Yes I have. HOWEVER, this isn't a Greek Tragedy it's a Space Odyssey. Two completely different types of stories. Second what works in film or a book may not work in a game, It may have worked in say God of War, but God of War had a specific theme and message designed for that type of story. This sudden tone shift just does not fit write with what has been established.
So you're telling me that the game franchise that
starts off with the player as supposedly the last of their kind, on the run from an unstoppable, genocidal force on an alien landscape that hides a even worse enemy, it a last ditch effort to find some way of saving what's left of your species was never meant to have a tragic element?
Halo: Reach might have had a slightly darker tone than the other games, particularly the first 2, but it allowed to due to the fact that it is a different game; and honestly, when people heard the name Halo: Reach when it was announced, what exactly where they expecting? If they knew anything about established Halo lore that is.
You can have elements of two different types of narrative, such as Greek Tragedy and Space Opera, mixed together these days. Writers don't have to rigidly stick to formula, and that's a good thing. If you want 100% Space Opera and 0% Greek Tragedy? Then let's look at how many 'happy' endings there are in
actual Opera (tip: not many).
In a video game, if the player feels like his actions and effort have become pointless or invalidated then the player losses investment in the story.
Does it? All it tells me is that I don't get to activate fucking God Mode because I chose the right dialogue option. Now
that is what I call "bad" writing.
Mass Effect 3's ending are just a sad attempt to emulate Dues Ex, raise some sort of philosophical question. This wouldn't be a problem, but the issue is that the player feels like all the choices and actions they have taken have been for nothing, and with a series that's selling point is CHOICE, the fact that literally hundreds of variables have been boiled down to 4 or so endings is appalling.
If a player feels that their actions meant nothing due to these endings, then I'm sorry but that is their problem, because it just not true. Your actions will shape the Galaxy for the rest of time, you can determine who lives and who dies. Your choices do matter, it's just telling you that sometimes, even a 'good' ending has to come at a high price, and I applaud them for having the guts to do that (although some other fine details I'm not too happy about).
There are also more endings than that. There are three final choices, but depending on other variables you can have several different actual endings.
It's just bad unoriginal writing, and is all the more worse because it marks the end of one of the most beloved science fictions in history. I don't want a happy ending with my love interest like some many of the ragging fanboys, I just want a satisfying conclusion.
because 'saving the frickin' galaxy from an armada thought completely unstoppable, that had previously wiped out the most advanced races know to time with great ease' doesn't satisfy you?
