German gaming magazine Gamestar apparently forgot to read their embargo properly and have scooped the planet by releasing the first Mass Effect 3 review a little early.
So how did they rate possibly the last AAA title they’ll be given early access to?
Well unfortunately it’s not that easy to answer as they don’t seem to wrap up the scores for a final ?/10 but what they did post was the following
Graphics -/10 (waiting to try PC)
Sound 10/10
Balance 9/10
Atmosphere 9/10
Controls -/10 (waiting to try PC)
Complexity 9/10
Quests/Story 10/10
Character system 10/10
Battle system 8/10
Items 9/10
Without a score on controls of graphics makes it pretty hard to get an total overview but it’s looking fantastic with 3 10/10’s and the lowest score being 8/10 for the Battle System confirms that this game is going to be as fantastic as fans had hoped for.
They also listed a few non-spoiler insights that I’ve listed below, any of these really stand out for you?
-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- 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
Apparently the game was reviewed on the PS3 version.
Last Updated: February 27, 2012
