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Mass Effect 3


HanPL

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Posted

 

Well my "analysis" of the ending' date=' in short, is that it's shit.

 

Bioware tells very standard stories very well. There is nothing really unique about the Mass Effect story, until you meet the God Child, who then tells you that the whole point of the Reapers is something that makes no sense.

 

He also tells you that the Created ALWAYS rebel against the Creators. While there are examples of this in ME, in no way did that ever strike me as one of the main points of the ME games. You initially may think the Geth v Quarian is an example, except you learn on Rannoch that the Geth simply defended themselves against annihilation, and once they felt their existence wasn't under threat anymore, they disengaged the Quarians.

 

And as for the Synthetics always killing Organics - in my playthrough I had the "good" result on Rannoch, and had the Quarian flotilla as well as the Geth fleet with me, as allies. Oh, and EDI.

[/quote']

 

I don't think anyone here agreed with the Reapers. So why are you trying to justify here why you think they were wrong? The ending doesn't even have an option for continuing the Reaper plan.

 

That first picture and your words are just stealing from what Shep says twice in the game, once to a Reaper midway through the game and later at the end. To us, becoming Husks and Reapers is death, not ascension.

 

So you're really just pointing out what Shep already says while you're also explaining why the bad guys are bad guys.

 

Posted

Notice, too, how much the writers work to get the player empathizing with the Geth. Much is shown about how the Geth didn't just rebel against their creators. It was the Quarians who seemed to act first before the Geth even posed a threat. Then we learn that the Geth chose not to pursue the retreating Quarians and finish them off. So the writers are trying hard to show that the created do not always turn on their creators. They probably even go a bit too far, making the Quarians look bad. We don't hear about how the Quarians have no choice of a home planet since their biology seemed only geared for the one planet. Thus, they either stay forever in ships and suits or return home. The Geth, on the other hand, don't need Rannoch. They don't require "life support" at all and spend most of their time in a different virtual world anyway. Yet, they stayed on Rannoch, occupying the one place the Quarians could ever call home. It wasn't until my third playthrough that I started to side with the Quarians (at least, half the time) because the writers are trying so hard to make this point against what the Reaper says at the end of the Rannoch mission and again later by the Catalyst. Sometimes, I think they tried too hard with EDI, as well. Though it was hilarious when EDI responded to Tali, "Don't worry, Tali. You'll be the first to know should I ever decide to overthrow the humans."

 

So it makes no sense to argue that the writers came up with a stupid Reaper plan that they didn't think was wrong, especially when you use counter examples they wrote into the game for you to catch. They weren't even subtle about it. Legion was almost funny in just showing Shep all these emo tugging scenes favoring Geth, like it was an accident, lol. You couldn't talk to EDI except about love, life, meaning, etc.

 

Tangent: Legion is like the synthetic version of Shep who chose Synthesis in his ending, or dies trying.

Posted

Thesapien, you have been trying to preach this without one single convert. I admire your spirit but seriously..... :(

 

Synthesis is such a lame and lazy, steaming pile of cop out for an ending as there is. Hell, control I can deal with as that has been around with Tim since ME1. But synthesis....dude you can't expect many folks to go with some ridiculous space-magic-fairy-pixel-dust nonsense like that introduced at the stroke of midnight in a game. If you think that is sell-able then you are just as out of touch as Hudson and Gamble!!! Good luck being in that crowd as you are going to seriously need a flame retardant suit!

 

Yes, I do see that they (bioware) do their damnedest to push the gamer towards feeling empathy towards the Geth. They are portrayed as the enemy, the victim and the ally all in one. I can see where you think they might be a touch "heavy handed" towards doing this too. Personally, while I did like the Quarians, I did feel like their actions caused the entire problem in the first place so perhaps they were getting their just deserts.

 

In the end I wanted to end the war between them as soon as possible. I was disappointed that the decision and council I gave at Tali's trial in ME2 was so blatantly ignored from the get go in ME3. That smacked of more laziness or being rushed on bioware's part as it and the rachni should have been decisions that carried over.

