Game Rant’s Rob Keyes reviews Mass Effect 3
BioWare blew us away in 2007 when, instead of continuing down the Star Wars path with another Knights of the Old Republic, they took that sci-fi RPG experience and gave us Mass Effect and with it, an entirely original universe where players could control the combat in addition to the journey and decisions of the game’s protagonist. Mass Effect introduced us to an epic story based in a rich and complex universe, and its sequel gave players improved gameplay.
Does BioWare succeed in finding the right balance between action and RPG elements in Mass Effect 3, while also offering a satisfying conclusion to Commander Shepard’s quest to save the galaxy from the reapers? Read on for our review to find out!
Mass Effect 3 draws from the best elements of its predecessors, offering the most satisfying and exciting combat gameplay of the series, and BioWare has again crafted a game that shines through its characters, dialogue and cinematic moments. More than the series’ other installments, there’s an inherent sense of urgency for players through Mass Effect 3′s emotionally gripping story, but BioWare fails to give many of the characters the sendoff they deserved in what amounts to a disappointing final act.
The story of Mass Effect 3 begins right where Mass Effect 2 left off, and players of the ‘Arrival’ DLC will have a heads up on the circumstances which bring Commander Shepard to Earth to stand trial for actions he took, sacrificing colonists in an effort to thwart the first stage of the Reaper invasion. Before the legal proceedings even begin however, the Reapers attack and Shepard is on his way to rally support and acquire war assets from conflicted space-faring races to find a way to save the galaxy. The war has begun and players can play the game in three different ways: Action, Role-Playing (the standard) and Story. The addition of these game modes – as well as the support of useful Kinect voice commands for Xbox 360 players – help Mass Effect 3 become accessible to franchise newcomers.
Like the previous two installments, players find themselves hopping back and forth across the galaxy aboard the Normandy which again sees a bit of a redesign. This time however, the ship feels a tad empty. Shepard’s team is substantially smaller than the previous games and characters who could previously be chosen for away missions now have their story arcs weaved into the overall narrative, instead of being recruited. A lot of familiar faces – and new ones – will appear aboard the Normandy while working with them on a specific mission, then they’re off to do their own thing once joining the cause and Shepard moves on to the next big mission.
In that respect, Mass Effect 3 is different than its predecessors and recruitment is not part of the game. Characters are kept relevant for the time they’re needed until the story moves on, but each gets their emotional moment with Shepard, infused with references to events of the previous games. While the game does a good job of finding interesting ways to meet up with all of these characters, most of them are underserved by the story’s end and fans of the franchise will be left wondering what happened to key players they’ve grown attached to throughout the series.
The galaxy map remains the focal point of the Normandy and it has also been improved to reflect the status of the galaxy during the Reaper invasion. Gone is the time-consuming planet scanning for minerals and in comes scanning for artifacts, intel and credits. It’s quicker, more rewarding and now offers a challenge since Reaper-infested star clusters won’t let players scan freely. BioWare’s created a fun, dodge-the-Reaper mini-game out of it, and it succeeds as an improvement over Mass Effect 2′s system, but not over Mass Effect 1′s for fans who enjoy vehicular gameplay and open-world areas to explore.
Mass Effect 1′s M35 Mako tank and Mass Effect 2′s (through DLC) M-44 Hammerhead hovercraft do not make a return appearance and there are no open areas to explore in the game outside of the Citadel hub. By design, Mass Effect 3 is a very linear experience as it focuses on delivering key events in a necessary order to move the plot forward. It’s not just the maps, missions and overall story that are linear however, the choices players can make throughout the game often have little to no impact on the war effort.
Mass Effect 3 offers a streamlined experience by not including vehicles and dropping needless mini-games (hacking, bypassing) and instead focuses on delivering more action. Players will find themselves always moving forward in battle through varied and dynamic environments, with some locations featuring the massive and monstrous Reapers moving in the beautiful backdrops. Mass Effect 3 looks similar to Mass Effect 2 from a graphical perspective, but it comes with more polish and improved animations. Mouth movements are still a little off in conversations however, and the game does experience the occasional framerate lag and texture pop-in, but nothing that hinders gameplay.
