I've only played the first game, which was wonderful. I heard 2 was even better, and I expected 3 to be great. Apparently it is... until the ending. Apparently people feel like BioWare stabbed them in the back. I don't know details, but the gist appears to be that in all the ME games, your choices matter, but at the very ending of the trilogy, your choices don't matter and you get a "sucky" ending. Lots of petitions to change the ending and all. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I wouldn't be surprised if a DLC is released with "alternate" endings. Anyway, if anyone here has played ME 3, I would be interested to hear what you have to say.

I've played and finished all three, and love the series. I think the ME3 ending, after some thought, was quite impressive. There are basically three endings with minor variations on each. I think the real issue is that people just don't really understand these things unless it is completely spelled out for them. People hated the ending for 2001, The Sopranos, hated the movie Tree of Life etc. etc. All of these stories require critical thinking (and even then, they aren't difficult!) and the Mass Effect ending is in that vein.

I see a ton of "it's poorly written!" or "it's a Deus Ex Machina!" comments on forums, but I really don't think legions of forum goers know what is or is not poorly written, and why. And the solution isn't a DEM. It is true that all of the endings are extremely visually similar, but the implications behind each could not be more different.

One of the complaints is that "nothing happens" in the end and we don't know what the outcome of the characters is. This is not true. Everything is answered over the course of the game. That's the thing, your choices throughout all three games absolutely matter in terms of how all of the story threads wrap up. Your choices at the end determine what happens to the Galaxy. If you don't realize "what happens" it just means you are unable to connect any sort of dots, and I think this is the category most gamers fall into based on forum reactions. And no, the ending does not make your choices meaningless like some have proclaimed.

If you can't handle an ending that requires you to think and isn't a hollywood style wrap up, then might as well avoid it. Otherwise the ending is quite good, and the game wraps up every story thread.

I read Avatar's post before going to the game store and was curious what the clerks thought of the ending since I haven't played any of the games. I'm not saying they are the "be all, end all" of opinions but I generally give them a lot more credit than most clerks (like those at Gamestop who make me want to smash my head against things sometimes) and they seemed to be on the side that wasn't too impressed.

Still, and correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't there something about Mass Effect 3's ending that was leaked during development? That may be an urban legend but if that part of the game was compromised that may explain why it seems so stilted.

However, Avatar does bring up a good topic. I'm usually more disappointed with mid-game twists than I ever am with endings. A bad twist can make or break a game but by the time I get to the ending everything is already said and done. That said, here are a few oddball endings that stick out to me:

SaGa Frontier (Blue's Scenario): This is an odd one because it's a matter of opinion what the "ending" consists of. If you consider everything after striking the last blow to the final boss as the ending, all you get is the screen turning black and white upon that exact moment with the words "The End" on the screen. However, a lot of people consider the one-on-one duel before this point the as the "end" since the credits roll afterwards, making the fight above more of an "interactive" ending. It's totally up for grabs how you interpret this but it's more-or-less the result of running out of development time.

Mega Man Legends 2: Not so much odd as in desperate need for a sequel... but we all know how that turned out. I don't know how you could watch this ending and not want more story.

Mega Man X8: Do NOT even get me started...

Thanks for the input Jared. By the way, a ME 3 petition has raised $35,000 for charity!

http://www.gamespot.com/news/mass-effec … ty-6366183

Also, BioWare defends their ending:

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/03/14/mass- … mon-sense/

As for the ending, Hudson said he likes its mystery and interpretation possibilities, and having a reactive ending is better than one that falls flat and fades out. "I didn't want the game to be forgettable, and even right down to the sort of polarizing reaction that the ends have had with people -- debating what the endings mean and what's going to happen next, and what situation are the characters left in -- that to me is part of what's exciting about this story."

I think they are going to change the ending:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2401775,00.asp

by the way, the more I've read of this ending the more I'm convinced that the ending is indeed terrible. Many reviews I've read said they [the reviewers] do not mind a bittersweet or "difficult" ending, but apparently this ending is so contrived that it makes all your choices null. That's a bad thing when the game is supposedly all about choice and consequences.

Are you f---ing kidding me? It's an ending. To a VIDEO GAME. Bioware should stick to their guns and not change the ending because a bunch of jerkoffs don't like it.

