What are you playing? Mass Effect 3 edition

[bobby 55]

Don't read the spoiler unless you've played the extended cut.

Thanks for the thank you note. I still didn't see the results of my decisions though.

[Jonas]

First time Tally suicided

You monster.

[AEmer]

Here's a recommendation to all new players: Play with the EC. It's better.
Here's a recommendation to all old players: Unless you're replaying the third game, watching the new ending content within the game probably isn't worth it.

A lot of the content is spread out from the point where you load the game, just before the cerberus base. That means you gotta replay all of that, and all of the last section, and while there's some new stuff thrown inthere all throughout that (I think?) and it does give you a much better context for the new content, I'm not sure it's worth it overall compared to just watching the content on youtube.

Now here's my thoughts on the content:
Bioware made this, because the previous ending was broken. This ending is not, for one very specific reason: You can tell the starchild to fuck off. The result is, the _next_ cycle wins if your EMS was high enough. They prepare in time and beat the crap out of the reapers; and you actually see this result, as they've replaced buzz aldrin and the stargazer kid with a woman and a little girl in that one.

In my oppinion, that's actually the best ending overall. It's the most melancholic, and the most difficult to absorb, but I think it's very appropriate.

But all the endings are improved fundamentally. None of them are confusing anymore, and while some people will doubtlessly find something to nitpick about...if they can't see the improvement here, then their oppinions really don't matter to me

[bobby 55]

They made the previous endings make more sense by fixing a few plot holes, and yeah, the fourth ending is okay, but personally, I don't know if they're that much of an improvement. It's still only your ME 3 decisions that seem in any way evident.

[AEmer]

That's because of how the narative threads flow. I don't think this is spoilery, so I'm not tagging it, but read at your own risk, ye who have not played the extended cut.

Consider this: Whether you kept or destroyed the rebel geth factions main data structure in mass effect 2 is relatively without concequence because you ultimately made a decision of greater impact in the third game...but often, the capacity to make certain outcomes happen in the third game depend on what you did in the second and first games.

What options are open to you are determined by what you did in the second game. For instance, if you don't keep the genophage files maelon researched, and if you kill him, and if you killed wrex, then Mordin can survive tchunka because you can talk him down. If Mordin doesn't die, then that is now reflected by the ending.

Similar thing with a considerable number of other characters and things. If you let sayid die in his loyalty mission in the 2nd one, that is also reflected.

And the rachni decision is apparently also reflected if there's room for it; the ending sequence as a whole lasts about 10 minutes now, and there is a considerable amount of denouement to it, but you just cannot capture everything without making it 15 minutes long, and that's just too long for an ending cutscene. If you want a longer sequences, you need to make it playable, and you can't do that with this format...

...and so some of the less recent decisions get pushed into the background.

Furthermore, there is now a considerable difference in what you get based on your EMS. While it's very easy to think that everybody will have high EMS because they'll have played the first two games and get a considerable reward for that, and that everybody is a completionist, that's simply not true, and now there is a much greater difference in what you get to see depending on your EMS. In other words, the whole damn ending is completely different because you played the past two games and made a lot of decisions that impacted galaxy readiness positively.

Is it lame that you can achieve essentially the same thing by being a new player and playing multiplayer? Perhaps...But the whole multiplayer thing is especially ridiculous for players who _have_ played the past games, because it feels almost completely redundant....so it's tricky to say for sure, being one of the players who got a miniscule reward for a 5 hours of play.

But that doesn't change the fundamental fact that if you messed up previously, the fleet was considerably weaker, and you could therefore not expect to do nearly as well, and the ending does actually reflect it. So it doesn't show rachnii running wild accross the steppeseven though it does in a specific slide which you may get under particular circumstances, but the fact that you saved the rachnii several times meant that you had higher ems, which meant that there were rachnii workers helping with the crucible, which affected the EMS, which affected how much damage the mass relay network took, which you can see in how badly the mass effect relays blow up in the ending...

It's concequences upon concequences, but your actions _are_ reflected, I feel.

Do I think it's perfect? No. But it's no longer broken. It works. And that was the main issue to most of us who were disgruntled with the previous one.

[nerdenstein]

Having not played it yet, reading your post there Aemer, I am filled with hope.

[bobby 55]

@AEmer: You have made some good points. I think your last sentence probably gets to the heart of it. Those that were really pissed seem happier now, and we who weren't are kinda saying what improvement ?

Added: It's my belief that BioWare and 2K do take notice of their fans. I'm not talking about the Extended Cut. Both addressed some issues players had with ME 1 and Bioshock 1 respectively in the second renditions. I like 'em both (publishers) anyway, but that kinda service endears them to me even more.

