Dangit, I can't say no. Just to pump myself up for tomorrow, let's chat the juicy details I sliced out of my other reply...
Suffice to say, MASSIVE SPOILERS BELOW. But I guess anybody concerned about that shouldn't be here...
mdqp said:
To elaborate more: if IT isn't true (as I think), then the ending has to be taken at face value. That means that the catalyst presents 3 solutions that (in its own views!) don't solve the problem, as all 3 choices still allow for synthetics to be produced in the future and exterminate all organics.
This is mostly why I question the worth of judging the DLC before it's out. This isn't something I was intended as solely being directed at you... a LOT of people are all "This is stupid, I don't need to play this to know it sucks! Rar rar rar!"
So the question becomes what does "face value" mean in this case? I think it's fair to say the ending we saw before can't be judged anymore, except to say it was insufficient. It effectively no longer exists in my mind, because it's been augmented with content we'll see very soon. Can I accurately judge the extended cut of the Lord of the Rings films having only seen the Theatrical releases? I would say no. So the only thing we have to take at face value is the new DLC, except for those few misguided souls who are so tormented by this that they are happier hating Bioware than giving this a spin. (*cough* my brother-in-law *cough*)
Given how the Reapers have been quite pro-active about this, one has to wonder what has really changed (and don't tell me you buy the idea that Shepard gained the right to make the choice just because he/she got that far: if there was a dog there, would it have gotten the right to make the choice for all organics? If it was just another soldier, would it have been ok? Shepard got there by dumb luck, how is that a good way to pick someone as the one who makes the choice? Do the catalyst compile a list of those who are worthy, and sends the elevator only for them?), to convince them that now it's the time to leave self-determination to organics.
Also, Synthesis isn't even remotely believable to anyone with a modicum of knowledge of biology, and there is nothing that will change that.
I'll play Devil's advocate, just cuz. We'll assume IT is out, and everything happens in the really real world, man. Let's say Star Child is confirmed as a Reaper. They were vague in the "theatrical" release, although he did refer to himself as an "us", so it was a wishy-washy "Is he / Isn't he?" at best. So let's say he is full on 100% Reaper, either Harbinger or some other one. Maybe Harbinger intentionally killed everyone on the battlefield EXCEPT Shepard, thus ensuring He/She is the ONLY one to get up top. Perhaps Anderson was too close to Shepard, so when they dialed the beam damage back, he accidentally survived, too. The Indoctrinated Illusive Man helped deal with that loose end.
This scenario would mean Shepard is there by the Reapers' own intent. Everything Star Child tells you is now questionable cuz he's a Reaper. Remember - throughout the series the Reapers have often expressed interest in humanity. Presumably this was Drew setting up his Dark Matter ending (Haestrom's rapidly dying sun, the Human Reaper, etc)
I would prefer the XCD (Extended Cut DLC) not get into too much detail on WHY they want humanity, as I think they're better served as a shadowy, mysterious threat, but any number of reasons could be concocted as a replacement to give us SOME justification for their actions. Hell, maybe the Reapers didn't build anything, not even the Citadel. Maybe they have subservient races build it for them. Perhaps the Crucible is just the latest Reaper design, and they'd been holding back their forces in order to pose jussssst enough of a threat to keep us motivated. Maybe in the past they'd tried forcing races to work on it, and like all indoctrinated servants, without free will and the use of their own minds, they became drooling puppies before it ever finished. And the culling and growing and culling and growing is just them trying to get better technology to save their own scaly hides, or simply evolve. The Protheans were fairly warlike and domineering, so the Reapers probably saw their cycle as worthless, took the Protheans as genetic slaves, and then waited for the other races to flourish in this cycle.
I'm not saying I implicitly believe any of this, I'm just brainstorming potential game-changing scenarios from the hip. If the whole thing isn't a fight inside Shepard's mind, the Reapers could very well still be trying to indoctrinate him/her. Like Saren, TIM, and Udina. You get one guy/gal who is respected, sacrifice him or her with indoctrination, and then get THOUSANDS to follow before their little candle burns down to the wick.
Explaining why and how the Normandy leaves is something I don't really care too much (I think it's stupid, the way it's presented, but I can ignore it easily). If they show you that the catalyst is lying, then 2 endings make no sense at all. Also, why would it give you the chance to destroy the Reapers? Why doesn't it kill you? Is it lying about being the citadel, too?
It's funny because I'm the opposite. I never was a huge fan of the Reaper storyline, and I can live with the Star Child scene. But something like why the Normandy fled means EVERYTHING to me.
If the intended storyline in any way involves the Reapers dying (which the Dark Matter angle did, I believe), then there are any number of reasons why they would give us an option to kill them.
Maybe they are in pain, and are constantly trying to find a way to make it stop, even if it means leveraging their own destruction. Again, I prefer not humanizing the Reapers too much, but they do present a number of angles from which we can justify Star Child's actions.
Maybe they're hunted by whoever created them. Maybe it's a virus. Maybe it's a flesh eating disease. Maybe they ARE Keepers.
I can plan to make 3 games, but if I don't have an overarching idea for them, what's the point? I can still make 3 good games, mind you, but they are a trilogy in name only, if I shift the focus of the story from one game to another (you probably didn't feel this way about the ME series, this much I can understand, is more of a pet peeve of mine).
For me, I would say the overall story of the trilogy fits well together. ME1 - Stop a Rogue Reaper. ME2 - Stop Collectors from Building Reaper. ME3 - Win War vs Reapers.
The Reaper storyline in 2 & 3 are the weakest for me, so I won't say those are handled perfectly, but the trilogy does work as a trilogy. At no point would I personally say these games suffer from being disconnected. Especially given the vast number of decisions that carry over from game to game.
Just to give you more clarity on this: I would rate ME with an 8; ME2 with a 7 and ME3 with 6, and this without the ending, so I am pretty critical about it).
I'm a bit more mixed. Judging them as
Gameplay / Main Plot / Character Story Arcs, I'd go:
ME1: 5 / 10 / 10
ME2: 8 / 6 / 10
ME3: 9 / 5 / 10
I truly loved the first game DESPITE some of the weaker gameplay, but the narrative in the latter two games really stoops to a stupifyingly silly story structure.
. I still think it was a waste of my time, though (I have issues with the game itself in other parts, not just the ending, mind you. Just to give you more clarity on this: I would rate ME with an 8; ME2 with a 7 and ME3 with 6, and this without the ending, so I am pretty critical about it).
