After two critically acclaimed instalments Bioware and EA’s finally released the final chapter of the Mass Effect story earlier this month. Its release was hotly anticipated with the expectations of many gamers weighing heavily on the developers shoulders. Not since the release of the much maligned Star Wars prequels (or the cancelation of Firefly?) has there been such a focus or so much controversy surrounding a Sci-fi franchise. The big question as it is with many ‘three-quels’ is can this game possibly live up to the hype? Not just of the publisher and developer, but of an increasingly vocal video game community which seems to so easily slip into outrage mode.
I have personally enjoyed the story, characters and universe created by this franchise during both its previous instalments and the extended universe material (mainly the comics), and I am happy to say that I was not disappointed by Mass Effect 3. I had a massive amount of fun with the game (both in single and multiplayer) and although there are a couple of missteps with the story telling, the overall experience was highly enjoyable, in fact upon completing the game I immediately started over using the story/character import tool with another of my many Mass Effect 2 play throughs.
Upon first inspection Mass Effect 3 appears to be little different graphics wise from Mass Effect 2, however as the game progresses it becomes clear that the scale has been substantially ramped up and the game has a genuinely cinematic feel. This extends from the in-game action set pieces to the hugely impressive cut scenes, and there are A LOT of cut scenes. Many of these were not interactive, especially at the start of the story and although this sounds like it could potentially be a little disengaging, the scope of what Bioware was throwing at me visually in combination with some fantastic story telling was so impressive I didn’t care. I was happy to sit there when I had to and just watch and listen as events unfolded until it was my turn to say, punch a diplomat or a reporter.
Most of the cut scenes also melded very well with the game play. Most, for example, ended with the camera panning out to the playing position before you are plunged into the next fire fight which certainly helped me feel more immersed in the experience (sorry that’s the first and last time I will use the word immersed!). There were the occasional glitches where a conversation is taking place between two non-existent parties or where you would talk to someone and they would teleport onto a nearby table for no reason but asides from that it was all pretty smooth with more lens flare than JJ Abrams could possibly dream of.
The game has definitely reclaimed much of its RPG heritage which was mostly lost in Mass Effect 2 with weapons customisation, more in-depth armour customisation for Shepard and a more detailed levelling system allowing for flexible character customisation. The main thrust of the story, i.e. the building of a galactic coalition to fight the reapers also works well giving you a real feeling that you are having a larger effect in the universe other than reducing Cerberus’s monthly pay bill.
New characters are interesting and many of the old favourites are back with the decisions made in previous games having a definite impact upon your options and the story this time round. There are some genuinely sad moments, some anger inducing moments and other times I felt truly elated, such real emotional punch is hard to pull off but to their great credit the writers did it repeatedly. With the exception of almost literally the final cut scene, the story throughout is fantastic and it really is up to each individual to decide if they want to let 2 or 3 minutes spoil what could have been upwards of 70 hours of gameplay.
Another important aspect was the score, I managed to snag a-ahem, not so limited N7 collector’s edition which came with a digital copy of the score which I have since put onto my MP3 player and listen to pretty frequently. Clint Mansell and Audio Lead Rob Blake do a masterful job with Mansell’s compositions greatly complementing the atmosphere of the story being weaved by the writers.
Finally we come to the multiplayer which I was genuinely surprised by, in a good way. I played the demo pretty obsessively and am now doing the same with the finished game. The game is most akin to say Halo’s Firefight or Modern Warfare’s Spec Ops modes but with additional emphasis on cooperation and objectives. There are six maps where you and three other people face eleven waves of increasingly ferocious foes with the addition of objectives thrown in to keep things interesting. Objectives might be to take out key enemy personnel, or to hold a certain position while a download is completed, the important thing to note is that failure ends the game so people are forced to work together. The Reaper forces are particularly ferocious, almost every time I hear the wail of the Banshee it is almost always greeted by a wave of expletives and ‘oh noes!’ over my headset! Trust me when one of them is coming at you it doesn’t take long to figure out who amongst your team has your back!
As you complete waves you are awarded xp and credit to level up your wide array of characters (classes of which are taken from the campaign) and to purchase upgrades, ammo packs and character customisations. The gameplay is good, the levelling system is addictive and you can also promote a fully levelled squad to your single player campaign as a war asset giving you even more reasons to keep coming back. Presumably there will be new maps and characters via DLC to keep the multiplayer mode fresh.
I mentioned before that it was up to the individual to decide if they were going to let a couple of poorly executed cut scenes spoil the experience they had accrued over three long games (and 5 years). I stand by that statement but I choose not to do it myself, I am half way through my second play though and I will probably play it again when I’m done after going right back to Mass Effect and playing all the way back through. I have enjoyed my time with Shepard, Garrus, Liara and all the other characters of this universe and intend to do so for a long time. Mass Effect 3 is a great game and it definitely gives you the opportunity to finish the fight even if it leaves you wanting to start another one right away.
Score: 5/5
Liberty Island Cantina 