Mass Effect 3 /IS/ a good game, but the story, environment, and progression throughout was nothing but lacklustre.
The Mass Effect games have been shrined as a pinnacle of story-telling and player manipulation to that story since the first game was released. The second instalment of the series, while ridding itself of several of the RPG elements (Such as the many different types of armor, weapons, the large amount of class progression etc) made up for itself in the pristine continuation of the story and betterment of the gameplay. The story was Mass Effect 2's hardest hitter and the progression through that story, although felt somewhat linear, was perfect. Some may argue that the loyalty option was a little too much for the game while I thought it was a way to learn about and attach to the characters and feel like the group of followers was becoming more like a team.
In Mass Effect 3, the combat was tweaked (Feeling much more like Gears of War than the previous games), modifications (Ode to the first game) were implemented for your weapons, and several other features that would be expected in a game like this. Bottom line, during combat, it feels like Mass Effect 2 more than anything.
But the flaw to this game; the story and the progression through that story. The story in the first two instalments was perfect to follow and excellent with /MANY/ different substories in the forms of helping your crew with a problem on their mind or something you come across while scanning planets, etc. But in Mass Effect 3, the main conflict is the only story. You'll have a small diversion here and there, but the game just feels like "Go here, go there, do this, do that." You also never feel like your actually fighting for the war effort, you just feel like everything is going on around you while you go from system to system killing things.
In terms of the story, the missions are suppose to feel like recruitment and active suppression of the antagonists of the game, but rarely feel that way; you feel more like a diplomat with scotch tape to repair problems with the plumbing between two races that have different values of one major issue. This inturn creates feuds that will have to be resolved in order to get one of those parties to join your cause. Siding with one race will usually cut off support from the other, but it doesn't make /ANY/ difference in the end which race's priorities you choose, it just determines whom you'll see in the end. When it comes to your crew, you seem to coincidentally meet all of your past crew throughout the game, which just feels forced to make the game feel like is has some charm. When it comes to the missions affecting your crew, they're nothing short of depressing. I understand the missions are one of desperation, but just as you're learning about the individual or getting attached to them or already attached to them from the previous games, the story kills them off. Not only that, but it starts to become predictable after a while.
And that brings me to the most widespread disappointment of this game; the ending. It's no secret that the ending was pretty bad, but it was to be expected. There was /NO/ way BioWare could have done justice to end this series. That being said, the ending to the game was still uninspired and could have been much better. It was a barebones attempt at an ending, predictable when you get close to the end. But it still provoked emotions out of me, ones of sorrow and relief. But the sucker-punch to the face was the Inception-like ending: something happens that deserves an answer, then the credits roll. Games like LA Noire had an emotion provoking ending, but justified itself in the end. But like the spinning top in Inception, the ending in Mass Effect 3 leaves for more to be answered and lets your imagination answer your questions. Some like that, but I don't. Yes, I'm aware there is more after the credit roll, but it still doesn't justify the action. I was expecting a text epilogue at the end, explaining what had happened due to your previous choices, but to no-avail.
But in relation to the ending, one big kick in the balls was the choice you have in the end. You're confronted with two possible choices in the end, which seems good. One is a Paragon choice (Blue node), the other is a Renegade choice (Red node). Out of curiosity, I had backed up the autosave that it had created before the choice was made (The game doesn't let you save), and I was able to go through both endings. The first time I went though the Paragon ending, and it brought closure to the story (Minus the spinning top-like situation), but when I placed the autosave to choose again and chose the Renegade choice, the ending was /EXACTLY/ the same. The same cinematic, the only difference being the color of what was happening was changed from the Paragon blue to the Renegade red.
Overall:
The game is good, really good. The combat system is the best here than it has been in the previous instalments with the right balance of RPG elements to make the combat feel strategic without hindering on the action of the game. But the claim to fame in the Mass Effect series - the story - is lacking in Mass Effect 3. There's no moments that send chills down your spine as much as being initiated in the Spectres in Mass Effect 1 or going into the Omega 4 Relay for the first time in Mass Effect 2, it just feels average. That, along with it's uninspired ending and lack crew interaction and progression, lack of seemless and open environments like the Mass Effect 1 Citadel or Omega in Mass Effect 2 and several other aspects that are lacking, the game feels average.