ME3 ending is it really that bad?

[WoW Killer]

Is it like the ending to "Inception"? Where you're supposed to create your own opinion about what happened (i.e. whether the main character was still dreaming or not).

There are clear differences though. In Inception the ending tied in with the plot and overall theme of the movie as a whole. There were references made early on that became important at the end. For example, it is explained in previous scenes that the spinning top never stops spinning in dreams, and this is used to create the uncertainty in the final frames. All through the film there is a general theme of uncertainty in knowing dreams from reality. This is how stories are supposed to be written.

Inventing new characters, devices or lore in the final moments of a story without prior references, and with a thematic direction counter to the rest of that story, is plain and simple bad writing.

 

[Blachman201_v1legacy]

I think these provides the best summaries on why so many Mass Effect fans feel that the ending is such a massive slap in the face after a very good game:

*SPOILERS of course*
http://www.gamefront.com/mass-effect-3-ending-hatred-5-reasons-the-fans-are-right/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H_A7SeawU4

 

[BloatedGuppy]

There are clear differences though. In Inception the ending tied in with the plot and overall theme of the movie as a whole. There were references made early on that became important at the end. For example, it is explained in previous scenes that the spinning top never stops spinning in dreams, and this is used to create the uncertainty in the final frames. All through the film there is a general theme of uncertainty in knowing dreams from reality. This is how stories are supposed to be written.

Inventing new characters, devices or lore in the final moments of a story without prior references, and with a thematic direction counter to the rest of that story, is plain and simple bad writing.

Ayup. The best spinning top analogy would be if the spinning top and the concepts surrounding it were introduced in the last minute of the film. And the film in question was Die Hard.

 

[Magicduck]

Bah, well this is sorely depressing, because up until now I've been really anticipating what Bioware will do next in the Mass effect universe, because they really do (or did) have a lot of room for more games in this Universe. And no closure? =( wow, that's all I really wanted in the ending, just some reference to how the other characters turn out as you have been playing with them for some 100+ hours by now.

They better release some 'epilouge' DLC by the sounds of it, and yes sadly I'll even pay for it, but if they do pull that shit you can bet I'll be pirating any of their other games.

 

[hazabaza1]

Bah, well this is sorely depressing, because up until now I've been really anticipating what Bioware will do next in the Mass effect universe, because they really do (or did) have a lot of room for more games in this Universe. And no closure? =( wow, that's all I really wanted in the ending, just some reference to how the other characters turn out as you have been playing with them for some 100+ hours by now.

They better release some 'epilouge' DLC by the sounds of it, and yes sadly I'll even pay for it, but if they do pull that shit you can bet I'll be pirating any of their other games.

Admitting to piracy's not allowed here.
Plus, it'd kind of make you a ****. Don't be a ****. Be a cool dude. Nobody likes cunts.

 

[Alandoril]

Well, the endings available aren't intolerably bad but they certainly aren't good enough.

 

[The Abhorrent]

The ending is a failure not because "it's the worst thing EVAR", it's a failure because it's an abrupt and confusing deviation from the spirit of the games its concluding. The games deserved a more coherent culmination. The fans deserved it, as well. If this is truly Bioware's artistic vision for their game, they don't need to violate it to satiate angry or disillusioned fans, but at the very least they have a responsibility to provide a little more clarity.

I know this will probably not go over the best, but I'll have to disagree on this. But before I get into the spoilers, I will say it requires going into the meta-concepts of the series.

Spoiler

Mass Effect isn't so much about the consequences of your decisions as it is about the player making those decisions. By extension, it's a metaphor for life; your actions and decisions shape who you are. You can always look back and say whether or not it was the right decision to make, but at the time you simply have no idea what the consequences are. Sometimes your options are all unpleasant, but you have to make a decision just the same or else nothing good will come of it all.

At the end of it all, you are give the power of a God.
You are given the final decision which will determine the fate of the galaxy.
You have no idea what the full consequences will be, and you never will.
But you are still given the responsibility to make that final choice.

What is your decision?

---

Essentially, Mass Effect is about self-determination.

The nature of the final decision and the lack of closure are to emphasize that we live in the present, not the future. We can always weigh our options based on what we feel will give the best outcome, but the truth is that we never know what will genuinely happen. So have no other option but to take life as it comes, choosing our actions every step of the way. In the end, we not get what we wanted... but we made those decisions just the same.

---

When I was faced with that final decision, my thoughts were:

"I hope I'm doing the right thing..."

By extension, these were (my) Shepard's thoughts as well. All that preparation, only to be faced with something else entirely. Nevertheless, my motives were do what I felt what was best for everyone. I won't know if was the best decision, or even if there was a good one.... but what I do know is I tried to do what was right.

