Mass Effect 3: Saving the Galaxy one last time

[dark-daventry]

So, has anyone picked up Mass Effect 3 yet? I'm in the middle of it. I'm REALLY loving it! What choices did you all make in the first two games? Who did you save? Who did you romance? What were the consequences of your actions. As always, any plot-sensitive information goes under spoiler tags.

[Fierce Deity]

Wouldn't any of the questions you asked lead to an answer that would be considered a "spoiler"?

Well, I haven't picked up ME3 yet, because I'm intent on getting it through Steam, and am too proud to give in to Origin. I've already had several occasions where Origin tried to install spyware on to my computer. I don't even use Origin. I mainly installed it because I thought EA was serious about ME3 being exclusive on Origin. Now, I think they are in over their heads. I'll wait for the inevitable Steam release.

As far as decisions for the past two games, I never went pure Paragon or pure Renegade like I do for most Bioware games. I picked decisions that I felt would not just shape my character but shape the story as well. For instance, I punch Khalisa al-Jilani, every time. But I will always save Wrex from his "temper tantrum". I'm as good as I am bad.

[spoiler]I saved the Rachni Queen, saved the colonists on Feros, and try to save Saren despite his suicide. I kill the Batarian terrorist from Bring Down the Sky, and sacrifice the scientists in the next room (my typical, kill a few to save a thousand method). I help out every one of the team members in ME2, including Zaeed's mission (same as BDtS, a few < a thousand). I am still pondering the ending for ME2. I want to know foremost, does the Collector technology advance Cerberus' weaponry and tech, or are they unaffected by it?

Oh, and I killed the Council. I was sick of them disregarding Shepard all throughout ME1, ME2, and even in ME3 (from what I heard). He's been right every single time about the Reaper invasion, and they always brush it aside until their staring down the barrel of the gun. Then they beg Shepard for help. I say they had it coming.[/spoiler]

What about you DD? It's not nice to start up a discussion without first involving yourself. 

[MusicallyInspired]

I still haven't even played the first one. Everyone seems to think it's hot stuff, though.

[Fierce Deity]

I still haven't even played the first one. Everyone seems to think it's hot stuff, though.

Yeah, but do try to take ME1 for what it is. It's a fun game, with a good story, but in comparison to the other two, it's not so great. ME2 and ME3 improved on everything. So after playing ME2, it'd be hard to go back to the first one, unless you have the power of nostalgia influencing you. But at the time that the game was released on the PC, I had played it seven times, each playthrough being different than the last. The story is amazing.

[dark-daventry]

I was at work when I started this thread, so I couldnt write too much. I don't remember all the choices I made from both 1 and 2, but I can remember some. I know 2 is fresher in my mind while 1 is like a distant memory.

[spoiler]I saved the rachni queen. I believed she was true to her word... Im generally a paragon through and through. I never punched al jilani, though now I wish I had. She's so damn annoying. I saved the council too; as much as I hated them for not heeding my warning, I thought they deserved a second chance. Apparently, that was an error of judgement on my part. They only get worse in 3. Oh, I let alenko die. For romance, ironically enough I skipped it entirely in the first game Because I had no idea how to go about doing it. In the second game, I ultimately chose miranda, though now I wish I hadn't. Looking back, I actually should have gone with tali.

ME3 SPOILERS BELOW. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!!!

In 3 I was happy to discover there's a gay romance between male Shepard and lieutenant Cortez. Naturally, being gay myself, I was curious how this virtual gay romance would play out. All the while I'm still maintaining a relationship with Miranda. Apparently, I can cheat on my girlfriend with a dude. I approve, bioware. [/spoiler]

[Fierce Deity]

I was at work when I started this thread, so I couldnt write too much. I don't remember all the choices I made from both 1 and 2, but I can remember some. I know 2 is fresher in my mind while 1 is like a distant memory.

It's cool. I was just giving you a hard time. 

