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[DextroDNA]

I was listening to the ME3 soundtrack, and when I got to the last couple of tracks - it made me think.

"I'm Proud of You"

"An End Once and For All"
___________________________________________________________________________________________
If you forget about all the ending controversey, all the arguments about DLC and EA - then you remember how much of an amazing 5 years we've had. It's been a rollercoaster ride, and listening to "An End Once and For All" just reminds me that it is the end. The end of Shepard's story, the end of all our favourite characters (Garrus, Tali, Liara, Legion, Anderson etc). I don't know if there will be a Mass Effect 4, but if there is - this must start it off.

Put this with:
"In the year 2148, explorers on Mars discovered the remains of an ancient
spacefaring civilization. In the decades that followed, these
mysterious artifacts revealed startling new technologies, enabling
travel to the furthest stars. The basis for this incredible technology
was a force that controlled the very fabric of space and time. They
called it the greatest discovery in human history. The civilizations of
the galaxy call it... Mass Effect" and it always cheers me up.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
But anyway, the topic title says it all. How did you being with Mass Effect, and how do you feel now? If you want to know mine; you can read this huge wall of text I sent to Chris Priestly a while back (he seemed to like it) Some of it may not fit the context of this thread, but that's because I wrote it ages ago as feedback for Mass Effect 3. Enjoy:
 
