Shepard Can Lose in Mass Effect 3

[Marowit]

Omg, a game where you can fail & lose? What is this 1983?

In all seriousness, that's flippin' awesome.

 

[kael013]

Wait ... exactly the same feature as ME2 had? Only now they expect me to believe that holograms can stab? I'm sorry. I liked Mass Effect when it was still slightly Science Fiction.

With "visceral" "edgy" "insert bad hype here" stabby holographic UIs they completely lost me on Science part.

In ME2 there was a tech ability called Incinerate. It allowed you to [i/]shoot fireballs from a hologram[/i] and I never heard a single complaint about that. But now that they redesign a component of the game to look cool, you all start tearing them apart. Personally, I like to think of it as weaponized holo-deck technology (pretty sure they picked up holographic glasses in the show), but that's just me. If you don't like it then don't use it, they still have the good old-fashioned rifle clubbing.

OT: Well, I'm happy with this. Playing a series with stakes this high, then having no option but success isn't fun cause that sucks all the tension out of it.

 

[Mr.Pandah]

Yes, because you failed. Getting a failure condition is still a pretty standard thing. Unless its talking about you failing because of a decision you made 3 hours ago. Then thats probably one of the biggest dick moves I've ever heard.

Did you play the second one? I'd imagine they'll handle it like that, with different numbers of bad decisions giving you a progressively worse ending.

Yes, the end, where you lose, and then just restart and go about it again, making sure you don't lose this time. Realistically, you'd have to suck pretty bad to have gotten the Sheperd Dies ending of Mass Effect 2 - it was a game over screen, just one that still gave you a Trophy.

But with this, its the last ME so that could potentially be YOUR ending because YOU fucked up. I imagine this time around, it won't be a game over screen and it will just literally be the final cutscene in which the Reapers do what they've done in the past.

 

[UnderCoverGuest]

Wait ... exactly the same feature as ME2 had? Only now they expect me to believe that holograms can stab? I'm sorry. I liked Mass Effect when it was still slightly Science Fiction.

With "visceral" "edgy" "insert bad hype here" stabby holographic UIs they completely lost me on Science part.
When they started outsourcing their design decisions to Facebook votes, then added EA Origin, the case was shut for me.

Huh. I expected to have to scroll down a little bit further to find someone whose opinion I agreed heartily with.

Anywho, I agree heartily with that statement. As I tend to post in threats with a Mass Effect element to them:

Mass Effect 1: Sci-Fi Adventure
Mass Effect 2: Action Shooter

And I preferred Mass Effect when it was Sci-Fi. HOWEVER, let us remember the game isn't -that- doomed or anything yet (aside from the whole EA issue). The talent/skills stuff looks significantly expanded from Mass Effect 2--definitely reminds me more of Mass Effect 1 at least, and we hopefully won't -have- to have the light-saber-wanna-be-assassin's-hidden-blade thingy unless one is an Engineer and uses an Omni tool anyway.

 

[Xanthious]

Sadly, Shepard has already lost if only because this abomination is going to be made by the "new" Bioware that has has EA's generously lubed hand shoved elbow deep up their ass operating them like some kind of video game making puppet.

 

[SyphonX]

Yes, higher stakes please.

It's a game, not a roulette spin against my life savings.

I, as a gamer, speak for all gamers, when I say we can handle the higher stakes.

 

[GoodApprentice]

Yes, by installing ORIGIN you will indeed experience the bad ending.

 

[RatRace123]

Oh no.. I can see where this is going. I can be a very good Shepard, who acts noble and goes out of my way to help everyone out. Next thing I know, the ending of the game ends up screwing me over spite all the efforts I put into bringing peace. That's not.. cool.

In my opinion, I'd actually like that. Paragons never face any sort of punishment for their choices.

Spoiler

With the possible exception of bring down the sky in ME1 where the Batarian Terrorist gets away, but he doesn't show up in the sequel.

The only ones who have bad things happen to them are renegades, thus signifying renegade as the "bad" option and paragon as the "good" option rather than them being different approaches in a grey world.

So I hope that happens, I hope my paragon Shepard gets closer to failure than my renegade one does. She never had to make too many hard decisions and never had to sacrifice much... she's had it far too easy up to this point.

 

[Telemachus]

My Shepard has bigger things to worry about than saving the galaxy! Like what Ashley will do to him when she finds out what he's been doing with Miranda!

Oh, snap. She gonna slap you upside the head!

but no really, they're probably just trying to make hype. Which I don't blame them. This game is going to be awesome. I would prefer if they just shut there mouth and make the game. Then again it is EA, sooo, who knows. sucks though. EA is dumb, but Bioware is so so awesome!

 

[Android2137]

Well that's good. Because if "The Reapers are defeated" was the only outcome, with only diplomacy nuances determining good or bad end, then I'd be very much disappointed in Bioware. That's not to say that I intend on getting a bad end, however! I take you up on your challenge, Bioware!

 

[Telemachus]

I would so love if they took this oportunity to give a gigantic middle finger to everyone who played Renegade.

'So you think it's funny to alienate every ally you could have had and piss of the entire galaxy? Well now you stand alone against the Reapers and they kill you without a second thought. How do you like that you anti-social *****?'

They won't, but I can't shake the feeling that the Renegade ending may be somewhat of an ass pull or otherwise rather horrific in terms of casualties.

A Paragon can call on:

The Rachni
The united Krogan
The Shadow Broker
The Council
The Alliance
Potentially the geth and the quarians, since your actions in ME2 may have been a sign of a wider reconciliation to come.

A Renagade can call on:

The Shadow Broker
Possibly Cerberus, though according to the pre-released facts not likely

Seems a little unmatched, hmm? A Renagade spends every game alientating all their potential allies, so why in the third game would they rally behind Shepard? What possible reason could they have that is not pulled out of the story writer's arse? A paragon Shepard is a hero, a renagade is a dickhead.

