Did ME3 ruin Mass Effect for you?

[The Heik]

snip

Judging by the overwhelming amount of people that agree with me in this thread i'm happy to take that as over reaction originally. Your opinion is just as valid as mine so why the big deal?

First, using the direct thread as validation of your opinion is very skewed tactic, as this thread specifically geared to people who had more favourable feelings on the game (most of the less favourable ones having long since given up on the ending being fixed, thereby no longer giving a crap about it). Try checking out other Mass Effect threads regarding the subject of the game's ending (both on the escapist and off) and you'll find a lot more evidence to support my side of this discussion.

Second, my issue with your original post is not that your opinion isn't valid as an opinion, it's that your opinion bold-facedly denies objective issues that quantifiably exist within the game. If you liked the ME3, that's fine. People's personal perspectives on things can trump objective fact for purposes of experiencing something. But that doesn't mean that those facts simply cease to exist. Recognize them for what they are and accept them as a part of what the game offers. If they don't bother you, good for you, but they still are there, so treat it as such.

 

[Joseph Harrison]

Depends if the next game was god or not

XD I really hope that was a spelling error

Depends if the next game was god or not

That's a pretty high expectation. I have faith in Bioware but jeez.

OT: I will not let it ruin it for me, I would buy a new ME game in a heartbeat.

Yeah it was a spelling error, the sad thing is that I noticed it the second after I clicked post and I was like, " Don't worry, no one will notice it"

 

[Zeraki]

At first it kind of did, but that's only because I was in a really really bad place at the time. I was(and still am)battling depression, and at the time I got to the ending my Grandmother was literally days away from death(at home hospice in a medicated coma). So I was in a pretty dark place already by the time I got that... ending.

Nothing like getting slapped in the face with a heavy dose of reality and nihilism by your favorite escape from reality when your world feels like it's collapsing in on itself.

But over time I got over it, and the Extended Cut gave me enough closure to make me happy enough with the ending. Everything else that is left open I can fill in on my own. Since then I've played through the entire trilogy with a new Shepard and I can still enjoy it and get as obsessive over the series as I always could since the first game.

As far as getting future games in the series, I don't know. I was only really interested in the trilogy, in Shepard's story.

 

[AnarchistFish]

Mass Effect 3 was just as great as the first two games. The whole of the series was incredible and that it maintained that so consistently is even more impressive. Was really sad that the series, the story, had ended. Why are we still making an issue of this?

 

[darkcalling]

ME3 was the best game in the series IMO. Of course I'd be interested in exploring the universe further. As long as it was done well.

 

[Kapol]

Honestly, I've been in the camp of 'people who let the rest of the series be ruined by ME3 are silly.' But, after talking to someone who honestly had the rest of the series ruined by the ending, I can kinda understand a bit more where that comes from. The person I spoke to talked about how starting a new playthrough of the series was hard because it'd always make them wonder 'what's the point?' The ending for ME3 had just made the entire series feel like nothing they'd done had mattered from the way I understood it. The way they spoke made it seem like they were hurt thinking about it. It's not something they chose to feel, and they said that they'd rather still be able to enjoy the series then feel that way.

So, while it didn't ruin the series for me nor did I hate the original ending, I can more understand how much it affected some people now.

 

[w9496]

No. ME3 is my favorite of the entire trilogy. It's the only one that has me coming back to play it due to the multiplayer.

I like the other two a lot as well, but you can only play a campaign so many times before it gets stale.

 

[Oroboros]

I feel that ME2 ruined ME for me, so I wouldn't say that ME3 ruined the franchise for me, it's just mroe of the same 'ol stuff I didn't like in ME2. The ME series (and Bioware) have been off my radar for a while now.

 

[mental_looney]

No it didn't ruin the entire thing for me I love mass effect more than one bad ending, I would still buy more in the universe and more dlc.

 

[Lovely Mixture]

first off there's two 'literally's in you sentence

Ok. Whoops.

and second is that adding a new a character does not take just "one line of code."

Oh come on, you don't seriously think that's what I'm arguing right?

My argument is this. The character is already in the game files, the "DLC" literally changes one line of code to re-insert him into the game.

they can't just edit one code on the day before it's released because they have already given the publishers the finished game.

But they did, you literally can go into the game's files, edit one line of code yourself and get the DLC for free.

which needs to be published and checked for issues before the game is actually sold. This takes roughly the same amount of time as making the new DLC so I could say it is reasonable to give players the option to buy it then because somebody needs to get paid for the extra work.

There is no "extra work." It pretty much takes the same amount of testing because they play test it along with everything else. They get paid for it the very same.

The DLC isn't "new."

Anyway, think about what you are going to type and check it before you press post plz.

Cause no one has ever typed anything wrong on the internet......EVER.

 

[lordmardok]

I don't know if I can say it 'ruined' mass effect for me, but I certainly have no desire to play it anymore after I finished it the first time through, something that has never before happened in a Bioware game that I've played thus far. Frankly the main reason is that it just wasn't very good. The problem, I've been informed, is that I played Renegade. This may seem odd but I played partially through on Paragon and found it to be a substantially different game, that was not a compliment.

