I think that Bioware may have meant synthesis as the "ideal" ending. Obviously the writers play renegade.You can defiantly get the green ending without multiplayer. I intentionally left it alone during my first playthrough because I wanted a "pure" experience and I got all three options with the GR still at 50%. Still, after two playthoughs I doubt Bioware's claim that you can get the "ideal" ending (Shepard ambiguously survives) without MP.
I think that Bioware may have meant synthesis as the "ideal" ending. Obviously the writers play renegade.You can defiantly get the green ending without multiplayer. I intentionally left it alone during my first playthrough because I wanted a "pure" experience and I got all three options with the GR still at 50%. Still, after two playthoughs I doubt Bioware's claim that you can get the "ideal" ending (Shepard ambiguously survives) without MP.![]()
You jest, but for me it really was that simple. Perhaps it's because I'm importing lv30 characters that are predominantly one alignment or the other (a 70/30 paragon and a 5/95 renegade) but not once did I encounter a greyed out dialogue option.Pfft, all this talk of how to reunite the Geth and Quarians... All you need to do in every game is always pick the upper left / upper right dialogue options every time. Problem solved.![]()
And let's not forget that at the moment when you most need it, Bioware pretty much removed the dialogue wheel so that you couldn't ask questions, all to leave the ending open to speculation. Here I am in front of the self-professed creator of the Reapers and I'm just supposed to believe it and it's options? What if I want to tell it that its full of crap, that I don't accept it's reasoning and that its "solutions" are all horrifying? I can't, because at the moment of truth my Shepard becomes completely passive, and that's infuriating....Plus of course there's the MASSIVE plot holes.
Yep, it would have been really nice to have a dialogue option or interrupt to tell him about the EDI/Joker pairing or the geth/quarian peace (assuming you managed to achieve those outcomes) and that his "cycle" is based on a false premise.
On a somewhat related note, did anyone notice that when it presents the options to you, it's not actually Shepard in those little movies? For the destroy option, it appears to be Anderson firing at the conduit and for the control option, it looks like the Illusive Man. Oddly, nothing is shown for synthesis. I wonder if that is supposed to leave another subtle hint that the end is not what it appears to be.
Assuming, of course, that the indoctrination theory is correct and that the current "ending" is not Bioware's version of a "valentine to the fans".![]()
And let's not forget that at the moment when you most need it, Bioware pretty much removed the dialogue wheel so that you couldn't ask questions, all to leave the ending open to speculation. Here I am in front of the self-professed creator of the Reapers and I'm just supposed to believe it and it's options? What if I want to tell it that it's full of crap, that I don't accept its reasoning, and that its "solutions" are all horrifying? I can't, because at the moment of truth my Shepard becomes completely passive, and that's infuriating....Plus of course there's the MASSIVE plot holes.
That sounds about right. I think I worked out that had the Kasumi and Aria missions not glitched out on me on my first playthough, or had I had any idea that certain fetch quests would disappear if I didn't turn them in before Tuchanka then I might have made it to 3700, or near as damnit. The only other things I could have done to improve the score would have been to destroy the Geth heretics and hand the Collector base over to Cerberus in ME2. There might have been some other minor stuff like not recruiting Chakwas or Ash, thus making them assets (though who would want to deprive themselves of a main character?) or resisting the urge to knock out al-Julanni, but that's chicken feed by comparison.Someone crunched the numbers and you can't. You need 4000 points for Shep to "survive" and the maximum you can make in SP is something like 3700.Still, after two playthoughs I doubt Bioware's claim that you can get the "ideal" ending (Shepard ambiguously survives) without MP. Neither of my Shepards so far got anywhere near 8000 total points, nevermind 10,000.
Not even at the Illusive Man in the finale? Or did you happen to get that right the first time through? (The Internet didn't lie to me, the conditions for those are always giving him consistent paragon or renegade answers?)Perhaps it's because I'm importing lv30 characters that are predominantly one alignment or the other (a 70/30 paragon and a 5/95 renegade) but not once did I encounter a greyed out dialogue option.
The demo started you out at level 1; I expect retail to work the same way, but haven't tried it.Do new games start you at lv 1 or something a bit more reasonable like lv15? Either way those that import appear to have a distinct advantage.
While I recruited Kaiden, I never actually used him; leaving his bland self or Ashley's xenophobic streak behind as a war asset wouldn't have affected my gameplay any, I think.There might have been some other minor stuff like not recruiting Chakwas or Ash, thus making them assets (though who would want to deprive themselves of a main character?) or resisting the urge to knock out al-Julanni, but that's chicken feed by comparison.
