Mass Effect 3 Discussion Thread

[quote name='Freemason']Which could be why you were so upset at the ending lol.[/QUOTE]

No, I don't understand anything YOU write. I only understand English.
 
can't help but feel that the side aspects of this game just feel rushed. The way side missions are, the way conversations seem to go. The citadel especially. I miss Mass Effect 1 with huge pointless areas. Sigh.
 
[quote name='dotCody']No, I don't understand anything YOU write. I only understand English.[/QUOTE]

then you should have no problem reading it... maybe it was the big words? you seem a little prickish about not agreeing with your fuck filled hate for the ending sorry
 
Finished earlier today. Thinking out loud.

END GAME SPOILERS

First, the apparent glitches. I saw the galactic readiness goes to 0% and bounces back to 50% glitch. I achieved a total military strength of ~7100 (I did everything), yet I did not get the defender or the master and commander achievements. I also didn't get the ending where Shepard lives after he chooses to kill all synthetics, even though according to my score and Bioware, I should have received that ending.

Second, my feelings about the ending. I was completely satisfied for the ending, except for the fact you can find out that Shepard lives but not much else. There seems to be lack of definition on what state the galaxy is sent to after using the crucible. All synthetic life is wiped, but nothing is mentioned about machines, electronics, ships, etc. If those are eradicated, why not show it? If they aren't eradicated, then why the hell did the normandy need to flee a blast and land on some remote planet? They should have survived the blast and returned safely to earth. I'm also bummed out by the lack of a fully happy ending. In the ideal ending, shepard lives, the normandy returns to earth and he is reunited with his buddies and love interest. Sure, in this scenario you get the idea that Shep is mankind's savior, but I don't see a way where that reunion is precluded as an outcome. Fortunately, that's also why I wasn't too upset my Shepard didn't live. Also a little perplexed by seeing my LI survive when she assaulted the transport beam with me. Additionally, the satisfaction of her living isn't decoupled all that much from humanity living in a resolution for me.

Now, for the criticisms about the ending, I genuinely don't get why people would think that the final conflict would be with the reapers themselves. If you go down that path, you likely never learn their origin and why the cycle exists, which I imagine would not be satisfying for many people. It was always pretty clear some organics had to be responsible for the reapers existence in the first place, and sovereign's words in the first game not so subtly hinted at why the cycle existed.

As for calling the child being "space magic," I don't get that either. It's a representative of the organic race responsible for the reapers. Whether it's an AI, pure energy being, etc., it's consistent with the lore established about AI capabilities and synthetics in the ME universe. The three end game options also satisfy just about every angle but they also represent a tough moral choice where it's not just "bad guys lose, good guys win." It's obvious some sort of major pickle justified the reapers' existence in the first place, so it's kind of silly to expect a complete, non-consequential solution.
 
[quote name='Ink.So.Well.']Just found out there's another way to respec your MP characters besides promotion which forces a respec of the entire class (annoying to say the least). The catch? It's a rare frickin' card item attached to the already exceptionally questionable luck based unlock system.

Why they couldn't have made it available alongside the packs sporting a high price tag is beyond me. ;\[/QUOTE]

I think i'd be pissed if I got the respec card instead of equipment. getting to lvl 20 is pretty easy easily once you get getting good gear and play w/even a mediocre team. I guess it's something you'd want after you've unlocked everything.

what happens when you promote your class? i know you lose all lvl progress, but does anything unlock? do you get wings? etc. thanks.
 
[quote name='100xp']I think i'd be pissed if I got the respec card instead of equipment. getting to lvl 20 is pretty easy easily once you get getting good gear and play w/even a mediocre team. I guess it's something you'd want after you've unlocked everything.

what happens when you promote your class? i know you lose all lvl progress, but does anything unlock? do you get wings? etc. thanks.[/QUOTE]

no unlocks, just all 4 people get reset to level 1
 
[quote name='Anexanhume']Finished earlier today. Thinking out loud.

END GAME SPOILERS

First, the apparent glitches. I saw the galactic readiness goes to 0% and bounces back to 50% glitch. I achieved a total military strength of ~7100 (I did everything), yet I did not get the defender or the master and commander achievements. I also didn't get the ending where Shepard lives after he chooses to kill all synthetics, even though according to my score and Bioware, I should have received that ending.

Second, my feelings about the ending. I was completely satisfied for the ending, except for the fact you can find out that Shepard lives but not much else. There seems to be lack of definition on what state the galaxy is sent to after using the crucible. All synthetic life is wiped, but nothing is mentioned about machines, electronics, ships, etc. If those are eradicated, why not show it? If they aren't eradicated, then why the hell did the normandy need to flee a blast and land on some remote planet? They should have survived the blast and returned safely to earth. I'm also bummed out by the lack of a fully happy ending. In the ideal ending, shepard lives, the normandy returns to earth and he is reunited with his buddies and love interest. Sure, in this scenario you get the idea that Shep is mankind's savior, but I don't see a way where that reunion is precluded as an outcome. Fortunately, that's also why I wasn't too upset my Shepard didn't live. Also a little perplexed by seeing my LI survive when she assaulted the transport beam with me. Additionally, the satisfaction of her living isn't decoupled all that much from humanity living in a resolution for me.

