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[Laughing Banana]

Any ideas?

What? How is it possible you can have a level 38 character when the maximum allowed is 30?

 

[Sai]

So, I recently finished a run with Kaiden, and I gotta ask... Is there a glitch related to Ashley's dialogue/interaction with the rest of the Normandy's crew? Because Kaiden just seemed a lot more involved than Ashley's been. Though I'd actually expect it more out of his character than Ashley's, he wasn't just stuck in Starboard Observation throughout the entirety of the game.

He played cards with James, had a nice talk about Cerberus with Shepard in the Crew's Quarters, and talked with Engineer Adams down in Engineering after the fall of Thessia out of concern for Liara... Even when he was in Starboard Observation, he just seemed to have slightly more to say and do than Ashley did—like talkin' to EDI about hunting down his squad.

And Ashley? Uh... A hangover.

I mean, is that all there is to her? 'cause I thought her interaction with the rest of the crew was kind of stale before I saw what Kaiden had to offer. Could it be similar to the glitch related to Ken 'n Gabby?

 

[DTKT]

So, I recently finished a run with Kaiden, and I gotta ask... Is there a glitch related to Ashley's dialogue/interaction with the rest of the Normandy's crew? Because Kaiden just seemed a lot more involved than Ashley's been. Though I'd actually expect it more out of his character than Ashley's, he wasn't just stuck in Starboard Observation throughout the entirety of the game.

He played cards with James, had a nice talk about Cerberus with Shepard in the Crew's Quarters, and talked with Engineer Adams down in Engineering after the fall of Thessia out of concern for Liara... Even when he was in Starboard Observation, he just seemed to have slightly more to say and do than Ashley did—like talkin' to EDI about hunting down his squad.

And Ashley? Uh... A hangover.

I mean, is that all there is to her? 'cause I thought her interaction with the rest of the crew was kind of stale before I saw what Kaiden had to offer. Could it be similar to the glitch related to Ken 'n Gabby?

Yep. A dev on BSN mentionned that Ashley had a bug with dialogue. Something about her "approval" rating.

At least, I think that's what it was...

 

[GSR]

Yep. A dev on BSN mentionned that Ashley had a bug with dialogue. Something about her "approval" rating.

At least, I think that's what it was...

I know that for some reason Ken and Gabby's dialogue is triggered by high approval with Ashley, but I'm not sure I've heard Ashley's own dialogue is bugged. It would make sense though - I'm just finishing up a Kaidan run as well and he seems to have a lot more to say.

 

[Complistic]

So, I recently finished a run with Kaiden, and I gotta ask... Is there a glitch related to Ashley's dialogue/interaction with the rest of the Normandy's crew? Because Kaiden just seemed a lot more involved than Ashley's been. Though I'd actually expect it more out of his character than Ashley's, he wasn't just stuck in Starboard Observation throughout the entirety of the game.

He played cards with James, had a nice talk about Cerberus with Shepard in the Crew's Quarters, and talked with Engineer Adams down in Engineering after the fall of Thessia out of concern for Liara... Even when he was in Starboard Observation, he just seemed to have slightly more to say and do than Ashley did—like talkin' to EDI about hunting down his squad.

And Ashley? Uh... A hangover.

I mean, is that all there is to her? 'cause I thought her interaction with the rest of the crew was kind of stale before I saw what Kaiden had to offer. Could it be similar to the glitch related to Ken 'n Gabby?

Kaidan still has his original writer I believe, and Ashley's left before ME2 came out. Her dialogue is incredibly one dimensional as well. I believe one of the writers they picked up for ME3 wrote for her but it's pretty obvious she didn't get as much love. It's a shame, they could have done so much more with her.

 

[Sai]

Man, that's too bad. Don't know how they could have left such a huge discrepancy between 'em.

He even comments about EDI's new body scarin' the crap out of him, always thought it was odd how they didn't have Ashley say anything about that.

Oh! And what he said about the Ardat Yakshi, that actually got a chuckle out of me.

 

[Complistic]

Ashley never leaves her room and doesn't have any chatter with the other squad mates on the normandy. She's pretty much zaeed. She had a pretty great dialogue with shepard questioning him about what the afterlife and dying was like, but it got cut for some reason.

 

[Sai]

Oh yeah, finally noticed in my last run that

Spoiler

Joker's little sister, Hilary, was the one killed by the Asari Huntress with PTSD in Huerta Memorial Hospital.

