Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Reviewed

New to the Mass Effect series starting with Mass Effect 3 is multiplayer. The multiplayer for Mass Effect 3 consists of Horde Mode Ala Gears of War. If you never heard or read about Horde Mode its a simple Wave Mode where where you and your team cooperatively must destroy waves of attacking enemies. Mass Effect 3's multiplayer is a mash-up of wave mode, snatch and grab, hacking terminals and hold the extraction point all within a ten wave match. Its not that bad really. But its also not going to be the reason why you purchase Mass Effect 3. You bought Mass Effect 3 for its single campaign (I shouldn't have to remind you all of that). The multiplayer is simply a sideshow to the main attraction. Its fun, challenging and diverse enough to definitely warrant some of your time when you decide to take a break from the story campaign.

Classes: When you first log into Mass Effect 3's multiplayer you are immediately enlisted as a N7 Special Ops Team member. Regarding classes much like the single-player campaign you have 6 classes to choose from including: Adept, Soldier, Engineer, Sentinal, Infiltrator and Vanguard. For my class I chose the Vanguard since i already beaten Mass Effect 2 on its most challenging difficulty as a Vanguard. I like the up close and personal approach even if I get killed a few times. Not only that but I anticipated everybody else would either be Adept, Soldier and or a Engineer which ended up being the case. Every match I played nobody choose Vanguard which made my decision more important since classes on teams should have variety since this is strictly a cooperative multiplayer.

Characters in Mass Effect 3's multiplayer are spread out between classes. Each class has a Human (Male) and (Female) who have the exact same default biotics and weapons for each class. There are also two Aliens per class assigned who come equip with different biotics and weapons for default. Unlocking Aliens take XP or can be bought with in-game credits via special Packs in the Store (if you're lucky). Alien characters like i said differ per class and include: Krogan, Quarian, Drell, Tourian, Salarian and Asari. For my character I stuck with my custom Human Male (Vanguard). I had unlocked some of the Alien characters already. It shouldn't take the average gamer that long to do so.

Customizing your character for matches comes next after you choose your class and character. You can change your Primary Color, Highlight Color, Secondary Color, Pattern, Pattern Color and Lights. Some of those options above are locked when you first start playing and become unlocked as you level up. The customization is deep enough so that you can make sure your character doesn't look exactly like everybody else's. My Vanguard turned into some gold colored greenish guy. It looked pretty good actually. I was basically mixing and matching my suit's colors.

Character: This menu breaks down into Powers, Weapons, Appearance, Equipment and Store. You already know what the Appearance section is all about. The Weapon section lets you add mods and set your preferred guns to slots. The guns you have depends on the class and whether or not you unlocked them. The Equipment section of the Character section keeps tracks of all of your perks and equipment. They are called Supplies and my Vanguard had after two matches: Cobra Missile Launcher, Thermal Clip Pack, Ops Survival Pack and Medi-Gel. There are also Bonus slots for the following: Ammo Bonus, Weapon Bonus and Armor Bonus. Consider the latter perks you can activate once in a match.

Maps: Ontaram: Firebase Dagger, Benning: Firebase Chost Tuchanko, Firebase Grant, Cyone: Firebase Reactor, Sanctum: Firebase Glacier, Novevia: Firebase White. And just like with any multiplayer some maps are good and some are not. I'm sure DLC was made before Mass Effect 3 released so we will get new DLC maps over the next few months most likely. The maps are of a base configuration and don't differ that much in design but more in settings.

Make sure you visit the store first so you can get your Starter Pack (free). They also sell Recruit Pack (5000 credits), Veteran Pack (20,000 credits) and Spectre Pack (60,000 credits). You can make at least 10,000 credits each match (I did). The packs are completely random regarding items, perks and weapon mods you receive. The more expensive the pack the better swag you will get no matter what. The Free Pack gave me Thermal Clip Pack (pistol), Medi-Gel, Ops Survival Pack, Sniper Rifle Spare Thermal Clip and a (unlocked) Asari Vanguard. Keep in mind all of the packs are random and you never know what you'll receive but 9 times out of 10 its something you and your team will benefit from while playing. The items and perks you receive can be mapped to your D-pad (Dual Shock 3).

To sum up my matches they have been fun, challenging and diverse. The diversity in Mass Effect 3's multiplayer comes in the form of different objectives WHILE facing waves of enemies. At this point I will say the objectives are randomized to my knowledge for the most part. Objectives that the 4 man/woman team must complete range from hacking terminals (4) and they are scattered around the base. Holding extraction points (usually wave 10). Your team must fend off either Geth, Reaper or Cerburus attack till extraction comes. Regular waves are the bread and butter though and where you rank your XP up. Make sure you stay with your team the entire match and revive them as needed. Stay near ammo crates that are scattered around each base. Know where they are at the beginning of each match.

