Mass Effect 3

I'm guessing I have to get that stupid Galactic Readiness up to get the "best" endings, huh?

 

Yes. Multiplayer is almost required to get the best possible ending. You have to have at least 8000 war assests to not play multiplayer and still end up getting the best ending. That is not easy to do.

 

Lame. Guess I'm just gonna watch them on Youtube then.

 

My Galactic Readiness was at 58%. xD I would get it higher and see if there was a difference but then I'd have to replay the entire last two missions again and screw that.​

 

Just watched them...that was a horrible new ending

Spoiler

Refusal: Ok, just shoot the stupid kid thing instead. Maybe we'll get to see the fight continued against the Re-NOPE WE LOST END OF STORY YUP.
And then they just wrap it up in less in 5 minutes by saying "Yeah we lost, but at least the next cycle won!" Easily the weakest ending of all of them. I mean, I get that it was a lost fight, but...c'mon, show more than just that.

I actually really liked the explanations added for the original endings, though of course they're still pretty wacky.

 

I love how the kid responds.

Spoiler

(Reaper voice) SO BE IT.

I guess that's kinda a spoiler?

 

Indoctrination theory still possible? Kid confirmed for Harbinger most likely :D
Oh and mai waifu Liara cries when I die, finally ;u;

 

Welp, finished it all.

Spoiler

I was glad to see they didn't just add some scenes after your decision, they wrapped up how your teammates on the way to the beam that would take you to the Citadel, and added more explanation to your decisions at the end that the Catalyst would tell you as well as elaborate in general on the Crucible, the Catalyst, The Reapers as well. It made it a hard choice again.

Do I Control the Reapers, become one with them like the Catalyst is and Lead them as I see fit?
Do I Destroy the Reapers, destroy all synthetic life including my friends and allies?
Do I Synthesis, where in we, organics and synthetics, all become understanding of each other by intergrating ourselves with each other?

My god, everything with Tali was so much more gushy for me with all the new scenes! ;.;
God, i really got connected to the characters...

Was intrigued by the epilogue I got, seemed everyone rebuilt, somehow. Which was obvious, the series would never continue otherwise. But the Citadel coming back together was strange to see, and it seems the Normandy wis stull kicking.

I await for more information on other DLC and future games. I loved gettig back to play the game again. Must play throught the whole series...

 

And now we just wait for Bioware to rape the series with either an MMO or an FPS. The former would be more cash for the greedy Bioware, while the latter would be the next logical step that was the more casual than Gears of War gameplay. Either way, I'll have lots of joy watching the Biodrones defend the company.

 

Spoiler

The Rejection Ending felt like Casey Hudson just giving the fans who hated the endings the biggest middle finger of all time (a "if you don't like it, TOO BAD!" vibe). I still feel like the idea of this God-Catalyst-Deus-Ex child to be an incredibly weak and uninspired winning-plot device. The part where the boy's voice dropped like several octaves made me genuinely laugh and raises the question how much influence Harbinger had during that scene. Because in my opinion, it definitely wanted me to either go for Control or Synthesis.

Honestly, I feel like from my point of view, the Destroy Ending was the lesser of four evils. The Control and Synthesis Endings in theory have their positive attributes but one thing that the series kept emphasizing was how power can easily influence and corrupt one person. This was shown in the indoctrination of the TIM, Overload, Shadow Broker. Not to mention that Reaper-Jesus Shepard is not actually Shepard. It has the memories, values, beliefs and morals of Shepherd but s/he has been fused with the collective archive and thoughts of the Reapers and therefore Harbinger. Although you could argue that it is perhaps the most Paragon thing to do, to sacrifice oneself for the good of the galaxy and use what was a tool of destruction to rebuild and start again - that is also what the Reapers believed that they were doing (although their methods involved mass genocide). Synthesis forced all life (synthetic and organic) to merge into a process that most likely is not yet ready for it - an Instrumentality if you will. It is what Saren fought for and it is what Cerberus sought (to an extent). Hell, even the A.I didn't want it if I remember correctly.

 

Spoiler

I haven't gotten to see the other endings yet, but I went with synthesis ending, and I will be honest, I accept it. I'm not sure what the canon ending is for the story, but this is the one that I accept it as. Reapers help rebuild everything, everybody lived in peace. Sure some lives had to be taken, but in the case of my story, some new lives got the chance to be. I am happy about this DLC and what they did. If anybody else is still sore and not fulfilled, then I hope that make more for you in the future.

 

You haven't actually said anything about the game or associated DLC. This reminds me more of a Youtube comment that people troll more then anything. Wanted to add what you obviously hated?