Now, for the criticisms about the ending, I genuinely don't get why people would think that the final conflict would be with the reapers themselves. If you go down that path, you likely never learn their origin and why the cycle exists, which I imagine would not be satisfying for many people. It was always pretty clear some organics had to be responsible for the reapers existence in the first place, and sovereign's words in the first game not so subtly hinted at why the cycle existed.

As for calling the child being "space magic," I don't get that either. It's a representative of the organic race responsible for the reapers. Whether it's an AI, pure energy being, etc., it's consistent with the lore established about AI capabilities and synthetics in the ME universe. The three end game options also satisfy just about every angle but they also represent a tough moral choice where it's not just "bad guys lose, good guys win." It's obvious some sort of major pickle justified the reapers' existence in the first place, so it's kind of silly to expect a complete, non-consequential solution.
[/QUOTE]

Exactly, nice summary.
It is pretty clear from the get go that in order to interupt the cycle, you need to change it, that is how it ends, like it or not. I would love a happy ending where you get to be with your team again and see the litle blue babies and all that... but not all Legends end that way.
 
[quote name='Anexanhume']Finished earlier today. Thinking out loud.

END GAME SPOILERS

First, the apparent glitches. I saw the galactic readiness goes to 0% and bounces back to 50% glitch. I achieved a total military strength of ~7100 (I did everything), yet I did not get the defender or the master and commander achievements. I also didn't get the ending where Shepard lives after he chooses to kill all synthetics, even though according to my score and Bioware, I should have received that ending.

Second, my feelings about the ending. I was completely satisfied for the ending, except for the fact you can find out that Shepard lives but not much else. There seems to be lack of definition on what state the galaxy is sent to after using the crucible. All synthetic life is wiped, but nothing is mentioned about machines, electronics, ships, etc. If those are eradicated, why not show it? If they aren't eradicated, then why the hell did the normandy need to flee a blast and land on some remote planet? They should have survived the blast and returned safely to earth. I'm also bummed out by the lack of a fully happy ending. In the ideal ending, shepard lives, the normandy returns to earth and he is reunited with his buddies and love interest. Sure, in this scenario you get the idea that Shep is mankind's savior, but I don't see a way where that reunion is precluded as an outcome. Fortunately, that's also why I wasn't too upset my Shepard didn't live. Also a little perplexed by seeing my LI survive when she assaulted the transport beam with me. Additionally, the satisfaction of her living isn't decoupled all that much from humanity living in a resolution for me.

Now, for the criticisms about the ending, I genuinely don't get why people would think that the final conflict would be with the reapers themselves. If you go down that path, you likely never learn their origin and why the cycle exists, which I imagine would not be satisfying for many people. It was always pretty clear some organics had to be responsible for the reapers existence in the first place, and sovereign's words in the first game not so subtly hinted at why the cycle existed.

As for calling the child being "space magic," I don't get that either. It's a representative of the organic race responsible for the reapers. Whether it's an AI, pure energy being, etc., it's consistent with the lore established about AI capabilities and synthetics in the ME universe. The three end game options also satisfy just about every angle but they also represent a tough moral choice where it's not just "bad guys lose, good guys win." It's obvious some sort of major pickle justified the reapers' existence in the first place, so it's kind of silly to expect a complete, non-consequential solution.
[/QUOTE]

I agree with just about all of this. I am really surprised by the number of people I have seen that believed (or at least claim to have believed) that the Reapers where the true "enemy" and a means unto themselves. Funny thing is, that would actually have been "space magic." As you said, from the start, Bioware has been hinting at another power having set all of this into motion.
 
[quote name='Freemason']no unlocks, just all 4 people get reset to level 1[/QUOTE]

ballocks.

and what's up with the servers today? it practially freezes your game when you accept someone's invite.
 
I could have gone back to the amazing single player but after playing that all yesterday I decided to get my galactic readiness up a few percentages with multiplayer. Got into a good group eventually and we went through 4 silver challenges. It really helps when you have a varied team. Me as a Drell Adept, them as a Infiltrator, Soldier, and Vanguard worked out nicely. I am completely satisfied with multiplayer and how Bioware handled it.:applause:
 
Yeah. I am not. I feel this is defiantly the weakest of all 3 games and am a little disappointed. Nothing feels right and i have no sense of connection from the choices I made in the other games, other than these bit parts that seem to be coming up. I am bored with a lot of the missions being so fetch quest heavy.

