By on 6 Mar, 2012 at 2:45 PM
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Mass Effect 3 Suffers Massive User Backlash

Mass Effect 3 Suffers Massive User Backlash

Now this is something I really wasn’t expecting to see.

I paid a friendly visit to Metacritic today in order to check out the first review scores for Mass Effect 3, and they were exactly what I expected them to be: around 93 percent. That’s all normal. However, I was shocked to find that user reviews tell a completely different story. It’s really hard to believe.

Now, I’m sure we’re all aware of the concept of “review-bombing”, where unhappy users flock in masses to Metacritic and post negative reviews in order to slate a game and bring down its score. And while this is usually controversial, laughed at or shrugged off, it can really have a very negative effect on a game, as it did with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. And in actuality it does, to some degree, express gamers’ unhappiness towards a title. At the very least, it indicates that there is a problem.

Now let me actually bring in the stats to shock you. While critics are off calling Mass Effect 3 a work of art, at the time of writing this article the user reviews are set as follows:

To put this into perspective, across the three platforms the average user score for Mass Effect 3 is a staggeringly low 3.2 out of 10. This is the complete opposite of Mass Effect 2, which averaged an 8.5 for user ratings, while the original Mass Effect had an average of 8.6, although it wasn’t on PS3.

What exactly has gone wrong? What is the cause of all this hate from gamers? Well, I investigated some of the user reviews, and have pulled some interesting complaints and criticisms. Don’t worry, there are no spoilers contained in the reviews I took.

A review that got me raising my eyebrows was from an angered user, AHomosexualMale, who said:

As a homosexual male, it is painful watching bioware act like they are champions of the gay community. Their insulting representations of gay individuals are merely an attempt to politicize their business, so they can look progressive while deflecting real criticism as homophobic, just because some homophobes exist. Their behavior is a mockery of homosexuals everywhere and I would urge any homosexuals interested in activism not to be deceived by these insensitive people.

Another, from newtee2, who rated the game 5 out of 10, said:

As a big fan of multiple RPGs, and fan of the first two Mass Effect games, this game does not live up to current RPG standards. The plot is unusually boring, the gameplay is surprisingly lacking, the graphics and animations have barely been touched since ME2, and worst of all the game’s ending is the biggest let down I’ve witnessed in years. The most outrageous thing about ME3 is that the day one downloadable content contains information that is crucial to the series as a whole. This game was the biggest letdown to me in years, and I almost feel as if I have been ripped off

JMILTON was extremely negative in his assessment, writing:

The writing and plot in this game are by far the worst in the trilogy. The use of deus ex machina betrays BioWare’s incredibly lazy narrative and ridiculous ending. Choices and consequences are non-existent, the combat is simplified to the point it’s painfully easy even on hardest difficulty, animations are clunky and facial animations are always deeply entrenched within the uncanny valley. Characters are stupid, boring, predictable and funny for all the wrong reasons. Avoid this game at all costs, your time is better spent elsewhere.

User Yasuchika was quite adamant that Mass Effect 3 slipped up big time.

In an attempt to woo the Call of Duty fanbase, Bioware decided to make ME3 a more action focused game. In an attempt to woo the casual fanbase, Bioware decided to make ME3 a more story focused game. In an attempt to woo the ex-Bioware fanbase, Bioware decided to make ME3 more akin to ME1. In an attempt to woo a larger target audience, Bioware has failed to create a game that does anything groundbreaking for any genre.

The final review I’ll quote is from Duncaaaaaan, who wrote:

Oh how the mighty have fallen. If you’re one of the following, or a combination of all three: a newcomer to the series; someone who doesn’t like roleplaying games; someone who prefers shooters like Gears of War or CoD; Go give this game a 9.5/10, it was made specifically for you. If you’re someone who was a fan of the ME1 franchise since the first one, enjoyed the fantastic and witty writing, the dialogue choices and essentially what was a perfect hybrid of shooter and RPG mechanics, rate this game somewhere in the 1-3/10 region.

There is also a huge lack of polish, animations are absolutely terrible and glitchy. voice acting is unbelievably bad, the lead writer, Mac Walters, is f*cking crap at his job and should be sacked. Graphics are very low quality. Skyboxes are a joke to look at, just a muddy pixelated mess Iooks more at home in the original Half-Life1, low res textures are buried under excessive amounts of shadow and poor contrast settings that can’t be changed, space bar does EVERYTHING.

Choices in the past game mean almost nothing, which is contrary to what was advertised. And now, the autodialog. Shepard just talks for ages on end, with absolutely no input from the player. This isn’t YOUR Shep you play, it is something else. Shep often says dickish things I didn’t want him to, so and there’s only 2 choices of dialog now, not 3-4 from the previous games. One good and one bad. It’s like we’re being treated as retards, it’s insulting. I give it a 2/10, and that’s generous. There are also SEVERE frame rate issues on the PS3. The fps averages around 20 fps. Not kidding.

This is pretty crazy. What are your thoughts on all the Mass Effect 3 hate?

If You Liked This, You Should Try These!

Name: Azhar Amien
Location: Cape Town
Position: Editor, Reviews

Azhar has published 2493 posts. Read all of Azhar's posts.
  • reV

    *walks away with a big, fat, evil grin on his face*

    • Timothy

       As one would expect from reV

  • RichardJonathanDubbeld

    Metacritic is full of Douchbag Trolls, why should we be surprised?

    • http://twitter.com/Weeman360 Pienaar Anker

      besides that, out of the thousands of people who’s playing ME3 right now only 300 came to vote. obviously they gave it a bad rating otherwise they’d still be playing… my point is, those figures doesn’t mean shit compared to the vast majority

    • http://egamer.co.za/ Azhar Amien

      While that is true Pienaar, and as I mentioned in the article this usually isn’t taken seriously. However, when something like this happens to a big game, users are generally trying to send a message. It happened to Modern Warfare 3 and Black Ops, and I can’t call it entirely unfounded.

