It is now almost one year after ME3 was released. Since I am now replaying ME3 for the pre-final run of my main Shepard, I thought it would be a good idea to take another in-depth look at the game with the eye of a critic, now that the emotional turmoil over the ending and the treatment of certain characters is in the past and I can enjoy the story in spite of its flaws. I will, of course, revisit the problematical parts, but I am also using this as an opportunity to mention the good things in ME3, which have often been forgotten in our annoyance of the flaws, as well as flaws that went under the radar in my estimation.
Game parameters:
I am playing this game with my main Shepard, Cyrus Shepard, Engineer, Earthborn, Sole Survivor. Important ME1 and ME2 decisions: Rachni queen saved, Wrex killed by Shepard, Council abandoned, Balak killed, all ME2 LMs played, Tali exonerated, Legion alive, geth Heretics overwritten, Maelon's data saved, Collector base saved, got everyone out alive on the SM. Romanced Ashley in ME1 and Miranda in ME2. I am playing on Hardcore since it's most fun for me. On Insanity I need to select squadmates for combat efficiency, on Hardcore I can select them for story.
Now on to the missions:
The Prologue:
[visuals ++, sound ++, combat gameplay +, gameplay/story integration ++, story o, dialogue --, roleplaying --]
In many ways, the prologue is representative of the game as a whole. As an introduction into the way the game is played it serves very well, just as combat gameplay in ME3 as a whole can be considered very good, certainly the best of the trilogy, more variable than ME2's but with less ballast than ME1's. The visuals are excellent, and sound effects and music underscore the mood of scenes well. Gameplay/story integration is nothing less than exemplary, with interactive scenes and combat sequences connected almost seamlessly.
Unfortunately, the writing doesn't hold up to the same standards, with Shepard's worst non-optional lines in the whole trilogy rearing their ugly heads. "This isn't about strategy or tactics, this is about survival" and "The Citadel? The fight's here." The first is just nonsense - how does survival not require strategy in this war? - and the second makes of Shepard a stupid grunt with so sense at all of the greater picture, which is all the more galling since a little later he's on the opposite side of the same argument with James. That this is bad is common knowledge among fans, but the reason why it exists - as I suspect - may not be, even though it's one of the mail problem areas of the game's writing: drama over consistency and drama over common sense. Drama is important in writing. A dialogue scene without tension is most often boring. I suspect the writers thought too much about drama and too little about common sense, character consistency and plot. How else can it be explained that the defense committee comes across as a group of incompetent morons?
The same lines represent a second main problem area of the game: autodialogue that contradicts the player's vision of their Shepard. Shepard is a commissioned officer in the Alliance, and their motivation is to stop the Reapers. That's what defines them canonically. I see no reason why they have to be stupid just for the sake of drama, especially since in some other places, Shepard acts intelligently. In Omega, there is even a class-based interrupt where Engineer-Shepard can assert that they're more than "just some grunt".
The last scene in the prologue illustrates how this forced stupidity could've been prevented: with a dialogue choice. You *can* say "If you stay, I stay as well" or something to that effect, but you have a choice.
So in the end, the prologue looks nice, sounds nice, introduces the main plot - the Reaper invasion - nicely and plays nice as well, but it leaves me with the foreshadowing of how hard it will be to keep my Shepard in-character throughout the game. And that is very hard indeed.
Priority:Mars:
[visuals ++, sound ++, combat gameplay ++, gameplay/story integration ++, story ++, dialogue o, roleplaying -]
I recall that one of my main complaints with ME2 was that in too many missions, you had game levels instead of believable locations and there was no sense of place. If ME3's level designers took one complaint to heart, it was that. Priority:Mars is a prime example of doing a location right, a pattern that will repeat throughout the game. When I jump out of the shuttle, it's almost as if I could smell the dust in the air if I only took my helmet off. The scenery appears to jump out of the screen, and it doesn't let you out of its grip - indoors and outdoors - until you leave Mars behind at the end of this mission.
As you approach the Archives, the dialogue about the Collector base triggers. This illustrates the third main problem area of ME3. Before I go on, let me say that the accusation that "our choices don't matter" is, overall, completely wrong. I'll say more about that when it comes to the ending, but there's a great deal of continuity created by referrals to past events and decisions. The problem is rather that the narrative impact of decisions made in past games appears to be inversely proportional to their importance. Compare the few lines you get here about the CB with the five minutes of extra scenes you get if Conrad Verner doesn't die.
On to the meeting with Liara. There, I am lucky. I do not dislike her, nor do I envision my Shepard as disliking her. Still, with her badass entrance and the way Shepard greets her, it is all too apparent that the writers want me to love her, which I also don't. She is a valued companion, not less, but also not more. Consequently, I choose mostly the lower dialogue options which let me keep a little distance. Thankfully, these options work as intended, and we make our way through the building towards the Archive. I have Ashley in my squad and her suspicions appear reasonable to me, still I have no time for them and rebut her. Also, Liara talks about the Crucible. I recall when I first heard about the Crucible, I was delighted that we'll be building the weapon against the Reapers ourselves and that it's written to be a great achievement, where I had feared we would just find some DEM somewhere. I am still delighted and I like the Crucible plot. Also, combat gameplay is enjoyable in this mission. Further along past the tramline, after defeating a final group of Cerberus goons, we enter the Archive.
If I'd had a choice, I would've left ME2 behind on reasonably good terms with TIM and Cerberus. Instead, I stole their ship and gave it to the Alliance. Hmph. I had so much looked forward to play Shepard as a free agent, working with whoever appeared most likely to help stop the Reapers. Even Cerberus. Also, from my first encounter with Sovereign in ME1, I always wanted to end the Reaper threat, if I could, without destroying them. Consequently, in the following encounter with TIM, there is no way for me to proceed through it which keeps my Shepard in character. Cyrus Shepard would be interested in TIM's plans, if extremely skeptical. This is where this mission earns its "-" in roleplaying. Also, misconceptions about evolution coming out of the mouth of an intelligent man like TIM, this is extremely galling. "Goal-oriented evolution" should be a forbidden trope. That almost everyone gets this wrong is no excuse. Foreshadowing of a much greater annoyance when the Catalyst does the same.... Thus passes one of the most problematic conversations in the whole game.
