Mass Effect 3

[KevInDaBassment]

Can't believe I didn't see a thread for this already!! Anyhow, if you haven't played yet or don't keep up with the series, this may be of little interest to you.


I was one of the people who pre-ordered the PC version and was dumbfounded by a few things once I beat the game. I'll keep my gripes short (so everyone else can pitch in too lol).

1) The game was waaaaaay too short (took me about 14 hours to beat, whereas Mass Effect 2 was closer to 27 hours)

2) There really wasn't THAT much that changed in the way of gameplay. I miss the mining and tons of side-quests like you had in ME2. The graphics got a facelift, but it still felt like I was playing ME2, just a little prettier.

3) They really shot themselves in the foot concerning the bread and butter for ME3...the character development. Where the whole fun of the game is in the experiences/decisions changing the story and making it your own, ME3 really doesn't do near anything with your past decisions or the ones you make in the game. This is like trying to make a Legend of Zelda game with no puzzle solving or combat, all you do is jump around and try to collect coins. Or like a GTA game where you don't shoot, drive, or steal...all you do is play digital stratego with gang members.

4) The ENDING - Segways from the storyline because they are so related. "16 different endings" was bloated BS (there are actually just 3 RIDICULOUSLY similar endings) and had nothing to do with your past decisions or experiences in the last two games. It would be different if the endings were good, but the plot twist was SUPER weak and a totally hashed together ending to try and end a series with as little effort as they thought they could get away with. The driving goal of the game is garnering support to fight the Reapers, but you see in the game how your "galatic readiness rating" has absolutely no bearing on how the game ends or what options you are presented with.



Anyhow, enough of my complaining. Thoughts? Opinions? Suggestions for Bioware/EA?

Below is the link to one of the Retake ME3 pages on Facebook.
Demand a better ending to Mass Effect 3 | Facebook

 

[nick g.]

I'm not saying the ending is particularly good, but I don't see how they could've done a whole lot better. I would've been really stoked if there was just a final knock-down naval battle over Earth which could be decided by your total War Assets, but they've always made a point in game of affirming that the Reapers simply could not be bested by conventional means. Even though the developers promised "no Reaper off-button", there doesn't seem to be any other solution that could fit within the "sandbox". I think it would've been a disservice to the magnitude of the conflict in the story if we could just win and remain unchanged.

Beyond my ambivalence about the ending, I absolutely loved the game. The character beats were poignant and constantly had me laughing out loud or misty-eyed. The combat mechanics were perfectly executed in my opinion.

 

[KevInDaBassment]

I'm not saying the ending is particularly good, but I don't see how they could've done a whole lot better. I would've been really stoked if there was just a final knock-down naval battle over Earth which could be decided by your total War Assets, but they've always made a point in game of affirming that the Reapers simply could not be bested by conventional means. Even though the developers promised "no Reaper off-button", there doesn't seem to be any other solution that could fit within the "sandbox". I think it would've been a disservice to the magnitude of the conflict in the story if we could just win and remain unchanged.

I agree with you, it just seems like they didn't feel like committing to anything because they want to leave room to rake in more dough with DLC's. Everyone is stranded on Earth (and will probably die), your crew from the Normandy abandoned you, and galactic unity is crushed since the mass relays are all gone....and this is true of all 3 endings. I think you hit the nail right on the head with the GRR, it seemed like a lame plot point to work towards in the game that had no bearing on the game whatsoever. Crucible should have been a weapon, not a "Reaper off-button" like you put it.

I think a "sentient machines gone haywire" would have been a better plot point than "We don't want you to get killed by synthetics, so we made synthetics to kill you every 50k years so you DON'T get killed by synthetics." Who were the creators of them? What's to stop them from making more Reapers and starting the cycle again? Finding the creators and waging war with them would have been even better IMO and was a plot device that could have been easily written in and would have made the game more satisfying. Creative writing is one of my passions (next to bass of course lol) and it would not be hard to remedy the storyline, even using the endings they presented us with, but I don't trust them to put that much effort in

 

[nick g.]

