Mass Effect 3 Discussion Thread

Based on the reviews, I wouldn't say that...

It's Dragon Age 2 all over again.....

I disagree completely. The game is an improvement of ME2 with renewed features from ME1. I'm thoroughly enjoying it despite any of its flaws.

DA2 was a bomb for barely bringing anything over from DA1 (IMHO).
 
Okay, so I just finished From Ashes...


AND WTF? THIS ISN'T PART OF THE MAIN GAME? It's so damn important!

DLC from ME2 was interesting and fun (I loved Kasumi's mission in particular) but it was fluff/lore, and it wasn't THIS ESSENTIAL.


Still enjoying the game, but god damn Bioware/EA... this is a core/integral part of the story. WTF.


(Edit: Bottom line, still think the game was worth every penny. I'm allowed to complain about parts I don't like though!)
 
I'm really enjoying this game, though I'm not gonna bash anybody for expressing their criticisms. Seems to me that it's flattering when a game stirs people to the point of listing detailed criticisms. Nobody wastes their time criticizing a crappy game, point by point. Still, people ought to put the damn magnifying glass down and just play the game.

For anybody who has doubts, if you loved ME2 you will love ME3 as well. If you loved ME1 but weren't crazy about ME2, then maybe for you it's a question mark. The combat is definitely improved, there are more guns/gear than ME2, gun modding is back, and there is a ton of content here.

My one main criticism pertains to some of the dialog. It seems like they amped up the John Wayne factor, giving Sheperd an often inappropriate pissed off edge and occasional cheesy one-liners. Conversation is definitely not as deep as it should've been here, and Sheperd's overall tone just seems off.

As for the graphics, apart from some bad textures here and there, this is a very good looking game. It's not true that they're using the exact same visuals as the console version. I'm playing the PC version, but rented the PS3 version. Comparing the two, the PC version clearly looks superior on my 50" LCD, if not by a great margin.

My bottom line, for all its flaws (which are relatively few), you're not going to enjoy anything else more than this right now.
 
First time playing a mass effect game. Pretty much got it for the co-op in which I am fully enjoying.
 
DA2 was definitely worse. ME3 has strengths and weaknesses, it's just not a 10/10 game (or a 0/10 game). I'll finish it because I like the over the top space opera, but Bioware isn't really on my radar for future titles. The combat in this is the best in the series, but story and writing is the lowest. They fixed some things from the previous titles, while changing a few things that didn't need to be changed.
 
The combat in this is the best in the series, but story and writing is the lowest. They fixed some things from the previous titles, while changing a few things that didn't need to be changed.

I can go along with that, but I say this with only several hours in. I'm really hoping things get better on the writing/story side as things progress. Very much also hoping the end is satisfying. Either they wipe out the reapers or they get wiped out, those are really the only 2 options. I'm apprehensively eager to see how they wrap that up...
 
Haven't read the whole thread and am posting this just in case.

If the Eden Prime mission is crashing for you after viewing cut scenes reverse the order in which you trigger the first two. I'm speaking of the ones Shep can see/decode but others can not.
 
Been a fan of ME series since the beginning and I'm totally bummed by how shit the trilogy is ending. Set the greedy essential launch DLC aside -- the story is just bad, the approach is bad, and the writing is so full of cliches it might as well have been a comedy, because it's unintentionally funny as it parodies itself over and over. They've changed a lot of things that didn't need changing, dumbed down the dialog, made the levels even more restrictive and linear, and basically made the finale one big hollywood summer steamer.

The first game was Star Wars IV. Emotional, gripping, dangerous, invigorating. The story wasn't entirely predictable and the characters had plenty of believable flaws. We didn't mind the problems; they would be fixed in the sequels. HAHA, how wrong we were!

The second game was Starship Troopers. Still a solid film but in a different way, with more focus on commercial viability, with the special stuff hidden beneath layers of flashy action and gloss.

Mass Effect 3, however, is fucking Battlefield Earth. It won't appeal to fans of the series, it's a "haha" munch down the popcorn "that wasn't the worst thing I've ever seen" movie that random people go to see because they've got nothing else to do. It lacks everything that made Mass Effect special -- a believable story, characters with character, a legitimate RPG combat system, scope, depth, and emotion. I don't give a shit about the characters or the story here because not only do they not act in a manner that is believable and consistent with the series (Kaiden acts like he's spent the last decade in an insane asylum preparing for his new role as "Super Carth"), they're parodies of themselves and the previous games. How many times does Shepherd turn away from the camera only to immediately turn back for a cliched one-liner? I've seen at least 5 in the first 3 or 4 hours. What about Ashley looking like a pop star? What about faces not importing forcing a reconstruction using tools that do not allow for the recreation of many faces possible with the previous games, forcing you to use a character that you don't recognize or identify with, but who uses the exact same voice your character used before? What about the ridiculous gay romances that will offend you regardless of your position on gay rights? I know this is true because I've read flame after flame from homophobes about these, yet as a supporter of gay rights I cannot defend them in this game because they are idiotic ham-fisted stereotypes of how Bioware thinks gay people act. The stupidity and sheer ignorance they've showed on this issue alone just boggles the mind.