The mission ends with demonstrating the power of a synthetic infiltration unit. This I find very appropriate in the light of the organic/synthetic theme, but I find it hard to find my Shepard again after the forced derailing in the encounter with TIM. Fortunately, this is the worst such instance.
Interlude: Citadel visit #1 and Normandy crew introduction
[visuals +, sound ++, combat gameplay n/a, gameplay/story integration n/a, story -, dialogue +, roleplaying o]
The visit to the Council remind me once again how little the Council decision of ME1 matters, but in the end it's not that important in this case. Much more important is that I have no opportunity to rebut Irissa when she says I sacrificed the old Council for human interests. That was not what it was about. I can't blame her for thinking that, but I want to reply, damn it! Otherwise, too much drama for too little reason again. The Councilors' attitude sounds reasonable at this point, I wish there was an option to say "OK, I can see their viewpoint, but what do we do now?"
Now back to the Normandy, and I'm thrown into the dream. What can I say? That thrice-damned boy has no business being in my dream. He leaves me completely cold and feels like an alien influence, and not because the Catalyst will take his shape later.
Waking up, I find Liara and Samantha are visiting. The scene is nice, but I find myself fighting with the dialogue wheel paraphrases. I repeat this five-minute sequence three times before I get the scene as I want it. Surely, Bioware, it's not the purpose of the dialogue wheel to mislead the player about the contents of the following lines and make them reload. You really need to do something about the paraphrases in your next game. This is inacceptable. The thing is, this time what I want to say is there, but I can't find it.
Anyway, after this sequence is done I wander the Normandy, pick up all the ship models I can find as well as the space hamster (this never ceases to make this old BG veteran smile), and visit my team and crew. Steve and James in the armory, they immediately come across as real people. Well-written, funny and interesting interaction. Samantha, another one I come to like. The ME team plays to its strengths here, and that's very noticeable.
One visit to Liara...what's she doing in Miranda's room; damn it? This never ceases to annoy me. Liara stole Miranda's role in ME2, including the badass entrance, the new pragmatism...and the room, while Miranda was degraded to a shadow of her former self. I'll get to that later. Anyway, I can't say the converation was bad, but I am not neutrai here. Oh, and Shepard's headscrew bug is funny in this scene.
Interlude #2: Cerberus Lab and scanning sequence #1:
Off to my first N7 mission. Light in story but again, I like the visuals. Also, canonical confirmation that Reaper tech can be studied, with the proper safeguards. A side issue, but important for my roleplaying. Most noticeable though is the difficulty spike. On Insanity, I find this mission more difficult than anything else until Priority:Earth.
Back on the Normandy, I speak with Samantha. I like her...and that voice....good she's gay, or she'd be a serious temptation. Miranda wouldn't like that.
Surprisingly, I like the scanning. It's much less of a chore than in ME2, the war assets are somewhat more interesting than minerals, and most of all, I like revisiting places from the first two games. Only the Reaper attacks are annoying, they'd usually force me to revisit some systems several times, and I haven't memorized the resource locations yet, as I have for ME1. So I unabashedly use a scanning guide. I really regret lacking the patience to read all the planet descriptions. I'm a lore fanatic. I'd pay for a book with all the stuff I'm too impatient to read while playing.
Priority:Palaven
[visuals +, sound o, combat gameplay +, gameplay/story integration ++, story ++, dialogue ++, roleplaying o]
Approaching Palaven gives me the first really gripping scene in the game. Seeing Palaven burning, the turian fleets shooting at Reapers and doing almost no damage, that gives a much better impression of what we're up against than Earth. The moon looks a bit drab, but that's to be expected, and the visuals are dominated by the kilometre-high Reaper and Palaven anyway. If you take the time to look up, you feel the weight of what's happening.
The meeting with Corinthus, remeeting Garrus, getting Victus out, all plays very fluidly, and while there's not much opportunity for roleplaying with three choices on the dialogue wheel in all of the mission, the dialogue scenes themselves and all the autodialogue are well written and work well here - as autodialogue mostly doesn't pose a problem in most cases when we talk about tactics and such. They're also well-delivered.
The long uneventful walk to Victus' camp exists all too obviously to fill the player in on various background lore like the krogan/turian problem we're going to tackle next, but as I don't need action all the time, it's fine with me. In Victus camp, I have the opportunity to demolish three Brutes in record time. I recall that was an exciting and intense fight in my first playthrough. It isn't any more unless I play on Insanity - i know too much about creating explosions now - but that's ok since I'm mostly playing for the story this time.
All in all a good mission but not a great one. I wouid like Priority:Mars better but for the talk with TIM.
Back on the ship, I'm fighting again with the dialogue wheel. Some roleplaying opportunities arise from selectively omitting dialogue options in the talk with Victus, but that only works because I already know what Shepard will say when I choose option X. Yet again, I am finding that to use the dialogue wheel as a roleplaying tool, you need to have all the lines behind the options memorized. The least Bioware could give us is better paraphrases. I've been saying this for years, btw., and this is not the last time I will say it in this review.
Interlude: EDI
[visuals o, sound o, combat gameplay n/a, gameplay/story integration n/a, story ++, dialogue ++, roleplaying o]
Down to deck 3 to see EDI has taken possession of "Dr. Coré"'s body. Sigh. The scene is nice enough, but I hate what they turned EDI into. I hate the silly idea of interspecies sex with a robot, of all things, and no, I am absolutely NOT willing to suspend my disbelief for this nonsense. If they absolutely had to put this in, they should've relegated it to virtual reality. I liked EDI much better when she was the ship. Still, her personality is intact, and she gives invaluable perspective on synthetics over the course of the game, which I personally didn't need but more casual players likely appreciate.
Speaking with EDI after she joined Joker, I find that Shepard has a line dependent on Renegade/Paragon score when EDI asks if he could help with her questions. if P>R, you'll say "If you're sure it helps, I'll do what I can", if R>P, you'll say you're not really the best person to answer questions about how to fit into polite society. I think that should have been a roleplaying choice, not an automatic reponse based on the P/R score. After that talk is done, you can speak with her again for an extended "interview". This gives more perspective on her and it's also funny.