Zane brings up a good point [by the way, it's good to here from Zane, another of us old-timers
Should Bioware stick to their ending, or should they change it? In general, art is subjective, and should not be changed just because someone or some people dissaprove. However, was this ending truly what the creators had in mind, or was it rushed out so that the game could be released on time? (remember, this is EA we're dealing with here) From what I can tell, the ending was rushed out so that the game could be shipped as scheduled. Also, keep in mind that the game had DLC the first day it was released, which also indicates it was not complete. As for filing with the FTC, yeah wow, not sure what to say about that other than some people are a bit nuts!

Hey dude!

As an old-timer (in more ways than one - you should see how bald I am compared to the last time we saw each other!), I'm not only frustrated with people going overboard because they don't like or agree with the ending but I am also frustrated with games being pushed to retail before they're "due" and then just being patched or updated to compensate for it. In the meantime? Just play a semi-broken/incomplete game. That's unacceptable, and companies are using console internet connectivity as a crutch. Big developers seem to be spending too much time and money on graphics and "realism", but not enough time on where the game really matters - gameplay. This is why I still play PS1 and SNES.

You know, I see Zane's point. I know people are probably sick of me using it as an example but as much of a giant FU the ending of Mega Man X8 was to people that played the series since 1993 having them change the ending (that is if they could... you can't really patch most PS2 games since FF11 and Street Fighter Alpha Anthology were the only things that used the PS2 HD) was the last thing from my mind. Yeah, I was disappointed but like Zane said it's just a video game and really, it doesn't take much to just block the last three X games out of your memory anyway. The series was to end with X5 and I still kind of see it that way.

Still, bad ending aside, isn't it better to remember all the good times you had getting to that one bad thing? I'll always remember the original X and X4 being wonderful side scrollers and I'll always remember the others. Sappy as it sounds those games where a huge part of who I was when they came out and still are - good and bad.

Still, this whole thing reminds me of the Wild Arms 4 "drama." There was an error in WA4 on the PS2 in NA (two enemies were removed but not removed from the enemy list) that prohibited one from unlocking two of the additional features - two that were generally lame. One was the voice test. People got so pissed off they were demanding new, error free copies (something that was out of the question for a small company like XSEED) but I was like, hey things happen. And hey, the most important option, New Game+ wasn't affected. Yeah, you couldn't unlock everything (save you using a cheat device) but it didn't take away from my, err... enjoyment? of Wild Arms 4. I just didn't sweat it; it was just a game.

I have no plans on playing Mass Effect 3, but the response here reminds me of when I played through Final Fantasy 7 for the first time and I saw the ending. To this day, after experiencing it at least a dozen times, it feels unfinished, the way it literally jerks you into the credit roll after a super long cutscene of Meteor being destroyed (an event I considered anti-climatic at best). And yes, it put a real damper on an otherwise amazing experience, because I wanted to see what happened to my characters at the end (most of whom had gone undeveloped for a really long period of time and were just along for the ride).

Speaking of whoring out DLC, the new Street Fighter X Tekken actually has the DLC on the freaking disc! 12 characters, all playable (they've been found by data mining the disc) and they won't be available for months and when they do, they'll cost an extra $20. Supposedly, the characters are being delayed because the Vita version will have all characters ready to play from the start. It is really ridiculous and a lot of people in the fighting game community aren't happy about it.

Oh man, don't tell me this happened to you

http://drwilley.com/2011/08/aging-optimally/

The ending was shit. You know why? Because there is no big pay off, you don't get to see all of the characters you grew to love in their final moments, Joker takes off with out Shepard like a little bitch (theres no way he would ever do that, leaving Shepard alone).  The ending we got just doesnt make any sense.

I know my Shepard would never choose any of those 3 shit choices at the end.  She would have shot that little shit head God Child in the head and watch as the forces I gathered through out the game destroy the reapers to space dust.

So the new DLC has been announced. An "Extended Ending".  And Bioware has already confirmed that the ending in the game will stay the same.....but will just......extend on...... the already shitty ending.....yay???....crap. 

The ending they gave us was already shit why expand on an ending everyone hates?  Sure give us more shit ontop of shit, right? 

I dunno, it will be free to download when it comes out, so...whatever.  I'm not expecting much.

Sounds like they're doing the best thing they can, as far as compromise goes. Keep the original ending (to keep the original artistic intentions intact) but add things to it and release it for free. Fans should be lucky they're going that far because plenty of companies wouldn't bother.

http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=312

In the only intelligent move that I have heard about from this fiasco, EA has FINALLY (about time) released a ME 2 Platinum Hits version for the Xbox. Apparently it includes all the DLC. I believe the new ending for ME3 is supposed to be released in June. All this makes me wonder if Bioware is headed along the same path as Origin. That is to say, will EA destroy Bioware like they have so many other companies?

edit: perhaps I spoke too soon? Some claim the Platinum Hits version does NOT include any DLC. Can anyone refute or back-up either claim?

