Well, what is there to say. Everything has been said in this thread already. You ruined a gem in gaming with your ending. Fix it. DLC or otherwise, we play videos games as a form of entertainment. To be entertained. To forget about reality and its' associated depressions. Not freaking add to them.
Mass Effect 3 Fan Reviews (May Contain Spoilers)
Débuté par
Chris Priestly
, mars 06 2012 04:24
Retour en haut
#502
Posté 11 mars 2012 - 06:44
Plasma Prestige
-
- Members
- 295 messages
You guys nailed it all, except the ending.
Sure, there were some hiccups, but they were largely excusable for the emotinal story I was being told. Mordin's death had me teary eyed, and there was genuine humor at the best of times. Everything was a masterpiece.
The ending...is just confusing and very unsatisfying.
Sure, there were some hiccups, but they were largely excusable for the emotinal story I was being told. Mordin's death had me teary eyed, and there was genuine humor at the best of times. Everything was a masterpiece.
The ending...is just confusing and very unsatisfying.
#503
Posté 11 mars 2012 - 06:45
StripedStocking
-
- Members
- 93 messages
Okay, it's 6am right now, I've been playing ME3 for 3 days straight by now and literally finished it 10 minutes ago.
So I'll start with the things I enjoyed. The characters. Not all of them, but the ones where it's important. They're all well written and don't appear to be out of character. I'm a big fan of Liara, especially, so it's really nice to see how much time my shep and her got together after her being pretty much tossed to the side in ME2. I also loved little side things like Tali or Ash getting drunk, Joker making some calibration in-jokes, that sort of thing.
The romance scene. Mine was with Liara and well worth the wait, super adorable, so thank you very much for that, it was pretty much exactly what I wanted, down to every line of dialog.
Edi getting together with Joker and Tali with Garrus. Sweet, funny and it didn't seem forced. I liked that not every character was crushing on my shep and instead, some relationships formed amongst the crew, it´s way more realistic in my opinion.
The fact that you got to see all of your old crew members. Even if only in a little moment of dialog, at least they were all there.
The story was pretty good. I'll get to the ending later. It was all written pretty well and overall it was engaging. I feel like there's always a "but" I have for every point I make here but I'll explain all those when I get to the things I didn't enjoy.
As for technical aspects, I think the graphics were kicked up another notch and the textures were done a bit nicer (eventhough I had some texture pop ins here and there, playing PC) The way the characters and especially Shep moved seemed a lot more natural. Overall it's a great looking and sounding game and it runs smoothly, I only stumbled over a glitch now and again, much more in multiplayer mode than in the single player.
I like the combat improvements and the fact that the game doesn't feel as linear anymore as it did before. Meaning mainly the combat areas where there are ladders etc. now, I liked that, it was more exciting. The combat overall seemed a lot more fluent and faster, so good job on that part. I also feel like the character AI has improved a little (even further, thought it was great in ME2), especially of the squad members.
The way you can mod weapons is, once you get used to it, really simple and straight forward. It's like you took the system from ME1 and made it a thousand times better. It's also kind of neat that it transfers over to the look of the weapon, to make it seem more like an actual enhancement.
Some nice new improvements to the Normandy, mainly the shuttle bay area. Saved me a lot of time to just click through all the shops there rather than going to the citadel and walk to every single one.
The way homosexual relationships were tied into the universe. Seemed really natural (for example the whole deal with steve cortez's husband), I liked how it was included really nicely without making a big deal about it. Good job.
Much of the game seemed like a nice hybrid between ME1 and 2. Especially on the Citadel but just in general, even if it was just an old little piece of music or minor changes to converations between npc's, I like how ME3 felt more tied to the previous games that way and how it more felt like a hommage rather than coming across as forced.
Epic and tearjerking moments. I admit it, I cried god knows how many times in this game and it's a good thing to me, 'cause it shows how much I'm actually involved in the story and characters. But this point's not really positive or negative, as I think much of my emotional involvement came from loving all the characters still because of ME1 and 2, so it's only natural for me to care.
Many new and different types of enemies. I like especially things like the Banshees, the Maurauders etc. I've read the art book and it's obvious that there was quite a big amount of thought put into the designs, and it shows that lots of effort went into the looks of the enemies.
The length. Even if I did do quite a bit of "side quests"(will get to those later), the priority missions alone made up for a good 20 hour experience, at least for me. I'm really glad it didn't turn into DA2 in that aspect.
Jennifer Hale, yeah I have to fangirl a little. I was disappointed that my shep's face needed to be reconstructed and even after an hour of tweaking, still didn't look like the real deal. I understand that it's hard keeping the same looks if you make improvements to the graphics, but it still threw me off a little. For about half an hour, 'cause by then the way Jennifer Hale plays shep had totally made me forget the minor differences in her appearance and I loved her just as much as my "old" shep. But she always does a terrific job, so I'm not surprised. Tricia Helfer and Martin Sheen were exceptionally good as well, and the others all were as great as usual. The new characters..Again, I'll get to them later.
So that's it for the positive, I could go on but those are the parts that struck me the most. As for the things I didn't like..
The fact that the questlog doesn't update properly. If my "sidequests" consist of going from system to system on the galaxy map and playing a boring scanning mini-game (which I'll get to in a sec), it'd at least be nice if I could simply check the questlog to see if I have aquired artifact n°12983495 yet, instead of writing down everything I find and cross checking it with my log. That's ridiculous and tedious, it took me quite a bit to get used to, because I'm simply not used to something being that overly complicated, maybe in a game from the 90's but now..Please.
The scanning and driving through the clusters. I did that for 4 hours today and your excuse for sidequests is pathetic. All you do is go fetch some ring or sphere or obelisk, you don't even go onto the planet, nope, just collect it and drop it back off. I complained about the obnoxious scanning in ME2...well, if the alternative is you guys giving us (tediously slow) scanning and passing that off as the new side missions, while just erasing any sort of sidequest, with I don't know, actual dialog, well, then please give me the damn mineral scanner back, it's still better than this. Probably the most boring thing I've ever had to do in a video game.
And you may say, the scanning mentioned above is optional, but no, it's really not, 'cause I need the war assets it gives me. Because, simply because I don't like multiplayer (in general, I just don't) you cut all my assets in half and I have to work twice as hard to get the assets for the best possible ending..And it doesn't work at all, I've gone through every single cluster and recovered everything that was humanly possible, I went through all these annoying "side quests" and I still fell short on about 700 units to get to 4000 in the end. It may be possible to get more on the New Game+ but I don't see it working on the first try. So, I was forced to play the damn multiplayer in order to get, what I was hoping, to be the ideal ending. Thanks a lot for wasting my time and forcing me to do something I didn't want to.
I got absolutely nothing for playing ME2 on insanity. It took me a good 35 hours over an entire year of my life to finish that mode and I got nothing, no mention of it, no bonus..Well, I know what I won't be playing ME3 on.
Diana, or whatever that characters name was..really? I think it was just a way to get a really big butt into the game, or the voice actress (who sounds, dare I say, bored out of her mind and isn't really great..at all). I actually prefer Kelly Chambers, believe it or not (where was she in all this, btw?) Also, James Vega, really? You couldn't give me Jack back? You develop her character so much more, give her a new look and she get's less screen time than Miranda?! What went through your minds there, I don't understand, let's put the "hot" characters into the game, so those pre-pubescent gamers will have something to oogle about and ignore one of the best and exceptionally well-written characters in the franchise and shove her to the side...I fail to see any sense in that. Maybe you should focus on the characters you've already established instead of adding the Jersey Shore cast to it.
The dlc and bonus stuff from the collector's edition is a joke. The outfits for the squad members are just as ugly as they were when you guys proclaimed they weren't the final design, the stupid robot dog does absolutely nothing at all..the weapons are useless, too. The only thing I really loved was my shep wearing the same hoody as me. Also that prothean..Meh, even Sebastian was more interesting (and I'm surprised I remember his name, that's how much I care about that guy).
Tali's face "reveal" is a stock photo of a chick that was manipulated to look like a dumb space elf in photoshop, and poorly. I could put a purple color layer over a picture, smack a lens flare on it and add a few "alien" features in 10 minutes. This is ridiculous and, to be frank, an insult and I didn't think I could be more disappointed with the game than I was at that moment. But, you decided to give ME3 an ending, unfortunately.
So yeah, that's by far my biggest complaint. And everyone has said this, but I'll join them, 'cause you have to see how much you screwed up. The ending(s) are intolerable. I've been playing the Mass Effect games for 5 years now, thanks to the xbox not reading the first game anymore, I have 4 copies and an additional xbox and then I bought a new pc specifically for these games and had to buy 2 more copies (not to mention the dlc). I went through all of that because the mass effect games are, by far, my favorite games of all time. Hell, I even have a paragon tattoo on my wrist, tons of fan articles, all the books and comics..you get it, I'm a serious fan. Also, of other BioWare games, I bought every single one of them, from Shattered Steel all the way to ME3. I built my perfect shep over the course of 3 years, spent countless hours replaying parts, just to get that one perfect import playthrough and to be ready for the reapers. And these are the "epic conclusions" you offer. All pretty much the same, my shep (thankfully) breathed at the end, but my crew is (ilogically with liara etc, people who weren't even aboard) stranded on some random island, no explanation what so ever, just...wow. I couldn't've asked for a bigger letdown after all the work I put into these games. I wouldn't care if only one of the endings was this way, maybe the renegade one, but this..My shep deserves her happiness with Liara and lots of little blue children
Right now, I've just ignored it, 'cause it's such a fresh memory. But yeah, I'd like an alternate ending..a happy one, or..anything else with less plotholes and more explanations, really. Something that feels like an actual conclusion. Mass Effect deserves that and the people who played it, do. I'd even be willing to pay for a dlc that gives me that (all about the money, eh?). So I hope you give us at least something. In the poll, over 10000 want changes to be made, you should listen if you really care about your fans. I always defend BioWare and I even kind of tried to defend Dragon Age 2, I'm really getting tired of this. If there are no alternatives to this horrible conclusion, I don't see myself ever buying a BioWare title again, Tali's pathetic excuse for a face I could maybe ignore, but this, I can't and I won't.
Okay, rant over. So, my final verdict for ME3 would be..
Without the ending, I'd give it a 88/100. Really great game, I'd be happy to recommend and play through over and over again.
With the ending..maybe a 25/100. At best. Not saying this to be mean, it's just the way I feel, the ending actually took that much away for me.
In any case, thanks for all the positive things that came with ME3, I'm at least happy that I played it.
So I'll start with the things I enjoyed. The characters. Not all of them, but the ones where it's important. They're all well written and don't appear to be out of character. I'm a big fan of Liara, especially, so it's really nice to see how much time my shep and her got together after her being pretty much tossed to the side in ME2. I also loved little side things like Tali or Ash getting drunk, Joker making some calibration in-jokes, that sort of thing.
The romance scene. Mine was with Liara and well worth the wait, super adorable, so thank you very much for that, it was pretty much exactly what I wanted, down to every line of dialog.