Lastly, I have a talk with Garrus, welcoming him on the ship again. Nice enough, even if most of it is autodialogue. This might also be the time ot mention that I think Garrus and Victus are both voice-acted very well. EDI, too, though her voice tends to get on my nerves after a while.
Priority:Eden Prime [DLC: From Ashes]
[visuals ++, sound +, combat gameplay +, gameplay/story integration ++, story ++, dialogue ++, roleplaying -]
This is a great mission. It may be simplistic in terms of gameplay, but story-wise it's one of my favorites. It hearkens back to ME1, where it all began, and to getting the Prothean Cipher on Feros, and the relevation of the Collectors as Protheans in ME2. Missions connecting the different parts of the trilogy like this are all too rare. The way Shepard reads the Prothean information casts a spotlight on how unusual Shepard is, with both their synthetic implants and the Cipher. And the revelations of the Prothean cycle, with its subversion of the "benevolent precursor" stereotype - fantastic in itself, and for its unexpectedness. Combat gameplay is mostly standard Cerberus fare, with none of the variety of Priority:Palaven, but still fairly enjoyable to play.
Back on the Normandy, Javik proves to be an interesting character with several meme-worthy lines, "Stand in the ashes of a trillion dead souls......." being the most notable. Having said that, autodialogue connects the question of how "cut and dried" the war is or not with the question of honor. This is irritating since my Shepard thinks things are not as simple as Javik makes them to be, but being a pragmatist, honor doesn't have high value to him. This means that yet again, autodialogue prevents me from finding an in-character way to proceed through this conversation. Did I say this was irritating?
Also, the conversation brings up another general problem area of the game: using scientific terms without any intention of being bound by their meaning. This is not just irritating, for an SF universe, this is damaging to its integrity. I can suspend my disbelief for an ability to read experiences from someone's body. "The chemistry of memory" would be enough to rationalize it, but you'd better not say it's genetic, else I'll ask why he doesn't recall the experiences of his ancestors, and no, epigenetics don't work that way. The tendency to use "DNA" whenever something biological comes up is beyond annoying. It's insulting to everyone who actually knows a little about all this. Hire a damned science advisor, Bioware, and if you use existing technical terms to explain things, respect the boundaries they set. Refusing to be bound thusly makes your worldbuilding an exercise in magical arbitrariness. Just like using that "chemistry of life" to rationalize reading rooms. Really? Did anyone on the writing team think about this beyond "This is cool. Let's put it in?"
One more thing: Javik provides critical perspective on the organic/synthetic theme throughout the game, especially in the first conversation and during the Rannoch arc. For that reason, he should've been part of the main game. If you absolutely must rip a character out of the game script to sell as day 1 DLC, it better not be one with critical perspective on the main theme.
Back on the Normandy, the talk with Cortez needs a middle option. "I'm here for you" is too personal, "We all die alone" too distant.
Grissom Academy: Emergency Evacuation
[visuals o, sound +, combat gameplay ++, gameplay/story integration ++, story ++, dialogue ++, roleplaying o]
This mission is good example that "drama over consistency" needn't be *all* bad. I find this scenario of Jack turning into a teacher unbelievable, but the situation, with the biotic students and Cerberus and Jack in the middle of it, it's so dramatically appropriate that I can overlook that inconsistency, and Jack's her usual self and so well voice acted that she's jumping out of the screen. Having said that, yet again I find no appropriate response in the first conversation with her. After the slap, I want to say "It wasn't a matter of trust but of need". There needed to be a middle option.
This mission has one of the most challenging combat scenarios in the game. It doesn't get boring even in the sixth replay or so. Having said that, I wonder if the Atlas you can use in the last fight is invulnerable. Even on Insanity, I don't recall the armor ever being damaged.
Meeting David Archer again, I don't think I can leave him to his brother ever again in ME2. That scene is touching, and the writing manages to convey that he's thankful while never masking that his mind works differently from others. That's a remarkable feat.
At the end of the mission, one of the most difficult roleplaying decisions for me: I know what will become of the students if I send them to the frontlines. Still, that's what this Shepard would do on the reasoning that we can't afford to hold them back. He'll deal with the consequences. At least the tech-minded students who'll work on the Crucible will survive.
Interlude: Citadel visit #2
[visuals +, sound +, combat gameplay n/a, gameplay/story integration n/a, story ++, dialogue ++, roleplaying +]
The Citadel.....it adds life to the universe. It's like you're touching all those little side-stories you're involved in, and it anchors you in the universe in a way the main missions can't. I have no idea how people can see the little mini-quests as unimportant. Also, they don't feel tacked-on just to mask the emptiness of places, as it was in DA2. No, here they feel like part of the universe. I always do them all, as well as Aria's mercenary side quest and Jondam Bau's Hanar tracking (excellent writing with just the right level of serious and funny, evne though the final scene feels clunky) with Kasumi's disappoiintly short appearance. I also always talk to all the team members and others while they're here. It all adds to the story for me, with the exception of the parts I'll criticize here. There are some roleplaying opportunities as well which I wouldn't want to miss..
Having said that, this visit has one of the few moments where I want to slap the writer. When I discourage EDI from pursuing a relationship with Joker, she says something like "There's little evidence that synthetics and organics can maintain a relationships as equals". No, whoever-wrote-this, this is most emphatically not what this is about. I meant that synthetics aren't wired for sex by default, and EDI is a ship AI and not a sex bot, and I'm not willing to suspend my disbelief for this nonsense. This really makes me go up the wall. Bah. Why is it that at any time sex comes into things, consistency and common sense fly out of the window?
Another meeting I have to mention is Miranda's. The encounter is fine, and the romance extension fitting. At last Shepard makes a believable boyfriend, and her goodbye with "no promises" is perfect. On the other hand, making her off-screen story center around Oriana again was a bad idea. Not that it's unbelievable, but this focus on family (you know, using family as a story hook when other hooks are screaming for attention got old a hundred years ago) detracts from her more interesting traits. She was Cerberus 2IC, damn it, and yet her part in the Cerberus arc is minimal and to add insult to injury, completely accidental? Miranda's story potential got cut off with a dirty axe. It's a storytelling crime. More about that when I get to Sanctuary.
