The Mass Effect 3 Journal: Day 7
I was dismayed to learn that the entire device was a way to get people to play multiplayer and iOS games. If you do those things, you can increase your troop effectiveness to eventually 100% with enough extra playtime. The biggest problem with this? Apparently the only way to get a few of the endings are to do this. Now THAT’S a problem. In a game that has been single player focused from the get-go, to tie a key component to multiplayer is a big problem, particularly when most people playing don’t even understand that. Many, like myself, will play through the entire campaign without even glancing at multiplayer, and as such, it seems that they can get a “different ending” as a result. Though how “different” is really the key issue behind the endings of Mass Effect 3, which is now the subject of much debate among the fanbase. A debate I will continue now.
START ENDING SPOILERS FOR A WHILE
Throughout the game, one gnawing issue is that there aren’t any truly tough choices to be made involving your beloved crew, and the same is true for the ending. I thought that perhaps my Paragon-ness would have had an enemy I spared killing a friend, or perhaps a Renegade might see a character offed after they rushed to action too quickly. But outside of the set piece unavoidable deaths of past cast members, I don’t actually think it’s even possible to have a member of your crew die in this game. Maybe one, if you go full Renegade, though I can’t be sure. I thought I would be placed in a situation where I’d have to choose between a friend and a colony or a planet, or at the end, perhaps say, my beloved Tali to ensure victory over the Reapers. Even “galactic readiness” has no bearing on if any of your team dies during the final push, unlike how being unprepared in ME2 could cause you to lose half your crew in the blink of an eye. Again, there isn’t any weight to your choices or preparedness, other than which cookie cutter ending you get.
The end of the game presents you with a choice, after you meet the…thing…that built and employs the Reapers. You can choose to control them, kill them or “synthesize” yourself to create a third life form, a synthetic/organic hybrid which will end the Reaper cycle forever. The bad news? All three of these options will kill you. BUT, from what I’ve researched, if you get to a certain “Galactic Readiness,” two of the endings hint at Shepard surviving, which if that is true, is obviously frustrating for those who skipped multiplayer.
The problem? None of it really matters, as Mass Effect suffers from the Deus Ex syndrome of the mere illusion of choice when really, all the endings are disappointingly similar and incredibly light, especially for a game that’s put SO much work into story. From what I’ve seen, the final cutscene plays out in almost the exact same way no matter what you do. The only real different is what color light the Citadel emits and who walks out of the ship when the Normandy crash lands on a lush planet. In my “synthesis” ending, it’s EDI, Joker and eventually Tali. In the “Destroy” ending, it’s just Joker and Tali, as EDI doesn’t exist as you’ve killed all synthetics. I’m not sure about the “Control” ending or either of the alleged Shepard lives options, but I’m assuming there isn’t much difference. And no matter what you choose, the same after credits sequence appears which has Buzz Aldrin doing some voicework explaining to a child the mythical figure of Shepard.
(click to enlarge the tragic but true joke)
The implications of these endings don’t make much sense in the context of the universe, and that’s why I think they were left to relatively cryptic cutscenes. OK, so you can control the Reapers. Now what? You just tell them to…go away until you need them to intimidate someone? OK, so you destroy all synthetics. That’s all VIs, AIs, Geth and Reapers, but what about starships? Computers? Does anything metal just explode? Can’t the organic races immediately rebuild these machines, as they’ll still have the knowledge to do so? The “final evolution” ending of synthesis made the most sense to me, but even I don’t understand exactly what all life being organic/synthetic really accomplishes. I’m sure we’ll still have plenty to fight about. And what’s the point of destroying all the Mass Relays in all the endings? I heard one fan remark that it’s like if at the end of Harry Potter, in order to kill Voldemort, he had to sacrifice himself and destroy all magic in the world, effectively killing the premise of the entire series.
It’s also strange that all the options REQUIRE you to sacrifice Shepard. I may have done so out of the goodness of my heart to break the Reaper cycle forever with synthesis, but shouldn’t the other two more “selfish” options allow Shepard to live? It kind of takes the weight out of your decision when you’re told you have to pick which of three ways you’re going to die.
Furthermore, the Catalyst’s entire point about how synthetics can’t co-exist with humans has been disproven by the plot of the game itself, particularly this last chapter You united the entire galaxy, and even have the Geth working alongside you and their former enemies, the Quarians, which negates the entire idea behind the final choice. I feel like there’s a more logical, satisfying ending that could have been found here, one that I think many players feel they deserve after all this time.