Fans of the original game will be pleased with the return of more weapons and RPG elements in customizing Shepard’s armor and load out. There are over a half-dozen guns under each of the five weapon types, all of which can be upgraded by purchasing better versions of each and buying mods (which also have multiple levels). All of the weapons are unique and useful in their own way, and the variety is a warm welcome when it comes to the game’s biggest addition: multiplayer.
Mass Effect 3 introduces a co-op survival mode where up to four players must work through a series of 11 waves of battling foes and holding king-of-the-hill style areas. Slow menus and matchmaking combined with only one mode and six maps (all exact locations from the campaign) make the mode feel tacked on but how it ties into the single-player campaign is brilliant and will motivate gamers to give it a spin. Fans will also get a kick out of finally being able to play as other species, each with their own abilities, unique melee attacks and in some cases, different methods of movement.
By completing all waves on a map, players increase their battle readiness percentage which will boost the effectiveness of Shepard’s war assets in the single-player campaign, helping players increase their chances of scoring a better game ending through the Galaxy at War system. It’s absolutely not necessary and won’t make that much of a difference in the grand scheme of things should players decide to stick with the campaign, but it’s there for anyone who is interested. In multiplayer, players also earn experience and credits to unlock weapons, mods, boosts, and additional characters and that’s where the fun and replayability come into an otherwise basic multiplayer experience.
Having multiplayer tie into the bigger picture of Shepard’s quest of unifying the galaxy further exemplifies BioWare’s ability to innovate with the Mass Effect series. When combined with the incredible continuity which sees Mass Effect 3 utilize over a thousand variables from decisions and actions taken by players from the first two games, no series has offered such a long-spanning and fulfilling experience.
Players of the previous games who load up their save files for Mass Effect 3 are treated to countless references and dialogue from supporting characters, alluding back to Shepard’s missions and players’ choices. A lot of the throwbacks will pop up in conversation or add war assets to the cause, but the game fails to present the specific results of those acquisitions. Whether it be finding a few lost teams of marines or gaining fleets of ships from aliens once considered enemies, Mass Effect 3 doesn’t show how previous choices directly affect the final battle. All it does is add to the numerical representation of the Alliance fleet size.
The same problem applies to the key characters of Mass Effect 2 who join the fight – they are not shown at the end of the game and players are left hanging with questions about in-game friends they’ve bonded with over the years. Combine that with an end-game decision which has no discernible effect on the conclusion of the story and BioWare, deserved of applause for taking the risks they did and crafting a genre-defining experience, has dropped the ball on delivering a complete and satisfying end to the Mass Effect trilogy.
That’s not to say players won’t be emotionally invested – they will and the journey that is the Mass Effect experience is unmatched by any other franchise. Despite a disappointing final act which doesn’t let players truly make game-changing decisions, Mass Effect 3 does mostly round out the Reaper and Illusive Man storylines, at the same time solidifying the Mass Effect series as the ultimate sci-fi gaming experience. Looking back on what brought us to that point is a powerful realization in and of itself. You must play Mass Effect 3, just make time to play the first two before you do.
Mass Effect 3 is available for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. Game Rant played the Xbox 360 version for this review.
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Follow me on Twitter @rob_keyes and share your thoughts.
Our Rating:
4.5 out of 5
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I really would like to applaud Gamerant for giving the most balanced and thought review I have seen yet for ME3, most gaming sites will not even bring up the ending. You definitely hit every nail on the head in this review especially about the unsatisfying way it all ended. I must say up until the end this game was one of the best I have ever played. It is nice to know that their is gaming site out their that is willing to give the full and honest truth about a game. Far too many want to focus on nothing but the bad or the good you manage to look at both in an in depth manner that really puts this game in perspective.
The gameplay up to the last part of ME3 was great, but the end of the game ruined the entire series of the franchise. The parts that ruined the game for me listed below.
