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[JasonShepard]

So you don't think we'll end up transhuman in real life? It's baffling enough as it is that Shepard and Saren are the only transspecieists in a game set over a century in the future.

 

http://www.theverge....ts-fda-approval

 

 

I have no idea why that statement makes your brain itch. You can disagree with a lot the Catalyst says, but that statement is right on the money.

 

I'd say it's because evolution and transhumanism (synthesis) are two entirely different things. Then again, the word evolution gets rather abused in many of the conversations with the Reapers...

 

Though yeah, transhumanism is probably going to become a pretty big thing sometime in the next few centuries. If we don't all kill each other first.

[Grieving Natashina]

Confession time:

 

I'm currently going through my second play session of the ME series.  I only got into the series as of May of this year.   After spending some time on the forums, I decided to check it out.  I'm very glad I did.  For all the various faults of the series, I really had a wonderful game experience.  As a bonus, Jennifer Hale, Kimberly Brooks and Mark Meer were at Denver Comic Con this year.  So I got to meet both Sheps and Ashley less than two weeks after I played the games.  I didn't know they were going to be there, but my husband did.  He wanted to surprise me and boy he did.  

 

Anyway, for the ME series, bare in mind that I avoided/blocked out spoilers, and almost never used a walkthrough.  One of the only times I did was for the suicide mission, because I didn't want anyone to die.  I knew the endings were extremely controversial, but I avoided any mention of them.  I wanted to come into the series with fresh eyes.  

 

When it came to the Starbrat  and the choice of endings, I was...silly.  For whatever reason, I only paid attention to the bright shiny light (oooh, shiny.)  So I stumbled into (high EMS) Synthesis, due to my lack of paying flipping attention to where Control and Destroy were.  I'm pretty embarrassed about it myself, looking back.   

 

I enjoyed it, but it just felt too Utopian to me.  Sure, there was some moments I considered payoffs, such as EDI and Joker becoming the same species (I guess?  Can't think of another term at the moment,) so they could love each other more as equals.  And also my payoffs for saving the Geth, which I also had a lot of fun with.  However, it just seemed too "happy shiny" for my tastes.  Sure, things are great for now.  Yet, mortal nature being what it is, this whole "we are one" thing will fade eventually.  There won't be anymore wars between synthetics and organics, but there will always be cultural divisions.  For now, everyone is united, but it won't last.  The thing that bothered me the most about that ending was the implication that everything will always be hunky dory.

 

I haven't gotten to ME3 again yet (just finished ME1 again, working on 2,) but I'm going straight for (high EMS) Destroy.  I like EDI, but even she said she would risk her life for Joker.  She would understand.  The Geth...well, no war can be won without sacrifice. It sucks, because I liked the race, but that's just the way it goes.  That ending makes the most sense to me, since it overall changes the status quo the least.  I also feel like it's the best way to move the story forward.  The breath scene is a nice bonus, but truthfully, it just goes in line with my Paragade Shep that I'm playing.  She doesn't want to control the Reapers.  She doesn't want to force a permanent union between organic and synthetic, since it really warps any notion of free will.  She wants the Reapers gone for good, so Garrus (the LI I'm shooting for) Tali, and the rest of her friends can continue to live their lives.

 

Oops, this turned into quite the wall of text here.  Sorry about that.

[Han Shot First]

Good post. Looking forward to reading your thoughts on High EMS Destroy.

 

It seems a lot of people have made the mistake of accidentally choosing Synthesis. I've seen that posed quite a few times on the forums, and the first time though I made the same blunder. I was tired and a little in shock at the Catalyst reveal, and stumbled right up the middle not expecting an ending to automatically trigger. 

 

I wonder how many people have done that. Hopefully not enough to skewer Bioware's internal numbers into "Synthesis was our most popular ending, so we made a sequel based on it." 

[Han Shot First]

The Deus Ex series did transhumanism a lot better than Synthesis. 

 

Spoiler

 

The Sarif ending was my favorite for Deus Ex: Human Revolution, while Synthesis is my least favorite of ME3's three original endings.

[Farangbaa]

The Deus Ex series did transhumanism a lot better than Synthesis. 
 

Spoiler

 
The Sarif ending was my favorite for Deus Ex: Human Revolution, while Synthesis is my least favorite of ME3's three original endings.

BW went out of their way to make Shepard look not transhuman... brain killing conversation with EDI comes to mind.

[Grieving Natashina]

Good post. Looking forward to reading your thoughts on High EMS Destroy.

 

It seems a lot of people have made the mistake of accidentally choosing Synthesis. I've seen that posed quite a few times on the forums, and the first time though I made the same blunder. I was tired and a little in shock at the Catalyst reveal, and stumbled right up the middle not expecting an ending to automatically trigger. 

 

I wonder how many people have done that. Hopefully not enough to skewer Bioware's internal numbers into "Synthesis was our most popular ending, so we made a sequel based on it." 