Should've linked it with the mention of Tiptree, at least—she even accurately guesses her age... I feel slow. >_>

She had a pretty great dialogue with shepard questioning him about what the afterlife and dying was like, but it got cut for some reason.

Is the cut dialogue available to listen to/read anywhere?

 

[DTKT]

Oh yeah, finally noticed in my last run that

Spoiler

Joker's little sister, Hilary, was the one killed by the Asari Huntress with PTSD in Huerta Memorial Hospital.

Should've linked it with the mention of Tiptree, at least—she even accurately guesses her age... I feel slow. >_>


Is the cut dialogue available to listen to/read anywhere?

Here you go. Someone made an "comic" with the dialogue.

http://i.imgur.com/Q9DmN.jpg

 

[Sai]

D:

Why cut that?! Bioware's dumb.

Thanks, though. Any other goodies they left on the cutting room floor?

 

[Bornstellar]

Hardcore I think is the sweet spot between challenging but fun. Insanity is difficult, but a straight-up borefest IMO.

So insanity wasn't hard enough for me. I downloaded a "Spectre" difficulty coalesced edit. Still not hard enough in most sections.

Crap. Game is just too easy.

 

[Blue Ninja]

Here you go. Someone made an "comic" with the dialogue.

http://i.imgur.com/Q9DmN.jpg

I would bang Ashley again if it meant I got that scene. Jesus Christ, BioWare, that shit was deep.

 

[Sai]

Eviscerator wasn't showing up at the usual spot at Grissom Academy. Tried reloading, nothing. Went back to an earlier save to restart the mission, still nothing.

S'up with that? :I

 

[utsavinheaven]

Eviscerator wasn't showing up at the usual spot at Grissom Academy. Tried reloading, nothing. Went back to an earlier save to restart the mission, still nothing.

S'up with that? :I

did u save david or what ever the bald guys name was in overload dlc in me2?
it gives you 2nd chance for that weapon.

 

[Sai]

Yes, I did. There's a second Mattock in the security room. I did get a second Eviscerator from there once, during my previous run through the game as a Vanguard. I figured the Class change was the cause, but are the weapon pick-ups decided randomly?

Usually there's three weapon pick-ups at Grissom Academy: an Eviscerator, and two Mattocks. The first one simply wasn't there this time around.

 

[Amory]

Mass Effect 2 may have been my favorite game of all time. It's way up there anyway. And this might just trump it. I typically play games at 1-2 hour intervals, but Mass Effect games? I play them at unhealthy intervals, like 4-6 hours at a time, at least. I haven't gotten to the end yet, so maybe I'll be disappointed. But honestly, the ride so far has been so good that overall I'll still love this game, and this series, overall.

A serious knock against it, though, is that once you reach the "ok we're totally gonna do it just before the last mission" part of a romance, there's basically no additional dialogue. It's like there's just an unspoken agreement between the characters that no additional conversation is required, you're already infatuated. It's stupid.

 

[Bornstellar]

Mass Effect 2 may have been my favorite game of all time. It's way up there anyway. And this might just trump it. I typically play games at 1-2 hour intervals, but Mass Effect games? I play them at unhealthy intervals, like 4-6 hours at a time, at least. I haven't gotten to the end yet, so maybe I'll be disappointed. But honestly, the ride so far has been so good that overall I'll still love this game, and this series, overall.

A serious knock against it, though, is that once you reach the "ok we're totally gonna do it just before the last mission" part of a romance, there's basically no additional dialogue. It's like there's just an unspoken agreement between the characters that no additional conversation is required, you're already infatuated. It's stupid.

I was like you. Then I got to the rainbow. To be innocent again...

 

[bubnbob]

Have they fixed if you can get 4000 EMS without touching multi?

What are my options for a pass-lacking new player (who has a ME1 -> ME2 character to import)?

Is the iOS titles worth considering?

 

[Bisnic]

Have they fixed if you can get 4000 EMS without touching multi?

What are my options for a pass-lacking new player (who has a ME1 -> ME2 character to import)?

Is the iOS titles worth considering?

You could also dont bother with it and watch the exclusive 4000 EMS 15 secs clip on Youtube when you're done with it, since it always play the same no matter what and it only show after you chose a particular option before the game ends. You could pick something else and never see the cutscene even with over 4000 EMS.

 

[riceandbeans]

Have they fixed if you can get 4000 EMS without touching multi?