Another oddity: I meet Ashley and break up with her, and she takes it matter-of-factly. That's perfectly fine with me, but it's odd seeing it when so many other opportunities for drama are exploited to the limit of the credible - and sometimes beyond.
Priority:Sur'kesh
[visuals +, sound +, combat gameplay -, gameplay/story integration ++, story ++, dialogue ++, roleplaying +]
With Priority:Sur'kesh begins what's usually regarded as one of the best-realized story arcs of the game, and it is a very good story arc indeed, with Bakara and Wrex/Wreav providing different perspectives on the krogan and giving the sides of your decision different weights depending on who's present. Over the five missions of the genophage arc, there are also several good opportunites for roleplaying, culminating in the decision to cure the genophage or not itself. However, I'd like to point out a few incongruities:
It is established that the krogan have a sustainable population, if barely. That means that on average, every krogan female has 2+X children. Given this number, I feel that the cultural effect of the genophage is critically overdramatized. Also, curing the genophage will increase krogan fertility a thousandfold - from this sustainable level. Given those numbers, I have some trouble believing that anyone thinks a complete reversal is a good idea - not even the krogan. Treating the genophage as a disease doesn't do it justice. As I see it, it is a necessary adaptation of the krogan natural fertility, and the only bad part is that it results in so many stillborn children. If I took my roleplaying seriously, I would never, ever cure the genophage regardless of how Paragon my Shepard is otherwise. As it is, I go with the story in spite of these objections because it's just too good not to. The Shepard in this playthrough has Wrex dead and Bakara alive, so the decision hangs on a finer balance than in any other scenario, and both cure and sabotage can be justified. I feel this scenario is the most interesting variant.
Having said that, Priority:Sur'kesh and the following talk on the Normandy provides excellent exposition and dialogue as well as some opportunities for roleplaying, though Padok Wiks' line "we should let the evolutionary process decide who lives and who dies, not galactic politics" shows, yet again, the writers' cavalier attitude to biology: when, ever since the rise of intelligence, has the "evolutionary process" not been inextricably entwined with politics? Politics are a part of what we are as a social species, and for a social species, more evolutionary relevant than many more physical issues.
The enemy in this mission is Cerberus, which raises the question: why are they here? I think some information should've been given on that. It's reasonable to assume they want to breed "integrated" krogan shock troops like Saren did, but this should not be left open to speculation. Also combat-wise, the hordes of Cerberus goons get old fast here. There are simply too many of them, and more popping in with rocket-boots reminds me unpleasantly of the teleporting enemy waves in DA2.
At the end of the mission, Bakara's badass exit and Hackett viewing progress on the Crucible are scenes I always like to revisit, and the converations with Mordin and Bakara on the Normandy are some of the best in the game. Just had to be mentioned. Now, on to wrapping a few extras up before getting back to Tuchanka.
Attican Traverse:Krogan Team
[visuals ++, sound ++, combat gameplay ++, gameplay/story integration o, story -, dialogue +, roleplaying o]
Now we come to the mission with the most blatant ass-pull of the trilogy, nullifying the outcome of an important choice made in ME1. "We need rachni enemies, so if the old queen is dead, we'll pull another one out of a dark place". Story-wise it's hugely annoying - there should be no rachni if you killed the queen, that's what it was all about - but I can understand why they did it. The rachni enemies are refreshingly different, and the game would be poorer without them, gameplay-wise. The rachni are also one of the very rare "alien alien" species (or shout I say Alien species). In this game, I saved the queen in ME1 so I didn't have any story problems.
The mission itself is, again, refreshingly different. Giving the queen a krogan voice was a good decision, so we wouldn't be distracted in our decision by a pleasant voice. Also worth mentioning: Charr's dying message you'll give to Ereba later, a very touching moment. Annd.....Grunt's survival is a great moment. It surprised me when I played it for the first time, and the feeling I got when I saw him stagger out of the caves, asking for something to eat, still lingers.
N7: Cerberus Abductions
[visuals +, sound +, combat gameplay --, gameplay/story integration o, story o, dialogue -, roleplaying -]
One of the more annoying missions. Why don't they just call it "Cerberus:the Horde"? Also, the dog tag is hard to find even if you know where it is. The location looks interesting, though, a city space with a unique architecture. Nonetheless, I'm always glad when this mission is done.
N7: Cerberus Attack
[visuals +, sound +, combat gameplay -, gameplay/story integration o, story +, dialogue -, roleplaying -]
Yet another Cerberus mission, almost as annoying as the last one but nicely integrated into the Tuchanka story arc. At this point, I'm getting mightly sick of Cerberus enemies. I appreciate the opportunity to hone my sniper rifle skills, though. Shooting Guardians through the slits in their shields is fun.
Tuchanka: Turian Platoon:
[visuals +, sound +, combat gameplay +, gameplay/story integration ++, story +, dialogue +, roleplaying +]
Standard but fun Reaper mission, the first part of Tarquin Victus' story. The sense of location is a little diminished here compared to most other missions, but I guess that makes sense when fighting through heaps of rubble. In-mission comments from your squadmates are noteworthy here. I set myself a gameplay challenge: kill all three harvesters before they fly off. Works on Hardcore or lower. On the bad side, there's another instance of drama over common sense: So, Tarquin Victus made a bad call.....and his troops are mutinying? That doesn't make sense. He didn't show the least bit of incompetence, he just guessed wrong. Once!
Anyway, a good roleplaying moment at the end when you tell him how to motivate his troops. Given my opinion of their behaviour, the Renegade variant seems appropriate.
