Aucune réponse à ce sujet

[Haristo]

Dr. Muzyka.

I am a big fan of the studio you co-founded with Dr. Greg Zeschuk, and that I own every game you released since Knights of the Old Republic (INCLUDING Sonic Chronicles), I wanted to give you constructive feedbacks about your last game released, Mass Effect 3. I thought it was one of the best video games I've played : the story was amazing and emotionaly attractive, its characters we're fantastic, the setting was interresting to visit and finally, it was fun. However, like an unsilent portion of your fanbase, I was not pleased with how the game ended. Instead of bashing everybody/anything, I'll do my best to explain you what, as a big fan since the first game, I expected from this ending since you asked us constructive opinions about it.

First of all, let's begin with the number one fact that seems to ****** everybody equaly : our choices doesn't seem to matter. As you explore this gigantic universe, you make as the protagonist of this serie some pretty important choices can modify an important portion of the setting. the best example is from the first game : letting the Rachni Queen live or to kill her. if you choose to kill her, you are accused by the council to commit genocide a second later, which is actually pretty serious. Choices like these, you commit them in all three games. We expected some of them to have repercussions on the trilogy's finale. While some choices had importance during the third game, changing endings and parts of the dialogues, they had none on the ending. Everything during both missions on earth felt inscribed in stone, except for your goodbyes which has been modified depending of your relationships or who died during the trilogy, whatever you did during ME1, ME2 and ME3, Earth was the same : No geth fleet, No mercenaries, no Rachnies fighting on your side and even more insulting : whatever you chose on Noveria in the first game, the enemy has rachnis on their side. What I expected was a little less static, some choices, the most important ones, we're taken in consideration and depending on what you choose during the trilogy, a certain cinematic appear. the best example I could give is how Heavy Rain ended. depending on what happened during the game and what you chose when choices were possible, depending on who died and who did what, different cinematics popped at some convenient places. This gave me the satisfaction, even though Heavy Rain is a short 7 hours experience and not as epic as Mass Effect, that what I did mattered. It was possible to have a multiple amount of different endings, from the sadest to the happiest one and this is how I imagined Mass Effect 3's ending.

Now, the fact that there is no happy ending doesn't bother me at all. My character knew what was at stake, she knew that defeating the Reapers would be a premiere. the destruction of the Relays, the crashing of the Normandy... It could have been fine if it was better explained. the fact I saw Liara leaving the ship with Joker while she was with me on earth raises serious questions. these plot holes could have been forgived if Mass Effect was not the perfect example of a flawless storyline until this point. Everything in Mass Effect is well explained and there is no plotholes until this very point in the serie : the very end. It's disappointing and it feels like being perfectly coherent was too much pressure for the writters. Or that they lacked time in explaining everything. What I expected to see was more than an ending to a game, it should have been the ending to a story. the best example I can think of is Metal Gear Solid 4 : Guns of the Patriots. Right after the final boss, there is around 45 minutes of cinematics and explanations, describing how everything has been resoluted. After this point, the serie has no more questions to answer. it felt satisfying and considering Mass Effect's non linearity and choices, it would have been the greatest example of replability. something you achieved with Mass Effect is that you have no ''canon'', unlike Knights of the Old Republic, nothing is inscribed in stone for the sake of continuity. possibilities were endless, what we got is limited to an explosion's colour. 

It is also important to say that your older games had text conclusions for every companions. something Dragon Age : Origins also had. I wonder why there is none of these for every remaining companions from the trilogy, in Mass Effect 3. it's a simple, but somehow perfect, way to satisfy the player with character exposition. 

Now finally, the final point is the Deus Ex Machina final revelation. The Catalyst, represented as a white ghost of a boy, was unexpected and certainly not acclaimed. We don't know exactly what he is, what he does, We just know that he created the reapers, Synthetics, to destroy organics so they don't get killed by their own synthetics... If I may ask a question : Why does he care ? What is he ? It could have been an interresting plot twist if it was better explained, and if we actually had the chance defy his opinions and actions. as the trilogy goes on we can choose between Paragon options and Renegade, in the first game, you can force Saren into suicide by defying his logic, proving him that he is Indoctrinated. Same for The Illusive Man in Mass Effect 3, also in the third game, we can broke a peace between the Geth (synthetics) and the Quarians (Biotics, their creators). The catalyst's opinion is that organics and synthetics will always be at war, causing chaos. But I just proved him wrong (plot hole) ! What can't I use paragon or renegade dialogue options to tell him his logic makes Mr. Spock cry ?? While Mass Effect is all about choices, the ending is all about doing what someone else chose for us. 

You may excuse some faults from my part, english is not my first language. I just hoped I delivered the message you asked us anyway. Whatever the future for Mass Effect, I will be watching with attention. I like your work, and I'm ready to buy more. I just hope you will consider our opinions into the development of your games. I agree that you must first do, as developpers, designers, scenarists and other artists behind the scene, what you like. I however think we, consumers, has expectations (extremely high towards BioWare, considering its reputation) and they also must be fulfilled.

Don't get me wrong, the game is amazing and I was enjoying for an unsilent majority of time. I was emotionaly invested by the story, and I felt like doing something. I only think that the last 5 minutes makes no honour to what the serie was well known for. replaying all three games, the remaining 5 minutes won't ruin my fun. I don't know however if I can be satisfied from ending all games in a row, if my final reward is plotholes, a bizzare plot twist, and the fact that what I did in the entire trilogy didn't mattered that much.

Thank you for your attention.

Vincent, Big fan of yours.
Montreal, QC.