I have been told for spoilerish reasons that if you do not, you get really bad endings.
If you mean the war readiness, yeah. It was mentioned in a PC Gamer article that if you dont play MP and go into the epilogue at 50% readiness (default) your ending is incredibly bleak. Bioware has commented that its possible to ignore MP... but due to the readiness penalty if you do you'll need to 100% SP content to get the same result.
Tracking my readiness progress i'm at 71% galactic readiness after about 5 or 6 co-op wins.
Apparently, there are major plot hooks in the first two games which decides many factors. So if you got saved files or even just going to do one of those "I picked these options edited" save files, I suggest you use them. It really meant to penalise those who are starting anew (like me, since I got xbox version)
From some of the spoilers I have seen, they have been disappointing though. It really shoved a lot of "cannon" ME1 into the game, making ME2 feeling like some random interlude.
I can attest to that. There's a lot of callbacks to the previous games but they take two different flavors.
(no spoilers but discussing how the game mechanics are laid out. Some people might not want the minor surprise ruined.)
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
ME1: You get into a situation where something you did from ME1 has seriously impacted what is about to go down. In some cases that means living with harsh consequences. I'm fairly certain I am gonna regret a few of my choices from the first game before this day is done..
ME2: One of your former team members contacts you and you solve a problem. It's usually personal, and usually something done within 30-45 minutes (ie a typical side-quest fluff). Sometimes they don't want anything and just want to talk, resulting in a good 10-15 min of dialogue. Unlike the ME1 callbacks, they dont seem to mean a whole lot and are just there for spice. Still welcome though.
I'll say that cameos in ME3 are handled much better than they were in ME2.
Last edited by Monk; 03-07-2012 at 04:29.
Reason: didnt quote the whole thing
So I've ordered the hard copy of the deluxe edition since I want the metal case. Gonna have to wait a bit for it to ship though, it seems.
In the meantime, Monk: who of your former squad is able to join you permanently? I'd like to know that but would rather not know any more details than possible, otherwise I'd look for it myself. Put it in spoilers if you have to?
Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer: The Gameroom
In the meantime, Monk: who of your former squad is able to join you permanently? I'd like to know that but would rather not know any more details than possible, otherwise I'd look for it myself. Put it in spoilers if you have to?
Garrus and Liara have been featured pretty prominently so i don't think its a spoiler to say you can roll with them. You get them pretty early on (within the first hour) and they prove to be the most effective combination for quite a while. Don't be surprised if they make up your squad for a large bit of the first act.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Ashley/Kaiden will also help you in the tutorial/prologue, but whether or not you keep them is based on your choices through the game. They are still about you joining Cerberus and don't trust you. Winning back their trust is a sub-plot which might determine whether or not you can keep them. I'm not totally sure but it seemed to heavily imply such, which is why I tried to win them over.
Other than that though, permanent returning squad members seem to be limited. I've only just now completed would might be considered the first act of the game (12 hours in) and I've got about 5 squad members. So maybe more are on the way.
Also my first spoiler seems to have been dealt with by reading the in-game Codex:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
If you appoint Anderson to the Council he eventually resigns out of frustration. Udina is then elected to the council position. Bit of a lame turn of events, but at least having Anderson on the council for ME2 let you re-obtain spectre status
Days since the Apocalypse began
"We are living in space-age times but there's too many of us thinking with stone-age minds" | How to spot a Humanist
"Men of Quality do not fear Equality." | "Belief doesn't change facts. Facts, if you are reasonable, should change your beliefs."
Considering what I have just watched they have a reason to complain about the ending.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Who, what, where, why? Nothing about what happens after the end is explained beyond "here's options, have fun because all they do is determin what colour the game's final explosion is." Doesnt really help that neither option, paragon or renegade, averts the implied apocalyptic outcomes, either 1. we lose any chance of galactic space travel for the next few centuries while we have a bunch of PTSD aliens who cant really survive on human food running around earth with no way of getting home, or 2. we lose space travel, have a bunch of PTSD aliens running round earth, all machines are destroyed and we have a space station the size of kent about to make a rapid reentry.
Also apparantly the guys I was carting around for the last 5 years decided to jump planet the second shepard disappears and are now stranded on a seemingly perfect paradise planet, aww at least they got a nice ending, all three of em, at least until we relize that one of the survivors of the crash cannot actually eat the same stuff as the other two, so he's likely to starve after a month or two. Seeing as FTL travel is set back 500 years the chances of them being rescued in thier lifetimes is slim to none, he's likely to end up a cannibalistic snack for the others.