Anyway, since we've got almost no "gameplay" left in this interactive movie we've got to be brutally honest about the quality of the film itself, and this one is a real stinker. I say that with a great deal of sadness because, as a huge fan of the series, this game itself is possibly bad enough (haven't beat it yet, so I don't know for sure) to ruin my memories of the other two games, and that's a tremendous black mark against any sequel. Spectacularly dismal. :(
 
Is this the last ME then? Wonder what Bioware will be turning to now.

BioWare has told people to keep their ME3 saves so I'm sure something ME related is in the works

I just finished the early Citadel level and there definitely is not as many areas to explore or people to talk to as in earlier game...seems much more linear in the early going...the lack of a 'holster' weapon key is weird...why did they remove that for?

the main thing that bugs me is that the run/cover/roll key is a bit weird in that in the heat of battle when I want to go for cover it sometimes rolls and vice versa...they should have separated the actions...happens way too frequently
 
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They had better, because a bad score means that the reviewer won't get future pre-release copies of EA games. The practice is pretty common in the games industry, but it's rarely admitted to. You don't have to pay reviewers; you just have to threaten them with reduced page hits.

That story is old as dirt. I remember as far back as True Lies in EGM.
 
I like the game. If this is anybody's idea of an expansion pack, I would suggest that that person has an overinflated sense of gaming entitlement.
 
I switched the difficulty from Hardcore to Normal...every fight was becoming way too much of a hard grind with everyone charging you and throwing grenades every 5 seconds
 
Okay, so I just finished From Ashes...


AND WTF? THIS ISN'T PART OF THE MAIN GAME? It's so damn important!

DLC from ME2 was interesting and fun (I loved Kasumi's mission in particular) but it was fluff/lore, and it wasn't THIS ESSENTIAL.


Still enjoying the game, but god damn Bioware/EA... this is a core/integral part of the story. WTF.


(Edit: Bottom line, still think the game was worth every penny. I'm allowed to complain about parts I don't like though!)

You can play the game just fine without even knowing that four-eyes' coffin existed, its not a make or break thing, but it does provide a good prologue to current events.

And at least they had the decency to include it with the collectors editions, if it was $10 on top of the $80 I paid, I would be PISSED.
 
He was obviously pulled from the main game, from ashes was the first mission I did, I've since taken him with me on every mission, and he has had dialogue for ever single mission, not only in the cut scenes but also has automated responses when you're walking around... There's no way AT ALL, that this was created after they'd finished developing the main game.

Awful business practice, really hope first day DLC doesn't catch on, I'm 'lucky' as I bought the collectors edition, but this is just bullshit.
 
I bought a space hamster in ME2 and kept him as a pet in my quarters...he wasn't in my room in ME3 but I found him running around in the bowels of the Normandy...I picked him up and now he's back in my room in his little aquarium...that was nice little touch BioWare put into ME3 as a semi-Easter egg callback to ME2 :D
 
I bought a space hamster in ME2 and kept him as a pet in my quarters...he wasn't in my room in ME3 but I found him running around in the bowels of the Normandy...I picked him up and now he's back in my room in his little aquarium...that was nice little touch BioWare put into ME3 as a semi-Easter egg callback to ME2 :D

Yeah, finding Boo was awesome, but at first I wasn't certain what was running around the cargo hold since I couldn't read the text of the reticle around him. At first I thought it was a Collector Seeker- that maybe the one Mordin kept for testing got loose somehow and was just buzzing around to kill time.

I'm enjoying this game a lot, but I am pissed that there's no "Get on my ship NOW" option for Miranda when you first meet her. I want her as a squad mate NOW!
 
Yeah, finding Boo was awesome, but at first I wasn't certain what was running around the cargo hold since I couldn't read the text of the reticle around him. At first I thought it was a Collector Seeker- that maybe the one Mordin kept for testing got loose somehow and was just buzzing around to kill time

I didn't realize what it was in the beginning either...it kept making this buzzing sound so I thought it was some kind of space insect...then after seeing him I couldn't catch him because he kept running away...in that area you can also find a model of the Shadow Broker's ship
 
I bought a space hamster in ME2 and kept him as a pet in my quarters...he wasn't in my room in ME3 but I found him running around in the bowels of the Normandy...I picked him up and now he's back in my room in his little aquarium...that was nice little touch BioWare put into ME3 as a semi-Easter egg callback to ME2 :D

Yes, that space hamster was nice touch. Same as Tali's drone whose name and her orders to him were taken from BG series too :). Though I hated the fish in Shep's cabin, was always forgeting to feed them :p
 
Yes, that space hamster was nice touch. Same as Tali's drone whose name and her orders to him were taken from BG series too :). Though I hated the fish in Shep's cabin, was always forgeting to feed them :p

Mass Effect 3 has an automated fish feeder. You have to buy it though.
 