1. The endings for the game were horrible, no good endings and ruined the entire series in my opinion and many other. If Bioware does not either patch the endings, or give away a free DLC that fixes the endings, many ciustomers like myself I’m sure will never buy another Bioware game ever.
2. MultiPlayer content should never effect the Galactic readiness of the Single player Campaign. Many players like myself have no interest in MultiPlayer, and we should not have our game endings determined by what happens in the Multiplayer content.
3. Also minor complaint, all conversations pushing his gayness towards a straight Sheppard is not called for and should have been excluded from the game.
Gameplay on an overall was great just spoiled by the ending and influence of Multiplayer content, it makes all the right decisions you made through your ME1/ME2 playthroughs seem worthless.
The game as is I rate at a 3/10
If they fix the endings to the game. I rate the game a 8/10
If they fix both the endings and the influence of the MultiPlayer influence on the single player Campaign. I rate the game a 10/10
All of the things you’ve listed are relative to your topic, but the whole as you call it “gayness issue”. For 1, you dont have to seek out being a gay sheppard its just a choice for those who “choose” to. 2nd, we are in an era where being “homophobic” is in a sense outdated.. At one point black’s were hated and discriminated, so where native americans, chinese, japanese, any ethnic group that isn’t “white” and so on. So as mentioned yes some aspects of the your complaint is valid, but you don’t have to choose to have a gay sheppard. Remember those that tend to dwell and hate homosexuals/bisexuals typically are afraid of themselves being this way….remember that before posting up certain things.
Being Gay is not a race, it is a choice. There is no real scientific evidence to back that there is any Genetic or Biological reason for it. Outside of that is a person playing a Gay Sheppard want’s to play it Gay that is their choice. I just don’t like it when I make it clear to Cortez that I’m not, he seems to still try pushing the issue in the conversations.
Bull. If you’re going to quote the science, you should be well aware that the scientific evidence states that being gay is NOT a choice. There is also a growing body of evidence to suggest that there are significant biological influences in the development of sexual orientation. When did you choose to be straight? Are you that afraid of gay people that the existence of them in the game is going to bug you that much?
Bottom line. I have had friends in the past that were Gay, they knew that I did not agree with their lifestyle and they respected that. The natural order of things in order to propagate the human race or any other race other than A-Sexual species, is that males and females get together to procreate, Homosexuals cannot do this.
Sorry I don’t comply with mass modern thinking, but I’ve never complied with what the masses have thought, just because it is deemed wither acceptable or popular to do so.
Everytime I see an argument like this I loose a little bit of hope for the US. What the hell is going on your side of the pond?
Homosexuality is most likely a gene that appears in most mammals, even hamsters can have sexual preferences.
And even IF it was a choice of lifestyle instead of a predefined attribute you wouldn’t have ANY right to criticize it being mentioned in a piece of popular entertainment.
Just like you wouldn’t have a right to criticize bioware if one of their characters mentioned his love for bacon if you were a jew or muslim.
Well to get to the “down and dirty”. Heterosexuals like all sexual orientation dont just have sex for “kids”. I live my a military base, I see it all the time so your justification to this from my stand point is a bias opinion which your entitled to. 2nd, the world is “way” over populated we should really “slow” down on “procreation”. Look at the welfare system of women getting “knocked up” to have kids so they can get their “welfare check”. I dont see a lot of homosexuals doing this, so yes homosexuals can’t procreate but they dont use welfare nearly as much as heterosexuals do. 3rd, if you want to break it down even further which I will assist you with, homosexuals as a whole typically are more “work” productive because they can’t get married nor have kids so they dont have these concerns and all gay people dont get those “im married with kids” tax write offs, so guess what they pay more towards taxes, the same money that women on welfare get, if you need assistance you’d get and etc. So hopefully this clarified things for you. Yes its cool that you dont like the lifestyles of homosexuals, but trust me not every “gay” guy like every “straight” guy. Lastly as I mentioned before you dont have to surround yourself with homosexuals live in a bubble because their everywhere now. Before Christianity was developed, homosexuality was beneficial to prevent “bastard” children. In which these children now days use welfare? And I wonder who’s at fault? So its cool, oh and psychologically speaking, no one in their right mind would “choose” to be gay as you call it. You think gay people like being ridiculed, treated less than women, gay bashed, rights taken away from, etc. How about being judgmental for one moment and try to see life through their eyes….Its way more difficult to live this life style. I didn’t just wake up one day saying, hey I feel like being gay today, to be treated less than human, to have lesser rights than those of my heterosexual counterparts, and I can keep going but hopefully you understand…
Why do people even care about what other people think. This stupid conversation is a waste of time and it isn’t going to change anything. Get over yourselves and let people have their own opinions.
