26th, June

Mass Effect 3 Closure

I woke up this morning knowing there was something I had to do before heading into work today. Something very important. Staring at my PS3 for a minute made me remember that today was the day we’d get answers from Bioware in the form of additional cutscenes. I immediately jumped up and ran to my controller, only to be greeted by a system update.

So YouTube it is.

As a Mass Effect fan, I encourage everyone to actually play the last missions again to feel good about the additional cutscenes that you get to experience this time around. It’s much more rewarding. I was impatient and needed to know now, so don’t follow my example.

I decided to watch the Destroy ending first. One minute in I was already relieved with what I was seeing, because it finally explained one detail that has been bothering me since my first playthrough of ME3: how did your squadmates end up on the Normandy when they were on their way to the Conduit? Turns out that Shepard calls Joker to pick up your squadmates before the big hit, because one of them is injured and the other escorts him or her to the ship. I’m happy Bioware decided to go that route as opposed to this one. They added some lovely touches if one of your teammates happens to be the one you romanced too.

Remember that report after Shepard’s hit?

Marine: Did anyone make it to the beam?
Major Coats: Negative. Our entire force was decimated.

That was one of the major strongholds of the Indoctrination Theory. Well Admiral Hacket receives a report that seems to read Shepard did make it to the beam after all. “Holy shit, he did it.” He confirms that someone made it to the Citadel, and to continue to fight to give Shepard more time to activate the Crucible.

When it comes time to talk to the Star Child again, some new dialogue has been added that better explains who he is. The information he provides coincides a bit with some of the information that has surfaced about other references to the Star Child, so it seems to paint a bigger picture. He also explains the coincidences of your choices in more detail. Though I still don’t quite understand why Shepard’s voice is overheard every time the child speaks.

After you make your choice, another annoying inconsistency is fleshed out: why was Joker and the crew fleeing in the middle of battle? It turns out that Hacket gave all ships orders to leave because the crucible was armed and ready to engage. Despite Joker’s willingness to stay, crew members were advising him to head out.

More scenes are shown displaying the battles around the galaxy. The Reapers on the ground still fighting all burn to a crisp, sparing some of the soldiers. Still-shots show glimpses of races rebuilding, and even one of Eve with her first baby. We also see images of the people that sacrificed their lives for us: Legion, Morin, as well as EDI since the destroy choice kills all synthetic life.

The shrine with those who have fallen now displays David Anderson, Kasumi, Miranda (if she didn’t survive your playthrough), Kaiden, and Thane (if he didn’t survive your playthrough). The surviving crew on the Garden of Eden-looking planet are seen placing Commander Shepard’s plaque on the shrine, with great reservation. Then they simply fly away. As for the extra scene you receive if you have a high enough EMS with Shepard breathing in the rubble, that’s still the same.

Now for the control ending. Shepard has officially died and become this new being controlling the Reapers. He or she commands the Reapers to stop attacking and retreat, and has them even rebuilding the relays and other structures. Shepard is the narrator this time, “There is power in control.” This new being vows to protect the weak with her new power and never forget the fallen. She’ll oversee and protect the ones that live on…

CREEPY.

As for the synthetic route, things seem normal as synthetics are alive and living among organics. Though it seems weird that despite synthetic-like DNA, Joker is still limping. EDI is now the narrator, and she states that the Reapers are helping to rebuild and providing data on past cycles.  Synthetics and organics can finally live in peace – despite that already being a possibility on Rannoch in my playthrough. The Krogan are peaceful now too. All life now has unlimited access to knowledge and are building beyond what they could do before. EDI goes on to say that now that the line between organic and synthetic has been crossed, they may be able to achieve a new level of existence, transcending mortality itself.

ALSO CREEPY.

I like how no one seems upset that Shepard made this choice for everyone, but I guess that’s something you couldn’t cover in cutscenes.

Oh, and now there’s a new option: Refusal. When you’re speaking to the Star Child, things can go a different path. It started off really well, given that Shepard actually sounded like him/herself, “I fight for the right to choose our own fate.” The child turns menacing, with a voice similar to that of Harbringer, “So be it. The cycle continues.” Reapers continue to destroy and Shepard ultimately fails the mission. Everybody dies. We then see a recorded message from Liara, indicating that it’s up to the next cycle to fight the Reapers. If you decide to shoot the star child, which you can do now, you get this same ending.

Feels like grounds for Mass Effect 4?

So, Am I Happy?

Though there are still a few plot holes left unfilled – why couldn’t the Star Child/A.I. open the mass relays? Why did the Reapers need Saren in ME1? It fit his purpose. What about the fleets stranded near Earth? The relays were still destroyed – I liked what I saw. I honestly wish this was all in the original product, people would have been less angry. Maybe the developers believed we would come to some of these conclusions on our own? Though, when you make the ending vague compared to the rest of the games where everything is explained to you (for the most part), it’s hard for fans to adjust.

Like I mentioned on the CGR podcast, I don’t like that Bioware seemed to be bullied into giving us these extra scenes. Had they made this decision without pressure from the fans who filed FTC complaints and bombarded their forums with negativity, I’d feel less dirty about watching (and re-watching) these scenes for answers.

Yes, I understand that people grew attached to all the characters in the five years it took the trilogy to end, but social media really brought to light how ugly fans can be. It didn’t look good on the community as a whole, and it showed that many of us don’t respect the medium we hold dear. We should trust the developers and publishers of the industry, while still providing constructive criticism.

Leaving things open to interpretation isn’t always a bad thing, especially when video games are still struggling to be considered art in the public eye. I still like the indoctrination theory, even if it doesn’t hold up much now, because it shows how committed fans can be in their attempts to understand the Mass Effect universe.

Am I just as guilty as the raging fans for watching these extended scenes (that we probably never would have received had it not been for their complaints)? No, because overall I enjoyed my experience with the third installment. The journey did mean more to me than the destination, even if I’m now also content with the destination’s re-modeling. If Bioware decided to never release this DLC, I still would consider Mass Effect 3 a good ride.

Overall, I am content. 🙂