Mass Effect 3 Demo

You can always trust Bioware to create worlds and characters that stand the test of time, because they have been doing it for decades. Well, two decades, but they have been very productive and earth-shaking decades. Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights, MDK, Dragon Age and Mass Effect are the series everyone knows them for, and each franchise has one or more representative characters that almost everyone is aware of. Minsc and Boo, Morrigan, Lady Aribeth and John Shepard are just some of the names that could echo for hours.

Mass Effect 3 comes to put an end to the glorious space saga that began back in 2007, and the task is enormous. Not only are there millions of fans eagerly waiting to see how it all ends, but it’s even matching the previous two episodes in the series is one hell of a challenge. Bioware has allowed us get close and personal with the characters over the years, and the fact that you could save every decision and influence the plot in later episodes made the story that much more dynamic and malleable.

Now, in this final episode, everything should come together neatly and satisfy the need for closure, but that’s just code for everyone wanting to see Reapers explode and Shepard holding the bazooka responsible for it. The story starts with the said Reapers invading Earth, after the council and everyone else kept denying their existence. Naturally, the responsibility falls onto Shepard once more to save everyone and maybe get rid of the ancient indestructible machines as well while he's at it.

The first part of the story is all about gathering a massive army to deal with the Reapers. This basically means that you have to negotiate with every race in the galaxy and convince them to join your cause. Obviously, due to one reason or the other, not all of them are willing to do so. Shepard also gets to put together an elite team of soldiers again, which includes a few new names, as well as a couple of old friends.

Although this is still a Bioware RPG with a log of dialog and many cutscenes, combat is a vital part of the gameplay as well. Unlike the huge differences between ME1 and ME2 in this regard, Mass Effect 3 barely changes anything, so you should be able to get right down to business if you are familiar with the series. The cover system works nicely, but it also feels rather forced and annoying during some sections.

There are many guns and armors you can utilize along the way, as well as new psionic powers to deploy in battle. New enemies make an appearance too, some of which are quite strong and resilient. Lastly, the technical side of the game is pretty much spot on, especially the graphics and the soundtrack. Considering the amount of explosions and characters present on the screen at the same time in some sections, the game is also highly optimized, which is good news for those of you with slower computers.

There is a reason Mass Effect 3 is not considered the best in the series, and it’s not the general story, the gameplay, or the characters. It’s the terrible ending that outraged the community, probably because it felt like someone at Bioware decided to just stop working half-way through the last act and let their dog throw together an ending.

Hence, you can still have a lot of fun with Mass Effect 3, because it has many epic moments and a whole lot of action. Everything up to the ending is quite nicely written, especially when you see the proportions of the conflict you are involved in.