I think of it this way:
Paragon Shep will likely win through diplomacy and building a united galactic army to fight the Reapers off.
Renegade Shep will win through victory at any cost tactics and punching as many reporters as it takes.

Really I think its going to be Middle-of-the-Road Shep that gets screwed.

assuming the Rachni will help. and who says Reapers won't just mind control all those Krogean and have them turn on Shepard? Or the Alliance? Who says the Reapers won't just kill the counsel dead? Having the Geth would be sick though.

 

[General BrEeZy]

well at the end of ME2, i destroyed the...you know, the thing the illusive man wants? yeah, that. i really hope that doesn't come back to bite me, it just really doesn't feel right. so i hope destroying it was the right move...
EECK! im tense now! can't WAIT FOR 3!!!!!!!

 

[The Lugz]

'Hi, i'm commander Shepard, and Origin is my favourite store'

and there's no way in hell i'm installing their spyware on my pc
if they insist on that at some point, they've lost a customer

i will have to buy a physical copy at some point i guess.

 

[electric_warrior]

This is good, I hate how you literally cannot lose in most games. It sort of kills the drama.

 

[General BrEeZy]

I hope i made the right choices over the years...

here are my most important decisions:

SPOILERS:

ME1:
Rachni Queen: Alive--Hopefully a massive attack/defense force to aid us against reapers
Wrex: Alive--Hopeful Krogan allegiance against Reapers.
Bring Down the Sky: Extremist Dead, Girl sacrificed--Hopefully he wont hinder the war with the reapers.
Council: Saved--Can't wait to see Turian Counsellors Facepalm when Reapers come. also, the alternative council in 2 sounds even more stubborn and biased against Shepard, so i always save them now.

ME2:
All Squad Members: Alive--maximum allies for ME3.
Aria T'Loak: Ally...i hope. potential to rally-up the mercs/Omega against Reapers in 3?
Mordin Loyalty Mission: Research Data Saved, potential aid to Mordins research in 3?
Tali: Not Exiled--Hopeful Quarian-Geth Relations with Legion in 3?
Quarian Admiralty: suggested not doing War with Geth--hopeful Quarian-Geth Relations in 3?
Legion Loyalty Mission: Geth re-converted to "true" Geth--Hopeful Geth allegiance in 3?
Wrex: Leading Tuchanka, allied to Shepard--Hopeful Genophage cure/Krogan allegiance?
Shadow Broker DLC: I have yet to do this mission. Control of S.B.'s resources and data to provide counter-intel. against Reapers.
Collector Station: Destroyed--it is reaper tech after all, maybe they'd be able to turn it against Cerberus in 3?
Arrival: I have yet to do this mission...Destruction of Mass Relay is necessary--Reaper advantage unacceptable.


Did i miss anything? any alternate viewpoints anyone?

 

[Duvans Mammor]

You play as Shepard, you will kill innocents whether you like it or not. As far as I'm concerned you lose no matter how you play.

 

[UltraDeth]

If all the good choices I made in the previous games result in the worst ending, I will be pissed.

To be honest, how does one hope to destroy an entire amry of warmachines?

I made literally every good choice that occured

ME1:
Spared the Rachni
Convinced Wrex to stay
Saved the council

ME2:
Rewrite the Geth
Convinced the Quarians to assist Shep
Destroyed the Collector base
Saved the Krogan from extinction

 

[DeathWyrmNexus]

I am going to be facetious now... *yawn* Since when did bad endings become a new thing? My understanding is that most of Bioware's games have a "you fucked up but still got an ending scenario."

So why are we toting features that are pretty common place as a big deal now? I don't get it. I am reading the article and it seems to think that a bad ending is something we didn't anticipate. ME 2 had a possible shit ending. DA Origins has conditions that can be utter shit if you don't do certain things. DA 2 has bad shit possibilities.

/facetious

Cool ending possibilities bro!

 

[Jumpingbean3]

Slighty Science Fiction...? How is Mass Effect 'slightly' Science Fiction?

Are you seriously saying that this sort of thing is the most 'out there' thing in the Mass Effect universe?

It was out there all along, but consistent. Most good SciFi is consistent tho.

But when a holo-UI became a "visceral stabbing weapon" ... I'm outta there. BTW, did you hear about HuttaBall?

Are you saying you're going to disregard ME3 because of one inconsistency? If so that's really unfair. I mean that's a pretty big nitpick.

 

[RicoADF]

I'm failing to see how this is news. I've played a lot of games where you can lose. Its called losing. You die and get a game over screen. Most games I play these days have that happen. You then start again from your last save and don't fuck it up.

That isn't what this is, this is when you scrape your way through the game, only to reach an end cutscene that lets you know that your efforts were so puny that the reapers won anyway.

Yes, because you failed. Getting a failure condition is still a pretty standard thing. Unless its talking about you failing because of a decision you made 3 hours ago. Then thats probably one of the biggest dick moves I've ever heard.

You've clearly never played Wing Commander or the first 2 Colony Wars games. This isn't just a 'game over' from dieing or ****ing up, its where the game has multiple endings based on how well you do and the choices you make. In those games the endings vary from Total victory (Defeating the Navy in Colony Wars), to minor victory (having to pull out of SOL but cutting it off in Colony Wars) and even, as this news is referring to, total failure (the Navy defeating the League in Colony wars, or you being executed for treason in Wing Commander IV). It made the games replayable and more interesting, as a victory wasn't guaranteed. Personally I find most games boring as the ending is predictible (Hint: GOOD GUYS WIN), rather than being more fluid. Possibly because I've been spoiled by far better games . This news alone has sold the game for me, altho sounds like I may have to get PS3 version.