Mass Effect 3 - Review

Mass Effect 3 has finally arrived after being delayed a few months to polish the game. In the final epic chapter of Commander Shepard's story, the Reapers have attacked Earth and the Turian homeworld, Palaven, as well as nearly wiping out the Batarians. Shepard must lead his/her squad in a final battle against the Reapers in a fight that will determine the fate of the galaxy.


Rest of the review after the break.


ME3 plays nearly identically to its predecessor, somewhat like a direct expansion, especially since the game has double the level cap and carries over your level from the first game. Every class has new abilities as well, making each class finally balanced, although the Vanguard is still unbelievably powerful at very high levels; the Vanguard is capable of spamming Nova and Biotic Charge endlessly, using up no ammo, being able to annihilate any enemy, including Banshees with the correct gun. The story itself has Shepard gathering forces across the galaxy to build a massive Prothean device capable of stopping the Reapers and gather military force, mostly divided into 3 chapters: the cure of the Krogan genophage, the end of the war between the Quarians and the Geth, and the hunt for the Catalyst, a macguffin that will complete the Prothean device known as the Crucible.


Everything about the Mass Effect series is on the line here, and your decisions going back even to the first game will make some changes along the way in the narrative. However, none of it actually matters in the end, because with a high enough galactic readiness, all 3 endings of the game are handed to you on a silver platter. There are in actuality 16 endings based on whether you destroyed the Collector Base in ME2 or not, but there are really 3 endings with minor variables. Although the overall story is strong and provides closure to several lingering story issues, the endings of the game itself provide no closure as to the ultimate fate of the galaxy.


Story: 9/10
Gameplay: 10/10
Presentation: 10/10
Replay Value: 10/10


Average Score: 9.75/10

Save for the controversy over the lack of closure in the endings, Mass Effect 3 is a fitting finale. The voice over work is the strongest yet in the series, featuring probably the best acting job Jennifer Hale has ever done. I've yet to play through as male Shepard, but I'm not confident Mark Meer can turn in an equally riveting performance. The music is fantastic, the graphics are improved and finally the default female hairstyle actually looks like hair and not plastic or spaghetti. The new default female Shepard is a little off-putting at first, being that she does have raccoon eyes and freckles, but it's fine for those who do not wish to import their Shepard's old looks.

The multiplayer is also surprisingly fun and easy to get into, without the requirement of a headset since the game is so basic. It can also be pretty addicting, since if you do not get 100% of the War Assets in the single player mode, you must do multiplayer to get the best possible outcomes of all 3 endings. I'm hoping there's plenty of DLC for the game too, which has handled very well in ME2 as well as how it transferred to ME3, letting you know that you paid for an expanded experience in not just 1 game, but 2, and even 3 games in the case of Bring Down the Sky from the original game, which finally features the return of Balak, provided you let him live.

About the new homosexual relationships... there are two homosexual characters aboard the Normandy, Steve Cortez, the pilot of the Kodiak shuttle, and Samantha Traynor, who takes over Kelly Chambers' role from ME2. Cortez's husband was abducted by the Collectors and Traynor was saved by Shepard on Horizon. Cortez is incredibly depressed and near suicidal, but Shepard can get him out of his funk and appreciate life once again, causing him to be romanceable by a male Shepard. Traynor simply requires Paragon actions when she does something well and constant talking to, being that she is incredibly shy and Shepard can help her come out of her shell. Kaidan Alenko is apparently bisexual, being romanceable by both male and female Shepard. Jessica Chobot of IGN makes an appearance as news reporter Diana Allers, who provides the role of a secret one-night stand with either male or female Shepard that does not affect your romance with other characters.

The homosexual relationships are handled quite well, although Kaidan being bisexual is a bit off-putting. It's entirely possible to romance 3 characters throughout all 3 games, which means you can make Shepard bisexual as well, although I consider Shepard to be a slut who will sleep with anything. Cortez's story is very depressing and Traynor shows more character through her romance with fem!Shep than she normally would otherwise. My only complaint is how absolutely cheesy the gay character comes onto Shepard, similar to the plot of a porn movie.

I do have 2 minor complaints. Tali's face is finally revealed if you continue your romance with her from ME2, but only in photographic form. What makes it worse is the photo is an edited picture of a stock photo, rather than an original creation. Yes, the girl in the photo is very beautiful, but it just shows laziness on Bioware's part. Even more lazy is the final sequence of the game showing the epilogue is a well-known stock photo that can be found by simply googling "Winter Moon" and it will be the first image result.

You may also be disappointed if you decided to romance Miranda, Jack, Jacob, or Thane. Their romances do not end as well as the ones with Ashley, Tali, Liara, Kaidan, or Garrus, the latter group having substantially more substance.