BioWare Says Farewell With Mass Effect 3: Citadel and Reckoning

[Radoh]

Seriously? This has got to be a joke.
Seriously.
Fine then, if you want to do this so badly.
DNF is never brought up, it's swept under the rug for the most part with any threads dedicated to it not being set aflame with Gearbox hate. As for Colonial Marines being too fresh to judge it on reputation? Top sellers list on Steam from Preorders and then tanking due to outright lying on Gearbox's part with Pitchford going and trying to stir shit up with people who reviewed it poorly, and the forums are not alight with hate.
Still too soon to judge my ass, if this was a Bioware production the forums would be burning for three weeks, minimum.

You just brought it up, didn't you? So do many people, who are talking about the Colonial Marines fiasco. Plus, DNF has an excuse in that it wasn't mostly developed Gearbox - they just patched it up until it was (allegedly) playable and released it.
I was talking about the overall reputation of Gearbox. Things weren't looking that ugly for BW at first too, but well, you know the situation.
Again - BioWare had three bad games. The last one was a very big one, that inspired a fucking charity, just so they patched the suck out of it. Which they outright refused to do just because that's how they roll. The hate was building up since the very beginning, the ending was just a big red button that blew everything up. The on-disc one-day DLC that you could access by changing some parameters in your files, cheap-ass collector's editions, stupid changes, et cetera. The endings broke the camel's back.
Gearbox had one game they didn't really make and one despicable abomination not big enough to warrant ME3 levels of hate. No, they do deserve the hate, mind you, creating a fucking cartoon and calling it "gameplay footage" to sell your shit is the stuff of legends, so is outsourcing the game you were contracted to make to some numbnuts, but it doesn't mean BioWare deserves less. It's like "Yeah, he murdered dozens of people, but at least he's not Hitler".

And there we have it, Godwin's Law has been enacted everyone, we're done here, go home.

 

[Radoh]

Hur dur, I won't play it cus the ending sucked!

Yeah, but the other 95% of the game was awesome, and they're selling more of that. I called Omega for being a time waster and it's why I didn't buy it. This on the other hand, sounds fun.

Yeah, that's what I probably should quote in the "Opinions you don't understand" thread. Those other 95% were building up to the ending. As were two previous games.

Saying they were building up to the endings is like saying your life is building up to your death. While it's true that Death is at the end of it, is that all that mattered in the end? None of what you did or memorable experiences counts for anything, it's just the endings?

Tali's suicide and ME3's horrible main theme were memorable, but aside from that - yeah, only the endings.

Okay here's a fun little exercise for you.
What game doesn't lead up to the ending?
You know what, let's make that easier for you, what game, book, movie, or show doesn't lead up to the ending?
Any story will progress until it reaches the end, and everything that comes before that is not rendered meaningless by coming to the conclusion.

Tetris.
Ever seen Pulp Fiction?

Do please regale us with the tale of Tetris' story, I'm dying to hear it.
Wait, never mind, you don't get sarcasm.
As for Pulp Fiction, I must have missed the part where it continued on after the end of the movie.

 

[Risingblade]

I'm gonna wait for this to go on sale, I'm eventually going to replay the whole trilogy since I missed a few parts but I'm pretty much done with the mp

 

[jthm]

Hur dur, I won't play it cus the ending sucked!

Yeah, but the other 95% of the game was awesome, and they're selling more of that. I called Omega for being a time waster and it's why I didn't buy it. This on the other hand, sounds fun.

Yeah, that's what I probably should quote in the "Opinions you don't understand" thread. Those other 95% were building up to the ending. As were two previous games.

Saying they were building up to the endings is like saying your life is building up to your death. While it's true that Death is at the end of it, is that all that mattered in the end? None of what you did or memorable experiences counts for anything, it's just the endings?

Tali's suicide and ME3's horrible main theme were memorable, but aside from that - yeah, only the endings.

Okay here's a fun little exercise for you.
What game doesn't lead up to the ending?
You know what, let's make that easier for you, what game, book, movie, or show doesn't lead up to the ending?
Any story will progress until it reaches the end, and everything that comes before that is not rendered meaningless by coming to the conclusion.

Tetris.
Ever seen Pulp Fiction?

Implying that video games follow the same rules of narrative and purpose that books, movies and shows do.

I read a book, watch a movie or go see a show to be conveyed a story. I play a game to have fun. Number one and chief goal of that game is to enjoy the actions I'm putting into it, because it isn't a passive medium. Story is secondary. This is why fighting games are fun. The stories are crap, but we still play them because they're fun.

 

[verdant monkai]

Spend time with the characters you love and make it that much more painful when you have to sit through the ending again.

Shepard's story is over and has been for the last year.

 

[Nerdstar]

i just hope i get to play with jack again, i miss my psychotic biotic Tsundere waifu... that would definitely motivate me to finish my game

 

[Verrik]

Are people still whining about the fucking ending? Holy shit, you'd think Bioware made you watch while they fucked your mothers or something.

