Mass Effect 3

[lattd]

Been playing all day, multiplayer is so dam amazing, and the paint schemes you can make are so cool. Although the demo has made me want the game even more.

[eldargal]

Looking forward to playing multiplayer actually, I've already played the single player through on each class and a few more times besides. :rolleyes: The one advantage of being up all night with a mild illness.

I really think Bioware have achieved the right balance with rpg elements, action, ease of play and pace. Though I'd like to know why my Infiltrator didn't have a sniper rifle in the second mission. The first mission was wonderful though, ithe cinematic build up really succeeded in heightening the tension.

The lady Krogan had a nice wiggle in her walk.

[DrLove42]

I've played single player once through. Don't want to play it anymore, else it might tarnish the beginning of the real game for me.

But it is great. Feels good, looks good and i like all the sprinting, jumping bits that open it up a bit more, although it did glitch on me and I was killed by an invisible sentry gun

As for the multiplayer...i think i like it. It suffers like all small room, non server based games do, with host connections and issues. But at its core it seems great...when you manage to get a game.

I've managed 3 games. First was the Rusty map, and everyone else on my team charged off and got killed before we'd finished wave 1. I didn't last much longer by myself. 2nd game a team of 4 got to wave 6 on Noveria, then failed the "kill 4 targets" stuff. Final game was just me and one other guy....made it to wave 10 before failing to deactivate the 4th object.

My observations on the multiplayer are;

- Its great fun, just needs better connections
- Should be able to buy the consumables individually not rely on getting them as a random loot in a box
- Sentry turrets are fu@*ing hardcore
- The constant onslaught of enemies on the objective waves makes them really hard. And the AI on them isn't great. At one point on my 10 wave run, it was me and the other guy in a corridor deadend, while there were 3 sentry guns and 5 or so riot shield guys pinning us down. In the end I just ran away and managed to score all 4 objectives while he stayed there and distracted them

Look forward to playing more tonight though

[lattd]

I heard one complete that multiplayer was only playable by modern warfare players. Something i found is if you don't play like a team you will loose quick, and even when you play as a team wave 10 can be a female dog to beat. But it plans like the single player i find, very team based and very action packed.

I would also note that kinect can be used in the demo and its use in cut scenes is pretty dam cool, for all those who believe kinect is for kids, bioware have used it so well it improves the immersion factor.

[DrLove42]

I hope to find a few friends to play the multiplayer with more. But its a great thing, because as you rank up, it gets easier and you can play the harder levels. A team of level ones have no chance of completing a Gold level game. Start on bronze, work your way in, earnt he monies, buy the crates, level up, increase your damage and health and it becomes easier. Thats a good type of progression for me

As for Kinect....I used it once or twice. Its slower than just pushing a button, to say open a door, but i might use it in speech, as long as the "Paragon/Renegade" interupt thing is also kinected. Means can put the controller down. The only problem is evry 20 minutes or so it flashes a message saying "Tired? Take a break!" across the screen....

[lattd]

Agreed that kinect issue is annoying and it sometimes doesnt work during normal gameplay for little things, but it works so well with the team mates and cut scenes.

A quick heads up my xbox gamertag is the same as my username.

[Gotthammer]

Played the demo tonight (just single player) and definitely enjoyed it - got my Mass Effect buzz back :D

They've edited some parts as dialogue from the trailers is different in the demo. The changes to gameplay seem ok, though having your power cooldown tied to equipment loading and Tech Armour upping it by 80% is a bit pants. I'm not as concerned about equipment as I'll be carrying an assault rifle and pistol and nothing else (soldier all the way), but the Tech Armour thing looks really limiting to Vanguards, being casters and all.

I like the change to health/shield regen as well.

Edit: forgot to say - probably my favourite part was the 'face builder' had much better lighting and I could actually see what I was doing properly for a change.

[eldargal]

So far the only class that didn't feel too great was Vanguard, though it may be because I was relyong on biotic charge when other abilities may have made more sense. Combat consisted of biotic charge in, shooting stuff, getting shot to pieces and hiding behind cover until my shield came back. It wasn't very dignified.:rolleyes:

[DrLove42]

I've stopped playing the demo now. Made it to wave 10 a few more times, and actually completed it once (yay) I know its good. I just don't want to put huge amounts of time into progressing on it, when all the stats will be wiped before the real thing. Don't understand how some people have managed to reach ranks around 80-90 already though.

[eldargal]

Drew Karpyshyb, writer for the Mass Effect games and author of the good ME novels is leaving Bioware (http://playstationlifestyle.net/2012/02/17/mass-effect-writer-drew-karpyshyn-leaves-bioware-moves-on-to-non-gaming-pursuits/).:(

Also found this excellent article on the Mass Effect universe,Why Mass Effect is the Most Important Science Fiction Universe of Our Generation (http://io9.com/5886178/why-mass-effect-is-the-most-important-science-fiction-universe-of-our-generation).

Plus a little sneak peak of the 'Take Earth Back (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Esung4vdTCI#!)' trailer.

[Morgan Darkstar]

I really don't have words to describe how awesome that single player demo was.
It's not very often I play a demo that actually moves me!

[Gotthammer]

Extended version of "Take Back Earth" is now up (http://youtu.be/oEBprrJDGoA). they're going to do an even more extended version on the 21st too.

[eldargal]

Pity they wouldn't make FemShep version, but it was still rather good.:rolleyes:

[DrLove42]

*RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGH*

F***

I want. I want now. I want the end to be like that. Just one massive battle. Alternativly...give us a Mass Effect the Movie like that

[Gotthammer]

"So Your Friend is a Vanguard" - a PSA on multiplayer. (http://blog.bioware.com/2012/01/27/special-forces/)

[DrLove42]

LOL I didn't notice many Vanguards around when I played

I play straight up Engineer. Human, cos I haven't unlocked anything else, then I might stick anyways cos of the good powers. Inferno is good against health and armour, and can have AoE for husk hordes. Overload deals with shields good and quick. And combat drones are great against riot shields cos they make them turn around.

[eldargal]

I didn't enjoy Vanguard much in single player for that reason, you ended up right up front being shot up by nasties and cowering behind a wall for ages hoping no one comes and pops you with a pistol until your shields recharge. I've not been able to play multiplayer yet.:(

[Gotthammer]

Longer "Take Earth Back" (http://youtu.be/eBktyyaV9LY) trailer is now up.

[DrLove42]

I can't get over how good this trailer looks.

Or the fact that its out in 17 days in the UK

[lattd]

The first DLC has been announced spoiler following the link: http://uk.xboxlive.ign.com/articles/121/1219156p1.html

[Gotthammer]

My copy of "art of the mass effect universe" arrived today. It is very shiny, and rather spoileriffic. Unfortunately it doesn't have enough Liara.
She gets one not very good page while Tali, Garrus, Grunt etc get two or more.

It's still a great book, really lavish, but a big disappointment my favourite character didn't get a full page portrait like some of the others.

[eldargal]

Yay, free DLC for me! Collectors Edition alreadu paying for itself (ha).

My copy of the Art book arrived yesterday, it is lovely. I agree the lack of Liara is dissapointing, though I expect there will be more of her in the ME3 artbook with the N7 CE. I have to say, though, if I ever decide to build an ultra modern house I'm going to get it designed by some of the people in the ME art department before handing it over to an architect and engineer to make it work. Pretty buildings.:rolleyes:

[Gotthammer]

Yes, I hope the N7 art book makes up for it and isn't too much a repetition of the big one. Still, as you said the scenery and buildings are beutiful, and the details on the husks are rather creepy and gross.

Also, all versions will have a reversable cover so you can have your choice of Shepaloo or Femshep (http://youtu.be/v62pM93iS4A) on the cover.

[DrLove42]

:D

Not long now. Gotta say I like the reversable covers.

For someone who hasn't read the books...why is Shepard releieved of duty at the beginnign of the game? Is that because of the destruction of the Mass Effect Portal during the DLC in ME2?

Also - highlight (spoilers about one of the new crew). Apparantly the voice files for the Prothean crew member have leaked onto Youtube. And hes Jamaican. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixk9ORP-U28 (URL linked to spoiler - don't click if you don't want to know!)

[Gotthammer]

I don't think anyone knows for sure - I think because of arrival if you've played it, or becasue of working with Cerberus if not (or arrival will be summarised if not). The ME wiki has a brief summary of Vega's involvement (http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/James_Vega) which explains a bit.

Relevent comic link (http://www.awkwardzombie.com/index.php?page=0&comic=022012).

[eldargal]

Yup, when you popped the Aratoht relay you also popped a star system with 300,000 Batarians in it. There was enough evidence against Shepard to justify a court martial so she has been suspended from duty until a verdict is found. Now we know the verdict is 'aargh! Reapers!'. Actually I'm hoping there was more of that edited from the demo because it was a tad underwhelming that the mass murder, however justified, wasn't mentioned.

:D

Not long now. Gotta say I like the reversable covers.

For someone who hasn't read the books...why is Shepard releieved of duty at the beginnign of the game? Is that because of the destruction of the Mass Effect Portal during the DLC in ME2?

Also - highlight (spoilers about one of the new crew). Apparantly the voice files for the Prothean crew member have leaked onto Youtube. And hes Jamaican. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixk9ORP-U28 (URL linked to spoiler - don't click if you don't want to know!)

Some more details about the From Ashes DLC here (http://www.neoseeker.com/news/18429-bioware-responds-to-outrage-over-mass-effect-3-from-ashes-dlc/). Highlight to read it:

- “From Ashes” includes the Prothean squad mate, an adventure on Eden Prime, a new weapon, and an alternate appearance for every squad mate. Note that these alternate appearances are in addition to the ones already advertised in the CE.

- The Collector's Edition has been advertised from the beginning as containing a bonus character/mission, but we were not at liberty to provide the details. The Prothean is optional content that is certainly designed to appeal to long-time fans, which is why he is part of the CE offering (the version many fans would be likely to purchase). Mass Effect 3 is a complete – and a huge game - right out of the box.

- The content in “From Ashes” was developed by a separate team (after the core game was finished) and not completed until well after the main game went into certification.

- The Collector's Edition has been sold out in most places for some time now, and is becoming very hard to find (many players prefer not to purchase the digital version). As such, we wanted to make this content available so that SE buyers could also incorporate the Prothean into their game.


I don't mind the accent, certainly not what I was expecting thoughs. Reminds me of all the people complaining about Orks in Space Marine sounding like Jamaicans, because Up Norf is so close to the Caribean

Did you get the CE of the art book Gotthammer? It has a reversible slipcover for the book too. Which I didn't know when I bought it or if I did I forgot. That was a nice thrill.

[Gotthammer]

There was enough evidence against Shepard to justify a court martial so she has been suspended from duty until a verdict is found.

I reckon they alliance brass are all just upset that they'll never beat Shep's new high score.

[lattd]

Have to admit the Protheon team mate looks like a bad a$$ mother ducker and its a great nod to the first game, if anyone recalls the hologram on the planet with the conduit stating that some Protheons survived.

[eldargal]

Yep, I've been wondering whether this might not happen ever since Vigil (the Ilos VI hologram) said some Protheans survived until after the Reapers went back into hibernation. Vigil said he assumed they died on the Citadel, but why would they with their reprogrammed Keepers to look after them?

[Psychosplodge]

I don't know if anyone has posted this (http://youtu.be/Ri0vrJ-y2zM), cause I can't be arsed to read the last couple of days worth of pages but you might find it interesting.....also spoilers

[eldargal]

I think its bollocks, I'd give a more in depth opinion but it is late and I want to go to bed.:rolleyes:

[Psychosplodge]

Lol I think that's a well argued point, but I agree with the idea that they are essentially releasing an uncompleted game....

I like the idea he was on about with the single use code that ensures there is an advantage to buying new. Did it work for Space Marine with the multiplayer level 5 cap?

[lattd]

People are complaining its first day dlc, but then people would complain if they didnt get the character on day one like the collectors edition buyers either way people are going to complain.

[DrLove42]

I ave no problem with day one DLC. People don't realise that the actual game has been in a finished, no more edits version for about 6 months. Adding the content into the game would have meant pushing it back.

As for the Online Pass code it is essential these days. Preowned games WILL be what eventually kills the industry. Things like this are one of the few option available to developers.

As for using a rank cap instead - It doesn't work. If you don't care enough to buy the game new, you probably don't care about your rank. It might work in a game like Space Marine or Battlefield where you unlock stuff by levelling up, but not in a game like this where if you keep playing for in game cash you can unlock all the weapons and stuff at rank 5

[eldargal]

People are claiming that because the leaked script from months ago included the Prothean crewemember he was intended to be part of the main game. But really, all that shows is that it was written alongside so the DLC would enmesh with the main game seamlessly.