Tuchanka: Turian Platoon:
[visuals +, sound +, combat gameplay ++, gameplay/story integration ++, story ++, dialogue ++, roleplaying ++]
This is one my of my personal "five star" missions I'm always looking forward to. Beside being interesting gameplay-wise again with the crossing of the bombardment area and protecting Tarquin, it has the honor of featuring one of only two believable on-screen heroic sacrifices in the game (the other is Mordin, three if you count Prangley in non-Jack missions I guess). A convincing part of the Tuchanka story arc, this mission features much of what is exemplary in ME3: after the end of the mission, the exchanges between Shepard and the squadmates on the shuttle, between Shepard, Wreav and Victus and between Shepard and Victus on the Normandy are among the best scenes in the game, with perfect writing combined with good roleplaying moments.
Also, the map makes the combat interesting - what a difference to the "Cerberus Horde" combat of the preceding two N7 missions.
Interlude: Normandy conversations:
[visuals +, sound +, combat gameplay n/a, gameplay/story integration n/a, story +, dialogue +, roleplaying o]
This may also be the time for some remarks about he Normandy conversations between Sur'kesh and Priority:Tuchanka. First, the good parts: Liara's conversation about the message to the next cycle presents a nice roleplaying opportunity, with the question of how you'd like to be remembered. The friendship with Liara is a little closer than I'd like, but acceptable. Also, nice interaction beween James and Steve again. These two are always good for a laugh. Garrus talking with Liara....just "this and that", LOL. Then Garrus and Javik after the Bomb mission - I never cared much for Garrus before ME3, but here he really comes alive. His writing and voice acting are excellent. Last but not least, I like Samantha's dry humor.
A cause for annoyance: EDI's comment on transhumanism. Some writer must have an anti-transhumanist agenda, putting words in Shepard's mouth this Shepard would never say. Thrice-damned character-derailing autodialogue!!!!!!! To top it all off, they got it all wrong. I should remember in my final playthrough not to speak with EDI between Sur'Kesh and Utukku. Also, when Samantha comments on turian secret communication before the Bomb mission, she says it would be wrong to listen in....What? Our allies expect us to pull their asses out of the fire and don't even tell us why? Get some sense for realism, girl! I'd damn well listen in as much as I can with no qualms at all.
Interlude: Citadel Visit #3:
[visuals ++, sound +, combat gameplay n/a, gameplay/story integration n/a, story o, dialogue +, roleplaying +]
Some good moments in this visit as I return to wrap up sidequests. Steve's recording may be odd, but meeting him at the memorial wall is a good moment. The friendship between Shepard and Cortez is not something I'd have gone for intentionally, but Cortez can draw you in and it's working well for me, now and later, too. An unremarkable meeting with Ashley, and then....Aethyta and Liara, another very nice little mini"quest" with funny moments.
Priority: Tuchanka
[visuals ++, sound ++, combat gameplay +, gameplay/story integration ++, story ++, dialogue ++, roleplaying ++]
Starting this mission, I go through some good dialogue scenes and cutscenes, including the talk with the dalatrass. I'll say this in advance: this is one of the best missions for roleplaying in the game, with not only several personality-defining conversation nodes, but the decision about the genophage being both immensely important for the future (even if we only see it in the epilogue, that counts for me) and for who my Shepard is. Also, sabotaging the cure is *the* Renegade decision of the trilogy. everything the Renegade path is about. It's too bad that the designers reduced the net war assets benefit to a measly 30 EMS, but the narrative impact is as great as it should be.
But before that, the mission. Entrance Bakara with the arguably best speech in the game. Why doesn't Shepard ever get such an awesome speech instead of the conventional crap he spouts (I'll get to that in Priority:Earth)? Also, Bakara's speech is both inspiring and perfectly krogan.
The next part has, sadly, another instance of drama over logic. Why the hell can't the turian fighter wing abort its attack when Shepard calls? Why can it abort it a minute later after having taken losses? That makes no sense.
Going underground and back up again, more insights into krogan culture, the ancient one Bakara seeks to revive. You see the potential architectural beauty, but unfortunately, this Shepard doesn't believe the krogan will get their act together. I don't like the intensity with which the game tries to invoke guilt to make you reveal the sabotage, but I like that the different perspectives of Wreav and Bakara make the decision difficult.
Kalros is next. Can I say how dramatically appropriate I find it that that Reaper is killed by the fauna of Tuchanka? Before the game was released, I found the idea silly, but the execution is great. I guess a maw hammer is Tuchanka's equivalent of a thumper? It would've been nice to have some exposition here. Anyway, the fight between Kalros and the Reaper is one the best cutscenes in the game. .
And the decision about Mordin - if Bakara or Wrex are alive - one of the hardest, if you want to sabotage the cure. Shooting Mordin makes me feel like sh*t. Not because of the genophage - this Shepard is convinced he's right - but for shooting a friend and because of the monstrous betrayal this represents. I recall that in my first playthrough, I watched Mordin crawl towards the console with trepidation, afraid that everything would've been for nothing. The feeling lingers. Back with Bakara and Wreav, being praised as a hero never felt so empty. Still, there is a sense of accomplishment as I watch Shepard return to the Normandy, thinking about the complexity of emotions invoked by this mission. This is extremely well done. My only other criticism apart from the behaviour of the turian fighter wing is that it's rather short for such an important mission.
Unfortunately, I have no way to opt out of another one of the damned dreams. Actually, I wouldn't mind a nightmare at this time for this particular game, but the vent kid has no business being in my dreams, and for someone who cured the genophage I see no reason at all for being haunted in their dreams. Except if they dreamed of another krogan rebellion.
Also on the Normandy, Garrus swapping jokes with Joker. Feels odd after the seriousness of the mission. Talking with Garrus after that feels like giving the matter a little closure. Very fitting. The following talk with Javik features yet another misconception of evolution (you know why I hate this with a passion? It gives those who don't yet know the wrong ideas) but also one of Javik's many quotable lines "You and I, Commander, war is our sculptor, and we are prisoners to its design.
N7: Noveria Fighter Base
[visuals ++, sound +, combat gameplay +, gameplay/story integration n/a, story +, dialogue -, roleplaying -]
An N7 mission where you're not swarmed by endless hordes of Cerberus goons appearing out of nowhere for a change. The fighting makes sense and doesn't extend beyond where it gets annoying. Also, I like this map. Too bad it's the only part of Noveria we can revisit.
