Mass Effect 3 Discussion Thread

huxley said:
This thread is very aggravating. This post obviously indicates that Shepherd is the catalyst for the device, thanks for ruining it for me jerk.
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Wut?

His post indicates that he's only a few hours in... he's just smart enough to figure out the ending without having seen in. Last I checked, speculation isn't a spoiler.
 
Q-BZ said:
C'mon. Is there any doubt in your mind? Shepherd is the center of the universe in these games. That's no spoiler. It's a given that your character is the cog that everything else spins on come hell or high water.
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It makes sense but I didnt make that connection, this isnt Mass Effect 3 ruin the game for other people thread, its just general discussion. Maybe its impossible to have a thread after a game comes out but that doesnt mean you should actively try to spoil it for other people.

Since that is the ending, I dont see why people are so mad. It was being built since the first mission of the first game when he touched that Prothean artifact. Anyway, I wont be coming back here since those who are upset with the ending cant seem to avoid making comments.
 
Viper87227 said:
Wut?

His post indicates that he's only a few hours in... he's just smart enough to figure out the ending without having seen in. Last I checked, speculation isn't a spoiler.
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It was confirmed the next post down by someone who already had beat the game.
 
Viper87227 said:
A lot of it makes sense, but I don't think that's what Bioware planned. I wish it were. However, it's ambiguous enough of an ending that they could still make this happen if they wanted. I suppose we'll see, either through DLC or future titles.
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Planned or not it's the only theory that makes me satisfied from what I saw. Even though we don't see an ending with this theory it leaves things open to where I can make up my own on what happened even without DLC. And I actually like making up what happens because this whole experience through the 3 games was basically my story anyway. So even if I don't see any DLC, I'll be satisfied.

I don't want to hate this game so that's what I'm sticking with. If I view the 3 choices as the actual ending then nothing from what I saw after makes any sense and it just leaves me confused and with more questions that will probably go unanswered.
 
stewartjm said:
Yep those were both big warning signs, especially the Crucible "magic wand". Lazy lazy lazy BioWare(EA). I coulda lived with it if it had turned out that it helped with fighting the reapers conventionally, or somehow scared them enough to bring them to the negotiating table. But instead, more levels of BS were piled on top of it, leading to an end worse than the Matrix trilogy, or the new BSG.

The previous 2 games contained plenty of backstory on the reapers, from which they could've woven a much much more coherent narrative. It's almost like the ending was outsourced to another team that had never even heard of mass effect.
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Yeah, the current ending(s) just don't fit the tone of the series at all.
 
Relax peeps, no actual spoilers have been released in the open in this thread. Just people commenting on what they think will happen in the story. Noone that has finished it and knows has spoiled anything. If you want me to be more clear, the catalyst post people are bickering about isnt even right.
 
Cali3350 said:
Relax peeps, no actual spoilers have been released in the open in this thread. Just people commenting on what they think will happen in the story. Noone that has finished it and knows has spoiled anything. If you want me to be more clear, the catalyst post people are bickering about isnt even right.
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Or maybe it IS right, and Cali is just throwing you off the trail so you're surprised when you find that out....


OR IS IT?
 
I guess it's time for me to bow out of this thread, seems every post is discussing the ending in some way (even things that aren't spoilers quite directly) and it's already starting to form what it might be in my mind.

don't wanna even get a hint of what it might be since I've put so much tim ein ME1/2.
 
I enjoyed some of the missions in the game a lot.

I also thought the banter between Vega/Garrus and Vega/Javik was pretty amusing.

Hanging out with Garrus on Citadel was pretty nice too.

Yeah, I was disappointed by the ending choices. I'm kinda glad I knew what was coming.
If I had been hit with that with no warning I would have been even more disappointed.
 
Ok, well lets move on from that stuff then. I do have some general questions for people though

-Will you replay the entire series now that you have beat 3?

-Will you replay 3 after beating it and make different choices?

-If there is another Mass Effect, will you buy it?
 
huxley said:
Ok, well lets move on from that stuff then. I do have some general questions for people though

-Will you replay the entire series now that you have beat 3?

-Will you replay 3 after beating it and make different choices?

-If there is another Mass Effect, will you buy it?
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I will probably at some point replay all 3 as a renegade (I went 99% paragon through all 3 games which is my normal with all RPG type games). Even with the end like it is now, it would not keep me from buying another ME game.

