Mass Effect 3 - MEGA SPOILERS
Corporal_Fortier
Join Date: 2005-03-22 Member: 46079Members, Constellation
Join Date: 2005-03-22 Member: 46079Members, Constellation
<div class="IPBDescription">Thoughts?</div>I know the game has just been released yesterday, but maybe some of you are crazy like me and finished their playthrough. As a big fan of ME in general, I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts on the game.
Gameplay-wise, it's pretty much ME2 with some enhancements. They brought back some stuff from ME1 (e.g. weapon modding) and added a little more depth to the skills system when you level up. It's still pretty damned simplified though, but I guess there's nothing really wrong with that. I find the new "move between cover" mechanic gets in the way more than anything and doesn't really serve a purpose other than in the handful of situations where they kind of force you to use it. This might be because I was only playing at "Normal", and since everyone here is a gamer, I'd recommend turning the difficulty up if you want even the slightest bit of challenge. I don't know what more there is to say about the gameplay as it's pretty much the same as ME2.
Which brings us to the interesting part, the story. <b>Please remember to use spoiler tags people!</b> For ME2, I was super hyped up and watched all the stuff released before the game, and although I still liked the story, I found I got spoiled a little too much, so I decided to resist and only watch ME3's first trailer (which didn't say anything anyway). And now...
<span style='color:#000000;background:#000000'>It's over. I'll still have to think about it before I can say if I find the ending good or bad, but hell, the ride to get there is pretty brutal. In ME1/2, you could pretty much have a perfect playthrough, saving everyone and whatnot even though they were all "ohhh it's dangerous, not everyone is going to survive!", but this time? Seeing former teammates die and not having that little blue "Shepard saves the day" option, that's hard. It did convey the right feeling, though.
Now, I don't know if there are many different endings, but I suspect there are only the two choices: to control or to destroy. Either way, you die. It's probably for the best to kill Shepard, but part of me was still hoping for an happier ending, where Shep can retire or something, anything to let us know what happens afterwards. There seems to be no real epilogue to the end of this trilogy. The Crucible detonates, big explosion, you see the Normandy crashing on a nice planet, and then credits. And then there's the scene with the Stargazer and the boy, but that doesn't explain anything. I feel quite lost in the dark here. After spending all that time with my companions, I have no idea what happened to them. Even just a few sentences would have sufficed. Or maybe I just got to love this universe too much.
As for the rest of the game, I'm impressed at how much could actually change depending on what happened in the previous games. The Rachni? It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it caused a lot of trouble. What if Mordin died during ME2's suicide mission? Would Cerberus attack the citadel the same way if Udina wasn't councillor? Lots and lots of variable, and would it be ME1/2, I'd be starting a new character right away to find out what happens. But this ending kills me, no pun intended. In a game known for all the little details your decisions bring, to have only two options at the end seems so bland. Now, there is still a chance that someone will come and say "but noooo, I got a super nice ending on my end!", but I don't believe that'll happen.
I'm sure I'll come around and like the fact that it ends this way, but for now, I'll just mourn Commander Shepard.</span>
Don't get me wrong, there are tons of stuff I like about this game. And Jennifer Hale, damn impressive voice acting.
Gameplay-wise, it's pretty much ME2 with some enhancements. They brought back some stuff from ME1 (e.g. weapon modding) and added a little more depth to the skills system when you level up. It's still pretty damned simplified though, but I guess there's nothing really wrong with that. I find the new "move between cover" mechanic gets in the way more than anything and doesn't really serve a purpose other than in the handful of situations where they kind of force you to use it. This might be because I was only playing at "Normal", and since everyone here is a gamer, I'd recommend turning the difficulty up if you want even the slightest bit of challenge. I don't know what more there is to say about the gameplay as it's pretty much the same as ME2.
Which brings us to the interesting part, the story. <b>Please remember to use spoiler tags people!</b> For ME2, I was super hyped up and watched all the stuff released before the game, and although I still liked the story, I found I got spoiled a little too much, so I decided to resist and only watch ME3's first trailer (which didn't say anything anyway). And now...