You know what I love about comments like this? If we were all singing the ending's praises, saying how great it was and how much we enjoyed it, and thanked Bioware a million times for this great end to a great trilogy, no one would be saying things like "Are people still celebrating over this fucking ending? Holy Shit, you'd think Bioware just ended world hunger or something."

So, it's fine if people are complimenting a game, but if they are expressing their dissatisfaction with a game that's not good,? Let them talk about the ending, good or bad. Don't like it? Don't read the comment, or just ignore it.

OT: I personally will just wait until people post videos of this DLC on yahoo. It's what I did with the last two. I'll get to skip the combat and such, while seeing the content of the DLC. And save myself $15.

 

[Monster_user]

Are people still whining about the fucking ending? Holy shit, you'd think Bioware made you watch while they fucked your mothers or something.

You know what I love about comments like this? If we were all singing the ending's praises, saying how great it was and how much we enjoyed it, and thanked Bioware a million times for this great end to a great trilogy, no one would be saying things like "Are people still celebrating over this fucking ending? Holy Shit, you'd think Bioware just ended world hunger or something."

???

I would probably say that last part myself. It is a while after the game has ended. Sure there are new players still playing the game, and there would be new players playing the game then. However, the significance should have waned by now.

While I see his point, I also understand the continued uproar. There are just a lot of somethings about that ending that scream hidden plot. I imagine people will be talking about that ending for years to come, if it is not "retconned".

On topic:

DLC? Yeah, whatever,... Don't care. Didn't buy the DLC for the previous games, not going to start now.

 

[Terminate421]

Bigger error

A small error:

Wield 7 new weapons for multiplayer, including the Geth Spitfire Assault Rifle, Venom Shotgun, Lancer Assault Rifle, and amplify your arsenal with new equipment and weapon mods featuring the Geth Scanner and Assault Rifle Ultralight materials.

I don't think this will come up as the actual weapon itself but come on, they couldn't come up with a different name?

 

[Ishal]

You guys should check out the announcement topic on Bioware forums. It's hilarious. I can't count how many "thank you BIOWARE!" and "I'm so excited" I've seen on a single page.

Thank you Bioware for what? Excited for what? It's a $15 DLC and they won't even tell you what it's about apart from some vague description about a conspiracy and a casino. We know it's a conspiracy. Almost everything in Mass Effect has been a conspiracy of some kind. It will probably be some emotionally manipulative crap. But is it actually worth the money? Does the DLC matter at all? Does it impact the ending in any way? No one seems to be asking those questions. It's like they've all been indoctrinated.

The only people left there are the Biodrones, my friend.

I removed the chip from my head long ago, and have never looked back since. I gather that you probably did the same. We're all better for it.

 

[major_chaos]

No one seems to be asking those questions. It's like they've all been indoctrinated.

Yes because anybody who has the nerve to like something I don't is blatantly a brainwashed fanboy./chess kid
Currently I'm far too broke for for actually DLC, but I will certainly be booting up my game when the free one comes out.

 

[Dogstile]

I wouldn't play this even if they paid for my copy of it. Anything Casey Hudson touches gets a hearty "fuck you" from me still. The old Bioware is sadly dead.

 

[Xathos]

A conspiracy sounds interesting, but nothing new in the life of Commander Shepard, LOL. I'm sure the story missions won't be too bad considering Leviathan was pretty OK/Good for the most part. But I'm more concerned about hanging out with the cast (as it appears to be the case anyway). I wonder if we can do this at any point in the story, even with characters that don't make it along the way. Like, and obvious spoilers of course...

Spoiler

Legion, Thane, and Mordin. Can I hang out with them before their demise, or is that just not possible? And what about if Wrex is dead. Would Wreave or Grunt replace him as a temp squadmate assuming there will be some?

Is this going to be like the character interactions on the Normandy that change over the story (only now in the new citadel sections of course. Characters talking about doing certain missions or whatever), or is it all a one time event?

Lots of questions, but I'm interested. If the hangouts indeed change over the course of the story, then it might be worth it just to see a whole bunch of different combinations. Ah hell, I'm probably going to get it anyway no matter what I say. Love Mass Effect too much.

The only problem is going to make space on my hard drive. Haven't even gotten Omega yet, and something tells me this will be quite big as well. Curse having an original 360 and limited hard drive space.

 

[jthm]

Hur dur, I won't play it cus the ending sucked!

Yeah, but the other 95% of the game was awesome, and they're selling more of that. I called Omega for being a time waster and it's why I didn't buy it. This on the other hand, sounds fun.

Yeah, that's what I probably should quote in the "Opinions you don't understand" thread. Those other 95% were building up to the ending. As were two previous games.

Saying they were building up to the endings is like saying your life is building up to your death. While it's true that Death is at the end of it, is that all that mattered in the end? None of what you did or memorable experiences counts for anything, it's just the endings?

Tali's suicide and ME3's horrible main theme were memorable, but aside from that - yeah, only the endings.