For as much as I hated the ending, this was one of the best gaming franchises I have ever played (if not the best). I have never been as drawn into a gaming universe as I have with this series. I also have not had a sense of emotion toward ingame characters like this since I played both KOTORs.

There is a reason there is such an cry out to BW regarding the ending. They have pretty much everyone who has played the first 2 games so entrenched within the universe that they don't want the experience to end. The games are infectious and brilliant.
 
huxley said:
Ok, well lets move on from that stuff then. I do have some general questions for people though

-Will you replay the entire series now that you have beat 3?

-Will you replay 3 after beating it and make different choices?

-If there is another Mass Effect, will you buy it?
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Before reading the indoctrination theory I would have said no to the first 2 and doubtful to the 3rd.

After reading it and believing that is what is going on...
-probably
-already on my 2nd play through
-yes

If BW says nothing, I'll continue believing the theory. If they say that's not how it is, I'll be greatly disappointed and go back to my choices before I read the theory.

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if BW is waiting for all regions to get the game and THEN they'll release the ending (as free DLC) so that nothing is spoiled for anyone. It's a nice thought anyway, Japan's release is on the 15th so we'll see.
 
huxley said:
Ok, well lets move on from that stuff then. I do have some general questions for people though

-Will you replay the entire series now that you have beat 3?

-Will you replay 3 after beating it and make different choices?

-If there is another Mass Effect, will you buy it?
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-Will you replay the entire series now that you have beat 3?

Mass Effect 1 feels too dated to me and there are a lot of things about the game mechanics that piss me off too much to play it and enjoying it as much as the other two. Mainly the combat is horrible and the inventory system is maddening. I can also only take so much rock crawling in the M35 Mako. Then again I do have an ME1 save game so I don't have to start from scratch. The worst part of ME1 is leveling Shepard to a point where he can actually hit something with his gun and getting his equipment to where he can actually do some damage. I don't have to go through all that. I will definitely replay Mass Effect 2. I enjoyed the hell out of that game. It's the most fun of the three by far in my opinion. The story is a little better in ME1, but ME2 was just a better game in general. ME3's game mechanics are for the most part the best, but the depressing tone of the game followed by a weak payoff (or total lack of payoff) at the end ruins it for me. I may go back through certain parts of ME3 that I did enjoy, but a total replay isn't likely in my future.

-Will you replay 3 after beating it and make different choices?

No. Ultimately my choices in that game do not matter. In fact none of them really do the way the game ends. I may replay it to get up to the point before the end game starts as that was all fairly enjoyable. I know I probably missed one or two things, and I'll go back through to catch those. But I don't see myself bothering to try out different decisions knowing that ultimately, nothing matters.

-If there is another Mass Effect, will you buy it?

Well my initial gut reaction is a firm "no." That's probably because the ending of 3 is still fresh in my mind. Then again, I've enjoyed the series despite the last act of Mass Effect 3 sucking to a point of seriously pissing me off. (Not just the ending, but the entire final act is weak as well.) I'm also eager to see what kind of DLC we get for Mass Effect 3. Depending on what that looks like, it may change my opinion concerning this game. Even if they left it alone, I may be inclined to buy Mass Effect 4 whenever that comes out. (And you know it will.) I guess it depends on where they go with it. But the writing gets weaker with each installment. Well with Mass Effect 2 I think that's only partly true. At least with regard to the enemy in Mass Effect 2. Some of the personal stories are actually quite strong. Especially Shepard's in that game.
 
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huxley said:
Ok, well lets move on from that stuff then. I do have some general questions for people though

-Will you replay the entire series now that you have beat 3?

-Will you replay 3 after beating it and make different choices?

-If there is another Mass Effect, will you buy it?
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I know I'll replay ME2 at some point; not sure about 1, for the same reasons Dan stated.

I'm already on my 1st replay...the game really was great, except for the drop off a cliff at the end.

I'm not sure...it really depends on where they go with it. This really has been my favorite set of games, ever, so I don't see myself not buying whatever they put out next.
 
huxley said:
Ok, well lets move on from that stuff then. I do have some general questions for people though

-Will you replay the entire series now that you have beat 3?

-Will you replay 3 after beating it and make different choices?

-If there is another Mass Effect, will you buy it?
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1) No. ME1 would be too frustrating (mechanically, and with those fun elevator rides), and ME2 is recent enough that I don't feel the need to relive it again.

