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Post by jklinders on Mar 11, 2012 23:49:39 GMT 1
Maybe Shepard was nuts all along.
I mean really, why did the catalyst take the form of the kid from the prologue?Is it a mind reading AI mastermind? Sure as hell wasn't explained in game near as I can tell. Some folks over at BSN are saying that everything after Shep gets shot by Harbinger was a hallucination. Sure as hell makes a whole helluva lot more sense than the rest.
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Post by Mister Buch on Mar 12, 2012 2:47:02 GMT 1
Finished the game! And now... I go on about the ending for an hour. Enjoy.
---
I noticed those clues mentioned above too - about the possibility of Shepard dreaming or imagining the ending - i.e. the gun never reloads, the Catalyst is the kid from Shepard's guilty dreams, the fact that Anderson isn't in sight.... the sheer fact that there were dream sequences with a similar feel earlier. How about all those people inquiring about Shepard's mental state and stress toward the end? or the fact that Shep seems barely conscious up until she gets on the lift, and then she slowly becomes more alert, and ends up running?
And also... she is suddenly wearing a casual Alliance outfit, instead of the armour. I guess she could have been wearing it underneath.
It's quite possible that Shepard died either in the laser blast or after opening the arms. And then spent her last moments hallucinating about the possibilities of renewal and life outside this galaxy.
I.... would actually like that a lot. And I think that's a distinct possibility - not half-baked at all. Maybe one of the interpretations Bioware intended.
--
In any case, I think the ending is smart, interesting... and very flawed. And far too linear. Can I like and dislike it at the same time?
It's too damn vague, and I don't understand parts. I LOVE the angle of making it so ambiguous (was she hallucinating, did they win or lose, is she a god now?) but ambiguity NEEDS closure to work.
I like that it 'reaches for the stars' in its scope and wider theme of human expansion into space. But - I think it reached too high and fell over. Casting Aldrin was sheer genius. But... the rest ranges between 'inspired' to 'makes no fucking sense'.
.
Which is odd, because everything else in the game is a freaking masterpiece.
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Post by jklinders on Mar 12, 2012 3:12:08 GMT 1
It's quite possible that Shepard died either in the laser blast or after opening the arms. And then spent her last moments hallucinating about the possibilities of renewal and life outside this galaxy. I.... would actually like that a lot. And I think that's a distinct possibility - not half-baked at all. Maybe one of the interpretations Bioware intended. -- In any case, I think the ending is smart, interesting... and very flawed. And far too linear. Can I like and dislike it at the same time? . I think you and I see eye to eye on this. I will look forward to seeing the whole thing myself. As for me, I was curious as to what all the outrage was so I spoiled myself on it. I think it will still be a pretty unique feel as I have seen absolutely nothing else outside of the demo.
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Post by Mister Buch on Mar 12, 2012 3:14:13 GMT 1
Sorry, JK. I just re-wrote that five times.
xD
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Post by Hodster on Mar 12, 2012 3:53:53 GMT 1
At times like this, I wish the game had a DA:O-style epilogue. This! This would have made it much more bearable. I would be fine if the last few min was a hallucination. If it wasn't then they could have just made it better then 'Pick door 1, 2 or 3!' But the fact that it seems like all my choices from all 3 game don't matter at all and that the Normandy was running for no reason killed the ending. Also the scene that happens after the credits with the kid and old man was meh. While the scene was beautiful it made it seem like my Commander Shepard's story was just a fictional story on some fictional world. But that scene doesn't really bug me that much.
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Post by Mister Buch on Mar 12, 2012 3:57:45 GMT 1
Also the scene that happens after the credits with the kid and old man was meh. While the scene was beautiful it made it seem like my Commander Shepard's story was just a fictional story on some fictional world. But that scene doesn't really bug me that much. I think that was Bioware casting themselves as the wise old storyteller... and you and I as kids. ;D But seriously, I loved that epilogue. It IS just a story, and yet on one of those stars out there... hell, maybe it's happening right now. There are enough of them. This is what I like about the ending - that surprise theme. Looking into space. Human ascension into the cosmos. Science and gods and the impossiblity of knowing what's out there. Buzz Aldrin and Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. 'The Shepherd'. Yes. Loved that. Shame about the rest.
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Post by Mister Buch on Mar 12, 2012 4:27:01 GMT 1
Two very petty but serious complaints about Mass Effect 3:
1) Where the hell was the Mass Effect theme tune?
