Hello Everyone,
I've been following this thread for the past couple days, since I "beat" the game. Though I refuse to acknowledge it as a true ending.
There's nothing I can say that will add anything to the cause except my own story, and I figure what the heck I might as well put it out there and add my voice to the chorus.
I was, obviously, disappointed by the "endings" that Bioware forced upon us, but to me, it was more than the fact that nothing I did mattered, or that there were major plotholes, or any of the other plot related issues everyone has brought up.
When I finished the game, I was dumbstruck. I had been completely prepared to see my Shepard sacrifice himself for the greater good, but the way it all played out made me physically ill. At the time, I didn't even have the ability to comprehend the major plotholes and pitfalls of the story. Watching those credits roll I felt what many have already voiced. Empty.
This was a game that I had waited years for. Not even counting in game, i postponed 3 midterm exams to have the chance to play though the game unhindered, I went to a midnight release, I did everything possible to make sure I would enjoy the game to its fullest. For 99% of the game, I even truely thought that it would replace Orcarina of Time as my favorite game of all time. Then those ever important last 10 min hit.
Its been a few days since I beat the game, and Ive been following the news on all channels, hoping I would see some redemption to the series that went, in 10 min, from my new favorite game ever, to a series I can't even stand to look at.
I know im preaching to the choir, but knowing that I wasnt the only one who felt cheated, and emotionally drained from the game is comforting. The feeling of being stabbed in the back by a good friend doesnt even adequately describe the letdown, as I'm sure you all know.
For what it's worth though, regardless of what bioware says (though I still have my fingers crossed) I will say that what Ive seen over the past couple days has been incredible. Not only did Commander Shepard bring together a completely fictional world, but he has also brought together people from all over the real world, on a scale I never even imagined could stay civil.
Fight the good fight, brothers and sisters.
We will hold the line.