Allan Schumacher wrote...
Gammazero79 wrote...
So speaking fan to fan were you bothered by the ends at all? I mean honestly how did the rest of the end make sense to you? [not insulting I truly want to know] Joker running away, the scene on the garden planet, the fact that your war assets were little more than a number, the lack of explanation and options, ect.....
Responding at the risk that my response somehow be interpreted as an "official" response.... 
As a show of good faith though, I'll share my thoughts. It's important to note here that I finished the game probably around the 14th, so I had heard rumors about how bad the ending was so I went into it preparing for some awful stuff to happen, which made me innately more accepting of whatever it was I was about to see.
On the whole, I found the ending to be a let down compared to the rest of the game. I think this is more of a reflection of how highly I thought of the rest of the game than anything else though. Rannoch and Tuchanka were phenomenol, and the usage of the ME1 theme at those points brings me goosebumps just typing about it now. So yeah, the ending wasn't up to the quality of the rest of the game.
I found the ending choices to be too inspired by the original Deus Ex, but I also didn't outright mind the scene on the Citadel, even if I found it strange and a Diabolus Ex Machina. The thing for me was that the Crucible was a giant unknown, so it wasn't too difficult for me to accept that it might react in ways that I didn't expect or didn't necessarily want though, so the options presented to me weren't enough to remove my suspension of disbelief. As a result I didn't mind the relays getting destroyed (I haven't played Arrival so I had no prior idea for what might happen when a relay is destroyed).
As for Joker, I didn't actually think much at the time as to WHY Joker was running, but I did find the garden planet scene confusing. In retrospect, I wouldn't have included the stuff with the Normandy because I found it confusing.
With respect to explanation, I'm assuming you're referring to some type of closure? I am not actually the type of person that needs all that much explanation of what happens after. While there's definitely a part of me that would love to know what happens in the immediate aftermath, there's also a part of me that associates the game as being Shepard's story, and that part of me likes that I, as the game player, have to make my decision knowing that I'll not know the full implications of my decision, just like Shepard. And I actually did enjoy wondering what happens to the galaxy and have had some fun discussions with some friends and co-workers about it. I think the big thing here is whether or not you believe the galaxy is totally kaput (I don't. And I'm saying that with no additional information and I don't want anyone to think that i'm hinting towards anything for the upcoming ending DLC or anything like that).
Regarding War Assets, after the game and reading some of the thoughts around the Net, I started to wonder if I misunderstood the real representation of the War Assets. I think I am like a lot of other people, in that we saw War Assets as being a kickass military asset. Though given the way the endings play out with lower war score, it seems there's more emphasis on the War Assets as a team building/protecting the crucible, as opposed to the ability to fight the reapers. I would have loved to see situations on Earth that demonstrated my choices, such as fighting along Geth/Rachni, etc. It's a shame that it didn't happen the way I had hoped.
As for "options," this is going to be a place where I likely differ in opinion from a lot of fans. I've actually always considered Mass Effect's choices to be more superficial than a lot of other people, especially when concerning the key antagonist. In the end my only option in ME1 is to defeat Saren and Sovereign. I can talk Saren down but ultimately still had to fight in in some capacity (I hated this actually... I would have loved to just talk Saren down and let that be the end of it). ME2 has some interesting reactivity in whether or not parts of your squad survive, but to me the same ultimate ending happens, just with differences in who makes the end. Only at the end are we presented with a choice and it doesn't have any effect on the ending for ME2.
So would I have loved more choice in ME3's ending? Yes. But I'd have also loved more choice in ME1 and ME2's ending, which I felt were sorely lacking. So I hesitate to state that my disappointment with ME3's choice is a reflection of solely ME3's ending. I think it was an issue with all 3 Mass Effect games.
Anyways, I am actually getting quite hungry and should go get some food. I obviously don't respond too much but I'll try to make an effort to chime in later if people have any relevant comments.
EDIT: Wall of text crits you all for 9999.... 
Thanks for sharing your opinion. I agree with parts of it myself, particularly the love for the Rannoch and Tunchanka parts. I am forced to disagree with your assessment on the ME choices being superficial. While on a meta-level you can definitely argue that they are, on the more personal level they don't feel like they are, and thats why I loved to make sure I did them anyway. Sure letting Samara die for instance, doesn't influence much, but on a personal level I liked her story and her sense of tragedy and pushed me forward to make sure she and eventually her daughter survived.
I cared about the personal relationships between the characters and the galaxy at large, and the illusion of choice and consequences the series provided for me. I think that the greatest flaw in the ending is that the illusion of choice is broken.
My first instinct, and I suspect the instinct of many other players, was to argue with the Catalyst's logic when he presented it. I was waiting for either a paragon/renegade interrupt or a dialogue wheel to argue the point. To show him he is completely wrong and give examples on why using examples from Shepard's story to do so. When that wasn't done, the illusion of choice was shattered, and that broke my suspension of disbelief. Once that happened, everything that happened afterwards (ie The Normandy leaving combat and its crash) just felt so wrong and disjointed that I dismissed it out of hand as wildly out-of-character for both Joker, EDI, and my squad, and the crew. It became impossible for me to reconcile it.
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