MrBTongue on the ME3 Extended Cut...

[dreadedcandiru99]

Remember that guy on YouTube who made those Plinkett-style videos about the problems with the ME3 ending? He just did one about the Extended Cut, and as usual, he makes a better argument than anybody else I've seen, including myself (and I don't admit that lightly). I just saw it, and I felt compelled to spread it around. I think my favorite bit is the part where he explains why we're all perfectly justified in coming up with our own endings. Anyway, here you go:

 

[Savagezion]

His videos are well put together. I may have to start watching him. What would be nice is if Bioware would release the source code so we could mod the ending. Like that will ever happen, Bioware don't believe in mods.

 

[Zhukov]

Gotta hand it to him, dude knows his stuff.

Basically agreed on all points.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

I'm one of those people who was more than satisfied with the Extended Cut. However, I can't deny he still makes good points.

The part I take issue with is the whole 'setting us free' part, as every fan ending I've seen written for ME3 so far has been, to be honest, utter wank. Yeah, maybe the Crucible is a bit of a contrivance, but so is beating the Reapers conventionally with everyone living happily ever after with no big or meaningful decisions having to be made, after three games of hammering in to us how it takes half a fleet to take down just one Reaper, let alone a horde of thousands.

Yes, people can think whatever they want about the endings. They can also make up their own ending if they really want to. However, I would never go as far as to call fan-fiction, even good fan-fiction, as valid as the story the writer's told, and it's that sort of close-minded 'I REFUSE to accept this as being real because I didn't like it', dogmatic attitude that led to so many people getting so sick of the debate that they demonized the entire Retake crowd. Unfairly perhaps, but I definitely get why they were inclined to jump to the worst conclusion.

 

[Paladin2905]

His videos are well put together. I may have to start watching him. What would be nice is if Bioware would release the source code so we could mod the ending. Like that will ever happen, Bioware don't believe in mods.

Hey, for the record Bioware completely believed in mods pre-EA takeover. The infinity engine was eminently moddable (and still is) and Neverwinter nights was practically made for the sole purpose of handling player content.

The golden goose might be dead, but dammit it once layed golden eggs. Not that it does anymore... is it bad that I feel bad defending them?

 

[Floodclaw]

He does make good points, but he does not make mention that the Extended Cut explained what the hologram kid is: Harbinger. The kid says he's basically an advanced AI installed within the Citadel to keep watch over the cycle. Harbinger is an advanced AI keeping watch over the cycle, presumably the first Reaper ever made. The 'installed in the Citadel' is likely something to throw off Shepard and make him believe.
Oh, and let's not forget how he has Harbinger's voice if you shoot him.
Then again, this is just my interpretation, as the ending still requires it. We can't have every little detail spoon-fed to us, that'd just be boring.

I was rather annoyed with the 'your own ending is as valid as the real one'. That's equivalent to closing your ears and saying "la la la I can't hear you, my thoughts are better".

 

[stevensane1]

The part I take issue with is the whole 'setting us free' part, as every fan ending I've seen written for ME3 so far has been, to be honest, utter wank. Yeah, maybe the Crucible is a bit of a contrivance, but so is beating the Reapers conventionally with everyone living happily ever after with no big or meaningful decisions having to be made, after three games of hammering in to us how it takes half a fleet to take down just one Reaper, let alone a horde of thousands.

Agreed. It also makes it impossible to have a canon ending, which wouldn't worry me so much but for that there are clearly going to be more Mass Effect games which may be set after the current series. If having 4 neck-breakingly divergent ending isn't going to make that hard enough, players have to admit that the endings they got are the endings they are going to live with if they want to play in that franchise again.

I for one will certainly be buying any further Mass Effect releases (within reason; i.e. I probably wouldn't bother with a standard FPS), but I do wonder how the game will work if it is set after the current series.

 

[Griffolion]

I personally think that the whole indoctrination theory was the best save the ending had. Even if Bioware didn't make it up and it was literally picked out of thin air based on a number of discrepancies that turned out to just be lazyness in late stage development, the whole thing had a great conspiracy air about it that Bioware could have just gone "ahhh you got us!". Maybe it's just me.

EDIT: I spilt my hot vimto on my crotch after writing this.

 

[CommanderL]

I agree with everything he said Why did the rest of the game have to be so amazingly good Then the ending suck

 

[RJ 17]

I'd just like to note that I called all 3 extended cut endings with my own extrapolation of the original three endings 6 days after the game came out.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.353986-I-Have-Obtained-ME-3-Ending-Enlightenment-A-MUST-READ-FOR-ANYONE-QUESTIONING-THE-ME-3-ENDINGS
(very bottom of the spoiler box in the OP of this topic)

If for no other reason than the "new" endings matching up damn near perfectly with how I expanded the original ones in order to explain their significange, I have to say that I was completely satisfied with what they gave us in the Extended Cut. All I ever wanted was a bit of epilogue to round out the story, and I feel they gave us just that.

Though I will say that now, for two out of the 3 endings, the Star Gazer scene makes less sense now than it did before.

 

[stevensane1]

Is there a thread for discussing endings folks would have liked to have seen instead?

 

[RJ 17]

Is there a thread for discussing endings folks would have liked to have seen instead?

Have you tried making your own thread?

 

[Acton Hank]

I get where he's coming from, I disagree about the crucible bit, from what I understood the crucible was the energy source but the catalyst was the thing that controlled in what form the energy was dispensed.

I wasn't looking foward to the EC either, but pretty much everything they added was good.

The EC offered enough emotianal satisfaction for me to not hate the ending.

Also it's kind of redundant to say we can make our own ending, considering people have been making their own on youtube for the last 4 months.

 

[stevensane1]

Is there a thread for discussing endings folks would have liked to have seen instead?

Have you tried making your own thread?

I might just do that!