[nerdenstein]

Well, I got to the ending. They didn't add much for 1.9Gb did they?
Then again, I haven't seen the fixed endings, I only saw the new ending where you, as Aemer said tell the Starchild to fuck off. Mind you, I went through the conversation with the intent of doing the Destroy ending; I felt that was the best one even before. However, I was bored with how slow Shepard walks so as I was strolling towards the thing you shoot to gain the destroy ending, I was shooting wildly around the room, as you do. I may have accidently planted a few slugs in Mr.I-have-flawed-logic Starchild. Before, this didn't do anything... Now however, he gets a bit pissed and storms off with the grumps, leaving Shepard stood there looking a little sorry for himself. After which, it fades to black, presumably leaving Shepard stranded there and eventually, dying along with everyone else. (Here, I had mental images of Shepard going stir crazy and naming his Handgun Wilson (Thumbs up if you get the reference)). I didn't like that, I wanted something more dramatic if I am honest. I did like the part at the very end with Liara.

I guess I will see how they've changed the other endings tomorrow.

More Spoilers! I did like how during the rush to the beam, we see what happens to the Squad mates and that they get taken away by the Normandy (Or did in mine...) I was disappointed at the lack of closure with Harbinger. When the Normandy swooped in, I was expecting the Normandy to rip Harbinger to shreds. That would have been awesome.

Final point: Did anyone else notice that when the Starchild is speaking, we can hear both Shepard's voice and FemShep's voice speaking in the background?

[bobby 55]

Final point: Did anyone else notice that when the Starchild is speaking, we can hear both Shepard's voice and FemShep's voice speaking in the background?

No, but I did hear another voice (simultaneously) when he spoke, I think it's the same as the "so be it" voice just quieter.

[AEmer]

Nerdenstein: Did you remember to watch the updated stargazer sequence?
Also, don't be too filled with hope. There are still better game endings around, I guess. But it really does work.

It also really functions because of how it's down. Very little is actually retconned; but it fills in a lot of blanks. It's not longer confusing, jarring, and unfulfilling in the fashion the prior ending was.

Thing is, unless you get some kind of sick pleasure out of over analyzing, like your truly? This won't work as it would if this had been the original ending. It's not good enough to really reengage everybody and overwrite this whole sorry episode.

Anyway, the ghost child always had 3 voices for all his dialogue, both sheps and a kid...I don't know if it had a growly voice as well, as bobby mentions, or even if I can hear it inthere, but he was always 3-voiced

The ghost child, by the way, always had different monologue pieces based on your EMS - and that actually continues here.

It's a little too much of a "catch-all"-stat to base the encounter on, and generally, I would really like if that specific conversation was tied much more closely to your game choices - but honestly, mass effect always used your choices for _setup_ for oncomming situations. Very rarely do your choices open up additional conversation options - if it's relevant, your old choices just make shepard say something different, you don't really choose to make a specific argument because of something you did. So it's not really in thread with how they've put together the rest of the ME series.

But same thing as I said before goes: It makes your choices from past games directly reflect on this conversation, given the right circumstances.

...

But honestly, I think that ME3 probably works better if you don't complete a single of the dumb sidequests, and if you don't play any multiplayer at all...heh, I wonder. If you also cut out the paragon and renegade specific conversation options all throughout the games...would it even be possible to get the synthesis ending? Sure would make things more interesting though.

[bobby 55]

Well since I have to use some crappy headphones atm, and the Tinnitus in my right ear has gone to full volume I'll not debate the voices.

[Jaedar]

So I watched the ending. It's still shit. In fact, it might actually be worse if only because vague idiocy is slightly better than detailed idiocy.

This is pretty cool though: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_p31uRBe ... r_embedded

[bobby 55]

This is pretty cool though: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_p31uRBe ... r_embedded

Now that's an ending I wish I had. Pretty cool indeed.

[AEmer]

@ Jaedar

But that's the ending though?

Also...you're saying it's idiocy. Ok. I actually disagree.
I think the presentation sucks. I think the ending should've been laid out in a completely different fashion.

But...do you reckon its inconsistent onto itself? It seems pretty consistent to me...

I still think it's a pisspoor choice of plot, but I don't think it's inconsistent.

[Jarvisaa]

i am playing mass effect 2 because i have tried 3rd edition but personally i don't 3rd edition i think 2nd edition is best one.

[sig removed, remainder of inane post left for hilarity value -DDL]