Mass Effect 3 - Extended Cut Released on Xbox 360 and PC

I dunno, I like the new endings-- even the refusal. Makes a lot of sense, actually. The further explanation was much appreciated, and needed. Man I wish they'd keep making more games with these characters... I know they're going to continue the universe in some way, but I'm afraid we're going to be stuck playing the Protheans or some Cerberus shooter crap.
 
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Just out of interest (in case anyone hates multiplayer like I do) it seems the Extended cut lowers the required EMS to get all the endings to 3100, which is apparently achievable without playing multiplayer.

I don't think you ever needed to play multiplayer. If you didn't play multiplayer, you just needed to do most/all the quests. I did all the quests anyway and didn't have a problem.

As for the refusal ending that people are talking about - I think it makes sense personally. Some people thought that refusing would lead to another option. I think, agree or not with the game, that you see that the crucible + catalyst were the only option. There is no plan B. Refusing to do those would definitely mean the reapers win. I can't see anything else making sense (within the story Bioware created).
 
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I think they did a good job with this overall.

The final conversation is significantly better now since: a) one of the added exposition bits clearly allows for reading some of the inconsistencies/contradictions as something "in-character", as opposed to writers´ failure, b) Shepard is no longer forced to take the sketchy and questionable exposition resignedly at face value, now it´s possible to demand more info and reject each choice specifically, plus there´s a new pretty neat way how to end the game, c) the added exposition makes the blue and green choices at least somewhat comprehensible, previously these were pretty much equal to shooting in the dark.

The three main endings now provide more closure and clarity (I´m pretty sure some of these "clarifications" are in fact at odds with the intent in the original, but that´s irrelevant now) both from the setting´s and characters´ perspectives, contain some nice cinematics, each gets completely different voice overs (voice actors did great job here), new music and there are epilogue slides which reflect the final choice taken, how some of the quests in the game were completed and who lived or died.
The red ending still has four variations based on EMS, at least I think - I´ve only seen the low EMS one on Youtube and the best one in my game, and at least these two felt really different from each other this time.
The blue ending has two variations based on EMS and there are two different narrations based on Shepard´s "alignment" (paragon/renegade).
Speaking of EMS´ influence on the endings, the "conduit run" can end up in two notably different ways for the party members who were taken along and Normandy can end up in three different states.

Normandy plothole has been patched (though it involves a scene that was inserted into a rather inappropriate moment).

The blue ending is a b-movie cool&badass ending, the red ending is a Hollywood cliché ending and both fit because, well, space opera. The green ending is still what-is-this-I-don´t-even magic lol ending, but at least it now contains some nice voice acting. The fourth option is a meta-ending :) (with good narrative merits, however).

All endings are now possible to achieve just by playing SP.

If they wanted people to speculate, this was a lot more sensible way to do it - as I see it, the potential questions largely (not entirely) shift from "wtf just happened" to "what might happen next".

The note that pops up right after the post credits scene is now much more .. sensitive.
It´s a nice piece of PR actually :).

There´s still stuff that sucks in those last 25 minutes and the endgame combat run has been unfortunately unchanged, but all in all I´d say The Extended Cut goes quite a long way to provide a more satisfying and appropriate conclusion to the series.
 
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How's ME 2-3 compared to ME1? Do they have better levels (larger / more interesting worlds?) is combat and AI improved a lot?

ME1 had at least a few memorable moments, but overall i wasnt too impressed. Not sure if i should play the follow-ups.
 
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Different types of games. ME1 has its flaws but epicness feeling is enough to keep going.

The two others turn to exceptionalism and have more polished game mechanics, even though they fail to deliver on a larger scope.
 
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I've only just started playing ME1, but the general opinion about ME2 seems to be that all the mission-based DLCs are worth getting. Some people claim that Lair of the Shadow Broker is the best DLC Bioware has ever done.

You can only purchase them from within the game though, so don't expect to ever find those on sale.
 
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Yes, there ere paid DLCs, however there were for multiplayer. Some of the DLCs for multiplayer are free as well….

I thought there was some singleplayer DLC that gives you a new companion character. Perhaps it was just some sort of pre-order bonus.

For me to buy the ME3 DLC at full price, it would need to really enhance the replay value of the game, or add a lot of new content, or I would simply wait until it goes on sale for around $2 (or not buy it at all).

They seem to produce an awful lot of DLC that adds some weapon pack, or, perhaps one new companion character plus a very short mission, and this simply isn't appealing enough to buy it.

Out of all the DLC for various Bioware games over the past few years, I liked Project Overlord, Lair of the Shadow Broker and the Awakenings DLC for DA:O. I suppose Return to Ostagar and the Darkspawn Chronicles were fun to play as well. Haven't played any of the DLC for DA2 and don't have plans to purchase.
 
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I thought there was some singleplayer DLC that gives you a new companion character. Perhaps it was just some sort of pre-order bonus.

Afaik there is one single-player DLC for ME3 called "From Ashes", and it sells for $10.

but…

They seem to produce an awful lot of DLC that adds some weapon pack, or, perhaps one new companion character plus a very short mission, and this simply isn't appealing enough to buy it.

…sums up the reviews I've read.
 
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That's typical. Are there any DLC's worth having?
I´d say that depends on how much you´ll find yourself enjoying the game.
The price of all ME2´s paid DLCs is rather questionable and you can apply all of them into an ongoing playthrough without issues, so it may not be without merit to decide after you´ve played a representative chunk of the base game first (say, up to and included Horizon main quest part). If you find yourself bored by then, I don´t think there´s any reason investing into any of the DLCs, it´s very unlikely any of them would change your outlook :).