Edi getting together with Joker and Tali with Garrus. Sweet, funny and it didn't seem forced. I liked that not every character was crushing on my shep and instead, some relationships formed amongst the crew, it´s way more realistic in my opinion.
The fact that you got to see all of your old crew members. Even if only in a little moment of dialog, at least they were all there.
The story was pretty good. I'll get to the ending later. It was all written pretty well and overall it was engaging. I feel like there's always a "but" I have for every point I make here but I'll explain all those when I get to the things I didn't enjoy.
As for technical aspects, I think the graphics were kicked up another notch and the textures were done a bit nicer (eventhough I had some texture pop ins here and there, playing PC) The way the characters and especially Shep moved seemed a lot more natural. Overall it's a great looking and sounding game and it runs smoothly, I only stumbled over a glitch now and again, much more in multiplayer mode than in the single player.
I like the combat improvements and the fact that the game doesn't feel as linear anymore as it did before. Meaning mainly the combat areas where there are ladders etc. now, I liked that, it was more exciting. The combat overall seemed a lot more fluent and faster, so good job on that part. I also feel like the character AI has improved a little (even further, thought it was great in ME2), especially of the squad members.
The way you can mod weapons is, once you get used to it, really simple and straight forward. It's like you took the system from ME1 and made it a thousand times better. It's also kind of neat that it transfers over to the look of the weapon, to make it seem more like an actual enhancement.
Some nice new improvements to the Normandy, mainly the shuttle bay area. Saved me a lot of time to just click through all the shops there rather than going to the citadel and walk to every single one.
The way homosexual relationships were tied into the universe. Seemed really natural (for example the whole deal with steve cortez's husband), I liked how it was included really nicely without making a big deal about it. Good job.
Much of the game seemed like a nice hybrid between ME1 and 2. Especially on the Citadel but just in general, even if it was just an old little piece of music or minor changes to converations between npc's, I like how ME3 felt more tied to the previous games that way and how it more felt like a hommage rather than coming across as forced.
Epic and tearjerking moments. I admit it, I cried god knows how many times in this game and it's a good thing to me, 'cause it shows how much I'm actually involved in the story and characters. But this point's not really positive or negative, as I think much of my emotional involvement came from loving all the characters still because of ME1 and 2, so it's only natural for me to care.
Many new and different types of enemies. I like especially things like the Banshees, the Maurauders etc. I've read the art book and it's obvious that there was quite a big amount of thought put into the designs, and it shows that lots of effort went into the looks of the enemies.
The length. Even if I did do quite a bit of "side quests"(will get to those later), the priority missions alone made up for a good 20 hour experience, at least for me. I'm really glad it didn't turn into DA2 in that aspect.
Jennifer Hale, yeah I have to fangirl a little. I was disappointed that my shep's face needed to be reconstructed and even after an hour of tweaking, still didn't look like the real deal. I understand that it's hard keeping the same looks if you make improvements to the graphics, but it still threw me off a little. For about half an hour, 'cause by then the way Jennifer Hale plays shep had totally made me forget the minor differences in her appearance and I loved her just as much as my "old" shep. But she always does a terrific job, so I'm not surprised. Tricia Helfer and Martin Sheen were exceptionally good as well, and the others all were as great as usual. The new characters..Again, I'll get to them later.
So that's it for the positive, I could go on but those are the parts that struck me the most. As for the things I didn't like..
The fact that the questlog doesn't update properly. If my "sidequests" consist of going from system to system on the galaxy map and playing a boring scanning mini-game (which I'll get to in a sec), it'd at least be nice if I could simply check the questlog to see if I have aquired artifact n°12983495 yet, instead of writing down everything I find and cross checking it with my log. That's ridiculous and tedious, it took me quite a bit to get used to, because I'm simply not used to something being that overly complicated, maybe in a game from the 90's but now..Please.
The scanning and driving through the clusters. I did that for 4 hours today and your excuse for sidequests is pathetic. All you do is go fetch some ring or sphere or obelisk, you don't even go onto the planet, nope, just collect it and drop it back off. I complained about the obnoxious scanning in ME2...well, if the alternative is you guys giving us (tediously slow) scanning and passing that off as the new side missions, while just erasing any sort of sidequest, with I don't know, actual dialog, well, then please give me the damn mineral scanner back, it's still better than this. Probably the most boring thing I've ever had to do in a video game.
And you may say, the scanning mentioned above is optional, but no, it's really not, 'cause I need the war assets it gives me. Because, simply because I don't like multiplayer (in general, I just don't) you cut all my assets in half and I have to work twice as hard to get the assets for the best possible ending..And it doesn't work at all, I've gone through every single cluster and recovered everything that was humanly possible, I went through all these annoying "side quests" and I still fell short on about 700 units to get to 4000 in the end. It may be possible to get more on the New Game+ but I don't see it working on the first try. So, I was forced to play the damn multiplayer in order to get, what I was hoping, to be the ideal ending. Thanks a lot for wasting my time and forcing me to do something I didn't want to.
I got absolutely nothing for playing ME2 on insanity. It took me a good 35 hours over an entire year of my life to finish that mode and I got nothing, no mention of it, no bonus..Well, I know what I won't be playing ME3 on.
Diana, or whatever that characters name was..really? I think it was just a way to get a really big butt into the game, or the voice actress (who sounds, dare I say, bored out of her mind and isn't really great..at all). I actually prefer Kelly Chambers, believe it or not (where was she in all this, btw?) Also, James Vega, really? You couldn't give me Jack back? You develop her character so much more, give her a new look and she get's less screen time than Miranda?! What went through your minds there, I don't understand, let's put the "hot" characters into the game, so those pre-pubescent gamers will have something to oogle about and ignore one of the best and exceptionally well-written characters in the franchise and shove her to the side...I fail to see any sense in that. Maybe you should focus on the characters you've already established instead of adding the Jersey Shore cast to it.
The dlc and bonus stuff from the collector's edition is a joke. The outfits for the squad members are just as ugly as they were when you guys proclaimed they weren't the final design, the stupid robot dog does absolutely nothing at all..the weapons are useless, too. The only thing I really loved was my shep wearing the same hoody as me. Also that prothean..Meh, even Sebastian was more interesting (and I'm surprised I remember his name, that's how much I care about that guy).
Tali's face "reveal" is a stock photo of a chick that was manipulated to look like a dumb space elf in photoshop, and poorly. I could put a purple color layer over a picture, smack a lens flare on it and add a few "alien" features in 10 minutes. This is ridiculous and, to be frank, an insult and I didn't think I could be more disappointed with the game than I was at that moment. But, you decided to give ME3 an ending, unfortunately.
So yeah, that's by far my biggest complaint. And everyone has said this, but I'll join them, 'cause you have to see how much you screwed up. The ending(s) are intolerable. I've been playing the Mass Effect games for 5 years now, thanks to the xbox not reading the first game anymore, I have 4 copies and an additional xbox and then I bought a new pc specifically for these games and had to buy 2 more copies (not to mention the dlc). I went through all of that because the mass effect games are, by far, my favorite games of all time. Hell, I even have a paragon tattoo on my wrist, tons of fan articles, all the books and comics..you get it, I'm a serious fan. Also, of other BioWare games, I bought every single one of them, from Shattered Steel all the way to ME3. I built my perfect shep over the course of 3 years, spent countless hours replaying parts, just to get that one perfect import playthrough and to be ready for the reapers. And these are the "epic conclusions" you offer. All pretty much the same, my shep (thankfully) breathed at the end, but my crew is (ilogically with liara etc, people who weren't even aboard) stranded on some random island, no explanation what so ever, just...wow. I couldn't've asked for a bigger letdown after all the work I put into these games. I wouldn't care if only one of the endings was this way, maybe the renegade one, but this..My shep deserves her happiness with Liara and lots of little blue children
Right now, I've just ignored it, 'cause it's such a fresh memory. But yeah, I'd like an alternate ending..a happy one, or..anything else with less plotholes and more explanations, really. Something that feels like an actual conclusion. Mass Effect deserves that and the people who played it, do. I'd even be willing to pay for a dlc that gives me that (all about the money, eh?). So I hope you give us at least something. In the poll, over 10000 want changes to be made, you should listen if you really care about your fans. I always defend BioWare and I even kind of tried to defend Dragon Age 2, I'm really getting tired of this. If there are no alternatives to this horrible conclusion, I don't see myself ever buying a BioWare title again, Tali's pathetic excuse for a face I could maybe ignore, but this, I can't and I won't. Okay, rant over. So, my final verdict for ME3 would be..
Without the ending, I'd give it a 88/100. Really great game, I'd be happy to recommend and play through over and over again.
With the ending..maybe a 25/100. At best. Not saying this to be mean, it's just the way I feel, the ending actually took that much away for me.
In any case, thanks for all the positive things that came with ME3, I'm at least happy that I played it.
Modifié par StripedStocking, 11 mars 2012 - 06:50 .
#504
Posté 11 mars 2012 - 06:55
Tony208
-
- Members
- 1 378 messages
I finished the game on Wednesday but didn't want to submit a review right away because I wanted to do it with a clear head.
The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
The Good:
Characters: It was a fitting and satisfying end for those that we lost, especially Mordin, Thane, and Legion. Grunt's near death experience was tense to say the least. We got to see fan favorite minor characters Conrad Verner, Refund Guy, Al-Jilani, and others. I never thought Jack would be a productive member of society let alone a school teacher. Apparently Zaeed is more than just a gun for hire as well, he commits to the fight against the reapers albeit as a war asset. A Thane that struggles to breathe stops a reaper teched Kai Leng.
Voice Acting: Still top notch and amazing. Shepard VI was brilliant.
Music: Grunt's near death scene and the endings had some amazing music.
Gameplay: Combat is solid, not much of a change from ME2.
Levels: They look gorgeous, especially the giant reapers in the background, looking at Palaven from the moon, Tuchanka, and the view from the Citadel hospital. Simply beautiful.
Cutscenes: The space battles are some of the best ever for a video game.
Hard Decisions: Cure genophage or not, side with Quarians or Geth if peace is off limits?
Multiplayer: I played a lot of it in the demo and in the release and it doesn't disappoint at all.
The Bad:
Plot holes: How is it that all the races are sending people from all over the galaxy to build the Crucible and the Reapers don't know about it? Your crew ran away during the harbinger beam attack and escaped with Joker? Reapers attacking Cerberus when TIM is indoctrinated?
Technical issues: Face import and animation issues. There's a lot of variables and different dialogue for the animations so a little error here or there is fine. Some loading screen crashes and getting stuck in places and in multiplayer.
Auto dialogue: Shepard could've had a little more control.
Some of our supposedly major choices had little to no effect. Rachni? Just a small war asset. Collector base? Just a small variation in the ending depending on your war assets. Save/kill council? New council is the same as the old council. Rewrite/Destroy Geth heretics? A couple dialogue lines by Legion and Shepard acknowledging it didn't do anything.