I'd rather see DLC has an alternate income stream than see prices of games go up, particularly for RPGs which traditionally aren't the most popular games. In fact much of the criticism seems to be that people are cranky with publishers exploiting non-traditional (ie beyond initial sales and traditional expansions) revenue sources. I'm all for it myself. DLC kept Dragon Age: Origins going for ages and the DAII DLC with the Grey Warden prison was one of the best narratives I've experienced. Who cares if some bits could have been included at launch, they are still periphery to the main game.

Of course the real moral in all this is that you should buy the collectors edition.:p

Incidentally here is a picture of the Prothean crewmember:
http://thecontrolleronline.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Mass_Effect_3_From_Ashes.jpg

[DrLove42]

Huh. Protheans look like Salarians wearing big hats

[eldargal]

Little bit, only in that banner though. If you see the concept art and designs in the art book their heads are shorter and thicker (also, four eyes) and the body is much heavier set and isn't concave.

[DrLove42]

It does occur to me the thing he should look like most is a Collector

[eldargal]

He does look a lot like a collector, smaller, less bestial head though. I really can't understand the ridiculous fuss over this DLC, mind you the ME community has been insanely whiny for years. They make Warseerites look positively positive.

[Psychosplodge]

It looks like the unholy offspring of a tau and tyranid warrior...

[lattd]

People are claiming that because the leaked script from months ago included the Prothean crewemember he was intended to be part of the main game. But really, all that shows is that it was written alongside so the DLC would enmesh with the main game seamlessly.



Im glad they did that the two dlc members in mass effect 2 just didnt feel like part of the game.

[eldargal]

Agreed, I loved the thieving mission in the thief DLC but they both seemed tacked on, especially with the lack of conversatin options.

[lattd]

Or the lack of upgrades they added to the ship, imagine Kasumi could have added a stealth field and Zeed could have added more guns.

[eldargal]

Something along those lines would have been nice certainly. The lack of integration certainly was a bit annoying the first time around, though not so much after that.

[DrLove42]

I agree they werne't as integrated as they could have been, but I droppoed someone on my team to have Kasumi in it. Cos she was a real good character and i loved having her teleport effectivly around and smack people upside their heads

[eldargal]

Oh yes she was great, it was just a bit dissapointing you couldn't have chats with her (trying to figure out what was truth and fiction could have been great fun, she could have been written along the lines of Garak in Star Trek DS9). If the Prothean being in the scripts for ME3 means he has more integration than as far as I'm concerned that justified the price of Day 1 DLC, far from being an argument against it.:)

[eldargal]

The latest live action Mass Effect 3 trailer was leaked early, you can watch it here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DSCFQcR08E&feature=player_embedded#!). It is fantastic, in my opinion. Really helps create an emotional response to what the Reapers are doing to Earth.

Also two new screenshots featuring the Prothean crewmember:
http://www.cinemablend.com/images/gallery/s39903/Mass_Effect_3_From_Ashes_13303140382473.jpg
http://www.cinemablend.com/images/gallery/s39903/Mass_Effect_3_From_Ashes_13303140378297.jpg

'That will be you in 900 years darlin'
http://www.cinemablend.com/images/gallery/s39903/Mass_Effect_3_From_Ashes_13303140373962.jpg

Oh and the DLC features alternate costumes for each crewmember, as well as a returnto Eden Prime.

[lattd]

Why is the liara wearing jacks outfit?

[eldargal]

No comments on the live action video? Shameful.:p

Interview with ME3s lead writer here (http://popwatch.ew.com/2012/02/28/mass-effect-3-mac-walters/), some interesting titbits.


The big [thing] that changed in this is we really wanted to bring back squad banter. When we had 12 henchmen in Mass Effect 2, it was really complicated and somewhat costly to have potentially 12 people behind you who could chat back and forth. You can do the math in your head and see how expensive that gets. You’ll hear your squad talking behind you a lot. It adds to the flavor of the characters
Yay for squad banter, I really missed it in ME2.

[DrLove42]

URGENT! URGENT! THIS POST IS FU**ING URGENT!

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-02-29-game-not-stocking-mass-effect-3-or-ea-games-past-ssx

GAME AND GAMESTATION WILL NOT BE STOCKING ANY COPIES OF MASS EFFECT 3.

ALL PREORDERS ARE VOID. CONTACT THE CUSTOMER SERVICE NUMBER OR YOUR STORE FOR INFORMATION. IF YOU PLACED A DEPOSIT IT IS REDEEMABLE ONLY AS STORE CREDIT

IF YOU HAVE A COLLECTORS COPY YOU ARE TOLD TO PRE-ORDER ELSEWHERE.

[Gotthammer]

IGN has a copy of the internal memo from Game HQ.
(http://au.games.ign.com/articles/121/1219655p1.html)

[DrLove42]

URGENT! URGENT! THIS POST IS FU**ING URGENT!

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-02-29-game-not-stocking-mass-effect-3-or-ea-games-past-ssx

GAME AND GAMESTATION WILL NOT BE STOCKING ANY COPIES OF MASS EFFECT 3.

ALL PREORDERS ARE VOID. CONTACT THE CUSTOMER SERVICE NUMBER OR YOUR STORE FOR INFORMATION. IF YOU PLACED A DEPOSIT IT IS REDEEMABLE ONLY AS STORE CREDIT

IF YOU HAVE A COLLECTORS COPY YOU ARE TOLD TO PRE-ORDER ELSEWHERE.

Seeing as we're now on a new page, figured should bring this to the front so no one misses it

Basically EA have started asking for retailers to start paying for stock up front, instead of on a credit note, as it always has been.

So despite GAMEs turnover last year being over £1 billion they don't want to do it. So they are stocking no EA games in March


As a side note - This could be the death of GAME. After all the rumours refusing to stock EA games is a death sentence. Games like FIFA, ME3, The Sims are all affected by this in March and going onto the future...EA is Battlefield, Medal of Honor, more FIFA, all the sports games...the list is huge and 99% of them are the big industry hitters


Eurogamer have an interesting article on what would happen should Game go under

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-02-28-what-would-happen-if-game-died

[Gotthammer]

According to the IGN article I linked, Game have had trouble getting credit to stock titles in recent months (and have had some new releases absent from shelves), so I can see why EA would be withdrawing the tab, so to speak.

[eldargal]

Glad I had a back up pre-order with amazon.

[Psychosplodge]

How legal is this £5 deposit back as credit, doesn't that breach your statutory rights?

[DrLove42]

I've heard a few people of getting it in cash. They can't refuse it

But you also get £5 of reward points onto your card... as well as the refund.

[Gotthammer]

The fiver's in addition to a full refund of any deposit, the IGN document has the info down the bottom of the page.

[Psychosplodge]

1669

:p

[eldargal]

Lol, Game and the other four people should form a club.

[Psychosplodge]

Harsh, looks like there's at least 272(at time of writing lol)... (http://steamcommunity.com/groups/mass-effect-3-suck)

[eldargal]

Lol, 272 and an estimated 1.5 million ME3 pre-orders. I bet Bioware are really feeling the heat.:rolleyes:

[Psychosplodge]

But it's not 1,500,272 is it? :p

[DrLove42]

And thanks to GAME, its probably not 1.5million anymore....

GAME have managed to cancel more preorders than the boycott have i'll give em that :p

[lattd]

Some cool new photo's https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150586856956645.379308.85811091644&type=1

[Gotthammer]

Working on some Infinity conversions, to go with the ones I did earlier (http://collegiatitanica.blogspot.com.au/2011/08/im-commander-shepard-and-this-is-my.html).

Garrus:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VRuVh1t_RnE/T1DUYQe3AyI/AAAAAAAABVY/umwebLB3qNk/s1600/MeMini03.jpg

Kasumi:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A_feWXEYIfQ/T1DUW4DGvXI/AAAAAAAABVM/s4r3N1YDl8Y/s1600/MeMini01.jpg

Kaiden:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ocHfPbb6uQ4/T1DUXqWB2lI/AAAAAAAABVQ/Pmg7a6c4gS4/s1600/MeMini02.jpg

The Mako:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D4PpwfyRR7M/T1DUZaZK_sI/AAAAAAAABVg/1IOq9crl20k/s1600/MeMini04.jpg

I've also got Ash, Wrex, Jacob and Miranda on the bench. Everybody's primed and a few have base coats on, so should have some more pics soon.

[eldargal]

Very nice, Gotthammer.:) I'm still working on some Asari.

Sometimes insomnia comes in handy, the Mass Effect 3 launch trailer just went up, and it is fantastic. Cansee it here (http://masseffect.com/videos/video/ed4654f7e8b506c149e1aed1cc4cd99d).

[Gotthammer]

Thanks EG, your comment about asari reminded me I've also got Samara to do :)

Was just about to post that link :p Trailer is pretty damn awesome - Jack makes a brief appearance, it looks like and older Grunt, and is that a good friend of Joker at 0:49?

[eldargal]

I've got the heads nearly done but I'm still tryingto figure out what to use for bodies. I like your infinty conersins but don't want ot just copy them.:(

I did wonder if that was Jokers Special Friend at 49s, not sure who wlse it could be and the hairstyle matches the ones in the art book.

[Gotthammer]

I'm using the Coolmini Space Girl (http://www.coolminiornot.com/shop/space-girl-1.html) for Samara, and have been pondering using Statuesque (http://www.statuesqueminiatures.co.uk/online-store), so there are a few other options out there.
But honestly I say just go with Infinity, as they're prettymuch ideal for the most part.

[eldargal]

I'm actually a bit worried about the endings now. Some/all were apparently leaked and while I've not read anything about them on principle, some of my friends did and they are really, really upset about the (alleged) endings. The moral being don't read sodding spoilers.

Still, these aren't people give to nerdrage so I'm a little worried.:(

[Gotthammer]

Bioware said the leaks were early drafts. I haven't read them myself, but the gist is something like they're all really depressing or downer endings going against the shiny hero motif the series has had.
If that's it I can see how an early draft could overdo it, so I'm not too worried myself.

[eldargal]

Oh but the latest leaks aren't the early deaft, people have videos of the end cinematics and a couple of screenshots and a few peopel have allegedly played the game through. I paid no attention to the leaked script but this seems much more serious. I pointedly avoided asking for details but my best friend who is as big a ME fan as I started crying on the telephone while she was telling me she read the leaked endings.:( However even she admitted it was a lot of interpretation and 'fanalsysis' an nerdrage mixed into the actual accounts so she has hope it won't be as bad as it reads. But now I'm a little worried.:rolleyes:

I think I'm prepared for it, though. I've been telling myself to assume that everyone dies and anything better than that is a win.:rolleyes: Actually I have one definition of success: Does Liara survive? If yes, then I'm happy. Even if she is the last Asari thanks to their genetic purity (no inbreeding) she can repopulate the galaxy with little blue babies from whatever DNA is to hand.

[Gotthammer]

Actually I have one definition of success: Does Liara survive? If yes, then I'm happy.

I think it is obvious that I agree with you there :p

And just seeing the very end doesn't mean much - there is so many other little things that can make the overall ending good or bad than just the last few moments. I'm reserving judgement until I've played the game through a couple of times.

[eldargal]

Agreed, I'm only slightly worried in that there is always the slight posibility that Bioware screw up and fail to right satisfying endings. But as you say there is a difference between extracting end game cinematics data and listening to people who claim to have played it. In fact someone on BSN who was claining to play it was saying that people were overanalysing small, stupid things and making an issue out of things which weren't a problem at all,l according to my friend.:rolleyes: So yes, anyone with any sense should wait and see for themselves to get the full context of what is going on.

[Gotthammer]

It seems some of the complaints are that people can't stop the Reapers without loss - I mean really? Did people seriously think they'd be able to defeat them without half the galaxy getting blow up?
So long as the choice isn't save galaxy / all sidekicks die, I'm cool.

[eldargal]

Agreed. So long as I can keep Liara alive I'm happy, and I full expect to be traumatised and emotionall scarred by the endings. For gods sake a species of nearly omnipotent robots is trying to cleanse intelligent organic life from the galaxy, things are going to suck regardless and I expect character I care about to die. Or else what's the point?:rolleyes:

[Gotthammer]

Snarky, but amusing, comment from another board on the topic of "the ending might suck":

'Yeah, but I expect the "Good" end to be DLC that sells for $12 and comes out about 6 months after launch.'

[eldargal]

Ha, well at least it will shut up the people who seem to equate choice with a happy ending*.:rolleyes: There are also rumours that another ending unlocks when you finish your second playthrough (or a playthrough with the same character that finished your first one with) which may be more 'happy'. Not sure of the details, it is hard to find out this much without spoilers.


