Mass Effect 3 |OT|

[maca2kx]

Just like the page view whore I am here is another blog about Mass Effect. So read it, you know you want to.
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Stuff to read

[Bretimus_v2]

Just finished this tonight. I have a ton of different things bouncing around in my head. I really liked this and I thought it was a great way to close out the series. I'll probably write more tomorrow, but for now I'll just say this.


Least satisfying Judeo-Christian reach around ever.

Still 9/10 if not 10/10. Such an improvement over 2 and...I need to go to sleep.
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[danielrbischoff]

Yeah, definitely an improvement over two.
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[Bretimus_v2]

Ok, I'm bored and I feel like being wordy and semi-coherent.

I really liked ME3! Sure the ending was kind of a let down. I don't know what's worse color palette swapping out the endings and using the same set pieces with minor tweaks, or just the semi-cheese factor. I really wish that Bioware had just ended it for me. I had some big DX:HR flashbacks...the only difference being that it took me 30 minutes each time to see the different ending. I also don't know what was worse the slow walk in ME3 or button mashing Snake through the microwave relay in MGS4. Oh, ummm, SPOILERS! I did like the additional kill ending scene though. Mostly I just didn't enjoy the J-C archetype that they tried to cap it off with. Don't get me wrong, the archetypes used elsewhere of playing God, redemption and atonement are great (see Mordin, Thane, Tali), but it was just...meh. Very spoon-fed.

I did love the controls in this game though. A definite step forward. And I loved the ability to have a crazy variety of weapons, mods, armor, etc. The weapons looked cool, sounded amazing and the impacts looked amazing. Nothing like a grenade or Carnage impact. Gooooooo! My one gripe would be the warp blocking. I had a ton of Overload in my team, but only Liara could Warp. That blew. I guess ME2 spoiled me in that one aspect. You had a serious bevy of options on crew members. And speaking of crew, I wish they just made James a Krogan...I mean, that's essentially what he is, right? I didn't mind FPJ, I felt like he did a better job than whoever voiced Kaidan. And Kaidan! Just when I would start to like the guy, he'd say something stupid like "it's just this...war...it's so....war-like...you know". Spoiler alert, Canadians are tards in the future too. But seriously, I didn't enjoy my crew as much this time around. I mostly mained my two techs and Liara.

The DLC was really well-done and I'm glad I got it. Javik added such a different perspective to the game and I can't imagine not having him on board. It's too bad I had to pay for him, but I got Chobot for free, is there any way I could make that trade? I want to roll a ManShep just so I can sleep with her and then kick her off my ship. And why couldn't Zaeed come aboard instead of sitting his rear in D2? That would have improved the game phenomenally.

But mostly, I really loved the story and the pacing. I never felt rushed in ME2, I never felt like it was imperative that I skip going on the side quests and just get down to the nitty-gritty. Not the same here. Your decisions may not have had a huge impact on the end scene, but they definitely impacted the moment and the end battle. A ton of the storylines were impactful and I felt like they touched each character from past games well. There were a couple of great tearjerker moments. It was hard to say goodbye to the series, harder to say good bye to my crew. I look forward to the DLC ending fix.

The way I look at it, they had to close a series and that sucks no matter what. Especially when you have an acclaimed product. I remember how I felt when HPotter ended or Scrubs even. The bar is set pretty high, there's a ton of lines to tie off, and as a writer you have to answer questions that need answering and decide which ones to just leave to speculation. That's a hard job and I'm not envious of the task.

That being said, playing a hardline Renegade was hard. I felt like Pandora, releasing monster after monster praying that I would find Hope at the bottom of the box. Good game.
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[spartan317]

Now that's a double post worthy of the archives...
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[Bretimus_v2]

Indeed, fixed.
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[LinksOcarina]

I think I am in the minority, the pacing was kind of off because of the games mood. It was somber without a chance for catharsis, which kind of made it difficult to play.

Still, the best trilogy in years...
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[used44]

It's so hard to for me to separate criticizing the third game and "the trilogy." It's all one big awesome game for me.

[Bretimus_v2]

I still really need to experience ME1 in a non-comic book manner.
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[Bretimus_v2]

SPOILERS!

I can definitely see your point, Links. To be honest, I skipped a lot of stuff because I felt like I needed to get to that fight. That's why the scene with Anderson hit me so hard. Not once had my Shep stopped to really have the weight fully settle. And that was the moment where she finally could.

Very excited to play my bleeding heart Paragon who will bend over backwards for everyone. But not Jacob, dude's a brick.
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[danielrbischoff]

Fuck you Jacob. You suck.

[Bretimus_v2]

IKR?

Despite having a crazy, twisted Loyalty mission, I just find him to be bland.
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[danielrbischoff]

I couldn't imagine a worse character. First of all, he's human. Who gives a shit about human's in the ME universe. Second of all, he's got daddy issues which is totally played out in games anymore.

Third, he looks like Kanye West. Crimes against humanity, amirite?

Who else would play as a non-human race in a heart beat? That's why the unlocks in multiplayer are all aliens.

[Bretimus_v2]

Not with the Rebellion pack. You get some Reaperized Illusive Man Humans.

I would never be anything but Drell...I just love how they sound.
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[Longo_2_guns]

[kingg5]

So I played through it to see the new endings and for those who complained about the old ones I found I fourth ending which makes those who bitched try that and see what was better. When you get to choose which ending to pick just shoot the little boy ghost. I was so pissed when I accidently did that and had to start over.
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In the words of CCR."Hail to the chief"

[spartan317]

[Bretimus_v2]

I like that they didn't back off of their endings really. They just fleshed them out and better explained them. Now where's my DLC!!!!
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[LinksOcarina]

A quick take on these endings, so spoilers if you didn't see them yet.

Regarding the refusal ending, it is perhaps one of the best ones now, because of the implications it brings.

Let me explain. If Shepard refuses everything, rejecting the choice and not adhering to change, he is still a hero, along with Liara and the rest of the crew, because of his choice. Not a hero to us, he lost in the end, he was destroyed and humanity, and all of the races in Mass Effect, are effectively destroyed by the reapers. But by preparing the next cycle, the next cycle would venerate his decisions and actions as something important. It means that the next cycle would thrive, would break the chain all because of Liara, because of Shepard, and because they decided to make a choice that would favor them.

So in effect, Shepard becomes a savior then more than ever, giving the next cycle hope.

The new control ending is a tad sinister in its design, but fits like a glove for both paragon and renegade. Destroy is all about rebuilding and remembering, but I always feel that is the weakest ending because the status quo is kept, whereas control has Shepard acting as GOD in a way.

Synthesis is perhaps the most interesting, because it implies a happy ending for all, making it possibly the most disney-like of the endings in terms of everyone coming out unscathed in the end, except Shepard, of course, who made the call to sacrifice himself. But because of the way people are, I would bet after a while people would fight again, because that is what nature is. We have evolved and grown as a species, but it doesn't mean were going to be peaceful for all time.

I really can't wait to see what Mass Effect does after this, because if there is a new game, it would be interested to see which of the endings is official canon, kinda like how Dragon Age II has a default ending to Origins being the Warden survived the game and did the ritual with Morrigan.
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[Lien]

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