[spoiler]I saved the rachni queen. I believed she was true to her word... Im generally a paragon through and through. I never punched al jilani, though now I wish I had. She's so damn annoying. I saved the council too; as much as I hated them for not heeding my warning, I thought they deserved a second chance. Apparently, that was an error of judgement on my part. They only get worse in 3. Oh, I let alenko die. For romance, ironically enough I skipped it entirely in the first game Because I had no idea how to go about doing it. In the second game, I ultimately chose miranda, though now I wish I hadn't. Looking back, I actually should have gone with tali.

ME3 SPOILERS BELOW. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!!!

In 3 I was happy to discover there's a gay romance between male Shepard and lieutenant Cortez. Naturally, being gay myself, I was curious how this virtual gay romance would play out. All the while I'm still maintaining a relationship with Miranda. Apparently, I can cheat on my girlfriend with a dude. I approve, bioware. [/spoiler]

That's interesting. I didn't know Bioware approved of adultery. Still, it's more realistic than anything. Also, I heard a rumor, and don't quote me on this but: [spoiler]I heard that Alenko can be a gay romance for a male Shepard in ME3. Considering he was straight in the first two games, I think it's weird that he would change his orientation so suddenly. But once again, it's more realistic than anything. It happens, you know?[/spoiler]

[Datadog]

I've been really enjoying the Mass Effect series so far. The games are huge and incredibly time-consuming, but there's always something around the next corner to keep me going and the games are surprisingly well-paced.

And the writing and attention to detail is incredible. I was playing ME3 last night, and my mind was blown when, during a minor side-mission, I watched a minor side-character's life get saved by an even more minor side-character I saved two games ago. I actually get to see karma in action over the span of three games. It's a lot like "Quest for Glory" in that respect. Not finished ME3 yet, but I recommend checking the games out anyway.

[Bludshot]

I can't remember the last time a game made me feel depressed.  I think I'm about halfway through and I have already seen some tragic consequences of what I've done throughout the series.

[Fierce Deity]

I can't remember the last time a game made me feel depressed.  I think I'm about halfway through and I have already seen some tragic consequences of what I've done throughout the series.

Would you mind sharing? Your comment has intrigued me, I'm curious as to what the consequences are and for what actions they stem from. It would take far too long for me to play through the entire Mass Effect series in an attempt to find all of the outcomes for every decision I make, so I like to know what other people get, so I may know how to shape my own playthrough.

[Lambonius]

I traded in an unopened copy of Skyward Sword for this game (well, I got 30 bucks off, anyway.)  And I'm very happy I did.

I love the ME series, and this game is fantastic in all ways.  Unlike others, I DO think that the first one still holds up--it plays a bit different than 2 and 3, but not worse, in my opinion.  All the games have little quirks that are obnoxious.  The first one had the cumbersome inventory and bad Mako driving, the second one had the god-awful planet scanning, and the third one has the silly "Reaper Awareness" BS, and disappointingly, strips out a lot of the between-mission side conversations you can have to develop your various crewmates.

Personally, the first one is still the best for me.  But number 3 is pretty awesome so far.

[Fierce Deity]

I do have to say, the controls for the PC version of Mass Effect are better than ME2 and ME3's controls. In ME2 and ME3, they use the spacebar as a universal action key. They use it for running, picking up items, and taking cover. In ME2, there were a lot of instances where I was taking cover and I wanted to pick something up from behind cover, and instead, Shepard would jump over his cover and charge at the enemy. That's what annoyed the hell out of me for ME2. So in some respects, I prefer ME1. But I was still frustrated with driving the Mako. I loved doing a lot of the sidequests in ME1, so exploring every planet was a must, but because of the Mako controls, it would take me forever to get around the planet. So it's hard for me to really judge which entry is better, but I still feel like ME1 is a little outdated. Though the fact that the PC version of ME1 was actually made specifically for a mouse and keyboard setup is a huge plus. Those PC controls will be sorely missed. 

[Bludshot]

I can't remember the last time a game made me feel depressed.  I think I'm about halfway through and I have already seen some tragic consequences of what I've done throughout the series.

Would you mind sharing? Your comment has intrigued me, I'm curious as to what the consequences are and for what actions they stem from. It would take far too long for me to play through the entire Mass Effect series in an attempt to find all of the outcomes for every decision I make, so I like to know what other people get, so I may know how to shape my own playthrough.

