Mass Effect: Andromeda

[Rayzah]

Having said all that, I hope the 4th game is amazing.

On some nerd shyt it would make me happy as fukk. And if they somehow bring Shepard back, or retroactively "fix" the ending to 3 in the process but I'm not holding my breath. But like Mook said I was the "Mass Effect" stan back on SOHH. I'm not shytting on the series because I hate it, it's because it could've been the GOAT trilogy and they dropped the ball in ways that don't even make sense. I don't know if Casey Hudson was on some Suge Knight shyt like

"I'm writing the ending, end of discussion" but when he explained the last 5-10 minutes I would've told him to get the fukk outta my face. Or left the company if they kept that ending.

Fred.

Oh I ain't know it was deeper than rap.. So does this dude quitting help or hurt the series?

 

[Easy-E]

I respect everyone's opinion on the ending of 3, but, my goodness if yalll dont sound like entitled teenagers.

They turned on the fans...theyll never get another dollar from me...I wanted totally different...

I get it, I didn't play a Mass Effect game until the third dropped. So, I wasnt following since 2007.

But, there is something to be said about trashing almost 100 hours of gameplay over the last 10 minutes.

The social media wmhas ovverated "endings" so much.

The biggest problem with ending (and this isn't an original thought, but, something I came across); they made the end of the journey about mythos of the Reapers instead of the actual partnerships.

In the end; the Reapers aren't as interesting as they are imposing and relentless (the perfect story villian, imo) and the whole Leviathans-every 50,000 years-thing only kinda makes sense. They tried to be deep when 99% of fans just wanted to get it over with to see what a Shep/Liara baby would look like.

In the end, forget the "totally different" endings. I just wanted to kill the Reapers and (as a person whose played through all three twice and through 2 and 3 atleast 8x) have different experiences with the crew. The games/series is a 9.8 (the covering and movement is a C) to me.

Edit: Just checked my PC, I've beaten 1 three times. So that's 3 playthroughs of all three.

 

[Kamikaze Revy]

I respect everyone's opinion on the ending of 3, but, my goodness if yalll dont sound like entitled teenagers.

They turned on the fans...theyll never get another dollar from me...I wanted totally different...

I get it, I didn't play a Mass Effect game until the third dropped. So, I wasnt following since 2007.

Then you wouldn't understand the disappointment in the least bit. I followed this game passionately long before it was released. The ENTIRE selling point was how much control you would have over the outcome of the game. How every single choice you made throughout the entire trilogy would carry over and affect the next game in a major way. You have to imagine what it was like going into the game with this on your mind the entire time. Playing part one, then debriefing with all your friends with theories about what choices we each made, why we made those choices, and how we think it will affect the outcome. Then waiting 3 years to play part 2, making more choices and having heated debates about where the game would end. Waiting 2 more years to play the series finale to find out all those choices were nothing more than fluff to add a meaningless level of interaction for the player. Gameplay wise, and story wise, the trilogy is great. But don't discredit the valid frustrations people have with the series especially if they we day one players. Bottom line, the game simply failed to deliver what it promised.

Sidenote: Not angry or trying to be rude at all. Just trying to be specific with why I have the opinion I have in respects to this series.

 

[Jazzy B.]

Mass Effect 3 sans the ending is better than Mass Effect 2. Good luck getting people to admit that though. The only thing 2 has over 3 is the suicide mission itself which was amazing. I remember going into that mission and wondering who was gonna live of die. I did everything possible to prepare for it but when Jack and Miranda got in that fight I didn't have enough paragon points to smooth it over so Jack wasn't loyal going into the mission. I still managed to get through it with nobody dying but they could have and it was a tense mission because of that.

Yeah that suicide mission was something else, had me so shook I chickened out and used a guide , Moridin still somehow died though


That London mission in ME3 should have been another type of version of it.

Whilst Mass Effect 3 does have superior gameplay, customisation and combat to ME2, squad-mates wise it isn't better for me.

 

[winb83]

Well then....hmmm....I dunno.....maybe don't market the entire game series around saying the choices matter?

I dunno when you got into "Mass Effect" but the main focus of the initial marketing campaign....I'm talking, years before the game was ready....was you'd have unprecedented control over the story and characters. And you clearly don't. They could've chosen to dial the expectations back at any point, instead they towed the company line and in some cases flat out lied about how much it would matter.

It would be like Sony bringing out a new "Gran Turismo", saying it's gonna be the most realistic driving simulator ever....then it's "Mario Kart" when it comes out....and when you complain I'm like "well, why would you expect it to be realistic?"

shyt makes no sense whatsoever.

Fred.

Ultimately this is a plot driven video game. people have to write a script and code it so it all has to be planned out. This isn't real life where your choices are everything. In order for these people to tell you a story the game has to have a plot. really how different can that plot be in order for millions of people to be able to play the game?

