I personally stil choose to believe marauder shields is actually Nihlus from me1. In my theory he was freed from reaper control after the destruction of sovereign, and went on to infiltrate the reaper forces when they returned to the Galaxy.
I liked it without all the DLC and the Extended Cut. It was even better with all the DLC and the extended cut when I played through it again. I actually thought the star child was an awesome twist at the end. Reminded me of something from an Isaac Asimov story.
Same here. Actually, i bought the game on release day but in the demo i came to like the multiplayer part of the game so much that i immediately jumped into it and played only it until i unlocked everything to level X... oh god it was infuriating as hell, though i've never spent a dime on this, fuck no, and i blame all the players who did feeding that greed of fucking EA. But i admit even this day i play the multiplayer sometimes, and we have to acknowledge that the dlcs were free, however if they hadn't been, EA couldn't be able to ask money for the (absolutely random) unlocks. By the time i finished and unlocked everything, the extended cut and all the dlcs were out! But i would have gladly given up the multiplayer part if it meant to make the base game better and more polished. EA is the cancer to gaming.
Played the game for the first time with the From The Ashes expansion (got it from free with Origin Access), and I was surprised when I knew that was downloadable content.
I really like Garrus's dialog if you shoot Mordin. After you get back from Tuchanka, he asks how you got the support of the salarians and the krogan. If you're honest about the sabotage he asks if Mordin went along with it. Shepard just says nothing and walks away. Camera pushes into Garrus and he says: "damn this war."
"Hope that one day, there will be a game that lives up to this universe" Oof. In retrospect, now that Andromeda is out, and all the backlash from it, that's such a tragic line.
assume its a dead IP now the only hope really is for EA to finally die and another developer takes the IP and retcons the hell out of the ending of 3 which i do sort of see as being inevitable then again maybe not Mass Effect was a pretty generic sci fi setting
@@variableaxis9652 ME:Andromeda is much like Dragon Age 2. Not as good as the IP, but not a bad game by any means. And the combat in Andromeda is the highlight. It's sad that from the 100h+ story (100%complete, no fast travel) there are like 6 to 10h of actuall Mass Effect quality quests and less than 1h of hilarious cuscenes and conversations. I am glad that Casey Hudson is back at the helm now working on the next Mass Effect project. Regardless of what ever the rEApers will make them do this time.
Meh, with games like No Man's Sky, Agony, Fallout 76 etc Andromeda no longer pales in retrospect. But even if you hated the lack luster story, you have to hand it to Andromeda for taking combat beyond. I loved every bit of crafting a character how I wanted them to be and utilizing their strengths. Being able to Pull, Throw, and Charge was incredible.
An End Once And For All was too good for that ending to the game.. seriously, it would have fit to a "perfect" ending, instead of being smacked onto the rushed end-product.
I was stuck on Earth waiting for extraction for over 45 minutes in the prologue on my first playthrough. I was playing as a soldier so I just kept spamming concussive shot at the Cannibals in order to preserve ammo.
Love Mass Effect... Even with all its flaws, which there definitely were several, it's still... It's hard to describe, but it drew me into its world and story in a way no other game ever has. I was legitimately depressed when it was over. And not even because of the ending; simply because there was no more to experience. The characters, the story, and even the gameplay. It all created this world that I got lost and completely wrapped up in. It will always be one of my favorite gaming experiences ever.
iExPreZz I just finished the game too. Now I need a way to get rid of Liara's piano music out of my head, it feels so nostalgic, and I only finished the game couple of hours ago.
sedriensmorgasbord Mass Effect as a whole is one of the best and most memorable gaming experiences I've had. I played the whole trilogy this summer and boy was I immersed in the universe. When I wasn't playing I was reading trivia about the locations and characters or listening to the soundtracks. The amount of emotional investment you can have in this world and it's memorable characters is propably the biggest reason why so many were so dissapointed with the ending - which DOES feel rushed and a bit abrupt indeed, but maybe not so badly that many think.
Mass Effect is the only game that made de fell in love with a character, Tali. I really felt connected to everything that happened to Shepard and the crewmates. I'm about to play my 20th playtrough of the trilogy, and believe it or not, i usually do the same decisions, romance Tali when i can (shame on you ME1) because it reflects what I feel and want, is a personal connection that i think no other game can ever accomplish.
@Caleb Imrie it IS garbage because of time constraints which caused rushed story, stricter dialogue, and trash quest system, aswell as an ending that actually wasn't originally planned (the original ending was supposed to reveal that the reapers were actually slowing down the heat death of the universe, which was being accelerated by organics using Eezo for biotics and FTL travel.
