Mass Effect 3

[HoonDing]

My soldier had most use for Liara and Javik, but they made the game too easy so occasionally I used EDI for the lulz.

 

Kaidan is utterly useless, Garrus is great too. Tali... as usual was only useful against Geth.

 

Never used Vega after Mars, he turned me off with his "Lola" bs.

[BobSmith101]

EDI/Tali + Engineer with Drone/Turret so much cryo and overkill.

[Nepenthe]

Had Liara and Garrus for most of the game, first ME game where I was happy I had somebody with crowd control on the team and their abilities stack well with my sentinel. Occasionally grabbed Ashley along with Garrus for dual Revenant lulz. This was before I realised that EDI is essentially Miranda this time around (incinerate and overload, since overload now affects barriers, too). Might try Javik and EDI, if I ever recover enough to play this game for a second time.

 

The amount of banter on the Normandy really is staggering. Just another aspect that makes their last-minute faceplant even more bittersweet (and not in the way they intended).

 

Edit: oh yeah, Bob brought up a good point, found myself using Cryo quite a bit on my sentinel this time around.

Edited March 13, 2012 by Nepenthe

[Malcador]

Using Liara and Garrus/Ashley alot with my Infiltrator, working out well with squad cryo ammo.

[BobSmith101]

Had Liara and Garrus for most of the game, first ME game where I was happy I had somebody with crowd control on the team and their abilities stack well with my sentinel. Occasionally grabbed Ashley along with Garrus for dual Revenant lulz. This was before I realised that EDI is essentially Miranda this time around (incinerate and overload, since overload now affects barriers, too). Might try Javik and EDI, if I ever recover enough to play this game for a second time.

 

The amount of banter on the Normandy really is staggering. Just another aspect that makes their last-minute faceplant even more bittersweet (and not in the way they intended).

 

Edit: oh yeah, Bob brought up a good point, found myself using Cryo quite a bit on my sentinel this time around.

 

DA2 did the same, there were a lot of "neat little touches" but if you can't get the basics right it makes no difference.

[Nepenthe]

Had Liara and Garrus for most of the game, first ME game where I was happy I had somebody with crowd control on the team and their abilities stack well with my sentinel. Occasionally grabbed Ashley along with Garrus for dual Revenant lulz. This was before I realised that EDI is essentially Miranda this time around (incinerate and overload, since overload now affects barriers, too). Might try Javik and EDI, if I ever recover enough to play this game for a second time.

 

The amount of banter on the Normandy really is staggering. Just another aspect that makes their last-minute faceplant even more bittersweet (and not in the way they intended).

 

Edit: oh yeah, Bob brought up a good point, found myself using Cryo quite a bit on my sentinel this time around.

 

DA2 did the same, there were a lot of "neat little touches" but if you can't get the basics right it makes no difference.

I think this is kind of the opposite of DA2, the fundamentals are sound but there is a single massive ****-up in the end. While DA2 has so many small(ish) things that they become a torrent of fail to some people.

 

No piracy reference intended.

[Raithe]

It's also kind of quirky the way they've shifted the "grenade skills" again.

 

The leadup made some references to how they've brought back proper grenades, but eh. You only have access if you select/have access to the skills. And then having skills that are limited to a couple of uses per mission unless you find ammo for them..

 

I kept finding myself thinking "oh, this isn't serious enough to use my frag/inferno grenades just yet" and then realising I'd made it through to the end of a mission without actually using them.

[Nepenthe]

It's also kind of quirky the way they've shifted the "grenade skills" again.

 

The leadup made some references to how they've brought back proper grenades, but eh. You only have access if you select/have access to the skills. And then having skills that are limited to a couple of uses per mission unless you find ammo for them..

 

I kept finding myself thinking "oh, this isn't serious enough to use my frag/inferno grenades just yet" and then realising I'd made it through to the end of a mission without actually using them.

I found grenade drops to be quite plentiful in the missions, so that wasn't really a problem for me. Of course, Shepard only had the miserable lift grenades (aren't I happy they took out Amplification and replaced it with those at the last minute), so the problem only came up with Ashley's Inferno Grenades, anyway.