 

As to EDI, yea those were topics that a book just can't give you....neither could jeff's porn sites :)

Lovers Lab must not be around in the Mass Effect Universe... :(

Posted

I've been disappointed with the zero interaction with Harbinger. Except for a cutscene and I think one other spot, Harbinger's name is only mentioned 2x in the whole game. Here is the MAIN reaper supposedly and we don't even really see him.

 

Then all of the past characters thru ME and ME2 that we had real interactions with...now suddenly are barely referenced. The Asari Consort??? I didn't hear her mentioned at all. Emily Wong? Killed off, supposedly via Twitter of all places. KalReegar...christ, the ONE Quarian I was REALLY hoping to see again...his demise given in an ANN message. Veetor, nothing...Rana Thomoptis...the Asari that your Squaddies in ME2 ALWAYS had some cool remark about (if she survived Virmire), an ANN message. Gianna Parasinni...Nothing. I'm not even sure where she's ended up at.

 

But ME3 has just been a huge let down for me. MONTHS of anticipation waiting (I know I'm not the only one) only to be given something that felt SO RUSHED to store shelves. OR it's appearing that perhaps BioWare was simply more interested in getting ME3 out to multiplayers instead of completing a solid finish to the story.

 

I don't know...BioWare dropped the ball with ME3. It was like anticipating having sex with the HOTTEST girl you've dreamed of....only to have her be a dead fish in bed.

Posted

gregathit, yes, I do like to repeat for the new people. Some of these anti-ending viral memes have a strong, entrenched infestation. That particular one has been regurgitated all over the intertubes. It's also one of the most thoughtless, nonsensical zombie things to throw up. Sure, I've killed it. But such things don't die.

 

No, I don't like the synthesis option, personally. I thought it was kind of lame with Legion doing it. My point for bringing it up with Legion though was to show an example (that other professed to have liked) of how the ending was coherent to the rest of the story. I don't believe people who qualify themselves as fans and say otherwise. You're just repeating shit you've heard. You're not considering the previous games and comparing it. Remember how the first one followed the same formulas, yet plugging the Catalyst for Vigil and TIM for Saren? Not so different. ME2 was better at playing your team as optional endings instead of ME3's playing your allies, and ME2 had two choices, A and B, no matter what you did previous, so adding C in ME3 and slightly mixing up when they are presented or not may be a slight improvement, but is it so different and counter to the series? Hell, no.

 

Yes, there were many things that carried over poorly from the previous games. But, again, remember ME2? I can't think of one really cool thing that carried over, except the whole Ash vs. Kaiden thing which did carry over EVEN MORE so in ME3. Yes, it could had been done better, but I'm not at all clear what you mean by laziness and rushed. It's the same confusing statement against Skyrim. Sure, they could had taken many more years and made it better. Let's give them infinite time and money while we're at it. Oh, and patience on our part. Of course, we'll be forgiving of the dated graphics and combat no matter when it's finally released.

Posted

I've been disappointed with the zero interaction with Harbinger. Except for a cutscene and I think one other spot' date=' Harbinger's name is only mentioned 2x in the whole game. Here is the MAIN reaper supposedly and we don't even really see him.

 

Then all of the past characters thru ME and ME2 that we had real interactions with...now suddenly are barely referenced. The Asari Consort??? I didn't hear her mentioned at all. Emily Wong? Killed off, supposedly via Twitter of all places. KalReegar...christ, the ONE Quarian I was REALLY hoping to see again...his demise given in an ANN message. Veetor, nothing...Rana Thomoptis...the Asari that your Squaddies in ME2 ALWAYS had some cool remark about (if she survived Virmire), an ANN message. Gianna Parasinni...Nothing. I'm not even sure where she's ended up at.

 

But ME3 has just been a huge let down for me. MONTHS of anticipation waiting (I know I'm not the only one) only to be given something that felt SO RUSHED to store shelves. OR it's appearing that perhaps BioWare was simply more interested in getting ME3 out to multiplayers instead of completing a solid finish to the story.

 

I don't know...BioWare dropped the ball with ME3. It was like anticipating having sex with the HOTTEST girl you've dreamed of....only to have her be a dead fish in bed.

[/quote']

 

I feel the same. The whole game felt so rushed, incomplete and lazy. And on top of that the ending killed the previous games... I will never forgive bioware for this.

