Why are users so upset about the Mass Effect 3 ending? (Spoilers)

[frozentundra123456]

Agreed, I felt insulted when I say that.

But, in my opinion, it wasn't as bad as having a NPC in your camp basically being a salesman, in Dragon Age: Origins. Having his dialog related to part of the quest entirely cut and replaced by "Download extra content" (something like that) to actually activate the quest. Had in been similarly done in ME3, we'd have had a NPC inside the Normandy doing the same, having part of his/her dialog cut out and replaced by something like that until you'd buy the content to resume the dialog and get the quest.

It would have been horrible, and I thought it already was horrible to have that in DAO, cheap move. Then BioWare talks about "artistic integrity", the same people taking random pictures on the web to "inspire" themselves for their "original" creations (Tali's appearance, end-scene on the planet with the Stargazers, and God knows what else). But, anyway, despite the... "shortcomings" of ME3, I for one enjoyed the game nonetheless.



I am very disappointed by the ending (more so about the lack of on-screen time for 80%+ of the War Assets), the messed up Journal, impractical quest tracking/progression and too much of auto dialog for Shepard. But generally speaking it is my favorite of the series, although ME1 still has a better story presentation and pace in my opinion. I'd give a solid 8/10 for ME3, overall. It still feels rushed though. I don't think they had enough time to work on it, even with their single delay of a few months, they had to be "on schedule" obviously, and it shows. A shame.

I agree with you about the DA:O in game advertising. I could not believe it when I saw it. Really broke the immersion of the game.

My comments about the ending of ME3 have been stated above, very disappointed. Even a friend of mine who is much more imaginative about what could happen, and tolerant of different endings did not like the ending of this game.

And I agree. What was the purpose of the "galactic readiness" that you got from playing multiplayer? My friend did not play multiplayer at all and got the same ending. I usually never play multiplayer, but did for this game, and it made no difference that I could tell. The multiplayer did not even seem well done. For anyone that is really good at multiplayer, I would think playing against bots would get old fast.

 

[PowerYoga]

multiplayer is actually fairly well done. The swarm mode could be said to be boring for the onlookers, but for people actually playing it's fairly intense. I know me and 3 other guys have a blast playing it every night and have been playing for the past 2 weeks. The various classes are all very different and the synergy/teamwork they provide is fun, especially with mics. That being said there's obviously bugs that need fixing, but I'm willing to give bioware the benefit of the doubt as the first big patch hasn't even hit yet.

Galactic readiness is worthless because the endings are worthless. Otherwise it makes your war assets worth more than 50% so you can get the "good" ending.

 

[Gunslinger08]

A few things:
- Why are people using spoiler tags in this thread? It's just annoying and it's obvious that this entire thread is about the ending.
- I'm not as "OMG PISSED" as everyone about the ending, probably because I lost my saves between each game, so I was basically starting fresh each time.
- I do think the ending was pretty bad for a few reasons already mentioned:
1. The "reaper boy"'s explanation for the reapers 50k year cycle didn't make any sense. He's basically saying "to make sure you don't kill 100% of life, we kill 95% of life every 50,000 years." Any halfway sentient AI can poke holes in that logic. That's really just asinine and completely unfulfilling for the player.
2. We don't get any explanation for how the reapers came into existence? That could have been incredibly interesting.
3. The entire Normandy scene didn't make any sense. Why are they going through a mass relay and why are my 2 squad mates (Liara and Javik) onboard? Didn't they just die trying to get to the beam? How did Joker (with brittle bone disease) survive a crash landing?
4. Why are the mass relays destroyed? There was no explanation, just "they will be destroyed regardless of what you do." Why?

