Poll: ME3 - Aren't You Guys Rather Embarressed?

[Sonic Doctor]

OP, you are asking the right question on the WRONG website. You really think the people that frequent this site are going to say "Yes, it's out of control"? Not a shot against the users here, just an observation.

There are plenty of people on this sight that think it is out of control.

I've been saying it since I heard they started the Take Back Mass Effect charity lunacy. Yeah, the money goes to a good cause, but the reason behind it is insane.

Though really, I saw this coming back when all the nuts were complaining about the Day 1 DLC, and whining about things that were "leaked" from the script.

So, overreacting started way before launch, exploded, came back together and has exploded three more times since launch.

-1,000,000 faith points in the sanity of gamers today.

 

[Sonic Doctor]

I think most people who say yes aren't thinking or haven't played the game,..........................

I don't agree. I've played the game, and I've been thinking about and hearing about the game for sometime now before it was even released.

The overreacting began before release. People are just getting too hung up on not getting the exact perfect ending they wanted. Everybody can't be pleased, and people just have to accept that BioWare had a different kind of ending in mind.

I have some friends that didn't really like the ending, and wouldn't mind getting some new DLC that gives some answers, but even they think the Take Back Mass Effect movement must built on, as they said to me last night while playing some ME3 multiplayer, "a large batch of lunatics".

I really find it sad that BioWare is being guil-tripped into changing/adding to the ending because of a few people that don't know how to control their emotions and think rationally.

 

[idarkphoenixi]

i played the game saw the ending. i didn't feel the pointless rage that everyone else and their dog is feeling. most of what i see is the game didn't have the ending they wanted so ragefest here we come

Once again...It's not that it didn't provide "the ending they wanted", it's that it didn't provide any ending. We were explicitly promised dozens of vastly different endings based on your actions and after 5years of investment into the series it all came down to ONE ending in 3 different colours. Your actions didn't mean shit.

I'm not a fan of the series and at this point I'm glad I'm not.I'd be pretty pissed off too when they have the balls to not just rip me off for more money with the prothean DLC but slap me in the face with a dumb ending that answered nothing and had the corniest, laziest plotline where the Normandy just 'happens' to crash land on a lush planet (gee, I wonder if more DLC will be based on this scene. Hur dur).

Nobody is mad because they couldn't finish the game by being crowned master of the universe by a re-animated Jessica Alba. They wanted closure and instead got a line of text telling them to go buy more DLC, literally.

 

[Therumancer]

snip

My theory is that the Indoctrination Theory is a lot more meta than we thought. Bioware/Shepard slowly being corrupted by the Reapers/EA. Think about it: Bioware becomes an EA subsidiary in 2007, the same year ME1 is released with DA:O released in 2009. The general consensus is that these games are good; true Bioware games. However, in 2010 with ME2, some fans started to see something... off about Bioware. 2011: DA2. Majority of BW fans HATE DA2 (personally don't know why, feel free to msg me). Now 2012: fully indoctrinated Bioware has become just like EA(from what I've heard, not personal experience): ripping off customers, lying to fans, etc.

I can only hope DLC gets released that lets Bioware overcome the indoctrination and save the galaxy from the threat of EA.

Cute, I like that theory.

For a run down on DA2 (posted here in case anyone is interested, I've gone into it before)

Spoiler

Dragon Age was intended to be a series that was going to be a spiritual successor to "Baldur's Gate" the way Mass Effect was supposed to be a spiritual successor to Knights Of The Old Republic. The original Dragon Age featured a level of character customization rarely seen anymore, and the idea of a hero who could come from a number of differant backrounds which would change some of the events and options as the game unfolded. The game was played from a real time/turn based hybrid perspective similar to Baldur's Gate where everything moved in real time, but you could pause the game at any time to issue orders. Things were also carefully phased so if you wished you could stop things turn by turn to adjust to the flow of battle. It was very popular and pretty bloody successful with a major expansion pack and a ton of DLC. It told a complete story but had a few threads left open like Morrigin's elder god child that were never resolved and left open for a sequel without being too obnoxious.

