Mass Effect 3...

[DeadPoolX]

I'm worried if I download the demo on Origin, it will forever show up on my account like the Battlefield 3 Beta does now.

Well, you're using a PC, you can't download the demo anywhere else, so if you want to try it, you'll need to do it through Origin.

[DeadPoolX]

My review of the Mass Effect 3 demo:

The single-player portion (i.e. the story-based game) is great and feels very true to the ME series. There's really no surprise here, other than the powers, weapon loadouts and melee attacks have all slightly changed since ME2.

The multiplayer part, however, is very different and in fact, the difficulty is insane. With the demo you get one character for each class unlocked (oddly enough, only the male is available for the Soldier, Adept and Engineer and the female available for the Infiltrator, Sentinel and Vanguard), with other characters and weapons getting unlocked as you play.

Your powers and abilities are drastically reduced and you can't change the position of them in your power bar. So if you're used to press "2" for Shockwave and the game puts it in position "1" you'll just have to deal with it.

You can only carry two weapons at any time and each weapon carries with it a certain amount of weight. The more weight you carry, the slower your powers recharge. I usually carry an assault rifle and an SMG, both of which keep me within the positive weight limit range.

There are a number of single-use items, such as medigel, ammo powers and some other offensive and defensive capabilities. No, you don't get ammo powers naturally. All of these single-use items last for that round, so if you get shot down one minute into the round (and assuming no one is there to revive you before the enemies kill you), you've just wasted that ability.

The really infuriating part is that gaining new character unlocks, weapons, modifications, and single-use items revolves mostly around luck. Basically, you earn credits as you complete tasks within the missions and you can then spend these credits on Rookie and Veteran packages. The problem is that the contents of these packages is variable and you could get the items you want, end up with items you don't want or even items you already have.

The interface is a bit clunky, starting with the way you create games and have people join. Maia, for instance, has to ask me to join her through Origin, not within the game itself.

Something else that's a bit annoying is that you CAN'T delete a character in multiplayer. Instead of deletion, the idea is that (in the full game) you level that character up and then send them to go fight alongside Shepard in the single-player game. This is how multiplayer actions affect the main campaign.

While that's all well and good, it also means that if you made a bad choice when leveling up, you're stuck with it. There are respec items, but those are as random as any other item in the Rookie and Veteran packages.

As mentioned before, the difficultly is beyond manageable at lower levels. You start off at Level 1 and can apparently reach Level 20. Even at the lowest difficultly setting (Bronze challenge), the enemies have greater AI and tactics than in the single player game.

Part of the problem Maia and I face is that we play together, so it's only the two of us. The multiplayer game is designed for four people and the enemies don't scale accordingly.

Some people -- Maia and myself included -- would like a difficultly setting beneath Bronze and the option to add AI-controlled teammates. Naturally, the "hardcore uber-leet" crowd at the BioWare forums are against this, claiming that "it's a real challenge" and "just man up and practice!"

Probably the worst aspect of multiplayer is that it's nothing more than wave after wave of ever-increasingly tough enemies. Sure, you might be asked to disable a station or kill a certain enemy, but the bulk of it is to simply kill everything without much of a reason, if any at all.

All in all, I'm glad that multiplayer is optional and that you can get the optimal ending in ME3 without even touching it. Maybe I'm being harsh, but I've played lots of multiplayer games before (going back to Starsiege: Tribes in the late 1990s) and the overall point and gameplay mechanics fail in comparison to other multiplayer shooters.

I'm sure I'll still play it from time to time, but it's just not that fun. Some people claim it's a challenge and it is, but it also quickly turns into frustration. That's not fun -- unless, of course, you enjoy constantly dying and doing the same thing over and over again.

[DeadPoolX]

So I guess Maia and I are the only two here playing ME3, huh? By that I mean the full game, not the demo.

It's weird, because with previous BioWare games, we'd probably have tons of posts full of spoiler tags by now.

[AndreaDraco]

Not exactly playing... yet, but I bought the game today and I'm currently installing it. I won't have a lot of time to play it, especially because I'm still in the middle of Alan Wake, but I will definitely play it soon.