Sure it would be impossible to take in to account every single thing Shepard does but these are some major decisions that should of mattered but didn't.
The Ugly:
The Ending: Negated all your previous decisions and provided a bleak future and no closure for anyone. Everyone will probably be dead since they're all dependent on each other and no mass relays will doom a lot of them. Only the Yahg will be around to reap the benefits.
85/100
I honestly would've given this a 99/100 until I saw the ending
It's been a few days and the ending still stings but I can't just ignore that the rest of the game is still really really good. I'll try to pretend that the endings didn't just happen and pray that we get some alternate endings soon. In the mean time I'll see what happens on my other Shepard's and just stop before the Cerberus base.
The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
The Good:
Characters: It was a fitting and satisfying end for those that we lost, especially Mordin, Thane, and Legion. Grunt's near death experience was tense to say the least. We got to see fan favorite minor characters Conrad Verner, Refund Guy, Al-Jilani, and others. I never thought Jack would be a productive member of society let alone a school teacher. Apparently Zaeed is more than just a gun for hire as well, he commits to the fight against the reapers albeit as a war asset. A Thane that struggles to breathe stops a reaper teched Kai Leng.
Voice Acting: Still top notch and amazing. Shepard VI was brilliant.
Music: Grunt's near death scene and the endings had some amazing music.
Gameplay: Combat is solid, not much of a change from ME2.
Levels: They look gorgeous, especially the giant reapers in the background, looking at Palaven from the moon, Tuchanka, and the view from the Citadel hospital. Simply beautiful.
Cutscenes: The space battles are some of the best ever for a video game.
Hard Decisions: Cure genophage or not, side with Quarians or Geth if peace is off limits?
Multiplayer: I played a lot of it in the demo and in the release and it doesn't disappoint at all.
The Bad:
Plot holes: How is it that all the races are sending people from all over the galaxy to build the Crucible and the Reapers don't know about it? Your crew ran away during the harbinger beam attack and escaped with Joker? Reapers attacking Cerberus when TIM is indoctrinated?
Technical issues: Face import and animation issues. There's a lot of variables and different dialogue for the animations so a little error here or there is fine. Some loading screen crashes and getting stuck in places and in multiplayer.
Auto dialogue: Shepard could've had a little more control.
Some of our supposedly major choices had little to no effect. Rachni? Just a small war asset. Collector base? Just a small variation in the ending depending on your war assets. Save/kill council? New council is the same as the old council. Rewrite/Destroy Geth heretics? A couple dialogue lines by Legion and Shepard acknowledging it didn't do anything.
Sure it would be impossible to take in to account every single thing Shepard does but these are some major decisions that should of mattered but didn't.
The Ugly:
The Ending: Negated all your previous decisions and provided a bleak future and no closure for anyone. Everyone will probably be dead since they're all dependent on each other and no mass relays will doom a lot of them. Only the Yahg will be around to reap the benefits.
85/100
I honestly would've given this a 99/100 until I saw the ending
It's been a few days and the ending still stings but I can't just ignore that the rest of the game is still really really good. I'll try to pretend that the endings didn't just happen and pray that we get some alternate endings soon. In the mean time I'll see what happens on my other Shepard's and just stop before the Cerberus base.
Modifié par Tony208, 11 mars 2012 - 07:15 .
#505
Posté 11 mars 2012 - 07:00
Thrillkiss
-
- Members
- 3 messages
How many people feel ME3 was like how Rage ended? Btw, I think Mass Effect is one of the best RPG games ever made. Also, what do you think of the ending that shows Shepard take a breath while he's under all the rubble?
#506
Posté 11 mars 2012 - 07:06
TabrisAbound
-
- Members
- 26 messages
My Mass Effect 3 score: 0/100
Things I liked:
I bought Assassin's Creed: Revelations way back in November, and it ended up being an okay game. Despite some new mechanics like bomb-making and the hookblade, the game pretty much played the same as AC: Brotherhood. While the previous games were centered on Ezio's quest for revenge, Revelations took Ezio into the heart of the Ottoman Empire. Although it made for an interesting change in scenery, I didn't have quite the emotional investment in the plot as I'd had in the first two games. But I overlooked these drawbacks because I was ultimately satisfied with the resolution of Ezio's character arc; he was finally able to let go of the past and try and live out the rest of his life for himself. And though he sails off into the sunset with bride-to-be Sofia, that happiness was bought with the blood of his family, friends and Assassin brethren over a 30 year period - a much more bittersweet ending when you think about it.
Why did I bring this up? Because in contrast to the above example, the last 10-15 minutes of Mass Effect 3 utterly destroyed my enjoyment of a near perfect series with an ending that provides anything but closure.
Let's ignore the obvious deus ex machina nature of the Catalyst (especially since the DEM quota was already fulfilled by the Crucible). Let's ignore the fact that the Reapers were relegated to Dragon status for an enemy that is nowhere near as menacing or convincing as the Reapers themselves. Let's ignore the flawed circular logic that the Catalyst uses to justify the continuing cycle, even when a fleet of reconciled quarians and geth are blasting at the Reapers in Earth orbit. Let's ignore the fact that fear of the technological singularity made an inexplicable eleventh-hour override of the overarching theme of the series thus far: that a person and the choices he/she makes can ultimately make a difference, even when facing insurmountable odds. Let's ignore the fact that, in defiance of said theme, Shepard ultimately rolls over and takes the options presented by the Catalyst without putting up a fight.
Let's ignore all that and focus on three other problems I had with the ending:
1) All the choices we've made in the course of the three games and in gathering allies have NO significant bearing on the ending.
Please don't insult the BSN and ME gamers by trying to justify to us that tiny changes in the final cinematics = our choices affecting the ending. Please, just don't. All the diverging points, all the people we chose to save or kill or punch or love, all the components of our hard-earned fleet, it all essentially boils down to "in what color would you like your galactic holocaust?"
And for the record, I don't think the destruction of the Citadel and the mass relay system is inherently a bad thing. It makes a lot of sense actually - the galaxy has been built on the back of Reaper technology, so maybe truly defeating the Reapers would involve sacrificing all that has been gained from them. But I want that to be an ending, not the ending. You could have tied it to the assets of the Crucible - insufficient construction means that the firing destroys the relays in addition to receiving and releasing the energy necessary order to disable/destroy the Reapers. BioWare slipped on the execution. Big time.
Failed Closure #1: The gamer is not able to see the outcome of his/her choices - or rather, the choice is made for him/her without any explanation as to why their previous decisions are no longer valid towards or determinant of future actions.
2) The Normandy's apparent abandonment of the battle for Earth flies in the face of Joker and EDI's previous characterization; the subsequent crash-landing is nonsensical at worst, confusing at best.
The scene where the Normandy's fleeing the relay pulse wave makes absolutely no sense.
Shouldn't the Normandy have been in Earth orbit when the Crucible fired? Wouldn't it have been one of the first vessels to be hit by the wave? Why would you run from the wave when it's only meant to harm the Reapers? And since when would EDI and Joker willingly abandon Shepard and the rest of the galaxy when there's still a chance to win? (And before anyone brings it up, running from the Collectors in ME2 was done to protect Shepard's ability to finish the mission - do you really think the Collectors wouldn't have destroyed the Normandy once they were safely aboard their ship with the captured crew?)
Then there's the matter of the crash-landing. I realize that it changes slightly depending on the circumstances, but here are the big issues:
1) What happens to the surviving crew, if any?
2) How can your squadmates from London (who thanks to Harbinger are probably DEAD) magically pop up in the Normandy?
I think the Normandy sequence was just a cheap move by the developers to elicit a more emotional response with regards to the destruction of the relays and the universe as we know it, seeing as the choices we thought would have a bearing on the outcome had been nullified.
Failed Closure #2: We are given two incidents of character assassination without any reasonable explanation as to why said characters did what they did, and we get no affirmation of the crew's fate after the Normandy's crash.
3) We are given no word as to the ultimate fate of the galactic races, especially since many of their political, military and scientific leaders are now stranded in the Sol system (assuming that anyone survived the destruction of the mass relay system).
Points one and three are two halves of the same whole, but the first focuses on the emotions regarding Shepard's (lack of) power (and by extension the player's own) while this one focuses on the emotional bonds formed with the NPCs and squadmates of the series.
I realize my "our choices don't matter" statement makes this point somewhat irrelevant, but even a simple "and all life in the galaxy was wiped out" would have been better than BioWare leaving us to fumble around in the dark. As I stated before, it's highly unclear what actually happens to everyone (and in my opinion the post-credits scene gives far to little information to make any really strong, sound judgments).
What happened to the future I worked so hard to build should victory be won, even if Shepard him/herself wasn't alive to witness it? I don't get to know if the krogan affirm or defy the conerns of a galactic community after being cured of the genophage. I don't get to see the challenges of the quarians and geth trying to reintegrate themselves on Rannoch. Will the rachni's return spur the galaxy into a new frenzy of fear?
If I'm to be denied my "happy ending," did anyone survive the relay system's destruction? How long did it take for life to re-seed itself? Did QEC technology allow for some sort of nominal intragalactic contact between peoples before things collapsed into a new Dark Age?
I guess those questions will only be answered in head-canon and fanfiction.
Except that's not where I wanted the answers to come from, as enjoyable as said answers might be.
Failed Closure #3: We are given no definitive answers to the fate of the galaxy's races as a whole other than a vague and unengaging post-credits scene; this is an insult both to the hard work that the players put in to see their choices play out as well as the wonderful characters that BioWare has created for the Mass Effect universe.
As I stated earlier, the ending has completely soured both my opinion of the game and of the trilogy as a whole. I had planned to spend my entire spring break bringing my remaining Shepards to the end of their journeys, but now I can't motivate myself to do so. I force myself to play multiplayer not because I still enjoy it, but because I paid $80 for this game and should be getting some value out of it. And in 20 years time if/when the current generation of consoles become the new "classics" of yester-year, the Mass Effect series will not be among the titles I dust off to make my children play.
Four-and-a-half plus years of fun gameplay, exciting characters and fantastic storybuilding from both players (shaping Shepard) and developers (shaping everything else) were undone in an instant.
And that is why Mass Effect 3 received no points in this review .
I suppose
comes easy to you as ever, Mr. Priestly; at this moment BioWare and its parent company are rolling around in mountains of cash and critical praise. All of you must be on cloud nine.
Do you know what I'm feeling right now?
Sick.
Heartbroken.
Betrayed.
BioWare has had my heart and more importantly my trust ever since my friend lent me his copy of KoToR all those years ago. I bought Dragon Age: Origins knowing next to nothing about the game for two reasons: it was dark fantasy and it was made by BioWare. I bought Mass Effect 2 out of curiosity and that same trust and before I knew it I had decided to give the first game a go. I had some major issues with Dragon Age II, but I recognized that a lot of its flaws resulted from factors beyond your control. "Hey, nobody's perfect," I reasoned with myself, "not even BioWare."
