Mass Effect 3 Xbox 360 Review - PAGE 1

Considered by many as the most anticipated title of 2012, Mass Effect 3 wraps up a sci-fi action-drama spanning nearly five full years. In that time, we’ve seen the entire RPG genre influenced by a single franchise that redefined immersion through player involvement. 

Mass Effect 3 has much to live up to, like the youngest child who is preceded by two successful siblings. BioWare’s challenge is twofold: refine the combat to create an intuitive third-person shooter and wrap up an epic space opera centered on one of the current generation’s most beloved characters. A feat that’s easier said than done, but Mass Effect 3 delivers on all fronts, though the end to Commander Shepard’s trilogy is wrought with heartbreak. 

Survival at Any Cost

For three years Shepard’s warning of an impending Reaper invasion have fallen on deaf ears. Now, six months after the events of Mass Effect 2 – The Arrival DLC, the galaxy has come under attack by the first Reaper wave. As Earth bears the brunt of the Reapers’ assault, Shepard is forced to depart aboard the Normandy with her crew and seek aid from other species. Now that the Reapers are actually here, recruitment shouldn’t be a problem, right? It’s not like the Citadel council can deny what’s right in their faces. 

If amassing an army were so simple, humanity wouldn’t need Commander Shepard. Each race still refuses to join this multi-species coalition until she’s done them a few massive favors – because stopping Sovereign and destroying the Collectors just weren’t enough. To make matters worse, the Illusive Man’s latest scheme has Cerberus rampaging across the galaxy, and Shepard happens to be on their “shoot on sight” list. Thus begins the player’s journey through the galaxy a third time, but fortunately for us, the Milky Way is a big place filled with sights unseen.   

In Mass Effect 3, the focus is less human-centric, giving us the opportunity to finally visit our favorite species on their native soils. Every story arc revolves around some interspecies dispute or another; which ones should be pretty obvious to any Mass Effect fan. Before the galaxy can be united, old conflicts must be laid to rest, and naturally the role of peacemaker falls upon Shepard. Placating everyone is nearly (yet not entirely) impossible this time around, and each decision you make as Shepard might lead to devastating consequences, whether it’s inadvertently screwing over an entire race or sacrificing your most loyal friend. 

The moral predicaments Shepard now faces are some of the hardest we’ve seen in the series. Her choices are often veiled in moral ambiguity, and the fallout is difficult to predict. Every major crisis can be solved in a number of different ways, but even the “best” possible outcomes come at a hefty price. There are pivotal moments in the narrative when Shepard is confronted with some truly painful dilemmas, and the aftermaths are absolutely heart wrenching. 

New Crew, Old Visitors

Shepard’s interaction with the Normandy crew has been dialed back significantly, and most conversations are now scripted. Rather than zooming into the intimate face-to-face format, the player ends up listening in rather than interacting. Key relationship-defining conversations still bring back the dialogue wheel, but these moments occur less frequently in Mass Effect 3. Similarly, squad mates no longer have personal loyalty missions for Shepard to undertake, and any lingering woes or inner demons are swiftly dealt with through a series of conversations peppered throughout the campaign. 

The bulk of Shepard’s squad is comprised of returning characters from the previous games, with only one totally new addition (not counting the controversial From Ashes companion). The crew has its own mix of new and familiar faces as well, but the third game seems less concerned with introducing new characters than wrapping up the story for existing ones. This goes for returning characters not a part of your crew, which pretty much encompasses every squad mate Shepard has ever recruited. 

A good portion of the narrative revisits old favorites, bringing them into the Reaper conflict through various subplots, while more important fixtures will spend a good amount of time just hanging out aboard the Normandy until Shepard has taken care of their problems. Some players might find the new formula somewhat jarring, especially after being spoiled by Mass Effect 2’s comparatively massive cast. What Mass Effect 3 does excel at is crafting relationships between squad mates, who will now wander around the ship to interact more naturally. A neat feature, to be sure, and the crew do offer a healthy dose of laugh-out-loud moments; even so, the new roster is still missing a bit of the old magic.

Gathering Assets

In the war against the Reapers, every little bit helps. To track Shepard’s progress, Mass Effect 3 includes a War Assets system, accessible from the new War Room aboard the Normandy. Every decision – big and small, past and present – contributes to a total score represented by a green bar labeled “Effective Military Strength,” which essentially determines which of the 16 endings you’ll qualify for. Larger decisions from Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 (i.e. Did Shepard save the Council? Did she rewrite the geth heretics?) are brought back to light with renewed importance in the third game and factor into your EMS rating. 

In Mass Effect 3, even the little things like allocating Spectre funds to certain parties or just interacting with NPCs may contribute more assets to Shepard’s cause. Not all quests involve the mass slaughter of Cerberus personnel either, as quite a few minor tasks can be picked up while wandering around the Citadel. NPCs always have something to say, and almost all overheard conversations will lead to a side quest that sends Shepard on a galactic scanning mission to retrieve some artifact or another. In other cases, she can butt into random conversations and settle disputes between NPCs: whether a vendor should be selling weapons to frightened civilians; whether a couple should keep their gifted child in school or bring him home in light of the Reaper crisis.

The side content is pretty straightforward, but quest descriptions are strangely vague and rarely offer any useful instructions. Although objective waypoints can sometimes point players in the right direction, many quests either don’t use them or the waypoints won’t show up until Shepard is standing about two feet away from the objective. The descriptions don’t update with progression either, so if you’re tasked with, say, finding and hacking multiple consoles, the quest information won’t tell which or how many you’ve already accessed.