      So while Mass Effect 3 is obviously not a 2 out of 10 or anything as drastic as many of the users make it out to be, it can be of importance to see what it is that users are actually complaining about with the game. No game should be free from criticism in my opinion, and it’s important to actually take note of what is being said, and then go off to see for yourself how true or false it is :)

    • http://profile.yahoo.com/OJ3KFOJBGXY3MXTWEKYVFVP6TQ Curt Bear

       user reviews are either
      its trash
      or
      ZomG PERFECT
      if everyone is saying its trash like now it means its probably mediocre, which ME has always been.

    • http://twitter.com/Weeman360 Pienaar Anker

      You make a good point Azhar. Only time will tell :). Still can’t wait till Friday! :D
      and in the rare event that ME3 does not live up to my expectations, I will have my collectors artbook to stare at

    • http://www.facebook.com/Renee.DeForge.Lawson Renee C Lawson

      this is also because they probably missed all those timed missions that effect so much of the game. The endings are beautiful although it was a strange delivery but I am more than satisfied and love the game. 

  • Treble

    This won’t end well o.O

  • http://twitter.com/Weeman360 Pienaar Anker

    sigh I’m not gona take their word for it. ME3 is gona be awesome

  • -Misfit-

    Justified. After the shit they pulled with day one DLC, they deserve all the hate. And it seems from the reviews you have pulled that they do have valid points.

  • daekinHO

    Wow…I’m speechless

  • RAAAGE

    And this brings up the huge problem with game reviewers nowadays. Virtually NO ‘big’ game gets slated for its flaws. Honestly, every single piece of crap we get dished is supposedly a ‘work of art’. Cases in point: Battlefield 3 and Skryim. Both of these games were horrifically bug infested and yet the majority of ‘professional game critics’ gave them positive reviews.  Yeah sure, they may mention the bugs in the review but it didn’t seem to affect the review score at all. Nowadays game critics seem to busy giving rimjobs to the major gaming houses to give a damn whether the game its actually REALLY good or not.

    x_x Okay I’m all ranted out now

    • Avatari17

      I’m sure for games like Skyrim people can look past the bugs, since the game is so massive that it is unrealistic to expect it to be bug free.

    • Yashaar Mall

      100% agree with you! Its almost as if the moment a big game comes out, the critics automatically have 8/10 rating out

    • Timothy

       Skyrim was a crap load of fun, that’s all it needs to be… that’s the point of a game. If you have fun, despite the issues, it’s good.

    • http://egamer.co.za/ Azhar Amien

      That’s very true Rage, these days big-name games seem to have a lot of immunity amongst critics, which is a fault of current-day reviewers. However, I will say that in the case of something like Skyrim, it is highly possible to justify overlooking flaws and bugs, because for example Skyrim kept me playing it for over 60 hours. If it was a bad game, or if the flaws destroyed gameplay, I would not have sat that long and played it. This means that it was entertaining, and did a lot right, and when I look at it that way then I can understand its high review scores. However, you are right in that most critics would just automatically plot above 8 because of the “big game” status.

      On eGamer, our review system doesn’t use numbers, because it’s a random, inconsistent and ineffective method of reviewing. We try to focus purely on evaluating game’s quality, and determining whether it’s worth buying or not. Let’s face it, our entertainment is expensive.

    • http://twitter.com/reticentbias Patrick Malone

      The reason they don’t give bad scores or point out flaws is because they won’t continue to be on the list that receives early review copies if they do. Their hands are tied. The only thing we can do is take in all the information and try to discern for ourselves. Or, you know, play the game yourself and decide on your own.

    • Yashaar Mall

      also, imagine you’re a  reviewer for metacritc or ign, and you didnt like mass effect 3 so that you gave it a 6…. you will be slated by all angles, and your reputation ruined because you didn’t do what they pay you to do

    • Grey Fox

      Don’t you mean Skyrimjob? lol

  • http://www.twitter.com/domzor Dom van Blerk

    “They see me trollin’, they hatin’…”

    • AG_Sonday

       Bitch, stole my line :P

  • http://www.twitter.com/domzor Dom van Blerk

    Wait, how long has the game been out in NA? These people can’t already be finished with the game… can they?

    • http://egamer.co.za/ Azhar Amien

       Mass Effect 3 released on the 6th of March in North America, which is today. Either many of these gamers torrented, or got the game early and have played non-stop since getting it. The rest probably just made stuff up or rated it after playing for an hour or two :P

    • http://www.twitter.com/domzor Dom van Blerk

      Exactly what I thought. It’s all scum of the earth trolls and pirates.

    • http://www.facebook.com/Renee.DeForge.Lawson Renee C Lawson

      If you only do the main missions it takes 10-20 hours of gameplay. Or they are looking at specific files in the system to see the endings and making judgements. Also, the people that say that there is no dialog are playing on action mode where the dialog choices are made for you, then complaining about it. ridiculous.

    • Yashaar Mall

      reviewers in the US have had it for over a week now

    • http://www.twitter.com/domzor Dom van Blerk

      These are the user reviews though.

    • Asdasdads

       Torrent sites have had cracked copies for close to three days now. Sixty hours is more than enough time to finish any mainstream game released today, often multiple times.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Frang-Frangible/100001156886647 Frang Frangible

       Yeah, you can.  I finished it.  Everything the critics say is true.  Bad writing, bad ending, fewer dialog choices…..but what frosted my cake was the complete retread of stories from ME1/2 and the lack of any impact on ME3 of choices made in the two previous games.  It’s also a grim slog, as companions die, favorite characters from previous games dying, you get to watch one of your teammates from ME2 die in a hospital bed, another one commits suicide right in front of you, and you get to attend a funeral.   I’ve played some seriously grim games, but this one seems more over-the-top than most.

    • http://www.facebook.com/Renee.DeForge.Lawson Renee C Lawson

      thats because of consequences. the suicide never happened for me. just sayin. play agian and do the timed mission, all the side missions and see what you get then. Then if you want to complain, by all means go ahead.