*Except it will be balanced out by everyone whining about having to pay for it.

[DrLove42]

That launch trailer does things to me that no trailer for a video game should do.

Week yesterday. Damn. Got Friday off (woo for medical leave) and most of sat free. Gonna have to juggle single player and multiplayer...

Also....this made me laugh - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBtv6KXtB-0&feature=related

[Gotthammer]

Blargh, unfortunately it looks like the ending is going towards sucksville. There's snippets up on the youtubes which point to lameness, but are incomplete so I'm still hopeful, but my excitement is diminished somewhat :(

[eldargal]

Well everything is out of context at the moment, so I'm going to wait and see. But still a little worried as I said. It would be such a shame of Bioware made the gameplay and story great right up to and excluding the endings.

[DrLove42]

I hope bioware arent silly enough to do that

i can believe only getting the "best" ending if you 100% the galaxy at war or have to use a save file from me 1 and 2

[Gotthammer]

There's also talk of a 'secret' super-good ending when you playthrough again with the same character. Seems rather stupid to me - it's a quick playthrough on easy then (doing stupid renegade stuff lol) and then time to play my 'canon' run and see what I get.

The one good thing about it coming out a couple of days later here is I can let all the American gamers sort out this mess for me :p

[eldargal]

I don't know, I think encouraing people to play through a second time with something more than extra resources and credits is a good idea.

I actually have four canons:

Pure paragon
Paragon with cool renegade interrupts*.:rolleyes:
Renegade with good of the galaxy in mind
Pure renegade.

I did accidentally find out a Tali-spoiler, but not related to the ending, highlight to read:
If you can't get peace between the Geth and the Quarians and side with the Geth, Tali kills herself.

*like the one on Tuchanka in ME2 where you shoot the gas tank and it fries the talkative krogan, or that nifty one in ilium where you headbutt the guard and miranda shoots the gas tank so it falls onto the Eclipse mercs and blows them up.

[Gotthammer]

I think having more bonus stuff is good, but holding back the 'best' ending for a repeat is a bit lame IMO.

I've heard that Tali one, but time will tell if it's true. Apparently a number of characters have things you need to do in time or before a certain time to prevent their deaths - warn them of something before x, get to them before y etc. Be interesting to see how that plays out.

On the plus side all this Mass Effect angst is making writing the bit I'm on at the moment (which is rahter nihilistic in of itself at the moment) much easier :p

[eldargal]

Well it isn't even confirmed that there is a good ending yet, apparently it is mentioned in the Prima guide but people who have data mined the game files say it isn't there. Of course they may be lying or it could be hidden or who knows. Or it may be patched in.

I can cope with 'bad' endings in the sense of things not being all peachy after the Reapers are finished, I just really hope they aren't bad in the sense of being nonsensical, stupid and/or poorly thought out. I can forgive a lot for a good story. I actually loved DA 2 despite its problems because the story was great, the fact we had a hero that couldn't re-arrange the world to suit herself was virtually unprecedented.

Suspense > Eldargal. I'm going to have to spend the next five days drunk to cope.

[Gotthammer]

Having heard some of the dialogue from in-game, I'm much happier now as there's some great stuff (in particular there's a near end scene with Shep/Garrus that's adorable), so even if the ending is as bad as people are saying the rest of the game should be satisfying.
Though apparently they've slimmed down the dialogue trees - no more 'investigate' option and fewer choices when they are there. It seemed to work ok for Shadow Broker, so we'll see.

[eldargal]

My copy just shipped, seems a bit early? Could possibly arrive tomorrow which is the US launch...

So not complaining. Complaining a little about the fact I won't have access to a computer with which to play ME3 from friday to sunday though. Grr.

[Gotthammer]

Then I hope it does arrive early for you so yet get a good run in :) Though I am cursing you if it does come early regardless :p Might head up to EB tomorrow and re-reconfirm my order is in the system - it's all paid for so I might try to get it early >_>

[DrLove42]

I nearly got mine lsst week

Went into tesco to reorder after Game fell through. They didnt realise it was a "preorder" box and got one out of the store room, only catching it at the very last second when the computer system screamed at them it wasnt out yet.

So close

[lattd]

Mines going to my parents hmm not good.

[eldargal]

God Bless Bioware, they made a FemShep version of 'Take Back Earth' (http://popwatch.ew.com/2012/03/05/mass-effect-3-femshep-trailer/).
http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/i/2012/03/04/MASS-EFFECT_320.jpg
I'd hit it like she is Khalisah al-Jilani.

I'm off to bed to hopefully await ME3 arriving on my doorstep tomorrow.:rolleyes:

[Gotthammer]

I nearly got mine lsst week

Went into tesco to reorder after Game fell through. They didnt realise it was a "preorder" box and got one out of the store room, only catching it at the very last second when the computer system screamed at them it wasnt out yet.

So close

This hurts you...

I managed to score Metroid: Prime two days early which was pretty sweet. EB wouldn't budge on breaking street date though for some reason :rolleyes:

Eldargal, sweet linkage :) weird it's not on the youtubes.

[Morgan Darkstar]

just finished ME2 again. perfect ending, all crew saved, all team members alive with maximum loyalty, maximum paragon, all upgrades, all missions and side missions done so i am ready for ME3 :D

[eldargal]

I'm proud to say I've never lost a crewman in ME2. Even on renegade playthroughs. May be an evil-minded b*tch but I don't put the mission at risk by cutting corners.:rolleyes:

[Psychosplodge]

I've never left a crewman behind, I'm not about to start now....

[eldargal]

Well, there was that whole 'Kaiden Alenko' incident but I don't count that 'cos I didn't really have a say and it was either him or a girl.

Two ot three hours should see the postman come and gone...

[Psychosplodge]

Where as l4d2 I'll shoot the bots to get the heli to evac quicker.... ;)

[eldargal]

Pfft, bots don't count as crew.

Mass Effect 3 Review Roundup (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/338615/mass-effect-3-review-round-up-third-game-in-the-trilogy-is-an-undisputed-triumph/). Could sum up the overal impression of ME3 with the words 'epic win'.:rolleyes:

[Psychosplodge]

Has this found it's way here yet? (https://twitter.com/#!/alliancenewsnet)

[asteroidjawa]

not bad, but I'll play my proper looking fem-shep

[Gotthammer]

R.I.P. Emily Wong :( Would much rather have had her aboard the Normandy than new person.

Mass Effect 3 "Literal Trailer" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZ2ggklIfSY&feature=colike).

[lattd]

Has anyone ordered from play.com, mine still hasn't been shipped yet and i was wondering if anyone else was waiting on them too.

[eldargal]

Don't like the trailer much. Pity about Emily Wong.:( Death by twitter, I bet Stephen Fry is feeling envious right now.

R.I.P. Emily Wong :( Would much rather have had her aboard the Normandy than new person.

Mass Effect 3 "Literal Trailer" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZ2ggklIfSY&feature=colike).

[Psychosplodge]

I love internet crossovers....


http://chzbronies.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-brony-my-little-mass-effect1.jpg (http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/mass-effect-3/user-reviews)

[eldargal]

Best game ever, that is all.

[Psychosplodge]

Best game ever, that is all.
Really?

[lattd]

Should get my copy saturday so excited :)

[eldargal]

Yup, even of the endings are dissapointment (they may not be, Bioware fans are notorious whiners, they make Warseer look like a land of optimism) the journey to get to it so far is fantastic.

[Psychosplodge]

Well they did horribly dumb down dragon age 2....and dragon age origins was hardly rocket science to begin with...

[Morgan Darkstar]

It's so pretty i am almost hesitant to open the box :)

[wittdooley]

So I've only played the multiplayer so far. And holy nuts. It's a blast. Very fun team oriented multiplayer. Going to be logging a ton of hours on it.

[Morgan Darkstar]

Online pass and extra weapons etc

Not in my PS3 collectors edition

NOT HAPPY RARGH!! :(

[Gotthammer]

I think the collector's edition \is tagged as such on the disc and downloads/installs automatically - at least it did on PC. The only thing I had to do manually was the DLC mission.


This game is so awesome - met all the sidekicks from 1 & 2, and so many others from the previous games. And Conrad Verner! His scene was so damn hilarious. Shame abou the LotSB import bug messing up romancing Liara, but still all good :D

[Morgan Darkstar]

I think the collector's edition \is tagged as such on the disc and downloads/installs automatically - at least it did on PC. The only thing I had to do manually was the DLC mission.


This game is so awesome - met all the sidekicks from 1 & 2, and so many others from the previous games. And Conrad Verner! His scene was so damn hilarious. Shame abou the LotSB import bug messing up romancing Liara, but still all good :D

Short call to EA and everything is sorted :)

new pass sent out to me.

This is one of the best games I have played

and the most Bittersweet :`)

[lattd]

Still havent got my copy :( so want to play this game!

Having read some of the grumbles people have, namely there's not enough side quests, excuse me its set during a galactic, war i think people would be more worried about the mega death robots than, some credits going missing.

[Gotthammer]

Saying goodbye to Liara... I cried manly tears ;_;

[Psychosplodge]

Just this. (http://youtu.be/zRRpGlmtws8)

[DrLove42]

I'm having a lot of trouble downloading the DLC

Anyway....How good si this game? I'm loving it so hard in the face right now.

I'm about 25 hours in single player, am now in the endgame on Earth again

I suggest to discuss game content, but avoid spoilers we continue to make-text-white-and-highlight-to-read, but before each section apply a single word to describe it.

For instance - [MORDIN] I'm genuinly sad he's dead (in mine at least)

If you don't know how to describe it, put your word as the "act" its in - Prologue, Act 1 (Turians & Krogan), Act 2 (Quarians and Geth), Act 3 (Asari and Cerberus) and Endgame. That way we can discuss events that happen, but not spoil it for people behind us

[ACT 2] - It suprised me how much of a new light the memories and stuff portray the Geth. They're not just robots, but seem genuinly remorseful for the war. Also - Y U NO show me Tali's face?

I know a lot of people on here are massive fans of the Asari. Personally they're my least favourite race
[THESSIA] - The hiding of that beacon just makes them look even more stuck up

I've always been a Krogan/Salarian/Quarian guy. Particularly Quarians. I need to unlock Quarian engineer in multiplayer! I've got the other 3!

[CHARACTER DEATHS] - I've lost Mordin, Thane and Legion (and very nearly Grunt). I'm reasonably sure the script writers decided that they had too many characters in ME2 and are "ret-conning" their universe by killing all my favourite charcters!

[lattd]

I have read loads, and people seem sad that they are loosing their favourite characters your at war with beings that destroy life and you don't expect people to do? yea some i wish could be avoided, but it makes it more realistic if characters your attached to die in the game

[eldargal]

Load of bollocks, it shows the character is on the game disk but the story and dialogue isn't. You can use that code to use the Prothean in the game but without any of the story that makes the DLC worth buying.:rolleyes:

Just this. (http://youtu.be/zRRpGlmtws8)

Just got back from weekend away last night, currently helping the Quarians. Surprising how sad some of the overheard conversations are. There is a particularly touching series of overheard conversation in the refugee camp between a Turian guard and a teenage human girl waiting for her parents.

Also, you do get to see Tali unmasked (http://images.wikia.com/masseffect/images/3/39/Taliface.png) if you romance her.

[DrLove42]

The DLC "on the disk" might include the lines in the code to allow him in the game

But seeing as the DLC is over 600Meg the actual planet, missions, text and everything else clearly aren't.

(UPDATED - official response from EA (http://www.xbox360achievements.org/news/news-11103-EA-Refutes-Mass-Effect-3-From-Ashes--DLC-Already-On-the-Disc--Claims.html))

Also - Quarians. Amazing. Think i'm in love...definently romancing Tali on any more play throughs. Not that I didn't love her character in the first place....

I find myself stopping next to people who are standing close just to hear the stories.

Also - [ACT 1] Udina. Traitorous son of a *****. Knew I never liked him

[eldargal]

I only play FemSheps so no Tali romance for me. She does look nice though.

People are just looking for an excuse to whine about the DLC, it is really quite sad at this point. They are going out of their way to find fault with EA/Bioware simply because they don't like EA. Everything is viewed through a prism of desire to think the worst of EA.

[DrLove42]

Well you said it yourself ...the Bioware forums are amongst the lowest points of the internet. People there are never happy

And you're right. Its just people whinging about the content because they can. Play the damn game people and understand how the developers deserve more money

[POSSIBLE SEQUELS- THESSIA] The prothean VI mentions that the reapers may not be the "big bad guy". That they are just part of the system thats happened more before and theres someone else calling the shots. I know the ending may not be the most compatable with straight sequels though

[Gotthammer]

I made a youtubes for my Shep (http://youtu.be/0ruA63JBn5U) - some ME3 end spoilery bits in there, but no context given.


