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Mass Effect 3 SPOILER THREAD: LOTS OF SPECULATION FROM EVERYONE

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Tess3ract

Banned
I haven't played it yet but I played the first one for the story and the customization and interactions, not the combat.

The second game was more about combat and less about the first two things, so I obviously hated it more. This one seems to even further that, pushing more combat and adding back the customization that was lost while beating the story into the ground.

Sad. Could have had something nice here.
 

Petrichor

Member
I haven't played it yet but I played the first one for the story and the customization and interactions, not the combat.

The second game was more about combat and less about the first two things, so I obviously hated it more. This one seems to even further that, pushing more combat and adding back the customization that was lost while beating the story into the ground.

Sad. Could have had something nice here.

Mass Effect 3 has a better story than Mass Effect 1, easily.

Though I'd say the story isn't particularly strong in any of the games.
 

Tess3ract

Banned
hehehe

5xdra.jpg
 
Mass Effect 3 has a better story than Mass Effect 1, easily.

What? No.

Mass Effect 1 didn't have an especially good story, but at least it was coherent.

Mass Effect 3's story is a complete and utter mess. A textbook example of deus ex machina endings that literally cannot be described as anything other than space magic. An explanation on the Reapers that leaves plotholes big enough to fit Reapers through. Inconsistently amending, retconing or outright ignoring of pre-established series lore. Oh and the death of all the characters you've come to know and love over the last three installments for dramatic effect (either during the game or at the end, it makes no difference!). Horrific.

EDIT: I should note that there will be MANY people scratching their heads over issues like the absolutely bonkers synthetic ending or how/why the Reapers do what they do. Not due to any great complexity in story-telling, or technobabble and sci-fi jargon that the layman struggles to comprehend. No instead it's because it just plain doesn't make any sense.
 

Petrichor

Member
What? No.

Mass Effect 1 didn't have an especially good story, but at least it was coherent.

Mass Effect 3's story is a complete and utter mess. A textbook example of deus ex machina endings that comes literally cannot be described as anything other than space magic. An explanation on the Reapers that leaves plotholes big enough to fit Reapers through. Inconsistently amending, retconing or outright ignoring pre-established series lore. Oh and the death of all the characters you've come to know and love over the last three installments for dramatic effect (either during the game or at the end, it makes no difference!). Horrific.

No. Saren spends the whole game trying to find the conduit...a device that teleports him into the citadel.... a place that he already had access to because of his spectre status? The story of Mass Effect 1 is many things, convoluted, senseless, boring, derivative, but coherent isn't one of them.
 
No. Saren spends the whole game trying to find the conduit...a device that teleports him into the citadel.... a place that he already had access to because of his spectre status? The story of Mass Effect 1 is many things, convoluted, senseless, boring, derivative, but coherent isn't one of them.
Better than a lot of games though.
 
No. Saren spends the whole game trying to find the conduit...a device that teleports him into the citadel.... a place that he already had access to because of his spectre status? .

Teleports him into the Citadel to a place that cannot be accessed through any other means in the Citadel, you mean? He needed to control the keepers, the "control center" if you will, could only be accessed by the conduit thanks to action the Protheans as explained by Vigil. That's coherent, if perhaps a touch silly.

Tell me how that comes anywhere close to the many horrible plotholes, baffling Reaper plot and outright bewildering endings that Mass Effect 3 has given us.
 

Petrichor

Member
Better than a lot of games though.

There isn't anything in the first game that even comes close to Anderson's death, Liara's reaction to the fall of Thessia, Tali's reaction when she steps foot on Rannoch for the first time, or any of the ME3 scenes with the illusive man. It's a hammy, pulpy story (just like the first two games), but, and this is the big difference, told competently.

Teleports him into the Citadel to a place that cannot be accessed through any other means in the Citadel, you mean? He needed to control the keepers, the "control center" if you will, could only be accessed by the conduit thanks to action the Protheans as explained by Vigil. That's coherent, if perhaps a touch silly.

Tell me how that comes anywhere close to the many horrible plotholes, baffling Reaper plot and outright bewildering endings that Mass Effect 3 has given us.

