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Mass Effect 3 Spoiler Thread |OT2| Taste the Rainbow

McNei1y

Member
I wonder how long it'll take me to get over this issue and start a renegade playthrough. Its not like the ending is holding me back from playing another game but I want to see if BW releases anything that resolves the ending or explains it so I can understand the story better as I play through it again. Maybe I'll let Marauder Shields kill me when I get to that point.


Oh and the Moon soundtrack is awesome! A great film!
 

Omega

Banned
Was just watching some ending videos on YT and I'm wondering..was anyone able to choose the last Paragon/Renegade option during TIM confrontation? I haven't seen anyone be able too.

I maxed out my paragon and I think the only renegade option I took was against Kai Leng. What was the point of adding them if you can't use them?
 

hateradio

The Most Dangerous Yes Man
Was just watching some ending videos on YT and I'm wondering..was anyone able to choose the last Paragon/Renegade option during TIM confrontation? I haven't seen anyone be able too.

I maxed out my paragon and I think the only renegade option I took was against Kai Leng. What was the point of adding them if you can't use them?
I believe I had both options, but I don't want to restart that mission only to get there.

Maybe I'll put it in story mode and run through it in a few days.
 

McNei1y

Member
Was just watching some ending videos on YT and I'm wondering..was anyone able to choose the last Paragon/Renegade option during TIM confrontation? I haven't seen anyone be able too.

I maxed out my paragon and I think the only renegade option I took was against Kai Leng. What was the point of adding them if you can't use them?

I had both options available for the three times I was able to choose. The last thing I said to him was "What if you're wrong?" and then he started second guessing himself. That's when he pulled a Saren and killed himself.

That's another thing I was sort of upset about in the game is that they lacked many of these options. ME2 had so many of them.
 

Rokam

Member
God dammit, I was in the acceptance stage, had come to terms that it was just a shitty ending and to move on. But after watching that video...sigh.
 

rdrr gnr

Member
So, I just watched it all: Angry Joe gets major props for how he approached that video. I think his last point is the most important: If IT is true, gamers still have a valid reason to complain. The ending exists in the state it does solely in order to sell us DLC that will elaborate upon said ambiguity. I still think the notion of EVERYTHING leading up to that moment means nothing because you become indoctrinated feels like a cop-out. I'll keep an open mind, but remain a cynic until Bioware proves otherwise.
God dammit, I was in the acceptance stage, had come to terms that it was just a shitty ending and to move on. But after watching that video...sigh.
Same here. Must. Repress. Cynicism.
 

LiK

Member
Anyone watched the Angry Joe Top Ten reasons why the ending sucked? Nice compilation of complaints from the fans. Even the ending defense force should take a look at it.
 

Mr Jared

Member
So, I just watched it all: Angry Joe gets major props how he approached that video. I think his last point is the most important: If IT is true, gamers still have a valid reason to complain. The ending exists in the state it does solely in order to sell us DLC that will elaborate upon said ambiguity. I still think the notion of EVERYTHING leading up to that moment means nothing because you become indoctrinated feels like a cop-out. I'll keep an open mind, but remain a cynic until Bioware proves otherwise.

Same here. Must. Repress. Cynicism.

Heh.. if the DLC is "Shepard wakes up and now you REALLY go up to the Citadel," I will rage shit my pants. I'll buy it. And I'll probably enjoy it. Then the collective of Bioware will wipe the tears of their laughter away with hundred dollar bills.. but I'll still probably enjoy it.
 

The comments :lol.

OH MAN DUDE, IF THIS IS TRUE I TOTALLY TAKE BACK MY NERD RAGE CUZ DAT'S AWESUME BIOWARE THANKS FOR TRICKING US AND SAVING THE FULL ENDING FOR DLC.

Yes. Thank you, Bioware for turning this space opera into a a psychological and moral tug of war with robots inside the protagonist's head, and going full on Kojima with my 4th wall so that I pick the Renegade option on my Paragon character for him to live and wake up from his space magic trance. Where would I be in life without Mass Effect 3 bringing me these monumental twists?
 

Jarmel

Banned
Anyone watched the Angry Joe Top Ten reasons why the ending sucked? Nice compilation of complaints from the fans. Even the ending defense force should take a look at it.

I saw his list and while I agree with it, he's missing the point of the ending. The ending is a reflection by Walters not only on the state of science fiction as a whole but also on individual authors. It's a fantastic ending in the analysis it brings.
 

firehawk12

Subete no aware
I saw his list and while I agree with it, he's missing the point of the ending. The ending is a reflection by Walters not only on the state of science fiction as a whole but also on individual authors. It's a fantastic ending in the analysis it brings.
Wait, what?
 

MG310

Member
Man, my ME2 crew is not doing well so far - all survived the suicide mission, but so far I lost Thane, Legion, Miranda and Mordin in 3. (though Mordin's death was quite glorious)
 

rdrr gnr

Member
The comments :lol.

