Story/RP:
My first impression of ME 3 wasn't so good. With the first "mission" in Vancouver I felt that there should have been much more dialogue with the defense commitee, and also I think the "fight or die" line was very OOC for Shepard. Or at least, I think people should be allowed to choose, that line is certainly not true for any of my Shepards. They may put up an act to be an idealist, to believe they can win, but that is the give the best damn fight to the enemies as Shepard possibly can.
Even though my first impression wasn't so good, as I always do I do not judge by early encounters, and as with all things I wish to give games a chance. It soon picked up, I loved the mars mission, I loved the dark with the flashlight and the "boss".
As I got further into the game there many missions that proved quite interesting, even the side quest, and I quite liked the feature that you could give input to many people on the citadel, cause it made the game feel very much alive.
It was fun to meet up with most of the old squadmates, and it felt very nostalgic. At first I was rather annoyed by the short missions, but then I saw it as an advantage after a few misions, with short and carefully crafted missions you can tell a longer story, and clear up more in the universe. Very clever Bioware.
I commend the squadmate interactions, with them, and between them while Shepard watch and engage. Very immersive.
The crucible had many loose ends, but it sort of felt righ to me, since there wasn't enough in game information to know how it works. I will however not hold it against Bioware that it could be used agaisnt the reapers, since it would be silly if they could defeat the Reapers in a normal way. Again, I want to commend Bioware on their cleverness. Well done, you handled that one well.
My Shepard died at the end, and I choose to destroy the Reapers, while this left me with a geek emotion with me that felt crushing, I did enjoy it. And through the courses of the game I was presented with options to side with races, and choose which ones to rescue first. I felt that it really mattered, and it was hard to choose, and I felt very immersed.
It was fun and at emotionally driving to finally give a crack at Cerberus. To fight Kai Leng, and kill that bastard left me with a smrik on my face. And the same with TIM. I waited to kill that bastard.
Overall, even though the plot was predictable, there were other factors that played in, and showed why Bioware are great at writing story. The art of making a story for a movie, a song, or a game is something that is difficulty, and it does require immense skill, and carefull planning. In terms of story, I do feel that Bioware achieved a form of masterpiece, and avoiding too many cliches. Particuarly in the ending, which I really loved.
Gameplay:
As with gameplay, I felt that Bioware did a good job with the classes, and while I was at first skeptical with the grendes, and the danger that Soldier might feel less unique, I had a lot of fun wit hthe class, and it didn't feel like I was playing any other class. In the end, it felt like I played a soldier. I loved the weapon selections. With a great variety to fit different styles. I defiantly found mine with Javelin and Phaeston. I did not try them all however, and I intend to do that.
The monsters were very fun to fight, and as I got further in the game things became increasingly harder, and I had to turn down the difficulty to normal . Very varied monsters, and interesting, as well as disturbing, but I don't mind, that is sort of my style.
Bugs:
I noticed a few bugs through the game. I am aware that creating a bug free game is hard, so I will not condemn Bioware for it. The bug that annoyed me the most, was in the cockpit, after EDI has taken a body and is on the brdige, I noticed if you placed yourself to the right of Joker (as in Joker's right), clsoe to him and talk to EDI you get stuck, and you have to load, but this isn't a huge problem since you are the normandy you likely have a save nearby.
What I did, was that I went behind EDI when talking to her, to prevent this bug. Just remember people, save right before going to the cockpit and talking there, it will save you frustration.
Conclusion:
I'm not sure if I will ever forget playing ME 3. It was an experience I will not soon forget. In terms of story and RP, Bioware have lived up to my high expectations, as with gameplay. However, due to the prologue in the beginning, and that one line that really bugged me, my conclusion is:
In the end, I just want to say that I have loved Bioware since I played Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights. They have been my favorite developer. I was skeptical, due to reason activity, but Bioware have yet again managed to impress me.
9/10
Mass Effect 3 Fan Reviews (May Contain Spoilers)
Débuté par
Chris Priestly
, mars 06 2012 04:24
Retour en haut
#377
Posté 10 mars 2012 - 12:10
astrophyzcs
-
- Members
- 81 messages
weedyfun wrote...
bah. people who don't like this game are Negative Nancies. It's fantastic, although i haven't completed it yet.
Love the music, the environments, the characters! and i'm glad i bought the CE. Thanks Bioware for a super awesome game! it reeks of awesomesauce..
How about you go finish the game first before you come running your mouth? The very fact that you haven't even completed the game, followed by your healthy display of childish brown-nosing is something that I find disgustingly abrasive, setting aside the fact that you are so blatantly misinformed. Return once you've actually experienced the ending, and then you can start casting sweeping generalizations on people who have so far been very respectful with their opinions.
#378
Posté 10 mars 2012 - 12:14
darkshadow136
-
- Members
- 1 796 messages
weedyfun wrote...
bah. people who don't like this game are Negative Nancies. It's fantastic, although i haven't completed it yet.
Love the music, the environments, the characters! and i'm glad i bought the CE. Thanks Bioware for a super awesome game! it reeks of awesomesauce..
Maybe finish the game before you make a comment like that. I thought the game was great too, till I got to the last 15 minutes. Most of peoples gripes about the game has to do with the endings, which you haven't even gotten to yet.
Prediction once you finish the ending, you will be a Negative Nancy right along with the rest of us.
Modifié par darkshadow136, 10 mars 2012 - 12:17 .
#379
Posté 10 mars 2012 - 12:28
res27772
-
- Members
- 675 messages
OK, this is by no means a full review, more a list of initial reaction observations.
Good:
1. Graphics are better.
2. Character moves better - kinda.
Bad:
1. Annoyed you can't side with Cerberus... esp. after deliberately making decsions in ME2 that should've put me on team Cerberus in ME3... so to not even be given that option makes me feel a lot of decisions I made were pointless, unless the repercussion of those decisions haven't been seen yet, or had a different context to what I thought at the time.
2. Hate the new scanning thing in solar systems - I used to enjoy the 'downtime' of going to planets and scanning for minerals between missions... now you can't scan more that 2 or 3 times without having a Reaper ship up your ass - very annoying.
3. Individual mission locations seem more about combat now than combat AND exploration, very disappointing, I liked looking around for stuff.
4. Preferred the ME2 style of weapon upgrading.
5. What's happened to the Hacking/Bypass stuff? Another thing that got removed that made the game more RPG than shooter.
6. Normandy (esp.) and Citadel looked better in ME2 imho.
7. Considering less crew was supposed to mean more 'in depth relationships/interaction', I don't really see much defference... you can still only say so much to a character before they blow you off.
8. Having to regularly change discs (X360) is bloody annoying as well, surely that could've been done in a slightly more linear way, hell you did with ME2.
Anyway, just initial reactions... all that said I'm still enjoying the game, and I'm probably still nowhere near the end, so we'll see.
Good:
1. Graphics are better.
2. Character moves better - kinda.
Bad:
1. Annoyed you can't side with Cerberus... esp. after deliberately making decsions in ME2 that should've put me on team Cerberus in ME3... so to not even be given that option makes me feel a lot of decisions I made were pointless, unless the repercussion of those decisions haven't been seen yet, or had a different context to what I thought at the time.
2. Hate the new scanning thing in solar systems - I used to enjoy the 'downtime' of going to planets and scanning for minerals between missions... now you can't scan more that 2 or 3 times without having a Reaper ship up your ass - very annoying.
3. Individual mission locations seem more about combat now than combat AND exploration, very disappointing, I liked looking around for stuff.
