Beating A Dead Shepard: The Mass Effect 3 Ending Sucks

  It seems like you can't look at a webpage without being bombarded with nerd hate for the ending of Mass Effect 3. As a matter of fact the other day right on my homepage, Yahoo, there was the story of the disgruntled gamer who went to the FTC because he felt he had been lied to by Bioware. There are probably hundreds if not thousands of posts that share similar views as what I am going to say, so why bother? And why here? Well, I'm taking the time to share my personal view for my own piece of mind more than anything as I realize most people have made up their mind on the subject by now and nothing I'm going to say will sway anyone one way or the other. I've chose Game Informer as my outlet because I honestly couldn't tell you how long I've been a member here (this is my second name), I think it has one of the best communities around, and I think the dual nature of how the matter has been handled (see the review, versus the very even handed   podcast, versus the virtually unanimous distaste for the way fans voiced their opinion makes it a good place to weigh in.

  I need to start with some personal history with the series for perspective. The first Mass Effect is hands down the best RPG of this console generation. I've probably spent more time with that game than Oblivion, Skyrim, and Fallout 3 combined (and I spent way more time with those games than is healthy for anyone). It's basically a sci-fi nerd's wet dream: take the action of Star Wars, the exploration of Star Trek, mix in some heady but believable theories about space travel, and set it in a universe with as much depth, detail, and history as Middle Earth. Gameplay-wise you've got the shooting mechanics of Gears of War mixed with the tactical decisions of KOTOR, loads of level based loot and upgrades, a massive universe to explore, and a hardcore RPG mentality overlayed on top of everything. I've also never experienced a better story in my many years of gaming; the pace is pitch perfect, it's full of sublety and symbolism that makes multiple playthroughs almost mandatory, and throws major twists at you as if it's as easy as taking a breath (one of which asks you to contemplate the meaning of life; a tough feat in any medium). It's mind-boggling just to think about. If there ever was a game I could consider perfect and would not hesitate to give a 10 out of 10 to, Mass Effect is that game.

  Then Mass Effect 2 came out. I won't go as far to say the second game is bad, but it's certainly not great. One of the first sequences in the game has your Commander Shepard dying and being ressurected. You know you're in trouble; once you've made the concept of death something that's temporary and reversable in your fiction, everything before and afterward is rendered meaningless and silly.

    Much of what made the first game such a standout had been stripped away completely or altered to the point of being trivial. What we're left with is a run-of-the-mill third person shooter with hours of cutscences. This could be forgiveable if either element was outstanding, but the shooting portions are clunky, awkward, and linear and the story is incredibly weak. The high concept epic that the first game so expertly set up is all but abandoned in favor of a paper thin cheap B movie that would be at home being mocked by MST3K.  The vast majority of game time is spent doing what would be considered minor side missions in the first game that aren't done with nearly the level of tact.  Anything that would be emotionally or intellectually poignant is beaten over your head repeatedly until you just don't care anymore.  I really didn't want to rant about why I didn't care for this game and instead just provide a link to a post I made at Bioware directly after playing it, but after about a half hour of searching I couldn't find it so I'll just leave it at that.  (Years old update: Found it.)  I was disappointed enough by Mass Effect 2 that I was not even going to play the third game or at the very most buy it dirt cheap and used just to see if any redemption could be found.

  After my major misgivings about the direction the series was heading but being swayed by overwhemingly positive review scores as well as promises from the developers of giving closure to the story (such as this and the now infamous GI quote) I was pleasantly surprised that the third game is actually quite enjoyable.  Most of the complaints I had from the previous game were at least addressed to some degree and even if I wouldn't classify the game as a "classic" in the sense the original was, it's at least worthy as a sequel.  Again, I'm not going to get into too much detail here (I may write a review at a later date if I feel compelled to revisit the game), but the main problem which is painfully clear to many people is the ending.

  As I neared the climax of Mass Effect 3, I was already picturing in my head how once the credits rolled I was going to get up from my seat, run my finger over my game collection until I found Mass Effect 1 and 2, pulled them out and placed them in order where they belonged next to my console, then play the series from beginning to end exactly as I had envisioned five years ago.  Yes, all signs pointed to a coming twist in the final moments of the game that would make even the loathed middle chapter of the trilogy at least playable.  The build up was promising and well designed, I was waiting for the "aha!" moment that hadn't been felt since the second act of the first game, this was going to justify the perfect review scores and put EA/Bioware back in the good graces of gamers everywhere because they had, after all, promised something substantial for the finale and despite the negative perception the company had earned recently they couldn't outright lie like that, right?

  Then it happened.  Or rather, it didn't happen.  If you asked me what I thought the worst possible way to end the game I could up with, I don't think I could dream something nearly as anticlimatic or uninspired as what I witnessed.  If you live under a cave and haven't seen it yet, here you go:

It's hard to convey to someone with little or no knowledge of or experience with the previous games how much of a letdown and cop out this turned out to be.  If Mass Effect 2 was your starting point for the series or if you just ignored that "3" on the end of title and picked the game up out of curiosity or the massive marketing blitz by EA I can see not getting what the big deal is about.  I can't imagine the game made much sense to you beyond being a sci-fi shooter with some RPG elements, but I can see saying, "that was good", putting the game away and moving on.  That's exactly what I did, too, and that's why it sucks.

  To me the outrage many people are expressing is certainly warrented.  Even with my lowered expectations from the previous game the ending is a slap in the face.  There's a common misconception that fans are demanding some perfect, happy, fairy tale ending with sunshines and rainbows.  I can't speak for everyone, but I could care less about that.  Even if every ending possible resulted in various degrees of misery and annihilation for Shepard, his crew, and the universe I think the discontent would be more contained if it was well written and fit with the rest of the lore.  I could even look past the fact that I was outright lied to, being told I have any kind choice about how the story ended if there was some kind of last minute hail mary that contained a explosive moment of brilliance that salvaged the outright sloppiness of the final ten minutes or so and ended the series on a high note.  None of that happens.  We're left with a mediocre catch 22 that doesn't want to commit to or dismiss anything that was foreshadowed and hinted at previously.

     Now there's no shortage of discussions and theories about what the ending actually "means" (most popularly  the Indoctrination Theory), but I'm of the firm belief that these people are looking too deep into an incredibly shallow pool.  Yes, there is symbolism in the ending, but it's very heavy handed and not hidden very well.  Watching the end you'd have to be blind to not see the Reapers trying to Indoctrinate Shepard (the "black wavy lines" effect is pretty prominent), but if there are any red herrings beyond that we're now on a slippery slope that could only make a bad ending even worse.

  If the ending is "fake" and the real one is coming via DLC, now what?  Are the players who liked the original ending going to be upset?  Are the ones who were disgusted with the outcome going to fork over more money to a company they feel cheated by to have closure (if you're in this camp, please don't)?  Are the theorists going to pat themselves on the back because they were right all along (though I'd say it wasn't a very good trick if it was immediately called out)?  Personally, I just don't care anymore.  The series has taken me on such a bumpy ride of ups and downs that now that I've said my piece I'm done with it.