16 replies to this topic

[Cal Jones]

I'm asking because, after all the backlash, I'm a little afraid to play it! I loved the first one, liked the second a lot (after getting used to the changes) and am worried I'll feel let down by the third. I'm aware of some of the spoilers, particularly regarding the Deux Ex-style ending. Thing is, summer holidays are coming (I'm a teacher) and I am having a foot operation that'll keep me sedentary for a couple of weeks, so I do need something new to play. Advice? (Also, regarding DLC - worth getting?)

[theacefes]

Yes. The price has gone down and the Extended Cut DLC (which is free) clarifies the endings (decently). Overall, it's a terrific game, with many elements being way better than the previous two games.

Spoiler

Also, to refer to the ending as Deux-Ex style is a bit inaccurate. The story concept the ending surrounds is revealed super duper early in the game. You're working the entire game toward it. That's hardly a deux-ex. The ending is far from perfect but considering they ditched whatever the original ending was supposed to be, switched writing leads, ran out of time, and possibly money, it's still replayable and mostly enjoyable.

Edited by theacefes, 03 July 2012 - 09:01 AM.

[Eleima]

Honestly.... YES. Abso- freakin'- lutely. I got my ME3 CE on launch but for a bunch of reasons, didn't get to play it until end of may. I was terrified, after all I'd heard and read, but ME3 proved to be one heck of a ride. Everyone's comlpaing about the ending, but before those last 15 controversial minutes, you have a big chunk of 30 hours worth of gameplay that made up the bittersweet ending of a beloved trilogy. Hoenstly, from a gameplay point of view, I loooooved ME1, had to get used to ME2, but ended up liking the changes, but when I got to ME3, I loved the gameplay changes. Rolling, ducking around the battlefield, flanking... all that mobility made it much more dynamic and a lot more enjoyable.
And... dare I say it... yes, I think I will... I actually enjoyed the multiplayer! *gasp*
I disagree with the "deus ex" analysis, the ending doesn't just fall out of the sky, it is foreshadowed and prepared (to some extent).
So yes, totally, you should get it. Especially since the prices are being slashed, go for it.

[Tempest]

It's a very good but very flawed game. Take that as you will. I still find the ending utterly ridiculous and more than a little hollow. And the story pre-finale is far from flawless.

[cmorgan]

I'd buy it and play it in an instant.

I am not an online FPS player, but the Multiplayer combat materials are so fun I have a hard time messing about in the game; so from that side of things, I'm a happy dude. I still stink at it, but I average a round a night, sometimes more - I have to clear up my machine's tendency to freeze suddenly in the middle of a match (confirmed problem on my end, not theirs, as it does it a few hours into a Civ game).

From a roleplaying point of view, my Paragon Shepherd wants a pretty happy ending with everyone living, fuzzy bunnies frolicing through newly terraformed garden planets while singing merrily and planning the next multi-ethnic multi-species croquet match with cream tea and cucumber sandwiches, while Beethoven's Pastorale or 9th Symphony plays in the background. Then again, ParaShep has never read MonaLisa Overdrive, or any Gibson, for that matter. So he has had to get used to disappointment.

All told, no matter how you view the storyline/writing, an incredibly good dollar-to-hour deal for soild entertainment. It won't beeat builder games like the Civ series in those terms, but then again no SP CRPG does, save perhaps fully modded BG/BG2

Edited by cmorgan, 03 July 2012 - 05:42 PM.

[Yovaneth]

Yes, go for it. IMO BioWare have done a good job with the Extended Cut of recovering what was a complete shit of an ending. Better still, you no longer have to get the stupid War Asset figure over a certain amount for Shepard to survive.

-Y-

[Edit] A serious piece of advice. When you get to the Citadel during the end sequences you can't save the bloody game. It autosaves - yeah - but that's no use if you want a run at all the endings. As soon as you see an autosave finish running, Alt+Tab to desktop, go to ...\Documents\BioWare\Mass Effect 3\Save\<Shepard's name plus a load of numbers>, copy AutoSave.pcsav and rename it to Save_<sequential number>.pcsav. You should be able to trap an autosave this way just before making your ending selection and yes, they are all different (although having said that, some parts of the cutscenes are the same for reasons you'll see).

Edited by Yovaneth, 04 July 2012 - 12:54 AM.

[Kulyok]

Yes, if you played ME1/ME2, absolutely. Best with Extended Cut. Otherwise, you'll never know how it ends, and it'll suck even more than playing the original ending. Also, I second Yovaneth's advice: it's worth it to make copies of your autosaves at the end(you'll know) for better re-playing value.