'EA wanted to capitalize on everything the developer had to offer immediately..and so the developers were tasked with making double the work in half the time.' EA really is a cancer on gaming.
@@Yes_Fantasy_419 Activision-Blizzard you mean. Activision owns blizzard, and the blizzard of old (10+ years ago) died, loooong ago. If gamers really want change, they need to vote with their wallets and not purchase games, at all - that have practices or mishandle what they love. Simple as that. It takes dedication and reservation, but it can be done.
if Bioware were NEVER bought by EA and the rest of the Mass Effect trilogy was published by Microsoft, then GOD KNOWS how different things would have been.
They need to give developers enough time to make the great game, boosting sales and giving them more profit through sales. If they did this, we would all be happy.
You can not rush anything good :) But they will never learn. It is not about making good Games for EA. It is about making the most amount of cash in the shortest time. Regardless of how employes and customers feel. Just dont buy EA and they will die!
I have to say Raycevick that you make the industry a better place for everyone involved. The amount of research involved and deep critical analysis of the game and what went behind the scenes is truly an enriching experience. We've had a recent surge of content creators dissecting the industry in a way we have never seen before, but you're setting the standards to such a high degree that treats this medium with the seriousness and passion that it deserves. I'm not sure if you're the first pioneer in this regard, but you are surely leaving your mark. Please never stop. Cheers!
I had jokingly named it "Billy" (I name everything small and cute either "Billy" or "Jerry"), and literally almost scream "BILLY!!" in excitement when I saw him scurrying about beneath the reactor room.
I downloaded the mass effect triology about a week ago, been playing it nonstop, got to Mass Effect 2 now. - Can confirm seeing the space hamster in that shop on Ilium was the highlight of the story so far.
Well, I only use Biotic Charge on Banshees, then I jump back, Shotgun with Incendiary, then Biotic Charge again. If my Squad powers are up, I combo with the Biotic Charge. I don't use Nova on Banshees because they can grab you WHILE you're on the Nova animation, and kill you.
I just finished this game two weeks ago and didn't think it was terrible. But made me very pissed off at EA. Could have been 5 times greater if they had 12 more months.
Dragon Age 2 was the last game I have ever pre-ordered. So I fortunately was spared the shitstorm that was ME3... I just had to deal with the clusterfuck that was DA2...
@@LunarOverdrive Divorced from all the other issues. It was alright... but after playing Origins, it felt like a huge bait and switch. The fact that it was made in less than half the time of the first game should've clued me in on what kind of game it was. But I was naive back then.
@@LunarOverdrive ME3 was good, but it was obvious to everyone that it could've been a lot better that's the issue I guess. It is plain to see what potential it had, not to mention this was the cultivation of all 3 games meaning people had much higher expectations of it.
Some review videos help you decide whether or not a game is worth your money. Some reviews you'll watch to validate your own dislike/like for a game or the company behind the game. This Mass Effect Series review opened my eyes to how video games are an art form. How every little bit, from audio, to visuals, to gameplay, to writing all blend and mesh to create a product that hinges on each part working together for success. I came into this mass effect years ago series expecting a typical review. I left with a completely new perspective on the art form that is video gaming. Thank you for your hard work.
Can anyone blame the BIOWARE for what they did for Mass Effect 3? I mean 22 months didn't give them enough time to do all that they wanted. Giving BIOWARE more time may have made the game better. Hell I would pay 100$ for the Directors cut of Mass Effect 3 to see what they actually wanted into the game.
collin mattingly Perhaps we can petition for BioWare to work on a trilogy Remastered to restore Cut content and include new Cinematics and endgame mechanics, (War Assets are divided into fleet strength, ground strength and Crucible strength each strength affecting the other in a suicide mission-Esk way.)
It doesn't excuse the way they handled the controversy, claiming "artistic integrity" and how "it was designed to spark speculations" for a clearly unfinished product instead of just admitting that the development process was hell. That said, knowing now how bad the deck was stacked against them has mellowed my opinion of Bioware.
Radintoriov And what do you think the backlash of shit talking your parent company would be? They couldn't afford to tell the truth as a business. Its sad but true.
One thing they could've done is a simple non-answer like "we are listening to your feedback and apologize" or something similar that didn't require them coming out and blaming EA. It would have still been unsatisfactory, but it would also have been less infuriating than the unprofessional way in which some of them attacked their consumer base.
