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[Caellach Marellus]

I'm more annoyed that they've got the close *hug the camera halfway up the player's arse* FoV setting.

Fortunately there is a fix: http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2584112

[Lyn Farel]

Oh yes that too, the character takes half the screen...

By the way, how the hell do you activate the prothean DLC with the collector's edition ? It keeps telling me that it does not recognize the redeem code on the social network ? How I hate their stupid system so much...

[Caellach Marellus]

Mine automatically downloaded with the game "Oh hey, it's a CE, here's your Prothean Edition"

I didn't even have to put the code in.

[Mizhara]

Same. Downloaded automatically. As for the UI thing, I can slightly sympathize, but it's hardly any kind of problem. The weapons upgrades and everything else works just fine with a mouse. It's far from perfect but as far as games go these days, it's just fine. What does bother me is the "Space is used for ERRYTHING!" that comes from console-centric development. I have a keyboard and mouse combo where I have in excess of a hundred and twenty possible things to push. I have room for a separate cover, roll, sprint, interact-key even if consoles have barely two digits worth of buttons.

What I did find very nice is the removal of the minigames for doorlocks and hacking and so on. They never bothered me in ME1/ME2, but not having them in ME3 shows how much time and meh was wasted on those things.

The level design has gone up, that has to be said. I very much liked that.

[Vireina]

I'll bite on this. It does look very hopeful, though my University connection and Origin are not friends, to put it extremely mildly. If I want this I'd have to pull a trip home out of my backside. One of my 'fears' was that they'd end up listening too heavily to the 'I loved ME1 ME2 was shit give me ME1' crowd that seemed to become fashionable a few months after ME2's release. I suppose they wanted a game in which a super space hero saves the galaxy by day while moonlighting as a stores manager for a fairly large Military-grade equipment company who also owns a space hopper armed with a tank cannon.

Considering there's been a large bit of my hard drive labelled 'MASS EFFECT' for a little over two years now, it's good to hear that the game will probably get into my list of 'best games evarr'

[Mizhara]

So yeah... that ending...

[spoiler]Right, this first playthrough was with no saves for two reasons. One, ME2 crashes on Illium for me so I can't make the saves myself apparently. I'll figure out what's wrong there at some point. Two: I'm told the first playthrough should be "clean" so you can somehow compare it to how things are in your own save. I don't know what the hell that means, but yeah.

Anyway, I just finished it and... it's bittersweet. Here's what happened: Shepard got seared and wounded into the Citadel. She talked down the Illusive Man and did that whole thing. The Crucible connected and Shepard shot the shit out of the power conduit. Things 'sploded and there was the end credits and some "Stargazer" that implied it had all happened a long time ago and a kid asking for one more story about "The Shepard". So, I ask those of you who have also finished it but maybe done different things... did Shepard die in your endings too? Is that the best damn ending we get? Hell, I couldn't even tell if the ending was good or bad.[/spoiler]

[Vikarion]

[spoiler]Yep. Well, not exactly. If you do really well, you also have the "best option", where you stop the cycle by integrating synthetics into every organic and vice versa, seems to be the "good ending". But you still die, probably. This was my ending. And it's just as short.

If you have done really well and choose the "destroy reapers" option, there's a short scene where a piece of N7 armor moves under some rubble. That's the best you can do.

I was not pleased. No exposition regarding what happens to everyone else, and you always die, or possibly commit genocide and almost die. It's very disappointing.
[/spoiler]

[Mizhara]

[spoiler]Yeah... it really is a bit disappointing. The game itself is beyond awesome. I love it to bits, really. Everything a Mass Effect game should be. Then the ending... the ending is not worthy of Mass Effect. It's not fitting for Shepard. I mean, sure, kill off Shepard in some of the endings. That's to be expected, but Mass Effect hasn't to me been the kind of universe where everything goes Game of Thrones. To me it's the cliché universe where there is a "happily ever after" option, where Shepard goes to live with (insert romance here) or whatever. Exposition on what happened next to the various races and so on.