<span style='color:#000000;background:#000000'>It's over. I'll still have to think about it before I can say if I find the ending good or bad, but hell, the ride to get there is pretty brutal. In ME1/2, you could pretty much have a perfect playthrough, saving everyone and whatnot even though they were all "ohhh it's dangerous, not everyone is going to survive!", but this time? Seeing former teammates die and not having that little blue "Shepard saves the day" option, that's hard. It did convey the right feeling, though.
Now, I don't know if there are many different endings, but I suspect there are only the two choices: to control or to destroy. Either way, you die. It's probably for the best to kill Shepard, but part of me was still hoping for an happier ending, where Shep can retire or something, anything to let us know what happens afterwards. There seems to be no real epilogue to the end of this trilogy. The Crucible detonates, big explosion, you see the Normandy crashing on a nice planet, and then credits. And then there's the scene with the Stargazer and the boy, but that doesn't explain anything. I feel quite lost in the dark here. After spending all that time with my companions, I have no idea what happened to them. Even just a few sentences would have sufficed. Or maybe I just got to love this universe too much.
As for the rest of the game, I'm impressed at how much could actually change depending on what happened in the previous games. The Rachni? It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it caused a lot of trouble. What if Mordin died during ME2's suicide mission? Would Cerberus attack the citadel the same way if Udina wasn't councillor? Lots and lots of variable, and would it be ME1/2, I'd be starting a new character right away to find out what happens. But this ending kills me, no pun intended. In a game known for all the little details your decisions bring, to have only two options at the end seems so bland. Now, there is still a chance that someone will come and say "but noooo, I got a super nice ending on my end!", but I don't believe that'll happen.
I'm sure I'll come around and like the fact that it ends this way, but for now, I'll just mourn Commander Shepard.</span>
Don't get me wrong, there are tons of stuff I like about this game. And Jennifer Hale, damn impressive voice acting.
Comments
I mean, after the ME2 filler episode that starts with 'oh the reapers are coming' and ends with 'hey the reapers are still coming' combined with the steady descent into dating sim rather than scifi action rpg, I kinda have really no desire whatsoever to play the game. But I am curious as to how they weasel their way out of 'unstoppable alien robots coming to annihilate all life in the galaxy' without cribbing plot devices from my little pony, friendship is magic.
Basically the plot of the series kinda seems like it's made up by printing off a bunch of magnetised plot points and throwing them at a fridge, what <i>is</i> the plot of this one, roughly?
Been hearing good things about this series.
I mean, after the ME2 filler episode that starts with 'oh the reapers are coming' and ends with 'hey the reapers are still coming' combined with the steady descent into dating sim rather than scifi action rpg, I kinda have really no desire whatsoever to play the game. But I am curious as to how they weasel their way out of 'unstoppable alien robots coming to annihilate all life in the galaxy' without cribbing plot devices from my little pony, friendship is magic.
Basically the plot of the series kinda seems like it's made up by printing off a bunch of magnetised plot points and throwing them at a fridge, what <i>is</i> the plot of this one, roughly?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I'll try and summarize it for you. Keep in mind this might change a bit depending on what save you import etc.
<span style='color:#000000;background:#000000'>You are back on Earth, relieved of duty and under watch (fancy imprisonment) after having worked with an organization perceived as a terrorist group in ME2. The military pick up on what might be Reapers incoming, so they want your advice. Too late, they land on Earth, big explosions and stuff. Your old captain reinstate you and orders you off planet while he tries to organize resistance. You have to prepare the biggest kickass fleet you can. Once again, the Council doesn't want to help because they're all scared ######less for their own race, so you've got to solve big conflicts, stop wars, get people to follow you, etc. It may sound like a choir, but if you've been following the series, a lot of the old conflicts come to an end, so that's pretty cool.
You also find plans for a weapon that could destroy the Reapers. It was designed by those who fell against them every "cycle" (every 50 000 years the Reapers come for cleanup duty), with every cycle adding something to the blueprints but never being able to finish it in time. You have to find out what the missing core piece, referred to as the "Catalyst", is, but you get beaten to it by your old terrorist affiliations, so you go after them and slap them in the face. By the way, the military wants to destroy the Reapers, while Cerberus (those terrorists) believe they can be controlled.
