So, I'm a big ME fan, but I avoided playing this at release due to the crazy backlash around the ending. That said, is it still worth playing?

I know what happens, and meh, but I'd like a good answer on this that isn't "rah rah I hate EA" (which is all I seem to find).

Thanks!!

(Note: I know I'm opening Pandora's box...)

Absolutely, it's a great game. I strongly recommend getting the From Ashes DLC and Leviathan DLC as well.

Just play it. YouTube doesn't do it justice.

Yeah, play it. It's not as good as ME2 apart from some gameplay things being better, but its still a fun game. It feels more complete than it did at release, especially after all of the dlc. Just make sure you play the Leviathan dlc if you don't want to be blindsided by the ending like most people were at release.

Absolutely. I didn't think the ending was very good, but it was hardly the travesty the internet made it out to be. The game is still a blast to play, and seeing more of the characters and universe that you've spent all this time with over the the previous two games, is totally worth it.

Nope.

Totally. There's a ton of great game in there that's been overshadowed by the ending.

It's a Mass Effect game. If you like Mass Effect, you should play it. Don't worry about the ending stuff.

The ending is still pretty bad, but the rest of the game isn't.

Its still a really great game with some of the most emotionally impactful moments I've ever had.

God dammit I love Legion.

If you are a big Mass Effect fan, then yes you should play it. It's a great game. The multiplayer is surprisingly good too.

I'd say play it, the ending is cliche and might not be suited to your Shepard but, for me there were enough "wrap up" moments to make it worth while

You should play it.

Sounds good to me. Thoughts on the omega and citadel dlc's?

yes, get all the dlc

@madman356647: Get as many as you can but if you want to skip Omega you wont miss much besides getting to spend some time with Aria.

Hell yes, play it!

The ending is what it is, but frankly the backlash went completely too far. It's not what we hoped for, but it's a cool game that any fan should play.

Skip Omega, buy Citadel but play it after finishing the story.

if you are a fan you should play it and all of the DLC. The ending is fatally flawed and unbelieveably dumb and there is no Mako, but its still an alright game. Miranda's mission toward the end is borderline excellent. But then you have one of the worst encounters ever in all of video games - the Reaper ledge fight. So you have to be willing to wade through some shit to enjoy the game. If you played ME2 you are probably alright with that.

80% of the game is as good as ME2. So yes.

I played through the DLC before the ending and I think it makes the finale only sweeter.

But yes, From Ashes, Leviathan and Citadel are necessery. See Brad's game of the year 2012, it is just a better experience.

Absolutely you should play it. I played all three within a month earlier this year, with it being my first time all the way through ME1, my second time on ME2, and my first time every playing ME3. It definitely felt like a Mass Effect game, and the quality held up. There are some things that just feel out of place, with bad combat sections in some parts and a lack of conversation options that turned me off a bit, but the main storyline is fantastic.

And do not play that game without From Ashes and Leviathan. Those were some of my favorite parts of the game. Kind of a bummer, but that's how it is.

It's still an awesome game despite not being as special as ME2. You should still play it.

Yes. Pick up all the dlc as well, I believe omega can be skipped though. But it's really a great game

I would not say you should. Only if you really want to or are really invested in it already.

I played it when Sim City came out and I quite enjoyed it. Makes me want to say fuck the haters and try Dragon Age 2 (kinda).

Go for it. It is a fine game where the drawbacks are well known at this point. Just don't be surprised you maybe dissatisfied with some elements.

Yeah, it's great. The gameplay is super tight and fun and the multiplayer is wonderful. Don't go expecting quite the same highs in story/character flow as Mass Effect 2 but other than some trivial stuff during the game and a freaking awful ending (that they've addressed somewhat) yeah it's great. I enjoyed it a lot, tons more than the first game still.

Also, get all the DLC except Omega. Some stuff gets fleshed out better that way, and the Citadel stuff is completely bonkers goofy crap that you'd never expect in this dour last game of the trilogy. I'd suggest waiting to beat the game first before playing that one, actually, but it's all great and it helped change my mind about the game as a whole in a good way.

@madman356647: It is a great game. I have played through it 3 times, and although I dislike the ending, it's a phenomenal game.

The ending isn't the part of ME3 that matters, all of that stuff happens earlier and is great. For my money, though, Omega actually makes the game worse. You might feel differently if you don't hate bad voice acting as aggressively as I do.

uh absolutely. The ending is hardly as bad as people said, and now they added enough to explain a huge amount more. Just be sure to grab the leviathan, from ashes, and maaaybe Citadel dlcs.

Can't you make up your own opinion?

Yes, play it. Up until the last 15 minutes it's great. And what happens then is partly a matter of taste (I hated it).

yes. it is a very good game.

Absolutely. While the ending can be a disappointing. It's not even close to being as bad as everybody made it out to be. And the entire journey probably had some of the best moments out of any Mass Effect game.

Definitely. Make sure you have all the DLC though, as it provides certain thematic exposition left out of the main game.

You should try Dragon Age 2. Really the only thing that fucking sucks about it is the environments are reused A LOT. More than any game I've ever seen. There is like 1-2 caves and a handful of interiors. But otherwise I thought the story was good, and the combat is pretty similar to Dragon Age Origins, just faster and more flashy.

I'm guessing you're going to get the same experience as Brad when he played it months after release. He enjoyed it quite a bit.

Just download the extended cut, the Javiik and leviathan DLCs. Save the last part of leviathan for just before the point of no return but do the Javiik DLC as soon as possible. With all that you should get a much better ME3 experience than the one we got at launch.

It's a great game and you should play it. Don't forget to grab the citadel DLC AFTER YOU'RE DONE WITH THE GAME. It's kind of a mass effect chrismas special and it's some of the best mass effect content ever.

@erhard: sure I can. That said, a little input from the community never hurts (especially like, as I said, the whole ending/evil EA business made me steer clear until that subsided).

That said, thanks for the suggestions all. I'll go with the "Brad method" with from ashes, leviathan, and extended. Then citadel. Thanks for the help all!

Yea play it. I didn't like it but it's certainly worth playing.

Yeah you should play it. The ending is bad, but moreso because of its simple binary (trinary?) nature than anything else. It's really not that bad. In fact it's perfectly standard videogame ending. We just expected more from BioWare back then.

If you played ME1 and 2 (or even just 2) and liked them, there's really no reason not to play this.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Sure why not. It's essentially Mass Effect 2 right down to the major plot points and twists. Same mechanics and everything. If you enjoyed the gameplay of ME2 then you will feel right at home here.

Yes, yes you should. You are really doing yourself a disservice by ignoring the game.

It's a fantastic game and my personal game of its year, and well a great way to send of the ME series.

Really great game, not as good as ME2 but not much out there is!

Also, the fuss about the ending was so blown out of proportion its untrue, typical of the internet generation.

You should definitely play ME3.

It's not the best Mass Effect game, but it's still a great game.

@madman356647: I waited over a year to play the game to because of hesitation related to the backlash. I regret that, it's still a freaking fantastic game. Also get the DLC.

The writing took a real nosedive in comparison to ME2. Gameplay is more of the same.