Anyways, here's the video that outlines the theory regarding the cop-out ending of the game (I felt like they stole it from Deus Ex: HR) and coupled with the blog post I originally read regarding it, feels like it makes a compelling argument.
Although perhaps a little hokey at times, you can't deny some of the issues that Paul brings up: namely, that f*cking kid, followed by the whole wound/blood thing, followed by the entire ending sequence. Anyway, those of you who read this thus far let me know what you think about both the ending and this video/theory-
via Unreality Magazine
One bullshit thing is the fact that you can't get the "perfect" ending (the one where Shepard is shown to survive) unless you play multiplayer. It seems like the series started to pander to what was more commercially viable as it progressed. The gameplay became less RPG and more shooter, and the treatment of the female characters...ugh. Even femShep has a fucking skintight latex dress to wear as a "casual" outfit in ME3 :/ (though I will retract this criticism if maleShep has an equivalent wardrobe piece, haha).
ReplyDeleteomg, I copied my reply because I hadn't signed in and the entire first half of my response was lost. ;___; Hold on.
ReplyDeleteI was more underwhelmed than outraged at the ending. Maybe because I'd heard about the backlash but didn't know the specifics, so I was bracing myself for something crushingly depressing than something that was more contrived. So I might wait a while and then replay the ending. Needless to say, I was heartbroken that Shepard and Garrus would never have the adopted Krogan babies they'd discussed, haha. But yeah, the more I rethink it and read about the plot holes, the more I'm feeling like it was some kind of rush job. Like, aren't the Mass Relays supposed to wipe out the entire system they're in when they're destroyed...? I think the indoctrination theory is pretty brilliant and the video is convincing, but it still sucks because it flew over most players' heads, and if BioWare intends to reveal it in upcoming DLC then that's a sad development for storytelling in videogames. And even then, it still isn't very conclusive - does Shepard activate the Crucible at the same time he/she is fighting indoctrination, or is he/she just regaining his/her humanity and the Reapers are still roaming around (which sets up for another installment)?
ReplyDeleteBtw, which ending did you choose? I had enough EMS to pick Synthesis because I just couldn't bring myself to destroy EDI and the Geth. Which raises yet another question...if you broker peace between the Geth and the Quarians (which I did), why doesn't Shepard mention this to Catalyst kid in response to his assertion that synthetics and organics can never coexist...? Gah.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with all of this ^. Yeah, it was more of a let-down than an outrage. I mean, in a trilogy where a choice in the first game can have effects 2 games down the line in a sort of intricate decision-based virtual universe, in the end we're relegated to only three choices? And I definitely wouldn't put the revenue-increasing indoctrination DLC theory past Bioware; as you said you have to play multiplayer to even survive, and to do that without a first-use retail disc you have to buy a "online pass" code, not to mention releasing the "From Ashes" DLC at the same time the game was released so you have to pay for the whole story! Anyway, as you said, it def leaves a lot of loose-ends that may or may not be tied up down the line.
ReplyDeleteFYI I chose the destroy everything ending, mainly cause I didn't trust that blue kid for a second.
P.S. I completely concur about the 'sexy' femShep outfit - and although it can't compare at all, maleShep's got this hilarious outfit (it's like S&M meets Crocodile Dundee -> http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120311035740/masseffect/images/archive/3/33/20120312181307!Casual_Spacer_Outfit.png
Yeah, idk, the three choices thing was stupid, but BioWare has always had plot points in the games that are set in stone regardless of your prior decisions (you will always have to choose between teammates on Virmire, Saren is always defeated, etc.) so it wasn't too much of a surprise. They just executed it really shittily this time around. It seems like the "war assets" thing was their way of making your past decisions factor into the ending...but all the war assets are are a bunch of points. It's how many you have of them that determine your success, rather than the nature of the choices which netted (or lost) you these points in the first place.
DeleteAgreed, what the hell @ the 'From Ashes' DLC?? They just found a motherfucking PROTHEAN - y'know those ancient race of people destroyed by the reapers forevs ago and whose technology is studied and implemented throughout the series - who can be awoken from stasis. WHY IS THAT NOT PART OF THE BASE GAME??
And haha, it looks like they've taken a page out of Square "you can never have too many belts"-Enix's book with that maleShep outfit.
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ReplyDeleteI think the indoctrination theory is an example of really smart people pulling together the loose strings of an inferior product and coming up with a palatable, but unlikely scenario. I'm not saying it is entirely infeasible Bioware and their EA mindslug masters came up with it, but I’m not giving them any credit. The ending for me was a non-event. Even if Shep is being indoctrinated, we could have been rewarded with more than what we got. To add insult to injury, it glitched when I beat it. I took Ashley and Liara with me on the last mission. As you know, pretty much no one survives the run toward the light, but there Ashley was recreating the image of Eden on what appears to be some other world with Jeff and EDI at the end. I’m not mad she lived. I just want to know how.
ReplyDeleteAlso, did either one of you sit through the credits?
Even if the indoctrination theory turns out to be true it sets up a bunch of crappy precedents. If it is the "true" ending then its a bad design choice, and begs the question of why players had to dig around to find it. If they retcon it be the true ending, make it DLC, or have a new DLC ending then it means I bought an incomplete part of a game. I don't mind DLC, but I want to know that I have truly beat a game when I complete it.
ReplyDeleteAmen.
ReplyDelete