Sure, but I don't think I'll read through other peoples experiences until I finish ME3, you can bet I'll love to see yours once I finish though.

[spoiler]I finished the act involving the quarian attempt to take back their homeworld.  I am playing a renegade Shepard but I came into the situation hoping to broker some sort of coexistence, after all both the geth and the quarians could help in the war effort, which was my first priority.

I was immediately at a disadvantage because Legion had died in ME2, which meant I had no friends among the geth.  However aboard the geth dreadnought I encountered a VI construct of the original Legion, essentially a copy of Legion, however this Legion has no personal account of the suicide mission (aside from the knowledge that the original Legion was involved).

My first impression was that Bioware had made a cheap, cop out, solution to deal with players who had a dead Legion on their import saves, and while this VI construct does allow you to partake in the same missions, the fact that this Legion doesn't personally know Shepard led to several problems.

The Legion VI is not entirely upfront with Shepard, it neglects to tell me about the details of the geth server mission, and more importantly, after destroying the reaper base that it has the reaper upgrades which I was specifically trying to get rid of.

At this point the quarians have the geth beat and are hell bent on destroying them.  The Legion VI says he can upload the reaper code to the remaining geth and they can assist with the war, but then the quarian fleet would be endangered.  I had expected a black and white decision with a "save geth" option and a "destroy geth" option.  Instead I had to choose between the two races, and between Legion and Tali.  Though I empathized with VI Legion I couldn't support him.  The VI tried to kill Shepard, Tali intervened, and I renegade action shot Legion multiple times.  It was sad, Tali said the real Legion would have understood, but I am not sure. The geth are gone, and I miss them.[/spoiler]

[Fierce Deity]

I can't remember the last time a game made me feel depressed.  I think I'm about halfway through and I have already seen some tragic consequences of what I've done throughout the series.

Would you mind sharing? Your comment has intrigued me, I'm curious as to what the consequences are and for what actions they stem from. It would take far too long for me to play through the entire Mass Effect series in an attempt to find all of the outcomes for every decision I make, so I like to know what other people get, so I may know how to shape my own playthrough.

Sure, but I don't think I'll read through other peoples experiences until I finish ME3, you can bet I'll love to see yours once I finish though.

[spoiler]I finished the act involving the quarian attempt to take back their homeworld.  I am playing a renegade Shepard but I came into the situation hoping to broker some sort of coexistence, after all both the geth and the quarians could help in the war effort, which was my first priority.

I was immediately at a disadvantage because Legion had died in ME2, which meant I had no friends among the geth.  However aboard the geth dreadnought I encountered a VI construct of the original Legion, essentially a copy of Legion, however this Legion has no personal account of the suicide mission (aside from the knowledge that the original Legion was involved).

My first impression was that Bioware had made a cheap, cop out, solution to deal with players who had a dead Legion on their import saves, and while this VI construct does allow you to partake in the same missions, the fact that this Legion doesn't personally know Shepard led to several problems.

The Legion VI is not entirely upfront with Shepard, it neglects to tell me about the details of the geth server mission, and more importantly, after destroying the reaper base that it has the reaper upgrades which I was specifically trying to get rid of.

At this point the quarians have the geth beat and are hell bent on destroying them.  The Legion VI says he can upload the reaper code to the remaining geth and they can assist with the war, but then the quarian fleet would be endangered.  I had expected a black and white decision with a "save geth" option and a "destroy geth" option.  Instead I had to choose between the two races, and between Legion and Tali.  Though I empathized with VI Legion I couldn't support him.  The VI tried to kill Shepard, Tali intervened, and I renegade action shot Legion multiple times.  It was sad, Tali said the real Legion would have understood, but I am not sure. The geth are gone, and I miss them.[/spoiler]

Ahh, I can imagine the disappointment. The one thing I was hoping that Bioware was going to avoid was the "This or That" approach that they used in Dragon Age: Origins. I like being able to build the army that I want, instead of having to choose between one of the two. If having the perfect playthrough that involves uniting the quarians and the geth is a possible outcome, I'd like to try and achieve that. That's all that I look for in the epic conclusion to this trilogy: the ending that I've been working for. Thanks for the insight Bludshot.

