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2,000 hamsters can't be wrong.

13 March 2012

The End to the Mass Effect Era (mild spoilers) 


*** DOES CONTAIN SOME MINOR SPOILERS (you're all right if you've finished it once) ***


It may not have seemed like an era to most non-gamers, but when I received my copy of the long-awaited third instalment of the Mass Effect series on Friday, I was already dreading reaching the end of it. (A bit like whenever I go to see one of my biggest idols on stage; the second the curtain rises, I'm already a bit sad it's only going to end in a little while anyway.) I had already played the demo three times (this, I admit, was only due to the fact they had promised some "sweet" crossover items between Mass Effect 3 (hereafter called just ME3) and Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, which I was about to enjoy anyway. The in-game items turned out to be rather shit, but hey ho. I also "had to" check out the differences between the PS3 and the PC versions (let's just say the people opting for the PS3 version had better not see the vastly superior PC one), as well as test the multiplayer bit. I also finished ME2 a second time a few weeks earlier, just to make sure I had the best starting point for ME3. All in all I was eagerly awaiting the release of the game proper.


I played through the game in 47 hours, something my Raptr profile can confirm. There was laughter. There was anger. There was adrenaline. There was talking and chatting and flirting and even romancing. And then, when it all ended, there was depression. The whole thing had been so carefully edited, with flashbacks from previous games, and that goddamn music which was just about the saddest thing ever. Not even a chirpy Buzz Aldrin in the epilogue could save me from going to bed in a very bad mood indeed. I basically didn't sleep most of the night, and when I did, all I could hear was THAT MUSIC and all I could see were THOSE FACES. Was I sad that I wouldn't be able to visit this game universe I had been taking part in for the past four years, or was I actually mourning these fictional characters? It sure felt like grief.


Now, of course all I have to do is start all over again, and perhaps make some other choices, and then perhaps...no, wait, turns out that ending is pretty much all there is to an otherwise amazing story. What the hell, Bioware? Why stumble and fall at the very last minute of this beautiful marathon? I'm not amused. Hey, we all knew this would be the end of Shepard's story, but COME ON! I still want to have the option of a soppy Hollywood ending, if I choose to play the game that way. The whole journey was awesome, but I'd like for all the choices I made in the past four years to have at least some bearing on the outcome. Seems I'm not the only one to think that way, either. I'm going to hope for a DLC to rectify this, or I will have to start writing fan fiction (which just won't be the same).


I have one regret, though. After flirting with Liara for so long, I ended up desperately going for Traynor instead. It made for a cute story, but Liara was always supposed to be The One. I may just have to play the whole thing again. Maybe I'll save Kaiden this time. Although...much thanks to the excellent voice-acting of Jennifer Hale, I did LOL a lot during Ashley's drunk scene...

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Posted by: Ingaroo / 19:41
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