4. Preferred the ME2 style of weapon upgrading.
5. What's happened to the Hacking/Bypass stuff? Another thing that got removed that made the game more RPG than shooter.
6. Normandy (esp.) and Citadel looked better in ME2 imho.
7. Considering less crew was supposed to mean more 'in depth relationships/interaction', I don't really see much defference... you can still only say so much to a character before they blow you off.
8. Having to regularly change discs (X360) is bloody annoying as well, surely that could've been done in a slightly more linear way, hell you did with ME2.
Anyway, just initial reactions... all that said I'm still enjoying the game, and I'm probably still nowhere near the end, so we'll see.
Modifié par res27772, 10 mars 2012 - 12:31 .
#380
Posté 10 mars 2012 - 12:30
darkshadow136
-
- Members
- 1 796 messages
I also want to point out that EA must have paid for positive reviews of ME3, like they must have for DA2. The customer user rating comments are already show a desperateness between the user and magazine review. You must look at the latest comments though, not the most popular since they were put on there day of launch.
Here are the links. www.ign.com/articles/2012/03/06/mass-effect-3-review#disqus_thread
www.pcgamer.com/review/mass-effect-3-review/
Here are the links. www.ign.com/articles/2012/03/06/mass-effect-3-review#disqus_thread
www.pcgamer.com/review/mass-effect-3-review/
Modifié par darkshadow136, 10 mars 2012 - 12:30 .
#381
Posté 10 mars 2012 - 12:34
AlphaScrewySam
-
- Members
- 119 messages
There is very little to say. I loved every single microsecond of this game until the moment Shepard meets the god-child-thing. That's when I realised Bioware was throwing all sanity out the window and sh*ting on everything we have worked for for the last half decade.
Most of the game, 10/10. But the ending drags it down to a 1/10. Bloody travesty.
Most of the game, 10/10. But the ending drags it down to a 1/10. Bloody travesty.
#382
Posté 10 mars 2012 - 12:38
darkshadow136
-
- Members
- 1 796 messages
AlphaScrewySam wrote...
There is very little to say. I loved every single microsecond of this game until the moment Shepard meets the god-child-thing. That's when I realised Bioware was throwing all sanity out the window and sh*ting on everything we have worked for for the last half decade.
Most of the game, 10/10. But the ending drags it down to a 1/10. Bloody travesty.
I agree with you, and it is sad, and I feel your pain. We can only hope that Bioware reads all these negative reviews on the end, and patches the game endings so the game series ends as a masterpiece, and not a collossal failure and dissapointment.
#383
Posté 10 mars 2012 - 12:44
res27772
-
- Members
- 675 messages
AlphaScrewySam wrote...
There is very little to say. I loved every single microsecond of this game until the moment Shepard meets the god-child-thing. That's when I realised Bioware was throwing all sanity out the window and sh*ting on everything we have worked for for the last half decade.
Most of the game, 10/10. But the ending drags it down to a 1/10. Bloody travesty.
God-child....? Now I'm really NOT looking forward to the end of this game... I thought it was going to be something like Shepard going out in a blaze of glory to save the galaxy, would've been more fitting.
#384
Posté 10 mars 2012 - 12:45
et2cetera
-
- Members
- 40 messages
I'll make it simple:
Enjoyed the inventory and journey. Felt emotionally tied to the deaths of Mordin and Thane.
Disliked the inconsequential dreams and LOATHED the endings!
Enjoyed the inventory and journey. Felt emotionally tied to the deaths of Mordin and Thane.
Disliked the inconsequential dreams and LOATHED the endings!
#385
Posté 10 mars 2012 - 12:51
darkshadow136
-
- Members
- 1 796 messages
res27772 wrote...
AlphaScrewySam wrote...
There is very little to say. I loved every single microsecond of this game until the moment Shepard meets the god-child-thing. That's when I realised Bioware was throwing all sanity out the window and sh*ting on everything we have worked for for the last half decade.
Most of the game, 10/10. But the ending drags it down to a 1/10. Bloody travesty.
God-child....? Now I'm really NOT looking forward to the end of this game... I thought it was going to be something like Shepard going out in a blaze of glory to save the galaxy, would've been more fitting.
Yes and not only the God Child spirit thing, but also three choices really go against a Paragon Sheppard personality since they all end up killing billions or trillions of aliens and humans throughout the Galaxy through all the mass relays being destroyed. Basiclly no matter what you choose your Sheppard is goin to kill just about as many people as the Reapers would. Also no matter what Shepard will die.
#386
Posté 10 mars 2012 - 12:53
Nevara
-
- Members
- 641 messages
My Mass Effect 3 Score: 95/100 (pre-ending). Complete: 60/100
What I liked:
+ Story (not including ending)
Going in, I knew the tale was going to be bleak and it was going to be a mad dash to gather the citizens of the galaxy to have a united front to take on the Reapers. Several moments of levity would break up the sadness that seemed to flow through every dialogue and scene. You were bombarded with it to drive the point home that this is all at war on a massive scale.
+ Characters
Each one seemed more fleshed out this time around and depending on relationship status, it reflected in their actions and dialogue. There was a certain amount of care on the parts of the entire cast. The voice acting sold it for me and had me holding back tears at several points.
Even Shepard seemed more real. Of course she was the commanding officer of a ship and had a squad and she sheltered a lot of the pain she felt from them just to keep up morality, but as the story progressed, you could see it in her reactions to events to the tone in her voice that everything was starting to wear her down. At points she was defeated at others she was hopeful, but she was alive and instead of playing Sigmund Freud to her squad, they actually came to her with their concerns about her well-being.
The deaths of Mordin, Thane, and Legion were well played and tasteful to their personalities. They sacrificed for the greater good and it showed and I mourned them just like my Shep would have. There were tears, dang nabbit.
+ Gameplay
The controls were tighter than the other two games and while it did take me some time to get used to not rolling into cover I loved the fluidity of it all. Enemies were aggressive and unrelentingly tactical. I had to step my game up in a couple of scenarios just to survive.
+ Graphics
Everything was crisp and clean (I played on 360). The contrasts in color from the different homeworlds were breathtaking. Even in the darkness, there was light and it spoke just about the mood of the entire setting. Facial movements for showing emotion were wonderfully put together, albeit with a few awkward moments (but it didn't detract from the overall).
+ Music
It was brilliant and I give major props to the composers for these heart filled compositions. Mansell did brilliantly the sadness and remorse of all things lost with An End Once and For All. Hullick's I was Lost without You fit with all the characters and their connections to Shepard. They weren't just comrades-in-arms; they were a family.
What I didn't like:
+Glitches and bugs
People flickering in and out of scenes. The owl turning heads got destracting after awhile. Voices would cut out at awkward intervals. And I managed to fall through the Cerberus base twice. Oh yes, that was fun. And it seems my reputation bar refused to move after a certain point in the game. It never completely filled. *shrug*
+ Multiplayer
While I'm not against the idea of it in general, I have a problem with it being so tied to the main narrative. We were told countless times that it wouldn't detrimentally effect the storyline if we didn't do it. Yet, it seems it does in some regard.
After playing all of ME (side quests, DLC, and Main), ME2 (Side quests, DLC, and Main), and now ME3 (sidequests, DLC, and Main) I still come up short of even getting a decent ending. I capped out at 3700 with nothing else left to do. My paragade Shep was pretty much screwed from the get-go with the implementation of galactic readiness effecting the end outcome.
Which brings me to the sticking point:
+ The ending
I know that this is flogging the mushy horse some more, but I thought I'd get in a couple of whacks while I can.
