It has finally happened that I have finished playing the Mass Effect trilogy and after two really good games we will have to see if the trilogy can finish it off in style and here is my review for Mass Effect 3. The premise of the game sees The Reapers finally invade the galaxy, Shepard must recruit the other species to work together to ensure they stand a chance against the greatest threat of all time.
Characters
For the final time, we get to play as Commander Shepard and once again I am a Male Shepard voiced by the excellent Mark Meer and he absolutely nails it in this game. You really feel the wear and tear that goes on this character as he has to deal with this war. He has great emotional moments and quick humour that makes this a legendary character that encapsulates this overall franchise.
This game has an insanely large cast bringing characters back from the previous two games and they are all pretty much the same as they have been but a lot have them have way less time to shine here which sucks. One character that gets plenty of time is Liara T'soni played by Ali Hillis, she is back as a full time squad member this time around and she is a great character that sees progression here. She was my romance choice and I think she is one of the most fleshed out romances of the franchise.
Brandon Keener is back as Garrus Vakarian and once again he is awesome, he is just such a cool character and I really like how they show how the war affects people through him. He is a bit more ruthless with his thinking and is dealing with the greater responsibility that he is given.
Ash Sroka is also back as Tali and her story is actually quite similar to Garrus. She is given more responsibility in her government and she really struggles with it and isn't sure exactly what the best way to help her people is. She is once again a great character and even though she isn't introduced till later there is still plenty of time for her.
There's some new squad mates in this game. Starting with James Vega played by Freddie Prinze Jnr and I must say I enjoyed having him around more in this playthrough then I have previously. He is quite charming and I like his relationship with Shepard, he is probably the best Alliance squad member that we have had in the franchise. EDI played by Tricia Helfer gets a body this time and joins the squad and similar to James I enjoyed her more here, she has a dark sense of humour and her development is really clear and I thought it was well handled. Ike Amadi plays Javik the last Prothean, he was originally DLC but in the Legendary edition he is in the game proper and he is fantastic. He is a very angry and violent character that also has a clear development over the course of the game.
One last character to mention is The Illusive Man played by Martin Sheen, I forgot to mention how amazing a character he was in the previous game so I am going to mention it here and say that I love this character and the performance of Sheen. They make some questionable character decisions with him here but Sheen still delivers an effective performance.
Story
The story is a real mixed bag. I love the feeling of this game and the tone of just how massive this war is and how it totally affects everybody in the galaxy. I also really liked how the two big storylines involve the Genophage & The Quarian/Geth war which are two things that have been talked about since the first game. However, it is the last act of storytelling is where it falls off a cliff. Turning Cerberus into moustache twirling villains was a real mistake and the ending just falls incredibly flat which is such a shame for this amazing franchise.
Side Content
This game has lots of side content and for the most part it is very good. This is where you meet the majority of characters from previous games including squad mates from Mass Effect 2 such as Jack, Grunt & Samara. There are some annoying mini games where you cna collect objects to help the war effort, but these aren't essential and can be skipped. The 3 DLC's Leviathan, Omega & The Citadel are all brilliant and worthwhile editions that are now a part of the game due to Legendary Edition.
Gameplay
From a pure gameplay perspective this is the best game so far in the franchise. Shepard is way more athletic and he can move a lot better which allows you to execute different moves. There is also a way better melee weapon which sometimes encourages play that gets you close to the enemy. The dialogue is also at its best and characters usually have something to say and actually interact with each other which is a big upgrade on the previous games. However, this game tries to limit how much fun you can have to play. For example, they add weight to the weapons which means you are incredibly limited to what weapons you can use as it affects your power use which I need being a Biotic.
Graphics
The game looks beautiful, the new weapons and armour really adds plenty to the game. The vast battlefields that shows the destruction by The Reapers is realised really well for the majority of the game. The character models also look great and I really enjoyed the look of the universe that is plagued by war.
Overall
Overall, Mass Effect 3 is a great finish to the Mass Effect trilogy, it just falls a little short of expectations. I had a great time playing a game and think it still has plenty of merit despite its poor ending.
Rating - 8/10.
