What are you playing? Mass Effect 3 edition

[AEmer]

Spoilers of about the same severity as Jaedars comment on finishing the game re: Mr. Cyberpunk

The escapist podcast didn't want to spoil the ending of mass effect 3, or even comment upon how they felt about it. But they all played ME3 and from about the 25 minute mark to the 40 minute mark, they talk about bad endings.

Whatever their thoughts on the matter, they thought their listeners wanted their opinions on this in response to ME3's release.

I don't know how bad it is. I just know that, statistically, you're going to get something to hate out of this ending.

I think it's actually going to be so bad that people will start a trend of making personal toplists of the worst endings of all time.

@ Jaedar

Up to you, but it's not like I didn't try to avoid it; but when I knew I was probably headed for a massive kick in the balls as I played, I had completely lost my groove. I realize that looking for more information was my own fault, but at least now I can play it again.

If other people feel the same way, you're effectively spoiling them. But hey, it's your coice.

[Mr_Cyberpunk]

Lol I had the ending spoiled, yeah Bioware just took a massive shit on their fanbase with this one, first the DLC problem, now this.. And its pretty damn obvious IGN and Gamespot were paid off now since their reviews don't even meantion this. All of the endings are the same fucking thing, I hated when Deus Ex 3 did this, now Mass Effect did it too, and all of the endings you die in (with one hinting that you might have survived).. Given that Shepard already died once before, I really don't give a fuck about the character, she can be revived, she was repaired from far worse damage (Re-entry into a planet with a ripped space suit.. not many people are going to come out of that looking pretty.. So that ending couldn't have been more redundant.. and FUCK YOU KID RIP Mass Effect. You were a good game once.

Glad I didn't waste time playing this one, but I'll get around to it when I'm not so damn busy.

[Cybernetic pig]

I refuse to support this series. Bioware are the lesser RPG developers when compared to any company in the Looking glass family tree.
Such terribad gameplay, story is overrated too.
Game is just seriously lacking overrall, and will be an influence for future RPGs, which depresses me.

[Jaedar]

I'd say it's more likely reviewers did not have time to reach the end. They're usually slow, and deadlines are usually tight.

You were a good game once.

Yes, in ME2

Oh and I am willing to declare it impossible to get the best ending in single player only. Highly unlikely I missed 1300/3300 (depending on your source) worth in war assets.

[AEmer]

Completed the game. Going to need a little bit of time digesting it, but here's some preliminary thoughts:

I had a ball playing this game. I thought the movement patterns of enemies were too hard to predict to enjoy the shooting as much as possible, but overall, it was pretty good. I enjoyed all the responsiveness of the game, and I loved how everything played together.

But they did a hatchetjob on the ending. I'm not angry, I'm just dissapointed that they didn't learn from the Dragon Age 2 misery.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b33tJx8iy0A

Hitler says it best, and I empathize strongly with him. Personally, I knew ahead of time how bad it was so I don't really trust my own reaction to it...I'm not even sure I have a proper reaction.

But there's so many things here that aren't explained. I mean, I can buy most things about it. I think it's incredibly contrived that Sovereign claimed organics wouldn't understand if it explained it's purpose, but you know, I can lend them some suspension of disbelief to keep it open. I also think it's incredibly contrived that the catalyst claims the citadel is part of it. I understand why they did that too, but...how did the citadel ever get sabotaged by the protheans without the reapers finding out? If the catalyst and the reapers had been in a symbiotic relationship, but unable to communicate, I could see it working, but as it is, weaksauce.

And then why is Joker travelling through the Charon relay? Or did he already fly through the charon relay and now he's hopping another relay?

You'd think bioware would have learned that the best way to do an ending is to have a climax and then an escape sequence. It works every time. There needs to be a decisive point of no return way before the gameplay stops, and then you get to play the part of the story where the character you're invested in makes it out.

But nope. I'm really curious as to how they arrived at this I mean...what were they thinking with that jungle crash.

That they're going to do an expansion like the shadow broker DLC where you go and save your crew? Or what?

I haven't the feintest idea how they figured that jungle landing wrapped anything up.

@ Jaedar

Told you I gathered up the 5k and I got the shepard lives one, if I made the right choice.

As for reviewers...

Joanna Stern of the escapist did get to the ending, but didn't give the game particular marks for it. She's a "it's about the journey" type of reviewer, and that's probably the case for most game journalists, though at least one person on the escapist podcast was very vocal about the impact of endings.

[Mr_Cyberpunk]

I haven't the feintest idea how they figured that jungle landing wrapped anything up.

I have my theories
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfR7qxtgCgY

3 HOUR DLC... 3 HOUR DLC... LOL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26tWWopd ... re=related

heh

[Jaedar]

Considering that it dumps you back before the point of no return upon completing the game, I doubt there will be any ending DLC.