The last 10-15 minutes of the game were rubbish. Shep and squad fought and after the countless deaths, choices and consequences, I'm reduced to pick a color, any color. It was nonsensical in the sheer magnitude that they basically retconned everything we knew in the previous games. The whole Catalyst thing didn't make sense. Why was Sovereign even attacking in ME1 if all the AI had to do was open up the arms and bring in the Cthullu overlords to do its work? They obviously weren't that independent after all, now were they?
Another thing was the whole, child/god/AI nonsense. I can understand a soldier having PTSD, but why is this child that I had a 2 minute conversation with even here? What is the point?
I went in to this installment knowing that Shep might not make it out and her luck will run out, hell she was pretty much bleeding out in front of you having a one-sided (and ultimately uncharacteristically defeated) talk with the invisikid. Even the motives behind the Reapers was hypocritical and my Shep would have called them out on it. But alas, no. Red, Blue, Green. And I won't even get in to the complete audacity of the Merge idea, because that in and of itself made little to no sense. How is an AI going to rewrite the entire genetic make-up of a galaxy? The world will never know.
There was no "good" ending it went dark, darker, just space yourself already. I played the first time and cried at the end because of all the loss and sacrifice my colonist/sole survivor was going to be inflicted with. I accepted it and thought I had done something wrong somewhere along the line. I forgave it and then the rumors of the NG+ ending were waiting to be confirmed so I obliged in taking another stab at it and what I got was nothing less of emotional suicide.
I sat with controller in hand and watched as if NG+ was nothing but a flashback to what I had already done. It didn't matter in the end. Everything crumbles, she gets blown up, and then the Normandy... really?!
Why is Joker running away? Why is my squad with him in the end? It left more questions than answers. There was no conclusion just fluff that was worse than wet cotton in my mouth. Every choice was rendered moot by the ending. It was like karma had been telling a really bad joke.
I'm all for a bittersweet ending and what I got was the taste of ashes in my mouth. Nothing mattered and in the end (because of MP) I got screwed... again. So as of right now, I don't know if I'll play it or the other two again when philosophical concepts are thrown around so poorly just to "end Shepard's story".
I haven't felt this bad about an ending since playing NeiR to its completion. And even then, those were tastefully done, but you felt like a cruel jerk about your actions. I respect the work that was done, but it's disheartening to think that after so many years I, like so many others, was left feeling gutted and betrayed.
Please, BioWare, fix the endings through a patch or DLC, I'll pay for it, but unhappily because there should have been a triumphant end included to begin with.
What I liked:
+ Story (not including ending)
Going in, I knew the tale was going to be bleak and it was going to be a mad dash to gather the citizens of the galaxy to have a united front to take on the Reapers. Several moments of levity would break up the sadness that seemed to flow through every dialogue and scene. You were bombarded with it to drive the point home that this is all at war on a massive scale.
+ Characters
Each one seemed more fleshed out this time around and depending on relationship status, it reflected in their actions and dialogue. There was a certain amount of care on the parts of the entire cast. The voice acting sold it for me and had me holding back tears at several points.
Even Shepard seemed more real. Of course she was the commanding officer of a ship and had a squad and she sheltered a lot of the pain she felt from them just to keep up morality, but as the story progressed, you could see it in her reactions to events to the tone in her voice that everything was starting to wear her down. At points she was defeated at others she was hopeful, but she was alive and instead of playing Sigmund Freud to her squad, they actually came to her with their concerns about her well-being.
The deaths of Mordin, Thane, and Legion were well played and tasteful to their personalities. They sacrificed for the greater good and it showed and I mourned them just like my Shep would have. There were tears, dang nabbit.
+ Gameplay
The controls were tighter than the other two games and while it did take me some time to get used to not rolling into cover I loved the fluidity of it all. Enemies were aggressive and unrelentingly tactical. I had to step my game up in a couple of scenarios just to survive.
+ Graphics
Everything was crisp and clean (I played on 360). The contrasts in color from the different homeworlds were breathtaking. Even in the darkness, there was light and it spoke just about the mood of the entire setting. Facial movements for showing emotion were wonderfully put together, albeit with a few awkward moments (but it didn't detract from the overall).
+ Music
It was brilliant and I give major props to the composers for these heart filled compositions. Mansell did brilliantly the sadness and remorse of all things lost with An End Once and For All. Hullick's I was Lost without You fit with all the characters and their connections to Shepard. They weren't just comrades-in-arms; they were a family.
What I didn't like:
+Glitches and bugs
People flickering in and out of scenes. The owl turning heads got destracting after awhile. Voices would cut out at awkward intervals. And I managed to fall through the Cerberus base twice. Oh yes, that was fun. And it seems my reputation bar refused to move after a certain point in the game. It never completely filled. *shrug*
+ Multiplayer
While I'm not against the idea of it in general, I have a problem with it being so tied to the main narrative. We were told countless times that it wouldn't detrimentally effect the storyline if we didn't do it. Yet, it seems it does in some regard.
After playing all of ME (side quests, DLC, and Main), ME2 (Side quests, DLC, and Main), and now ME3 (sidequests, DLC, and Main) I still come up short of even getting a decent ending. I capped out at 3700 with nothing else left to do. My paragade Shep was pretty much screwed from the get-go with the implementation of galactic readiness effecting the end outcome.
Which brings me to the sticking point:
+ The ending
I know that this is flogging the mushy horse some more, but I thought I'd get in a couple of whacks while I can.
The last 10-15 minutes of the game were rubbish. Shep and squad fought and after the countless deaths, choices and consequences, I'm reduced to pick a color, any color. It was nonsensical in the sheer magnitude that they basically retconned everything we knew in the previous games. The whole Catalyst thing didn't make sense. Why was Sovereign even attacking in ME1 if all the AI had to do was open up the arms and bring in the Cthullu overlords to do its work? They obviously weren't that independent after all, now were they?
Another thing was the whole, child/god/AI nonsense. I can understand a soldier having PTSD, but why is this child that I had a 2 minute conversation with even here? What is the point?
I went in to this installment knowing that Shep might not make it out and her luck will run out, hell she was pretty much bleeding out in front of you having a one-sided (and ultimately uncharacteristically defeated) talk with the invisikid. Even the motives behind the Reapers was hypocritical and my Shep would have called them out on it. But alas, no. Red, Blue, Green. And I won't even get in to the complete audacity of the Merge idea, because that in and of itself made little to no sense. How is an AI going to rewrite the entire genetic make-up of a galaxy? The world will never know.
There was no "good" ending it went dark, darker, just space yourself already. I played the first time and cried at the end because of all the loss and sacrifice my colonist/sole survivor was going to be inflicted with. I accepted it and thought I had done something wrong somewhere along the line. I forgave it and then the rumors of the NG+ ending were waiting to be confirmed so I obliged in taking another stab at it and what I got was nothing less of emotional suicide.
I sat with controller in hand and watched as if NG+ was nothing but a flashback to what I had already done. It didn't matter in the end. Everything crumbles, she gets blown up, and then the Normandy... really?!
Why is Joker running away? Why is my squad with him in the end? It left more questions than answers. There was no conclusion just fluff that was worse than wet cotton in my mouth. Every choice was rendered moot by the ending. It was like karma had been telling a really bad joke.
I'm all for a bittersweet ending and what I got was the taste of ashes in my mouth. Nothing mattered and in the end (because of MP) I got screwed... again. So as of right now, I don't know if I'll play it or the other two again when philosophical concepts are thrown around so poorly just to "end Shepard's story".
I haven't felt this bad about an ending since playing NeiR to its completion. And even then, those were tastefully done, but you felt like a cruel jerk about your actions. I respect the work that was done, but it's disheartening to think that after so many years I, like so many others, was left feeling gutted and betrayed.
