Mass Effect 3

Voices of: Mark Meer, Jennifer Hale, Ali Hillis, Brandon Keener, Steven Barr, Seth Green, Keith David, Kimberly Brooks, Martin Sheen, Lance Henriksen, Adam Lazarre-White, Carrie-Ann Moss, Ash Sroka, Yvonne Strahovski, Courtenay Taylor, Freddie Prinze Jr., Maggie Baird, Tricia Helfer, Fred Tatasciore, Raphael Sbarge, Jessica Chobot, Michael Hogan, Matthew Del Negro, Steve Blum, Buzz Aldrin
Developer: BioWare
Directed by: Casey Hudson
Rating: M
Genre: Action role-playing
System: Xbox 360
2012

Times Completed:
Tim: 1

Summary: Commander Shepard must rally the galaxy for a final battle against the Reapers, which will determine the fate of all living beings.

Review:
Tim: I have to give so much praise to BioWare for successfully finishing their Mass Effect trilogy. The story they told, spanning three games and dozens of characters, is truly unlike anything I've played in video games before. This final chapter was filled with so much emotion. I loved playing it, I felt nostalgia and sadness at saying goodbye to these characters. This game felt heavy, important. True, it's not without its flaws, and I'll get to those eventually. But, overall, I do want to acknowledge the difficulty in pulling off what BioWare did here.

I thought that some of the changes in Mass Effect 3 worked really well. I was actually a fan of the shift in overall focus- this time, Commander Shepard is flying around the galaxy, recruiting military forces for the final battle against the Reapers. There's much less planet-scanning for resources. Instead, you're focused on raising your military strength up to acceptable levels. The basic gameplay is all the same, but this time, the side missions are to obtain additional wartime resources to help the final battle. I had fun seeing the military strength increase as I progressed through the game. It does lend itself to a certain urgency in the gameplay. This wasn't all fun, of course. The most annoying thing was scanning for resources and alerting the Reapers, which caused you to need to flee the system, complete a mission somewhere else, before returning. For the first half of the game, I just tried to explore and find things myself. But, constantly running from the Reapers became a huge pain, so for the second half, I just used a guide to see which planets I needed to scan. That became tedious, to try and get 100% everywhere. I also thought the way the side missions were set up was pretty awful- there's so little information provided, I just relied on a guide to figure out where to go and what to do. Once at the planet, the game provides clear direction, but I thought the tracking of the various side assignments was annoying. Like in previous games, there's ridiculous glitches that can lock you out of specific missions. The absolute worst was the Hanar Diplomat mission. I accepted it, left the Citadel (intending to finish it later), which triggers a lock-out and I was unable to complete the assignment. No warnings, no indication that something stupid like that would happen. That was aggravating.

Otherwise, I did complete all the Story Missions, as well as every other assignment (except for two assignments in the dumb arena). That was for the main game, plus I did all the DLC- From Ashes, Leviathan, Omega, and Citadel. Quick note on that- yes, it's annoying to have to pay extra for every one of these. From Ashes felt like an absolute ripoff. I couldn't believe you get basically 2 missions for the cost. Leviathan was fun, added some great lore and some exciting action scenes. Omega was incredibly long, but it had a great story and threw some really interesting challenges. Citadel is fantastic, I have so much to say in favor of that. I will say that I hated the Citadel Arena. I'm just not a fan of battle-heavy assignments that aren't even real and don't advance the storyline at all. It's absurd that Shepard would take so much time out of his urgent mission to save the galaxy to play a virtual fighting game. I hate when games do this (looking at you, Borderlands). I did most of the assignments, except for the last two. I wasn't interested in replaying to get a Gold ranking, just for more unnecessary combat. Sue me.

