Game Review | Mass Effect 3 on Steam

Mass Effect III is one of the best critically received games of all time. It over-performs in all aspects of video gaming and has an engaging storyline. Timely animations, huge spaceships, blossoming romance, serious gunfights, gruesome aliens, neat graphics, vibrant colors, multiple gaming modes, and lively scenic backgrounds, all of it makes Mass Effect III stand out from the crowd of other video games. To top it off, 100% control over the character’s physical and psychological customization plus its story adds to flare the role-playing feature, thus, making Mass Effect III one of the best games of all times.

Mass Effect III is the third installment in Mass Effect online video game series. The series was developed by BioWare, Edge of Reality, Demiurge Studios and Straight Right and published by Microsoft Games in 2007. Mass Effect III was developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts in 2012. The game has been released on multiple platforms such as Play Station 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and Wii U. However, it has not yet been released on Steam.

Table I: Overview of Game Features: Mass Effect III

Mass Effect III & Steam

While the previous two installations in the Mass Effect series are being hosted at the Steam platform, the third installation despite pressing demand from customers has not yet been hosted by the Steam platform. One of the many speculated reasons for this delay could be the launch of Origin by Electronic Arts (EA). Origin is a platform that works exactly the way Steam does and earns money by hosting video games provided by various developers and publishers. Since Electronic Arts have now launched their own dedicated platform for hosting popular video games and publishing their own, they might have refused to let Steam host the third installment of Mass Effect III. This is also probably the reason why other Electronic Arts (EA) label games and titles have been removed from the Steam platform. To sum it up, basically, both the publishers’ Valve and Electronic Arts (EA) now have their own platforms; Steam and Origin respectively. They have become independent of needing each other to publish and market a game and earn profits as it suits them. However, the chances that maybe someday Electronic Arts (EA) would let Steam publish Mass Effect III are still present even though they are bleak.

Mass Effect III Review | GamePlay & Storyline

Mass Effect III is a third-person shooter and an action role-playing game. The gameplay requires new users to choose from 6 character types provided and select specifications about their character accordingly. These include the type of action and role-play controls they will have as well as their background story. However, players who had been previously playing other Mass Effect games in the installment can import their surviving characters into the third game. This will, however, alter the story of their game because of the decisions made in the past by their character would obviously impact his future timeline. The game also provides players a chance to add their friends by selecting the multiplayer mode or they can play by themselves in single-player mode.

Players can select the difficulty level of combat and adjust their conversation medium such as dialogue boxes. The appearance of a character can also be customized at players’ discretion or it can be used as it is. Other specifications that need to be set include selecting the type of physical enhancements for your character. The game has multiple options such as Vanguard, Engineer, Soldier, and infiltrator, etc. Players can select any one of them depending on the type of combat abilities they wish to use in the game. Once done with physical abilities, the players are supposed to choose a psychological profile for their character from the options provided. Once a player selects the character and its specifications, the game starts to roll out the events. Mass Effect III’s story revolves around human beings combating alien invasion throughout the game and saving lives.

The gameplay is filled with extensive options allowing players to customize the character as much as they want thus empowering and putting control in the hands of the player. Additionally, though the story feels like a clichéd one, the roll-out of events and the emotional backdrop really keeps the players hooked on to the game.

Graphics, Realism, Visuals, Animation & Sounds

When it comes down to rating the game on these four criteria, it’s a 10/10 from our side. This is because the game offers ultra high definition (UHD) view of characters and has evenly-smoothed out pixels. Moreover, the background scores correspond to the situation at hand perfectly infusing the emotions into the characters and even players as needed by the situation. The visual quality induces realism into the game. It appears as if the person is playing a 3D virtual reality (VR) game and adequately paced animation just serves as the cherry on the top.

All in all, Mass Effect III is an outstanding game when it comes down to these features and the team behind creating characters, game designing, music composition, direction, art incorporation, and programming seriously deserves a round of applause.

Replay Value

Mass Effect III is a high in demand game with an average user spending 24 hours round the clock to finish it off. The game has been played multiple times by users across various platforms in both single-player and multiplayer mode. Users have reported playing the sequel of series and replaying the series for up to a maximum of 130 hours which is just too much for any game.

However, once a player starts playing Mass Effect III, it doesn’t really sound like too much. The game is just awesome and pays off replay value too; it is not just a one-off game. The story and sound effects of Mass Effect III form an emotional connection with the players, thus encouraging them to replay it as many times over as they want.