Please, BioWare, fix the endings through a patch or DLC, I'll pay for it, but unhappily because there should have been a triumphant end included to begin with.
#387
Posté 10 mars 2012 - 12:57
biomar
-
- Members
- 155 messages
I've been playing for an hour or two and I already feel compelled to say that this is a very engaging, fun game. I'm looking forward to continuing.
#388
Posté 10 mars 2012 - 12:59
darkshadow136
-
- Members
- 1 796 messages
biomar wrote...
I've been playing for an hour or two and I already feel compelled to say that this is a very engaging, fun game. I'm looking forward to continuing.
Enjoy that feeling, when You get to the last 15 minutes of the game you will hate it.
#389
Posté 10 mars 2012 - 01:52
NomadDC
-
- Members
- 130 messages
Well, current ending is not the one that should have been here.There is an "old" and better version of it. Here what it was originally intented to be:
The original motivation for the Reapers was as follows:
"The Reapers' goal was to find a way to stop the spread of Dark Energy which would eventually consume everything. That's why there was so much foreshadowing about Dark Energy in ME2.
The Reapers as a whole were 'nations' of people who had fused together in the most horrific way possible to help find a way to stop the spread of the Dark Energy. The real reason for the Human Reaper was supposed to be the Reapers saving throw because they had run out of time. Humanity in Mass Effect is supposedly unique because of it's genetic diversity and represented the universe's best chance at stopping Dark Energy's spread.
The original final choice was going to be "Kill the Reapers and put your faith in the races of the galaxy in finding another way to stop the spread with what little time is left" or "Sacrifice humanity, allowing them to be horrifically processed in hopes that the end result will justify the means."
The SomethingAwful guy then goes on to say that all the foreshadowing about dark energy in ME2 (including Haestrom) is never brought up again in ME3.
Now remember everything from ME and ME2. Does it fit? Does IT make sense? Yes, it does. Too bad Bioware chose to change it to the crap we have now.
Vote here
http://social.biowar...63/polls/29166/
The original motivation for the Reapers was as follows:
"The Reapers' goal was to find a way to stop the spread of Dark Energy which would eventually consume everything. That's why there was so much foreshadowing about Dark Energy in ME2.
The Reapers as a whole were 'nations' of people who had fused together in the most horrific way possible to help find a way to stop the spread of the Dark Energy. The real reason for the Human Reaper was supposed to be the Reapers saving throw because they had run out of time. Humanity in Mass Effect is supposedly unique because of it's genetic diversity and represented the universe's best chance at stopping Dark Energy's spread.
The original final choice was going to be "Kill the Reapers and put your faith in the races of the galaxy in finding another way to stop the spread with what little time is left" or "Sacrifice humanity, allowing them to be horrifically processed in hopes that the end result will justify the means."
The SomethingAwful guy then goes on to say that all the foreshadowing about dark energy in ME2 (including Haestrom) is never brought up again in ME3.
Now remember everything from ME and ME2. Does it fit? Does IT make sense? Yes, it does. Too bad Bioware chose to change it to the crap we have now.
Vote here
http://social.biowar...63/polls/29166/
#390
Posté 10 mars 2012 - 01:52
Malakar1
-
- Members
- 227 messages
darkshadow136 wrote...
biomar wrote...
I've been playing for an hour or two and I already feel compelled to say that this is a very engaging, fun game. I'm looking forward to continuing.
Enjoy that feeling, when You get to the last 15 minutes of the game you will hate it.
Look, you didn't like your experience, fine, but whay the **** would you want to try and fu** other people's experience?
#391
Posté 10 mars 2012 - 02:00
fink0806
-
- Members
- 56 messages
Best way to make a video game is to appeal to the fans and you did
not at all in my opinion in any way with the current endings. I
was real disappointed that all my effort led up to such a game changer.
not at all in my opinion in any way with the current endings. I
was real disappointed that all my effort led up to such a game changer.
Modifié par fink0806, 10 mars 2012 - 02:05 .
#392
Posté 10 mars 2012 - 02:04
Bail_Darilar
-
- Members
- 407 messages
My Mass Effect 3 score: 95/100
I really liked:
I really liked:
- The more cinematic feel to the game.
- The characters
- The end-of-the world. End-of-the trilogy feel. How every character is fighting a desperate war and it really shows, with all the tension people are feeling.
- The combat improvements.
- The more interactive non-squaddie crew members
- The fact that some companions don't stay in one place on the ship and they also leave the ship to do their own thing on the Citadel.
- The new inventory/mod system
- The wrapping up of storylines
- Love the levelling system
- Love the multiplayer
- Love the fact I didn't want it to end.
- Love the more complex battle areas.
- Love the improved enemy ai.
- The non-updating quest log
- Wanted atleast one mission with your ex-companions
- Wanted atleast one mission related to the virmire incident and the one who sacrificed themselves.
- The beginning felt abit too rushed, would have preferred time to walk around and nteract with a few characters and flesh out the bits between ME2 and ME3 before the reapers arrived. This would have been better for newcomers too.
- The ending wasn't conclusive enough for my tastes, would have liked to have an ending closer to being related to your previous choices as opposed to choices at the end. And have a more conclusive ending with your LI. Even an epilogue would have been nice for all the other races and companions/characters. Would have been nice to have a boss battle atleast before the beam incident or maybe a solo one inside the citadel, this could have had ramifications on the ending also such as with Anderson, or Shepard living.
- Would have been nice to have a more interactive Normandy, it felt abit too vacant.
- Would have preferred some of your choices to amount to more than just war assets.
- Would be nice if we had more sidequests that were't scan, fetch, hand-in.
#393
Posté 10 mars 2012 - 02:08
Ubergrog
-
- Members
- 999 messages
Alright, it has been two days since I finished the game. I wanted to get all of the bad out before I wrote anything about this game. I will give you my full review. It will be separated into "Layout" "Performance" "Display" and "Content". Each will have pro's and cons.
Layout.
This game drew heavily from Mass Effect 2, many could view it as a "mass effect 2.5" as the changes were by no means as dramatic as the transition between Mass Effect 1 and 2. This is not necessarily a bad thing, since ME2 had a far more elegant system, though many viewed it as dumbed down by comparison. Personally, I liked the shift. the menu trees were easy to navigate (though finding the graphics controls were unusually difficult compared to the previous games.)
The Level upgrade system was changed, though I did not notice much in the way of "special" final versions of the powers. I confess, I have only played as a soldier so this may not be the case, however the Exploding Ammunition perk seems to be utterly random in execution. On the whole, it is still a good system and an improvement over ME2 as we have far more options. One thing of note, the "jump to cover" and "activate item of interest" should never have been linked to the same button.
Pros: Drew from Me2, easy to use, easy to get into.
Cons: Mapping jump to cover and activate object (God that annoys the crap out of me!)
Performance
this game ran remarkably well on my rig, Even if it is still considered a top-of-the-line model, it is still closing in on four years old. remarkably well done, Bioware, I only had slowdown issues during some cinematic moments (and that is because I probably had been playing it for more then 20 hours in a stretch. combat is smooth, fast paced and a joy to be in. Non combat sections are smooth as well with only one or two moments of slowdown ever experienced.
pros:Very smooth, great job!
Cons: Slowdown moments were painful, but not mission critical.
Display
This game is PRETTY and loves to flaunt it! Clever means of making epic moments without sacrificing performance were used and the game (lets face it) was gorgeous. LOTS of spectacular moments and great cinematics. You know that a huge amount of the games budget went into the cinematics... which I am not really happy with because as great and epic as they were, it is clear that it siphoned away from other parts of the game.
Pros: Gorgeous!
