Mass Effect 3 SPOILER THREAD: LOTS OF SPECULATION FROM EVERYONE

Status
Not open for further replies.
shingonation said:
I don't know, lately I've been thinking about GOTY votes and such.

I enjoyed ME3 more than anything from the past year without a question, but the ending changes everything, now, I don't know if I could vote for it as GOTY, on the other hand it doesn't seem fair to negate all the good just because of the ending.

It will be a tough call for me unless something amazing is released.

Should I focus on the amazing dinner or the shitty dessert? (analogy taken from here :P).
Click to expand...

If I had to vote I would take it all into account. And for me the ending sours the actual game and does so with such power that I don't think I could award an GOTY award when the game wouldn't hold up to others that were good all the way through. It is a great game, at times, but there are other issues as well that make it less than perfect, then an ending this...heinous, when firmly tied to the actual game and its decisions. Well it has to be viewed holistically and just like a good beginning can help a game through a slow middle, this has a slow front end and a horrid ending. Every bit impacts every other bit.

I am usually always posting about fun in these threads and in game threads. I have never had something retroactively suck the fun out of a game and change the memories I had. Its like, well, it makes it feel like the fun was a lie.

The cake is a lie. This will always and forever be, the game is a lie.
 
Derrick01 said:
Forcing them to stop their shitty and lazy writing is a bad precedent? THAT would get you to stop buying their games? Not all of the other bullshit EA and them pull?
Click to expand...

You really think that badgering a company long and hard enough until they decide to pander and change something that already exists is a good thing for games, let alone any art medium?

You consider that a good thing?

I didn't like the end of Harry Potter. I'm going to write J.K. Rowlings a letter telling her to rewrite the last chapter.
 
HP_Wuvcraft said:
Because it would set a horrible precedent for games as a storytelling device for them as a company, and possibly for the industry.

Something that like does not interest me and it would be a huge reason for me to stop buying their games.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I don't get it. I'm sure that you could argue that it's bad when a company stands behind a product. On the other hand, it's worse when a company doesn't own up and understands where it failed.
 
Zomba13 said:
I didn't mind MGS4's ending. Then again I probably wasn't as invested in the series (I do enjoy them very much though). I just found it so fucking insane and crazy that I just switched off and went with it.

ME3's ending though...
Click to expand...

I loved MGS 4 and if it had ended with Otacon saying "Snake had a hard life" then it would have been my favourite game ever. But then the after credits scene happened and dented my enjoyment of the game.

ME 3 and MGS 4 and sort of similar in a way. Both games are brilliant AAA experiences. They both finish off storylines that span multiple sequels. And both are genuine GOTG contenders right up to their last 20 mins. Everything starts to go horribly wrong after that.
 
HP_Wuvcraft said:
You really think that badgering a company long and hard enough until they decide to pander and change something that already exists is a good thing for games, let alone any art medium?

You consider that a good thing?

I didn't like the end of Harry Potter. I'm going to write J.K. Rowlings a letter telling her to rewrite the last chapter.
Click to expand...

If they came out with a DLC that retconned the ending it wouldn't be that big a deal, retcons happen all the time in the storytelling industry.
 
Last Hearth said:
If they came out with a DLC that retconned the ending it wouldn't be that big a deal, retcons happen all the time in the storytelling industry.
Click to expand...

Directors edition.
Except this would be called, "We Are Holding Our Balls in Apology" edition.
On the front Casey Hudson would be taking paintballs to his teeth. Each tooth representing a plot or issue they didn't clean up upon release:)
 
Last Hearth said:
If they came out with a DLC that retconned the ending it wouldn't be that big a deal, retcons happen all the time in the storytelling industry.
Click to expand...

It happens all of the time in the ME series. What's the difference between doing it on DLC or waiting for a whole new game to do it like they have been?
 
I think at the moment the ending to ME3 has the top spot for worst video game ending.

I can't think of any other game that made me feel so disappointed. Might be able to think of some later though.
 
Jibbed said:
...I have to admit, all that green DID make me (briefly) think of Mentos.

New ending idea:
Shepard is Mentos.




Yeah, I just want some answers.

I'll even take the bullshit ending we've got right now if they'd explain what happened to everyone else.
Click to expand...

They need to hire you as a writer.
 
So, There’s a Fan Campaign to Change the Ending of Mass Effect 3
My opinion of Internet petitions remains unchanged: They are worth the paper they are printed on. (Hint: They are not printed on paper.) They're a manifestation of the distorted expectation—cultivated in grade school—that First Amendment rights extend to your relationship with a private business.

