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Ah, the trilogy. A juggernaut of money making potential, a cesspool of rabid fan disappointment and, above all else, absolute proof that you will never, ever please everyone.
As of the writing of this, Mass Effect 3 has a user rating of less than 3 stars, which blows my little mind. This'll be a long review (more of a reaction than a review, really) because there's so much to talk about: hate and anger and hate and indoctrination theories and more hate and what have you. So feel free to skip around, but know this from right now: Mass Effect 3 is a brilliant game. Strong, fun, emotional: it builds on the gameplay and story elements of the previous two, makes a host of improvements, and adds massive replay value to each game in the series. I can't imagine not recommending it to anyone who's enjoyed the previous games.
Even if it does have a stupid ending.
So there.
====The Gameplay; "Ducking and Rolling and Omni-Blades - Oh My!"====
It feels sort of odd to jump into a gameplay discussion like it ain't no thing... but it really ain't no big thing (or thang, whatever). If you've played the second Mass Effect (and seriously, who's played the third and only the third in this series? That would be weird) then you're already familiar with how things are going to go down. Its 3rd person, over the shoulder, and cover based gun combat, with some light melee sprinkled in. You've got a series of skills to use, mostly science magic, to help you and your squad of two others survive waves of ugly, ugly space monsters. It's an engrossing experience, smoothed out a touch from the its predecessor, but is still a little rough around the edges. Shepard doesn't always stick to cover reliably, your squadmates are forever in your way - it's not as polished a shooter as, say, Gears of War, but it's still a really satisfying, compelling, rich enough experience. There have been some specific improvements since the last chapter - Shepard can roll and dodge and has a much more aggressive melee attack. Grenades are back (kaboom!) and squadmates are much more responsive to your orders. Again, it's not mind blowing, but it's good; it's compelling and fun and doesn't get dull.
We've got some new enemies to face and then shoot in the face - most of which can best be described as 'space monsters'. This is probably my first point of disapproval, but also the lightest, so who cares. BUT, I was a little disappointed with this: most of Mass Effect deals with pretty clear and mostly believable enemies (mercenaries, pirates, robots, robots, robots). Anything that comes across as monstrous (like the Rachni, or the Reapers themselves) usually comes equipped with some kind of in depth exploration to explain what they are and where they come from. But all of a sudden we have the of 'Reaper Forces', a slew of foot-soldier type monsters that the Reapers created to... I don't know, kill people better than the giant space lasers they have? Maybe harvest bodies and such? I guess that's probably it, though you never see any of that in action. The monster designs are neat, and artfully pull elements from the species that the Reapers have been collecting... but it also starts to push things further from the science fiction realm and deeper into the fantasy realm. The Reaper forces have odd shapes, glowing eyes, and are starting to look more and more like generic monsters or orcs or something. ...In fact, they're almost EXACTLY like the darkspawn from Dragon Age: Origins. They're even created in a similar fashion. It's one of those little additions that start to stretch and blur the borders of the mass effect universe. It works well enough and maybe it's just a personal preference, but still...
Oh, also there are some ninjas. With swords and everything. I have this theory that if you're introducing ninjas into a world where they haven't already been established, then you're officially running out of ideas. I guess I'll make this exhibit 'A' for that theory. (Send me a message if you want to discuss the absurdity and absolute impracticality of bringing a sword to a gun fight)
But that's it, really, as far as gameplay goes. New skills, new enemies, same flavored sauce on top. There are no vehicle type levels, no big risks taken with new gameplay mechanics and only a couple of truly cinematic-type fights; it's moslty just straight up, Mass Effect awesomeness. It's tried and true and wholly enjoyable, but doesn't break new ground or even try to; they took what worked and ran with it.
====The Design: "A New, Same, New Normandy"
This is probably the aspect of the third installment that I'm happiest about. You could say delighted, titillated, ecstatic even. The overall artistic design of the game has improved, grown richer, deeper, and so, so much prettier WITHOUT losing its integrity. With the exception of the space monsters and occasional ninja (and those are only light divergences) it still FEELS like Mass Effect. It sounds like nothing, but maintaining the tone of something, especially a video game, with all its variables, is really difficult and being able to do so is the hallmark of real a talent.