I'm not sure what's so baffling about the reaper plot? A pretty simple, understandable explanation is given for their existence. It's not wholly original granted, I expected something along those lines going into ME3, but what would you have preferred?
 
There isn't anything in the first game that even comes close to Anderson's death, Liara's reaction to the fall of Thessia, Tali's reaction when she steps foot on Rannoch for the first time, or any of the ME3 scenes with the illusive man. It's a hammy, pulpy story (just like the first two games), but, and this is the big difference, told competently.

There are parts of ME3 (that I've seen) that are very well written, with great dialogue, characterization, and voice acting. But the overarching Reaper plot is just an incoherent mess.

It's a similar problem to ME2's story, just on a grander scale. Some excellent side-stories packaged together with a very weak plot.
 

Petrichor

Member
There are parts of ME3 (that I've seen) that are very well written, with great dialogue, characterization, and voice acting. But the overarching Reaper plot is just an incoherent mess.

It's a similar problem to ME2's story, just on a grander scale. Some excellent side-stories packaged together with a very weak plot.

But Mass Effect 1 featured neither a compelling plot nor interesting side-stories. Considering that precedent, I don't understand how people can be disappointed with what we've ended up with in ME2 and ME3.
 
There isn't anything in the first game that even comes close to Anderson's death, Liara's reaction to the fall of Thessia, Tali's reaction when she steps foot on Rannoch for the first time, or any of the ME3 scenes with the illusive man. It's a hammy, pulpy story (just like the first two games), but, and this is the big difference, told competently.

You could make an argument for the VS and Wrex, among other things. I'm not going to, as I agree with you on those scenes. ME3 has many wonderful scenes just like that and highly emotional moments.

We aren't discussing that though. We are discussing the over-all plotline. This isn't just about Shep and his friends (who all find a way of dying or getting screwed over). This is about ME-verse as a whole. The original ME did not have to rely on space magic as the central plot device.

On the point of character emotion; BSN and other places are literally going into meltdown with panicked fans in disbelief that the characters (and love interests) they got so emotionally invested in after three games cannot get a happy ending because Bioware says so. If this is a good plot then I'd hate to see a bad one.

I'm not sure what's so baffling about the reaper plot? A pretty simple, understandable explanation is given for their existence. It's not wholly original granted, I expected something along those lines going into ME3, but what would you have preferred?

It's baffling that Bioware actually went down that road, despite the fact it presents multiple massive plotholes.

I can somewhat appreciate the synthetics killing organics so organics don't make synthetics to kill organics idea. That would be fine on it's own, but it's not on it's own. It has to stand on the lore of the series as a whole. The only reason organics have the capacity to create synthetics that can kill organics is because the Reapers provided them with it. This massive gaping plothole and others forby are never explained or even mentioned.
 
So reading through the thread about plot outcomes based on previous game decisions.

My 360 was stolen with my ME2 save on it. I got perfect ending with everyone surviving.

Do I get a menu for my choices at the start of the game ala "I was awesome, saved everyone" A tick box to select who died, or are certain plot outcomes dependant on having a previous game save?

I'm not playing ME2 again to get that save in that case.
 

Flipyap

Member
Oh, of course. I just assumed that only the party members were Love Plus-able.
No, you can also space-bang Jessica Chobot. She "can't refuse an exclusive."

This is a thing I didn't make up about a real video game that actually exists. I need a new hobby.
 
There isn't anything in the first game that even comes close to Anderson's death, Liara's reaction to the fall of Thessia, Tali's reaction when she steps foot on Rannoch for the first time, or any of the ME3 scenes with the illusive man. It's a hammy, pulpy story (just like the first two games), but, and this is the big difference, told competently.

Cool?

I mean I haven't plated it yet, so I don't have every detail.

I just thought the firsts overall story was pretty good, but it lacked something of a human connection.

The second seemed haphazard, but it had some really entertaining characters. Mordin in particular. Though Legion is fun for the limited amount of time you have him.

In fact I need to have another playthrough. I need to lose all of my sidecrew in a male Sentinel. I already have in a female Adept.