  • orctowngrot

    I used to get angry at score bombing, but now I think its a fun GAME in its own right. I’m in the minority who gave ME3 a positive score (8/10). I haven’t finished it, but its looking great, similar in quality and flair to ME2. That said I give a ‘like’ to all reviews, good or bad, legitimate or ridiculous. Because score-bomb comment writing is an art that needs to be appreciated. Some of the score bomb comments are FUNNY. Most of them look like multiposting by a few smartarses, and it feels like few of them come from anyone actually playing the game. Despite that its pretty hilarious to reaad all the imaginary ‘problems’ in the minds of the trolls. I think after COD the gloves are off, and we can expect plenty more of this! Amusing times until metacritic can figure out how to save their system

  • http://twitter.com/MGTHABO Marko Swanepoel

    There’s only one definite answer. Trolls. The game Street Sweeper Simulator had the opposite effect. The game was extremely bad, but the user reviews were in die 10/10′s. It was just intended as a joke and I think we must see this situation as the same. 

    • http://twitter.com/reticentbias Patrick Malone

      It’s not a joke. A lot of people are genuinely upset at Bioware for the DLC thing, and that is a big part of the anger. Other people feel that the direction the series has gone in is just terrible. Both of these are valid opinions.

    • http://www.facebook.com/Renee.DeForge.Lawson Renee C Lawson

      what people are upset that they get to pay for the collectors edition content? really? It was intended only for the collectors edition btw and people have the chance to have it, on day one, because the collectors editions were sold out. wow. yeah, thats something to be angry about. 

    • Yashaar Mall

      also, people are biplolar. Its 8 or more upwards if you liked a game. 4 or less if you disliked it

  • Treble

    Lets try and pretend we did not read this now lol. Look the game is coming out on Friday for us and lets just play it and enjoy

  • RichardJonathanDubbeld

    literally EVERYTHING on that site has been nitpicked by trolls from the very best to the very worst stuff

  • Pea_Peralta

    I am huge fan of Bioware. Shoot I would sacrifice the last goat or child just to walk through those Edmonton doors…
    Mass Effect for me is the story of Shepherd and his crew…
    Story has always been the focal point of this franchise, gameplay second and graphics wise was never a biggy cause its Bioware and they are not known for dishing out visually amazing anything except when ME 2 was released then the ps3 joke came out. This in all honesty looked amazing.
     
    You wonder why I call the ME 2 on the ps3 a joke. Cause it is a joke. I was insulted for the ps3 gamers because Bioware was too lazy and EA was in a rush to cash in on ME 2 that they didn’t bother with the first one… I can hear a brainwashed ps3 gamer saying “But I read the comic so it’s not bad”…Seriously do I live in the Twilight zone you have to EXPERIENCE the game not READ about it..That makes as much logic as someone who hasn’t played Uncharted going to the wiki and reading up on 1 then just buying the 2nd…it makes no sense…
     
    Bioware started going down a treacherous road after being acquired by EA…I used to be naive and thought that publishers don’t influence developers but boy did I wake up…
    The first time Bioware started releasing first day DLC fans went crazy on the forums but they assured them they would never EVER EVER release DLC that would drastically impact the main story for fear of not providing a complete experience to those fans who were not able to get DLC…
    That made me raise my eyebrow but I was like okay I trust you Bioware you have not done me wrong so far…fast forward to the game release and we have character plus mission DLC that more than impacts the main story. What happened to the promise Bioware…?
     
    ME was NEVER EVER EVER an action RPG it was meant to be a space opera.
    They have made changes to ME 3 that have made my blood boil.
    First of all multiplayer who is the crack pot who came up with that idea this is not Killzone or Baldur’s Gate or MW its Mass Effect . I clearly remember during the promotion of ME 2 the devs said multiplayer was not something they intended to do for Mass Effect because their main focus is the story of Shepard..What freaking changed  you stupid sell outs???!!
     
    I’m all for romance but now male Shepard is gay. How does that feature in the story? It makes a joke of it…The reapers are about to destroy the universe and Shepard just discovers during that time that he bats for the other time COME ON!!!
     
    All of the stuff I’ve mentioned are features I can forego but it’s just about principle!!. This was not the ME I fell in love with…
    In the quest for EA to get their monies worth and Bioware’s confusion of wanting to please everyone. They have left me confused and angry when it comes to ME3..
    I completely understand and encourage those Metacritic user scores. I will get my N7 edition, play it will love it but I feel hurt by some of the changes made to it…
    My problem is with drastic changes like these it should NEVER happen in the final instalment tease them on the first instalment include them on the 2nd and refine those features on the 3rd instalment…
     
    End of rant and  for reading all of this please come and claim a cookie from me

    • http://egamer.co.za/ Azhar Amien

      I’ll be honest, I’m not the biggest BioWare or Mass Effect fan by any means. I enjoy the game and the story, but I won’t die over it, as I’m much more in love with old BioWare titles like Knights of the Old Republic and the original Neverwinter Knights.

      I’m a bit upset that the visuals weren’t really improved, as the jump from Mass Effect 1 to 2 was pretty good. Engaging visuals can often help present a story. Mass Effect 2 on PS3 was a great bargain, in that it was pretty cheap yet came with all of the DLC packs, but sadly missing out on the original game sucked hard. I do wonder why on earth they didn’t end up porting it.

      Personally, I don’t care about DLC, never have and never will. I haven’t bought any. But if Mass Effect 3′s day one DLC is important to the story, then that sucks big time and users have a right to be angry.

      As for the multiplayer, in my opinion I’d much rather have all focus on the single-player, but the multiplayer is great judging from the beta and I don’t blame them for wanting to keep people playing the game after the story is over. It’s also a hype tool though.

      I completely agree that the choice to make Shepard gay is really stupid. Purely because it didn’t exist in the previous two games. It’s not about offering the choice – if they were so interested in doing that it would have been available since the first game. I find it pretty ridiculous.

