Mass Effect 3 is charming and intense, maintaining a stellar formula and capping off a terrific end to the trilogy.
Xbox 360
Score: 10/10
Written By: UltimaSpartacus
Mass Effect has always been a favorite for many RPG lovers out there for its excellent storytelling, excellent gameplay, and excellent characters. You travel the galaxy taking a band of soldiers, thieves, misfits, and even biotic warriors to take back the safety of the galaxy. The journey is never easy for Commander Shepard and his/her crew, but they will always be able to find a way. Now, the Reapers are invading and wiping out planets within days. Civilizations are falling, and the odds of survival are slim-to-none. Mass Effect 3 is no different from previous entries, and with the deep characters and improved gameplay, Bioware and EA deliver a fitting end to the main trilogy.
Gameplay:
The overall formula in Mass Effect has remained the same more or less. You travel the galaxy building your squad from a small group up to a platoon of biotic, tech, or soldier-based warriors. From there, you can travel about the galaxy to various planets and systems to uncover everything you need to take on the Reapers. Compared to Mass Effect 2, some elements have changed to give you a more "survival-like" edge in combat and exploration.
In combat, you are given a sword through your Omni-tool to allow for some powerful melee attacks. This is especially useful when pesky husks start to rush you and you need a quick way to escape and get into cover or reassess your strategy. You also have more changes in weaponry as you can add weapon attachments and mods to your arsenal to give your more of an edge.
Biotic powers have more or less remained untouched, but still provide a nice balance of attack for you and your squad. Exploration has been slightly modified to take on the fact that the Reapers are taking out all life. With all life being slaughtered and crushed, you need to feel a sense of urgency or a sense of the end being near. While traversing the galaxy in areas controlled by the Reapers, if you stay for too long or travel too much, the Reapers will detect you on their sensors and press on to take you out. They know you destroyed Sovereign and the Collectors, and now they want to destroy you and every other species in the galaxy.
Mass Effect 3 also features a multiplayer mode where you team up with three other individuals to complete certain objectives and survive as many waves as possible. Over time, your accomplishments in multiplayer will help your battle against the reapers in the main story. This feature actually works quite well, and in all of the matches I have played I have never had to worry about a connection dropping out.
Story:
To avoid spoilers, I will keep this brief. In Mass Effect 1, you took out Saren and his army of Geth who were under control by the Reaper Sovereign. Sovereign and the Reapers use Indoctrination to control minds and force species into slavery or worse. In Mass Effect 2, the Normandy was attacked, and Shepard was revived by the Illusive Man. Depending on your actions in both games, you determine whether or not you survived in ME2. ME3 sees you returning as Shepard to take on the Reapers as they swiftly invade Earth and most other planets with little to no resistance.
Characters:
The plot is greatly influenced by how great all of the characters interact with each other. All three games have given us advances in storytelling and character development but due to the emotional involvement of the plot, the characters feel advanced almost exponentially. Bioware should be proud of their work, and you can see the differences in the characters as time goes on. Shepard starts to become tired and emotionally shot. Garrus sees his home planet Palavan overrun by Reapers and questions if the war can be won. Depending on your choices in the previous two entries, other characters may have different feelings as well. Overall, aside from Heavy Rain, I haven't seen emotion like this in a game in quite some time.
Conclusion:
Mass Effect 3 is stupendous. Seeing a great series such as this makes me love Bioware more and more. RPG elements and third-person action have always mixed well in this series, and Mass Effect 3 is no exception to the rule. Like previous entries, there is almost unlimited replay value because there are so many different ways to play this series. Male, female, paragon, renegade, vanguard- there are so many combinations that Mass Effect stands out as a flawless game in my eyes. Never before has a game drawn me in so much to where each day I am craving it over top titles such as Call of Duty, Gears of War, Assassin's Creed, and even Halo. Few games are able to accomplish a well-polished look and feel, but Bioware achieves that for the third consecutive time with Mass Effect 3. If you are looking for a great combination of action and role-playing, the entire Mass Effect trilogy is for you.