MASS EFFECT 3

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PC version reviewed.

GAMEPLAY
Messy journal system is an unnecessary step backwards from previous games.

The best combat the trilogy has to offer

Multiplayer, whilst pretty simple, is a nice addition

STORY
Mass Effect 3 manages to take the series to its highest heights at some points, yet also manages to delve to some of its lowest lows.

The Tuchunka arc is absolutely fantastic and concludes so many characters arcs perfectly, most especially Mordin and Wrex. The Quarian arc is brilliant too, doing the same for Legion's character. There are moments in these arcs that will make you smile, make you laugh and even make you cry. I really feel these moments are somewhat overlooked because of the original ending to the game, but they are really magnificent regardless.

Cerberus are far too involved in the game to the point that the Reapers seemingly take a back seat for most of it, I mean Harbinger who was built up as the main antagonist only appears for a couple of minutes and you don't even know he's there if you're not paying attention. Meanwhile Cerberus have suddenly become galactic overlords and manage to be almost everywhere, despite being a rogue alliance black ops group. For some missions it makes sense, such as the Grisson Academy, where they're trying to kidnap biotics, that sounds like Cerberus to me, but why are they everywhere else? How much money do they have after losing large investments and integral agents such as Miranda, Shepherd and the Normandy? How did they recruit so many people?

By far though, easily the worst thing in the whole of the Mass Effect trilogy is Kai Leng. The tertiary antagonist of this game who appears out of nowhere and constantly ruins things with his incredible plot armour. He's an underdeveloped mess that brings the whole game down because of how he brings down other characters and the story around him.

There are a number of other plot points that don't really make sense, one of the most prominant was the Citadel. In the original game the Reapers are trying to enter the galaxy through the Citadel to cripple the main seat of government before attacking the rest of the the galaxy. Due to Shepard's intervention they have to enter through a different point of the galaxy. However when they finally arrive in the galaxy the decide to leave the Citadel alone, I assume because they would win too easily if they took it. Perhaps the resistance could have made Omega a temporary galactic capital or something instead? Of course Cerberus take that over for no real reason anyway... Suffice to say that Bioware really dropped the ball in some places.

It was interesting to see how many big choices really mattered from previous games, and for the most part it seems they didn't matter. The fate of the Council, the Rachni and the Collector Base all don't really seem to mean anything. There were a few choices that did matter however, such as the Genophage research. For the most part through, your choices will have been funnelled into "war assets" against the Reapers, where you never really see them (Until a pretty great scene towards the the end).

GRAPHICS

SOUND
The best soundtrack of the series for me. "Leaving Earth" and "A Future for the Krogan" are some outstanding pieces of music and highlights of the really strong soundtrack.

VALUE FOR MONEY

OVERALL