This will be as spoiler-free as possible.
First things first, just to make sure we’re clear, I have not completed the game. I merely want to express my opinion of my most-anticipated game of 2012 before the weekend when I know many fence-sitters will decide whether to purchase. If you don’t want to read everything, let me just get the answer to that out of the way: YES! Should this have been my most-anticipated game this year? Perhaps not. It’s very good and I’m enjoying the hell out of it. But, seeing the Assassin’s Creed 3 media recently (which, I doubt was coincidence that it started right before Mass Effect 3 launched) I’m pretty excited for that one as well. If GTA V happens in 2012 I’ll be overexcited for that one too. But anticipation has nothing to do with it. The game is good and well worth the $60.
My first impression of the game was a little bit of confusion and doubting my own memory. I decided I would continue the adventures I had with Mass Effect 2 and imported Commander Betch Shepard. She’s a severe woman and rightly named. She was my renegade character. Immediately upon importing I noticed something missing in her appearance, the scars that represented her renegade choices and glowed red were nowhere to be seen. Disappointing, but move on. As I’ve put 15 hours and 12 minutes into the single player campaign (I have no idea how close I am to the end but my minimum galactic readiness hasn’t been hit) the scars have started to return. That’s because she’s still rightly named. It goes a little against my nature, but I’ve made that character a horrible person. I had also noticed that her face didn’t look quite as angular and her hair was too light. That’s when I started doubting my memory. I’m not getting senile. Bioware has acknowledged a glitch that causes imported character appearances to be a little different. A patch may be coming but it’s really no big deal. You have a chance to refine the appearance if you care that much. So you know a little about my import:
- Betch Shepard: 47 hours in Mass Effect 2 (PS3 so I used the comic for ME1‘s choices)
- Origin: Colonist
- Reputation: Ruthless
- Class: Infiltrator
- Killed Rachni Queen (1)
- Rescued Ashley on Virmire (1)
- Chose to save council (1)
- Destroyed Maelon’s data (2)
- Had Wrex die on Virmire (1)
- Destroyed Geth heretics (2)
- Left Collector base to Cerberus (2)
- Survived Suicide Mission with 11 crew members – Jack died (2)
- Romanced Kaidan, now deceased (1)
- Romanced Jacob, current whereabouts unknown (2)
It’s important to note that your class still determines your “abilities” but it no longer detmerines your available weaponry. There are sniper rifles, assault rifles, SMGs, shotguns, and pistols. All classes can use all of them. Their weight and your power recovery is the limiting factor. If you’re a gunner, take them all, but don’t plan to use your abilities very often as you’ll be 200-300% slower in regenerating power. If you’re a Jedi, you could probably drop them all. Melee will still work and your Warp or Incinerate powers will regenerate much faster.
After 15 hours I have a nice little crew of five. Two of them have been in your crew in previous games. There’s a third recurring character, whom I won’t spoil, that left the party early on. One of the five is also the bonus character included in the “From Ashes” DLC. Javik’s race has been spoiled everywhere but I won’t mention it in case you’re hiding. Of the other two, one you know from a previous game, in a weird way. It’s kind of creepy. The last is the new character, James Vega, voiced by Freddie Prinze, Jr. He’s kind of a dink, but I like him. He definitely likes Betch. She may like him, but she’s weighing options at this point. I’ve picked up four other character that just hang out on the ship so far. Two of them, a reporter I took against my better judgment and Dr. Chakwas (from the previous games), are apparently optional. The other two are story-related so I won’t name them.
Throughout the first two missions, which are forced narrative (the game doesn’t get open-world until they’re done), I couldn’t help but concentrate on what many conversations could be like with a different Shepard. There’s an immediate reference to Shepard’s destruction of an entire Batarian star system right away. That event happens in “The Arrival” DLC. What if I hadn’t played it? I know there’s a built in system like ME2‘s comic to give you the prior choices, but I didn’t use it since I imported. Shepard also meets up with Ashley or Kaidan (Ash in my case) right away. One of my other Shepards romanced Kaidan, kept him alive on Virmire, and was celibate in the second game. How will her conversation differ?
When it comes to the story, you should know that no matter how you left things with your former employer, the Illusive Man, you now oppose Cerberus. If there was any doubt of that, Betch erased it when she sniped the first Cerberus operative she saw on Mars. Which brings me to the gunplay. Totally solid. This is just as good as ME2.