This is the only place I could find where I can personally give feedback to Bioware. If this is not the proper place, could you please forward it to Bioware or something; it would be MUCH appreciated. But anyway, this is some feedback on Mass Effect. Not Mass Effect 3, not Mass Effect 2, not Mass Effect 1; but Mass Effect as a whole.
 So, Mass Effect is without a doubt my favourite game series ever (drawing with Halo). I picked up the first Mass Effect game along with Mass Effect 2 in January 2010, when I had just bought my first gaming PC. Before-hand all I had played was Halo and Call of Duty. I cared not for RPGs, and story etc was all rubbish to me - I just cared about the action. The shooting, and killing. But Mass Effect changed everything for me. It changed me as a whole.
 I didn't play the first game until about March, and when I did - I couldn't believe how much I enjoyed it. I was no stranger to sci-fi, but the game felt so... new. Like nothing I'd ever experienced before. The story was so simple and yet so brilliant, the characters were (and still are) some of the best in modern history - and I don't just mean in gaming. The game as a whole meant something to me, I connected with the characters and really cared about the story. The plot twists had me on the edge of my seat. I played until the earliest hours of the day. I remember when I had to choose between Ashley and Kaiden on Virmire, I was literally shell-shocked. To be faced with a descision like that out of the blue. I had connected with both characters, and I must've spent at least 7 minutes actually thinking hard about who I should save (in the end I chose Ashley, even if she is a bit of a racist). And that's another thing, descisions. The whole concept of shaping my own character, shaping the Mass Effect universe how I saw fit through my descisions in the game - I loved it. I loved having my own personal character, and I loved how my descisions had real implications on the Galaxy. Without a doubt, one of my favourite scenes in the whole trilogy was the Spectre Induction. It was humanity finally getting accepted into the Galactic community, it was ME becoming the first human Spectre, and the music in the scene was spectacular (I will talk about the music later). And the ending to the first game, where I had to choose to save the council or not. Do I sacrifice human lives to save the council, or do I let them die? I of course, being a paragon, chose to save the Council. And when the Alliance burst into the Serpent Nebula to fight Sovereign, I actually fist pumped irl as the Normandy appeared at the head of the fleet. The last conversation with Saren, exploring the character who had been shrouded in so much mystery. I finally broke through to him, and he sacrificed himself. THAT was a great moment, watching the character change so suddenly because of my actions. And right at the end, as the Normandy went in for the final attack against Sovereign, I jumped off my chair and screamed at my computer screen as Sovereign was destroyed.
  So, as soon as I had finished ME1, I took out the ME2 disc and punched my computer and shouted "INSTALL FASTER!". When the game finally started, and I found out I could import my character and all the descisions I made, I cried with hapiness. I also cried when the Normandy got destroyed, and I thought Shepard was dead. The ship and crew I was so familiar with, I thought they were all gone. I thought to myself, "No. No no no no NOOO!" But, obviously, things got better. There was a massive change in gameplay from ME1 in ME2, but I was fine with that. I was a bit disappointed that the game revolved more around action than RPG, but it was still the universe I knew and loved. And all my favourite characters were in it! Yeah, maybe Wrex wouldn't come along with me - but he was there! Headbutting other stupid Krogan like he should be. And Garrus was still fighting along side me. Garrus, without a doubt my favourite character in the universe along with Liara. Mass Effect 2 was based a lot more around building a small army, and embarking on the Suicide Mission. Fight for the lost. The game was a thrill, but it was only at the ending that I was once again shouting at my computer screen. Picking certain characters to do certain jobs whilst on the Collector Ship was tense, I wasn't sure I'd picked the right people. But I was ready, and I fought. Everything went well, then I was faced with THE TERMINATOR. I was excited for the final battle, and hell was it a good one. And of course, I chose to destroy the Collector Ship - I'm Paragon! Then that annoying Terminator pops back up for Round 2, not on my watch! As Shepard awoke from unconsciouness and saw Garrus lying on the floor, my heart skipped a beat. When I helped him up off the floor and saw he was fine I started laughing with happiness. And then the ending scene, as Shepard, Garrus and Samara ran through the hallways. Being shot at by countless Collectors, the Suicide Mission soundtrack playing in the background. The Normandy pulls up, Joker firing bullets. Shepard jumps onto the Normandy, and they all escape with seconds to spare. And I forgot, the Normandy Reborn. The scene sent shivers down my spine. The music, the lights shining on the Normandy SR2, my whole body was tingling. Bravo, Bioware. Bravo!
 And Mass Effect 3. I had been anticipating the game all throughout 2010 and 2011. I had pre-ordered the Collector's Edition and was looking forward to what I thought was going to be the greatest game of all time. The game was brilliant, but it didn't live up to my expectations. I was sad to see a lot of the descisions I had made over the past 2 years didn't amount to much, and the game didn't have much of a story to it - even if it was revolving around the war. I felt sort of disconnected with the characters, you couldn't engage in full conversations on the Normandy anymore. Nevertheless, I put up with it and enjoyed the rest of the game. I much preffered Mass Effect 1 to ME2 and ME3, and although many may disagree, I think Mass Effect 1 had the best gameplay style and story of all 3. That mysticism about everything, the exciting new universe with lots of alien races, and exciting new planets and amazing locations such as the Citadel. Speaking of which, I was very disappointed to see that the Presidium was, again, neglected in ME3. I think we can all agree the Presidium in Mass Effect 1 was fun to walk around on and do side missions (of which there were barely in ME3. All the side-missions were "support this person" or "go collect this with right-click on the Galaxy map. Bring back side-missions!).
 And then the ending. I don't want to rant here, I've done enough of that over the past month. But even with the up-coming extended cut, I am disappointed. But it wasn't just the fact that the ending was awful that saddened me. It was the fact that this was the end of my favourite game franchise ever. The game franchise that literally changed me as a person. To think that this was the end, actually made me cry. And I congratulate Bioware for that - for changing a person and for bringing them so much joy over 2 years.
  So I said I'd talk about the music. I don't want to dwell on it too much, but I will say that before playing Mass Effect, I didn't give a Krogan's left testicle about a game's soundtrack. But after hearing the music in Mass Effect, I actually started taking in interest in the game's music. And the music of other games too! I started to search up all the music on Youtube, and I would listen to it for ages. My favourite tracks from the game are;
- The Mass Effect 1 Theme
- Spectre Induction
- Suicide Mission
- Unexplored Worlds
- The Fate of the Galaxy
- The Fleets Arrive
- We Face Our Enemy Together - although this was not my favourite (Mass Effect 1 theme is), it really inspired me to give the final mission my all. It was the final mission of the greatest trilogy of all time, and I had to fight my hardest.

 I'm not done yet! I want to talk about how this game changed me as a person. After playing Mass Effect, I had become a lot more mature. I cared more about a game's story and overall quality rather than graphics and how many things I got to shoot. I started to care about the music, and I began to appreciate all the people involved in making it. I began to appreciated and respect my fellow gamers. I actually started speaking properly online; using proper grammar, spelling, puncutation etc. And I actually believe this was all down to Mass Effect and Bioware's brilliant work. I began to care more about how a game is made, how certain things publishers do affect their community, and what it means to be part of a community. Playing Mass Effect has really shown me that, what it means to be part of a community. There's nothing more I can say about that, other than I love the Mass Effect community. Mass Effect has changed me dramatically as a human being, making me more mature and broadening my horizon in gaming as a whole. Thank you SO much, Bioware. I wouldn't have been as happy as I am today without you. And I mean it, if I won the lottery - you could expect £5,000,000 in the mail. I can't thank Bioware and EVERYONE who took part in the creation of Mass Effect enough. When I look back on how I used to act, I see typical children who play Xbox LIVE. After playing this game, I see how much I've changed. How much better of a person I've become. Again, thank you SO much Bioware.
---
So, yeah. That's basically it. But I do want to say, if anymore Mass Effect games are made, please make them more like Mass Effect 1. ME1 was the perfect mix of RPG, Combat, Story and good characters. I felt kind of cheated in ME3 when everything was so different. The story was nowhere near as good, I felt like I had become too distant from the characters and the game felt WAY too combat-orientated. I would definetley not rate ME3 5 stars, nor would I place it in my top 10 games list. Sorry, Bioware. <I had actually written a massive paragraph about all that ^ but I accidentally closed Firefox and the whole last paragraph was lost. But, yeah. I hope my point gets across that I really did prefer ME1's gameplay.>