As it turns out, the Catalyst is the Citadel (the biggest space station ever built a long long time ago), but it is under Reaper control now and they brought it to Earth for some reason. The only way to access it is by leading a ground assault through London and use the Reapers' magical transportation system. Bloody battle ensues, you're almost pulverized by those Reaper lasers, but you're able to limp to the thingy to bring you where you want to. Dialog between your Captain, the terrorist boss and you -- in my case I got the terrorist boss to realize he was controlled by the Reapers and he shot himself. This part most likely changes depending on what dialog options are available to you.
And then you get to meet the Catalyst, which is actually the thing that created the Reapers. Not much more information about it. I had two choices, either control the reapers, which kills you but then all those machines retreat, or destroy them, which will kill all synthetic lifeforms in the galaxy. After some googling, there appears to be a third ending, in which you decide to fusion organic life with synthetics. Can't say much about it though since I haven't seen it, but apparently you survive and somehow end up on Earth. In either cases, your crew crashes on a nearby planet and all the mass relays (required for fast galactic travel) blow up. The only difference between my two endings was the colour of the big ball or energy that comes out (blue for the "good" or control ending, orange for the destruction), the rest stays the same. Then cut to credits, then cut to and old man that just finished telling a story to a boy.
IGN says there are 16 different endings, but to me there are only three real ones (based on the cinematics). You can see the details and cinematics <a href="http://www.ign.com/wikis/mass-effect-3/Endings" target="_blank">here</a>.</span>
Of course, that's a very oversimplified way of summarizing over 20 hours of content, but I trust you will get the point.
I got around 25 hours out of it with my first playthrough, and believe me, I'm not one to rush things when it comes to ME.
Don't dig how there wasn't a Origins install bypass day one though.
Indeed, I corrected that in my second post. <span style='color:#000000;background:#000000'>Doesn't change much except the colours of the fireworks. Having high EMS shows slightly different cinematics at the beginning of the battle, your troops faring better against the reaper. You also get more of Hammer squad through, but it doesn't affect gameplay at all. Otherwise, the only thing that 4000+ EMS brings you is seeing Shepard breathe should you decide to destroy the Reapers.</span>
On another note, Insanity difficulty is a joke as an Adept. Those biotic combos are way too strong. I had to check my settings to make sure the difficulty didn't revert to normal.
On another note, Insanity difficulty is a joke as an Adept. Those biotic combos are way too strong. I had to check my settings to make sure the difficulty didn't revert to normal.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Lol do it as Vanguard, too easy shields never go down.
This video says it all. You can find links that show many more proofs.
<!--quoteo(post=1911152:date=Mar 8 2012, 03:05 AM:name=Corporal_Fortier)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Corporal_Fortier @ Mar 8 2012, 03:05 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1911152"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->But this ending kills me<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Bioware simply pulled biggest ###### move in history of game endings, that's all. See vid above. :>
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Otherwise, the only thing that 4000+ EMS brings you is seeing Shepard breathe should you decide to destroy the Reapers.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That actually means a lot. It means you didn't get indoctrinated for good and that you're alive.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->there are more than 2 endings actualy, control, symbiosis, destroy, symbiosis in the energy column in the center, also to get 100% perfect everything, you MUST play several multiplayer matches, to get more readiness<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
1. There are only 2 real "endings", losing after indoctrination (attempt of control (TIM failed it) or synth (Saren failed it)) or victory - choosing to destroy.
2. You can just hack the game to get 20k assets instead of 139 for some asset you know about and avoid having to go through whole galaxy map gathering icons for 15 hours. There's save editor on GCW.
Quote from: <a href="http://my.spill.com/forum/topics/mass-effect-3-endnig-the-indoctrination-theory-1" target="_blank">http://my.spill.com/forum/topics/mass-effe...nation-theory-1</a>
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->1. The endgame scenario is Indoctrination/Manipulation from the Reapers (Harbinger) trying to force you into choosing to let the Reapers live. Shepard is not awake during the final sceens!