Cons: Stop thinking that flashy cinematics make the game!
Content
Wow... this is the hard part. The game was -epic- as it built to it's climax. the best "bro" moments with your favorite characters, heart warming romances with your love interest, and revelations and character growth continued into this game. the crew banter was incredible (especially when garrus was involved, listening to him and Vega bull**** in the commisary was amazing). Clearly real work was put into the game. The climax REALLY gave you a sense of urgency.
Then... SPACE MAAAAAAAGIIIIIIIIIIC!
No one liked the ending. I loathed it. Nothing about any Pro about the game can make up for the terrible, narrow minded, utter bullpucky options you had. Three games of choices, options, paths to walk... boiled down to three versions of the same stupid result, which is "No one wins, everyone loses, everyone dies /wrist". It is like the writers fell off their medications and wanted to take their hate of the world out on the players. It is a great thing to take an ending in a direction that no one expected, but if you want players to buy your stories in the future, you need to make the ending worth getting to.
It is a lot like a marathon race. If you run the 40 some odd miles, you need to make choices, sacrifices and tactical moves to make sure you cross the finish line. You expect a gold medal if you make the right choices and cross the line first, not a punji trap.
Quite frankly: It's great to be edgy in a movie setting, or even a one-shot story video game setting, but in a three part epic trilogy, you will ruin your fan base, destroy your future sales, and alienate your biggest supporters. I personally can -not- suggest this game to my friends until something is done about the abismal ending options. In fact, I would suggest Sword of the Stars 2 over this game on the simple basis that they fully intend on FIXING their gigantic mistakes.
Pros: excellent character growth, tear jerking moments and extreme moments of storybook awesome filled this game. the sense of urgency, compassion and pity made a fantastic emotional blend that REALLY wanted you to keep playing the game. The climax of the game was -intense- to say the least.
Cons: Everything in the Pros section of every part of this review is undone by this con. The most important part of any story is the ending. You either close the book, or set up for the next story. This one did not so much as close the book, as it set the book, and the previous two books on fire while pissing on your potted plant out of spite. Yeah, bioware has the right to make any story they deem fit, but endings like this ruin any hopes of your player base trusting you with games in the future.
Bioware. If you are reading this, THQ and Relic stepped all over their fans when they made Space Marine. they ignored, abused and derided us. Do not follow their example. I don't care if you make a 10 buck expansion that replaces the end of the game (Fallout 3 did it with remarkable success), or make it free. Just -do- it. Save your fan base, save your player base. Without these, you are screwed in the long run.
Also, get your writers back on their meds. If I wanted angsty and depressing, I would go off my own meds.
Layout.
This game drew heavily from Mass Effect 2, many could view it as a "mass effect 2.5" as the changes were by no means as dramatic as the transition between Mass Effect 1 and 2. This is not necessarily a bad thing, since ME2 had a far more elegant system, though many viewed it as dumbed down by comparison. Personally, I liked the shift. the menu trees were easy to navigate (though finding the graphics controls were unusually difficult compared to the previous games.)
The Level upgrade system was changed, though I did not notice much in the way of "special" final versions of the powers. I confess, I have only played as a soldier so this may not be the case, however the Exploding Ammunition perk seems to be utterly random in execution. On the whole, it is still a good system and an improvement over ME2 as we have far more options. One thing of note, the "jump to cover" and "activate item of interest" should never have been linked to the same button.
Pros: Drew from Me2, easy to use, easy to get into.
Cons: Mapping jump to cover and activate object (God that annoys the crap out of me!)
Performance
this game ran remarkably well on my rig, Even if it is still considered a top-of-the-line model, it is still closing in on four years old. remarkably well done, Bioware, I only had slowdown issues during some cinematic moments (and that is because I probably had been playing it for more then 20 hours in a stretch. combat is smooth, fast paced and a joy to be in. Non combat sections are smooth as well with only one or two moments of slowdown ever experienced.
pros:Very smooth, great job!
Cons: Slowdown moments were painful, but not mission critical.
Display
This game is PRETTY and loves to flaunt it! Clever means of making epic moments without sacrificing performance were used and the game (lets face it) was gorgeous. LOTS of spectacular moments and great cinematics. You know that a huge amount of the games budget went into the cinematics... which I am not really happy with because as great and epic as they were, it is clear that it siphoned away from other parts of the game.
Pros: Gorgeous!
Cons: Stop thinking that flashy cinematics make the game!
Content
Wow... this is the hard part. The game was -epic- as it built to it's climax. the best "bro" moments with your favorite characters, heart warming romances with your love interest, and revelations and character growth continued into this game. the crew banter was incredible (especially when garrus was involved, listening to him and Vega bull**** in the commisary was amazing). Clearly real work was put into the game. The climax REALLY gave you a sense of urgency.
Then... SPACE MAAAAAAAGIIIIIIIIIIC!
No one liked the ending. I loathed it. Nothing about any Pro about the game can make up for the terrible, narrow minded, utter bullpucky options you had. Three games of choices, options, paths to walk... boiled down to three versions of the same stupid result, which is "No one wins, everyone loses, everyone dies /wrist". It is like the writers fell off their medications and wanted to take their hate of the world out on the players. It is a great thing to take an ending in a direction that no one expected, but if you want players to buy your stories in the future, you need to make the ending worth getting to.
It is a lot like a marathon race. If you run the 40 some odd miles, you need to make choices, sacrifices and tactical moves to make sure you cross the finish line. You expect a gold medal if you make the right choices and cross the line first, not a punji trap.
Quite frankly: It's great to be edgy in a movie setting, or even a one-shot story video game setting, but in a three part epic trilogy, you will ruin your fan base, destroy your future sales, and alienate your biggest supporters. I personally can -not- suggest this game to my friends until something is done about the abismal ending options. In fact, I would suggest Sword of the Stars 2 over this game on the simple basis that they fully intend on FIXING their gigantic mistakes.
Pros: excellent character growth, tear jerking moments and extreme moments of storybook awesome filled this game. the sense of urgency, compassion and pity made a fantastic emotional blend that REALLY wanted you to keep playing the game. The climax of the game was -intense- to say the least.
Cons: Everything in the Pros section of every part of this review is undone by this con. The most important part of any story is the ending. You either close the book, or set up for the next story. This one did not so much as close the book, as it set the book, and the previous two books on fire while pissing on your potted plant out of spite. Yeah, bioware has the right to make any story they deem fit, but endings like this ruin any hopes of your player base trusting you with games in the future.
Bioware. If you are reading this, THQ and Relic stepped all over their fans when they made Space Marine. they ignored, abused and derided us. Do not follow their example. I don't care if you make a 10 buck expansion that replaces the end of the game (Fallout 3 did it with remarkable success), or make it free. Just -do- it. Save your fan base, save your player base. Without these, you are screwed in the long run.
Also, get your writers back on their meds. If I wanted angsty and depressing, I would go off my own meds.
#394
Posté 10 mars 2012 - 02:39
darkshadow136
-
- Members
- 1 796 messages
Malakar1 wrote...
darkshadow136 wrote...
biomar wrote...
I've been playing for an hour or two and I already feel compelled to say that this is a very engaging, fun game. I'm looking forward to continuing.
Enjoy that feeling, when You get to the last 15 minutes of the game you will hate it.
Look, you didn't like your experience, fine, but whay the **** would you want to try and fu** other people's experience?
Look most people posting in this thread didn't like their experience by the end of the game. I enjoyed the game also till I got to the end. He posted in this thread were there are spoilers, and I just told him to enjoy the good parts of the game while it lasts, that by the end most likely he or she would want to get their 30+ hours of their life back.
