I played the original 2 back to back so I took some time between 2 and 3 because I knew it was the last one clears throat but it puts me in a unique situation because I can view it fresh rather than trying to compare it oh so much.

So in terms of aging, it starts out very linear. There were a lot of things added with the Legendary Edition to the other games but this one, being the more recent one, didn't seem to get all the glow ups I think it should have. Controls can seem janky like trying to target what you're trying to select/interact/melee with. Running forces your perspective to whatever direction it requires. It carries over some of that darkness from before where I can barely see where I'm going at times, I've explained it before. I had a few bugs and glitches where something gets in the way or Shep will start floating, audio like a broken record, prompts that don't do what they say. PC might not have those same problems though.

I've heard it criticized as either the best or worst in the trilogy and now I see why. It focuses more on "action over RPG" as they describe it but there's a lot of welcome additions like the pummel. It just seems like it's trying to show you this spectacle yet it's PS3 Era explosions and kind of lame ones at that. The sky boxes can be gorgeous as well as busy though, so I guess it evens out a little bit.

I got to where I hit the Citadel DLC and decided that was a good time to break. I came back and my opinion of this game was changed. The writing was great, the action was tight, the moments were cool, it really brought it back for halftime.

In terms of story, a lot happened off screen but it's not too much of a hamper because you get the gist that it's just trying to get the band back together (again). The characters are a bit even, we don't seem to have as many new characters but most of the old ones return, some get good treatment, some don't, it's a toss up. Even the villains I feel could've got a bit more with Kai Leng being introduced kind of late.

With the impending doom of everywhere, there comes some interesting choices you can make just off hand with random strangers to try to make them make peace rather than wasting what precious moments they have left, so you'll hear a lot of arguments that you can take a side on. Interesting dialogue too, someone asking for a refund and the clerk refusing, an immigration refusal, a wife leaving.

The Mako...I miss it. I get that it was complained about but now we have no vehicles, its a shame. That was some of the the best fun I've had with the games and is most of why I hold ME1 higher than the rest, it just seemed like something you'd do in space. The world setup is different too, in 2 you could go around and inspect systems and planets and find weird side missions by doing so and complete the index. Some had materials worth using for the ship. And you can look at these worlds but they might as well be ornaments. Outside of already set up side mission waypoints, the remaining ones serve no purpose. It's almost like they planned to include that system from 2 but ran out of time. Instead the reapers chase you if you scan an area, which is cool and makes sense in context but that's it. They catch you and you just start over, no battle, no cutscene, nothing.
As far as the DLC, it's not really DLC anymore because it's just part of the game with the remastered edition but if you were curious...

From Ashes just adds Javik and guns, stuff that was originally cut so worth it. Leviathan was kind of annoying but gives you more insight and explanation as to the Reapers and their origin rather than just shoving it all at the end, still some cool moments though. Omega was disappointing because it dragged on and on and was dark in little corridors, the story was weaker than it could've been but at least we had Aria...As I mentioned Citadel kind of became essential for me and the most worthy out of this list, really cool stuff that added naturally to the game. Even with these though, I spent about the same amount of time with it as the second one, but where I felt a lot of tedious stuff with ME2, I felt more mainline (aside from Omega) with this one. So same score but better than 2, lesser than 1. 3.5/5

Oh...that ending thing...so a lot of people don't like the ending and I can kind of see why but it's not really the worst ending or anything. As I mentioned, some inclusion of the DLC made the ending worthwhile so vanilla might seem salty. By this point, I was already satisfied with the game and really the ending is kind of bittersweet no matter which route you go. They all have similar cutscenes (or rather, paintings) just with different colors and meanings and stuff. I suppose Green is probably the happiest, Red probably being something you'd expect, Blue being a somewhat middle ground and Empty being more bittersweet than any of them. It's really only questionable because it tries to redefine the game for you at the very end. What do you fight for?

With so much focus on the terrible ending I think the discourse about this game got lost somewhere.

It's filled with drama and high stakes, all the while being the most feature incomplete of the trilogy. Everything from the restrictive dialouge, to the reduced roles in the cast, to an oddly bland hub world. There's so much to criticize... but where it counts Mass Effect 3 excells.

Gameplay feels better than ever, character arcs are satisfying, and thematic meaning can be found in every story beat.

It's a profound experience, but it comes with a lot of baggage.

brings back some of the baby that was thrown out with the bathwater in mass effect 2. Weapon mods, being able to choose between reload or overheat weapons, and has some improvements of its own. The missions are all insanely fun and varied, (for mass effect standards) combat is smooth, and the story mostly maintains its quality alongside me2 and 1. But the dialogue options are really bad this time around. You can barely talk with your companions on the ship which is a huge step down where 2 had them as the stars of the show, front and center. It also follows the recruitment formula from 2, but changes it to be amassing an army for a big push which is cool, but i'm less likely to get attached to the fuel deposits I got for the war meter than I am to these guys that u have full conversations with, do quests individually for, and overall me3 just feels like its less personal and more focused on being huge. Also some of the good/bad options made no sense, why are some of these in those categories? I'm seriously a renegade just because i've never been afraid to say what's on my mind at any given time of day? i'm a renegade because i've never been afraid to talk about anything? Anyways, the DLC content was amazing. Citadel DLC was some of the best content in the series. I think the very last part of this game was kind of eh, even though that final mission was pretty cool, the last choice and cutscene is weird. I didn't hear much from this series but even I knew that ending was heavily criticized and now I see why. This was a cool series tho, now im gonna eat pizza and watch some suits. I wonder what louis litt is gonna get up to this time!