The upgrade system is more extensive. Rather than maxing a single power and then evolving it, you now have choices three times throughout the six levels of upgrade. Do you increase your Overload’s area of effect, or its damage? Do you make your specialized ammo stronger, or share it with your friends? If you choose one at level four, you can’t choose the other at level five. Each of the last three levels has two choices, and you’re stuck with them. Actually, that’s not true. You can reassign them later, but at some expense. Your squad’s abilities can be unlocked for Shepard through interaction with the character, rather than by beating the game as in the last one. The first of these I unlocked was through an interaction with James Vega, definitely one of the most enjoyable conversations I’ve had so far.
I took a lot of notes, but rather than venture into spoiler territory I’ll just list what I would have tweeted as I played (in order), if I were on Twitter that is:
- “Sorry, Garrus.” (That was me, not Betch. I actually apologized to him through my TV.)
- Is it strange that I’m worried about Cylons? (This was not in regards to Geth, actually.)
- What does it say about me that I don’t trust the reporter?
- Protheans have teeth. Why do I think that’s strange?
- Where is my space hamster?
- Cortez is awesome. I simply can’t be hardass to a guy that just lost his husband.
- Maybe I’m thinking too much like Betch, but I don’t think Garrus has the proper respect for Shepard.
- Call it Grissom if you must, but I know the Xavier Academy for Gifted Youngsters when I see it.
- Did Javik just take me to task for not earning Jack’s loyalty? Or for letting her die? He better not try that shit when Bub Shepard’s in command.
- I am an asshole. If machines and humans want to grind gears, what business is it of mine?
- I’ve been talking to people on the Citadel for 2 1/2 hours. Sure the Kasumi thing was worth it, but this is kind of boring.
- Is that the Death Star?
That list thing worked well, so let’s try it again. Here are the basic pros and cons I’ve discovered:
- Pros:
- Heavy, blind decisions that last. Make them and move on. Saving and reloading doesn’t work because you won’t know the consequences immediately.
- Seth Green.
- Squad interactions sometimes have instant rewards, rather than feeling like an investment.
- Side missions are added dynamically, almost organic.
- Critical path is much more clear. If you want to just end-run it
- Cons:
- Critical path is much more clear. It’s open-world, but feels too linear.
- Very talky.
- Weapon modding and upgrading is tricky and never explained.
- Citadel as a hub world is terrible.
A lot of my gripes are actually pretty minor. My issue with spending so much time on the Citadel is partly my own fault. I let several reasons to go there pile up then tried to tackle them all at once. More tasks appeared while I was there too. I could have left at anytime, but I’m a little OCD and I don’t like loose threads.
The last part I haven’t mentioned is the multiplayer. This is a mode I’ll normally skip, but I played quite a bit in the demo and had a lot of fun. Based on pre-release media I expected the single player campaign would eventually introduce me to the mode but it hasn’t happened. I put in a few hours today just to try it. There are a lot of variables involved, but it seems the demo was a lot easier than the true game. Is it because I was starting over at level one? Because the map is unfamiliar? Because the enemies are more robust? More people playing it that haven’t figured it out? Probably all of those. Or maybe it’s just harder. In the demo my teams completed bronze level missions 95% of the time. I even beat a few silvers. Golds never made it past Wave Five. Of 12 matches in the retail version, I’ve completed one bronze. At least ten of those matches were on bronze difficulty. The other two may have been but I didn’t actually check.
As for what the mode contains, it’s just waves of enemies on a map. You have up to three companions. Usually you just have to kill people. Sometimes you have to kill specific people quickly. Other objectives will require you to defend a certain zone for a period of time, or four different zones for a smaller period while one of your characters is ineffective. None of this is groundbreaking. You’ve done it all before in other game universes. What makes it compelling is the Mass Effect universe. In addition to your two weapons (you choose which two), you’ll have three “powers.” Your class determines the powers and they’re all familiar from the single player campaign. It’s forgettable, but enjoyable.
Ultimately, if you’re a fan of the series this should be a no-brainer. If you’ve enjoyed them but haven’t decided if the finale is worth your time, DO IT! If you’re new to the franchise? I don’t know. I do think you could be lost, but I also think you could still have fun. The story is complex, but the segments are enjoyable enough on their own that you’d probably adapt. Combat is a little bit specific, but if you play video games you’ll adapt in no time. I’ve had a great time so far and fully plan to work my way through this one at least three times. For now, my only question is whether I want to try an Insanity run to get the platinum like I did in the second game. That was hard and I think I might just like to enjoy this on normal.