Mass Effect 3 Is a Good Game.

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

- A BROKEN QUEST SYSTEM IN AN RPG GAME. This is one of the deadly sins when it comes to gaming and is absolutely unforgivable. You are never told when your quest was completed. You are never told if you are even still eligable to finish the quest. Quests are mostly given through overhearing conversations (again, less dialogue scenes to save money)

My lord this. I honestly think that this is perhaps the most baffling as it is the most obviously wrong. How did they fuck this up? Why didn't anyone say "Your quest system doesn't work"

Gosh, It just irritates me. I hope they patch it. They won't but I hope they do.

It is the single biggest evidence that the game was rushed. I basically have to run back to the Citadel after each mission to see if I accidentally completed a side quest.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

I suppose my real question is... how? What exactly makes the games unplayable now? I've seen the ending, I hate it...but the first thing I did was go back to mass effect 1 and start a brand new playthrough... I guess I just don't understand the reasoning here...

Because what's the point of playing the game again if you're going to get the same ending as someone who picked radically different choices.

So was that really all it was about? The choices, and by extension the arcs of all the characters as you go through them, had no value and produced no emotional response in and of themselves before? Were they all just a meaningless combination of sums and you spent all that money and time going through the three games expecting all the value to come right at the end?

I'm currently on my second playthrough (about to get to Tuchanka), and I know that I'm going to cure the Genophage, even though I know it all means squat at the end, just because I want to cure the Genophage, and so does my Shepard, and I know that it's going to be a fucking beautiful moment.

Not to say that the ending doesn't matter, I just don't think it comes anywhere near to ruining the game, let alone the whole Trilogy.

Yes they had no value, ME 1 effected 2, 2 effected 3, 3 didn't effect the ending. So yeah, what's the freaking point? THE WHOLE IDEA WAS TO SEE HOW YOUR CHOICES EFFECTED THE OUTCOME WHICH THEY MEAN JACK SHIT. What's the point of the third game, if the end basically says: "All those choices you made..? Pfft... They don't change ANYTHING. Everything ends the same." None of your choices in ME3 matter because they didn't effect anything!

I suppose my real question is... how? What exactly makes the games unplayable now? I've seen the ending, I hate it...but the first thing I did was go back to mass effect 1 and start a brand new playthrough... I guess I just don't understand the reasoning here...

Because what's the point of playing the game again if you're going to get the same ending as someone who picked radically different choices.

Because what's the point of living the life if you're going to get the same ending as someone who picked radically different choices.
Death.

It's not the destination that matters, it's the journey. If you don't agree with this, you have to take a deep breath and question your priorities. Else you will feel misery trough your whole life.

P.S.
Captcha sometimes reads my mood. And by sometimes I mean almost always. *looking paranoid around my self*

Video Games Choices =/= Life.

This isn't Real life, this is a video game, one that promised radically different endings based on the choices from 1 to 3, but in the end, the ending is almost the exact same.

In this case, the Journey was ruined by the ending, there can be a sucky ending that still has the journey to make up for this, but in this case, the journey was supposed to lead into the end and make all the difference! But it doesn't!

It would be like if in a game, you saved all these people, and then in the last 10 minutes, a villian pops out and blows up the world killing everyone. Thus making the journey pointless, this is what they did in ME3. They disregarded all the choices, so you don't even get to see how they play out.

What's the point of Saving the genophage? Choosing Geth, Quarian, or both? Or even destroying Cerberus? In the end, you got 3 choices, Destroy, Synthesis, and control, and they don't take anything into consideration. So yeah there was no point, because the galaxy is fucked any way thus voiding out all choices.

exactly this. you could do everything possible to say fuck it, let everything/everyone die and not give a shit, and you will get the same damn ending as the guy (me in this instance) who did every last thing he could to paragon the shit out of the whole damn galaxy, then poof, some random jerk off says absolutely none of that matters in the slightest, and you kicking absolute ass the past 2 games (and during the 3rd one majorly too) didn't matter in the slightest. not a single bit.

put that, on top of that is what mass effect was KNOWN for, what was ADVERTISED for, and what everyone was looking for with importing all their saves....my god, i don't think i've ever been pissed off about something for this long. it's just facepalm on so many fucking layers on how badly they handled the ending.

 

[idarkphoenixi]

- This might just count as bitching but I'm going to list it anyway. Tali's face. 6years I spent, invested in Tali's character. I wanted to know as much as I could about her, her people, her future with the Quarian fleet. Tali was the one that I chose to develop the romance with and to finally see her face and find out it was a poorly done photoshop on the most random stock photo I ever saw was a total slap in the face. It wasn't even a good photoshop image, they fucked up the hand, giving her an oposable thumb.

