Just when you thought we left this debate behind, we drag it back kicking and screaming for one more go.
In what may go down as one of the most divisive topics in video game history, the ending of Mass Effect 3 has earned equal amounts ire and praise, and the Extended Cut DLC only served to add more fuel to that fire. Some people claimed it salvaged the tarnished legacy of the series, while others said that it all the EC did was spell out what was implied anyways.
We’ve given our thoughts on the ending, but this recent breakdown by Film Crit Hulk over at Badass Digest is too good not to pass along. If you’re still harboring ill-will about the ending of ME3, be warned: by the end of his article you might be more than a little upset.
I guess that because the author is behind a character he feels free to say what many of us held back for politness, or fear of the consequences, or whatever, but Film Crit Hulk says everything I’ve been thinking about the ME3 ending since March. I especially loved his tear-down of the video he imbedded, and his reasoning that Mass Effect 3 didn’t fail as a story, but rather didn’t deliver the indulgence we expect out of video games.
So what do you guys think of Film Crit Hulk’s rant? Does he make points that you agree with? Disagree? Is caps lock really cruise control for cool? Go!
Source – Badass Digest
I agree with everything he says in the article and then some, but you probably already guessed that if you listen to the podcast.
The article was an interesting read, and I feel that Hulk is spot on. I finished replaying through the series a few weeks ago, and it just reminded me of how great the games are. It’s an interesting story in an incredibly deep universe, and BioWare did a brilliant job on the games. Hulk makes great points throughout the article, and I thoroughly enjoyed the part where he dismissed the people who said that they deserved whatever ending they wanted. I agree with the entire article, and now better understand the meaning and symbolism behind the ending.
That caps lock is intense…
And thanks a lot for posting about the article, I really enjoyed reading it and I am glad I didn’t miss it. 😀
I feel about ME3’s ending the same way I felt about Fallout 3’s ending. From a gaming perspective, they were kind of bad and upsetting. But from a storytelling point of view, they were amazing. Fallout 3’s old ending just makes so much sense given the subject matter of the game, the development of the story, and the character’s origins.
Thanks a bunch for linking this guys, I never would have found this gem of intellectual conversation otherwise. I love that man. Indeed he opened my eyes to some other symbolic presences in the story that I wasn’t aware of. Also, do the podcast again, I’m perishing without it. http://obscurantist.com/wp-content/uploads/srsly_you_guys.jpg
I’m going to spare myself by not reading that article, I’ve finally reached a peace of mind with the ending that I do not want disturbed in any way lol.
[quote comment=”19781″]I’m going to spare myself by not reading that article, I’ve finally reached a peace of mind with the ending that I do not want disturbed in any way lol.[/quote]
Fear not dear friend, only good things are said about it, and surely no harm can be done by reading his astute perceptions. But each to his own I suppose.
Well that was a cool read kinda remined me of how i felt when I beat the game with my FemShep. I later relized that Bioware gave us 3 choices but each choice le us have 100 diffrent endings. Also where did you guys find thw image for the article it is epic.
Never played any of the ME games, never have, dont really care too, but reading this article and having watched people war over the ending, I think this guy has a point. Not just in what he is saying abou ME itself, but what he is saying abou gaming as a whole and how gamers treat games. From this, I think that many people could learn to be a little more patient with games and learn to think a bit more.
This really reminds me of when one doesn’t understand an ending to a movie, book, or a game, and just wants the spelt out ending. An example is Inception, where the creator had to come out and say its not about if he woke up or not, but about how he doesn’t care anymore and is happy. I do feel like we have become more “spell it out”, and that we cant handle deeper meanings.