Hey guys,

So i've been playing ME2, just after finishing the first one. It got me really hyped since they did a lot of improvementes over ME1, and I'm enjoying the experience.

I've started to wonder wether I should get ME3 or not. I remember a couple years back when the game was released that a lot of people here were complaining about the "horrible ending". Leaving the ending issues aside, should I play ME3? At least for the sake of finishing the story?

I appreciate all comments and opinions.

Cheers.

The ending being what it is, I think Mass Effect 3 is the best in the series. There's a lot of fantastic moments and everything but the very very end is great. I would also highly recommend the From Ashes, Leviathan, and Party DLCs.

Yes, it's a great game. Far better than 2, imo.

I'd say absolutely. Gameplay wise ME 3 is definitely the best in the series. I thought that story wise it was pretty good for the most part, but the ending was definitely a let down. I don't think the ending is quite the abomination a lot of other people seem to think, but it was undeniably flat. If you do get it I would suggest playing with the From Ashes and Leviathan DLC, as they fill in some some really cool (and borderline vital) backstory. The Citadel DLC is a good and humorous sendoff for the trilogy after completing the main game.

Bioware didn't stick the landing, but it's still a game with excellent gameplay and great characters. I think it's worth playing.

Even with all the DLC, ME3 was a crushingly disappointing game for me. That being said, you should see it through to the end. It's a cultural touchstone in video game discussion synonymous with the prevailing narrative that Electronic Arts has run every studio it has ever purchased into the ground.

It also has a lot of great fan-service for people who really love the series. It's worth seeing at least but you might want to dial it down to easy to get through the endless combat sections. Regardless of the ending, the actual crime of Mass Effect 3 is that you spend more time shooting than talking to people.

The Citadel DLC is pretty astonishing though. If nothing else you should see that because it's some of the best Mass Effect content ever released.

Yes, other than the end and some worse than two's side mission/fetch quests, the game is a superb experience. I mean, I wasn't one to get up in arms over the end, but it could have been better. I did feel a strong emotion though in the end, which I won't go into as it may spoil it, but yes, definitely play three! Two is the best merely due to the quality of certain aspects, like the design of side missions and what have you, but three is arguably the best from a gameplay perspective just in how it feels when in combat. I was going to go back and get the rest of the DLC for all of them, as I didn't have them all, but I didn't. I don't know if I will, even though I'd still like to experience them. I am hoping for a trilogy release on current-gen honestly. To me, the second is the best, then the third, and then the original.

I didn't initially like the original, and it wasn't until some of ME2's DLC content that I realized it was one of my favorite series. ME3 largely finishes it off extremely well, very end aside. I've beat them all multiple times through the years (well, three only three and a half times). There's something special about playing them from release, but I don't think that will affect your appreciation of them much, though I find it hard not to recommend playing them a second or third time, just to make sure you have everything you want done, to be done. On topic about ME3's end though, without going into detail about it, the thing that makes it disappointing to me (and I'm sure others) is just that they couldn't get an end for everyone, so it's not really unique to any player, while the rest of ME has been about the players choice.

Whether or not you like the ending the overall game is pretty much more Mass Effect 2, so if you liked 2 it's worth playing 3. A lot of the character stuff gets wrapped up in a decently satisfying way, there are some cool reveals, and there's plenty more shooting and chatting to be done.

I would recommend getting the DLC except Omega (It basically just adds a lengthy sidestory to a game that's already plenty long) and not trying to focus too much on the ending. It's a very small part of what's overall a very good game.

Too bad the multiplayer's probably dead though. ME3 had some pretty great multiplayer. But don't skip the singleplayer if you loved ME2.

I couldn't get past the first several hours.

I still cling to the idea that one day I might finish it but I just couldn't deal with the overblown ham fisted presentation of the story and the characterisation of shepard.

I don't know maybe it sorts itself out later, but the cringe factor was just way to high.

Hell yeah, my game of that year that year. Gameplay's tighter, the atmosphere sticks with you, the set piece moments are larger in scale, the storytelling was pretty great.

People expected the ending to be something else, I guess. I can't fathom why this website doesn't like it. But check out some other parts of the internet, it's ok to love it!

Without a doubt. Even back when people were complaining nonstop about the ending, the most common phrasing was "the first 30 hours were fantastic, it's a shame the last 10 minutes were so terrible."

If you haven't played any of Mass Effect 3 yet you're going to have a monumentally better experience than those of thus that played it week 1. It took many months and several pieces of DLC (both free and paid), but the game as it exists now is much better than it was at launch. The ending still isn't great, but it's not as bafflingly terrible as it was originally. The rest of the game is still as great as ever, best gameplay of the series, fantastic character moments, and plenty of satisfying endings to the non-Reaper storylines.

If you enjoyed the first two games you'll definitely enjoy Mass Effect 3. It may not have quite been the sendoff to the trilogy we wanted but it's still damn good.

