Mass Effect 3 brings the greatest science fiction series in recent memory to close with emotion and incredible depth, its controversial ending a brilliant finale to BioWare’s three-part opus. The final chapter of the Mass Effect series (although BioWare and EA are promising more to come) has the player creating or continuing their own protagonist, Commander Shepard, as he or she attempts to rally the civilizations of the galaxy to fight back the Reapers, a synthetic race that wipes out sentient organic life every 50,000 years. The story, characters, settings, cultures and ideas presented throughout make Mass Effect one of the most consuming and incredible examples of what storytelling can be. Choices the player has made, starting from the very first game (released back in 2007) effect the outcome of relationships and the story. This is also the first Mass Effect that features multiplayer, but it is limited to a single co-operative mode in which you fight waves of enemies increasing in difficulty. It’s fun, but doesn’t hold a candle to the campaign experience. The ending, which people have been petitioning BioWare to change, is actually one of the most cerebral and mind-blowing finales I have ever witnessed. It’s hard to end a popular series, especially with such a dedicated fanbase, but this one does the series justice, unless you don’t get it.
This article appears in Apr 26 – May 2, 2012.