Ultimately, once you accept the premise that the Reapers can't be beaten in conventional combat, there's no choice but the off-button. I mean, what kind of weapon could the Crucible possibly have been? I'd love to hear your ideas on this front.

The whole idea of "control" expounded upon by the Catalyst wasn't extermination from its perspective. Think of the "inevitable" conflict between synthetics & organics OR created & creators as a zero-sum game. Mutually assured destruction - similar to nuclear proliferation in the Cold War. The Reapers assumed themselves to be the pinnacle of existence. In their eyes, they are doing the organic species a favor by harvesting their genetic material and creating new Reapers. Instead of a slow death by entropy, species can live forever in the form of a god-like machine. The motivations of the Catalyst are necessarily obscure to us because it and the Reapers are wholly distinct forms of life, unconcerned by any of the imperatives that motivate organic species.

I think it's implied who or whatever actually created the first Reaper(s) has long since ceased to exist. The Catalyst essentially serves as the Reapers' equivalent of Vigil, the Prothean VI on Ilos.

I think the Mass Relays needed to go - along with the Citadel. They were the legacy of the Reapers. When you think about it, they were essentially tools of genocide in use for 1,000,000,000 years. The fact that most of the people in galaxy survived leads me to the conclusion that those survivors would eventually be able to replicate the technology (as the Protheans did) in their own fashion.

 

[basstotheface]

Spoiler alert...

 

[Kwesi]

1) Either you play REALLY fast or you may have missed out on some things. Just about everyone I know clocked in at 30ish hours for ME3, 40ish for ME2 and 30ish for ME1.

2) Glad the mining is gone. Wish they brought back the plant exploring from ME1 but with the Firewalker from ME2. Gameplay was changed A LOT actually if you use biotics and tech. They made both much more formidable than they were in ME2. ME3 was basically a perfect fusion of 1 and 2 in terms of combat. I'm almost disappointed I didn't choose insanity right off the bat as a Vanguard.

3) I actually felt like the character development was really well done. Consider where your crew started in ME1. A ragtag bunch of nobodies (except for you) saving the galaxy. Now everyone is in some kind of prominent position trying to do their best in uniting the galaxy. Sure there could be more intimate bits with the characters but at this point you've spent plenty of time with all off them. It doesn't seem like a step back at all.

4) I loved the ending. Yes, there are glaring continuity issues and the lack of distinction between your options at the end bugged me but I loved the concept of it. The final question essentially asks you "What does it mean to be alive? What is the value of life?" and gives you the power to change galaxy's direction for possibly millions of years afterward. I chose Synthesize. It was beautiful.

Going a bit OT, this was pretty damn awesome:

 

[BioDriver]

Since I sold my Ecks Bawks I'm going to need to replay ME1 and 2, but I'll save that for another day.

As for the topic at hand, everyone I've asked about ME3 has said to wait for the DLC, so that's what I plan on doing.

 

[roadkill2309]

I've just finished the game. I'm writing a review for one of my clients on it so I don't want to say too much, but I think that initial reviews were way too positive. I feel that the reviews that appeared at the game's launch were likely written before the reviewers had played to the game's end (an ugly reality in a world where everyone's always trying to scoop one another).

Personally, I always make bloody site to see the end credits before I write my game reviews, no matter how long it takes.

To the OP, I think you skipped a lot to get through the game that quickly.

Edit: I'd be happy to post a link to my review once it's done, if there's interest.

 

[Kwesi]

I'm not usually one for reviews but I'll make an exception for a fellow TBer. Link us up when you're finished. I know I'm curious. Personally, I think the entire game was fantastic. As far as gameplay goes, there could've been a bit more RPG in it but that's about it.

 

[echoSE7EN]

I finished it this afternoon, ~43 hours total game play. I am slightly disappointed, not so much in the ending, but with the war assets aspect of the game's ending. I had close to 5500. My strength was close to 3000. My readiness was 50%.