For one…”Across the pond”…You Europeans seem to think true Americans, like and respect you..You’re Marxists, all of you, none of you are free and and are conquered by your governments and the politically correct liberals, which one day will be your demise, just like Rome. For 2, homosexuals do have a choice, a choice to be moral or go with the dirty little feeling that eventually becomes an overwhelming self inflicted disease, like alcoholism or any other you choose. I don’t like not being able to speak with other characters in the game without the game trying to throw my into being a homosexual. I’d say 70% of the characters are gay, delivering one message after another to a gay lover who has died for one reason or another. And you Random person, you’re a nut job trying to justify you flaming homosexuality as being great and us hetero’s as bad, grow up and stop watching MTV, because it’s not the real world, in the real world everyone hates you but can’t say it cause it’s not politically correct, why do they hate you? not because of what you are but for throwing it in our faces as much and often as you can to get a reaction, it’s gross. Don’t make us think about what you do and maybe it would be tolerated more. everyone knows what normal people do, we don’t want to know what you do, it’s unnatural. Go away and shut up!
Why don’t you just not talk to him then? That’s “your choice”. Oh,and btw,being gay isn’t a choice,it’s just what some people are. Deal with it.
[NO Spoilers]
The ending sucked, lets just put it at that. It was a horrible end to a great series. But did it truly ruin everything? I dont think so. I had a great time playing Mass Effect al those years ago. Making my mark in the galaxy and exploring random world was a great experience for me. And in Mass Effect 2, all of the different squad mates that I got to meet a train with all had an in depth story to tell. Building up to the final suicide mission a great run for me. So now we are in Mass Effect 3, flying across the galaxy to build up an army to stop the Reapers, forging unforgettable alliances, causing unthinkable losses, all to stop an unparalleled enemy. I had an amazing run up until the end of the game. It was unsatisfying end to the series, but it did not ruin everything for me. I truly had an experience to remember playing every moment of the series and I am not going to let a crappy ending ruin all of that for me.
To me, ME3 is perfect 10 that could have been, but was brought down to 9/10 because of the ending. those 3/10 that some are giving out are completely lost. To quote IGN’s rating guide: “Bad concept, severe technical flaws, terrible design — these are just some of the characteristics of an awful game. Getting to the end just might be impossible, because the experience is just so terrible.” That does not apply anywhere to ME3. A 9/10 is a just and fair score in my honest opinion.
I don’t understnad why everyone is hating on the ending.
People are hating on the ending because it didn’t deliver a truly satisfying end to one of the greatest trilogies of all time. You spend the whole game rallying all of the different galactic government to your side to aid in the final battle but in the end, they are nowhere to be seen. It just shows the alliance navy as larger in proportion to the total amount of assets you have, not the individual assets you attained. It just felt subpar for the end of Mass Effect.
fair enough. I was disappointed at the lack of intergalactic presence at the end after I had rallied practically every fleet for assistance. as for the end itself, I don’t necessarily feel it was bad, but I don’t think it delivered the closure bioware promised. The whole joker cutscene just ended things on another cliffhanger. And as for Shepard’s choice, that ultimately didn’t make much sense in the scope of the game. I’m hoping for some followup dlc that makes up for this mess.
I don’t see how it ruins the franchise though. I think ultimately even considering all that you’ve said, the game was fun until the last ten minutes with the god-child. Honestly they could’ve ended it with Anderson’s death and that would’ve satisfied more. I’m also disappointed with how they handled Tali.