Doc, in regards to the character deaths: Thane, Mordin and Legion's deaths are unavoidable (well, you can exchange Tali for Legion in one scenario).

[eldargal]

So far I have literally cried when:

(highlight for spoilers)
Thane died.
Mordin died.
Legion died.
I thought Grunt had died.
I delivered Charrs message to his Asari wife Ereba ('Oh blue rose of Ilium...') and listened to said message with her.
I witnessed the Fall of Thessia*

*Thanks to Cerberus, who I am now going to brutally annihilate.

:rolleyes:

[DrLove42]

Is a good point.

[GRUNT] I was very sad when I thought he was dead. He wasn't for me (thankfully) but he would have gone out like a Krogan should. Surrounded by the bodies of his enemies

On thats subject - [RACHNI] The decision to save the Rachni seems to have basically such a tiny effect after all in the final game.
If you save her in ME1 then again in ME2 you sacrfice the Krogan squad, and gain 100 War Asset points.
If you save her, then leave her, you get the Krogan squad, who are worth just as much in points
If you killin game 1, apparantly you encounter a reaper clone of her. If you kill that you get the krogan squad
If you save the "clone" then you sacrfice the Krogan, and get untrsutworthy Rachni on the Crucible, who sabotage it and activly lower your score.

I was expecting them to play a much larger role
Well I finished last night

I can understand why people had complaints about the ending, it is quite bitter sweet. Its crazy, the final decision, something that will literally only affect a 2 minute ending cutscene and nothing else still took me nearly 5 minutes to decide.
[ENDING DECISION] - I unified in the end. In any case I was dead, I couldn't bring myself to commit genocide on the Geth despite of everything. And controlling didn't seem like a good idea in the end

Going round all your team mate before the final battle and talking to them was quite emotional as well.

[THE ENDING] - So whatever happens all the mass relays go boom. Thanks to the final battle that means that nearly every military person in the galaxy is stranded in Sol and the Mily Way. No way for the Quarians fleet to actually go back to their planet. No way for the Krogan to return to a planet with healthy females. No way for the Turians or Asari to go home.

[eldargal]

I just finished my playthrough too. I've never felt so emotionally drained by a story than this. Four and a half years of Shepards story over, more or less. I spent the last hour or so alternately crying, drinking and playing.:rolleyes:

So, spoilers:

Poor Anderson went out like the bad-*** he was, bless him. I opted for the destroy ending, I found the control option unacceptable (who is to say Shepard would be any better controlling the Reapers after millions of years trapped in their heads?) and the sythesis option abhorrent (though it depends, do the new hybrids maintain their old memories and personalities or are they glorified husks?). I feel bad about EDI, though. Now the Reapers are gone and the races of the galaxy can start rebuild in some form or another.

Super, ultra mega spoiler, do not highlight if you intend to pursue each possible ending and don't want the surprise of one spoilt:
Shepard survives (well, I think it may depend on your war score, I had 5100+) the Destroy option, at the end there is a small clip where you see part of her breastplate and then she gasps before it cuts to black. DLC incoming.

So my non-spoiler thoughts on the endings:

Are they bad, as the internet claims? No. Bittersweet, traumatic (if like me you invested hundreds of hours into your characters and the relationships with other characters), unsettling and apparently even more brutal if your war readiness is particularly low. I would go so far to say they are quite brilliant in their way. No fairy tale ending, real choices with real consequences.

Some random speculation:
If you romance Liara she performs some kind of melding ritual with Shepard before the final battle, the optimist in my hopes she got herself knocked up. She did mention blue babies right before it...




Oh, and ME3 has been a huge success with up to 3.5 million copies (http://www.techspot.com/news/47755-ea-ceo-talks-mass-effect-3-and-star-wars-numbers.html) sold, 890000 in the first 24 hours. Which ones assumes are not the 1.5 million odd pre-orders. The article also mentions SWTOR has 1.7 million paid subscribers which is nice.

So, all in all I think ME3 was a triumph and a brilliant end to the Shepard trilogy. Now if you will excuse me I need to go lie down and stop blubbing.:rolleyes:

[Gotthammer]

So far I have literally cried when:

*cut*


commentary on this:

Agreed there. Thane's death was really well done, especially his final prayer. I wasn't so sad about Mordin as he died on his terms, if that makes sense. It's almost worth taking the Dalatras' offer as there is some awesome acting from Mordin's VA in that case when he finds out - linky (http://youtu.be/L-1FAxiUAoo).

Legion's death is even sadder if you just straight side with the Quarians - he tries to kill Shep and Tali has to stab him, then he dying asks if "this unit has a soul", to which Tali tearfully says yes.

Char's final poem was so sad :(

All I can say is get the kleenex out when you get towards the end.


What really got to me a well was when:

The Quarian guy asks the team to tell his son he made it to the homeworld before dying.




On thats subject - [RACHNI] *cut* [/COLOR]

Yes, it was rather surprising how it was implimented.



Well I finished last night

I can understand why people had complaints about the ending, it is quite bitter sweet. Its crazy, the final decision, something that will literally only affect a 2 minute ending cutscene and nothing else still took me nearly 5 minutes to decide.
[ENDING DECISION]

Comments:

I chose destruction (see my video above) as I couldn't see forcing many races, Quarians especially, into cyborgification. Also it was too much like being made into husks and Shep just didn't trust the Catylist enough.

You can also survive the destruction ending, which is a plus.



Going round all your team mate before the final battle and talking to them was quite emotional as well.

[THE ENDING]

There are rumours and many vague comments from the staff alluding to some kind of ending DLC to fix the issue a'la Broken Steel for FO3. I'm ok with the ending, but (spoiler):

Given I pulled everyone out of the suicide mission intact, I heroically survived the first battle of the citadel etc I really wanted an ending where shep got through in one piece (more or less) and acted heroically. Coming back on the Normandy ahead of giant fireball, high fiving Garrus, finding out Liara's pregnant and so on... Given the history of improbably survival the character (and genre) has there really should have been some option for that.



There's also something that got cut from the near end sequence:

During the run for the beam when Harbringer appears your squadmates dissapear after you get asploded and re-appear aboard the Normandy. There was a scene cut where Joker flies down and gives Harbringer a Thanix cannon enema and rescues everyone sans Shep and Anderson, explaining what happens to Harby and how your squad went from by your side to the Normandy.



Also, the entire sequence of Blasto 6: Partners in Crime for your viewing pleasure (http://youtu.be/aPENu9REJ_8):

"Has a Prothean descended from heaven, because this one would enjoy enkindling that."
"Badassfully: hey, man, that's my sister."
"Your progenitors genetic propencity for attractiveness was passed only to her."

:D

[DrLove42]

Liara - Endgame

She performs the "meld" even if you don't romance. No mention of babies though.

The fact its over...I don't know

I've never felt this way after a game before. Other series I invest heavily in the fluff and character of (Halo & Gears are my go to examples here...brilliant back stroy and characters) have never left me like this at the end. The Shepard I just finished with is the product of at least 120 hours of gameplay. And thats just the one character. I've got 1 more to go through with, and then another planned for a 3 game marathon soon.

And you're right. its not a bad ending. Its a bitter sweet one. I kinda wish there was a "heres what happened" not just (spoiler) the Normandy crashes and people look at hopefully

THE Very end - The "Stargazer" in the closing scene talking to the child is voiced by the 2nd man on the moon - Buzz Aldrin

The games got me for a good while yet. Got a few more play throughs, plenty of multiplayer to go and DLC has already been spied (http://www.xbox360achievements.org/news/news-11111-Mass-Effect-3-Multiplayer-DLC-Brings-New-Classes--Races-.html)

If I can just unlock the ******* Quarian engineer i'll be happy....

I never realised you could play the movie sound bites.. (nor did I ever find Kasumi or Conrad).
"Are you engaging in re-productive behaviuor with this one"

Also - So Legion dies whatever. Apparantly if you choose the Geth and can't convince the Quarians Tali commits suicide :(. As my favourite character that's never going to happen....

Future Add ons - Wouild be difficult. Anything set post-final battle would suffer with scale as the relays are all gone

[eldargal]

I need to play it for another couple of hundred hours 'til the sorrow wears off enough to let me:
Check out synthesis and control to see the specifics. Have to admit not keen on the outright death of Shepard in control (or so the little ghost chap says) so that probably means I'll never do that.:rolleyes:


The Blast stuff was hilarious.

Coquettishly: Whose the big handsome jellyfish?

Slumber would be difficult due to the energetic nature of our copulation.

I'm really enjoying multiplayer, though I've opened up pretty much every damn class and race but Asari.:mad:

Oh, I found Conrad Verner, that was a hilarious cameo. Oddly touching.

[Gotthammer]

@EG: Agree on your speculation. It's that there are too many loose ends that gives me any sense of dissatisfaction more than anything - I wan't to see it happen dammit!
I went back to ME2 and played through LotSB again - always cheers me up - then made my tribute video to get out of my funk after the ending. It wasn't brought on by disappointment, but I was genuinely saddened by the events.

Conrad: I was so happy to see him help - not only with a War Asset (1 point, lol) and to stump Shep with his 'sure I can help with that' reply, but that he really did do something heroic in the end :)
And him getting together with Jenna was very sweet.


@Doc: Re Legion: You have to have done a whole lot of things to get them to make peace, like getting Tali and Legion to stop fighting by not taking sides in ME2, save Korris from the crash, not his crew and I think there's another condition too.

Re, Future add ons: One theory bouncing around is that the after Shepard collapses by Anderson it's all an indoctrination induced dream...

Finding those missing people: To meet Kasumi you have to talk to a Salarian spectre or STG agent who is following her and get involved with a potentially crooked Hanar. He sends you an email to meet outside the Spectre offices - he might disappear after Cerberus attacks though.

Conrad only appears after the Cerberus attack, but you have to talk to the doctor near where Kelly stands in the refugee camp for him to appear as part of the mini quest the doctor gives you. Conrad then appears on the concourse between the memorial wall and the shanty-town section.

[eldargal]

I'm not too dissapointed by loose ends, I figure there will be DLC to answer some of them.:p

Re the speculation:
I think the indoctrination dream thing is silly and would only cause even more stupid outrage if they made DLC with the 'real' ending. I would be enraged if this were the case, the end was so emotional to have it waved away with a 'lol it wuz a dream' would be devestating.

I did miss Kasumi and a few other things by continuing with the story past the citadel thing.:(

I'm going to have to make a list of all the outcomes I want and the decisions required in ME1 and 2 and make a comphrensive playthrough at some point.

[Gotthammer]

On speculation:

It seems to be mostly a fan-made theory. Most of the rumermongering is pointing to a fourth option or adding some after event content, which would certainly be better as an add-on. The indoctrination dream would have been interesting as a fakeout end (sans crash landing and Buzz Aldrin in the sequence of course) and then have the game go for another half hour or so when Shep breaks out if done from the start.

Missing things:

I was somewhat fortunate that I got really confused by Liara' seeming friendzoning of Shep during the time capsule conversation. I looked up a guide that said there should be a 'more than friends' option (that actually happens on the citadel later [stupid IGN & others]) so ended up replaying about four hours of the game at that point, so caught a lot of stuff that vanished after Cerberus - though Kasumi's quest is bugged, so if you get it don't do anything else until you finish it, even if it is nearby, as it can cause it to become uncompletable.

It does annoy me that the devs said they're aware that the different dialogue for Liara if you played through LotSB and kept the relationship is there but doesn't trigger, and they're not planning to fix it at the moment. It would've removed references to it being 'years' and not have to reconfirm things etc.

Another strange thing is I got two differnet dialogues from Kaiden during the lunch on the citadel - in one he just rambled, and in the second run through he confessed he loved Shep (to whit: seriously? You have met Liara, right?). Odd it didn't happen the first time, but maybe I chose something slightly different talking to him earlier that boosted my rep with him.

Oh, and something that put me into a fit of childish giggling:

Garrus showing Tali some special calibraitons in the weapons bay!

"He was, uh, just checking my suit for a leak..."
"Oh, uh, my mandible must have gotten caught on her mask..."

Suuuuuure... and that their explaination goes on for like a minute ha ha ha :D

[DrLove42]

Seriously?

http://www.facebook.com/DemandABetterEndingToMassEffect3

Don't quite know how people expect these things....

I'll admit the ending wasn't quite up to my expectations. It wasn't bad but...