And dont even get me started on that transparant-machine-child-thing!
I'm really hoping that there's afew alternative endings that I missed due to not completing side missions or getting enough resources or something.
Yes I'm ridiculously tired after binging on this game for a day, why do you ask?
Last edited by Greyblades; 03-08-2012 at 01:00.
Being better than the worst does not inherently make you good. But being better than the rest lets you brag.
Originally Posted by Strike For The South
Don't be scared that you don't freak out. Be scared when you don't care about freaking out
And it's done. It took a steady ignorance of my studies for the last couple days and having a fun ride with my sleep schedule, but the game is finished and wrapped up, clocking in at just under 30 hours. Maxed out war readiness and nearly every resource I could get. Probably will need a bit of time to gather my thoughts on the whole, but I'll summarize- plenty of good, a touch of bad, and a fairly infuriating 'epilogue' if you would call it that. I had fun.
Last edited by seireikhaan; 03-08-2012 at 13:57.
It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then, the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.
I'm about 20 hours in. I got lucky in that this game was released after i'd finished up for this quarter. Not a whole lot to do in my classes right now so i've been letting myself get lost in this game for the next day or so. I don't think I'll finish before Friday though as I still have to meet social obligations...
All in all I've been enjoying myself immensely. I mentioned what I hated in a previous post and I still hate it quite a bit. The stripped down conversational paths is a huge problem and has in some parts come close to hurting the enjoyment. I feel like ME3 is much more of an action and a shooter than it is an RPG. Oh don't get me wrong it has tacked on RPG elements but at its core, it feels like it was designed as a shooter and cinematic experience first. Bioware has definitely sacrificed some of the RPG feeling to obtain a greater sense of those two aspects and I don't feel good about that.
I've also been warned by almost everyone that the ending is going to seriously upset me as a fan of this series. While i'm still in the dark about what that spoiler is (and wish to stay that way), i have to admit that hearing the same thing from so many people doesn't have me optimistic. I will say this, that the entire build before that point is great. I feel like i'm getting close to the end and the story has been great so far with no profoundly stupid moments to speak of. Some oddities here and there, some things that i have to chalk up to sci-fi cheese...
The death scenes for certain characters have been hit or miss. I remember bursting into laughter at one with how overly dramatic Bioware attempted to be. And yet with another, I was on the edge of my seat as I watched. Hoping that maybe this wasn't going to end like it seemed it would..
The tone has been mentioned in many articles but it bears repeating.. christ is this game bleak. Its not a detraction or anything but I've rarely seen writing where the destruction, loss and hardship is on this scale. I used to write stuff this crazy bleak when I was 15 and posting in the Mead Hall, but this stuff even beats that for how dark it is.I don't think it hit me until.. well.. Until i did Samara's quest line.
Spoilers for Samara's involvement in the game and quest line. Major plot spoils.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
You run into Samara (provided she survived) when you're on a quest given by Liara. You're trying to secure an Ardact-Yahkshi temple, only the reapers have gotten there first and everything goes into the quick. The Reapers want to turn the Ardact-Yakshi into super weapon husk variants, almost something out of dead-space imo. Samara is there trying to find her two daughters who are also in danger. Long story short.. you manage to destroy the temple but one of Samara's daughters is makes her escape with you. Samara is a Justicar, but now that there is no sanctuary for the Ardact Yakshi and Asari space is crawling with Reapers, there's no place for her daughter to go.
Samara's code compels her to kill her own daughter so as to not let her be released into society and potentially turn into another Morinth. And that's when Samara shoots herself in the head. I could have tried to stop her but I didn't. I honestly didn't know what I could do or say to make her stop. I mean jeeze, I played ME2.. i know what can happen. So Samara killed herself right in front of me. When i first met that character i had a feeling Bioware would do something like that. The strict code - it doesnt jive with how people live their lives. She said it herself in ME2 - the code is black and white. Life isn't..
There were others before that. Moments where I felt that this story was very dark, but it was that moment that really slammed the point home. I don't think Bioware wants this game to have a happy ending, and i'm sure that's exactly what has people so up in arms. Is it? I have no idea. I'll know after about 10 hours of game time.
