Space Clarification

So there's main stream media covering the angered players over the mass effect ending.  But, like usual, the main stream media is missing the underlying point of "why" players are angry.  It's not because the ending wasn't happy rainbows and bunnies (which in and of it self would make a better ending).  It's because of a specific promise the game was sold on, that wasn't delivered.

SPOILERS

That promise is simple "Your choices matter".  That is to say, you make decisions in the game, and that has rewards and consequences throughout the game, especially the ending.  Well they forgot about that last part.  For example, you fly around the galaxy recruiting this mass army, special units and squads, and tactics and space ships with guns.  After the 2min cut scene of you and Joker, where Joker calls out about 1/3rd of your forces "reporting" the rest of the end battle and ending cut scenes have nothing to do with all your pain staking work of gathering everyone together.

That's the problem.  Nothing you do matters.  That's why everyone is so upset.  And as I've had time to think, it was the very same problem that I had with their game RPG that came out last year "Dragon Age 2" the EXACT same problem.  The only major difference is that where Dragon Age 2 semi-sorta arched in different areas and only specific things happened that you couldn't do anything about, Mass Effect 3 comes out, flips you the middle finger and slaps you in the face with it.  The same people die, no matter what.  Nothing you can do about it.  In some cases you can make them die slightly differently by changing "who" shoots them, but they still get shot and die.

Players are angry because there needed to actually "be" multiple endings.  What they call a "different ending" is a color of an explosion.  Red, green, and blue some how translates as "completely different" endings, even though the cinemas all play out with the exact same scenes, and the exact same timings.  What if your colorblind? Then there's only 1 ending, grey.

This video on Youtube, posted by Youtube user Crosscade illustrates exactly my point.  Although it's not the full ending, it shows plenty enough of it to illustrate why players as a whole are a little pissed about it.

But yes, that's why players are upset.  We were promised dynamic pathways forged by our characters, and then when it came to it, Bioware simply didn't deliver.  It kind of feels that they "copped out" of doing what they promised the players and settled for "the easy way out".  In other words, Troll Face.

Also, this comic sums it up pretty well, thank you www.vgcats.com


-N00basaurus