[HoonDing]

What makes the ME3 ending even worse is that BioWare cut 50% of the final dialogue with Anderson (it was recently unearthed) just to tag on that horrible final sequence for incomprehensible reasons. And actually, they cut a lot of other stuff that was in the leak as well.

 

In other games with similar ****storms about the ending (which were later "fixed"), the major gripe was either that players wanted to continue playing but couldn't (Fallout 3) or the game was cut short artificially because the developers were forced to get the game out of the door prematurely and had to conjure something up (Divinity 2: Ego Draconis).

Edited March 13, 2012 by virumor

[Raithe]

Now that I've actually finished a runthrough I'm tempted to go looking up the leaked stuff to find out what was there...

[Malcador]

Do you mean the leaked script with the Reapers fighting against Dark Energy idea?

[Raithe]

Do you mean the leaked script with the Reapers fighting against Dark Energy idea?

 

Yeah. I mean, they threw in the reference to Dark Energy that the Crucible utilised, but that was just..throwaway technobabble.

 

With the whole Haestrom's sun, and a couple of other references in ME2 - Was it Mordin who makes some mention of dark energy researchers disapearing? I really expected something more to come from that.

 

When it comes down to it, I have no real problems with there being a whole.. dark ending and Shepards likely death. It fits in with the character (regardless of how you played him) that if it came down to it, he would willingly die to save Earth/The Council/His friends. What really bugs me is all of the little things in the background; EDI's potential growth that you can foster, the Geth evolution (potentially), Javik's emotional reawakening (well, sort of), and then boom, it's all pretty much invalidated and rendered null and void.

 

It's the grand climax to the trilogy, and while your choices have had an effect on the final journey there, none of them actually effect the choice of endings. Or gives you a sense of where they go at the end of it.

 

The journey was enjoyable, interesting, and for the most part cohesive and fun.

 

The ending just seems to be.. odd. There's no real closure, or sense of where the people you left behind are going. Hell, if they'd done something like Fallout or Jade Empire's ending sequence where you got some clue as to how it effected your companions/alien races in the future.. That would have made more sense.

 

To a greater or lesser degree, you invest in your companions. Bioware have played up the whole "you have a smaller squad so you can have a greater personal story/connection with them", and then just ends with that vague "lost on a mystery planet" sort of ending.

[BobSmith101]

 

The journey was enjoyable, interesting, and for the most part cohesive and fun.

 

 

Someone on BSN summed it up quite well.

 

It's like taking a journey then falling face first into dog feces. No matter how good the journey your enduring memory is the taste of feces.

[Nepenthe]

The journey was enjoyable, interesting, and for the most part cohesive and fun.

 

 

Someone on BSN summed it up quite well.

 

It's like taking a journey then falling face first into dog feces. No matter how good the journey your enduring memory is the taste of feces.

Very much this.

[Majek]

On another sidenote, I am tempted to go back and replay the Thessia mission with the Javik the Prothean on my squad. Just to see if there's any interesting additions/alterations to the dialogue and cutscenes there..

Are you kidding? Javik should be brought along in every main mission...

He's not that useful. In fact, he keeps dying all the time. I use EDI, Liara and Garrus.

[Meshugger]

What makes the ME3 ending even worse is that BioWare cut 50% of the final dialogue with Anderson (it was recently unearthed) just to tag on that horrible final sequence for incomprehensible reasons. And actually, they cut a lot of other stuff that was in the leak as well.

 

In other games with similar ****storms about the ending (which were later "fixed"), the major gripe was either that players wanted to continue playing but couldn't (Fallout 3) or the game was cut short artificially because the developers were forced to get the game out of the door prematurely and had to conjure something up (Divinity 2: Ego Draconis).

 

That sounds stranglely familiar. I wonder if Team-Gizka is up for another task

[Nepenthe]

It's funny, it's like instead of fans as usual, this time it's Bioware staff that are going through the K

[BobSmith101]

It's funny, it's like instead of fans as usual, this time it's Bioware staff that are going through the K

[Deraldin]

My soldier had most use for Liara and Javik, but they made the game too easy so occasionally I used EDI for the lulz.