Funnily I found out if you do it right, utilize a high paragon or renegade score and fight tooth and nail fo it you can resolve almost everything into a good and upbeat manner.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
For example, I cured the genophage with wrex and eve in charge of the Krogan, managed to talk the quarians into not attacking when legion makes the geth stand down and united both sides on thier homeworld, and saved the rachni again with no casualties. Which kinda makes the endings so dang annoying because whatever I do I can do jack squat about it.
Last edited by Greyblades; 03-08-2012 at 15:46.
Being better than the worst does not inherently make you good. But being better than the rest lets you brag.
Originally Posted by Strike For The South
Don't be scared that you don't freak out. Be scared when you don't care about freaking out
Funnily I found out if you do it right, utilize a high paragon or renegade score and fight tooth and nail fo it you can resolve almost everything into a good and upbeat manner.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
For example, I cured the genophage with wrex and eve in charge of the Krogan, managed to talk the quarians into not attacking when legion makes the geth stand down and united both sides on thier homeworld, and saved the rachni again with no casualties. Which kinda makes the endings so dang annoying because whatever I do I can do jack squat about it.
Unfortunately for some of us, our choices are haunting us.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Saving the female was never an option since i destroyed Maelon's cure in ME2. Bit of a cloaca move now that I think about it but it seemed like an okay idea at the time. In fact I did a lot of dumb stuff in ME2 solely to grind renegade points. Should have just cheated a full renegade score for the conversation options and did everything smartly.
And Rachni V2? Good lord man the Queen was screaming insanity. I dunno about you but it seemed a VERY bad idea to keep her around. Then again, i killed the crap out of the queen in 1. Maybe she would have been more stable if i didn't
Some things have been resolved nice and happily, but on the personal level there's been high instances of not being able to get everyone out. A lot of personal loss for strategic gain.
Last edited by Monk; 03-08-2012 at 16:23.
Reason: edited spoiler
Unfortunately for some of us, our choices are haunting us.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Saving the female was never an option since i destroyed Maelon's cure in ME2. Bit of a cloaca move now that I think about it but it seemed like an okay idea at the time. In fact I did a lot of dumb stuff in ME2 solely to grind renegade points. Should have just cheated a full renegade score for the conversation options and did everything smartly.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Ouch, Wrex plus ungenophaged krogan gave me an 800 war score, better than anyone else aside for alliance.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
And Rachni V2? Good lord man the Queen was screaming insanity. I dunno about you but it seemed a VERY bad idea to keep her around. Then again, i killed the crap out of the queen in 1. Maybe she would have been more stable if i didn't
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
My main game strategy was save as many people as possible so I pushed as far as I could the peace options, and it works! I only lost one ex party member this game and I think that one was because I forgot to get to the member's sidequest in time. That's what annoys me about the ending, I managed to do the impossible in my first run getting everyone together, Asari, Salarian, Turian, Krogan, Quarian, Geth, Aria's mercs, Ex-Cerberus, Rachni, Volus, Elcor, even the blasted Batarians and yet I get such a cruddy ending, heck when I checked online for the 100% "perfect ending it still didnt do anything for me.
Last edited by Greyblades; 03-08-2012 at 17:46.
Being better than the worst does not inherently make you good. But being better than the rest lets you brag.
Originally Posted by Strike For The South
Don't be scared that you don't freak out. Be scared when you don't care about freaking out
My main game strategy was save as many people as possible so I pushed as far as I could the peace options, and it works! I only lost one ex party member this game and I think that one was because I forgot to get to the member's sidequest in time. That's what annoys me about the ending, I managed to do the impossible in my first run getting everyone together, Asari, Salarian, Turian, Krogan, Quarian, Geth, Aria's mercs, Ex-Cerberus, Rachni, Volus, Elcor, even the blasted Batarians and yet I get such a cruddy ending, heck when I checked online for the 100% "perfect ending it still didnt do anything for me.
What really? I've lost a ton. Can I ask some questions then?
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Thane, Samara, Legion and Mordin are all dead.
Thane got stabbed in the chest by a cliche while protecting the Salarian councilor. How could I have saved him? It didn't seem like it was an option, he was pretty far gone in his disease by the time i caught up with him on the citadel. He didnt seem to have any quests for me and i did his quest in Me2
Mordin sacrificed himself to distribute the cure, i tried to interrupt him but he told me he had to do it. Probably because of what I did in ME2. I am assuming you kept the cure?
