![]() To be clear, I didn’t outright hate the ending. That he would happily accept all that the starchild said without comment and then blithely commit the galaxy to a vague and apparently apocalyptic fate was unconscionable to many players. Regardless of how anybody played Shepard, one thing that defined him as a character throughout was a rebellious streak that refused to accept what his superiors insisted was for the best. Through the deus ex machina of the starchild it was presented as the one truth of the entire series.Ĭompounding this was Shepard’s out-of-character acceptance of the starchild’s testimony. There was nothing wrong with an organics versus synthetics theme, as that was definitely one of the on-going themes throughout the series, but the ending presented it as the single, overriding theme. Thematically the finale seemed to be about a different story entirely, attempting to rewrite the entire series as being about organics versus synthetics, and positing that it was an irreconcilable conflict despite huge evidence to the contrary earlier in my play of Mass Effect 3 with the positive resolution of the Geth-Quarian storylines. The ending was a convoluted, contrary, contrived mess both in terms of gameplay choices (or lack thereof), thematic resonance and character motivations. ![]() And yet, that is precisely what happened. It didn’t seem to make sense that Bioware could handle the supporting characters so deftly and then mis-place the final piece of the story. With the climax to each successive sub-plot being handled with such dexterity I was increasingly sceptical of the increasing internet clamour regarding the ending. Of all the character interactions in the series, Shepard’s evolving friendship with her seemed the most convincing. The latter in particular was handled with a subtlety and grace I’ve not seen from Bioware previously, treating the character with a maturity and respect that began with Mass Effect 2’s Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC. ![]() Again and again throughout its running time it brought long-running plot arcs to a wonderful close in ways that reflected to some degree my decisions over the course of three games, from Mordin’s brilliant and bittersweet sacrifice on Tuchanka to the exquisite handling of Liara’s character. Mass Effect 3 worked for me, hitting all the story and action beats I wanted. There will be, inevitably, vast spoilers from here onwards. First, though, a few words on what exactly left me disappointed by the original ending. The Extended Cut is now out and everybody appears to be weighing in on it, so I thought I’d do the same. Mass Effect 3 was set to do the same right up until its final 15 minutes, at which point the writing went to hell in a handbasket. It was an unfortunate ending to a trilogy of games that was groundbreaking in many ways and seemed particularly tragic given the general quality of storytelling in the rest of the game, which saw Bioware at their most deft and subtle.Īfter the general wail of disappointment, Bioware have spent the last few months tinkering with the ending in an attempt to end their opus on a more satisfactory note. Despite flaws, they were both games that fired my imagination and lingered in memory long after the end credits rolled. I’ve written enthusiastically about both Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2.
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