I just finished Mass Effect 3. Thought I'd write a mini review for anyone interested. Overall it's a wonderful game, a masterpiece of game design and storytelling, but not without some glaring flaws that do tarnish it slightly.
Single Player
Gameplay 8/10: a wonderful refinement of the two previous games and smooth as silk. Perhaps the balance was slightly too much towards dialogue than fighting, but there were a lot of loose ends to tie up from previous games and so the extra dialogue was welcome. There is one glaring negative though, the linking of the single and multiplayer games (see below).
Graphics 8/10: stunning and at times breathtaking. Totally immersive. The camera / focus effects in some cut scenes were a little too stylised for my tastes, but that's nitpicking.
Sound 9/10: flawless. Sound effects are completely immersive and the musical score is pitched perfectly. The sound the reapers make still scares the shit out of me every time I hear it!
Voice acting 9/10: top notch, great performances from everyone involved. The dialogue is believable and genuinely emotional, some great humour here and there and the attention to detail is fabulous (eavesdropping was very rewarding).
Storytelling 7/10: for the vast majority of the game the storytelling was wonderful. That is until the last 15 minutes (see below).
Multiplayer
What a train wreck. The actual mini games (co-op for 4 players) are a lot of fun and have great potential. BUT, there's a major problem with connections to the EA servers. There seems to be a huge bug which often causes players to disconnect right near the end of each multiplayer game, causing them to get zero rewards and waste all the time put in. Multiplayer games last on average 20 minutes and I found I was getting discconected in the final stages of over half the games I played, losing all progress. Always at the same point, right near the end of the mission. Incredibly frustrating. Seems I'm not alone and lots have the same problem. EA Support's advice to me was to disable my antivirus, disable Windows Firewall and bypass my router's firewall. I kid you not. Great advice eh for a game which insists on an internet connection even for single player. Doh, muppets.
I could happily walk away from the multiplayer aspect if it weren't for one huge issue. They linked success in the single player game to progress in the multiplayer game. The outcome of the endings you get in the single player game is influenced by progress in the mutliplayer game. Yep, you read that right. Ludicrous and made doubly so by how broken the multiplayer game is. Total design FAIL.
The Ending
I'm not going to nerd rage about it like some have done, but the ending did leave me feeling unsatisfied, disappointed and hollow. All of the three possible endings feel contrived and lack proper closure. I wasn't satisfied with any of the outcomes offered. If this were a novel then fine, the storyteller has absolute right to end things how they wish. But the selling point of the ME series is that it is interactive storytelling and your choices matter. Except they don't really, and all those details you've agonised about over three epic games count for nothing in the end. It all comes down to a 'pick a door' style of choice with only a vague explanation of the consequences of each choice. I saw an interview with the lead designer where he revealed they didn't even know what the ending would be until very late in the whole process, not to prevent leaks but because they couldn't decide .... and it shows.
Ah well. It's only a game, but a game with a lot of time invested and you do feel some emotional attachment to the characters just like you would in a novel. But it feels like one of those novels you absolutely love until you reach the very last page and then you want to slap the author hard! And if it were a film, I'd advise walking out 10 minites from the end in order to preserve your sense of enjoyment.
Overall, a flawed diamond. A fitting end to a fantastic series even if the actual ending wasn't very, erm, fitting.