Mass Effect 3

[Sir William]

It's really more like 3 endings, with some variations in the level of destruction and who survives in the end, depending on your war assets. It's those 3 selections (assuming you even get all three available to you) that matter the most.

There was a huge public flap about the endings when the game first came out. People felt like all those massive amounts of decisions you made along the way, got distilled down to 3 endings that were very similar to each other. After the "extended cut", which added detail to the endings, I think they're fine. Most of the reaction, I think, was from a vocal minority who didn't get the exact ending they wanted.

Well, I didn't have any problems with the ending, other than it ended.  Then it tosses you back on a previous save which was a bit weird- but other than that, I thought it was a good ending to a great game.  A couple of the AA guys had told me,  before I finished, that the ending was straight crap.  Glad I disagree.  lol

[scott2978]

For anyone reading this do yourself a favor and play all 3 games back to back, and get all the DCL for ME2 and ME3 the first time you play it. Not only does it make the games better but it makes the endings more meaningful. Especially try the Citadel DC for ME3.

I didn't like some stuff that happens in ME2 nor any of the endings much, but I still feel like the Mass Effect Trilogy has no equal anywhere.

[Sir Edward]

For anyone reading this do yourself a favor and play all 3 games back to back, and get all the DCL for ME2 and ME3 the first time you play it. Not only does it make the games better but it makes the endings more meaningful. Especially try the Citadel DC for ME3.

I didn't like some stuff that happens in ME2 nor any of the endings much, but I still feel like the Mass Effect Trilogy has no equal anywhere.

QFT.

Most of the DLC is really good in both of those games. "The Arrival" in ME2 helps explain a detail about why you are where you are at the start of ME3. "Leviathan" gives some great back-story. "Citadel" is the final DLC they made and gives a lot of meaningful character development (and was Bioware's "farewell" to the story). Lots of really, really good stuff.

[Sir William]

I'm going backwards now...I'm on ME2.  I looked at some gameplay vids for ME1, but couldn't go back that far visually (it was a bit off-putting).  I just got it; once I finish it, I'll probably go do ME3 for a third time, but this time w/the DLC.  I honestly didn't expect to like it that much but damned if I don't love it.  ME2 looks very similar to ME3, at least as far as the visuals go, it isn't the leap back like going to ME is.

So, is it canon that Shepard dies?  I read that a new ME is being dev'd for the new systems, so maybe it'll be a whole new adventure w/new characters?  I dunno...I like Shepard (as I've played him, which is myself, really- even looks like me lol).

[Sir Wolf]

i still haven't finished me2. i think it was snowing somewhere last i played in the game

[Sir Edward]

So, is it canon that Shepard dies?  I read that a new ME is being dev'd for the new systems, so maybe it'll be a whole new adventure w/new characters?  I dunno...I like Shepard (as I've played him, which is myself, really- even looks like me lol).

SPOILERS BELOW








































Huge spoiler for those who haven't gotten that far, but pretty much it's written to have that heroic ending. The answer is always somewhere between "yes", and "probably, but maybe he/she somehow survived" depending on the ending you get.

Shepard's story is over, and the new games will go in a different direction.

[Sir William]

Ah well...I guess he had a good run.  Plus, he'd been dead, blasted to pieces once already.  I wonder what that'd be like? 

For those reading who haven't played, I am playing on a 360 so the graphics concerns I have are probably not as jarring for someone playing on a PC.  If the first ME wasn't so...well, lets just call a spade a spade, its ugly- but for 2007, it was cutting edge.  Now though, the lighting, shading, lack of textures all make for a less than stellar game for me.  Wish I'd played it when it first came out, though.

I feel like I need to reiterate how awesome this series is- I really like the interactions, side missions, characters and conversations, being able to go just about anywhere on the starmap is just ultra cool.  As I've played, I noticed, at least in ME3, that the game is actually quite linear once you land- but giving you the option of going anywhere you want from the start- I wish every game did that, but then, if it did- would we value that as much?  Probably not.

Anyone who is a sci-fi fan of any genre should pick this game up and play it.

[Sir William]

So, I was sitting there, playing ME2, seeing some familiar faces and realized- as much as I like knowing what's going to happen, it'd be more fun to see it as it happened so I get all the references.  I came across a trilogy pack (brand new unopened) in Gamestop that had all three together in one box so you know what I did.  Graphically speaking, it isn't as jarring as I expected- and of course, it isn't as cool as the other installments (weapons and tactics are understandably rougher) but I'm getting a kick out of doing it from the beginning.

[Sir Edward]

So, I was sitting there, playing ME2, seeing some familiar faces and realized- as much as I like knowing what's going to happen, it'd be more fun to see it as it happened so I get all the references.  I came across a trilogy pack (brand new unopened) in Gamestop that had all three together in one box so you know what I did.  Graphically speaking, it isn't as jarring as I expected- and of course, it isn't as cool as the other installments (weapons and tactics are understandably rougher) but I'm getting a kick out of doing it from the beginning.

Awesome! You won't regret that at all.

I highly recommend getting all of the mission DLC for ME2 and ME3, and import your savegames from one to the next. And yes, you'll probably find yourself playing ME3 again to see how your choices, and the characters you met, get carried through. Everyone who is on your team in the first two games (who survive) will appear again in the third. If you didn't see them in the third, and now you're getting them on your team in the first two, it's probably because it treated it as though you never recruited them.