 

Kaidan is utterly useless, Garrus is great too. Tali... as usual was only useful against Geth.

 

Never used Vega after Mars, he turned me off with his "Lola" bs.

My soldier Shepard took his bro Garrus to most missions, but everyone did get some time with the away team. Tali is useful against more than just Geth. She's pretty good against Cerberus as well as she can hack the turrets that engineers love to spam around the battlefield and her Energy Drain skill is effectively another Overload just without the possible stun effect. Works on barriers too so she isn't totally useless on reaper missions either. Give her the biggest shotgun you can find and she'll easily hold her own.

 

He's not that useful. In fact, he keeps dying all the time. I use EDI, Liara and Garrus.

You are crazy. Javik is a great squad member. Whoever was complaining about lift grenades earlier is out of their minds. His damage over time ability is great for preventing enemies from regaining barrier or shields and does a fair bit of damage on its own while the long duration makes it really easy to create biotic explosions with. Also his assault rifle is really good. Give it an ammo mod and you can just swing that death beam around the battlefield on full power for awhile.

 

It's funny, it's like instead of fans as usual, this time it's Bioware staff that are going through the K

[Nepenthe]

You are crazy. Javik is a great squad member. Whoever was complaining about lift grenades earlier is out of their minds.

I was the lift grenade complainer. I think we've already established that I'm nuts, so this is nothing new. I found that liara and singularity did the same thing without a limited number of charges and better targeting.

[Raithe]

Yeah, I have to say Javik never really impressed me as a squad member, all of his powers were didn't seem to stand in good comparison to what I could do with other characters.

 

As a Vanguard I already had Pull, and I hardly used that when it came down to it.. just on random occasions. As mentioned, Singularity works better and pretty much does the same thing as Lift Grenades..

[Bos_hybrid]

Javik is great to bring along just for his comments, some of the best in the game.

[Tale]

Stage 1: "Nah, there's no way the ending can be that bad."

Stage 2: "WTF IS THIS ****?! THAT'S THE ENDING?!"

Stage 3: "Bioware has to have something planned for this right? Ending DLC?"

Stage 4: "I don't even want to touch this game anymore. The ending completely killed any desire I have to replay this series again. :("

Stage 5: "It was fantastic up until the last 10 minutes. Now what else do I have in my backlog?"

Lots of them are back at denial. Remember that Kubler-Ross doesn't have to follow the order it's listed in.

 

The current popular theory is that Bioware implemented a fake ending. Y'know, to simulate the player being indoctrinated. And they'll release the real ending as a surprise. Because that's sane.

[Nepenthe]

 

You're both right, of course, I just found it interesting I was seeing similar phases from the devs, in addition to, if not instead of.

Edited March 13, 2012 by Nepenthe

[Volourn]

"What makes the ME3 ending even worse is that BioWare cut 50% of the final dialogue with Anderson (it was recently unearthed) just to tag on that horrible final sequence for incomprehensible reasons. And actually, they cut a lot of other stuff that was in the leak as well."

 

All games have cuts. *shrug*

 

I haven't finished the game yet but I've been spoiled (internetz for the W!), and the endings sound fine to me. Big deal. Not Happy happy land. Whining about lack of consistency? Big deal, every game, book, movie, etc. has inconsistencies.

 

It just seems to be the cool thing to do to bash BIO.. probably because it's cool to hate EA the 'evil empire'... yet still spend money on their games repeatedly.

 

BIO has made games with worst endings that people 'loved'. And, many other games have had had muchw orse endings and no whining occured. *shrug*

 

Then again, this is coming from someone who wondered why people whined over the endings of Obsidian's NWN2, and KOTOR2 as I found those fine as well.

 

It is the internet. the main reason fofr its existence is to whine and mopan about stuff... heck, that's what this post is doing. L0L Damn internet.. you trolled me again.

 

P.S. L0L @ the comic. :D

Edited March 13, 2012 by Volourn