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Originally Posted by mrfossey Speaking of MP...any dedicated groups out there? That portion of the game is something I've found more fun than I imagined it would be, although I'm still pretty terrible at it.

Feel free to add me, gt is same as CAG name, I play with CAGs every night

Finally finished the game last night...so many thoughts...

Had no idea what to think going into the ending, as I had seen news about the petition and general negativity about it. But, damn, if it isn't really, really deflating. Excellent game, great storytelling throughout, but the ending just...kills it.

They absolutely would have been better off keeping the Reapers a mysterious, unknown killing force, only speaking occasionally or through their indoctrinated agents.

On the 'the player was indoctrinated' idea: I think, even if BioWare never intended anything like this...they could greatly benefit by going down this road. For many reasons:

1) Bring the universe back to a state where sequels and other stories can be told

2) Give fans an ending they will be happy with, that properly closes the ME Trilogy and its characters/storylines

3) Charge for the DLC. Make lots and lots of $$$. Those who don't normally buy DLC could buy this set because of their investment into the trilogy. Although they need to do it soon before the disappointment about the current ending wears off and is forgotten about.

Option 3 could be very, very unpopular with die-hard DLC haters and could set a whole new precedent in games--leaving the main story incomplete or missing details without buying additional content, or changing parts of the game/endings completely after initial release. (Gears 3 kinda did this with the 'hole' in the campaign) But damn, if it isn't a smart business move.

I will warn you...in that spoiler is a wall of text. Oh my.

Also I will probably be playing some multiplayer evenings this week to get my percentage to 100% for the achievement, if anyone wants to team up I may be game for it. Need to find my headset though. Also I'm mediocre to terrible :(

I'm at 75% now which I did to get to 5000+ to save Shep before I knew HOW to save Shep...since I ended up picking 'control' unknowingly

You know, I let the endings settle in for a bit. Now, I have some questions that I want Bioware to answer:

(Warning: lots and lots of text awaits...)

If the Catalyst's entire justification for the Reapers and destroying advanced civilizations was that synthetics will eventually wipe out ALL life, shouldn't have the Geth's actions have proven it wrong, thus giving it ample reason to stop this nonsense? They could have destroyed the Quarians as they retreated centuries ago. Then, depending on how things played out in your game, they could have again wiped them out after Legion sacrificed itself to give them all the Reaper upgrades. In fact, the only time when the Geth seemed completely intent on wiping organic life is when they were controlled by the Reapers!

So, the Catalyst controls the Citadel. If that's the case, then why was whatever the Protheans did to the Keepers to stop them from being able to turn it into a mass relay for the Reapers work? Couldn't have the Catalyst simply have undone it?

The Human Reaper that the Collector's were building in ME2 never really made any sense to me, until we learned the true nature of the Reapers. Creating a Reaper that looks like the destroyed civilization keeps in line with the idea of "preserving" it. But if that's the case, why do the other Reapers all kind of look like squids? Shouldn't there be all different kinds, to represent the different races they have helped "transcend" over the years? Why weren't they also building Reapers based on the other advanced races of this cycle?

What is it about Shepard reaching the Catalyst that makes it think its plan no longer works? I don't really see how one organic being getting there changes anything. Shouldn't it have been like, "Hey, man, sorry, but I gotta wipe you out...so that you don't build other organics that will wipe everything out...or something like that." And if had the ability to somehow combine synthetic and organic life...why the hell didn't it just do that before, instead of terrorizing the galaxy for millions of years?

What dumbass "advanced" race let the Catalyst set this in motion? I mean, I am assuming that Bioware isn't gonna say that the AI just magically appeared or is "God." So, someone invented this AI and asked it to solve the problem of synthetic life. Don't get me started on the stupidity of asking a synthetic life form to solve the problem of synthetic life forms.

This doesn't have to do with the ending, but it's a question that ME3 ends up raising. If the Protheans looks like Javik, then what were those statues on Ilos of? Maybe the Prothean "gods," ie whatever advanced race came before them? If so, at least that would explain why the Reapers look like squids. Well, doesn't explain why they all look squids...

The whole "Reaper motivation" thing seems arbitrary. I don't hate what BioWare came up with. I acknowledge that it's full of plot holes but I don't know what alternative wouldn't be. Supposedly the other idea being kicked around was that the Reapers were trying to prevent the heat death of the universe due to dark energy (it's basically the same idea... boils down to "wiping out civilization... in order to ultimately preserve civilization... somehow").

As far as I care they could have just left them as intergalactic douchebags with totally inscrutable motives. Doesn't make much difference if we're never going to know what became of the main characters or galactic society in general anyway.