[Sir Nate]

Video link isn't their, but I foolishly watched the honest trailer for the game; though many spoilers, I still want to play the game. Eventually. When I take money to buy it.

[Sir William]

So, I was sitting there, playing ME2, seeing some familiar faces and realized- as much as I like knowing what's going to happen, it'd be more fun to see it as it happened so I get all the references.  I came across a trilogy pack (brand new unopened) in Gamestop that had all three together in one box so you know what I did.  Graphically speaking, it isn't as jarring as I expected- and of course, it isn't as cool as the other installments (weapons and tactics are understandably rougher) but I'm getting a kick out of doing it from the beginning.

Awesome! You won't regret that at all.

I highly recommend getting all of the mission DLC for ME2 and ME3, and import your savegames from one to the next. And yes, you'll probably find yourself playing ME3 again to see how your choices, and the characters you met, get carried through. Everyone who is on your team in the first two games (who survive) will appear again in the third. If you didn't see them in the third, and now you're getting them on your team in the first two, it's probably because it treated it as though you never recruited them.

I've already decided that I'd have to see it through all the way to the end and tbh, I really enjoyed 3 so why not?  I was but a few hours into 2 so I didn't see anything major in the plot dept (even though I know how its all supposed to work out).  I'm nearly done with 1; its almost like a job because I just want to get through it to get to 2 (which is the one I don't know).

Naythan, you can get them really cheap.  I think 1 and 2 are like $6, 3 was $9.  I went and bought the trilogy pack brand new so I could get all the DLC codes that came with it.  I fully intend to explore all of that!  I've played alot of space-themed games, this is the best one, hands down, I've ever played.  Oh sure, Wing Commander was great, especially for its time, one or two of the Star Wars games were good, Star Trek however, was horrible- great for a tv show but sucky for a game (its all very slow and ponderous), StarCraft was a great series of games but Mass Effect- takes the whole cake.

[Sir Edward]

I've already decided that I'd have to see it through all the way to the end and tbh, I really enjoyed 3 so why not?  I was but a few hours into 2 so I didn't see anything major in the plot dept (even though I know how its all supposed to work out).  I'm nearly done with 1; its almost like a job because I just want to get through it to get to 2 (which is the one I don't know).

Naythan, you can get them really cheap.  I think 1 and 2 are like $6, 3 was $9.  I went and bought the trilogy pack brand new so I could get all the DLC codes that came with it.  I fully intend to explore all of that!  I've played alot of space-themed games, this is the best one, hands down, I've ever played.  Oh sure, Wing Commander was great, especially for its time, one or two of the Star Wars games were good, Star Trek however, was horrible- great for a tv show but sucky for a game (its all very slow and ponderous), StarCraft was a great series of games but Mass Effect- takes the whole cake.

Yeah, I always take it with a grain of salt when people tell me how great a particular game is. Not all of them appeal to me in the same way. But I'm SO GLAD I believed people on this one. It's truly epic as a trilogy. It's engaging, and you come away attached to all the characters, and feel like you've lived through the adventure with them. I love the fact that the story really captures the psychology of the different characters and factions, feels like an established, living world, and as the story progresses, you can feel the desperation, loss, and sacrifice start to weigh on people.

It warms my heart to find people discovering it too.

[Sir Douglas]

Dang it, guys...now I'm going to have to add another series to my list of "Games I'd Like to Try...Eventually".

I've heard great things about it pretty much since the first one came out, though.

[Sir William]

I'll tell you Douglas, I only decided to play the 3rd one a month or so ago.  I'd heard of it, but having played other space themed games, which were good, they didn't grab me and make me want to find others.  So, while I heard of ME, it was mostly PC players I heard about it from so I discounted it from the start, seeing as I don't play PC games anymore.  Previous experience has taught me that most games built for PC and ported-to-console tend to fail miserably at some point.  Except this was no port.

I think I've gone on enough about how epic this is, and I'm like Sir Edward- one man's epicness is another man's God-I-wish-it-would-end-already.  lol

As Sir Edward noted, the story arc and the characterizations are very approachable; even the Paragon Shepard isn't the stick-in-the-rear douchebag those types of characters normally end up having to be like.  I think that having the ability to decide how you will respond to a given query or conversation, and have that response carry weight only adds to the immersion into the game.  People you talk to remember your words (and actions) from previous encounters- so that subsequent contacts with these people will be colored by their perception of you.

I'm usually not a jerk, so I don't play as one but I have to say, there's one or two personalities in the game that make you want[/it] to be one, just to deal with those people; but I didn't want any hits on my ratings so I kept it civil.  I think I like it so much because a lot of your responses, and the conversations you have sort of play out like real, normal people would talk.  It is all very well voice-acted and mo-captured; naturally the earlier games aren't quite so slick looking, but considering how old they are, they're pretty damn good looking.  3 looks amazing. 

I'm actually going to be sad when I reach the ending in 3 for the final time; it has been a journey.

[scott2978]

I told you guys

Just save yourself some grief, and start out playing the whole trilogy from 1 to 3 getting all the DLC for ME2 and ME3. The ME1 DLC you can skip.

There simply is no equal to the Mass Effect trilogy. There is no series of games with the same breadth, depth and character as Mass Effect. There are other good games, great games even - but no trilogies of them where each game plays the same character through a single story across 3 games with the storytelling passion cranked up to 11. My inner gamer wept when it was finally over knowing there was nothing else like it in existence to continue the feeling.