Does this ride really have to end?
Through three games now we've gotten to know "our" Shepard, along with new companions whom we'll never forget. We've seen Humanity's status in the galactic maelstrom rise and we were rewarded with a scorched Earth. Humanity finally caught up to the rest of the galaxy, but all that doesn't seem to matter now, given the ending. I didn't particularly like the ending, but my reaction was more bewilderment than outrage. But this review isn't about that.
While I believe 2010's ME2 was, overall, the best of the series, each of the trilogy brought a specific strength to the table. ME1 was all about exploration (I actually LIKED the Mako!), ME2 was about character & story (until the ridiculous final battle) and ME3 excelled at combat (if that's your bag). While ME3 did have a touch of the other 2 games in it, it was clear to me that it was meant to be more shooter, and less exploration. Sadly, if that's the evolution of the Shepard arc, then perhaps it's best to end things now. I want a universe to explore, not just frag.
Still, there were some very touching moments in this game, if you're apparently one of the few players who still likes story and character development over combat. I'm so glad they finally fleshed out Ashley's character, along with Garrus. For instance, the Garrus scene where he and Shepard were shooting bottles was one of the most clever bits of writing I've seen in a game. Unfortunately other characters, like Tali, seemed to regress a bit on the writing front. And while it was good to see old friends like Jack and Miranda again, it's tough not to know what happened to them at the end. Hopefully some DLC takes care of that.
As mentioned, exploration is almost non-existent in game 3. It was minimized in ME2, due mainly to the significant personal story arc missions of each of the members you recruit, so I guess it was excusable then. But they simply don't exist in ME3 outside of a handful of Cerberus-based, shoot-out levels. Considering that you now no longer have to worry about tech and biotic skills when completing objectives, bringing anyone non-combat oriented at any point in this game was handicapping your group. A character like Tali went from being arguably the most valuable companion in ME1, to a liability in ME3. That's unfortunate, and yet another bit of evidence that the franchise is slowly becoming Extremely Modern Warfare, the space-based shooter.
The overall story was pretty much known immediately upon finishing ME2-- build an army, save the Earth... For whatever reason, the game forces Admiral Anderson down our throats-- probably as a bone to the novels that made him seem sort of cool back in the day (or to actually sell more novels). Now, he's merely an old, ugly, overweight guy who somehow survives the gauntlet run to the citadel beam even though everyone else wearing armor gets fried (riddle me THAT). I also have no idea who the Brit commander was in the 3rd act who got more screen time than most of the characters who were around the whole series. Anyway, things seemed to fall apart, as usual, at the end of the game. BioWare writers do so well with the entirety of Mass Effect games, but then lay some crap down and call it an ending. I'm either shooting a bad guy on a rocket-propelled surf board, or shooting a giant robot skeleton, or... C'mon. Give the reigns to someone else if you can't figure out a decent way to wrap things up. I'll be happy to help!
Bottom line is that Mass Effect 3 was "very good", almost "great". But the fact that I got hooked on an epic space-based exploration RPG that ultimately became a space-based shooter kinda brings it down a notch for me. I also can't excuse the face import snafu, which is sort of an important feature for a 3-game, same-character story arc (seriously, how does something like that get by quality control?)
Nonetheless, I really look forward to more Mass Effect games, Shepard or not. I just wonder how you top saving the galaxy?
Just no friggin' prequels, please...