The Ending Was Not ME3's Only Problem

[Emiscary]

NO. STOP. SHUT UP.

I don't care if you liked the ending.

I don't care if you didn't like it.

And I ESPECIALLY don't care that *you* don't care about the above two opinions. (You know who you are, meta-complainers of the world.)

Now then, here are the main reasons that ME3 (while still being a good game all things considered) does not deserve to be rated as objectively perfect:

1. "Galactic Readiness"

This whole concept is basically the gaming equivalent of a ham-fisted segue.

"And now, MULTIPLAYER!"

I *think* the reasoning behind putting this gobshite into the game was to try and incentivise people who were only interested in player single player into giving the multi player a shot. Now, I consider it a social faux-pas for a layperson to tell a professional how to do his job, but this clearly needs to be said:

EA, when your player base has no interest in a mechanic you're planning on adding to a game you're in the process of developing, the solution is not to coerce them into playing it. The solution is *to not fucking add the mechanic to the game*. If that's not an option? Keep it segregated from the rest of the experience. If the MP can stand up on it's own two legs? Wonderful. If not, then at least you didn't give anyone the impression of having their arm twisted to do shit they didn't wanna do.

2. The Quest Tracking

Anyone who's actually played the game can tell you what a nightmarish clusterfuck the quest menu in ME3 is. See the Angryjoe review on youtube if you want more explanation/some pretty visuals.

3. Invisible Characters

This is a pretty common graphics glitch. I'd need the use of both hands and feet to count the number of times I was catapulted from any sense of immersion by a quick chat with The Hollow Man.

4. Fuglyface Imports

If you've spent some time on the BSN, you can probably name about 12 different threads in which 1000s of people with custom Shepard faces complain that upon import into ME3 their character appears to have suffered botched plastic surgery. And if the screenshots are any indication, the problem is far from solved.

5. The Rachni

Again, putting aside the ending, the consequences of choosing to save/kill the Queen in ME1 where nowhere near as profound as advertised. Basically the choice amounts to 1 model being reskinned, and a different modulator being used to voice it.

6. "The Crucible"

Hey, a secret Prothean weapons plan archived on Mars! Why it wasn't mentioned until now? Liara? Garrus? Dr. Chakwas? Huh, I guess we'll never know...

7. Writers Playing Favorites With Squadmates

Mass Effect 1 had a relatively small party that wanted for diversity. Mass Effect 2 had a huge cast of wildly different squadmates. What's more, you had the option of gaining their loyalty by spending time with/on them- or just ignoring them completely! It seemed like we were gonna have even more control over our squad's composition in the final installment... and then it came out. Here's the rundown: Garrus & Liara are your best friends and confidants, the Virmire survivor is back, Tali shows up eventually, EDI is your tech expert... and some white guy who got run over by a tequila bootlegger is your muscle. Everyone else is sidelined, regardless of prior choice. Including your potential love interests.

Oh, and I can still call bullshit on Javik/day 1 DLC because it's got fuck all to do with the games conclusion. Javik is the ONLY interesting new addition to the crew, and he costs 10 bucks.

8. So... if The Collectors had technology that could instantly seek out an immobilize entire populations...

Why the hell did it take *THE REAPERS* -y'know, the hyper-advanced biotechnological monstrosities that built a system of interstellar FTL relays- an entire game to round up and crush the human resistance?

Seriously, I want this explained. The Illusive Man himself bangs on about how powerful/advanced The Reapers are...

"LOOK WHAT THEY CAN DO!"

So someone explain to me how guerilla tactics designed to baffle squads of human soldiers with guns held them in check for *WEEKS*. (And remember, Earth had no outside support. They were 1 planet completely cut off and overrun by the bulk of The Reaper fleet for the entire duration of the game.)

 

[Xaositect]

I agree with a lot of these points. Especially the manipulative, bland as fuck multiplayer that ruins the singleplayer on its own.

However, all these points pale into insignificance compared to the ending. I think if bioware had ended the series on nothung more than a mmediocre note narrative wise and choice and consequence wise they wouldnt be in this mess. There would just be the same difference of opinion like ME2 has that didnt manag to marr the game itself. Instead youv got the voca majority who fucking detest how it ruined the trilogy. The extreme minority who just have that kind of taste or buy into the fucking stupid artististic integrity vibe. And the finally those who are paid off via ad money and whose opinions mean fuck all.