 

[RampantAndroid]

A few things:
- Why are people using spoiler tags in this thread? It's just annoying and it's obvious that this entire thread is about the ending.
- I'm not as "OMG PISSED" as everyone about the ending, probably because I lost my saves between each game, so I was basically starting fresh each time.
- I do think the ending was pretty bad for a few reasons already mentioned:
1. The "reaper boy"'s explanation for the reapers 50k year cycle didn't make any sense. He's basically saying "to make sure you don't kill 100% of life, we kill 95% of life every 50,000 years." Any halfway sentient AI can poke holes in that logic. That's really just asinine and completely unfulfilling for the player.
2. We don't get any explanation for how the reapers came into existence? That could have been incredibly interesting.
3. The entire Normandy scene didn't make any sense. Why are they going through a mass relay and why are my 2 squad mates (Liara and Javik) onboard? Didn't they just die trying to get to the beam? How did Joker (with brittle bone disease) survive a crash landing?
4. Why are the mass relays destroyed? There was no explanation, just "they will be destroyed regardless of what you do." Why?

Everyone was afraid of a magical reaper off switch. In the end, it happened. Except we knew about it MONTHS ago with the leaked script. We all complained to Bioware, they CLAIMED to be listening to the users and taking feedback...and it didn't change any. The endings remained the same.

Also, this isn't the ending as much as a gripe with the game: instead of spending art resources in actually showing you Tali or something, they spend tons of time on Chobot, replacing Emily Wong...and Chobot can't even act. She's terrible.

But hey, it bought Bioware a good rating!

 

[Kev]

The ending was pretty shitty, but have any of you read about the indoctrination theory? It's pretty interesting.

 

[Red Storm]

The ending was pretty shitty, but have any of you read about the indoctrination theory? It's pretty interesting.

Sounds like a major cop-out, just like every "It was a dream!" ending is.

 

[surfsatwerk]

The ending was pretty shitty, but have any of you read about the indoctrination theory? It's pretty interesting.

We hates it.

 

[Regs]

"4. Why are the mass relays destroyed? There was no explanation, just "they will be destroyed regardless of what you do." Why? 4. Why are the mass relays destroyed? There was no explanation, just "they will be destroyed regardless of what you do." Why? "

They were destoryed because they were reaper technology. The reapers were based off the mass effect or zero matter. They were created in the first place by the reapers to actually trigger or help with the cycle.

 

[Kev]

We hates it.

The only reason I hate it is the fact that if it is all a dream, then that means they will likely be selling the real ending as DLC. Which would probably be the most disgusting thing I've ever seen in the gaming business.

 

[Gooberlx2]

The only reason I hate it is the fact that if it is all a dream, then that means they will likely be selling the real ending as DLC. Which would probably be the most disgusting thing I've ever seen in the gaming business.

If it had been the original intent, and then they released the final ending as free DLC, I'd call it brilliant. But it definitely was not their intent. (though I still wouldn't mind if they co-opted the idea).

Regardless, if they fix/alter/amend the ending as it stands, and release as paid DLC...yeah, that would be fucking weak.

 

[ramj70]

A few things:
- Why are people using spoiler tags in this thread? It's just annoying and it's obvious that this entire thread is about the ending.
- I'm not as "OMG PISSED" as everyone about the ending, probably because I lost my saves between each game, so I was basically starting fresh each time.
- I do think the ending was pretty bad for a few reasons already mentioned:
1. The "reaper boy"'s explanation for the reapers 50k year cycle didn't make any sense. He's basically saying "to make sure you don't kill 100% of life, we kill 95% of life every 50,000 years." Any halfway sentient AI can poke holes in that logic. That's really just asinine and completely unfulfilling for the player.
2. We don't get any explanation for how the reapers came into existence? That could have been incredibly interesting.
3. The entire Normandy scene didn't make any sense. Why are they going through a mass relay and why are my 2 squad mates (Liara and Javik) onboard? Didn't they just die trying to get to the beam? How did Joker (with brittle bone disease) survive a crash landing?
4. Why are the mass relays destroyed? There was no explanation, just "they will be destroyed regardless of what you do." Why?

Not to mention how did those three machines that represented control, destroy and synthesis get there. Are they trying to say the star child made those part of the citadel since the beginning

 

[RampantAndroid]

They were destoryed because they were reaper technology. The reapers were based off the mass effect or zero matter. They were created in the first place by the reapers to actually trigger or help with the cycle.

