I'm not going to go into details about the ending, so this should remain spoiler-free, for those who haven't played it yet. All I will say is that I was very disappointed with how ME3 ended, and it does negatively impact the full experience, but as a whole, it's still great.
I think my rankings are ME1 > ME3 > ME2. ME1 has a special place with me in the same way MGS1 does, so while it might suffer from technical issues, it's still the most creative, ambitious, and all around greatest game in the series.
Things I liked from ME3:
- Bringing back EXP during missions was a good call. The RPG elements in general are a welcome addition after ME2 got rid of them for no reason!
- Level design is much improved from ME2. The areas you visit feel more like actual locations instead of hallways with crates. The most noticeable improvement is the Citadel, which is much more in line with ME1 over ME2's small, segmented areas.
- Garrus is too awesome.
- I was surprised at how well they handled uniting the races. I was worried you would be solving really personal problems like ME2, which would have been silly in the face of the Reapers. While you still have to sort out differences, they're fairly important issues, so that was good. They flowed well, too, so there wasn't an abrupt transition between them.
- Commander Shepard is the man. (Male Shep always)
- There are some great character moments throughout the game, but I felt like the conversations were a little lacking. Seemed like there were less 'major' conversations in favor of a few lines. Talking about the Normandy here, in particular.
- Soundtrack was great. It wasn't quite as good overall as ME1, but the high points are very high. An End and Earth are the two best songs in the series, probably.
So yeah, good game. People disliking the ending are justified in feeling that way, but everything else was good. I think that's why the ending has gotten so much attention, because it's the one part of the game that's really disappointing.
-- "When I was a young man, I had liberty, but I did not see it. I had time, but I did not know it."
It seems like there are fewer character moments, sure, but consider that there are only three Garrus conversations in the entirety of ME2 unless you romance him, and you'll realize we got a lot more overall, just in smaller doses.
I do wish there were more dialogue wheels and all, but I think ME3 did a better job of keeping everyone fresh with something to say than the other games did. Just had to give up a little to get a little more. Thane and Legion are the only ME2 characters who feel like they have a lot to say if you don't romance them.
ME3 is an overall amazing experience with an admittedly unsatisfying resolution. Still might be best of this generation though!
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"I couldn't stand a day without a past or future. I need to live each moment to keep fighting here and now."
Garrus definitely had more conversations than everyone else, who mostly had a few lines before repeating. The major conversations were good, though, and I liked the individual moments each character had on the Normandy.
Ending... Message Detail.
-- "When I was a young man, I had liberty, but I did not see it. I had time, but I did not know it."
Yeah, I thought it was really good, very definitive with all its story arcs, even at the cost of making the universe less interesting by solving space Isreal/Palestine twice over.
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You know who's sexy? Black Turtle, the 2010 Games Contest Guru Winner, that's who!
After my first playthrough I had it at 3 > 2 > 1, but after doing my second playthrough, and not having the heart to finish it because of the impending disappointment I was about to experience all over again, I stopped. With that being said, I can't rate 3 over 2. So my final rankings of the trilogy is 2 > 3 > 1.
It's still outstanding if you subscribe to the major theory tbqh
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If you wake up at a different time, in a different place, could you wake up as a different person? [HERO'S PLUNGE] http://img.imgcake.com/finegifdy.gif
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If you wake up at a different time, in a different place, could you wake up as a different person? [HERO'S PLUNGE] http://img.imgcake.com/finegifdy.gif
i'm still pretty early on in the game, about to go to tuchanka
i don't get the whole garrus thing
he was really lame in 1 (unless he was cooler if you took him places, but he made such a terrible first impression that i never brought him anywhere) and then in 2 he shows up as a badass all of a sudden and he and shepard are bros but i never really bought it because he sucked too bad in 1
FFDragon posted... It's still outstanding if you subscribe to the major theory tbqh
I watched this video. It doesn't actually make the ending any better, it just tries to explain what might have occurred during it. Like, there is still zero closure, even less than before, but I suppose it supports the real ending being DLC. It also tries to explain things that can more easily be looked at as BioWare glossing over details, much like they've done many times throughout the series. Why does your weapon have infinite ammo? Because what happens if you go through all of it? Do you auto-lose? Easier to just remove that possibility for what is essentially a cutscene.
-- "When I was a young man, I had liberty, but I did not see it. I had time, but I did not know it."
Yeah, the video goes way overboard in trying to explain some things that don't need explaining, but the general theory is interesting, as long as Bioware actually does something with it.
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"I couldn't stand a day without a past or future. I need to live each moment to keep fighting here and now."
Yeah, I'm not totally against it, because there were some interesting points made, but I don't think this was actually their plan. Need to see the DLC!
-- "When I was a young man, I had liberty, but I did not see it. I had time, but I did not know it."