Review: Mass Effect 3

Finally, I have finished my first full play-through the Mass Effect trilogy. It has to be one of the best games I have ever played – perhaps not with combat or graphics (although they certainly aren’t too shabby), but with its writing, endearing characters and branching choice paths that carry through from game to game, making the player feel truly invested in every second of gameplay. It was truly sad to see the trilogy come to an end with Mass Effect 3, but does this game provide a satisfying conclusion, or does it fall flat on its face and fail to deliver?

Well, I honestly believe that Mass Effect 3 provides both the best and the worst that the trilogy has to offer, once again in the forms of combat, decision making and the story.

This game now benefits from the best combat system of the series, now incorporating creative environments, the largest array of enemy types for each faction, and backgrounds filled with destruction and chaos, perfectly embodying the strong themes of war and desperation that run throughout the game. There is also a multiplayer horde mode, which although fun to play, is a little unoriginal, and turns many of the enemies in the main game into bullet sponges if you haven’t some of the most appropriate weapons, modifications and power upgrades.

On the other hand, there are very few enemy factions in this game compared to the second one, having only two main ones, with a few missions with a third if you disclude DLC content, whereas ME2 had the Collectors and their underlings, the Geth, Mechs, three mercenary groups with different races in each and multiple boss encounters throughout. Even the first Mass Effect had Krogan warriors, Asari commandos, Rachni and Thorian creepers along with the main villains of Saren and the Geth.

Mass Effect 3, being about the reaper invasion, would have been the perfect opportunity to fight against hordes of indoctrinated servants as well as the main reaper forces, showing the devastating effect of the mere presence of the reapers, let alone an invasion force of them, something that we sadly didn’t get.

The story also follows this trend of satisfying payoffs and wasted opportunities alternating as the story progresses.

This time, the reaper invasion has arrived, threatening to eradicate all of the advanced life in the galaxy. Now caught up in the most desperate conflict the galaxy had seen, Shepard must once again take command of the Normandy, assemble the squad and fight against impossible odds, bringing together and concluding each story arc built up in the last two games in the hope of taking Earth back from the Reapers and once again saving the galaxy. However, with a whole universe in peril, the stakes are higher than ever, and Shepard will have to sacrifice more than ever before for even a fleeting chance at victory.

This premise, and indeed a large portion of the game, is exactly what players would want in the final chapter of Shepard’s struggle against the reapers, myself included, with environments we are familiar with from the past now war-torn and occupied by reapers, a well-established threat of galactic-wide extinction. When you are playing the game, you get a constant sense that every delay costs thousands of lives, as refugees fill in at hub worlds and names are added to the memorial on the Normandy’s crew deck. Because of this, there is a foreboding atmosphere through the whole game, every choice you make has additional narrative weight.

Unfortunately, some of the decisions made in the prior two games are undermined with methods of reducing the amount of alternate scenes and extra dialogue lines, detracting from the RPG elements. This isn’t entirely the case, with some of priority missions in the middle section of the game, along with some recurring side quests, having wildly differing starting off points from actions taken in Mass Effect 2, and numerous ways to resolve them depending on the way in which you want to play the game.

In this desperate war, are you willing to do whatever it takes to assure military support, at the cost of those close to you, or even entire species? Or are you unwilling to sacrifice your principles at the face of adversity, at the hope that you have done enough come the end?

This conflict is presented at these segments, and is perfect in the Mass Effect formula, creating the most compelling conflicts of the series, along with the most heart-breaking consequences to deal with.

That being said, the first and last sections of the game do feel pretty linear, without much room for player choice as to how the situations will play out aside from which squad-mates to bring with you, another problem as the number has been reduced from a total of twelve in ME2 to seven in ME3, including DLC. This problem was present in the other two games, but it is particularly prevalent in this one, as it is the conclusion to the trilogy, and needs to present a compelling resolution for the arcs of each character combined with player immersion as to selecting the outcomes, something that it sadly fell short at.

That being said, this game is, for the most part, a perfect end to the series (providing you have all of the DLC content, that is), allowing for a satisfying resolution to almost every story thread, character arc, romance option and side quest from both prior games in the context of an all-out war, which creates a whole array of touching moments as you realise that this is the end of the story that you poured dozens of hours into as if it were the gaming equivalent of a long-running TV series, and will you with an empty void once you’ve finished, as you look back with nostalgia.

This game is a solid 8 out of 10 for me, as its problems in linearity, a few cut corners in terms of player choices and DLC necessity are more than made up for by heart-warming character moments and conclusions to story arcs woven throughout all three games. This series is definitely something that I will come back to, and if you haven’t played them yet, I highly recommend that you do.

8 OUT OF 10

SPOILER SECTION

What slightly rubbed me the wrong way was the way that the story began. The end of Mass Effect 2 seemed to set up Shepard and his team preparing for the oncoming reaper invasion, with schematics of Harbinger handed to Shepard, before looking out into space, and a final shot of a reaper fleet. Even when taking into account the Arrival DLC, which ends with Shepard having decided to hand himself over to the alliance for the deaths of over 300, 000 batarian colonists to postpone the reaper invasion, his crew still uncovered how the reapers are created and the scope of the damage they will inflict, so I don’t understand why the Normandy was also reclaimed by the Alliance, and why the ME2 crew had disbanded in favour of protecting much smaller groups of their own factions.

In particular, I’m talking about Miranda, Jacob, Garrus, Mordin, Grunt and Samara, but even the more morally dubious characters like Zaeed, Kasumi and Jack should have some sense that if they didn’t act, they may well be dead in less than a year because of the reapers.