2. Choosing to control the Reapers allows them to live. Reapers win. They will still exist.
3. Choosing to combine organic and synthetic life: Reapers win. They will still exist.
4. Choosing to destroy all synthetic life: Reapers loose. Shepard lives. Reapers die.
5. Choosing to destroy all synthetic life option is more Renegade in appearence. Controlling the Reapers is more Paragon in appearence. The Illusive Man's choice should not be Paragon colors, just as Anderson's choice should not be Renegade.
6. Shepard awakes at the end of destroying Reapers. But Shepard is not awaking from the aftermath of chosing to control the reapers or combine organic and synthetic life. He is awaking from either after he is hit by Harbingers lazer attack on Earth or after the scene with Anderson and the Illusive Man.
7. Stating that all sythetic life will be destroyed will give you pause; destroying the Geth can force you to a different conclusion. This choice exists for the illusion of choice; the other choices are ment to sound better.
8. Shepard does not awake in the other 2 "endings" because you are fully indoctrinated by the choices you made to allow the Reapers to win. "Assuming Control!"
9. Never trust any child construct, be it a ghost or artificial intelligence, or heck even human. They are just creepy.
10. Shepard awakes at the end because he has broken hold of the Reaper's control.
11. Shepard has spent alot of time around Reapers. Soveriegn, various Reaper artifacts, the Human Reaper, 2 Reaper destroyers, the Artifact from "The Arrival." Its foolish to assume there is not some level of indoctrination.
12. EA/Bioware not only get more $$$ for DLC for the final battle, but big props for INDOCTRINATING A LOT OF ITS OWN PLAYERS! I do not know of another gaming company that has tried to fool all of its consumers, but they look to be the first and reap all of the attention.
13. Definitions: Catalyst = One that precipitates a process or event, especially without being involved in or changed by the consequences Crucible= A severe test, as of patience or belief; a trial. See Synonyms at trial.
14. Shepard is not wearing his armor when he wakes up in the Citadel, implying that this is a dream.
15) As soon as Shepherd "wakes up" after being blasted by the Reaper laser, he's limping. If, as you're playing, you try to look/aim down at Shep's feet, you can't. The view angle get's blocked so that you can't see below his/her knees. If you watch the pace of the legs moving, though, it becomes really obvious that Shepherd is moving considerably faster than he is actually walking, almost floating as it were. At first when I noticed this in the my second play-though I just figured it was designed that way because making Shepherds speed the same as his walk would make the last moments in the game take 3 times longer (and it already seemed to take forever). But if we're rolling with the hallucination/indoctrination theory, then the fact that he's practically floating on his feet just adds more fuel to the fire...
16) The line Harbinger repeated over and over in ME2 was that the Reapers would be "your salvation through destruction." Well, the synthesis and control options are literally salvation for the galaxy through Shep's destruction, buying into a compliance mindset. The only option that leaves Shep breathing is to destroy the Reapers, which has been the point since ME1. All the evidence points to the last sequence being a battle for Shepards mind that is only won when Shep chooses the path that the god-kid tries to convince him not to take.
17. Shepard awakes all tired and sluggish, people saying that they didn't see anyone reach the conduit, how did anderson reach the consil before anyone else unharmed.
18.The kid at the catalysit died in the opening of mass effect 3 and his ghoastly image haughts shepard in his dreams, a constant reminder of the cost of the war.The child's image is taken out of shepards mind and project to him. How can anyone project an image from someones mind unless it is a dream/indoctrination. Why did it take the form of the kid?
19.If the kid is supposed to be some god like power or knowledge then why does he try and convience you not to destroy the reapers (the point of the entire game). The other two options allow the reapers to still be alive giving them the opertunaty to indoctrinate/assume control of people.
20. Shepard is in space yet he is wearing no breathing equipment. But if I remeber right the citidel has a energy feild allowing organics to breathe according too the codex if I remeber right.
21. During the control ending look at the kid behind shepard he lingers for a few seconds, from what I can see the kid appers to be smirking why would he do that? Well the indoctrination was succesfull and the reapers convince sheperd to let them live. The choice was favorible for the reapers.