Priority: The Citadel
[visuals +, sound +, combat gameplay +, gameplay/story integration ++, story o, dialogue o, roleplaying +]
The first part of this mission is rather nice as you get to know of the Cerberus attack and free Bailey on the C-Sec docks. After that, a long boring sequence of corridors that appear to have no other purpose than to let players find weapon mods.
Entrance Kai Leng. Watching the scene between Thane and Kai Leng with a detached eye, it actually looks quite good. Thane has always been a "melee assassin" (see his entrance in ME2) and the fight choreography is good. Still, the scene doesn't work, and I think the reason is lack of dynamic on Shepard's and the squadmates' part. I guess the scene wanted to convey that Shepard can't interfere because they might hit Thane, but the fight scene is too slow for that. So...the fight *is* impressive and showcases Thane very well, but the scene as a whole fails. That Kai Leng's first - and only - line has to be one of the cheesiest in storytelling history doesn't help. "No...now it's fun." Really? I think this line had a significant part in fixing Kai Leng in players' minds as a failed Dragon. First impressions count, and this first impression fails. Neither does the next sequence with the aircar work well for me, and this time, I don't really know why. Things just happen.
Back down on the "ground", you get a great sense of place as you look down over the railings. In my first playthrough, it took me a moment to realize that I'm in the Presidium Ring, but once you realize it this part of the map leaves a much better impression. So the next fighting sequence is yet another long boring straight line, but at least you have a nice view.
The standoff with Udina....works ok. Not really impressive but ok. Only this time I don't use the persuasion options and play that I can't convince Ashley and have to kill her. Wow, isn't her death treated as an afterthought in this variant. Barely two lines about her. That sucks. Once you're back on the Normandy, however, there are extra scenes with Joker, Garrus and Liara which more than make up for that and shed light on a few other things as well. This is the first time I killed the VS, and more as an experiment to see what would happen, but I think I'll keep this save.
In the end, this mission comes across as workmanlike. It does its job, but it doesn't really impress. You'll get the best impression of the difference to other parts of the game if you kill the VS and then immediately go back to the Normandy and speak with Joker, Garrus and Liara. Those scenes are very good, the preceding mission....not so much.
Interlude: Citadel Visit #4 and Normandy conversations:
[visuals ++, sound +, combat gameplay n/a, gameplay/story integration n/a, story +, dialogue ++, roleplaying +]
Wandering around collecting sidequests, I find,as usual, that EDI's conversation when you didn't encourage the "romance" with Joker is much more interesting. It also makes her post-Synthesis line appear in a different light. Then I go up to Thane. The dying scene is very poignant, and the roleplaying options I have here are appropriate. The prayer - Thane's religion has beautiful imagery, and watching his last moments, I see them foreshadowed in the first meeting way back in ME2. It is a fitting end to his story, if a sad one. Unfortunately, this scene is ruined for me at the last moment by character-derailing autodialogue: "You won't be alone long". This makes me go up the wall every single time. It is so bad that I'm always tempted to skip this scene altogether. Good that there are several good roleplaying opportunities in this visit, or I'd have to give it another "-".
Then, Balak. The scene is very good if you use the Renegade persuade, but can anyone tell me why he is out of Alliance custody? Also, funny how the decision import - great that this one from an ME1 DLC was imported at all, btw - can reveal that I messed up my ME1 playthrough two games later. This Shepard was supposed to have killed him. The scene has a *good* autodialogue line for a change: "I want you to put a bullet in his head, but we're all making some sacrifices today".
Back on the Normandy, I go through the excellent conversations with Garrus, Joker and Liara about Ash's death, as well as a few others. Good stuff, mostly, though I'm fighting with the dialogue wheel again in James' conversation. The paraphrase "Soldiers are expendable" sounds callous, but what Shepard says is more like "casualties are unavoidable".
Kallini: Ardat-Yakshi Monastery:
[visuals ++, sound ++, combat gameplay ++, gameplay/story integration ++, story +, dialogue +, roleplaying ++]
This misssion should rather be named "Mesana: Ardat-Yakshi Monastery". Kallini is the neighboring system. I like this mission. A great creepy mood, a visually appealing map, a believable location with a good sense of place. Also, interesting combat and some good roleplaying opportunities.
There are two problems: (1) broken continuity. In ME2, we come to know that only three Ardat-Yakshi exist. Now there suddenly are enough of them to make the two dozen or so banshees we get to kill over the course of the game, and it's implied they're elsewhere, too.
(2) The gratuitous ugliness of the banshees. I have a problem with this "abomination aesthetic", since it appeals to emotion to suggest the existence of some "natural" state that has been "corrupted", and that Reaper minions should be killed for what they are, not for what they do. Samara even uses the terminology. It bugs me in the whole trilogy, but the banshees top everything else. The scene with Rila and the banshee is particularly galling. It comes across as a way to dehumanize the enemy based on appearance, and I'm allergic to it even where they're already dehumanized by their actions.
None of that affects the mission itself though. I like the various ways you can resolve it. This time, I do not interrupt Samara and she kills herself, but I leave Falere alive. It seems somehow dramatically appropriate, with Samara being something of a relic of a bygone age.
Later, on the Normandy, I hear Javik, Garrus and Ensign Copeland talk about war in the different cycles and the methods of the Reapers....and James and Steve arguing about the merits of the Mako and the Hammerhead. LOL. One of the many funny moments on the Normancy. One of ME3's most noticeable qualities lies in the attention paid to small things like these.
Arrae: Ex-Cerberus Scientists:
[visuals ++, sound +, combat gameplay ++, gameplay/story integration ++, story ++, dialogue +, roleplaying ++]
This is not a femShep game but I'd like to say something about Jacob's romance. As a rule, am not necessarily against LIs breaking up with the protagonist, but it's clearly not storytelling reasons that were reponsible. It was a popularity issue and even worse, it deprived femShep of the second romance option from ME2 so that only those who romanced Garrus had a chance for a happy end. That is not good. Also, for the sake of the player, there should be some foreshadowing. Thane's death is ok because everyone knew what they were in for. Jacob's break-up? Perhaps it might've worked without pissing people off too much if it hadn't been handled like an afterthought.