The locations, especially the cityscapes, are gorgeously detailed and the visuals seem to go on for miles. Reapers as tall as scycrapers do their death marches in the distance as you fight your way through incredibly detailed piles of rubble, hiding amongst disused vehicles and slabs of concrete. Long gone are the generic levels of the first game, long gone are the small and blocky levels from the second. You can see hints of those in the bones, in the basic structure, but it's such a mind bending improvement that I think I'm starting to figure out where most of the time and money went.
Ditto, doubly so even, for the sound design. Mass Effect has always had a quirky, ethereal quality the soundtrack. The core has been retained but the body has been given a whole new life. It's a truly lovely score that supports the action onscreen and makes for some seriously cinematic moments. Everything, from the light & sad instrumentals that get punctuated by the horrific `roar' of the Reapers, down to the nuts and bolts of gunfire and ambient voices - everything is so artfully and splendidly done. If Mass Effect 3 wins only one award ever, I really, really hope it's for sound design or mixing.
Look at me, gushing away.
====Exploring the Universe : "Help, Help, I've Run Out of Fuel Again!"====
Oh, so we're still flying a ship around on this little map, are we? Huh. Am I the only person who misses the point n' click map from Mass Effect 1? ...just me, huh? Damn.
I don't have a lot of complaints about this game, but I'll throw this one out there; exploring the galaxy map never congealed into anything more than 'servicable' over the three games. They've kept the basics from ME2 - piloting a little version of the Normandy around a map and rationing fuel. The 'Scanning for Resources' mini game is gone, as are the four resources from ME2, and it's been replaced by using broad scans (almost like a submarine's 'ping') to look for fuel and 'War Assets' - weapons, people, ships and such that can be used to fight the Reapers... or, you know, raise your 'Galactic Readindess' score, as you never see or use any of the assets you find.
I suppose the big changes are that you no longer discover side missions by exploring worlds (most are orders from Hackett or come through your email... in game email, not real-world email, that would be creepy) and that the Reapers are actively hunting you in most star clusters (more and more of them, as the game progresses). Do too many 'pings' and a group of Reaper ships swoop onto the map to pull the Normandy apart. It adds a level of tension to the map navigating... but not really in a fun way. More of an "I'm just trying to EXPLORE here! Argh!" sort of way. It's not bad, but it's really indicative of how they never quite figured out what to do with the necessary Galaxy Map navigation; they wanted to make it a more interactive experience, a more... exciting one, I guess. And they did but... why?
Fuel, also, is a much tighter resource, as the Normandy has a diminished capacity and the Reapers have leveled most of the fuel depots you relied on in ME2. Again, it adds a layer of tension and planning, but not in any way I'd call fun.
I guess it's also worth mentioning that there are very few 'new' systems to explore. If you've played the first two, then you've more than likely been to every system you'll see in ME3 and read most of the planet descriptions already. It is the same galaxy, after all. I suppose this is why they cut back on exploring and gave us a way to quickly scan each system; I suppose that makes more sense than forcing the player to slowly dig through areas of the galaxy they've already been too, that is.
====The Story; "Hey, Shepard, can you fix our deep seeded social issues real quick? Thanks!"====
(LIGHT SPOILERS AHOY!)
Now we're talking - this is what we show up to Mass Effect for! Deep, rich, variable plots and character development! ...wow, it's pretty amazing these things are as popular as they are, isn't it?
I'm happy to say that the story is a definite Mass Effect story. An exciting opening - a dramatic turn around - a thrilling final sequence. High points, low points, exciting reveals. Loose-ends tied up, plot threads resolved, character arcs completed. Everything you'd hope for and expected to see is in there...
Relax, I'm not talking about the ending yet. So calm down. I'll get to it in a minute and you can be plenty mad at me then. Just hold on.
The bulk of the story involves Shepard circling the galaxy, trying to convince everyone that, yes, the Reapers are something that we should be working together to stop. It sounds a little forced because... well, it is. But it feels balanced in the end - you're asking species with deep, deep hatred for one another to open up all their secrets, get super-duper vulnerable to each other. So that fact that the Krogans or the Turians want favors or promises of favors before laying it all on the line kind of makes sense... well, enough sense to justify the game anyway. If nothing else, it's a wonderful excuse to tie up plot threads we've been dying to tie up while still keeping focus on the Reaper threat and, in the end, is far more effective than not.
