The first Mass Effect 3 review has arrived via German mag Gamestar, which calls the BioWare sequel "the most compelling experience in the franchise yet."
It adds: "In summary, the game builds on the strengths of ME2 and takes some notes from ME1 to create the most compelling experience in the franchise yet."
Here's a full summary of the review, via the Mass Effect forums (possible spoilers):
- 15-20 hour-long main quest
- Around 40 hours playtime in total- side missions are vital to amass enough opposition to the Reaper threat
- 90 minutes of cutscenes
- No loose ends or cliffhangers, the game is truly an appropriate end to the trilogy with a very intense and touching finale
- More than 100 scenes, conversations and/or events change depending on our choices after importing a save-game from ME2- from something small like someone thanking us for completing a mission to bigger repercussions which would be to spoilerous to write down- you are definitely going to feel the consequences, and not always like them
- If and how many of these quests we complete influences how the game ends, and who- individually and globally- survives
- While the game can be enjoyable for newcomers as well, because the game is strong on its own mechanically and story-wise, it is recommended to play the first two entries to make more sense out of the wealth of information that the game builds on
- There's an interesting sequence after the end credits
- The Role-Play mode of the game (In contrast to Action and Story) feels very much like ME1
- The game gives you more opportunity to customize your Shepard. Each class has 8 talents with 6 levels each, and up from Level 4 there are two branches to choose from to level up each individual talent differently. Weapon customization is also a factor and noticeable, but the effects (which have both pros and cons) are only marginal
- Balancing isn't optimal
- The game is noticeably more difficult up from Medium", which makes using the correct weapon mods and talents integral to survive. Shepard also shoots more accurately in cover.
- The AI, on the other hand, is still not very advanced
- There are multiple turret sections which aren't very well directed
- Despite the shortcomings in level design, which are similar to ME2, the game is constantly thrilling, spectacular and dramatic- largely thanks to the well-presented story and dialogue- and there are lot of small and large choices again to ponder on
- Scanning isn't nearly as repetitive as before, because it works a lot quicker now and incorporates a new mini-game where you have to navigate your ship away from Reaper threat
- The new melee option is fun, but a little overpowered
- Graphically, the low polycount, lack of detail and low texture resolution disappoints- the characters are well animated and modeled however, and the overall look, despite its age, is quite moody
- Great dynamic soundtrack and sound-effects
- Our progress in the war effort is constantly trackable on a terminal on the Normandy
BioWare has defended its plans to launch day one Mass Effect 3 DLC, saying the studio finished working on the main game first before moving on to the paid-for add-on content.
Comments
24 comments so far...
gunfighterii on 27 Feb '12 said:
"Graphically, the low polycount, lack of detail and low texture resolution disappoints- the characters are well animated and modeled however, and the overall look, despite its age, is quite moody".....
im sorry did you not play the game? it looks amazing visually
Zero_Raven on 27 Feb '12 said:
Hopefuly it will run smoothly on my PC. Gotta go replay ME2 !
Rock Strongo on 27 Feb '12 said:
I don't know what system to buy this on. I own the PS3 version of ME2, but I hate screen tearing.
ThePflaenz on 27 Feb '12 said:
Sorry to dissapoint you, but it's a Preview. That's what the Word "Vorschau" stands for. And that's the reason why there is no review-score.
sammikid on 27 Feb '12 said:
I played the demo, and visually it was alright, not amazing. Character models seem stiff, and movements aren't fluid or realistic. It does seem a bit dated and this is a newer engine. I'm sure the story will make up for it or atleast I hope it does.
I couldn't get into the previous 2 titles, so sort of given up on the franchise. Plenty other titles out , so lots to keep others preoccupied.
flash501 on 27 Feb '12 said:
goku_ssj_uk on 27 Feb '12 said:
- Scanning isn't nearly as repetitive as before, because it works a lot quicker now and incorporates a new mini-game where you have to navigate your ship away from Reaper threat.
Thank god, still alot better than the buggy missions in ME1 though.
Also who cares about the quality of models? It looks amazing tbh, considering it's on years old hardware.
Lori on 27 Feb '12 said:
GameStar uses scores, but they don't had the balls to rate the game as worlds first. They said "we want to test the pc-version before rating the game."
Its a full test (I read the .pdf of the mag). They have all the "pros and cons" and a summary. everything a tests needs, only without a final rating.
e4matt on 27 Feb '12 said:
AWESOME! Thanks for that info
I will definitely take it to heart when buying the game
RoOhDiNi on 27 Feb '12 said:
It says "Vorschau" meaning preview.
gunfighterii on 27 Feb '12 said:
I couldnt disagree more with you, it was very fluid, the characters wasnt stiff at all the combat is out there with the majority of todays releases.. if you havent played the previous 2 titles through then how can you make a fair evaluation by comparing it to other new releases today.. one cant simply justify criticism over a game or franchise they know nothing about or haven't even played the previous title through....it is a giant improvement from the 1st game and i think thats how players will look at it ;/
budge on 27 Feb '12 said:
I hope the lip syncing is on par with the last two games, it was a tad off in the demo and very off putting for me personally.
dicky1993 on 27 Feb '12 said:
silly cvg saying it's a review
sammikid on 27 Feb '12 said:
I bought and owned the first game (couldn't get into it), played the demo of both the second and third game (going by the fact they release a demo for you to try out and its usually, supposed to sway you into buying them, which neither did) both over 1.5 GB d/l
In my opinion, character models seem, stiff, lifeless and the engine in general seems dated. I gave the franchise more than a chance, maybe its just not for me. There are more technically impressive games out there.
woodins on 27 Feb '12 said:
Thank god I was able to work out how to use "Gibbeds" Mass Effect 2 save editor on the 360 and create a save that had all my ME1 decisions incorporated. If I had to trawl through ME1 for the 900th time, with all the mako sections, levelling to lvl 60, and equipping/using/selling the 300,000 pieces of armour/weapons that would make an African warlord blush, I think I would self-harm. Gave meself plenty of minerals too so I can skip the mining. Roll on next week!!
FemmeFatale on 27 Feb '12 said:
what about the multiplayer? did they mention how terrible the multiplayer component is? the main story is awesome graphics dialogue are amazing but bioware should never have added the multiplayer component to mass effect because it's really awful im getting the game tho because the main story is really a joy to discover & play
Imaduck on 27 Feb '12 said:
PC + a few tweaks and nvidia controller etc. remove any graphical concerns. Personally, I think the first 2 are some of the best looking games, not technically but certainly artistically. Can't wait for this
Sammy_bham on 27 Feb '12 said:
to be honest, if you read each bullet point, its like it has been written by a 12 year old.
fair enough that might be the literal translations but still..
i wouldnt trust this "review " or "preview" if it handed me a copy of me3...
well... maybe i would.
StokedUp on 27 Feb '12 said:
thats classic! somebody teach CVG german
gamerthanh on 27 Feb '12 said:
Cannot wait!
masTerTorch on 28 Feb '12 said:
Thats totally right! Glad someone pointed that out...
paganpurity on 28 Feb '12 said:
just finished the second mass effect. Can't wait to get my hands on this one.
The Bossman on 28 Feb '12 said:
Review my arse. A preview is a preview not a review.
Lori on 29 Feb '12 said:
No Kids, its a Review!!! L2Deutsch!
http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/8333/gsme3.png
(Translation:
Preliminary Review
NO RATING
"Although we could test Mass Effect 3 in full length, we are not going to give a rating. Reason: Electronic Arts only send us the Console-Version. The console-version is content identical to the pc verison but we want to test the controls and tech, before rating the game finally."