"why having only two dialogs? to force the story to have only two branches" btw this was true for ME1 as well. even when the dialog have 3 options sometimes two options will have the exact same response. and sometimes even sharperd saying the same line exactly.
Abdurrahman Khallouf yessss finally someone said this, “me1 is the best in the franchise” people keep using this as an argument to put me2 down and it’s so unjustified, the occasional imitation of choice in me1 dialogue is just laughable sometimes
Didnt play ME1 twice so I wouldn't know anything about it, ME1 was the worse in the triology for me simply cuz its just simply missing too much stuff that made ME2 and 3 great. Also small thing but I dont know why the armor in ME1 look like ugly halloween costumes.
Bad thing for us but not for them. They are on their money much faster which can be reinvested. The problem is the slow but sure way of destroying their long term reputation. But considering they are still in business they were right to do so in their own eyes.
So the short version is that the majority of issues with ME3 stemmed from deadlines set by EA and pulling resources _from_ BioWare's Mass Effect team to work on other projects, and ultimately ME3 suffered for it.
Kindergarten levels of incompetence on a massive scale. Shareholders ought to be ashamed not stepping in and sacking the management at that point. All that can be done is inform the masses not to support such publishers with our wallets and scare developers away from joining public traded conglomerates like Activision and EA. Hopefully the FIFA/Madden cash cow will eventually crumble to gambling regulations and their road maps seen as marketing lies, but I doubt it.
Despite its flaws, the ME trilogy is still my favourite game franchise and the only that's really made me care about the characters and story in over 30 years of PC gaming.
I'd have to disagree on the last mission on Earth. I remember playing it for the first time and being scared shitless when two brutes bust out of the wall in that dark alley. Earth itself felt like something so different than that of the mystical planets you encounter throughout the series. It's home, it's real, something familiar. I remember that having a big impact on me. Needless to say, after playing through the series about six times now, it did lose its sheen.
Me3 GREATEST fault that if changed, could make this game a 9+/10 is the entire London mission (along with the ending ofc). Just imagine how fucking awesome it would be if BW created the last mission similar to Suicide Mission, but with choosing entire fleets/races other than single persons for different tasks. One wrong decision, just like in the SM, could be devastating for entire fleets. This idea would make the player feel how much he/she has accomplished, showing all of the war assets collected actually do something. Imagine the tension that the player would feel, also the epicness of this section... LONDON mission is the biggest flaw of ME3, not necceserily the ending itself, period.
+John Doe yeah, the sole idea of synthesis is basically space magic, which is so unfitting to the universe where every mechanism and technology is explained and thoroughly described. Also ME: Andromeda made synthesis unnecessary by showing SAM as an example of completely non-rebelious AI.
@@grzegorzd5036 Besides the "synthesis" ending takes away all free will from the caracters it impacts it on, which makes it not only unconsistent space magic, but immoral inconsistent space magic
@@zebbr0s I don't think so. Respawn basically are disregarded by EA. Titanfall 1 was a random success, and Titanfall 2 proved that it was random. Without any advertisement from EA, without good release date, the game was destined to fail. Apex Legends was, again, a random success, as it too had no advertisement from EA. The fact that Respawn are still alive is a miracle itself, and i think that this miracle won't last. As to DICE, well, are they the same DICE as before? As i heard currently they are something like Bioware Montreal: a studio with and old name, but completely other people. Correct me if i'm wrong pls.
Drew Karpyshyn was the reason Mass Effect 1 & 2 were the best but when he left Mass Effect 3 was ok but the ending was not good even though the game was ok but rushed and the soundtrack was good in Mass Effect 3 I loved it but made me feel sad 😢 while in Mass Effect 2 made it awesome
So a major studio gave a talented developer an unconscionable release schedule, leaving said developer scrambling to stitch together the best game possible even as it would inevitably be eclipsed by the bountiful glitches & cut content, all for the sake of a major studio's greed that exhibits *profound* apathy for the developers in their employ, their consumers, & the very concept of art as a whole. Culminating in a solid experience that nonetheless invariably leaves a bitter taste given all that taints the experience due to the inscrutable actions of the publisher. (Glances not at all subtly to my copy of Fallout: New Vegas) "Gee, where oh *where* have I heard that story before?..."
@@psychomantis1926 I've recently read about ME3's development hell. I dont know if F:NV went through the same shit, but that might be another reason why ME3 is what it is.