We need some resolution. Or at the very least some effort.
There are two main problems here, other than the choices not making any actual sense from a plot perspective. One is that if multiplayer truly does give you a “better” ending, even marginally, that’s a shitty thing to do, and the whole system was confusingly integrated into the single player, when it just should have stayed the hell away. The second problem is that with all these endings being so similar, and us waiting a hundred hours or more to see how this all ends, you’re telling me they couldn’t have designed two or three very distinct, lengthy finale cutscenes? We spent the last hundred hours saving the galaxy, and you’re not going to take more than one minute to tell us what happens next to our old friends or all the worlds we just rescued from destruction?
END ENDING SPOILERS
That said, I was very satisfied with how the story progressed until the final few minutes. I appreciated how the game let you say your goodbyes to your crew before the final mission, and the whole experience really was a fantastic closing chapter in a series that desperately needed one. Yes, the shoehorning in of multiplayer and the day one DLC are minor annoyances, but once you get past those, it’s hard to deny this game is anything but spectacular, even if it does stumble a bit at the finish line.
I miss it already, I really do. Mass Effect has done the impossible feat of making me actually CARE about people (and aliens) that are nothing more than bits of code. But they’re so deep as characters and they live in such a rich and fascinating universe, it’s impossible not to be engrossed if you’ve taken the time to absorb yourself into the world. To me, it’s a more compelling fictional space than any other sci-fi franchise I can think of, Star Trek and Star Wars included. Get some free DLC to fix that ending, and all will be forgiven.
So long Mass Effect, and thank you. It’s been an honor.
I agree with you on the multiplayer being forced kind of sucking. My Sentinel Shep will live now that I’ve played some of the MP but I was a little ticked that Infiltrator Shep had to die >.< He was my favorite dammit and he died because I had the temerity to playthe SP campaign first.
The ending reminded me of the end of Deathly Hallows – great lead-up, okay pay off. It could have been done better for sure. That said, the fan overreaction has been waaaay over the top. People got so invested in the game that anything less than their own personal "perfect ending" was going to be a letdown. They're letting it get in the way of enjoying the hands-down best story in modern video game history, which is kinda sad…
I’m not sure if you’ve seen this, but I thought it was worth checking out.
http://i.imgur.com/acSCH.jpg
Also, I find it funny that you mentioned Mass Effect suffers from Deus Ex syndrome. Check out the link to see why.
My wife is really into Mass Effect (My thing is Elder Scrolls), she even re played the first two with perfect games the week before three came out to prepare and since she finished a few days ago she has done nothing but spend her time on the mass effect wiki board talking with other fans about alternate endings and fighting people who think this ending was fine. I agree after reading and watching the other i was disappointed and confused and i didn’t even play, the other point she brought up was, why does Joker and the crew just take off for no reason in the time it takes you to get to the catalyst leaving themselves and you if you were to survive stranded?, now after finding out bioware lied about the proethean being a DLC from the start when the code was in the game all along, great game, great series, but what a F*** you to the fans
Oh and the Tali face reveal was super half-assed. Three games and all we get is Photoshopped stock photo? The fan made CGI version that was posted on here a ways back was both higher quality and eerily accurate.
the entire finale was sub par compared to the other 2. the finale boiled down to, go to this location, shoot husks, move on…. the first game you had to race to the conduit, then you had the chance to turn saren to your side, then you had to choose whether to save the council, or focus on the reaper. 2nd game, you had to choose where your crew goes, if you chose the right person to lead and if they were loyal determined if they would live or die, then you had the option to either wipe out the collectors or use their technology… in the third, you land on earth, and you shoot stuff…. thats it!? They couldn’t have put some strategy like “call in a turian air strike, the sword team will lose a lot more ships but the hammer team will be able to take out this reaper” or how about “jack and her biotics are pinned down, go save them or try to take out this artillery piece so hammer won’t be pinned down” you never even see ANY of your old crew actually fighting on earth, at all…. the finale was just rushed honestly, “oh TIM told the reapers what you’re doing and they took control of the citadel and moved it to earth” HOW THE FUCK DID THAT HAPPEN!?