The multiplayer? Blah, I hate hoard mode in all games but I won't hold that against th since most people seem to like but it means all of it pointless for me. I also really hate the cross over between single player and mp.

Meh I don't like how the game was constructed so differently than the last games. It I still hold out hope that I am going to like it in the long run.
 
I am gonna be pissed. So I spent like an hour to find all these stuff around the galaxy. As soon as I get back to the ciddy it gets attack...I am ginna guess I won't be able to turn in those quests then huh?
 
I'm not a big fan of hoard modes either. But I begrudgingly played some MP, because I needed to get my readiness up just a bit in order to ensure the *cough* best ending, and damn, I was addicted. I ended up playing like 10 or 15 games and then remembered I still had to finish the campaign lol

[quote name='Soodmeg']I am gonna be pissed. So I spent like an hour to find all these stuff around the galaxy. As soon as I get back to the ciddy it gets attack...I am ginna guess I won't be able to turn in those quests then huh?[/QUOTE]

Um...be prepared to be very, very, very pissed...

....I would've been in the same boat, but I had to Google something about where to turn something in, and the page cautioned about doing certain side missions before certain main missions...
 
[quote name='Freemason']then you should have no problem reading it... maybe it was the big words? you seem a little prickish about not agreeing with your fuck filled hate for the ending sorry[/QUOTE]
[quote name='Freemason']
you confront Harbinger (and in the end the Catalyst whom speaks through the answers of teh reapers far more than harbingers heralding of Apocalypse), when he blows the crap out of Hammer team, The epilogue is in your flashbacks, at this point in the series, the explanation of your actions and the post credit scene i felt were remarkably well done. The symbology of the child existing and speaking of the Shepard Legend is a full circle from not only the Child in the beginning that gets blown up showing your entire purpose and sacrifice was a success, but the overall mythos of the Reapers started as a fairy tale. Your actions provide a new legend to start the new cycle. One of hope and synthesis instead of turmoil and destruction.

The Normandy crash lands and those that were on baord saunter out. It was escaing the blast because it is the fastest ship in the galaxy for the most part and Joker was trying to save them, standing there and taking it wouldnt have done much.
[/QUOTE]
Don't get angry at me because you can't manage simple grammar and punctuation.
 
My ending thoughts:

I didn't HATE it, but it did seem abrupt. I am fine with the overall setup of the ending, the child, Shepard's choice and all that. I'm fine with Shepard sacrificing himself and not reuniting with his friends, not every ending has to be happy, and it fits.

I chose the "All synthetics die" option because the kid only mentioned the mass relays being destroyed in the "Control the reapers" ending, but I guess the mass relays all get destroyed anyway? So now galactic society is basically totally fucked? That sucks.

I just didn't really get the whole part with the Normandy landing on the alien planet. For one thing, Liara was with me at the Conduit, and supposedly everybody there died except Shepard and Anderson, yet there she is alive again and somehow back on the Normandy? I guess I'm glad she survives, but it doesn't make any sense. Garrus was there too, and he was down in London. Did Joker just pop down to the surface while Shepard was on the Citadel, scoop up some people, and then head to a mass relay? Why would he have done any of that? And what is the point of them taking a mass relay and crashing on an unknown planet?

I just didn't really get the point of that scene at all and I would have preferred an ending where the two people on your squad died at the Conduit, and everyone else is still in London, starting to rebuild.
 
[quote name='Ryuukishi']My ending thoughts:

I didn't HATE it, but it did seem abrupt. I am fine with the overall setup of the ending, the child, Shepard's choice and all that. I'm fine with Shepard sacrificing himself and not reuniting with his friends, not every ending has to be happy, and it fits.

I chose the "All synthetics die" option because the kid only mentioned the mass relays being destroyed in the "Control the reapers" ending, but I guess the mass relays all get destroyed anyway? So now galactic society is basically totally fucked? That sucks.

I just didn't really get the whole part with the Normandy landing on the alien planet. For one thing, Liara was with me at the Conduit, and supposedly everybody there died except Shepard and Anderson, yet there she is alive again and somehow back on the Normandy? I guess I'm glad she survives, but it doesn't make any sense. Garrus was there too, and he was down in London. Did Joker just pop down to the surface while Shepard was on the Citadel, scoop up some people, and then head to a mass relay? Why would he have done any of that? And what is the point of them taking a mass relay and crashing on an unknown planet?

I just didn't really get the point of that scene at all and I would have preferred an ending where the two people on your squad died at the Conduit, and everyone else is still in London, starting to rebuild.
[/QUOTE]

I agree with this. Just seemed like a rush job to me. i too dont mind the ultimate happy ending not happening either but I kind of wished they expounded more on the choice you made. Like a 1 year later type deal. That would have satisfied me.