      BioWare’s worst game for me is Dragon Age 2, and I’m seeing some of it in Mass Effect 3, based on what I’m hearing. I’m eager to play it and get my own opinion.

    • http://www.twitter.com/domzor Dom van Blerk

      /opinion

      First off, just because they’re adding multiplayer doesn’t mean that there’s less focus on the single player campaign. You can play and enjoy the single player without touching multiplayer at all, which is what I’m sure many people will do. They’re giving people choice: there’s the single player, which can be played in multiple different ways (auto-narrative and more action focused, easy gameplay to focus on the story or an equilibrium, the same as previous games) and multiplayer. You don’t like the multiplayer, don’t play it. Simple as that.

      Second, I’m sure PS3 owners are glad they even released ME2 on their console. Why should Bioware go back and port a game that was 2 years old by then? Sequels are made to be accessible to those who haven’t played previous entries more often than not. Hell, I never finished the first Mass Effect because the gameplay was inane. I jumped into Mass Effect 2 without knowing much of what happened in the first game and absolutely loved it.

      The choice to make Shepard gay 3 games in was definitely not a good one. They should’nt have changed it, I’ll give you that.

      I’d love to see your opinion once you’ve actually played the game. You can’t judge it by biased troll reviews, y’know. Also, cookie please.

    • Pea_Peralta

      For a lack of a better word Dom give me a break.. Bioware RPGs are not known for multiplayer cause it has never been their focus except in the case of Baldurs Gate and you have to understand from that perspective of a die hard Bioware fan why it would be upsetting.. Bioware started losing the plot with the very short dev time in the case of Dragon Age 2..I still loved it but it was sadly lacking in a big way short story, lack of party intreraction, very very very linear and dont get me started on the environments.. Then the whole day one DLC crap and the major insult instead of releasing a KOTOR sequel they do an MMO..seriously an MMO..

      There is such a thing as too much choice and this is very prevelant with the features they introduced to ME 3..What the fudge is auto narrative??? It is a FUDGING insult to the original vision of a game..if you as a gamer buy a Bioware RPG cause you want to focus more on the action and not much on the story you are  FUDGING stupid cause that is not what their games are about and why the holy FUDGE would they cater for that..WHY WHY WHY WHY!!!!!!

      We should stop dismissing those reviews made by the users as trolling cause some of them do ring true..Bioware has changed but i dont know if its for the better they seem to be losing what made them a story telling RPG power house to an MMO, action RPG , gay love at all the wrong time, day one dlc loving company and the sad this is thats not what there were before for fans who were there during Neverwinter, Baldurs Gate, KOTOR and Jade Empire days..

      As i said before i will get the game and most probably will love it BUT i do not agree with some of the changes that have been made to the game..

      Dom if you have played ME 2 without an ME 1 save like i have after i had corrupted my saves..The experience is sadly lacking..you dont get to experience why Wrex could have been an important part of the team cause he is not even included in 2, you dont get to know what Garrus was like while he was at CSec and the histroy with his father, you dont get to experience that epic speech when Shepard is made a spectre, you dont get to see Liare pre shadowbroker days and her mother who went loca with Saren..At least give the PS3 gamers a choice to not play it but not porting the fiirst game was a BIG mistake..

      Dom i shall not be giving you a cookie for raising my blood pressure but your opinion has been noted sir..

    • http://twitter.com/reticentbias Patrick Malone

      I can tell you right now, having only played it for two hours, I’ve run into a few glaring flaws. The character animations are awful. Like, they’ve regressed. Shepard’s run looks absolutely terrible. It looked better in previous games.

      The other big one is the plot device they use to get the game moving. After all the set up, we’re basically told at the beginning that there’s a deus ex machina situation going on here, so you can see pretty early on where it’s going to end up.

      It’s a fun game in its own right, but it just feels really lazy. Bioware set up one of the greatest game plots ever in ME1, and then its potential has been steadily squandered ever since.

    • http://www.facebook.com/Renee.DeForge.Lawson Renee C Lawson

      also, It’s Microsoft not bioware or EA that will not release me1 on PS3. Microsoft. 

    • sage of the six paths

      I’ve come for my cookie. :D

      I don’t really care much for the user reviews but they are a little disheartening. But all this Shepard is gay talk, WTF IS GOING ON?!?!?!?! Do you mean that canonically Shepard is gay, because that’s a fucking farce right there. The guys sexuality shouldn’t matter to the story, only to the damn person playing the game, that’s why they made it a fucking choice!

      That’s the only major problem that I have.

    • Pea_Peralta

      *cookie given*

    • http://www.facebook.com/Renee.DeForge.Lawson Renee C Lawson

      no he has not been made a himosexual. you have to work for a homosexual releationship. just people trolling.

    • http://www.facebook.com/Renee.DeForge.Lawson Renee C Lawson

      the dlc character does not really impact the story. They cant help you with anything in the plot lines. they are just an added bonus and interesting history to see. No, i didn’t pay. I have the collectors edition. 
      Male shep is only Gay if you make them gay. you have to keep going through progressive dialog options in order to be a gay shep so please. As for a comment you said down below. yes by all means tell me and everyone how they MUST play their game. I play in story mode because thats my choice and I looooove it. My husband plays in rpg or action mode. Who cares if he wants to play canon and not decide anything. again his choice. Why shouldn’t it be allowed? oh right because games would stay the same forever and ever pigeon-holing everyone in the world to play a certain way. Then not many people would buy them and they go out of business. good call. I do completely agree with you though that we ps3 gamers have been robbed of a proper me1 experience. It really does su**. But microsoft is to blame for that because they refuse to release the license. cheers

    • David Chiang

       yes. yes the dlc character fucking does. It got to a point where I couldnt leave him behind because of the plot line. If you go with him everywhere. HE WAS DAMN WELL INTENDED TO BE THERE.

      It’s not just interesting. It’s a damn good part of the story.  

  • Pea_Peralta

    Wow i didnt realise how long my rant was..