OH MAN DUDE, IF THIS IS TRUE I TOTALLY TAKE BACK MY NERD RAGE CUZ DAT'S AWESUME BIOWARE THANKS FOR TRICKING US AND SAVING THE FULL ENDING FOR DLC.

Yes. Thank you, Bioware for turning this sci-fi space opera into a a psychological and moral tug of war with robots inside the protagonist's head, and going full on Kojima with my 4th wall so that I pick the Renegade option on my Paragon character for him to live and wake up from his space magic trance.
Seriously, if the alleged ending is true it contrasts so starkly with how the rest of the series has unfolded. By nature I want to scream: terrible video game writing, but maybe we're all wrong. If the writers can deliver that missing piece -- that panacea -- in the DLC (ignoring the moral implications of such a cheap ploy) maybe all of us here will have to sit down and feast upon some crows.
Walters was obviously using a mixture of parody and satire through the different endings to point at people such as Clarke.
Yes, quite. Very Asimovian in nature, if I may say.
 

Omega

Banned
I had both options available for the three times I was able to choose. The last thing I said to him was "What if you're wrong?" and then he started second guessing himself. That's when he pulled a Saren and killed himself.

That's another thing I was sort of upset about in the game is that they lacked many of these options. ME2 had so many of them.


Really? That's dumb.

I loved TIM as a character. He was ruthless, an asshole, etc. but it was all well done. To get the Saren treatment is just sad. I also loved Saren from the first book. His ruthless, the job gets done no matter what approach I loved.

..weird considering I played Paragon Shepard. I seem to love all these ruthless characters and yet I couldn't get myself to play Renegade Shep.

All I know is that if Mac Walters ever gets a job on any video game, movie or book I will never go near it.
 

Rokam

Member
Walters was obviously using a mixture of parody and satire through the different endings to point at people such as Clarke.

XNa4v.gif
 

Dr.Acula

Banned
Honestly, if the indoctrination thing is real, and this is all some sort of bizarre alternate reality game a la I Love Bees, created by Bioware to get buzz... then fuck them. That's worse than them just being lazy devs and making only one ending.

Remember that horror movie that came out recently where at the end it just says to go to a website?

Solution a) Bioware says the ending is the ending and we have to accept it.

Bummer, but oh well, it was still an awesome series.

Solution b) DLC ending, because the fans weren't happy with the ending.

Okay, like a director's cut... except it's the opposite, because usually director's cuts are changed TO the director's vision. Fine, sure, whatever, Tali-babies for everyone.

Solution c) DLC ending, because that was the plan all along! The people who bought the game were indoctrinated, and you're a real hero for figuring it out!

I can accept a) and b). But if c) actually starts becoming a thing... So movies, to find out the end I need to go to a website? For a game, to find out how it ends, I need to sit around and wait for the devs to do the "reveal..."

Because with the indoctrination theory, that's what people are saying. That Bioware is making us all play some sort of crazy alternate reality game.

Unless they say, "you're right, indoctrinated," and then release no DLC resolving the end. Then that means the game in fact doesn't end. Because he never left Earth...
 

Gestahl

Member
Also, the Geth did a complete 180 from "We rejected Nasira's aid, the Geth will find our own way" to "INJECT THE REAPER TECH INTO OUR CIRCUITTRRRRYYYYYYY!!!" and apparently VORCHA are in charge of the Blood Pack!?

Bioware did not give a shit about anything and it shows. Like someone murdered Mass Effect and grafted its face onto their own. Looks the same, plays the same, sounds the same, but god does ME3 feel fucking weird
 

z0m3le

Banned
I actually really enjoyed that ending. Failing to see what the negative fuss is about, did people not want shepard to end up dead ? Were they not happy with the amount of closure ? I mean.. I'm not sure, maybe I'd be more disappointed had I not chosen the 3rd option ? Ending all synthetic life would lead to shepards death, the reapers death, edi's death, the geths death and so on. Controlling them , well who knows, I guess that might have been interesting to watch.

Or does the dissapointment stem from the ending I actually got where synthetic and natural life is combined and the normandy crash lands somewhere after getting hit with the pulse ? I'm not sure what people are actually pissed off about here.


Oddly enough Shepard lives only if you kill all synthetic life. The other choices basically give the reapers what they want.

There is absolutely no way Bioware intentionally wrote the ending to fit with indoctrination. I think the theory fits nicely in the game universe and a sincerely hope Bioware takes it and runs with it making a proper ending DLC, but LOTS OF SPECULATION more or less kills the notion that Bioware somehow planned this.

