Follow TV Tropes

Reviews VideoGame / Mass Effect 3

Go To

slvstrChung Sum Dum Gai Since: Jan, 2001
Sum Dum Gai
05/13/2012 12:10:04 •••

Review: Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer

I enjoyed Mass Effect 1's gameplay, but was not as fond of Mass Effect 2's shift to the Cover-Based Shooter. And while waiting for ME3, I ended up getting into Left 4 Dead in a big way. As a result, I had mixed expectations about ME3's multi.

As it turns out, it's fun.

I enjoy L4D because it's Co Op Multiplayer, which suits Team Moms like me; I like winning, but I have no desire to defeat others. ME3 takes the same approach, plunking you and three other players onto a map to fight off eleven waves of mobs. Waves 3, 6 and 10 have a randomly-assigned objective ("kill 4 specific enemies," "Hold The Line," "Capture two flags"), which adds some variety. Friendly fire is disabled, and I haven't seen much griefing; in fact, my own incompetence was probably the closest anyone got. You have stripped-down versions of the six basic classes, with three powers each; non-human race/class pairs have to be unlocked by Random Drop, and appropriately have better powers. The maps themselves are well-staged and creative, and cover-based shooting actually compliments the biotics and tech powers. Bioware are continuing to release more guns, maps and characters, and hosting weekend events that change the spawn frequency of certain mobs for the next week. Matches can be completed in about 15 minutes, less if you lose. It's fast-paced, exciting and quite enjoyable.

The problem is advancing. Players who have an edge in equipment or classes will gain more kills, EXP and Credits, which gives you an edge in classes and equipment. Without Forced Level Grinding—or Bioware Points—progress will be slow. On top of that, Credits and EXP are awarded only upon completion of a mission. If you get disconnected, you get nothing... and there are no warnings about latency, or options to reconnect. It's pure luck whether you actually get the rewards you've earned.

ME3's multi doesn't have the depth of L4D, and you need at least 20 levels of credits before you can really compete. But you know what? It's fun. Once you've beat the revised endings, give it a shot.

JobanGrayskull Since: Dec, 2011
04/18/2012 00:00:00

I love ME 3 multiplayer. I've always been a sucker for the co-op team thing (I'm also a huge L 4 D fan). I find there's a ton of replayability, what with resetting characters back to level 1 for the war asset bonus and all the unlockable equipment (as frustrating as it gets to open the same old stuff over and over again sometimes). The diversity within character class species is just a bonus.

The big thing I've discovered is that the level grinding isn't that tedious, because as you play and gain skill/better equipment, the Bronze challenges become fairly easy even for a low level character.

I've been playing multiplayer almost non-stop since the game came out. After two campaign playthroughs, I can't take watching the ending anymore but the MP is still fun.

CPFMfan Since: Aug, 2010
05/09/2012 00:00:00

I love the mutliplayer as well, even if it is repetitive and a few parts reek of poor design. Mostly the upgrade system based on Fake Longevity, the balance of classes, and uselessness of a lot of weapons. Still, if you know some people online, or even if you don't, it's a lot of great fun and provides a rather good challenge on the Gold difficulties. And just like in the core game, the weapons and classes are interesting and diverse.

I think the biggest problem might actually be that it makes single player harder to enjoy. I mean besides the fact that multiplayer has several features that singleplayer doesn't (armor modules, rail amps, headshot V Is, shield boosting cells, purchasable ammo, unique melee attacks, passive bonuses, and dashes for races, the DLC guns, etc.), it overall just makes single player feel so easy and underwhelming. Killing six brutes, two banshees, and a couple dozen Marauders on the final battle on Earth seems a hell of a lot less impressive when you and your team do that and more every round on Gold, plus a bazillion Cannibals and generous amounts of Ravagers.

...
MachineMan1992 Since: Sep, 2010
05/13/2012 00:00:00

Plus the system can be broken quite easily. Just level up a Geth engineer (if you have the Resurgence Pack), Level up the turret, Hunter Mode, and Networked AI, then give yourself an upgraded Mantis. Overload slows down enemies long enough to take the shot, and the Mantis is just shy of the Widow in terms of damage.

I cannot count how many matches I dominated using this system.

MIND BULLETS
CPFMfan Since: Aug, 2010
05/13/2012 00:00:00

Are you trying that on Gold difficulty?

...
CPFMfan Since: Aug, 2010

Leave a Comment:

Top