That said, short sorta reviews:
Kasumi
One new about 1h long quest and a companion with two unique abilities (somewhat "overpowered") who stays with you till the end of the game and sometimes comments on the quests you´ve finished. She also has some unique comments during quests here and there. Unlike the vanilla party members, she doesn´t have any dialogue wheel convos on Normandy. The loot from the quest is probably the best submachine gun (otherwise the most lackluster weapon category) in the game. The DLC comes with some great visuals also.
I really like the vibe of the first part of the quest - it´s very James Bond-esque which makes it a refreshing addition -, however gameplay-wise it´s a heist for dummies since you barely have to figure out anything by yourself. The second part is an usual combat affair.
In ME3, the character gets a quite cool cameo during one of the quests.

Overlord
This one breaks the gameplay mold a bit because it includes a slightly open world-y vehicular section (in a hover tank) on a planet´s well visualized surface.
It also includes vehicular combat which largely sucks.
Otherwise it´s an about 2h long self contained quest with System Shock-esque vibes here and there (especially in the pretty cool final section), a suspenseful story, solid atmosphere and effective end.
Companions don´t comment anywhere during the quest and the gameplay can get at times repetitive.
In ME3, there are possible two quite cool, though brief, aftermath dialogue encounters.

Arrival
This one is crap.
2h of mostly bad storytelling, boring environments, repetitive gameplay, plus one annoyingly forced "choice".
As a solo mission it had potential to deliver a unique experience, but besides one rudimentary stealth section and one tough combat scenario (which, admittedly, is a fun way to test player´s character who for once can´t patch his/her weaknesses via squad mates), the DLC doesn´t take any advantage of it and the encounter design is uninspired.
The quest becomes available around 1/3 into the game and it´s presented as something really urgent so leaving it to ME2´s post-end doesn´t feel right, but if you do it early the rest of ME2 might feel inconsequential and if you leave it till post-end (or install it only by then) you´ll end your playthrough on low note.
Besides two conversations at the very end and the aforementioned one combat scenario, it´s mostly terrible, really.
The good thing is that as a bridge between ME2 and ME3 the DLC is quite dispensable - the final ME2´s cinematic is enough of a bridge when it comes to the core threat and if you haven´t played the DLC, ME3 does treat it as canon, but only as something that happened, not as something Shepard was involved in. You have to fill one blank in ME3´s beginning for yourself, but well, ME3´s beginning is abysmal anyway :).
I probably wouldn´t recommend this DLC even if it was free since I think it makes ME2 worse.

Lair of the Shadow Broker
This one´s the best of the bunch.
In ME3, what happens in this DLC is considered canon and as in the case of Arrival, if you haven´t played through it, Shepard is not considered to have been involved in it.
This DLC however pertains to major character development of one of your squad mates and since ME3 doesn´t take much time explaining it, not having played through this one is a lot more noticeable than in the case of Arrival.
The good thing is this is a really good piece of content.
It involves one of the companions from ME1 (and ME3) and a mysterious figure introduced also in the first game. The story development in this DLC is good, though not particularly stellar, gameplay feels fairly varied because a) there´s a simple, but fun car chase section, b) one of the set pieces involves superb visuals, c) in the middle of the quest there´s a really cool boss fight (which turns into an amazing one if you happen to play a proper vanguard, proper, as in one who doesn´t hesitate to charge + shotgun) and there´s a good chunk of content once the main quest is over (it´s mostly just watching short videos and a lot of reading, but it fleshes out a lot of characters quite nicely).
I´d say it takes about 2h to finish + up to 1h for the "aftermath material".
Just as all the other DLCs, I´d say this one is also somewhat questionably priced, but if you happen to enjoy the game at least to some extent, I´d say this one´s a must have.

In terms of insertion into the game, Kasumi DLC is better obtained early since she´s an additional companion, Overlord and Shadow Broker imo work best when played somewhere in the game´s third quarter (roughly the point when the main quest starts to "wait for your approval" to continue - by that time the galaxy map is fully opened and you can "free roam" at your leisure and finish as many side quests as you want), the very last Shadow Broker conversation (on Normandy) is better to be postponed till after the endgame for the best effect.
Arrival is best not inserted at all.

All in all, it´s Shadow Broker >>>>> Overlord >> Kasumi >>>>>>>>>>> Arrival.

Afaik there is one single-player DLC for ME3 called "From Ashes", and it sells for $10.

but…
Easily the most annoying DLC for the series.
There´s definitely not enough content or production values to justify the price, but the nature of the content makes this really inappropriate for a DLC material (from player´s perspective, from business perspective it was likely a good move unfortunately, at least short term).
Besides two nice cinematics, the mission itself is nothing to call home about (and is short), but the companion is one of the more memorable ones in the whole series, dispenses pieces of lore which flesh out the setting noticeably and while he tends to be repetitive at times, his story arc is very good overall (and can end up in three different ways, depending on how you respond to him in certain dialogues).
Moreover, the character is pretty much the only piece of content which directly foreshadows one significant facet of the game´s ending.
Basically, ME3 is a quite noticeably better game with this character and it´s a typical "should´ve been in the vanilla" case.
I´d say it´s really close to a must have for anyone who goes into ME3 as a fan of the previous two games, but recommending this feels way too close to supporting market abusing tactics, so I´ll just leave this at a sigh.
 
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I thought there was some singleplayer DLC that gives you a new companion character. Perhaps it was just some sort of pre-order bonus.

Your right it was a pre-order bonus. Bioware then turned into a dlc download for $10. Not a good move but one of the many they seem to do lately. So really all there dlc has been for multiplayer mostly.
 
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