What are my options for a pass-lacking new player (who has a ME1 -> ME2 character to import)?

Is the iOS titles worth considering?

If you have a ME1 to ME2 save, then you might be okay to get one of the best endings(

Spoiler

I think two of the other endings require 5000+ EMS which is impossible to get without an online pass

) but your gonna need to be a little careful with your choices and do almost every boring fucking fetch and scan mission there is. If you only have a ME2 save, then you're shit out of luck. You can thank EA for the Galactic Readiness bullshit and screwing over single-player only and used game owners.

 

[HenryHSH]

FUCK Banshees. Seriously. They're piercing my ears and they keep dropping my useless teammates.

edit: Well, those two were annoying as fuck. Glad it's over. Hope there won't be more of them. (Of course there will be..)

 

[MisterNugNug]

Do I need to seriously increase my readiness to get EMR over 5000 again? Or am I good/locked into the best ending since I had over 5000 before I started the illusive man?

Ugh. After finishing the game, I cringe every time I come across this sentiment by other players. I honestly hope you enjoyed the ending.

 

[Laughing Banana]

FUCK Banshees. Seriously. They're piercing my ears and they keep dropping my useless teammates.

edit: Well, those two were annoying as fuck. Glad it's over. Hope there won't be more of them. (Of course there will be..)

Eh, Banshees themselves are good opponents, in theory. What makes them unbearable is the stupid idiot AI of Shepard's team-mates. Seeing Banshee charging in, "GUESS I'LL JUST STAND STILL IN THIS SPOT, UNMOVING, NOT RUNNING WHILE I LET THESE BANSHEES GRAB ME BY THE THROAT."

Goddamn idiots.

By the way, have the mystery of Level 38 Mass Effect 2 save files before been solved? I mean, how is it possible?

 

[SonofdonCD]

I finished the game, and I'm having a hard time understanding the problem people seem to have with it? I know I'm probably not the only person to say this here, but is there somewhere I can read what most people here have a problem with, like a certain post or page of posts that would explain it to me? Cause I was totally okay with it myself.

It isn't the most profound ending, nor is it the best. But it was just satisfactory enough for me. I've read some editorials about it (mostly negative ones, but also the occasional positive one) and mostly disagree with the negative ones.

I'm not really looking to start a big argument about it, as I'm sure over the past few months there has been enough of that. Just looking for a bit of understanding on the issue.

 

[spekkeh]

I think the four main points of contention are:

Spoiler

1. That your galactic readiness / EMS rating has no influence, really. If you get above a certain level, then people on earth don't die, if you get above a higher level, you're allowed to choose a synthesis ending, if you reach the top level, Shepard may not die. All of these however bear no relationship to galactic readiness / EMS storywise, they're just artificial. This makes everything you did before seem a bit pointless.

2. The endings look very similar visually, you just have different colors of space magic.

3. Space magic; the crucible can do everything, control the reapers, destroy all synthetics, and somehow turn every human into a cyborg, without any explanation.

4. Some people don't agree with the explanation by the god child that synthetics will always rise up against organics, because they had previously brokered a peace between the geth and the quarians. This would make the explanation of the reapers seem at odds with the game you played.

I agree with you by the way. The ending is definitely flawed and the Mass Effect deserved a lot better than this obviously rushed affair. But it was by no means abysmal (better than ME2 imo), and actually much more interesting than most game endings. But you'd better take this to the spoiler thread (although they won't want to discuss it with you probably, because it's been done to death).

 

[big_z]

i finished it last night while it's not as polished as ME2 overall its just as good and the endings are fine. if i was bioware i would have told the complainers to fuck off but since they gave into the minority of basement dwellers i kind of hope they use the idea

Spoiler

that everything after getting blasted by the reaper was an indoctrination attempt. picking red would make the indoctrination fail and the game would continue from back in london.

the only reason i would be okay with that is that it would allow for a new game or two to be made in the future and expand the fiction possibly into other galaxies to go after the creators of the reapers and stop them at the source. the mass effect fiction/universe is imo one of the best in gaming. would be a shame to lose it since theres nothing else like it out there.

 

[Bisnic]

I finished the game, and I'm having a hard time understanding the problem people seem to have with it? I know I'm probably not the only person to say this here, but is there somewhere I can read what most people here have a problem with, like a certain post or page of posts that would explain it to me? Cause I was totally okay with it myself.

