Spoilers in here, read if you've completed the game.
I looked forward to ME3 like a madman, got it and played (lived) it. I can honestly say that the Mass Effect series is the best i've played: the story is beyond imaginable and the characters are so dimensional and likable. I don't think that lately there has been a more captivating game, book or film where i have grown so into the characters and the world. The fact that i was able to import all my character development and vital decisions through all the franchise is already a sign of how really grande the game is.
First of all, a bit about the gameplay: i liked that the movement was more dimensional, you could sprint a lot (which saved me many a times when i needed cover), using ability combos - again fantastic, and the game was generally a lot faster. New squad members, James and EDI were interesting and brought something new to the table. Soundtrack was very well composed and the atmosphere whilst playing the game was of something significant. That's that, top notch.
The characters... amazing. To see a portrayal of them through all three games was fantastic, because even if you used some of the squadmembers more than others (f.e. i didn't use Liara or Tali in my ME1 playthrough very much, i relied on Ash and Garrus mostly; we all have our favorites), you could still see how they all grew and what the world was like for them. Seeing how Ash reacted to Shepard through different times or how their romance went, how friendship with Garrus grew, how Thane interpreted the world and the meaning of life, what Tali felt in her suit, what was it like for Liara, how Jack opened up, and all about the other characters, all that combined was so heartwarming and astonishing, something i haven't encountered in other games (even in Dragon Age it wasn't that close).
So yes, the thing that enraged me the most was the ending. Massive, massive letdown which bitters the whole saga for me because now we know that ME3 was the last. All the decisions, all the character development, all the romance, all the build up was made irrelevant by the Catalyst god who offered Shepard three choices: control, synthesis or destroy. All the endings were basically the same: energy takes out the reapers, mass relays blow up, Shepard dies, Normandy crashes and galactic army is stuck around Earth with no way to get back home without the relays. The lack of choice and variety was the worst problem. For example, in ME1 you had the choice to save the Council, in ME2 you had the choice to destroy the station and which characters survived (why engaging the characters was so important in the game) but in ME3 whatever you do, with all the endings you get the same cutscene and Shepard dies (even if you see the little scene where he draws breath it's not good enough, because it's the matter of your hopeful interpretation and it's not fair to demand the loyal fanbase to "make up our own interpretations of what the ending means for us"). All the good we can see or make up is just our imagination because Bioware didn't give us clear and different endings (the good, the bad, the ugly and everything in the middle, as in 16 different endings they promised). That leaves literally no point to play the game again (you cannot alter the main ending path like in 2 where you could alternatively help the Illusive Man) because you cannot either return to Ash (or whoever you chose) or to Normandy or to anywhere else. You have three basically identical (save for the color of explosions) choices, none of which are satisfactory. Reading all the other reviews/thoughts, i'm not the only one who would have preferred a more clear, an alternate ending. Bitter, bitter, bitter.
All i can hope for is a DLC which makes a clearer ending or offers a new one which sees Shepard reunite with Normandy and it's crew. The reason i love ME series is because the choices you make feel real, they reach out to you, you fall in love with amazing characters and the world, you're a part of the story, but none of this matters with an ending we have no control over. Sad.
The main concept of Mass Effect is the freedom of choices, creating your own path, living the game as Shepard. Everything you do influences what comes next (f.e. if you sacrifice the Council in ME1 then in 2 and 3 other races see you as someone who puts humanity over the galaxy, therefore it's more difficult to get their support; if you get high approval from squad mates in 2 you get better defense for Normandy, etc.). If you are able to choose every little part of the story for yourself in the matter of choice-consequence way, it is only fair that you should be able to choose the ending as well. Otherwise, what's the point? This ending however doesn't give us a chance to make none of our choices matter (it even doesn't give us a chance to defy the child/god) and abandons the reason why Mass Effect is so great to play and why it differes from everything else.
In the end all i can say is that i loved the series very much. One of the most outstanding sci-fi and fantasy worlds with incredible story and characters. I'll just pretend that the ending was something different, something to my own liking.
10 for the franchise, gameplay, story in general, outstanding characters and the world itself. Thank you for reading.