The issue is that the difference came from the fact that all of Paragon Shepards actions didn't seem to have come from the space-mollusk that lives in her brain and actually made sense in reality. Everything that happens in the game from NPC responses, which don't appreciably change, to the actual events of the storyline, make so much more fucking sense if you aren't playing like space-dirty harry with a vagina. This wasn't the case in the first and second ones, all the events were basically fine if you played renegade. The problem only crops when you're playing ME3 and find yourself asking the aforementioned cranial space-mollusk "WHY ARE THESE PEOPLE LISTENING TO ME SINCE I AM CLEARLY A LOOSE CANNON NOT FIT TO LEAD A CUB SCOUT TROOP?!"

Seriously, the full Renegade playthrough, looked at objectively, make no logical sense. There is no way this person could unite a galaxy against anything except HERSELF. Ironically the Renegade storyline has so many plotholes and idiotic choices that it nullifies the Paragon storyline virtue of existing. I hate to say it but since Bioware clearly had their own ideas on who Shepard was from the get-go (see the gay Shepard controversy) then maybe they should have just stuck with the Paragon storyline for the sake of cohesion...

 

[The Heik]

snip

Judging by the overwhelming amount of people that agree with me in this thread i'm happy to take that as over reaction originally. Your opinion is just as valid as mine so why the big deal?

First, using the direct thread as validation of your opinion is very skewed tactic, as this thread specifically geared to people who had more favourable feelings on the game (most of the less favourable ones having long since given up on the ending being fixed, thereby no longer giving a crap about it). Try checking out other Mass Effect threads regarding the subject of the game's ending (both on the escapist and off) and you'll find a lot more evidence to support my side of this discussion.

Second, my issue with your original post is not that your opinion isn't valid as an opinion, it's that your opinion bold-facedly denies objective issues that quantifiably exist within the game. If you liked the ME3, that's fine. People's personal perspectives on things can trump objective fact for purposes of experiencing something. But that doesn't mean that those facts simply cease to exist. Recognize them for what they are and accept them as a part of what the game offers. If they don't bother you, good for you, but they still are there, so treat it as such.

All i said was that the ending didn't spoil the game for me and that i couldn't really understand the hate for it. I then opined a little more on why that is probably the case for me. The only reason i felt i had any reason to do this was because you were the only person to disagree with my original post.

No, this whole discussion started from you saying:

There was nothing wrong with the ending, i don't know why people get so worked up over it.

I then disputed that and provided an example of how it has problems (The Geth/Quarian alliance paradox). Then you went off on a tangent saying that the plot can be excused for the gameplay, despite the fact that the ending had very little in terms of gameplay (unless you consider the dialogue system to be a part proper gameplay). I, while I didn't quite know why you'd swapped from one aspect to another, refuted that with a brief analysis of the gameplay (ME1 and solo weaponing, ME2 and chest-high walls, and ME3 with it's finally decent but my no means spectacular combat) to show that the story and characters is what holds the series together. Your next post stated that it's all opinion, I countered that by stating that while opinion is all well and good, it does not get to simply ignore facts (an example of this being the Twilight Saga. Just because people can enjoy it does not make it good). Which brings us to this current pair of posts.

Lol, i point out the trend on this thread and you say it isn't relevant and then use other threads to validate your own point. I can appreciate the irony in that.

*sigh* it's called sample size. Clearly you are not familiar with statistics.

This thread has at time of writing 191 posts spread out across a few dozen individuals. assuming roughly 100 people in this thread agreed with you, that's a paltry 0.0028 percent of the 3.5 million copies of ME3 sold, resulting in a very small sample size that's hardly an accurate representation of the consensus on the matter. I however am using a far larger sample size of every website I've been to with discussion on the ending of ME3, roughly 30 sites with thousands of users partaking in the discussion between them. While still a small percentage, it is a far larger representation of the opinion on the ending, ergo is far more likely to be an accurate assessment. And in that larger sample size the views on the ending are balanced far more in the direction of either "don't like" or "don't care".

As for my opinion, i hated mass effect 2 so mass effect 3 was a great game in comparison (aswell as with the endless babble of negative hype). I'm hardly going to acknowledge a point of contention within the ending which i do not see AT ALL.

Here's my question then: If you didn't know what I was referring to, then WHY IN SATAN'S UNHOLY NAME DID YOU NOT TELL ME THAT BACK WHEN I FIRST RESPONDED TO YOUR POST!?!?!?

Seriously dude, going into a debate blind is one of the worst mistakes you can make.