Samara i probably could have saved but didn't try. Would the interrupt have actually worked?
Legion killed himself because there wasn't enough data, he had to upload his consciousness to the Geth collective to distribute his upgrades fully. Did you save the heretics in ME2 or kill them?
Thane got stabbed in the chest by a cliche while protecting the Salarian councilor. How could I have saved him? It didn't seem like it was an option, he was pretty far gone in his disease by the time i caught up with him on the citadel. He didnt seem to have any quests for me and i did his quest in Me2
Oh, Uh I kinda lost him in the second game, didnt come up.
Mordin sacrificed himself to distribute the cure, i tried to interrupt him but he told me he had to do it. Probably because of what I did in ME2. I am assuming you kept the cure?
He still dies with the cure but it actually works in helping the krogan, kinda wish I could get both him and the cure there but they treated his death nicely so it wasnt a big problem. Huh now that I think about it when I said I only lost one member I had forgotten about him, I lost 2 members.
Samara i probably could have saved but didn't try. Would the interrupt have actually worked?
Yup. Kiddo had to agree to stay at the ruined monistary though, I kinda hope none of the reapers survived that explosion.
Legion killed himself because there wasn't enough data, he had to upload his consciousness to the Geth collective to distribute his upgrades fully. Did you save the heretics in ME2 or kill them?
Saved them, yeah he dies technically, but I don't count it because he's just now spread among the whole race, I could see him returning to life in an instant if the geth felt it neccissary and made the effort.
What he means is he forgot
Shut up!
Last edited by Greyblades; 03-08-2012 at 18:26.
Being better than the worst does not inherently make you good. But being better than the rest lets you brag.
Originally Posted by Strike For The South
Don't be scared that you don't freak out. Be scared when you don't care about freaking out
Oh, Uh I kinda lost him in the second game, didnt come up.
He still dies with the cure but it actually works in helping the krogan, kinda wish I could get both him and the cure there but they treated his death nicely so it wasnt a big problem. Huh now that I think about it when I said I only lost one member I had forgotten about him, I lost 2 members.Yup. Kiddo had to agree to stay at the ruined monistary though, I kinda hope none of the reapers survived that explosion.
Saved them, yeah he dies technically, but I don't count it because he's just now spread among the whole race, I could see him returning to life in an instant if the geth felt it neccissary and made the effort.
What he means is he forgot
Shut up!
Hah, whoops. Sorry about that. Didn't mean to spoil that for you unnecessarily, i just assumed. Yes.. despite my renegade tendancies I got everyone out alive in ME2. I think thats whats been so shocking this time around - I've lost a lot of people and that sucks.
The cure still works without the female by the way so long as you take the relevant options. The female would just give the Krogan a much stronger hand, obviously. Guess Wrex will have to settle on his own
Oh, and as an fyi- without spoiling anything, the 'final mission' is looooooooong. And there's a glaring lack of save points. Keep it in mind when you plan to do it. I'd just give it about 4-5 hours where you don't need to do anything else so you can go through it in one 'sit down', so to speak.
It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then, the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.
Alright, a general wrap up. Overall, pretty good time. First, oh, 95% of the game was fairly consistently decent or good, imo. There's that one plot device(y'all know the one) that you'll either hate or not mind, and I didn't mind it. Interaction with the characters and party members is honestly not in a bad state, imo. Previously, yeah, you could initiate the conversation wheel, but you would run out of stuff to say for a while until something new pops up. Wasn't any point. Now, it still essentially works the same way. Just keep popping back and after a mission or two and they'll have something else to talk about. Could be better, but not something I'm too up in arms about. Gameplay more or less worked. Playing 'normal' with an adept was fun, although a bit easy for most of the game. Final mission was a nutcracker at times, though. There's that spacebar issue that loves to crop up at the worst times, but I wouldn't say it detracted from the experience. As Monk said, the n7 side missions are definitely better fleshed out than in ME1. Wish the planet scanning had been abolished altogether, but the decidedly marginalized role they gave it was a definite positive step. Generally, the gameplay decisions worked, for me. Felt a lot less grindey than ME2. Only main thing I miss is the humor. Lot of it isn't there this time around. Granted, that's understandable, what with everything getting mowed by reapers and whatnot, but I still miss it. When it does crop up though, it shines.
