I know this topic has been discussed to no end, and I am probably beating a dead horse. Anyway, I am (as most others here) a real dedicated fan of the ME series and I feel I need to lay down a few of my thoughts.
First of all I would like to point out that the ME series in general I consider the most epic story driven game I ever played. I played most of the classic story driven RPG's (Baldurs Gate, NWN, Kotor, even Planescape: Torment of course Dragon Age as well). While I would not necessarily say that ME is the "best" out of these games, I got the most epic feeling while playing it. Problems at galactic scale are not easy to top :-)
I loved so many moments in the series, like the whole Virmire encounter (Wrex, Kirrahe, sacrificing a squadmate, the dialog with Sovereign) ... EPIC. I loved the suicide mission in ME2, that sense of urge I never got out of any other computer game. I loved so many things in ME3. I cried when Mordind sacrificed himself to cure the Genophage. I was deeply moved when Legion "died" and peace was made between Quarian and Geth. I was shocked, when I learned that Kelly was killed during the Cerberus attack (I know now that I could hace avoided this). There were countless EPIC moments in the series, it's too much to collect all of them.
So, thank you Bioware for many great hours of fun and enjoyment.
Now you know where I'm coming from, I give you my 2cts as promised in the thread title.
While I greatly appreciate that Bioware didn't want to go all out Hollywood with the ending, where the hero gets the girl and they eat honeypie until the end of their days (this would probably have felt cheap as well), I absolutely despise how they let this great series end. I was expecting a kind of "ultimate sacrifice" for Shepard, because frankly I didn't see any conventional means to defeat the Reapers. I expected a kind of "Deus ex Machina" for the same reason. So, I really was not set up for a honeypie ending at all.
But what we did get was greatly dissapointing for me in another way. I felt bereft of achievement. All that epicness in countless hours of gaming for what? A blue/green/red choice?
A choice that would destroy the galaxy we have been fighting for for such a long time, no matter what the choice is.
A choice that would make me a hippocryte (by chosing control as paragon)? Or a choice that let me destroy one of the most satisfying achievements, the peace between Geth and Quarian, by destroying the Geth along with Reapers? The only choice that felt somehow ok, was the Synthesis.
But even with the Synthesis ending, I didn't get any feeling of accomplishment. The galaxy as we know it is destroyed, there are no Mass Relays any more. All the races and cultures we have been fighting for are now "lost in space". We got so many chances to act as a diplomat, as a peacemaker, as a voice of reason. But in the end it feels as if it was all for naught.
My main gripe with the end is, that no matter what we did before as Shepard, be it Paragon or Renegade, be it voice of reason or voice of war - in the end it didn't matter. At least the game, the storyline failed to deliver the feeling that it mattered.
Bioware, if you read this:
I am grateful for not getting a hollywood ending, that would have felt cheap. But please, please, please in the EC-DLC give us a feeling of accomplishment. Give us the feeling that our choices mattered.
Give us the feeling that our relationsship mattered, if and when Shepard dies (which I think is inevitable) let our LI, our squadmates mourn for him. Don't let them just go all out Robinson Crusoe on that planet. If you must destroy the Mass Relays, show us an idea how the Galaxy can go on without them.
In short, please: present us a Galaxy that has been saved. A Galaxy that is, albeit altered, still there and _functioning_ Show us all of our crew for a last time and mourning for Shepard. Show us that datacube of Liara with the part about Shepard again, whatever.
Just don't let us behind with a bland feeling of nothingness as it is for me right now.
thank you for listening
Retour en haut