When Mass Effect 3's epilogue finally finished and the DLC message popped up on my screen, I slumped in my chair feeling dumbstruck and completely empty. It was as though the studio had run a katana through my heart and all the trust and goodwill that had built up over the last eight years was slowly running out onto the dorm room carpet.
I can't trust you anymore, BioWare.
And that fact alone depresses me more than anything else.
Things I liked:
- The complexity of the enemy AI
- Character writing (conversations, banter, personalities), particularly for Garrus Vakarian
- The co-op multiplayer
- Exceptional voice-acting (easily Jennifer Hale's finest performance to date)
- Environmental and creature design (Menae, Thessia, Tuchanka and the Illusive Man's office all come to mind)
- Creative new gameplay elements (the Geth Construct platforming, the Rannoch Reaper battle, manning turrets, Atlas hijacking, etc.)
- Maximization of the 360's limited graphical capabilities
- Handling of the Liara romance
- The return of customizable weapons but with a much more manageable inventory system
- The handling of Mordin's, Thane's, Legion's and Anderson's deaths
- Cutscene speed issues during the final battle
- The journal/codex system was poorly implemented
- Texture popping in the planet scanning mechanics, and occasionally in other places; Garrus' model briefly disappeared during a cutscene in Jacob's rescue mission
- The (playable) dream sequences. Those would've been better handled as cutscenes à la Knights of the Old Republic.
- Multiplayer participation affecting War Asset effectiveness in single player
- The shoehorning of many ME2 squadmate romances (based off watching the vids people have posted online)
- The use of poorly photoshopped stock/preexisting images for Tali's photograph and the "epilogue" background
- The ending, if it can truly be called one
I bought Assassin's Creed: Revelations way back in November, and it ended up being an okay game. Despite some new mechanics like bomb-making and the hookblade, the game pretty much played the same as AC: Brotherhood. While the previous games were centered on Ezio's quest for revenge, Revelations took Ezio into the heart of the Ottoman Empire. Although it made for an interesting change in scenery, I didn't have quite the emotional investment in the plot as I'd had in the first two games. But I overlooked these drawbacks because I was ultimately satisfied with the resolution of Ezio's character arc; he was finally able to let go of the past and try and live out the rest of his life for himself. And though he sails off into the sunset with bride-to-be Sofia, that happiness was bought with the blood of his family, friends and Assassin brethren over a 30 year period - a much more bittersweet ending when you think about it.
Why did I bring this up? Because in contrast to the above example, the last 10-15 minutes of Mass Effect 3 utterly destroyed my enjoyment of a near perfect series with an ending that provides anything but closure.
Let's ignore the obvious deus ex machina nature of the Catalyst (especially since the DEM quota was already fulfilled by the Crucible). Let's ignore the fact that the Reapers were relegated to Dragon status for an enemy that is nowhere near as menacing or convincing as the Reapers themselves. Let's ignore the flawed circular logic that the Catalyst uses to justify the continuing cycle, even when a fleet of reconciled quarians and geth are blasting at the Reapers in Earth orbit. Let's ignore the fact that fear of the technological singularity made an inexplicable eleventh-hour override of the overarching theme of the series thus far: that a person and the choices he/she makes can ultimately make a difference, even when facing insurmountable odds. Let's ignore the fact that, in defiance of said theme, Shepard ultimately rolls over and takes the options presented by the Catalyst without putting up a fight.
Let's ignore all that and focus on three other problems I had with the ending:
1) All the choices we've made in the course of the three games and in gathering allies have NO significant bearing on the ending.
Please don't insult the BSN and ME gamers by trying to justify to us that tiny changes in the final cinematics = our choices affecting the ending. Please, just don't. All the diverging points, all the people we chose to save or kill or punch or love, all the components of our hard-earned fleet, it all essentially boils down to "in what color would you like your galactic holocaust?"
And for the record, I don't think the destruction of the Citadel and the mass relay system is inherently a bad thing. It makes a lot of sense actually - the galaxy has been built on the back of Reaper technology, so maybe truly defeating the Reapers would involve sacrificing all that has been gained from them. But I want that to be an ending, not the ending. You could have tied it to the assets of the Crucible - insufficient construction means that the firing destroys the relays in addition to receiving and releasing the energy necessary order to disable/destroy the Reapers. BioWare slipped on the execution. Big time.
Failed Closure #1: The gamer is not able to see the outcome of his/her choices - or rather, the choice is made for him/her without any explanation as to why their previous decisions are no longer valid towards or determinant of future actions.
2) The Normandy's apparent abandonment of the battle for Earth flies in the face of Joker and EDI's previous characterization; the subsequent crash-landing is nonsensical at worst, confusing at best.
The scene where the Normandy's fleeing the relay pulse wave makes absolutely no sense.
Shouldn't the Normandy have been in Earth orbit when the Crucible fired? Wouldn't it have been one of the first vessels to be hit by the wave? Why would you run from the wave when it's only meant to harm the Reapers? And since when would EDI and Joker willingly abandon Shepard and the rest of the galaxy when there's still a chance to win? (And before anyone brings it up, running from the Collectors in ME2 was done to protect Shepard's ability to finish the mission - do you really think the Collectors wouldn't have destroyed the Normandy once they were safely aboard their ship with the captured crew?)
Then there's the matter of the crash-landing. I realize that it changes slightly depending on the circumstances, but here are the big issues:
1) What happens to the surviving crew, if any?
2) How can your squadmates from London (who thanks to Harbinger are probably DEAD) magically pop up in the Normandy?
I think the Normandy sequence was just a cheap move by the developers to elicit a more emotional response with regards to the destruction of the relays and the universe as we know it, seeing as the choices we thought would have a bearing on the outcome had been nullified.
Failed Closure #2: We are given two incidents of character assassination without any reasonable explanation as to why said characters did what they did, and we get no affirmation of the crew's fate after the Normandy's crash.
3) We are given no word as to the ultimate fate of the galactic races, especially since many of their political, military and scientific leaders are now stranded in the Sol system (assuming that anyone survived the destruction of the mass relay system).
Points one and three are two halves of the same whole, but the first focuses on the emotions regarding Shepard's (lack of) power (and by extension the player's own) while this one focuses on the emotional bonds formed with the NPCs and squadmates of the series.
I realize my "our choices don't matter" statement makes this point somewhat irrelevant, but even a simple "and all life in the galaxy was wiped out" would have been better than BioWare leaving us to fumble around in the dark. As I stated before, it's highly unclear what actually happens to everyone (and in my opinion the post-credits scene gives far to little information to make any really strong, sound judgments).
What happened to the future I worked so hard to build should victory be won, even if Shepard him/herself wasn't alive to witness it? I don't get to know if the krogan affirm or defy the conerns of a galactic community after being cured of the genophage. I don't get to see the challenges of the quarians and geth trying to reintegrate themselves on Rannoch. Will the rachni's return spur the galaxy into a new frenzy of fear?
If I'm to be denied my "happy ending," did anyone survive the relay system's destruction? How long did it take for life to re-seed itself? Did QEC technology allow for some sort of nominal intragalactic contact between peoples before things collapsed into a new Dark Age?
I guess those questions will only be answered in head-canon and fanfiction.
Except that's not where I wanted the answers to come from, as enjoyable as said answers might be.
Failed Closure #3: We are given no definitive answers to the fate of the galaxy's races as a whole other than a vague and unengaging post-credits scene; this is an insult both to the hard work that the players put in to see their choices play out as well as the wonderful characters that BioWare has created for the Mass Effect universe.
As I stated earlier, the ending has completely soured both my opinion of the game and of the trilogy as a whole. I had planned to spend my entire spring break bringing my remaining Shepards to the end of their journeys, but now I can't motivate myself to do so. I force myself to play multiplayer not because I still enjoy it, but because I paid $80 for this game and should be getting some value out of it. And in 20 years time if/when the current generation of consoles become the new "classics" of yester-year, the Mass Effect series will not be among the titles I dust off to make my children play.
Four-and-a-half plus years of fun gameplay, exciting characters and fantastic storybuilding from both players (shaping Shepard) and developers (shaping everything else) were undone in an instant.
And that is why Mass Effect 3 received no points in this review .
I suppose
comes easy to you as ever, Mr. Priestly; at this moment BioWare and its parent company are rolling around in mountains of cash and critical praise. All of you must be on cloud nine.Do you know what I'm feeling right now?
Sick.
Heartbroken.
Betrayed.
BioWare has had my heart and more importantly my trust ever since my friend lent me his copy of KoToR all those years ago. I bought Dragon Age: Origins knowing next to nothing about the game for two reasons: it was dark fantasy and it was made by BioWare. I bought Mass Effect 2 out of curiosity and that same trust and before I knew it I had decided to give the first game a go. I had some major issues with Dragon Age II, but I recognized that a lot of its flaws resulted from factors beyond your control. "Hey, nobody's perfect," I reasoned with myself, "not even BioWare."
When Mass Effect 3's epilogue finally finished and the DLC message popped up on my screen, I slumped in my chair feeling dumbstruck and completely empty. It was as though the studio had run a katana through my heart and all the trust and goodwill that had built up over the last eight years was slowly running out onto the dorm room carpet.
I can't trust you anymore, BioWare.
And that fact alone depresses me more than anything else.
Modifié par TabrisAbound, 11 mars 2012 - 07:07 .
#507
Posté 11 mars 2012 - 07:11
SgtRaWr001
-
- Members
- 2 messages
This game could have been a masterpiece of sci-fi if it weren't for the terrible ending that went some way towards retconning ME1. I enjoyed the rest of the immensely, I understand that you didn't want to go with the clichéd ending of Shepard kicks the bad guy's asses and gets the girl/guy/hot alien (Shatner is that you?) but surely it could've been executed better? There's no elaboration as to what the actual effects of my choice have made on the galaxy and what it brings for the future. And the whole thing with the teammates you just supposedly had vaporized running to the beam appearing on the normandy doesn't make sense either.
My only gripe about the game aside from the ending is Joker's eyes. What the hell is wrong with his eyes?! Compared to every other character model in the game his eyes are practically exploding out of his head! Ok I get it, the sexbot- I mean EDI has a very sleek design but did Seth Green give the green light to make his character go to perv level >9000?
I really hope that Bioware staff are actually reading this feedback that they are receiving and not taking it as a slight against them by the fans, but a sign that they care and are invested in this game universe. We're not maliciously angry about the ending, its more of a "Aww man, why'd you have to go and do that? COME ON!" aggravated.
Just hope that we get some free DLC rectifying the ending so I don't have this crippling feeling of being cheated forever.
My score for the game:
Pre London: 98/100
Post London: 55/100
My only gripe about the game aside from the ending is Joker's eyes. What the hell is wrong with his eyes?! Compared to every other character model in the game his eyes are practically exploding out of his head! Ok I get it, the sexbot- I mean EDI has a very sleek design but did Seth Green give the green light to make his character go to perv level >9000?