Chris, blame EA not Bioware for any money grabbing ideas you see. I've met the community manager for Europe, he's a decent guy and a gamer all the same, he loves talking to fans and put in a good word for the community at the Space Edition event. Bioware has always been a great company, full of great people, which I can't say for every game developer out there.
Bioware never pulled anywhere near the number of antics in games or extras like they did when they were an independent company, the bonus of the takeover was the greater quality of games as a whole, whilst the downside is the bosses dictating pricing and time allocations.

Call em a drone or whatever, just stating the obvious on a lot of things....

 

I have talked about the game in great detail before, just not in this thread. And why would I need to talk about the DLC? I thought the original ending was fine and that the people crying needed to grow up. However, the fact that they would even consider changing the ending for a bunch of crybabies shows that they have got no integrity. Err, that and the fact of what they turned Mass Effect into by the third game. Pretty good, fun and fairly tactical gameplay was replaced with mindless Gears of War gameplay and Call of Duty type events (London being the greatest example of this). If you actually think that Mass Effect 3 was as good as the original, or their older games, then I don't know what to say really. I guess different strokes for different people? But nobody can possibly think that Mass Effect 3 was as expansive the original.

Whether it was Bioware who raped Mass Effect, or if it was EA, I really don't care. The result is still the same. And it seems only natural to dumb the franchise down even more than it already is with either an MMO or FPS. As a matter of fact, I just googled it and it seems like they are already heavily considering turning it into an MMO. And the Biodrones will buy it and defend it. Who wouldn't find that a funny situation?

 

How many game companies would actually take the time to expand the story to appease fans? I will give them the respect for addressing fan concern, you could have easily said nah, but they took the criticism and tried again for the massive fan base.
I was never one to really complain at the ending, but I like the extension more then the original ending. It let some characters and stories be clased and I accepted that more then before.

Adding speed to gameplay isn't dumbing it down, it actually makes it harder to cope with. You've got to think on your feet, what weapon, what power, what team. To be honest, i found the combat in ME2 and 3 to be more relevant to the experience, before it wasn't intense, or insanely interesting, most of the time it was a matter of inventory management to find your best gear, equip and shoot on, i never reslly felt that it was more then a means to an end. At least the combat in its sequels felt more bearsble.

The biggest disappointment i've had about the series is the lack of exploration elements like the first one, i think that's the only thig I can say was dumbed down, it made the galaxy feel less real and less engaging.

But i don't see a problem with it becoming a FPS or an MMO as long as its done right. And I can't speak for topics tha are barely even being worked upon or confirmed.

 

ANNOUNCEMENT: A DLC called "Leviathan" was found within the files of the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut DLC.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/new...eviathan-DLC-Inside-Mass-Effect-3s-New-Ending

If you click through the link on the article where it says "BioWare Social Network", it will lead you to the thread where the link to the pastebin including the text is stored.

Okay my thoughts on the entire thing belowwwwww (THIS IS REALLY LONG):

Spoiler

First off, regarding the EC cut revised endings. I picked Destroy and will continue to pick Destroy no matter what (although I know what the other options were of course). To me it was the only viable option, not just because Shepard obviously survives. Yes, he survives, I don't think there's any two ways about it. Included in the Mass Effect 3 files of the actual game disk there is a file called "Shepard_Alive (Male/Female)" so if that doesn't give something away then I don't really know what does. BUT, if you want further proof that Shepard is a badass/superhuman look at the YouTube video with the new EC where Shepard is beamed up (yes Star Trek I'm looking at you) to the Citadel. He/She is literally thrown up there and is probably either knocked out cold to the point of their heart not beating or just dead as a doornail. As soon as Anderson says "Shepard", over the radio when he/she is just laying there on the floor of the Citadel surrounded by dead bodies, Shepard gets a jolt in his/her chest (almost like a defibrillator - a machine used to "shock" someone who has gone into cardiac arrest, etc.) The cybernetics implanted in Shepard were kicking in there, no doubt. Look below at the video as to what I'm talking about. The "defibrillator" happens at 6:47 - notice the smoke coming from her body too?

Now, as to why the Destroy ending is probably the best - Starchild is blowing things waaaaay out of proportion. Granted, they fixed the dialogue so that it sounded a little less stupid? But yeah, while it is unfortunate that the Geth and EDI are killed in this ending, especially for those of us who took the time to end the conflict between the Quarians and the Geth, it's kind of like..well what did I spend all my time doing this for. HOWEVER, if you look at the ending "slideshow" epilogue of the Destroy ending you can clearly see that the Quarians (40:40 in the video) are still alive. What do the Quarians have that Shepard also has? Yeah. Cybernetics. So they are partly synthetic as well but they are alive and kicking. Besides, the technology from the destroyed Reapers could probably be used to rebuild everything that was lost because the knowledge is still there. Basically all of the races can try and do what TIM wanted to do by saving the Collector base for knowledge and technology. The thing is, even if you chose to destroy the base in ME2, he still somehow gets a hold of the technology in ME3. Same principle could be applied there to restore the "damaged" Mass Relays.

