Mass Effect 3

[vivisectvi]

True, but (I should have noted) the anime deals with James before he joined up with Shep.

 

[muzzington]

I decided to see the spoilers for the ME3 ending even though I'm still trudging through 2. The hate Bioware gets is a bit much but I can't say I feel like finishing the story anymore.

 

[vivisectvi]

I have steered clear of spoiling the ending but I have an idea. I can't say that I really care much. Endings are endings and I've never really put much stock into how great they need to be. Personally I like the journey.. The gameplay and the character development along the way.

 

[KingPK]

So I just finished it.

Spoiler

I THINK I made a good choice (Synthesis), but goddamn those were pretty heady choices with pretty big consequences. The whole last mission was actually really great and intense with constant and vicious armies of Reaper forces coming at you. I really don't get the intense hatred people have; was Shepard supposed to beat up every Reaper by himself (though he takes a shitload of punishment)? And yeah, the reveal of what the Catalyst is is kinda hokey, but I'll buy into the explanation since the story of machines rising against their creators has been a staple of sci-fi for decades and were major plot points in all three of these games. This series has been all about choice and the consequences of them; I think ending with making a choice that will not only affect you, but the entire galaxy was pretty fitting.

Overall, I enjoyed the game a lot, but they made a few design choices that I really didn't like and some of the new characters fell kinda flat while the situations where you run into old squadmates at times felt like "well, we need to fit this character into the game somewhere since we said we were going to do that, so let's just bolt them onto this part."

They're also insane if they are trying to sell this game as the best one to start off with. New players won't know what the hell is going on most of the time and a lot of the story beats won't resonate with people who haven't played at least ME2.

I'll probably take a break from this and start up my FemShep character (where everyone from ME2 lived) and see how different an experience I have.

 

[Sabre]

Ending

Spoiler

Im going to go with Destroy as if you have over 5000 available assets you get a secret shepard lives cutscene of him gasping for breath.

Cue this with the stupid child detailing that all AI/synthetics will be destroyed... including shepard as his is part synthetic means there may be a chance EDI and the Geth live.

 

[vivisectvi]

So apparently I'm on the second-to-last mission, and I've only put in 30 hours, including side missions.. I thought this one was supposed to be upwards of 50-60hrs.. Or am I thinking of another game?

 

[Sabre]

Im asuming the extra 20ish hours are wandering around the citadel trying to find the people who will complete sidequests.

 

[vivisectvi]

Just finished it. Not sure what all the complaints are about the ending. It came across as pretty standard sic if fare, IMO..

Spoiler

i chose to destroy.. Got the cutscene with Shepard taking a breath after as well. I thought it was clever that the Catalyst AI used the child Shepard felt guilty over for presenting itself.

I thought it was funny how my two squad mates from the last mission were mysteriously back aboard the Normandy when it crashes on a planet trying to outrun the shockwave.

 

[vivisectvi]

Oh, after credits scene...

Spoiler

some kid and his "grandpa Shepard" on a forest like planet looking out at another earth like planet.. Apparently he's been telling the kid this story the whole time.

Oh, and I wanted to note that that thing about only being able to end up with Liara is false. I was with Tali in ME2 and my Shep continued on with her right through to the end of this game.

 

[Sabre]

You can be with a ME2 love interest, its the

Spoiler

montage before shepards death that reverts to Liara if you dont pick a ME1 love interest.

 

[vivisectvi]

Ahh gotcha

 

[Angle-plex]

I'm on Thessia right now. What a battle

 

[Cerebus The Aardvark]

Oh, after credits scene...

Spoiler

some kid and his "grandpa Shepard" on a forest like planet looking out at another earth like planet.. Apparently he's been telling the kid this story the whole time.

Spoiler

The kid says "tell me another story about the Shepard"; he doesn't call the old man by the name.

I wrote a piece for a friend's site about the ending. It can be found here is anyone cares: http://jcwigriff.com/2012/03/16/mass-effect-3-ending-potentially-most-impressive-in-gaming-history/

Obviously, it's spoiler heavy.

 

[vivisectvi]

Oh, after credits scene...

Spoiler

some kid and his "grandpa Shepard" on a forest like planet looking out at another earth like planet.. Apparently he's been telling the kid this story the whole time.

Spoiler

The kid says "tell me another story about the Shepard"; he doesn't call the old man by the name.

Ahh, that makes more sense. It was 4am and I had the volume on low.

Spoiler

I figured if it were "Grandpa Shepard" that it would've been one of the squadmates kids all grown up and named after Shepard. "The Shepard" makes more sense though.

 

[Sabre]

Oh, after credits scene...

Spoiler

some kid and his "grandpa Shepard" on a forest like planet looking out at another earth like planet.. Apparently he's been telling the kid this story the whole time.

Spoiler

The kid says "tell me another story about the Shepard"; he doesn't call the old man by the name.

I wrote a piece for a friend's site about the ending. It can be found here is anyone cares: http://jcwigriff.com/2012/03/16/mass-effect-3-ending-potentially-most-impressive-in-gaming-history/

Obviously, it's spoiler heavy.

Thats along the lines of what i have believed, and combined with the ending that:

Spoiler

the catalyst specifically warns you that you WILL die as you are part synthetic, then boom you are shown breathing, makes me think that tech has survived and hopefully explained in some DLC or the next game.

 

[Angle-plex]

Yeah, didn't care much for that ending. I can't imagine what gets cut if you don't fill the green bar.