The galactic readiness thing Apparantly the only thing it controlled was if the crew survived the Normandy crash
The main complaint seems to be that this epic story of twist and important decisions comes down to a a choice and a 2 minute ending scene that shows nothing and give no closure. Apparantly the 3 endingd don't actually differ that much. In one the reeapers explode. In the other 2 they leave. Then you see the relays explode and then the normandy crash. And thats it

[eldargal]

That is pathetic, really. Ever since Dragon Age II I've been convinced most rpg fans are too immature to cope with an actual ening, vs a fairy tale conclusion where the hero magically gets his or her way and saves the day so everyone can live happily ever after. I'm even more certain now. I mean I get people being a little dissappointed, I'm a little dissapointed in some ways, but that is a long way from saying the ending was bad or that Bioware should give us another one.

Actually, apparently galactic readiness also dictates whether or not earth survives, apparently if it is low enough earth is basically destroyed.

I get the closure issue (hopefully DLC will help, a shame it had to come to that I admit)), but I think people are underestimating the endings. Control is the most underwhelming and unsatisying as far as I can see, Shepard becomes the new Catalyst or something and the reapers go away. But other others have immense consequences. Even destroying the reapers, the ghost-chap says each Reaper contains the essence of the civilization harvested to make it. So destroying the reapers who are in a way destroying the remnants of thousands of galactic civilizations in order to ensure the survivial of the current and future races. With synthesis you are forcibly reshaping all life in the galaxy into a hybrid of synthetic and organic parts, all dow nto the choice of one woman.

Though I wouldn't object to new endings offered as DLC, just so long as the endings are suitable and not just 'everyone lives happily ever after 4eva'.

[lattd]

Finally got this game so good, my one gripe is the mission info not giving that much advice on what to do next, like the last two games did.

[Gotthammer]

That is pathetic, really. Ever since Dragon Age II I've been convinced most rpg fans are too immature to cope with an actual ening, vs a fairy tale conclusion where the hero magically gets his or her way and saves the day so everyone can live happily ever after. I'm even more certain now. I mean I get people being a little dissappointed, I'm a little dissapointed in some ways, but that is a long way from saying the ending was bad or that Bioware should give us another one.

See, I don't think that's entirely fair EG. While a number of fans are doing the frothing at the mouth 'ragle blargle destroy bioware' schtick, there is a huge number of fans (like myself), who bought in to the dev's pitch that "it's not even in any way like traditional game endings, where you can say how many endings there are or whether you got ending A, B, or C" (Casey Hudson, just before ME3's release) - and were expecting to get that product!

This Forbes article (http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/03/13/mass-effect-3-and-the-pernicious-myth-of-gamer-entitlement/) has a good summary of some of the issues:


But the notion that angry or disappointed fans are displaying a sense of “entitlement” is deeply misguided, and perhaps unique to the gaming industry – a myth perpetuated by the industry and, apparently, by many journalists who cover the industry. Consumers who purchase your goods or services are not acting like they’re “entitled” to something that they have no right to. This implies that they did nothing to deserve their frustration and have no right to complain. It’s a term that in this usage is interchangeable with “spoiled.”

---

But gamers really do have investment in their games – often more than in television, a medium where you hear plenty of discontent from fans (yet no television reviewers, to my knowledge, calling the fans “entitled.”) Gamers are often involved in modding games after release, often with the blessing of the developers. New texture packs, characters, or maps are common in games like Skyrim or Valve’s catalogue.

The relationship between gamer and developer, and across the entire community, is a social and participatory relationship. Gamers may not work on the actual development of a title like Mass Effect 3, but they’ve invested their time and money and support into that franchise and there is no one “proper” way to complain about the ending. Nor are angry fans merely “entitled” or “spoiled” simply for angrily voicing their concerns or asking for a new ending.


Also, out of some 40,000 votes on this poll (http://social.bioware.com/633606/polls/28989), 90% of people are totally unhappy with the ending, and 7% just want Shep to be with the Normandy - only 2% are happy. Yes, it's a small sample size compared to the units sold, but given how few people decide TV ratings and whatnot, it's a significant percentage saying they're displeased.

More spoilery thoughts:
I mean I'm ok with the ending, but it is absolutely nothing like I was expecting.

Well, I was expeting the endings that happened to be available but to have one where you can save the relays and be re-united with your crew/LI, and have some sort of epilogue where:

Garrus and Tali build a house on Rannoch, and Garrus' family are visiting
Wrex is being climbed all over by tiny krogans
Kelly continuing to help the refugees
Kirahee salutes a monument to Mordin
Miranda and her sister sit down and have a laugh
Jacob holds his kid
Samara and her daughter are re-united
Traynor leading a science team
Cortez at the viewing platform, smiling as the ships glide slowly and silently by
Vega graduates as N7, saluting Hackett
Javik finds peace
Kaiden sits down by the lake to have a steak sandwich as Vancouver is rebuilt in the background
Ash reads a poem at her father's grave with her sisters
Joker and EDI are at the helm, playfully bickering as usual
and Shep and Liara sit togehter to watch their little blue children playing

yes, it's rather silly and perfect happily ever after, but I got everyone through the Omega4 relay and back again so there was precedent for the games to have an achievable 'perfect' ending.

See, I see it as the problem with having so many choices - the devs say (via the catalyst) that the overall theme is organics vs synthetics. Now most people I've talked to and read have said they thought it was free will/self determination vs predestination/domination (ie fighting against the Reaper's plan despite the odds being miniscule etc) or about breaking the cycles of the past, be they Reaper harvesting, Geth/Quarian violence, Krogan/Turian/Salarain animosity etc.

Also Shepard has forged her own path so frequently, it felt strange that there was no 'screw you catalyst, I chose option D!' choice - or at least the ability to question or challenge the catylist. Shep had no problem calling Sovereign and Harbringer on their bull****, why didn't she tell the catylist where to go?
A number of players are upset that that choice, for some the defining part of the game was gone.

Furthermore there's the issue of 'what happened'. I mean did everyone on the Citadel die? It sure seems to explode at the end so yeah, that sucks. Also the Quarians will never return to Rannoch in any ending (no relays, opposite side of galaxy), everyone else is marooned around Earth etc etc. Destroying the Mass Relays dooms a huge percentage of your allies to a slow death (not much dextro food about, nor likely enough fuel supplies to get anywhere without relays [which still isn't easy])

So, yeah, the ending isn't the worst thing ever, but given the myriad Shepards and options available, having one ending in three different colours was not living up to either the promise or standard of the rest of teh work.

And as a complete tangent, if you don't romance anyone else you can actually set up a proper relationship with Kelly in 3, which is pretty cool of the devs to do.

[eldargal]

Oh I understand the dissapointment in some things. I'd have liked more closure, I think having scenes like you describe would have helped lessen the nerdrage we are seeing. There are a lot of small things I think could have been done better. I just think there is a huge step from 'I'm dissapointed because the ending isn't what I hoped' and 'the endings are terrible and Bioware has to give me one more to my taste'. I think demanding that is showing an over-inflated sense of self entitlement.

The endings ar fantastic, they just aren't especially satisfying in some ways. A non-scientific poll in the cesspool of hate that is BSN doesn't convince me either. I mean the game has sold millions of copies and teh ending leaks were out days before release so I think that says a lot more about how the game has been received.

The thing I take issue with is the idea the endings need fixing. They don't. I have no problem with people disliking them, obviously, and I think it would be in Biowares interest to have DLC planned to help give more closure and maybe even give a happy ending. There are a lot of things that need explaining.

I do agree Casey Hudsons quote is misleading, which is another reason why I never pay attention to such things and just wait and see what we get.

Spoilery stuff:
I do agree a Shepardesque option D would have been nice.
I assumed most of the civilian population of Quarians was left on Rannoch so the entirety of the fleet could be deployed against the Reapers without risking extinction. It is true they are trapped in the Sol system but they brought their Liveships with them, if they can sustain 17m Quarians then they should be able to provide minimum nutrition for the fleet survivors both Quarian and Turian.
I understand what you are saying but three endings is two more than ME1 and one more than ME2, so I find the complaints of a lack of choice somewhat ill-thought out. I mean in ME1 you killed Saren, that was it. Sure there were other choices but the story ending was fundamentally the same, bad guy dead, lots of foreshadowing.
Matriarch Aethyta recommended the Asari build new mass relays and was laughed down, if this is an implication that the Asari were in a position to do so even at vast expense it may be plausible that new relays could be built.
One thing I find perplexing is people saying the Normany couldn't be rescued. I didn't see them go through a mass relay (did I miss this?) so if they were fleeing at FTL speeds then they would have to be within FTL distance of Sol, meaning the rest of the fleet are in a position to send out rescue teams looking for survivors. There is also the cream of the galaxies scientists that had been working on the crucible somewhere (presumebly scattered amongst the fleet) who should be in a position to offer aid.
If you have a high enough warscore Shepard survives the destruction of the citadel in the Destroy option, and from what I saw the citadel broke up before being engulfed in the energy wave. The bit are huge so it seems quite possible some could still be semi-functional and either crashed intact onto earth or fell into orbit.


So I think the ending could have been done better, but I think what we are talking about is the difference between a 9 and a 10, ie significant polish. Not some kind of gross failure. I hope Bioware address some of the issues with DLC and/or patches. I am just strongly opposed to the poorly thought out nerdrage we see flowing. Especially since so many people don't seem to have picked up on the actual themes of the series.

Edit: YAY! I just unlocked the Asari Vanguard. Boo, I'm terrible at playing an Asari Vanguard.:(

Later Edit: Getting the hang of Vanguard, taking a light SMG with some melee damage mods and 200% power recharge really lets you spam biotic charge. THink vanguard suits me actually, I've always been good at rushing in and laying waste to those around me.

[Gotthammer]

I said to someone on the game today that it ends, but it doesn't really have an ending, if that makes sense. For ME3 on its own, the ending only drops it down a pointor two, but for teh ME trillogy the lack of closure hurts pretty badly IMO.

Spoilers:

Hell, even if the Normandy had just crashed on Earth it would have been a huge improvement as you'd at least know that the crew were going to be ok. Personally I'd have at least put in an option where if Shepard's paragade score was high enough she could not blow up the relays - so your readiness effects what's left of the galaxy's population and if Shep survives, but Shepard's force of will effects how well the crucible functions.
That way you'd have to do really well at everything to get the best possible ending, unless you choose deliberately to do otherwise (ie blowing up the mass relays so nobody can study them, killing the Geth just in case).

While ME1 & 2 had far more limited options, the devs have been saying since at least ME2's release that they were planning huge numbers of endings for ME3 - they themselves threw down the gauntlet and built up expectations. So I'm afraid we're going to disagree that the anger and disappointed reactions of the fans of the series who bought in to the promises given that they would have an ending to their taste regardless are overly entitled.
I think they are entitled to (reasonably) express their displeasure and tell BioWare exactly how upset they are, and what they'd like to see to fix that. The BSN poll I linked I found through the Forbes article, and reading through the many thousands of comments the vast majority are polite and well thought out and many are very heartfelt. Discounting it because it's on BSN is a bit short sighted, as anyone who owns a ME game on PC could be a potential voter.

The biggest issue, for me personally, is that Mass Effect was at it's core really fun. I don't mean in a 'I have fun playing' way, but that it had humour and adventure and excitement. There were moments of darkness, but Shepard always came through them with her friends and crew intact (if you played your cards right).

Not being able to do that in ME3, despite being told there would be a multitude of endings for years, has honestly really upset me. My Shep was a hero who always saved the day up til now, dammit! I think it's plainly obvious how much I care about the ME universe and love the characters who are in it - having to surmise and make guesses of their fates is all well and good, but it's not the same really. I was looking forward to a 'reward' if you will for sticking by Liara of getting to see her and Shep happy together, of seeing the galaxy bloodied and bruised but rebuilding, of seeing all Shepard's friends happy if they survived, remembered if they didn't.
Instead after hundreds of hours of devotion I got basically nothing. Hell, I don't even know if anyone on the Citadel is even alive let alone whether they can be rescued or not.

Which is a terrible shame as up until the ending ME3 was really the pinnacle of what a computer RPG could be.

Some rumours and conjecture about the endings:

Apparently the original ending from the leak was that the Reapers had to kill advanced life as something with the tech was causing the dark energy spikes (a'la Haestrom), so the choice was to kill the Reapers and try and solve it another way, or let them get their reap on. Apparently it was decried so much when leaked the head righter used his fiat to force the organics vs synthetics plot, even though a number of the writers supposedly objected as it hadn't been a strong enough theme to really be what it was all about. Take that with salt, mind.

