Mass Effect 3

Mass Effect 3 is one of the most satisfying games I've ever played. Where are you at on this? There are some very vocal folks upset about the ending and dlc. There are gay romances. Weigh in!

I haven't gotten to the ending, so I can't comment about that firsthand, but the day1 DLC definitely upset me. Another thing that bothered me was that i heard the fact that you need to play multiplayer to unlock the last ending: I wish they had it just add a scene or two in the game, but not lock an ending out if you don't play it.

Though is it just me or does the game look and play pretty much identicle to ME2?

Oh, and James Vega is a giant tease. I so want to bed him!

To be perfectly honest, I was really disappointed in the ending. I don't know what I was expecting but I didn't really get it. I feel like I invested a lot of energy to get the "good" ending and it left me feeling quite underwhelmed.

That being said I'm not going to start gnashing my teeth and pulling my hair like I'm in the Old Testament, and I think the backlash is beyond ridiculous.

Overall the game was absolutely incredible. The moments of friendship with Garrus were absolutely touching and building that relationship with Kaiden was everything I had hoped for. Despite the ending the game was a triumph.

Warning! Warning! Massive wall of text approaching at great velocity. It is advised that you evacuate immediately. Warning! Warning! Massive wall of text approaching, brace for impact in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...

/startrant

Let me start by saying that the Mass Effect series is my favorite video game series of all time.

Naturally I had high expectations for the game. Overall the game has been exquisitely crafted, except for some issues that should have been addressed in QA... But that belongs in to another discussion all together, for now I will stay on topic and discuss the ending.

The Ending to Mass Effect is not bad. In fact, content-wise, I like it. Bioware did not fail to deliver in the story department, but the execution of said story was quite pitiful.

Issue #1
In ME3, you regain control of Commander Shepard. You've been playing with the same character for years. With this individual you have faced thrasher maws, indoctrinated specters, the collectors and the reapers. Shepard is nothing short of a badass, and thus he is treated as such. Within minutes of starting the game you are back in the Normandy flying across galaxy, rallying friends and foes to join you in the greatest war the galaxy has ever seen. As you progress though the game, many plot points are closed, allies are gained and even entire races are saved or extinguished. The game constantly reinforces the fact that your decisions affect a greater outcome. Will you save the Geth or destroy them? Will you cure the genophage or doom the Krogan to extinction? Cut scenes and dialog play vastly different depending on who lives or dies. In this game, more than ever, you decisions carry a heavy weight... except for the ending. It does not matter whether you choose control, synthesis or destruction of the reapers. The outcome is still he same: The crucible is activated and the citadel is destroyed along with the mass effect relays. Then we (the player) are treated to a brief (and boy I am not a size queen but that was really short and unsatisfactory) cut scene with my crew and a STATIC IMAGE of two humanoid silhouettes talking.
Does it matter that I saved the Geth? No. Does it matter that I saved the Krogan? No. What if I had destroyed the Quarians and not the Geth, would that matter? No.
Nothing matters. Essentially, it all boils down to picking a color. That color represents a decision to which we do not get to see the result of. So in reality it does not matter what you pick, because as long as you fall into a pre-determined set of clauses, you will essentially get the same ending.
I'm okay with my shepard dying, he dies an honorable death. But I am not okay with sacrificing a great character to see my crew mates in some lush jungle and then a static image with voice over. Talk about underwhelming.

