To start this off, let me say that what I am saying here is somewhat based off the spoilers I have read. I have not played the game myself yet, and I have not watched any playthrough. I also doubt I have found EVERY spoiler, so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong - or wait until the game is released and I complete it.
Oh, and most of this is going to be about the endings.
My main problem isn't that there is no happy ending. I would love there to be a happy ending, but that isn't what worries me. What worries me is that, from what I have heard and seen so far, your choices from the previous games don't have that much to do with the ending. From what I understand your choices only end up amounting in easy it is to prepare everyone, and in the end that affects whether Shepard lives or dies, and whether Earth is F***ed or not for two of them.
No matter what, that Citadel and Guardian crap is real. No matter what, the Normandy is for some reason in a Mass Relay transit and its entire crew gets stranded on some unknown planet. No matter what, all this is some flawed 'solution' by some AI that makes little sense to me.
As said, I haven't read all the spoilers, nor have I watched any walkthroughs to date. I don't have time to search for and watch them all, but what I've seen so far doesn't make a ton of sense with the whole 'solution' thing. Seriously, save organics from synthetics by harvesting and repurposing organics? Why not just kill the synthetics if they rebel? It makes not sense to me.
In addition to that, it seems Renegades are given a harder time. I had fears and such about some Paragon actions backfiring, but it from what I've heard, it seems none really do, and being good helps you more in the end. To me this is very disappointing - there should be advantages to taking both paths and going pure one path may not be the best solution.
Once again, as said, I haven't watched playthroughs, I don't know all the spoilers. My problem, however, doesn't entirely lie with what I probably don't understand (Hopefully some of you could give me a quick fillin of where I'm wrong? I'm putting this all here as I don't think its worth starting another topic just to save some time in getting answers).
First, I'll outline the endings I"d had in mind right from the beginning;
Bad: You stuffed pretty much everything up. You're allies in the war? The Systems Alliance. You stand no chance and Earth is Obliterated. The Normandy is Destroyed, and Shepard and the whole crew with it. From there, the Reapers go on to purge the galaxy again.
Not so bad: You stuffed up quite a lot, but not everything. You have one or two allies beyond the Systems Alliance with you. Your fleet engages the Reapers, but it is not enough. Earth is lost, the fleets are lost, and the Normandy and her crew - including Shepard - are lost. A reasonable blow is dealt to the Reapers however, and the other races in the galaxy manage to hold them off, albeit with the vast majority dieing out in the war.
Mediocre: You did a lot right, and have gathered a lot of allies. You had to make some choices - Geth v Quarian, Krogan v Salarian, ect. - and you lost some potential allies, but the fleet is strong. You charge into Earth and defeat the vast majority of the Reaper fleet. You don't win, and Earth is ultimately lost, but the Reapers suffer heavy losses. The Normandy escapes - albeit with a fair bit of damage - and manages to convince any forces that remain - as well as civilians - to pitch in and fight the Reapers. The crew of the Normandy lose many of their number - both in the escape from Earth and in the ensuing campaign against the Reapers - though Shepard survives, as do some of the squadmates. The Reapers are stopped shortly after, with only a couple more races falling to their influence.
Good: You manage to rally every race in the Galaxy. You sort out everyone's problems. Geth and Quarian, Krogan and Salarian, Human and Batarian - Every able bodied man and woman is in a fleet leading the assault to reclaim Earth. Due to complications caused by some of your actions in the first couple of games, this took longer than Expected. The fleet makes it to Earth and engages the Reapers, and wins a decisive victory - stopping the invasion there and then. Sadly, Earth had already fallen. In the time spent rallying the fleets, the Reapers wiped out the vast majority of life on Earth. A few pockets of human civilization remain, but the home of Humanity is ruined. The Normandy picks up a few bruises from the fight, and some crew members may die - both Squadmates and 'minor' crew members like the two engineers, or sadly even Joker - but the invasion is stopped, Shepard and the majority of the squad and crew live, and the rest of the galaxy is safe from the Reapers.
Perfect: You made every right decision possible through all playthroughs. Everything you did turned out perfectly. Your decisions from ME1 and ME2 grease the wheels and your squad travels the galaxy like a well oiled machine, gathering every race out there. Every species joins your fight. Every ship is dedicated to your cause. No Squadmembers fall, and thanks to your actions in ME1 and ME2, Shepard pulls the galaxy together very quickly. Some problems need to be solved, but having started dealing with these in ME1 and 2, they are quickly solved and the galaxy rapidly unites to retake Earth. The fleet arrives, and Earth still holds. Whilst the fleets engage the Reapers from space, planetary weapons and small shuttlecraft that were being used to defend the surface are used to assault the Reapers from the surface. The two way attack keeps the Reaper force spread, and throughout the fight the Normandy suffers no damage. The fleets destroy all the Reapers around Earth, and Earth herself is also saved. The Reaper invasion is ended there and then by the Heroic actions of Shepard. In addition to this, all of the races in the Galaxy are now united, and for a while the conflicts between them stop. Shepard is given a decision with their LI to settle down on Earth, or to settle down on their LI's homeworld - or to keep roaming. Non romantic Shepards are able to roam or settle down on Earth. In short, everyone lives happily ever after.