 

 

Posted

I've been disappointed with the zero interaction with Harbinger. Except for a cutscene and I think one other spot' date=' Harbinger's name is only mentioned 2x in the whole game. Here is the MAIN reaper supposedly and we don't even really see him.

 

Then all of the past characters thru ME and ME2 that we had real interactions with...now suddenly are barely referenced. The Asari Consort??? I didn't hear her mentioned at all. Emily Wong? Killed off, supposedly via Twitter of all places. KalReegar...christ, the ONE Quarian I was REALLY hoping to see again...his demise given in an ANN message. Veetor, nothing...Rana Thomoptis...the Asari that your Squaddies in ME2 ALWAYS had some cool remark about (if she survived Virmire), an ANN message. Gianna Parasinni...Nothing. I'm not even sure where she's ended up at.

 

But ME3 has just been a huge let down for me. MONTHS of anticipation waiting (I know I'm not the only one) only to be given something that felt SO RUSHED to store shelves. OR it's appearing that perhaps BioWare was simply more interested in getting ME3 out to multiplayers instead of completing a solid finish to the story.

 

I don't know...BioWare dropped the ball with ME3. It was like anticipating having sex with the HOTTEST girl you've dreamed of....only to have her be a dead fish in bed.

[/quote']

 

So even though you felt that wait, you thought it was rushed? Would another year's work had made you happier?

 

I totally made that dream girl analogy a few posts back to someone else and again in one of my first posts. It's exactly why I think so many people are just in love with a dream and thus being overly harsh on a grood game. (grood is a borrowed term by TotallyRadShow in describing ME3.) Go back and play ME1 and 2 so that you can remember how grood and not dreamy they actually were. I don't know what's worse; thinking ME3 sucked or thinking ME1 or ME2 were so divine.

Posted

Thesapien, you poor lost soul you...... :(

 

The entire rage is that the ending "is not" coherent to the rest of the story (ie space god child). Catalyst is fine, as it is just data that is the final component of the "super weapon". That part I will run with. Space-god-ai-child....no, I think that is pure nonsense as does everyone else in this thread (except you?) and most on BSN.

 

I thought legion's synthesis death was a bit contrived but was willing to suspend belief a bit as he was software. Shepard's synthesis death bit is so over the top nonsense that I would need a wall of text to cover it all.

 

As for people being fans...sorry neither you nor I are qualified to make that judgement.

 

And that statement that "I am just repeating shit I have heard"...I hope you are making a general statement here because if you are trying to infer that I haven't played ME 1 through 3 you are just talking out of your ass.

 

None of the other games introduce an antagonist at the last second and switch the entire theme of the game at the same time (from universe against reapers to organics vs synthetics)! What the heck game are you even playing?

 

As for comparing the number of endings between the games.....ROFL!!!! You keep coming back to that and it really is sad. We the gamers did not have any promises from the developers with regards to endings for ME1 or ME2. ME3 was supposed to have a large number of endings that all your decisions culminated to bring you. Red/Green/Blue color slides ain't it pal. Keep trying on this as it is amusing. :)

 

I am glad you agree that the developers seems to think and act like ME2 never existed as far as characters decisions are concerned (the Ash vs Kadien wasn't ME2 dude...that was from ME1). That perfectly illustrates why I thought either they were rushed or lazy in making ME3. Your love interests from ME2 are largely ignored as well as every other major decision. What the hell?!?!? :(

A six month delay for them to make a decent ending and incorporate ME2 into the darn game would not have irritated me in the least. As to the graphics and combat...they already are dated so 6 months to a year would not have made any difference....LOL!!!!! I do want to meet the idiot that made the space bar do freaking everything in a dark alley......I promise not to break anything he will need for computer work.....LOL!

 

I never said skyrim was rushed personally so I am guessing that is just a general statement you are slinging out. I DID think that the backwards flying dragon patch was rushed out the door but that is a horse of a different color. :)

Posted

Weren't you gonna leave the thread for a bit?

 

I am blaming my brief return on HanPL with those hilarious vid's he posts every so often :P

 

Feel free to ignore me and soldier on with your cause however. :s

Besides, I don't want you to get lonely!

Posted

I've been disappointed with the zero interaction with Harbinger. Except for a cutscene and I think one other spot' date=' Harbinger's name is only mentioned 2x in the whole game. Here is the MAIN reaper supposedly and we don't even really see him.