I’m finishing this baby tonight after putting it off as long as possible. I so do not want this series to end. I kind of love the idea of multiplayer giving you the option of skipping some of the sidequesting, but I don’t like that it’s a necessity to see some of the endings. I enjoyed the multiplayer very much (aside from the awesome shit I toiled so hard to unlock and level up getting re-locked by some kind of bug) since it gave me the action I craved that was too far and few between in the main game, but it’s got a ways to go to become more than just an add-on.
I’m going to need therapy after this game. Especially if the ending is as bad as people are saying. Man, the Tali/Legion and Mordin things freakin’ killed me. Talk about making you pay the price for your actions. Such an amazing story; no other game even touches the emotions this one has stirred up in me. And yeah, the Tali thing is garbage. They should have either done it properly in an epic reveal cutscene or not at all. I’ve been dying to see her face since the first game knowing, the ending of the trilogy would likely bring it, and having them do something so half-assed is kind of a bummer. It’s not like Bioware doesn’t know how obsessed with that character the fans are. Re-touching a stock photo was just pure laziness from a company that have proven themselves the best in the business at storytelling. All of that time spent on lore, creating amazing and interesting new races, backstories for all of the planets you don’t even visit, and so much more and they skimp on the reveal of the most popular character in the series? Unthinkable. They really should have known better. I hate to jump on the “blame EA” bandwagon, but it seems obvious to me that somebody forced them to shoehorn Tali’s face into the finished game at the last minute against their wishes.
The finale is either the biggest troll ever commited to fellow human beings or Bioware has really lost its plot. I’ve never been so active on a forum before (well the lead up to ME2), the amount of people who are unhappy is borderline astronomical. Myself included, obviously. Some people have ended up depressed, and have abandoned playing games altogether (for a while). It’s an emotional investment over years that has culminated in: this.
Though everyone has a different Shepard, I believe the common ground we have is that, Shepard NEVER gives up and always find a way. The ending needn’t have been all rosy, but just.not.that.
What was turning out to my be one of my favourite games ever, has turned out to be one of the biggest disappointments (this is including all other spheres of life).
On the forums, there’s a theory going around that Bioware excluded the proper endings because of datamining and whatnot. Highly improbable, but…but possible.
For now…I can remember as the bromance between my Shepard and Garrus, as the best damn connection I’ve had in any game. Period.
http://cdn.duelinganalogs.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/My-Reactions-to-playing-Mass-Effect-3.jpg
That’s how a lot of people feel.
***SPOILERS***
Before I get to the ending, I did want to make a couple comments about the article.
1) You can, in fact, lose party members. Losing Tali is one of the most emotional scenes in the entire game, and I’m pretty sure I could have shot Ashley’s pretty new face off if I wanted to. Those two options combined with all of the sacrifices of old party members is more than enough loss, IMO.
2) I agree that multiplayer should be in no way mandatory in a series that has been solely single player since it’s inception. From the beginning Bioware stated that you could see all of the content by just doing single player and that multiplayer would just make it easier, which was a blatant lie. Despite that, though, I would hardly call ME3’s multiplayer “shoehorned in.” Sure it’s really only “horde mode” that we’ve had in other games for a while now, but for what it is the system and gameplay are great.
The ending is by far the biggest flaw of the game,but for me the entire storytelling is really sloppy,if compared to the first two chapters.
There are so many things that wouldn’t find space in sci-fi b-movie,and lots of plot holes.
***MORE SPOILERS***
I’m definitely just as pissed about the endings as the next guy (or girl), but there is a small ray of hope. There is actually a very well thought out and elaborate fan theory stating that everything that happens to Shepard after he gets blasted by Harbinger is actually Indoctrination. I know it sounds kinda screwy, but think about it. It explains a LOT:
1) It would explain why the Renegade and Paragon endings are seemingly the opposite of what they should be. Suddenly controlling the Reapers and letting them live becomes the “good” ending and destroying them is the “bad” ending. Fulfilling the will of TIM (who was indoctrinated) is now the best possible outcome.
2) On that note, the two “good” outcomes end with the Reapers surviving and Shepard dying. Given the right circumstances (more on that later), the only ending that allows for Shepard to survive is the ending where he destroys the Reapers. This would make perfect sense, in that it would signify he has defied Reaper control.
3) The added scene to show that Shepard survives involves him waking up, charred like he was after getting hit by Harbinger, in a pile of STONE rubble. How would he survive the citadel, which is in space, blowing up? Why is he laying in a pile of stone and brick when the citadel is made of metal?