    • AG_Sonday

       Reminded me of a Cavie column ‘cept with a punchline and a point. I can haz cookie now?

    • Pea_Peralta

      *cookie given*

    • AG_Sonday

       It was delicious, thanks :D

    • Esdacado

      Don’t worry, I don’t think anyone would do the effort of reading it. I’ll probably download this first now before buying it. I just hate it when I buy a shit game.

    • Treble

      Yeah very long :/ you should be back on comments of the week after this :P

    • sage of the six paths

      As Gandalf…… AGAIN! :D

    • Pea_Peralta

      Lol i was just sooo angry..ive been walking around with this cloud of ME doubt hanging over me..but im over it now i typed it out of my system..:D

    • David Chiang

       It’s a good rant. My thing about the multiplayer though is that they half assed it.

  • AG_Sonday

    I believe that what fuelled many of these haters is that they’re fans of the series and yet BioWare seemed to be trying to cater for everyone but them. Making the game accessible to newcomers, more action-orientated and perhaps just changing a bit too much.

    I have a distinct feeling that this is going to be like PoP; Warrior Within. It will be a polarising game that people will either hate it or love it because of the changes made to the base formula.

    • http://www.twitter.com/domzor Dom van Blerk

      True dat.

    • Pea_Peralta

      A shortened version of what i feel..Why cant i think in small pragraphs..:(..Just Bioware trying too much instead of sticking to the original formulae and refining it…

    • AG_Sonday

       You’re not lazy enough to think in small paragraphs :P

    • Yashaar Mall

      money. Add multiplayer, add more action = more people will buy it. As AG said, trying to  cater for the masses while losing track of that which made Mass Effect so wonderful in the first place. That said, i’ll wait till i play it before i publish my own rant

      I dont give a crap about the multiplayer, i dont give a crap about the action. If the story is there, and engaging, then i’ll walk away happy

  • Cloud Strife

    Maybe they are just gay-haters?

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Ray-Yeezy-Brooks/500665602 Ray Yeezy Brooks

    Though the metacritic posts may seem trollish they do have some merit and truth, the game is far from a 2, more like a 7, graphically looks almost the same as ME2 with a tummy tuck here and face lift there, far from bad, buuuut not exciting. 
    The combat really isn’t hard on its hardest setting..#watupwitthat. Game length seems umm odd, i CASUALLY played this game when i got it and i’m already on disc two the next day, o.O ummm yeh, and here i thought i was killing time on side missions.And for story, they could have definitely done better, much much better, i mean you start off the usual way of getting hootie and the blowfish back together but it just seems boring somehow, lots of bang bang boom boom and not much else. feels like listening to bach on 2 dollar headphones.
    The game just feels short and half assed, enjoyable to the casualite, but far from ME1 excitement and “complexity”..the days of keyboard and mouse and KOTOR, and when decisions made in your conversations meant something..sigh* Ok game, ending might suck, worth a play but not the investment.

  • Albert Botha

    don’t worry you little ones, its all gonna be all right. IMO I HOPE SO THIS IS A BUNCH OF TROLLS, I have really HIGH expectations for this game. I’m not a huge critic on games but if the game sucks it sucks. I still can’t wait for ME3 its gonna be epic and on Friday we can all come back and HOPEFULLY have a laugh about this subject.

  • TwiZtiD

    Way to burst a fucking bubble , gzuz.. now I just HAVE to play it and give my own opinion :)

  • -Misfit-

    Take a look at this, and tell me that this deserves a higher score than the previous games. This is not on par, this is just horrible.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRyIN-Z5O5M&feature=g-u&context=G2037084FUAAAAAAADAA

    • http://egamer.co.za/ Azhar Amien

      Hahaha agreed, that was horrible.

    • sage of the six paths

      Fuck! That was shit. I remember punching her in the face in the second game and it was pretty funny but that was a joke. Why’d she try to fight back, silly little whore biscuit. Now I’m reconsidering buying this game. :(

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002367454310 Jonathan Stoffregen

    i knew ME3 was gonna be action based and not RPG based :( well sorry bioware no sale from me

  • http://www.facebook.com/da.squared Thalib Mugen-Jin Dada

    Shock and Horror….NOOOOOO i refuse to believe it. Reviews have been wrong before so i’ll decide for myself

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=799954442 Brian Stone

    I understand if people don’t like the story, but that comes down to opinion and taste.  But what I don’t understand is this Day-1 DLC hubbub. If you were going to buy some DLC anyway, then why does it matter if there are selections available on Day-1? Would you prefer it if DLC started arriving later? Would you be happier if there were no DLC selections at all? I don’t get it.

    • -Misfit-

      I’ve never been a fan of Day 1 DLC, but what BioWare did with ME3 takes it to a whole new level. The DLC that they are selling is part of the core experience of the game. We’re not just talking about some new guns are a extra skin or whatever, we are talking about a part of the story that is very important if you followed the story in ME and ME2. And since EA/BioWare believe people want the story so badly and will do anything for it, they cut off a piece of it and try and sell it as DLC. Disgraceful.

    • datdude

       Nobody is forcing you to buy the game dummy.  Wake up.  You don’t like it, don’t buy it.  But for everyone’s sake, stop whining like a butthurt baby.

    • -Misfit-

       @datdude Yes, your right, no one is forcing me, which is why I’m not buying it. I stand by my principles and don’t cave in just because it’s a ME game, even though I would love to complete the trilogy. If developers screw up or do something like this, they don’t deserve my money. And they don’t deserve money from anyone else. I haven’t even played the game so I haven’t even given final judgement on if it’s good or not. The vid I posted is bad but that can be one bad part of animation + dialogue out of a whole game that is wonderful and worthy of being a sequel (as it stands, lots of people would disagree with this). What I do know is that this Day 1 DLC is bullshit, and that’s why I’m not buying ME3

    • http://www.facebook.com/Renee.DeForge.Lawson Renee C Lawson

      no it isn’t. the dlc is extra. I have it (ce), its extra. Its nice to have though but really doesn’t help you at all in the story. really.