For those who are outraged by the ending, it would be safe to say (their) Shepard is outraged as well. Having a choice thrust upon them, being denied the (happy) ending they so wanted. But it's what you get.

In the end, what you (and by extension, Shepard) feel about the ending... is just that.

No more, no less.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

For those who are outraged by the ending, it would be safe to say (their) Shepard is outraged as well. Having a choice thrust upon them, being denied the (happy) ending they so wanted. But it's what you get.

Guy, I never wanted a happy ending. I specifically did NOT want a happy ending. I wanted a pyrrhic victory. I just wanted it to make sense, and give some catharsis and closure to the series.

Surely even the ending's most ardent defender can admit fault with the brevity of the cut scene, the fact they're all virtually identical aside from the color of the pulse wave, and the rasher of logical incongruities that pepper the final few minutes.

 

[Chairman Miaow]

The ending is a failure not because "it's the worst thing EVAR", it's a failure because it's an abrupt and confusing deviation from the spirit of the games its concluding. The games deserved a more coherent culmination. The fans deserved it, as well. If this is truly Bioware's artistic vision for their game, they don't need to violate it to satiate angry or disillusioned fans, but at the very least they have a responsibility to provide a little more clarity.

I know this will probably not go over the best, but I'll have to disagree on this. But before I get into the spoilers, I will say it requires going into the meta-concepts of the series.

Spoiler

Mass Effect isn't so much about the consequences of your decisions as it is about the player making those decisions. By extension, it's a metaphor for life; your actions and decisions shape who you are. You can always look back and say whether or not it was the right decision to make, but at the time you simply have no idea what the consequences are. Sometimes your options are all unpleasant, but you have to make a decision just the same or else nothing good will come of it all.

At the end of it all, you are give the power of a God.
You are given the final decision which will determine the fate of the galaxy.
You have no idea what the full consequences will be, and you never will.
But you are still given the responsibility to make that final choice.

What is your decision?

---

Essentially, Mass Effect is about self-determination.

The nature of the final decision and the lack of closure are to emphasize that we live in the present, not the future. We can always weigh our options based on what we feel will give the best outcome, but the truth is that we never know what will genuinely happen. So have no other option but to take life as it comes, choosing our actions every step of the way. In the end, we not get what we wanted... but we made those decisions just the same.

---

When I was faced with that final decision, my thoughts were:

"I hope I'm doing the right thing..."

By extension, these were (my) Shepard's thoughts as well. All that preparation, only to be faced with something else entirely. Nevertheless, my motives were do what I felt what was best for everyone. I won't know if was the best decision, or even if there was a good one.... but what I do know is I tried to do what was right.

For those who are outraged by the ending, it would be safe to say (their) Shepard is outraged as well. Having a choice thrust upon them, being denied the (happy) ending they so wanted. But it's what you get.

In the end, what you (and by extension, Shepard) feel about the ending... is just that.

No more, no less.

So.... What if I am feeling that the ending is full of plotholes, there is no reason for me to listen to this "thing" as "I won't let fear compromise who I am" and I will fight to the last, and I have no reason to trust it, and a million reasons to distrust it. What is my Shepard thinking then? Fuck it, I'll do what it says anyway? Also, the whole happy ending thing? I don't care about happy endings. My favourite film ever is American History X. The ending of that is fucking amazing.

And another thing. Space magic.

 

[Netrigan]

On a personal level, all closure happens before the final fight. This actually works pretty well although its all in the moment with no sense of what comes after.

On the galaxy front, there's no epilogue so zero hint that youve made the right or wrong choices concerning the more warlike allies. All of your previous decisions are reduced to a short-term war readiness strategy that determines the fate of Earth.

As they've already announced more ME Universe games, I imagine all that drama will still be in play next game, with the Krogan still the race everyone loves to be afraid of.

 

[Cid Silverwing]

All the endings basically render everything you did in the Mass Effect-iverse pointless. There's no reason to even play ME3 because of this.

But since Bioware has been absorbed by EA I'm not so surprised anymore. Boycott ME3 so EA can be taught a lesson in greed.

 

[Noble_Lance]

Oh by the way guys, there is a pseudo secret ending. If you take the kill them all path with a high enough War Assets, their is a suggestion of well.

I don't know how to do spoilers here... but a beat up man in debris lays there and breathes right before the scene ends.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

They are fine, just could have been done better without reusing the same CGI with a different colour depending on your choice. I think people wanted a good/bad ending. One in which the reapers lost and we win, an a second where we lose the war and the reapers win. Thats very simple and i feel people would have moaned if they did that. I like that the choice was made, we won but at a huge cross - and sometimes freedom has a massive cost.

