I'm not inside my own mind today... I recently completed Mass Effect 3 and it's like when LOST ended. Now its kind of like something's missing now that I have finished Mass Effect 3 and I know that there's not going to be more to the story. I got what I got.
If you want to know what I thought of the first two games, check out Parts 1 and 2... This will be for my thoughts on Mass Effect 3.
Again... SPOILER ALERT: I may discuss some details that some people would consider a spoiler. I will not ruin any parts of the game specifically however I may reveal important plot details that you would otherwise have to play the game to learn for yourself.
Now... Mass Effect 3 was tough because for the first time in the trilogy, I actually had to really WAIT to get my hands on it. I remember when the first teaser trailers went up, and right away it was like the excitement level was at 200%.
As I reference in part two, speculation made the wait for Mass Effect 3 borderline unbearable. I wanted to pre-order the collectors edition over a year before the game was even due out. I didn't pre-order the game, probably the best that I didn't. The anticipation was overwhelming. I was ready to finish the fight and save the galaxy.
Mass Effect 2 did not get a demo... Mass Effect 3 did. I played it, I was too eager not to. Like the game itself, the Demo took you through a brief character creation process and then thrust you into the first mission of the game. Then the game let you play parts of a mission that takes place quite a bit later in the game. This portion of the demo lets you play at a higher level in the mid 20's so you get to use your powers and your allies powers and get a better feel for the subtle changes they made in the combat of ME3.
The game came out and I was there on the front lines. The game doesn't pull any punches. Like the demo, the game begins with Reaper Forces invading Earth. You're fleeing Future Vancouver as the reapers are invading. You try to save this little boy, he's scared. You don't save him. This little boy serves as a beacon of... feelings... for the rest of the game. One of the vague sub-plots of psychological exploration that this battle and all the losses are starting to take a toll on Shepard.
Mass Effect 3 was, by and large, everything I wanted it to be. Did I get to unite the galaxy in a last ditch effort to save it? Yep! Do I get to see some old faces and make new friends along the way? Yep! Do I get to finish the fight! Yep!
Overall, and saying this without getting too personal, Mass Effect 3 accomplished what it needed to and was in no way a disappointment. That being said, it had its fair share of disappointments.
I can only speculate on production and all that. The game was delayed a good, what, six months? They took a lot of steps of fan service on this game and that is what I would like to speculate about.
To say Mass Effect Fans and BioWare have a "relationship" is almost not the best way to put it. Bottom line, Fans speak on BioWare's forum and they listen. They try their best and I think there is plenty of evidence in Mass Effect 3 that says the developers listened and tried to encorporate as many elements of fan service as they could. The best example of this is the relationship between Joker, the Normandy's pilot, and EDI, the Artificial Intelligence of the Normandy that gets its own body in Mass Effect 3 (she's one of the playable characters and one of the more interesting additions to the Cast). This relationship simply would not exist if the fans did not express their desire to see it happen. A lot of fans thought it would be a "cool" thing, and it happened. Something that belonged in the most obscure fan fiction became a reality in Mass Effect 3...
Anyway, my belief is that this relationship did more harm to Mass Effect 3 than good. I think BioWare was always aware of the huge expectations that this game had. They went to inordinate lengths to please the fans and in the wake of what I will call the EndingGate Scandal... I wouldn't be surprised if they went to more lengths to further please the fans in the wake of what I will refer to as ... moderate disdain from thee fan base over the ending of the game.
Now... again I can only speculate. I think that they had a list (maybe more figurative than literal) of moments or things they wanted to have happen to make sure you saw as many familiar faces as possible. This lead to some pretty random encounters which you can shrug off early on.
Now... I did a Lost comparison earlier. Lost, after season 4, kind of takes a turn that will lead it down the path it takes to the end of the show. I can't really explain that in more detail without writing an entire blog about LOST and... bla bla. How it relates is that Mass Effect 3's plot takes a similar path. The game starts out, like the show, rather open. Of course, the goal of "save the galaxy" is always there (this is where the lost parallel goes out the window) anyway. ME3 takes a turn toward the end of the game that steers the plot down a definite path.