Honestly the game is 95% great. The ending could be better, but I loved everything leading up to the end. Also, as others have mentioned, the Citadel DLC is one of the best pieces of DLC for a game that I've ever seen. Honestly, at this point, I just consider the Citadel DLC as my unofficial ending to the series.

all 3 are absolutely worth playing. there is an argument to be made for each one of the three being the best, since you still hear people arguing for each one as the fav. Personally I had the best time with 2. But playing all 3 completes the trilogy

Yes, it's still an incredible game and trilogy. The ending is somewhat dumb but its not the worst thing ever and I certainly don't think it ruins the series like some hyperbolic people like to think. Also the multiplayer is great fun if your into that.

Yes, absolutely. The ending is what it is, but the journey is well worth taking regardless.

Let me say this, as someone who recently played all three games in a row, it ABSOLUTELY worth playing the third. The horrible reputation that the ending has gotten is completely overblown. It may not be what anyone was hoping for, but it's fine for what it is. To me, the Mass Effect trilogy is the greatest and most rewarding piece of video game fiction that I have consumed to this day. That sounds a bit dramatic, I know, but no other game has hooked me quite as much as this trilogy. If you have any investment in Mass Effect's world and characters and mechanics at all, then you can't not play 3.

While the Omega DLC isn't great, it does add a power that creates some interesting depth if you get creative with your character.

ME 3 is great- people overplayed the badness of the ending. Def play with From Ashes and Laviathan. Citadel is amazing even in a stand-alone context.

Just don't pronounce it laviathON.

ME3 is the best playing one of the three and (imho) 98% great. They just didn't stick the landing the way I would have liked. Still a game well worth playing.

Yes!

Overall, I do have issues with the gsme's story & presentation of the narrative, but the gameplay is superb and the From Ashes DLC presents one of the best characters in the series.

It's still Mass Effect. Maybe it has the least amount of RPG in it out of all the entries but it's still very similar to ME2.

People have dragged the game through the mud over that ending a little too much.

It's a great game. Honestly the only fault I had with the game was that the Leviathan DLC wasn't part of the main game. It really adds a sense of scale and epicness, and really helps the ending make more sense.

You should play it, its a great game.From Ashes is highly recommended! Leviathan i didn't much care for personally but a lot of people seem to like it.

Yep! Definitely. From Ashes and Leviathan are DLC you really ought to get to go with it. From Ashes adds a fantastic companion that fleshes out some of the lore nicely, and Leviathan basically sets up and explains the whole finale of the game.

Or you could play it without Leviathan if you want a more open ending that you can think about. Up to you!

Absolutely! And btw, you need the From Ashes DLC, because it's less of a cool Bonus and more of a vital piece of the story they cut to sell back to you because we must have all money kinda thing.

As long as you go into it with reasonable expectations, then yes, it is worth it; it has a lot of great isolated character moments, especially if you have played through the first two games and made any sort of connection with some of the characters.

That said, I really can't agree with people who say that ME3 is a superior gameplay experience over ME2. Just because it's "tighter" (whatever people seem to think that means) doesn't mean that it's better. A lot the design choices feel like the product of tunnel vision by the devs - in some cases quite literally. For one thing, the shooting became very corridor focused, to the point of it becoming really tedious in several spots. Personally I've also never noticed this substantial difference in the shooting everyone keeps raving about - to me, the shooting feels exactly the same as it did in ME2.

They also stripped out a lot of the detailed side-questing in favor of auto-dialogued fluff quests so that you could be funneled down the critical path that much quicker. Given that adding to the universe through the side-quests was one of the big pleasures of prior games, the absence is noticeable.

FUCK NO!

Seriously don't play ME3 unless you get all the DLC for it, I was really cold on the game when I beat it the week it came out, but replaying it after all the necessary DLC came out (everything but the Citadel one) redeemed the game for me.

Absolutely, the gameplay is the best in the series in my opinion and there are amazing moments dotted throughout the game. While it's way of handling side quests is more than a little ropey and it really doesn't land the ending, the main stuff is great and well worth playing. The DLC really does add something to the mix too, so if you can, play that too.

Sure. It is a great game. Even for people that didn't like the ending, there is no denying it is only 20 minutes in the end of hours upon hours of great content.

You should consider getting some of the DLC too. Everything but Citadel and Omega. Omega is not very good, and you can totally live without it. Citadel is a great, great DLC (I personally liked it more than most of the game altogether), but you don't need it during the campaign... it works a lot better as post ending content. Once you finish the game and, if you feel like a sendoff is in order, get it.

Absolutely. Even if you end up hating the ending with a burning gaming-forum passion the rest is still very fun. I didn't even find the ending that much as it originally stood even if it wasn't great.

Mass Effect 3 is a fantastic game. Even the story is great, and the people who say that the ending is "terrible" are IMO greatly exaggerating. I would describe it as "disappointing" or "not satisfying".

I would also recommend getting the DLC, especially Leviathan which gives a lot of interesting backstory into the whole universe.

