Mass Effect 3

[Darkmoon]

So, I finally beat the game.

Spoiler:

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It was...eh. The ending was just one flaw in the game. It had a crap ton of problems that stopped me enjoying it as much as the previous two.

Part of this may be because I believed the below quotes from this thread. I have no idea if any of them were actually spoken by BioWare, though.

The game will have numerous endings, some good, some bad, and who you have in your squad and which allies you recruit can have a drastic effect on which are available.

There's no railroad to the end of the game, there are multiple paths to take back Earth.

Some key plot element that will reveal why the Reapers can be defeated. Dont want to reveal it until the game is out. Dont want the way the Reapers can be defeated obvious from the start. Want the progression of the game to give red herrings and a flow of information, so it starts hopeless but you slowly work out what needs to be done.

Almost all the main choices have taken place before you try to import your character (and get told to fuck off, make a new face). Mordin died back in ME1, when I saved Wrex. Grunt lived in ME2 when I gained his loyalty. I can't affect Thane or Legion dying. The only person I could have killed is Tali, but I was awesome enough that I got both the Geth and the Quarians.

I was expecting so much choice. I remember a quote saying the team was pleased that this was the third and they no longer had to link it to the next part, so it could be much bigger and varied. But almost all the major choices were already made. The two big ones were Tali and the Genophage cure. And the Genophage has no effect on the rest of the game, so far as I can tell.

Plus it was linear as hell. Sure, in ME1 and ME2 you only get a choice of which sections to complete before the next unlock, but you don't even get that here.

And all three endings are nigh on identical. The fact there are only three is hideous enough to me, but to make it essentially only one with variations...

And, as with most people, I found the ending deeply unsatisfying. Who the fuck was the Catalyst Kid? Why did he assume the way he did?

All told, the Indoctrination 'It was all a dream' explanation and a proper ending (with the other half of the game) would be a good bit of DLC. Of course, it'll also cost half as much as a new game...

All told, rather sad.

[Vector]

BioWare again responds:

We appreciate all the feedback about Mass Effect 3. Keep on posting - We’re listening.

https://twitter.com/#!/masseffect/status/180414922264547328

More on Facebook:

We appreciate everyone’s feedback about Mass Effect 3 and want you to know that we are listening. Please note, we want to give people time to experience the game so while we can’t get into specifics right now, we will be able to address some of your questions once more people have had time to complete the game.

I think it's pretty clear that BioWare has something big up their sleeves, i.e. the rumored 'The Truth' DLC.


Also...

Galaxy at War multiplayer was almost an FPS.

http://kotaku.com/5893424/there-was-going-to-be-a-mass-effect-first-person-shooter/gallery/1

[DXP]

I wish galaxy at war had being an fps especially on pc I does like my fps in the unreal engine, although knowing me I would be looking at the environments rather than anything.

And I also hope bioware do give us a decent ending if they do give us DLC IMO the endings should factor into what path you took so Paragon,renegade or neutral (taking only the options from ME1 and 2 obviously) and also take into consideration what you did event wise and who lived or died (So sparing Wrex in ME1 rather than killing him would add more points to the paragon option etc) that way instead of it being Spoiler:

show spoiler

choose 3 lovely lights as the ending

your choices are taken into consideration like it was originally intended to be.

[Kaneco]

Damn it! One of my friend just finished the game and spoiled most of the endings by accident...he didn't know I'm still in the early stages of ME2.

The endings...Everyone has the right to be pissed imo...What's the whole point of making choices if it doesn't change a thing in the end, plus it's bad enough it was promised that they would provide closure and be different from one another. I think they were just lazy...it seems to be happening to every trilogy where the last game seems rushed and mainstreamed to the point of dropping the quality at it's highest and most important point.

Look at Uncharted 3, Resistance 3, Halo 3, Mass Effect 3, etc.

I don't even want to think about Dead Space 3 (rumored to be in the works). 3rd entries seem to be cursed....

I guess it's all about what Arnold says:

"Triquels make so much more a lot of money! Blahghhzshwdaaew!"

Not like I cared about the ending that much...but I'll buy the game eventually, after I beat Mass Effect 2.

[Mr. Spencer]

Dino Crisis 3, Star Ocean 3, Fable III...

The curse goes on!

[Darkmoon]

Resident Evil 3 was pretty good, it just inspired a lot of shit (Apocalypse, ORC)

[Mr. Spencer]

Tekken 3 is also an exception to the rule, but the number of poor third games is greater than those that were actually decent.