Thanks Chris, I hope you read this and enjoyed reading it. Again, I love Bioware so much and to be honest... I'm not too angry at you about ME3's ending. Because everything else was amazing. The past 2 years of my life have been great, all because of Mass Effect. Seriously, I love you Bioware. Thanks for everything.

[DextroDNA]

If you managed to read through my huge wall of text, I applaud you.

[Clayless]

Not the new version of "An End Once And For All"?

[DextroDNA]

Our_Last_Scene wrote...

Not the new version of "An End Once And For All"?

I have no idea what you mean
Didn't take you long to read my wall of text!

[goose2989]

Sorry Zombeh, that's just too much to read

[DextroDNA]

goose2989 wrote...

Sorry Zombeh, that's just too much to read

Just read the top bit then, not my "feedback" xD

[crimzontearz]

how do I feel now? beaten....broken....regretting I ever started playing the series

[goose2989]

I started with ME2 in July 2010 and played it about 15 or 16 times within just one year. The second game was by far the best in my mind

[comrade gando]

when I was playing through ME1 and ME2 I was so excited, I felt like nothing could stop me!

by the end of ME3, even with EC... I regret ever playing ME1. what a waste of time. I still got no closure, and until I do, mass effect will remain the best series I'll never play again.

[saracen16]

I felt a sense of accomplishment.

[mechalynx]

By the time I finished reading it, I forgot the question..Was there one at all?

Ok, found it again.

Answer:

The only reason I picked up ME1 was because of how much I enjoyed Dragon Age: Origins and KOTOR. For some reason I had ME confused with some ****ty MMO and wouldn't have anything to do with it. Then I saw that BioWare made it and thought since I loved KOTOR and DAO, I should give it a shot.

It blew my mind. Good thing I picked it up only 2 months prior to the release of ME2, or I'd have gone nuts from waiting. And I loved that one too, every second of it except Horizon, or more specifically the VS confrontation.

Now, the ME3.. Without going into too much detail, let me just say that it a very good thing for BioWare that EC turned out to be this good. Up until I got fried by the Harbinger it was one of the best games I have ever played. Then it all went to hell. And what's worse, once I finished agonizing over the endings and started looking back step-by-step, I discovered flaws in all three games that seemed so insignificant before; now they were blown up by the absurdity and inconsistency with the final 15 minutes of the trilogy. 

I can safely say that I have never been more upset and unhappy over any kind of media to this degree. 

The EC changed that. I now look forward to finishing my canon Shepard's story and doing more trilogy runs.

As for the music. Well, we all know Jack Wall is a genius. While the music in ME3 is very good, it is nowhere near on par with the previous games. Not for me anyway.

Modifié par mechalynx, 01 juillet 2012 - 02:31 .

[DextroDNA]

mechalynx wrote...

By the time I finished reading it, I forgot the question..Was there one at all?

Oh, sorry. You must be stupid. The topic title.

[Zaire Taylor]

First time I played Mass Effect was about a year after its release. Heard it was good, tried it out at a friends house once, and ended up swapping a game with him to get it basically for free. Loved it, got ME2 and ME3 on their release dates, played the first two games 10+ times to get tons of characters for ME3. ME3 was awesome, and then I finished it and the ending was awful and made me wish I'd never played the series. The new endings make the series playable, but I feel like Mass Effect was a giant missed opportunity. It could have been an awesome series where your choices really matter. I remember Bioware kept saying "wait until Mass Effect 3" when we complained that ME2 didn't really take your ME1 choices into account. Then ME3 happened and our choices still didn't matter all that much. It makes no difference whether I save the rachni, destroy the Collector base, kill the Council, rewrite the Geth Heretics, etc. Well, some dialogue changes and a meaningless number next to a War Asset in ME3 changes. The EC makes it so that some ME3 choices end up mattering in the long run if you choose one of the color endings, but the color endings are each stupid and go against the series' main themes. So the only good ending is Refusal and it's really short and your choices don't matter from the series.

