Aftermass....

So I just beat Mass Effect 3. It was a harrowing epic filled with great and tragic moments, coming to a conclusion that well, there's been plenty of discussion about. I think it would be nearly impossible to please all parties involved, I mean if you had a super-perfect happy ending...

You'd probably have people bitching that it's unrealistic Hollywood-esque shclock. That being said, an ending that puts you in company with  Lost and Battlestar Galactica and FF7 with a vague cutscene that offers no real closure and explains nothing. Some people complained it removed true choice which is probably valid. Overall my reaction was probably much like my Shepard's. It was a thrilling ride, but damn I'm just ready for it to be over, so what actually transpired didn't really do much for me. I will say in my opinion, the ending shouldn't have been a choice at all, it should've been a culmination of everything you've done thus far, that would actually put some real weight behind this being a true trilogy where everything supposedly matters when in the end it really didn't amount to all that much. Maybe that's too much to ask for with all the variables, but considering they were able to offer 2 drastically different endings on Knights of the Old Republic I think several vastly different endings based on your decisions up until that point (or even 2) wouldn't have been too much of a stretch. And now Bioware has essentially said that DLC will offer more explanation and closure. That's pretty goddamn ridiculous. If this is the ending you wanted Bioware, that's fine, I'll support that, but don't cave in because pretty much anything by consensus is terrible.

The other thing I'd really like to address is the multi-player. It is incredibly fun and well-done, but also a clear sign of EA's influence here, not because of the multi-player itself. Sure people bitch about having mp put into a series that up until now has been single-player, but before that people were bitching about it only being single-player so that's kind of moot. And while it is well-made and a worthy diversion all on its own, clearly EA felt that people would just ignore it because if you want any chance of getting the best possible ending choices, you need to play it. Not a ton mind you, I got my galactic readiness rating up to snuff in probably about 6 or so hours of mp games. But the point is Bioware repeatedly said if you didn't want to play the MP you didn't have to. They blatantly lied about it. What's more, good MP can stand on its own, which this is, there was no reason to make it some essential component of the overall game. So shame on both Bioware and EA on this point, it's shady practices.

So where does Mass Effect go after this, because Bioware has stated repeatedly that while this probably the end of Shephard's story, it's hardly the end of this franchise. Well I don't think a continuation would be out of the question. It would mollify a lot of the fan base if Mass Effect 4 took a look at the universe Shepard created. A game where you could finally be a protagonist from another race would be welcome. A prequel (like the one I suggested focusing on Sarren) wouldn't be amiss either. An MMO seems extremely likely, but honestly since nearly everything seems to be trying that route, I wouldn't be too excited about it.
One extremely unlikely but awesome idea would be a strategy game based around it. I'd prefer something turn-based, but real time would clearly work as well. Something in the vein of either Starcraft or if they are going turn-based looking at Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars would be an excellent example.

Ok that's really all I have to say on the subject. I should have another post up by Tuesday. Until then here's your BIG BANG OF THE WEEK: