Mass Effect 3

[Rinzler]

BUMP

Quoted from IGN:

BioWare has announced that it will be releasing extra ending content for Mass Effect 3 this summer in the form of free DLC.

The Mass Effect Extended Cut DLC will feature new cinematics and epilogue scenes that will expand upon the game's ending, providing extra detail and insight to fans. It will be available for free on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC - as long as you download it before April 2014.

Studio founder Dr Ray Muzyka commented that this was an ideal way to both keep the creative vision of Mass Effect 3 and appease fans unhappy with its ending. "Since launch, we have had time to listen to the feedback from our most passionate fans and we are responding," he says.

"With the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut we think we have struck a good balance in delivering the answers players are looking for while maintaining the team's artistic vision for the end of this story arc in the Mass Effect universe."

Does this mark the end of the long-running Mass Effect 3 controversy, or just the beginning of the end? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

http://xbox360.ign.c.../1222400p1.html

Honestly this is the kind of stuff that turned me off ME3. How could they mess up the ending so badly to the point that they have to release an extended cut to make a half-decent conclusion!?

Edited April 5, 2012 by Deception Riders

[Nix]

BioWare has announced that it will be releasing extra ending content for Mass Effect 3 this summer in the form of free DLC.

>Free

>EA

wat

Well if it makes the ending good... or at least not complete shit, then I'll accept this generous "gift".

Edited April 5, 2012 by Pinkamena

[Candescence]

The press release reeks of arrogance. "Clarification?" Nobody wanted clarification, they wanted different, less shitty endings, without the blatant plot holes and out-of-character stuff! And they're throwing out the "artistic vision/integrity" card, too!

"Free" DLC is a nice gesture, but I won't be surprised if the fans hate it just as much as the original endings, because for all we know, this is just Bioware polishing a turd.

[zI Maleficent]

>EA wins worst company in America award

>EA consents to free DLC

I wonder if there is some causal link. Regardless, I would have preferred an entirely new ending be released for ME3. If indoctrination theory is shown to be false, then I maintain that the ending was horribly executed, and that this DLC pack better provide adequate closure for the trilogy.

Edited April 5, 2012 by zI Maleficent

[Candescence]

Wait a minute.

>Free DLC

> On PC, PS3 an 360

That can't be right, since when did MS allow free DLC?

[Emmett L. Brown]

Well, the claim that multiplayer wouldn't be necessary to get the best ending was a lie. The claim that the Day One DLC was impossible to include with the original game was a lie (The Prothean squadmate is on the fucking vanilla disc). That the ending wouldn't boil down to an A, B, C style system was a lie. That your choices would affect the ending was a lie.

Yeah, I'm calling bullshit on this "free DLC" claim. I'll watch whatever they produce on YouTube and if by some freak chance it manages to redeem the atrocious ending, I'll consider paying to download it.

[Octarine]

I'll reserve judgment on the new ending(s) until I've seen or played them, but that PR just rubs me the wrong way. Not just because it's untrue, although it is, but because it's such a pointless lie. Exactly nobody is going to be convinced by the appeal to ~artistic freedom~, while an honest admission that they screwed up would have been a ticket to a load of free goodwill. I mean, maybe I'm just weird, but nothing endears me to an actor/director/artist/developer more than the word "whoops".

I haven't been all that up in arms about ME3's ending because I'm not really the biggest Mass Effect fan in the world; the games are pretty good and I've had fun playing them all, but I've never found them compelling in the way a lot of people seem to. It just bothers me to see Bioware (or EA, if they've got Bioware on a leash here) not take the incredibly obvious step of not being arrogant and condescending about something they got so wrong that they're fixing it for free.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

The Mass Effect Extended Cut DLC will feature new cinematics and epilogue scenes that will expand upon the game's ending, providing extra detail and insight to fans.

Edited April 5, 2012 by ChaosSupremeSonic

[Stacy]

I'll wait for a youtube video of the new endings, I can't be arsed spending week replaying it to see if the ending is less shitty than the original.

Edited April 5, 2012 by BW199148

[turbojet]

I didn't want "insight" on the ending. I wanted the ending to make use of all my actions and see if I saved or ruined the galaxy so that the people could rebuild or the cycle started over.