Favorite part of the game: having romanced Tali, the whole Geth/Quarian conflict was very fun. Especially at the end, when:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
You orbital strike the daylights out of that reaper. Cutscenes and dialogue were quite nice and fairly satisfying. Also, I absolutely lol'd when they pulled a "mass effect 2" with her face, only to have her send me a picture of herself because of the relationship. Not quite as irked as others are about the whole deal, but who knows, maybe enough upset people will get them to actually whip up her face fo realz. It'd be nice.
I've also been warned by almost everyone that the ending is going to seriously upset me as a fan of this series. While i'm still in the dark about what that spoiler is (and wish to stay that way), i have to admit that hearing the same thing from so many people doesn't have me optimistic. I will say this, that the entire build before that point is great. I feel like i'm getting close to the end and the story has been great so far with no profoundly stupid moments to speak of. Some oddities here and there, some things that i have to chalk up to sci-fi cheese...
Having gotten the "100%" ending, Imma just go ahead and say that you honestly didn't hear too wrongly. The end is pretty bad, there's really no way around it until they fix it with DLC, which they give ultra-hint to. Sad thing is, it's literally the very last, like, .5% of the game, but it just gives a bad taste in the mouth. Most everything prior was either decent enough or actually good.
....With one exception that still bugs me. One of your former party members:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Jack.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Hope you didn't like her too much, because wow. Just wow. Maybe I screwed something up from the last game, but I'm fairly certain I didn't. I was honestly ticked off about the whole thing even though I could't stand her character. Turned into a mostly generic grade phantom by illusive man. Not even a cutscene or nothing, just her screaming at you once or twice while you fight the phantom.
Originally Posted by Monk
Hah, whoops. Sorry about that. Didn't mean to spoil that for you unnecessarily, i just assumed. Yes.. despite my renegade tendancies I got everyone out alive in ME2. I think thats whats been so shocking this time around - I've lost a lot of people and that sucks.
Well, for the renegades, there is at least a bit of good news: you can save at least one of your old crew via rengade-ness, so at least they don't all die. I didn't though. But no worries, I think you've mostly saved who you could. Got a hunch you'll pull out of it all with more than I did.
Originally Posted by Monk
The death scenes for certain characters have been hit or miss. I remember bursting into laughter at one with how overly dramatic Bioware attempted to be. And yet with another, I was on the edge of my seat as I watched. Hoping that maybe this wasn't going to end like it seemed it would..
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Honestly, unabashedly shed a tear for Mordin. Crazy little dude is just so awesome and that scene was honestly really well done, imo. Thane's was a bit more expected- the instant that he and the assassin started at it, I had a pretty good idea what was about to happen. But overall, I don't feel like any of them were 'cheesy', and I didn't laugh at any of them. Legion's death was... interesting for me, because I sided with the quarians flat out.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
He attacked me and Tali finally used that knife on her boot and rammed it right through him. Cue a bit of drama. And then there was that Grunt deal.... Omigod, I was very nearly very upset at Bioware, because of the timing of when I did the mission. Had lost Mordin and Thane just a bit ago. When he pulls a Custer, I was like "oh hell naw, you guys going to kill every single good ME2 companion? And then he comes back at the last second sporting a second skin of blood and I honestly just about lost it.
Oh yeah, one last thing. That day 1 DLC. My thoughts, put simply: worth it, but altogether unnecessary for the whole experience. The party member is reasonably interesting. Not quite a Shale ala Dragon Age, but quite strong. Also nets a nifty weapon that gives me nostalgia for ME1 because it effectively never runs out of ammo. The bonus mission itself was decent enough, but nothing too noteworthy. Also nets Shepard a couple extra bonus biotic powers- Slam, and a new thingamobobber that is pretty nifty, but not necessarily all that strong. Inflicts damage over time, and will hop from enemy to enemy as they keep dying. Lasts a long time, but doesn't really do a ton of damage. Main thing is that it gets through shields and barriers, and so can be used to set up warpsplosions on otherwise hard to warpslosion enemies. ... That made sense, right?
Last edited by seireikhaan; 03-08-2012 at 21:09.
It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then, the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.
Having gotten the "100%" ending, Imma just go ahead and say that you honestly didn't hear too wrongly. The end is pretty bad, there's really no way around it until they fix it with DLC, which they give ultra-hint to. Sad thing is, it's literally the very last, like, .5% of the game, but it just gives a bad taste in the mouth. Most everything prior was either decent enough or actually good.
