Am About to play Mass Effect 3

[Orange Monkey]

OK, so My copy of Mass Effect 3 comes tomorrow, And I've managed to avoid having the ending spoiled for me so far, all I know is that it is apparently disappointing to the point where my comrades-in-arms are all polymorphed into Giant Squids of Anger. What I have to ask is this.

Is all the rage justified? I mean really, unbiased, objectively is the ending THAT BAD that it deserves this kind of unified outrage? I don't think i've ever seen such a massive fallout from how an otherwise much loved series failure.

Thoughts?

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Get yourself a big tub of ice cream and make sure nobody is in the shower when you finish the game.

You'll need them.

 

[ShadowsofHope]

Let Marauder Shields win.

You will thank me later.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Let Marauder Shields win.

You will thank me later.

Also, this

'Who is Marauder Shields?' I hear you say.

You'll know.

And when it happens.

Let him win.

 

[Bertylicious]

The game itself is really good and the ending isn't really bad its just poorly executed. You'll have a great time.

 

[Rawne1980]

If you've ever seen poltergeist you will know these words well.....

Stay away from the light....

 

[Goofguy]

I guess it depends on how committed you are to the series. If you've invested a lot of time (and emotion) in to it then you may just feel that is utter crap. If it's just the next game on your list of ones to play through then maybe you'll be okay with it.

 

[WoahDan]

Other than the ending (which really is pretty bad) its a really good game with excellent writing (which makes the whole thing worse, Bioware got pretty much everything they had to get right right, and fell at the final hurdle), I suggest you that after you finish talking to TIM and Anderson for the final time you simply turn the game off and walk away, you will be much happier for it.

 

[Kiardras]

Play it and judge yourself. I personally take issue with the ending for many reasons, but I don't want my reasons pushed onto people who havn't experienced it.

So play it. Enjoy it (and I mean that, 99% of the game is utterly amazing.). And when you get to the end, you can decide yourself how you feel.

Don't let others colour it for you before you've played it.


Capcha: High five.

Nice.

 

[Leodiensian]

OK, so My copy of Mass Effect 3 comes tomorrow, And I've managed to avoid having the ending spoiled for me so far, all I know is that it is apparently disappointing to the point where my comrades-in-arms are all polymorphed into Giant Squids of Anger. What I have to ask is this.

Is all the rage justified? I mean really, unbiased, objectively is the ending THAT BAD that it deserves this kind of unified outrage? I don't think i've ever seen such a massive fallout from how an otherwise much loved series failure.

Thoughts?

It's definitely not the climax the series deserves, but it's overall a very good game. The ending is sloppy and poorly executed, which is understandable in context; the script for the original ending was leaked, forcing Bioware to change it to something else which simply couldn't possibly fit in with everything that had come before. That said, the anger is understandable but in my opinion a little extreme.

Graham from LRR had an interesting perspective on this; that the anger at this ending is a testament to what Bioware had with Mass Effect, or at least the rest of the series and even the rest of Mass Effect 3. I have a similar feeling to the subject; the same ending in a one-off game, or a mediocre game story, would not have attracted this level of bullshit fury from the gaming community. Hypothetically if the original Mass Effect had ended like this, we would have written it off as "good game, shame about the third act".

 

[Dandark]

It's actully an awesome ending.

What happens is that Shepard screams "FOR THE EMPRAH!!!!" and turns into a space marine. He then teams up with the reapers to murder the council who were actully the development team (AUDIBLE GASP!).
Probably one of the best endings in gaming.



Being serious now, the ending is kinda dissapointing. Some people are happy enough with it but im pretty sure the majority disliked it.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

OK, so My copy of Mass Effect 3 comes tomorrow, And I've managed to avoid having the ending spoiled for me so far, all I know is that it is apparently disappointing to the point where my comrades-in-arms are all polymorphed into Giant Squids of Anger. What I have to ask is this.

Is all the rage justified? I mean really, unbiased, objectively is the ending THAT BAD that it deserves this kind of unified outrage? I don't think i've ever seen such a massive fallout from how an otherwise much loved series failure.

Thoughts?

I highly recommend waiting for the extended edition to be released. There's a chance it'll clean up some of the more egregious issues with the ending, which will ensure you actually experience a dollop of catharsis at the end instead of crashing into a wall. There's really no repairing a first impression, and while your initial impression of the current ending will most likely be hesitation and confusion, your eventual reaction will very likely be profound disappointment or irritation.

 

[RJ 17]

OK, so My copy of Mass Effect 3 comes tomorrow, And I've managed to avoid having the ending spoiled for me so far, all I know is that it is apparently disappointing to the point where my comrades-in-arms are all polymorphed into Giant Squids of Anger. What I have to ask is this.

Is all the rage justified? I mean really, unbiased, objectively is the ending THAT BAD that it deserves this kind of unified outrage? I don't think i've ever seen such a massive fallout from how an otherwise much loved series failure.

Thoughts?

While I fully agree with the vast majority of my fellow Escapists when I say that the ending most assuredly is pretty bad, I still say that the reaction it got was WAY over the top. I was pretty damn disappointed over it, but I didn't think it was worthy of putting on a skii mask and taking hostages until Bioware submits to my demands.

