I, like many of you, was extremely disappointed with the non-coherent and obviously rushed ending to our beloved trilogy. The most common reasons I have seen stated is that they find the endings giving absolutely no choice or resolution to the story, and that the story provides no reasoning behind the logic of the Starchild, how the Crucible works, etc., etc. And with these reasons, I do agree.
However, I am also feel as if the last hour or so of the game falls of off a proverbial high dive (from a gameplay AND story standpoint), culminating into a suicide (literally) of an ending. This the player (IMO) feeling as if they haven't accomplished anything special because it seems as if their story choices (regardless of EMS, which really only just add up to some random number which is used only once) because they don't see these choices playing out anywhere in the "final battle" which we only get about 2 cutscenes from, an approach to a missile battery, a short final standoff (not NEARLY strong enough to feel like a challenge to the player, it was easily beatable on Insanity without dying once), and that whacked out sequence after Shepard gets hits by Harbinger's laser. The only good part about that ending was the final dialogue sequence with TIM (Martin Sheen showing why he is an amazing actor), Anderson, and Shepard, which was amazing and really set the stage for what could have been a very interesting ending.
That being said, the current ending (not including the intended "resolution" cutscenes, ie. the Normandy blowing up, Shepard breathing, etc. of course) works really well as a leading point into a final climax. Very much so that it leaves the player wondering when you are suddenly going to retake control of Shepard after the end of the TIM conversation and finally battle the Reapers for the galaxy. But we all know what happens next, and I'm not going to go into all of the reasons why I hate the Deus Ex / Matrix ending BW decided to pull, but I WILL say that it brings the tempo of the game and the ending to a dead stop (this change in tempo and style is what leads people to believe in the Indoctrination theory, because it is literally THAT out of place).
So naturally, after taking in all of this, I did what any self respecting nerd would do and came up with my own ending to try and remedy these inconsistencies, focusing on the fact they WE were denied any sort of final confrontation / battle that felt like an actual battle in which our decisions and EMS mattered.
As it stands, my headcannon starts right when you decide to enter the Cerberus HQ.
The Meat: A more engaging ending
Alright, so I actually really really liked the Cerberus HQ mission (albeit, I found Kai Leng's boss battle a little cheesy, but then again, I found the character really cheesy), it gave a lot of answers as to the questions asked by the second game, such as how they recreated Shepard and EDI's origins. However, right at the ending of the HQ is where the game starts to fall off, particularly when they start talking about how the Citadel has been moved by the Reapers to the Sol System. The game never explains why or how they do so, nor do they even give you a cutscene of the move.
In my headcannon this is what happens next...
After the Prothean VI finishes telling Shepard that the Reapers are moving the Citadel to Sol the screen fades to black, and then fades into pitch black space with various stars being seen in the distance. Out of the dark space (coming in from a Mass Relay jump) are a large faction of Reapers, led by Harbinger of course, moving with increasing speed towards the screen. The screen then pans around 180 degrees following the Reaper horde, to reveal they are moving towards the Citadel (*queue ominous music*). The scene then cuts to the Citadel in full on alert, with multiple fighters being scrambled and with whatever available ships being readied.
Then the screen cuts to the Reapers within firing range, and the *Second Battle for the Citadel beings. Regardless of EMS, the forces seen are unable to hold the Reapers and are destroyed in a spectacle of battle.
However, if the Destiny Ascension was saved in ME 1, the forces manage to destroy multiple of the invading Reaper forces, but are ultimately put to rest by Harbinger's mega pulse-laser. The screen then cuts to the command room of the Ascension, in which the captain and crew are panicking in the face of bitter annihilation. In a last ditch effort to try and destroy Harbinger and the invading Reapers, they attempt a suicide charge into the invading force, overcharging their ship's EEZO core. As soon as they get up close and personal to Harbinger and a couple of other Reapers a laser hits the ship's core, causing the Ascension to create a massive explosion engulfing three or four surrounding Reapers. However, even though they manage to take a chunk of the Reaper forces out, Harbinger along with the rest of the Reaper fleets blow their way through the debris and continue on to the Citadel. (If the Ascension was not saved, none of this occurs, and the Reapers plow over the Citadel fighters with ease and without losing anyone.)
Battle for the Citadel: Do the defenses hold on the ground?
The scene then cuts to a Reaper docking onto the Citadel (much akin to Sovereign in ME 1) and closing the Citadel arms down remotely, while also injecting multiple Reapers into the interior. Then we cut to multiple shots of civilians and C-Sec forces alike getting attacked by husks, mauraders, etc. across multiple areas such as Zakera Ward, the Hospital, etc. The contents of these cutscenes are determined by the "Alien" section of War Assets terminal OR by certain choices made during the course of the trilogy.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- If the Alien War Assets number (out of a possible 937), was lower than 500, these scenes show Reaper forces slaughtering all opposition across the wards. Complete annihilation. (This result is unattainable if the Destiny Ascension survived ME 1, as the Reaper forces have been weakened, forcing the next result as the lowest possible outcome in this situation.)