[Bludshot]

Well I actually liked the complexity, of the "this or that" approach, I suppose I should have mentioned it is a depressing in a good way.

Finished the game though, [spoiler]talk about sad endings.  I am okay with them, even if they are reminiscent of a certain other game, but man, what a downer.[/spoiler]

[Datadog]

Finished the game myself.

[spoiler]And now I feel like I've been trampled by a krogan. Three optional endings and they all end on the same soul-crushing note? The only saving grace during the end was seeing that my teammates didn't get vaporized by the Reaper beam.[/spoiler]

[Bludshot]

Finished the game myself.

[spoiler]And now I feel like I've been trampled by a krogan. Three optional endings and they all end on the same soul-crushing note? The only saving grace during the end was seeing that my teammates didn't get vaporized by the Reaper beam.[/spoiler]

Spoiler conversation!

[spoiler]Apparently a lot of people are upset about the endings, and while I don't think they are particularly good as endings go. I think it is important to consider two things.

1. Most games or series of this scope aren't commonly remembered for their endings, rather they are remembered for the journey.

2. Even if the endings were brighter, do you think you'd feel any less trampled, your Shepard's saga over the past 5 years is still over, and I think the fact that it must end is something hard to accept.

Plus I always thought the theme of the games set the tone for a bittersweet ending.  I think if the ending was anything less I personally think the experience would have been cheapened.[/spoiler]

[Fierce Deity]

[spoiler]I don't think Bioware has made one good ending. In fact, they've made the same bittersweet ending for every single one of their games. "Oh, you're hero is fated to disappear past the horizon with little to no hope for his well-being." I still want to know what happened to the Baal-spawn from Baldur's Gate, Revan from KOTOR, the Monk from Jade Empire, the Grey Warden from Dragon Age: Origins, Hawke from Dragon Age 2, and now, my Shepard. You'd think after so many attempts to create an epic ending, they would've landed on something better for Mass Effect. All I have to say is, I should have seen this coming.  [/spoiler]

[Cez]

I jump all around the spoilers here. I'm playing Mass Effect 2 right now

[Fierce Deity]

I jump all around the spoilers here. I'm playing Mass Effect 2 right now

Oh, I hope we didn't spoil anything. But do try to analyze all of your decisions in ME2. They seem to make some pretty drastic changes in what happens in ME3. Whether its for better or worse.

[Bludshot]

FierceDeity, to your spoiler, a spoiler.

[spoiler]I wish more people upset about the endings were aware of that.  Many games, hell many books and movies have very bittersweet, ambiguous, or even underwhelming endings.  But has anyone ever demanded they change the story of the child of Bhaal to have more closure and decision affected endings?

As several articles and people have already mentioned, Bioware makes its money by giving players the illusion of choice.  Let's take Baldur's Gate for instance.  The games allow you to be anything from an angelic savior of the Forgotten Realms to an obnoxiously evil and demented psychopath.  To go one step further you can make up a party of memorable and distinct characters that reflect and complement your desired character.  But no matter what differences each Bhaalspawn saga has, some parts of the story never change.

Your father Gorion dies, you clash with your brother Sarevok under the very city of Baldur's Gate.  Irenicus will always steal your soul, Yoshimo will always betray you, and even if you are the nastiest excuse for a sentient beings in all the realms, Ellesime will still give you a pat on the back and a medal for defeating Irenicus in Hell.

So when someone tells me the entire Mass Effect series is ruined because they think the last five minutes fell short of expectations it makes my head hurt.  The story of the Bhaalspawn, Revan, and the Shepard are defined by what they did on the journey and what it means to us.  Did the Bhaalspawn reject the power of the slayer or did he embrace Irenicus' own philosophy?  Did Revan help Carth trust in others again or did he strike him down on the Star Forge?  Did Shepard unite the Geth and Quarians or did he deceive the krogan for the sake of the war effort?  These are the details that really stick with us.

Oh jeez, sorry that is so long.[/spoiler]

Sorry Cez, and enjoy Mass Effect 2, make sure Garrus keeps those cannons callibrated.