Oh . I bet I know what it is now. Sigh. Not gonna say anything. I'm not even mad -_-
Originally Posted by issaikhaan
....With one exception that still bugs me. One of your former party members:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Jack.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Hope you didn't like her too much, because wow. Just wow. Maybe I screwed something up from the last game, but I'm fairly certain I didn't. I was honestly ticked off about the whole thing even though I could't stand her character. Turned into a mostly generic grade phantom by illusive man. Not even a cutscene or nothing, just her screaming at you once or twice while you fight the phantom.
Did you do the Grishom Academy mission? She makes an appearance there and all indications from that mission were positive upon its conclusion (and later events). Does that change in the final mission?
None of the "important" deaths have been cliche/cheese worthy. It was a hapless redshirt that got the laugh out of me. It was just so ridiculous I couldn't help it, and honestly i don't even remember what point in the game it was now.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
But oh man, you are right about Grunt's mission. That mission just had "GAME OVER MAN" written all over it, and when he doubled back I got some serious puppy-dog eyes. I was like "No. No! Not my number 2 Krogan bro. D:"
But i got some real disappointment from Thane getting offed by a cliche. Seriously man. I can't believe that Cerberus guy is built to be so hard to kill, he's a pansy.
Oh . I bet I know what it is now. Sigh. Not gonna say anything. I'm not even mad -_-
If you called it at this point, congrats. I sure didn't. Oh, and as a precaution, I definitely advise getting max readiness. It's not too hard, but I've got a hunch you'll want to get it in spite of the generally dissatisfactory endings regardless.
Originally Posted by Monk
Did you do the Grishom Academy mission? She makes an appearance there and all indications from that mission were positive upon its conclusion (and later events). Does that change in the final mission?
Aaand there it is. Knew there was something important there. No, because I didn't realize it was on a timer. Once I did, it was obviously too late. That makes it at least a bit better. Can't say how it'll change for you at the end, I just dunno.
None of the "important" deaths have been cliche/cheese worthy. It was a hapless redshirt that got the laugh out of me. It was just so ridiculous I couldn't help it, and honestly i don't even remember what point in the game it was now.
Well, that is why redshirts exist- to brighten our existence with their general misfortune :D
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
But oh man, you are right about Grunt's mission. That mission just had "GAME OVER MAN" written all over it, and when he doubled back I got some serious puppy-dog eyes. I was like "No. No! Not my number 2 Krogan bro. D:"
But i got some real disappointment from Thane getting offed by a cliche. Seriously man. I can't believe that guy is built to be so hard to kill, he's a pansy.
Well, probably not a huge spoiler, since the guy's basically Illusive Man's dragon in this game, but just in case:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
You do get to kill him later. Kind of a lame fight, imo, but I wouldn't call it awful. He's not very difficult, compared to the rest of the game.
Anyways, my only beef with the character, aside from being utterly one dimensional and having no backstory at all and having been basically invented for the sake of convenience, is that he looks so much like NightWing. Probably my biggest detraction from the main part of the game.
It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then, the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.
If you called it at this point, congrats. I sure didn't. Oh, and as a precaution, I definitely advise getting max readiness. It's not too hard, but I've got a hunch you'll want to get it in spite of the generally dissatisfactory endings regardless.
I'm calling it mentally, i've seen a number of subtle hints here and there and they were reinforced by pre-launch speculation. I just have a bad feeling now. Honestly I dont think it will upset me but.. yeah, its definitely a lame way to end a trilogy. Oh well! Not gonna worry about it til i get there.
Well, probably not a huge spoiler, since the guy's basically Illusive Man's dragon in this game, but just in case:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
You do get to kill him later. Kind of a lame fight, imo, but I wouldn't call it awful. He's not very difficult, compared to the rest of the game.
Anyways, my only beef with the character, aside from being utterly one dimensional and having no backstory at all and having been basically invented for the sake of convenience, is that he looks so much like NightWing. Probably my biggest detraction from the main part of the game.
He just looks so out of place. For that matter the entire concept of Phantoms is pretty out of place for Mass Effect. I've already fought him once and got beaten by a cutscene, so yes, i'm eager for a rematch. -_- Ruin my undefeated streak, will you..
He just looks so out of place. For that matter the entire concept of Phantoms is pretty out of place for Mass Effect. I've already fought him once and got beaten by a cutscene, so yes, i'm eager for a rematch. -_- Ruin my undefeated streak, will you..