I really hope that Bioware staff are actually reading this feedback that they are receiving and not taking it as a slight against them by the fans, but a sign that they care and are invested in this game universe. We're not maliciously angry about the ending, its more of a "Aww man, why'd you have to go and do that? COME ON!" aggravated.
Just hope that we get some free DLC rectifying the ending so I don't have this crippling feeling of being cheated forever.
My score for the game:
Pre London: 98/100
Post London: 55/100
Modifié par SgtRaWr001, 11 mars 2012 - 08:10 .
#508
Posté 11 mars 2012 - 07:12
Hizuka
-
- Members
- 338 messages
I'll start by quoting my Metacritic review:
The ending choices are only superficially different, as all three result in the destruction of the mass effect relays. This means that every system with a relay is destroyed by the equivalent of a supernova (see Arrival), and with them would go any nearby systems as well. (Supernovas can lethally irradiate systems light-years away.) On top of that, in two endings, the Citadel is destroyed, which will lead to the destruction of Earth's biosphere by multiple impacts that will dwarf the K-T extinction event even if (for some reason) the relays don't magically go supernova when they blow up.
Don't even get me started on Joker running away from the battle or my teammates teleporting from the foot of the towers in London onto the Normandy. That's about as believable as Space Magic merging organic and synthetic life forevermore.
However, what I find truly unforgivable is that in the end, our choices simply did not matter. It doesn't matter who you saved, who you killed, who you threatened, opposed, or allied with. It doesn't matter if you were hopeful or cynical, whether you went out of your way to find the third option or always took the most pragmatic option. NONE of our choices had any effect on the ending of a series that was all about choices. In doing so, you have utterly killed any desire for me to play through with any of my other ME2 saves, purchase ANY ME3 DLC, or even play the multiplayer. I can't even bear to play ME or ME2 now due to the complete pointlessness of the endings.
Mass Effect 3 could have been a masterpiece, the defining achievement of video game storytelling. However, instead of a triumphant ending, instead of going out with a bang, it crawls off with a whimper.
Edit: TabrisAbound above appears to have made all my points better than I ever will.
- Mass Effect 3 started out heads and shoulders above Mass Effect, and even better than Mass Effect 2, and threw it all away in the final five minutes. Bioware removed the parts that people really hated - specifically, probing planets - and 'exploration' in a much less tedious way. The writing for the majority of the game was exceptional, they created a real sense of desperation, and they even made a lot of people cry in a few places. Unfortunately, it turns out that not only is multiplayer play REQUIRED in order to get the best ending, despite Bioware's promises, but the possible endings are all absolutely terrible, both in the the choices available and in the dialogue in the very final scene before you make that choice. Unfortunately, it really comes down to a deus ex machina, which is never acceptable in modern stories. If I could ignore the ending, i'd give the game 10/10, but the ending is SO terrible and disjointed that it utterly ruins the experience.
The ending choices are only superficially different, as all three result in the destruction of the mass effect relays. This means that every system with a relay is destroyed by the equivalent of a supernova (see Arrival), and with them would go any nearby systems as well. (Supernovas can lethally irradiate systems light-years away.) On top of that, in two endings, the Citadel is destroyed, which will lead to the destruction of Earth's biosphere by multiple impacts that will dwarf the K-T extinction event even if (for some reason) the relays don't magically go supernova when they blow up.
Don't even get me started on Joker running away from the battle or my teammates teleporting from the foot of the towers in London onto the Normandy. That's about as believable as Space Magic merging organic and synthetic life forevermore.
However, what I find truly unforgivable is that in the end, our choices simply did not matter. It doesn't matter who you saved, who you killed, who you threatened, opposed, or allied with. It doesn't matter if you were hopeful or cynical, whether you went out of your way to find the third option or always took the most pragmatic option. NONE of our choices had any effect on the ending of a series that was all about choices. In doing so, you have utterly killed any desire for me to play through with any of my other ME2 saves, purchase ANY ME3 DLC, or even play the multiplayer. I can't even bear to play ME or ME2 now due to the complete pointlessness of the endings.
Mass Effect 3 could have been a masterpiece, the defining achievement of video game storytelling. However, instead of a triumphant ending, instead of going out with a bang, it crawls off with a whimper.
Edit: TabrisAbound above appears to have made all my points better than I ever will.
Modifié par Hizuka, 11 mars 2012 - 07:47 .
#509
Posté 11 mars 2012 - 07:16
HITMAN629
-
- Members
- 818 messages
Loved the game................ untill the end. Years of great story telling went straight down the drain, dont do this again Bioware, please.
Sincerely,
One of many very upset fans.
Sincerely,
One of many very upset fans.
#510
Posté 11 mars 2012 - 07:51
bowery tuff
-
- Members
- 143 messages
It's too hard to give a definitive score to Mass Effect 3 right now because it was almost so perfect. Maybe a 75 /100 pending something I haven't seen yet.
For me Mass Effect 1 would have been probably about a 90 and Mass Effect 2 a 95.
I just finished my playthrough and wanted to write this while the experience is still fresh. Bioware, you created a masterpiece. The gameplay of Mass Effect 3 was the best of the series. Despite early complaints I saw on this forum, the graphics were my favorite of the series. Clint Mansel made the most beautiful score of the series.
The story was by far the most epic. When old friends died, I felt it. When Shepard stood up on Tuchanka and told Eve, "I'm with you," I cheered. When Shepard grabbed the targeting lazer, stepped out of the vehicle on Rannoch and took on a Reaper on foot like it was just another freaking Tuesday, I knew why I loved this character I helped shape. The touching moments with his squad were beautiful. And in a flash of light, it died as did my Shepard despite the fact I had more than 5,000 EMS and picked the destroy ending. Strange. Is that in the New Game + ending?
In the last 10 minutes, plot holes and a complete lack of closure practically ruined for me what should have and very well could have gone down as Bioware's crowning achievement: A space opera for the ages. Squadmates I left on Earth were suddenly on the Normandy as it travelled through a Mass Relay for some reason. Seriously, I never saw the Normandy pick up my crew or go into the relay. The relay just blew up and suddenly the Normandy was in the middle of a jump.
Bioware, let's have a chat. Adult to adults. I'm not an unreasonable person. I'm not going to call for a boycott. I'm not going to freak out and say you owed me something better. You don't owe me a thing and I don't owe you a thing. You put out the product and I choose to buy it. And just to be clear, I'm in no way saying I'll never buy another Bioware game. You have been my favorite developer for years and years and I'm not going to react to this like an abandoned child. I just want you to know I love you guys to death but right now, I'm just a bit disappointed.
And listen. I probably have no room to take the writers to task. I haven't been published outside of journalism and quite frankly you should be extremely proud of creating some of the absolute best scenes of the series. So if anyone from Bioware reads this and says, "well what does this guy know?" I understand. But when it comes down to it, I don't lament the ending I deserved. I lament the ending you deserved. The ending this franchise deserved. Something where the Shepards all over the world who have been in the fight since the beginning could sit back and say, "I really just finished something special." From what I'm seeing, that doesn't seem to be happening very much and it's really a damn shame after the unforgettable ride we got leading up to the last cutscene.
I'm not even upset that the mass relays were destroyed. Honestly, I can see ways where new stories can be continued from this. Interesting new single-player stories of discovery hundreds of years later. But I just watched the universe beat down on this poor guy for 40 hours. Hell, more than that when you consider the first two games. I don't need to see Shepard win the lottery or anything but throw the poor guy a bone here. Give me the chance to give him and his squadmates something better. Maybe not Shepard and all his friends laughing it up at an ice cream social, but can he at least have a chance to reunite with the only people who haven't called him a liar for the past 3 years or so?
Maybe I am ranting too much. Maybe I'm not being the adult I promised to be earlier in this novel-length post. But when I finished the first two games, the first thing I wanted to do was to play again and experience it from a different perspective. How do these characters treat a female Shepard? What happens if I'm not such a nice person? What's the benefit of saving the Council? Did I really do everything I could before attacking the Collector Base? That feeling isn't here right now. If there is more to this. If there is some kind of post ending DLC or something I just haven't discovered, feel free to plaster a picture of me on the side of bus with "Jack***" on my forehead. But right now I look at my other Shepards who have beaten the odds when the galaxy threw everthing it could at him or her and I just say, what's the point? I don't speak for everyone. Just this fan's opinion.
For me Mass Effect 1 would have been probably about a 90 and Mass Effect 2 a 95.
I just finished my playthrough and wanted to write this while the experience is still fresh. Bioware, you created a masterpiece. The gameplay of Mass Effect 3 was the best of the series. Despite early complaints I saw on this forum, the graphics were my favorite of the series. Clint Mansel made the most beautiful score of the series.
The story was by far the most epic. When old friends died, I felt it. When Shepard stood up on Tuchanka and told Eve, "I'm with you," I cheered. When Shepard grabbed the targeting lazer, stepped out of the vehicle on Rannoch and took on a Reaper on foot like it was just another freaking Tuesday, I knew why I loved this character I helped shape. The touching moments with his squad were beautiful. And in a flash of light, it died as did my Shepard despite the fact I had more than 5,000 EMS and picked the destroy ending. Strange. Is that in the New Game + ending?
In the last 10 minutes, plot holes and a complete lack of closure practically ruined for me what should have and very well could have gone down as Bioware's crowning achievement: A space opera for the ages. Squadmates I left on Earth were suddenly on the Normandy as it travelled through a Mass Relay for some reason. Seriously, I never saw the Normandy pick up my crew or go into the relay. The relay just blew up and suddenly the Normandy was in the middle of a jump.
Bioware, let's have a chat. Adult to adults. I'm not an unreasonable person. I'm not going to call for a boycott. I'm not going to freak out and say you owed me something better. You don't owe me a thing and I don't owe you a thing. You put out the product and I choose to buy it. And just to be clear, I'm in no way saying I'll never buy another Bioware game. You have been my favorite developer for years and years and I'm not going to react to this like an abandoned child. I just want you to know I love you guys to death but right now, I'm just a bit disappointed.
And listen. I probably have no room to take the writers to task. I haven't been published outside of journalism and quite frankly you should be extremely proud of creating some of the absolute best scenes of the series. So if anyone from Bioware reads this and says, "well what does this guy know?" I understand. But when it comes down to it, I don't lament the ending I deserved. I lament the ending you deserved. The ending this franchise deserved. Something where the Shepards all over the world who have been in the fight since the beginning could sit back and say, "I really just finished something special." From what I'm seeing, that doesn't seem to be happening very much and it's really a damn shame after the unforgettable ride we got leading up to the last cutscene.
I'm not even upset that the mass relays were destroyed. Honestly, I can see ways where new stories can be continued from this. Interesting new single-player stories of discovery hundreds of years later. But I just watched the universe beat down on this poor guy for 40 hours. Hell, more than that when you consider the first two games. I don't need to see Shepard win the lottery or anything but throw the poor guy a bone here. Give me the chance to give him and his squadmates something better. Maybe not Shepard and all his friends laughing it up at an ice cream social, but can he at least have a chance to reunite with the only people who haven't called him a liar for the past 3 years or so?