I did want to mention something:  I thought I was prepared for how silly the Kid's explaination was.  Even then, I found myself yelling at the screen, completely against my will.  It was basically ended up boiling down to:  You stupid malfunctioning AI!  You idiot!  I've met stoners at Denny's at 3am that were more coherent than your "solution."  And I can't comment on this?  Great, this is like the Mark of the Assassin DLC (DA2) all over again."  

 

Yeah, I edited out some cuss words there.  Still, I enjoyed everything that came before, and everything that came after the Catalyst, so I'm willing to let it slide.  As you can tell, it hasn't impeded my enjoyment of the series.

 

Some of the bugs I've run into, on the other hand (the black box bug in Peak 15 and in Ilos in ME1; getting stuck in ME3 on the bridge; the final door in Haelstorm not opening and needing the fly command to get over it) did hinder my enjoyment of the game sometimes.  The endings though, not so much.  I've played video games for over 30 years (no joke) and I've seen much more failed endings in the past.  I refuse to let 10-20 minutes of silliness and a troll logic plot dump get in the way of my gaming experience.  If I did, I certainly would not have played Chrono Cross as many times as I did.

 

Seriously, Chrono Cross was the weirdest and most clumsy info dump prior to a final boss I've ever seen.  Even ME3 couldn't top that.  At least the ME ending didn't make me look up string theory and quantum physics (including stuff like wormholes and the "multiverse" theory) just to understand what the hell happened.  

[Nogroson]

Good post. Looking forward to reading your thoughts on High EMS Destroy.

It seems a lot of people have made the mistake of accidentally choosing Synthesis. I've seen that posed quite a few times on the forums, and the first time though I made the same blunder. I was tired and a little in shock at the Catalyst reveal, and stumbled right up the middle not expecting an ending to automatically trigger.

I wonder how many people have done that. Hopefully not enough to skewer Bioware's internal numbers into "Synthesis was our most popular ending, so we made a sequel based on it."

I guess that quite a number of person had chosen Synthesis by chance the first time. I for sure am one of them. First time I finished ME3 was something like 2 am after a quite hard working day ..... I was so tired I don't even realized it was possible to turn right or left for the 2 other options and ended up to fall in the green beam.
After that first time I always picked up destroy.

[themikefest]

 After hearing the Levaithan turd the first time before the extended cut, hearing it after the extended cut and hearing it after the Leviathan dlc, I just skip the garbage and pick destroy.

[von uber]

It seems a lot of people have made the mistake of accidentally choosing Synthesis.

 

I accidentally got refuse, I was so confused I was like "What the hell? No, I don't want any of these, I just want you dead - how do I make that happen?"

[Grieving Natashina]

I accidentally got refuse, I was so confused I was like "What the hell? No, I don't want any of these, I just want you dead - how do I make that happen?"

Well, one thing about getting the most bleak ending the first time: The rest can only go up from there I would figure.  

[jtav]

I have actually never chosen Destroy and kept it. It's not an ethical thing, I just don't like it. Paragon Control is my favorite.

[essarr71]

Paragon Control is my favorite as well, but I really wish I could pick Destroy.

 

I'd be a fan of PC if I didn't get the nagging suspicion everything will eventually go back to cycles in the end - or at least really messy conflicts.  I mean, I'm sure one Leviathan voiced a concern when they were making the Catalyst and the programmer said, "No, it'll be cool.  I'm basing him on my really nice guy whose killed a lot of people."

 

What happens if the Krogan expand or the Turians think they shouldn't have Reapers dictating galactic policy?  How long before polite warnings from the Shepalist isn't convincing enough or the galactic community gets tired of being babysat?  I didn't get the impression the Reapers were going anywhere (at least in EC.. pre you at least could head canon a trip into a star), and the problem with computer programs - as user-friendly as they may be - is that they're pretty dedicated to simple parameters.  We know the Catalyst wanted a different solution (synthesis) than the cycles, but in the billions of years of burning the galaxy, he wasn't able to figure out one.  How long before the Shepalist realizes it?

 

Story-wise, I still like it.  It fits nicely as a conclusion to TIMs arc.  I just think it's a lot of, "here's the new boss, same as the old boss."

[Coyotebay]

Confession time:

 

When it came to the Starbrat  and the choice of endings, I was...silly.  For whatever reason, I only paid attention to the bright shiny light (oooh, shiny.)  So I stumbled into (high EMS) Synthesis, due to my lack of paying flipping attention to where Control and Destroy were.  I'm pretty embarrassed about it myself, looking back.   

 

.

Don't worry, I did the same thing my first playthrough.  I just started walking forward thinking about the choices when all of a sudden I was thrown into the cut scene.  It's because you think it's not going to happen until you walk all the way up to the thing and click on it or whatever.  And that's another thing that annoyed people because after Star Brat keeps pushing you toward the Synthesis choice, they stick that choice in the center and make it so you can accidentally stumble into taking it.  Talk about manipulative.  The problem I had with the Star Brat conversation was that he is a liar, and Shepard never called him on it.  Explaining the purpose of the Reapers being that organics and synthetics just can't get along and the synthetics will wipe out the organics is a load of rubbish to rationalize and justify the monstrous behavior of the Reapers themselves, which very clearly are *not* representative of all synthetic behavior.