I think the one thing that ultimately disappointed me in this story is that there was no final confrontation with Harbinger. ME 2 made such a big deal out of this and in ME 3, the alien becomes an after thought.

lasting thought about this game....I wish there were more areas to explore.
 
Just finished it

godawful endings, like everyone said. But at least both Ashley and Liara got out of the Normandy at the end which means they lived. Even though I took them both to the final battle and they shouldn’t have been there to begin with. I agree with Ryuukishi, how did they even get there? Bioware couldn't be bothered making a scene showing this?

Anyways, the pros:

  • Ashley and her badassery
  • The story, up until Earth
  • The gameplay was fantastic, best in the series
And the cons:

  • The endings. Duh. And that stupid fucking epilogue
  • Not being able to romance Ashley as FemShep. Yes, I'm still bitter about this.
  • The MP is boring and repetitive
Anyways, overall an 8/10. Would have been a 10/10 and one of my favorite games of all time if not my favorite ever, but alas. :(
 
[quote name='Tony208']
a lot of people have poured too many hours in the trilogy for some rushjob ending like this hence the outrage
[/QUOTE]

It's a fictional narrative. People need to get a grip. I've played all 3 games. I beat the first two multiple times. I will beat this one multiple times. I am not outraged by the ho-hum ending. I have too much other stuff in my life to focus on.

And from what I am reading, a lot of people simply aren't demanding a better ending...they are demanding a happy ending. Not every story has a happy ending. Not every hero survives to see the fruits of his labor. One of the reasons this game moved me so much was because it was so dark. Mordin died in my game. Legion died in my game. Thane died in my game. Grunt lost his whole platoon. Earth is ruins (and so are many other major worlds in the galaxy), and during the final assault, you see people dropping like flies. Shepard is an epic mess as he pulls himself though his final moments.

All the endings needed were to be fleshed out and made to actually represent different outcomes. If people are honestly demanding a bright, sunny picnic with all the cast members, they need to actually partake in more forms of fictions.
 
Alright even with my dislikes of the game there are some very cool moments. I also am 100 percent happy that I followed a guide for the last to games to keep everyone alive. It would seem that without all of the small moments you do with past characters this game would be bland has hell.

The sniper battle with Garrus brought made me smile. That mofo is a champion.
 
Yes, some of the best moments in this game definitely come with past characters. Having them not make it to your Mass Effect 3 game would certainly make many of these moments dull and/or non-existent.
 
I'm almost inclined to believe that
the whole crashed-Normandy scene is Shepard's dying hallucination, that Represents the races of the galaxy starting new lives in a galaxy that will never be the same, or something. Because taken literally it just makes no sense to me how everybody is on the ship in another solar system when you were with them in London just moments ago.
 
[quote name='dotCody']Don't get angry at me because you can't manage simple grammar and punctuation.[/QUOTE]

Not mad at all, and pulling the 4 year old grammar nazi bit when you can't grasp a thought is always a classic, good for you! I just figure explaining your invalid and swearing filled startement in a way that shows the purpose of what you DO see in the ending was better than, "It fucking sucks." Sorry if you cannot make the correlations between the two statements.

But not worth the arguement, to each their own, enojoy your day good sir.
 
I unlocked the Asari adept last night...I thought the Asari vanguard was brutal. No no...investing in throw first, I can't say I've laughed so hard and so often in a MP game for a while.

hurling biotic darts at everything tha tmoves it was both effective and entertaining to watch the enemy fly off ledges and into walls. granted I got 50 assists that match I also managed to come in 2nd for points. I think I fired my hvy pistol 3 maybe 4 times at an atlas. I hope the same strategy is effective in silver and gold.

Krogan sentinal heavily invested in melee is pretty sick as well.
 
[quote name='100xp']I unlocked the Asari adept last night...I thought the Asari vanguard was brutal. No no...investing in throw first, I can't say I've laughed so hard and so often in a MP game for a while.

hurling biotic darts at everything tha tmoves it was both effective and entertaining to watch the enemy fly off ledges and into walls. granted I got 50 assists that match I also managed to come in 2nd for points. I think I fired my hvy pistol 3 maybe 4 times at an atlas. I hope the same strategy is effective in silver and gold.

Krogan sentinal heavily invested in melee is pretty sick as well.[/QUOTE]

I know throw is sick fun, coupled with the biotic explosion bonus and being able to fling it every 1.24 seconds is hilarious. it is about the same for the concussive shot on the soldier with a heavy pistol.

My Krogan Sentinel could 2-3 shot an Atlas using a +Melee % mod on my pistol or shotgun while raged. He was awesome, but gotta start him over since i promoted them to SP.
 
Got through my first playthrough yesterday morning (default Shep, Paragon, Soldier), which took about 30 hours. I'm now 5 hours into my second playthrough (FemShep, Renegade, Adept). It speaks to how good this game is that I'm sitting here at work chomping at the bit to get home and continue playing a game I just spent the past week beating.