[Datadog]

Was just wondering this myself. I finished the game yesterday and had been avoiding SHP these last few days just to avoid spoilers. I figured this would be ground zero for ME3 discussion.

[Maxor127]

I have it. Been addicted to multiplayer for some reason, so I've barely played single player. I like modes that pit you against wave after wave of enemies. I was hoping for co-op like Neverwinter Nights, but I didn't expect much from this. So it's just a bonus that I find it fun. I don't think Bronze is too difficult, but of course it all depends on how good your teammates are and what class you're using. You have to have 4 people in your group to stand a chance. 3 might be doable, but I don't see the point in playing with less than 4. I think you get the same amount of XP, and XP is extremely easy to come by. Money is the main thing you need to try to get. With 4 people, Bronze is manageable without being too easy. Silver is when it really gets challenging and difficult. One thing that skews the difficulty is that the enemies aren't equal in challenge. Reapers are by far the hardest enemy.

I've found soldier to be worthless in multiplayer. From my experiences, Infiltrator and Vanguard are good, but not if everyone is using them. Sentinel and Adept are mediocre, but still more versatile than Infiltrator, Vanguard, or Soldier. The best classes are Engineer and Asari Adept because they can spam powers and effectively handle any threat. Silver is a big challenge though because your team really has to work together. And Gold is insane. Yesterday, I managed to win my first Gold match, and I guess it's a good ratio because I only tried it a few times compared to Silver, which I've tried and lost a lot. But I was lucky and ended up on a team that worked together and seemed to know how to handle everything. Funny thing is everyone got massacred at the end at the landing zone and we only won because I stayed dead until the very last second before the ship comes to evacuate you and used my med-gel to revive myself right at that moment.

One reason I held off on single player was because I was unsure if I wanted to be a soldier again. It seems pretty much like Mass Effect 2 so far. I like how my choices from 2 previous games will affect this game, and hopefully it doesn't screw up my import history like Dragon Age 2.

[Datadog]

Funny how everyone I know is spending more time on multiplayer than the actual story mode. I did enough matches to bring up my readiness rating to even and then just carried on with the game.

But yeah, the Reapers are by and far the hardest enemies to fight. Especially when they throw banshees and brutes at you all at once. I still haven't sorted out the trick to defeating banshees other than expend all my ammunition hoping they'll eventually die. I rather like fighting Cerberus instead. With the Katana equipped, I can easily get a 50+ Kill trophy on those matches.

[AndreaDraco]

I just played the first hour or so of the game. A bit unimpressed so far, to be honest. I find the story rather clunky and the presentation... I don't know, but somehow Mass Effect 2 seemed more polished than this one. Anderson running was a pretty hilarious sight. I also didn't like very much James Vega's introduction, which I found too abrupt. Come to think of it, "abrupt" pretty much sums up my perception of the game so far, perhaps because I haven't played any of the ME2 DLCs. I'm pretty sure the game will pick up soon, probably as soon as the characters I really like (Garrus, Liara, Miranda) start appearing

A side note: how incredibly cheesy was the initial segment with the child in the conduct and then at the spaceport?

[Maxor127]

I just played the first hour or so of the game. A bit unimpressed so far, to be honest. I find the story rather clunky and the presentation... I don't know, but somehow Mass Effect 2 seemed more polished than this one. Anderson running was a pretty hilarious sight. I also didn't like very much James Vega's introduction, which I found too abrupt. Come to think of it, "abrupt" pretty much sums up my perception of the game so far, perhaps because I haven't played any of the ME2 DLCs. I'm pretty sure the game will pick up soon, probably as soon as the characters I really like (Garrus, Liara, Miranda) start appearing

A side note: how incredibly cheesy was the initial segment with the child in the conduct and then at the spaceport?