 

Then all of the past characters thru ME and ME2 that we had real interactions with...now suddenly are barely referenced. The Asari Consort??? I didn't hear her mentioned at all. Emily Wong? Killed off, supposedly via Twitter of all places. KalReegar...christ, the ONE Quarian I was REALLY hoping to see again...his demise given in an ANN message. Veetor, nothing...Rana Thomoptis...the Asari that your Squaddies in ME2 ALWAYS had some cool remark about (if she survived Virmire), an ANN message. Gianna Parasinni...Nothing. I'm not even sure where she's ended up at.

 

But ME3 has just been a huge let down for me. MONTHS of anticipation waiting (I know I'm not the only one) only to be given something that felt SO RUSHED to store shelves. OR it's appearing that perhaps BioWare was simply more interested in getting ME3 out to multiplayers instead of completing a solid finish to the story.

 

I don't know...BioWare dropped the ball with ME3. It was like anticipating having sex with the HOTTEST girl you've dreamed of....only to have her be a dead fish in bed.

[/quote']

 

So even though you felt that wait, you thought it was rushed? Would another year's work had made you happier?

 

I totally made that dream girl analogy a few posts back to someone else and again in one of my first posts. It's exactly why I think so many people are just in love with a dream and thus being overly harsh on a grood game. (grood is a borrowed term by TotallyRadShow in describing ME3.) Go back and play ME1 and 2 so that you can remember how grood and not dreamy they actually were. I don't know what's worse; thinking ME3 sucked or thinking ME1 or ME2 were so divine.

 

Would an extra year made me happier? Hmmm...tough call. I only feel as though BioWare let their desire to turn ME3 into a MP game, getting it to work with that 360 Kinetic, or whatever that is called, and getting ME3 developed & released to ALL platforms, as one software code, to lose their ability a bit, in finishing out the trilogy properly. Add to that the loss of the original writer...and I think ME3 was trying to accomplish way to much in a short period of time.

 

Were Me and ME2 'divine' pieces of work? Depends on ones own opinions I suppose. However, ME and ME2 had much better story telling and character development, IMO. I loved the one line from TIM in ME3...."We need a crew for Shepard to become invested in." BioWare accomplished that goal with ME2. My proof would be the numerous signature banners on the BioWare forums asking for "X" squadmate/s to return in ME3. What we got....was far less.

 

And seriously.....How could ME3 be released with no Harbinger? You're OK with that? THE big antagonist of ME2....the supposed 'leader' of the Reapers. The voice of our impending doom at the end of Arrival...and all we get of him in ME3 is some brief sightings??? And that's only if one knows who to look for??? And if BioWare does a DLC about him later...I could only say that I'd feel the backlash would be worse than the Prothean.

 

To me the ending of ME3 never gave us the opportunity to fight that 'big boss'. THAT is where my 'displeasure' rests for the most part. Plot holes can be filled in later....but an ending with no Harbinger, IMO, was an epic fail.

 

 

Posted

Oh, reminding me of the "Kinetic, or whatever that is called," does make me a little mad because I still feel so left out and dumped, being that I use a 360 Controller for my PC gaming, and BioWare is the only dev on the market not including native support for a 360 Controller. Every time I think about it, I just get mad.

 

Did 1 and 2 have better story and char dev? This seemed to be a strong point for the entire series, to me. It seemed just as good in 3, no? Not to you though? There's something you were saying about squadmates that I didn't catch. I might agree or disagree but I'm not sure quite what you meant. I'm currently playing a default non-import Shep and am missing Wrex, Grunt, Jack, the original council, and others. (Scary side: my saved rachni queen as been replaced with a frankenstein monster needing to be put down!) But I do kind of like having the ones who are back in my squad. I really liked the way you can get Ash to return after the Citadel incident if you do the right things leading up to it and even better that I'm still not sure what I did right one time and missed the other times! Now, I just make sure to visit, visit, and visit her in the hospital and talk, talk, and talk each time. My Shep doesn't really trust herself without Ash watching her.

