Mass Effect 3

- For your first time through, play Soldier, Sentinel, or Infiltrator. Biotic powers are actually quite worthwhile now, but so is shooting things.

- Don't feel bound to the types of weapons you were using in the first two games. Wanna play an Infiltrator with a shotgun and an SMG? Go for it. How about a Sentinel with an assault rifle and a shotgun-pistol? Sure! Use the shooting range on the Citadel to get the hang of your new gear.

- Some guns can only be found on missions and are missable, so look around!

- Complete armor sets (the ones that cost 50000) have kinda crappy stats. Don't bother, unless you like the look.

- Do every sidequest you get before doing the next "Priority:" mission. The exception is Eden Prime, which is the mission for the DLC character.

- When given the choice between betraying your old friend, and getting the support of the other race, stick with your buddy. You can get the other guys' support anyways later on.

- It IS possible to make the warring races near the middle of the game get along, but if you didn't do the loyalty missions for the two squadmates involved in ME2, or got one of them exiled, you won't be able to do it. If you don't manage it, know that at least one of them will die.

- They make it fairly clear when you're about to go on the point of no return mission, but for the sake of it, it's a mission called Priority: Cerberus Headquarters.

- You need 4000 Effective Military Strengh (EMS) to get the best endings. If you're playing the base game only, with no DLC (INCLUDING the DLC which revamps the endings - Extended Cut) then you cannot get the best endings without playing multiplayer, since you'll max out at just under 4000. The extended cut DLC reduces the EMS required for the best endings to 3100, which means multiplayer is not necessary as long as you complete most of the sidequests/asset gathering. Other DLC brings chances for extra War Assets with it, so they might make it even easier to avoid multiplayer if you'd like to.