Sorry Chakwas. I must take Legion on lots of missions.


No, you can also space-bang Jessica Chobot. She "can't refuse an exclusive."

This is a thing I didn't make up about a real video game that actually exists. I need a new hobby.
If that's wrong I don't wanna be right! I have a good forty to fifty by now characters to play out a whole range of different things on. Soon to have a male Sentinel to add to it. Maybe he'll be one of my gay characters.

Yes, I do think a no LI run through ME1 and 2 sounds good. He'll finally get some lovin' in 3 sometime this year.
 
Now we just need someone to put up a Google document with the millions of plotholes and for someone to draw an awesome comic mocking the ending!

Then bam, bring out the Bioware retcon machine.

Yeah, I'm really wondering if fans will apply the same sort of detail and dedication they put into destroying Deception into dissecting this game.
 
Oh wow.

That
beam of light you see in the trailer for ME3? It's the fucking ending
. Hahahaha... aah, trailers.

It's also called
the conduit
and has absolutely no reason whatsoever for being there.
 

Petrichor

Member
The last half an hour or so is incredibly dark. The ending works a lot better than you'd expect from the scripts primarily because of the production values:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=829FQ1qdxGE&list=PLA77A186E9E9DACAB&index=43&feature=plpp_video

In fact I think one of the best aspects of the game is how successfully it creates a feeling of hopelessness in the player. I feel like the people complaining about the ending must be the kind of people that liked this ending for bladerunner:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fCeH-WnJYM

*shudders*
 

Ciastek3214

Junior Member
I feel like the people complaining about the ending must be the kind of people that liked this ending for bladerunner

The lack of happy ending in this game is not the problem. It's the lack of any kind of sense in the ending we have that is the problem. Same with Blade Runner ending you posted, no one liked it not because it was "happy", but because it didn't make sense.
 
The series of dark endings is not intentional. There are supposedly happy endings available, but they are more difficult to achieve because you have to play multiplayer modes and/or Facebook and iOS promo games in order to raise your War Readiness level sufficiently to unlock them.
 
I wonder how many people in the industry will talk about the endings being original and imaginative and have never played Deus Ex.
 

Dave1988

Member
The series of dark endings is not intentional. There are supposedly happy endings available, but they are more difficult to achieve because you have to play multiplayer modes and/or Facebook and iOS promo games in order to raise your War Readiness level sufficiently to unlock them.

I'm gonna call bullshit on that one. They probably mean the Synthesis ending which requires 5000 points of War readiness to be achievable. The disc's have been data mined for different endings and the only files that show up are one we already know about. Unless the Day 1 patch or DLC adds further endings, this is either one big misunderstanding or damage control.
 

Tookay

Member
Return of the Jedi is how everyone wants all sci-fi stories to end.

AND THEN EVERYTHING WAS HAPPY FOREVER

Only a few people are complaining about how dark the ending is. Personally, it makes sense that when you fight robot gods who are hellbent on killing everything, there's going to be losses.

What I DO anticipate people complaining more about are the deus ex machina, the space magic fixes everything solution to the problem, the silly motivation for the Reapers, the strange resolution of Joker/Normandy, the lack of a denouement for anyone, and the horribly acted post-credit scene.

There are good bits to the ending, and actually those are the dark parts. The stuff with TIM and Anderson is well-done. There's a lot of character writing that I like, particularly the send-offs. Mark Meer gives a good performance finally. And they made Shepard more than a blank-slate, which I like.

But there are a lot of contrivances, and some people aren't going to like that.
 

Rhino

Member
Oh my God....I just Mordin...he... T_T

He sacrificed him self to cure the genophage.....he went out singing too....

R.I.P you beautiful son of a bitch.....damn it I can't stop crying...
 
Jesus fucking Christ.

uhm, what's the reference?

also: I know we all look at a gazillion pictures of women and all, and poses are usually the same, but I get a huge deja-vu from that Tali picture (not the 'restored version', the lensflare version). Do we know the source (winter space wasn't hard to find, so..)?
 
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