[MASSIVE SPOILERS] Let's Talk Mass Effect
Tonight I began my assault on the Cronos Station with 100% completion of all missions, the maximum Paragon score, all systems scanned and all races allied. My Effective Military Strength was slightly over 4000, the best possible score one can obtain through single player combat.
At the moment of truth, I chose to sacrifice my beloved Shepard to join synthetic and organic life for permanent peace. I was very satisfied with this ending, because I feel like it's what my Shepard would have done. In truth, it's what she has always done: sacrifice for others.
I must admit I experienced a flicker of disappointment, however, that the so-called "perfect" ending--which saves Anderson and reveals the shallow breath of an unconscious Shepard in the rubble of London--requires a 4000 EMS and the renegade option that destroys not just the Reapers, but all synthetic life: the sentient Geth, the nascent and beautiful EDI, and more.
As my Shepard's story concludes, I have come to believe that the Internet drama surrounding Mass Effect 3's ending is BioWare's greatest triumph. Consider that tens of thousands of gamers are now grappling, in the real world, with the moral implications we've been grappling with since the day we all put boots on Eden Prime. What a tremendous narrative victory this represents, to harness such raw and divided emotion from a story.
Let's stop to wonder at the psychology. In my ultimate moment, choosing the option that saves Anderson and Shepard comes at the expense of synthetic life. All synthetic life. Billions will die so that I might have the satisfaction of what is ultimately self-preservation. For those who have taken the path of a Paragon, as I have, we must realize that this is a selfish choice.
Though it is selfish, we as gamers crave this ending. We crave it because we have spent five years growing fond of the Commander, and the gentle wisdom of Anderson. We crave it because it is emotionally gratifying for the hero survive--because we created that hero. Our Commander Shepard isn't just a character we have built, but a vessel and an avatar for our moral center. It is natural that we would want her to leave more than a legacy, but to endure.
Ultimately, I think the drama stems from the entitlement of which "gamers" are generally guilty. That is to say, I think this firestorm could have been averted were there a tidy and easy-to-obtain "Star Wars" ending where the bad guys are crushed and the galaxy lives to receive a medal.
But Mass Effect has always been darker than that. It has always been less binary than that. In truth, Mass Effect has always been about making the hard choices. As I take the hours to digest the entire continuum of my Commander Shepard, I have grown to acknowledge that my immediate and instinctual moral certitude on self-sacrifice was the surest sign that I saw the ending I was meant to see.
My Shepard did not live because she was not meant to. She did what she has always done.
At the moment of truth, I chose to sacrifice my beloved Shepard to join synthetic and organic life for permanent peace. I was very satisfied with this ending, because I feel like it's what my Shepard would have done. In truth, it's what she has always done: sacrifice for others.
I must admit I experienced a flicker of disappointment, however, that the so-called "perfect" ending--which saves Anderson and reveals the shallow breath of an unconscious Shepard in the rubble of London--requires a 4000 EMS and the renegade option that destroys not just the Reapers, but all synthetic life: the sentient Geth, the nascent and beautiful EDI, and more.
As my Shepard's story concludes, I have come to believe that the Internet drama surrounding Mass Effect 3's ending is BioWare's greatest triumph. Consider that tens of thousands of gamers are now grappling, in the real world, with the moral implications we've been grappling with since the day we all put boots on Eden Prime. What a tremendous narrative victory this represents, to harness such raw and divided emotion from a story.
Let's stop to wonder at the psychology. In my ultimate moment, choosing the option that saves Anderson and Shepard comes at the expense of synthetic life. All synthetic life. Billions will die so that I might have the satisfaction of what is ultimately self-preservation. For those who have taken the path of a Paragon, as I have, we must realize that this is a selfish choice.
Though it is selfish, we as gamers crave this ending. We crave it because we have spent five years growing fond of the Commander, and the gentle wisdom of Anderson. We crave it because it is emotionally gratifying for the hero survive--because we created that hero. Our Commander Shepard isn't just a character we have built, but a vessel and an avatar for our moral center. It is natural that we would want her to leave more than a legacy, but to endure.
Ultimately, I think the drama stems from the entitlement of which "gamers" are generally guilty. That is to say, I think this firestorm could have been averted were there a tidy and easy-to-obtain "Star Wars" ending where the bad guys are crushed and the galaxy lives to receive a medal.
But Mass Effect has always been darker than that. It has always been less binary than that. In truth, Mass Effect has always been about making the hard choices. As I take the hours to digest the entire continuum of my Commander Shepard, I have grown to acknowledge that my immediate and instinctual moral certitude on self-sacrifice was the surest sign that I saw the ending I was meant to see.
My Shepard did not live because she was not meant to. She did what she has always done.
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Comments
The whole drama about wanting BioWare to change the ending is just a waste of time and effort. Its like asking George Lucas to go back and re-do episode 1, 2 and 3 for Star Wars. And we all know that will NEVER happen. When I first beat the game I was skeptic about the ending, but after thinking about it I came to the conclusion that the ending for Mass Effect 3 ending the series very well. There are my own theories with the ending and why things happened the way they did.