Anyway, some ending thoughts...
Wow, I'm amazed at how blown out of proportion this has become. If nothing else, this illustrates the fine line that has to be walked when you create a game based on the idea that players will get invested in the world and characters.

I don't have any major problems with the ending. To me, this has always been a bleak series. From the moment the first game made you chose between which squadmate to save, it was clear this wasn't a story that was going to end on a one hundred percent positive note. The second game was all about a suicide mission where your entire team could die. I mean, let's be clear here... this is a game that kills a child within the first 5 minutes. The storyline was always barreling towards something that wasn't going to get wrapped up in a neat fashion.

Which, frankly, would've have annoyed me more. I was sort of unhappy when this HOLYSHITPROTHEANREAPERKILLINGMACHINE comes out of nowhere at the beginning of this game. That's too tidy for this universe. The story lulls you into a sense of safety, where you're building a weapon, amassing an army, curing the genophage, and generally solving EVERY SINGLE PROBLEM IN THE GALAXY. What the ending did was sock you in the gut. It told you that nothing mattered. You've been playing as a savior, but sometimes that's not enough. Sometimes it just doesn't work out in the way you planned.

The thing I liked about the ending was that it actually made you think. There was no 'good' ending or 'bad' ending. You made a choice. You want your Shep to survive and be happy? Commit genocide. You want things to actually be peaceful? Your character is going to die. There's really no right or wrong answer, and for a game that sort of always made those distinctions clear, it was a refreshing choice. The cycle ends, which is the important point. You spend the game fighting the Reapers, but that was never the real endgame. I love a happy ending as much as the next person, but I'd have been pissed if the Crucible had really been nothing but a gigantic Reaper-only killing device.

Now, all the being said, I'll at least acknowledge that an epilogue about the team would have been nice. That's the thing about Mass Effect, really... players fought because of their investment in the team, even though the endgame of the series was always about the big picture. We got a big picture ending, so I can see how that would infuriate people with emotional investments in the characters. I get it, I do. I teared up when Mordin started singing. I even teared up a bit when I thought Joker was going to die in the shockwave. For a game that was chock full of more 'small' character moments than any other in the series, though, I could let the ending go in acknowledgement of the bigger picture.

I don't know, I'm just sort of ranting here. Maybe this made sense, maybe it didn't. Maybe it only makes sense to me. All I know is that I simply don't understand the level of hatred being spewed from people who claim to love this series. You saved the galaxy. It may not be the galaxy you envisioned saving, but it still exists in some fashion because of you. That was always the point. Big picture.

Everyone's entitled to their own opinion, of course.
 
[quote name='100xp']I unlocked the Asari adept last night...I thought the Asari vanguard was brutal. No no...investing in throw first, I can't say I've laughed so hard and so often in a MP game for a while.

hurling biotic darts at everything tha tmoves it was both effective and entertaining to watch the enemy fly off ledges and into walls. granted I got 50 assists that match I also managed to come in 2nd for points. I think I fired my hvy pistol 3 maybe 4 times at an atlas. I hope the same strategy is effective in silver and gold.

Krogan sentinal heavily invested in melee is pretty sick as well.[/QUOTE]

It's awesome but on silver/gold, they throw a lot more shield/barrier peeps at you so you are probably going to end up using more bullets ;)
 
Totally agree that a traditional "happy ending" was not necessary and probably not desirable. I just would have liked things to make a little more internal sense, to see a little bit of the aftermath of your choice and what it meant for galactic civilization, and to see something of what happens to your surviving crewmates that wasn't a completely random scene that seems to contradict everything that led up to it.
 
[quote name='007']got through my first playthrough yesterday morning (default shep, paragon, soldier), which took about 30 hours. I'm now 5 hours into my second playthrough (femshep, renegade, adept). It speaks to how good this game is that i'm sitting here at work chomping at the bit to get home and continue playing a game i just spent the past week beating.

Anyway, some ending thoughts...
wow, i'm amazed at how blown out of proportion this has become. If nothing else, this illustrates the fine line that has to be walked when you create a game based on the idea that players will get invested in the world and characters.

I don't have any major problems with the ending. To me, this has always been a bleak series. From the moment the first game made you chose between which squadmate to save, it was clear this wasn't a story that was going to end on a one hundred percent positive note. The second game was all about a suicide mission where your entire team could die. I mean, let's be clear here... This is a game that kills a child within the first 5 minutes. The storyline was always barreling towards something that wasn't going to get wrapped up in a neat fashion.