Fuck, what WAS the point of all the different choices you had up until that ending if you don't get to see the consequences?[/spoiler]

[Lyn Farel]

Yeah the scenario seems more mature, definitly. It is not that much about superheroes but more about surviving. For now....

Mine automatically downloaded with the game "Oh hey, it's a CE, here's your Prothean Edition"

I didn't even have to put the code in.

Maybe I missed something then... I know it downloaded stuff related to the collector's edition, but I thought you had to activate manually the prothean DLC. Will see how it works when I will get further in the game (if I get it or not).

[Mizhara]

Figured out how to be able to play the game again. Story/Ending spoilers to come.

[spoiler]So we know the endings are made of fail. Almost everything from the point Harbinger's beam hits and you enter the Citadel has this shit quality to it, yeah? I was briefly considering making an account on the Bioware forums to join the massive choir of waaaah and stopped once I noticed an interesting 60+ page thread.

It was all a dream.

Yes, it sounds retarded and cliché but fuck me if it isn't a better option than we have now. There's a ton of people in that particular thread that's discussing this possibility (and the possibility of "It was all a Dream/The Awakening/The REAL Ending/Whatever" DLC in the future) that Harbinger's beam just knocked you out and your already fucked up mind deals with the major moral, ethical and political issues in the only way it knows how. By creating that "end sequence" where the issues are quantified, listed and the solutions are fairly clear cut. There's actually evidence to support this stuff being a hallucination like the handgun having infinite ammunition, Shepard not needing a helmet while standing in space (yes, other explanations exist, we know) and worst of all: The Catalyst taking the shape of a dead kid from Earth.

There's even that brief glimmer after one of the endings (only if you have 100% completion) where you see an N7 breastplate move as if the one wearing it is breathing, covered in rubble. As far as I have seen, there's no cement on the Citadel, nor rubble that'd resemble that. Shepard is waking up after being knocked out by Harbinger's beam. The Military Readiness thing is just to see if they can hold on (while Shepard is unconscious) until he/she wakes up again to get to the REAL ending.

Edit: I mean, COME ON! The "Destroy the Reapers!" option is one where the Citadel fucking explodes massively and there's just no fucking way anyone can conceivably survive it, and yet THAT is the one where you get the N7 Armor and breathing video? It's got to be a dream or something. God I wish it's a dream.

Edit2: Another thing mentioned in the thread... the only ending where you see a breath of life in what appears to be Shepard? It's the one where you destroy the Reapers and have a massive military score. During the game you're repeatedly told about how in the previous cycles, the doom came from compromises and attempts to control the Reapers. The only ending where you may be alive is when you show the determination and resolve needed to not give in to that. When you stand firm against the compromise, the greed and surrender. These current endings... they're definitely a dream sequence of sorts, determining Shepard's resolve and determination.

Yup, Shepard is going to wake up without having even entered the beam and there will be a righteous ass-kicking.

Wishful thinking? Unlikely? Probably a crap explanation? Perhaps, but I need this if I'm to ever touch a Mass Effect game again. Particularly this installment. And I need this, because frankly the game is that good. It's just the ending(s) that ruin three whole games. It's a complete first for me, really. Three games that all rate around 9 out of 10 (or higher) being betrayed by the ending of the third, turning the games into a 2 out of 10 at best.

Anyway, this allows me to create a tolerable headcanon at least, allowing me to play the game again. Who knows? Bioware may still earn my trust back with some DLC or something. If it remains like this, though... they've lost all my trust.[/spoiler]

[Random Sentience]

Figured out how to be able to play the game again. Story/Ending spoilers to come.

[spoiler]So we know the endings are made of fail. Almost everything from the point Harbinger's beam hits and you enter the Citadel has this shit quality to it, yeah? I was briefly considering making an account on the Bioware forums to join the massive choir of waaaah and stopped once I noticed an interesting 60+ page thread.

It was all a dream.

