Mass Effect 3

[Thread Manager]

This is a continuation thread, the old thread is [split]379055[/split]

 

[Thread Manager]

This is a continuation thread, the old thread is [split]378485[/split]

 

[ChrisBaleBatman]

Man, I just ran into Miranda again. No spoilers needed, unless there's some last ditch effort at the end of the game where she'll show up...she looked primed and ready for DLC. It's almost too obvious.

 

[Balthus Dire]

The more I think about the ending, the more I'm not sure what I'm more upset about:

Spoiler

Initially, I thought I was upset because the franchise is over but the more I think about it, I'm almost bothered because the ending feels like such a depressing end.

The series has always been about Shep overcoming the odds in the face of adversity, and in this case it almost just feels like he/she got ripped off. I mean, having him/her die is fine and a very emotional ending, but then what? There's just so many holes it's so unfulfilling. I dunno.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

Yea I'm in the same boat Balthus.

Spoiler

I mean I'd of liked to have Shep save the day and be reunited with his loved ones/friends but at the same time, the sacrificial ending is really powerful. As iv said before I guess I wanted more closure on what happened with your squad and the rest of the galaxy, but it seems that's irrelevant. Going by the after credits scene it seems as if civilization has been pushed back to the period prior to humanity discovering the mass relays. Going by that you have to assume your team and everyone else just had to "start over". I guess it's all just kind of sad.

 

[iamlegend]

Spoiler

I'm just surprised BioWare would leave the ending so open. Do they really think they could come back to the ME universe somewhere down the line and not have people SCREAMING for all the squad mates who have been left with a very ??? Future?

That said... After rewatching the ending, i realized BioWare got kinda tricky on us with the little The Shepard story. It leaves a window wide open for story based DLC, since it's all now being recounted by some old guy. They can fit it seamlessly in anywhere in the plot, sort of like what they do with Varric in DA2.

Oh and as endings go... One thing I was very pleased with was my Shep's last conversation with Garrus. Blew all the other 'it's over' talks away. Even Miranda's and she was my Shep's love interest.

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

Spoiler

Garrus' last talk got me all emotional. I'm gonna miss that blasted Turian.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

There were a LOT of conversations that got to me. I had romanced Tali in ME2 and again here, so every scene with her was really good. She was the last person i spoke to before the final push in the last mission and that was just fantastic. Altho, [BLACKOUT]now I'm even more depressed knowing that Shepard won't be able to reunite with her. Damn this sad ending!!!![/BLACKOUT]

I gotta hand it to Bioware, iv never been as invested in a set of characters as i was with this group. Tali, Garrus, Mordin, Liara, Ashley etc. I really cared for them all and thats really rare, at least for me, when it comes to games.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

Spoiler

I'm just surprised BioWare would leave the ending so open. Do they really think they could come back to the ME universe somewhere down the line and not have people SCREAMING for all the squad mates who have been left with a very ??? Future?

Spoiler

I dont really think it is that open. I mean they rebuild and future generations come after them. Isn't the planet that the Normandy lands on the same as the one the Stargazer and the child are on? We know that civilization continues and that Shepard has become this great legend. I mean we dont know what specifically our squad mates do, but i dont think that really matters in the grand scheme of things. Altho it'd be nice to know a little more about the 'new world' they're apart of

 

[ProjectPat2280]

Dont know if this is posted but heres EA's/Biowares response to the video alleging the From Ashes DLC is locked on the disc:

"From Ashes is a 600 MB+ download with all new content, including the mission on Eden Prime, new dialogue options and conversations with Javik, new cinematics, the Prothean weapon, and new appearances for all squad members," EA told Game Informer. "All of the above content was completed while the main game was in certification and are not available on the disc."

"As stated previously, in order to seamlessly integrate Javik into the core campaign, certain framework elements and character models needed to be put on disc," the statement continues. "We did something similar with Zaeed and Kasumi in Mass Effect 2."

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/122/1220545p1.html

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

Spoiler

The galaxy doesn't have to start completely over. They still have plenty of ships with FTL that can do pretty good speeds. They should be able to reach a good portion of Citadel space from Earth after several months of travel. The bigger issue is that they will need to rethink their drive core discharge systems which is the real hurdle. Still, necessity is the mother of invention.

 

[ChrisBaleBatman]

It was a pretty hefty download...

 

[Matt]

I'm on the Horizon mission right now. It feels like something out of Resident Evil.

 

[SpideyVille]

I gotta say, I love how I've racked up about 32 hours and still have a couple more priority missions to do. There's so much to do outside of the main story and that's why I love games like Mass Effect.

 

[ChrisBaleBatman]

Yeah...I'm about 35 Hours and 30 mins in on my playthrough, and I'm not sure if I'm even near the end. I've still got the Quarian Mission priority on my plate, as well as an Asari priority. I literally just got Ash back with me...and it looks like I've gotta have atleast another 10 hours to go, just guessing on that though.