I'm with you on everything you said, good thing killing all synthetics somehow doesn't include Shepard huh?
 

mxgt

Banned
I refuse to ever believe the indoctrination theory. It'll just be a huge fucking cop out from Bioware to cover up their terrible writing.
 

hateradio

The Most Dangerous Yes Man
Man, my ME2 crew is not doing well so far - all survived the suicide mission, but so far I lost Thane, Legion, Miranda and Mordin in 3. (though Mordin's death was quite glorious)
Seriously.

BioWare: If they didn't die last time, we're sure to get them this time!

I didn't lose any, except for the ones who did die in the story. THAAANE!

Walters was obviously using a mixture of parody and satire through the different endings to point at people such as Clarke.
Who?
 

LegoArmo

Member
I think it fits quite well, indoctrination is a theme throughout the games, from 1 to 3. That's better than some Vent Kid/Catalyst last 5 minutes introduction.

Then they can wake Shepard up and make an ending that involves all the war assets you gained and picking the right ones to do the right things, like the suicide mission, and a confrontation with Harbinger, followed by actual closure to many of the characters storylines.
 

Moaradin

Member
I think it fits quite well, indoctrination is a theme throughout the games, from 1 to 3. That's better than some Vent Kid/Catalyst last 5 minutes introduction.

Then they can wake Shepard up and make an ending that involves all the war assets you gained and picking the right ones to do the right things, like the suicide mission, and a confrontation with Harbinger, followed by actual closure to many of the characters storylines.

Indoctrination is a big theme in ME but it was never explained. If the theory is real, it would be an awesome way at illustrating how the indoctrination process works.
 
"It was all a dream" endings have been a guilty pleasure of mine for a long time. Gargoyles had "Future Tense", Batman: TAS had several, including "Perchance to Dream", and Angel had "Awakening" so I'm down with this indoctrination theory.
 

McNei1y

Member
I refuse to ever believe the indoctrination theory. It'll just be a huge fucking cop out from Bioware to cover up their terrible writing.

I agree. It would be. While the guy/people who put the theory together did very well, I think it would be wrong on a couple of levels. I want to know the ending right there! Then I want to have DLC to play that just expands the story - not finish it!

Man, my ME2 crew is not doing well so far - all survived the suicide mission, but so far I lost Thane, Legion, Miranda and Mordin in 3. (though Mordin's death was quite glorious)

Same with me. I also lost Tali and the Quarians in my run. I thought Grunt was going to get it too for a moment.
 

Rokam

Member
Also, the Geth did a complete 180 from "We rejected Nasira's aid, the Geth will find our own way" to "INJECT THE REAPER TECH INTO OUR CIRCUITTRRRRYYYYYYY!!!" and apparently VORCHA are in charge of the Blood Pack!?

Bioware did not give a shit about anything and it shows. Like someone murdered Mass Effect and grafted its face onto their own. Looks the same, plays the same, sounds the same, but god does ME3 feel fucking weird

The geth were left with no choice Legion even says that. It was either face complete destruction or get help from the Reapers.
 

LegoArmo

Member
Obviously it's still a massive cop out, and to get some of the good will back, they could offer it for free. Then proceed to charge for the post-ending DLC focusing on rebuilding some of the devastated worlds.

This isn't what they planned at all, but I think it could fix what they broke.
 

Bowdz

Member
I think it fits quite well, indoctrination is a theme throughout the games, from 1 to 3. That's better than some Vent Kid/Catalyst last 5 minutes introduction.

Then they can wake Shepard up and make an ending that involves all the war assets you gained and picking the right ones to do the right things, like the suicide mission, and a confrontation with Harbinger, followed by actual closure to many of the characters storylines.

Damn straight.
 
Except that Pallin then found out that Udina was working for Cerberus and helped the Salarian Councilor escape after he was killed. Oops.

Oh wait, wasn't that only the second time that Pallin was killed in the series? Someone listed it out, and he's been killed like three times already.

1.)By the Geth in the Battle of the Citadel
2.)By Bailey
3.)By Kai Leng in the Cerberus attack

Now I'm starting to wonder if Marauder Shields is Pallin.
 

Zerokku

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?
Also, the Geth did a complete 180 from "We rejected Nasira's aid, the Geth will find our own way" to "INJECT THE REAPER TECH INTO OUR CIRCUITTRRRRYYYYYYY!!!"

When the quarians attacked the geth, it was either accept reaper help, or die. You'll find yourself dropping your philosophies when put into a life-or-death situation like that. No way to be self-determinant if you're dead.
 

Omega

Banned
That Grunt scene was epic.

Grunt was perhaps my favorite character from ME2. There was something about his dialogue that always made me laugh/chuckle.

When it looked like he was going to die, I got so sad. Mordin and Thane had just died and they were my second/third favorite characters. I figured it was inevitable that he was going to die.

I was like a little kid on Christmas when he came out that cave.
 