    • Pea_Peralta

      Brian Stone..What is wrong with day one dlc…

      It is insutling to a gamer that a developer will work on DLC while working on the game..Developers will cut content fom the game to put in that DLC and no matter what you can say you cant convince me otherwise..You cant have a day one dlc of a character plus extra missions when the game itself feels very short..you know what could have made it a bit longer and fullfilling if maybe they just scrapped that DLC and added all that content in the game and to make it even more awesome how about releasing an expansion later on if you feel there is still much to do in that game universe….They are die hard gamers out there who sadly dont have access to DLC they are being deprived of a lot but that doesnt seem to be the focus of developers lately its all going digital now..

    • Luc .

       sigh.
      “no matter what you can say you cant convince me otherwise”

      Good to know people disagreeing with Bioware’s explanation base their complaints on blind faith.

    • http://www.facebook.com/Renee.DeForge.Lawson Renee C Lawson

      ok got to stop you here. Number one its one mission to get the character. two, it was made for the collectors edition of the game. three, its only a short game if you miss the timed missions (they disappear after a short time). plus the game will be shorter if you do certain things, thus consequences for your actions are very prominent here.  

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Rj-Wilson/587897006 Rj Wilson

       Renee,

      Made for collectors edition or not it’s dev time that was not spent on the main game — but DLC (or it was part of the main game, just made into DLC, either way it’s bad). Either way, it’s taking from the actual game, the characters, gameplay, everything suffers when they decide to pour resources into multiplayer, DLC, whatever rather than focus on what’s important.

  • Mglionheart

    Lets make our own mind up about the game, why must we told by other what is good or not. 

  • Dantehh

    lol why did my comment disappear?

    • NeoN

      There is no spoon. xD lol

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/OJ3KFOJBGXY3MXTWEKYVFVP6TQ Curt Bear

    mass effect is over rated… it should have been rated a 5/10 by critics… its short and not worth the retail price… wait until it is $20 which is how much it should have sold for to begin with.
    yes mass effect 1 and 2 were awesome, but if i wanted  a few hours of nothing but a good story i would have watched a movie or a TV series on netflix,  a game should last more then 60 hours this gen, mass effect 1 and 2 combined wouldn’t hit 60 hours. ME3 will probably be 30 hours.

  • datdude

    The whiners weren’t savvy enough to order the collectors edition even though Bioware stated there would be a bonus mission and character included, along with all the other cool stuff in the CE.  Stop complaining.  You sound pathetic.  If you let butthurt losers influence your opinion of a tremendous series like Mass Effect you really should just cut your own throat and end the misery, because you’ve given up already.  I’ll trust gaming websites who were right on point with ME1 and ME2 to review ME3 over little timmy who didn’t get everything he wanted and now wants to suck his thumb and not let anyone else play with his toys.  I repeat… losers.

    • Pea_Peralta

      I think you just enjoy typing butthurt… I shall now refer to you as butthurt datdude..Its got a great ring to it..If being pathetic is acknowledging and expressing your frustration that a developer might be making too many drastic changes that could spoil the “final” installment of a much beloved series..then by all means call me pathetic..If as  a fan of the series you can view all these changes and say YAY to DLC even if its free with the awesome N7 edition and still not raise an eyebrow or even blink with a teeny weeny bit of doubt then i have to say please butthurt datdude whichever planet your from its not in the ME universe..but to each their own ignorance though is never a good thing..

    • AG_Sonday

       Loving the rage/hate/cynicism/hard truth combo

    • http://egamer.co.za/ Azhar Amien

      datdude, I’m sorry but I do not worship Bioware. Or any developer. I don’t know where this “absolute developer power” mentality amongst gamers comes from. It’s a two way street. Game developers would be nothing without us, and we would be worse off without them. WE made Mass Effect famous. WE want it to be the best that it can be. This is the final game in the trilogy, it’s perfectly reasonable to have high expectations for it. If it doesn’t deliver, it doesn’t deliver. If many feel it does, then it does to them.

      Users have a right to complain when the first two games in the series were amazing, but the third has things that they don’t like. Die-hard fans are entitled to something, I believe. Admittedly, many of the user reviews are trolls, as mentioned in the article, BUT if you actually read what some of the complaints amongst the more decent written reviews are, you will find that there is possible validity in them. Things that could actually be wrong with the game. This is useful to me because when I play the game I will compare my experience to theirs.

      The best opinion to trust is your own. But seeing endless lists of 90-100 scores for Mass Effect 3 doesn’t help me form an opinion, because it was pretty obvious that the game would be rated in that field.

      Basically, I want the final game to be epic, and better than both that came before it. Is that so wrong? For the users who actually played the game and are not trolling, they have a right to complain about a product they bought, or have been enthusiastically supporting for years.

      No game and no developer can be free from criticism.

    • Pea_Peralta

      Well said Azhar………….you forgot to say butthurt datdude but anyways still well said..

    • Dreamer96

      So true. They said they listened to us. Hell, I knew some Jokermance fans and checked out there forum, and even BioWare staff had made a post to calm them down saying that they were going to LOVE what they did with the game.
      And then Joker ends up with EDI.
      This is just one of the MANY examples BioWare assured as that we’d be SOOOOOO happy with the game, only to prove otherwise. Were they TRYING to mock us?

    • Yashaar Mall

      cool story bro. you should make a podcast about it

    • http://www.facebook.com/Renee.DeForge.Lawson Renee C Lawson

      ^^^^^^^^^^^^ datdude. yes that’s preety much it in a nutshell.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Hannes-Toerien/558346201 Hannes Toerien

    So the ME3 demo appears to be the upgraded version of Nazi Zombies – multiplayer that is. Survive wave after wave of assaults etc. etc. I must admit I loved the multiplayer, especially in 3D.