Yes, it sounds retarded and cliché but fuck me if it isn't a better option than we have now. There's a ton of people in that particular thread that's discussing this possibility (and the possibility of "It was all a Dream/The Awakening/The REAL Ending/Whatever" DLC in the future) that Harbinger's beam just knocked you out and your already fucked up mind deals with the major moral, ethical and political issues in the only way it knows how. By creating that "end sequence" where the issues are quantified, listed and the solutions are fairly clear cut. There's actually evidence to support this stuff being a hallucination like the handgun having infinite ammunition, Shepard not needing a helmet while standing in space (yes, other explanations exist, we know) and worst of all: The Catalyst taking the shape of a dead kid from Earth.

There's even that brief glimmer after one of the endings (only if you have 100% completion) where you see an N7 breastplate move as if the one wearing it is breathing, covered in rubble. As far as I have seen, there's no cement on the Citadel, nor rubble that'd resemble that. Shepard is waking up after being knocked out by Harbinger's beam. The Military Readiness thing is just to see if they can hold on (while Shepard is unconscious) until he/she wakes up again to get to the REAL ending.

Edit: I mean, COME ON! The "Destroy the Reapers!" option is one where the Citadel fucking explodes massively and there's just no fucking way anyone can conceivably survive it, and yet THAT is the one where you get the N7 Armor and breathing video? It's got to be a dream or something. God I wish it's a dream.

Edit2: Another thing mentioned in the thread... the only ending where you see a breath of life in what appears to be Shepard? It's the one where you destroy the Reapers and have a massive military score. During the game you're repeatedly told about how in the previous cycles, the doom came from compromises and attempts to control the Reapers. The only ending where you may be alive is when you show the determination and resolve needed to not give in to that. When you stand firm against the compromise, the greed and surrender. These current endings... they're definitely a dream sequence of sorts, determining Shepard's resolve and determination.

Yup, Shepard is going to wake up without having even entered the beam and there will be a righteous ass-kicking.

Wishful thinking? Unlikely? Probably a crap explanation? Perhaps, but I need this if I'm to ever touch a Mass Effect game again. Particularly this installment. And I need this, because frankly the game is that good. It's just the ending(s) that ruin three whole games. It's a complete first for me, really. Three games that all rate around 9 out of 10 (or higher) being betrayed by the ending of the third, turning the games into a 2 out of 10 at best.

Anyway, this allows me to create a tolerable headcanon at least, allowing me to play the game again. Who knows? Bioware may still earn my trust back with some DLC or something. If it remains like this, though... they've lost all my trust.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]
I chose door number 3. For one (okay, two) simple reasons:

1. I don't believe that the "Singularity" as described in Mass Effect is an "inevitability". Proved that in-game by bringing Peace to the Geth and Quarians, furthered by the obviously "misguided" actions of the Quarians during the Morning War.

2. Control and Destroy are two extremes that are equally destructive in my view. Throughout the series, Anderson has shown he's absolutely obsessed with the notion of "destroying" an enemy. Definitely someone who can only see the world through the "barrel of a gun". The Illusive Man... same thing, different tone. Control is what he's obsessed with. I could go into the entire "he's been indoctrinated all along" theory (backed up by the novels and ending), and comparing him to Saren in actions (bringing Shepard back as an effort to counteract his "indoctrinated" plans), but I won't write that wall of text right now.

Needless to say, just as I saved the Rachni and pushed for the Genophage cure, I don't believe in destroying a race (Geth or Reapers) when there is another option to end the war. To enslave them is an equally unpalatable choice.

So, the only option left... was synthesis. It may be forcing a change on the galaxy, but it's giving a chance for peace and survival to the largest number of individuals possible. Without making the sacrifice, the cycle continues. The suffering would continue.

Most people want to save everyone. This is one of those decisions that, based on your actions, may have very serious repercussions if not thought out fully. It's a ballsy f'ing ending, and it's one whose themes have been echoing throughout the series up to this point.[/spoiler]

With that said:

[spoiler]I enjoyed my Shepard's ending. I've never cried and cheered at the same time, or felt as satisfied with an ending. Now I know what Casey Hudson meant when he said the ending isn't as "cut and dried" as people are making it out to be.

Despite the romance overtones of the series, it was never about happy endings to me.