-

[eldargal]

I understand your criticisms and share some of them (I never said the ending was perfect), I just don't follow the leap from 'no closure and plot holes in an otherwise intelligent, mature ending' to 'terrible ending' that some people are going for.:)

Had some severe multiplayer bugs earlier. Had one level where I had terible clipping issues, kept having my barriers and health drained for no reason and at wave 10 fell through the floor. Managed to work my way to the LZ UNDER the floor and get extracted but from wave 3 onwards I didn't kill a damned thing.:( Really enjoying playing an Asari Vanguard though.

[eldargal]

Nevermind worrying about the problems with the ending Bioware, how about a fix for the fact my HUD is locked and I can't se abilities in singleplayer making really easy fights nearly impossible?:mad: Grumblegrumble'mgoingtobedgrumble.

[eldargal]

F***! Just got wave ten in one game, 25 assists, ten revives, 80 kills, 25 biotic kills, 25 melee kills, when the host dies and with one brute to die before mass revival he throws a hissy fit and quits, ending the game and denying everyone else (particularly me) loads and loads of exp and credits. I melee killed a Phantom, Brute and Banshee in one wave, for gods sake.

I really hope they patch it so you don't lose your multiplayer match stuff when this sort of thing happens.

Edit: Ooh, triple post. I need to pay more attention to these things.

[Gotthammer]

I'll post something to break it up then ;)



Chris Priestly wrote...

We appreciate everyone’s feedback about Mass Effect 3 and want you to know that we are listening. Active discussions about the ending are more than welcome here, and the team will be reviewing it for feedback and responding when we can. Please note, we want to give people time to experience the game so while we can’t get into specifics right now, we will be able to address some of your questions once more people have had time to complete the game. In the meantime, we’d like to ask that you keep the non-spoiler areas of our forums and our social media channels spoiler free.

We understand there is a lot of debate on the Mass Effect 3 ending and we will be more than happy to engage in healthy discussions once more people get to experience the game. We are listening to all of your feedback.

In the meantime, let's give appreciation to Commander Shepard. Whether you loved the ME3 ending or didn't or you just have a lot of questions, he/she has given many of us some of the best adventures we have had while playing games. What was your favorite moment?

Supposedly they've been giving Japan and China a few days before they say anything. One rumour is they held back the 'true' ending to avoid leaks before the game was released in all regions, and there is a supposed leak DLC called "The Truth" - the leak is reasonably reliable as it's from the same guy who leaked Shadow Broker and the announced multiplayer DLC. But I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Spoilers about what "the Truth" may be:

Current theory is that after Harbringer blasts Shep in London, she falls into an indoctrination induced trance (Shep is in near constant contact with reaper tech after all). Evidence being brought forward is that:
- the 'breath' scene after destroy doesn't look much like the rubble of the Citadel, but more like London.
- Shepard's eyes, when freeze framed, after taking the Merge or Control options are the same as the Illusive Man's.
- Vega, near the end of the game says "what's that humming? Can anyone else hear that?", with humming being one of the listed side effects of indoctrination. People have reported otehr Normandy crew commenting about feeling like they're being watched.
- The Catylist's voice is a mix of the kids voice with Jen Hale and Mark Meer, so Shep is subliminally speaking to her own mind (Legion earlier points out that Shep is rendering the incomprehensible Geth consensus in ways she can understand from her own thoughts, thus the Quarians in suits, and thus the kid and his/her own voice).
- The piles of dead bodies off to the side after shep gets up after the blast look suspiciously like they're made up of Kaiden and Ashley's default ME1 outfits.


So the theroy goes that by taking Control or Merge you are effectively giving in to Indoctrination - justifying giving up your free will to become part of the Reaper's intelligence. Destroy is Shepard fighting back, denying the cycle and the Reaper's goals, even though it will be objectively worse in some respects. The random ending is Shep's dying brain envisioning how she's saved everyone.

Might not be true, and some of it is rather reaching, but a pretty cool theory and does fill a lot of the holes.

-

[Morgan Darkstar]

I am not to sure what all the fuss is about?.......... that ending was ........... TOTALY AWESOME!!

[eldargal]

Agreed, though:
Destroy all the way. Sorry EDI but I can't think of the other two has anything but abhorrent or a temporary solution. If the rumours of The Truth are accurate than I didn't give in to the Reapers.:cool:

I am not to sure what all the fuss is about?.......... that ending was ........... TOTALY AWESOME!!


Gotthammer, that actually does make some sense, though I hope the DLC is free. Paying for the actual ending would be a bit of a low blow, thugh I'd still do it because to be honest it would be worth it. Love this game so much. Spoilerisation:
As great as I found the ending it did seem abrupt, and the way you explain it make the 'it's just a dream' actually sound quite plausible and, well, good. If true it will also make this monumental hissy fit that has been going on look rather foolish, which in itself is reason enough to hope it is true.

Might get a shot at blue babies afterall then, hurray!

Anyone else listened to the dialogue between Liara and her father Aethyta (behind the cafe counter in the Presidium Commons? Some of it is really hilarious, like Liara finding out she is quarter Krogan and has a half sister who is half hanar. Aethytas monologue on Benezia's 'rack' is quite amusing too.

EDI being created from the rogue Luna VI was rather nifty, sorry bout blowing your hardware up Ms

Still loving multiplayer as a Vanguard, just reached level 19. Packing only an SMG and lots of aggression. Apart from MMOs this is the first multiplayer attached to a single player game that I've actually wanted to play.

Oh, and, although I like the endings, this:
http://s14.directupload.net/images/120316/4xcptwk8.jpg

[lattd]

I still don't understand all the butt hurt that the ending wasn't a happy fairytale, did everyone expect the world to be fine and everyone happy? Im only on priority: Rannoch, but there have been some amazing moments so far, i especially liked the "Im Garrus Vakaren and this is my favourite spot on the citadel."

[eldargal]

Well, there are some legitimate issues with the endings, but yes the leap from that to 'epic fail' really isn't there.

[Gotthammer]

I did like the ending until:

it ended! I mean how the game basically stopped super suddenly with no explaination of what I'd acheived - I mean I'd blown the reapers up but then what? Given the devs have said (and are still saying) anything in the ME universe will be set before or during Shep's adventures, not after I want to know :p
If they were planning to release a follow up all along I'd honestly have been fine if they said "we're holding back the very end of the game until it's out in all regions so it won't get spoiled/leaked - you'll get an end point (for free), but you might just be left with more questions than answers..."

Another couple of 'dream' / the catylist is full of crap points are that: some people are saying EDI can show up in a Destroy ending finale (not seen it myself), a staffer tweeted a vague comment about why would you trust the catylist implicitly on the subject of destroy killing the Geth / EDI, the kid says 'we' which is how the Reapers refer to themselves as individual units, and most strangely the weird grass-like shadows on the ground when you're staggering towards the beam are aparently miniature versions of the trees from Shep's nightmares...

Re the 'butthurt':

While some of us did want a super happy ending (hell, you could get one out of a freaking suicide mission!), the vast majority of anger seems to be focussed on "your choices matter!" and "it's not even in any way like traditional game endings, where you can say how many endings there are or whether you got ending A, B, or C"

"And so all the different things that you do, if you do a little side quest, or you go off and do a major plot, these things contribute to the
war effort. If you just rip straight down the critical path and try and finish the game as soon as you can, and do very little optional or side
stuff, then you can finish the game. You can have some kind of ending and victory, but it’ll be a lot more brutal and minimal relative to if
you do a lot of stuff. If you really build a lot of stuff and bring people to your side and rally the entire galaxy around you, and you come
into the end game with that, then you’ll get an amazing, very definitive ending."
both from Casey Hudson, just before ME3's release. Or perhaps a quote from Mike Gamble in February:

"I honestly think the player base is going to be really happy with the way we've done it. You had a part in it. Every decision you've made will impact how things go. The player's also the architect of what happens. ... You'll get answers to everything. That was one of the key things. Regardless of how we did everything, we had to say, yes, we're going to provide some answers to these people"
- we bought in to that and were expecting that - and in return for the hundreds of hours, for buying the merch, spreading the memes, nagging our friends to play, and giving feedback to the devs (Tali and Garrus were only LIs in ME2 because of fan demand), we got exactly what they said wouldn't happen.
I'm angry and hurt that they appear to have taken what was promised all along and gone in exactly the opposite direction - maybe they've got a plan but they're sure not saying! I'd play through ME1 just to see what changed in ME2 - would I do that for ME3 at the moment? It's doubtful because no matter what the defining and promoted gameplay element - choices making changes in the game - does nothing, or if it does it's left up to my imagination, which I was doing just fine without spending $110 bucks.

Conrad saves the day (http://youtu.be/hzYLTbQQEZQ)! Also, damn you Harbringer (https://twitter.com/#!/HarbyTheReaper/status/180378193486819330)! (ending spoilers)

[eldargal]

Yep, which is why I do think the ending isn't complete and we will be getting more. It is abrupt and it doesn't explain anything at all. I do think they are epic in spite of that, I think my policy of not listening to devs (courtesy of SWG) has helped in the sense I had no clear cut expectations. I understand why people are dissapointed, I just don't make the leap to what we have been given being bad because of it.

[Gotthammer]

There's a thread in bsn at the moment where they're asking and collating for constructive feedback on people's issues and how they can fix them. Leaves me hoping they might add a better epilogue, but not entirely hopeful yet.

[eldargal]

They at least admitted responsbility for the problems with the Deception novel and are going to fix them, so I wouldn't rule anything out. I hope this doesn't imply that they were going to leave the endings as is, while I loved them I always assumed we would find out more in DLC and The Truth rumour seemed to be a big step in the right direction.

[Gotthammer]

I said in that thread that all they really need to do is add an ending where

You don't destroy the citadel/relays/synthetics with whatever choice you make.

The Normandy either crashes on earth or swoops in to rescue Shepard.

If destroy is taken Shep is pulled free by her LI and they are reunited, if other taken the LI is seen in some way remembering her.

The forces on earth are seen watching a new dawn arise like the krogans after the cure.

The remaining Normandy crew (all of them from every game) are seen for a final heroic shot together.

Doesn't even need to record any extra voice work as dialogue could be cut together from earlier lines.

But that's just my take :)

[eldargal]

What's the difference between Commander Shepard and a krogan?
One is an unstoppable juggernaut of destruction that head-butts everything, and the other has four testicles.
It's funny cos it's true. Also a philosophy I take to heart with my Asari Vanguard. Many enemies have died with a face full of AsariGal.

[lattd]

Was a very good journey i am a bit confused by the ending not disappointed, always expected a galactic war would end with a lot of death but certain things have urked me.

Spoilers follow:If you choose destroy you blow up the mass relays and the geth. I Liked the geth so that sucked but we know that destroying a mass relay wipes out the system it is in. So the destroy choice should wipe out everything.

[DrLove42]

Well...I just started my insanity playthrough. So far have finished Palavan and rescued the kids from Grissom Academy. Not too hard going to far, but ATLAS take a hell of a pounding. Also the Atrium fight at Grissom? Hard as nails....

For those who don't know theres a special campaign on this weekend in multiplayer. If the community kill 1 million brutes in total everyone unlocks some goodies.

Also if you succesfully extract on a difficulty above silver on a map with Reapers as the enemy then your supposed to unlock some N7 weapons for multiplayer. But i've done it three times today and not got anything.

And let me just say...waiting for extraction , against Reapers on Silver isn't fun. With 2 seconds left on the clock the extraction zone was me, my team mates, 3 banshees and 6 brutes. It was ugly

Interestingly Bioware consider the Reapers as the hardest enemy in multiplayer. Personally I think they're the easiest and hate facing the Geth more...

Also for the ending - Everyone keep saying "destroy" is the best ending cos its the only one Shepard survives in. But the "unite" ending is only available if you've got a high enough War Asset score. So shouldn't that suggest that its the best?

Additionally if your War Assest score is too low you don't even get a choice between the 2 options. It just makes you take the option most suited to you (Destroy if you destroyed collectors or are paragon, control if you kept it or a re renegade

[eldargal]

I think the rewards may arrive when the weekend is over? I too extracted successfully on Silver and didn't get anything. I think Reapers are the hardest, you get Banshees, Brutes and Ravagers which are all tough as hell. With Cerberus you just get Atlases that present a major problem, with turrents and phantoms following. Geth I'm not sure about, I hardly ever get a game against Geth for some reason. I've not had much trouble with a Vanguard, biotic charge, heavy melee, bitic charge vs pyros and let the others take care of primes or missile launch them to death.

Spoilers:
Nevermind the Geth, Destroy also kills off EDI. It does make sense in the context of the game, though, the theme being synthetic vs organic life so:

Destroy: Synthetic threat ended
Control: Reapers neutralised, other synthetic life intact
Synthesis: Organic and Synthetic life combined. This is actually the worst, in my opinion, no opinions sought, no permissions granted but every lifeform, synthetic and organic, hybridised by force.