Mass Effect 3's multiplayer suppose to effect the ending of the single player story campaign. I'm expecting it to be a small impact if anything but I have no real idea since I'm still playing the campaign. The presentation is good for this game's multiplayer. However there are some connection and stuttering problems but no disconnects or freezes to report. Mass Effect 3's multiplayer is a third person over the shoulder shooter. Using your biotics and guns while roll strafing is fun. I am still surprised bioware added multiplayer to a RPG like Mass Effect 3. With that said the multiplayer is decent. It's not the reason you buy Mass Effect 3. It's a sideshow to the main attraction and that's all it is. The main attraction being the single-player story campaign. Thanks for reading.

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Mass Effect 3

Mass Effect 3 is the final chapter in BioWare's epic space opera. The Reaper threat that's loomed over the first two installments in the series comes to fruition in the opening sequence of the trilogy's conclusion. Earth is one of the first systems to fall under siege and it is hit hard. Amidst the carnage, we find series protagonist Shepherd doing his best to survive. He's quickly reinstated by Admiral Anderson and Admiral Hackett (Shepherd was relieved of duty following the aftermath of Mass Effect 2 and its DLC), and he is tasked with unifying the other races in the galaxy in opposition to the Reapers' attack.

In one of the earliest missions, Shepherd is reconnected with former teammate Liara, who has discovered blueprints to a Prothean device that may have the power to destroy the Reapers once and for all. Construction on the device, codenamed "The Crucible," begins right away, and most of the game revolves around Shepherd and the rest of the Normandy's crew seeking out crucial components, especially "The Catalyst," which The Crucible won't function without.

On top of all this, Shepherd is battling an old ally in the form of the pro-human organization Cerberus. Their leader, the Illusive Man, is hell-bent on controlling the Reapers instead of destroying them, and is in search of The Catalyst as well, to promote this goal. If this weren't enough, many of the galaxy's other sentient races are reluctant to divert resources in the defense of the humans, forcing Shepherd to assist them in various ways to earn their promises of assistance against the Reapers attacking Earth.

One of the most satisfying aspects of ME3is its fan service. Throughout the course of the game you'll not only encounter nearly every notable character from the first two games, you'll finally get closure to many of the recurring issues throughout the course of the series. For instance, whether or not to cure the Krogan genophage once and for all, or who to assist when the Quarians start a war with the Geth are just a couple of the decisions you'll have to make as you prepare a galaxy for war.

Overall gameplay is very similar to previous Mass Effect titles, incorporating a combination of space exploration and third person shooting. The exploring and resource gathering has been shifted away from the tedious planet scanning from the first title, and instead uses a system not unlike sonar. A ping is sent out from the Normandy, and if there's anything notable in the area it's highlighted on the navigation map. Watch out though, too many pings and the Reapers will come to investigate the source of the scans, forcing you to flee the system for a time. Resources you gather go to the war effort, and your diligence in this matter will determine the Alliance fleet's overall battle readiness.

As far as the shooting sequences go, the cover system has been improved, making it easier to advance on targets without exposing yourself to too much enemy fire. The friendly AI seems smarter, taking up flanking positions automatically and doing a fair job of protecting themselves. Enemy AI is similarly improved. They use their cover smartly, and some units will try to fall back if you charge forward for a melee attack, or attempt to outflank you if you hold one position for too long. This makes some of the enemies quite formidable, especially on the hard difficulty setting. In the end though, these are only tweaks to already established gameplay. If you enjoyed the firefights in ME2, you'll find more of the same here, just smarter and sometimes on a grander scale.

The only real gripe I have with the game is the ending. In fact, after hearing several complaints about Mass Effect 3's conclusion, I was half tempted to write this review before finishing the game. With 25+ hours in, I had a pretty high opinion of the experience to that point and didn't want to tarnish that. I thought better of it however, and went ahead and finished the game. Although it wasn't as bad as I had prepared myself for it to be, it was disappointing. Ultimately this had to do with the stunted, cookie-cutter closing cinematic however, and not a deficiency in the nature of the ending itself.

If you haven't played a Mass Effect game before, this is probably not the place to start. In fact if you haven't played a Mass Effect game before, I'm surprised you've made it to this paragraph. All this talk of Reapers and Quarians, Krogans and Crucibles must be dizzying. If you're a PS3 owner you should start with ME2, as it eases you into the mythology of the game at an easy to digest pace. Also because the first Mass Effect title was, and still is, exclusive to the 360.

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