This thread is in response to a review for Mass Effect 3 on the Xbox 360. You are encouraged to view the review in a new window before reading this thread.
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Author: SamildanachEmrys
Posted: March 15, 2012 (09:12 AM) Actions: Register for a free user account to post on the forums... |
It's nice to hear a more positive reaction to balance out the unrelenting negative that I've been hearing since ME3's release. I won't be playing it for a while yet, but at least now I'm no longer expecting it to be dire.
'There would be tears and there would be strange laughter. Fierce births and deaths beneath umbrageous ceilings. And dreams, and violence, and disenchantment.' |
Author: zippdementia
Posted: March 15, 2012 (09:37 AM) Actions: Register for a free user account to post on the forums... |
The truth can never live up to years of build up, right? Fun to hear Suskie come from another direction and point out that, to him at least, the game did live up to expectations, just not the fake expectations people put on it.
Note to gamers: when someone shoots you in the face, they aren't "gay." They are "psychopathic." |
Author: Suskie
Posted: March 15, 2012 (02:04 PM) Actions: Register for a free user account to post on the forums... |
Unrealistic expectations are precisely the problem here. People had this idea that Mass Effect 3 would have a multitude of branching endings reliant on the choices you've made. But that's not how storytelling works. When you write a story - particularly a three-part epic space opera - you don't say, "Okay, here's the beginning, here's the middle, and here are the dozens of ways it can end." You have a specific direction in mind. Not only that, but you take pride in your work and you WANT your story to end in the best way possible (as opposed to, say, Shepard dying before making it to the final area because you killed the rachni or whatever).
You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it. |
Author: Genj
Posted: March 17, 2012 (05:58 AM) Actions: Register for a free user account to post on the forums... |
Spoilers obviously.
_ |
Author: Suskie
Posted: March 17, 2012 (03:13 PM) Actions: Register for a free user account to post on the forums... |
Yeah, honestly, the reason I jumped right into gameplay with this review is because, all things considered, ME3 is still just really fun. Amazing how "fans" are convincing themselves that a disappointing final ten minutes somehow devalues what's otherwise a ridiculously entertaining 30-hour game.
You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it. |
Author: zippdementia
Posted: March 18, 2012 (12:33 PM) Actions: Register for a free user account to post on the forums... |
By the way, I also like LOST'S ending. Even though we tend to enjoy different games, Suskie, I think we have the same taste in story. It's one of the reasons I'm holding off on playing Mass Effect 3 until I either decide to break down and pick up an xbox or a PC gaming computer. I just feel that I would agree with you, that the real joy of Mass Effect would be telling MY story from start to finish and being so emotionally involved in that.
Note to gamers: when someone shoots you in the face, they aren't "gay." They are "psychopathic." |
Author: WilltheGreat
Posted: March 19, 2012 (12:50 AM) Actions: Register for a free user account to post on the forums... |
COLOSSAL SPOILERS
"Either, sir, you're an ass or masquerading as one." |
Author: espiga
Posted: March 19, 2012 (03:29 AM) Actions: Register for a free user account to post on the forums... |
Somewhat back on topic: Hi Suskie, this was a pretty nice review that somewhat, kinda makes me want to play Mass Effect 1 through 3. I've only ever played the first part of 1, didn't care for it, and haven't touched the series since. Perhaps I'm approaching it from the wrong angle or something, but I loved the first Dragon Age. Maybe Bioware has just lost it's "oomph" for me over the years.
Your girlfriend's name ends in .jpg |
Author: zippdementia
Posted: March 19, 2012 (09:22 AM) Actions: Register for a free user account to post on the forums... |
Now I want Will to turn that into a review. That's an awesome counterpoint, Will, and is something I've heard said by others, but never with such good backing explanation. Usually people were just ranting and it felt awkward. From your response I see where the ire is quantifiably coming from and it makes me wonder which experience I would feel more in line with.
Note to gamers: when someone shoots you in the face, they aren't "gay." They are "psychopathic." |
Author: Suskie
Posted: March 19, 2012 (10:31 AM) Actions: Register for a free user account to post on the forums... |
Or he could just link to this article, from which he's borrowed quite a bit. That right there is a perfect example of how utterly out of proportion this issue has been blown, that a guy who claims ME3 is otherwise an "exceptional" game would nevertheless feel the need to write a six-page rant on why the last ten minutes are terrible. (See also: Will comparing me to a member of Jonestown for not taking up a pitchfork.)
You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it. |
Author: WilltheGreat
Posted: March 19, 2012 (01:56 PM) Actions: Register for a free user account to post on the forums... |
Well, even though I disagree I can see your point.