There is nothing wrong with what I said, but there is something wrong with you going on a anger bender over my one sentence. Grow-up
#395
Posté 10 mars 2012 - 02:48
rinoe
-
- Members
- 1 650 messages
Ubergrog wrote...
Also, get your writers back on their meds. If I wanted angsty and depressing, I would go off my own meds.
I would rather said - restrain their own ambitions.
Think what the fans will want, not - 'oh how good and inventig we are' - bcs it just looks like overdoing it.
Dont want that kind of suprises. SImple is better.
Shepard wins, save the universe, unite everyone, stays with the crew and his/her LI, holding hands or something. Big happy ending ( at least some of the happines). Please, who want to be depressed?
One of the endings MUST be like that. I'd played the entire serie to see that kind of ending.
The ME3 was predictible, so what? It is OK. Who wants stupid surprises in the end? I'm not.
#396
Posté 10 mars 2012 - 03:23
Lumenadducere
-
- Members
- 115 messages
Most others have said what I'm going to say and it's fairly early in the morning. But having just finished my first playthrough, some thoughts:
Good:
- The differences in conversation based on choices - particularly during the Genophage part of the game - were fantastic. The best implementation of "choice and consequence" in the whole series, in my opinion. Granted, it begins to fall apart a bit towards the other parts of the game, but the Genophage arc really impressed me and I very much hope that future BioWare titles are written along similar veins of incorporating previous choices. Well, in conversations, at least - still some room for improvement elsewhere.
- Companions moving about the ship, having conversations with each other, and their conversations with Shepard. Little details like that were all over the place, and it did a great job of adding to the feel of the game and my enjoyment of it.
- The companion conversations themselves. It's clear that you guys realize that these characters have grown on us over the years and the dialog was enjoyable and well-written. The voice actors all did a phenomenal job and it was actually nice to see Shepard in a friendly outing with his crewmates. Things like those and Liara's time capsule project really helped solidify the fact that these characters had been together for years and that they were good friends who had been through thick and thin. These honestly made the game for me, and any and all favorable memories will revolve around those moments. BioWare's writing strengths as a whole seem to revolve around characters and character interaction, and that was definitely true here. Great job on that aspect.
- The game is very emotional at times, partly due to the characters Shepard has met previously. A very good job overall at actually evoking some sort of response from me, which is exceedingly rare in a videogame.
- Renegade conversation options this time were less "stupid jerk" and more "focus on important things" which is good because that's what it was advertised as being in the first ME. It's nice to have Shepard deliver a renegade line with courtesy or even kindness, as was the case with a few of them.
- Item and power customization is much, much better. I actually think it's the best yet, and it allows you to incorporate different playstyles and tactics relatively well once you begin to specialize. It's a nice way to actually return to some of the RPG mechanics that were in previously.
- The new Reaper forces are really well done and added some good variation to the gameplay. Banshees and Brutes on higher difficulty levels are...interesting, to say the least.
Bad:
- Lots of minor issues that really add up. Lip syncing doesn't match up, FemShep's running animation looks really strange (her legs go more to the side than they should), people's heads pull a move out of The Exorcist and look backwards, etc. Also some clipping issues that seem to have been prevalent during the entire series, particularly when involving the Z axis. There were several things one or two inches high that I stepped on and couldn't get off, forcing me to reload. I've been running into them the whole series though, so some of it was expected...but it seemed way more prevalent than the last two games.
- The repeated use of the child and Shepard's dreams really didn't work for me. It was interesting the first time, but the problem with having something like that as a continuous occurrence is that it takes away agency of who who imagine our Shepard to be. My Shepard would have thought that it was unfortunate, but wouldn't have dwelled on the child. It was out of character and seemed like I had it forced onto me...which I kind of did. It becomes all the more ridiculous when that same image is used at the end for the Guardian.
- On that note, it felt like we had a lot of agency taken away - or at least, the illusion of choice we previously had was gone. All of the auto-dialog and only having two choices (most of the time) really felt like what little control I had over Shepard was now gone. I understand that in the previous games it was partially smoke-and-mirrors, but that illusion is important to the player.
- The planet scanning sidequests are poorly done and half the time don't even make sense. I don't know why it seemed like a good idea to take the hated scanning minigame and make it worse by throwing in limitations, slower scanning (and no upgrades, at least that I found), limited fueling depots, and being chased around by Reapers. And it also becomes mandatory for war assets, especially if you're missing the desire or ability to play multiplayer.
- I really, really do not see the point of Diana Allers other than trying to go for some cheap promo deal with IGN.
- The sidequests aren't helped at all by the quest log. Everything in list form, with most of the sidequests never updating when you've found the item, or not saying which system/cluster the planet you're looking for is in so you spend extra time searching for the right place. Or the opposite, where it says the system but not the planet, so you get to go and search all the clusters for the right solar system. IIRC there are even a few that don't say where on the Citadel the person is, so once you do find the item you get to run around all the different zones of the game trying to find the right person. This type of gameplay isn't fun, engaging, or the least bit enjoyable for most people (I'm sure a few like it). It's unnecessary filler that's poorly implemented that we're required to do for war assets.
- And to throw my lot in with everyone else, yes, the endings are bad. Not because "oh no, Shepard can't be with his/her love" but because they're poorly written and not fleshed out at all. Why was the Normandy mid-jump while the battle was going on? How did the Citadel get to Earth? Who the heck is the Guardian, and how does its motivation for the cycle make any sense? If the rumors about the original endings revolving around dark energy are true, that would have been much more preferable to what we have. What we currently have seems like it was thrown together at the last minute, and from some of the dev comments I've seen that may legitimately be the case...which if it is then I'm honestly just baffled. In all the promotional material and developer comments leading up to this we were told we'd get wildly divergent endings because you didn't have to worry about a sequel and importing choices. I hate to break it to you, but that's far from the case here. As interesting or compelling as a plot point may be, arbitrarily throwing it in with no explanation or buildup is just bad writing. Doubly so when it's something that's a turn for the worse for the heroes because it seems contrived and thrown in for the sake of extra drama. And I really am disappointed that I have that opinion because I expected better.
Good:
- The differences in conversation based on choices - particularly during the Genophage part of the game - were fantastic. The best implementation of "choice and consequence" in the whole series, in my opinion. Granted, it begins to fall apart a bit towards the other parts of the game, but the Genophage arc really impressed me and I very much hope that future BioWare titles are written along similar veins of incorporating previous choices. Well, in conversations, at least - still some room for improvement elsewhere.
- Companions moving about the ship, having conversations with each other, and their conversations with Shepard. Little details like that were all over the place, and it did a great job of adding to the feel of the game and my enjoyment of it.
- The companion conversations themselves. It's clear that you guys realize that these characters have grown on us over the years and the dialog was enjoyable and well-written. The voice actors all did a phenomenal job and it was actually nice to see Shepard in a friendly outing with his crewmates. Things like those and Liara's time capsule project really helped solidify the fact that these characters had been together for years and that they were good friends who had been through thick and thin. These honestly made the game for me, and any and all favorable memories will revolve around those moments. BioWare's writing strengths as a whole seem to revolve around characters and character interaction, and that was definitely true here. Great job on that aspect.
- The game is very emotional at times, partly due to the characters Shepard has met previously. A very good job overall at actually evoking some sort of response from me, which is exceedingly rare in a videogame.
- Renegade conversation options this time were less "stupid jerk" and more "focus on important things" which is good because that's what it was advertised as being in the first ME. It's nice to have Shepard deliver a renegade line with courtesy or even kindness, as was the case with a few of them.