2) Yes and no. I do have my other ME1/2 character that has to make it through the new one. At some point, I'll probably bring her into ME3 and play through it based on her experiences. Some of the big picture stuff (mostly paragon) is the same, but some of her earlier decisions will impact how ME3 plays out on the margins.

3) Most likely, yes. I may not be as willing to buy it early, however, depending on how things proceed from here, which writers (if any) are still invovled, etc.
 
At some point I'm going to do a "worst Shepard possible" game. Just a dumb, space-racist, sexually harassing, overly aggressive Shep that is still somehow thrust into the role of savior of the galaxy. It will not end well.

Though with a 100% galaxy readiness now from multiplayer, it probably will end just fine :p

Speaking of which, the coop multiplayer is pretty fun.
 
huxley said:
Ok, well lets move on from that stuff then. I do have some general questions for people though

-Will you replay the entire series now that you have beat 3?
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Nope. My plan was to do that immediately. I was going to make a renegade Shepard in ME1 and play all the way through to see how it differed. Now, not going ot bother. I'll replay 1 and 2 again I'm sure, but later when I feel like it.

-Will you replay 3 after beating it and make different choices?
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Hell no. I'm done with it unless I see some DLC or mods that fix it in my opinion.

-If there is another Mass Effect, will you buy it?
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Depends. I sure as hell won't preorder, I'll have ot research it carefully to determine if I think it is going to be worth it.
 
PureBooYah said:
This isn't exactly proof from Bioware of the indoctrination theory, but I find his response very interesting...

When someone made a thread on their forums to explain the ending, Stanley Woo from Bioware pointed him to the indoctrination thread
http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/355/index/9872108&lf=8
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I'm not 100% sure that's right but its probably the only explanation that would allow me to forgive the game's endings. It's an interesting mechanic which would involve people in a very personal way, which is something BioWare has always strived for. In addition, I believe that BioWare may not have been %100 on where they wanted to really end it and EA of course drives them to make money. In a way no publicity is bad publicity and with the fans up in arms, BioWare may get some really good ideas on how to properly end Shepard's story through added DLC. But the fact that this is the only ending in which Shepard actually appears alive, combined with the radio chatter and the warnings in the final dream tells me that no matter what they did, BioWare at least left a way out for changing things in the future. So I believe the renegade ending is probably the true ending and the kid can't be trusted. With Shepard alive at the end, this tells me that nothing from the moment the beam hits is true. His waking up in the rubble in London precludes any of that from being a reality. Everything else is presented in a very sureal manner while Shepard waking up is more visceral and real feeling.
 
Well both of the major ending discussion threads in there have gone the indoc way, so he didn't really have any other option to direct him to :p
 
By the way just so we are 100%, crystal clear:

As pathetic as the ending was, getting the shit kicked out of you by that damn reporter on the citadel was WAY worse.

:)
 
Dan_D said:
I'm not 100% sure that's right but its probably the only explanation that would allow me to forgive the game's endings. It's an interesting mechanic which would involve people in a very personal way, which is something BioWare has always strived for. In addition, I believe that BioWare may not have been %100 on where they wanted to really end it and EA of course drives them to make money. In a way no publicity is bad publicity and with the fans up in arms, BioWare may get some really good ideas on how to properly end Shepard's story through added DLC. But the fact that this is the only ending in which Shepard actually appears alive, combined with the radio chatter and the warnings in the final dream tells me that no matter what they did, BioWare at least left a way out for changing things in the future. So I believe the renegade ending is probably the true ending and the kid can't be trusted. With Shepard alive at the end, this tells me that nothing from the moment the beam hits is true. His waking up in the rubble in London precludes any of that from being a reality. Everything else is presented in a very sureal manner while Shepard waking up is more visceral and real feeling.
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If nothing that happens from getting hit by the Reaper beam forward is real, wouldn't that mean you had lost the battle? For the indoctrination theory to be "true" you would at least have to make it up to the Citadel to be attempted to be indoctrinated and persuaded against using the option to destroy the Reapers. But of course, then how the hell did you end back up in the rubble?

Also, did anyone else immediately recognize the area where you're racing towards the Beam from the dream?
 
Monkey God said:
By the way just so we are 100%, crystal clear:

As pathetic as the ending was, getting the shit kicked out of you by that damn reporter on the citadel was WAY worse.

:)
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Wait, wth? How did she kick your ass...I put her to sleep!
 
