Eric, I've been playing the Mass Effect series since it started in '07
; to people in my shoes, as the decisions made in the first and second game carry over to the third, the ending's fantastic.
I haven't beaten it yet, but silly me for not adding "No Spoilers" in my thread title, since some Momos don't have problems spending 20 hours a day over several days playing games that were JUST released, then discussing the ending. That's rude.
To those who just entered the series on this final game, Mass Effect 3, understandably they're left scratching their head.
I'm assuming you didn't play the first and second game?
Regardless... Skyrim as a stand-alone is fantastic, as is ME 3, but.. story-wise, you're not emotionally invested at ALL in ME 3 since you don't know why the universe is currently up sh!t creek.