Someone stated earlier that the side missions have some sort of time limit on them before they auto-fail. Is there any indication which quests these are (like saying priority) or is it completely random?

Also - automatic fish feeder is $25k. I made sure I kept the fish alive all throughout ME2, I wish that they had carried over.
 
Someone stated earlier that the side missions have some sort of time limit on them before they auto-fail. Is there any indication which quests these are (like saying priority) or is it completely random?

Also - automatic fish feeder is $25k. I made sure I kept the fish alive all throughout ME2, I wish that they had carried over.

Check the area in the refugee camp/docks. Someone in there held onto them for you. Unfortunately, I did not realize that buying the fish in ME3 replaced the ME2 fish completely.
 
Someone stated earlier that the side missions have some sort of time limit on them before they auto-fail. Is there any indication which quests these are (like saying priority) or is it completely random?

Also - automatic fish feeder is $25k. I made sure I kept the fish alive all throughout ME2, I wish that they had carried over.

My experience with the side missions lead me to believe that if you advance the main questline far enough, you can no longer turn in the side quests. I did not see or experience anything that led me to believe that it was actually a hard time limit. Non spoiler version: don't touch the priority quests until you've done all the side quests you want to do.

I think the trigger quest was Priority: Tuchanka, so make sure you get your Citadel sidequests done before you go off to Tuchanka.
 
Just so im sure, and dont risk reading spoilers - you can get the best ending playing only single player, right?
 
Just so im sure, and dont risk reading spoilers - you can get the best ending playing only single player, right?

Everything I've read seems to say so. Multiplayer just lets you add to your war elements, so it's essentially like going off and doing sidequests. Hopefully that's spoiler-less enough for you :)
 
I don't think anyone here knows for sure yet.

I remember reading something that says you needed to do the multiplayer to get the best ending for it. I don't know if that's true. I'm actually enjoying the multiplayer so it's kind of a non-issue for me.
 
...the lack of a 'holster' weapon key is weird...why did they remove that for?

The console versions ran into working memory limitations due to the additional animations. So certain other animations got axed for all three versions since the development was unified. For example, the holstering animation that was already done from ME2. So yes, consoles do affect the PC versions despite what most developers claim. We can talk FoV as well if you like... they could have put the option to adjust FoV in and just returned the FoV to 70 automatically for cut-scenses so they wouldn't have to redo them, but apparently the FoV "isn't as bad as you think" (direct quote from Bioware).
 
Lotta hate on here, all I know is I started ME3 up at 7PM last night, imported my character, and promptly lost 7 hours of my life, doing just ONE MORE QUEST.

I'm going to try the multiplayer tonight and see how it goes.

+1 What he said.

I dunno how so many of you's can praise DX:HR to the high heavens and then turn around and knock ME3 down. Pot meet kettle please.
 
I remember reading something that says you needed to do the multiplayer to get the best ending for it. I don't know if that's true. I'm actually enjoying the multiplayer so it's kind of a non-issue for me.

Looked it up and found a bioware poster here


OP:
Starting to read a few reviews that if you don't play MP for War Assests you will not be able to get the best ending. Can someone confirm of this is true?

Reply by
Jarrett Lee
Senior Marketing Manager - Mass Effect Franchise
No - it means you need to collect as many war assets as possible in SP, but you can achieve perfect ending without MP.

I haven't played multiplayer yet but it sounds like it's quite fun. Maybe I'll give it a try tonight :)
 
I remember reading something that says you needed to do the multiplayer to get the best ending for it. I don't know if that's true. I'm actually enjoying the multiplayer so it's kind of a non-issue for me.

I said what I did since I don't think anyone has completed all SP side missions & collected all war assets before beating the game. Once that happens we can compare side to side with those who play it all of the way with SP vs. SP+MP. I just hope that I'll see the best ending on SP w/o any MP since I don't foresee myself doing any co-op.
 
Just so im sure, and dont risk reading spoilers - you can get the best ending playing only single player, right?

you apparently don't need to play the multiplayer but it makes getting the required War Assets etc easier...if you don't do the multiplayer then you pretty much have to do every single side mission to get the 'best' ending
 
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