So overall, the Mass Effect series gets about an 8 out of 10. If ME3 had actually fulfilled its promises of your choices mattering, it'd be the greatest series of all time. As it is, I'll still play it just because it's fun to create different characters and play the game.

[mechalynx]

RussianZombeh wrote...

mechalynx wrote...

By the time I finished reading it, I forgot the question..Was there one at all?

Oh, sorry. You must be stupid. The topic title.

Well thank you very much for the mature response.

[sUiCiDeKiNgS13]

I feel sad that It's over but I'm happy that I got the chance to experience it. Those songs are works of art and should be recognized for it. They both tug at heart strings that I didn't think a Video-game could do. I'm glad, with the EC, I finally got to see Shepard become the Guardian of the Galaxy.

[MegaSovereign]

crimzontearz wrote...

how do I feel now? beaten....broken....regretting I ever started playing the series

Overreacting much?

[AwesomeDudex64]

Damn it. Listening to the ME1 Main Theme makes me a little sad inside. I ****ing loved this series. Now it's EA's cash cow.

[s17tabris]

ME1 - It was an decent game. Story was good but gameplay was terrible.
ME2 - I cared about the characters. Improved gameplay helped. I had some minor annoyances but overall, I still loved it.
ME3 - I was really excited pre-release. I was expecting at least the same quality as the previous two games. I got disappointed even before reaching the ending.
EC - made me uninstall both ME2 and ME3. I've played games a lot worse than ME3 (ME3 by itself is decent) but those didn't leave a bad taste in the mouth.

[comrade gando]

MegaSovereign wrote...

crimzontearz wrote...

how do I feel now? beaten....broken....regretting I ever started playing the series

Overreacting much?

he feels the same way I do, there's plenty of people that do and while EC is good at face value, it was nice of bioware to clean up the mess that the original endings were, EC (outside of synthesis and control) still offer little closure, and are FAR from the epic experience that the previous ME1 and ME2 endings were. It just simply leaves way too many plot holes in the last 20 minutes, and a lot of the scenes throughout the game were just there for nothing really. the dreams? didn't mean anything at all. the child being real or not? completely dismissed. the catalyst BEING the child? doesn't mean anything. Harbinger? No impact at all, he only zaps shepard and flies away. all the strange occurences after said zapping? (i.e. nightmare trees appearing, shaky crosshairs before that, teleporting anderson, inconsistent wounds on shepard, mysterious TIM appearance and powers... didn't mean anything. they were all just there for ****s and giggles. bioware just dismissed allll of that wierd **** and still offered you A, B, and C endings, as well as a D ending that just gets everyone killed.

starchild turns in to harbinger for a second with SO BE IT but it's never ever touched on, everyone just dies.

overall I can say that EC did provide additional clarity and closure to those who appreciated the original endings as they were, but it just leaves far far too much to be desired especially in the wake of suicide mission's badassery.

I believe a forbes article summarized it pretty well: "too little, far far too late"

[SlyTF1]

I started thinking that the ME series was the best damn thing to ever happen. And now I'm pissed. I've kind of gotten over the endings now because of the Extended Cut. I just want to know what happens to Shepard if you pick Destroy with high enough EMS.

[Arturia Pendragon]

After seeing the Tough Decisions trailer on TV, I asked for it as a Christmas gift and played the heck out of it for about 6 months. I played the heck out of ME2 for about 2 months. I've played through ME3 a total of about 3.333 times. I've played through the entire EC once.

I think that says everything.

Modifié par Arturia Pendragon, 01 juillet 2012 - 03:04 .

[GreyLycanTrope]

comrade gando wrote...

MegaSovereign wrote...

crimzontearz wrote...

how do I feel now? beaten....broken....regretting I ever started playing the series

Overreacting much?

he feels the same way I do, there's plenty of people that do and while EC is good at face value, it was nice of bioware to clean up the mess that the original endings were, EC (outside of synthesis and control) still offer little closure, and are FAR from the epic experience that the previous ME1 and ME2 endings were. It just simply leaves way too many plot holes in the last 20 minutes, and a lot of the scenes throughout the game were just there for nothing really. the dreams? didn't mean anything at all. the child being real or not? completely dismissed. the catalyst BEING the child? doesn't mean anything. Harbinger? No impact at all, he only zaps shepard and flies away. all the strange occurences after said zapping? (i.e. nightmare trees appearing, shaky crosshairs before that, teleporting anderson, inconsistent wounds on shepard, mysterious TIM appearance and powers... didn't mean anything. they were all just there for ****s and giggles. bioware just dismissed allll of that wierd **** and still offered you A, B, and C endings, as well as a D ending that just gets everyone killed.

starchild turns in to harbinger for a second with SO BE IT but it's never ever touched on, everyone just dies.

overall I can say that EC did provide additional clarity and closure to those who appreciated the original endings as they were, but it just leaves far far too much to be desired especially in the wake of suicide mission's badassery.

