Mass Effect 3: Story Driven Drivel (Spoiler Alert)
Warning: Before you read this article keep in mind that it’s littered with spoilers for Mass Effect 3. Read at your own risk.
Mass Effect 3 leaves me feeling a bit perplexed. While ME2 had me a bit pissed at the end over the Reaper larva and how easy it was to destroy with a hand cannon, this 3rd installment in the series has me scratching my head and pondering what the hell just happened.
Don’t get me wrong here, as a Mass Effect Universe fan boy, I’m trying hard to like this game and there was a lot for me to like. The weapon mods were far better than in the past, some of the powers actually made for a better combat experience and using the Citadel as a central hub actually worked most of the time. I also enjoyed side missions that were graphically interesting and made and narrative impact on the game. These were all an improvement over the past offerings.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDSwW7jflAQ&feature=youtu.be
But… there are some issues that need to be addressed by Bioware and they need to do it rather quickly or they risk losing a significant portion of their fan base.
There are some holes in this story. Okay, holes is a bit tame. There are some big fucking gaps in story continuity that make no fucking sense.
1.) What happened with the whole dark energy storyline? The one that was hinted at in Tali’s missions in Mass Effect 2. If the Quarians were so concerned about it, why was no mention made in the latest game? Now rumor has it that this was the actual problem in Mass Effect 3, but Bioware didn’t like the way the script was leaked a few months back, and completely changed the ending of the game.
2.) The choices Shepard is forced to make if you only play single player are flat out retarded! You would think that Bioware with a staff of several writers could have come up with something a bit more interesting than blow up the mass relays and make the Reapers go boom or leave. Really? How about making Shepard the new Harbinger with a threat to return in 50 thousand years? Or, how about combining Shepard with the Citadel to be the new intelligence to guide organics and synthetics through the next stage of evolution?
3.) The Citadel was actually controlling the fucking reapers? What the hell kind of bullshit explanation is that? If that’s the case, why did we even have Mass Effect 2? As soon as Sovereign hooked up in ME1 organics would have been finished.
4.) Of course the most important story gap of all. How the fuck did the crew get back on the Normandy and end up crash landing (which looks a lot like Jacob’s mission in ME2) on some uncharted world? I call BULLSHIT! Everyone but Joker was down on Earth fighting, you Bioware tools! Please explain to your loyal fan base how the hell Normandy swooped down past Harbinger and picked up everyone, who were on different fronts of the battle. Was Engineer Adams manning the transporter that we secretly stole from the Federation? This piss poor writing hole is the one that’s got me the most upset. There is NO REASON for them to be on that ship. NONE!
5.) What are those dark tendrils of energy that the Illusive Man is using to control Anderson and Shepard? Never saw them before and all of the sudden he’s able to make non-indoctrinated humans obey him?
Now that I look at what I wrote I understand what I’m feeling. The gameplay isn’t be questioned, or the fact that Shepard has to make hard choices in a story that’s supposed to be epic. What I’m pissed about is the ending is just… trite. After the hell that Shepard and his crew have been through, they basically just suck wind with no resolution of any kind. Bioware basically told their fan base to eat chocolate covered shit and like it. They took a game that was driven by the story and didn’t finish telling it.
I guess it makes sense ending this article with severe plot holes, thrown together writing, and something that is sure to annoy our fans.
Taylor Parolini
March 12, 2012 @ 6:47 pm
The explanation for the Reapers does not make sense. Period. I will argue that all day against any fanboy.
Steve123
March 13, 2012 @ 2:28 am
A good read overall, but I really wasn’t impressed by the author’s cursing. I’m sure the same points could’ve been put across just as well without the swearing.
serene
March 13, 2012 @ 9:15 am
There are weirder things about the endings. When you come to the ending it doesnt matter what you do you will blow up all the relays. And in the dlc of mass effect 2 we learned that when an relay is destroyed the surrounding starsystem is also whiped clean. So it doesnt matter what you choose, the homeworlds off all the races will be destoryed. Yeah you saved the earth by destroying it????
John
March 13, 2012 @ 10:01 am
The “dark tendrils” are what The Illusive Man has injected in him to control humans. In the whole game his quest is to learn how to indoctrinate and in one of the console videos before the last fight with Kai you learn that he gets injected with something. So connecting the two dots I would think that he finally was able to learn how to control humans since that was the species he was experimenting on.
And supposedly from what I’ve heard is that after the the Crucible was connected to the Citadel everyone is told to FTL out of the area since during the course of the game and even at the end no one knows what the Crucible actually does.
All your other questions, though, I agree with.
Fagin
March 14, 2012 @ 11:29 am
Frankly, the more I think about this game, the madder I get. To cheat the gamers the way EA/Bioware have done in this monstrosity with the ending and the content holes should make the gaming community froth at the mouth. I can understand budget limitations and the cost of developing a great title. But, I cannot condone the way that they’ve locked DLC on the disk that we already paid for, their dismissing of our complaints about the content holes, and the general disdain they are displaying for the people who loyally played through all three games. I’m starting to suspect that these people don’t really care what we think.
Kai
March 14, 2012 @ 4:26 pm
Hey Fagin,
It’s clear that from the ending, Bioware just wants us to pay for more DLC. Remember that snippit at the end where they say “Shepard’s now a legend, buy more DLC to continue his legend”? Yeah, right there.
Winter
March 20, 2012 @ 7:11 am
Remember the FF13-2 ending? I sense there’s a trends appearing….
SisterSafetypin
March 18, 2012 @ 2:03 am
Spot on. Cursing et al. This game? Brilliant. That ending? The biggest piece of bullshit I’ve ever played.
Sita
March 20, 2012 @ 4:18 pm
Regarding the dark energy storyline, I heard that it was abandoned when Drew left.
And the endings are such a shame. I loved this game right up until the last 15 minutes. I usually replay ME games quite a bit, but I can’t bring myself to even go for a second play through. Plus why would Joker and the Normandy crew just abandon Shepard? How the hell did he manage to pick up my two teammates, flee the scene and hitch a ride on a mass relay before they exploded? (I picked the Destroy ending). Why would the writers think that creating a coy, ambiguous ending is a good way to end the end of a video game trilogy?
Mac Walters shouldn’t have been made lead writer imo.
Brent
April 5, 2012 @ 6:26 pm
….. I just finished the game and all I can say is…. WHAT THE SHIT?!? Gameplay is a definate 9.5/10 and the story was a soild 9/10 until the writers decided that they should all experiment with acid. That is my only explanation for the absolute BULL SHIT that Bioware just tried to pass off as a storyline. I mean wtf is the citidel/catalyst thing?! And what was the goddamed point of uniting the universe if the relays are gone and all the fleets are stuck at earth with everyone cut off? Why does the catalyst fight so hard to kill everyone and just let the crucible dock and blow the shit out of stuff??? I am incredibly pissed right now and feel violated by the ass raping I just recived for playing Mass Effect 3