"Either, sir, you're an ass or masquerading as one." |
Author: zippdementia
Posted: March 19, 2012 (03:15 PM) Actions: Register for a free user account to post on the forums... |
I do get where Will (and others) are coming from. Note that this is from somebody who hasn't played any of the Mass Effects, so I'm not trying to point to one of you as right. I do remember Mass Effect 3 being lauded as a game which pretty much created a unique ending for you based on your actions across all three games and I've heard a lot to the contrary. One of the things I liked about Suskie's review was that he claims the uniqueness is all in the player-character connection. That and that he basically said, who cares about the ending, the game is really fun.
Note to gamers: when someone shoots you in the face, they aren't "gay." They are "psychopathic." |
Author: WilltheGreat
Posted: March 19, 2012 (03:26 PM) Actions: Register for a free user account to post on the forums... |
Suskie(and anybody else), if you're interested here's a review by the California Literary Review that takes a position opposite to yours, namely, that the ending does matter to the whole experience.
"Either, sir, you're an ass or masquerading as one." |
Author: Genj
Posted: March 19, 2012 (06:44 PM) Actions: Register for a free user account to post on the forums... |
I'm replaying it as a female Sentinel and I'm having a lot of fun, but I felt a little melancholy when I started thinking about how at the end of my replay it would turn into Xenosaga.
_ |
Author: zippdementia
Posted: March 19, 2012 (07:44 PM) Actions: Register for a free user account to post on the forums... |
Genj = hilarious.
Note to gamers: when someone shoots you in the face, they aren't "gay." They are "psychopathic." |
Author: Suskie
Posted: March 19, 2012 (08:00 PM) Actions: Register for a free user account to post on the forums... |
Will, you'll have to excuse me, because fan response to ME3's ending has at this point made me genuinely upset. Not only that, but embarrassed. The next time an elderly film critic attacks our medium, who's going to take us seriously? We were so let down by ME3's ending that we reported it to the FTC.
You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it. |
Author: Suskie
Posted: March 19, 2012 (08:15 PM) Actions: Register for a free user account to post on the forums... |
Also, Zipp, I can't really sympathize with your God of War comparisons because that trilogy's story did nothing for me. (If you're dumb enough to get "tricked" into murdering your own family, you really shouldn't be blaming anyone else.) On the subject of raising the stakes, though... honestly, no game I've ever played does that better than Mass Effect. The entire plot revolves around the revelation that incredibly powerful machines are coming to rid the galaxy of all advanced life, and you believe it, because present civilization is based around the technology left behind by those who were already driven to extinction by said machines. The first two games have a phenomenal sense of impending doom, and the third game (when they've finally invaded) is incredibly downtrodden.
You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it. |
Author: WilltheGreat
Posted: March 19, 2012 (08:29 PM) Actions: Register for a free user account to post on the forums... |
If nothing else, that people can be so emotionally devastated over this confirms just how fantastic the Mass Effect series is as a whole, and how completely it's absorbed people over the years. I mean, if Gears of War 3's ending had sucked, no one would've cared.
"Either, sir, you're an ass or masquerading as one." |
Author: jerec
Posted: March 19, 2012 (09:49 PM) Actions: Register for a free user account to post on the forums... |
I haven't finished ME3 yet but I am so looking forward to reading this topic when I'm done with it.
I can avoid death by not having a life. |
Author: zippdementia
Posted: March 19, 2012 (09:57 PM) Actions: Register for a free user account to post on the forums... |
Yeah, I'm not going to call the spoilers card at this point, Suskie. Mostly, my unfamiliarity with the plot of any of the games or their science fiction elements makes any talk about the details of the finale the oral equivalent of someone trying to read The Great Gatsby to me in Latin.
Note to gamers: when someone shoots you in the face, they aren't "gay." They are "psychopathic." |
Author: dragoon_of_infinity
Posted: March 21, 2012 (05:22 PM) Actions: Register for a free user account to post on the forums... |
This post comes a little late, but will asked if anyone was planning on replaying the game soon.
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Author: Suskie
Posted: March 21, 2012 (10:55 PM) Actions: Register for a free user account to post on the forums... |
Hey, has anyone read this theory on the ending? It's almost certainly not true, but various details he points to were obviously intentional and the whole concept... kinda blows my mind, to be honest.
You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it. |
Author: WilltheGreat
Posted: March 21, 2012 (11:57 PM) Actions: Register for a free user account to post on the forums... |
I'd stumbled across it myself.
"Either, sir, you're an ass or masquerading as one." |
Author: Suskie
Posted: March 22, 2012 (01:17 AM) Actions: Register for a free user account to post on the forums... |
It's so brilliant that I seriously think BioWare should go with it even if this wasn't their intention.
You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it. |
Author: WilltheGreat
Posted: March 22, 2012 (01:43 AM) Actions: Register for a free user account to post on the forums... |
Also stumbled across this on Twitter.
"Either, sir, you're an ass or masquerading as one." |
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