Just beat it a minute ago. Words don't describe how utterly fucked that ending was.

And then they have the gall to tell me to get their DLC.

 

Yeah, the budding rumors about Bioware deliberately making the ending with plans for a "fixed and satisfying ending" DLC down the road are disturbingly plausible.

 

Or... (Warning, spoilers. But the best explanation of the ending I've seen.)

 

The rage is almost tangible. (Spoilers below)

Here.

http://social.bioware.com/633606/polls/28989/

http://www.facebook.com/DemandABetterEndingToMassEffect3

http://www.change.org/petitions/mas...dlc-that-changes-the-last-minutes-of-the-game

http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/355/index/9901463

News articles:
http://pixelatedgeek.com/2012/03/mass-effect-iii-snatching-defeat-from-the-jaws-of-victory/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertc...-could-find-redemption-using-mass-effect-3/2/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H_A7SeawU4

And many, many, many more. Forbes has like 3+ articles, even. lol

The Bioware forums have been the biggest shitstorm I've ever seen.

Finally: http://i.imgur.com/Bexnp.jpg

 

... Huh. These indoctrination theories are very interesting. I thought that something was up with that kid and those dream sequences, and the ending sequence was surreal and inconsistent enough to be dreamlike.

 

You are correct, sir.

http://social.bioware.com/forum/Mas...tures-removed-due-to-Copyright-9999272-1.html

*slowclap*

My favorite line has to be :

Spoiler

"You don't need to know the answers to the mass effect universe. So we intentionally left those out."

 

I really fucking hated that ending. I intended to play through again doing everything differently, e.g. Renegade Fem!Shepard killing everybody on my team. I just raged so hard I uninstalled. I think the post-credits scene was the perfect way to follow up such a cockslap to the face, giving something completely predictable from game 1 (spoiler: Shepard goes down in the annals of history, imagine that!) and absolutely nothing else.

The worst part is I would be willing to pay for DLC endings either fanmade as suggested in the video, or official Bioware shit, even if they ended up like this (thanks, mishie). I'd bitch about mechanics like the spacebar doing fucking everything but I accidentally my browser and lost a good bit of ranting.

Can't wait for Zero Punctuation to have at this one.

 

Been reading through some of the information given by the Prothean squadmate in the DLC (which I don't have). It's contradictory in places and stupid in others. Not a surprise anymore, really.

Other problems with the game I had were numerous instances of my Shepard not sounding like my Shepard from previous games (an instance of saying "Hooyah," a phrase that always makes me violently cringe, sticks out near the end), being referred to as "sir" several times even when she's a female, and sounding like she's flirting with several people in the game, all male, when she's a lesbian and very clearly involved with Liara.

 

Thank you so fucking much.

I've been saying it for days; these Indoctrination Theories are a classic example of people trying to justify a shitty ending. And, you know what? That'd almost be alright if this were the end of the series. I mean, sure, you'd still all come off like apologist retards, but at least nothing would directly say "haha, you're wrong. It really was as bad as everyone else thought!"

This is not the end of the series. The end of the game tells you as much as it plugs its DLC.

People do this all the time and it's just sad to watch. The worst part about all of this is, now, there's a decent chance that one of EA's DLC 'True Ends' is going to confirm this theory, if only to attempt to get their ass out of the fire. And people are going to applaud them for it, as if it wasn't clearly an Epileptic Trees fan-theory that they stole after fucking up.

 

Watching all this rage is making me love the ending just because of how much it has bothered so many people. If I ever start to feel like I'm too much of a nerd 15 min on the internet is enough to show me that I am relatively well adjusted.

 

Uh, loving something solely because it makes a lot of other people angry doesn't make you well-adjusted. In fact I think that's just the opposite.

As for the indoctrination theory -- like I said, it's interesting, and I think it's well-constructed. But it's a fan theory. I strongly doubt that it's what Bioware actually intended with this. They wouldn't have tried to hide it so much if it was. It doesn't change that they fucked up greatly. I also doubt they'll own up to their mistake.

 

Eh, the Final Hours thing did talk about how Bioware originally intended to have a segment where control of Shepard's body was taken away by the Reapers, and the weird stuff when you talk to TIM at the end make it very possible Bioware did intend to have something to do with Indoctrination at the end.

I'm not saying that Bioware had some master plan and the final segment is all a hallucination, etc. But it is clear indoctrination was or is an important part of the ending, not just some fan theory.

 

Eh, just finished mine. Sure, the game has a ton of flaws and I agree with the general sentiment of the average player regarding pretty much all of them, but I still enjoyed most of the game - except for the ending, which sucked balls. Oh, it's been said everywhere so many times already, but it really was a bad way to end the series.

It's really a shame. Ever since EA, Bioware has been shit. Seeing these previously excellent gaming companies falling like this... really depressing. Gaming has become too mainstream =X At least there's still CD Projekt.

 

QFT.

I really loved the game - until the ending.
Nothing is going to stop me from replaying it, though.

Not even

Spoiler

the fact that no matter how high your war asset count is, it doesn't count for shit.

 

I'd buy that.

On a more serious note though, I don't understand how certain people are so vehemently up-in-arms about having a happy ending OPTION to the series.

 

That seems like loving the Twilight series just to spite relatively well-read people who think that it doesn't deserve the praise heaped upon it.

Possible spoilers:
And yes, I don't understand it either, Aviary. The game was supposed to have 16 endings. They specifically stated that Mass Effect 3 would have diverse and very unique endings, that were dependent on your choices.

Now, I don't hold it against people that enjoy the ending they got. They were the people that would have chosen that ending, had there been any choice. But the majority of people despise it, and there are no other options. That is the issue, in my opinion.

They said 16 endings. What could possibly be wrong with carrying through on those statements. Having 16 endings ranging from FUBAR to "Heroic Victory"?

The reason Mass Effect was so popular is that so many different people could play it, and play the way they wanted. When you take away that option and have everyone's story end the same way... Well, I wasn't terribly surprised with the outrage, especially considering Bioware's statements about the end.

Definite spoilers:
Depressing illustration. There aren't 16 endings. Not even close. There is this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPelM2hwhJA

 

Annnnddd there goes my Bioware support.


There is only one chance, and that's if the "Indoctrination" theory is true.