For me the illusion of exploration is gone. You cannot drive planets through with you own car - you cant even sonar every planet in every system as in mass effect 1 and 2. This is much more strightworward and resembling any other first person shooter out there. The story doesnt rise to new epic heights after mass effect 2 - its just kind of add on to that. If this was the first part in this trilogy I maybe wouldnt buy another part - but another way around you must have this if you played mass effect 1 and 2 which are pure briljance.

This is not a bad game by any means - for me it just not capitalize on good elements of mass effect 1 and 2 way I feel it should to. But this is classy product to have and buy anyway.

Mass Effect 3 is by far the most advanced of the series if you look at it in terms of pure gameplay.

The combat feels really fluent, you have different meelee atacks depending on character class and there have been many improvements over the combat experience in ME2. Examples being customizable weapon mods and the ability to jump over cover without crouching behind it first.

However, the fact that "use", "cover", "jump over cover", "sprint" and "dodge" are all bound to the same key takes some getting used to and makes precice movement controls in certain situations more difficult than necessary.

The Citadel is also larger than what we've seen in ME2 (combining the citadel and omega), but still smaller than the ME1 citadel. Furthermore, there's much less to do on the citadel in terms of quests.

Speaking of quests: While the main storyline has some really great quests, the sidequests were cut considerably compared to ME3. While on paper the amount of vanilla ME3 and ME2 sidequests may be similar, most ME3 side-"quests" consist of overhearing a conversation, then scanning a planet and finally turning it in where you started the quest. All without any dialogue options or actual gameplay.

The fact that most (even major) dicicions from ME1 and ME2 don't really matter also does not sit right with me. Examples:

- The decicion at the end of ME1 (saving the council or sacrificing it) has no major impacts on the game (aside from maybe a few lines of dialogue and a different entry under "war assets").

- No matter if you spared or killed the "last" Rachni Queen in ME2, you still encounter one in ME3. Killing/saving the queen might have impacts on one or two lines of dialogue, but nothing like the "huge difference" that this decicion should have according to promises from Bioware.

- Udina is Earth's ambassador, even if you have chosen Anderson as Earth's ambassadorin ME1. You don't even get a dialogue to explain that fact, the only thing explaining the situation is one or two sentences in the ME3 codex, which quite a few players don't even read.

- Keeping or Destroying the Collector base in ME2 again only has very minor impacts on ME3, the most noticable being a "war asset" entry and a slightly different "effective military strength" requierement for some endings.

The Endings (HEAVY spoilers!)

Now here's my biggest problem with ME3.

The ending of ME3 was advertised as wildely different depending on player choices in ME1 and ME2. Also there were promised to be "16 different endings" and endings that were not like "A, B and C". However, there are exactly 3 Endings (+1 minor graphical variation that may or may not be visible on first glance + 1 variation if you have an abysmal EMS). These 3 Endings are 90% the same, the most noticable difference being the color of the "explosion" you get at the end.

Also, the decicions you made in ME1, ME2 and ME3 have absolutely zero impact on the ending, the only thing that matters is you EMS and the choice you make in the last 5 minutes of ME3 (A, B or C)

Conclusion:

If you don't care about the ME3 universe and want a nice 3rd person RPG shooter, go ahead and buy ME3. It's very good in that aspect and the MP experiance is also quite nice.

Hoever, if you have vastly invested yourself into the stories of ME1 and ME2 and want it brought to a worthy conclusion with ME3, here's my advice: don't bother.

Sure, you'll have a nice time in the beginning, but the end invalidates everything you did in the ME universe so far.

The last game of the Mass Effect trilogy has very big expectations. While there are some minor problems with in-game animations and camera angles especially in cutscenes it still lives up to many expectations. The journey you make is not without hard choices and engaging combat. The last part of the game is up for debate of its design choices but all in all it is a great game.

An excellent and exceptional game, with amazing cover/power combat system with much more options than in the previous titles. Engaging storyline that resolves all the decisions made in ME1 and ME2, wrapped in spectacular in game cinematics that would put most hollywood productions to shame. Voice acting is as great as usual. Lovely graphics, plenty of replay value.

It's a 10 in my book.

Although like many people I was slightly put off with EAs aggressive marketing towards a more casual audience with ME3, I still got this game on day one. And am I glad I did!

People who played ME2 will be instantly familiar with the gameplay, as almost nothing as changed in terms of combat or navigating the world. For the unconverted, ME3s combat is comparable to Gears of War, it employs a third person camera view and cover based combat. Although this is a perfectly decent system, it does tend to get repetitive after a while, as the game never really encourages to try out new powers or guns. You can finish the game using just an assault rifle and never know any better.

Although the combat is obviously a huge part of this game, it is the story and the world that it takes place in that will bring old fans streaming back. Clearly I don't want to give spoilers, but I will say that the story is as excellent as the last two games. There is a little too much of 'I'll hold them off while you escape!' going on for my liking, with a least two characters attempting to martyr themselves so that I, Shepard, can continue with my mission. The familiar conversation wheel is still there, as is the renegade and paragon morality system. For those unfamiliar with this, it's basically the way to define if you've made a good guy choice or a bad guy choice. Although it does sometimes break the mold, most choices are either good or bad, depending on what type of character you want to play.