Maybe I am ranting too much. Maybe I'm not being the adult I promised to be earlier in this novel-length post. But when I finished the first two games, the first thing I wanted to do was to play again and experience it from a different perspective. How do these characters treat a female Shepard? What happens if I'm not such a nice person? What's the benefit of saving the Council? Did I really do everything I could before attacking the Collector Base? That feeling isn't here right now. If there is more to this. If there is some kind of post ending DLC or something I just haven't discovered, feel free to plaster a picture of me on the side of bus with "Jack***" on my forehead. But right now I look at my other Shepards who have beaten the odds when the galaxy threw everthing it could at him or her and I just say, what's the point? I don't speak for everyone. Just this fan's opinion.
Modifié par bowery tuff, 11 mars 2012 - 07:52 .
#511
Posté 11 mars 2012 - 07:56
ApplesauceBandit
-
- Members
- 501 messages
The journey was great, i have never been so emotionally tied to a game series then Mass Effect.
despite the fact that i didn't get any crew members from ME2 i did like how they where implemented, well some of them.
However...
The endings made me want to kill myself.
Seriously you basically just handed me a knife and told me to go stab myself in the face when you gave us those ****** poor endings.
Love you Bioware, but really? We grew with these chars for 5 years and now you tell me i can't live out the rest of my days with Liara? might as well have died on the suicide mission.
despite the fact that i didn't get any crew members from ME2 i did like how they where implemented, well some of them.
However...
The endings made me want to kill myself.
Seriously you basically just handed me a knife and told me to go stab myself in the face when you gave us those ****** poor endings.
Love you Bioware, but really? We grew with these chars for 5 years and now you tell me i can't live out the rest of my days with Liara? might as well have died on the suicide mission.
#512
Posté 11 mars 2012 - 07:56
BahamutZ
-
- Members
- 23 messages
Normally I wouldn't bother posting on the forum, but bioware needs to know what they f**ed up royaly.
Liked:
Combat was amazing, barring the weird confusion between rolling, going into cover, and using something all being spacebar
Loved the addition of RPG elements and weapon modding to the combat, made it feel like we could emphasize a certain playstyle by how we equip ourselves.
Playing this game felt like an struggle for surviving (facing 4-5 brutes simultaneously will do that to you). I had to use strategy to not get my faced wiped by the harder enemies, and hell even with weaker enemies, if you don't keep up with them they'll mess you up. That feeling was fantastic
The story written for the majority of the game was excellent, I loved to see how previous decisions maybe could affect the repercussions for the future and what could happen later (krogan and geth decisions). And then...
Bad:
WTF bioware? You craft all this story and all these characters, and then give us a deus ex choice ending AND YOU CAN'T EVEN DO US THE SIMPLE COURTESY OF GIVING US DIFFERENT MOVIES DEPENDING ON WHAT WE CHOSE (different color explody mass relay thing does not count)?
Even Deus ex at least made a different cutscene for each ending. I get all your meta-talk about the themes of the series, I get that, I do. I understand the struggles of the geth and what it means for sapience. But what the hell does that matter when a super-powerful being gives you the choice to remake the universse as you see fit? And the choices are such that they render any connection to the characters or any of those hard choices we made moot.
The way the game was going, I was expecting AT LEAST a dragon age thing where we can see what happens to people based on our decisions. You know like a new krogan rebellion if the genophage is cured but no wrex or female krogan leaders. Or maybe a new rachi war, because we were stupid enough to let them live. I'll give them points for creativity, cuz only a creative person can find such a fantastic way at pissing people off.
Honestly, I'm just pissed that such little care was taken to the ending, that so little was explained that it makes it feel like they did this just to screw over the fans.
Summary: As you can see I loved the game... until the last 3 minutes of the game. I've been a diehard fan of your games for a long time, and I had been loving this one... I'm smelling something sour at Bioware now... I hope you guys take better care of your franchises in the future.
Edit: After thinking about it a bit. The devs were right, the Prothean has absolutely nut f**k to do with the story, he is side content, since everything was nullified and destroyed regardless of your decisions. Thanks bioware.
Liked:
Combat was amazing, barring the weird confusion between rolling, going into cover, and using something all being spacebar
Loved the addition of RPG elements and weapon modding to the combat, made it feel like we could emphasize a certain playstyle by how we equip ourselves.
Playing this game felt like an struggle for surviving (facing 4-5 brutes simultaneously will do that to you). I had to use strategy to not get my faced wiped by the harder enemies, and hell even with weaker enemies, if you don't keep up with them they'll mess you up. That feeling was fantastic
The story written for the majority of the game was excellent, I loved to see how previous decisions maybe could affect the repercussions for the future and what could happen later (krogan and geth decisions). And then...
Bad:
WTF bioware? You craft all this story and all these characters, and then give us a deus ex choice ending AND YOU CAN'T EVEN DO US THE SIMPLE COURTESY OF GIVING US DIFFERENT MOVIES DEPENDING ON WHAT WE CHOSE (different color explody mass relay thing does not count)?
Even Deus ex at least made a different cutscene for each ending. I get all your meta-talk about the themes of the series, I get that, I do. I understand the struggles of the geth and what it means for sapience. But what the hell does that matter when a super-powerful being gives you the choice to remake the universse as you see fit? And the choices are such that they render any connection to the characters or any of those hard choices we made moot.
The way the game was going, I was expecting AT LEAST a dragon age thing where we can see what happens to people based on our decisions. You know like a new krogan rebellion if the genophage is cured but no wrex or female krogan leaders. Or maybe a new rachi war, because we were stupid enough to let them live. I'll give them points for creativity, cuz only a creative person can find such a fantastic way at pissing people off.
Honestly, I'm just pissed that such little care was taken to the ending, that so little was explained that it makes it feel like they did this just to screw over the fans.
Summary: As you can see I loved the game... until the last 3 minutes of the game. I've been a diehard fan of your games for a long time, and I had been loving this one... I'm smelling something sour at Bioware now... I hope you guys take better care of your franchises in the future.
Edit: After thinking about it a bit. The devs were right, the Prothean has absolutely nut f**k to do with the story, he is side content, since everything was nullified and destroyed regardless of your decisions. Thanks bioware.
Modifié par BahamutZ, 11 mars 2012 - 08:17 .
#513
Posté 11 mars 2012 - 08:03
prelag
-
- Members
- 27 messages
Finished ME3 today, and I am very disappointed with the last five minutes of the game. The first red flag that something stupid was about to transpire was when Shepard began to have those inexplicable dreams about a small boy on fire. If a game ever starts to use metaphors, as is the case with the boy on fire, prepare your anus, because you are about to be rectally screwed over by some pseudo intellectual bull****!
That said, the blue star child is beyond ridiculous, and his reasoning behind the reaper invasion is illogical. Case in point, the Geth and the Quarian fighting together against a common enemy. EDI and Joker. Both prove that synthetics and organics can co-exist. What pains me the most though, is no matter what path you take, the end result renders the entire story a moot point. Every choice you made was all for not, as it has no effect on the ending what so ever. Also, a BIG WTF on the Normandy bugging out with my squad members on board. I guess they didn't get cut down in the final push and Joker swung down and picked them up while leaving my dead corpse on the ground
That said, the blue star child is beyond ridiculous, and his reasoning behind the reaper invasion is illogical. Case in point, the Geth and the Quarian fighting together against a common enemy. EDI and Joker. Both prove that synthetics and organics can co-exist. What pains me the most though, is no matter what path you take, the end result renders the entire story a moot point. Every choice you made was all for not, as it has no effect on the ending what so ever. Also, a BIG WTF on the Normandy bugging out with my squad members on board. I guess they didn't get cut down in the final push and Joker swung down and picked them up while leaving my dead corpse on the ground
Modifié par prelag, 11 mars 2012 - 08:08 .
#514
Posté 11 mars 2012 - 08:17
Conquerthecity
-
- Members
- 1 065 messages
I'm a writer who someday wants to write for video games. Usually when I'm talking about this dream, I also mention my hope that games will become a respectable storytelling medium. Sometimes such sentiment elicits scorn. Whomever I'm speaking with will tell me that game stories are terrible or a complete waste of time. At that point, I almost always ask if they have played Mass Effect. For myself the ME universe contains the depth that I hope to achieve in my own fiction.
I was so beyond excited for ME3 that I skipped school so I wouldn't have to wait. Chief amongst my reasons for this excitement was Sheperd himself. All through the hype-building of the last year, Bioware emphasized how they wanted to focus on Shepard. Though the cardboard-cutout/avatar kind of character may be standard for the RPG genre, I was repeatedly disappointed that Shepard was the least interesting of the many people in ME1 and 2. Fortunately, Shepard gaining some more humanity is one of the strengths of ME3. He finally seemed like a real person, who could express feelings rather than ask everyone else about theirs. This certainly enriches him and the other characters. Garrus in particular gains a whole other layer as Shepard's best friend.
Sadly, none of that matters. I understand how writing something like this could be difficult, so I was expecting a Deus Ex Machina or two. For most of the game I overlooked that the Crucible was one. I could have even contented myself if the Crucible were indeed some super Reaper killer that saved everything in the 11th hour. Instead we get the Catalyst God Child. Conclusions are difficult...I get that. But I also cannot fathom how anyone looked at that God Child and endings and thought, "Oh, wow! These are great ideas!" The other side of the coin is that you released it and knew full well that it was bad, which is also pretty distressing to think about. These endings offered no conclusiveness, they destroyed the universe I've loved for years and made every choice irrelevant. I played ME2 over twenty times, but all those hours--while enjoyable--are mostly useless in relation to ME3. I wish you guys would just run with the hallucination theory as if it were true.
I retain my hope that games can become a respectable storytelling medium. However, to my immense disappointment, I will have to amend my inclusion of ME as a prime example of a good story. I do not look forward to going, "ME is great! Just pretend that the last five minutes of the last game never happened..."
I was so beyond excited for ME3 that I skipped school so I wouldn't have to wait. Chief amongst my reasons for this excitement was Sheperd himself. All through the hype-building of the last year, Bioware emphasized how they wanted to focus on Shepard. Though the cardboard-cutout/avatar kind of character may be standard for the RPG genre, I was repeatedly disappointed that Shepard was the least interesting of the many people in ME1 and 2. Fortunately, Shepard gaining some more humanity is one of the strengths of ME3. He finally seemed like a real person, who could express feelings rather than ask everyone else about theirs. This certainly enriches him and the other characters. Garrus in particular gains a whole other layer as Shepard's best friend.
