Mass Effect 3 Review

[prisoner__24601]

I actually finished the game over a week ago, but have been holding back on posting a review because I really needed to get a bit of distance from this game to collect my thoughts.

Comments

[prisoner__24601]

I was totally caught off guard by how crappy the ending was. I mean, the shit storm was just getting warmed up when I started to play, and honestly I totally wrote it off as typical fanwanking over something that I didn't think was that big of a deal. But now? I think that this is one rare case where the fans have a legitimate point.

Don't get me wrong. I actually like that Shepard dies too. There actually was a point about halfway through the game where I realized that if Shepard didn't die, or if at least there wasn't some major downside to her getting to live (like half of earths population getting vaporized), I was going to be really disappointed. Really, I think for the plot to have any weight at all, Shepard has to die in the end.

Like you, my problem was the nonsensical ending, the plot holes with the Normandy crash, not seeing the effects of my decisions, not getting any real closure with the crew, and getting a non choice between three almost identical endings.

I wanted to see Shepard's funeral. I wanted to see everyone rebuilding (or not). I wanted to find out who lived or died because of Shepard's decisions. And I think, to be fair, that's why the majority of people are far more people are upset and not because Shepard didn't get a rainbows and fluff ending.

I'm slowly going back through the game on Hardcore (which, they are not shitting you - is freaking HARD. Or maybe I just suck. Probably both.) and am doing playing my Kaidanmancing Renegon. So far, in comparison to the Garrus romance, or even Garrus friendship, I'm really damned underwhelmed. Between that and the whole "I don't trust you because you worked for Cerberus," dialogues in the beginning, I was getting some serious Carth vibes (I'm sure the voice actor being the same didn't help). Sadly, I'm not enjoying it as much as I thought I would.

But Garrus? Awesome. And in the end, when I got the ambient conversation between Garrus and Tali where Shepard thanks them for sticking by her side from the very beginning, it's hard not to feel like they upstage pretty much everyone else and especially the Virmire survivor.