Many of us, I would argue, have been invested in the series and the story telling of Mass Effect since the first installment. Following this train of thought, we have all made our decisions whether Paragon, Renegade or along that gray line. In what is likely 150-200 hours of total play time (not necessarily including second playthroughs or alternate characters) for a single character. We have invested ourselves in the character of our own creation, the crew we've assembled and the possible outcome that is a direct result of the decisions we've made from start to finish.
This formula of allowing us to make our own choices was stripped from us in the ending of the game; the conversation with the Reaper/Catalyst was automated and we were forced to make a choice... 1 of 3 potential outcomes and vary so slightly, it's literally not worth playing through it again just to see them. The worst part is that the ending(s) have absolutely nothing to do with our prior decisions. Exactly 0%.
Below are some of the reasons why the current ending(s) make no sense:
The endings are nearly identical. Short of the actual choice you make, the following happens in every ending:
- Colored pulse (red, green or blue depending on which choice you make) from the Crucible
- The colored pulse hits the Mass Relay in a chain reaction, destroying them all to send the signal across the galaxy.
- Joker and the Normandy are seen trying to outrun the pulse only to be hit with it and are marooned on a tropical/primal Terra Nova-ish planet with the entirety of the crew.
- There is a scene with a blue backdrop looking into space with a young child and their older relative speaking about space travel and the legend of Shepard.
Problems/Plot Holes with the Mass Effect 3 Ending:
- With the destruction of the Mass Relays, the assembled galactic armada is effectively stranded in the Sol System, with a war-torn Earth being the only livable planet in the solar system. This leads one to question: What resources are left? How will they get home? Will they fight amongst themselves in the case that cryo-sleep is impossible and resources for survival become more and more scarce? Let us face the facts, there are likely few if any resources left on Earth being how it is after the Reaper invasion.
- The Citadel is broken up and could possibly crash into Earth.
- Joker and the crew of the Normandy left before checking to see if Shepard made it, abandoning their commander and comrade after all they've been through. (This includes the 2 squad members you brought with you for the final assault, which could have included a love interest... So Bioware is telling us that whoever we romanced just up and left without a fight to find you. After all, there wasn't a whole lot of time between the pulse and the break up of the Citadel.) Again, you were abandoned by your crew and love interest (if they were a part of your ME3 crew, BEFORE you made your decision... it's like they knew you were dead/were going to die.
- This massive undertaking of uniting the galaxy in a common cause of survival and developing this camaraderie is undone with the destruction of the Mass Relays, as each race is now segregated on their home system or what is left of it.
- Shepard's last thoughts aren't necessarily of the current love interest (this is something I experienced, as I romanced Liara in ME1 and Tali in ME2 and ME3). Tali in that case was not among the 2-3 faces that my Shepard saw before he "died."
Personally, I expected that there would actually be a "Good" ending to reward my going Pure Paragon from ME1-ME3. I have browsed some of the other threads and there seems to be some disagreement among some of the forum population that feels that this dark themed ending was fine and that there shouldn't be a "happy" ending... I respectfully disagree. When I put in the effort to make everyone I can live, go Paragon from 1-3 and I have 100% Galactic Readiness and well over 7,000 War Assets, I'm of the belief that I've put in more than enough effort to warrant the awesome ending (which has yet to be put into the game). Currently anything over 5,000 gets you the "Best" possible ending, which is actually just tragic and still offers no closure or explanation beyond the actual event. Call it unrealistic, but this is something along the lines of what I was hoping for...
"Shepard gets rescued after making his decision (could even have been one of the 3 options if they're that crucial to the ending). You are temporarily patched up with Meta-Gel on the Normandy, enough to walk around with help, and brought to Earth to pick up your remaining crew. As you step out of the ship, you stumble and your 2 teammates that you had with you catch you on your way down and help support you. You face your remaining crew and allies you've ammassed between ME1 and ME3, and behind them are some of the surviving ground forces of varying species. Upon seeing you, the survivors give a rallying cheer in celebration upon seeing their savior return to them, albeit a battered and broken one.
[*]
With the Normandy's crew collecfted, Shepard announces to the remaining forces that hte Reapers are no longer a threat, and reminds them that it was all possible because of the combined effort, and implores that everyone not let the sacrifices of the war be in vain; that efforts would be made to help everyone rebuild and maintain/usher in a true peace in the galaxy. The Mass Relays are still intact and working.
[*]
Cut to scenes of the races aiding each other on their home planets (ex. Geth helping the Quarians, Turians helping the Krogans, etc.) Follow up with a panel with text overlapping a scene of the Normandy in space and/or of the rebuilding of a new Citadel. The text could detain the exploits of Shepard and the galaxy coming together to defeat the Reapers and protect their way of life. *insert Credits here*
[*]
Then have a scene depicting Shepard with whoever it was he/she may have romanced. (Ex. w/ Tali: Show a beach on Rannoch in the background with Tali's naked hand (from no longer having to wear the Enviro-suit) paired with Shepard's. They could talk about their future together with plans to visit everyone else) THEN you can add that little scene with the child and the grandfather talking about space travel if you want. Boom! THE END."
Unrealistic? Probably, but it caters to the fans that want more than just a tweaked ending that's 95% the same as the others, and rewards those that put that much effort into the 3 games and for preparing for the final battle.
Bioware, all we are asking for is some consistency; have our decisions and actions matter in the end. All the events of ME1-ME3 are epic and gripping in their storytelling and gameplay... the ending however is lackluster and disappointing for what seems to be a great percentage of your fanbase. We feel cheated at the handling and lack of explanation of the provided ending. Our decisions from ME1-ME3 don't matter at the end of the game, it's either we put in enough effort to get enough Galactic Readiness/War Assets, or we didn't. Speculation is good to a point, but not to the extent that you essentially forced onto us because of the ending(s).
Modifié par quiksilver3689, 19 mars 2012 - 11:07 .
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