Did ME3 ruin Mass Effect for you?

[Kikosemmek]

For me it did. I don't think I'll load up any ME playthroughs anymore, knowing how, story-wise, it will culminate in a weak and unsatisfying conclusion. I can't roleplay a Shepard that would not punch that ending kid in the face. The ending ruined the franchise.

I do agree with most people here though that the game, overall, wasn't all that bad. The gameplay was more fun than in ME 2 and it looked pretty good. But ultimately, there are better shooters for that sort of thing- what hooked me on ME was the universe, the story, and the characters. The ending shits on that pretty hard.

 

[Loonerinoes]

Nope, it made it for me. And every time people moan about the ending, I feel better about myself. /endof

 

[Killertje]

I think Mass effect 3 is better in EVERY way to ME1 and 2, especially combat and story. However the story could never have the impact it did without the first two games. The ending was kinda weak tho, but compared to the quarian/geth and krogan/salarian storylines, the reapers weren't that important to me anyway. I got more than I could hope for halfway through the game already, so the ending didn't ruin anything, it just wasn't as spectacular as the rest of the game.

 

[Alcoholidayer]

I disliked the series from the first game itself, so no.

 

[Woodsey]

Not at all - but I can't say I'd buy a new game in the series without any consideration. That's not because of the ending though.

 

[s0meNo0b]

Not really, but the ending to three did leave a bad taste in my mouth.

 

[47_Ronin]

It did somewhat. Forget about the ending; it was ME3's linearity and streamlined mechanics that ruined it for me a bit. I could just as well have watched an interactive movie because the storytelling at least was very well done.

 

[White_Lama]

There was nothing wrong with the ending, i don't know why people get so worked up over it.

Thank you sir, at least someone who doesn't whine like a crazy ***** about an ending that was perfectly fine.

 

[crazyrabbits]

But you can pick apart any story if you want, the thing is that if you love it, you have no desire to. The only reason it has been picked so clean in this case, is an almost mob mentally ground swell of hate because you didn't get the ending you wanted.

I have no problem with you hating it, just don't treat it as a religion you have to convert others to. I'm not going to preach that you should like it.

And that's fine. I don't go around telling other people they should automatically hate the game, just like I don't expect people to try to impose that it's the greatest game in history.

What I'm stating is that the fanbase is largely ignoring problems, both from a gameplay and story perspective, much moreso this time around because it feels as though they're trying to posthumously vindicate it of any wrongdoing.

It has nothing to do with whether I wanted a certain ending or not. I haven't yet seen one person who has defended the ending using anything other than theories or fanwanking. They certainly can say they enjoyed it as a personal preference, but at the end of the day, it's still a colossal mess from a writing perspective. Introducing new elements, conflicts and solutions at the last possible moment (both within the ending itself and its narrative in the game itself) is not the way you write a story unless you know for sure how it's going to pay off and explain itself.

ME2 had some of these problems, and it was generally ignored because the sum was greater than it's individual parts. People were willing to overlook things like the changed ammo mechanics (which resulted in lots of continuity problems), weak final boss or general irrelevance to the Reaper threat because it was a character-driven experience with lots of alternate content, a good mix between action and RPG, and a good narrative. ME3 took all of those problems, exacerbated it with even more retcons, continuity issues and resolutions almost entirely pulled from left field, and wrapped it up with a capper of an ending that destroyed everything else narratively that came before it.

So, you're right. I don't go around telling people to hate the game. I just ignore people who blindly yell "98% of the game is awesome" because, almost all of the time, they can't adequately explain themselves or prove why they like it beyond personal preference.

 

[kingthrall]

In a sense, yes. Origin software ruined all EA games for me and I wont be buying none of their products until the remove the computer intrusive software from their products.

That goes for this new dragon age 3 as well, even though the 2nd was just terrible.

 

[4RM3D]

I never bought ME3 because of EA (Origin and stuff). So in a sense ME3 did ruin the series, but not because of the ending. I have heard about the ending and I probably would have been okay with it. I wouldn't have liked the ending but I would have accepted it.

So, if Bioware goes independent then I might consider buying again. This also means I won't be buying Dragon Age 3... ever.

 

[Keith K]

Nah. I quite liked it. The ending did indeed suck, but most endings suck so I won't hold it against the game or series. The thing I disliked most about 3 were the reduction of usable characters and the crappy cast as compared to 2.

My least favorite Mass Effect game remains the first one. I really disliked the combat in that game. It clearly wanted to be a shooter but was absolutely terrible at it. I wanted to like it more than I did. I still do. I liked the characters and what the story was doing, but ultimately the game is only as playable as the combat and I could never stomach playing through the whole thing.

 

[In Search of Username]

I'd definitely buy more. I'd rather there weren't any more, because I feel like the ending (extended cut) basically worked, and any further continuation would just be milking it. But I'd buy it anyway out of curiosity, what with it being one of my favourite game series of all time.

 

[Bertylicious]

There was nothing wrong with the ending, i don't know why people get so worked up over it.

They get worked up because they like to ***** and moan. They think they are in the "right" and "deserve" an ending they had perceived. When in reality, they don't own the IP. They aren't the developers and they can't control the ending they get, which pisses them off. So instead of doing the logical thing that is, grow up and get used to it, they instead decided to throw the largest hissy fit in gaming and ***** until they got their way.

Thus they made the gaming community as a whole look like they were three years old.

The ending was indefensible because it was shoddy and half arsed.

It was akin to being a nice, christian, girl who is resolved to save her virginity till her wedding night. She meets a nice, young, good-looking and God-fearing boy who is an accountant and fan of comedy panel shows. They shyly court one another and one day, one beautiful day, he tells her that he loves her.

A year passes and they have saved up enough for the wedding and their parents will be helping them buy a house. It's small but sensible, a first rung on the property ladder but the wedding is all bought and paid for by them!

All their friends are there, the weather is perfect and the groom looks so wonderful it's all she can do not to cry as she says her vows on the day that is just like her dreams.

Then afterwards in the bedroom the groom suffers erectile dysfunction.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

No, it didn't ruin the series. It sucked true. The ending was abysmal, the whole premise of the game taking into account all our choices from ME1 thru the conclusion was proved hot air and the game itself was just "above average", EA turned a sci fi action RPG into CoD in space and so on ad nauseam. Were it standalone, it would have been swiftly forgotten about, instead it was a lacklustre conclusion to an otherwise great series.

ME - A- Great but can be better
ME2 - B Not sure if it's the right direction but I'll go with it...
Me3 - C+ Passed, but could have been so much better.

 

[Something Amyss]

ME2 ruined Mass Effect for me (as a series). ME3 is something I'm considering picking up for the multiplayer only, but I don't give a damn about the story or series as a whole anymore.