I do make a lot of stops though. I'm constantly coming and going from the Citadel, and just finally figured out a good rhythm for scanning planets.

 

[Matt]

I gotta say, I am very disappointed in Horizon.

Spoiler

I brought Ash with me as Miranda and Ash were my two primary love interests. There is no dialogue between the two of them. Miranda doesn't even mention our romance. It's my understanding that Ash is locked in after the cafe scene, but there should at least be dialogue regarding the love triangle.

 

[The_Shadow]

I gotta say, I am very disappointed in Horizon.

Spoiler

I brought Ash with me as Miranda and Ash were my two primary love interests. There is no dialogue between the two of them. Miranda doesn't even mention our romance. It's my understanding that Ash is locked in after the cafe scene, but there should at least be dialogue regarding the love triangle.

Spoiler

That's just how it went down in my playthrough, and I felt the same as you

 

[Matt]

Eeeeemergency induction pooooort.

 

[iamlegend]

Spoiler

That's just how it went down in my playthrough, and I felt the same as you

Spoiler

I had locked into Miranda at that point (and had ME1 interest Ashley with me) and got more or less the same. Though Miranda did embrace Shepard at the end and ask him not to do anything too crazy. He obviously made no promises.

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

Eeeeemergency induction pooooort.

Her drunk dialing Javik after that is hilarious.

 

[Matt]

Spoiler

I had locked into Miranda at that point (and had ME1 interest Ashley with me) and got more or less the same. Though Miranda did embrace Shepard at the end and ask him not to do anything too crazy. He obviously made no promises.

I assume you lock in to [blackout]Miranda by kissing her in the apartment?[/blackout]

 

[Wolvieboy17]

Yeah, I just finished this game about 10 minutes ago...

Spoiler

I don't know if I would say I have a problem with the ending, but the dilemma to me seems to be this. The endings certainly make sense within the context of the story, with Shepard being the big hero who would sacrifice everything. I mean, what is the point of going to such absurd lengths, risking everything, losing friends and entire planets, if you're not prepared to sacrifice yourself in order to bring peace? That makes sense to me.

However, it seems they completely neglected the part of ending that needs to be satisfying. When you compare it to ME 2, sure people could die etc but there was the OPTION to save everyone. The thing about ME 2 was that, in that final mission, even just losing ONE character could make a dramatic change to the tone of the ending. You could lose one, 2 or pretty much all of the characters, which gave you a certain degree of control over the outcome and final tone of the game, which was overall quite satisfying. Even if you lost a character, you at least felt like it was a direct consequence of something you've done.

In ME 3, it didn't feel like this at all. It was more like the ending of Red Dead Redemption or L.A. Noire, when something drastic happens that, whilst dramatic and dark, you really have no control over whatsoever.

Now, I could accept the death of Shepard at the end of ME 3 but the real bummer for me is the level itself. They did so well at depicting a warzone, it would have been great to have a repeat in format of the final ME 2 level. Give you an entire squad, assign roles, make it feel like more of a battle than simply killing enemies then the pre-scripted sequence of Shepard getting hurt.

Also, the ending cutscene after Shepards death should have been A LOT longer and filled with more info. Many loyal fans of the series have just played 3 games worth of build up, Bioware loses nothing by really letting the fans see what world they have built... Show us the Turians, show us the Asari... Show us earth, show us all the people we saved, show us the new lives our significant characters have started.... Show us every person we have touched and interacted with over 3 days... Remind us why it was all worth it. If that portion was worth it, fans could put down their controller, walk away and feel happy with themselves. Instead, the overall feeling is just one of a huge anti-climax.

Another thing.... Really wasn't happy with the overall Squad selection this time. As interesting a character as Vega was, he can't compare to ones like Thane, Grunt/Wrex, Jack... Characters we already have a history with. It felt like that final stand should have been with EVERYONE from the first two games standing shoulder to shoulder.

 

[SpideyVille]

Yeah...I'm about 35 Hours and 30 mins in on my playthrough, and I'm not sure if I'm even near the end. I've still got the Quarian Mission priority on my plate, as well as an Asari priority. I literally just got Ash back with me...and it looks like I've gotta have atleast another 10 hours to go, just guessing on that though.

I do make a lot of stops though. I'm constantly coming and going from the Citadel, and just finally figured out a good rhythm for scanning planets.

I just finished the Quarian mission and yeah I'm playing it the same way. I'm in no rush to get to the end, so I'm going back and forth to the Citadel and searching planets.

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

Spoiler

Apparently people are poking through the files and the Normandy AND the Biotic God were supposed to show up in a last minute save during the charge towards the Conduit.

 

[Wolvieboy17]

I also thought the sidequests could have been much more interesting. They were pretty much all the same formula of 'Eavesdrop, fetch quest, get money/assets' I really would have liked to have at least one other hubworld to explore. In ME 2 we got Illium, Omega and the Citadel.