22. The destroy the reapers ending, if you look behind the kid almost immediately disappers, if shepard is indoctrinated then he disappers it is because it failed to get shepard to show any sympathy for the reapers. Which then leads to the footage of rumble and shepard breathing under it. The rumble around him are all stone from broken buildings no shiny metalic objects that the citadel is made of. And in the background of that scene you can see a building. The ruble is from earth in london, there is no rumble from the citidel explosion so you can assume that shepard never made it to the citadel because nothing from the citedel is made from rock it is made from metal.
23. Some say shepard survived the crash from the citadel in space with no oxygen on the way down and somehow survied the atmosphere not burning up. Look at how died in mass effect 2 it is the same way as how he got to earth and is "alive". He fell from space with no oxygen on the way down and burned up on reentry. Plus the force of him hitting the ground would have killed him even if he survived.
24. Why would this option only have the option where shepard is alive on earth. Because the indoctrination failed and shepard still choose to destroy the reapers.
25.The choice to destroy the reapers is made to look like a renegade choice the bad choice, while choicing to controll the reapers is made to look like the paragon option the good option and equivalent to Illusive man's thinking where you controll the reapers.
26. Many complain that shepard wasen't himself when talking to the catalyst, the fact that he/she didn't question anything. Now think when you are dreaming can you normaly control the dream can you decide what to belive, what to question, and deterime if it is sence, normally no.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
And I see too many things that confirm it:
<img src="http://i1115.photobucket.com/albums/k559/michaelrsa/1331778596081.png" border="0" class="linked-image" />
If you want to know more about the dev's thoughts about the ending, feel free to buy this <a href="http://www.me3finalhours.com/" target="_blank">$2,99 app for the ipad</a> titled "The Final Hours of Mass Effect 3", apparently soon available on other platforms as well. You can see some quotes in the OP <a href="http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/355/index/9999272/1" target="_blank">here</a>. There were also a few drafts about the endings that got removed from the post due to copyright infringement. You can still google them though. This part is especially interesting:
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Mac Walters on the Star Child/Reapers
"Originally, with the catalyst, the star child at the end of the game, I had written that much more in the guise of a investigative style conversation, where there is something he tells you but then, you get to ask a bunch of questions and you get your questions answered. But then me and Casey talked and decided,<b> lets keep the conversation "High level"</b>. Give you the details that you need to know, but don't get into the stuff that you don't need to know. Like "How long have they been reaping?" <b>You don't need to know the answers to the mass effect universe. So we intentionally left those out"</b><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
So they just left the stuff out because it wasn't necessary? The fact that the game got delayed and the team was still experimenting with the ending in November 2011 leads me to believe the whole lack of answers to everyone's questions is simply due to a rushed product.
Anyway, debates about the endings always end up like running circles around a big MAYBE sign. Anything you guys liked about the game?
<!--quoteo(post=1913743:date=Mar 16 2012, 12:43 AM:name=Corporal_Fortier)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Corporal_Fortier @ Mar 16 2012, 12:43 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1913743"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Anything you guys liked about the game?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Played through it and the game itself was really good. I got to tie up most races story lines (ie; cure genophage, free geth, in my game those nomad people i hate died) and I loved seeing the other characters. I was not too satisfied with my squadmates though. I didn't use the buff marine for anything. I never really cared for Liara. I like Ashley and Garrus but that was about it. In ME1 and ME2 the characters were so engaging and seeing how their stories play out is what mostly made ME3 great.
The ending... not sure how I feel about it. It wasn't really an ending. On one had it's an interesting idea to basically let the player's imagination run wild. On the other hand, it was incredibly underwhelming to have ME3 come down to 'pick your ending,' Dues Ex Human Revolution style. I feel like those kind of endings are so anti-climatic. The same kind of choice structure could still be achieved -- for example the Illusive Man could have offered you to join him, kill Anderson, and control the reapers. Or, after killing the Illusive Man the game could safely assume you want to destroy the reapers. I also didn't like how removed Sheppard was from the final battle. I spent the entire game working on creating this unified force but I mostly just saw humans attacking the ground. I feel like the battle could have been so much more and possibly more interesting if the catalyst was something other than the Citidal, which forced Shepard to return. I'd rather see a fight with my team, ME2 style, than an isolated Shepard picking an ending.