 

[CianTheMighty]

I wondered aloud, several times, while I was playing ME3 "Hey, guys? What if the crucible doesn't work?". I wondered several variations of that same thought. Nobody seemed to explain where the desperation to rely on such an obvious writing trap was coming from.

"So we've got this crucible... It's powerful enough to knock out the reapers."

"Is that what it does?"

"No one knows for sure what it does."

"Come back when you have an actual idea."

 

[Goofguy]

Lots of valid points here.

I have no problem with the multiplayer on its own, I think it's pretty fun. However, forcing players to play it in order to achieve the 'best possible ending' is BS. Did anyone here manage to get 4000+ EMS with a default Galactic Readiness of 50%? Because that would blow my mind.

I, too, was amazed at how messed up the quest tracker was. It worked fine in both previous games but in this one, it was a clusterfuck.

The Rachni were a bit disappointing with the ultimate difference limited to simply being betrayed by the false queen. I remember the Asari envoy in ME2 on Illium who made a pretty big deal about the Rachni being there 'to add their voice to Shepard's' (or something along those lines) when the time came to fight the Reapers. Instead, they got subjugated, you potentially bailed them out and they give you a handful of workers to help with the Crucible.

The only one of your points I didn't have an issue with were the squadmates. I liked seeing pretty much the whole ME1 crew back. Then again, it may help that my Shepard was completely faithful to Liara and was bros with Garrus. However, I will concede that it was a bit hard to believe that out of your 12 ME2 squadmates, only the two from ME1 joined you (Garrus and Tali). Of the remainder, Samara, Zaeed and Kasumi had no valid reasons not to join you.

 

[fireaura08]

I heard that the most EMS you can get in SP alone is 3717.5. I don't have XBL Gold and I don't want to fork up the money for a subscription. Thanks a ton, Bioware.

 

[Jynthor]

I heard that the most EMS you can get in SP alone is 3717.5. I don't have XBL Gold and I don't want to fork up the money for a subscription. Thanks a ton, Bioware.

Don't worry, all endings are equally terrible. Since, you know. They're all the same.

 

[Emiscary]

I heard that the most EMS you can get in SP alone is 3717.5. I don't have XBL Gold and I don't want to fork up the money for a subscription. Thanks a ton, Bioware.

Don't worry, all endings are equally terrible. Since, you know. They're all the same.

This. But let's keep to topic >.>

 

[El Danny]

It's still a Brilliant game.

1. It's just 4 bloody seconds of cut-scene you miss out on.
2-5. Didn't notice.
6. You were dead for 2 years, then jumped into bed with Cerberus (with a bit of force), there's been no need to mention this.
7. Didn't notice, still got lots of dialog and development from all characters.
8. You've defeated the collectors, so I assume the swarms go with them. The Reapers cut though to the home-world of nearly every major race, they're hardly less powerful than Bioware lead us to believe.

Seriously, find something else to do, get a hobby, this level of nit-picking is quite pathetic.

 

[Jitters Caffeine]

As long as you've imported a character from the previous games, or even just from ME2, you can get MORE than enough War Assets without multiplayer. I have over 6500 before I got too antsy and just went to the finale.

 

[Emiscary]

It's still a Brilliant game.

1. It's just 4 bloody seconds of cut-scene you miss out on.
2-5. Didn't notice.
6. You were dead for 2 years, then jumped into bed with Cerberus (with a bit of force), there's been no need to mention this.
7. Didn't notice, still got lots of dialog and development from all characters.
8. You've defeated the collectors, so I assume the swarms go with them. The Reapers cut though to the home-world of nearly every major race, they're hardly less powerful than Bioware lead us to believe.

Seriously, find something else to do, get a hobby, this level of nit-picking is quite pathetic.

So basically what you're saying is: if you're not paying attention, then it's flawless? Yeah, I imagine that's probably true. Kind of like how if you squint hard enough people stop being ugly.

(And your counter-point on #8 is so stupid I have a hard time wrapping my head around it...)

Also, I opened the post by saying I still think it's a *good* game. I'm outlining it's less glaringly obvious flaws. You don't wanna read about it? Awesome! Go get a hobby. That level of nit-picking is quite pathetic.

 

[Rawne1980]

Kind of like how if you squint hard enough people stop being ugly.

Tried that.

My neighbour still looks like a mutant gnome.

Saw her with my beer goggles on as well and it made no difference. Tried squinting while drunk and walked into my door....