[Gotthammer]

Just made another video for your viewing pleasure:

http://youtu.be/Oq2do2V4lto

Not overly spoilery :)

[DrLove42]

Well my Insanity playthrough has suddenly got hard.

Got through Sur'kesh fairly easy enough. Just the Atla thats a challenge . In the caves where you meet Grunt again now. Dealing with the Rachni. Keep getting bummed by Husks while Ravagers pin me down. To make things worse....all my characters powers have vanished. They're not in the wheel (my teammates are) and they're not working as hotkeys. As a soldier its not the worst thing in the world, but Cryo ammo really helps against Husk waves.

My multiplayer campaign also got another character to 20 yesterday. So I now have a level 20 Human engineer (still not unlocked Quarian!) and a level 20 Quarian Infiltrator. Having a lot of fun with both (I have the Black Widow rifle in multiplayer...that thing punches clean through anything. Including Guardians shields :p) so decided to branch out again

So I now have a Krogan Soldier. Him i;m playing a little differently. Hes only any good on Bronze, but is a good laugh. He has a shotgun and his face. Last game I played with him was vs the Reapers. I got over 50 kills (shame it doesn't give an exact count) and only used my shotgun on two of them. The rest of it is just running round smashing stuff with my face. Stuff here including 3 Ravagers, 2 Brutes and 2 Banshees :p. Previous game I punched an Atlas to death :p.

As for hardest enemy, Reapers are easiest in my eyes. Yes Brutes and Banshees are hard, but my 2 main classes just cut rhough them. The engineer shoots fire out of one hand, and shield detroying stuff out of the other. The Infiltrators sniper rifle takes off a bar and a half of armour with every shot.

Geth are the hardest. Pyros are the most lethal CC troops ever. Hunters are sneaky and pretty hardy. Missile troopers are unervingly accurate and powerful. And the Prime is the strongest of a all the "bosses", has an incredibly powerful gun, can summon drones and throw turrets that force you out of cover....

[eldargal]

Pyros are ok when you rememeber to SMG their fuel tanks, I tend to forget.

I had my skills dissapear too, it turned out my characters ability points had all reset for no reason. Took me a while to figure it out, so I'd recommend heading to the squad page and checking in case that is what has happened to you.

My main problem is the lack of a good SMG for my Vanguard now, I think. Going to buy some BW points and splash out on some spectre packs.:rolleyes:

Oh, best moment ever in a MP match, I biotic charged a nemesis that had been Lifted by someone else, and they flew backwards, smacked into the balcony of a building, fell down and hit a barricade next to a ladder before falling down to the bottom of the ladder whereupon I shot her in the head.

[DrLove42]

That was my next port of call. I died a few times, so switched over to MP. Will check when I next go on though.

I find myself relying on Liara so much on Insanity. Things like statis and singularity are so ******* useful.

My best moment on multiplayer was my Quarian Infiltrator. Had a Phantom running straight at me. Me not wanting to get killed had a blind panic no scope sniper rifle shot at him while turning round.

1 in a 1000 shot, took his head right off.
1 in a million shot, carried on through and went through a guardians shield and took his head off too
1 in a billion shot....carried on and killed an Engineer who was trying to put down a turret.

Also...with all the ending fuss I had to link this. I do love Penny Arcade

http://penny-arcade.smugmug.com/photos/i-dfFJj7N/0/L/i-dfFJj7N-X2.jpg

[eldargal]

As usual Penny Arcade hit the nail on the head, reading over Gabes response to the criticisms on hte previous news page.

Edit: AHA! Asari 'hair tentacles' are semi-cartiligenous, grow in place and can't 'flop around' (or be formed into a starshape with each perpenducular to the head like someone BSN claimed) according to a very amusing exchange between Joekr and Liara on the Normandy.

[DrLove42]

http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/news/mass-effect-3-multiplayer-stats.jpg

Some interesting MP facts though

[eldargal]

I think 90% of my matches are on Firebase White. It is a good map but I'm so sick of it. So long as it isn't that pwoer generator map, I forget the name, I can cope with it. I hate that map so much.

Some of the conversations between Engineers Kenneth and Gabby are hilarious, particularly those where Kenneth gets excited over EDIs new body.

[DrLove42]

Ugh...Reactor. Not my favourite map.

I seem to get a good mix. Nothing seems to come up too much. But thats cos I choose random map to get the bonus XP

The challenge weekend was a success btw. The community tripled the Brute Kill Target.

The reward packs will go out to people sometime later today

http://blog.bioware.com/2012/03/19/operation-goliath-success-2/

[eldargal]

I have everything on random and I still get sodding Firebase White over and over.:rolleyes: And that awful reactor map. If I'm lucky I sometimes get the one with the satellite dishes in the background. I like that one, great for Vanguard.

Glad we got the brute total, it is funny because there were people in the MP section of BSN whining about how one million brutes was way too much for the community and we would never reach that many. I actually dreamed about killing brutes last night.

I can't play MP at the moment, our nothing but the best internet we have obscene amounts of money for is running slower than dial-up an no one seems to know why. Can't connect to ME3 server, can't verify DLC so can't even continue my single player game. Sodding ISP.:mad:

[DrLove42]

Ending disatisfaction has reached the news now....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17444719

[eldargal]

*sigh*

Spoiler video:

The True Hero of Mass Effect 3: Marauder Shields (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=467pmIX-oZo)

It had to be him, anyone else might have gotten it wrong.

[DrLove42]

God rest his soul.

Its quite depressing really isn't it?

The final boss in ME1 is Saren, and thats 1 (or 2 if you don't convince him to shoot himself) long fights. Not too hard, but longish fights.
The final boss in ME2 is a giant spacetravelling prototype robot that shoots lasers and smashes platforms around you while bad guys run at you.
The final boss in ME3 is a Marauder that can't really kill you, and you have infinite ammo.

Insanity playthrough continues! After being given the opportunity to reassign all my level points I have succesful freed the Rachni queen and then gone on to complete one of the N7 missions and rescue the Primarchs son. Now i'm just mopping up the side missions on Tuchanka before curing the genophage.

So far...it hasn't seemed too hard. I'm thinking through the game and am sure some bit will push me, particularly the last few bits on Earth. Not looking forward to the Ardak-Yakshi monastary either.

[eldargal]

I actually liked having an ending that was story driven rather than another boss fight, I can appreciate the humour, though. It is rather amusing if you care about things like boss fights. I went into it considering the whole game to be a boss fight. I wouldn't have objected to some kind of show down with Harbinger, though, and I don't mean nearly getting frizzled from his main gun while running towards a sparkly glowy thing.

[Gotthammer]

Brilliant Animal House style epilogue (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG4EyfXOTJ4)

[Gotthammer]

Double post, but BioWare co-founder comments on ending ****storm. (http://blog.bioware.com/2012/03/21/4108/)

Summary: We intended the ending, but are looking at options - descision / announcements by April.


"Building on their research, Exec Producer Casey Hudson and the team are hard at work on a number of game content initiatives that will help answer the questions, providing more clarity for those seeking further closure to their journey. You’ll hear more on this in April."

[eldargal]

Well I've no problem with more endings, but I still think this fuss has been ridiculously overblown. I mean I'm still annoyed they removed the option for a Reaper victory, but that doesn't mean the endings we got were bad. People seem to have forgotten that ME1 only had one ending (kill saren) and ME2 two.

[eldargal]

The face-import bug will be fixed in the upcoming patch, but no date has been given. I got the message that my face couldn't be imported but the face was imported so I'm not sure the heck was going on there.

[DrLove42]

Brilliant Animal House style epilogue (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG4EyfXOTJ4)

This was brilliant BTW

I found Kasumi and Conrad Verner this time through. Makes me a little happier.

Apparantly if you only "romanced" Kelly Chambers in ME2 she shows up on the citadel as well with a little quest. But only if you had her in ME2 and then saved her life obviously

[lattd]

Just an interesting article, http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/122/1221597p1.html

[Gotthammer]

The face-import bug will be fixed in the upcoming patch, but no date has been given. I got the message that my face couldn't be imported but the face was imported so I'm not sure the heck was going on there.

What I need is a reverse importer so I can put the face I recreated for ME3 after the import bug back in to ME2 as I like it better. Ah well.




I found Kasumi and Conrad Verner this time through. Makes me a little happier.

Apparantly if you only "romanced" Kelly Chambers in ME2 she shows up on the citadel as well with a little quest. But only if you had her in ME2 and then saved her life obviously

Huzzah! Did you get Conrad's easter egg dialogue? If you keep talking to him after telling him to stand still and not touch anything he has a few great comments (on heat sinks and if his wife even exists... [and the small subject of a shrine to a certain Commander]).

Someone at Bioware really has it in for Kelly, with all the ways you can kill her off.


-

I've been making more videos for the youtubes (http://www.youtube.com/user/CollegiaTitanica/videos) - was hoping to finish another one tonight but a 12 hour day at work put the kaibosh on that :P

[Psychosplodge]

Just partaking in some light trolling lol :D

http://chzvideogames.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/video-game-memes-papea-kills-off-developers.jpg

[eldargal]

I actually think EA is part of the problem, not so much what they do, but peopls attitude. People seem to think 'EA has done some bad things, therefore everything they do is bad, they own Bioware, therefore Bioware is now bad'.

So instead of 'I don't like DA2' or 'I hate the ME3 endings' it becomes 'RAAARGH bioware sux and r evil and r failing cos i dont like anything, rarglerarglargle!':rolleyes:

[DrLove42]

Well....coming this summer to a TV screen/PC moniter near you...

The Mass Effect 3 Extended Cut

Free DLC that adds extra scenes to the game after the current ending.

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/news/news-11371-Mass-Effect-3--Extended-Cut-Announced-By-BioWare.html

[eldargal]

Hm, I hope it doesn't go spoiling the endings for those who actually appreciated a bittersweet ending. Hah, bumbug.

[lattd]

I appreciated the bittersweet, i just didnt appreciate the plot holes that ruined it.

[eldargal]

Well apart from the Normany miraculously rescuing people from London none of the plot holes bothered me much, but yes hopefully this will fix those.

[lattd]

The one that just really urks me is the mass relay issue.

[eldargal]

That one never really bugged me, just because a mass relay pops its system when you slam a huge asteroid in it at speed doesn't mean it will do so when you overload it or whatever the Crucible does.:) Unless you are referring to a different issue? Personally I'm more miffed that they seem to have taken away one of the defining features of the series, one reason I'm hoping the Indoctrination holds true.

[Gotthammer]

So I was wondering what the endings would be like if directed by Ridley Scott*, and came up with this vid: Prometheus Effect (http://youtu.be/pw4NgmY7jdo)


*That may or may not be a lie.


Edit: New MP download (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BasebmHiqIo) (free) available featuring Batarian solider / sentinel, Geth Infiltrator / Engineer, Krogan vanguard and, just for you EG, Asari Justicar Adept

[eldargal]

Ooh, nifty!

[DrLove42]

Not sure how i feel about geth in MP. Blatantly going to shoot my teammates a lot when fscing Geth....

I still havent unlocked the sodding Quarian engineer. Shes a rare drop, and in the rare slot ive unlocked Krogan soldier 5 times and every sniper rifle and shot gun 2 or 3.

Argh. If people dont know theres 25% extra exp in multiplayer this weekend

My insanity playthrough is coming to a climax. Up to Kai Lang in the Illusive mans front room. Lets just say hes a sodding challenge....

[Gotthammer]

Someone had an informal, but very interesting, chat with writer Patrick Weekes (http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/355/index/11154234/1) and posted the results. There's a few great insights there.

[eldargal]

Neat, most of my explanations for the 'plot holes' and various things are right! /smug:cool:

Also, I missed EDIs camel toe? I need to look closer.


Oh, DrLove, Quarian engineer was my second unlock in my thirt Spectre pack after Krogan soldier.:p If it is any sonolation I had to buy ten spectre packs to get Asari Vanguard.

[lattd]

I think this picture sums up the free multi player dlc.

http://ourequilibrium.org/wp-content/uploads/ubpfattach/captain-picard-full-of-win-500x3811.jpg

[Gotthammer]

@ EG - The EDI thing is only one of her alt outfits, which really just raises more questions (which don't need answering). There are some threads on BSN if you really want screenshots...

@ Lattd - yeah, I'm really hopeful about it myself. His answers make me much happier about the ending as is - yes, I could surmise and speculate the endings, but it's somewhat more satisfying to get the ending they promised (hopefully).