It isn't the most profound ending, nor is it the best. But it was just satisfactory enough for me. I've read some editorials about it (mostly negative ones, but also the occasional positive one) and mostly disagree with the negative ones.

I'm not really looking to start a big argument about it, as I'm sure over the past few months there has been enough of that. Just looking for a bit of understanding on the issue.

There's a giant spoiler thread(the 2nd one in fact, due to the ending) where everyone said what they think of it. http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=467193

Short version is that the ending ignored everything you did in the past games. Doesn't matter what you did in ME1 or ME2 or 95% of ME3, the game will always end the same way, with only slight differences depending on your final decision. That's it.

There is more, but you better check the spoiler thread for that.

 

[riceandbeans]

I think the four main points of contention are:

Spoiler

3. Space magic; the crucible can do everything, control the reapers, destroy all synthetics, and somehow turn every human into a cyborg, without any explanation.

Spoiler

I wouldn't call it space magic. It looked like a giant EMP blast that could destroy electronics which is completely possible.

Short version is that the ending ignored everything you did in the past games. Doesn't matter what you did in ME1 or ME2 or 95% of ME3, the game will always end the same way, with only slight differences depending on your final decision. That's it.

There is more, but you better check the spoiler thread for that.

Not exactly. Your past decisions can affect your EMS, which relates to how good of an ending you get so your choices do matter.

Spoiler

Like if you decide to save the Rachni queen from ME1 and then you spare her in ME3, you'll get a big boost in EMS. If you don't play online, playing the previous games is the only way to get over 4000 EMS.

 

[Rodhull]

Not exactly. Your past decisions can affect your EMS, which relates to how good of an ending you get so your choices do matter.

Spoiler

Like if you decide to save the Rachni queen from ME1 and then you spare her in ME3, you'll get a big boost in EMS. If you don't play online, playing the previous games is the only way to get over 4000 EMS.

Sure but

Spoiler

for the most part 90% of the events at the end of the game play out the exact same almost regardless of what your EMS score is and the differences in all the endings available is pretty minimal, even if you get the "best" one. Things like the Rachni don't make much difference ultimately, which is frustrating especially after Bioware claiming it would have a big consequence for the end of the game. In the end it's just a number on the board and a pretty small one at that.

 

[Nori Chan]

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH WTF HAVE I DONE

(Spoilers for the citadel visit after the priority missions on Rannoch)

Spoiler

WREX YOU BASTARD WHY'D YOU HAVE TO GO NUTS AND WHY'D I HAVE TO BE RENEGADE ;_;

Can anybody tell me how close I am to the end in percentage?

 

[GSR]

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH WTF HAVE I DONE

(Spoilers for the citadel visit after the priority missions on Rannoch)

Spoiler

WREX YOU BASTARD WHY'D YOU HAVE TO GO NUTS AND WHY'D I HAVE TO BE RENEGADE ;_;

Can anybody tell me how close I am to the end in percentage?

Probably like 80-85%. With regards to the types of mission (plot/sidequest):

Spoiler

I think the only things left for you are four or five plot missions and one N7 sidequest.

 

[spekkeh]

Spoiler

I wouldn't call it space magic. It looked like a giant EMP blast that could destroy electronics which is completely possible.

I think it's safe to say that close to 100% of gamers that thought the ending was fine chose the

Spoiler

_____destroy/red______

ending, and accept it as canon/aren't too bothered with the other endings. It's the one that makes the most sense from a story perspective in my opinion.

 

[Four_Chamber]

Just finished this, really going to miss this trilogy. Easily my favorite set of games of all time.

Regarding the story

Spoiler

the ending is definitely out there. I chose the synthesis option as I thought that was a fitting way for my Shepard to go out. Was happy to keep my romance with Ashley up throughout the game. It was nice seeing all the old crew again too.

. Overall, I'm happy to have put myself on a total internet boycott prior to playing this game.

Overall, ME1 is easily my favorite of the series. That's probably my favorite game of all time (I remember how angry I was at first the KotOR3 wasn't being made!). ME3 is a solid 2nd followed by ME2. Overall, though the combat was really tight in this game and the music was outstanding, though nothing is good as the original menu music.