4) From everything I’ve read, the requirements to have Shepard survive are that you must destroy the Reapers, and you must have a Military Effectiveness Rating of at least 5000. While at first this doesn’t seem connected to the story in any way, it makes sense if you think that you would have to have time to fight off the Indoctrination. What would buy you that necessary time? A strong military force that keeps the Reapers from coming over and finishing you off.
5) The Catalyst tells you that if you destroy the Reapers, you also destroy all synthetic life, including your own implants that are keeping you alive. Why then, is that the only ending in which you can survive if, essentially, your life support has just been unplugged?
6) The additional scenes of Shepard’s crew surviving the destruction and chaos the results in your choice could easily be the Reaper showing Shepard that, regardless of his choice, those he cares about will be safe, so he has nothing to worry about.
7) The day after the game was released, one of the lead writers of the game tweeted something very close to “Hardest. Day. Ever. If you knew the things we had in store you would keep your copy of ME3 forever,” while another employee wrote “You are all reacting before you have all of the facts.” These both support the theory that the story isn’t finished yet. It would also explain the complete and utter silence from Bioware towards their raging fans.
How cool would it be if the final twist in Bioware’s epic story is that the player themselves gets to experience Indoctrination and how even the strongest willed characters in the universe can succumb to it. By believing these endings are real, they themselves have been “Indoctrinated.” If you choose to control the Reapers, you yourselves have been fooled into believing that you had the power to control them, just like TIM. If you choose Synthesis, you the player chose to try and achieve galactic peace via self-disintegration and deserve the ending you got (trololol.) If you chose to Destroy the Reapers, you, the player, had the will and the sense to defy Reaper control and continue on. It would be one of the most immersive and deep story telling experiences of all time.
I’ve gone on long enough, I know, but there’s a pretty good list of evidence that implies that the TRUE ending is coming in the form of DLC later, since they’ve already stated this game is the end of Shepard’s story. (Forcing us to pay extra for the end of a story 5 years in the making is a topic for another day.)
I know this probably comes off as wishful thinking, and it probably is, but at least there’s some hope. Even if it’s all bullshit, at least some devoted fans out there did a pretty damn good job at explaining it. I desperately want to believe that Bioware, the kings of storytelling, wouldn’t do this to us…but these are apparently the same guys that used a stock photo for Tali’s face, which someone is obviously going to burn in hell for. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
PS
If you read that last comment, then bless you good sir or madam, bless you. For the other absolutely all of you, TL;DR – There is still hope for the ending of the franchise.
Now I will shut up for a long while and go back to observing in silence. =)
Agree with everything said.
Since I found out how it ends, I can’t bring myself to finish it. That’s not to say that I’ve gone all dramatic and am boycotting it, but I’ve just started a second playthrough as engineer (never played it, so I thought I’d try) because I do enjoy the missions and new enemies. I just have no desire to actually finish it.
Bummed out about the ending too, but even before that I was wondering “Where’s Harbinger?!”
He spent the entirety of the last game taunting you by name and telling you how useless your petty resistance is and I was really looking forward to kicking his ass in particular, but no, apart from being mentioned a few times he doesn’t even feature at all!
Taking down the Reapers shoulda been an incredibly satisfying accomplishment, but instead they buried it in ambiguity.
After reading the posts, I’ve noticed that Zydoxis’ post is the direction I’m thinking also. Bioware knows what its doing, for them to come up with Mass Effect universe you have to understand, they’ve thought this through, simple as that. If you read Zydoxis’ post, you’ll realize that something more is hinted at the ending where you see “Shepard” in the rubble.
To just add a couple more points to their post and using the Arrival DLC as reference, in the ending we watch all the of relays blow up. As seen in the Arrival DLC, when the relay is destroyed (it doesn’t matter the colour of the explosion) the entire solar system is destroyed and yet, we can still see “someone” alive in the rubble on what is to be believed as Earth.
Also, in the end scene with the child talking to the adult, they ask for another Sheppard story, not again, but another ..
So I believe that this isn’t over, there are to many inconsistencies in the ending sequences to make sense, so I have faith that there is more to this ending and more to the Shepard story.
Ahh, i have to say that the game is so far excellent, but i have a big question for all you good people at unreality and i would appretiate if you could help me. I would like to know if there a way to create a save game (for the PC) without playing the previous games? I lost both my previous saves and I don’t have the patience to play ME 1 and 2 again for the third time, but I remember all the vital choices I made.