In Mass Effect your choices influenced what happened as you played through the game. I've gone on Youtube and seen experiences that didn't happen in my playthrough or were pretty different than what I experienced.

Like I said though this is a video game with a plot. Once a game gets a plot with an ending the developers are pretty limited on how different things can ultimately be in the end.

As for mentioning Chrono Trigger? Please. Chrono Trigger's choice was putting a shortcut to the final boss at your home base and letting you take it on at any point you wanted 1/3 through the game. Chrono Trigger really only has like one canon ending and the rest of the endings are either superficial or irrelevant. Want further proof. Chrono Cross exist and it selected a canon ending from Chrono Trigger and continued from there.

If you want a game where choice is a major factor in how things out they make stuff like Sim City, The Sims and other RTS games where the story takes a backseat but to sit down and play a story based narrative heavy game like Mass Effect and thing that things are gonna be drastically different you're either intentionally playing dumb or naive as hell.

 

[hex]

Oh I ain't know it was deeper than rap.. So does this dude quitting help or hurt the series?

It probably helped rebuild Bioware's credibility....because when the backlash of 3 was in full swing, a guy on the Penny Arcade forums claimed to be a Bioware "insider" and went in on "ME3".

Which is usually because it's the internet but the fool forgot his Penny Arcade account was linked to an official Bioware blog. The guy turned out to be Patrick Weekes, who does work for Bioware.

He said they had a completely different ending mapped out and one guy (Casey Hudson) strong armed them into writing the entire ending himself. That's the ending we got.

So now that Hudson left the company they have no excuse. What Weekes said does make sense though because if you remember in "Mass Effect 2" Tali's whole loyalty mission is about stars dying, remember? That was supposed to be a major plot point with the Reapers. They completely erased all that from 3, and it's never even mentioned again.

Fred.

 

[Easy-E]

Then you wouldn't understand the disappointment in the least bit. I followed this game passionately long before it was released. The ENTIRE selling point was how much control you would have over the outcome of the game. How every single choice you made throughout the entire trilogy would carry over and affect the next game in a major way. You have to imagine what it was like going into the game with this on your mind the entire time. Playing part one, then debriefing with all your friends with theories about what choices we each made, why we made those choices, and how we think it will affect the outcome. Then waiting 3 years to play part 2, making more choices and having heated debates about where the game would end. Waiting 2 more years to play the series finale to find out all those choices were nothing more than fluff to add a meaningless level of interaction for the player. Gameplay wise, and story wise, the trilogy is great. But don't discredit the valid frustrations people have with the series especially if they we day one players. Bottom line, the game simply failed to deliver what it promised.

Sidenote: Not angry or trying to be rude at all. Just trying to be specific with why I have the opinion I have in respects to this series.

I totally get it. It's okay, I get it.

Question; as detailed or brief you want, how would u have ended the game (atleast based on your choices of your last play through)?

That's always been my biggest question in this debate.

 

[hex]

blah blah blah

You just typed out a big ass wall of nothing. Most if it had nothing to do with anything I said.

Bioware marketed the game in a way that wasn't consistent with the finished product. The end. All that other shyt you're talking about is irrelevant. They were clearly aware of every single technical and logistical hurdle you just posted, yet still promoted the game as if none of it a problem for what they were trying to achieve.

Fred.

 

[Kamikaze Revy]

I totally get it. It's okay, I get it.

Question; as detailed or brief you want, how would u have ended the game (atleast based on your choices of your last play through)?

That's always been my biggest question in this debate.

I chose to spare the Rachni Queen. I would have liked to see some sort of war with the reapers in the end, and for the Rachni to appear and save us and for Shepard to have survived the whole battle. (That would be one ending). I would also have liked to have seen an ending where everything goes wrong. A "Bad ending". Shepard and the entire crew dies and the reapers take over the galaxy. I think there should have been several, completely different endings, and one true ending with a few variations to it depending on who survives in your play through.

 

[Jazzy B.]

I respect everyone's opinion on the ending of 3, but, my goodness if yalll dont sound like entitled teenagers.

They turned on the fans...theyll never get another dollar from me...I wanted totally different...

I get it, I didn't play a Mass Effect game until the third dropped. So, I wasnt following since 2007.

But, there is something to be said about trashing almost 100 hours of gameplay over the last 10 minutes.

The social media wmhas ovverated "endings" so much.

The biggest problem with ending (and this isn't an original thought, but, something I came across); they made the end of the journey about mythos of the Reapers instead of the actual partnerships.

In the end; the Reapers aren't as interesting as they are imposing and relentless (the perfect story villian, imo) and the whole Leviathans-every 50,000 years-thing only kinda makes sense. They tried to be deep when 99% of fans just wanted to get it over with to see what a Shep/Liara baby would look like.

In the end, forget the "totally different" endings. I just wanted to kill the Reapers and (as a person whose played through all three twice and through 2 and 3 atleast 8x) have different experiences with the crew. The games/series is a 9.8 (the covering and movement is a C) to me.

