Here's a wacky thought: Tell me what you DO like about Mass Effect 3.

[drh1975]

It seems like I can't go a week without hearing someone complaining about Mass Effect 3. Just for a change of pace, let's talk about the things we do like about the game. Here are a few of my favorites:
1. Interactions between characters. Garrus and Joker trading one-liners in the cockpit was a much-needed dose of humor after the last mission on Tuchanka.
2. Javik. If you want to know why I like him, take him with you to Thessia and listen to his reactions to Liara's comments. For example, Liara mentions the goddess Athame's guide who taught the asari mathematics, to which Javik responds, "You could only count as high as your toes. We took pity."
3. Shepard finally learned to speak for himself. My little boy's all grown up. I'm so proud of him.
4. The emotion. Ashley's "I don't want you to go" before the final push to the Citadel broke my heart. Joker's crack about the asari wishing they had more commandoes than dancers made want to hit him. Tali's drunken comments abut Miranda made me laugh.
5. The new ending. I won't spoil anything, but I liked it.
Your turn.

 

[Saviordd1]

Pretty much that, plus the new combat and locations, then again I'm a fanboy for the series so maybe I don't count xD

 

[FalloutJack]

Funny story: I don't have a problem with ME3. That's other people, and I'm not people.

 

[Korten12]

uhhhhh, everything other than the ending?

When it comes to ME3, pretty much the only complaints you'll hear are about the ending.
[sub](Well, unless you've been listening to Zeel or something.)[/sub]

Is Zeel still around or did he go poof?

 

[Black Arrow Officer]

I liked Rannoch a lot. It was great to be side-by-side with Tali again, blasting away at Geth troopers while learning some interesting new lore about the Geth/Quarian conflict, and how the Reapers are connected. I also thought the planet itself was really pretty. It reminded me of Earth a lot, and I freakin' love our planet. The final Reaper confrontation really had me on my toes as well.

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

Funny story: I don't have a problem with ME3. That's other people, and I'm not people.

I have to agree with you. The EC fixed all the issues I had with the ending, and the ending was the only real complaint I had.

 

[Zhukov]

Pretty much all of it.

The only parts where it really fell apart for me were the Rannoch climax and the ending.

The EC fixed a lot of my issues with the ending. It didn't make it good, but it made it good enough that I no longer hate it.

 

[OpticalJunction]

Why is every 5th thread on this forum about bioware/mass effect??

Anyway. Grunt. and Wrex. Two of the best characters in any game. I pretty much enjoyed everything about the game though except for the ending, which they fixed.

 

[Hawkeye 131]

+ Graphics are a slight improvement
+ Majority of animations are well done
+ AMAZING soundtrack and in-game audio effects (weapons, powers, VO)
+ Excellent balance of weapons, power systems and customization/rpg elements
+ Squad banter and interactions
+ Geth & Genophage story arcs
+ Cool side quests, (Ex-Cerberus Scientists, Grissom Academy, Ardat-Yakshi Monastery, Tuchanka Bomb etc...)
+ Fun main missions, ( Priority Mars, Priority Citadel II, Priority Sur'Kesh)
+ *Some* choices and consequences are very interesting
+ Multiple sets of armor for squad mates
+ Weapon weight and power cooldown mechanic
+ Achievements that can be unlocked via SP and/or MP
+ A useful and detailed map
+ Some character deaths were well done (Mordin)
+ Normandy hanger bay
+ Atlas Mech
+ Conrad Verner
+ Liara's time capsule
+ Branching skill tree's
+ Very few bugs, mostly graphical
+ Finally, two openly gay characters!
+ Multiplayer is fun and offers lots of variety

My problem with Mass Effect 3 is the list of things that I enjoyed is VASTLY outweighed by the things that I did not like. Mass Effect 3 as a whole is a failure in my mind. I don't want to go all negative Nancy here but yeah... Mass disapointment.

 

[Lawlhat]

Basically all of it, I guess?

I mean the ending was bad from a narrative standpoint, there's no getting around that, but between the EC and the fact that I don't get worked up about stuff like video games, I found it to be perfectly tolerable.

 

[eimatshya]

uhhhhh, everything other than the ending?

When it comes to ME3, pretty much the only complaints you'll hear are about the ending.
[sub](Well, unless you've been listening to Zeel or something.)[/sub]

Actually there were a lot of things about ME3 that I, as well as many other people on the Bioware boards, complained about; the ending was just the most egregious example. But this thread isn't about complaining so...

I really liked the music in ME3. I liked the music in all three of the games, but some of the pieces in ME3 really stood out for me (such as Leaving Earth and an End Once and For All).

Spoiler: ME3 Music

I really liked the scene with Shepard and Garrus shooting bottles together. I don't even particularly like Garrus, so the fact that the scene got to me as much as it did (i.e. a lot) is a testament to how well done it was. I can only imagine how great it must have been for Garrus fans.

