Mass Effect 3 update

[Heavincent]

Just finished it. Don't really know what to say yet. I wasn't enraged at all by the ending (like a shitload of other people), but I'm still letting it soak in.

[Clippersfan86]

Just finished it. Don't really know what to say yet. I wasn't enraged at all by the ending (like a shitload of other people), but I'm still letting it soak in.

Same here. I didn't get mad at all. I was just sad at the outcome and a bit numb. Like it fell a bit too flat for me. Far from nerd raging like most did though.

[shadow]

Finished the game, so here is the LJJ overreaction response to it.

It makes me a bit sad that the final game is by far the most fun in terms of gameplay, but by far the worst in terms of writing. I was hoping for a great finale to the trilogy that combined the best of 1+2 to create a superior product, but it's not better than either of those games. That's not too bad, those games are amazing, but this really could have been one of the best games of all time and they really failed to hit that homerun and capitalize on the previous two games.


Spoilerific tidbits:

Also, it's a total bit[COLOR="Black"]ch[/COLOR] move that you need to play multiplayer and all the lame tie-ins to get the perfect ending. So I played through three long single player games almost perfectly but I still can't get the best ending? I'm not really a guy who gets really bothered by that, but those developers must be insane to pull something like that. Way to hurt your loyal fans for commercial gain Bioware!

If it helps the perfect ending is the same as all the other endings. There is no big difference.
Spoiler:
[COLOR="White"]You get the same video each time with a different colored explosion and a slight alteration to how the show the reapers along in the explosion along with shepard alive under a pile of rubble.[/COLOR]

[El Kabong]

If it helps the perfect ending is the same as all the other endings. There is no big difference.

And even that didn't make sense considering [COLOR="White"]He was on the Citedel when it exploded. It's a stretch he survived the Reaper blast, but then another huge explosion?[/COLOR]

I got that ending, but I had a war asset of 6000 something. I think anything over 5000 gets you that ending.

Also, did the ending colours annoy anyone? TIM got coloured blue (Paragon choice normally) while Anderson got red (Renegade choice), but those colours are the opposite of what those two characters represent.

[Mr. I'm So Rad]

And even that didn't make sense considering [COLOR="White"]He was on the Citedel when it exploded. It's a stretch he survived the Reaper blast, but then another huge explosion?[/COLOR]

I got that ending, but I had a war asset of 6000 something. I think anything over 5000 gets you that ending.

Also, did the ending colours annoy anyone? TIM got coloured blue (Paragon choice normally) while Anderson got red (Renegade choice), but those colours are the opposite of what those two characters represent.

That's part of the theory behind that entire ending sequence being a part of Shepard's imagination due to him being indoctrinated.

[eppelp]

That's part of the theory behind that entire ending sequence being a part of Shepard's imagination due to him being indoctrinated.

I think Shepard being indoctrinated doesn't really work due to the lack of time. Indoctrination takes weeks or even months, but the Prothean VI confirms Shepard is not indoctrinated in Thessia and iirc even in TIMs base. If the Reapers could indoctrinate so fast they'd just indoctrinate everybody. I could see it being a dream or imagination though.

But to lighten up the mood a bit: I think this is the first game where I literally laughed out loud on a regular basis. Stuff like Joker and Garrus exchanging Jokes, Tali getting drunk, Mordin humming while you talk to that krogan woman, aswell as Jokers "Hunt for red octobre" reference. Also a lot of selfironic stuff (Garrus calibrating etc).

[Heavincent]

Honestly, the more I think about the ending, the less sense it makes. Too many plot holes.

I'm not gonna be overly-dramatic or anything, but the last 10 minutes of the game has left me with kind of a bitter taste in my mouth. Like I mentioned before, I wasn't even mad about the ending at first. It seemed like a pretty decent way to close the series. But now when I analyze it, the ending just doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

[Mr. I'm So Rad]

I think Shepard being indoctrinated doesn't really work due to the lack of time. Indoctrination takes weeks or even months, but the Prothean VI confirms Shepard is not indoctrinated in Thessia and iirc even in TIMs base. If the Reapers could indoctrinate so fast they'd just indoctrinate everybody. I could see it being a dream or imagination though.