The graphics are frankly average. Some places, such as the Salarian homeworld, are pretty stunnig. But most are muddy textures and static backgrounds. But honestly, with such a great story to get involved in, you won't even notice most of the time. There's such a variety of landscapes in the game, and there's always something new to look at. But I think the graphics are a definite step down from ME2, at least for PC gamers.

For anyone on the fence about this game, I'd seriously recommend it. I'm glad I got over my concerns about Origin and just brought it.

Long awaited conclusion to a thrilling space opera - how does it fare?

The game does a decent job of piecing together everything that occurred in its two prequels, but the cost is that too many characters end up as a cameo appearance or, worse, a footnote. The plot structure is less streamlined as in ME2 and I felt that the mission sequence did not always make perfect sense. The game is a bit smaller as well. On the other hand, the battle system is much improved, more challenging and involves much more movement. The multiplayer, I found to my surprise, is fun and addictive.

In two words: Though not perfect, it's a good finish to the Mass Effect Series.

Amazing story, let down by some parts and possibly the worst ending in media history. Multiplayer somewhat redeemed it but I am disappointed at the ending to a 90 hour trilogy being ruined by a scripted, linear 10 minute ending which has no bearing on any previous choice in the game

It's a great conclusion to the series for the most part. I think the cinematic experience is really quite unlike most and it's been a great ride since ME1.

There are plenty of improvements that have been made, from the levelling up elements, to the weapon choice and customisability to the general combat dynamic. It's not stellar, but it's solid and enjoyable.

The real stand-out for this outing is the Multiplayer which is a surprisingly excellent. I've consistently been playing it since it came out and there is something almost relaxing about the experience of going through the 11 waves. This is where the combat system shines because it requires the team to work together on higher difficulties. Highly recommended.

There is the minor issue of the ending. Obviously no spoilers but... it's by far the most disappointing 10-15 minute ending of any work of fiction. And that clouds and colours the rest of the game and the previous entries in the series - which is a shame because so much of it they got right, just the lead writer on ME3 letting the side down!

The game was great the 95% of it, until the last 20min, when the ending starts.

If you are looking for the promised +15 different endings, then don't buy it. There is a single ending to this game, with 3 different color variations.

If you think you don't mind a bad ending, then I think the game is good enough.

multiplayer was surprisingly fun and deep :)

My big grief is that they sell part of the product as dlc already and its not as long as previous titles or of the same quality.

But its still very good and long. Its just that you can tell it was developed for half as long as the other games.

Pc porting is good, 16:10 resolution is supported aiming feels fine but way to many actions are on the space key and there are no weapon hotkeys due to console controller button limitations.

In mass effect 1 the F keys changed weapons but they didnt bother to put in the extra effort for pc players this time.

More of the same; much, much more of the same. There's not much to add as most would be spoilers, but if you've played the first two then buy this and if you're yet to experience ME (the game not the illness) then it's time to lose around 70h per game.

Enter end of the trilogy

The game features all of the things that made the first 2 games good. great narrative, complex and interesting characters and an epic story.

at times there is some difficulty with movement,m since they still use the "space for every miracle"mech, but its playable in that respect.

most of the mechanics were taken from me2 and improved upon, so veteran players should not have a problem with picking this title up and knowing what to do from the start.

graphics are very impressive considering it was adjusted to run on console, but not a huge leap from mass effect 2.

also wish to note that you can double click on items in menus and that's a much needed addition to the game. glad to know that PC gamers are not forgotten.

Another amazing game in the Mass Effect series, strong storyline, interesting characters and the best gameplay yet. The online is good and the servers are pretty reliable. Would highly advise either playing through the first 2 or watching a lets play on Youtube of them, although playing them is 1. More fun and 2. Gets you more engaged in the story (If you do neither then the story will mean less to you, won't make much sense, and any major story parts will be much less dramatic which counters one of the main parts of the series: The storyline) Definitely a game you must play 5/5

Well... I thought I'd never write "needs patching" about any BiaWare game, but, unfortunatelly, Mass Effect 3, despite being a very good game - does need some patching.

First, delayed release date gave me 3 days of frustrated waiting, while all my friends, who didn't buy the game here and were allowed to play on the 6th instead of the 9th, done their best at spoilering the game for me.

Then the issue of Mass Effect 2 not working on PCs with Mass Effect 3 installed on them (even if not activated yet) came up, but was fixed by simple reinstalling.

But the last sore point was the fact, that I was unable to transfer the face of my Shepard from 2 previous games into the 3d. Someone said, that BioWare working on it and will release a fix, but still, it only means more waiting.

Once all this is fixed - it will easily be one of the best games one can get on market today. Both for newcomers to the series and veterans of previous chapters - gameplay is engrossing and full of those "epic movie moments" one can only crave in a game.