For your perusal though, an in-detail description of my example:

The Reaping cycle that the series revolves around is a result of the Starchild's belief that due to the incompatibilities between organics and synthetics the two would fight and the synthetics would win due to their natural superiority and wipe all organic life out (not sure why Starchild'd think the latter but let's roll with it for sake of simplicity). Now during the Geth/Quarian debacle in the middle of ME3, a Paragon Shepard has the option to prevent the Quarians from destroying the Geth as they upload some modified Reaper code that would make them proper Artificial Intelligences rather than a facsimile of by slapping a bunch of VIs together. If Shepard chooses this option, the Geth become the first synthetic species the player has seen in the series (excluding random individuals). Now according to the Starchild's argument, the very moment that the Geth became true life, they would have immediately destroyed the Quarians with their superior firepower (which the game states they have). But they didn't. If fact they went in the complete opposite direction and helped their long-time foes rebuild their homeworld and join the allied forces against the Reaper threat. Right then, right there, the Starchild's whole argument falls apart completely. Synthetic and Organic life can peacefully co-exist. Eons have passed, countless civilizations have fallen due to the Reapers, and all for absolutely nothing. That is poster-boy for the epic fail.

It all boils down to one thing i guess...i play games and you play stories.

Wow you could not be more wrong on that count. I'm currently playing Borderlands 2, a game with the bare minimum of story beyond the simple "get the treasure" goal (with a bit of evil overlord thrown in for good measure). The game I played right before that is Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, a game defined by the fact that you can spend 50 hours of gameplay far far away from anything resembling a primary plot. I play all kinds of games, I simply have an appreciation for good stories and hate it when they are put into the proverbial trash like the Mass Effect's story was.

Stop trying to change my opinion without offering up anything yourself. This is a debate not a fact finding mission. I put forward my opinion as did you. That is the end of it. Neither of us will budge and no amount of trying to disprove my argument on your part with change that so there we have it. Your attempt to discredit what i say is a tactic usually associated with things that live under bridges and eat children. I have no view to change your opinion at all.

For the "pre-troll comparison" section, please refer to the first section of this post regarding the whole exchange. For the rest of this, you do know that any refutation of a point inherently carries some level of discredit to it right? Wouldn't be a refutation if it didn't show that the other guy is wrong would it now?

Besides, you didn't really help your case by stating that you were going to ignore the story of a game where you can literally spend more time talking to your crew than on a mission. Kinda handicapping yourself there.

Why do i even try to talk with children? *kicks himself*

Yeah call me a child. That's sure to make me shut up /sarcasm

 

[CannibalCorpses]

snip

I think my intention was clearly to upset you when i was trying to back out of the damn discussion

You nit picked me into returning the favour and i'm annoyed at myself for falling for it...it's a common tactic on these forums and one which generally invalidates both opinions. Since there is no common ground or room for even the slightest discussion, yet again i will back out of it. Find someone else to play with

 

[Estelindis]

Most of Mass Effect 3 was spectacularly good. However, some of the writing choices that went into the last 20 minutes or so of the game (basically, the Starkid) killed any further interest I have in the franchise. Sure: I can write my own personal head-canon that makes better sense of the ending as far as I'm concerned. But whatever Bioware goes on to release is going to incorporate the terrible mistake they shoved into the very end of that game (or so I assume; once the Starkid is introduced, it's hard to eliminate him from the universe without retconning). Accordingly, why would I bother with any further releases?

If you just mean, did it retroactively ruin all previous Mass Effect for me...? Well, a little. But if I just block out the Starkid and pretend he didn't happen, at least I can enjoy all that was released in the run-up to the ending, even if that's where my involvement stops.

 

[Aurora Firestorm]

I loved the ending, so forget all of you. I didn't mind Star Child at all; the Extended Ending made it so much better; I loved how they added an Up Yours ending for all the whiners; I don't see what any of you are going on about with this ruining the series thing, and I think it's a whole load of malarkey.

I am supremely satisfied with the game, and I would buy it again in a heartbeat.

 

[Vegosiux]

ME3 did not ruin my ME1 and ME2 experiences, if that's what you're asking. ME as a franchise? Well, it sure didn't do it any favors, that's what I have to say.

 

[Sean Hollyman]

Nah, I didn't like the ending, but it still doesn't kill my wonderful memories of ME2

 

[Wilco86]

The worst thing that ME3 did to me was that it completely killed any interest in trying different combinations of choices from ME1 to ME3. I mean, did it really make that much of a difference if you kill the rachni queen in ME1? (If you think "too much" about that being a critical choice as it was represented in PS3's Mass Effect 2 -comic, that should have taken the indoctrinated rachni off the table and forced the Reapers to come up with something different (elcor artilerry?). Does it matter you spare Shiala in ME1 and flirt with her in ME2 she being one of the few ever break from Reaper indoctrination - she's kinda forgotten after ME1. Does the fate of the Council in any of the games *really* matter at any point?

I just couldn't try "different combination matrixes of choices" hours and hours over again and end up the same location as earlier. After many year I still place Obsidian (and Black Isle, Interplay, whatever) over BioWare.

 

[Norks]

I loved Mass Effect 3, the last 20 mins or so can't take away the awesomeness of an entire series. I'm wary of Bioware and their attitude towards awesome RPGs like DA:O and ME1, they seem to have the same attitude towards an RPG sequel as a drag racing team, tear out the innards to make it go faster.
I don't like this, but I do like their story telling, so I'd be up for another, with a wide array of new characters I would hope.