If you want to know more about the dev's thoughts about the ending, feel free to buy this <a href="http://www.me3finalhours.com/" target="_blank">$2,99 app for the ipad</a> titled "The Final Hours of Mass Effect 3", apparently soon available on other platforms as well. You can see some quotes in the OP <a href="http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/355/index/9999272/1" target="_blank">here</a>. There were also a few drafts about the endings that got removed from the post due to copyright infringement. You can still google them though. This part is especially interesting:
So they just left the stuff out because it wasn't necessary? The fact that the game got delayed and the team was still experimenting with the ending in November 2011 leads me to believe the whole lack of answers to everyone's questions is simply due to a rushed product.
Anyway, debates about the endings always end up like running circles around a big MAYBE sign. Anything you guys liked about the game?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I know about the fake, you just conveniently didn't falsify lots of other statements in there.
So if ending is simple movie that they can just replace at any time, are you telling me that they had to spend 4 months on it and still didn't get it as they wanted? Adding kid is making 1 character + some anims + some mocap.
That's not true, Deus Ex ending worked for Deus Ex.
I'm not sure I understand. Do you mean I have to refute the list you copy-pasted here too? To me, the ending is real. Based on previous statements from the developers (some statements have been listed <a href="http://social.bioware.com/forum/Mass-Effect-3/Mass-Effect-3-Story-and-Campaign-Discussion-Spoilers-Allowed/Mass-Effect-3-debacle---Pre-release-developer-quotes-10056886-1.html" target="_blank">here</a>), I am led to believe they pictured a much bigger and more complex ending and were excited about it, but in the end they didn't manage to create it in time. That sort of thing happens often, and since the fans had very high expectations, no wonder it started a crapstorm. Besides, <a href="http://cdn2.gamefront.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/mass-effect-dlc-message-2.jpg" target="_blank">this message</a> pretty much means "The End" to me, I don't really see how else you can interpret it.
<!--quoteo(post=1913787:date=Mar 16 2012, 01:55 AM:name=SentrySteve)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (SentrySteve @ Mar 16 2012, 01:55 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1913787"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Played through it and the game itself was really good. I got to tie up most races story lines (ie; cure genophage, free geth, in my game those nomad people i hate died) and I loved seeing the other characters. I was not too satisfied with my squadmates though. I didn't use the buff marine for anything. I never really cared for Liara. I like Ashley and Garrus but that was about it. In ME1 and ME2 the characters were so engaging and seeing how their stories play out is what mostly made ME3 great.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yeah, I was kind of worried at first to see how your former teammates would decline the offer of adventuring with you again, but overall it was well done. Also, I might be wrong, but isn't the mission on Thessia (the asari homeworld) one of the first time Shepard actually fails an assignment in the whole series? I get the feeling he/she is always once step behind the villains, but this time there was no excuse. That was kind of a kick in the nuts, but a good one. I agree that Shepard felt kind of isolated from the ending. There was a lot of potential for some awesome battles alongside Jack and her kids, Samara, Zaeed, Grunt and all the others who said they'd meet you on Earth.
And all those drinks Shepard was promised. What of them?
Why are you pretending to be an idiot or assuming other are idiots?
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I think all the points about why it was bad has been made. I gushed during the game about how much my previous games affected the current one, even in minor ways. ie: Conrad Verner coming back in style. And then it ended, ugh. Also, I find the Indoctrination theory interesting, but even if that is true it still means the ending sucked. Great, so he was indoctrinated. What happened to everything else? My friends? Did we win? Even less questions are answered this way.
I guess the two big issues I found with it were that the writing was otherwise fantastic (shooting the ###### with Garrus, Tali drunk, Liara making the records for the next cycle) and how the developers promised so much more. Really makes the letdown much worse and confusing.
I could go on with whining (squad upgrades being terrible when not on missions, side mission control being useless, etc) but I hope future RPG's learn from this one and use saves from previous games. It added so much and made me lean back in my chair a few times to take it in. Hopefully someone can do this and actually end it well too.