I believe a forbes article summarized it pretty well: "too little, far far too late"

Agreed, I was always enthusiatic about Mass Effect, I've lost count of how many playthoughs I did of the first two games. But that spark of excitement is gone for me now, and I have little desire to replay any of the games.

[Aaleel]

I still love ME1. The first time I walked onto the Citadel I was hooked. I loved the characters, the story, the lore, just the universe that was created a whole.

Sadly the beginning was the height of the series for me, and nothing after that measured up. Not saying the last two games were terrible or anything, but they just weren't the same.

It's so amazing how this series parallels the Matrix trilogy. I was just in awe in the beginning, then it seemed like the writers had no plan after the first installment and the rest just unraveled, ultimately ending in sheer nonsense.

[mad825]

I honesty cannot remember why I brought ME1. I brought the game because it was cheap, had the label "RPG" or something while browsing thorough Amazon. I enjoyed the hell out of ME1 despite my crappy laptop chugging the FPSs, the gameplay grew on me as well.

ME2 I brought when I found out it was released...sometime later. Kinda disappointed by not getting the collectors edition but it was good despite the the gameplay being very bland.

ME3...well. It was okay I guess. it lacks what ME2 has in size.

Overall, it was worthwhile even though ME3 was nothing special. I regret nothing.

Modifié par mad825, 01 juillet 2012 - 03:17 .

[Hackulator]

Wall of Text incoming, but you did ask for it ;-)

I came to Mass Effect really late. I actually never played any of the games until a few months ago, when a friend of mine who now works at EA got me a free copy of ME3. I originally had the game just to play MP with a bunch of my friends, but I decided to check out the SP as well, mainly because I had heard about the ending controversy and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about....

I LOVED Mass Effect 3. I have been an avid gamer for over 20 years now, and no game had ever engendered in me the emotional highs and lows I felt from Mass Effect 3. It was the first game where I actually went through EVERY dialogue option, finished every possible part of the game I could and was still left wanting more. I even wandered around every area of the game to make sure I heard all the ambient dialogue conversations, because they were better written than the main plots of most games. Although I felt the endings were weak compared to the rest of the game, I didn't hate them the way most people seemed to, and at the end of Mass Effect 3 my feelings were overwhelmingly positive about what I had just experienced.

Upon doing some internet research, I discovered that the game could be very different depending on whether you imported a save and what you had done in the prior games. Most notably, I wanted to see if I could broker peace between the Geth and the Quarians (the Quarians did not survive my first playthrough). So, I purchased Mass Effect 1 and 2 and began a full playthrough.

Mass Effect has a great storyline, with vibrant characters and real drama. However, the combat system is not very good, and so while I love the story, getting through the game with full completion sometimes felt like a bit of a chore. However, the story is good enough that I still wanted to finish, and I did.

Mass Effect 2 has truly great characters and maybe the best character development of any game in the series. Also, the combat system/gameplay is a BIG step up from ME1. However, while the sideplots are great, I found the overarching plot of ME2 to be somewhat lacking. First, who is it that after everything I said in ME1 is proved to be true, I still can't get anyone but Anderson to believe me. Then, I die and am somehow resurrected. Then, I agree to join up with Cerberus, the group responsible for the defining tragedy of my life (my character was a Sole Survivor). To top it all off, entire human colonies are disappearing, but nobody but a terrorist organization wants to do anything about it. Although I LOVE the characters of ME2, the overall plot is really lacking. However, I agree that the Suicide Mission is a really interestingly designed mission.

Then I returned to ME3 for my triumphant full playthough, and it was even better. Knowing the characters more than I had before, I cared even more about what would happen to them. Thane's saving of the Salarian Counselor and his subsequent death had me everywhere from on my feet screaming at the screen, to slumped in my chair with tears rolling down my eyes. When I made my choice at the end of the game, it was to make the Galaxy a better place for everyone I cared about.

So, to sum it all up, I love Mass Effect, especially Mass Effect 3, and I can't understand how people can have such a negative reaction to it. Even if the endings were bad, it doesn't change the many hours of wonder and joy, victory and sadness that this series has given you. No matter how bad the endings were for you, everyone here owes the people who made these games their thanks for filling our lives with amazement.