 

I did want more direct confrontation with the Reapers, including Harbinger. I would've loved boarding a living Reaper and doing battle both physically and psychologically! Something like that, at least. Some say that's actually kind of what we got. Maybe. But, it's still not how I would've wanted to experience it. My idea for beating the Reapers was to fight them "from the inside", like how small organisms can fight us.

 

Posted

Maybe not directly ME 3 related still awesome vids worth watching.

 

[video=youtube]

[video=youtube]

[video=youtube]

[video=youtube]

Posted

Yeah, I agree with others here the thing was rushed. Although that's because I know it was rushed as the ending we got wasn't the original one planned by Drew Karpyshyn (lead writer for ME1 &2)

 

"The Reapers as a whole were 'nations' of people who had fused together in the most horrific way possible to help find a way to stop the spread of the Dark Energy. The real reason for the Human Reaper was supposed to be the Reapers saving throw because they had run out of time. Humanity in Mass Effect is supposedly unique because of its genetic diversity and represented the universe's best chance at stopping Dark Energy's spread."

 

The original choice was between killing the Reapers and trying to find a way to stop the Dark Energy threat with what little time was left before it consumed the galaxy, or, "Sacrifice humanity, allowing them to be horrifically processed in hopes that the end result will justify the means."

 

Taken from http://www.strategyinformer.com/news/17086/mass-effect-writer-drew-karpyshyn-reveals-original-mass-effect-3-endings

 

Apparently late last year there was a leak of some kind and this was what spurred Casey Hudson and Mac Walters to write a new ending, without any oversight from the rest of the writing team (normally anything that was written went through a process of review by the entire writing team).

Posted

Yeah' date=' I agree with others here the thing was rushed. Although that's because I know it was rushed as the ending we got wasn't the original one planned by Drew Karpyshyn (lead writer for ME1 &2)

 

"The Reapers as a whole were 'nations' of people who had fused together in the most horrific way possible to help find a way to stop the spread of the Dark Energy. The real reason for the Human Reaper was supposed to be the Reapers saving throw because they had run out of time. Humanity in Mass Effect is supposedly unique because of its genetic diversity and represented the universe's best chance at stopping Dark Energy's spread."

 

The original choice was between killing the Reapers and trying to find a way to stop the Dark Energy threat with what little time was left before it consumed the galaxy, or, "Sacrifice humanity, allowing them to be horrifically processed in hopes that the end result will justify the means."

 

Taken from http://www.strategyinformer.com/news/17086/mass-effect-writer-drew-karpyshyn-reveals-original-mass-effect-3-endings

 

Apparently late last year there was a leak of some kind and this was what spurred Casey Hudson and Mac Walters to write a new ending, without any oversight from the rest of the writing team (normally anything that was written went through a process of review by the entire writing team).

[/quote']

 

Ah, but if you follow the references to the original article with its direct link to Tweets and such, you get:

http://www.gameranx.com/updates/id/5557/article/former-mass-effect-lead-writer-defends-series-conclusion/

 

Saying:

 

 

In the wake of the controversy, Mass Effect's former lead writer Drew Karpyshyn has defended the game's conclusion, debunking claims that the ending was changed following his departure from the franchise.

 

Karpyshyn, along with Mac Walters, served as head writer on the first Mass Effect game and contributed heavily to the second before transferring to BioWare Austin to assist on Star Wars: The Old Republic.

 

A popular theory among disgruntled fans claims that Mass Effect 3's ending was hastily thrown together as a last minute replacement for Karpyshyn's much stronger intended finale, which centered around Dark Energy. A snippet explaining the original plot was posted to the Something Awful forums, attributed to a source inside BioWare:

 

The Reapers' goal was to find a way to stop the spread of Dark Energy which would eventually consume everything. That's why there was so much foreshadowing about Dark Energy in ME2.

 

The Reapers as a whole were 'nations' of people who had fused together in the most horrific way possible to help find a way to stop the spread of the Dark Energy. The real reason for the Human Reaper was supposed to be the Reapers saving throw because they had run out of time. Humanity in Mass Effect is supposedly unique because of it's genetic diversity and represented the universe's best chance at stopping Dark Energy's spread.

 

The original final choice was going to be "Kill the Reapers and put your faith in the races of the galaxy in finding another way to stop the spread with what little time is left" or "Sacrifice humanity, allowing them to be horrifically processed in hopes that the end result will justify the means.

