Hot on the trails of Mass Effect 2's bombastic ending, Mass Effect 3 drops you straight into the war between all life in the Galaxy and the existential threat, THE REAPERS. Forced to abandon the efforts to save Earth, Command Shepard is once again tasked with preparing the galaxy to strike back and retake what's theirs.
Mass Effect 3 is a departure from previous games in that your main task is filling up a huge green bar on the Normandy that tells you whether Shepard has shmoozed with enough folks across the playable galaxy in order to guarantee their support in an all out assault to retake Earth - of the three Mass Effect titles it is the only one that constantly hammers you with the idea that you are in fact not just a superhuman soldier capable of changing the sway of galactic events, but also a lowly Commander in the Earth Alliance Military.
Gee. Thanks. We needed that.
The structure of the game beyond the inclusion of said bar isn't much different from previous titles, except they shift away from grandiose missions that ensure the loyalty of your crew members to large scale war operations that assure the loyalty of the various military factions towards your goal of saving Earth. These missions are wonderful capstones for each of the major races and locales that have lingered throughout the Mass Effect trilogy. It feels swan-song like; getting the band back together for one more ride, except the band is a huge military fleet.
You also uncover plans to build some super importantly bizarre weapon called, "The Crucible," and like....they do build it....but its bizarrely entirely in the background. It's hilarious.
At each step of the process of building your big heckin fleet, your old buddies from Mass Effect 2, the human nationalists at Cerberus, return and try to stop your efforts in favor of exploiting the riches of the galaxy for their own benefits. This means that Mass Effect 3 has two distinct sets of antagonists and - uh oh - one ends up feeling a LOT more authentic and interesting than the other! I won't say which, but one is literally landing Death Star lasers on planets! And the other has...a ninja????
Mass Effect 3, structure and story wise, falls into the same trap that every big action movie trilogy does; it goes way too big, and spends way too much time trying to tie up every single loose end from the previous two games that it just ends up feeling a bit bloated - this feels way worse due to the DLC being baked into the game as part of the Legendary Edition re-release. It just starts to feel ridiculous that Cerberus is so aggressive in foiling Shepard's efforts, and even more ridiculous that only one man can unite the factions of the galaxy in such a manner. It stretches the limits of both patience and believability as this epic store lurches towards its contentious conclusion (I got the synthesis ending. It was NEAT!)
It feels like the most 3rd entry in a trilogy of any game trilogy I've ever completed: too big, too loud, and unable to hit every mark perfectly - some missed so dramatically that 3's ending continues to inspire vitriol to this day (again, I think its neat that its a little weird!)
All of this is filtered through the absolute best combat of all three main Mass Effect titles; its relishes in the best characteristics of both its predecessors; the full range of weapons returns to Shepard's arsenal from the remnants of Mass Effect 1, and the smooth, responsive cover movement mechanics of 2 become further refined. The guns and overall game feel are remarkably fine tuned and feel so much better. The way the game slows down and the gives you a second to focus after your shield breaks is just beautiful. Powers are more responsive and interesting than in previous games as well. Its like someone sat down and declared that finally there should be a Mass Effect should feel good to play. And it is glorious - unless you play in on Insanity. Then its just absolutely miserable - the encounter design in Mass Effect 3 is excellent on normal difficulties. It is abhorrent and mind numbing on Insanity mode.
I greatly respect Mass Effect 3 - it swings big, and it swings heavy. Its as finely tuned as it is stuffed to the brim with perhaps too much to deal with for one game. Its ending fails to meet the promise of an action RPG that takes every decision you've ever made into consideration all the time, but I know that people make games, not players. And for what its worth, I felt my choices were well represented through the span of Mass Effect 3's experience; they just didn't shift the ending. I felt like my Cheddar Shepard's efforts WERE reflected in the game world he sifted through as he tried to save Earth. And for me, that is enough.
Also. Insanity mode. Christ.
Mass Effect 3 is a departure from previous games in that your main task is filling up a huge green bar on the Normandy that tells you whether Shepard has shmoozed with enough folks across the playable galaxy in order to guarantee their support in an all out assault to retake Earth - of the three Mass Effect titles it is the only one that constantly hammers you with the idea that you are in fact not just a superhuman soldier capable of changing the sway of galactic events, but also a lowly Commander in the Earth Alliance Military.
Gee. Thanks. We needed that.
The structure of the game beyond the inclusion of said bar isn't much different from previous titles, except they shift away from grandiose missions that ensure the loyalty of your crew members to large scale war operations that assure the loyalty of the various military factions towards your goal of saving Earth. These missions are wonderful capstones for each of the major races and locales that have lingered throughout the Mass Effect trilogy. It feels swan-song like; getting the band back together for one more ride, except the band is a huge military fleet.
You also uncover plans to build some super importantly bizarre weapon called, "The Crucible," and like....they do build it....but its bizarrely entirely in the background. It's hilarious.
At each step of the process of building your big heckin fleet, your old buddies from Mass Effect 2, the human nationalists at Cerberus, return and try to stop your efforts in favor of exploiting the riches of the galaxy for their own benefits. This means that Mass Effect 3 has two distinct sets of antagonists and - uh oh - one ends up feeling a LOT more authentic and interesting than the other! I won't say which, but one is literally landing Death Star lasers on planets! And the other has...a ninja????
Mass Effect 3, structure and story wise, falls into the same trap that every big action movie trilogy does; it goes way too big, and spends way too much time trying to tie up every single loose end from the previous two games that it just ends up feeling a bit bloated - this feels way worse due to the DLC being baked into the game as part of the Legendary Edition re-release. It just starts to feel ridiculous that Cerberus is so aggressive in foiling Shepard's efforts, and even more ridiculous that only one man can unite the factions of the galaxy in such a manner. It stretches the limits of both patience and believability as this epic store lurches towards its contentious conclusion (I got the synthesis ending. It was NEAT!)
It feels like the most 3rd entry in a trilogy of any game trilogy I've ever completed: too big, too loud, and unable to hit every mark perfectly - some missed so dramatically that 3's ending continues to inspire vitriol to this day (again, I think its neat that its a little weird!)
All of this is filtered through the absolute best combat of all three main Mass Effect titles; its relishes in the best characteristics of both its predecessors; the full range of weapons returns to Shepard's arsenal from the remnants of Mass Effect 1, and the smooth, responsive cover movement mechanics of 2 become further refined. The guns and overall game feel are remarkably fine tuned and feel so much better. The way the game slows down and the gives you a second to focus after your shield breaks is just beautiful. Powers are more responsive and interesting than in previous games as well. Its like someone sat down and declared that finally there should be a Mass Effect should feel good to play. And it is glorious - unless you play in on Insanity. Then its just absolutely miserable - the encounter design in Mass Effect 3 is excellent on normal difficulties. It is abhorrent and mind numbing on Insanity mode.
I greatly respect Mass Effect 3 - it swings big, and it swings heavy. Its as finely tuned as it is stuffed to the brim with perhaps too much to deal with for one game. Its ending fails to meet the promise of an action RPG that takes every decision you've ever made into consideration all the time, but I know that people make games, not players. And for what its worth, I felt my choices were well represented through the span of Mass Effect 3's experience; they just didn't shift the ending. I felt like my Cheddar Shepard's efforts WERE reflected in the game world he sifted through as he tried to save Earth. And for me, that is enough.
Also. Insanity mode. Christ.