2) Why did that sweet old man spend over 40 hours telling his little grandaughter a story about a lesbian space marine who shoots mutated torture victims in the head until they explode, in between trying to save a doomed galaxy full of complex political conflicts, trying not to succumb to depression as her friends die around her, and having sex with an alien? Because that story seems a little inappropriate to me.
;D
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Post by Clint Johnston on Mar 12, 2012 6:05:01 GMT 1
Two very petty but serious complaints about Mass Effect 3: 1) Where the hell was the Mass Effect theme tune? 2) Why did that sweet old man spend over 40 hours telling his little grandaughter a story about a lesbian space marine who shoots mutated torture victims in the head until they explode, in between trying to save a doomed galaxy full of complex political conflicts, trying not to succumb to depression as her friends die around her, and having sex with an alien? Because that story seems a little inappropriate to me. ;D I think it ran over the credits. And he's either a very sucky grandfather or the best in the world. (which world? ARGH!) And you must not have cheated on said alien in 2. Ashley said we could have a fresh start, but the closest I got was helping her with a hangover... I'm with Hodster and others here. DA-O ending is what this needed. What happened to the people I worked my ass off to save? "And everyone on the citadel, strike force hammer and most of the ships guarding the crucible died... but everyone else lived happily ever after!" As to the from ashes DLC, it really did fit in to the overall story. Javik (as the prothean is called) had opinions on every mission I went on and every mission he participated in, interacting with fellow squad-mates (he's a bit of a dick), especially Prothean "Expert" Liara.
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Post by Mister Buch on Mar 12, 2012 13:01:07 GMT 1
I think we all knew this was coming. Here it is. He's dead right.
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Post by Mr. Glow on Mar 12, 2012 15:10:28 GMT 1
Fun fact: the wintery planet backdrop you see while Aldrin and the kid are doing their thing is the first thing that comes up if you search "Winter space" on Google Images, and BioWare stole it from some random person's DeviantArt.
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Post by herrwozzeck on Mar 12, 2012 15:35:28 GMT 1
Well, a friend of mine spoiled the ending for me before I even got the chance to import a Shepard from the PS3 version of ME2, so... yeah. I got pretty angry about it.
But here's the funny thing: one of my IRL friends who plays the game doesn't think the ending is that bad. He likes that there was a twist to it, it wasn't obvious, and all that jazz.
Of course, he also didn't find the canon-breaking mess that was Deception to be that bad either, so I think his views on ME canon can be discredited to a pretty large degree. Also, he hasn't said anything on how everything else was resolved, so... yeah.
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Post by Clint Johnston on Mar 12, 2012 17:11:17 GMT 1
They should sue for breach of copyright. Case of the century!
And the Hitler meme was right on point. Though it gives bioware far too much credit. I'm not forgetting Dragonage 2!
All that being said, the game was awesome for the first 33 hours and 45 minutes.
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Post by Mr. Glow on Mar 12, 2012 18:23:29 GMT 1
It's the incredible laziness that bothers me, not any illegality.
I'm sure you've all heard about the picture of Tali, too. My God...
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Post by Hodster on Mar 12, 2012 18:44:57 GMT 1
I think that was Bioware casting themselves as the wise old storyteller... and you and I as kids. ;D But seriously, I loved that epilogue. It IS just a story, and yet on one of those stars out there... hell, maybe it's happening right now. There are enough of them. This is what I like about the ending - that surprise theme. Looking into space. Human ascension into the cosmos. Science and gods and the impossiblity of knowing what's out there. Buzz Aldrin and Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. 'The Shepherd'. Yes. Loved that. Shame about the rest. To tell the truth overall I did smile at that part and I did like 'The Shepherd' But my favorite part about the ending is the music... which is a shame. I went back to see that 'Destroy' ending where Shepard is alive and was like 'Meh Shepard can't see the Normandy crew. Whats the point?' Fun fact: the wintery planet backdrop you see while Aldrin and the kid are doing their thing is the first thing that comes up if you search "Winter space" on Google Images, and BioWare stole it from some random person's DeviantArt. WOW! REALLY? I was one of the people that romanced Tali and when I learned about the Tali picture was just a photoshop of some stock image... It was just a slap in the face. And now this. But its still a beautiful scene!
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Post by Mister Buch on Mar 12, 2012 22:20:35 GMT 1
Yeahhhhh, that's pretty cheap. Especially Tali. Would it have killed them to have her just take the helmet off and face camera?
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