…you’re from the Quib-Quib, aren’t you…
Now theres a term I have not seen in while….
By your logic, if being homosexual is choice then by extension heterosexuality is a choice which in turn makes everyone bisexual by nature including yourself. Heterosexual homophobes like to propagate this theory but do not go into detail when they chose to be straight,
Umm, Matt. You know the days where the sky is not cloudy? On those days everyone, gay or straight can look up and agree (saving those who are colorblind) that the sky is a shade of blue. Now we all agree that the shade will differ from person to person, but the consensus is BLUE. In nature there is only one way for the species to propogate, and so that is accepted as the mean. Anything that differs from the mean is considered to need additional terminology to describe its state. Hence your arguement is of null value, because nature does not need to be taught to reproduce, it simply does. People do not need to be “taught” to be straight. They simply are. There is no arguement that “homosexuality” does occur in nature. But since it serves no purpose it does NOT pass over into the next generation. Its not a useful trait. Its an abberation. So, while I do not begrudge anyone their choice, do not try and equate that state with the mean. No science will be able to back your arguement.
So the recent bonobo-bonobo homosexuality trend is a hoax?
@dan….that got a chuckle, I gotta admit.
Thank you for not avoiding the ending.
[Ed. Note: SPOILERS ahead]
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I thought the game was pretty damn perfect up until the end. It should have ended with the Crucible working and Shepard dying right beside Anderson, but the endings they gave us were completely unsatisfactory. Everything else was wonderful – the combat, the character interactions, etc. But that ending pretty much just left me hollow. If I ever do replay it, I’m stopping before the final part and headcanoning the rest of it because those endings were a joke.
The ending ruined the game, it basically ruined the whole series I think. To me it has no replay value after that. Everything else in the game is perfect it has a few bugs and glitches but nothing major, the online is ok but it gets boring after awhile. I’d rate this game a 7/10. If they somehow fix the ending it would be a 8.5-9.
Solid review! Agreeing with your points. [Comment Spoilers Shall Follow!]
I’ll blend in with the crowd in saying I was very unsatisfied with the ending. Firstly, even if I accept it, it failed to show any closure of what happened as a result of Shepard’s actions. Everything but Joker, two squadmates and a potential Edi are shown, and even then you don’t know what happens to them.
Additionally, I was baffled that Shepard accepts the kid’s three options. I was expecting him to go into heroic speech mode to save the species he faught for. “Creation versus Creator? Look at the geth and quarians working together. Look at Joker and Edi.” – Hell, even the Reapers have been faithfully following the kids orders for Millenia. He completely disregards his own logic!
I’m really hoping for a Fallout 3 scenario, where DLC allows for an alternative ending.
So yeah, aside of the ending, the game was absolutely phenomenal. They just full on Heroes’d it.
4/5 for me.
Its every thing that happen after killing the illusive man when the game drops the ball. Every thing up to that point was incredible probably one of my best play experience I had. In fact seeing some of the choices you made up to the ending already in effect right before making the final speech to your squad mate was totally worth it. Hell yea I am gonna play this game a million times like the other two! I am not going to let that little holo kid be a buzz kill.
i enjoyed the game all the way to the end to it was a definitive end the day one dlc was no problem im sorry for most who see it as an affront to the all mighty god himself but dlc is a choice you dont have to buy hell you could ignore it and have no effect on your game i dont hear people complaining about call of duty dlc or any other game that has dlc which almost every game now in days what next skyrim gets dlc and people complain about dropping ten dollars. as for the ending once again it was a good ending as for the multiplayer i havent played it yet but the demo proved it was worth it. but im just one person and i speak only for myself.
