No, stop it right there. This is not a ***** about Mass Effect 3 thread. This is an observation of a trend that has affected Bioware since Knights of the Old Republic. The end sequences of Bioware games are almost always of far lower quality than the rest of the game.
The only modern Bioware games I haven't played are Jade Empire and Neverwinter Nights, so somebody point out if they are an exception. Knights of the Old Republic has a massive buildup, and ends with a forty minute slog through an endless wave of Sith Troopers and Dark Jedi that don't let up for a second. The slow burn feel of the rest of the game is replaced by an extra long dungeon that brings the weaknesses of the KOTOR combat system to the forefront. While the final duel was satisfying, the rest of the ending after leaving the Unknown Planet felt rushed.
Mass Effect. Same deal as Knights of the Old Republic. The ending is devoted to the game's weakest aspects, a Mako drive and shooting. I admit that this ending was done better than KOTOR, because there was emphasis on speed and urgency for the mission, so the more rushed pace fit better. It doesn't stop the gameplay from sagging however.
Dragon Age. The very definition of a slow burn title, with focus on tactical combat and party management to deal with strategically placed foes. After the Landsmeet, the quality drops dramatically, with hits failing to register, awkward cutscene transitions, and the removal of strategy altogether. Instead of using your tactics you've developed over the game, Darkspawn now die in one or two hits, and swarm you with fifteen or more troops at a time, all of whom get killed with a single AOE spell. If they wanted you to feel unstoppable, they could have done it without removing the strategy entirely.
Mass Effect 2. Of all the endings, this one works the best. However, it still has certain problems. Pacing is one of them, as everything is whiz bang pow except it is going even faster than the base game itself. It also has the problem of introducing new concepts late in the game, with the falling platforms and team management. Mostly this ending succeeds due to the more combat focused nature of the game, but the new gameplay elements could have been better implemented or foreshadowed.
Dragon Age 2 again put players into a dungeon crawl, with the difference being that this was the same dungeon they'd traveled through thirty times already.
The universal problem is a feeling of rushed work. The endings are too abrupt. Dragon Age somewhat avoids this by having an epilogue, but the final battle is so riddled with bugs and sloppy work that it still applies. The games that have taken their time to craft the story are suddenly turned into high speed endings that try to cover too much too fast, and something gets lost in the translation.
Now, like I said, I haven't played Jade Empire or NWN, so I can't say if this applies there as well, but from what I hear of the ME3 ending, it has the same problem.
The only modern Bioware games I haven't played are Jade Empire and Neverwinter Nights, so somebody point out if they are an exception. Knights of the Old Republic has a massive buildup, and ends with a forty minute slog through an endless wave of Sith Troopers and Dark Jedi that don't let up for a second. The slow burn feel of the rest of the game is replaced by an extra long dungeon that brings the weaknesses of the KOTOR combat system to the forefront. While the final duel was satisfying, the rest of the ending after leaving the Unknown Planet felt rushed.
Mass Effect. Same deal as Knights of the Old Republic. The ending is devoted to the game's weakest aspects, a Mako drive and shooting. I admit that this ending was done better than KOTOR, because there was emphasis on speed and urgency for the mission, so the more rushed pace fit better. It doesn't stop the gameplay from sagging however.
Dragon Age. The very definition of a slow burn title, with focus on tactical combat and party management to deal with strategically placed foes. After the Landsmeet, the quality drops dramatically, with hits failing to register, awkward cutscene transitions, and the removal of strategy altogether. Instead of using your tactics you've developed over the game, Darkspawn now die in one or two hits, and swarm you with fifteen or more troops at a time, all of whom get killed with a single AOE spell. If they wanted you to feel unstoppable, they could have done it without removing the strategy entirely.
Mass Effect 2. Of all the endings, this one works the best. However, it still has certain problems. Pacing is one of them, as everything is whiz bang pow except it is going even faster than the base game itself. It also has the problem of introducing new concepts late in the game, with the falling platforms and team management. Mostly this ending succeeds due to the more combat focused nature of the game, but the new gameplay elements could have been better implemented or foreshadowed.
Dragon Age 2 again put players into a dungeon crawl, with the difference being that this was the same dungeon they'd traveled through thirty times already.
The universal problem is a feeling of rushed work. The endings are too abrupt. Dragon Age somewhat avoids this by having an epilogue, but the final battle is so riddled with bugs and sloppy work that it still applies. The games that have taken their time to craft the story are suddenly turned into high speed endings that try to cover too much too fast, and something gets lost in the translation.
Now, like I said, I haven't played Jade Empire or NWN, so I can't say if this applies there as well, but from what I hear of the ME3 ending, it has the same problem.