Told you I gathered up the 5k and I got the shepard lives one, if I made the right choice.

This means bioware are stinking liars though, since they explicitly stated you'd be able to get the best options with just the singleplayer. I think is a more appropriate reaction to bad game design and prerelease lies.

[AEmer]

yes, but I like being right so I will still smile.

Anyway, I agree with you. Bioware did a hatchetjob of the prerelease comments, and now I've had the pleasure of trying to manipulate my friends into not thinking singleplayer-only will do the job without tipping them off, because if they accidentally read one of biowares lies, then that'll trip them up.

and I agree with you on the likelyhood of endgame dlc

...

On the subject of broken endings, I wonder if anybody ever did an interview with Obsidian on the horrible nwn2 ending, with the bioshock devs on the horrible bioshock ending, with eidos montreal on the lameass HR ending, or with bioware on the horrible DA2 ending...

I'd love some post mortems.

[AEmer]

The thing is, that bloody gilligans island ending...

I can't square it. In all endings, the normandy crashes and it's either unclear how many survive unscathed (but it appears some do), or it's clear that the crew survives.

I don't get it. If you want to kill the crew when the player has too low a number of military assets, wouldn't there be an easier way to do it as well as an easier way to have the crew live?

And the endings to the past two games have been brilliant. Love the ME1 ending, love the ME2 ending...so what's going on with this?
It seems out of character for the series.

Not saying they have DLC planned, they could just be utter pillocks about it, but I can't make sense of this as the endpoint.

[DDL]

God fucking damnit do you know how hard it is to resist clicking on any of these boxes?

I swear, I'm going to just stop reading this thread.



Anyway, I'm assuming that many of these ending/MP related gripes will get modded to shit in the next year, so by the time I finally get around to playing this, it'll be aces. Also cheap. And ideally on steam.

[Jaedar]

Anyway, I'm assuming that many of these ending/MP related gripes will get modded to shit in the next year, so by the time I finally get around to playing this, it'll be aces. Also cheap. And ideally on steam.

unlikely. Especially the steam part.

God fucking damnit do you know how hard it is to resist clicking on any of these boxes?

I swear, I'm going to just stop reading this thread.

I thought you already had.

[AEmer]

Yeah, I thought of messaging you to stop reading it because it wouldn't be good for your sanity, but at least you're not actively playing the game. Already made sure Jonas isn't reading it.

As for modding...I don't know. I mean, people are very likely to simply resort to youtube, but there's a lot of fans who are incredibly upset with Bioware, so it could go either way.

Thing is, the people most likely to pour their heart into mods for the game are also the most likely to be pretty depressed with the current state of things. I know I am upset; I don't feel it, but I've taken to overthinking, and that's never a good sign. I'm reading the bioware social club forums, that's never a good sign either.

Of course, I'd be doing both of those things even if I enjoyed the ending of the game, but I have a very palpable feeling of "this is not how it was supposed to be" - I was supposed to be sharing the game choices and little details with friends pertaining to not just the end here, but the entire series, and instead I'm trying to make sure my friends remain unspoiled on the game to get a little more vicarious joy out of it. I was supposed to start a renegade playthrough - which will actually have a pretty perfect ending because Jane Shepard doesn't give two fucks about the galaxy, pretty much all she wanted to do was to kill the biggest baddest things ever, for sport - but I don't have the heart for it right now.

Some people are writing fan fiction - trying to headcon or establish fanon - on the bioware forums, anything to get away from this thing they just experienced. So hey...maybe mods will actually solve these things eventually??

[Jaedar]

Already made sure Jonas isn't reading it.

He hasn't finished the game yet? what a slowpoke.

And yes, it seems BSN is in quite the uproar about this. I find it hilarious. Wonder how long it will take to "End of Line" all dissent this time and claim it's all a 4chan/rpgcodex raid.

You know, we joke about this stuff on the dex, but the fact that the ending is basically just "pick a color of the cutscene laser" is so surreal. If bioware weren't so full of themselves I'd say they were trolling.

Oh and also, since mass relays explode, basically every inhabited solar system gets blown up, as established in the previous games and also the sizes of the explosions in the cutscenes themselves.

[DDL]

Well, I can cope with a shit ending, as long as I know it's the best ending one can get, so I'd be happy with mods that simply absolved me of the need to play multiplayer or something.

Though hey, when I do get around to playing this, I'll probably PM you guys and force you to MP with me.

So you can hear me swear constantly at the fucking multi-use keybinds, probably.

[Jaedar]

I hear MP is actually pretty fun, so if there's ever a non origin version I'll play with you