In that case, you're pretty rapidly closing in on the end. Only a few plot missions left.
It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then, the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.
I managed to get my total war readiness up to around 6700-ish by the end. Mutiplayer was ok but not anything like Left 4 Dead level of fun.(For me anyway)
I loved the story better then ME2...it was dark but I liked it. Didn't like the endings so much though.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Too many questions remained for the endings...Why did Joker and co run away from the battle all of a sudden? Did the armada make it home before the relays were destroyed? Did everyone survive the crash on the abandoned island world?
Overall, it is a minor thing but when you have that much build-up for three games end that way, it sort of feels disappointing. Still...I did enjoy the first 95% of the game and I think it was great and worth playing.
I saw the BW forums thread two days before launch when I posted here. Then I edited my post thinking that people might not want to see ending spoilers even in spoiler tags. I see I could not have been more wrong.
So anyone else from here posting in that thread?
The horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight.
I understand the frustration some people have said about the endings but.. really, honestly you guys. What was I supposed to be angry about? If it was the fact that my choices had no bearing on the final ending - that's always been the case for ME. You could play the entire first game as a renegade, but still save the council at the end and set the state for a paragon opening for 2. The only difference in 3 is that you've got 3 endings instead of 2, and none of them are particularly bright. Reminds me of DX:HR in a lot of ways - and i enjoyed that game's ending just as much.
I kept myself insulated from spoilers completely and went into this thing blind. All i knew was that some people were really mad.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
and I was half right! The reapers were just an agent of something else trying to keep order. They couldn't stop the cycle even if they wanted to. It was in their construction.
I chose the Red ending as, believe it or not, it seemed to be the happiest despite everyone claiming Green was the happiest. The only disappointment I have is that there was no big run down of what happened after the battle. There's so many questions floating around that while the ending was emotionally satisfying, i feel I need more.
How out of left field the choices came,
How bleak the choices were,
How dumb the villian's justification was (the kid not illusive man),
How there's no final boss,
How there's no epilogue,
That there's little way to restore space travel in the next century and that the relays exploding most likely just exterminated half the galaxy,
The utterly unexpected and unexplained bit with the crashed normandy,
That the "perfect" 100% ending is still pretty bad as there's no way they're rebuilding earth any time soon,
The part where none of your choices do jack squat for the ending beyond whether or not you unlock the 3rd choice.
After ME2's ending the whole 3 choices at the end ala Deus ex HR is disappointing, this was such a good game! It doesnt deserve to go out like this! I want a fallout New vegas level of ending not something that is even worse than the Falout 3 without Broken Steel ending, at least that one had voice over explaining some of what happens next!
Gah! I'm getting way too passionate about this.
Last edited by Greyblades; 03-09-2012 at 10:52.
Being better than the worst does not inherently make you good. But being better than the rest lets you brag.
Originally Posted by Strike For The South
Don't be scared that you don't freak out. Be scared when you don't care about freaking out
How out of left field the choices came,
How bleak the choices were,
How dumb the villian's justification was (the kid not illusive man),
How there's no final boss,
How there's no epilogue,
That there's little way to restore space travel in the next century and that the relays exploding most likely just exterminated half the galaxy,
The utterly unexpected and unexplained bit with the crashed normandy,
That the "perfect" 100% ending is still pretty bad as there's no way they're rebuilding earth any time soon,
The part where none of your choices do jack squat for the ending beyond whether or not you unlock the 3rd choice.
After ME2's ending the whole 3 choices at the end ala Deus ex HR is disappointing, this was such a good game! It doesnt deserve to go out like this! I want a fallout New vegas level of ending not something that is even worse than the Falout 3 without Broken Steel ending, at least that one had voice over explaining some of what happens next!
Gah! I'm getting way too passionate about this.
Fair points! But I don't feel they become enough to ruin the overall experience.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
I wasnt bothered by the fact there was no final boss. In fact I felt the final fight in Me2 was so ridiculous and outlandish that I feel we were better served to not get a repeat. Mass Effect 2 became Contra III during that last fight, and while it was funny and awesome, it blew the atmosphere out of the water. That moment just wasn't even the same game you had been playing.
I think most of what the ending suffers from is just a lack of information. Investigating with the hologram/VI would have been WAY better than just being forced down the path. There was so much there that was unsaid, and you could feel it. Obviously something went really wrong numerous cycles ago resulting in the status quo. A lot of unanswered questions and on this I have to agree. This is the biggest failing of the ending because while we know a lot of things, there's still so much more we don't.
