Mass Effect 3 is a third person action shooter role playing game which, as you all know, follows on from Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 and promises to finish the story of Commander Shepherd. The plot itself is standard RPG stuff, you gather your allies, have a few setbacks, and then fight the bad guys. Two things: It requires Origin, EA's own marginally less irritating version of Steam, so you need to install Origin, connect to the internet and register online, and it does not come with a manual which I really hate - you instead get an ingame manual option (identical to Kingdoms of Amalur) which contains a far from comprehensive explanation of things.

- The strength of Mass Effect has always been the story, and that just about remains the case in Mass Effect 3. The story is well written but the depth in which things are gone into is wildly inconsistent, some things are explained and resolved properly while others are touched on briefly in a very unsatisfactory way. Characterisation remains good, but quite a lot of things happen without any real build-up or explanation, and the way you interact with characters has changed, they have far less to say and you can only have a full conversation with them at specific points. I found this element to be very unsatisfactory and disappointing when you are dealing with characters which in the past have been rather better written. Basically, what there is of the story is as superb as you would expect, but there is a hell of a lot that simply is not there, which you would not expect.

- The element of 'choice' is rather too cosmetic. For a start the world you are in is the world from the books, so it is quite possible that you the world you played in Mass Effect 2 will bear no relation to the world you end up playing in Mass Effect 3. Choices in-game hint at being important and galaxy defining but they turn out to be totally irrelevant, the only choice that matters is at the end, and the choices you are given there are so weird and out of touch with previous games as to be, frankly, bizarre.

If you want a comparison for the story, it feels like an episode of Sliders. Shepherd has slid into an alternate universe which is the same in some respects to the one you have played in before but also very different.

- In terms of gameplay I kept feeling like I had played this game before. Mass Effect 3 from the start felt to me achingly similar to Dead Space and Dead Space 2 and also has the cover system (and one or two other things) from Deus Ex: Human Revolution thrown in for good measure. It is reasonably competent gameplay but as I say, I could never quite shake the feeling that I had done it all before in other games.

- The core action gameplay is a little patchy. There are moments where it is superb, when you are charging across no-man's land under heavy fire from multiple enemies with mortars exploding all around you, or you are in the dark with only the light from your gun-light to find your way around, you think, "fantastic, more of this please", but you don't get much more of it. Instead you spend far too much time in an enclosed environment moving from cover to cover, you know, like you did in the original game, although Mass Effect 1 did it better. There is some wonderful stuff there, but rather it isn't really there often enough.

- Level design in general is a little disappointing. Because they have added a multiplayer option they have made quite a few of the levels (all of the non-central storyline ones) double-up. So you frequently end up in a (very short) level which is effectively a circle of winding corridors with plenty of cover to pop into and out of while waves of enemies come at you. On far too many occasions your objective is 'Survive'.

- Character,and particularly companion, AI is awful. I spent quite a lot of time having to fight on my own because my companions were nowhere to be found and even if I directed them it took an age for them to actually go where they were supposed to. There appears to be a few bugs in there as well, as some companions do not use powers while others rarely even fire their guns. Enemy AI is also poor with everything effectively relying on either hiding in cover (badly enough for you to still be able to shoot them) or all charging you at the same time.

- The 'Galaxy at War' feature is largely unnecessary. Basically you go around collecting military assets, through main missions, side-missions and scanning planets (something they've managed to make a hundred times worse than in Mass Effect 2), these get a numerical value which is divided by your 'Galactic Readiness' score, this defaults at 50% and can be increased by playing the rather bad multiplayer co-operative part of the game. In multiplayer you and three others are in one of the small fairly circular levels from the game having waves of enemies coming at you. You do not need a Galactic Readiness score of more than 50% if you get all of the resources in-game (i.e. do all of the missions and explore everywhere, which most people are surely going to do anyway). If people want to play multiplayer they will, it is not a feature that has to be shoe-horned into the single player part of the game in the way it is here.

- A lot has been written about the ending, and I have to agree that it is badly done. For a start the 'take back Earth' segment, which is supposed to be what the game is about, at the end is incredibly short and takes place in a very generic uninspired environment. The actual ending is equally short leaving many questions unanswered about the central plot - the (rather odd) reason why the Reapers periodically turn up and destroy advanced organic life is given, but that is about it - and quite a few questions about what has actual happened outside of the central plot are left hanging. There is then a very short cut scene that leaves even more questions unanswered, the credits roll and then there is a very cynical attempt to make way for DLC. Mass Effect 3 feels like a game about the journey and that is not what it is supposed to be, it was supposed to be about the destination.

In conclusion then Mass Effect 3 suffers from quite a few problems but is still just about worth playing - the core gameplay and the story are just about good enough to paper over the many holes you will find. Do not however expect some brilliant well-reasoned ending to the story of Commander Shepherd, and do not expect a game that is as good as either of the other two entries in the series, because you will not get either.

One of the greatest stories in gaming. If you are like me. you will love this game. All the charachters are developed well and all of them makes you feel something. Feel that you get after finishing Mass Effect 3 is the same you get after finishing great book or after final of epic TV show. Needless to say, this game has enourmos replay value.

I have played ME 1 and 2. And i have to say, 3 is awesome like hell. The new Multiplayer mode is awesome, and the new Story is really dramatic. Nice Job Bio Ware, and continue your Great Work.