I looked forward to ME3 like a madman, got it and played (lived) it. I can honestly say that the Mass Effect series is the best i've played: the story is beyond imaginable and the characters are so dimensional and likable. I don't think that lately there has been a more captivating game, book or film where i have grown so into the characters and the world. The fact that i was able to import all my character development and vital decisions through all the franchise is already a sign of how really grande the game is.
First of all, a bit about the gameplay: i liked that the movement was more dimensional, you could sprint a lot (which saved me many a times when i needed cover), using ability combos - again fantastic, and the game was generally a lot faster. New squad members, James and EDI were interesting and brought something new to the table. Soundtrack was very well composed and the atmosphere whilst playing the game was of something significant. That's that, top notch.
The characters... amazing. To see a portrayal of them through all three games was fantastic, because even if you used some of the squadmembers more than others (f.e. i didn't use Liara or Tali in my ME1 playthrough very much, i relied on Ash and Garrus mostly; we all have our favorites), you could still see how they all grew and what the world was like for them. Seeing how Ash reacted to Shepard through different times or how their romance went, how friendship with Garrus grew, how Thane interpreted the world and the meaning of life, what Tali felt in her suit, what was it like for Liara, how Jack opened up, and all about the other characters, all that combined was so heartwarming and astonishing, something i haven't encountered in other games (even in Dragon Age it wasn't that close).
So yes, the thing that enraged me the most was the ending. Massive, massive letdown which bitters the whole saga for me because now we know that ME3 was the last. All the decisions, all the character development, all the romance, all the build up was made irrelevant by the Catalyst god who offered Shepard three choices: control, synthesis or destroy. All the endings were basically the same: energy takes out the reapers, mass relays blow up, Shepard dies, Normandy crashes and galactic army is stuck around Earth with no way to get back home without the relays. The lack of choice and variety was the worst problem. For example, in ME1 you had the choice to save the Council, in ME2 you had the choice to destroy the station and which characters survived (why engaging the characters was so important in the game) but in ME3 whatever you do, with all the endings you get the same cutscene and Shepard dies (even if you see the little scene where he draws breath it's not good enough, because it's the matter of your hopeful interpretation and it's not fair to demand the loyal fanbase to "make up our own interpretations of what the ending means for us"). All the good we can see or make up is just our imagination because Bioware didn't give us clear and different endings (the good, the bad, the ugly and everything in the middle, as in 16 different endings they promised). That leaves literally no point to play the game again (you cannot alter the main ending path like in 2 where you could alternatively help the Illusive Man) because you cannot either return to Ash (or whoever you chose) or to Normandy or to anywhere else. You have three basically identical (save for the color of explosions) choices, none of which are satisfactory. Reading all the other reviews/thoughts, i'm not the only one who would have preferred a more clear, an alternate ending. Bitter, bitter, bitter.
All i can hope for is a DLC which makes a clearer ending or offers a new one which sees Shepard reunite with Normandy and it's crew. The reason i love ME series is because the choices you make feel real, they reach out to you, you fall in love with amazing characters and the world, you're a part of the story, but none of this matters with an ending we have no control over. Sad.
The main concept of Mass Effect is the freedom of choices, creating your own path, living the game as Shepard. Everything you do influences what comes next (f.e. if you sacrifice the Council in ME1 then in 2 and 3 other races see you as someone who puts humanity over the galaxy, therefore it's more difficult to get their support; if you get high approval from squad mates in 2 you get better defense for Normandy, etc.). If you are able to choose every little part of the story for yourself in the matter of choice-consequence way, it is only fair that you should be able to choose the ending as well. Otherwise, what's the point? This ending however doesn't give us a chance to make none of our choices matter (it even doesn't give us a chance to defy the child/god) and abandons the reason why Mass Effect is so great to play and why it differes from everything else.
In the end all i can say is that i loved the series very much. One of the most outstanding sci-fi and fantasy worlds with incredible story and characters. I'll just pretend that the ending was something different, something to my own liking.
10 for the franchise, gameplay, story in general, outstanding characters and the world itself. Thank you for reading.