Avatar, the Platinum Hits only contains the Shadow Broker dlc. Honestly,ME2 is awesome, though I gotta say the first is my favorite.

I'm nearly done with 3, which I like a lot. I have serious doubts that the ending is as bad as people say.

Wow, this thread just had a "wise fwom yo gwave" moment
Let me know your thoughts once you finish ME3. I've still only played the first.

Hasn't the ending been extended? Unless you play the game vanilla without updating/patching it will you see it how it was originally?

I didn't even bother to check the date, holy jeez. Game's been out that long, didn't even realize.

But yeah, Ash, they did release an extended cut for ME3's ending, and I guess some DLC that ties it together. I've got the whole shebang, multiplayer included (which I NEVER do, but I want all the achievements).

Someone posted above that the ending requires a certain modicum of critical thought. That's literally the only time I've heard it defended like that, so I'm really curious.

Exited for Andromeda.

RANT: I believe you had to purchase the expansion to see the updated ending? Something like that. Look, this is EA we're talking about. The released "Trilogy" apparently did not contain any (or hardly any) DLC! They're cheap and people should stop supporting their games until they learn how to treat their customers with decency. Compare that to say The Witcher 3 or Skyrim Legendary Edition -in those two games you get everything! All on disc, ready to go. With EA, as typical, you don't get anything. So, all that said, I don't plan to play anything beyond the first Mass Effect until they act like a decent company and release a complete package. And if they don't, well there are plenty of other good games to play.

I'm not one of the people that holds out on buying DLC in the hopes that I can get it cheap/free later with the base game.  I bought all the Mass Effect DLC at full price and I enjoyed all of it.  I still play the online multiplayer, which is no extra charge on PC and only requires the general first party online gaming capability (ie. Xbox gold) for Sony and Microsoft platforms.  People that bought the game used had to buy an online pass to play multiplayer, and I'm fine with that because they continued to support and release new multiplayer content and weekend challenges.

Avatar, just bloody do it, man. Mass Effect 2 is phenomenal no matter how you slice it, EA shilling or no.

Besides, I remember a time when EA used to be the pioneers dedicated to making thought-provoking, intelligent games way back, and ME2 captures that spirit wonderfully. I think it's far more constructive to pat EA on the back when they make or publish good games (such as ME2), rather than just punish good projects because EA has done some shit in the past.

If nothing else, you can get the platinum hits version of the game used (and support your local pawn shop or whatever) instead of buying all the shit, and that way you get the amazing base game AND the only DLC that I'd consider an absolute must-have. The best way to go, especially if you don't care about achievements.

EDIT: Also, no the extended cut of the ending was completely free.

Nope. Can't do it.

Correction, some of the video game developers that EA has purchased make great games. EA itself is a deep crevasse leading down into an inferno.
"An Updated List Of Studios EA Has Bought And Then Shut Down"
http://kotaku.com/an-updated-list-of-st … 1689498614
Origin and Westwood were phenomenal, until they received the EA touch. Now they're dead.

That's not a bad idea. However, they still refuse to release a "complete" version, and I refuse to pay for all those DLCs.

You are correct. I guess after that whole fiasco EA tried to make themselves look like a somewhat decent company that almost cares. They didn't succeed, but hey, maybe the updated ending did at least fix the apparently terrible ending of the original. You can let us know your thoughts when you get there. Myself, I'm currently supporting The Witcher 3 team (they care

So I'm rapidly approaching the endgame. Just started the climactic "Point of No Return". In Mass Effect, this was Ilos, and in 2, it was the Collector Base. I'm super excited to finish this game. I will take a bit of time to level up an Engineer in multiplayer to get the Overload Specialist achievement, and after that, I'll have almost 100% of the achievements. It's been a wild series.

SO ME3 is finished. I'm like a million years late to the party.

Okay, so I'll echo Jared's sentiment here. For my part, I chose the "Synthesize" ending, without the Extended Cut (due to a bug caused by the installation date of the Leviathan dlc, I've heard?). It was sublime, minimalism, and gave me a hell of a lot to think about.

I cannot understand the hate and vitriol the vanilla endings have received. What a fantastic trilogy.