In response to your question specifically, I do think it makes some sense to think that the Catalyst had been asleep or somehow dormant since it set the cycle in motion, and Shepard's presence "woke it up" and caused it to reevaluate things.

As for the Protheans, I think that was a simple retcon. BioWare liked their Collector design better than the original tentacle-monster idea, and decided to go with that. It's cool with me, I think the Collectors and Javik look cool and are an improvement over the tentacle monsters.

Yeah, ok, saying it was dormant would at least clear up some of the plot holes. Then again, what a douchy god-like AI we got stuck with. It sends out killer robots to "save" us and doesn't even pay attention to what they are doing lol.

See now, that's an interesting direction that they could have went in. The Catalyst initially sets in motion some sort of plan to protect and preserve organic life but the Reapers eventually warp its plan. Its dormant and unaware of whats going on. It eventually awakes and that sets in motion certain events.

Originally Posted by bigdaddybruce44 You know, I let the endings settle in for a bit. Now, I have some questions that I want Bioware to answer: (Warning: lots and lots of text awaits...) If the Catalyst's entire justification for the Reapers and destroying advanced civilizations was that synthetics will eventually wipe out ALL life, shouldn't have the Geth's actions have proven it wrong, thus giving it ample reason to stop this nonsense? They could have destroyed the Quarians as they retreated centuries ago. Then, depending on how things played out in your game, they could have again wiped them out after Legion sacrificed itself to give them all the Reaper upgrades. In fact, the only time when the Geth seemed completely intent on wiping organic life is when they were controlled by the Reapers! So, the Catalyst controls the Citadel. If that's the case, then why was whatever the Protheans did to the Keepers to stop them from being able to turn it into a mass relay for the Reapers work? Couldn't have the Catalyst simply have undone it? The Human Reaper that the Collector's were building in ME2 never really made any sense to me, until we learned the true nature of the Reapers. Creating a Reaper that looks like the destroyed civilization keeps in line with the idea of "preserving" it. But if that's the case, why do the other Reapers all kind of look like squids? Shouldn't there be all different kinds, to represent the different races they have helped "transcend" over the years? Why weren't they also building Reapers based on the other advanced races of this cycle? What is it about Shepard reaching the Catalyst that makes it think its plan no longer works? I don't really see how one organic being getting there changes anything. Shouldn't it have been like, "Hey, man, sorry, but I gotta wipe you out...so that you don't build other organics that will wipe everything out...or something like that." And if had the ability to somehow combine synthetic and organic life...why the hell didn't it just do that before, instead of terrorizing the galaxy for millions of years? What dumbass "advanced" race let the Catalyst set this in motion? I mean, I am assuming that Bioware isn't gonna say that the AI just magically appeared or is "God." So, someone invented this AI and asked it to solve the problem of synthetic life. Don't get me started on the stupidity of asking a synthetic life form to solve the problem of synthetic life forms. This doesn't have to do with the ending, but it's a question that ME3 ends up raising. If the Protheans looks like Javik, then what were those statues on Ilos of? Maybe the Prothean "gods," ie whatever advanced race came before them? If so, at least that would explain why the Reapers look like squids. Well, doesn't explain why they all look squids...

I think the idea is that the peace with the geth will be temporary. What inevitably happens between competing factions is that a war arises out of fear (fear that the other will strike so you pre-empt) or in competition for resources. As all races expand, resources will become finite and wars will ensue. Sythentics are able to replicate themselves more easily, so it is assumed they would wipe out organic life. Thus, by eradicating intelligent organic life and preserving the species thorugh using their DNA, they allow the species to continue without destroying themselves through synthetics. To believe this, you have to subscribe to the idea that organic life as a whole is what is worth preserving, not any one species.

Those who are upset with the ending have created a child's play donation group. Already over 2.7k http://retakemasseffect.chipin.com/r...ct-childs-play

Originally Posted by bigdaddybruce44 See now, that's an interesting direction that they could have went in. The Catalyst initially sets in motion some sort of plan to protect and preserve organic life but the Reapers eventually warp its plan.

That's a really cool idea. Catalyst wakes up, Shepard uses his Powers of Persuasion (TM) to either convince the Catalyst to shut everything down (good ending), delay the reaping by 100 years to give life a chance to prove itself (mediocre ending), or spare only humanity and Reap the other alien races (bad ending).

I just came up with that in 5 seconds and it's better than "what color magic beam do you want." :P

Originally Posted by Ryuukishi That's a really cool idea. Catalyst wakes up, Shepard uses his Powers of Persuasion (TM) to either convince the Catalyst to shut everything down (good ending), delay the reaping by 100 years to give life a chance to prove itself (mediocre ending), or spare only humanity and Reap the other alien races (bad ending). I just came up with that in 5 seconds and it's better than "what color magic beam do you want." :P

The color magic beams are quickly becoming the Zeist of this generation.