  • Alex_9786

    I remember playing KOTOR at an 8 year old, every weekend, I would play it, non’ stop. I loved the story, and I loved how everything you did made an influence on your character. When I discovered that the developer of my beloved star wars RPG made another space-rpg game, boy I was excited. I loved how ME1 rang true to their KOTOR days, with an interface and battle system that reminded me of the days I spent playing away at KOTOR. I loved everything about it, and most of all, I loved the story. I then got mass effect 2. It had, in my opinion, taken everything from every bioware game ever, and made it better. To me, it became the gold standard in games, great graphics, a beautiful story, with everything you do and say making a huge impact on the game. Every experience was unique.
    Bioware were my childhood friends, and I had grown up loving them, and looking up to them, and when ME3 was hyping up for release, boy was I excited. I couldn’t wait to see what would happen to my beloved squad which I had carefully, and lovingly created over 2 incredible games. I was looking forward to the epic ending to the most epic, incredible game ever, I was waiting for bioware, a game studio that I had grown up in love with to deliver a masterpiece in story-telling and action. I was waiting for my best game ever, but sadly, they didn’t deliver. The best studio ever which had introduced me to gaming, and to great story telling had betrayed me, and their loyal followers, and left us for the seemingly greener grass, where the COD people graze, where their is the scent of cash in the air. Bioware, people who were more than just a game studio to me, had given me an all mighty sucker punch, and boy does it hurt.

    • http://egamer.co.za/ Azhar Amien

      Great comment Alex :D I’m really sorry to hear that Mass Effect 3 didn’t live up to your expectations. I myself am a massive fan of Knights of the Old Republic, it’s definitely one of my favourite ever RPGs. That, and Neverwinter Nights, are the games that first got me loving Bioware. That love only grew with Mass Effect and Dragon Age: Origins, but sadly since Mass Effect 2 and especially Dragon Age 2, I have basically become much less of a fan. I’m not hugely enthusiastic towards their games anymore.

      Mass Effect 2 because it took away many elements I personally enjoyed in the original game, and simplified gameplay. I still really enjoyed it, especially for the story, but that’s how I felt. Dragon Age 2 was just a horrid game for me, and probably one of the worst RPGs I’ve played in the last decade. I’m not even exaggerating. Among my list of issues were the pathetic party system, generic characters, horrific copy and pasted environments, brain dead combat that started out really fun but became tedious and immensely boring after millions of repetitive enemies, massively repetitive gameplay, limited character creation elements, robotic conversation wheel, completely uninteresting story, long loads and inferiority to Dragon Age: Origins in almost every way.

      Since then I’ve sort of just been mixed about how I feel towards BioWare. I’m looking forward to Mass Effect 3 to complete my Shepard’s story, but I won’t die if I don’t play it any time soon. I can understand your frustration, and I really hope I don’t feel the same way with Mass Effect 3, but I have high standards and high expectations, and I’m really not easily impressed, so I’m afraid I’ll end up with similar feelings to you.

    • Pea_Peralta

      What i feared..:(.. I cant wait to play the game but boy i go in with a heavy heart..

    • Yashaar Mall

      I played KOTOR for 26 hours straight once :( :(. The first mass effect nearly matched up to that level of enjoyment. Probably my 2nd best rpg of all time. Mass Effect 2 didnt really make me stand up and take notice, it was a good game, but no where near as ground breaking as the first one. I hope 3 doesnt hurt me :(

    • http://egamer.co.za/ Azhar Amien

      I FULLY agree Yashaar :D Couldn’t have said it better. KOTOR was one of my most extreme younger year addictions :P I was fanatical about Star Wars at that time, which didn’t help my addiction at all :D Mass Effect 1 was amazing as well, and it’s another title I played with barely any breaks until completion. Mass Effect 2 had the exact same effect on me as it did you.

    • Rageagnstmachen

      Its funny you say that man, I was the same way, started with KOTOR and became a sucker for Bioware, everything they did instantly was likable, playable. While games like HALO and Assassins Creed lost their charm, I still played KOTOR, Dragon Age, Mass Effect. This was to be the culmination of it all. I gave them the benefit of the doubt after the TOR MOO debacle, game them the benefit of the doubt after DA2. This, this just sucks. I was at a loss of words as Joker and EDI embraced, and when the credits rolled, I was gasping. I know its just a game and I know its nothing personal. But I’m just sick of Developers giving in to this crowd of yobbos who like to yell and scream over their dumb headsets and run around in a confined space kill other “soldiers”. I like COD and HALO and online multis but we have them for that reason, and Mass Effect for other reasons…when I want to kill my friends and tell them how inferior they are I have a game to do it on, but when I invest hours and hours reading codex entries and consider dialogue options and read “virtual books”, and talk to every person possible in the game… I WANT AN ENDING THAT DOESN’T FUCKING SUCK!!!! 

  • NeoN

    Reading the article almost gave me a heart-attack. :P lol. I’ve never heard of this sorta trolling before, where peeps bash or “praise” (Street Sweeper Simulator mentioned by Marko) a game for the “lolz”.

    Looking forward to forming my own opinion once I start jamming it.

  • Cheese

    People read into stuff too much. If you like the game, you like it. It you don’t like it, that’s fine. It’s personal opinion. STFU. xD

    • Pea_Peralta

      :O………I dont even..STFU thats John Cena’s move if im not wrong..since everything is typed out noone can actually STFU was just laying it out there but to each their own..

  • Luc .

    Hello? 4chan & reddit anyone? You know, the ones harassing and bullying Bioware staff?

    This was expected, not surprising. Not at all surprising 300 people didn’t need even a single day to explore the whole of the game, including all conversations and missions. Lots of that surge of comments were posted when ME3 had been 15 minutes out.

  • PyroRaptor

    The biggest question RPG fans will have is, “How do I get the good ending?”
    Surprise. There isn’t one.

    The biggest question from the FPS fans they were trying to draw will of course be, “How do I skip all these cutscenes?”