Issue #2
I'm going to talk about another game to illustrate a point. So bear with me while I talk a little bit about Final Fantasy XII. While not my favorite final fantasy, I do believe that this was the first game to really elaborate on the concepts of war, politics, conflict, etc. In previous final fantasies I go the impression that, while they all have great lore, the story was about the characters. In XII, the game is about the world of Ivalice and the avarice of a man seeking dominion over it. The characters in XII are there, but they aren't necessarily the focus. Long story short, not everything is as it seems, and before you know it a third power comes into play: The Occuria. The Occuria in FFXII are essentially the hidden power players in the story, controlling the fate of mankind and blah blah blah (you know the drill if you played the game). This was the "twist" or "shock factor" of the game. I particularly didn't care much for The Occuria, but it was nice to see the closure of a story arc that had been foreshadowed earlier in the game. It is obvious that writers in FFXII took the time to slowly/gradually introduce the occuria to the player, in order to create a cohesive narrative.
ME3 does something similar to FFXII by attempting to introduce another "power player" to the story, but fails to do in any way that makes sense. In ME3 you've got 3 powers at play, the Reapers, Cerberus and the galaxy at large (citadel races alliance). The Reapers want to harvest everyone, Cerberus wants to control the reapers and the Galaxy at large want both Cerberus and the reapers gone. By the end of the game, you are transported up to "somewhere" where this young holographic kid is talking to you. He talks and talks about "the cycle" and how the reapers have a purpose among other wonderful background lore chatter. But my question when I saw him was: Who the fuck are you?!
Apparently, you might get some foreshadowing on the holographic crucible boy if you talk to Liara at certain times. I do remember there was some discussion about why the reapers were harvesting people instead of killing everybody. This implied that the Reapers were being led or controlled by somebody else. During my play through, that is all the foreshadowing I got about this fourth mysterious power. The introduction of this holographic boy creates more questions then answers. Who is he? What is his purpose? Is he a VI? Is he an AI? Is he part of the reapers? Is he part of the race that created the reapers? Too many questions unanswered.

So in the end, no pun intended, I was left dazed and confused. I did not know what to say or how to react. I did not know where my crew landed. I did not know what happened to the Krogan, or to any other species in the galaxy. The premise of the game is to "take back earth" and save the galaxy, but in the end we really don't get to see how things turn out. Was earth rebuilt? If the citadel and the mass effect relays were destroyed, does that mean that earth then became the epicenter for the rest of species who were displaced by the war? The purpose of a good ending it to provide answers and closure. This ending only created more questions. Yes you could read in to the ending and assume that earth was saved and civilization carried on, but is that how you really want one of the best video game trilogies to end? I think Mass Effect deserves better than that.

/endrant

I respect your viewpoint and the time it took you to get all that down, but I see it all differently, Mr. Panda.

Shepherd has done amazing things and made huge decisions and for me those decisions were endings. We do not know if the Krogan are given their fertility what they will do with it, Clan Urdnot seems ready to lead their people to new greatness, will they stay in control, will the salarians attempt a new sabotage, will the Krogan begin a campaign to create an empire, can the they control their urges? These things can not be answered at the end of the game (especially if there will be further forays into the ME universe sans Shepherd).

Shepherd was a great leader and he brought the races and cultures of the galaxy to a new place, a new start- this is the best anyone can do. He is not immortal or omniscient. I liked that he made these tough choices and he, like us, can only guess at what will happen and hope for the best. At some point the galaxy must be responsible for itself. I liked that there was no best ending and that the final shots are of others. It's their turn.

It all turned a little bit Jesus-y, but myths are there for a reason. His memory has been left, lives of been touched, futures have been molded. Shep was fucking busy.

The day one dlc argument has never been very convincing to me. The game is huge and comprehensive; it's not like we didn't get our money's worth. If you love ME3 you can get the content day one and play through it instead of a few months later and then maybe play through again. The dlc was quality and added to the universe and I'm glad it was there.

I see your powers argument, but I believe Cereberus was indoctrinated, the Illusive man did it to himself and then people he kidnapped to serve, Cerberus as an organization out to protect humanity ceased to be, they had obviously given up their "morals" when they attacked human colonies and killed and indoctrinated humans, so I think your counting is too high, the weird little boy at the end says the Illusive man was his creature. Yeah, the force behind the Reapers taking the shape of a little boy was strange. It seems the big conflict was between organic and inorganic life and the cycle of destruction that we bring ourselves to through technology that we can create but can not control. Tower of Babel, nucleor weapons, Icarus, we overreach, and instead of the galaxy being destroyed we killed organic life while keeping a reflection of it to save the whole. We are the infection.I'm guessing the dreams were that force trying to rule Shepherd and failing. Shepherd was proof the cycle could be broken.