Which, frankly, would've have annoyed me more. I was sort of unhappy when this holyshitprotheanreaperkillingmachine comes out of nowhere at the beginning of this game. That's too tidy for this universe. The story lulls you into a sense of safety, where you're building a weapon, amassing an army, curing the genophage, and generally solving every single problem in the galaxy. What the ending did was sock you in the gut. It told you that nothing mattered. You've been playing as a savior, but sometimes that's not enough. Sometimes it just doesn't work out in the way you planned.

The thing i liked about the ending was that it actually made you think. There was no 'good' ending or 'bad' ending. You made a choice. You want your shep to survive and be happy? Commit genocide. You want things to actually be peaceful? Your character is going to die. There's really no right or wrong answer, and for a game that sort of always made those distinctions clear, it was a refreshing choice. The cycle ends, which is the important point. You spend the game fighting the reapers, but that was never the real endgame. I love a happy ending as much as the next person, but i'd have been pissed if the crucible had really been nothing but a gigantic reaper-only killing device.

Now, all the being said, i'll at least acknowledge that an epilogue about the team would have been nice. That's the thing about mass effect, really... Players fought because of their investment in the team, even though the endgame of the series was always about the big picture. We got a big picture ending, so i can see how that would infuriate people with emotional investments in the characters. I get it, i do. I teared up when mordin started singing. I even teared up a bit when i thought joker was going to die in the shockwave. For a game that was chock full of more 'small' character moments than any other in the series, though, i could let the ending go in acknowledgement of the bigger picture.

I don't know, i'm just sort of ranting here. Maybe this made sense, maybe it didn't. Maybe it only makes sense to me. All i know is that i simply don't understand the level of hatred being spewed from people who claim to love this series. You saved the galaxy. It may not be the galaxy you envisioned saving, but it still exists in some fashion because of you. That was always the point. Big picture.

Everyone's entitled to their own opinion, of course.
[/quote]


this.
 
How is it that they could do such a good job at getting Sarah from Chuck to look like Sarah from Chuck in ME2 yet Jessica Chobot looks like she just had her wisdom teeth pulled and then tacked on a Kardashian ass for good measure?!? That's just really weird.

For anyone having problems importing from ME2 (beyond the face thing, we're talking no save files found) you have to go back and replay the last segment of ME2. I went on and did Shadow Broker and Arrival from my final save which messed everything up apparently.
 
[quote name='gotdott']Technically you won't really be missing out since if you do just about everything in the game you'll have well over 6-7,000 war assets which at 50% readiness will still meet the 3,000 maximum[/QUOTE]

But some of the endings require 4-5k assets.
 
[quote name='nasum']How is it that they could do such a good job at getting Sarah from Chuck to look like Sarah from Chuck in ME2 yet Jessica Chobot looks like she just had her wisdom teeth pulled and then tacked on a Kardashian ass for good measure?!? That's just really weird.

For anyone having problems importing from ME2 (beyond the face thing, we're talking no save files found) you have to go back and replay the last segment of ME2. I went on and did Shadow Broker and Arrival from my final save which messed everything up apparently.[/QUOTE]

Because Yvonne Strahovski is naturally gorgeous and Jessica Chobot while attractive is also 5 years older...maybe if they did up her character 7-8 years ago it would look much better.
 
[quote name='Ryuukishi']I'm almost inclined to believe that
the whole crashed-Normandy scene is Shepard's dying hallucination, that Represents the races of the galaxy starting new lives in a galaxy that will never be the same, or something. Because taken literally it just makes no sense to me how everybody is on the ship in another solar system when you were with them in London just moments ago.
[/QUOTE]

Can't be. Still happens in the Shepard takes a breath scenario.

[quote name='bigdaddybruce44']
It's a fictional narrative. People need to get a grip. I've played all 3 games. I beat the first two multiple times. I will beat this one multiple times. I am not outraged by the ho-hum ending. I have too much other stuff in my life to focus on.

And from what I am reading, a lot of people simply aren't demanding a better ending...they are demanding a happy ending. Not every story has a happy ending. Not every hero survives to see the fruits of his labor. One of the reasons this game moved me so much was because it was so dark. Mordin died in my game. Legion died in my game. Thane died in my game. Grunt lost his whole platoon. Earth is ruins (and so are many other major worlds in the galaxy), and during the final assault, you see people dropping like flies. Shepard is an epic mess as he pulls himself though his final moments.

All the endings needed were to be fleshed out and made to actually represent different outcomes. If people are honestly demanding a bright, sunny picnic with all the cast members, they need to actually partake in more forms of fictions.
[/QUOTE]

I think most people are demanding endings that make sense in addition to being happier.

Problems with the current ending:

1) Where the hell does the Normandy end up and why was it going there? The blast was a danger to synthetics, not technology explicitly. If it was a danger to technology, why couldn't they show all the ships in earth's orbit failing along with the reapers? Moreover, what sort of resolution does the Normandy surviving provide to the player?

2) How in the world did my squad memebrs storming the beam with me get back on the Normandy? If Joker picked them up, why wasn't that shown?