 

[Sabre]

Basicly, you get:

Spoiler

5000 EMS = shepard lives after destroy. And if you go into it with the bare minimum you get the same endings except earth is destroyed.

 

[bps21]

I'm 2/3 of the way through doing a play on insanity. It isn't as hard as I thought it would be...but I have the 2 parts I've been thinking are going to be really hard since I played them on normal coming up.

 

[KingPK]

So is anyone considering doing the supremely nerdy thing and play all three games in succession? I might attempt it over the summer, but I've tried to get back into the first game after 2 and the gameplay just doesn't hold up that well at all.

 

[bps21]

I thought about it...but I can't see myself ever playing 1 again. Driving that awful rover over the planets...

Naww....

I still have to finish my ME2 insanity playthrough though

 

[Sabre]

ME feels more like a RPG than its two sequals with them towing the line of being a GOW clone.

Ive been wanting to do a full replay of them all, but i think im burned out on the storyline now after the ending of ME3, ill jump right back in when we get some DLC however.

 

[909]

So is anyone considering doing the supremely nerdy thing and play all three games in succession? I might attempt it over the summer, but I've tried to get back into the first game after 2 and the gameplay just doesn't hold up that well at all.

In the middle of doing that right now. Almost done with 2.

 

[A Happy Medium]

So is anyone considering doing the supremely nerdy thing and play all three games in succession? I might attempt it over the summer, but I've tried to get back into the first game after 2 and the gameplay just doesn't hold up that well at all.

I'm going to do it. I plan on making a Tom Berenger face and then being like Barnes from Platoon. I haven't been in the mood yet.

 

[bps21]

Marauder Shields almost made me throw my xbox out the window. I survive all those waves of Brutes and fucking Banshees on insanity and this motherfucker wants to stop me from finishing the game?

Fucking felt good to murder that bastard.

 

[A Happy Medium]

Yup...also...

Spoiler

ME3 Indoctrination Theory & DLC "Ending" Proof

 

[Sabre]

Ive watched that vid, and i agree with it.

Spoiler

Sure its probably just some people completely overthinking the ending to make it some kind of supreme awesomeness that not everyone can figure out.

I chose to go with the destroy ending, just because of the "shepard lives" 5second scene after it. I also went through all 3 games to destroy the reapers not give into what they wanted.

Control: You become everything that The Illusive Man was, so what was the point in talking him down?

Synthesis: You become what Saren and The Reapers where aiming for, all organics become one with synthetics.

I think it was a pretty bullshit explanation that the Reapers exist soley to destroy organics because they will eventually end up in wars with Synthetics and thus a race of Synthetics will show up and end it all.

 

[Cerebus The Aardvark]

Ive watched that vid, and i agree with it.

Spoiler

Sure its probably just some people completely overthinking the ending to make it some kind of supreme awesomeness that not everyone can figure out.

I chose to go with the destroy ending, just because of the "shepard lives" 5second scene after it. I also went through all 3 games to destroy the reapers not give into what they wanted.

Control: You become everything that The Illusive Man was, so what was the point in talking him down?

Synthesis: You become what Saren and The Reapers where aiming for, all organics become one with synthetics.

I think it was a pretty bullshit explanation that the Reapers exist soley to destroy organics because they will eventually end up in wars with Synthetics and thus a race of Synthetics will show up and end it all.

Spoiler

Of course it's a bullshit explanation. Pretty much nothing that the kid says at the end makes any kind of rational sense, which is, IMO, another clue that it's all a hallucination.

 

[Sabre]

This one makes a lot more sense, but its still all bullshit.

Spoiler

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tbghjn7_Byc

 

[vivisectvi]

I think it's bullshit in the sense that, yes..

Spoiler

The Catalyst/Reapers are trying to "bullshit" Shepard into the CONTROL or SYNTHESIS route so that they can live on and still exact their plans on organics.

I don't find the ending or the Indoctrination Theory to be bullshit, however. I actually makes a ton of sense that the Reapers have been doing a slow-burn indoctrination on Shepard this entire time and I wouldn't be surprised if Bioware were to come right out and say that this is what they had intended.

Also, what Cerberus The Aardvark is saying about the final scenes being in Shepard's head (while he himself is still on Earth after getting blasted by Harbinger) makes sense as well. He is still linked to the Catalyst/Reapers through the indoctrination. He's already strong willed, not to mention part-synthetic and resisting the indoctrination, so I could see all of this being done in his head - including issuing the command to the Catalyst to Control, Synthesize or Destroy.

If you look at that final room with the three "consoles" set up to Control, Destroy or Synthesize.. to me that's way too convenient that the Catalyst would have these three handy areas set up for an organic to decide the fate of its synthetics. It has to be in Shepard's head as something he can recognize and identify with and then interact with to make his decision.

(There are also other cues that this is all in Shepard's head. Illusive Man and Anderson playing the roles of Renegade and Paragon to Shepard's personality. Shepard shooting Anderson in the gut, but then having the exact same would himself after the fact.)

I'm sure there are going to be tons of theories until Bioware says what was meant to be conveyed.. and apparently they are going to take fan feedback for the follow up DLC that will explain things, so there's a very good chance that the Indoctrination Theory will BE the official story when it's all said and done (though I do still think that they had this in mind anyway). But I don't think any of the original ending is bullshit, at all. Like the LOST ending, it's very polarizing but in the end it's created a lot of discussion and forced people to use their imaginations, and I think that's great.

 

[vivisectvi]

Newer version of the theory video..

Spoiler

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ythY_GkEBck