In a compelling stroke of irony the multiplayer was the best part of the game.Souplex said:I'm still playing the multiplayer.
In a compelling stroke of irony the multiplayer was the best part of the game.Souplex said:I'm still playing the multiplayer.
Not really. The ending in the case of the indoctrination theory is that Shepard, deluded and controlled by the Reapers, bled out and died in front of the pillar leading to the Citadel. I'm completely fine with that outcome. They spent three games building up the Reapers as a threat that absolutely could not be fought conventionally and any attempt to do so would fail spectacularly. It also leaves the Reaper's goal shrouded in secrecy, befitting their role.Kopikatsu said:The indoctrination theory is born of denial. It just leaves us with a non-ending.
If you want to wrap around the incomprehensible minds of the bioware writers I would suggest this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiN8gL40d84
It really is the best 'last look' at mass effect. And he's done ME2 and DA2 as well.
I agree, I've always thought that Bioware's artistic integrity argument goes out the window when the final thing you read is "We'll let you play some more if you give us money".Basiritz said:Everybody else has already pointed out everything I hate about the endings. But for me, I didn't completely lose faith in Bioware and Mass Effect until the Ad for DLC after the credits. It was like " Fuck you, and the game you love, give us more money." It was that moment I knew the Bioware I loved, whose games I was always supremely excited for, was dead.
That is a good point.Comocat said:Personally, I think BioWare wrote themselves into a corner and simply could not end it with a reasonable victory. Lord of the Rings did a good job setting the stage for why the ring was invincible except for this very small volcano in the heart of Mordor. The quest was challenging, but doable. BioWare never did that with the reapers. At no point in the series did I ever think, wow I really have a shot at beating these guys. 1 reaper pretty much destroyed the entire galactic fleet in ME1, how could we ever possible win against hundreds or thousands of them? Other than assuming they were killbots with a kill count limit, BioWare never created conditions for victory.
Because if we forget our mistakes then we WILL repeat them. People forgot that EA killed the Ultima series, the last long lasting RPG and we didnt stop them from doing the same to Bioware........we forgot.Flippincrazy said:Get over it. Please.
Mass Effect 3 was flawed, yes, but is it really necessary to continue reminding yourself of why you hate it? Do you take some sort of perverse pleasure from it?
Well, it was obvious since the Heavens to Metroid that he cares about controversy for the sake of making money even his argument doesnt make any damn sense.Machine Man 1992 said:Even our illustrious Bob Chipman got in the act, with not one, not two, but THREE whole episodes (Crass Effect, After Mass, and Mutants and Masses for The Big Picture), of him reaffirming every negative trait and stereotype he has. Little to no research or even playing the entire game, it's no wonder the backlash he received is second only to Heavens to Metroid.
Wait!! Let me join in!!:Akratus said:Eclectic Dreck, you want your reasons? You want your dry editorial analysis? You wanna know why it's so bad?! Oh I'm gonna give it to ya.
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiWzMOLohpMmyaUhp8hva3Vxa8Y9jsLRD
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEE7764FAB908A8FB
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL26D09A85B5BCDDE0
Except the indocrination theory doesn't rob you of choice. It says: "You are indocrinated. Your choices up to this point will be the standoff to what's going to happen next". Choose the destroy ending? Good you are resisting. The choices you did up to that point will decide the battle and your own fate. Choose the Control? You are falling right into the indocrination. Having a choice at this point depends only on your behavior. The right one will unlock the choice of killing yourself, deactivating Harbinger for a while, giving the fleet time to kill him. If not, you are forced to hack the Crucible, with the knowledge of Harbinger, to send a massive shockwave which doesn't hit the Reapers. Synthethise? You are now the main conscience of a Reaper, and must choose, after hearing Harbinger's speech, to accept your fate or to rebel. Refuse? Everyone dies (unless you did REAL good, but even then they will be mostly in the shit) but the Reapers suffered so many losses that the next cycle will probably be victorious."Eclectic Dreck said:I disagree. The indoctrination ending isn't better. The most obvious reason is this is supported by flimsy evidence that can easily be dismissed. Any piece of evidence used to support the theory simply has an alternate explanation that, in most cases, is more plausible. The less obvious reason is that the indoctrination theory is neither narratively nor thematically consistent. The game is based upon the notion that choice matters - to rely upon an ending where your character is robbed of choice not only undermines that theme, it is quite literally the story equivalent of telling players to go fuck themselves. Beyond that, the indoctrination theory undermines everything you've done as a player in the third game by making you a pawn of the Reapers. Finally, there is the fundamental problem that there is no mechanism for long distance indoctrination presented anywhere else in the fiction and Shepard simply did not spend the lengthy amount of time around a Reaper or notable reaper artifacts to justify his indoctrination.beef_razor said:True, but it was still better than the original. And if a conclusion born of angry fan denial was better than what the developers came up with then something is wrong.