So why did they create them if all it did was make a singularity event inevitable?

 

[AznAnarchy99]

"4. Why are the mass relays destroyed? There was no explanation, just "they will be destroyed regardless of what you do." Why? 4. Why are the mass relays destroyed? There was no explanation, just "they will be destroyed regardless of what you do." Why? "

They were destoryed because they were reaper technology. The reapers were based off the mass effect or zero matter. They were created in the first place by the reapers to actually trigger or help with the cycle.

That would only make sense for the destroy choice. Doesnt make sense for synthesis or control.

 

[rgallant]

just rambling
I feel the mass relay's had to be destroyed , so the races could develop at their own speed .
the races were too immature to have that tech. ,it will come over time given the knowledge they were given.
-but no race wars for quite a long time and by the time they can meet up again, they will have matured.-should they get out of control again shep with the control option can use the reapers for law and order lol.
-the reapers didn't need the relay's to travel in dark space.

 

[mOeeOm]

just rambling
I feel the mass relay's had to be destroyed , so the races could develop at their own speed .
the races were too immature to have that tech. ,it will come over time given the knowledge they were given.
-but no race wars for quite a long time and by the time they can meet up again, they will have matured.-should they get out of control again shep with the control option can use the reapers for law and order lol.
-the reapers didn't need the relay's to travel in dark space.

Except the part where all those races and ships are stuck on Earth that's messed up by the reapers no resources and no way to go to other worlds because the relays are destroyed, everyone starves to death or kills eachother. Great ending.

 

[ramj70]

Except the part where all those races and ships are stuck on Earth that's messed up by the reapers no resources and no way to go to other worlds because the relays are destroyed, everyone starves to death or kills eachother. Great ending.

Nah, they can get back no problem. All they have to do is inject a little Bioware space magic into their drive cores and they are back home lickity split.

 

[Balt]

More than anything else, I hated:

Spoiler

That the destruction of the relays was unavoidable. What a crock of shit. I can handle main characters dying (even if it's all of them), but the mess that would be left after the destruction of the mass relays would be just as bad as allowing the reapers to carry out their annihilation. The entire fleets of almost every major species are now stranded orbiting a decimated planet. They'll either all starve (if they can keep their dignity) or begin attacking each other (if they can't).

Pretty lame 'choice'

Edit: Even if they weren't going to starve, the universe has been fundamentally changed in a way that makes it far less interesting. It would be like Star Trek without warp drive.

All of this has been said by other people, of course, but what I wonder is why Bioware didn't realize how much people would hate that particular problem (if not the others as well). It was the first damn thing I thought of when the game ended.

 

[thejunglegod]

Not to mention how did those three machines that represented control, destroy and synthesis get there. Are they trying to say the star child made those part of the citadel since the beginning

Holy snap!! That never occured to me. What that means is that the Reapers on purpose built the Citadel knowing that these mechanisms would straight out eliminate them?? How lame is that?? My god, plot holes aplenty here and the more i read about them, the more it makes me twitch.

 

[DrunkenSano]

I think the choices part is actually the Crucible, not the Citadel. Still, the ending made no sense. The lead writer should be fired or at the least relieved of his position. One can easily see that the ending was not written by the same group of people that wrote most of the game.

 

[God Mode]

Ending feels like a rushjob that happens when a big project runs out of time or money.

They probably planned longer and more elaborate endings and cutscenes but the bean counters said release it now or else. Also, DLC's.

 

[Mem]

Ending feels like a rushjob that happens when a big project runs out of time or money.

They probably planned longer and more elaborate endings and cutscenes but the bean counters said release it now or else. Also, DLC's.

I thought the endings were terrible,it really was a case of ME3 was ok up until the end,no wonder EA/Bioware are making another ending for the fans,lets hope they get it right this time.