As I'm approaching the ripe old age of 30 and my career is starting to seep into my life, I don't think I'll ever again put so much into a game series as I have with Mass Effect. From my 3 playthroughs of ME1 (~100 hours total), 3 playthroughs of ME2 (~90 hours), and my one playthrough of ME3 (30 hours), I've put nearly 10 days of my life into playing this series. It had its up and downs, but an incredibly worthwhile experience. Like I said, its somewhat sentimental because its the end of an era for me. Sorry to get sappy but I'm getting real nostalgic (or just sleepy) here at 4AM in the morning. Being a physician and managing serious RPG play is not easy...

 

[Gui_PT]

I think it's safe to say that close to 100% of gamers that thought the ending was fine chose the

Spoiler

_____destroy/red______

ending, and accept it as canon/aren't too bothered with the other endings. It's the one that makes the most sense from a story perspective in my opinion.

Spoiler

No, shepard always defended equality through races and though synthetics wouldn't necessarily kill their creators. He teamed up with legion, they were even "friends". It goes against his personality to destroy them all. At least in my opinion.

Besides even if he does destroy them all, organics will just rebuild them in the future and they'll hhve to go through all of this all over again

 

[spekkeh]

Naw. Real Shepard let the council die and killed the heretics, in order to ensure the safety of the human race. Fact. .

Spoiler

And the cycle wouldn't happen again, because the Reapers are dead. Sure synthetics would be made again and then possibly eradicate all organic life, but at least it would've happened out of the organic's own volition. That, at least, is what every Shepard should have said to Saren at then end of ME1 iirc.

 

[Gui_PT]

I think it all depends on how you play your Shepard, to be honest

 

[riceandbeans]

Spoiler

No, shepard always defended equality through races and though synthetics wouldn't necessarily kill their creators. He teamed up with legion, they were even "friends". It goes against his personality to destroy them all. At least in my opinion.

Besides even if he does destroy them all, organics will just rebuild them in the future and they'll hhve to go through all of this all over again

Not really. It depends how you played. There's no "real" Shepard, there's "your" Shepard, which is the point of the game.

 

[Gui_PT]

Read the post directly above yours, please

 

[Four_Chamber]

Gotta say the music was rock solid in this game. The piano use was absolutely phenomenal. The music took a step down in ME2 (still very good) but rebounded amazingly in this game.

However, there is still one piece of music from this series that still stands out for me (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVm_ljDSdwA). The intro theme music from ME is one of the best musical scores in all of videogames for me.

 

[srenity]

If I wanted to purchase ME1 and play through the entire trilogy, is it better to buy it from Steam or from Origin? I played 2 from Steam and 3 from Origin. I'm just wondering if the file from Origin is able to be read when transferred to Steam because I was able to transfer my 2 file onto 3.

Thanks everyone!

 

[DTKT]

If I wanted to purchase ME1 and play through the entire trilogy, is it better to buy it from Steam or from Origin? I played 2 from Steam and 3 from Origin. I'm just wondering if the file from Origin is able to be read when transferred to Steam because I was able to transfer my 2 file onto 3.

Thanks everyone!

Save files are not service specific. They are interchangeable between Origin and Steam.

 

[MisterAnderson]

I'm near the end of the game. A dialog choice is greyed out yet I'm max reputation/paragon... what gives?

Here's the part I'm at:

Spoiler

On the Citadel, speaking with the Illusive Man with Anderson. I only remember the Paragon dialog choice: "But you already have."

Did I not do something to be able to say this dialog option?

 

[WrenchNinja]

I'm near the end of the game. A dialog choice is greyed out yet I'm max reputation/paragon... what gives?

Here's the part I'm at:

Spoiler

On the Citadel, speaking with the Illusive Man with Anderson. I only remember the Paragon dialog choice: "But you already have."

Did I not do something to be able to say this dialog option?

You have to have chosen charm or initimidate throughout the game against that character to have the options open at the end. You probably missed one near the beginning.

Yeah, its stupid.

 

[Gui_PT]

^^ Yeah, I missed one option on Mars and now I can't get that last one either.

 

[riceandbeans]

If I wanted to purchase ME1 and play through the entire trilogy, is it better to buy it from Steam or from Origin? I played 2 from Steam and 3 from Origin. I'm just wondering if the file from Origin is able to be read when transferred to Steam because I was able to transfer my 2 file onto 3.

Thanks everyone!

Buy it on Steam, then register it on Origin.

 

[srenity]

Save files are not service specific. They are interchangeable between Origin and Steam.

Buy it on Steam, then register it on Origin.

Kk, purchased it on Steam (I didn't have enough patience to wait for the summer sale, haha). Thanks for the replies!