Oh snap.
http://www.joystiq.com/2012/03/13/ru...r-dlc-spotted/

Geth Infilitrator? yes please...

Me3 data pad http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mass-effect-3-datapad/id506847903?mt=8

Originally Posted by theredworm Me3 data pad http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mass-...506847903?mt=8

The datapad is cool. In-game events cause you to receive emails from the characters. Liara totally sexted me.

You can also raise galactic readiness a couple percent every few hours by doing some simple quests.

Originally Posted by theredworm Me3 data pad http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mass-...506847903?mt=8

damn you guile! i want this for my kindle fire.

Originally Posted by 100xp 5 spectre packs last night...no widow or javelin. I've been rockin the mantis since release. meh. The M-37 (nade launcher) is pretty awesome, I didn't realize that it almost has a stun effect on enemies.

Considering the Mantis 2 shots Get Primes & Ravagers, 3 shots Brutes and One shots everything below an armored unit, the Mantis is not bad when used properly. Human Infiltrator FTW.

Finished it.

Liked the ending. Don't get why so many are upset with the ending. It's a galactic war, not an episode of The Brady Bunch. Shit happens, people will die, things will get destroyed.

Originally Posted by Mad39er Considering the Mantis 2 shots Get Primes & Ravagers, 3 shots Brutes and One shots everything below an armored unit, the Mantis is not bad when used properly. Human Infiltrator FTW.

the Mantis 2 shots geth primes and ravagers? I actually haven't played Geth or Reaper on bronze yet. I've strictly been playing silver and gold. I'd like the extra punch for silver and gold. The mantis is really the only 1 shot sniper rifle until the window and greater, so I'd like to upgrade asap.

Originally Posted by KingofOldSchool Finished it. Liked the ending. Don't get why so many are upset with the ending. It's a galactic war, not an episode of The Brady Bunch. Shit happens, people will die, things will get destroyed.

Because even if you like the ending, there are still plot holes. What is the Normandy running from? Are your squadmates just going to die because they have nothing they can eat on the new world? How did your squadmates who stormed the beam/conduit with you get back on the normandy?

Just finished. Disappointed at the nonsensical nature of it all. I don't know what else to say.

At some point I'll probably go through and play it again, maybe. The other two games I couldn't wait to do so.

Originally Posted by 100xp the Mantis 2 shots geth primes and ravagers? I actually haven't played Geth or Reaper on bronze yet. I've strictly been playing silver and gold. I'd like the extra punch for silver and gold. The mantis is really the only 1 shot sniper rifle until the window and greater, so I'd like to upgrade asap.

It's not a 2 shot on silver/gold lol, but if you invest in damage specs in your powers you can usually take down a prime in ~5 headshots with a mantis x depending on the difficulty. The Widow packs a punch but since it's going to take a while to upgrade I prefer the mantis because the damage is fairly close while there's a big difference in weight.

You should definitely join me for reaper gold, it's insane haha. Brutes come wave 2, banshees wave 3, and ravagers are mixed in from wave 4.

Originally Posted by Anexanhume Because even if you like the ending, there are still plot holes. What is the Normandy running from? Are your squadmates just going to die because they have nothing they can eat on the new world? How did your squadmates who stormed the beam/conduit with you get back on the normandy?

All of that, plus, who wouldn't want to know what became of the characters, races, and societies that we've spent so much time learning about and even influencing over three games? Do the player-engineered fortunes of the krogan, geth, quarians, etc. make any difference to their post-game fates? What becomes of the people we've spent so much time getting to know?

This isn't The Sopranos where an abrupt cut to black with no answers provided was simply an artistic choice. This was an interactive fiction expressly built on the idea of player control and influence. It's inappropriate that it just ends without any indication of the ultimate result of our choices.

Originally Posted by Anexanhume Because even if you like the ending, there are still plot holes. What is the Normandy running from? Are your squadmates just going to die because they have nothing they can eat on the new world? How did your squadmates who stormed the beam/conduit with you get back on the normandy?

It's not like plotholes are rare, even good movies have them. Normady was probably running from the blast not knowing if it's a harmful blast. The shot of them in the new world isn't really a plothole, more like leaving you to draw your own conclusions. The others got back on Normady probably because they managed to survive and Joker found them and got them back on board.

I mean, maybe I just don't feel the need over analyze stuff in a video game. I'd rather take a series like Mass Effect where you have options and choices with unique dialogue than linear, nothing new games like CoD and Halo.