Zen

Banned
Y'know, I never really heart about how the twitter account was acting prior to EA going into PR panic mode. Gives me hope that we're getting something ending wise.

Oh course if the ending we got really is a fakeout, then you'd figure that they'd have reacted a bit differently when their troll ending ended up being too successful.

http://youtu.be/ZZOyeFvnhiI?t=18m20s
 

MG310

Member
Seriously.

BioWare: If they didn't die last time, we're sure to get them this time!

I didn't lose any, except for the ones who did die in the story. THAAANE!

Apparently I could have lost Jack too had I not done the missions in the order they wanted. I lost Miranda because I didn't stop at the Citadel and talk to her before heading to Sanctuary.
 

Moaradin

Member
That Grunt scene was epic.

Grunt was perhaps my favorite character from ME2. There was something about his dialogue that always made me laugh/chuckle.

When it looked like he was going to die, I got so sad. Mordin and Thane had just died and they were my second/third favorite characters. I figured it was inevitable that he was going to die.

I was like a little kid on Christmas when he came out that cave.

I think he can die though, if you pick the right choices. If you didn't save the rachni queen or something.
 

Gestahl

Member
When the quarians attacked the geth, it was either accept reaper help, or die. You'll find yourself dropping your philosophies when put into a life-or-death situation like that. No way to be self-determinant if you're dead.

That must be why even after being saved by Shepard Legion is still acting like a drug addict looking for his next Reaper hit. The Geth were never about Pinocchio becoming a real fucking boy, but all of a sudden it's time to become an individual. I think even the ME2 Geth writer was pissed about that one
 

rdrr gnr

Member
Honestly, if the indoctrination thing is real, and this is all some sort of bizarre alternate reality game a la I Love Bees, created by Bioware to get buzz... then fuck them. That's worse than them just being lazy devs and making only one ending.

Remember that horror movie that came out recently where at the end it just says to go to a website?

Solution a) Bioware says the ending is the ending and we have to accept it.

Bummer, but oh well, it was still an awesome series.

Solution b) DLC ending, because the fans weren't happy with the ending.

Okay, like a director's cut... except it's the opposite, because usually director's cuts are changed TO the director's vision. Fine, sure, whatever, Tali-babies for everyone.

Solution c) DLC ending, because that was the plan all along! The people who bought the game were indoctrinated, and you're a real hero for figuring it out!

I can accept a) and b). But if c) actually starts becoming a thing... So movies, to find out the end I need to go to a website? For a game, to find out how it ends, I need to sit around and wait for the devs to do the "reveal..."

Because with the indoctrination theory, that's what people are saying. That Bioware is making us all play some sort of crazy alternate reality game.

Unless they say, "you're right, indoctrinated," and then release no DLC resolving the end. Then that means the game in fact doesn't end. Because he never left Earth...
I love the tautological and conspiratorial nature of Indoctrination Theory. All inconsistencies and ambiguities are simply the consequence of a greater and more deliberate frame work: IT. One can "explain away" literally any misunderstood facet of ME3 under the guise of Indoctrination -- and without much substance. But I think your final point is the most jarring and unsettling: Is this what EA and the gaming industry have come to? Disturbing their fans for the sake generating internet buzz? Does a 400+ page spoiler thread that is bigger than the official thread (and all subsequent discourse) justify employing tactics what we would easily deem as unethical? Our concerted anger may end up misplaced if the ending is redeemed, but it is definitely not unwarranted.
 

Jarmel

Banned
I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not. :(

It's quite ingenious really.

For example, the synthesis ending is a direct point to Clarke's third law. The player has the choice therefore to reject this law and thus reject that the Reapers are gods.

The destruction ending is a direct commentary by Walters on OSC's view of gay marriage. By showing the destruction of geth, he is obviously representing homophobia in the sense that the Geth, or synthetics in general, will never get along with organics.

Control is obviously a dialogue on the 'Three Laws'. Since the Reapers don't obey these laws, the player as Shepard can thus enforce these laws on the lawless Reapers. It's trying to adapt these foreign Reapers into a set of laws that can be used to govern their current actions. This way the Reapers can be properly instituted into society as people can depend on them.

So in the end the player is choosing their perceptions of classical science fiction authors and which direction they want to take the universe. One full of magic, one with discrimination and one that is traditional. It's very meta but still very genius.
 

LegoArmo

Member
Were the Reapers planning on wiping out the Vorcha? If not, the Take Back Omega DLC could be based around it becoming overrun with them after a large percentage of the other races were killed there. Shepard and Aria trying to get it back under control, maybe.
 

Rokam

Member
Were the Reapers planning on wiping out the Vorcha? If not, the Take Back Omega DLC could be based around it becoming overrun with them after a large percentage of the other races were killed there. Shepard and Aria trying to get it back under control, maybe.

Cerberus took over Omega.
 
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