Spoiler

I peeked online, and know that three options should have been given, but I was only given two...unless I wasn't paying attention to the "Creator" character.

Anyway...

 

[Kwesi]

Ultimately, once you accept the premise that the Reapers can't be beaten in conventional combat, there's no choice but the off-button. I mean, what kind of weapon could the Crucible possibly have been? I'd love to hear your ideas on this front.

The whole idea of "control" expounded upon by the Catalyst wasn't extermination from its perspective. Think of the "inevitable" conflict between synthetics & organics OR created & creators as a zero-sum game. Mutually assured destruction - similar to nuclear proliferation in the Cold War. The Reapers assumed themselves to be the pinnacle of existence. In their eyes, they are doing the organic species a favor by harvesting their genetic material and creating new Reapers. Instead of a slow death by entropy, species can live forever in the form of a god-like machine. The motivations of the Catalyst are necessarily obscure to us because it and the Reapers are wholly distinct forms of life, unconcerned by any of the imperatives that motivate organic species.

I think it's implied who or whatever actually created the first Reaper(s) has long since ceased to exist. The Catalyst essentially serves as the Reapers' equivalent of Vigil, the Prothean VI on Ilos.

I think the Mass Relays needed to go - along with the Citadel. They were the legacy of the Reapers. When you think about it, they were essentially tools of genocide in use for 1,000,000,000 years. The fact that most of the people in galaxy survived leads me to the conclusion that those survivors would eventually be able to replicate the technology (as the Protheans did) in their own fashion.

To me, the reapers are hardly god-like entities. They were advanced, yes, but they were also arrogant, unreasonable and most importantly not infinite, in form or intelligence. They could be killed, they just happened to have a force more formidable that what the galaxy had been able to combat previously.

I chose synthesize because it was the galaxies chance at something new - a possible end to large scale war and the need of the Reapers themselves. My hope is that the synthesis of organic and in-organic life would lead to some higher understanding that that is not actually necessary. But, it's anyone's guess as to how that will play out long term. The other options just didn't make sense to me.

 

[Kwesi]

I finished it this afternoon, ~43 hours total game play. I am slightly disappointed, not so much in the ending, but with the war assets aspect of the game's ending. I had close to 5500. My strength was close to 3000. My readiness was 50%.

Spoiler

I peeked online, and know that three options should have been given, but I was only given two...unless I wasn't paying attention to the "Creator" character.

Anyway...

Spoiler

You pretty much have to play online to get your effective strength up to the amount necessary for the "best" endings, but ultimately, very little is changed.

 

[nick g.]

To me, the reapers are hardly god-like entities. They were advanced, yes, but they were also arrogant, unreasonable and most importantly not infinite, in form or intelligence. They could be killed, they just happened to have a force more formidable that what the galaxy had been able to combat previously.

I chose synthesize because it was the galaxies chance at something new - a possible end to large scale war and the need of the Reapers themselves. My hope is that the synthesis of organic and in-organic life would lead to some higher understanding that that is not actually necessary. But, it's anyone's guess as to how that will play out long term. The other options just didn't make sense to me.

All of these qualities are readily apparent in all of our own deities, especially in the Greek and Roman pantheons. They're immortal, their creations dictate the course of mortal lives, and they had successfully killed or subjugated every intelligent being in the galaxy every 50,000 years
for at least 1 billion years running.

I also chose Synthesis in my first playthrough for the same reasons.

 

[Kwesi]

All of these qualities are readily apparent in all of our own deities, especially in the Greek and Roman pantheons. They're immortal, their creations dictate the course of mortal lives, and they had successfully killed or subjugated every intelligent being in the galaxy every 50,000 years
for at least 1 billion years running.

I also chose Synthesis in my first playthrough for the same reasons.

Haha, I thought of that right as a finished my post! I just didn't want to go back and edit. It's just that when I think of 'god' I think 'omnipotent and all powerful' and the reapers fell quite short of that ridiculously high bar.