Yes, Mass Effect 3 is worth it. The ending has been amended with free DLC, and I think that made it better than the original ending. I finished the game the first week it was released, and while I was disappointed that they didn't "stick the landing" for the series, the game as a whole was a ton of fun. Great gameplay, lots of call backs and characters coming back from the first two games, and emotional and fulfilling resolutions for most of the characters. Even the multiplayer was surprisingly awesome.

I would say play it. I am a huge fan of the series overall, and while the third game wasn't my favorite out of the three (I am a huge fan of the first game, even with the jankiness) I think it is a worthwhile game to play and very fun.

Absolutely worth playing. I still feel 2 was the best in the series, but 3 was an amazing game and got wayyyy more hate than it deserved at the time. Sure it had it's problems and the ending was a disappointment, but man, what a freaking good game it was.

I kind of refer to it as the Gigli effect of video games. Mass Effect 3 was a perfect example of this I think. Was that a awful movie, absolutely, was it the worst movie ever where critics got into a competition to see who could wax poetic more about the horrors they had witness, absolutely not. The hate started and than everyone else had to try and top the people before by being more outraged over it and coming up with new more clever ways to tear it apart so they could get attention too. Some outraged justified, some not, but people would try and come up with even new outspoken ways to put it down. It was more this hate train that just built up momentum even though it didn't deserve all the hate. That's just my view on it. The way people put this game down seemed kinda... silly I guess is the best way for me to put it.

I am holding out hope for a Mass Effect Series PS4 re-release, like a port. Juts some tweaks to graphics and fps to take small advantage of the PS4...or Xbox One...whatever. I'm done with my PS3, so I really don't feel like firing it up for one game (Well, like most people I have a backlog...but)

My big issues is I'm on a dry streak lately, I have other stuff I want to do with my nights and weekends that si not gaming.

I loved it. With the imported save is becomes really a special and personal game. I didn't hate the ending also, although I didn't find it anything special. But the journey till there was awesome!

Very yes. It's the best in the series as far as mechanics and story.

No, it's definitely got more RPG than Mass Effect 2 by a considerable margin. They doubled the level cap, added a bunch more skills and branching skill trees, and there are at least fives times as many unique weapons with added customization and now with actual stats.

Yes.

It is in some ways the best of the series. In some ways the worst. If you're a fan of the series, you'll appreciate it for its strengths and shrug and sigh at its faults.

Yes, I love the whole series including the ending of 3, which was made even better with the free DLC ending.

Oh yeah, Mass Effect 3 is well worth getting. You should be able to pick it up for relatively cheap these days.

Absolutely. Has the best combat of the 3 games, though it is a bit on the easy side on the lower difficulties. I played it on the hardest mode first time through, and had a great time except for one enemy that one shots you if you get in melee range.

And make damn sure you get the Leviathan DLC. It's insanity that the game shipped without that content.

It's a great game. The ending is kinda lame and felt like they just ran out of time, but everything up to that is just so goddamn fun.

You haven't lived until you've seen that dumb garrus scene on the citadel. Mass Effect 3 is fucking great. Best gameplay, some of the best character moments. Play it.

Don't forget to buy From Ashes, Leviathan and download extended cut. Make sure you wait until the point of no return before doing the last mission in Leviathan.

Buy Citadel but only AFTER YOU'RE DONE WITH THE MAIN GAME. That thing is some of the best mass effect content ever made but it's totally outside the dire framework of the main game so playing alongside the regular campaign would be super weird and out of place.

I don't understand how people can't tell a difference in quality between this and ME2.

I took Brad and everyone else's advice and got the DLC first. I still hated just about every minute of playing this game. It probably made it worse because I felt like I'd wasted even more money on a shitty game. I didn't even get to the end, so I'm not someone who hates the whole game for just its ending.

I made some posts about it at the time and I don't remember every one of my complaints about it, but it seemed like they simplified the dialogue down to only the paragon and renegade options and where the paragon replies in ME 1&2 were diplomatic and made sense for a commander, in this they were just stupid and whiny sounding. I wish I could recall some examples. I also felt like many of the locations were poorly designed and seemed like they'd been designed first for multiplayer and then shoehorned into single-player. Also, the writing overall felt like a sequel written by people who weren't involved in the first two and had no idea what the overall plan was.

Also the Jessica Chobot character was incredibly annoying and looked like she was created by an unpaid intern.

If you liked the series so far you should probably finish it. Should you descide to go through with it, get all of the DLC for it, some of the best parts of the game are in there.

not Omega though. I heard that one is kind of bad

Absolutely. Story issues aside, it has the best gameplay of the series. If the story starts to bore you, stop playing the main missions and play through the entirety of the Citadel DLC. It's a far better ending to the trilogy than the actual ending, even with the extended cut.

If you like turret sequences and wave based survival then yes. If not? there isn't a whole lot more to it. There are a couple of cool story moments though. Though far less than past games.
That said, the final DLC is pretty enjoyable.

I would absolutely recommend it if you are at all connected to the characters. It was probably the most fulfilling experience I've had in a video game when it comes to tying up loose ends and giving you resolutions for these characters you've spent hours with. Great experience.

Yes it's great! The Leviathan DLC is essential.