The Illusive Man devolves a little into something of a mustache twirling villain - but for reasons that make sense, at least. And the good guys are putting all their efforts into a plot-resolving 'happy ending bomb' that makes all the bad guys go away at once... which is usually something I hate (thanks for that,
Gears of War 3
. sigh). But, again, it's handled with a little Mass Effect logic and some class, so it's not all that bad. They're all tired plot elements, is what I'm saying, but I hesitate to say they're 'lazy'. Nothing about this game feels lazy to me...
Rushed, though, I'd say that indeed. Sometimes really, really rushed. "Hey, Shepard, you're back for retirement or whatever, let's go talk to some of these folks who are in charge of something I guess - oh, look out, Repears! Everyone's dying, probably! Quick, go unite the galaxy, we'll wait here! Oh, that's James, he's new." I'm sure this is (at least partly) the result of real world pressure to get the game out on time, and also partly because the dev team had a TON of ground to cover, storywise... but it's still a little disappointing. Character introductions are rushed as are a few big story elements (wait... Thessia's gone? just... already? How? What does that even mean?) Lots and lots of things happen in this story (even before DLC) and, as a result, some of what should probably be the most emotionally compelling parts -all the stuff that happens on Earth- actually end up feeling the most hastily done. I had a MUCH bigger emotional reaction the Krogan missions and to the Quarian/Geth struggles than I did with anything that happened on Earth because the writers really took their time with those sequences - they cover multiple planets in multiple systems, introduce new characters and bring old ones back into the fold. They have action, heartbreaking emotion, gut-wrenching decisions to be made (that you feel the effects of) and some incredible cinematic moments. I dare say, they may be the best sequences in the Mass Effect trilogy... and they happen in the middle of the story. At the beginning and end of the 2nd act, I believe. It's hard to believe, but they stuck the best stuff in the middle, and left the beginning and the end feeling truncated, rushed, perhaps even... weird
Hold on, I'm not there yet. Soon, my friends, soon.
===The Characters: "Huh... where is everybody?"===
(S'MORE SPOILERS, Y'ALL)
This is more of an observation than anything else, but the roster of characters feels small... Which isn't true, really, it's about the size of what we had in ME1. Bigger, even, with some DLC and, you know, provided certain people survived ME2.
ME2 had a massive cast because the game was ABOUT that cast, learning about the characters and gaining their loyalty. ME3 is much more about the plot and the bigger story happening but... well, most of these folks we know arleady. Liara, Kaiden/Ashley, Tali & Garrus (provided they're alive). Even Edi we sort of already know, though not in this new, nude, weirdly proportioned form. James is new but... who cares? The only real interesting addition, the only one we have anything to learn about is Javik, the Prothean... available only in the day one DLC. Which upset no one at all and only made people very, very happy, I'm sure.
So, yeah, it's a little bit of a backwards slide, especially coming off the previous installments, when learning about your weirdo crew was a third of the game or more. It is fun to see the old familiar faces on the Normandy, to celebrate the past or mourn the dead (both of which happen, as the events of the previous games are felt and weigh heavy on this one). But it would have been good to through one or two new, interesting (sorry James) faces into the mix. Javik certainly could have been fleshed out into a full, in game character... probably SHOULD have been, in retrospect.
It's a small point to make and is ultimately overshadowed by the plot, but it was worth mentioning.
====On the Ending... thanks for being so patient====
Awwwwwwwww yeah, here it is!
Far and away, without a doubt, the most hotly debated and fiercely hated part of the game is the last twenty minutes (or the last two hours, depending on who you talk to). Never before outside of like, actual politics, have I seen such harsh polarization and so many angry, angry words thrown about. I can only imagine the BioWare offices the day after release, when the reactions started flooding in. They must have known there would be some grumbling, but could they possibly have predicted such a violent storm?
With that said, I have to admit... I didn't hate the ending so much. I didn't like it, I don't think it's the best way they could have gone, as way confused as to WHY they did, but I didn't hate it.
