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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