Poll: Do you think it's right to hate a game just because of it's ending?

[Kopikatsu]

Well, no. The core of a game is the gameplay, and that is what sets it apart from the other mediums. If the gameplay is fantastic, then a terrible story is tolerable. But if the gameplay is horrendous with an incredibly story, then I'm going to call that a bad game and be unable to play through it.

 

[Reaper195]

This has been around longer than ME3, ME3 didn't start a trend, but the last thing you remember from a game or movie general tends to be the last moments of said game or movie.

I'd disagree on that. I tend to remember the things that were actually memorable. ME3 is a perfect example (While I did not hate the ending. I was rather impartial). I remember raging when I thought Grunt had died, or that whole thing with Smara (I missed one friggin' trigger action thing and stuffed up so bad I raged), playing the game on easy as a biotic carrying nothing but a pistol, and becoming a biotic god. Or the tight gun-play when compared to the previous games.

But then again, that's me. I tend to look over the bad things in films and games and remember the good parts.

 

[BrotherRool]

I still think that if the game has failed overall in the last couple of hours, then that can be interpreted by people's brains as a dislike of the ending in particular. If you've been enjoying something and have a lot of trust in the writer you can go with the flow in a cheesy ending or a plothole filled one, because it's been fun and you don't need to think critically. Whereas if earlier parts of the game were badly written, or something has been subtly stopping you from being immersed, then you arrive at the end in a more critical state of mind and pick apart things you wouldn't have anyway.

So when people depict a game as awful because of its ending, sometimes (not all the times) that can be subconsciously because the actual game was bad before that part and it just hadn't really clicked. No-one cares that the Jokers plan doesn't make sense in the Dark Knight because the film is doing too many good things for you to be analysing it and I think a good game can likewise get away with a cheesy end (I was in a bad frame of mind for ME1 for example and found it ridiculously silly and cliche, but loads of people loved it and I reckon thats because the game leading up to it was so good [I can't believe people would in sober thought describe the frog-jumping boss fight as appropriate or the "Did we just kill off the main character in the start of our trilogy Disney moment"]

But the end is also important. There can be questions raised that rely on being sensibly answered and the final moments are what you leave with the impact with. Ultimately a bad ending leaves people feeling a lot more unsatisfied than a bad middle and the game should be judged appropriately for that. A game that leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth isn't a good thing

 

[Rastrelly]

This is not a "yes/no" question. There are multiple factors to be taken into account. For story-driven games the answer nearly always is "yes, definitely".

 

[Radoh]

I'm sorry, is it right to hate a game based on it's ending?
You can hate anything for any reason, I hate people who whistle and drag their feet.
Who's supposed to be the judicator of that? Who decides what is a right reason to feel something?

 

[Rastrelly]

I'm sorry, is it right to hate a game based on it's ending?
You can hate anything for any reason, I hate people who whistle and drag their feet.
Who's supposed to be the judicator of that? Who decides what is a right reason to feel something?

You see, it's a matter of "public morale". Sorry for obvious example, but nowadays in some countries it's OK to be gay, while in others you'll be shot even for approaching such interpretations. And I cannot say who is right in both cases.

 

[EvilMaggot]

i didnt like the ending of Red Dead Redemption.. but it was because it was sad but.. i still rate it as one of the greatest game of the decade

so..answer: no

 

[Radoh]

I'm sorry, is it right to hate a game based on it's ending?
You can hate anything for any reason, I hate people who whistle and drag their feet.
Who's supposed to be the judicator of that? Who decides what is a right reason to feel something?

You see, it's a matter of "public morale". Sorry for obvious example, but nowadays in some countries it's OK to be gay, while in others you'll be shot even for approaching such interpretations. And I cannot say who is right in both cases.

Really now, don't you think that's one hell of a stretch for civilised folk?
Public Morality has no bearing on the intricacies of story weaving, nor should it ever be under the same scrutiny as basic human rights and the violations thereof. Arguing that it's the same thing is just plain nonsensical.
Honestly.
(small side note thing, it isn't Public Morale, it's Public Morality. Public Morale is how happy the public is.)

 

[Andros83]

Of course not.
Concerning every single one of the examples the OP mentioned, there are plenty of other reasons to hate these games on their own.
Terrible writing however can assuredly drag the experience down.

 

[Rastrelly]

I'm sorry, is it right to hate a game based on it's ending?
You can hate anything for any reason, I hate people who whistle and drag their feet.
Who's supposed to be the judicator of that? Who decides what is a right reason to feel something?

You see, it's a matter of "public morale". Sorry for obvious example, but nowadays in some countries it's OK to be gay, while in others you'll be shot even for approaching such interpretations. And I cannot say who is right in both cases.

