So after beating the game this morning, I'm slightly exhausted. And preparing to boot up ME1 and go through the whole trilogy one relay at a time. (and probably for the first time, I'll be forcing myself to customize Shepard, rather then stick with "defaultShep.")
Now, as far as the ending goes. If I were to rate it out of 5 stars, I'd say 2.5 out of 5. Maybe 3 stars. I'm conflicted.
On one hand, I really thought the ending was fitting. It was dark, yet offered a ray of hope. It was suitable to the story, suitable to the character of Shepard, and fitting for the end of the first Mass Effect Trilogy. Specifically, the Shepard Cycle. (Personally, I'd call it the Mass Effect Saga, and say it was the Shepard Cycle.)
On the other hand, there were several things I wasn't... a fan of. It was overly brief, and I think, excuse me if I'm wrong, that might be the reason why people didn't like it. I know there's some that wanted the happy ending, or some that felt the variety was lacking, but I believe the real problem was the general shortness and thus the lack of explanation.
I'm not going to say I think we needed a long drawn out aftermath or even a slideshow of epilogue slides like DAO. I felt that had /that/ game ended with people cheering the defeat of the Darkspawn as Teagan looks on at the big "explosion," plus maybe a funeral scene (dark ritual = copout) would have been perfect.
What we could have used was expansion:
- First off, when the whole Priority: Earth begins, it was done beautifully on the ground. That whole mission felt like a fight to survive let alone win the war. However. I would like to see my war assets beyond just Wrex possibly giving a big battle speech, and having heartfelt talks with my squads. They needed to show more of the space battle. It would have been a sight to see the Destiny Ascension being swarmed by Reapers only to have the Rachni swarm the Reapers in return. Or Turian Ships covering the collective asses of the Quarians, and so on. Seeing the little things IMO would probably have bought some good will by those who think our choices are irrelevant.
- Second. Once you meet the "Star Child," or the "Catalyst," there should have been a longer sequence with him. In my opinion, the presence of the Catalyst and all of that isn't the problem. The problem is how brief it was. Why was he in the image of the boy? Why did the truth of the Citadel remain hidden for so long? Was Soverign talking out of his ass in ME1, or is it possible that maybe he was using scare tactics? These questions again, might have offered more closure. Shepard deserves to know the full truth.
- Third. Before you even get beamed up. Harbinger. Back in ME2, you had an awesome intermission where you controlled Joker and ran from the Collectors. IMO this is where they should have had Harbinger been fought against by the Normandy or another vessel. The Reapers were a collective threat, but what made Cerberus a bit more fun to combat then the Reapers, was the fact that we got to deal with the Illusive Man. Harbinger was barely in ME3.
- Lastly. The aftermath. I'd like those who gained the right amount of war assets and galactic readiness to be rewarded. Will Bioware change things? Eh. Hard to say. I doubt it, I could see them adding post game DLC maybe to remedy it, and explain the outcomes. But, IMO, the best way to end it especially for the destroy ending, is to make your readiness matter far more then Shepard breathing once and cutting away.
Had I been the one to make that call, it would have continued, the music playing, no voice overs, nothing. Maybe a ship investigates the rubble of the Citadel, brings out Shepard. Maybe we cut back to the planet and find out it's not so far away from the Sol System. Who knows, maybe, just maybe the Normandy is stranded on a less marred place on Earth. Either way, you see an Alliance ship find the Normandy crew, with Shepard on board, looking down at his crew, and then fade to credits.
The relays are gone. The Geth are gone. EDI is probably gone too. But you know what? FTL isn't. Technology isn't.
But yeah, those are my "negatives' as far as the ending goes. It makes sense, and it makes sense that at some point, the Normandy came by and picked up your crew. Garrus needs to work the gun battery after all
They could have shown that too.ON THE POSITIVE SIDE HOWEVER...
I do think the ending was fitting. Time and time again on this forum I have stated that the journey is what made Mass Effect, never the destination. The ending of Mass Effect 1 was a trope of tropes. The hero saved the day. Whatever. Good ending, but that wasn't the defining moment of that game for me. The defining moment was the realism, of how friendships with the crew and relationships worked. Getting to know Ashley, and Liara, and Garrus and Wrex and Joker.
With ME2, the ending was pretty much "okay we did this or this with the Reaper Base" and if anyone died, a salute to them. Oh and the Reapers are coming. And some could say the human Reaper was lame. Yet still, ME2 provided a good journey, getting to know some new friends, and some old ones. Connecting and reconnecting.
And in ME3, we got more intimate. We got to drink and shoot bottles off the top of the Citadel with Garrus. We got to rekindle our relationship with Ash or Kaiden or any of the other LIs. We got to help Miranda deal with her father, and avenge the death of Thane. We got to cure the genophage, and watch as Mordin selflessly sacrificed himself. We got to meet a Prothean, punch a reporter (again), and finally meet Hackett face to face. And when it was all said and done, Shepard fulfills his destiny.
In the words of Garrus himself: "I've got an order for you. Go out there and give'em hell. You were born for this."
So no, the ending was perfect. But it was far from the ruination of the series. Because whether or not the game spells it out for you, everything the galaxy becomes is the sum amount of what you have done.
I understand the disappointment, but I urge fans to not let the destination be the defining moment, because ultimately, if there was no journey, then the destination would be without meaning. No matter if Shepard was paragon, renagade, or paragade, no matter if Shepard was a he or a she, a human supremacist or an alien supporter, Shepard was the best damned hero this side of the galaxy, and as far as I'm concerned, whether the ending was good, bad, or mediocre, his journey is what defined him.
I don't think Bioware will "edit" the endings, yet you never know, since they clearly decided to edit the most recent ME book. If they do, I hope they keep the edits in spirit of their intention, yet make it far more worthwile for those who put everything into the destination. Even I would have liked to see a longer ending.
But truly, it could have been far far worse.
For me, the ending was weak on all three games, yet if I were to compare this to BSG, or Star Wars, or Star Trek, I'd take ME over those TV series any day of the week, because ultimately, the journey was worthwile. And now, it's time to prepare to take the full ride all over again, with no long years between them >.>
Retour en haut