I understand that some characters (Mordin, Tali and Legion) have parts to play in this story, but even so, the reapers threaten every single life, so it wouldn’t make sense to simply defend a handful of ex-Cerberus scientists or command a small platoon of Krogan after learning about the impending galactic extinction. What’s worse is that these missions play out almost exactly the same if they died in the suicide mission, meaning their leaving the Normandy was completely pointless.

It would have made more sense if the opening of the game was played as one of the ME2 crewmembers, having made preparations for the arrival, with a huge fleet battle on the edge of the galaxy to prevent the reapers reaching the nearest Mass relay. You fight off boarding parties, but ultimately fail, and follow them to Earth to rescue Shepard and his alliance associates before customising and playing as Shepard. By showing that the galaxy had prepared for them, but they were still powerless is much more compelling than the reapers just popping up out of nowhere.

The respective crews of ME1 and ME2 would have to integrate with each other as each arc is concluded, making for some tense interactions and comedic moments, as well as boasting the largest set of squadmates by combining both crews. There wouldn’t be a need for loyalty missions as such, as the galactic war pushes missions to the front of the priorities list.

It would end with a similar setup to the suicide mission of ME2, but on a galaxy-wide scale, as crewmembers command different ships and fleets, as you coordinate the attack that decides the fate of the galaxy.

Maybe you have to sacrifice Earth by luring the bulk of the reaper fleet there and destroying the Mass Relay, killing everything, or perhaps you have to sacrifice the forces of entire species, forcing them to the brink of extinction. You can make it with as few casualties as possible, or fail, and lose everything, continuing the cycle of annihilation.

That was my belief of how the game would play out, with only the very end being very linear and controversial. Sadly, there was a narrative problem throughout the game – it relies on Mcguffins and Deus Ex Machinas more than character defining choices. This isn’t the whole game, but certainly a good portion of it, from the very start with Liara finding the blueprints for a superweapon designed to destroy the reapers on Mars, to the disappointing ending when the crucible is built and the catalyst is revealed to be the Citadel, copying the twist from ME1.

From a storytelling perspective, it is much more satisfying if something is set up prior to its execution, which is why the Star Child is so annoying. Yes, we had seen Shepard’s visions of the boy that died on Earth, but that doesn’t mean we understand why it appeared here, or why it would suddenly give Shepard the choice to end the reapers just because he discovered its true nature.

I prefer to consider the popular theory that Shepard was under some sort of indoctrination process, which I might explore in a separate post, but it is more satisfying than the actual ending, because it is a familiar concept to the player, and makes logical sense from what you have seen prior its theoretical implementation.

I know that this review has been very negative on the game’s story, but I will say that the Tuchanka and Rannoch missions were quite possibly the standout moments of the entire series. They force you to make decisions that have horrible consequences, but can also provide you with the most heart-warming scenes ever put to games. You’ve grown to realise the importance of curing the genophage in the last two games, so when you can either distribute the cure or sabotage it, both choices have profound implications.

Likewise with Rannoch. Initially, the geth were villainous in the first game, not entirely evil, but not explored far enough for you to truly sympathise with them. However, with Legion in the second game revealing that they were just a radical sect of geth reprogrammed by the reapers, and the you discovering the events leading up the geth takeover of Rannoch, both sides are seen as unjustified in exterminating the other, so the decision to choose which one lives or dies is one not made lightly (unless you made all the right choices leading up to this, then you can call both sides off, but that is a bonus option rewarded to the player if they made the right choices in the prior games, and if the reputation scale is built up high enough).

These two situations are precisely the reason why I said that this game is simultaneously the best and worst of the trilogy. Yes, the story isn’t what I had hoped it would be, but these two decisions are exactly what I had anticipated. Marking this game as a flawed but incredible way to end the series.

Each and every DLC I had played from Mass Effect 3 was great. From Ashes introduced Javik, the Last Prothean as a squad-mate, retrieving him from Eden Prime before you get to see him in action with unique variants of the biotic powers, learn about the ways of his time and the downfall of his people at the hands of the reapers. He is a stoic and vengeful character, but contrasting him with the idealised view of the protheans Liara had built up, and his views on each of the other species made for some hilarious moments that broke the tension in a natural way.

Leviathan added a new mystery to be solved in relation to the reapers: who created them, and what is the mysterious entity that has the ability to kill reapers? I won’t give it all away, but it provides the game with a thematic departure, with unique environments and a palpable sense of tension and unease. Omega has you team up with Aria T’Loak and an old flame of hers as you fight Cerberus to retake the titular Space station. Again, a visual contrast to the base game, with you revisiting old locations from ME2 and providing new enemy types to go up against, something that was sorely needed.

But the fan-favourite Citadel DLC is the standout for me. A light-hearted set of missions set on the Citadel which involve all current squad-members, along with a couple of old favourites. After that is finished, you have a whole new area of the Citadel to explore, complete with its own arcade, casino and combat arena, where you can meet up with every past crewmate, before throwing a party at Anderson’s apartment. This provides closure to each character as they interact for the final time, but it simultaneously absurd, funny and self-referential almost to the point of breaking the fourth wall.

As the scene released for the series, the squad meets back up at the docks, looking out at the Normandy, before the love interest reassures Shepard, and says: “it has been a hell of a ride.” Shepard responds: “the best”. A perfect end to what may well be the best game trilogy ever made.

You’d be lying if you weren’t a little teary eyed.

UP NEXT

Mass Effect Andromeda. Stay tuned, folks!