Yes, it is weird. Yes, it's a little out of place. Like the beginning of the game, it feels hasty; rushed even. And, yes, the last few hours are ultimately disappointing. But it certainly didn't make me angry.
Okay, here's my take on the last few sequences...
(HEAVY SPOILERS, OF COURSE...)
After a kick-ass assault on The Illusive Man (some people call him TIM, I like to call him Louie) and a disappointing fight with a magic ninja, we finally, FINALLY return to Earth... and things go back to feeling rushed (frowny-face). We're in London... for some reason. The Reapers have moved the Citadel to Earth instead of out into dark space or, I don't know, anywhere else for that matter. Oh, and this is Major Coats, he's voiced by Mark Strong and seems really important, but don't ask any specific questions about him.
In what should be the most satisfying, emotionally charged point of the game, we get a deluge of unanswered or half-answered questions. Everything moves along so quickly, so haphazardly, so... so...
Let's take a breather and talk about story structure... actually, that would take forever and no one cares. So let's just talk about one aspect: the 'obligatory scene'. This is something that can be defined many ways, but I'll sum it up as 'the scene your audience is expecting to see' or 'the thing that, if we don't get it, we'll be really cranky'. It's essentially the orgasm of your story, if that helps. And if we're left without it... well, you get the point.
There are a couple of things that we were hoping to see in Mass Effect 3, whether we realized it or not. Certain plot threads that had been introduced or ideas that were slipped into our minds. Of the many over the course of three games, those that stand out to me are: massive armies of mixed aliens fighting together, the Illusive man coming to some kind of conclusion (the bloodier the better; I hate that guy), and a some kind of show down with Harbinger, the unofficial mascot of the Reapers that's been hounding us since ME2. The events of the previous games have put these thoughts into our heads as the most prevalent, most important facets left in the Mass Effect universe. These are the things that, whether we can articulate it at the time or not, we're EXPECTING to see get played out, one way or another, before the curtain falls. These are the OBLIGATORY scenes, based on all the scenes that have come before.
And, save for the Illusive Man (and even that one's up for debate), they are not addressed. We get two quick scenes of Krogan-Assari-Turian armies together. No Geth anywhere, no Quarian, no Salarian, Elcor, Batarian, anything else we've put time into gathering. That's it. Then Harbinger shows up, whoops our ass good, and takes off like he's got 99 problems and we ain't one. And THIS, in my meek little opinion, is why the ending is so frustrating. I honestly and truly think that all the star-child weirdness, all the plot-resolving explosions, would have gone over much better if any of these other expected outcomes had been delivered.
This is why I say the team, the writers, the whomever, were HASTY and RUSHED and definitely not BAD or LAZY. They know these things, clearly, based on the strengths of the other games. The BioWare team doesn't need me to explain story structure to them; they know it better than I do and have delivered shining examples time and time again. It makes me feel like the outside world pressed heavy in some way and they had to rush out parts of the game before it was complete. I can't see any other reason for leaving out such obvious and pressing plot points (potential plot points, I guess).
I would love a documentary on just what the hell happened but, sadly, we'll never ever get one.
And, you know what? The Star Child, being of light thing doesn't bother me. It's an odd choice, granted. Evertyhing after the final charge on that oh-so convenient teleporter beam is... odd. They took the esoteric route, for some reason, the anachronistic route, for the first time in the series. It was a brave choice and, again, I do think that if they'd spent more time satisfying the obligatory scenes it would have gone over better. But it was really surprising, in a universe that is so specific and literal, to have a sequence that may not be what it appears to be on the surface. That may or may not be a dream or that could possibly be a... parable? Maybe a cipher of some kind? I don' know, but it's not the sort of thing that easily fits into Mass Effect, which has been a very literal, very `on the surface' sort of game, without many unexplained magic or fantasy elements. How Mass Effect Technology works, Biotics, Element Zero - all these things are laid out clearly and succinctly, mostly. I mean... I know how many testicles a Krogan has... that's a pretty specifically laid out world. But once we're back on the Citadel things become strange, dreamlike, as though there's something more going on - some grand point being made that lies just beyond explanation.
