Mass Effect 3 Review
Duty-and-spoiler-free
Until the face import problems are fixed, this will stay a 1-star review. I will amend this review if and/or when it does get fixed.
Edit:
I couldn't wait for the patch any longer, so I decided to play this game with face-problems intact. I used a third-party website and screenshots of my Shepard from ME2 to try to recreate my Shepard's face as well as I could.
The dissimilarities between my ME1/ME2 and ME3 Shepard were jarring at first, but after a few hours, I had adjusted to my modified Shepard. Face-import problems aside, this is the best game in the series.
Pros:
+ More environmental variety. ME2 was largely an indoor game, with only a few outdoor environments. There is more balance this time.
+ Better level design. ME3 is a nice balance of ME1's semi-nonlinear levels and ME2's largely linear levels. There is also more topographical variety, meaning that you will not simply be walking on flat surfaces. You will also be on rocky, bumpy surfaces and inclines.
+ The multiplayer is addictive. Addictiveness does not necessarily equal quality gameplay, but it does indicate quality design. I'm a big proponent of single-player games - they are a dying breed, and I did not want ME3 to have a multiplayer mode, but the one here is certainly not bad.
+ The best voice-acting in all of videogames. I will leave it at that.
+ The best ending I have experienced since Final Fantasy IX. I hope that Bioware stands up for artistic integrity and abstains from modifying their beautiful ending. I am proof that you can be a Mass Effect player since 1 and still appreciate the ending.
Cons:
- Face-import bug. If it wasn't for this bug, this would have received five stars from me.