Dragon Age 2 was a sequel to the original which pretty much ignored everything that made the first one. Gone were most character generation options or choice of origins, you could play as a human refugee named "Hawke" period. The story had no real connection to the events in the original "Dragon Age" and didn't address any of those plot points left hanging, though a couple of characters from the original Dragon Age made bit apperances... which also tended to ignore anything you might have done in the original.

The combat was replaced by a sort of customizable brawler, where enemies just spawn by either popping out of air or dropping ninja-like off rooftops despite wearing things like plate armor. The enemies being attached to trigger points so you couldn't see what you were heading for and prepare like the first game. A spider the size of an Elephant might just suddenly appear on top of you. Likewise despite pretensions of being tactical, things like setting up fighters to block for mages and such didn't really work, especially seeing as enemies would just appear on top of you in waves. On top of this the game re-used the same handfull of enviroments continually so there was no real exploration or the introduction of new places to go. Once you visited the handfull of availible locations, you had pretty much seen it all, except for the inclusion of new spawn spams of monsters when a quest might send you back to one of those locations.

Basically it took everything that made the original popular and chucked it out the window. The series that was a spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate, wound up being nothing like it (though you could see this in the first game).

When the game was being planned Bioware made a big show out of asking the community if it was okay to limit the options for "Hawke" instead of allowing you to pick origins, race, etc... something of which received a lot of negative commentary as that kind of limitation kind of defeated the point of the series as that was one of the big selling points. Bioware not only decided to limit the options anyway, but tried to act like the community was overwhelmingly in support of the idea. Needless to say that inspired a lot of bad blood, the majority does not like being told they support something they do not, and I believe part of what we're seeing with ME3 is backlash that started there.

On top of all of this, and perhaps most relevently (which is why I covered it last) Dragon Age 2 didn't really have much of an ending. The basic conclusion of the game is that Hawke, along with the protaganist from DA1 (irregardless of where you left off) is somehow missing along with other heroes and they are being searched for. So basically your ending is that your character got swallowed by the Bermuda Triangle or the moral equivilent thereof. Talk about satisfying closure! Thus another bad ending along with everything else has doubtlessly contributed to the problems with ME3.

I'll also say that the writing for Bioware, which is supposed to be their strong point, has been lacking to put it bluntly. In Dragon Age 2 they pretty much run roughshod over their own lore, and rely on wild coincidence or you being stupid without much control (or option to do the common sense thing) to guide the plot. The basic plotline is that you have tensions between Templars and Mages which come to a head when an artifact you find in an expedition underground makes the insane Templar commander even more insane, a paticularly big problem because apparently every mage despite all evidence to the contrary suddenly is an Abomination waiting to happen which makes no sense to anyone who played the first game. Of course that doesn't matter when I doubt there are two functional brain cells in the entire city. Basically you watch stupid, insane people, do stupid, insane things (yes Anders, I am looking at you) without common sense ever entering into your character's thought processes.

Of course the ending in ME3 eclipsed the writing issues with the game that would have been a problem if the ending hadn't gotten everyone's attention. While not as bad as DA2, ME3 for example involves this black clad Chinese Assasin who looks like he was rejected from a bad sci-fi ninja Seriel (sorry dude, your too over the top for "Power Rangers"... but nice costume, really) who shows up with no real previous introduction, clashes with the entire game aestetic worse than bad fan fiction, and engages in "Final Fantasy" style boss fights where even if you win you wind up losing due to him pwning everyone in a cinematic until it's time in the story for him to be defeated.... and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Basically DA2 was the train wreck that paved the way for the ME3 outrage when that game turned out to be nearly as bad in it's own way, repeting a lot of the things that Bioware should have learned NOT to do with the previous game.

 

[A.I. Sigma]

I thought it was being taken too far, before i finished the game.


Then when i experienced the ending myself, i felt the same rage and dissapointment that my colleagues feel.

This. Completely and utterly this. I finished it finally about half an hour ago and I'm still in a state of shock.