I was one of those unfortunate few who didn’t have his saved games to use, but I went through it anyways figuring the story would be more or less the same. I didn’t have multiplayer or DLC either, so I guess it was just vanilla how I was playing.
I wound up with six teammates — Vega, Ashley, Tali, Garrus, EDI and Liara. Mordin and Eve died, and the Quarians wiped out all of the Geth. My heart broke when I realized it was only Ashley that loved me, as Liara wasn’t interested at all and my true love Tali was mackin’ on Garrus. Something about a mandible getting stuck on her helmet. There was a point where Shepard wakes up and it lingers on the empty bed next to him. Sorry Shep, I was holding out for Tali and it never happened.
I don’t know where it is that Tali sacrficies herself, but I’m glad I missed it. Myself, I find myself wondering how Garrus and Liara, the two I took to Earth, managed to survive and get onto the Normandy after having been shot by the big Reaper.
The idea of Shepard being indoctrinated makes sense, but I question why he still fought to make TIM to see that he was indoctrinated. If they both were, why not go skip off the edge of the platform and let the reapers do their thing?
To those of us who don’t have DLC, or don’t play Multiplayer, then no wonder there’s an outcry — it seems too much was left out. Our end choices were just as bad. Why play through this whole game as either Paragon or Renegade, to just be able to choose whether to be Paragon or Renegade at the end?
I chose to control the Reapers, as it was the option lighted in blue. I didn’t see any third option that allowed me to merge with the Reapers. However, to control the Reapers I had to grab what appeared to be two streams of electricity. They subsequently vaporized me and all the Reapers flew away. It either worked or the Reapers are all just flying off to laugh their asses off and have a party before getting back to destroying everything.
The last scene, to me, just signifies that somehow Shepard did the right thing no matter what, and left a legacy that turned him into a Deity. It’s not “Tell me another story about Shepard” but “Tell me another story about THE Shepard”.
So that’s my experience with it. I was disappointed, for sure, but its beyond my control.
I agree with everything you said. One thing I’d like to add though: one of the things that bugged me every time he made an appearance was the Kai Leng character. It always seemed like there was more about him that just wasn’t explained, which annoyed me to no end.
I now know that he is part of some of the books (or was it comics?) that are based on the game. Why do this? Why throw in a character that is based on non-game material and then expect everyone to go “Ooh!” “Aah!” “It’s Kai Leng!” I know it’s nice to see a person in the game that has made appearances in some of the other material, but if you do that, make them brief.
They did so with whatsherface (Jacob’s new squeeze), which also seems to make an appearance in some of the books/comics, but with her it never felt like there’s more we should know. She made one apperance in the game and that was it. Case closed.
IF the fan theories about indoctrination are true. . .well, then screw that. I want the real ending right now. I paid 60 bucks for it.
Hey, Paul, that’s no Ferris Wheel. That’s the London Eye. But, yes, I did ride it (on a university trip in December 2007).
I’m sure everyone has heard about the Final Hours of Mass Effect 3 app for the iPad. I bought it yesterday and looked through everything. Things are looking grim. It seems the ending was planned from the start. One of the story notes (a picture) says, I’m paraphrasing, LET EVERYONE SPECULATE.
/sigh
The thing that baffles me most about all this is that the fans are holding up the Indoctrination hypothesis as if it would be some kind of improvement.
That’s the sorry state of the current ending — people are actually clamoring for that tired old chestnut “and then she woke up.” As an improvement. An IMPROVEMENT.
That’s not a twist, that’s a cop-out. Mind you, so is the current ending.
I actually would have been quite satisfied with Shepard and Andersen slumping against each other, cut to black. Throw in a few of those half-assed Reading Rainbow style epilogue snapshots that have been so popular lately. A thoroughly mediocre but inoffensive ending with no additional effort required.
Personally I didn’t feel slighted or ripped off by the ending (mainly because I didn’t keep up with pre-release hype at all) but it is objectively true that ME3’s ending is not what was promised (quite recently too!) and not true to the overarching themes of the series.
When developers and reviewers can’t be trusted, gamers are forced to gamble on Schrodinger’s Ending — every newly purchased DVD case contains both the greatest game ever made and the biggest fail in the history of the industry. You won’t know until you open the box, by which point it’s too late to make any difference. Certainly too late to get a refund. You should have known what was in there before you opened it and broke the seal!