No epilogue does suck. I said that before.
The relay's getting torched isnt the end of the world, but it is the end of civilization as we know it. But that isn't a bad thing, per say. You have to remember that galactic civilization was based on Reaper tech. Sovereign told you in the first game that your technology advances on the paths they desire. Wiping that away is a necessary step if the galaxy is truly going to be free from that influence. Otherwise men like the illusive man will always come along to mess it up.
At least thats what I got out of it.
All in all I still really enjoyed ME3 and i plan to play it for quite a while to come. While the endings weren't perfect, i feel they struck an emotional cord and really capped off the series well. Its unfortunate that Bioware chose to leave it open in the way they did. No doubt for future expansions/DLC.
While I would be quite willing to agree with you I just dont like it, I wanted multiple endings, a tickertape parade if I won with 100%, the universe ending if I lost and everything in between, the last two games had the spectrum of endings, but with this I feel like all I'm getting is variations of bad ending, I feel after such a good game getting such an ending where the main character is dead, the companions are stranded, the civilisation I've been trying to save will collapse anyway and this ending is the end of a series? Gah, it's not good enough, I've become too invested in this series and it feels like I've lost everything. This is more bleak than ego draconis' ending or Neverwinter nights 2.
Last edited by Greyblades; 03-09-2012 at 14:24.
Reason: spoiler.
Being better than the worst does not inherently make you good. But being better than the rest lets you brag.
Originally Posted by Strike For The South
Don't be scared that you don't freak out. Be scared when you don't care about freaking out
But no, I can understand where you're coming from. I'm certainly not going to say you're wrong for feeling that way or for wanting it to end differently. If anything, I seem to be in the minority when it comes to the discussion on the endings. Most people feel as you do - they love 98% of the game but get let down in the end.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Personally i felt it made sense from a story perspective. It is only bleak in the sense that civilization has fallen, but your actions have given the freedom to build a new one that's free of the Reapers. It hurt to see everything go down. I actually got a bit misty eyed when Shepard couldn't make it to the console. I watched a character whom i've known for over five years struggle and labor to hold onto life only to die in the end. It was like saying goodbye to a good friend.
Like i said, i chose the Red ending because it allowed a future free of the cycle - free of forced evolution and free of control. I had to let the life in the galaxy be free to make their own mistakes and not have their destinies decided for them. In fact, thats what I thought the stranded scene combined with the scene after the end credits symbolized. It hurt to see the old civilization torn down, but it was needed if a new one was going to be built.
But again. My opinion seems to be a bit unique on this. No one else seems to be thinking along these lines, and thats okay.
But no, I can understand where you're coming from. I'm certainly not going to say you're wrong for feeling that way or for wanting it to end differently. If anything, I seem to be in the minority when it comes to the discussion on the endings. Most people feel as you do - they love 98% of the game but get let down in the end.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Personally i felt it made sense from a story perspective. It is only bleak in the sense that civilization has fallen, but your actions have given the freedom to build a new one that's free of the Reapers. It hurt to see everything go down. I actually got a bit misty eyed when Shepard couldn't make it to the console. I watched a character whom i've known for over five years struggle and labor to hold onto life only to die in the end. It was like saying goodbye to a good friend.
Like i said, i chose the Red ending because it allowed a future free of the cycle - free of forced evolution and free of control. I had to let the life in the galaxy be free to make their own mistakes and not have their destinies decided for them. In fact, thats what I thought the stranded scene combined with the scene after the end credits symbolized. It hurt to see the old civilization torn down, but it was needed if a new one was going to be built.
But again. My opinion seems to be a bit unique on this. No one else seems to be thinking along these lines, and thats okay.
Having never played the game, only reading about it, it seems you're exactly right. It looks like that's the ending they were forcing you toward the entire time.
Reinvent the British and you get a global finance center, edible food and better service. Reinvent the French and you may just get more Germans.
Re: Mass Effect 3
Originally Posted by Tiaexz
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about you joining Cerberus and don't trust you. Winning back their trust is a sub-plot which might determine whether or not you can keep them. I'm not totally sure but it seemed to heavily imply such, which is why I tried to win them over.
I didn't though. But no worries, I think you've mostly saved who you could. Got a hunch you'll pull out of it all with more than I did. 
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