 

[jamesbrown]

I think most people who say yes aren't thinking or haven't played the game,..........................

I don't agree. I've played the game, and I've been thinking about and hearing about the game for sometime now before it was even released.

Thank you for bringing this fact to my attention, but the reason I am against it is as I said above, but also you shouldn't release something which has this many giant plot holes, If that means I wait 5 more months but get a much better experience of course I will accept the wait, as long as they tell thier fan communtity that "hey we want to give you the best ending possible without plot holes, so can you wait a quarter"

There is a reason why Valve games are so good, it's because they care about the material they work with and release, so if a game is set to release and they find something wrong they simply say, oh we found something wrong; we are going to fix it insted of rushing. As a fan this may be taxing but it pays off in the experience they deliver and you KNOW they gave it thier best

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

For me personally I don't feel embarrassment at the the raging of the fanboys, it's more smug satisfaction that I didn't waste my hard earned cash buying the game and they did. Apparently I'm one of a few smart enough to realise it's time to jump ship regarding a particular series/brand/company.

REcaptcha: spruce up

 

[dreadedcandiru99]

Nobody is mad because they couldn't finish the game by being crowned master of the universe by a re-animated Jessica Alba. They wanted closure and instead got a line of text telling them to go buy more DLC, literally.

This, basically. I didn't invest two hundred bucks and hundreds of hours of gameplay over the past five years just to be saddled with a pile of plot holes, botched characterization and space magic.

You know what I don't get, by the way? I don't get how there's anyone left that can honestly claim not to understand why people are so upset. It's been explained a thousand times, a thousand ways, in a thousand places. It seems to me, at this point, that anyone who doesn't understand must be trying not to understand.

But what do I know? I'm just a whiny butthurt fanboy who didn't get the rainbows and unicorns he thought he was owed.

 

[Savagezion]

The overreacting began before release. People are just getting too hung up on not getting the exact perfect ending they wanted. Everybody can't be pleased, and people just have to accept that BioWare had a different kind of ending in mind.

Then Bioware should have promised the exact opposite of what they did promise. Which is, an ending that is a bespoke ending that everyone else gets that can be quantified as A, B, and C. They claimed verbatum the exact opposite.

They also claimed:
"[The presence of the Rachni] has huge consequences in Mass
Effect 3. Even just in the final battle with the Reapers."

"Mass Effect 3 is all about answering all the biggest questions in the
lore, learning about the mysteries and the Protheans and the Reapers,
being able to decide for yourself how all of these things come to an
end."

"You'll get answers to everything. That was one of the key things. Regardless
of how we did everything, we had to say, yes, we're going to provide
some answers to these people."

After all these kinds of claims the best case scenario is an unconfirmed theory of what happened. Where even if it is true, no one knows what the hell it even means pertaining to events of the battle, the reapers, your crew, the relays, or the galaxy. Pretty much the only thing the theory explains is what happens to Shepard but everything else in the game is all speculation. That is the version with the most logical answers.

I really find it sad that BioWare is being guil-tripped into changing/adding to the ending because of a few people that don't know how to control their emotions and think rationally.

I find it sad people buy that line of crap. This line would have more credibility if they claimed the indoctrination theory but they don't. It's a copout reply because they don't support it. Claiming "artistic vision" is a good time to explain your what that vision is/was.
As well, Mass Effect 3 was title that openly admitting it was trying to "appeal to a widest demographic". (Designed to please as many as possible.) It was never about making a statement regardless of what people thought. They openly admitted the game was aiming to appeal to as many people as it can. It is in the best interest of the mission statement of the game to change it according to "artistic integrity".

 

[A Weakgeek]

I have no trouble with bitching, people do that all the time. But asking for a different ending, even if the exsisting one is the worst pile of crap ever invented, is vile. It was the writers vision, you have no right to demand anything else. The PR department lied to you, well too bad, learn from your mistakes and dont believe any of this bullshit when the first spinoff Masseffect comes around.

