When it comes to the LE, the gameplay of ME 3 is mostly the same as the base game. All this version does is take out the multiplayer and Galactic Readiness rating. Your GR rating in the base game helped determine what endings you could get, and was increased by playing the multiplayer mode. The higher your GR, the more endings you had access to. While there is also a website that you can visit to raise your GR, it's a slow process. LE cut out the middleman and simply made the War Assets you acquire in-game the sole determining factor in what endings you get.
Beyond that nothing else really changed. The combat system is an evolution of ME 2's this time rather than a complete overhaul. The level cap has expanded, as have the power branches. You get a few more powers this time around, including class-specific grenades. You can also access any weapon type on any class now, though technically you could do that in LE ME 1. The major determining factor in what weapons you use this time are their weight. Each class has a set weight capacity, and the more you go over it the longer it takes your powers to recharge. Conversely, the lower under it you go the faster they recharge. This is important for this game in particular because of the introduction of power combos.
Power combos occur when one power primes an enemy with a particular damage type, and a follow-up power detonates it. These cause an incredible amount of damage and are basically the key to surviving higher difficulties. What's neat about them is that certain powers can be double as primers and detonators. For example, you can use Overload to prime a tech burst, detonate it with Warp, which will also prime a Biotic Explosion that can be detonated with Throw. Chaining together combos like this is a great way to clear out enemies quickly. It also rewards experimentation as you determine which powers are good for set-up and which are good for pay-offs. And hey, if you ever get tired of using them you can always switch to focusing on guns.
The upgrade system this time is a hybrid of ME 1 and ME 2. Guns can be upgraded to higher levels, but they also have two slots that you can use to upgrade certain stats. There's only one of each upgrade item, but they can level up as well. For example, if you find a shotgun choke in one mission and then find another in a later mission that new one will be of a higher level than the first. This makes upgrade hunting genuinely worthwhile this time.
Overall, the combat in ME 3 is the best of the trilogy. It's exciting, dynamic, and full of surprising depth. Unfortunately while the combat is a major step forward, the same cannot be said for the story.
Generally the criticisms towards ME 3's story stem from the ending. And while I agree that it is the worst example of the story's flaws, the truth is that the cracks were starting to show long before that. The biggest problem is that the game feels rushed, both in terms of its pacing and its development. Coming out roughly a year after the release of ME 2 that's not a huge surprise, but it is a disappointment. But let's dive a little deeper. Be warned, there will be spoilers from here on out.
Early in the game you're tasked with getting the Krogans to support the Turians in the war against the Reapers. The krogan refuse to do so unless they are cured of a sterility plague called the Genophage. The topic of a cure for the Genophage was addressed in ME 2, with the scientist examining it saying it would take several years to develop. Well apparently not only was it actually finished back in ME 2, now it's only a few days away from being viable for the entire planet. No explanation is given for this unprecedented turnaround.
My point in all of this is that a lot of the plot operates this way. We're just supposed to accept that this stuff is happening even if it doesn't make much sense. The ending isn't where the game suddenly stops being good, it's where all the flaws come together and become to great to be ignored.
So let's talk about that ending. I'll be referring exclusively to the Extended Cut, since that DLC was free for all (or included automatically in LE). We finally manage to construct the Crucible and get to its control center. It's there that we meet the Catalyst, an AI that was responsible for both the creation of the Reapers and the plans for the Crucible. It was created millions of years ago to find a way to stop the cycle of organic beings being killed by the AI lifeforms they created. Its solution was to create the Reapers, AI lifeforms that cyclically kill organic beings. There's some lip service to the idea that because Reapers are created from the genetic code of the races they kill that the species is somehow preserved, but that's just a load of hogwash.
What makes things worse is that the Catalyst also designed the Crucible which is apparently meant to replace the Reapers as a solution by either destroying them, allowing someone else to take control of them, or by fusing all life in the galaxy with technology and blurring the lines between AI and flesh that the two cannot be separated. In fact, when this solution is available the Catalyst highly encourages you to take it. But that just raises one big question: why bother with the Reapers to begin with if the Crucible could do this? If a permanent solution is within its grasp, why did it waste millions of years on a stopgap?