I never really had anyone to try the multiplayer with (and didn't want to play with strangers), but I did try it a few times in a private game with only me, and I must say it was pretty fun. I always play the single player with Shepard as a Soldier, and the multiplayer let me try out the other classes. I really had a blast rocketing around as a vanguard. I found myself playing really aggressively, which is the opposite of how I usually play as a soldier.

The parts on Menae and Tuchanka were probably my favorite segments of the main story.

I also really liked the brief segments with Kasumi and Jack (two of my favorite characters)

Giving EDI relationship advice was pretty cute

Samantha Traynor was my favorite of the new characters. I wish your relationship with her (whether romantic or platonic) could have been expanded some.

Finally,

Spoiler: Possibly very minor ending spoilers

Shepard's dialogue with Anderson after defeating the Illusive Man was beautiful, especially in its uncut form.

Martin Sheen's performance as the Illusive Man in the final confrontation was also really, really good.

That's all I can think of off of the top of my head...

*EDIT*
Oh yeah, and the scene in your quarters where you talk with Liara about her time capsule and how you want to be remembered was really, really good too. Probably tied with the shooting bottle scene for my favorite from the game.

 

[Erttheking]

I have no problems besides the ending, that's why it pisses me off so much.

 

[The_Lost_King]

Everything other than the ending. It is the best Mass Effect game. It has the best combat, leveling system, and it has the best characters as squadmates(except for legion they replace him with edi . ). It had the worst ending though.

 

[Rack]

I don't want to bring too much negativity here, but with everyone saying "everything except the ending" I have to say the ending wasn't even the worst of ME3. Cerberus, Kai-Leng in particular , the dream sequences and the whole catalyst story easily beat that out.

Anyway the good bits. The Krogan storyline was great, except for the stupid way Cerberus shoehorned their way in. The last section was amazing until of course the stupid dream sequence ruined any sense of pathos whatsoever. Still the highs were great and the lows weren't that bad.

Rannoch wasn't as good, but it was also less stupid. Just a great sequence throughout and a real payoff to everything that happened before it.

 

[Ruedyn]

The sex, and the amount of. One of the first games I played to take my penis into account.

None sarcastic answer, everything about Garrus.

 

[BathorysGraveland]

Pretty much the whole thing. I loved it, even the ending (the extended cut was a great way to finish a trilogy). About the only real gripe I had with Mass Effect 3 that I can think of, is the sometimes unresponsive team mates in combat. There were several times I almost quit in frustration because my squad wouldn't move where I told them, or they'd stand out in the middle and get themselves taken out, in which I then have to rush over to them amidst a hail of gunfire to save them and get myself destroyed in the process. The combat didn't quite feel as stable and smooth as Mass Effect 2's combat.

But besides that little gripe which only reared its ugly head occasionally, it was a blast. The whole trilogy was some of the most fun I've ever had. Oh, yeah, I just remembered. The horrible journal system. Why they changed it from Mass Effect 2's fine journal system, I'll never know. I wasn't too keen on the whole 'picking up side quests from overhearing people talk' thing either, but that is just small stuff I guess.

But as for things I liked, well everything else really. The story is obviously top notch, and in my opinion that includes the (extended) ending. Gameplay, besides those small gripes, is mostly great and fluid, and quite fun. I even enjoyed the little Cerberus battle-side missions. The characters were great - the new ones, mostly Javik, were really good and fit into the older cast quite well. I liked how everyone from Mass Effect 2 had important roles to play, though I missed having a Krogan in the team.

 

[lycanthrope008]

Honestly I enjoyed the game from beginning to end even before EC. I have no complaints about the story it was excellent, combat was good, and the geth and genophage stories ended nicely. Character deaths felt painful because of all of time you spent with them in game. Sorry for the splurge but again I can't complain about it.

 

[TheScientificIssole]

Is Zeel still around or did he go poof?

He got banned. What he's up to now, I have no idea.

If anyone missed them, you can still find threads that he posted in that make for good reading.

I MISSED THIS! This is a train wreck, and I love it! And I love you for posting these wonderful relics of a long lost Doosh.
Ending Spoilers ahead:

Spoiler

I love Mass Effect 3 and, I kinda love the endings. In the Control ending, Shepard uses the power of his will, conviction and human spirit to control the reapers. It is what the series built up to. In synthesis, you become the ultimate wing-man. You sacrifice yourself so Joker can get some booty, and those Geth can get to integrating.

 

[CrazyDave DC]

Everything but the ending. And yes, I'm talking about the extended cut as well; it improved the previous one, but not by much. They had a glorious opportunity to go out with a definite Indoctrination Theory ending, but they decided on another 'open for interpretation' pile of crap that neither confirms nor denies IT. As pointless as the extended cut was, I did enjoy the surprise ending they added because that came out of nowhere and was definitely not what I intended to happen.