3) Why show Shepard alive at all? What does it matter if he takes a breath if there's no clear way for him to even escape the Citadel's wreckage? It seems to be self-destructing, and we don't even have a guarantee there's a functional ship to save him anyway.

Here's how I would have done a more coherent ending with Shepard alive.

[blast knocks Shepard back, fade to black]

[cut to field near beam, panning over desolation, finally focusing on two forms lying on the ground]

Squadmate 1: "Norma... Joker... did Shep... Shepard do it?"
Traynor: "Squadmate 1? Where are you?"
[squadmate 2 begins to come to]
Squadmate 1: "We're near the beam... reapers... gone..."
Traynor: "I've got your signal. Coming to get you."

[Normandy leaves space, fighting through debris field to get down to location. Crewmembers jump off, including Traynor, to assist 2 squadmates]

Squadmate 1 [hobbling]: "Where's Joker?"
Traynor: "...EDI is dead."
Squadmate 1: "...and Shepard?"
[Traynor shakes head]

[Squadmate 1 (also LI if you did that), back on normandy goes to comm system to try and contact Shepard]
Squadmate 1: "Shepard, are you out there?"
Squadmate 1: "Shepard... please..."
[Squadmate 1, struggling to hear, hears faint crackle and static in response]

Squadmate 1: "I heard something. I've got to go find Shepard."
Traynor: "The Citadel is exploding. Squadmate 1, I'm sorry, but there's no way..."

[Squadmate 1 goes to Shuttle anyway, ignoring Traynor]

Traynor: "If you go, you're going to die."
Squadmate 1: "Try and stop me and lose that pretty little arm."
[Traynor, shocked, steps backward]
Squadmate 2: "I'm going with."

[cut to shuttle coming into wreckage in the slow process of blowing up, squadmate 1 and 2 search the rubble and find Shepard, pushing rubble off him. Squadmate 1 shakes him, his eyes faintly flutter open and he musters a smile. His body broken, squadmate 1 picks him up and struggles back to the shuttle (already injured him or herself). Squadmate 2 helps Anderson if he is alive. As the squadmates bring Shepard on board, the crew gathers to see him walk by. As they carry him by, Shepard is visibly crying, lamenting about the people he couldn't save, the geth, and the fact that the relays are destroyed. Many squadmates hear this and realize they'll never see home again. Shepard is brought into medical room as he is still rambling about what he couldn't do. Chakwas and Squadmate 1 stand over him as squadmate 1 consoles him and Chakwas puts him under to repair his broken body]

[Final scene is Shepard, surrounded by his crew at a makeshift celebration ceremony amongst the rubble. They acknowledge that the result is not fully to their satisfaction but understand Shepard did what he must and regard him as a hero. The end. You don't even need the stargazer epilogue.]
 
Yup, that's better. :)
Even a totally downcast ending where Shepard does die and the crewmates are killed/scattered would have been viable if the game just did a better job of connecting the dots so it made sense.
 
Damn it....I wrote up a long thing on the ending and my browser ate it when I clicked "go advanced". :( No energy to re-write at the moment....maybe this afternoon.

I will toss this out there in it's non-spoiler info type way. Now that I've looked back at the ending guide, there is a "secret ending" for new game+. Anyone know if it's worth the effort?
 
[quote name='Lord_Kefka']Damn it....I wrote up a long thing on the ending and my browser ate it when I clicked "go advanced". :( No energy to re-write at the moment....maybe this afternoon.

I will toss this out there in it's non-spoiler info type way. Now that I've looked back at the ending guide, there is a "secret ending" for new game+. Anyone know if it's worth the effort?[/QUOTE]

Apparently that ending has been debunked. People looking through PC files say there's nothing special there.
 
[quote name='gotdott']Technically you won't really be missing out since if you do just about everything in the game you'll have well over 6-7,000 war assets which at 50% readiness will still meet the 3,000 maximum[/QUOTE]

I dunno... I heard this game has time limits on when you can do sidequests and I usually only do 10-15% of sidequests during the main game and go back before the end to do more. But thanks for the heads up, it's good knowing that I can still do it.:)
 
[quote name='Vinny']I dunno... I heard this game has time limits on when you can do sidequests[/QUOTE]
It's more like, certain major plot events make certain locations and NPCs unavailable, so you can no longer finish their quests. But for the most part you can tell when you are approaching a major turning point in the story. It's akin to ME2 where mandatory plot missions would trigger when you finished all of your outstanding dossiers. If you want to be totally safe, just avoid progressing the plot at all until you have done all of the sidequests you want to do. But as far as I know, there's no 'invisible 2 hour timer' or something like that before an opportunity expires.
 