Seeing all these boxes hurt my eyes. Shouldnt we start another ME3 thread with big SPOILERS ALLOWED in the title? :D
 
TwistedAegis said:
If nothing that happens from getting hit by the Reaper beam forward is real, wouldn't that mean you had lost the battle? For the indoctrination theory to be "true" you would at least have to make it up to the Citadel to be attempted to be indoctrinated and persuaded against using the option to destroy the Reapers. But of course, then how the hell did you end back up in the rubble?

Also, did anyone else immediately recognize the area where you're racing towards the Beam from the dream?
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My take is this, if your EMS is high enough, you see Shep live, so I'm theorizing that I got a strong enough force together that they finished the reapers off. The final indoctrination sequence was just an internal battle. If your EMS wasn't high enough, you don't see Shep live, so the fight could go either way, but it wasn't strong enough to keep you alive while you made your decision with your internal battle.

The other theory would be, you wake up and the fight isn't over yet and you either have to think of your own ending to the game or (hopefully) Bioware will release the rest of the ending.
 
TwistedAegis said:
If nothing that happens from getting hit by the Reaper beam forward is real, wouldn't that mean you had lost the battle? For the indoctrination theory to be "true" you would at least have to make it up to the Citadel to be attempted to be indoctrinated and persuaded against using the option to destroy the Reapers. But of course, then how the hell did you end back up in the rubble?

Also, did anyone else immediately recognize the area where you're racing towards the Beam from the dream?
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Shepard probably has been indoctrinated for some time. He's spent a lot of time around Reaper tech. Especially in the arrival DLC. He was around it for 2 or 3 days. Even with his strong will, he has to be suffering from the effects to some degree. I think that's partly what the dream sequences are about. Again I think it's all a lie and any ending in which he doesn't wake up means Shepard likely died. I think the fight will continue in a Lair of the Shadow Broker sized DLC.
 
huxley said:
Ok, well lets move on from that stuff then. I do have some general questions for people though
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Fair enough.

huxley said:
-Will you replay the entire series now that you have beat 3?
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Nope, no point.

huxley said:
-Will you replay 3 after beating it and make different choices?
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Nope, no point.

huxley said:
-If there is another Mass Effect, will you buy it?
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Nope, no reason to.

I'd be a lot more clear as to why I gave those answers, but then I'd have to put in spoilers.
 
Limahl said:
Nope, no point.

Nope, no point.

Nope, no reason to.

I'd be a lot more clear as to why I gave those answers, but then I'd have to put in spoilers.
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if anything this shows that you were never a huge ME fan to begin with...the series as a whole is still one of the best examples of story driven gaming regardless of the ending of ME3
 
polonyc2 said:
if anything this shows that you were never a huge ME fan to begin with...the series as a whole is still one of the best examples of story driven gaming regardless of the ending of ME3
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Okay, so I'm not a huge ME fan - my hundreds of hours logged into ME1 and ME2 (and ~45 or so into ME3) don't count towards being a 'huge ME fan'. Right?

Here, think of it this way:

Would you like to have sex with two of the hottest women of your choice, any time you want, if at the end of the session - instead of er, finishing, you have to eat a pile of dog poo?

Probably not. Even though most of the fun is up until the end anyway, right?
 
polonyc2 said:
if anything this shows that you were never a huge ME fan to begin with...the series as a whole is still one of the best examples of story driven gaming regardless of the ending of ME3
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This is crap. I was a huge ME and BioWare fan thanks to KoToR and DA, but after DA2 and ME3, well... I'm just going to avoid the battered wife syndrome and no buy any of their products in the future.
 
I'm amazed at how many people would actually shell out more cash for a DLC of a proper ending.
 
LeninGHOLA said:
I'm amazed at how many people would actually shell out more cash for a DLC of a proper ending.
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After coming this far, I'd shell out more cash for the story to end better. Now I wouldn't touch anything BioWare releases in the future due to their continuing bad business practices. I blame that on EA's influence. No good ever came from EA buying any company out.
 
polonyc2 said:
if anything this shows that you were never a huge ME fan to begin with...the series as a whole is still one of the best examples of story driven gaming regardless of the ending of ME3
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I played through ME1 around 12 times, ME2 around 15, just to get all the possible ending combos I could and see how things varied based on my choices.

The ending of ME3 pretty much makes it pointless to replay either again since no choices made will matter or change things in the least.

I'm a die hard fan, but its not my fault BW put a bullet into the heart of the series.
 
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