Even if the ending was made to sell you dlc, they still shouldnt change it. Its a fucking disgusting practise but you got suckered in, if you hadnt preordered maybe you would have known before buying. Talk with your wallets people! DONT BUY THE DLC WHEN IT COMES OUT! That will only encourage EA and Bioware to do this in the future, and if you cant resist not buying this dlc and say "I wont buy any Bioware games... after this" you are lying to yourself.

 

[Valanthe]

I put "no" not because I personally believe that this is worth fighting for, but to pose the question, if somebody believes in something strongly enough to go to the lengths that many of these fans have, who are we to tell them that they're wrong to feel that way? If they felt that the endings were so bad that they need to be changed, what right do I have to say "No, you are not allowed to express your opinion."

I disliked the endings, quite strongly. That much you can see simply by looking at my recent posts. I'm not about to march down the street or sign my name onto the Retake Mass Effect petition, but I think that if you feel strongly enough about this, then it's absolutely within your right to pursue these measures. Just as it's absolutely within my right to quietly shake my head and go back to swearing profusely as another Banshee chases me around the map in multiplayer.

So the short answer is, No, I am not embarrassed by angered consumers demanding better of a company who failed to deliver on several promises. To use an anology, even thouh I'm terrible at these, if I bought a dishwasher that was advertised to be "The be all end all solution to washing dishes, and I'd never need another appliance to wash these dishes again," and when I used it, it left spots on my glasses just like every other dishwasher on the planet. Am I not entitled to express my displeasure with that product in what ways I deem necessary?

Captcha: Rough Diamond, You know... I should have made my analogy out of that, it's very fitting to how I view Bioware's most recent games. Like rough diamonds, so much potential, could have been so much better with just that little bit more polish

 

[martyrdrebel27]

snip

okay, as i've been doing anytime i see this topic come up, read this article and THEN tell me the hatred for the ending is 100% justified.

http://www.gamefront.com/mass-effect-3-ending-hatred-5-reasons-the-fans-are-right/

seriously. read the whole thing, and you'll understand.

 

[Yopaz]

Yes, it's gone too far. This is being treated like there has actually been done physical harm to its consumers. There are no broken promises or violations. This is simply a game that most fans didn't find satisfactory.

 

[Savagezion]

After making such a long post, I am unsure why I am posting but just wanted to clarify that Bioware has made promises and they were indeed broken. 4 of them to be exact.

More than that:
http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/355/index/10056886

 

[Ninjat_126]

I think that suing for false advertisement is a bit much. Then again, if I knew how restrictive the ending was I wouldn't have bought the game, so they have technically made money from false advertising.

Still, it's their game and their story. They should be allowed to do what they want with it. And we shouldn't sue them.

My advice? Keep up the petitions asking for plot-hole removing free DLC, and the groups going "Bioware Fucked Up", but don't try to sue them or have them change the ending.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

Gigantic snip

Y'know Ryan, I don't always agree with you on stuff, in fact sometimes we outright clash on our opinions/views... but goddamn that was an eloquent, sensible and well written post. I agree with everything you said and the OP needs to give it a good read.

 

[Yopaz]

Yes, it's gone too far. This is being treated like there has actually been done physical harm to its consumers. There are no broken promises or violations. This is simply a game that most fans didn't find satisfactory.

After making such a long post, I am unsure why I am posting but just wanted to clarify that Bioware has made promises and they were indeed broken. 4 of them to be exact. If you'd like proof then please read my very long post above or check out this video which does a better job anyhow. Unsure if you want to watch through it all but it does explain quite perfectly that Bioware screwed up indeed.


P.S: I admit the fans were not harmed in any manner but I must say personally me and others feel cheated out, scammed. My longer post explains it all but the video as I have placed onto this one does a good job explaining the harm in trust so that in a way is harming the fans making them lose interest in Bioware games.

Saying something you believe is the truth isn't a lie just because it's wrong. You may call this broken promises or false advertisement, but in the end it's just failure to deliver on the hype of a game. If they felt that the ending was good and they thought that it wouldn't leave unresolved matters then well, they were wrong, but if they believed it when they said it, is it a lie because you disagree? If I say Superman 64 is a great game is that a lie because everyone disagrees?