That's the other thing, the Mass Relays weren't even destroyed so it cuts the losses anyhow since none of the systems went supernova after their "destruction" like they were ~supposed~ to according to previous statements. AKA- Destroy is good. It's what you sent out to do since ME1.

Synthesis just leaves a bad taste in my mouth because:

1) Saren wanted Synthesis. A combining of metal and flesh. Why would do basically what he wanted to do the entire time? That's just dumb.
2) Why mess with DNA. The Milky Way Galaxy is not the only galaxy in the entire universe. Besides, if this universe is so advanced, who's to say that by ME4 something more horrid could come along and wipe everyone out just like the Reapers wiped out the Protheans due to a lack of "genetic diversity"? It's just not a good idea.
3) The green eyes are just scary.

Though, the only redeemable factors for the Synthesis ending for me is the fact that Joker and EDI get together and it's cute as hell and that the Quarians don't need their masks anymore.

Now (I AM ASSUMING DIRECT) CONTROL: I just didn't like this option because the idea of one man ruling the Reapers just doesn't seem like something Shepard would do. Did you hear his whole monologue about how he died and was reborn? It just doesn't sit well with me. I understand the argument that his role as a Reaper Overlord will now be to ~serve and protect~ but thanks but no thanks Shepard if I wanted space police I'll get C-Sec on the line yup. Also, because Shepard is now "immortal" he will be living forever while everyone he has ever known dies off throughout the years, and that's just plain sad.

Here's where my emotions kick in: The fact that your love interest (in my case Garrus because he is a babe) does NOT put your name plaque on the Memorial Wall (unlike in the Control and Synthesis endings) and instead just looks up and smiles in the Destroy ending is partially what makes me so irked about the ending. I hate hate hate headcanon. Seriously, when you leave a TRILOGY off on a cliffhanger, that's just obnoxious, not good storytelling thanks very much. Especially since ME4 will supposedly be lacking some Shepard action and unless they pull a Halo 4 or release a Reunion DLC where your LI and crew go out looking for Shepard, I will continue to be irked. I'm just pleased that regardless of what ending you chose (unless it was that insulting Refusal ending), the Normandy flies off Jurassic Park Planet; I just like to think that in the Destroy ending where Shepard lives they are going out searching for him/her.

WHY LEVIATHAN DLC DOESN'T MATTER? In my opinion LOL: If you read through the pastebin text it basically outlines the fact that there is a reaper named "Leviathan" that went rogue on the rest of the Reapers and betrayed them. Leviathan of Dis was actually what is was in ME1 but at that time everyone thought it was just a ship. Nope, it was a Reaper. Joke's on you. Somehow between the events of ME1 and ME3, Leviathan was awoken by a Batarian science team and now the premise of the DLC is that it is going around Indoctrinating as per usual, just supposedly not on the side of the Reapers invading Earth. At the end of the DLC you appear the option of adding the Reaper to your team to fight against the bajillion other Reapers.

1) First off, all future DLC of ME3 has been stated to ONLY take place prior to the ending of ME3. None of the DLC will occur after. Yet, somehow I will take that with a grain of salt because they said they wouldn't change the endings too but look what happened.
2) If that is the case, then why would ANYONE want to pay for a DLC that regardless of whether or not you have a Reaper on your team, the endings are still the same so who cares? The only reason to buy it is to further the lore I guess, or just play because you don't care or something. If that's you, then that's your prerogative. Give them all of your $$$$$$$$$$ then.
3) I don't know if anyone has thought about this, but I thought the Reapers were supposed to be of a collective mindset, all programmed to do what they are told - at least according to Starchild. If you listen to the EC extra dialogue when Shepard asks "Who created you?", etc. the Starchild mentions that he is the leader of the Reapers and they are his solution and that the first Reapers were HIS creators. He himself went rogue from them and turned them into the first Reapers. Who's to say that if you pick the Control ending with Shepard in charge, they won't disobey him and turn the galaxy to shit again?

WHY THE LEVIATHAN DLC COULD MATTER? In my opinion LOL:

1) If you look through the text on the pastebin, EDI implies that the mission may reveal new information about the Reapers' creators, a topic mostly untouched in the series so far: "So the Reapers did not fully exterminate their creators. That suggests they are fallible, even on large or long-term scales." If they are able to make mistakes then there is a chance for everyone.
2) This goes back to the making mistakes thing. Perhaps if you gain Leviathan on your team and have near perfect or even just perfect stats it may trigger a whole new side of the story (although this would probably be obvious if file size is larger than usual or if there are multiple DLCs of course). If Leviathan is strong enough, or of a high enough rank (let's pretend he's somehow mystical magical ruler of the Reapers, besides star child, who's mind recalls their individual memories of whichever species they were that ascended in the previous cycle aka a Shepard-like figure of the past or starchild's daddy), he is able to come back and give some insight into Reaper weakness. If this happens, then the new NEW ending could be happy and grand, etc. idk. that's where things get theoretical and unclear.
3) I see LI dialogue in the pastebin text. The more Brandon Keener talks the better.