- Item and power customization is much, much better. I actually think it's the best yet, and it allows you to incorporate different playstyles and tactics relatively well once you begin to specialize. It's a nice way to actually return to some of the RPG mechanics that were in previously.
- The new Reaper forces are really well done and added some good variation to the gameplay. Banshees and Brutes on higher difficulty levels are...interesting, to say the least.
Bad:
- Lots of minor issues that really add up. Lip syncing doesn't match up, FemShep's running animation looks really strange (her legs go more to the side than they should), people's heads pull a move out of The Exorcist and look backwards, etc. Also some clipping issues that seem to have been prevalent during the entire series, particularly when involving the Z axis. There were several things one or two inches high that I stepped on and couldn't get off, forcing me to reload. I've been running into them the whole series though, so some of it was expected...but it seemed way more prevalent than the last two games.
- The repeated use of the child and Shepard's dreams really didn't work for me. It was interesting the first time, but the problem with having something like that as a continuous occurrence is that it takes away agency of who who imagine our Shepard to be. My Shepard would have thought that it was unfortunate, but wouldn't have dwelled on the child. It was out of character and seemed like I had it forced onto me...which I kind of did. It becomes all the more ridiculous when that same image is used at the end for the Guardian.
- On that note, it felt like we had a lot of agency taken away - or at least, the illusion of choice we previously had was gone. All of the auto-dialog and only having two choices (most of the time) really felt like what little control I had over Shepard was now gone. I understand that in the previous games it was partially smoke-and-mirrors, but that illusion is important to the player.
- The planet scanning sidequests are poorly done and half the time don't even make sense. I don't know why it seemed like a good idea to take the hated scanning minigame and make it worse by throwing in limitations, slower scanning (and no upgrades, at least that I found), limited fueling depots, and being chased around by Reapers. And it also becomes mandatory for war assets, especially if you're missing the desire or ability to play multiplayer.
- I really, really do not see the point of Diana Allers other than trying to go for some cheap promo deal with IGN.
- The sidequests aren't helped at all by the quest log. Everything in list form, with most of the sidequests never updating when you've found the item, or not saying which system/cluster the planet you're looking for is in so you spend extra time searching for the right place. Or the opposite, where it says the system but not the planet, so you get to go and search all the clusters for the right solar system. IIRC there are even a few that don't say where on the Citadel the person is, so once you do find the item you get to run around all the different zones of the game trying to find the right person. This type of gameplay isn't fun, engaging, or the least bit enjoyable for most people (I'm sure a few like it). It's unnecessary filler that's poorly implemented that we're required to do for war assets.
- And to throw my lot in with everyone else, yes, the endings are bad. Not because "oh no, Shepard can't be with his/her love" but because they're poorly written and not fleshed out at all. Why was the Normandy mid-jump while the battle was going on? How did the Citadel get to Earth? Who the heck is the Guardian, and how does its motivation for the cycle make any sense? If the rumors about the original endings revolving around dark energy are true, that would have been much more preferable to what we have. What we currently have seems like it was thrown together at the last minute, and from some of the dev comments I've seen that may legitimately be the case...which if it is then I'm honestly just baffled. In all the promotional material and developer comments leading up to this we were told we'd get wildly divergent endings because you didn't have to worry about a sequel and importing choices. I hate to break it to you, but that's far from the case here. As interesting or compelling as a plot point may be, arbitrarily throwing it in with no explanation or buildup is just bad writing. Doubly so when it's something that's a turn for the worse for the heroes because it seems contrived and thrown in for the sake of extra drama. And I really am disappointed that I have that opinion because I expected better.
Modifié par Lumenadducere, 10 mars 2012 - 03:38 .
#397
Posté 10 mars 2012 - 03:23
jb1983
-
- Members
- 445 messages
Since I know Bioware reads this forum, I'm simply posting what I think might be a solution for an almost universally hated ending. I've already posted my review, but I'd like for Bioware to at least come up with a different idea that changes the last 5 minutes (post-Illusive man, from god-child on).
They could have easily pointed out that the Reapers were harvesting these civilizations so that they could live forever, rather than just dying off once the galaxy collapsed (Reapers can live in dark space). Before the collapse of the galaxy, the collected intelligence of the civilizations was being harvested and used together. Why continue to harvest? Because - as this program would point out to Shepard - look at how hard it was to get the civlizations in his own cycle to move on an immediate threat. How much harder would it be to get them to move on a long-off threat? Thus, by harvesting societies, the Reapers ensure that the collective intelligence gets used for one singular goal.
This leaves you with a very interesting ending to the game. Either you:
1) Find a compromise where the Reapers allow the current species to continue living, but that once the dark energy crisis hits a critical mass they'll return and complete what they started
2) Finish the Reapers by destroying the command hub, but you would lose the relays due to the fact they're tied to the Reapers (Shep, however, continues to live and there is no stupid Normandy crash scene). This, of course, makes finding a solution to dark energy nigh impossible since you'd first have to re-develop the technology for mass effect relays (which could be done).
3) Allow the Reapers to continue doing what they do best (this would be non-canon)
Now, none of those is a happy, "Disney" ending. In (1) you're left with the fact that you've simply delayed the inevitable...unless you can come up with a solution. (2) is the closest you get to a "happy ending" because the Reapers are gone forever, but you've also lost their relay technology. Plus, you still have the "dark energy" impending doom stuff. And (3) is a very dark ending.
Another great part is that this provides a much better conflict of interest in the game. The Reapers are shown to have good goals, but questionable methods. Of course, through much dialogue you'd come to discover that what the Reapers are doing really is the most logical solution, even if the most detestable. It creates a major conflict in your decisions...while allowing for excellent DLC and an interesting launching point for future installments of the game (sans Shepard). Likewise, depending on how you've played the game and your readiness status, you could have a "Shepard live/die" scenario in all three choices. This leaves you with six very distinct endings that would change everything.
And here's the wild thing about all of this - they could actually release this as the DLC ending and have it all take place after the defeat of the Illusive Man. It wouldn't change anything within the game to do so. And for those who do like the current endings, cool, they don't have to download the DLC. For the vast majority of ME fans who want an actual ending, this would supply some nice closure. Oh, and even more, the DLC wouldn't impact future game installments because the DLC I propose doesn't contradict the original endings - it could simply be explained that this was the real reason the Reapers were doing what they were doing, but didn't explain it because they didn't think we'd understand. Or something like that.
I'm sure some writers, if they spent time on it, could get it all to work out.
LilyasAvalon wrote...
You remember all that foreshadowing about Dark Energy in ME2? That was originally meant to be the ending for ME3 apparently. The reapers were trying to find a way to prevent this dark energy from destroying everything by 'uplifiting' species into powerful reapers... or something like that.CaptainJaques wrote...
LilyasAvalon wrote...
Out of curiosity, did you prefer the original plan for the endings?
I steered clear of the leaks as I didn't want to spoil the game for myself... What did they involve?
They could have easily pointed out that the Reapers were harvesting these civilizations so that they could live forever, rather than just dying off once the galaxy collapsed (Reapers can live in dark space). Before the collapse of the galaxy, the collected intelligence of the civilizations was being harvested and used together. Why continue to harvest? Because - as this program would point out to Shepard - look at how hard it was to get the civlizations in his own cycle to move on an immediate threat. How much harder would it be to get them to move on a long-off threat? Thus, by harvesting societies, the Reapers ensure that the collective intelligence gets used for one singular goal.
This leaves you with a very interesting ending to the game. Either you:
1) Find a compromise where the Reapers allow the current species to continue living, but that once the dark energy crisis hits a critical mass they'll return and complete what they started
2) Finish the Reapers by destroying the command hub, but you would lose the relays due to the fact they're tied to the Reapers (Shep, however, continues to live and there is no stupid Normandy crash scene). This, of course, makes finding a solution to dark energy nigh impossible since you'd first have to re-develop the technology for mass effect relays (which could be done).
