Mass Effect

[Kimarhi]

I still think they should somehow find a way to repurpose the original ending.  As I understand it, the heavy use of mass effect technology causes a buildup of dark energy which makes stars age prematurely (e.g. Haestrom).

IIRC, that's why the Reapers eradicate all of the technologically advanced civilizations every 50,000 years.  If they didn't, this "mass effect" would grow beyond their ability to control and eventually destroy every star in the galaxy.

Hence the significance of the series title is finally revealed.

I remember reading that their studio heads were afraid to go that direction with the writing because of the space opera type feel the rest of the series utilized feeling that it would be too dark a twist for the franchise kind of like an Alien 3 after Aliens type deal.

I would've liked it.  Kind of been an unforeseen twist that had elements supporting it already in the story if you looked.

[The Old One]

Indeed and Drew Karpyshyn's departure.

[Local Trouble]

Drew Karpyshyn says there's nothing to rumors that BioWare ruined the game after his departure.

Love it or hate it, we can all admit that Mass Effect 3's sudden third-act twist has proven rather controversial. Legions of unhappy fans have taken to the game's official message boards to lodge complaints and petition BioWare to "fix" the ending, with some going so far as to claim that the game's last fifteen minutes have tarnished the entire franchise forever.

In the wake of the controversy, Mass Effect's former lead writer Drew Karpyshyn has defended the game's conclusion, debunking claims that the ending was changed following his departure from the franchise.

Karpyshyn, along with Mac Walters, served as head writer on the first Mass Effect game and contributed heavily to the second before transferring to BioWare Austin to assist on Star Wars: The Old Republic.

A popular theory among disgruntled fans claims that Mass Effect 3's ending was hastily thrown together as a last minute replacement for Karpyshyn's much stronger intended finale, which centered around Dark Energy. A snippet explaining the original plot was posted to the Something Awful forums, attributed to a source inside BioWare:

The Reapers' goal was to find a way to stop the spread of Dark Energy which would eventually consume everything. That's why there was so much foreshadowing about Dark Energy in ME2.

The Reapers as a whole were 'nations' of people who had fused together in the most horrific way possible to help find a way to stop the spread of the Dark Energy. The real reason for the Human Reaper was supposed to be the Reapers saving throw because they had run out of time. Humanity in Mass Effect is supposedly unique because of it's genetic diversity and represented the universe's best chance at stopping Dark Energy's spread.

The original final choice was going to be "Kill the Reapers and put your faith in the races of the galaxy in finding another way to stop the spread with what little time is left" or "Sacrifice humanity, allowing them to be horrifically processed in hopes that the end result will justify the means.

But according to Karpyshyn, that so-called "original ending" was only one of several possiblities, and it certainly wasn't as definitive as some fans would like to believe.

"Dark Energy was on the table at one point," he wrote on Twitter, "but the original idea for the ending was all about Reapers and Mass Relays."

Though he's yet to play Mass Effect 3 for himself, Karpyshyn says the ending that made it into Mass Effect 3 is in line with what he'd planned for all along.

"From what I hear, the basic concept of the original ending is there, though some details may have been tweaked," he said.

Karpyshyn went on to express skepticism that his continued work on the franchise would have done much to change things one way or the other.

"Funny. Some upset fans say ME3 was awesome until the end ruined it. Claim it would have been better if I was still on the project. But fans upset about my [Knights of the Old Republic] Revan novel claim it was awesome until the ending ruined it. So maybe I wouldn't have made any difference."

So, there you have it, straight from the horse's mouth. You're more than welcome to hate Mass Effect 3's ending — I certainly felt a bit let down by the whole thing. Just don't make Drew Karpyshyn a scapegoat in the process.

[The Old One]

Yeah...

The "Revan" Novel is garbage.

[Kimarhi]

Some of ME problem was that it was the end of a beloved trilogy, and if you have noticed they are never usually as popular as the previous installments just because they are the story that brings about the end.

Alien 3, Matrix Revolutions, ROTJ, ROTK, etc.

None of the movies are bad, but I know very few people who prefer those installments over others in the franchise.

My major gripe with it was actually the exclusion of characters from the previous installments.  Jack was my love interest in the second game and there was a basic exclusion of her character in the third game. 

The dark energy ending isn't necessarily ruled out even with a ending featuring mass relays and reapers.....seems kind of like an intentionally misleading quote to ensure that if bioware needed him to write for something again he could come back.

[Vertigo]

I much prefer Matrix Revolutions to Reloaded, for what it's worth...

[Local Trouble]

The ending was far from perfect, but I liked ME3 a lot.  It's also one of the few games that I played multiplayer.

[AhabPredator]

Can we talk about what a colossal f**k up it was to sacrifice Mass Effect/Mass Effect Andromeda for Anthem? I can't believe they wasted 6 years and millions on what Anthem is. It's being smoked by Tom Clancy's: The Division 2 in that game's alpha, compared against Anthem's Full Launch. This is pathetic. EA and BioWare should be ashamed. I am furious about Mass Effect being sacrificed as a D-list title.

[Kimarhi]

I much prefer Matrix Revolutions to Reloaded, for what it's worth...

I liked the big mech battle but other than that felt revolutions tried to be a little too edgy in comparison to the first two. 

It's not bad though, just not as good as either of the other two.  Or even animatrix.

[The Old One]

[Local Trouble]

Can we talk about what a colossal f**k up it was to sacrifice Mass Effect/Mass Effect Andromeda for Anthem?

EA wanted a shlooter.

[AhabPredator]

Indeed. Shlooters. Worthless garbage genre.

There are a few that are good. But VERY few.

[The Old One]

The Old One's a Singleplayer person. 

[Vertigo]

The Old One is probably not particularly well served by the last few years of shooters, I'm guessing.

[The Old One]