No story wraps up everything and if it tries it seems frail and false. The big arc was completed and I don't think we can really ask for more.

BigfootGolem wrote:I haven't gotten to the ending, so I can't comment about that firsthand, but the day1 DLC definitely upset me. Another thing that bothered me was that i heard the fact that you need to play multiplayer to unlock the last ending: I wish they had it just add a scene or two in the game, but not lock an ending out if you don't play it.

Though is it just me or does the game look and play pretty much identicle to ME2?

Oh, and James Vega is a giant tease. I so want to bed him!

Um, James seemed gay to me, flirting with Cortez, tight t-shirt, exercising in front of you, he's torn.

I have not seen the hidden ending. How is it different or more? I think multiplyer can earn you an ending- it's a lot of work and they offer you a prize for it. I'm not touching the multiplayer so I'll be searching youtube.

Something I found at other forums that I think is worth looking at

http://arkis.deviantart.com/art/Mass-Effect-3-Alternate-Endings-SPOILERS-289902125


...and my response:

This is what i wanted. Good or bad. Happy or Tragic. It doesn't matter. But I want something to play out. I want Galactic readiness to matter. I don't understand how somebody who has mediocre galactic readiness can have the same ending as somebody who has united an entire galaxy. This ending would show case all of the hard work done not only throughout the game, but through out the trilogy.

EDIT: This doesn't mean that I want Shepard to live. The Reapers are, after all, a very powerful force in the galaxy. I still think the ending should be limited to the three choices it gives you. I just think there should be more exposure to the Galaxy at war conflict, which was the main focus of the game (and the multiplayer) before the ending.

Thanks for the link, Panda. It is a nice ending. It is definitely more satisfying than the original, however I still have three problems.

1. People have the right to feel about the ending however they want to but the violence, anger, and entitlement exhibited by the fans, attempting to destroy the game on Metacritic, Amazon and anywhere else they can find, attacking the game's creators and publishers is way out of bounds.

2. It is not our game. We have been given an ending and it is a credible one. The folks that have written and created the series are the ones who should choose how to end it.

3. Defeating the Reapers is impossible; they are technologically superior, endless, every death is an addition to their army and a decimation of ours, they have destroyed cities and planets all over, and our forces are still fighting each other. The Alliance is nowhere near full strength and even if it were it could not defeat the Reapers.
The game has dropped hints along the way on the theme and foreshadowing the end (like Legion sacrificing himself to offer the Geth a chance). Shepherd can not cure the galaxy he can only do as he has done which is offer the races a chance to survive and broker a peace. My Shep gave the Quarians a homeland, gave the Krogan fertility, brokered a peace among the krogan and Turian and the Geth and the Quarians- all of this was in the main story and part of the denouement of the series. The final decision is not the end it is only the final decision. That Shepherd is only a woman (or only a man) makes her that much more heroic, that she is fallible, that she is not stoic but deeply affected by this ordeal, and that in the end the galaxy must heal itself is powerful to me. I also like that we don't know how it will all turn out and there are no magical words or cure-all ending makes the rest of the game meaningful.

My opinion, and Panda, I really do appreciate hearing yours.

On the subject of rabid fanboysim: I simply cannot believe that bioware fanboys could stoop so low. I had heard that a fraction of bioware's loyal fans were a little extreme, but this is just ridiculous. I'm all for criticism, especially the constructive type, but all of the negativity surrounding the ending is unacceptable. These fanboys don't bite the hand that feeds, they maul it.

Anyway, while I certainly have my point of view on the ending of the trilogy, I respect and admire Bioware for what they have created. The last 10 minutes of this epic saga will not ruin the countless hours spent in this marvelous world. Recently I purchased the The Art of Mass Effect Universe. As I looked through the pages of this book (I highly recommend btw), I was reminded of how many wonderful stories I experienced though the series. The settings, the world, the characters, the species, everything is amazingly crafted.