For the rest of the Citadel DLC, I'm trying to find the words. The clone story was intriguing, but that is secondary. This is really a love letter to the entire series. The writing is so superb- each character suddenly becomes so funny, their personality comes out strong. It's some of the best writing of the entire trilogy and you can tell the writers were trying to lean into these characters one last time. I adored getting to spend so much time with these characters, whom I grew to love over three games. This culminates in the Party, one of the best pieces of video game playing I've ever experienced. It's not even so much what the party entails, but this game allows you to spend character-building time with all these wonderful people. Before you go to the final battle (that's the best time to do the DLC), you get to hang out, laugh, reminisce, and perhaps say goodbye to everyone. It felt meaningful and it felt rare. Most games don't allow you to do this. Thinking about the party, the final group picture, I just smile remembering those moments. And, I truly loved Shepard's final line in that DLC- "the best". I agree, John. I agree.

Once again, the characters are what feel most special. I didn't stray too far from my previous games- Garrus is always my ride-or-die. He accompanied me on nearly every mission and Shepard's friendship with him felt truly special. I romanced Liara and it was so fun to watch their relationship develop in this game. That trio is what I leveraged for most missions. I wanted to include others, but I just enjoyed those three characters so much. Joker got a bigger role in this game and it was fun seeing his personality more. Seth Green truly did excellent work with him. EDI was a great addition, and her relationship with Joker felt interesting. I liked Miranda Lawson a lot more in this game, and Yvonne Strahovski of course does excellent work with her. Martin Sheen is excellent again, as The Illusive Man. Carrie-Ann Moss did nice work as Aria and I was glad a whole DLC allowed us to spend time with her. Freddie Prinze Jr. was a nice addition as Vega. Mordin Solus' story was one of the most powerful of the game. I do wish we had more time with Tali. She's such a fascinating character and I wish I did more with her. I could go on, but the characters and the cast are just so incredibly good here.

I suppose I do need to talk about the controversy of the ending. I'd read a lot of complaints without specifics before I finished the game. I admit, I felt bewildered and a bit in disbelief about people's opinions. Video game players love to complain. I do acknowledge they have some points. I didn't hate the ending, and at first I thought, "it was fine". But, over the next few days, I felt weird. I felt a little listless. I felt some level of emptiness when I contemplated this game and I didn't understand. It took me a few days, but I do think I felt some numbing disappointment. I didn't want the game to be over- not just because I loved playing it, but because the ending felt a bit unsatisfying. I'll try not to SPOIL much, but there's basically three choices (four, but I don't think I did the extended cut). I chose Synthesis, which I recognize many keyboard warriors would rail against. I didn't love that conclusion, and since, I've read a lot about Shepard's choices. The biggest issue is that none of them are satisfying. You play through three full games and then to conclude the story, you basically get three bad choices. I suppose there's some hint of reality here- in life, you often have to choose between multiple bad options. But, I wanted the game to go out in a better way, to feel more of a sense of accomplishment, to celebrate Shepard's victory, verses feel uncertain and anxious about my final choice. It was certainly a bold decision on the part of BioWare, but it did leave a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. It was a fine ending, but I wanted something great.

I finished the final game in over 44 hours (128 hours for the trilogy). Shepard was in Level 60, Health 875, Shield 87. I maxed out Adrenaline Rush, Incendiary Ammo, Disruptor Ammo, Cryo Ammo, Combat Mastery, Fitness, & Armor-Piercing Ammo. I did the Full Paragon path. Like I said before, I did all assignments except for the dumb Hanar Diplomat, as well as Citadel Arena: Charity Reaper and Citadel: Unusual Scores. My total military strength was 8,073 and my effective military strength was 4,036. I didn't do any of the online stuff.

While yes, I have some level of dissatisfaction with the conclusion, I mostly feel thankful to have played these games. It's one of the great video game trilogies I've ever played, especially from a narrative and character-driven perspective. The combat was fun, but it's the story that I truly loved. I think about how many assignments, how much time I spent with these characters, and I just marvel at the immersive experience BioWare provided. Shepard was right, and as I reflect on this journey, all I can say is, "the best".



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



If You Enjoyed This Game, We Recommend: Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, Star Fox, Bioshock, Starlink: Battle for Atlas, Borderlands, Metroid Prime