endings is mind-numbing. Simply put, it is apparent that more design and interplay have been woven into the story arc regarding Shepard's "top or bottom" status than the ending of the entire trilogy. In other words, BioWare had the will, the time and energy to craft homosexual plot threads and allude to interspecies sexual trysts throughout the subtext of MASS EFFECT but could NOT be bothered to make any ending that had consistency with lore, player-choice, the intrinsic MASS EFFECT experience? This following observation might be simplistic; BUT, what kind of DLC should I buy for a universe that no LONGER EXISTS? -In other words, shall I play the game AGAIN and see if it turns out any differently? /facepalm. Expand
  87. Mar 15, 2012
    This Game needs a couple of lable warnings MULTIPLAYER AND PURCHASED DLC REQUIRED FOR THIS GAME. The final chapter of a very endearing series, to me, left me mostly disappointed. There is no transition in the beginning of the game from ME2 to ME3. You are given a huge plot hole to start the game that took me about ten hours worth of game playing to move on and get over it. The graphics are the same except that it has a much darker look closer to the original ME1. . The weapon's inventory system is mostly about giving you different benefits and not so much on upgrades. Just like ME2, you can only add upgrades to Shepard's armor and it is also all about having different benefits. The rest of the game plays out like what you expect from Mass Effect; get missions, blast away enemy, have some engaging cutscenes for the conclusions. Combat is definitley better. It finally ranks up there with the other top third person shooters. As far as story goes, Bioware still shows why they make the best "interactive cinematic experiences with a more intricate storyline backed up by great voice acting. But in this game, interactive takes a back seat to watching more cinematic cutscenes. The Love Interests don't make an emotional connection in any meaningful way. And the ending? There isn't any that will revel to you your final decision. I feel for the other fans to have to end the series like this. For me, it was disappointing. Expand
  88. Mar 6, 2012
    Repetition, repetition, repetition, talking, talking, talking, cut scene, wonky gun fight, cut scene, rinse and repeat. Save your money and buy Mass Effect 2 for a third the price! ME3 is practically the exact same game as ME2, besides the new online multiplayer "horde mode", but even this new multiplayer mode loses it's appeal quick, and i mean QUICK. Wait for ME3 to drop in price, or run out and buy ME2 used. Expand
  89. Mar 6, 2012
    Ignore the critics. alright guys mass effect, i'm sure everyone is going to get it one day. but reviews should be based on the retail price at release so here we go. ME3 is just like ME2, you get the goodies of character interaction, voice acting, and the awesome story. the combat has gotten a little clunkier as seen by the demo, but its not too bad. the reason mass effect is getting such a low score is how long it is.. you can do it all in 30-40 hours after that might as well sell the game compare that to skyrim's 170 hours, or dragon age origins 70 hours.
    do yourselves a favor, save $ and wait until this hits the $20 price it should have started at. personally i'l be picking up batman arkam city since it is a good price now (30)

    side note, didn't do multiplayer yet, but from the demo it will be boring in a day just play Horde in gears and you get the idea.
  90. Mar 7, 2012
    This game is nothing but spamware that infects your hard drive. It then tempts you into spending more money to "fix it". Disgraceful. Bioware used to be a great game company. No more...
  91. Mar 7, 2012
    I played ME1 and ME2 many many times. Both wonderful games. saw no reason the third game would be any different. Had the perfect character lined up to import. Purchased ME3 played a few hours, and now I feel awful. None of the choices i made in 1 and 2 matter, and I don't get to make anymore choices. all I get to do is play a terrible COD game. I feel cheated and heartbroken.
  92. Mar 7, 2012
    Mass of Dootie. Really sad...The demise of this series is reflected in the evolution of the overall art design. Smooth, idealized, hi concept grand space opera to the dirty, over buckled dumbed down gears of war shoot'em up. And while many will be quick to point out that such choices more accurately portray the realities of war, those same choices diminish the spirit of the Mass Effect universe so wonderfully revealed in the first game. (eg. heat clips for ammo control...really? welcome to the future...looks a lot like today...a high concept sci-fi design choice to reflect the time of the Mass Effect age removed to cater to common gaming conventions of 2012)