Sadly, none of that matters. I understand how writing something like this could be difficult, so I was expecting a Deus Ex Machina or two. For most of the game I overlooked that the Crucible was one. I could have even contented myself if the Crucible were indeed some super Reaper killer that saved everything in the 11th hour. Instead we get the Catalyst God Child. Conclusions are difficult...I get that. But I also cannot fathom how anyone looked at that God Child and endings and thought, "Oh, wow! These are great ideas!" The other side of the coin is that you released it and knew full well that it was bad, which is also pretty distressing to think about. These endings offered no conclusiveness, they destroyed the universe I've loved for years and made every choice irrelevant. I played ME2 over twenty times, but all those hours--while enjoyable--are mostly useless in relation to ME3. I wish you guys would just run with the hallucination theory as if it were true.
I retain my hope that games can become a respectable storytelling medium. However, to my immense disappointment, I will have to amend my inclusion of ME as a prime example of a good story. I do not look forward to going, "ME is great! Just pretend that the last five minutes of the last game never happened..."
Modifié par Mungolian_, 11 mars 2012 - 09:34 .
#515
Posté 11 mars 2012 - 08:18
Mr. Gogeta34
-
- Members
- 4 033 messages
@prelag
Was a big plot hole for me, because Ash was present at the end with Joker (in my playthrough)... yet part of my squad in London... so what happened there?
Was a big plot hole for me, because Ash was present at the end with Joker (in my playthrough)... yet part of my squad in London... so what happened there?
Modifié par Mr. Gogeta34, 11 mars 2012 - 08:18 .
#516
Posté 11 mars 2012 - 08:47
rhevakeane
-
- Members
- 12 messages
Hi Bioware.
I have to say upfront that ME3 broke my heart. Although not necessarily all in a bad way.
Let me start with what I loved about this game.
I loved the way subplots that have been building up from the beginning of the series were finally resolved in ME3, especially the Genophage and the Quarian/Geth conflict subplots. The choices available to the player made me feel central to the future of the ME universe, and the visual and dramatic awesomeness of both plotlines were nothing short of amazing. The twists and turns in narrative were perfectly done to elicit the most engagement and sense of emotional investment (especially the options to betray your friends, but only for excruciatingly justifiable reasons). Most poignant were the sacrifices made by past characters, such as Mordin, Legion and Thane. I don’t think I have experienced individual plotlines so exquisitely handled in a game before (except perhaps Morrigan). These characters died the only way they could have died (in my playthrough anyway), and this was heartbreaking yet incredibly satisfying. Very well done.
Another thing I loved was how the relationships established in the earlier games were mostly brought to their final stage; the whole evolution of Shepard’s friendship with Garrus, Tali, and Liara for example, were very well handled in the way each character had some special alone time with Shepard that satisfyingly affirmed their relationship. The only gripe is that with Ashley, if you don’t romance her, the friendship route isn’t as complete as the rest, and her lack of dialogue is something of a void in the whole thing. It would also have been nice if there could have been something similar (in terms of relationship evolution) for the characters that had to die, such as Mordin and Legion. Their appearances were mission-specific and they had to die within that mission... I understand the time constraints but I would have liked the relationships to feel more complete before saying goodbye to them.
I don’t think this can be emphasised enough, but Bioware does great in terms of dialogue and story. I don’t think I can complain about any of the conversations in the game (except the ending, but I’ll get to that later). I especially enjoyed the times when select members of the crew got drunk. However I think there should also have been some conflicts, like in ME2. After all, everyone is under great stress... there’s bound to be some tension.
I’m generally more focused on story, character and dialogue than I am on gameplay, but I did enjoy the addition of greater melee elements in this game. The greater variety of Reapers was also a great addition... although I don’t think the Marauders could touch the Banshees in terms of sheer creepy horror. The new mobility system worked for the most part, although I did find myself dying on more than one occasion because they confused my seeking cover for jumping over, or something similar. Quite frustrating there.
One more thing, the graphics as usual, are stunning, except for some awkward cut scenes. However I think the music was excellent. It really made me feel for the ME universe.
OK, now on to the parts I did not like.
The quest system overhaul was certainly not an improvement. It made me feel like an errand-boy, and the ways the quests were given and completed made it seem much like a waste of time. I prefer quests with some kind of emotional investment or stake in it, and there were many such quests in ME1 and ME2, where you had to rescue people or whatever. The sidequests in ME3 to recover artifacts or rescue platoons through scanning planets felt like an absolute waste of time.
Another thing I don’t like is the military effectiveness system. I understand we have to accumulate war assets, but I don’t see why multiplayer should factor in so significantly. I’m into games for the single-player experience, so why should I be penalized for my distaste for an optional feature? Since the military effectiveness determines what kind of endings I can get, I should be able to access the whole range without a whole lot of grinding, but even though I finished most of the side-quests, I only got over 3000 in terms of effective war readiness. Can’t quite help but feel cheated here.
There also some bugs I think. Barla Von disappears after the Cerberus coup, and I can't complete my quests with him. Also, I did not see some characters I was supposed to see, such as Matriarch Aethyta and Conrad Verner. I hope all these will be fixed soon, before I can bring myself to start a new playthrough.
Now to the endings. I really really really hated the endings. I know you’ve probably had more than your fill of complaints, but still, this has to be said. The endings suck. First, they offer little to no closure. So what the heck is the Catalyst? What are the Reapers, and why are they exterminating life as though it’s the right thing to do? How do I square Sovereign’s arrogance to their subservience to this child thing that is apparently an AI? What is the meaning behind all the awesome story I went through? I don’t know, the game doesn’t say.. Second, besides being dangerously light on exposition, they don’t make sense to me. Why would the Catalyst allow the Crucible to be used in a manner which would ensure his death and the death of the Reapers? Why can’t Shepard reason with him (in light of Geth/Quarian reconciliation and EDI’s humanity) or engage in conversation with him, and why didn’t Shepard demand a better explanation? There was no significant foreshadowing of the Tech singularity theme, and it was crudely shoved into the story in my opinion. The Synthesis ending also doesn’t make sense. How is a merger between the synthetic and the organic the apex of evolution? Also, the whole Normandy crew stranded on some unknown planet, without the Relays... that is a ****ty ending. It brings no closure, no satisfaction, no nothing. I’d like to think I’m a reasonably intelligent person, so if there’s some kind of hidden meaning or message or theme that I am somehow missing, I think the onus is on Bioware to make it clear to the gamer.
I honestly don’t foresee Bioware making any DLC that can ameliorate their ****ty endings, especially since it is highly unlikely that they will alter anything in the main game canon.
But it’s also heartbreaking in a good way. The farewell I had with Shepard’s team, especially the LI Miranda, was seriously bittersweet. I only wish there was more opportunity for intimacy (not necessarily sex, but love) between Shepard and the people he loved. If the world were about to be destroyed I’d stick to whoever I love all the damn time, and I’d let them know I love them all the damn time.
So my experience is mostly mixed. I loved ME3, but the endings rendered the parts I loved totally meaningless. I can’t help but feel that everything Shepard accomplished and his teamed sacrificed is worth nothing, because nothing is understood by the end. Shepard’s sacrifice, the concept with the most potential, is rendered meaningless, because I can’t understand what the hell he died for. So that all beings can by synthetic-organic hybrids? So that the cycle can be ended? If I destroyed the Reapers and the Catalyst, wouldn’t the cycle be ended anyway? What would my Shepard do if he could control the damn Reapers? NOTHING. ME3 is a great game. It may be the best game of the series. But it doesn’t matter because the endings invalidated the whole damn enterprise. Now all I want to do is play ME2, in the hopes that it will heal my broken gaming heart.
I have to say upfront that ME3 broke my heart. Although not necessarily all in a bad way.
Let me start with what I loved about this game.
I loved the way subplots that have been building up from the beginning of the series were finally resolved in ME3, especially the Genophage and the Quarian/Geth conflict subplots. The choices available to the player made me feel central to the future of the ME universe, and the visual and dramatic awesomeness of both plotlines were nothing short of amazing. The twists and turns in narrative were perfectly done to elicit the most engagement and sense of emotional investment (especially the options to betray your friends, but only for excruciatingly justifiable reasons). Most poignant were the sacrifices made by past characters, such as Mordin, Legion and Thane. I don’t think I have experienced individual plotlines so exquisitely handled in a game before (except perhaps Morrigan). These characters died the only way they could have died (in my playthrough anyway), and this was heartbreaking yet incredibly satisfying. Very well done.
Another thing I loved was how the relationships established in the earlier games were mostly brought to their final stage; the whole evolution of Shepard’s friendship with Garrus, Tali, and Liara for example, were very well handled in the way each character had some special alone time with Shepard that satisfyingly affirmed their relationship. The only gripe is that with Ashley, if you don’t romance her, the friendship route isn’t as complete as the rest, and her lack of dialogue is something of a void in the whole thing. It would also have been nice if there could have been something similar (in terms of relationship evolution) for the characters that had to die, such as Mordin and Legion. Their appearances were mission-specific and they had to die within that mission... I understand the time constraints but I would have liked the relationships to feel more complete before saying goodbye to them.
I don’t think this can be emphasised enough, but Bioware does great in terms of dialogue and story. I don’t think I can complain about any of the conversations in the game (except the ending, but I’ll get to that later). I especially enjoyed the times when select members of the crew got drunk. However I think there should also have been some conflicts, like in ME2. After all, everyone is under great stress... there’s bound to be some tension.
I’m generally more focused on story, character and dialogue than I am on gameplay, but I did enjoy the addition of greater melee elements in this game. The greater variety of Reapers was also a great addition... although I don’t think the Marauders could touch the Banshees in terms of sheer creepy horror. The new mobility system worked for the most part, although I did find myself dying on more than one occasion because they confused my seeking cover for jumping over, or something similar. Quite frustrating there.
One more thing, the graphics as usual, are stunning, except for some awkward cut scenes. However I think the music was excellent. It really made me feel for the ME universe.
OK, now on to the parts I did not like.
The quest system overhaul was certainly not an improvement. It made me feel like an errand-boy, and the ways the quests were given and completed made it seem much like a waste of time. I prefer quests with some kind of emotional investment or stake in it, and there were many such quests in ME1 and ME2, where you had to rescue people or whatever. The sidequests in ME3 to recover artifacts or rescue platoons through scanning planets felt like an absolute waste of time.
Another thing I don’t like is the military effectiveness system. I understand we have to accumulate war assets, but I don’t see why multiplayer should factor in so significantly. I’m into games for the single-player experience, so why should I be penalized for my distaste for an optional feature? Since the military effectiveness determines what kind of endings I can get, I should be able to access the whole range without a whole lot of grinding, but even though I finished most of the side-quests, I only got over 3000 in terms of effective war readiness. Can’t quite help but feel cheated here.
There also some bugs I think. Barla Von disappears after the Cerberus coup, and I can't complete my quests with him. Also, I did not see some characters I was supposed to see, such as Matriarch Aethyta and Conrad Verner. I hope all these will be fixed soon, before I can bring myself to start a new playthrough.
