11/20/2022 0 Comments Mass effect 3 review![]() ![]() Data-miners were able to confirm that the base assets and code for the DLC were contained on the disc, proving the theory that it had been removed and resold. A major part of the story, and arguably the most interesting new addition to Mass Effect's cast, was carved out of the main game and resold as DLC the day that Mass Effect 3 launched. The proper controversy to gain the most traction in game journalism was the day-one DLC, From Ashes, which added a new character, Javik. Mass Effect 3's worst elements can be viewed today as a prototype for the rapacious direction EA would take in the coming decade. While Mass Effect 3's ending inadvertently turned the internet into a toxic sludge, there were some real problems under the surface that garnered little to no attention. As it stands, though, BioWare caved to pressure, ostensibly handing a degree of creative control to an entitled vocal minority of the fan base. Not only does this mean that trilogies are now expected to bend to the will of the loudest cells of the fan base, but it also begs the question, what artist in their right mind would actually want to craft a trilogy, knowing what awaits them at the end of that arduous process? If Mass Effect 3 was considered a disappointing conclusion, and things were left at that, then there might not have been any wider-reaching implications. ![]() I don't dislike the Extended Cut ending, but I think it symbolizes something far worse-that a trilogy belongs to the fans, rather than the artists that craft it. The extended cut gives an epilogue to Shepard's squadmates, and adds a Fallout-esque slideshow to the ending that changes depending on the choices you've made up to that point. But I still contend that the original ending for Mass Effect 3 was more satisfying than the teddy bear picnic that ended Return of the Jedi.īioWare responded to the ending controversy by releasing the free Extended Cut DLC, which adds sequences to the endgame that clarify the fate of the galaxy, and particularly the fate of Shepard's squadmates that followed her on that final push to the Citadel-they appeared to have been vaporized by Harbinger in the original cut, which was of course saddening, but contributed to the bittersweetness of the original ending. It wasn't the saccharine, happy ending one would expect from a trilogy of this scope, and it certainly didn't end with the ensemble cast clinking victory shot glasses at Chora's Den. Call it a bad ending all you want, but it's the logical conclusion of Mass Effect on a cosmic scale. The destruction of reaper-made technology, the mass relays, would ensure that civilization would have to start over from scratch, but at least this time the reapers would not be coming back. The point seemed to be that, whatever needed to be done to end the reaper invasion, it was bigger than any individual, sacrifices would need to be made, and the purpose of that final push was to protect sentient life and end the reapers' cycle. But the entire series had been building towards this endgame scenario, at least thematically. Will Tali ever return to her homeworld? Nope. Are all of the characters you grew to love over the course of this trilogy completely screwed? Most definitely. Will the krogan eventually eat everyone on Earth and overrun it? That's possible, yes. Eliminating the reapers would force the galaxy to start over from scratch, with each person living in the Milky Way unable to leave whatever world they stood on during Shepard's final moments. It fit perfectly with the themes the whole series had been building toward. I'll go on record saying that I actually liked Mass Effect 3's original ending. Fans even tried to overturn Mass Effect 3's ending through legal means, claiming that the game's ending was a product of false advertising. During a time when video games' status was on the cusp of fine art classification, a status the Mass Effect series had largely helped along, the Mass Effect fan base crawled out of the woodwork to set the medium back several more years. With most of the focus on Mass Effect 3's dissatisfying ending and culture wars, elements of the game that actually were egregious flew almost completely under the radar. Fan outcry reached a fever pitch of nauseating entitlement, burying legitimate criticisms of the product under flame wars over the ending, as well as the hate-speech brigade that erupted over the option to play Shepard as a gay man. Though Mass Effect 3 was very well-received critically, there had never been a more rage-fueled response from fans of any other series at the time. ![]() The conclusion to the Mass Effect trilogy is a black spot on the history of video games. ![]()
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