[DarkMemories]

Metroid Prime 3 was pretty good (if a lot easier than the first two). Though I'm not a fan, Gears 3 was fine. God of War III was especially good, as I seem to recall. Mortal Kombat 3 was up to snuff too.

Are there even that many third games? I haven't played all that many, anyway.

[Archelon]

I didn't think God of War 3 was as good as God of War 2, personally. Gears of War 3 was definitely the best of the trilogy. Uncharted 3 doesn't hold a candle to Uncharted 2. Resistance 3 was pretty weak, too.

I would mention Killzone 3, now that I think about it, but I didn't particularly care for any of them to begin with.

[valentinesdead?]

Metal Gear Solid 3--SNAKE EEATTER!!!

(Broke the curse, I mean)

[DarkMemories]

Honestly, at this point I'd rather listen to Harbinger on loop than suffer through ME3's "multiple" endings again.

THIS HURTS YOU.

Yes, yes it does.

[Vector]

Ok...I get it...I didn't like the endings either, but this pissing and moaning is beginning to get annoying. Everybody has every right to be pissed with what happened(I certainly am) but the constant complaining is getting annoying. I'm also well aware of how cryptic BioWare is being about the future of the series, and with all these DLC rumors floating around, I'm not ready to give up on ME3 just yet. I truly believe that there's more to be seen and done from the endings we got. I don't think it's over yet.

[Archelon]

What I can't understand is why the ending alone is enough to make people hate the game as a whole. Even if you didn't care for the ending, if you had a blast playing the rest of the game up to that point, isn't that what's most important? How does the ending in any way negate the fun you had up to that point? It doesn't make any sense to me.

What's more important? The journey? Or the destination?

[DarkMemories]

Ok...I get it...I didn't like the endings either, but this pissing and moaning is beginning to get annoying. Everybody has every right to be pissed with what happened(I certainly am) but the constant complaining is getting annoying. I'm also well aware of how cryptic BioWare is being about the future of the series, and with all these DLC rumors floating around, I'm not ready to give up on ME3 just yet. I truly believe that there's more to be seen and done from the endings we got. I don't think it's over yet.

Have you seen the final hours app? That pretty much seals the deal that they actually thought this was a good idea (and that they waited until the last minute).

But we can shift gears, sure. How about the annoying Reapers in the galaxy map? The journal that never properly updates when you acquire items for side quests? The fact that you have to play multiplayer to achieve 100% galactic readiness (and for an achievement)?

ME3 has more problems than just the ending, as you can see, but the ending matters so much more that you can understand if we're focusing on that for the time being.

But I'll say something positive:

Spoiler:

show spoiler

"There's no Vakarian without Shepard." (is that reversed?) That line is the best line in the whole series, IMO.

EDIT: Archelon, have you played the game (or the series) and finished it? Effectively, the ending renders the entire series unplayable (for me and a lot of others). It even turned me off gaming in general for a few days.

Both the journey and the destination are equally important. A mind-blowing journey is great, but a lackluster, nonsensical destination renders it pointless. Likewise, an unbelievely emotional and meaningful destination is good, but it lacks impact if the journey sucked.

EDIT 2: Analogy Time:

Imagine you're having the most epic sex of your life. You're just about to reach the climax when suddenly she stops, runs to the bathroom, and returns with a pair of scissors. She says that you can finish, but only after she cuts one of your balls off.

[Archelon]

EDIT: Archelon, have you played the game (or the series) and finished it? Effectively, the ending renders the entire series unplayable (for me and a lot of others). It even turned me off gaming in general for a few days.

Both the journey and the destination are equally important. A mind-blowing journey is great, but a lackluster, nonsensical destination renders it pointless. Likewise, an unbelievely emotional and meaningful destination is good, but it lacks impact if the journey sucked.

I don't understand this logic. At all.

How does a lackluster resolution render the entire experience pointless? It doesn't. It just means it has a lackluster resolution.

I have played plenty of games with terrible endings, final boss battles, etc, but that doesn't stop me from playing through the game again if I really enjoyed it up until the end, and it certainly doesn't make me dislike an entire series because of one bad game (or in this case, a good game with a bad ending). If that was the case, I would have stopped liking Resident Evil games a long time ago.

Look at movie trilogies as an example. Spider-Man 3 and X-Men: The Last Stand were terrible movies, but that in no way prevents me from still enjoying the first two movies in both series. In fact, I enjoy them just as much as I did before I saw the third films.