I will agree that the odds of defeating the reapers are next to zero. I had posted the fanmade ending earlier because it captured the type of character development that I would have liked to see. However, I really doubt that Shepard rallying the troops would have been the necessary boost needed to defeat the reapers. I could describe my ideal ending, which would feature some of the elements in the fanmade ending, but i would still incorporate all of the cannon bioware ending.

So much discussion on the ending of this game made me go back and pick a different choice. This time I choose to eliminate the Reapers. I still like the synthesis ending a lot better, but watching the ending twice made me appreciate it more. Sure it's not perfect, it's not the ending that I wanted, but I think I can make my peace with it. Next I will watch the 'control' ending... or maybe I'll save that for my second play through.

One of the things that really struck a nerve was the last interaction with Kaidan. The ending had been spoiled to me (dam you facebook!) while I was on Rannoch (out of all places!). So I knew Shepard would die. But watching Kaidan address the reality of war and essentially say "well this is it" just really drove the point home. He was one of the reasons I did not want Shepard to die. They both have been through so much, that I wanted them to support each other after the war. I wanted them to love each other, to grow old together. But then after giving it some thought I came to the conclusion that such pipe dreams aren't possible. If Shepard had survived, he would be the living breathing icon that represented victory over adversity. Every time the galaxy need something, guess who they are going to call? The great Commander Shepard. This was a fitting end for a hero.

SlyRedPanda wrote:One of the things that really struck a nerve was the last interaction with Kaidan. The ending had been spoiled to me (dam you facebook!) while I was on Rannoch (out of all places!). So I knew Shepard would die. But watching Kaidan address the reality of war and essentially say "well this is it" just really drove the point home. He was one of the reasons I did not want Shepard to die. They both have been through so much, that I wanted them to support each other after the war. I wanted them to love each other, to grow old together. But then after giving it some thought I came to the conclusion that such pipe dreams aren't possible. If Shepard had survived, he would be the living breathing icon that represented victory over adversity. Every time the galaxy need something, guess who they are going to call? The great Commander Shepard. This was a fitting end for a hero.

I am with you there 100% on that one. I have been shipping a relationship with male Shep and Kaiden from the very beginning and was totally heartbroken to see that their time together was so fleeting. But that just made the game stronger in my opinion and gave me a real emotional attachment to the story. I don't mind that Shep died I really feel it was the only way to wrap up the story cohesively.

However, I have feelings about the Mass Relays being destroyed. If Shep had just died I would've been fine, but seeing the relays destroyed felt like watching the galaxy die. Maybe that has something to do with the outrage? I'm just thinking out loud and I've been trying to stay away from most comment threads about the ending because I try to avoid idiocy but I haven't really heard anyone address that part. Is it more about the loss of the galaxy than the loss of Shepard? Does anyone else have an opinion on this?

The loss of the relays gave a real sense of consequence to me. I think the final choice would have been easy without it, with it there was no "right answer," because you know the loss of the relays will completely change the galaxy. Also, it's been established that the relays were created as a way for the Reapers to further their own designs and were responsible for a tech jump that societies were not ready for (which would ultimately lead to the creation of inorganic life and bring the Reapers on back). This is a common theme in ME, look at the salarians and the krogan- the salarians "uplifted" the krogan and the female shaman points out technology ruined her culture, the quarians created the geth and then freaked out, the Illusive Man and Saren both thought they'd be able to manipulate the Reapers and fund themselves controlled. I's the Icarus myth and The Tower of Babel, man overreaches.

It was not a happiest ending, but I felt it was a strong one. It took you and Shepherd seriously. There are consequences and hard decsions with no clear answers or resolutions.

I agree that the destruction of the Mass Relays gives a serious sense of consequence but I feel as though it poses more questions than answers.

With Wrex with you on Earth will his clan be able to proliferate without him? And it doesn't really matter because without the relays the Krogan won't be able to wage war again even if they wanted to.

Assuming that Tali is alive on the Normandy will she be forced to live the rest of her life behind her mask because she’ll never be able to make a home on Rannoch.

If I have doomed all of my friends to these tragic ends I would like just a few more answers. I don't need everything tied up in a perfect bow but I think that completely changing the galaxy in the last moments left me feeling a bit lost and confused.