  • Yashaar Mall

    i think its safe to say that @Pea_Peralta:disqus has won Hulk Smash for this week….and next week…and the next… and the next until december. BUT all of them are extremely valid points. Guess we’ll have to wait till friday to get our own opinions :/

  • Steve O’Leary

    Wow.  I was smart to wait until I purchased ME3.  I am still playing a fourth playthrough on ME2 – setting up different romance options, more Renegade than Paragon this time…stuff like that. 

    I was planning on getting ME3 this weekend (it’s been out in my region since the 6th), but everything I have read about it – the day 1 DLC, poor graphics, the stupid necessity of multiplayer (if you want to get a “good” ending), and the crap endings overall – means I will steer clear.  Bargain bin here I come (in a year or so).

    In fact, time to put ME2 away as well.  If this is what I can look forward to, I can’t be bothered.

    For some fun, go read the currently 560 page topic on Bioware’s forum on the crap endings.  Such fun.

  • Dreamer96

    I don’t care if that website IS full of trolls. ME3 DID suck. I LITERALLY cried—in disappointment and horror.

  • Rageagnstmachen

    ****possible spoiler****

    I AM SO FUCKING SICK OF THIS ORGANIC VS. SYNTHETIC “FIGHT” IN EVERY STUPID FUCKING GAME/MOVIE!!! Does anyone have anything original to say? anything?? Why cant there be a problem and you just have to fight it out, What was wrong with an ending where you just attack the Reapers and hurt them bad enough to where they retreat? You can have sequels with that ending and you can have different outcomes to that ending. What I liked about ME1 and 2 was that it was simple and your choices made a difference, in this game it seems like only thing important is your favorite colored explosion.Why does it always have to come down to some esoteric choice and a God figure. You want to talk realism? This is the complete opposite of realistic, its restrictive, why does the conflict only happen in our galaxy, why couldn’t the reapers have just been some other alien life form that have become so filled with hubris that they think they’re doing us a favor? Why does it always have to take some altruistic figure to save everyone? I hate this shit. I had such high hopes!! I thought there would be a Reaper or two that would be tired of the killing and would turn against their fellow reapers and help us, I was hoping to find out more history about the Universe, and not just this galaxy. Something about dark energy. How did they ascend to the level of technology they’re at now, some personification, something to make it seem like the hundreds of dollars were worth the effort. Games that are campaign heavy are so hard to come by now-a-days with the emphasis on multiplayer and online gameplay, they ruined Halo, Gears of War, God of War, probably ruin Assassins Creed. Mass Effect was to be the champion of solo gaming, a game where the company could put out DLC’s and make money but because of the immense universe, the game wouldn’t be ruined, the campaign wouldn’t be ruined. But you sound some fucking way didn’t you? Like a 2 dollar hooker, sold-out the whole experience because you were busy developing multiplayer, pushing the date back, DLC drama. I think its ironic that the ending to this game was a bust, the game is a very apt commentary of Bioware’s existence so far. KOTOR brilliant, much like the begging of the game. Mass Effect epic, much like the middle of the game. ME/DA 2, okay…kinda becoming repetitive and dull. And now like some fat star falling in on itself because of its own mass, as we get to the end of the game and the crescendo builds, you take a massive dump with The Old Republic and the Mass Effect 3 ending. 

    Should have kept it simple guys…I think the most pronounced sadness of the whole thing as my jaw was on the floor (not for good reasons) as the credits rolled, was the epilogue, (which was like the sharp pain after a massive dump on the screen), followed by a pop-up on the screen. It read something about Shepard being a legend and how “you should continue the legend via DLC’s”. I will tell you this Bioware, this is what I read: “I cant fit it in my mouth anymore, let me spread my legs wider so you can get a better angle, EA”

  • daniel_gustin

    Did you finish the game? The endings you get are basically the same and if you are colors blind you can’t even  tell the difference the choice you make during the 3 games the romance it all do not matter in the end.
    Zero replay value

  • David Chiang
  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002461247771 Stefan Dumitrache

    part of the anger is fueled by the “game politics”, like day one dlc. it would’ve been a better choice to lock the multiplayer on disc instead of part of the story, be it good or bad.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_EG7XO4AQURDKL5FJNGMKDN4YF4 NordoCeltic

    I PLAYED ME all the way though from day one.  I was able to excuse the sometimes laughably terrible animation.  I’m a trained animator, so it was really easy to spot how the character animations have no up and down in any of their walk or run cycles, or any hip movement for that matter… 

    I had no issue on principle of there being a M/M romance option in the 3rd game.  Whatever I don’t have to pick it.  I did feel the writing execution was a very forced, and reminded me of Dom going BAWWWWWW MY WIFE though Gears of War 2.   
    I personally loved the game design, as it the GAMEPLAY design.  It thought it was very well executed, not perfect, but I had a lot of fun.   I really like their take on a “shooter RPG.”  If you want yet another d20 based top down RPG, don’t buy this kinda game then.   What blows my mind about this game and makes me hate it so much is just how bad the end was.   First all endings result in effectively the same outcome.  I mean the studio recycled the same 3 videos for each ending, just changing some colors.   The end “choice” was a massive deus ex machina, perhaps the most ballsy plot-forcing I’ve ever seen in my 30 years of consuming entertainment.   And then I’m completely denied the essential falling action that lets me know what happened.   I believe HIGHLY the lead writer should be sacked for this game.    I came to this game 70% for the narrative, to get the chance to dive past the 4th wall and enjoy an Epic (as in the dictionary definition of an epic) sci fi adventure.  What I got was good writing all the way upto the the last 5 minutes where suddenly I got an ending so piss-poor a B-movie would be ashamed of it.  

    I would expect that kind of ending to be written by a 13 years old who thought they were “edgy,” not a seasoned, professional writer with a vast array of stories to draw inspiration from.  Thus is why I’m highly inclined to pass on any future bioware games.   And honestly I want my money back, but that is never going to happen, so the best I can do is not support their crap in the future.  

    • http://egamer.co.za/ Azhar Amien

      I completely agree with you. I finished the game recently and the ending sucked donkey balls. One of the most horrific conclusions to a franchise I’ve ever seen.