I think if the kid lived, it would've been cheesy. I didn't have a problem with it. What I did think was incredibly cheesy was when Shepard visits Kaiden in the hospital (at least in my game) and he has a heartfelt talk, and says "just get better" and then leaves, but he stops, turns his head and says warmly "that's an order." I don't like James either. But there were characters in ME2 I didn't like (Jacob). As long as I get to avoid them except for any special character missions, then I don't care. The thing I hate most about James is that he looks like such a 'roid freak compared to all of the other characters. He looks like he belongs in Gears of War instead. Playing the DLC does help fill in some of the blanks. I was wondering how ME3 would handle those events for people who hadn't played the DLC.

As for defeating banshees, the best method other than just missiling them seems to be having an engineer and adept lay waste on it. For Engineers, Overload is good for taking down shields and Incinerate can damage armor. But with Adept, using Warp followed by Throw is extremely effective against almost anything. The Ravagers are actually what I hate most about Reapers. They're the buglike aliens that act like mobile turrets.

I think Cerberus is easiest as well. Geth are annoying because the rocket trooper rockets heatseek, and the cloaked Hunter Geth are incredibly annoying and seem to like to travel in pairs. Cerberus is pretty basic. The most dangerous enemies for them are the turrets and the Phantoms (I call them ninjas). But if you have an Asari with Statis, Phantoms are toast unless you get overrun by several of them. That's why I say Asari Adept are the best class. Statis works on almost anything, and for everything else, you can use the Warp/Throw biotic explosion combo. And Throw only takes a second to recharge, so you can spam it at weaker enemies and kill them in one or two hits.

[DeadPoolX]

I'm continuing my Vanguard from ME1 and ME2. ME3's combat system really works well with the Vanguard. I love using biotic charge and nova, especially the since the former power refills my shields to full now.

In MP, I tend to play an Engineer. Incinerate, overload, cryoblast and combat drone are extremely useful.

Andrea, since you didn't play any of the mission-based DLCs in ME2, I can see how you might feel a little lost. I'd just read about them in the wiki so you can catch up. You'll meet up with everyone from ME2 (who survived the suicide mission) and most people from ME1.

Not everyone in ME2 is a teammate or at least a long-term one. With some characters (such as Thane, Jack or Jacob) there are no opportunities to continue a romance. From what I've read, there is a chance with Miranda, but it's small.

The game's pacing is a little odd, but maybe that's because I've spent a lot of time doing side missions. Partly doing those first for XP, but also because I need strengthen my military force to fight the Reapers.

Supposedly, the ending varies based on how well prepared you are. This includes both single player and multiplayer, although BioWare has said that you don't need to play MP in order to get the "best ending." Although judging by the responses at the BioWare forums, it seems no matter how well-prepared you are, every ending is a bad one.

The MP portion of the game is decent, but it seems a little overwhelming. This is probably because Maia and I play together, so we've got a two-person group going against waves and waves of enemies. Even on Bronze that's extremely difficult. That said, even at low levels (four or below) we managed to get to Wave 6.

With the demo, I played a few rounds online in a four-person team and it's amazing how much easier the MP game is that way. We blasted through the map in no time, whereas it's usually a struggle for Maia and me when it's just us two.

Considering that MP augments your military readiness in SP, I'm probably going to hold off for a while. The reason being that your readiness score slowly drops to 50% over time, so if you do a bunch of MP without having gone far in SP, you'll inevitably lose a good portion of what you worked for along the way.

One thing I really dislike is the whole weight system. The more you're weighed down, the slower your powers and abilities recharge. Sniper rifles and shotguns tend to weigh the most, followed by assault rifles, submachine guns and then pistols. It's okay for MP, but it's simply a nuisance in SP. At least you can find mods to reduce weight (in SMGs, so far) and there's an option when leveling up to increase your overall weight limit.

[DeadPoolX]

Okay, I'm just about done with the game. When I start the next mission, the whole "end game" story starts.

Now because I've read your Effective Military Strength dictates how good or bad the ending will be, I've made every effort to do every mission. I mean I did not just every side mission, but also also scanned every planet, system, sector, etc. I know this because I checked my progress against the Mass Effect Wiki.