    The writing of the game suffers...players who started this series with the first game carry the benefit of that game's writing in the affection they carry for their companions. Little has been done to develop those relationships beyond the superficial. Writing is stock. Thankfully, at least for femshep, strong voice talent mitigates an otherwise uninspired dialogue. I could go on...but i won't: this game is a sell out we as gamers should have seen coming after Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age 2. Bioware has abandoned its roots.
  93. Mar 8, 2012
    The ending is so bad that it almost ruins the previous games. Thank you Bioware for all your empty promises. The choices you make through out the series, really don't matter at all you'll get the same ending.
  94. Mar 8, 2012
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. First of all I loved the first 2 games. This one was not as bad as Ive heard people saying. I thought the graphics were good the story was good and combat was top notch. The only problem I have is with the ending. You give me 3 choices all of them end up the same way? Like another reviewer said, what's the point in going back and playing the 1st and 2nd just to have it all end in the 3rd. It not only ends it ends badly. You get the same crap ending no matter what you did in the first 2 games or this one Paragon/Renegade don't matter. No matter how high your readiness is you still die. I think I would actually be ok with Shepard dying if it would have shown a hero ceremony, a funeral or shown my love interest (Liara) mourning my death. It would have given me the feeling that yes I died but I died for a reason. It just kind of cuts off at the end. You see familiar faces but they look as if nothing happened. Nobody looks sad that Shepard is gone, it's just back to normal. That is what ultimately pisses me off. I didn't get to choose my outcome, bioware chose it for me. I feel like I have wasted 5 years of my life playing these games, and now I wish I never played the 3rd one. I feel all who played it have been cheated. Unless Bioware puts in a DLC that fixes this horrible ending they will never get another dime from me as they have lost me as a fan and customer. FIX IT BIOWARE!!! Expand
  95. Mar 11, 2012
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Don't get me wrong, the game is solid 9/10 game until the very end. Unfortunately, the horribly poor writing and the illusion of choice in the final sequence â Expand
  96. Mar 15, 2012
    This game was awful. It was like watching one of those summer blockbusters (avatar the last airbender for example) where it's got all the elements of something you should really like, but it's just really poorly executed, and the ending is god awful. Don't buy this game, don't support this developer, they've just been going downhill since they were sold to Electronic Arts.
  97. Mar 24, 2012
    The ending ruins the entire series. I recommend that you avoid this game unless you want ME1 and ME2 to be ruined for you as well. Really disappointed in BioWare.
  98. Mar 9, 2012
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. i've had some time to reflect and punch a few holes in the wall to get my frustration out and i think i'm ready to put into words how i feel 24 hours after the "good" ending in mass effect 3

    to start, my RI was Tali. once i killed the reaper on ranoch i opted to upload the reaper code to the geth via legion. despite tali not wanting me to, i felt this was the best course of action for her, her people, the galaxy, and even the geth. i was able to talk the fleet out of counter attacking the geth while the code was being uploaded and tali still loves me. whew. this got me thinking however, what if my paragon was too low and the quarians did attack the geth. what would happen? i pulled up youtube to find out.

    this was the most moving and emotional punch in the gut i've ever seen in a video game. assuming this had happened in my playthrough, i'd have been devastated. moments earlier tali told me she loved me and i have just wiped out her entire people. heartbroken, she jumps over the edge. thought i was going to cry.

    where the hell was this level of emotion and effort in the ****ing end game bioware? as far as voice acting/ performance go, the quarians being wiped out and tali dying was so difficult to watch, yet so well done, i was completely blown away. that level of devastation and pain should've been put into the endgame and i don't know if i can ever forgive bioware for it. they took maybe the greatest game ever made, at least for me, and complelty half assed the last 5 minutes.

    now, i'll be clear, i wanted a happy ending, but if that's not how it was going to be then fine. i'll get over it. but to do it the way that they did, i, just, uuuuughhh. ......
  99. Mar 6, 2012

Universal acclaim - based on 74 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 74 out of 74
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 74
  3. Negative: 0 out of 74
  1. May 12, 2012
    Mass Effect 3 is an emotional rollercoaster ride with lots of tension and moving moments. The threat of the Reapers make every decision a hard one and your relationship with other characters will be tested. This, in combination with tight gameplay, makes this the complete experience.
  2. Apr 26, 2012
    As a bombastic action-RPG with no previous context, Mass Effect 3 is a dark, engaging game with great combat, a well-written story, and all the epic space-opera you could want. But for those who have played through Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2, it's something much more.
  3. Apr 18, 2012
    The storytelling itself, the more refined combat, the voicework, the visuals, et all, stand as a fine example of some of the best this industry has to offer, and with my minor complaints aside, there's no doubt that Mass Effect 3 will be deservedly at the top of everyone's list come this year's award season.