Maybe I'm just SO damn heavily immersed into this franchise that the ending felt like a huge stab at the gut for me and I just get pissy thinking about it, but if that expansion still leaves things pointless and I can't see the future of the galaxy I spent so much time and effort trying to save from the reapers, then they've only shot themselves in the foot twice.

I better have the damn option for Shepherd to live and still be with my romance, I tell you what.

[zI Maleficent]

More free DLC announced?

Available on April 10th, the Resurgence Pack will offer two new maps known as Firebase Condor, which takes place on one of Palaven's moons, and Firebase Hydra, which brings players to an abandoned quarian colony.

As well as various other things, such as new classes (in compliance with the image leak from Facebook.), new consumable items and weaponry.

The resurgence pack will be available on Xbox Live, Playstation Network and Origin. It will remain free until April 12, 2014.

EA are just too...kind?

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

So we get to play as a Batarian and a Geth?

Yeah...not enough EA.

[Emmett L. Brown]

So apparently it's been explained through twitter that after the ending "nobody starves to death", "not everybody on the Citadel dies if it blows up" and "the Mass Relays can be rebuilt in certain endings"

...

Which means the plot holes have now grown to supermassive black holes and swallowed the entire story with them. Goodbye hard sci-fi, hello space magic. Black is white, up is down, dogs and cats are getting married, and Garrus is Batman.

Okay, that last one is kinda awesome.

[Dobkeratops]

But Garrus was always batman.

[Nix]

Which means the plot holes have now grown to supermassive black holes and swallowed the entire story with them. Goodbye hard sci-fi, hello space magic. Black is white, up is down, dogs and cats are getting married, and Garrus is Batman.

Okay, that last one is kinda awesome.

>Implying Garrus isn't Batman already.

I'm not sure if I like this free DLC anymore.

On a side note, I've lost all motivation to play this game because of the ending... knowing nothing I do really matters in the long run just sucks.

Edited April 8, 2012 by Pinkamena

[Dobkeratops]

To be fair the bulk of the game is really neat with some emotional moments and the culmination of character arcs that have been built during the course of three games.

Ironically, that is a big contribution to why the ending is so offensive.

[Stacy]

Personally the gameplay is great the story is also great but when you have you final encounter with the Illusive Man thats when things start to turn to shit!

[Emmett L. Brown]

To be fair the bulk of the game is really neat with some emotional moments and the culmination of character arcs that have been built during the course of three games.

Ironically, that is a big contribution to why the ending is so offensive.

[Candescence]

*Yes, I know it's possible for Mordin to survive, but you have to be a complete and total bastard to do it. Then again, since saving the Krogan is entirely pointless in the long run, you may as well be a bastard.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

So when anyone reads comments defending the ending, does anyone almost feel like they want to shove an active grenade down those people's thoats? I read one comment talking about how this game was about sacrifice...Um, no. The game was about unity and survival. You're going to be forced to sacrifice some things you don't want to (or even avert them completely if you save-files from the last games made an impact), but you were here to unify the races and defeat the Reapers or die trying. In the same sense as it was in ME2, but with entire civilizations on the line instead of just squadmates.

Then there was this piece of gold I read on the facebook commenters on the Escapist: "The game said for you to take back Earth, it never said you get to keep it." Except, we didn't exactly take back Earth, and even if that was the case then there wouldn't have been much of a point to fight for it if we couldn't keep it.

Not saying no one is entitled to be satisfied with the ending we got (and I've been keeping myself from callin these people stupid for it), but there are a lot more shitty reasons defending the ending that there are criticizing it.

So apparently it's been explained through twitter that after the ending "nobody starves to death", "not everybody on the Citadel dies if it blows up" and "the Mass Relays can be rebuilt in certain endings"

...

Which means the plot holes have now grown to supermassive black holes and swallowed the entire story with them. Goodbye hard sci-fi, hello space magic. Black is white, up is down, dogs and cats are getting married, and Garrus is Batman.

Okay, that last one is kinda awesome.