Unfortunately, it seems BioWare wasn't entirely honest about being able to get the "best ending" without playing multiplayer. Having done every mission (and getting the best outcomes), no matter how large or small, even if it was just scanning, my total EMS is 6888.

That seems good, but if you haven't played multiplayer, your Readiness score is still at 50%, which means the EMS total is halved. Now it's 3444. In order to get the best ending, you need 5000 or more.

So judging by this information, there is NO WAY to get the best ending without playing multiplayer to raise your Readiness score.

I know some people here really like the multiplayer, but that's not the point. BioWare specifically stated that you don't need to play any multiplayer matches to get the best ending. That's what I'm annoyed about, especially since multiplayer is really annoying when you've only got a team of two.

[misslilo]

Hi you guys
I'm playing it too, but did the fatal mistake of looking up a mission online and stumbled over this whole ending mess...
Now I don't feel like going back and finish the game. Waiting for... I dunno... something..else?

[DeadPoolX]

Hi you guys
I'm playing it too, but did the fatal mistake of looking up a mission online and stumbled over this whole ending mess...
Now I don't feel like going back and finish the game. Waiting for... I dunno... something..else?

Well, the bad news is that you can't get the so-called "best ending" by only playing single player once. If you replay it, using a mode called "New Game+" (which basically lets you keep your gear from the first playthrough, but you'll have to proceed through the story and missions all over again), then it's possible to accrue enough war assets without playing multiplayer.

If, however, you're like me and don't feel like immediately replaying a game -- especially one as large as a BioWare RPG -- and want the best ending, you'll have to play at least some multiplayer.

The good news is that it's exceptionally easy to raise your military readiness percentage in MP. I went from 50% (the default setting) to nearly 80% after five or so completed MP games. Please note that I did this by joining an open game and playing alongside three other people. Attempting to play MP with fewer than three total is frustrating, at least until your characters get past Level 10.

Unfortunately, there's yet another downside here. Your readiness score progressively drops in real time. It loses anywhere from one to five points per day, so you could lose a lot of time and effort if you don't keep playing MP.

This is why it's best to play the single player game up until you get very near the end and then start multiplayer. Once you've raised your readiness score enough, you can then proceed with the SP game without worrying about losing your score over time.

Something else that seems to confuse a lot of people is the difference between their total military score, effective military score and combat readiness. I don't know why BioWare felt the need to make it all this complex, but here's how it works:

You gain war assets by completing plot-related missions, side missions, and scanning planets. These war assets contribute to your total military score (TMS). Your effective military score (EMS) is what's left after you adjust it by your combat readiness score (CRS).

So it works like this: Let's say you have 5000 TMS and a CRS of 60%. You'd then multiply 5000 by .4, which gives you 2000. You then subtract 2000 from your TMS to receive your EMS, which in this case is 3000.

You need at least 4000 EMS to get a "good ending" and over 5000 EMS to get the "best ending." As you can see, this entire process is unnecessarily complex.

As a side-note, I beat ME3 today with an EMS well over 5000. So I saw the "best ending" and it's not that great. In fact, this scene only appears if you choose one of the three options at the end. The other two never show it, no matter what scores you have.

Overall, the endings are a mess and feel very disappointing. I realize the ME series wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, but the Dragon Age series is just as dark and serious. Yet, both DA1 and DA2 had endings with at least some closure and something that wasn't necessarily depressing.

[misslilo]

What I meant was, that I don't like ANY of the endings - not even the "best" ending
This is NOT how I pictured my hero would end.
So I'll probably just keep making new profiles and play a little until it gets boring or until they give me MY "right" ending, lol.

[DeadPoolX]

What I meant was, that I don't like ANY of the endings - not even the "best" ending
This is NOT how I pictured my hero would end.
So I'll probably just keep making new profiles and play a little until it gets boring or until they give me MY "right" ending, lol.

Ah... okay. I guess I misunderstood you.

If you really want a better ending, join this group on Facebook. I don't know if it'll work or not, but it'll definitely get exposure.