 

[frozentundra123456]

So I have been thinking more about the ending. If you wanted to look at it this way, one could say all 3 games were pointless, and Shepard actually made things worse. It might have been better to let the reapers destroy most organic life every 50,000 years and start the cycle over with the technology of the mass relays intact. With the mass relays destroyed, who knows if the galaxy will ever get back to the state it was in. If one takes this viewpoint, the ending is really a slap in the face to everyone who played the game.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I thought the endings were terrible,it really was a case of ME3 was ok up until the end,no wonder EA/Bioware are making another ending for the fans,lets hope they get it right this time.

Let's hope they don't make us pay for it!!

Really though, I don't know if I would even be interested. If they cant make a decent ending to a series like this, I am not sure I am interested in playing some tacked on content made to appease the fans or correct what they should have done correctly in the first place.

 

[TheKub]

A few things:
- Why are people using spoiler tags in this thread? It's just annoying and it's obvious that this entire thread is about the ending.
- I'm not as "OMG PISSED" as everyone about the ending, probably because I lost my saves between each game, so I was basically starting fresh each time.
- I do think the ending was pretty bad for a few reasons already mentioned:
1. The "reaper boy"'s explanation for the reapers 50k year cycle didn't make any sense. He's basically saying "to make sure you don't kill 100% of life, we kill 95% of life every 50,000 years." Any halfway sentient AI can poke holes in that logic. That's really just asinine and completely unfulfilling for the player.
2. We don't get any explanation for how the reapers came into existence? That could have been incredibly interesting.
3. The entire Normandy scene didn't make any sense. Why are they going through a mass relay and why are my 2 squad mates (Liara and Javik) onboard? Didn't they just die trying to get to the beam? How did Joker (with brittle bone disease) survive a crash landing?
4. Why are the mass relays destroyed? There was no explanation, just "they will be destroyed regardless of what you do." Why?

Not that Im in favor of how the ending went down but there are some things that I interpreted differently.

1. All the hate negativity over the “god boy”, am I the only one that thought that he was some entity (be it synthetic, synthesized, highly evolved organic) without a physical form so he manifested himself from an image that was ingrained into Shepards mind?

2. The cycle premise not making sence I may be mixing up with what the ending was and all the fan endings and debates I read. The way I see the cycle is that an ancient race made synthetic lifeforms (like the Geth) and were forced into war and to destroy them. Knowing that ultimately synthetic and organic life cannot coexist and synthetic life being ”better” (virtual immortal, nearly infinite growth potential) that eventually synthetic life would destroy ALL organic life (advanced to simple).

To prevent that from occurring they created/ascended into the reapers which are actually synthesized beings. Leaving behind the citadel and relay network so all future advanced species would naturally expand along a known path. Every 50k years they come back and harvest the advanced species before they can cause irreparable harm to the universe by creating synthetic life. When they are harvested and help them become part of the reapers (think of it like the many hundreds of Geth minds in Legion). They leave the fledgling species alone to progress normally until they too are a danger to ALL organic life and the cycle repeats.


3. The Normandy scene I agree is the most confusing not sure why they are running away. As for your squadmates being there maybe I didn’t look around during the race to the beam but I didn’t see them, besides after you hit you hear them saying it was a failure and to fall back and regroup maybe that’s what they did?


4. The relays were destroyed just as the “being” said they would, they were part of the reaper design and to mess with that design would break the system. Also without the “crutch” of the relays each species would have to develop at their own pace and not make quantum leap progress due to discovering functioning alien technology.


5. As for stranded starving aliens left behind after the assault I will give you that the stranded bit sucks but I imagine most thought they were going to die anyway. As for starving I would imagine existing food processing\technology would provide for those left behind. Its feasible to believe that human food could be modified in such a way that it was non-toxic to other races, at the time of the game it was likely just impractical given the ease of moving around cargo with the relay network but with real need Im sure it could have been done.

 

[RampantAndroid]

Ending feels like a rushjob that happens when a big project runs out of time or money.

They probably planned longer and more elaborate endings and cutscenes but the bean counters said release it now or else. Also, DLC's.

Except the leaked script from ages ago had these endings in it. The ending might have been implemented last (someone who was mildly "in the know" told me as much) but that doesn't explain why this ending was scripted MONTHS in advance. Patrick Weekes' explanation makes some sense here.