ME3 has several fundamental differences, though:
- one, if the game tells you to do a mission, it's probably worth it to do it. Unlike ME1 and ME2, missions(fairly major ones) do become unavailable.
- two, it's very easy to miss "pick-ups", i.e. weapon upgrades, new weapons, money. Also, money is much tighter than in ME2 and especially ME1.
- three, it's quite unfair, to my mind, but Casual/Normal difficulties no longer give the same amount of experience as Insane level. You get more XP for medi-gel, if you play on Insane(it can be as much as the difference between max level 56 on Casual and max level 60 on Insane).
- four, scanning planets. It's rather stressful now, as Reapers will be out to get you. But it won't take as much time as it does in ME2.
- five, no mini-games, no hacking and bypassing and hunting monkeys.
- and six, it might be best to go on ME Wikia and check which companions are available and which are romanceable(so if you romanced, say, Thane or Jacob, you might be a little more disappointed than if you romanced, say, Liara). Also, I don't know how much of a spoiler it is, but people will die.
- And, yep, still worth it.

[Eleima]

- and six, it might be best to go on ME Wikia and check which companions are available and which are romanceable (so if you romanced, say, Thane or Jacob, you might be a little more disappointed than if you romanced, say, Liara). Also, I don't know how much of a spoiler it is, but people will die.

All of Kulyok's advice is sound, but yeah, this in particular. I kinda appreciated that some people died (even though I cried like a baby), because hey, this is WAR. It just can't be all sunshine, flowers and rainbows. But it made the story all the more powerful and all the more poignant.
In the same vein, I thought it was fitting that money was tighter. And I appreciated the new form of planet scanning. Gave the game a much needed sense of urgency.

Also, incoming minor spoiler on the outcome of a ME2 romance...

Spoiler

I can't believe that on my 2nd FemShep playthrough in ME2, I went with Jacob. UGH! WHAT WAS I THINKING?!?!

Edited by Eleima, 03 July 2012 - 10:16 PM.

[Yovaneth]

Following on from Kulyok regarding difficulty levels: I'm no FPS player but I completed ME3 on Harcore and didn't find it difficult. I hit level 58.

And I'm getting serious serious ME withdrawl symptoms...

-Y-

Edited by Yovaneth, 04 July 2012 - 12:55 AM.

[cmorgan]

The cure for withdrawal...

...a full trilogy run with the class you have never tried. Hours and hours of fun!

[Cal Jones]

Ha, I'm a completist - I've got Shepards of every class, different romances, paragon, renegade and combinations...actually the only romance I didn't do was Jacob. And I pretty much always do every quest (unless there are quests that cancel each other out) in every game I play, so no problems there.

[Yovaneth]

The cure for withdrawal...

...a full trilogy run with the class you have never tried. Hours and hours of fun!

Don't you even think about tempting me!! It will get another runthrough (again...) but I have Fallout 3 and various Assassin's Creeds that have been sitting here unloved.

-Y-

[Kulyok]

I'm going to try Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2, myself. Eventually. I'll just finish that ME2 run...

[phordicus]

No. It's a sophomoric mess. The story devolves into absolute shit as they retcon and contradict themselves at every turn. Any questions you've had since 1 are either ignored or hacked together with minimal effort to tie the threads together. The animations are still embarassing to look at. If you thought 2 barely paid attention to "choices" made in 1, 3 will disappoint further. Gameplay-wise, as a shooter it's a good shooter for people who suck at shooters. Having pretend relationships wouldn't redeem it even if they weren't written for Twilight fans.

Edited by phordicus, 07 July 2012 - 08:53 AM.

[Eleima]

Gee Phordicus, got off the wrong side of the bed, did you?
I honestly think I don't "suck at shooters", having played my fair share of them in the past twenty years and routinely place in the top tier of my TF2 games. Having gone back to ME2 after playing ME3, the gameplay is greatly improved in the third installment, allowing the mobility I previously mentioned. As for your comment on the relationships being written for Twilight fans... Seriously, you could come up with a better way to phrase that. You may not have enjoyed them, that's your opinion, but I'm really wondering if we even played the same game. I won't go over in detail all I enjoyed about different characters, since I already have pretty extensively, but a bunch of them were really well written, very engaging. Granted a lot of the backstories were family issues, but that's one sure fire way to hit home. Who doesn't have 'em? (incidentally, not *all* of them did, it was definitely one of Kaidan's strengths, he had this "sure, I had issues, but I've dealt with them, they won't be a problem for you" attitude, which was very refreshing).
You're entitled to your own opinion, just be mindful of others', I feel I've already been crystal clear about it.

[Vicen]

Beyond the endings(Might of changed with the DLC...I have not seen it yet)...Nobody really has anything to complain about legit wise...unless of course you are just a hater...It's still a 9 out of 10 in my book...

Edited by Vicen, 09 July 2012 - 10:56 PM.

[Archmage Silver]

I'm asking because, after all the backlash, I'm a little afraid to play it! I loved the first one, liked the second a lot (after getting used to the changes) and am worried I'll feel let down by the third. I'm aware of some of the spoilers, particularly regarding the Deux Ex-style ending. Thing is, summer holidays are coming (I'm a teacher) and I am having a foot operation that'll keep me sedentary for a couple of weeks, so I do need something new to play. Advice? (Also, regarding DLC - worth getting?)

Is it worth it? In a word: yes. It's very good entertainment for not-so-much money.