Simply put, if Reapers were so easily capable of force indoctrinating a group, they would not rely so heavily upon force of arms to achieve their ends. Combine that with the myriad other problems with the theory and you'll find that this explanation, if more satisfying intellectually is actually a worse ending simply because it is inconsistent.
*salutes* Agreed!spartandude said:/threadBasiritz said:Everybody else has already pointed out everything I hate about the endings. But for me, I didn't completely lose faith in Bioware and Mass Effect until the Ad for DLC after the credits. It was like " Fuck you, and the game you love, give us more money." It was that moment I knew the Bioware I loved, whose games I was always supremely excited for, was dead.
THERE IS NO MIDDLE FINGER BIG ENOUGH
Akratus, if you're on YouTube, look no further than the enlightened ravings of MrBTongue. http://www.youtube.com/user/mrbtongueAkratus said:Eclectic Dreck, you want your reasons? You want your dry editorial analysis? You wanna know why it's so bad?! Oh I'm gonna give it to ya.
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiWzMOLohpMmyaUhp8hva3Vxa8Y9jsLRD
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEE7764FAB908A8FB
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL26D09A85B5BCDDE0
"Because showing outright contempt for your already angry audience is a great way to earn money!"Aurora Firestorm said:I also loved the big middle finger that Bioware put there in the form of the Rejection ending.
It is isn't it? The multiplayer developers were far better at judging their audience. Well that and the part with Mordin.BloatedGuppy said:In a compelling stroke of irony the multiplayer was the best part of the game.Souplex said:I'm still playing the multiplayer.
Agree with everything you said. Mass Effect 3 was easily the most disappointing game of the year for me, and I don't think i'll ever forget it. I'm done with Bioware, not only because of how awful the game is, but because of their reaction. Although, I have to give them some credit, Tuchanka and Rannoch were two of the best missions I've played in a game. But everything else was simply 'meh' to downright insulting to the audience.Machine Man 1992 said:I have my own issues with Mass Effect 3, besides the craptacular endings and the internet fights it created. I thought the plot was simple and uninspired (even by Bioware standards), The Crucible was a blatant Deus Ex Machina to the overarching plot, Cerberus went from "Space Illuminati" to The Empire from Star Wars with little to no explanation, TIM is completely bonkers to detriment of the plot, Liara is shilled relentlessly, other characters either prove to be completely useless, annoying, or just plain creepy (here's looking at you EDI). Gameplay feels gutted and half-finished, with a distinct lack of polish. One button does not need to control running, rolling, taking cover, leaving cover, vaulting over cover, and activating a thing. There's little of the gameplay variation from the last games; no hacking minigames, no giant vehicle rampages, and sidequests that are the very definition of tacked on. Fights are very unimpressive and boring, and the Atlas stealing gameplay element is utterly superfluous. And lest I forget the galaxy at war bullshit that required I play multiplayer to see the best ending, effectively damaging the singleplayer with the multiplayer.
The fan reaction to the endings was something have never seen before, and probably will never see again. There are so many different accounts and spins on the story, I could write a book on it.