The final chapter in the Mass Effect saga would be released simultaneously on the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC. There was no waiting around for Playstation 3 owners this time around. Mass Effect 3 would also be one of the launch titles for the Nintendo Wii U at the tail end of 2012.
Story & Presentation
So it all built towards this epic conclusion…… well sadly the story in Mass Effect 3 feels to me like it was written by a totally different team. Now I will do my best not to spoil it for you guys who have yet to play the game. But the game sees you still playing as Commander Sheppard who has been taken into custody as he tries to stop the pending invasion of The Reapers. Sheppard is really the only hope of saving humanity from being wiped out.
The premise for the story is great, but the execution leaves a great deal to be desired. Now if you have played the other games in the series then you would have made some gut wrenching decisions along your way. But by the end of Mass Effect 3 it’s like all those decisions were for nothing as you are given a choice at the end of the game that really does not take into account what you had done previously. Now I in a way get why Bioware did this and I did not hate it as much as other people did. But the fact that Bioware actually went and crafted a new ending because of the fan feedback, to me does say that they themselves could not have been 100 percent happy with it.
Now let me say if you played Mass Effect 3 on its own without playing the other two games you would probably have a much better experience than if you had played the other two games. This I know sounds odd, but it’s true. The game just looks amazing and is superior in its presentation from the other two games in the series. The whole game just has a more Hollywood sci-fi epic look and feel to it now.
Gameplay
From a game play point of view I had a great time with Mass Effect 3. I think that the game feels like it has been pretty much fine tuned to perfection by this point. One thing that I loved was how the AI is just so much smarter. The game is a challenge because of the AI and not because of cheap enemies. The game while being more action based than its predecessors does make you have to think about your strategy more. I certainly think that from a game play point of view Mass Effect 3 is by far the best in the series.
One interesting thing about Mass Effect 3 is the way that it lets you play the game. You can experience the game in three different ways. RPG mode is the best if you ask me as this plays like the other two Mass Effect games. Action mode takes away the dialogue choices and instead focuses more on the action. Story mode is for players who just want to experience the games story and as a result the difficulty of the combat has been severely toned down. I think this was a nice touch as some people will like the story, but not want to have to make various choices in what Commander Sheppard says.
Final Thoughts
Mass Effect 3 is a great game let’s say that right away. It looks amazing, plays really well, but the story to me just lets the game down. It’s not bad, but as someone who spent the better part of 100 hours with the other two games. Mass Effect 3’s conclusion to the adventure my Commander Sheppard went through just kind of felt flat. I am not saying it’s bad, but I did feel a little let down. Now if you are new to the Mass Effect series then I say good for you. And I would actually recommend that you skip 1 and 2 and just jump straight in with this one.