Think to yourself, is this really a bunch of lies and broken promises or just a game that didn't live up to hype?

 

[getoffmycloud]

I think it is stupid and demanding the ending gets changed is wrong. I personally like the ending (I buy into the indoctrination theory) so do I get to complain if the ending gets changed to something I don't like can I demand to have the old ending back again, no of course not but that then leaves me an everyone else who likes the ending dissatisfied so Bioware just cant win with this so they should just leave the ending alone otherwise this will set a terrible precedent with any future game they make that there fans have a slight issue with because i'm sure we all know what some Bioware fans are like and they will be constantly demanding to have everything changed because they know they can get away with it.

 

[lovest harding]

I chose yes, but not because they're taking it too seriously (I think it's perfectly fine to take something that you have to spend time and money on seriously), but because I think it's gotten to the point where it's bigger than the actual ending.
Is the ending disjointed and nonsensical? Yes.
Did it have nothing to do with the choices in game? Yes.
Was it one of the least dramatic (and least appealing and least varied) choices in the game? Yes.
(although, I'd hazard to argue it had everything to do with the overarching Reaper story and 90% of the ME games had nothing to do with the actual Reapers, so in a sense it worked for the Reapers, or it would have if there were hints of it beyond "You just don't understand the Reapers, Shepard." woven into the story of past games rather than just dumped in that final section of the final game with some clumsy foreshadowing).

BUT I think the witch hunt (the lawsuit or FTC complaints or whatever) for BioWare is nonsense. They made an ending they wanted (and could fit into their monetary and time constraints). Certainly it could have been of better quality. It could have had more substance to it. It could have been tied to every option in the game to make 40 unique endings (albeit probably at the cost of millions of more dollars and a year of time). But what it was was what they created.
Fans have a right to disagree with what they're given. But I fully believe that BioWare's artistic integrity should be on the merit of the games they make, not based on whether or not they alter a game because their fans want it or how willing they are to 'listen to their fans'.
I'd lose respect for them as creators if they did anything but expand the ending as is (if they do anything to satisfy upset fans).

We seem to believe that because our hobby is interactive that we have a substantial role in what we play, when in reality we are just playing the games that developers make. We're integral to the expression of the art/fun/shoot-fest/etc. (just like every movie or book or painting), but not to the inception or development of it. There's a line, a point in which we no longer have a say (a point where we are simply consumers and not fans or authorities). We can't cross that line and become the dictators of what will happen or could happen or should happen.
We can tell them what we want to see, what we didn't like. We can fault them for a weak story or a nonsensical ending or poor gameplay or bad sound design or even just not caring about their consumers/fans. Hell, we can even tell them what games they should make in the future by simply buying things we like and not buying things we don't like. But we can't tell them what to do with their game. We can't tell them that that tree should be bigger or there should be more enemies spawning there or that the story should have had more furry sex and honestly expect them to do what we want (we can share those opinions and maybe they'll find something they like, but vicious attacks rather than intelligent criticism will get us no where). We have no say over what makes it into the game. It's their prerogative to put whatever they want in the game, because it is their creation.
Random tangent: This is why even as a gay man, I wasn't knocking down their door begging them to make gay romance. I wanted to see it in the games (because it's something I enjoy playing). But even with only heterosexual romances, the first two games were fantastic. I played through a romance in each of them for the achievements, but I wasn't invested in them (they were just long quests for an achievement). The Shepard I took through all three games didn't romance anyone until the third game and without the addition of gay romance options he wouldn't have romanced anyone. Which I'm fine with.

I try not post anymore, but I felt the need to share my opinion on this subject at least once.
I'm speaking in generalities. If you think you're one of the people who isn't attacking BioWare in a malicious manner, then I'm not talking about you. I really don't need 30 responses telling me that not everyone is attacking BioWare. I know not everyone who dislikes the ending is. This is about the people who are going to far.
And those who aren't, aren't the subject of this post.