But back to the mission. This is one of the most important missions for my roleplaying, since it shows that Cerberus - or at least parts of it - were once different and I can play this Shepard - who had no problem working with Cerberus in ME2 - as holding to the "old" ideals of protection and advancement of humanity. It's also confirmation that Miranda's (good) opinion of Cerberus in ME2 wasn't all delusional and that this Shepard and Miranda (his LI) are likely aligned.
There are two good conversations about all that in this mission, as well as a few opportunities for roleplaying. I like it that Brynn reminds Shepard that Cerberus technology saved his life. This mission also does a lot to counter the "science is bad" (or at least "life sciences are bad") vibe I got from large parts of ME1 and ME2.
What I don't like so much is the forced hostility to Gavin Archer. In ME2, I took David to Grissom and used the Paragon interrupt, but here, Archer is clearly repentant and deserves neutrality.
Otherwise, I have to commend this mission for a great sense of place and good visuals as well as the flow of events. Everything follows naturally from what came before, and the fighting has variety enough to keep interesting even though the enemy is Cerberus and as a rule I've long been sick of them. In fact, the fight at the end of the mission could use a little fewer enemies....
Back on the Normandy, I listen to EDI and Javik talk about how she chose to oppose her creators. As I said in the Eden Prime section, Javik provides critical perspective on the organic/synthetic theme.
Interlude: Citadel Visit #5:
[visuals ++, sound +, combat gameplay n/a, gameplay/story integration n/a, story +, dialogue ++, roleplaying ++]
This is the visit with the most significant team member scenes. Garrus and Shepard on top of the Presidium Ring: a great scene with top-notch writing and voice acting. Garrus is the king of the deadpan snarkers. "Raise your hand if you haven't been killed before", LOL! Javik's scene is also very good. I like the Paragon version better but it's worth leaving the interrupt out at least once to see how Javik's standard attitude crushes hope. Cortez...now there's a character I'd never thought would draw me into a friendship, but here it goes. I like him. Also, whoever wrote him created a good, non-awkward line for indicating you're not interested in more.
Then, Miranda at the Spectre terminal... *sigh*. I guess the scene's not too bad, even if it's all autodialogue. If it just wasn't all about Oriana again. I wish Miranda trying to find out details about TIM's plans had been the primary hook of her story arc, and Oriana had come in later and made Miranda take the extra risk of going to Sanctuary without Shepard's backing.
Conrad Verner. ROFL, every single time. "I joined Cerberus, too", oh my. Also, even after several playthroughs I'm still delighted to see that the ME1 sidequests got some attention here....I'd always hoped doing the collection quests would pay off. Then the "doctoral dissertation", Jenna's intervention. All too obviously comedy, but with enough seriousness behind it that I'm always smiling when they walk off together. Liara's, James' and Zaeed's encounters - all good enough - wrap this visit up.
Omega: Aria T'Loak:
[visuals ++, sound +, combat gameplay ++, gameplay/story integration ++, story ++, dialogue +, roleplaying +]
I'm playing Omega at this point as part of a Cerberus containment strategy that appears appropriate after the coup attempt. Aria's lines in the intro reflect that nicely, and the options in the talk with her are satisfactory. One thing in advance: I dislike that both squadmate slots are predefined, and I find it 100% out of character for Shepard to agree to the condition of leaving his team and the Normandy behind. This and the other roleplaying problem mentioned below are why the roleplaying score is a + instead of a ++, since I don't feel I need to account for technical issues and resource constraints. Otherwise, roleplaying in general is ok to good in this DLC. Conversely, I know about graphics bugs but they aren't enough for a downgrade of the score because Omega looks that good. Most maps are well designed and rich in detail, even though the sense of place is lacking at times.
Having said that, the intro sequences are awesome. What does it say about ME3 and its development that a DLC has an intro that shames the intro of the main game? The same goes for Oleg Petrovsky - at last a convincing antagonist and in my estimation, the best antagonist in ME3. Also, the first part captivates by a sound presentation of the infiltration strategy and interesting combat sequences.
At the command center intro sequence, I run into the main roleplaying problem of the Omega storyline: At this point I know that your overall behaviour with regard to P/R in the conversations here will determine how the encounter with Oleg goes. I find the neutral end sequence where Aria says she can't read you suits my Shepard - and he does indeed end up almost perfectly neutral - best, but I don't like how I must orchestrate that through the other decisions I make here. Also, middle options in most decisions are are severely missing here, since often neither the upper nor the lower ones are to my liking.
The next sequence has a nice intro again and stunning visuals after coming out of the tubes. The maps of Omega are impressive. Minor quibble: Nyreen in a cloak uses a human model, Nyreen in armor looks more convincingly turian. Also, too many medkits. I get more xp from picking them up than from the mission. As everyone knows, Aria's speech scene has buggy visuals, but at least the speech is ok - as opposed to Shepard's in Priority:Earth.
Before the start of the next sequence, I talk to Nyreen. At last some investigation options. Background info was severely lacking until now. Nice to hear that "Oleg's code doesn't exactly match the Illusive Man's". Also, yet again I notice that the mission designers paid some attention to strategy. I wish the same amount of thought had gone into Priority:Earth. The following map is nicely creepy and also a little confusing, I like this kind. In this and the next map the third dimension adds gameplay appeal as well. The Adjutants, however, are laughably easy to defeat. Up the elevator, the mine level is one of the most visually impressive areas. At the end of this sequence, there's the reactor scene which I highly appreciate since I can, at last, determine that this Shepard isn't "just some grunt" with the class-specific interrupt. Oh my, why couldn't the writers avoid the stupid lines in the prologue? Omega does quite a few things better than the main game...
After that, the attack on Afterlife. That part I don't like so much. Too much uninterrupted fighting with nothing else to break it up, and the battle in Afterlife is yet another gameplay contrivance inherited from MP. I don't care for those, but the scene with Petrovsky makes up for it. He knows when he's beaten and gives up calmly, and it's nice that I can save him. I always headcanon that I can convince him to switch sides. Too bad that the writers couldn't resist making him a little pathetic. That was Omega....a significant addition to my game, story- and roleplaying-wise. I don't mind a single € I paid for this DLC.