I must say Im not a huge fan of RPG games in general. I liked Skyrim, but to be honest I had more fun playing Uncharted, Arkham City, Portal 2, and games like that so RPG’s have never been my thing. So obviously I haven’t really ever had much of an interest in the Mass Effect series. But a few weeks ago, when I read an article online about the three offered story modes, I was ecstatic! I was excited to finally be able to play as Shepard and follow the story the developers wanted us to see instead of my own path. I am glad that BioWare has taken the time to provide a game that doesn’t appeal to just one group of gamers. Nicely done
Well yeah, but liking Arkham and ME kind of makes you an RPG fan, since they are both either RPG games or games with RPG elements. Just not hardcore RPG ala D&D or Elder Scrolls.
anyone who was dissapointed in the ending should sign this, might help
http://www.change.org/petitions/mass-effect-3-ending-dlc-we-want-a-dlc-that-changes-the-last-minutes-of-the-game#
Numbers speak. Look at the polls. Look at the level of the outcry. I doubt I could care less about the homosexual stuff. However, I do care that it is kept. Why? For years now tens of thousands have loved many things about the ME story. To build your character, to build and destroy relationships, self-discipline, etc. and the after years of the wonder that Bioware has given us, all to see it die? Wth?
Dodgeball…the movie. Story time. (If you haven’t seen it, find someone who has…well, go find someone.) As you may recall the “evil” gym was playing the “good” gym for the future of the good gym’s survival. After a long and brutal fight, the good gym won. Yay. So what? The producers were originally going to go with where the evil gym won. They felt that it would have been more “artistic”. Starting to sound a little familiar? Fortunately they had test audiences which told them that the artistic ending simply sucked. Thus the movie went on to be successful, money was made, everyone was happy, etc.
I am not calling for a “happy” ending where Shep and Liara, Ash, or whoever go riding off into a sunset. This is a big war and people get killed (I am a disabled vet, believe me, I know that). However, allot of people have invested their and this is simply the evil gym winning.
Was it so hard to write an ending where the bulk of loyal ME fans don’t come away feeling like they just had a root canal? Look around the Internet. There are tens of thousands of fans saying the game is great right up until the ending. Then no matter how they try, they get killed and all their years worth of efforts on the previous two games gets destroyed right in front of them. How the hell does Bioware expect to believe that what we accomplished in the first two games actually carries over?
Bioware really pooch screwed this one. They went for the artistic ending, but the failed to take into account their most priceless asset; their loyal fans.
Kirk, out.
I would agree with you for the most part except that it has been my observation in the gaming, movie, book, and comic book communities (basically everyone who tells an in depth story) fans very rarely love what is done to the series. So honestly one way or another, someone wasn’t going to be happy with the final product. I applaud EA for not doing the expected ending of everything ending like a fairy tale. But I do understand the frustration.
[Spoilers!!!!]
http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/355/index/9727423/86
What they people are talking about in this forum help to understand and swallow the endings, ya they may be way off but if its true could be pretty cool
i for one loved this game…9/10 for me to rate it…only reason it doesnt get a 10 is becuz of the minor glitches…
spoilers:
in regards to all the bs hate going around for this game…
yes i agree the ending could have been better.more closure on what happens to your crew and of course a way shep didnt have to die to save the galaxy but the ending does not ruin this game at all ..it was full of endings between the genophage resolution to the quarian/geth conflict and ceberus… and the major component being the gameplay which was awesome…i have never played a game like this before where it had such an engrossing story to the character development this was the series of this console generation and prob one of the best games of the last 5 yrs…oh and the from ashes dlc was awesome..yeah it sucked paying for it but i got lucky on my first playthru and took him to the right places like thessia and a few others where what he said shocked me (like the asari having that beacon and that the protheans helped them along the way)if you dont like it dont buy it…in closing great game dont let alot of bs hate ruin what is a great game exp…now time to load up my femshep for playthrough 2:)
The proper solution for Bioware’s predicament here would’ve been to add about fifteen more minutes of gameplay after making a given final decision in the ending. Make it a survival mode, where getting Shepard out alive is up to the gamer’s abilities to win. Sure, you can sacrifice your Shepard in the end by controlling the Reapers, or create that new form of life. But if you chose the destruction choice, make an evacuation ala the escape from Legion’s loyalty mission in ME2 or a wave by wave standoff with the weakened Shepard against the reaper agents trying to stop him while the destruction warms up ala Halo Reach starring a cripple, and if you manage to survive that, then a more detailed and complex ending scene unfolds where Shepard has earned his survival and you see some closure for everyone left. Now that’s what Bioware should’ve done. Other than that, I think the game’s narrative is absolutely flawless and overshadows any other issues that might be encountered. I know I got stuck in the Normandy’s floor once, somehow… but I still had a great time!