Haha Tali's face was hilarious. In a way picking a random stock photo is an even better troll than making her look like actually alien, because designing a weird alien would take effort. My favorite part about is that she's apparently unhelmeted on a planet.

I assume the no-helmet was because she was on her planet maybe...Although I thought they were flying around in space for hundreds of years, oh well.
My only gripe with is that it looks far too human. Not to mention the hand...how could they fuck up her hand so badly

Tali is still my sweet alien pilgrim though <3

edit: To be honest I'd just prefer that they didn't show her face at all. I heard that they just didn't want to spend the extra money to design a new character. If that's true then just don't try. Better to keep the mystery.

 

[idarkphoenixi]

- A BROKEN QUEST SYSTEM IN AN RPG GAME. This is one of the deadly sins when it comes to gaming and is absolutely unforgivable. You are never told when your quest was completed. You are never told if you are even still eligable to finish the quest. Quests are mostly given through overhearing conversations (again, less dialogue scenes to save money)

My lord this. I honestly think that this is perhaps the most baffling as it is the most obviously wrong. How did they fuck this up? Why didn't anyone say "Your quest system doesn't work"

Gosh, It just irritates me. I hope they patch it. They won't but I hope they do.

If you had the game on PC I would normally say to just find a community mod that fixes it. Except if you did that then EA's Origin would ban your account indefinately.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

ng...even gripping...to listen to/play through, by the time you get to the agonizingly pointless ending you realize you've been duped and the entire thing has been a complete waste of time.

I can't honestly agree with this. I have never felt that my playthrough of Mass Effect was a waste of time, and to use your own words, I wouldn't feel comfortable with saying so. I suppose it's a matter of opinion, but I don't feel that likening it to literal shit is saying much for either the people who spent so much time making the series or the people who spent so much time playing it. Sure, the ending wasn't written by the writing team, but rather two people in an office (or so I've been informed), but the rest of the game is just as well written as the rest of the series.

I agree with you that the Mass Effect series are great games but for me I just can't bring myself to play through it again while that ending is in place...it just feels pointless.

There is absolutely no point in doing anything, you should have just gone home after Eden Prime and enjoyed yourself.

Because the outcome would have been exactly the same.

For me my Paragon Shep was an embodiment of that 'never surrender' attitude that Britain had during the second world war. Yet when she is confronted with a nonsensical choice she just accepts it. My Shep would have told them to shove their choice up their ass and let the fleet sort it out for good or ill.

That's what annoyed me and that's why the ending makes me not want to play through the game again. I hope that answers your question.

 

[370999]

- A BROKEN QUEST SYSTEM IN AN RPG GAME. This is one of the deadly sins when it comes to gaming and is absolutely unforgivable. You are never told when your quest was completed. You are never told if you are even still eligable to finish the quest. Quests are mostly given through overhearing conversations (again, less dialogue scenes to save money)

My lord this. I honestly think that this is perhaps the most baffling as it is the most obviously wrong. How did they fuck this up? Why didn't anyone say "Your quest system doesn't work"

Gosh, It just irritates me. I hope they patch it. They won't but I hope they do.

If you had the game on PC I would normally say to just find a community mod that fixes it. Except if you did that then EA's Origin would ban your account indefinately.

Well like even if they weren't that zealous, this is such a basic comfort feature that it just seems so self evident to me that you include it automatically. It's like having a map, it's become so established I'm amazed you wouldn't have it. Like i couldn't ever imagine depending on the mod community for it.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

I want you to imagine you are at a banquet.

However, this is not just any banquet. It is the banquet to end all banquets. It is the culmination of many banquets that have gone before. Laid out before you is a sumptuous feast, every dish and delicacy you can imagine, a vast, mouth-watering selection of old favourites and new flavours.

You eat.

It is good. It is fantastic. It is hard to imagine how it could be any better.

Then, as you sit back with a contented sigh and a full stomach, a small plate is placed before you. On that plate is a single small dollop of dog shit and a spoon.

That's the Mass Effect 3 experience.

Sure, the feast was fantastic, but guess which flavour will linger in your mouth when you think back on it. That's what people mean when they say that the whole thing was ruined.

I'm with Zhukov on this one.

Up until the last ten minutes, it was the best game I've ever played.

Bioware was this close to creating a near perfect gaming experience, and they fucking blew it.

 

[Snotnarok]

It's a very good game, and the crybabies who are sad because the ending (.001%) of the game was shit just make me confused because it's just ONE part of the game they admitted having hours of fun with. But just that one bit makes the game abysmal and terrible and they need their money back.

