Mass Effect 3: Fight to Survive

The Mass Effect series may be the most ambitious project undertaken in video games to date.  The idea of decisions and save files carrying over from one chapter to another had never been attempted.  But it is not just one chapter, it is a trilogy.  In all fairness, if you have not played the first two Mass Effect games, some of the biggest and most epic moments won’t have the same impact on you.  That being said, these moments are still huge and should stir emotions inside.

Shepard prepares to strike with the omni-blade

The game is wonderfully well written with some very powerful and emotional scenes.  The decisions you make as Commander Shepard in this third chapter of Mass Effect will shape the galaxy more dramatically than any of its predecessors, and it should… The galaxy is at war!  That’s right, an ancient race of sentient organic/synthetic lifeforms, called Reapers, are on their way to wreck shop in the Milky Way and Commander Shepard is the only one that has any hope of uniting the galaxy to stop them.  This is not a spoiler as the Reapers have been discussed quite a bit in the previous two games.  Shepard encounters his/her first Reaper named Sovereign on the planet Virmire in Mass Effect 1 and learns about their plans to wipe out all sentient life in the galaxy.

Fortunately, Shepard is not fighting alone.  Practically every character that has fought with Shepard will make an appearance or two in Mass Effect 3 unless they are already dead.  These squadmates will either join Shepard on her badass ship Normandy SR2 as a squadmate or, at the very least, have a little cameo in which you can catch up on what’s happened to them since Shepard last saw them.  Mass Effect has always had a strong emphasis on its characters and their interactions with Shepard and Bioware does not disappoint in providing dramatic and touching moments.  If Shepard romanced any squadmates in Mass Effect 1 and/or 2, those relationships will come into play in Mass Effect 3.

Meet up with Mordin Solis on Sur’Kesh…assuming he survived the suicide mission.

So yes, Bioware’s strong suit has been characters and story, but what about gameplay?  Well Mass Effect 3 is the best handling installment in the IP’s history.  The cover and shooting system is the tightest and most fluid it has ever been.  Where Mass Effect 2 stripped down the RPG and inventory elements, Mass Effect 3 brings those features back but in a streamlined (read not annoying) fashion.  There is no converting to omni-gel but Shepard’s armor can be customized just like in ME2 and weapons also feature two upgrade slots to allow personalized weapon customization.  Fancy yourself a sniper?  Well you may want to upgrade your scope so you can see through smoke screens and upgrade the penetration properties of the rounds fired so you can bypass your enemies’ armor.  As far as leveling up Shepard and squadmates, powers have been given more depth as well with two extra levels.  Each power can be upgraded through 6 levels, the last 3 offering evolution paths that will dramatically impact the power’s traits.

While the campaign experience is solid on its own, Mass Effect 3 also sports great cooperative multiplayer.  Essentially a horde mode broken up into waves, teams of four team up to take on waves of enemies.  The waves are not just about survival but some also feature random objectives that have to be fulfilled within a limited amount of time.  The successful completion of all 10 waves plus extraction will result in acquiring experience points that can be used to upgrade powers and credits to purchase equipment packs.  Players have the options of the main classes featured in the game: Soldier, Adept, Vanguard, Sentinel, Infiltrator and Engineer.  Each class features different races that can be unlocked through equipment packs.  The equipment packs are broken into different values.  The more expensive the pack, the better the chance of receiving uncommon or rare items.

Shepard re-assembles the crew.

Bioware seems to have found the sweet spot in blending Mass Effect’s shooter mechanics with the use of powers.  Even though the improved cover system was practically ripped right out of Gears of War, I can’t argue with its effectiveness in creating a more engaging experience.  Combat is more fun than it has ever been in the Mass Effect series and it is a testament to the hard work put in by the folks at Bioware.  Mass Effect 3, strictly from a gameplay perspective, is the most impressive in the series.  Never has Shepard been more versatile or more lethal.