Like Lost, the ending of Mass Effect 3 could not have played out without the foundation laid before it. I won't go into personal feelings or even spoil aspects of the ending because I think everyone should experience it for themselves. I think the ending of Mass Effect played out the way it did in part because they perhaps "wrote themselves into a corner" as it were with the game's plot or maybe unbeknownst to me, the plot meant to go that way. All I really want to say is that Mass Effect 1 and 2 had very meticulous plots and it was very clear how thought out those plots were. Mass Effect 3, as far as storytelling is concerned, lacks that, especially at the end of the game when it's most crucial.
For what it was, I liked the ending. It was a bit contrived, and it was certainly worth the backlash. I was about midway through the game when buzz of the ending became deafening. I took an impromptu break from the game. Partially because (due to re-playing ME 1 and 2 again) I had been on a months long Mass Effect spree and needed to play something else and partially because I didn't want my journey to end. I had no hang ups about the possibility of the ending not meeting my expectations but I was certainly hung up that my journey as Commander Shepard was coming to an end.
There was a particular part of the game that I had to re-play because the result of a choice I made was so horrific, to me at least, that I had to re-play an entire mission. A good hour of gameplay, just to make sure I got the result I wanted. That's how this story, and the characters in this game, have become so much to me that I would knowingly re-play a part of the game to have an outcome I find more pleasing rather than (knowing I can just re-play the game later) going with what outcome I was given. That's the only point in the 3 games I had to go back and do something over.
The choices you make in Mass Effect 3 are big. Galaxy saving big. It's only natural the game with the highest stakes would have some of the biggest choices for your Shepard to make.
The character development and character work of Mass Effect 3 is another thing that makes me question development because really, there's very little if not any character development outside Shepard himself (and maybe, The Illusive Man, EDI, and a couple other characters) the character impact is not nearly as prevalent in ME3 as it is in the first two games and that's not a big deal because Mass Effect 3 doesn't have to be character driven, it's been clear from the get go that this is where we fight the fight, and save the galaxy. There ARE the token character moments so it's not like the game is completely void of character growth, it's just that it takes a back seat.
Another thing that takes a backseat, unfortunately, are THE CHOICES YOU'VE ALREADY MADE... a lot of things just seemingly "happen" in Mass Effect 3 and given the games precedent for cause and effect, the gaffe of simply setting a course of action seems like a huge oversight...
Thematically, "fate" is kind of a big plot element of Mass Effect as a whole, maybe things play out the way they do because they needed to. Maybe it was fan service prioritized over something as simple as remembering who I chose to be the Human Councillor at the end of the first Mass Efffect game and oh... making sure that change is still reflected in the 3rd game just as it was in the 2nd? That's my biggest gripe and the only direct spoiler I will include. I hate how they retconned that, and there's a couple other little things too but anyway.
Mass Effect 3 was not perfect. As part of the series, I think it's the weak link just on basis of the way the game ends alone. As it stands, Mass Effect 3 was a very good video game, and had many points that define the entire series not just itself to stand apart from the other two.
The reason I started this 3 part "saga" out with mentioning Final Fantasy VII is because that the Mass Effect games evoked emotions in me that I haven't felt since playing that game, and frankly, emotions that I thought a video game would never evoke again. I developed a closeness to the characters that to see a character death is an utmost tragedy. Highs that come with battle are emotional high's playing the game and the points where the stakes are highest are some of the most emotional points of the mass effect games. I felt the entire spectrum playing this game, and really what more could you ask from a video game experience?
If you're in to Science Fiction, or Video Games, or if you like Shooters, or hell, if you just like a good story, any and all of these are great reasons to start your own adventure as Commander Shepard and get a copy of the Mass Effect games for yourself. You won't be disappointed! Don't listen to the hype, or anti-hype, just play it and experience it for yourself. Coming to your own conclusions is infinitely more rewarding than not doing so because you read something that turned you off of the game. Mass Effect is literally a one of a kind video game and will likely go down as BioWare's defining accomplishment as Game Developers and that is as huge a compliment as I can think to give!
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