What's up everybody? Atzunew coming to you with my long-awaited review of
Mass Effect 3. This game has made both good and bad news lately and I just want to set the record strait on this game. While I will try to avoid spoilers in this review, some details have to be known for readers to understand the community's views on the game. In this article I will cover the gameplay, the story and the multiplayer. As always we try to give readers an unbiased view of games where then you can decide if it is for you.
To start off we take a look at how the gameplay preforms. Mass Effect 3 delivers players a game that, compared to the two previous games, is focused on combat. No matter what your class players can use any and all weapons, this arguably makes the popular soldier class a bit lack luster.
Bioware has added a weight mechanic that makes cool downs affected by how many or how little guns you carry. So while your character can hold every weapon, it usually is best to only bring 1 or 2 if you want short cool down times. Next we see that the galaxy map has made a return from ME2. This is where players get to control the Normandy around solar systems and travel around clusters. You may scan planets and systems for secrets but at the cost that the reapers can gradually detect you and after awhile they will come to attack you. One of my complaints is about the controls. Most actions such as leaping, running, opening containers, and taking cover all use the same button. So when you mean to vault over an object, you may take cover instead, it has even lead to some deaths in both the singleplayer and multiplayer modes.
With gameplay out of the way I can now focus on what the Mass effect series is about, it's plot. This game was intended to deliver us the end to Commander Shepard's story arc. It starts off only a few months or so after the events of ME2's Arrival DLC so players have not missed much action. With Shepard reaching out to so many wonderful characters this all seemed like a great big get-together of fan favorites, even characters that didn't have a large role. While there is an abundance of assignments for you to complete, the way Shepard seems to creepily tune into other conversations is a bit unnerving. Bioware seems to be aware at what fans thought was funny and what were things that we all remember, so when they made the game they made sure to include these types of things. For example, things like the Garrus' calibration jokes, to Miranda's ass and even an in-universe explanation to Conrad Verner's bug. We see that they really linked these events together and included them into ME3. This game has some of the most compelling story-telling I know of and some of the best moments. Some make you laugh, many make you cry, but some leave you with a bad taste.
Something that has really got everyone's attention was the ending, and how it left players with more questions than answers. While I will not go into specifics due to spoilers, this has fans in uproar. The ending leaves players with too many answers for a story that was to neatly tie itself up. It eliminates the possibility of sequels in the Mass effect universe as we know it to exist. A great number of fans have turned to wanting a DLC ending to be made, while some accept this ending. Others look at it in a deeper manner, (ie. the indoctrination theory). I for one did not like the ending but I didn't go to such extremes as some did. If Bioware does create a DLC ending then I don't want them to go the route of a "happy ending" as that has never been the case with any of the previous titles. I would personally want at least two things addressed by the company in the content though if it does happen. Firstly, an answer to the plot holes - many of these are huge and some don't even make sense. Secondly I would want to have some sort of closure on my squad mates, factions and other characters, maybe something like Fallout's style of an ending recap.
Finally I can talk about the multiplayer mode in Mass Effect 3. I was one of the people that thought that Bioware could not deliver an engaging and fun multiplayer experience. I was gladly proven wrong here. In this mode you and three other players can work together to survive waves of tough enemies. Players can choose their class and out of those classes there are 4 choices to what species you want to play as. There is a multitude of equipment that is available to players, ranging from weapons, modifications, power-ups and even xp-boosts. Each time you complete a mission (by either completing it or failing) you earn experience points as well as credits used for buying packs. There are some problems with the multiplayer mode though, but they are not major concerns. There are times when you and your team are stuck waiting for 1 player since they do not agree to start up yet, I for one am glad there is a kick function for this reason (that needs unanimous votes to pass). Sadly if there is a player that wants to "lone wolf" it the rest of the team suffers since these players either get you killed while you try to revive them or they quit because the team is tired of holding that team member up. One last thing that I would want to point out is that if you are playing this mode, please don't go into a silver or higher lobby with your level 1 character. It makes the team suffer since you can't hold your own against the enemies, it is better to start off with a couple of bronze-level matches first.
This wraps up my review of Mass Effect 3. Overall it was a solid gameplay wise but falls short with a poor control setup. The story was wonderful as it drew inspiration from the other two games. The ending leaves players with a bad feeling but in hindsight it was only about the last 10-15 minutes. The multiplayer mode is a great addition to this series but if you don't have a co-operative team then you may fall short of victory. I would recommend this game to any who want to buy, both Mass Effect fans from Eden Prime to newcomers. I give Mass Effect 3 as solid 88/100 score. Play it now!
Now that most of us have played through Mass Effect 3 and have either been busy with multiplayer, sobbing over the ending, or completely raging over how Bioware and EA screwed up - both companies are now completing their promise of an extended cut that players will be able to enjoy on June 26th on Xbox Live, PSN, and Origin for free.