I've always held that it was wrong of gamers to demand a new ending from Bioware. Not because of "artistic integrity" (though I do see what Bioware was trying to say with that statement), but simply because that's not something you do. You bought their product, if you don't like the way it ends well then...you don't like the way it ends. That doesn't mean Bioware owes you a better ending. The same way the author of a series of books doesn't owe you a new ending if you didn't like the way the series ended. The same way a movie studio doesn't owe you a neew ending if you didn't like how the movie ended.

"But ME is just as much ours as it is theirs! We made all the choices! We grew personally attached to Shepard!" That may be. But it still boils down to Bioware made a product. You bought said product. Don't like said product? Don't buy from Bioware anymore. You don't throw a temper tantrum and say that Bioware OWES you something better. You write up a review of the game and say "While the game itself was great, Bioware proved to be one big choke artist when the fucked up the ending."

In short, this:

Now I'm not saying that Bioware wouldn't be a bunch of dicks were that the way they responded. But in all fairness, Bioware is justified in being dicks in this case because the fanbase was acting like a bunch of dicks in the first place.

 

[TheCaptain]

Play the game. Even though I was on the verge of ice cream shower disappointment myself when the ending rolled around, it IS still the most amazing game I've played during the last few years. Characters, writing, emotional impact, all great, combat was fun, multiplayer is good...

I believe whoever made the god-awful ending really dropped the ball there, but I refuse to let those 10 minutes spoil the other awesome 120 hours of the game...

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Now I'm not saying that Bioware wouldn't be a bunch of dicks were that the way they responded. But in all fairness, Bioware is justified in being dicks in this case because the fanbase was acting like a bunch of dicks in the first place.

I...guess that's cool then? So...the fan base and Bioware can just be dicks to one another, and stop interacting?

That'll go over well for Bioware. That's a curious interpretation of the fan/developer relationship if ever I heard one.

 

[RJ 17]

Now I'm not saying that Bioware wouldn't be a bunch of dicks were that the way they responded. But in all fairness, Bioware is justified in being dicks in this case because the fanbase was acting like a bunch of dicks in the first place.

I...guess that's cool then? So...the fan base and Bioware can just be dicks to one another, and stop interacting?

That'll go over well for Bioware. That's a curious interpretation of the fan/developer relationship if ever I heard one.

Actually...yeah, that's pretty much what I'm saying. The fans started acting like a bunch of dicks which prompted Bioware to start acting like dicks which leaves the fans with one of two options:

1: "Well, we were acting like a bunch of dicks. Let's all just move on with our lives and chalk this one up to being a horrible failure of an ending."
2: "Well fuck Bioware then! See if they get a single cent of my money ever again!"

 

[Frankster]

All I'll say is once you reach the point where you gotta head back to earth.....

Prepare yourself. And expect the most horrible and disappointing finale possible. A rocks fall, everyone dies type ending.

That way, you'll be pleasantly surprised as with your expectations set so low, you might find some satisfaction with the ending. Really i think it was painful for most of us because we expected a great conclusion (thank you bioware press for hyping it up) and instead we got...Well you'll see.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Actually...yeah, that's pretty much what I'm saying. The fans started acting like a bunch of dicks which prompted Bioware to start acting like dicks which leaves the fans with one of two options:

1: "Well, we were acting like a bunch of dicks. Let's all just move on with our lives and chalk this one up to being a horrible failure of an ending."
2: "Well fuck Bioware then! See if they get a single cent of my money ever again!"

Well, no, see. That's a misrepresentation of events. "The fans" were not acting like a bunch of dicks. A certain, small percentage of fans acted like dicks, and their actions were allowed to color the collective dissatisfaction of the whole as "entitlement", or whatever idiotic buzzword you care to slap on it. Now, even if all you did was quietly express disappointment, you're an "entitled crybaby"...because if anything demonstrates that you're speaking from a position of moral authority it's hurling invectives at total strangers.

So now, I guess, your perspective is that because we bought it, we can expect Bioware to have a chortle, and flip us the bird, and troll us via IGN? And just not address anything anyone was asking for, because their feathers were ruffled by a handful of assholes, as if vocally unhappy customers were some new phenomenon, and no one in any service industry has ever had to deal with them patiently before? You're damn right that would be a company I wouldn't be giving any more money to. What would be the sense in that? They're a fucking business. I expect them to act like professionals, not pull some 3rd grade "HE STARTED IT" nonsense and have a fit in the media. I mean, I guess that's a good way to go, if you've decided you're done with the whole "selling games" thing, and now you're off to hunt snipes or collect hummel figurines or whatever else people do when they've lost their minds.

But you know, whatever. That's not what happened. The extended edition is coming, and I'm prepared to give it a chance before deciding whether or not I trust these guys enough to continue paying them to tell me stories. They didn't flip me the bird, because that would have been corporate suicide. It's nice you think it would've been funny and appropriate, but I guess that's why none of us are CEOs of game developers.

 

[Zhukov]

Isn't it kind of a moot point if you're about to see the ending for yourself?

Congrats on avoiding spoilers this long.