GB Feature: Mass Effect 3 Review
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Fans who felt Mass Effect 2 took away too much of the RPG character building will be happy to learn that this aspect of Mass Effect 3 has been improved, although with a few caveats. Although experience points, discrete hit points, shields, and even encumbrance have all been added back in (all the classes and most of the powers remain the same since the last game), their inclusion doesn't exactly turn Mass Effect 3 into a traditional role-playing game either, as many of these changes are aesthetic more than functional. The biggest improvement comes in the ability to choose special bonuses for powers as they level up, rather than simply as a final bonus once fully upgraded, and this is welcome (do you want, say, squad benefits or solo benefits? power effect radius or damage?), but at the end of the day Mass Effect 3 is still very accessible and streamlined even for players who have never touched an RPG-like game before.
The real difference, in my mind, comes in the changes to enemy behavior. No longer do foes simply duck behind walls and take pot-shots at Shepard and friends - they will constantly attempt to flank, use covering fire, and throw grenades to flush you out of hiding. Many enemies also have access to special abilities, from smoke grenades that make it hard to target them, to placing powerful sentry turrets, to even instantly lethal melee attacks if they catch you with your back turned. What's more, two powerful new enemies, the Brute and Banshee, require huge amounts of firepower to take down, and the presence of one or two is enough to completely change the tactics necessary for a fight, whether it's dodging the massive Brute's powerful charge attacks, or quickly ducking out of the way of the Banshee's biotic blasts. Simply put, combat is faster and more dynamic, and sticking to the old strategies will get you killed quickly.