 

[Jake Saint]

So it seems after reading this thread that i'm not alone in my thoughts about this game, and that i am NOT the only person on earth that enjoyed the ending, thinking that it really was the only logical ending... cool! (currently running second playthrough. need to do more online this time. )

 

[sarcastro83]

Ending(s) were garbage. The gameplay was fun enough, I guess. The characters you've established relationships with really shine in the game. The new guy was dull. After being disappointed by DA2 and now ME3 I don't think I'll be playing another Bioware game... which is a shame, because I really, really liked a couple of their games.

Honestly... I'm not griping about it because I feel entitled to a different ending. They've got creative licence over their universe, so they can end it however they please. But the whole thing just reeks of laziness. Like at least allude to the fact that you're going to take that direction at some point... the Shyamalan Twist isn't always a good thing. The whole thing screams "we didn't have enough time to write a decent ending and we hyped this game up so badly that pushing back the release date isn't an option. By the way, we're sorry that in spite of our promises to the contrary, in the end your actions in the first 100 hours of gameplay didn't amount to sweet jack all."

But yeah... no angst here.

 

[nick g.]

Ending(s) were garbage. The gameplay was fun enough, I guess. The characters you've established relationships with really shine in the game. The new guy was dull. After being disappointed by DA2 and now ME3 I don't think I'll be playing another Bioware game... which is a shame, because I really, really liked a couple of their games.

Honestly... I'm not griping about it because I feel entitled to a different ending. They've got creative licence over their universe, so they can end it however they please. But the whole thing just reeks of laziness. Like at least allude to the fact that you're going to take that direction at some point... the Shyamalan Twist isn't always a good thing. The whole thing screams "we didn't have enough time to write a decent ending and we hyped this game up so badly that pushing back the release date isn't an option. By the way, we're sorry that in spite of our promises to the contrary, in the end your actions in the first 100 hours of gameplay didn't amount to sweet jack all."

But yeah... no angst here.

We're all going to die eventually. Does that mean that the events in our lives mean nothing because they inexorably lead to the same outcome?

I don't think it does. I feel the same way about this game.

I'd have loved to have been indulged with sunshine and rainbows at the end of a full-on Paragon career. But my philosophy (in real life) is such that I believe that the "good life" is its own reward. I don't need my choices to be validated by the carrot at the end of the stick.

 

[sarcastro83]

We're all going to die eventually. Does that mean that the events in our lives mean nothing because they inexorably lead to the same outcome?

I don't think it does. I feel the same way about this game.

I'd have loved to have been indulged with sunshine and rainbows at the end of a full-on Paragon career. But my philosophy (in real life) is such that I believe that the "good life" is its own reward. I don't need my choices to be validated by the carrot at the end of the stick.

That's all well and good, and I appreciate the sermon on real life, BUT we're talking about fantasy. Escapism. Not real life. And Bioware promised that my actions would affect the outcome of the game. They didn't.

I wasn't expecting sunshine and rainbows either, but I certainly wasn't expecting an anti-climax and no closure.

But hey, po-tay-to, po-tah-to.

 

[nick g.]

I wouldn't call it an anti-climax. As far as closure, well, I won't elaborate. I don't mean to proselytize any more than I already have.

 

[Kwesi]

We're all going to die eventually. Does that mean that the events in our lives mean nothing because they inexorably lead to the same outcome?

I don't think it does. I feel the same way about this game.

I'd have loved to have been indulged with sunshine and rainbows at the end of a full-on Paragon career. But my philosophy (in real life) is such that I believe that the "good life" is its own reward. I don't need my choices to be validated by the carrot at the end of the stick.

I'd applaud this if I could.

I will say that I'm looking forward to seeing what Bioware has to say about the ending in May. Probably DLC. Probably planned from the beginning knowing that people would be up in arms about the ending. Probably done for the sole purpose of generating hype and cash... and I still want it. I'm a terrible consumer .

EDIT: I gotta say, Nick G., you seem to have thought about this on a lot of levels that other folks haven't. And I happen to like the way you think, lol.