My personal take has always been that, once we reach the endgame, we've entered into the part of the story that later becomes a fable. For me, the most important part of the whole ending are the Stargazers, Buzz Aldrin (seriously, google it) and the little kid after the credits, talking about tales of 'The Shepard' (get it? GET IT!!??). They're talking about an old story, about the person who saved humanity. It sounds like he's telling an origin myth, like the Garden of Eden or Noah's Flood and all that - a fable about why the world is what it is. Seriously, after Joker and whoever get off the busted Normandy (have their Adam and Eve moment) and the Relays get blowed up, just add Buzz Aldrin saying "...and that's why the world is the way it is today!" It totally feels like they tried to change everything we'd been doing for three games into an Aesop. "Once upon a time, humans could fly around the galaxy using magical devices called 'Mass Effect Relays..." or "Did you know, a long, long time ago, humans and robots were two different things? And we used to fight each other? Until, that is, the story of the Shepard..."
It works but it's... such an odd choice. I like that it embraces the severity of Shepard's situation - things are much bigger now than winning or losing a battle. The star-child is forcing him to deal with some high concepts; can organics be trusted with the galaxy? Can they ever truly control what they create? Will this peace between the Quarian and Geth really last beyond the fight with the Reapers, or is it a pipe dream? It stretches beyond the battle raging out the window and acknowledges that Shepard is at the apex of a cycle that has existed for epochs unknown and, in fact, unknowable. That's a lot of pressure for one person.
It's weird, it's potentially heady, but it's not the worst thing in the world. Nor is it the worst ending I've ever seen. I think it could have played out if a) it hadn't of been so rushed and b) the obligatory scenes were delivered.
====The Epilogue and An Invitation to Suck It====
None of this, as weird and unbalanced as it turned out, undoes for me the hundreds of hours of quality entertainment that the Mass Effect series has brought. 99 to 99.9% of the series is among the most well thought out, most imaginative, bravest stuff I've seen in the past ten years. I've dreamt of the concept of a connected series of games, where the choices I make in one carry over to the next, for ages now. And someone managed it - honestly and truly pulled it off. And it's glorious.
And now it will never happen again.
Seriously, why would anyone bother? With all the work that it takes to connect the games in a satisfactory way, the thousands of variable scripts that need to be written and accounted for, the hundreds of hours spent writing and recording double and triple dialogue for each scene - why would anyone do that again after BioWare tried it and all it got them in the end was a pile of bad player reviews and a page of youtube hate videos. I would have been so much easier to just make three straight narratives and, in the end, the fans appreciated exactly NONE of it. So why bother? EA will make the exact same amount of money pushing out another Madden and will have to deal with ZERO grief from spoiled, unappreciative fans.
So... to all those who cry for boycotts and send hate mail... just... just suck it. You're ignoring thousands of hours of effort; hundreds of hours of lovely gameplay in a world that is more than worth revisiting again and again, in a series where the sequels are better than the originals and each adds replay value to the ones before simply by existing (name me one other series where that's true). You're dooming us to years and years of more modern warfare clones and Halo sequels because, as soon as a company takes a risk on something unusual, you smack them in the face as hard and as loud as you can if you find any failings at all. The amount of hate I've heard, from fans "demanding" the ending they "deserve", like petulant children, is going to frighten anyone from taking any risks again. So just... just suck it already.
Anyone who's bothered to read this far is bound to hit me with and 'unhelpful', or whatever it's called, and I seriously don't care. Leave angry messages, whatever, I don't care.
I fully appreciate the Mass Effect series: the ambitious writing, the solid action, the heart-felt story, the diverse characters, the excellent sound and music design, the unique world. It's a series of games built with love and affection and devotion and I cannot fathom throwing all that away because the very last part of the very ending is disappointing.
And it IS disappointing, I freely admit that, there's no denying that it doesn't work. But to ignore all that has come before, all the work and all the love, is the pinnacle of immaturity and the epitome of the spoilt, selfish, childish gamer. This stance murders creativity, it does not encourage it.
Enjoy Halo 4 and Angry Birds 2 or whatever. I'm done.
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Product was in FRENCH. I was unable to change it in the menus too. There was no mention of this in the product description, so thanks pal.
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