Okay here's a fun little exercise for you.
What game doesn't lead up to the ending?
You know what, let's make that easier for you, what game, book, movie, or show doesn't lead up to the ending?
Any story will progress until it reaches the end, and everything that comes before that is not rendered meaningless by coming to the conclusion.

Tetris.
Ever seen Pulp Fiction?

Implying that video games follow the same rules of narrative and purpose that books, movies and shows do.

I read a book, watch a movie or go see a show to be conveyed a story. I play a game to have fun. Number one and chief goal of that game is to enjoy the actions I'm putting into it, because it isn't a passive medium. Story is secondary. This is why fighting games are fun. The stories are crap, but we still play them because they're fun.

But then you go to games that are heavily story-driven and rely on story to be fun and oh crap, suddenly the rules apply again. Mass Effect has - had - nothing but the story and characters (and even those weren't terribly original), the shooting was unremarkable and roleplaying mechanics were laughable. The story and the way player could influence it, and the way the consequences carried over - this is what matters. Mattered.

Do please regale us with the tale of Tetris' story, I'm dying to hear it.
Wait, never mind, you don't get sarcasm.
As for Pulp Fiction, I must have missed the part where it continued on after the end of the movie.

We were talking about story or games building up to the ending?
Wait, never mind, I'm talking to a MLP fan.
As for Pulp Fiction, you might have missed the point of what I was saying (as you usually do). Pulp Fiction's storytelling is non-linear. The ending doesn't really matter, nothing was building up to it.

Now we're at the heart of the matter. You didn't enjoy the game's mechanics or role playing elements (to be fair, I'd agree completely if we were only talking about the first game) and there is the difference. If you were only in it for the story, why did you stick it out this long? Go watch Babylon 5, Terminator, read some H.P. Lovecraft and pop in some sad, self sacrificial war movie when you finish and boom, it's ever trope that Mass Effect borrowed.


Meanwhile, I kicked the difficulty up to hardest, put together teams with different ways of handling issues, and I had an enjoyable 2 out of three games. I didn't feel that the story was the only driving force in Mass Effect 2 or 3. It was A driving force and it was an enjoyable one up until the end of 3 (which, we probably disagree there too. By and large, the expanded epilogue fixed my problems with the endings. I wanted to know what happened to the team and wanted there to be some substantive difference between the endings. Starchild was stupid, but they had to convey narrative somehow. Shepard dying was always going to happen, no complaints there). I liked the story progression throughout 95% of the series. So again, if I'm enjoying the majority of the experience and I get let down at the finish, it doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the rest of it. Thus, if bioware is offering to sell me something that takes place squarely in the portion I enjoyed, I'm interested.

On another point, what is up with all the hostility here? Can't we have some form of civil discourse that doesn't have to include personal attacks on one another?

 

[Xarathox]

As I was reading, I was hoping that the title held a modicum of truth, and that BioWare had gotten wise and decided to finally nail the coffin shut and move on, never to speak of the ME series again. And then I read: "We're excited to release this final sendoff for the trilogy and move forward into the future of the Mass Effect universe."

Fucking shit. They've been reduced to a sequel cloning machine. Time to write them off as a lost cause.

 

[Mylinkay Asdara]

I don't understand what they mean by "rekindle romances."

They claimed you could do that in Mass Effect 3 prior to it's release. Unless you chose Liara, Kaidan or Ashley you got a single line of extra dialogue or a brief cameo cutscene and that was it. Otherwise it was identical to starting the romance afresh in the game.

Without details obviously we can only speculate, but most of the time Bioware describes a feature in their games before it comes out, everybody expects something ground breaking, and it's almost always the very bare bones of what it could be.

You guys should check out the announcement topic on Bioware forums. It's hilarious. I can't count how many "thank you BIOWARE!" and "I'm so excited" I've seen on a single page.

Thank you Bioware for what? Excited for what? It's a $15 DLC and they won't even tell you what it's about apart from some vague description about a conspiracy and a casino. We know it's a conspiracy. Almost everything in Mass Effect has been a conspiracy of some kind. It will probably be some emotionally manipulative crap. But is it actually worth the money? Does the DLC matter at all? Does it impact the ending in any way? No one seems to be asking those questions. It's like they've all been indoctrinated.

Because we should feel grateful that the gods that are game developers grace us with content we have to pay for.

I am not suggesting it should be free, but such extreme gratitude for it seems a little excessive considering it isn't.

While I am not personally ready to brim over with gratitude just yet, at least until I play it, a lot of people want the sentimental stuff - especially romance related stuff and have been asking for it for a long time on the Bioware boards. So... with that in mind, a positive reaction to what seems like it is what they've been asking for seems pretty predictable. I am sure the Thane loving crowd is hoping he will feature, as they have been quite vocal about the relegation of his romance to something of a footnote matter in 3. I look forward to all forms of extra dialog at any time.

Oh and, for the record, I am in the camp of: the ending was an absolute outrage because it had no closure, once that was provided it is no longer an outrage - still not as great as it could have been, but accepted it for what it is, and really it's not that bad that the games don't still have value to me.