News flash: Most games that are 60USD+ are far shorter and have far far crappier endings. I mean look at any game from before the PS2 era, sometimes you just got "Thanks for Playing!" no alternate endings, no possible patch, the ending was just disappointing and sad.

Did the ending suck? Yeah but what else is new? Was the rest of the game fun? Yeah it was pretty spiffy. And if you didn't like the rest of the game the ending would be the least of your problem. And chances are with the DLC you'll probably find yourself with a new ending anyway, because that's what they did with Fallout 3 and other games.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

It's a very good game, and the crybabies who are sad because the ending (.001%) of the game was shit just make me confused because it's just ONE part of the game they admitted having hours of fun with. But just that one bit makes the game abysmal and terrible and they need their money back.

News flash: Most games that are 60USD+ are far shorter and have far far crappier endings. I mean look at any game from before the PS2 era, sometimes you just got "Thanks for Playing!" no alternate endings, no possible patch, the ending was just disappointing and sad.

Did the ending suck? Yeah but what else is new? Was the rest of the game fun? Yeah it was pretty spiffy. And if you didn't like the rest of the game the ending would be the least of your problem. And chances are with the DLC you'll probably find yourself with a new ending anyway, because that's what they did with Fallout 3 and other games.

Yeah because never asking for things to be improved really causes progress.

We should be happy with our suck.

 

[Vigormortis]

-snip-

Pretty much my thinking, though I've never been that fond of Mass Effect. (omg! blasphemy! I'm a huge fan of science fiction, but ME never did it for me. felt too much like any other space opera.)

Still, what qualifies a game as "good" or "bad" is the sum of it's parts; with the series finale being one of the crucial parts. Therefore, despite how good the other aspects were, when the ending is that colossally bad, it brings down the overall quality of the entire series.

Given that you "look back" to gauge your experiences with a series, when the ending is bad, it inevitably taints your view of the whole. It's sad really, but a bad ending can be that disruptive. (see the new Battlestar Galactica series. amazing until the last few episodes; of which all but ruined the series for me)

Shitting on shit does not make it exponentially shittier.

You'd think that, but then Bioware.

I see what you did there. XD You may want to don your flame shields and prep to stand against the oncoming shit storm of fan rage.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

It's a very good game, and the crybabies who are sad because the ending (.001%) of the game was shit just make me confused because it's just ONE part of the game they admitted having hours of fun with. But just that one bit makes the game abysmal and terrible and they need their money back.

News flash: Most games that are 60USD+ are far shorter and have far far crappier endings. I mean look at any game from before the PS2 era, sometimes you just got "Thanks for Playing!" no alternate endings, no possible patch, the ending was just disappointing and sad.

Did the ending suck? Yeah but what else is new? Was the rest of the game fun? Yeah it was pretty spiffy. And if you didn't like the rest of the game the ending would be the least of your problem. And chances are with the DLC you'll probably find yourself with a new ending anyway, because that's what they did with Fallout 3 and other games.

Yeah because never asking for things to be improved really causes progress.

We should be happy with our suck.

I know right?

I mean, some guy stabbed me the other day, but I sure am grateful he didn't kick me in the balls too.

I mean, being stabbed is one thing, but being stabbed and kicked in the balls?

I'm so lucky.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

snip

It just sounds like

Don't complain! In my day we all shared one pair of shoes and breakfast was stale bread with a scrape of lard and we were happy for it!

Yes and then things magically got better with no one complaining about working class conditions at all.

A wizard did it.

 

[lordmardok]

The game is fine, the ending is shit.

Read this, might help:

http://kotaku.com/5898743/mass-effect-3s-ending-disrespects-its-most-invested-players

 

[Daystar Clarion]

snip

It just sounds like

Don't complain! In my day we didn't have shoes we had to wear kleenex boxes on our feet and breakfast was stale bread with a scrape of lard and we were happy for it!

Yes and then things magically got better with no one complaining about working class conditions at all.

A wizard did it.

Indeed.

'Shit' is not a standard one should settle for, and it's certainly silly to say 'Well X was shit, so why does it matter if Y is too?'

That logic makes my head hurt.

 

[Jason Kost]

Mass Effect 3 is a good game, the only part the majority of the fans have an issue with is the ending since it doesn't answer anything. and paints your allies as traitors to you're m/f shep. My only issue with the ending is that and it doesn't answer any questions at all. I have never had an issue with my shep dying at all, matter of fact i was expecting him to die. just my .02

 

[Sparrow]

Oh, yeah. It was a great game. They really delivered on so many levels. The multiplayer is a lot of fun, the story does a lot of things fans have wanted to do for ages (curing the genophage, visiting several important home worlds, chilling with Garrus on the citadel) and they improved the mechanics in... basically every way possible.