Really now, don't you think that's one hell of a stretch for civilised folk?
Public Morality has no bearing on the intricacies of story weaving, nor should it ever be under the same scrutiny as basic human rights and the violations thereof. Arguing that it's the same thing is just plain nonsensical.
Honestly.
(small side note thing, it isn't Public Morale, it's Public Morality. Public Morale is how happy the public is.)

IMO, easily. Each person usually acts under deep impression of surrounding social structure, defining elements of 'good' and 'bad'. This is the only possible (and statistically suitable) judicator of right and wrong mostly due to nonexistence of both those categories in material Universe.
What I mean is that no one has the right to judge what's right and what's wrong, but basically is a matter of public morality or social system of values which it (society which bears this system) injects to its members. Not making it more or less legitimate.

And thanks for correcting my mistake with "Public Morale", English is far from native language for me )

 

[RedDeadFred]

It's already been said but even the tiniest things can ruin a game for you. It just depends on what you like and dislike.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

I don't know if right or wrong has anything to do with it, but I do think it's rather stupid. I mean c'mon, you're going to hate the whole game just beause it had a shit ending, even if the rest of the game was loads of fun, had great gameplay, and was hugely immersive?

Off Topic: Um Escapist, why am I getting ads for Beer in my Captchas?

 

[acillies45]

Honestly, my first answer is "No" especially if the game has amazing gameplay/story/music etc.

But I thought about it, and in some cases (especially in story driven games or games that have had great bosses before the final one) the ending can be the thing that makes a game bad. Is this ALWAYS the case: no. I will defend the fact that an ending can be weak, while the rest of the game is solid. But if you play a game that is 10+ hours (which many games can be) then you should be able to have a ending that you just smile/cry (or whatever emotion you're supposed to feel) at.

I can think of an example of one movie where this has had a similar effect on me (possible spoilers, but nothing too big).

That movie is Signs. Honestly, I thought the entire movie was well done...till the last ten minutes. I was on the edge of my seat and even terrified with how some of the scenes were done. I was really having a good time....till the end. Which was bad enough for me to change my entire outlook on the previous parts of the movie because of it.

Honestly, I've played some amazing endings of games that were meh and some meh endings of games that were awesome. The ending of a movie (as with anything) needs to leave an impact on you in some way that you'll remember it. It's the last thing you look at as you put the controller down or close a book or turn off the TV. If it isn't good...then you're not going to leave as satisfied as you may have if it was.

 

[Dfskelleton]

I guess it's not right, but it's completely reasonable to do so.
After all, the ending is the finish to this game we've put so many hours into; it's meant to tie up what we started all those hours of playtime ago, and provide closure. Even if a game is great, a bad ending can really hurt it in the long run. Likewise, a mediocre game with a satisfying finale will seem a lot better because of it, like Silent Hill Downpour.

 

[ImperialSunlight]

In Mass Effect III, yes. As an RPG, the story, immersion, etc. are the most important aspects and with a terrible ending like that, those critical aspects are shattered, leaving the player frustrated with the game. It's a major flaw, so of course it's a good reason to dislike the game.

 

[redknightalex]

Is it right to hate a game for it's ending? No, not really. I think gamers just get a bit bitter over it and it is the last impression many gamers get out of a game, thus leaving a bad memory of the whole game stuck with you.

In the case of Mass Effect 3 (and of course this was going to be a discussion focused on that game, what were you thinking?), rather snowballed. I still don't understand how, when a game is good up until the last five minutes, it can now be considered so horrible you'd never buy a game from that company again. It's like saying that 95% of your life was fine but, damn, you died wrong and you hate everything in your afterlife-state because of it, meaning that you'll never buy life again. Specifically, I think the ME3 ending backlash was only the second step of the Kübler-Ross model, aka the stages of grief, that many players went through. Really really.

I've disliked endings in the past, mostly due to disappointment in the game overall, yet I've never hated an ending. ACIII was the most recent one that disappointed me. Ironically, I thought that there should have been more of an outcry regarding the endings, with a lack of choice, than the one ME3 got but, hey, that's life. However, that doesn't negate a mostly positive experience I had before I played through the ending. How often do you get a game ending that blows you away? Does that mean that the other games, with average endings, are just "average" because the ending wasn't perfect? And what of the games with no ending, like sports, racing, and many strategy/sim games? Are they not games because they don't have an ending?

In the end, my opinion doesn't matter except to me. People will hate on things that I enjoy and I'll probably hate on things that they enjoy. No use arguing about it because that makes no one happy.