 

[Beefwheat]

I finished the game yesterday night, just shy of 30 hours. I did almost every fetch quest I came across and had a delightful time through the entire series. My Infiltrator + Black Widow + Armor Piercing shot remained incredibly powerful and fun to use from 2, and though I was disappointed that my face didn't carry over (I started pre-patch) I got over it and made a reasonable facsimile.

I also decided to go without the "From Ashes" DLC; apparently I am in the statistical minority on this? It sounded intriguing, but I'm on a fairly tight budget when it comes to games AND I wanted to try a little experiment. I realized I was harping on about what a ripoff day-one DLC is, removing things that should have been included &c &c without actually playing anything that did that. So I chose to deliberately ignore any DLC and see if the main, packaged experience felt like it was lacking something. To me, it didn't! So uh, that's cool.

As to the ending, without going into detail because I know this isn't the spoiler thread -- I'm not super upset. Maybe I'm not discerning enough (I enjoyed "Lost" all the way through, after all) or maybe it was mitigated by all the forewarning from friends and the internet. Although even as I got ready for bed I started having "Hey, but what about--" moments when it started to fall apart; as it's happening it's all sound and fury and I was quite engrossed, but when the cold light of day shines upon it I'll admit it's...problematic.

Doesn't make the game less worth playing! It's about the trip, not the destination! Mass Effect as a whole has given me some unforgettable gaming moments and I'm definitely glad to have gone on the ride.

Oh! BUT: One thing I will say about the ending is that

Spoiler

I really didn't appreciate being forced to choose a renegade action to defeat the Illusive Man. He actually killed me the first time and I had to sit through the whole damn conversation again just to press RT at the right time. Even when Kai Leng was about to stab me in the back I was allowed to prevail without having to hit RT...

 

[spekkeh]

What's the problem with having to push RT? I really don't get people that want to forego roleplaying for 100%ing something (not saying thay's why you did it).

 

[riceandbeans]

I finished the game yesterday night, just shy of 30 hours. I did almost every fetch quest I came across and had a delightful time through the entire series. My Infiltrator + Black Widow + Armor Piercing shot remained incredibly powerful and fun to use from 2, and though I was disappointed that my face didn't carry over (I started pre-patch) I got over it and made a reasonable facsimile.

I also decided to go without the "From Ashes" DLC; apparently I am in the statistical minority on this? It sounded intriguing, but I'm on a fairly tight budget when it comes to games AND I wanted to try a little experiment. I realized I was harping on about what a ripoff day-one DLC is, removing things that should have been included &c &c without actually playing anything that did that. So I chose to deliberately ignore any DLC and see if the main, packaged experience felt like it was lacking something. To me, it didn't! So uh, that's cool.

As to the ending, without going into detail because I know this isn't the spoiler thread -- I'm not super upset. Maybe I'm not discerning enough (I enjoyed "Lost" all the way through, after all) or maybe it was mitigated by all the forewarning from friends and the internet. Although even as I got ready for bed I started having "Hey, but what about--" moments when it started to fall apart; as it's happening it's all sound and fury and I was quite engrossed, but when the cold light of day shines upon it I'll admit it's...problematic.

Doesn't make the game less worth playing! It's about the trip, not the destination! Mass Effect as a whole has given me some unforgettable gaming moments and I'm definitely glad to have gone on the ride.

Oh! BUT: One thing I will say about the ending is that

Spoiler

I really didn't appreciate being forced to choose a renegade action to defeat the Illusive Man. He actually killed me the first time and I had to sit through the whole damn conversation again just to press RT at the right time. Even when Kai Leng was about to stab me in the back I was allowed to prevail without having to hit RT...

Spoiler

I haven't played the game without Javik yet, but he's a very polished character and gives a lot of backstory into the Protheans.

You can take out the Illusive Man without having to Renegade. It's possible to convince him to shoot himself and save Anderson.

 

[Blue Ninja]

Oh! BUT: One thing I will say about the ending is that

Spoiler

I really didn't appreciate being forced to choose a renegade action to defeat the Illusive Man. He actually killed me the first time and I had to sit through the whole damn conversation again just to press RT at the right time. Even when Kai Leng was about to stab me in the back I was allowed to prevail without having to hit RT...

At some point, Space Jesus has to actually do something. If someone has a gun aimed at him and he can't talk 'em down... He's gonna have to shoot.