Still can't write up the long thing I had before on the ending, here's a little piece of thought now that I've done more Google research:

http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/355/index/9751583/1

Certainly helps a little in this storm of suck. It makes sense in some ways. You all of a sudden can "control the reapers"? Even Shepard says to the Illusive Man (if using full paragon) that we can't control them. We're not ready. The option to destroy them is the only one the Catalyst tries to actively talk you out of. What we think should be Shepard takes a breath at the end of that one. Which implies that he's alive and probably still on earth. A few more conspiracy points in here, including that boy being a indoctrination hallucination all along. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-YrzYBBRvw&feature=watch_response

The only thing I don't understand is why the synthesis option would be considered losing to the Reapers. Well, that and the Stargazer end scene still appears after the credits. I still need to work this out.
 
The whole option to control the Reapers seems like a giant WTF to me. If all three Mass Effect games drive one point home like a jackhammer, it is that the Reapers absolutely can't be manipulated or controlled, and every attempt to do it ends in indoctrination and failure.

But now that the child VI is telling Shepard that he can control the Reapers, he's just like, "Okay, cool, I believe you"? It's just impossible to reconcile with everything he's seen and done.
 
[quote name='Ryuukishi']It's more like, certain major plot events make certain locations and NPCs unavailable, so you can no longer finish their quests. But for the most part you can tell when you are approaching a major turning point in the story. It's akin to ME2 where mandatory plot missions would trigger when you finished all of your outstanding dossiers. If you want to be totally safe, just avoid progressing the plot at all until you have done all of the sidequests you want to do. But as far as I know, there's no 'invisible 2 hour timer' or something like that before an opportunity expires.[/QUOTE]The only "invisible 2 hour time" or the like that I can think of was in ME2 when the Normandy gets boarded by the Collectors and the crew taken. That "timer" starts about how many of the crew you get back depending on when you go into the Omega 4 Relay after that happens and how many side missions you do before heading into the relay.

As all I did was Legion's loyalty mission right after that happens, I know I didn't have an issue with large groups of the crew dying off.
 
One more note on the ending...

Surely BioWare intends for there to be more games/comics/movies/etc. in the Mass Effect universe (right?) but how could it even work without mass relays? It's hard to imagine how more Mass Effect stories could even be Mass Effect stories without interstellar travel being possible. So I predict that there will be some "dormant relays" being newly discovered, or something like that, to get the universe back to something somewhat resembling the status quo.

Just a thought.
 
[quote name='Ryuukishi']
The whole option to control the Reapers seems like a giant WTF to me. If all three Mass Effect games drive one point home like a jackhammer, it is that the Reapers absolutely can't be manipulated or controlled, and every attempt to do it ends in indoctrination and failure.

But now that the child VI is telling Shepard that he can control the Reapers, he's just like, "Okay, cool, I believe you"? It's just impossible to reconcile with everything he's seen and done.
[/QUOTE]

The idea is that starchild's solution has failed him, so he no longer cares what you do. He just tries to inform you of why the decision was made in the first place.

[quote name='Ryuukishi']One more note on the ending...

Surely BioWare intends for there to be more games/comics/movies/etc. in the Mass Effect universe (right?) but how could it even work without mass relays? It's hard to imagine how more Mass Effect stories could even be Mass Effect stories without interstellar travel being possible. So I predict that there will be some "dormant relays" being newly discovered, or something like that, to get the universe back to something somewhat resembling the status quo.

Just a thought.
[/QUOTE]

I imagine it would be through studying the disabled reapers left on earth, and possibly repairing the citadel. After all, I assume the keepers are still on it.
 
[quote name='Anexanhume']
I imagine it would be through studying the disabled reapers left on earth, and possibly repairing the citadel. After all, I assume the keepers are still on it.
[/QUOTE]
I don't know, it looked like it blew up pretty good in that final cutscene.

Which raises another question-- it's hard not to see the destruction of the Citadel in near orbit as anything other than an extinction level event for life on Earth.

But the whole scene is so brief and vague, I guess they could go in the direction that the Citadel wasn't completely destroyed if they wanted to.
 
I suppose if you're only going for 1 PT you'd want to do everything...but there's going to be at least 2 PT's, there is some realism since you're trying to save humanity that you'd be pressed for time.
 
[quote name='100xp']I suppose if you're only going for 1 PT you'd want to do everything...but there's going to be at least 2 PT's, there is some realism since you're trying to save humanity that you'd be pressed for time.[/QUOTE]That is the funny thing about the whole Mass Effect gameplay scenario, there's the human race to save and you're off running around doing courtesy missions for people in your would-be spare time? :D
 
[quote name='shrike4242']That is the funny thing about the whole Mass Effect gameplay scenario, there's the human race to save and you're off running around doing courtesy missions for people in your would-be spare time? :D[/QUOTE]

this is why the other races look down on us.

on the other hand, the humans in the MP at least can hold their own.
 
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