 

[Emiscary]

Kind of like how if you squint hard enough people stop being ugly.

Tried that.

My neighbour still looks like a mutant gnome.

Saw her with my beer goggles on as well and it made no difference. Tried squinting while drunk and walked into my door....

XD I lol'd. Thank you for that.

 

[Scow2]

1. The multiplayer's worse if you don't have an Xbox Live account (Or aren't playing your game on the Live Account).

2. I agree on the Mission menu part, I miss the assignments and knowing where the hell I was in a mission.

3 and 4 are just bugs, I can't get caught up on those.

5. Haven't got this far yet.

6. Umm... they didn't know of it until then either?

7. Okay, I'm annoyed that I couldn't get Jack back as a squadmate, especially given the lack of biotics available in the party (Worse if your "Virmire Survivor" is Ashley). Not everyone wants to bother with DLC, nor likes Liara.

8. Humans are awesome and badass. You should know that by now.

 

[Emiscary]

8. Humans are awesome and badass. You should know that by now.

Oh yeah. If contemporary sci-fi/fantasy have taught me anything, it's this:

Human beings are automatically better (by dint of being human) than everything else in the universe. Including: everyone smarter, everyone stronger, everyone longer lived, everyone more magically adept, everyone more technologically advanced, everyone more socially adept... you get the idea.

Suffice to say I question whether creator bias factors in to the way these conflicts play out

 

[El Danny]

It's still a Brilliant game.

1. It's just 4 bloody seconds of cut-scene you miss out on.
2-5. Didn't notice.
6. You were dead for 2 years, then jumped into bed with Cerberus (with a bit of force), there's been no need to mention this.
7. Didn't notice, still got lots of dialog and development from all characters.
8. You've defeated the collectors, so I assume the swarms go with them. The Reapers cut though to the home-world of nearly every major race, they're hardly less powerful than Bioware lead us to believe.

Seriously, find something else to do, get a hobby, this level of nit-picking is quite pathetic.

So basically what you're saying is: if you're not paying attention, then it's flawless? Yeah, I imagine that's probably true. Kind of like how if you squint hard enough people stop being ugly.

(And your counter-point on #8 is so stupid I have a hard time wrapping my head around it...)

Also, I opened the post by saying I still think it's a *good* game. I'm outlining it's less glaringly obvious flaws. You don't wanna read about it? Awesome! Go get a hobby. That level of nit-picking is quite pathetic.

1. You could this for just about any game, no game is truly '10/10' perfect.
2.What's so stupid about it? The swarms are tools for the Collectors, you destroy them in ME2. You think the Swarms just magically survived the end of ME2?
3. I didn't notice 2-5 not because I'm 'squinting' but because there's no issue to begin with. I've played so many games, these kind of things have become invisible.

 

[Scow2]

8. Humans are awesome and badass. You should know that by now.

Oh yeah. If contemporary sci-fi/fantasy have taught me anything, it's this:

Human beings are automatically better (by dint of being human) than everything else in the universe. Including: everyone smarter, everyone stronger, everyone longer lived, everyone more magically adept, everyone more technologically advanced, everyone more socially adept... you get the idea.

Suffice to say I question whether creator bias factors in to the way these conflicts play out

Hell yeah there's creator bias. And then they justify how humans end up being better than everyone else: after all, in Mass Effect, they were awesome enough to become Specters and Council Members in less than 30 years after being discovered, then proceed to save the rest of the galaxy from three different, related threats.

 

[BRex21]

I think the issue is what you have pointed out are relatively minor plotholes and glitches that can be forgiven, they are kinda par for the course in most of our media, whereas the ending was uncharacteristically bad. Games have had stupid endings in the past but mass effect's kinda stood out because very rarely do you find something this good that ended this badly, simply put with a decent ending this whole thing could have been epic, but basically what happened in mass effect was, Game is over this is happening now, and everything you did was pretty much for nothing.

 

[wooty]

Humans have always been a pain in the arse for every race in every game, movie, book ect. It would be pretty pointless to take Earth back if it was erased. Also, the Rachni were in ME2 if memory serves.

Alsoalsoalso, all the endings arent the same, one gives us a different perspective on the next set of proceedings...............

 

[Vault101]

NO. STOP. SHUT UP.

weve had this exact thread before

ME3 is not perfect...people know this

 

[Risingblade]

I like the multiplayer, I've played a shitmore than I have the single player campaign so quite the whining about it e.e