 

I'm going to replay ME3 again sometime soon to get the good Geth ending.

[Iakus]

The Deus Ex series did transhumanism a lot better than Synthesis. 

 

Spoiler

 

The Sarif ending was my favorite for Deus Ex: Human Revolution, while Synthesis is my least favorite of ME3's three original endings.

 

The Sarif ending at least didn't force transhumanism on everyone in the world.

 

Nor did it require spewing Jensen-juice everywhere.

[dantares83]

I think Control is the 'best ending' only because none of your squadmates die. u sacrifice yourself for the greater good. If you choose destory, EDI will die and poor Joker will be devasated.

 

Synthesis is just sick. u don't make such a decision on the behalf for trillion of species. many would rather die than becoming a hybrid. i would. so the best is to control, get rid of the Reapers (temporaily) and die for your squadmates (mainly just for EDI because I really like her and I like Joker too).

[von uber]

Or, you know, joker could try getting a girlfriend that isn't a sexbot. There's an option for you.

[Han Shot First]

The Sarif ending at least didn't force transhumanism on everyone in the world.

 

Nor did it require spewing Jensen-juice everywhere.

 

Deus Ex also didn't have the very nature of iife altered for all time. People have tech enhancements, but they're still very much human. I'm not quite so sure that is true with Synthesis.

[themikefest]

Or, you know, joker could try getting a girlfriend that isn't a sexbot. There's an option for you.

Too bad there wasn't an option to have him locked up when he says there's no regulation aagainst dating a ships AI.

[Han Shot First]

Too bad there wasn't an option to have him locked up when he says there's no regulation aagainst dating a ships AI.

 

Well, Shepard probably thought it was an improvement over Joker's last girlfriend:

 

Spoiler

[dantares83]

Or, you know, joker could try getting a girlfriend that isn't a sexbot. There's an option for you.

 

but they look so cute together... hell.. Joker was asking Mordin for advice on how not to break bones while doing exercise with EDI in bed. it is cute.

[KaiserShep]

So you don't think we'll end up transhuman in real life? It's baffling enough as it is that Shepard and Saren are the only transspecieists in a game set over a century in the future.

 

http://www.theverge....ts-fda-approval

 

 

I have no idea why that statement makes your brain itch. You can disagree with a lot the Catalyst says, but that statement is right on the money.

 

As an entire species? I have my doubts. No doubt as technology advances, it will filter down to the lower rungs of society, but then how we define the point where humanity is essentially "post-human" is kind of fuzzy. In the MEU, people already do extensive gene therapy and have implants and cybernetics, but for the most part, these things are done to fulfill some other need, rather than something people do for fun. Like, in the setting of Mass Effect, should there be tons of people who are heavily augmented like Shepard around? What for? Most of Shepard's implants are to aid in keeping the body alive after extensive trauma and...death. Of course, something to consider is that Shepard's recovery is an entirely new thing, and is prohibitively expensive, so it wouldn't really make sense if there were a lot of people like Shepard around anyway.

 

Anyway, this makes my brain itch because the word evolution is pretty much the whipping boy of our lexicon. What is this "final" step in evolution? Like, we simply stop evolving entirely? Forever? Do we just stay the same for millions of years? What is this crock? Where is the red sand?

 

It reminds me too much of those clowns that used to argue against evolution to me on the basis that life cannot exist as something incomplete, which made my brain hurt in ways I never thought possible.

[Coyotebay]

 

Synthesis is just sick. u don't make such a decision on the behalf for trillion of species. many would rather die than becoming a hybrid. i would. so the best is to control, get rid of the Reapers (temporaily) and die for your squadmates (mainly just for EDI because I really like her and I like Joker too).

It again demonstrates the egotism of Star Brat and its disregard for organic species and their own self-determination.  It gives the choice to a single individual and then tries to sway that person into making the choice that Star Brat wants.  Star Brat never admits that it had no right to dictate who lives and who dies in this galaxy in the first place, and that the Reapers were never anything more than thugs who acted as the muscle for its megalomaniacal control.  It never owns up to the truth that it has been conducting mass genocide all these millions of years because the Reapers allowed undeveloped intelligent species to survive.  That's like saying it's not genocide if you kill all the Jews or all the Muslims or whatever because you let the rest of the human race live.  Sheesh.

[von uber]

but they look so cute together... hell.. Joker was asking Mordin for advice on how not to break bones while doing exercise with EDI in bed. it is cute.

 

How the hell does he **** a robot. Seriously. Think about it. It's beyond stupid.

[Vazgen]

How the hell does he **** a robot. Seriously. Think about it. It's beyond stupid.

That's how

Spoiler