That said, there's a particularly amusing poll out there, gathering 20,000 votes, demanding BioWare change the ending to Mass Effect 3. We've had our tips jar blown up with links to this movement. I have no idea where to begin with this.

Let's try to think of how BioWare, if it complied with this demand, would deliver such an alternate ending: Through DLC. That everyone would expect to be free—with all of the writing, voice acting and motion capture that a proper conclusion deserves. But at least we could be sure that it was developed after release! Oooh, but what if it uses characters that are already on the disc?

I think this is the sentiment that Christina Norman meant to impugn with her comments at GDC. Gamers are customers, yes. Customers' opinion of a product absolutely matters, and the maker of it absolutely should pay attention.

But the development of a creative work cannot be democratized and its revision to appease a vocal minority would surrender the creative freedom people claim to value in food fights over modding, takedown notices, trademark disputes, whatever. This is an expression of the writers and designers at BioWare, and if you dislike it, OK—there is certainly a lot of legitimate criticism of the outcome. But it is their statement, not yours.

What right does someone have to demand changes to the end of a story they did not write—and as this would, assuredly, be released as downloadable content—expect all of that labor for free? Because they'll refuse to endorse a product they've already bought?

What we're seeing is the Battlefield-ization of Mass Effect. A community that spews nonstop hatred of a game it bought at full price and plays religiously.

It's amazing to me how unhappy people choose to be in a leisure pursuit.
Click to expand...
http://kotaku.com/5892335/so-theres-a-fan-campaign-to-change-the-ending-of-mass-effect-3
 
Jibbed said:
Exactly. I stood there (well, my Shep did) just staring at the 3 options like;

'No... really? I have to fucking choose one of these 3? What were the options again? Did he says the relays would be destroyed for X? Or was it Y? Which is the paragon ending? Fuck it, I'm going for the middle one... it looks cool.'

It wasn't cool :/
Click to expand...
That's exactly what I thought! What the fuck is going on? A list of new story elements are handed to you and there's no time to absorb them and make sense of them. Though, arguably, that was because none of it made sense. And why the kid? Seemed so arbitrary. Why would the Catalyst present itself as a memory from Shepards brain?
 
HP_Wuvcraft said:
You really think that badgering a company long and hard enough until they decide to pander and change something that already exists is a good thing for games, let alone any art medium?

You consider that a good thing?

I didn't like the end of Harry Potter. I'm going to write J.K. Rowlings a letter telling her to rewrite the last chapter.
Click to expand...

Its different though because a book, and movies as well, are passive mediums, we dont have any direct input into their outcome or narrative. Theyre also generally the product of a single persons vision. As a result many people dont have as invested an interest in their resolution as they do in an RPG, especially one such as ME, where we have had such an enormous impact on how our games universe has been shaped and the relationship we've developed the various NPCs within it.

I might like Hermione and Ron and all the characters of HP a lot, but I feel far more connected to Liara, Ashley, Garrus, and even minor characters like Kelly because all those interactions with them and relationships were developed on my terms and how I wanted them to go.

I cant see how a company owning up to their mistakes and rectifying them to allow players to end their journey on their own terms could possibly hurt them more than what we are left with.

Had this not been an RPG with a branching narrative I could see your point being a bit more apt, but because the series was specifically designed to shape itself around each players choices and desires and not rigidly follow a single unchanging narrative I dont see how this could "damage" or "hurt" the creative process or artistic integrity of the industry.

ME isnt a series like HP or ASoIaF or anything so complicated, its a glorified choose your own adventure book where they stopped letting you choose your own adventure for the last 10 pages of the book, so no matter what you chose for each and every 100 pages before it, youre left with the same ending, which is a pretty shitty choose your own adventure book that should be fixed.
 
can you do the earth mission if you have below minimum war assets?

that would be the best canon end: the reapers just kill everyone.
 
Prologue said:
lol Kotaku
Click to expand...

Not gonna click. Kotaku doesn't get it.

You don't treat your audience like shit with an ending that murders all the effort put into the last three games.

We won't get a new ending. That's pretty obvious. The petition is just vocalizing unhappiness, which there are plenty of.
 
It'd be HILARIOUS if Dragon Age 3 turns out to be direct sequel to Mass Effect 3. It's an age where technologies are no longer existent and we're left with backwards peasants and various factions fighting for brown mountain.

Just kidding and don't even think of going there Bioware!
 
Replicant said:
It'd be HILARIOUS if Dragon Age 3 turns out to be direct sequel to Mass Effect 3. It's an age where technologies are no longer existent and we're left with backwards peasants and various factions fighting for brown mountain.

