Bioware is back to consume people’s lives once again with the third installment of the Mass Effect series. Mass Effect 3 has you playing as Commander Shepard, trying to defend Earth and the rest of the galaxy from the wrath of the invading Reapers. An ancient race that has returned to exterminate the galaxy. Players have are plunged into a war and have to unite the various races and find “war assets” in order to have any hope of defeating the reapers. Fans of the Mass Effect series will be happy to see the unique combat and story progression systems make their return. As usual they give you the option import your character from Mass Effect 2. Importing your character allows you to have your character start with the same appearance and level that they had in ME2. You also receive a significant amount of credits to start off with. As expected, everything you did in Mass Effect 1 & 2 has a large effect on the story of the third game. Depending on how you finished ME2 will designate how many of your old team mates make an appearance. One of the smaller features i noticed wasn’t included in Mass Effect 3, was the hacking that i found to just be a nuisance in the first two games.
Another new feature is the Galaxy at war system. Simply put, it’s a way of monitoring how well different sections of the galaxy are fighting the reapers. After one play through i found this to be basically useless. As long as you play the game you really don have to pay any real attention to it unless you’re an achievement hunter. The other big addition to Mass Effect 3 is the Online Multiplayer. The Multiplayer allows you to team up with groups of up to four players and play as different races and different classes. Its resembles horde mode with a few objectives thrown in. There are three enemy groups you face off against, eight maps, and three difficulties. It’s very fun to play and easy to get hooked trying out the different combinations of the classes weapons and equipment. For those who care, it also helps with the Galaxy At War system by increasing you influence depending on what map you play on. The multiplayer is very fun and almost addictive. Adds to the replay ability to the game. As more DLC is released, I’m sure the multiplayer experience will only become more fun. Mass Effect 3 was well made and from an unbiased point of view, a great game to play. I’d rate this game a 9.7 (The controversial ending dropped it down a bit) I recommend fans of the series grab it if you haven’t already and people new to the series will still find the game fun.
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