Mass Effect 3 is the conclusion to an amazing sci-fi action rpg trilogy.

The games have gradually become more action orientated and this one improves on the combat with dodge mechanics, allowing it to be a bit more fast-paced than in the previous titles. This makes the combat, the most enjoyable in the series so far.

As far as RPG mechanics go, the customization of the load-out has improved over Mass Effect 2. Giving you choice over a lot of different weapons and armor sets which can be upgraded as you see fit. It's nowhere near as extensive as the loot system in Mass Effect 1, but it is a welcome change from part 2. The choices you are given in the story are typical Bioware fare though. You get choices where the outcomes do differ from each other, but they are almost always choices between two extremes, missing a middle-ground option.

The one point of harsher criticism that needs to be brought up is the ending. It was originally very unsatisfying and Electronic Arts has improved on the ending with the extended cut (which is a free download through Origin), but it still feels lacking. If that's something you can live with, it's definitely a game I highly recommend.

The last chapter of the trilogy of Mass Effect trilogy does delivery a good story and good action. It is much more in keeping with the second game play than the first one. Overall, a very enjoyable game but you should really play at least Mass Effect 2 otherwise the game may feel a little shallow -- you certainly will miss many recurring characters!

A sensational end to an awesome series. I loved every minute of Mass Effect 3. Yes the ending was a bit short but the new downloadable (and free) ending fixed up that issue. Bring on more games in this universe!!!!

Gameplay wise, Mass Effect 3 is exactly the same as the previous release albeit with a few minor tweaks (they added flashlights! which makes no sense since you would expect a super soldier from the future to be using something more stealthy). From a story standpoint, the game gladly ignores pretty much every decision I made on the previous 2 games just so it can find a sloppy way to get things going until the incredibly disappointing endings (which, spoiler! are all basically the same thing).

Massive ending to the greatest game trilogy ever. Things get really ugly as reapers attack council races with their full might, threatening even asari, humans and other races with total annihilation. It is time to rally forces for the decisive battle that decises the future of the galaxy.

The action rpg has not changed much after Mass Effect 2 so you pretty much know what to expect. Planet scanning is much improved, otherwise there are few improvements to gameplay. But the story is awesome. Highly recommended buy play the first two parts first.

The mass effect series is probably the best gaming series of all times.

Immersive story, amazing soundtrack and probably the best directing and voiceacting I've seen in a video game.

Bioware even expended on the ending, after receiving criticism from fans. This is the first company I've seen to do that - to actually respond to fans in such a way.

If you haven't played the Mass Effect series - you simply must get your hands on this.

It is recommended to start from Mass Effect 1 since the story actually matters, and your choices throughout the games effect the rest of the serie.

The game has a lot to offer. First off lets talk about gameplay. Combat has been improved by alot since mass effect 1 and is even better than in mas effect 2. Moving through the levels is fluid and the shooting and using the biotic abilities are very cool indeed and make you see a that you are really a powerful warrior indeed.

[Spoilers Below]

Second the story is also very good. Although some of the best characters had to die like mordin and legion i didn't feel that much cheated for their deaths.The story all round was good although there were some plot holes in the story that seemed a bit stupid to me. Like for example didn't the get notice the alliance building a massive anti reaper device in space. They can easily find you a small frigate while scanning systems but they cant notice a massive fleet building a reaper killer. Also the ending was really a big pile of bullshit. You spend all the 3 games deciding what to do and finally in the ending you don't even question the stupid ass statements of that god child. For example he basically says that organics will build synthetics that will in turn destroy all the organics so i built this indestroyable synthetic armada which will systematically kill off all organics every 50,000 years to prevent them from building the synthetics which will kill them. That's how absurd the ending is.

My final thoughts for this game is that it is a great game overall but all i have to say about the ending is that they want to continue to develop in this franchise and milk its tits until only dust comes out!!

ME3 is a tough one. The gameplay is definitly different from 1 and 2 but for me as a FPS player it is a perfect mix. The graphics, story, everything shows that the sh*t hit the fan and it the whole galaxy is burning. Up until this point I was statisfied and got everything I wanted from the final game of the trilogy.

Why not 5 stars, then?

Well, there is this ridicoulus business model: IOS games, day 1 DLC and excessive preorder bonuses. Then there is a stupid "galatical readyness" meter which you can improve by playing multiplayer (which I did not, and it does not matter anyway). You can fill up the meter by completing side missions. BUT, the quest tracking system is a mess, often you can hardly tell what to do next in a side quest.

I could get over all of that, the game was still enjoyable if was not, and that is the ultimate reason for the low rating, for the ending. The ending is the most disappointing thing next to no ending at all. No matter how you played any of the previous or this game, you basically get the same ending (which is a bad one anyway). Bioware has succeded in destroying a trilogy that they build up over three games and ~90 hours in 10 minutes. I played 1 and especially 2 multiple times to try out different things and also to see different endings but I closed down this one in bitter dissapointment and have no desire to even start it up again.

On the bright side: Bioware announced (after alot of fan protest) a free ending related dlc. Maybe that will fix things.

Conclusion: If you already know the ending or don't care about the story (why so ever) this is a great game. But for me, only 3 stars, because for me, ME is carried by the story and this is not a good one.

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.