BioWare Announces Post-Ending DLC for Mass Effect 3 [Updated!]

[JasonKaotic]

That's great to hear, but I still do think what actually happened in the end killed the series. Some decent closure will ease things a little though.

That being said, knowing BioWare does still care about the game itself makes me respect them a bit more. That and them not charging for it like we thought they would.

 

[Theysaid]

I agree that the ending was pretty sparse in terms of answers, so I am glad they are adding details. I think there was already some sense in the ending (I know almost no one agrees), but you go from against all odds fighting your way to the end as a hero then - flash of light - and you're hanging by a thread... that's my biggest issue with the ending. Not the story, not ghost boy, not three different citadel laser light show colors -- it was like your car ran out of gas and you had to push it to the finish line.

With all that said, I look forward to the extended ending. I'm sure it won't be enough for some fans (I wonder if ANY ending would have satisfied a few of you), but I think its great that they are willing to do it. I just hope its not a few animated drawings like more and more developers are using for game intros and exits these days.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Moviebob won't be happy with this.

I can't be the only one who thought that.

He should be thrilled. It'll give him a chance to rail against something for another easy video.

 

[Yeager942]

I'm skeptical. How do you clarify shit. It's still shit, only more clearly shit. I don't mind what the endings tried to do, but what they need is a total rewrite after the reaper beat.

 

[Guardian of Nekops]

- It's already been pointed out that Jennifer Hale has said she has not been called in to record more dialogue which hints either at DLC such as this already being in BioWare's master plan or (more likely) they didn't want to delay release but had some content they had originally planned to be part of the ending. In this case the internet will owe BioWare the mother of all apologies.

If Bioware released an ending that they knew was not complete, which had as part of their master plan months of paying customers sitting there with an ending that Bioware knew was inadequate? They deserve no apology. The hate might stop, sure, but... if your buddy pulls a prank on you that makes you feel like you've been royally screwed, and you swear at him before he reveals it's all a gag at the last second, do you apologize for calling him a bastard? No, because that reaction was forseeable by him and was (or should have been) part of his plan.

Still, Indoctrination for the win.

 

[Digitaldreamer7]

For me the game ended after the chat with Anderson. Fade to black, Crucible fires, Reaper ships start dropping like flies, roll credits.

 

[psicat]

Thank god they're just expanding on the endings, not changing them. I thought they where brilliant, even with the minor plot-holes. Rather sad they are offering sort of compromise to the whiners, but at least it is a compromise with no major change.

 

[RTK1576]

What do you want me to say?

Bioware really needs to take the hint and completely redo the ending from when you drop down to Earth, before the bigass laser strikes, which is the precise moment everything went to Hell.

Declare the original ending non-canon and make the actual endings that were promised. Why can't they get it through their heads? That FTC complaint got filed for a fucking reason - they advertised and didn't deliver = false advertisement.

Can't you take the compromise and call it a victory. There not going to budge on declaring the endings non cannon. You won a batttle but not all battles end in victory.

A victory in battle is actually a victory. I think you meant "you won a battle but not necessarily the war."

 

[Gizen]

Once again: Jade Empire, Baldur's Gate II and Dragon Age: Origins - all games produced by BioWare - did exactly that. So your assessment that such mechanisms are "unrealistic" is factually incorrect. It can be done because it has been done.

Jade Empire and Baldur's Gate especially were made back in the day when development costs of a game hadn't yet ballooned to exorbitant sums, and I'd think Dragon Age's slideshow style epilogue would feel out of place. And again, none of those games had 3 games worth of variables to go through.

On top of that, I still just maintain that it's incredibly unnecessary, and not something that anyone in their right mind would go into the game specifically expecting to see, considering it's hardly a common way to end any work of fiction, let alone a video game. Hell, if that's what the ending had been in the first place, I'd have found it incredibly disappointing.

 

[RTK1576]

Thank god they're just expanding on the endings, not changing them. I thought they where brilliant, even with the minor plot-holes. Rather sad they are offering sort of compromise to the whiners, but at least it is a compromise with no major change.

Ignoring your cheap "whiner" shot, exactly what did you think was brilliant about the endings? I actually would like to know. Not to ridicule, but a simple curiosity into the argument for the pro-ending crowd (the few of you out there - that one was for the cheap shot).

 

[holy_secret]

Moviebob won't be happy with this.

I can't be the only one who thought that.

Who's Moviebob? And why is his opinion important?

I'm not asking in a rude way, I'm just curious and want to be informed

 

[BaronIveagh]

Moviebob won't be happy with this.