Just kidding and don't even think of going there Bioware!
Click to expand...

Too late. The MC of DA3 is the child in the epilogue, listening to the tale of "The Shepherd."
 
So basically the whole "keep races in check before they evolve too far" was a spin off the plot to Gurren Lagann? seriously?

I don't understand the ending. I had Shep jump into the beam to send the signal and create new DNA. How do the other two options turn out?

Man, haven't been this disappointed since MGS4.
 
I would agree with the Kotaku post if I hadn't been burned by the ending so hard myself. It's hard to be impartial to what feels like I own a part of.
 
Replicant said:
It'd be HILARIOUS if Dragon Age 3 turns out to be direct sequel to Mass Effect 3. It's an age where technologies are no longer existent and we're left with backwards peasants and various factions fighting for brown mountain.

Just kidding and don't even think of going there Bioware!
Click to expand...

They've already said DA is a video game in the ME universe. You're safe.
 
br0ken_shad0w said:
Oh well, at least I still have Babylon 5 for my good, epic space opera. It even does the ancient race representing chaos/order a lot better too.
Click to expand...

Ok strange timing. Thats what I just started watching during this discussion:) Must have got me in the mood for GOOD space opera.
 
DTKT said:
Yeah, I don't get it. I'm sure that you could argue that it's bad when a company stands behind a product. On the other hand, it's worse when a company doesn't own up and understands where it failed.
Click to expand...
This is the same company that created DA2 and they never apologized for it. :p

It must be strange being the company who keeps its fans constantly at odds.
 
I don't think they should change the ending, but I really hope they look at it and see why people hated in rather than pulling the same post-reaction bad PR crap they did with DA2.
 
HP_Wuvcraft said:
Because it would set a horrible precedent for games as a storytelling device for them as a company, and possibly for the industry.

Something that like does not interest me and it would be a huge reason for me to stop buying their games.
Click to expand...

So you hated Broken Steel from Fallout 3? Fans complained about the abrupt ending and low level cap, Bethesda responded with Broken Steel, and even though the sacrifice ending was changed, AFAIK, the game as a whole is better for it, and fans really enjoyed Broken Steel?

Games are by their very nature a much more interactive medium as opposed to books or movies, especially RPGS. It's called a role-playing game for a reason, you as the player are inserting yourself into the role.

Would you not agree that to have that role yanked out from under you at the end of a possibly 100+hour time investment of a trilogy after all the Bioware hype about choices mattering and grandiose, non deus ex machina endings is a big deal for a good number of people?

edit: apparently beaten by Enduin.
 
Also how the fuck was Liara on the planet in the ending when I took her on the final mission? Did she and Garrus bail and magic beam teleport to the Normandy as I tried to get onto the Citadel?
 
odd_morsel said:
I would agree with the Kotaku post if I hadn't been burned by the ending so hard myself. It's hard to be impartial to what feels like I own a part of.
Click to expand...

What I find strange is after listening to podcast, videocast reviews last week, I have heard some VERY strange and sometimes strong language concerning the ending of the game. I am wondering if there is a small fear over gaming news groups speaking out about it for some reason. I don't usually believe these things but you have a situation this clearcut and it seems like even those in agreement in the industry are sort of "laying low" or sort of brushing it over. Though they say they are game fans they are probably fans of having jobs too and at the very least not making an enemy.

I wonder if perhaps its not that and they just know there is no chance of any fix whatsoever.

I feel like I am reading the IGN review again. So many negatives and issues then boom 9.5. It was like a secret code where they were trying to warn people but the number had to be a specific thing. I still think the game is good though, but brought tragically low by the end.

Anyway going to bed. Gotta sleep the despair off.
 
Enduin said:
Its different though because a book, and movies as well, are passive mediums, we dont have any direct input into their outcome or narrative. Theyre also generally the product of a single persons vision. As a result many people dont have as invested an interest in their resolution as they do in an RPG, especially one such as ME, where we have had such an enormous impact on how our games universe has been shaped and the relationship we've developed the various NPCs within it.

I might like Hermione and Ron and all the characters of HP a lot, but I feel far more connected to Liara, Ashley, Garrus, and even minor characters like Kelly because all those interactions with them and relationships were developed on my terms and how I wanted them to go.

I cant see how a company owning up to their mistakes and rectifying them to allow players to end their journey on their own terms could possibly hurt them more than what we are left with.

Had this not been an RPG with a branching narrative I could see your point being a bit more apt, but because the series was specifically designed to shape itself around each players choices and desires and not rigidly follow a single unchanging narrative I dont see how this could "damage" or "hurt" the creative process or artistic integrity of the industry.