I think what people hated (apart from the weird joker normandy scene) was there was no scene to show what happened to Garrus or Tali/Geth or Grunt/Wrex and the krogan. etc etc Even if they were all down beat with all the fleets that protected earth died etc but the Geth and Quarians survived working together on their homeworld. Krogans slowly built there population and learnt to work and live with the galaxy as partners....maybe found contraception. ;-)

Maybe Bioware didnt realise the amount of love players built up with the characters in the games. Maybe Bioware could just release something, doesnt have to be DLC, something that details what they feel happened to everyone.

 

[Sexy Devil]

I've successfully managed to avoid ending spoilers thus far.

But I can say, the way people are raging on about it, I don't think I want to play this game

:/

It's literally just the last 5 minutes where it goes to hell. To me, the journey mattered more than the (atrocious) ending anyway so I'm still capable of enjoying the game in spite of the absolutely awful ending.

So yeah, just decide whether you prefer the journey or the outcomes of your choices. If it's the latter then steer clear; if it's the former then you'll still find a lot of enjoyment in the game.

 

[VaNilla]

It's not bad at all, people are just jumping on the bandwagon.

 

[Zeraki]

The last five minutes of Mass Effect 3 effectively renders everything you did in the entire trilogy completely meaningless. I can't even get invested in the series any more after that bullshit.

 

[Tommahawk]

The ending is a failure not because "it's the worst thing EVAR", it's a failure because it's an abrupt and confusing deviation from the spirit of the games its concluding. The games deserved a more coherent culmination. The fans deserved it, as well. If this is truly Bioware's artistic vision for their game, they don't need to violate it to satiate angry or disillusioned fans, but at the very least they have a responsibility to provide a little more clarity.

I know this will probably not go over the best, but I'll have to disagree on this. But before I get into the spoilers, I will say it requires going into the meta-concepts of the series.

Spoiler

Mass Effect isn't so much about the consequences of your decisions as it is about the player making those decisions. By extension, it's a metaphor for life; your actions and decisions shape who you are. You can always look back and say whether or not it was the right decision to make, but at the time you simply have no idea what the consequences are. Sometimes your options are all unpleasant, but you have to make a decision just the same or else nothing good will come of it all.

At the end of it all, you are give the power of a God.
You are given the final decision which will determine the fate of the galaxy.
You have no idea what the full consequences will be, and you never will.
But you are still given the responsibility to make that final choice.

What is your decision?

---

Essentially, Mass Effect is about self-determination.

The nature of the final decision and the lack of closure are to emphasize that we live in the present, not the future. We can always weigh our options based on what we feel will give the best outcome, but the truth is that we never know what will genuinely happen. So have no other option but to take life as it comes, choosing our actions every step of the way. In the end, we not get what we wanted... but we made those decisions just the same.

---

When I was faced with that final decision, my thoughts were:

"I hope I'm doing the right thing..."

By extension, these were (my) Shepard's thoughts as well. All that preparation, only to be faced with something else entirely. Nevertheless, my motives were do what I felt what was best for everyone. I won't know if was the best decision, or even if there was a good one.... but what I do know is I tried to do what was right.

For those who are outraged by the ending, it would be safe to say (their) Shepard is outraged as well. Having a choice thrust upon them, being denied the (happy) ending they so wanted. But it's what you get.

In the end, what you (and by extension, Shepard) feel about the ending... is just that.

No more, no less.

Shove all the meta up your pretentious little ass. The thing that pisses me off that all three choices are fuckin' same. You are given a "choice" to obey. I say fuck that. I (my Shepard) would rather go down fighting reapers than accepting any of bullshit options given to me.

 

[Richardplex]

Depends on your interpretation. If you believe the ending is real, it is that bad. If you say, believe

Spoiler

it was indoctrination

then it's great, except that it's missing a couple of minutes from the Good End.

 

[Pandabearparade]

I thought it was awesome.

No, really.

I haven't laughed that hard at anything in a long time, it was funnier than any Adam Sandler movie has ever managed.

 

[Formica Archonis]

So... I think I'm one of the lucky ones who hasn't finished ME3 yet, I'm taking my time, and just getting my MP character up now. But by the sounds of it the ending sounds like it ruins the entire game

I don't have a particular horse in this race, since I didn't like the gameplay in Mass Effect, so I haven't played more than an hour or two of the first game. So let me tell you what happened from my point of view....

When the current fiasco started up I got curious and watched the endings on Youtube.
And then I found another user and watched them again because I thought the first user was trolling.

I liked the music, though.