Edit: Just checked my PC, I've beaten 1 three times. So that's 3 playthroughs of all three.

The Liara fanbase was so wild they scrapped and balked out of putting the character in a scenario where she could die in game, when it was leaked.

 

[hex]

I totally get it. It's okay, I get it.

Question; as detailed or brief you want, how would u have ended the game (atleast based on your choices of your last play through)?

That's always been my biggest question in this debate.

A bit more expansive version of the suicide run from 2. That's it. The specifics I don't even care about. But introducing a new character in the last 5 minutes of anything....movie, TV series, book, game, whatever....so they can deliver exposition that hand waves away most of the preceding story....is horrible.

The only specific thing they should've done, is have the Prothean be part of the game instead of DLC. Because they're part of the main story.

I was thinking an ill "bad" ending would be the Reapers fukking everything up, and Shepard escapes to where they found Javik, and he jumps in the stasis chamber.

Fast forward around 50,000 years, and the next cycle finds Shepard. He's basically the "new" Prothean. The end.

Fred.

 

[Easy-E]

I chose to spare the Rachni Queen. I would have liked to see some sort of war with the reapers in the end, and for the Rachni to appear and save us and for Shepard to have survived the whole battle. (That would be one ending). I would also have liked to have seen an ending where everything goes wrong. A "Bad ending". Shepard and the entire crew dies and the reapers take over the galaxy. I think there should have been several, completely different endings, and one true ending with a few variations to it depending on who survives in your play through.

You wanted more detail in the "bad" ending? Cuz there is one (I think it was added in the Extended Cut) where Liara time capsule activates and details that they failed.

I totally agree with the final battle (even before you reenter the Citadel) being substandard. They could've added another real time fight with you actually having to fight your way to the beam another sided every species that made it to Earth Like a real fight.

Or what if the Catalyst was never finished after Thessia.

Just going toe to toe with Reapers.

 

[Kamikaze Revy]

Ultimately this is a plot driven video game. people have to write a script and code it so it all has to be planned out. This isn't real life where your choices are everything. In order for these people to tell you a story the game has to have a plot. really how different can that plot be in order for millions of people to be able to play the game?

In Mass Effect your choices influenced what happened as you played through the game. I've gone on Youtube and seen experiences that didn't happen in my playthrough or were pretty different than what I experienced.

Like I said though this is a video game with a plot. Once a game gets a plot with an ending the developers are pretty limited on how different things can ultimately be in the end.

As for mentioning Chrono Trigger? Please. Chrono Trigger's choice was putting a shortcut to the final boss at your home base and letting you take it on at any point you wanted 1/3 through the game. Chrono Trigger really only has like one canon ending and the rest of the endings are either superficial or irrelevant. Want further proof. Chrono Cross exist and it selected a canon ending from Chrono Trigger and continued from there.

If you want a game where choice is a major factor in how things out they make stuff like Sim City, The Sims and other RTS games where the story takes a backseat but to sit down and play a story based narrative heavy game like Mass Effect and thing that things are gonna be drastically different you're either intentionally playing dumb or naive as hell.

This is 100% false. The game had multiple endings and it even had completely different final bosses depending on the choices you made. Chrono Trigger is in my top 5 games of all time and I play through it at least once a year religiously. As far as one canon ending and the rest being irrelevant, that's exactly what I wanted for mass effect. Having one canon ending is great, but give the players other endings depending on the choices they made. Developers seem to be taking the safe route with this. Give us more games with actual "Bad endings" that make you go back and re-evaluate your choices. Right now the Until Dawn thread is full of people talking about how their entire play through are completely different from one another. This isn't something impossible to do. And actually, in MY case, I'm not even arguing about the initial 95% of the game, you really want to make the case that Bioware couldn't come up with multiple endings? The game itself already had the structure with choices, characters dying, and different scenes here and there. All they had to do was come up with 3 completely different endings based on the choices. Its not as much to ask as you're making it out to be.

 

[Easy-E]

The Liara fanbase was so wild they scrapped and balked out of putting the character in a scenario where she could die in game, when it was leaked.

Liara was a cool character and all. But, she has the advantage of being in all three games and being most fleshed out character in the game. You know more her than Shepard, it seems.

 

[Kamikaze Revy]

You wanted more detail in the "bad" ending? Cuz there is one (I think it was added in the Extended Cut) where Liara time capsule activates and details that they failed.

I totally agree with the final battle (even before you reenter the Citadel) being substandard. They could've added another real time fight with you actually having to fight your way to the beam another sided every species that made it to Earth Like a real fight.

Or what if the Catalyst was never finished after Thessia.

Just going toe to toe with Reapers.

Something like that. I just feel like we were cheated out of the root of the experience. Great game overall. I still actively recommend it to anyone.