Mass Effect 3

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Description

As a result of Commander Shepard's affiliation with the Cerberus organisation in the past, he or she is removed from active service by the Alliance military upon returning to Earth. It is at this point that the alien machine race known as the Reapers launch an all-out assault on the planet. The Defense Committee asks Shepard for assistance, and Captain Anderson re-installs him as a member of the Alliance and Commander aboard his old ship, the Normandy. While Anderson stays on Earth, trying to hold its defenses against the overwhelming power of the Reapers, Shepard is sent to the Citadel to convince the galactic council to provide military aid for the struggling planet, and unite the alien races in a battle against the common enemy.

Mass Effect 3 is the third game in the series and forms the final part of the trilogy. As with previous games in the series, gameplay combines tactical, squad- and cover-based third-person combat with role-playing, in the form of different classes, customizable upgrades and dialogue choices. As with the second part of the trilogy, save files from the previous games can be imported with decisions being made in the first two games having an effect on the new situations.

In addition to combat difficulty selection, the player is offered a choice of three modes before starting the game. The "action" mode bypasses conversation choices, displaying them as non-interactive cutscenes; the "story" mode keeps choices intact, but lowers combat difficulty. The "role-playing" mode reflects most closely the gameplay of the two previous games, containing both choices and more challenging combat.

Most of combat-related and character development features have been carried out from the preceding installment. Melee combat plays a somewhat larger role: certain classes possess the ability to execute powerful charged close-combat moves. Weapons can be modified with two enhancements each, gaining more firepower, large magazines, increased accuracy, etc. Like before, abilities and powers can be upgraded when leveling up; each of them now offer two upgrade choices per level, and selecting one of them will lock the other enhancement permanently.

Entirely new to the series is a multiplayer option in the form of the co-op game mode Galaxy at War. It involves up to four players cooperatively taking over enemy strongholds. Players can take part in Galaxy at War as any race in the game's universe.

Screenshots

Promo Images

Trailer

Alternate Titles

• "ME3" -- Common abbreviation

Part of the Following Groups

• 3D Engine: Unreal Engine 3
• EA Value Games releases
• Gameplay feature: Character development - Skill distribution
• Gameplay feature: Importable characters
• Gameplay feature: Interior decorating
• Gameplay feature: Loot boxes
• Gameplay feature: Multiple endings
• Gameplay feature: New Game+
• Games made into comics
• Japanese PlayStation 3 games with full English support
• Mass Effect 3 series
• Mass Effect series
• Middleware: FaceFX
• Middleware: Scaleform GFx SDK
• Middleware: Umbra 3
• Middleware: Wwise
• Nudity
• Physics Engine: PhysX
• PlayStation 3 Essentials Range releases
• Setting: City - London
• Setting: City - Vancouver
• Setting: Mars
• Software Pyramide releases
• Xbox 360 Classics releases

User Reviews

Competent gameplay execution, but still a disappointing conclusion	Windows	Patrick Bregger (269615)
Bioware's worst, and yet still a good game at heart	Xbox 360	Zokolov (66)
Shepard's last stand	PlayStation 3	MAT (229787)
Watered down Mass Effect 2	Windows	Thekwane Black (34)

Critic Reviews

OMGN: Online Multiplayer Games Network	PlayStation 3	Mar 22, 2012	9.8 out of 10	98
newbreview.com	Windows	Mar 06, 2012	4.75 out of 5	95
GamesCollection	Xbox 360	Mar 09, 2012	9.5 out of 10	95
PlayStation Trophies	PlayStation 3	Mar 18, 2012	94 out of 100	94
GameSpy	Windows	Mar 06, 2012		90
Softpedia	Windows	Mar 12, 2012	9 out of 10	90
New Game Network	Windows	Mar 19, 2012	86 out of 100	86
Armchair Empire, The	Xbox 360	Apr 05, 2012	8 out of 10	80
VentureBeat / Gamesbeat	Xbox 360	Mar 12, 2012	75 out of 100	75
Worth Playing	Xbox 360	Apr 08, 2012	7.5 out of 10	75

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Trivia

Awards

• GameStar (Germany) / GamePro (Germany)
  • 2012 - Best Role-Playing Game of the Year (Readers' Vote)
  • 2012 - #3 Best PC Game of the Year (Readers' Vote)
  • 2012 - #5 Best Console Game of the Year (Readers' Vote)
• PC Games (Germany)
  • Issue 01/2013 – Role-Playing Game of the Year 2012 (Readers' Vote)

Related Web Sites

• Mass Effect 3 official site (The official site for Mass Effect 3 (English))
• N7 HQ (Provides Mass Effect 3 multiplayer gameplay data including challenges, characters, inventory, achievements and leaderboards.)