Actually, to be fair on the whole "dogs and cats getting married", it makes a lot of sense if you romanced Garrus or Tali. At least now you two can have kids.

Although yeah, this makes the sci-fi in the series incredibly soft depending on how they go about it. I'm not entirely sure how this'll satisfy anyone. We didn't know they would fuck this up, so they might actually make this better despite the lingering disappointment. Although how there are survivors after the Citadel blew up will DEFINITELY raise some eyebrows. We saw bodies upon bodies there, and the Reapers flat out took it over, so I'm definitely curious to see how anyone survived that.

I feel disappointed for Kahlee Sanders. I wanted Anderson and her to hook up after this.

Edited April 9, 2012 by ChaosSupremeSonic

[-Robin-]

The Better Business Bureau accuses Bioware for falsely advertising Mass Effect 3, based on the ending.

The Mass Effect 3 drama continues. Since the game launched last month, fans have vocally expressed their distaste for the endgame, claiming BioWare did not allow players to fully forge a unique destiny. Now, these users have scored a strong ally: the Better Business Bureau.

The BBB thinks Mass Effect 3 represents false advertising.

In a post to the firm's consumer news and opinion blog, BBB director of marketplace services Marjorie Stephens explained that BioWare directed a misleading advertising campaign for Mass Effect 3.

"The issue at stake here is, did BioWare falsely advertise?" she wrote. "Technically, yes, they did."

Stephens made her claim by analyzing two of the game's much-distributed marketing taglines. The first line she examined was a promise that Mass Effect 3 players will be able to "experience the beginning, middle, and end of an emotional story unlike any other, where the decisions you make completely shape your experience and outcome."

Of the line, Stephens says BioWare did not deliver players the ability to fully craft their own unique experience. "There is no indecision in that statement. It is an absolute," she said.

The second marketing line Stephens referenced was, "Along the way, your choices drive powerful outcomes, including relationships with key characters, the fate of entire civilizations, and even radically different ending scenarios."

Regarding this statement, Stephens says BioWare's messaging is very subjective. Reading this line, she claims, a player would have a difficult time reaching the conclusion that "the game's outcome is not 'wholly' determined by one's choices."

Stephens ended her blog entry by noting companies have a responsibility to accurately craft their marketing messaging.

"The lesson to be learned here is companies should give careful consideration to how they word their advertisements. Otherwise, there could be detrimental effects, especially in the era of social media and online forums."

Last week, BioWare announced Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut, a free piece of content headed to gamers this summer. The content aims to address fans' concerns regarding the Mass Effect 3 endgame by providing "greater context," but no new endings.

why am i bringing this back up

Edited April 17, 2012 by Modern Tom

[Carbo]

The Better Business Bureau accuses Bioware for falsely advertising Half Life 3, based on the ending.

Mass Effect 3 is actually Half-Life 3?

I don't want to live in this world anymore.

[turbojet]

Dude, what the fuck?

[Emmett L. Brown]

Well, yeah.

Casey Hudson did indeed stack lie upon lie whenever he talked about the ending(s) prior to release. That's objectively false advertising. I for one would love to live in a world where promises carry consequences when the person who made the promise fails to deliver. See also: Politics.

[Neon]

So some voice actors have confirmed their work on the Extended Cut DLC:

http://www.videogame...liar_faces.html

It's a shame that it still sounds like Bioware are trying to clarify on the ending. The endings shouldn't be clarified, they should be completely redone so they actually makes sense.

I really wish they stuck with the original Dark Energy story, it would have been infinitely better as it'd actually fit in with the rest of the series. The Dark Energy theme would be relevant, the Haestrom Sun would be relevant, the reason the Collectors were harvesting humans early would be relevant.

And don't get me started on the Starchild's vacuous circular logic. The Reapers (Synthetics) don't want Organics to be killed by Synthetics, so Synthetics (Reapers) kill Organics so Organics aren't killed by Synthetics. Not to mention this can come straight after reconciling the Geth and Quarians. So the galaxy can be more or less united, Organic and Synthetic, fighting against Synthetics, who want to kill Organic and Synthetic life so Synthetics don't kill Organics...

what?

I hate this ending so much.

Edited May 22, 2012 by Neon