Probably one of the reasons the ending pissed me off so bad. It's like getting to bang your dream woman, but just before you finish up someone hits you in the nutsack with a hammer.

 

[Asita]

For those that thought the game was ruined by the ending, I ask would any ending live up to your expectations even if you did have to work for it?

Your patronization is noted. Moving along though: Contrary to popular belief among those who malign those who are dissatisfied with the ending, the standards set for the ending are not impossibly high nor terribly difficult to envision. Two of the more popular ideas I've seen are as follows:

1) No Starchild: Believe it or not, many have expressed an opinion that the ending would have been much more palatable if it had ended with Shepherd and Anderson bleeding out after the death of TIM and then the crucible activating. While it wouldn't have been a great ending, it wouldn't have been the broken narrative that the starchild created in the last few minutes, and to which a sizeable portion of the complaints can trace their root cause.

2) The "Zerg Rush": This is a somewhat popular idea that focuses on two key plot elements. The first is something that was made explicit in the original installment of the franchise: the Reapers are not invincible, and they were well aware of this fact[footnote]Indeed, this is very strongly implied to be why Sovereign used such a roundabout way of assuming direct control of the Citadel rather than brute forcing it[/footnote], and their strategy revolved around dividing the galaxy into manageable fragments to circumvent this problem[footnote]They enter through the citadel relay and the galaxy is plunged into chaos due to the central government collapsing before the defenders even know they're under attack, and through the citadel they gain control of the Relay network, isolating settlements and thereby preventing them from organizing a true defense or calling for/providing reinforcements[/footnote]. The key principle here is that the Reapers have never had to face the full might of a galaxy united against them, and that an ending reflecting this would hav been both very cathartic and - more importantly - true to the core idea in the series of unity and diversity triumphing over incredible odds[footnote]This is perhaps best embodied by Mass Effect 2's final mission which - though identified consistently as a suicide mission - can be completed without losing a single member of your crew if you invest the time into accomodating their needs (Loyalty missions), listen to what they have to say (at least with regards to Normandy upgrades) and use their strengths effectively (chosen roles during the suicide mission)[/footnote].

At the end of the day though, the main idea espoused by those you're talking down to is that they simply don't want a story that loses narrative coherence in the eleventh hour of gameplay nor one that invokes half a dozen well known narrative flaws in the process. The dissatisfaction isn't "this isn't the ending I wanted", it's "this ending is downright broken from a storytelling perspective", which is fairly eloquently spelled out in this video and this article, if you care to peruse them.

 

[RedDeadFred]

No, it's an extremely awesome game that unfortunately has one of the worst endings I've ever seen.

 

[Snotnarok]

It's a very good game, and the crybabies who are sad because the ending (.001%) of the game was shit just make me confused because it's just ONE part of the game they admitted having hours of fun with. But just that one bit makes the game abysmal and terrible and they need their money back.

News flash: Most games that are 60USD+ are far shorter and have far far crappier endings. I mean look at any game from before the PS2 era, sometimes you just got "Thanks for Playing!" no alternate endings, no possible patch, the ending was just disappointing and sad.

Did the ending suck? Yeah but what else is new? Was the rest of the game fun? Yeah it was pretty spiffy. And if you didn't like the rest of the game the ending would be the least of your problem. And chances are with the DLC you'll probably find yourself with a new ending anyway, because that's what they did with Fallout 3 and other games.

Yeah because never asking for things to be improved really causes progress.

We should be happy with our suck.

Right, nothing has progressed, games have not become bigger larger grander scale games with better and better music, visuals, voice actors, respect and art direction. The ability to fix games after its release and add to it via internet/not having to leave the house to get your new game content.
But an shitty ending that's bound to be fixed ruins the span of a 30hour+ game and the other 2 15-30 hour long games.

You missed the point, shitty endings are nothing new, but that doesn't change that the rest of the game was fantastic as well as other entries in the series. I'm not saying the ending wasn't bad but .01%/3 minutes of the 30 hour game ruined it for you? Something that in this day and age CAN be fixed and changed?

I don't know maybe it's just me but I loved the ME 1-3 and the ending to one of them isn't going to make me pissed at the series, just hope they decide to add another one. Again there's been FAR worse endings, such as RAGE and I knew that was gonna be shitty and holy crap it was worse.