I just don't get that. The game went out of its way to point out that this cycle's strength comes from the diversity of all the races, that their ability to think and act differently while working together is something the Reapers weren't prepared to handle properly. So why is the supposedly optimal ending advocating smushing organic and synthetic life into one? There's a thematic disconnect between the last five minutes and the rest of the game, and that tears apart the "artistic integrity" defence for me. There is no integrity in that ending, the story falls to pieces in the last five minutes.I think that Bioware may have meant synthesis as the "ideal" ending. Obviously the writers play renegade.![]()
It makes some sense considering the Geth and EDI were upgraded with Reaper code, so if the crucible is capable of overloading the Reapers' AI then it might overload the AI of synthetics that contain Reaper code.And don't get me started on how the "destroy ALL synthetics" is supposed to work. How can it possibly be that selective?
No, all the options were open in the Illusive Man conversation, even IIRC the paragon ones for my renegade Shep, which I thought was odd considering he had next to no paragon points.Not even at the Illusive Man in the finale? Or did you happen to get that right the first time through? (The Internet didn't lie to me, the conditions for those are always giving him consistent paragon or renegade answers?)Perhaps it's because I'm importing lv30 characters that are predominantly one alignment or the other (a 70/30 paragon and a 5/95 renegade) but not once did I encounter a greyed out dialogue option.
Actually I was really disappointed with the interactions with Ash after you recruit her. Hardly any conversation of substance and I gather those that romance her don't get anything more besides final romance scene and a line or two in London. Hell of a let down as Ash was always my second favourite squadmate after Tali.(Does Ashley continue her religious bent in this game? I noticed that it seems like Shepard suddenly got one, despite my telling Ash that I'm not a believer back in the first game.)
More evidence of an 11th hour revision. A good ending, whatever it may be should be the culmination and fruition of everything that came before it. It couldn't have been more nonsensical and out of step with the rest of the story if the lines had been delivered to the tune of the 'The Yellow Rose of Texas' by Pennywise the Clown dressed as a morris dancer.I just don't get that. The game went out of its way to point out that this cycle's strength comes from the diversity of all the races, that their ability to think and act differently while working together is something the Reapers weren't prepared to handle properly. So why is the supposedly optimal ending advocating smushing organic and synthetic life into one? There's a thematic disconnect between the last five minutes and the rest of the game, and that tears apart the "artistic integrity" defence for me. There is no integrity in that ending, the story falls to pieces in the last five minutes.
Which is my main problem with it. It's contrived. They only threw that bit about the geth in to make the "destroy the reapers" option to have dire consequences. I mean surely if the catalyst can control the reapers directly then there's a link there, which given the lore is probably through QEC enabled nanites. With that common link shouldn't it be possible to cause them to overload or just shut down?It makes some sense considering the Geth and EDI were upgraded with Reaper code, so if the crucible is capable of overloading the Reapers' AI then it might overload the AI of synthetics that contain Reaper code.And don't get me started on how the "destroy ALL synthetics" is supposed to work. How can it possibly be that selective?
But really, it's space magic.![]()
I too was disappointed by my interactions with Ashley Williams. She was a more developed character in the first game. In the times I visited the character, I never saw her with the other crew members and, when she did socialize, it was done off-screen.
I have a question about Ashley Williams. What action did she do that would make her a candidate for Spectre status? From the available evidence, it would seem that her becoming a Spectre was a political calculation by Councilor Udina, and wasn't attributable to any action that Ashley Williams undertake on her own initiative. What did I miss?
What if the extended ending reveals that the star child is Jar Jar Binks, Lwaxana Troi, and Byron combined?http://finance.yahoo.com/news/bioware-announces-mass-effect-3-130000574.htmlPlus it's free, so I don't see how I could possibly complain.![]()
It's not the franchise, it's just Mac Walters and Casey Hudson. Rehire Drew Karpyshyn & get a different producer, and I'd be all over another Mass Effect game.If they stick with the star child crap then Mass Effect 3 will never have a good ending, it will always be hokey and weird. But this extended ending may be... serviceable, and hopefully it will be able to remove the stink that currently hangs over the franchise.
Rehiring Drew is the worst thing they could do. He's the one who created the human-wanking and equally nonsensical "Reapers try to defeat Dark Energy by forcing Milky Way races to use dark energy manipulating tech, thereby worsening the problem" plot. If anything, they need a culture change so they can move away from "ancient evil comes back to ruin everything plots" to plots with villains that don't require deus ex machinas to beat or (in the case of Mass Effect) blowing up the universe they created.It's not the franchise, it's just Mac Walters and Casey Hudson. Rehire Drew Karpyshyn & get a different producer, and I'd be all over another Mass Effect game.If they stick with the star child crap then Mass Effect 3 will never have a good ending, it will always be hokey and weird. But this extended ending may be... serviceable, and hopefully it will be able to remove the stink that currently hangs over the franchise.
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