ME isnt a series like HP or ASoIaF or anything so complicated, its a glorified choose your own adventure book where they stopped letting you choose your own adventure for the last 10 pages of the book, so no matter what you chose for each and every 100 pages before it, youre left with the same ending, which is a pretty shitty choose your own adventure book that should be fixed.
Click to expand...

But evoking an emotional response (that is something more than "I hate this game!") is not a mistake. That's where this becomes pandering.
 
Considering how universally despised this ending seems to be, it'd be worth the effort to make a new one for their customers.

Especially if they want to continue with Mass Effect as a franchise. It's become pretty sizable, they shouldn't scuttle the ship like this.
 
HP_Wuvcraft said:
But evoking an emotional response (that is something more than "I hate this game!") is not a mistake. That's where this becomes pandering.
Click to expand...

Isn't that EXACTLY what they did? Isn't that what they last 25 pages are about? People are not sad because the ending was sad. They are sad because the ending is nonsensical, contrived, rushed and frankly disappointing on every level.

If Bioware had a realized a well crafted "doom and gloom" ending, you would not see this kind of reaction. I'm sure there would be some outcry from fans who wanted a "save everything and everyone" ending, but it still would have been a "good" ending.

This is not what we currently have.
 
HP_Wuvcraft said:
But evoking an emotional response (that is something more than "I hate this game!") is not a mistake. That's where this becomes pandering.
Click to expand...

It all depends on how they rectify the situation. Sure they could just pander to their audience and create a "safe" ending that cuts out all the screwed up stuff simply destroys the reapers, and has some endgame montage showing everyone's fate and most people would be content with that. But they could also do something creative and redeeming that while working within the expectations of fans, it doesnt necessarily have to be burdened by their every wish and desire.

Theres still a wealth of possibilities and options before them, despite there being certain expectations placed upon them by fans. As long as its something good and on par with the rest of the game, most people will be quite happy even if it doesnt end up being the exact incarnation of their expressed desires.
 
Just watched the other 2 endings. All shitty. Thanks bioware, you should've just said "Pick your favorite color, red, blue or green."
 
Slackbladder said:
That's exactly what I thought! What the fuck is going on? A list of new story elements are handed to you and there's no time to absorb them and make sense of them. Though, arguably, that was because none of it made sense. And why the kid? Seemed so arbitrary. Why would the Catalyst present itself as a memory from Shepards brain?
Click to expand...
The Reapers can control people, I'm sure they figured out how to read thoughts.

HP_Wuvcraft said:
They've already said DA is a video game in the ME universe. You're safe.
Click to expand...
 
Hero said:
Also how the fuck was Liara on the planet in the ending when I took her on the final mission? Did she and Garrus bail and magic beam teleport to the Normandy as I tried to get onto the Citadel?
Click to expand...

I know right? The Prothean and Liara were my party and they also were the ones who got off the Normandy at the end.
 
You manage to reclaim Rannoch and broker peace between the geth and the quarians, but now they're either dead(either from Reaper battle or giant fucking explosions from the Mass Relays/Reapers) or unable to return to Rannoch. So what was the fucking point?

What was the fucking point
 
I can't tell if this ending was lazier than Gears 3. At least ME3 had a magic explosion that changed everything, while Gears' magic explosion conveniently only killed the bad guys.
 
Dresden said:
Considering how universally despised this ending seems to be, it'd be worth the effort to make a new one for their customers.

Especially if they want to continue with Mass Effect as a franchise. It's become pretty sizable, they shouldn't scuttle the ship like this.
Click to expand...

I almost feel bad, because at the end of the day I loved Mass Effect 3. I think it's a hell of a game, and I'm halfway through a new game+. I don't think I'm alone in thinking that 99% of the game was pretty great, which is why this ending is so strange to me - it's bad enough to make people continue talking about it, as opposed to just shrugging it off like most bad game endings. I mean, most games have shitty writing, right?

But then I think about space child and I get grumpy
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Mass Effect 5 is "still in pre-production"
2 3 4
188
4K
DrFigs replied
Everyone runs away from dark mature writing , especially AAA companies
2
70
119
Denton replied
Bioware Reconfirms Next Mass Effect Game Still in Development - "Committed to telling more stories"
2 3
104
320
Memati187 replied
PSA Mass Effect Legendary Edtion 90% off ($5.99/€6.99) on PSN.
Deals 
37
568
Hero_Select replied
What are your expectations for the next Mass Effect game?
2
92
2K
Hudo replied
Top Bottom