Masterpieces? Hell no.
Easily predictable and somewhat cliched? Yeah.
Brings up any Philosophical questions? No.
No doubt better endings could have been included. Hell, in all reality, I'd have the choices available now appear earlier in the ending. Instead of having the crucible and some massive Deus Ex Machina, have Shepard presented with a choice as he nears the final battle through communication with Harbinger [Holo panel on a planet Shepard is leaving that Harbinger uses in a similar manner to Sovereign in ME1 and himself in Arrival, Harbinger contacts the Normandy directly in a similar manner to his direct contact with the leader of the Collectors on their base, have an option for Shepard to attempt to use a combuoy to contact Earth, and Harbinger intercepts it - just no Deus Ex Machina here too]. For one, the Reapers reveal their plans to Shepard. Not some BS 'We are saving Organics' sort of crap, but an actual reason that makes sense. I don't care if its because the galaxy depends on this cycle to throw down the older races, and leave room for the newer ones to rise, to stop eventual overpopulation - and they strike them before they become too strong whilst giving them a chance to experience life, because that IS how they reproduce and it is necessary for their race. Then, the choice:
Choice One: Destroy. You do as above, continue to unite the galaxy, and in the end attack the Reapers. Success and failure is dictated as above.
Choice Two: Control. Shepard manages to convince them that the cycle is not necessary, and convinces them to head to uncharted space and exist peacefully there instead. Offers an option to end without bloodshed, and without any awesome final battle, but instead Shepard proves things are able to be accomplished by Diplomacy. Shepard could also have success chances in this. Based off how much he managed to reuinite the galaxy, he may be more or less able to convince the Reapers organics can work together, and may be kind to the younger races/won't have problems with overpopulation thanks to conflicts between them/that they will stop the Reapers in direct conflict, and that it'd be better for the Reapers for them to leave without enterring the conflict. Hell, even have all of them as problems the Reapers have with letting Organics live, and your choices dictate how well you can convince the Reapers. Anything less than perfect, and one of the other choices must take precedent, but it offers a way to end the war without any casualties if on a perfect run.
Choice Three: Synthesis. Shepard accepts the Reaper's reasoning, and ends up believing that it may be salvation for Organics to become Reapers. He decides not to stop the Reapers, and dependent on how loyal the crew members of the Normandy are to Shepard, Shepard can either be killed by his crew for the decision, who then go on to complete option 1 on their own, Shepard can have a mutinee with some on his side, resulting in the loss off some good friends, whilst others accept Shepard's decision, or have everyone agree with Shepard and aid the Reapers in their conquest of Organics [The mid option would be more varied dependent on the actual loyalties individually earned for the Normandy crewmen and such]. Things basically play out like in Scenario one, but with Good and Bad reversed, and Shepard on the Reaper's team (Perfect ending being with all the races in turmoil and not supporting the defence of Earth, leading to the Reapers massacring them, then everyone ascending into Reaperhood, whilst the very bad ending is where everyone is united, and the Reapers alongside Shepard are stopped with ease by the combined fleets, and humanity is prevented from becoming ascended).
This offers multiple ways for players to finish the game, and offers the same choice present in the game ATM, without the Deus Ex machina.
Personally, I think something like this, if properly written, would have worked far better as an ending set for ME3 than what we are offered ATM. I, of course, am biased as this is my own work. If anyone ever ends up reading this, let me know what you think of them compared to Bioware's endings. Sure, nowhere near as Artsy, nor raising any philosophical questions, and quite predictable. What I feel the have to them is their simplicity (To an extent) and the removal of the Deus Ex Machina, whilst maintaining an array of endings ranging from horrible to perfect, as well as offering victory from different viewpoints that a Shepard may have. As said, biased, I'm going to shut up not.
Anyway, that's probably going to be part 1 done. I'm thinking I'll make this three part:
1. Intro and my suggested endings
2. What I find wrong with Bioware's endings
3. Once I've played the game, what I find wrong with how Bioware handled the choices from the previous games outside of the end mission.
See you later.
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