- If the Alien War Assets number was between 500 and 750, these scenes show the Reaper forces slowly pushing back Citadel opposition across the wards, although neither force is definitively defeated, Citadel forces are slowly losing the fight, and are eventually pushed back into the main circle of the Citadel.
- If the Alien War Assets number was 750 or more, these scenes show Citadel forces holding the line against Reaper opposition culminating in a hard stalemate in which neither side is advancing very far and Citadel forces are holding strong.
- (Overriding all Alien War Asset checks) If Shepard saved the Rachni Queen in ME 1, and then subsequently saved her in ME 3, the Rachni fleet flies in behind the distracted Reaper fleet and starts releasing their horde into the Citadel. These scenes show Citadel forces in a dire stalemate with the Reapers, when the Rachni suddenly appear and being to help them overtake the Reaper forces in a large turn of battle, killing a majority of said Reaper forces until they retreat. In the background, the Rachni queen can be heard screaming "We will consume the darkness! We shall tone out the sour notes, children!", which appears to be coming from the tunnels under the ground level, implying she has hidden herself deep within the bowels of the Citadel.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Long Walk: Is the Council safe? What happened to C-Sec and Aria's Mercenaries?
Regardless of the previous cutscene, the arms close (as the Reaper is remotely interfacing with the Citadel to close its arms), and it begins to move past the nebula towards the Mass Relay along with Harbinger and the Reaper invading fleet. The screen then cuts to the Presidium where C-Sec forces (led by Commander Bailey) and various mercenaries (led by Aria T'Loak) are escorting the Council (and various other diplomats and citizens) to the interior of the tower, which they intend to lock down in order to hold out until backup arrives. The next scene (determined by the Alien section of the War Assets terminal OR by certain choices made during the trilogy) shows the forces approach to the tower while under fire.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- If the Alien War Assets number (out of a possible 937), was lower than 500, these scenes show them all getting killed, including Commander Bailey and his men, and Aria along with her mercenaries.
- If the Alien War Assets number was between 500 and 750, these scenes show the Reaper forces
picking off almost all of the diplomats and citizens, along with many of the mercenaries and many of the C-Sec forces. Then a large group of husks charge at the group and both the Salarian and Turian councilors are taken down by husks while the Asari councilor is saved by Bailey who pistol whips the husk which grabs her. After calmly saying "I guess this is what I was promoted for, huh?" to one of his fellow C-Sec officers, Bailey commands the forces to fall back to the tower. He then sacrifices himself valiantly to give the remaining councilor, diplomats, mercenaries, security forces and citizens time to reach the tower by taking on a majority of the Reaper forces head on before being mobbed by husks and blowing himself up with a grenade after exclaiming "This is for Earth, you bastards!". In this scene, Aria lives and locks down the tower along with the remaining councilor and others.
- If the Alien War Assets number was 750 or more, these scenes Reaper forces picking off few of the diplomats and citizens, along with a moderate amount of the mercenaries and C-Sec forces. Then a large group of husks charge at the group and the Salarian councilor is taken down by one, while the Asari councilor is saved by Bailey and the Turian councilor is saved by Aria, who stoically says "Not today." after blowing a husk away with a well placed shot gun blast. After the two councilors are safe, the combined forces are able to subdue a majority of the Reaper forces, and they proceed to enter and lock down the tower. In this scene both Aria and Bailey live, along with the remaining councilors and others.
- (Overriding all Alien War Asset checks)
If Shepard saved the Rachni Queen in ME 1, and then subsequently saved
her in ME 3, the Rachni forces are seen defending the entrance to the tower from Reaper forces with little difficulty, when the fleeing forces arrive with a massive Reaper force in tow. There are almost no civilian, mercenary, or security casualties. The Rachni forces are able to effectively counter-charge the incoming husks, and no one is harmed, although the Rachni suffer serious casualties. In this scene, both Aria and Bailey, along with all of the councilors and almost all of the citizens, diplomats, mercenaries and security forces survive and proceed to lock down the tower as the Rachni forces start to become overwhelmed. In the background, the Rachni queen can be heard screaming "We will not fall into the darkness!". Again, while she is heard, she is nowhere to be found, and her voice appear to be coming from the tunnels under the ground level, implying that she has hidden herself deep within the bowels of the Citadel.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After the scene above shows the fate of the Council, Aria, Bailey, and their respective forces, the screen then cuts back to the Citadel and Reaper forces jumping through the Mass Relay and then arriving in the Sol system while heading towards a war ravaged Earth. The scene then fades to black, and we return to Shepard aboard the Cerberus HQ, where the Prothean VI explains that the Reapers have taken the Citadel to Sol in order to make their final move to crush the galaxy wide resistance by crushing the human resistance on Earth (as humanity seems to be the race leading the galaxy's resistance) and creating a new human-based dreadnought, which the Reapers will use to harvest the rest of the galaxy with brute force. Shepard then radios in to Joker with the bad news, and then returns to the Normandy where Earth awaits...
(*Will continue with Earth, my revised interpretation of the final run to the Conduit and the Catalyst area, and what happens after that, feel free to discuss below what you like and don't like about this or the current endings)
Modifié par Veracity, 20 mars 2012 - 09:09 .
Retour en haut