I could go on, but so many others already have. The issue that really lies at the heart of things is this: the endings available simply do not match the themes and ideas the trilogy had been going for. The ending claims that the core theme of this series was the inevitable clash between our creations and ourselves, and how it can only be solved through becoming one and the same. That doesn't track. The conflict with the krogan can only loosely be made to fit that framework, and the conflict with the Reapers doesn't fit it at all. No one living created the Reapers, they're an older race's mess that we're stuck cleaning up. They initiate the conflict every time, we only respond in self-defense. The only tie it really has to the existing story is the Quarian-Geth conflict, and even that can be resolved peacefully. In fact, I would argue that the main theme of the series is building bridges between disparate communities. Whether you pick Paragon or Renegade options, Shepard seeks out others and recruits them to their cause. This has been true on an individual level since the first game, and the bulk of the third transitions this to a galactic level. But suddenly this all gets thrown out in favor of an idea that has only been vaguely alluded to and the DLC had to bend over backwards to crowbar into the earlier parts of the game. The questions about our relationship with artificial lifeforms are interesting ones, but they aren't and never have been the driving force of the trilogy. This ending is completely wrong-headed.
Apparently the game's director and the head writer came up with this ending and shut out the rest of the writing team from contributing to this part. That does explain some things, as I believe the other writers would have spoken up about how this doesn't work. I'm going to be generous and assume this was done due to the time constraints of this game's release schedule and not out of actual malice. But that just demonstrates my main point through all of this: the writing process of this game was rushed, and the end result suffered for it. Mass Effect 3 had a great opportunity, and it was squandered by mismanagement.
Is the story irredeemable? No. I do think the Quarian/Geth War portion holds up and the Krogan arc has some great ideas and setpieces. I think the character work in this one remains brilliant, and the added shipboard conversations between different squadmates was a great way to continue fleshing out these characters and understand their relationships with each other. The character writing that has always been BioWare's greatest strength is upheld here. But the plot is one of their weakest ever, and the ending leaves a sour taste in my mouth whenever I reach it. No matter how good the gameplay has become, the fact is that the Mass Effect trilogy ends not with a bang, but a whimper.
Legendary Edition: A Frustratingly Inconsistant Conclusion
When it comes to the LE, the gameplay of ME 3 is mostly the same as the base game. All this version does is take out the multiplayer and Galactic Readiness rating. Your GR rating in the base game helped determine what endings you could get, and was increased by playing the multiplayer mode. The higher your GR, the more endings you had access to. While there is also a website that you can visit to raise your GR, it's a slow process. LE cut out the middleman and simply made the War Assets you acquire in-game the sole determining factor in what endings you get.
Beyond that nothing else really changed. The combat system is an evolution of ME 2's this time rather than a complete overhaul. The level cap has expanded, as have the power branches. You get a few more powers this time around, including class-specific grenades. You can also access any weapon type on any class now, though technically you could do that in LE ME 1. The major determining factor in what weapons you use this time are their weight. Each class has a set weight capacity, and the more you go over it the longer it takes your powers to recharge. Conversely, the lower under it you go the faster they recharge. This is important for this game in particular because of the introduction of power combos.
Power combos occur when one power primes an enemy with a particular damage type, and a follow-up power detonates it. These cause an incredible amount of damage and are basically the key to surviving higher difficulties. What's neat about them is that certain powers can be double as primers and detonators. For example, you can use Overload to prime a tech burst, detonate it with Warp, which will also prime a Biotic Explosion that can be detonated with Throw. Chaining together combos like this is a great way to clear out enemies quickly. It also rewards experimentation as you determine which powers are good for set-up and which are good for pay-offs. And hey, if you ever get tired of using them you can always switch to focusing on guns.
The upgrade system this time is a hybrid of ME 1 and ME 2. Guns can be upgraded to higher levels, but they also have two slots that you can use to upgrade certain stats. There's only one of each upgrade item, but they can level up as well. For example, if you find a shotgun choke in one mission and then find another in a later mission that new one will be of a higher level than the first. This makes upgrade hunting genuinely worthwhile this time.
Overall, the combat in ME 3 is the best of the trilogy. It's exciting, dynamic, and full of surprising depth. Unfortunately while the combat is a major step forward, the same cannot be said for the story.