Priority: Geth Dreadnought and Normandy conversations:
[visuals o, sound o, combat gameplay o, gameplay/story integration +, story +, dialogue +, roleplaying +]
This may be the time so mention that I resent the "audio emulators" excuse to create sound effects for space battles. This may also be the time to mention that I find the space battle around the geth dreadnought much more appealing than the one in Priority:Earth. Also the Normandy conversations following this mission are the only reason I've given it a "+" in dialogue, story and roleplaying.
Anyway, the meeting with the Admirals is ok, but why can't I answer "Are you completely mad?" to their statement that they started a war of their own during a Reaper invasion? The amount of stupidity shown by people in power in the ME trilogy is beyond all credibility.
The mission itself starts with the docking tube sequence. Well, I like that there is at least *one* "space-y" scene in the game, but this may be the time to mention how much nonstandard animations plainly suck. Shepard's awkward walk here is affected as well as Samara and TIM falling down after having shot themselves.
The combat sequences here are not very interesting, though I guess the Hunters can be annoying for less experienced players. The map design is unimpressive, though the story progresses all right until we find Legion. Well, so why should I trust it? "Our architecture prevents control by the Reapers. We are too complex"? Anyone could say that, and suddenly Shepard's OK with it? That makes no sense. One would think that for a mission with so much impact on the main organic/synthetic theme the writers would've taken more care with the dialogue. At least, when we're back on the Normandy, the talks with EDI and Javik give some important perspective. Did I say Javik provides critical perspective on the organic/synthetic theme? This Shepard doesn't agree with most of what he says, but it's still important. More is added if you take him on the mission. In this context I'll also mention the discussion between Chakwas and Adams regarding synthetic life which you'll get after the next mission, as well as Garrus' talk about the ruthless calculus of war. All of that, very good.
N7:Fuel Reactors:
[visuals ++, sound o, combat gameplay +, gameplay/story integration +, story +, dialogue o, roleplaying o]
A nice little interlude and refreshingly, an N7 mission with Reaper enemies instead of Cerberus. Good. Nice location, ok integration into the war story and as usual for an N7 mission, little dialogue and no roleplaying. Even so, no autodialogue problems so that doesn't bother me overmuch.
Rannoch: Admiral Koris:
[visuals ++, sound -, combat gameplay +, gameplay/story integration +, story +, dialogue +, roleplaying +]
Rannoch looks beautiful. That's the first thing you'll notice when you land. It's almost impossible not to just stand and look around for a moment or two. Not so good: recycled music from Tali's loyalty mission in ME2 creates a cognitive dissonance, since the environments are so drastically different. Combat is nice and somewhat variable, the mission has its funny moments if you choose James for the jamming tower deactivation, and also some good roleplaying moments with the admiral near the end of the mission. Rannoch leaves a lasting impression, and I'm almost sad when the mission ends.
Interlude: Reaper base strategic meeting:
I'll give this an extra section because it's so important story wise. This is the meeting you will always get after the first Rannoch mission, where Legion explains the Reaper upgrades, and that they'll turn the geth into "fully evolved AI". In other words, it gives them full sapience and self-awareness as individuals which they didn't have before.
I wonder how many players there are who overlooked the fact that this means that the Reapers are the source of a fundamental good? The story explicity points that out when mentioning that the model of a geth with Reaper upgrades is beautiful and lifelike, and Shepard can agree and say "this is a living being by any measure". Especially viewed in the sublime light of the later scene where you make peace between the quarians and the geth, this war room scene is, perhaps, the most significant event in the trilogy that tells us, on a thematic level, that the Reapers aren't just "evil abominations", that there is more to them, and that "we destroy them or they destroy us" may just be a little too simplistic a perspective on beings who have this knowledge that transcends our understanding. And Shepard treats this narratively critical revelation matter-of-factly, as if it were nothing special? I am tempted to call this the most significant storytelling blunder of the whole trilogy. It was clear the writers wanted us to see that there's more to the Reapers than their first impression as "evil abomations" indicates, so why didn't they elaborate on that? A big part of players' confusion about the endings resulted from a lack of narrative support for the ambiguity of the Reapers. Shepard's Paragon answer to Raan "Maybe they don't ALL have to die" foreshadows the ending, where you are called to make a decision about whether or not to give the Reapers the same consideration. It is unfathomable to me why this was not elaborated on.
Rannoch: Geth Fighter Squadrons:
[visuals +, sound ++, combat gameplay n/a, gameplay/story integration +, story ++, dialogue ++, roleplaying ++]
Yet another of my favorite missions, and not only because it's so refreshingly different. You enter the geth consensus (or rather, a subsection of it)! You need to think about what that means for a moment. Think back on when you fought the geth in ME1. Did you ever think to land here a few years later? The possibility of events like this is what a sequence of games telling one story adds to video game storytelling. As far as I know, outside of games set in the big SF universes established through movies and TV, this is unique to the Mass Effect trilogy. The tasks here are simple - just shoot the infection - but the story content is all the more significant, and the small touches ("Why a gun?", self-repairing Reaper code) add significantly to the mood. I've heard people say the te story is heavy-handed in "whitewashing" the geth, but I do not agree because that's not the point. The scenes from the Morning War bring an important aspect to the organic/synthetic theme: in the ending we hear that that synthetics will eventually destroy all organics without intervention. Here in the geth consensus, we come to know that it is typically organics who start that war, and this is supported by evidence throughout the trilogy. It brings important perspective to the ending. Fittingly, we have a number of roleplaying choices where we can express Shepard's take on the matter.
One thing I have to criticize as a trilogy player: we already know that the geth spared the last quarians in the Morning War if we spoke with Legion in ME2. Shepard shouldn't act so surprised.
This post has now reached the maximum size. You'll find Priority:Rannoch and later missions seven posts down of here.
Modifié par Ieldra, 07 mars 2014 - 12:28 .
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