Mass Effect is a property near and dear to many gamers’ hearts. Mine most definitely included. The series hit the scene in 2007, already stocked with a massively deep mythos, as the brainchild of game designer/writer Drew Karpyshyn. Drew rose to prominence as the lead writer of one of the most acclaimed RPGs of all time, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. After demonstrating such a clear grasp of what made the Star Wars franchise great without the benefit of culturally iconic characters like Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Darth Vader, and Han Solo, I can’t think of a person more equipped to tackle a brand new sci-fi franchise in the same vein as Star Wars. And tackle it he did.

From the moment the game opened, it was clear that this series wasn’t trying to be anything other than itself. This wasn’t a re-skinned Star Trek or Star Wars. This was something new entirely. The game quickly threw several nuanced different races at us, and for me, someone who is often intimidated or turned off by being dropped into a whole new sci-fi world like that, it just worked.

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I sat down to play Mass Effect 3's new ending content yesterday, only to realize that I had never completed the game with the "effective military strength" score required for the "best" ending. So, I played multiplayer, and it was awesome.

Bioware wanted all your decisions to matter, for everything you do in the Mass Effect world to impact your particular ending. Their execution on this has been a matter of hot debate.

Everything you do within ME3’s single player contributes to your military strength score. Mine was around 7000, which is about as high as it can get in a completionist playthrough. Everything (multiplayer, mobile stuff) you do outside of ME3's single player contributes to your "Galactic Readiness Rating," a percentage (defaulted at 50%) by which your military strength score is multiplied. These two combined make your "effective military strength." In order to get the "best" ending (arguable), one must exceed an EMS of 4000. I had 3500.

In short, you must play multiplayer to access a (pivotal) 5 second scene following the end cinematic.

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There are no spoilers for Mass Effect 3 below, but you should think twice if you’re as obsessive as I am about avoiding information about a game before you play it.

Mass Effect 3 has been the center of debate for the past several weeks following its release due to some controversial choices made by developers concerning the game’s conclusion. Fans want more, feeling promises by the creators were broken, while creators remain elusive about their plans for continuation of the game and franchise. All we know for sure is that there is more to come. Bioware’s track record with the franchise and optimism also provide some promise of a fully satisfactory conclusion via DLC.

Despite the controversy concerning Mass Effect 3, I can plainly say that the game is fantastic. Regardless of what the future holds for the conclusion, I know that I’ve enjoyed myself along the way. The tears and laughter this series have given me have been truly unlike any other game experience. ME3 was 40 hours of amazing content where my actions had real weight and emotional investment. If you're a fan of the series, you must play it. If you're not, you might want to back up a game or two.

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