Generally the criticisms towards ME 3's story stem from the ending. And while I agree that it is the worst example of the story's flaws, the truth is that the cracks were starting to show long before that. The biggest problem is that the game feels rushed, both in terms of its pacing and its development. Coming out roughly a year after the release of ME 2 that's not a huge surprise, but it is a disappointment. But let's dive a little deeper. Be warned, there will be spoilers from here on out.
Early in the game you're tasked with getting the Krogans to support the Turians in the war against the Reapers. The krogan refuse to do so unless they are cured of a sterility plague called the Genophage. The topic of a cure for the Genophage was addressed in ME 2, with the scientist examining it saying it would take several years to develop. Well apparently not only was it actually finished back in ME 2, now it's only a few days away from being viable for the entire planet. No explanation is given for this unprecedented turnaround.
My point in all of this is that a lot of the plot operates this way. We're just supposed to accept that this stuff is happening even if it doesn't make much sense. The ending isn't where the game suddenly stops being good, it's where all the flaws come together and become to great to be ignored.
So let's talk about that ending. I'll be referring exclusively to the Extended Cut, since that DLC was free for all (or included automatically in LE). We finally manage to construct the Crucible and get to its control center. It's there that we meet the Catalyst, an AI that was responsible for both the creation of the Reapers and the plans for the Crucible. It was created millions of years ago to find a way to stop the cycle of organic beings being killed by the AI lifeforms they created. Its solution was to create the Reapers, AI lifeforms that cyclically kill organic beings. There's some lip service to the idea that because Reapers are created from the genetic code of the races they kill that the species is somehow preserved, but that's just a load of hogwash.
What makes things worse is that the Catalyst also designed the Crucible which is apparently meant to replace the Reapers as a solution by either destroying them, allowing someone else to take control of them, or by fusing all life in the galaxy with technology and blurring the lines between AI and flesh that the two cannot be separated. In fact, when this solution is available the Catalyst highly encourages you to take it. But that just raises one big question: why bother with the Reapers to begin with if the Crucible could do this? If a permanent solution is within its grasp, why did it waste millions of years on a stopgap?
I could go on, but so many others already have. The issue that really lies at the heart of things is this: the endings available simply do not match the themes and ideas the trilogy had been going for. The ending claims that the core theme of this series was the inevitable clash between our creations and ourselves, and how it can only be solved through becoming one and the same. That doesn't track. The conflict with the krogan can only loosely be made to fit that framework, and the conflict with the Reapers doesn't fit it at all. No one living created the Reapers, they're an older race's mess that we're stuck cleaning up. They initiate the conflict every time, we only respond in self-defense. The only tie it really has to the existing story is the Quarian-Geth conflict, and even that can be resolved peacefully. In fact, I would argue that the main theme of the series is building bridges between disparate communities. Whether you pick Paragon or Renegade options, Shepard seeks out others and recruits them to their cause. This has been true on an individual level since the first game, and the bulk of the third transitions this to a galactic level. But suddenly this all gets thrown out in favor of an idea that has only been vaguely alluded to and the DLC had to bend over backwards to crowbar into the earlier parts of the game. The questions about our relationship with artificial lifeforms are interesting ones, but they aren't and never have been the driving force of the trilogy. This ending is completely wrong-headed.
Apparently the game's director and the head writer came up with this ending and shut out the rest of the writing team from contributing to this part. That does explain some things, as I believe the other writers would have spoken up about how this doesn't work. I'm going to be generous and assume this was done due to the time constraints of this game's release schedule and not out of actual malice. But that just demonstrates my main point through all of this: the writing process of this game was rushed, and the end result suffered for it. Mass Effect 3 had a great opportunity, and it was squandered by mismanagement.
Is the story irredeemable? No. I do think the Quarian/Geth War portion holds up and the Krogan arc has some great ideas and setpieces. I think the character work in this one remains brilliant, and the added shipboard conversations between different squadmates was a great way to continue fleshing out these characters and understand their relationships with each other. The character writing that has always been BioWare's greatest strength is upheld here. But the plot is one of their weakest ever, and the ending leaves a sour taste in my mouth whenever I reach it. No matter how good the gameplay has become, the fact is that the Mass Effect trilogy ends not with a bang, but a whimper.