Overall I thought it was a solid game and it deserves the high praises that it is getting from all the media outlet.
Also this quote from Mike Gamble enrages me: I have no problem with people thinking the endings were emotional or acceptable, that's your choice and I'm glad you enjoyed them. I was just hoping that when they said "16 endings" they meant 16 radically different endings that are the result of what you did in previous games, not almost identical cut scenes and some recolors.
Everything else I've seen about Mass Effect 3 (gameplay, the rest of the story I've watched and read about) seems excellent. I just can't buy/participate with these endings as the end of the series.
I think we all agree the control option is wrong. Even Martin Sheen couldn't convince us.
So that leaves destroy. The Renegade, screw you Catalyst(godchild) option. Sure, synthetics get wiped (according to Catalyst, tricky bastard).
There is always sacrifices in war. Synthetics can be rebuilt. The opinion that synthetics "die" is shady.
I'll go into more later. I took the red pill. Cause those machines had to be destroyed.
For example, it is claimed that Reapers have "always existed" to guide the march of evolution towards Order, ultimately ending in annihilation so the process may begin again. In the ending I received, nobody was destroyed. Synthetics lived, organics lived, Earth and more were saved. In effect, I created a new order that does not "require" a Reaper reset. By the power of magical space voodoo, I have resolved the eventual antagonism between synthetic and organic life, which satisfies the Reapers' need to intervene.
Secondly, the Star Child claims that Reapers harvest organic races so that their genetic code might live on in the reapers. Regardless of the grim logic that actually drives this process, I achieved the unthinkable: the Reapers no longer need or want to harvest humanity.
I can see how you might say that the Reapers won, because they wreaked their havoc and ultimately suffered no punishment. But I would argue that this is a conclusion driven by vengeance, and that is not a motivator for the path my Shepard took.
Garrus once spoke of the ruthless calculus of war, and I believe in my numbers. I accepted the Reaper genocide with deference because my choice not only ended their terror, but ended the cycle and saved billions in the process.
One died so that trillions might live.
//EDIT:
As a compelling counterpoint to all of my above arguments, I found this good 20-minute video (I know) that explores some of the alleged plot holes in the conclusion to ME3.
And, not gonna lie, this fan ending would have been perfectly okay too.
I'm not saying that an ending of the type that's available now couldn't have been included, but from Gamble's own quote he's done exactly what he claims he wouldn't do.
Did past choices matter in the course of Mass Effect 3? Sure, but they had minimal impact on the conclusion. Having that as one of the possible endings would've been 200x more awesome.
I don't care how predetermined the ending felt/was. Play through that story. Unite everybody in the fucking galaxy. Feel the whole thing slip through your grasp when the Illusive Man pulls the rug out from under you. Feel the chill when hundreds of ships in your amassed fleet pop in for a visit to the Reapers dearest. Lose Thane, and Mordin, and possibly Tali, and tell me the emotions those moments generated in you aren't worth suspending your disbelief for 30 seconds about the exploding relays. Tell me there's no way ONE of those three endings isn't the perfect way to conclude that series given the rollercoaster you ride.
FUCK THE SYNTHETICS? Destroy.
ULTIMATE DOMINANCE? Control.
Everlasting peace? Synthesis.
I can't believe how much rage there is over this. I can accept that other people can have different opinions, but it just seems excessive. I guess I'm just happy it works for me.
Oh and the final screen basically being a shameless ad with the last two words you get to read in the entire series being "downloadable content"
So, your ground crew 'could' have made it back to the Normandy
Oh wait, only I got that ending
Also, ignoring the who dies perimeter, you have to have 2800 EMS to get the Synthesis ending
0-1749 Destroy
1750-2799 Destroy or Control
2800- Destroy or Control or Synthesis
I think it's probably too early to tell just what happened to EDI during synthesis.
Of course, it took me 12 hours to stop, think, and decide on how I felt about it. Even now, I'm still formulating my thoughts, but I think I'm finally at terms with things. Hoping everyone reads all of this, because there's a lot to talk about.
I think I love it. I think I completely love what Bioware have done. And this is after finishing the game and being livid.
So I played full paragon, and I picked control option. I'll explain in brief: I wanted to save my friends, I wanted to save humanity and galactic civilization. Destruction implied the death of the Geth/EDI/myself, and synthesis implied accomplishing what we were fighting against the Reapers for. Control, as bad as it may seem, had a point. I could control them, and I could send them away. By sacrificing myself, I could save both organics and synthetics, allowing everyone to maintain the lives they had before.
Is the Mass Effect series a tragedy? Possibly. Hard to imagine it's not with the three outcomes. But it's still painfully frustrating. I love tragedies, but I furrow my brow at Mass Effect. In film, it's easier to accept outcomes like this. It hurts, but people don't rage. The rage in Mass Effect comes from gamers who are pissed that they've spent 90 hours of gameplay under the guise of decision making, and no matter how you play it, no matter how hard you try, darkness is the only outcome.