That's what I thought about it too. But indoctrination can be done rapidly although it severely debilitates the victim's mind in the process, making them almost useless.

But the theory states that the entire ending sequence is a dream/imagined, and that it is the Reapers trying to indoctrinate Shepard. The choices you are given in the end represent Shepard trying to fight the Reapers' influence, hence why the option to destroy synthetics is red (renegade) and the option to control them is blue (paragon) even though the colors should be swapped.

[eppelp]

That's what I thought about it too. But indoctrination can be done rapidly although it severely debilitates the victim's mind in the process, making them almost useless.

But the theory states that the entire ending sequence is a dream/imagined, and that it is the Reapers trying to indoctrinate Shepard. The choices you are given in the end represent Shepard trying to fight the Reapers' influence, hence why the option to destroy synthetics is red (renegade) and the option to control them is blue (paragon) even though the colors should be swapped.

But why would they show Anderson, the one person Shepard probably respects the most in the entire galaxy, choose that option? Isn't that like shooting themself in the foot? Also I think with low EMS you ONLY get destroy.

Also why would they try to indoctrinate Shepard in that situation? Shepards death would be the biggest blow they could land on a psychological level and if he survives he is to banged up to do anything useful for the reapers anyway. It's not like they need him like they needed Saren. Shepard dead-> no crucible-> Reapers win by default. I'm not saying it won't happen, i'm just saying it wouldn't make sense.

On top of that it would mean that we got a game without ending whatsoever, that would be worse than a bad ending.

EDIT: And even if you choose the control or merge ending you get a textbox telling you that Shepard ended the Reaper threat, how is that possible when he was indoctrinated and choose the wrong option? Except the textbox was part of being indoctrinated but then so could be the entire codex. Stuff that is directed at the player instead of Shepard has to be reliable, otherwise the whole lore goes out the window, but hey, so it does in the current ending so it doesn't really matter.

[Mr. I'm So Rad]

I don't know how credible this is but...I have mixed feelings about this

http://www.gamefront.com/rumor-mass-...-due-in-april/

[eppelp]

I don't know how credible this is but...I have mixed feelings about this

http://www.gamefront.com/rumor-mass-...-due-in-april/

Casey Hudson on the endings:

"I didn’t want the game to be forgettable, and even right down to the sort of polarizing reaction that the ends have had with people–debating what the endings mean and what’s going to happen next, and what situation are the characters left in. That to me is part of what’s exciting about this story. There has always been a little bit of mystery there and a little bit of interpretation, and it’s a story that people can talk about after the fact."

http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/...controversies/

Sounds to me like he likes the endings as they are
Sounds like:
"Confidence born of ignorance" ;)

[El Kabong]

Well I guess it'd be natural for him to defend it, he wrote it for crying out loud. Of course if they do write and extra/re-written ending it'll be because that was the "grand plan" and not because they're trying to appease angry fans.

[Mr. I'm So Rad]

I just hate the whole DLC aspect...when it's DLC that completes the game. It's a different thing when it's something extra being added that's not necessary (like the ME2 DLC characters/missions, except for The Arrival maybe). But when companies make you pay for something that was purposely taken off of the disc, or even worse, when they sell you something to unlock what's ALREADY on the disc, it becomes an issue.

That would be some real bullshit if they sold us an incomplete game (I even bought the Collectors Edition for eighty f*cking bucks) only to sell us the real ending later.

[Heavincent]

MAJOR SPOILERS.








I think the theory of Shepard hallucinating after getting hit by Harbinger is actually somewhat reasonable. Everything after that point just seemed so...wrong. I can't really explain it, but the last 10 minutes of the game didn't even fit in with the ME universe, which leads me to believe it might have been a hallucination.

This is a really good theory I read online:

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. 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.






















Holy shit...this is either the best ending in video game history, or the worst.

[El Kabong]

Agree with #9 wholeheartedly.

[COLOR="white"]I'm still not sure on the whole indoctrination theory. It's never shown to work that fast, it's more slowly over time as the person is exposed to Reapers. There was a theory that he's been indoctrinated since "Arrival" (He spent like 2 days next to that Reaper artifact that indoctrinated everyone else), but that was disproven by the VI on the Asari home world saying he didn't sense indoctrination in Shepard, but recognized it in that ninja guy.[/COLOR]