Regardless of any meta considerations (for instance, is Shepard indoctrinated?  ), Synthesis is my only real choice.[/spoiler]

[Mizhara]

[spoiler]Yeah, if those three options were the only options there, I'd probably have to go for Synthesis myself. Even if only to allow EDI and Joker to live in their sinful relationship. If the Geth had survived my initial playthrough (Seriously, you're fucking gimped on the 'default' playthrough. No way to unfuck things.) they too would have warranted the Synthesis ending.

If, as my headcanon now demands, these things were just tests of Shepard's resolve or something... Destruction is the only path. The other two are temptations. Weak choices. Indoctrination or just failure to stay true to the path. Destruction is when you wake up and go on to kick some major Reaper ass AND keep the rest alive, because you've shown the determination and so on and so forth.

Not saying there shouldn't be sad endings, but damn... I've played the shit out of three games to max out completions and get the best conceivable chances... and then get this kick to the nuts in the end? No, not cool. Needs to be at least one 'good' ending. Besides, they kept telling us through three games that choices matter and so on. This time, they fucking didn't. Three massively awesome games with awesome gameplay and story, then the last five minutes invalidates EVERYTHING you've done up to that point. That's shit, seriously.[/spoiler]

[Kaldor Mintat]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzYLTbQQEZQ

Contains spoilers.

[Graelyn]

Loved the ending quite a lot, as opposed to some loud bitchy opinions found here. I would have liked a longer explanation of everything in the closing cutscenes, but all in all I'm quite pleased with the tone of the ending.

[spoiler]Did you know that's Buzz Aldrin talking there at the epilogue?[/spoiler]


Interesting to see the writing team take so much from two vastly different sources -

 [spoiler]Moore's Battlestar Galactica and Neon Genesis Evangelion.[/spoiler]

I'm going to wait a week or so, then start up my second Shepard that I've been building for the last decade. The paths the two Sheps of mine have taken thus far were divergent enough to make it fresh, but the differences this time around will be staggering.

I don't think I've ever enjoyed a series this much in gaming. I hope it's not BioWare's last hurrah, but if it is, it's a damn fine one.

[Kohiko Sun]

Parts of the ending that a lot of people fuss about make sense.

[spoiler]The mass relays were Reaper tech left behind to make everyone develop how they wanted. The relays had to go if the galaxy was to be completely free of their control.

"The Shepard" having a Jesus ending was something that could be seen coming from all the way back in the first one. And, my Shepard deserved some peace; she was living on borrowed time after the Collectors already killed her. She gets to relax and wait for Garrus at the bar while watching baby krogans.[/spoiler]

Other parts, um... not so much.

[spoiler]Silly Reapers, did you not notice EDI and the geth fighting you to save organics?


Annnnnnd, why was the Normandy in mass relay flight when we were fighting for Earth until the last second?

Joker saw Space Magic coming and thought "No, I'm not going to be part of that mysterious space mystery stuff, and neither are my friends!", so he took your squadmates and tried to escape.

[/spoiler]

I don't hate the ending,
[spoiler]A broken and exhausted Shepard climbing to her feet as she asks, "What do you need me to do?", summed the character up so well.[/spoiler]

and I don't like it.
[spoiler]After everything else, it felt out of place and tacked on. Sovereign's unfathomable to puny organic minds motivation turns out to be a bad case of "what if" with the synthetics in the game doing the exact opposite. ALL AI will wipe out organic life in the galaxy, hmm? Reapers sound like racists~[/spoiler]

But, I don't think it was enough to make me rawr at the game or the series.
[spoiler]Mordin singing when he cured the genophage because someone else might have gotten it wrong
Legion saying "I"
Thane's last prayer being for Shepard
The quarians having a home again
The lady with Alzheimer's looking for her son
The asari with PTSD
[spoiler]And the horrible realization the girl she killed was Joker's sister[/spoiler]
Jack with her biotic ducklings
Anything Garrus
Anything Wrex  "It's time for krogan to do what we do best: saving the galaxy from giant monsters."[/spoiler]
Those bits and others make up for it.