<a href="http://ps3.ign.com/articles/122/1221273p1.html" target="_blank">http://ps3.ign.com/articles/122/1221273p1.html</a>
See: <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QT4IUepvrU1pfv_B95oQj0H84DlCTUmzQ_uQh1voTUs/preview?pli=1" target="_blank">https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QT4IUep...s/preview?pli=1</a>
Specifically:
"It was established in Arrival that the destruction of a Mass Relay results in a powerful supernova-like explosion that destroys the star system the Relay resides in...If Joker was traveling fast enough to, at least temporarily, outrun the wave transmitted through the Mass Relay, he must also have been traveling through a Mass Relay...Meaning the point at which the Normandy emerged would be in a star system occupied by a Mass Relay. Since the wave was just behind the Normandy, the Mass Relay would have exploded almost immediately after the Normady arrived in the system. It could not have crash-landed on a planet because the resulting explosion would have wiped out both the Normandy and the entire star system. The scene depicting the crew emerging onto a planet is impossible.
Watching that super hip moron try to defend an ending that literally makes no sense is painful. And he does it so arrogantly. At best, as Comprox said, Shepard fights off indoctrination and then.... ?
See: <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QT4IUepvrU1pfv_B95oQj0H84DlCTUmzQ_uQh1voTUs/preview?pli=1" target="_blank">https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QT4IUep...s/preview?pli=1</a>
Specifically:
"It was established in Arrival that the destruction of a Mass Relay results in a powerful supernova-like explosion that destroys the star system the Relay resides in...If Joker was traveling fast enough to, at least temporarily, outrun the wave transmitted through the Mass Relay, he must also have been traveling through a Mass Relay...Meaning the point at which the Normandy emerged would be in a star system occupied by a Mass Relay. Since the wave was just behind the Normandy, the Mass Relay would have exploded almost immediately after the Normady arrived in the system. It could not have crash-landed on a planet because the resulting explosion would have wiped out both the Normandy and the entire star system. The scene depicting the crew emerging onto a planet is impossible.
Watching that super hip moron try to defend an ending that literally makes no sense is painful. And he does it so arrogantly. At best, as Comprox said, Shepard fights off indoctrination and then.... ?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That is what is funny about it.
<!--quoteo(post=1916174:date=Mar 21 2012, 08:33 PM:name=LV426-Colonist)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (LV426-Colonist @ Mar 21 2012, 08:33 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1916174"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I just found a secret ending.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The one with the old man and the plagiarized background?
But yes, the ending sucks. I'm not even sure that it sucks as written though, just as executed. The biggest mistake they made was giving us three recoloured versions of the same ending, because that really makes it seem like your decision doesn't matter at all. If you're gonna make three endings, you can't half-ass it.
And in the end, almost everything is left up to interpretation, which provides no closure. I have my own thoughts on it, which basically amount to "happy end," but if that's not what your interpretation comes to, I can see how you would feel a lot more cheated.
Summa summarum, botched job on the ending, but otherwise a stellar game. The Mass Effect series was a hell of a ride.
Oh wait, one last thing: The post-credits "storyteller" thing was narmy as hell.
Theres one thing the ending really has ruined most for me and thats re-playability since I've played through ME1 and ME2 multiply times each and enjoyed each play-through since the endings always played out differently but now after seeing the same utterly awful endings of ME3 I just can't be bothered/motivated enough to play through it again since really what is the point playing the game any differently only to end up with the same crappy endings?
I don't really have a problem with it being bittersweet I'd just rather it made sense although truthfully for a game thats all about choice there <b>should be</b> a "good" ending for those that invested the extra time.
I've read a few different theories on the ending such as the indoctrination one but in all honesty they sound like utter nonsense and merely people desperately grasping at straws in a bid to understand a conclusion that at the end of the day was just poorly written and woefully executed.
Heres a good vid on why the ending sucks (be warned its quite long);
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Lastly I cant understand how people are getting the idea that bioware are making new ending or changing the current endings when they've only really confirmed that they where looking to release DLC that would "address issues people had with unanswered questions and lack of closure" which isn't really the same thing.
God knows what they will actually do to in the end.