The thing about the ending that I haven’t seen anyone talk about yet is, MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD……………the bleeping mass relays all blew up! I mean seriously unless the future Mass Effect games they are supposedly planning are all prequels how do you get around the fact that each sector is now isolated? I know maybe at FTL it might be a few years b/t say Thessia and say Palaven (I have no idea what the distance is b/t them and don’t care) but doesn’t it sort of destroy everything you have accomplished in this final game. You work so hard to unite everyone and then it all goes up in like 30 secs. It seems like you might as well let the Reapers win because galactic civ is going to be big time different now. Maybe I am way off if so please someone correct me. I really want to say it didn’t suck an egg at the end. I do understand that this is the end of Shep’s story and killing or otherwise removing the character is a good way to say no we won’t bring him/her back (ala Master Chief), but it still would be nice to say Shep saved the galaxy and then retired to Illium or wherever.
Oh and a quick text review of the surviving squad mates would be nice like at the end of DA:O. Just a where are they now sort of thing not a crappy we crashed and only 3 survived.
The game was amazing….. up until the end. This has been my franchise and that so called ending left me feeling empty inside. Still a great game though. Awaiting dlc.
Has anyone mentioned the “X” key issue. Maybe I’m the problem, but with so many functions mapped to a single key, I find my self trying to move or run and get stuck “under cover”. Also, using the “X” key as the run key, you can’t turn. I run in a straight line, stop turn and try to run again. From a human factors stand point, it seems there could have been a better solution. I keep getting trapped “under cover” and can’t get my character to move. It’s aggravating to point that I have to quit playing, or throw something. That’s way too expensive
All right, NOW I have played ME3 all the way through and that hollow feeling you all describe? I felt it, and I was able to really identify why. It had nothing to do with the end of the game, because it felt more like a real life ending would. Closure? Not really. Win? Not once the full scope of the fight was realized.
How many of you remembered the scene at the beam? Everyone was cut down by Harbinger, and that proved to me in that moment that the game was trying to set up a hard truth in the players mind. You don’t stand a chance buddy, this is lots of luck and a perfect set of circumstances allowing you to even approach a confrontation with the Catalyst.
I laughed at the whole indoctrination theory because I could see thoughout the conversation that Shepard has with the Catalyst that he is out-stripped by a galactic force that has reduced the Harvest to a fine art, and which is simply trying to find a better solution to a problem that had been considered on a Cosmic scale, long ago, by a race that humankind would have no concept of. For just one race to stand against that force and win was not even a footnote, for an entire galaxy to do it was amusing, for it to be done with the Crucible built and ready to do something was remarkable, but it all hinged on Shepard, who was in the end only afforded the choices that he got because of his constant cropping up as a stumbling block in the path of the Reapers. To ask for more of an ending would have reduced all that scope to a comic book ending. I’m glad BioWare did NOT give us that. I felt hollow as I rejected all the choices and watched all the civ’s I fought so hard to protect fall, knowing that the actual victory would have to be won later.
But I needed to stay true to the path I had chosen for the character. And when I play through with my next one I will have to choose what to do again, and its not going to be easy, because no matter what you choose you only gain something for everyone, but it all comes at a price, and that price is steep, and painful, but in honesty I would not have it any other way. The sense of scope to the conflict as you speak to the Catalyst is to great a conversation to give up on the alter of “I am Commander Shepard and I can have it ALL!” like some superhero. In the end you are reduced to your humanity, and the skilful way the conversation makes you realize that you don’t want to change what you have because you are afraid of change for its own sake is just to precious.