I want to start by saying that this review is targeted towards the Mass Effect 3 on the Legendary Edition, which means, with all DLC and other improvements. With that said, I would say I had tons of fun with Mass Effect 3, probably the most of all the three games in this trilogy.
Mass Effect 3’s combat is vastly superior to its predecessors. Biotic power are much easier to use and are stronger, you are no longer limited in which weapons you can bring on missions, although some classes benefit certain weapons more. Movement is much smoother, where you can take cover, vault over cover and dodge at will, and you now have access to a strong melee attack (which was something I really wanted in Mass Effect 2). Weapon choice is now limited by the amount of weight you can carry, and, there is now an interesting trade-off, where you can bring fewer weapons in exchange for faster power/ability recharge rate.
One issue that I also had with Mass Effect 2 is the ammunition. In Mass Effect 2 and 3, weapons have ammunition, which they didn’t in 1. Now, not only do they bother having an explanation for every weapon in the galaxy needing ammunition in a span of 2 years, there makes zero sense for it being better than weapons having effectively infinite ammo. It seems that the developers knew this, as you can find ammo EVERYWHERE, and enemies constantly drop ammo, which defeats ammo existing, it becomes an annoyance or an afterthought.
One issue I noticed in this game is the fact that persuasion options and interrupts were rarer compared to Mass Effect 2. It also seems they were less impactful in missions and character interactions.
But the most glaring issue this game has is managing logistics with side missions. It is a super boring and tedious process. The game does show where the main quests take place, but the side missions are simply a nightmare to manage, and are boring, as there are tons of quests that boil down to going to a system, scanning to find a planet, sending down a probe and having to go all the way back to deliver the item.
Overall, I had a lot of fun with Mass Effect 3. I thought that the main premise and story were interesting, as were the sub-plots. Some things could be improved, but I really like the interaction with new and past companions. As for the endings, I knew already that many thought they were bad, but, honestly, I think they’re fine. There might be some plot holes, but I liked that there is no best or even a (entirely) good ending, all of them have interesting trade-offs and give opportunity for role play, and discussions I have read online about the endings seem to reflect that.
Mass Effect 3’s combat is vastly superior to its predecessors. Biotic power are much easier to use and are stronger, you are no longer limited in which weapons you can bring on missions, although some classes benefit certain weapons more. Movement is much smoother, where you can take cover, vault over cover and dodge at will, and you now have access to a strong melee attack (which was something I really wanted in Mass Effect 2). Weapon choice is now limited by the amount of weight you can carry, and, there is now an interesting trade-off, where you can bring fewer weapons in exchange for faster power/ability recharge rate.
One issue that I also had with Mass Effect 2 is the ammunition. In Mass Effect 2 and 3, weapons have ammunition, which they didn’t in 1. Now, not only do they bother having an explanation for every weapon in the galaxy needing ammunition in a span of 2 years, there makes zero sense for it being better than weapons having effectively infinite ammo. It seems that the developers knew this, as you can find ammo EVERYWHERE, and enemies constantly drop ammo, which defeats ammo existing, it becomes an annoyance or an afterthought.
One issue I noticed in this game is the fact that persuasion options and interrupts were rarer compared to Mass Effect 2. It also seems they were less impactful in missions and character interactions.
But the most glaring issue this game has is managing logistics with side missions. It is a super boring and tedious process. The game does show where the main quests take place, but the side missions are simply a nightmare to manage, and are boring, as there are tons of quests that boil down to going to a system, scanning to find a planet, sending down a probe and having to go all the way back to deliver the item.
Overall, I had a lot of fun with Mass Effect 3. I thought that the main premise and story were interesting, as were the sub-plots. Some things could be improved, but I really like the interaction with new and past companions. As for the endings, I knew already that many thought they were bad, but, honestly, I think they’re fine. There might be some plot holes, but I liked that there is no best or even a (entirely) good ending, all of them have interesting trade-offs and give opportunity for role play, and discussions I have read online about the endings seem to reflect that.