[eldargal]

I've got my hard drive back now so I'll just log into ME3 and check out the costumes. Professional curiosity.:rolleyes:

[DrLove42]

Well the DLC is out this weekend

And to celebrate Bioware are having another special week. Bonus 10% EXP and if you play on one of the new maps you get a "Reserve Pack" that gives you one of the new DLC characters

In other words, you might buy the DLC to get Asari Justicar or Geth Engineer....but you stiill need to unlock them by buying normal packs in game.

Which strikes me as stupid

[Gotthammer]

Well the MP DLC is free too, so making the new guys unlocks isn't so bad (though I think random unlocks are stupid anyway).

[eldargal]

Just finished my second story playthrough. I still enjoyed the bloody endings.:rolleyes:

Iagree the unlocky mechanism is a bit annoying.

[DrLove42]

As i've said I've unlocked every damn shotgun and sniper rifle in the game. Repeatadly. And after getting the best one, i've never used the rest.

And still haven't got the characters I actually want.

I dislike the unlocked method. Last weekend I played enough/saved enough to get 2 of the special spectre packs with 2 rares and higher super-rare rate. I got the same bog standard "rare" sniper rifle 3 times, and got another Krogan soldier....no superrare and a butt ton of useless stuff

I wouldn't even be-grudge a small real money payment to get exactly what I wanted. Bioware would probably get just as much money

[Psychosplodge]

http://0.media.dorkly.cvcdn.com/65/16/90999b3a28ea60705a9dc7dfc419ef2d.jpg

[eldargal]

Pfft, no good to me, litlte sodding space hamster keeps running away when ever I try and catch him. Feel like an idiot, Saviour of the Citadel, destroyer of the Collectors, all-round hottie and I can't catch a space 'amster.

[Psychosplodge]

maybe they could add a kickstarter for a net?

Either that or chase the syrian space hamsters not the rebowskii space hamsters...

[eldargal]

So, despite the monumental hissy fit about ME3s ending, it was the best selling game of March and has made EA 200 million USD so far, according to their latest investor report (http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/ERTS/1862916898x0x566945/3aaa2f1a-342b-4cbc-b067-c974f720ecc1/EA_News_2012_5_7_General.pdf) (pdf). ME3 was also the March top seller despite the story being leaked before the game even went on sale. Even if we assume everyone paid full retail that is 3 million copies sold at least. In comparison the big petition of people unhappy with the ending is at 65,000 and even if we assume for every one of them ten more hate the game that amounts to only 20% of sales. All speculative of course but still.


I think it puts things in perspective.:rolleyes:

[Psychosplodge]

Not really, pepsi and coca cola spend millions on advertising, and if you go to the bar and ask for a coke, and they say it's pepsi, you just say whatever....
Call of duty shifts millions of units every rehash for what is essentially the same game every other year, all it shows is that the general public are a bunch of morons.

http://chzvideogames.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/video-game-memes-the-call-of-duty-cycle.jpg

[eldargal]

Well, the gaming public being morons is sort of what I was getting at. A few thousand nerds nerdraging online doesn't equal public opinion. ME3 has done extremely well for what is an RPG, not some silly shooter.

ME3 = success based on sales data and critical reviews, which is far more objective than a bunch of whining fanboys.:)

[Psychosplodge]

lol same data different conclusions, statistics are fun...

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

I would contribute my opinion on Mass Effect being a brilliant game series - best that I've ever played, but someone might take offence.

[eldargal]

Well ME3 has sold around twice what ME2 sold, and the RPG market has always been smaller than the shooter market, so I'm not sure why anyone would consider 3-5 million copies sold (3.5m retail copies were shipped + digital downloads) to not be successful. 200m sales also puts it in the top 50 top selling computer games of all time apparently.

[Psychosplodge]

Can't disagree about the sales success...
everything else well BAAARGH!!:D

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

It deserves to have sold that much, it's a truly beautiful game. Hats off to Bioware I think.

Also, Mass Effect 3 *can* be a shooter if you really want it to, but that wouldn't be Mass Effect!

[Psychosplodge]

Mass effect was an amazing game...

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

I just hope that Dragon Age 3 lives up to Mass Effect's example.

[Psychosplodge]

Well two was a travesty so it probably will...

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

Well two was a travesty so it probably will...

It was very pretty though (the bits that weren't constantly repeated)
Also, Male Hawke was a better voice actor than Male Shepard.
I wonder what would happen if Male Hawke voiced Male Shepard?!

[Psychosplodge]

It was very pretty though (the bits that weren't constantly repeated)
Also, Male Hawke was a better voice actor than Male Shepard.
I wonder what would happen if Male Hawke voiced Male Shepard?!
because prettiness is the highest consideration wheb it comes to a game i want to play...

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

A fair point, the gameplay was garbage.

I'm an aesthetic gamer as I can't face bad graphics much anymore. Hence why I object to playing Minecraft, despite most of my friends nagging me to play it, and why I would play Magic: The Gathering over Yugioh or Pokemon anyday. (there's a big community of card gamers where I live)
It's like watching HD films and then going back to DVD, nonononononononono... won't do it.

[eldargal]

The story was grat in DA2 though, it was so refreshing to have a game say 'hey, yes you are the protagonist but screw you, the world doesn't revolve around you and you aren't going to be able to stop two factions with centuries of bad blood from fighting just because you tell themto knock it off'. Certainly the game was poorly executed in many respects but it really wasn't as bad as a lot of people make out.

I actually think this article (http://kotaku.com/5903001/why-i-hope-dragon-age-3-is-a-lot-like-dragon-age-2) is a very good examination of what went right andwrong with DA2.

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

Yeah I agree with that, I liked the storyline. Hawke just seemed like an intermediary in a much bigger story arc.

[Psychosplodge]

I couldn't get into it enough to put the time in to finish it, but it felt console dumbed down...
certainly good points about story telling and non party npc behaviour...

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

Back on topic,

We need a Palaven Reconstruction Fund. Our inspirational icon will of course be Garrus! He will lead us into a new age of glory.

[eldargal]

Mass Effect 3 Character Cocktails (http://www.savegameonline.com/index.php/features/812-save-games-mass-effect-squadmate-cocktails-the-best-drinks-this-side-of-the-citadel)

I have my best friend coming over for a film night tonight, and she loves Mass Effect as much as me, totally going to make all these:
http://www.savegameonline.com/images/stories/articles/jilf.jpg
http://www.savegameonline.com/images/stories/articles/shadowbrokertini.jpg
http://www.savegameonline.com/images/stories/articles/heatsink.jpg

Lots more and recipes on the linked website.

[Kieranator K82]

Pompeo Batoni is not a list of recipes for cocktails. At the real site, there'd better be a Tequila se'lai, or I will be disappointed.

[eldargal]

That is so weird, I know who Pompeo Batoni is but I've never even looked at his wikipedia page let alone copied the URL. :confused: Fixed it now.

Sadly it is a Keelah Se'lemonade. I know, I can't believe they missed the obvious tequila pun either.


Edit: I double checked the link before I post as I always do, this is disturbing.

[eldargal]

I recommend the Shadowbrokertini, Jilf and Full Biotic Kick. I do not recommend trying every single type in one night even if you don't drink everything. I do not recommend the Tasty Tankbred, too sickly, made me feel nauseous.

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

Let's get drunk Mass Effect style!

I'm Commander Shepard, and this is my favourite drink on the citadel.
Can we make whatever that Batarian did that knocked Shepard out? Sounds like a party.

[DrLove42]

New DLC confirmed, nothing single player OR the new ending yet

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/news/news-11706-Report--Rebellion-Multiplayer-Pack-Outed-for-Mass-Effect-3.html

More multiplayer, 2 new levels to fight on (one Jungle, one Thessia) and 6 new classes (but interestingly it lists Quarian engineer and infiltrator as new classes...but they're not) including 2 Vorcha (Soldier and Sentinel) and 2 things called "Pheonix" (adept and vanguard)

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

Damn, the link's blocked. Any pictures of those "Phoenix" things?

EDIT: Nevermind, looked into it myself. That would certainly be amusing if they were the same species that featured in the "From Ashes" DLC, there's quite a link.

[eldargal]

Was going to post that myself, looking forward to fighting on Thessia.

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

Was going to post that myself, looking forward to fighting on Thessia.

F'ing Banshees everywhere!

[DrLove42]

*sigh*

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/news/news-11985-Mass-Effect-3-Earth-MP-Pack-Detailed-in-Leak.html

Another new DLC pack...and yet again its multiplayer. 3 new maps set on Earth, 6 new Human Characters.

Seriously Bioware, you're game is a single player game, wheres the single player DLC? If multiplayer development is taking time away from single player DLC i'm not impressed....

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

I agree Doctor, it's stupid.
We get "From Ashes" and that's it. Where's the single-player love?

[Psychosplodge]

*cough* EA *cough*

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

Even Skyrim is releasing DLC before them, lolwut?

[eldargal]

Hopefully it indicates that they are putting a lot of effort into the extended ending DLC.

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

I hope for Bioware's sake that they do, they're already on thin ice with me after their ending and when I phoned their customer service about a query I had. Rude people, very rude.

[eldargal]

That isn't really Bioware, that would be EA and their customer service is terrible. Not as bad as SOEs mind you, but still terrible. I had problems unlocking one of the ME DLC packs and the suggested method of fixing it was contacting support to get a new cd key, the guy I had livechat with flat out refused to believe I had purchased the game and was demandingto see scans of the receipt and everything. I told him to sod off, started a new livechat a few minutes later, got a new CS person who gave me a new cd key in like 2 minutes after half an hour of arguing with the other guy.:rolleyes:

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

That was the exact same problem as with me. I wonder if we spoke to the same person or whether the majority of them are *****?

[eldargal]

Advertising Standards rules that ME3s advertising was not misleading (http://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnyegriffiths/2012/06/14/uk-advertising-watchdog-rules-on-mass-effect-3-false-advertising-complaints/).

Could have told them that.:rolleyes:

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

Advertising Standards rules that ME3s advertising was not misleading (http://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnyegriffiths/2012/06/14/uk-advertising-watchdog-rules-on-mass-effect-3-false-advertising-complaints/).

Could have told them that.:rolleyes:

"This stupid country..." - Can't remember the name of the guy from The Simpsons who said that.

[Psychosplodge]

I would respectfully disagree with the honourable lady and suggest that as the employees of the ASA probably aren't gamers they're not qualified to judge the expectations of gamers based on the adverts for said game...

[DrLove42]

Mass Effect extended cut -June 26th.

According to Bioware on Facebook

[eldargal]

And the Bioware blog (http://blog.bioware.com/2012/06/22/mass-effect-3-extended-cut-2/). Looking forward to it, I enjoyed the ending but I'm looking forward to getting a proper epilogue.

On another subject, recieved my Kotobukiya Liara a few days ago, it is very cute:
http://www.bantertoys.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/massEffect_liara_L.jpg

[Gotthammer]

What are the paint apps like EG? Accurate to the pic above? I ask because if the Ex Cut is good I might buy one if it's high quality.

[eldargal]

Fairly accurate, yup. Mine has a tiny bit of blue bleeding onto her white codpiece thing (Azureguard hehe) but it is really only visible if you look go looking for it close-up. My only points of comparison are some CE video game statues like Darth Malgus from SWTOR and the samurai chap from Shogun 2, and it is vastly superior to those. Her face is particularly well done in my opinion.

I bought one for me, one for a friend and ordered another online for a friend in Australia as a late birthday present and no one has had any complaints. Well the head came off of my friends when she popped open the plastic container thing but the store swapped it for a new one. I'm being very careful of the head just in case.

[Gotthammer]

Cool, thanks for the info :)

[Wildeybeast]

I got one of those last week, they are really good quality. No problems with paint bleeds and the head is pretty secure. In fact it's fully mobile at the neck, you can turn it right round and position it how you like which is pretty cool. No other bits on her move though, so don't try!

[DrLove42]

Extended cut is out.

A hefty 1.85 gig so should include lots of stuff!

For best results apparantly load a save prior to assaulting the Illusive Mans base

[eldargal]

Is it downloadable yet? Origin isn't saying snything about th extended cut.:(

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

*is waiting to move out*
>_<

[eldargal]

Having the worst luck with silver badge MP missions lately, always seem to get a team of nubs who run off and try and solo everything isntead of focusing fire. The amount of times I've ended up kiting half a wave early in a game because everyone else has been squished in the past few days is beyond a joke.:rolleyes:

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

Biotic charge!

[DrLove42]

Its out on Xbox at least, and can be added to your download queue on the link on my link

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/news/news-12128-Mass-Effect-3--Extended-Cut-Now-Available.html

Apparantly those people who ave finished it already are slamming it anyway. Some people will just never be happy