Basically, I thought these endings were better only in that they left a lot more opportunity for BioWare to correct their mistake either through DLC or a ME4 that would not be the end of Shepard. It's really unclear and that's giving them a lot of credit, more than they are due tbh and they should not have screwed up in the first place but that's just how it goes. If they want people to actually put the money down to buy these DLCs they are going to have to do some major marketing to justify players to reach into their pockets to pay for something that should have been included in the first place (and even the second place considering that all of this Leviathan information came from the EC files). Major marketing as in "HEY! We are BioWare and this new DLC after the Leviathan one will be featuring a reunion between your LI and crew as well as a SURPRISE ENDING! BUY THIS!" It's just a shame I see so many comments with the ME community having better ideas than all of the bullshit ~artistic integrity~ that they are trying to put out and it's kind of a slap in the face for everyone who paid $180+ (if bought new) for these games.

That stupid Gamestop advertisement before the EC came out that said "It's about the Journey" was so dumb. To me the destination is why you set out for the journey in the first place. It's all pointless if you have no purpose.

Wow omg okay this was longer than I thought it was going to be, so yeah I don't expect anyone to read through it all, it's kind of me just thinking..outloud? Yeah okay I'm done lol.

​

 

Not many would do this, and not a single company should. Especially not to such whiny people as the ones complaining about ending.

There is no thinking on your feet in Mass Effect 2/3, you see a chest-high wall and go take cover behind it. Then you use the same tactics you've used before on the dozen enemy types there are in the game. I would even go as far as saying Gears of War's gameplay has more thought and more "thinking on your feet" to it. Mind you, I played both games on veteran, so maybe there is some resemblance of difficulty and need to adapt on Insanity, I don't know. As it stands though, the original game was much more difficult and strategic, both in normal fights and while using the Mako to explore.

Chest-high walls, less people to talk to, less exploring, characters that act out of character (Mordin in ME3 is a great example), terrible characters (James Vega has to be one of the worst characters this generation), among quite a few other things sucked in ME3 compared to the original.

Can be discussed, personally I would say it seems unlikely for Bioware to do things "right", as their last three games are the worst they have put out to date.

 

But you've complained about the ending. You're one of the people you said are whinners who were disappointed by the game in their own way and said it was completely horrible as a result.
I disagree, comapnies should be listening to what their fans want and plan accordingly. Square Enix is a perfect example of this, fans have demanded proper sequels to Kingdom Hearts on consoles, as well as better FF games like XIV was a total disregard for FF fans as well as the yearly demand of a remake of FF7. They haven't been listening to their fans and as a result are doing poorly in the market and are disliked by their original fan base more and more.
Bioware have taken into account everything their fans have wanted and try to meet them in the middle when it comes to their vision of a game and the fans wants. I respect that type of company more so, because they are willing to listen.

A game being more difficult doesn't make it a better game, ME1 was a nightmare in terms of combat it was so uneven on Insanity that you were cheated out of your life because the weapons and powers you use are ineffective against these scaled up enemies, and the AI would keep rushing you, knowing this flaw in exploiting gameplay. The autosaves were a nightmare in this case.

I used cover less in ME3 then in all previous games, seeing as the enemy variations would largely mean I can't stay in one place for too long. Most of the Reaper forces were like this, as well as the shielded Cerberus troppers and the Geth Pyros. Gears of War, if I am to compare it to that, is more restricted in the sense that you can really just stay in one piece of cover to take out your targets, since most all of them use guns to take you down so you would'nt need to leave the cover at all.

I do really miss the Mako and other pieces of exploration, they were challenging and interesting to do in ME1 though the combat in the Mako was less then satisfying.

How did Mordin act out of character?

 

Just an FYI for anyone who didn't know this yet:

BioWare confirms that Commander Shepard is ALIVE in the breathing scene after the Destroy "Red" Ending.
Community Coordinator Tully Ackland made a post in the BioWare Social Forums

Article Source: IBTimes

Now release some new DLC that will actually contribute to the ending/make a reunion and I'll be cool as a cucumber.

 

Pretty obvious to me >.>

But yes, make a reunion DLC, or just something more than a cliffhanger for what is supposed to be the final game of a trilogy.

 

Me too lol. But I K R, there's a difference between cliffhangers when you intend to continue a story in another game/movie and bad storytelling because you want to "leave people on their toes 5ever lolol?"