Now to the endings. I really really really hated the endings. I know you’ve probably had more than your fill of complaints, but still, this has to be said. The endings suck. First, they offer little to no closure. So what the heck is the Catalyst? What are the Reapers, and why are they exterminating life as though it’s the right thing to do? How do I square Sovereign’s arrogance to their subservience to this child thing that is apparently an AI? What is the meaning behind all the awesome story I went through? I don’t know, the game doesn’t say.. Second, besides being dangerously light on exposition, they don’t make sense to me. Why would the Catalyst allow the Crucible to be used in a manner which would ensure his death and the death of the Reapers? Why can’t Shepard reason with him (in light of Geth/Quarian reconciliation and EDI’s humanity) or engage in conversation with him, and why didn’t Shepard demand a better explanation? There was no significant foreshadowing of the Tech singularity theme, and it was crudely shoved into the story in my opinion. The Synthesis ending also doesn’t make sense. How is a merger between the synthetic and the organic the apex of evolution? Also, the whole Normandy crew stranded on some unknown planet, without the Relays... that is a ****ty ending. It brings no closure, no satisfaction, no nothing. I’d like to think I’m a reasonably intelligent person, so if there’s some kind of hidden meaning or message or theme that I am somehow missing, I think the onus is on Bioware to make it clear to the gamer.
I honestly don’t foresee Bioware making any DLC that can ameliorate their ****ty endings, especially since it is highly unlikely that they will alter anything in the main game canon.
But it’s also heartbreaking in a good way. The farewell I had with Shepard’s team, especially the LI Miranda, was seriously bittersweet. I only wish there was more opportunity for intimacy (not necessarily sex, but love) between Shepard and the people he loved. If the world were about to be destroyed I’d stick to whoever I love all the damn time, and I’d let them know I love them all the damn time.
So my experience is mostly mixed. I loved ME3, but the endings rendered the parts I loved totally meaningless. I can’t help but feel that everything Shepard accomplished and his teamed sacrificed is worth nothing, because nothing is understood by the end. Shepard’s sacrifice, the concept with the most potential, is rendered meaningless, because I can’t understand what the hell he died for. So that all beings can by synthetic-organic hybrids? So that the cycle can be ended? If I destroyed the Reapers and the Catalyst, wouldn’t the cycle be ended anyway? What would my Shepard do if he could control the damn Reapers? NOTHING. ME3 is a great game. It may be the best game of the series. But it doesn’t matter because the endings invalidated the whole damn enterprise. Now all I want to do is play ME2, in the hopes that it will heal my broken gaming heart.
#517
Posté 11 mars 2012 - 08:47
MisterShine
-
- Members
- 108 messages
Best game ever made.
Sorry Baldur's Gate 2, sorry Planescape Torment. You had a good run guys.
I'll update this post tomorrow when I'm better able to collect my thoughts and feelings. Nice work, Bioware. Even if you did take the 'easy' way out by making the ending short and brutal
Sorry Baldur's Gate 2, sorry Planescape Torment. You had a good run guys.
I'll update this post tomorrow when I'm better able to collect my thoughts and feelings. Nice work, Bioware. Even if you did take the 'easy' way out by making the ending short and brutal
#518
Posté 11 mars 2012 - 09:03
BP20125810
-
- Members
- 508 messages
I LOVED everything about the game.
Then I got to the ending.
Now, I have a hole where my soul used to be. Ending ruined Mass Effect for me. Can;t go too far into detail. Still in a bit of a shock.
Then I got to the ending.
Now, I have a hole where my soul used to be. Ending ruined Mass Effect for me. Can;t go too far into detail. Still in a bit of a shock.
#519
Posté 11 mars 2012 - 09:07
sunnygsm
-
- Members
- 73 messages
Most incredible gaming experience i've ever had...until the end. The game wasn't perfect, but the flaws were somewhat minor and manageable for the most part really.
#520
Posté 11 mars 2012 - 09:15
fpspind
-
- Members
- 43 messages
Elsightos wrote...
Mass Effect 3: 95/100
After completing the game I was awestruck and heart broken which I havent felt from a movie/game/book since the end of the Dark Tower series. Reading the forums its easy to become mixed up with the hate on the endings but I think they were appropriate or near enough.
The endings felt natural to the game as you say goodbye to your squad along the way (Mordin + Thane.) You get to feel through the 2nd and 3rd games that Shepard is a tortured soul when facing loss - his willing sacrifice to save those he loves felt perfectly fine. You also know its coming in the final dream sequence when Shepard burns with the child, they look at peace.
It hurt at the time but in reflection these endings were much better than a Normandy flying off into the stars trailing a "and they lived happily ever after banner." With a few exceptions.
+ Combat is fluid.
+ Movement is improved.
+ classes got tuned up and some love.
+ Citadel feels busy and looks impressive.
+ Slightly improved facial animations.
+ Good weapon upgrade system.
+ Good scan/evade system
+ All reaper invaded worlds had a real sense of doom and desperation.
+ Vehicle and turret control.
+ Many other things.
+PRIME+ Despite the stick you get for been with EA you could have dragged this and the IP out over 5 more games but you stuck to it and made it 3.
- None updating quest entries.
- No proper epilogue (which crew members lived?)
- No explanation of Hammer Squad members getting back to the Normandy after the reaper attack.
- Paragon blue ending has less damage occuring to the relays in the cutscene, are they still destroyed?
- No Normandy dog fighting.
- No Mako or Hammerhead action.
The endings dont need to be remade but an epilogue (even in text format) is needed to explain the status of the crew and the consequence of the path chosen.
I agree with this, to me it seemed a very fitting end for my paragon shep to give himself for a better future. I particularly liked the little epilogue at the end with the boy and the stargazer. It gives much more of a sense of marvel and wonder to have the stars there but just out of reach, than t have them easily accessible (I find Fry's speech at the end of Futurama episode 2 about the moon to sum up what I mean). Having said this though I have to say that a few things happening were a bit out of place, such as why Joker and the normandy crew were flying through the mass relay, or how on earth my two squad members that were with me minutes earlier got onto the Normandy (and appear to be the only ones on there?). I don't hate the ending (in fact I'm more inclined to the opposite) but I think it would have benefitted from a small clip to wrap things up, such as celebrations from the aliens, since without explicitly showing any of the happy emotions that should come out of a heroic end like this, it is easy to only feel sad for the loss of Shepard - this would also be a good place to make variances based on choices made - showing snippets from Rannoch or Tuchanka etc.
Most parts and features of the game I found thoroughly enjoyable although there were a few things that could have made the experience even better:
* Choices from the first two mass effects and the side missions really didn't flow very nicely into the third installment, most of the time you would just get an update via email and gain a very tiny amount of war assets (which seemed redundant after a point anyway) as to anything that happened to a particular person or persons dealt with in the previous games.
* Side missions were fairly lack lustre, other than a few of the ones reuniting you with older members of the crew, although these seemed more fitting to the main storyline anyway. Most quests on the citadel were just people wanting something that you would then have to find by going out of the citadel, clicking a few buttons and returning. This was possibly my favourite part of the first Mass Effect which I found disapointing to have not made it to the next two installments.
* Most of the exploration seemed fairly redundant and only served to find a few things by clicking a few buttons and finally returning them to someone on the citadel, to the point where I didn't want to do it at all after only having done about 2 such quests.
Overall I thought it was a good game with a good finish to the trilogy, but it didn't hit the marker for something amazing due to a few reasons mentioned above. Because of the lack of side missions and the finality of the ending, I really don't know if I want to play the game for a second time (not to say I didn't love the game for the first playthrough) since nothing you did will make a difference to the way the gam ends anyway.
Great gameplay, good story although a bit linear and lacking a little replayability lead me to give this game a rating of 80/100.
Thanks for everything guys at Bioware!
EDIT: I probably don't like the endings as much as it came accross, what I meant to say was that the idea behind the sacrifice was a good one, but it happened much too quickly and there really wasn't any indication of what was coming, making it seem pretty forced and (since it wasn't explained very well if at all) pointless.
Modifié par fpspind, 11 mars 2012 - 09:25 .
#521
Posté 11 mars 2012 - 09:18
wulf3n
-
- Members
- 1 339 messages
Great game up until the last five minutes. It's so bad it's comical. I want to feel depressed but I just can't stop laughing. The reaction of everyone of the forums is great as well.
#522
Posté 11 mars 2012 - 09:22
Crypto109
-
- Members
- 46 messages
Ok Ive been playing the Mass Effect series scince Mass Effect 1 Was out Its EPIC and Mass Effect 2 Way better THe best I Think But Mass Effect 3 The ending Was really bad i kinda dediated myself to this game it was the best and i hate to see that Shepards story ends and the ending choices were kinda bad i had romanced tali scince 1 and i wanted to see a ending where at least shepard lives and stays with her OR At Least more Details on the Ending about Crew and such i rate this game a 70/100 just for that
#523
Posté 11 mars 2012 - 09:24
Baldrick67
-
- Members
- 229 messages
Like most others I enjoyed it alot until the end.
To boil down the ending of the franchise to selecting one of three endings that are forced on you by the genocidal star-kid was insulting to all the hours I had spend (hundreds) playing ME and ME2 to get the outcomes I wanted to tailor my ME experience too.
I even did multiplayer up to 100% rediness hoping it would get me a better ending. It didn't.
To boil down the ending of the franchise to selecting one of three endings that are forced on you by the genocidal star-kid was insulting to all the hours I had spend (hundreds) playing ME and ME2 to get the outcomes I wanted to tailor my ME experience too.
I even did multiplayer up to 100% rediness hoping it would get me a better ending. It didn't.
#524
Posté 11 mars 2012 - 09:39
CrazyRah
-
- Members
- 13 288 messages
An amazing game with so much epicness and mindblowing stuff right up until the endings.The more human Shepard is probably my favorite part of the game and how the crew cares about Shepard just made everything so awesome.
Then we got the endings and most of the stuff involved. No words exist to describe how i feel about the endings. Terrible is too nice and i wish i could forget that i ever had to experience them. Just awful. What makes everything so much worse is the fate of the crew and how the ones i had by my side suddenly teleport to the rest of the crew >.<
If that part was ever fixed i would be ready to hail ME3 as the best game i've played. Now however it's at best mediocre and i can't see myself playing it in a very long time.
Score before the ending: 97/100. After the endings: 70/100
Then we got the endings and most of the stuff involved. No words exist to describe how i feel about the endings. Terrible is too nice and i wish i could forget that i ever had to experience them. Just awful. What makes everything so much worse is the fate of the crew and how the ones i had by my side suddenly teleport to the rest of the crew >.<
If that part was ever fixed i would be ready to hail ME3 as the best game i've played. Now however it's at best mediocre and i can't see myself playing it in a very long time.
Score before the ending: 97/100. After the endings: 70/100
#525
Posté 11 mars 2012 - 10:30
Paul Emil
-
- Members
- 70 messages
Oh, man. I am pissed about the endings. Yes I want to utterly destroy the Reapers, but all synthetic life? I didn't bust my arse on Rannoch giving the Geth true sentience just to wipe them out at the end. No sir, I did not.