 

But according to Karpyshyn, that so-called "original ending" was only one of several possiblities, and it certainly wasn't as definitive as some fans would like to believe.

 

"Dark Energy was on the table at one point," he wrote on Twitter, "but the original idea for the ending was all about Reapers and Mass Relays."

 

Though he's yet to play Mass Effect 3 for himself, Karpyshyn says the ending that made it into Mass Effect 3 is in line with what he'd planned for all along.

 

"From what I hear, the basic concept of the original ending is there, though some details may have been tweaked," he said.

 

Karpyshyn went on to express skepticism that his continued work on the franchise would have done much to change things one way or the other.

 

"Funny. Some upset fans say ME3 was awesome until the end ruined it. Claim it would have been better if I was still on the project. But fans upset about my [Knights of the Old Republic] Revan novel claim it was awesome until the ending ruined it. So maybe I wouldn't have made any difference."

 

So, there you have it, straight from the horse's mouth. You're more than welcome to hate Mass Effect 3's ending — I certainly felt a bit let down by the whole thing. Just don't make Drew Karpyshyn a scapegoat in the process.

 

 

 

I said before, personally, I'm glad they didn't go with the Dark Energy plot.

Posted
It was like anticipating having sex with the HOTTEST girl you've dreamed of....only to have her be a dead fish in bed.

 

More like the "The Crying Game"

Posted

Thesapien' date=' you poor lost soul you...... :(

[/quote']

and why I'm late. It's liberating.

 

The entire rage is that the ending "is not" coherent to the rest of the story (ie space god child). Catalyst is fine' date=' as it is just data that is the final component of the "super weapon". That part I will run with. Space-god-ai-child....no, I think that is pure nonsense as does everyone else in this thread (except you?) and most on BSN.

[/quote']

No, not except me. I just see the nonsense as more common and not unique to the ending of the series.

 

 

I thought legion's synthesis death was a bit contrived but was willing to suspend belief a bit as he was software. Shepard's synthesis death bit is so over the top nonsense that I would need a wall of text to cover it all.

I feel that way with pretty much all sci-fi. I felt that way while playing ME1' date=' 2, and 3. So I'm used to it. Suspending my beliefs to play a game is part of the game.

 

As for people being fans...sorry neither you nor I are qualified to make that judgement.

 

And that statement that "I am just repeating shit I have heard"...I hope you are making a general statement here because if you are trying to infer that I haven't played ME 1 through 3 you are just talking out of your ass.

That was not what I meant, but it wasn't important.

 

None of the other games introduce an antagonist at the last second and switch the entire theme of the game at the same time (from universe against reapers to organics vs synthetics)! What the heck game are you even playing?

Same game' date=' just different playthroughs. The themes and set up for reveals were all there. You probably didn't see the organics vs synthetics theme because your Shep stuck to one position on the issue throughout, for example.

 

As for comparing the number of endings between the games.....ROFL!!!! You keep coming back to that and it really is sad. We the gamers did not have any promises from the developers with regards to endings for ME1 or ME2. ME3 was supposed to have a large number of endings that all your decisions culminated to bring you. Red/Green/Blue color slides ain't it pal. Keep trying on this as it is amusing. :)

I'll switch gears. Do you want multiple endings or multiple playthroughs? ME3 sticks to the formula of multiple playthroughs. So, agreed, the color choices ain't it.

 

I am glad you agree that the developers seems to think and act like ME2 never existed as far as characters decisions are concerned (the Ash vs Kadien wasn't ME2 dude...that was from ME1).

I was referring to what carried over. I thought things with Ash/Kadien were carried over better in ME3 than ME2. Interesting that you misunderstood me and warped it to mean something that starts Ash/Kadien in ME2 without taking this as a sign. I suggest the next time something I say comes across as completely wrong' date=' try taking the time to stop and consider what else I might be actually saying.

 

 

That perfectly illustrates why I thought either they were rushed or lazy in making ME3. Your love interests from ME2 are largely ignored as well as every other major decision. What the hell?!?!? :(

You had some flings in ME2? I didn't explore how romances with characters introduced in ME2 played out in ME3. Disappointing?

 

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