I can't be the only one who thought that.

Who's Moviebob? And why is his opinion important?

I'm not asking in a rude way, I'm just curious and want to be informed

MovieBob is the film critic on this site, and one of those 'people who should know better' I took a shot at while torpedoing the 'changing it makes it no longer art' argument a few pages back.

He ranted that changing it set games back ten years as an artistic medium.


Personally, I find it baffling that Bioware managed to write three endings that made the ending of Duke Nukem Forever look well written by comparison....

 

[Ihniwid]

Taken from the Bioware Extended Cut webpage:


"Why are you releasing the Extended Cut DLC?
Though we remain committed and are proud of the artistic choices we made in the main game, we are aware that there are some fans who would like more closure to Mass Effect 3. The goal of the DLC is not to provide a new ending to the game, rather to offer fans additional context and answers to the end of Commander Shepard?s story."

This isn't meeting the fans half way. By adding on to the ending, you are in essence, changing the ending. I'm not totally against this if Bioware simply proclaimed that they were changing the ending. But, instead, they argue that the "artistic choices" are intact. The artistic choices are not intact.

I'm more or less embarrassed with Bioware's decision. It just proves that Bioware holds fan opinion over artistic merit. Which we can break down to a contrast between two different values systems: Capitalism and Idealism.

BUT, I don't see how you can draw a conclusion regarding video games as a whole. This is one company's choice. How can the choices of Bioware affect the artistry of a game like Journey? Or Shadow of the Colossus?

It doesn't. Don't be silly. Moviebob's argument was hyperbolic... as most of his arguments are.

 

[Vibhor]

I read the original source and it seems that the free dlc offer will expire after 14th April 2014. That is quite weird to be honest. Why is the DLC getting a price tag after so long? Is there going to be a sales boom after that date? Shouldn't the DLC come with the definitive version of the game? Or are there even plans for a definitive version?

 

[herenowit]

My two cents... there has always been theatrical cuts and directors or extended cuts of movies. Even some authors make their own "definitive" edition, adding things and all around cleaning up the flow. Never been much of a bad thing in those mediums, and considering we don't have to buy a NEW COPY of the game to get this I feel the sit back and wait approach is best to see what is "extended" in this FREE DLC. Many movies have been made better by those Directors Cut versions.

How development goes nowaday anyway, and the fact that this still EA we are talking about breathing behind them for a release, it makes complete sense to me the ending was super rushed. They probably had to make compromises. They most likely tried to convey the ideas they wanted to with what they had available. They took a swing and missed, but its not the end of the damn world.

Ever create something, anything, be it short film, story, artwork, or music and other people do not see what you tried to convey? That is what I see with the ending of ME3. They were forced to convey a large amount in a short rush of end development, and we don't see what they were trying to say.

Not going to hold my breath for something epic in this Extended Ending DLC, but making it not horrible is a start. I think Bioware could take a big lesson from the Silent Hill dev teams about how to make differing endings that actually mean something

 

[BaronIveagh]

Whatever it is, it's time to panic and revolt over a meaningless date!

But there's already so much revolting about ME3's meaningless stuff...

 

[Diana Kingston-Gabai]

Jade Empire and Baldur's Gate especially were made back in the day when development costs of a game hadn't yet ballooned to exorbitant sums, and I'd think Dragon Age's slideshow style epilogue would feel out of place. And again, none of those games had 3 games worth of variables to go through.

On top of that, I still just maintain that it's incredibly unnecessary, and not something that anyone in their right mind would go into the game specifically expecting to see, considering it's hardly a common way to end any work of fiction, let alone a video game. Hell, if that's what the ending had been in the first place, I'd have found it incredibly disappointing.

If you're fine with the ending as it is, more power to you. I found it flawed, anticlimactic, poorly-written and riddled with inconsistencies, to the point where I haven't been able to bring myself to start a second play-through. (For comparison's sake, I had three different Shepards at the end of ME2.)

If the DLC makes the ending more palatable - if it addresses the problems that so many people have picked up on - that'll be great. If not... well, I suppose we'll see.

 

[Jarek Mace]

Thank god they're just expanding on the endings, not changing them. I thought they where brilliant, even with the minor plot-holes. Rather sad they are offering sort of compromise to the whiners, but at least it is a compromise with no major change.

Of course! Minor plot-holes like the god child, the space magic, invalidating the whole point of ME1, the magically appearing Cerberus mega army, Reaper sizing, the Normandy running away, the retarded ass god child.
I understand man, and nice 'whiner' insult you threw in there.

Cheers Mr.BioDrone.