The worst thing about this is that no matter the ending, ALL of the ME relays are destroyed. With that, you've doomed civilization. Everyone is stranded at whichever place they were at the moment of initialization. We know the importance of the relays to civilizations progression, and now, all are doomed. Even in my ending, I had only managed to destroy my friends and civilization because the relays, for whatever reason, were destroyed. It sucks that no matter what, you cannot protect the relays.
Oh, and it totally blows that Bioware re-used every asset of the endings across all three choices with little more than pallet swaps for the explosions. Plus, that DLC message at the end was AWFUL.
I almost hate to say it, but @fatcat is right about much of this. Synthesis lets the reapers win. Even if it means peace, that's basically what the Reapers set out to do. Saren, way back in ME1, said himself that synthesis was what he wanted, what he knew was best for galactic civilization. We stopped him because he was crazy. He was indoctrinated hardcore. By accepting synthesis, you undo everything you fought for, and you effect every living organism in the galaxy. No, I could not accept that option.
Looking back, I didn't make the right choice. I'm OK with my choice, but destruction truly is the best end. The brilliance of it all is how Bioware shrouded this ending in uncertainty. By making the synthesis option harder to obtain, it subconsciously feels like the best. By implying that you and many others would die with destruction, plus coloring it red, they make this option less attractive. You are fooled, both in game and in reality, by the child to not pick this. But yet we see, Shepard lives. If he lives, the Geth probably live. EDI probably lives. But the Reapers are gone. The child is defeated.
I'm starting to realize that this is the brilliance of this series, the fact that it is tragic and hopeless. You play to see the journey of one man, his rise, fall, and ultimate sacrifice. He is strong, but he is doomed.
It's a good point to complain about the choices leading up to this game. Your past decisions don't really amount to much in this game. It makes it easier to unlock the third option, which isn't even the best option. So I can see why people are angry about this - after 90 hours of work, everything is funneled down to "walk to the left/walk to the right". But then again, @Snarkasm has a point. The journey was fantastic, and I'll never forget it.
I'm beginning to subscribe to the indoctrination theory that Koresh mentioned. The full video is below, and it's worth a watch. A lot of confusing bits start to fall into place when you consider that Shepard is fighting indoctrination throughout the game. This makes the deception of the destruction option I mentioned above make much more sense. If this is Bioware's true intention in the story, then what they have pulled off is tremendous. It is tragic and brilliant, and it deserves to be in line with some of science fiction's greatest stories.
I am slowly agreeing with the sentiment that the Star Child intentionally misguides Shepard in her quest to destroy the Reapers, because he is a mouth for the machines that would suffer no better a fate. Look no further than the Star Child's form when the Reapers are destroyed: it flickers, falters, and then disperses. He is dead.
We never see the Geth destroyed. We never see EDI die. We never see the Star Child's promises come to pass. Why is it that we so blindly trust what we are being told by this sudden character? What psychology prompts us to be so fallible when presented with the fate of the galaxy by the spirit of the Citadel?
We rage because we assume his words to be true, that EDI and the Geth, whom we have worked so hard to "humanize" and save, are dead.
What if they aren't?
The machines have had millennia to perfect an AI that can prey on the fallibility of a weary hero that survives the Reaper's best efforts. They may be timeless machines with virtually infinite resources, but Mass Effect clearly demonstrates that they have not ascended to perfection. The Reapers had to know that, one day, they might fail.
Remember that Shepard's dreams are haunted by the child that died in Vancouver. The child killed by the Reapers. The Reapers that watched Shepard try to save the child. The Reapers that chased Shepard to the Gates of Hell and could have tapped her mind at any point along the way. The Reapers that could create an AI designed to take the form that would be most disarming.
We as players are disarmed. In a very scary way, we have been indoctrinated by Mass Effect to trust the form of the child, because we formed an emotional bond to him. We watched him die, and suffered the nightmares with Shepard. We believe that the child tells the truth because we perceive him to be an innocent robbed of life, not a devious and duplicitous AI powering a form stolen from our minds. Think about the transcendental way in which Mass Effect reached into us and tricked real human beings into suspending caution.
In short, what if the Citadel and the Star Child is the Reaper Dead Hand?
Now that that's been cleared up. I haven't looked into the indoctrination theory until now and it's about the most interesting possibility there can be. I actually WANT this to turn out to be true, I'm just not positive it will. It would explain a lot of the problems I've been struggling to make sense of concerning little space Timmy and his sudden introduction at the very end. Not only that but if it turns out that this entire sequence from the beam to the credits was all Shepard's internal struggle to avoid indoctrination it would amount to one of the most brilliant ways of story telling a game has ever attempted. It would mean that they found a way to make the actual player experience and fight off indoctrination. I remember when I was first given the choices and found both the control and synthesis options unsettling for reasons I was unable to explain. If true this theory would mean they have created an ending that taps into the player's subconscious. I've gone back and forth over whether I liked the ending or not and at this point I'm satisfied with what I got if that's all there is but if indoctrination theory turns out to have been their plan from the start it will be nothing short of mind blowing and enough to make me look past my complaints about multiplayer. That is unless they want to charge for the "real" ending.
Until you show me that all the synthetics die, that EDI dies, I'm sticking with the destroy option.
also
There, you happy now?
Well played Bioware, well played