3) Allow the Reapers to continue doing what they do best (this would be non-canon)
Now, none of those is a happy, "Disney" ending. In (1) you're left with the fact that you've simply delayed the inevitable...unless you can come up with a solution. (2) is the closest you get to a "happy ending" because the Reapers are gone forever, but you've also lost their relay technology. Plus, you still have the "dark energy" impending doom stuff. And (3) is a very dark ending.
Another great part is that this provides a much better conflict of interest in the game. The Reapers are shown to have good goals, but questionable methods. Of course, through much dialogue you'd come to discover that what the Reapers are doing really is the most logical solution, even if the most detestable. It creates a major conflict in your decisions...while allowing for excellent DLC and an interesting launching point for future installments of the game (sans Shepard). Likewise, depending on how you've played the game and your readiness status, you could have a "Shepard live/die" scenario in all three choices. This leaves you with six very distinct endings that would change everything.
And here's the wild thing about all of this - they could actually release this as the DLC ending and have it all take place after the defeat of the Illusive Man. It wouldn't change anything within the game to do so. And for those who do like the current endings, cool, they don't have to download the DLC. For the vast majority of ME fans who want an actual ending, this would supply some nice closure. Oh, and even more, the DLC wouldn't impact future game installments because the DLC I propose doesn't contradict the original endings - it could simply be explained that this was the real reason the Reapers were doing what they were doing, but didn't explain it because they didn't think we'd understand. Or something like that.
I'm sure some writers, if they spent time on it, could get it all to work out.
#398
Posté 10 mars 2012 - 03:24
Mr_Steph
-
- Members
- 800 messages
I'd give it an 8.5/10.
+ the whole built-up for the finale
+ better gameplay
+ old characters returning and decisions I thought meant nothing would have something to do in ME3
+ Emotional ride with some characters (miss you Mordin
)
+ crew not always at the same spot on the Normandy etc.
+ the mp
- the last 5 minutes really. When you run towards the beam and onwards. Exactly how I didn't want this to end, but knew it was a possibility
- quest bugs. An example could be the one Kasumi is involved in. I could never interact with the first terminal even though I went straight for it.
- Choices that seem to have been pointless. What does it matter if Anderson is chosen to be counselor? You go with udina anyway and the Spectre instatment is more about whether you saved the counsil or not.
- questlog is bad. No details or updates
+ the whole built-up for the finale
+ better gameplay
+ old characters returning and decisions I thought meant nothing would have something to do in ME3
+ Emotional ride with some characters (miss you Mordin
)+ crew not always at the same spot on the Normandy etc.
+ the mp
- the last 5 minutes really. When you run towards the beam and onwards. Exactly how I didn't want this to end, but knew it was a possibility
- quest bugs. An example could be the one Kasumi is involved in. I could never interact with the first terminal even though I went straight for it.
- Choices that seem to have been pointless. What does it matter if Anderson is chosen to be counselor? You go with udina anyway and the Spectre instatment is more about whether you saved the counsil or not.
- questlog is bad. No details or updates
Modifié par Mr_Steph, 10 mars 2012 - 03:26 .
#399
Posté 10 mars 2012 - 03:27
Jhanna
-
- Members
- 40 messages
Despite some bugs and glitches, I enjoyed the game. I could point out some plot holes here and there, but over all the story was good, the character interactions are wonderful and I loved playing it.
Until the endings.
I'll never understand how Casey Hudson could say with a straight face that the endings are "satisfying." They're 3 shades of the same thing that renders all your previous decisions moot. It's killed my desire to replay the game, and it makes NO sense.
The ending made enough of a bad impression that I'm wary of picking up any more titles from Bioware.
Until the endings.
I'll never understand how Casey Hudson could say with a straight face that the endings are "satisfying." They're 3 shades of the same thing that renders all your previous decisions moot. It's killed my desire to replay the game, and it makes NO sense.
The ending made enough of a bad impression that I'm wary of picking up any more titles from Bioware.
#400
Posté 10 mars 2012 - 03:28
P5l1394
-
- Members
- 2 messages
My score: 70/100
Pros: Refined combat, still plays smooth on PC, despite criticism. Tuchanka and Rannoch were the best part of the game by far. Never have I been that satisfied killing a reaper. characters are more 'themselves' I'll say, they seem to grasp that the galaxy is at war. My Romance with miranda was fine...Right up until I romanced her.
Cons: The romance with Miranda. Really? an entire game dedicated romantically to miranda in ME2, to be rewarded with a few lines of cheeky dialogue and a crap scene. if that sounds perverted, I don't care, it simply wasn't satisfying enough. And with that, comes the shameful, ambiguous, godawful mess that is the ending. I mean really. So many questions abnout the lore of the reapers, their motivations, their moral justification and the possibility to unearth a bittersweet feeling toward the reapers, and all you get is a badly anthropomorphosized kid telling you that ''the solution doesn't work anymore''. it's like you took Deus Ex, Prey, and Bioshock and . It just... it's empty. colossally empty. And I sure as hell didn't come 70+ hours of Sheparding through the galaxy, through three games, numerous romances, umpteen loyalties and several comics' worth of lore only to have him friggin' DIE?? **** ain't fly.
Partially I feel sorry for BioWare for having to answer to EA. it shows in every aspect that they were pressured into releasing a game with the maximum scope for profit, and next to no consideration for player reward. Had they taken a leaf out of Valve's book with the half life series, that is, only releasing a hanful of videos, and next to no information on the actual game, the reaction would have surpassed the hype and we wouldn't all be feeling bitter.
**** you EA, **** you. Give BioWare their franchise back so the devs can /finish the game/ without worrying about money.
And put it on ****ing steam already. You should have known their servers for multiplayer arte far superior to your own.
Grr.
Pros: Refined combat, still plays smooth on PC, despite criticism. Tuchanka and Rannoch were the best part of the game by far. Never have I been that satisfied killing a reaper. characters are more 'themselves' I'll say, they seem to grasp that the galaxy is at war. My Romance with miranda was fine...Right up until I romanced her.
Cons: The romance with Miranda. Really? an entire game dedicated romantically to miranda in ME2, to be rewarded with a few lines of cheeky dialogue and a crap scene. if that sounds perverted, I don't care, it simply wasn't satisfying enough. And with that, comes the shameful, ambiguous, godawful mess that is the ending. I mean really. So many questions abnout the lore of the reapers, their motivations, their moral justification and the possibility to unearth a bittersweet feeling toward the reapers, and all you get is a badly anthropomorphosized kid telling you that ''the solution doesn't work anymore''. it's like you took Deus Ex, Prey, and Bioshock and . It just... it's empty. colossally empty. And I sure as hell didn't come 70+ hours of Sheparding through the galaxy, through three games, numerous romances, umpteen loyalties and several comics' worth of lore only to have him friggin' DIE?? **** ain't fly.
Partially I feel sorry for BioWare for having to answer to EA. it shows in every aspect that they were pressured into releasing a game with the maximum scope for profit, and next to no consideration for player reward. Had they taken a leaf out of Valve's book with the half life series, that is, only releasing a hanful of videos, and next to no information on the actual game, the reaction would have surpassed the hype and we wouldn't all be feeling bitter.
**** you EA, **** you. Give BioWare their franchise back so the devs can /finish the game/ without worrying about money.
And put it on ****ing steam already. You should have known their servers for multiplayer arte far superior to your own.
Grr.