22 months, and they managed to pull off a GREAT GAME, despite many flaws. Imagine if they had 3-4 years and Drew Karpyshyn still worked for Bioware, it could have been one of the greatest games ever. People, don't blame Bioware, blame EA. If Bioware had time and if Drew stayed, Mass Effect 3 original game would have had: Retaking Omega, Retaking Palaven after gaining the support of either Krogans or Salarians, a better mission in Thessia and a Reaper battle, better explanation of Cerberus, a Prothean squadmate, explanation of the origin of the Reapers, a final mission similar to the Suicide Mission from the second game, but this time, it's not just your squadmates and your crew's life at stake, it's the ENTIRE GALAXY that's at stake, a final badass confrontation and a battle with Harbinger, and an ending involving Shepard being indoctrinated and the dark energy storyline, like Drew had originally planned. Urghh, listing all these awesome things that would have been in the game, I hate EA even more now.
omfg why. Why did you have to say all that?! GUH I almost forgot about the flaws of ME3 in the light of Andromeda's dick-sucking. But... but... geez the world's not fair.
I love long informative videos like these. I'm hoping he continues the trend with games like Elder Scrolls, Fallout, or even a video on the downfall of Call of Duty.
Getting to the ending of the original release SUCKED!!! To be clear, the DLC and Extended Cut functioned as a tourniquet on a severed limb, it prevented death but didn't replace the limb. With the those extras you could finish it properly at least but the writing was still shoddy at the end.
CalzoneLord mass effect 3 was my first mass effect game so I thought the ending was weird, then I played mass 1 and 2 and then I got why everyone was pissed, they butchered such an incredible trilogy with such an awful ending.
When I played 3, it was like 2016, so everything was already out but I didn't know anything about the ending, so I got to experience it as someone at the time would have and the ending made me mad as hell. A few days later, I heard about the Extended Cut which made things a bit better.
@@journey95far49 Apart from the ending, people also seem to hate on ME3 because its somehow "Linear". I giggle at that evertime because all the fucking games were linear, narrative expiriences.
Watching your three retrospective videos fosters a lot of frustration in me, because it reminds me of the time invested in these games, and how it all ultimately turned out. I fell really let down with how it all ended. However, its important to acknowledge what you stated; that the developers themselves worked night and day for months on a product they werent really happy with. From an artists perspective, that must be downright depressing. Its sad to see how corporations sole focus is monetary gain rather than creating something special. The team really created something great with the time constraint they had.
Don't worry, no matter how Shitty Andromeda is, we still have the trilogy. It's flawled and such, but has such great characters and story. No matter how much EA tried to destroy it, you can really get rid of the characters we grew to love.
It's deeply flawed, but it has a hell of a lot to love in it. When Mass Effect 3 fires on all Cylinders, it's absolutely incredible. But it doesn't manage that more than 2 or 3 times in the whole game.
MDK2 (developed by Bioware) begins moments after the conclusion of MDK, with Kurt, Max, and Dr. Hawkins celebrating their victory over Gunther Glut, and thus saving Earth from the alien invasion. However, in the midst of their celebrations, they discover a remaining Minecrawler heading towards Edmonton. Kurt destroys it, but as he awaits to return to the Jim Dandy space station, he is taken prisoner by a massive alien. Source: Wiki
Mick Howard Mass Effect 3 is one of the best games I've ever played with one of the worst endings I've ever witnessed. While the game is still excellent, I'm sad to say I think that ending ruined the franchise. It pisses me off, because you can tell it was a trilogy made with such a passion and effort... ruined by that piece of crap ending.
@@jaykdos9521 same for me. I just wish it ended on a high note. ME3 is a good game, but obviously rushed. ME1+ME2 will always remain at the pinnacle of gaming experiences for me.
@@Shvabicu blah blah journey blah blah destination lmao. I do agree though, I defend 3 but I'll admit there's a LOT they could have done different that would make it better. But I think we're pretty damned lucky to get a game that we did. We could have gotten worse, like Andromeda.
@@alexh6767 I don't think you remember the ending on Launch. Starkid had about 14 lines of dialogue and all the endings were the same with a color filter There was no voice over, no slideshow. Just Joker trying to outrun the Mass Relay explosion. (Which in the Arrival DLC, was enough to wipe out a star system) And that's it. Oh, right and a pop up at the end to buy more DLC It wasn't until massive backlash that we got an extended cut with the slides. If that was the shipped ending, I think the fan base would've been alright with it. But we saw it as too little too late.
I hated how three felt so rushed after Rannoch, and how the ending itself was set without any way to influence anything. The indoctrination theory actually numbed that feeling quite a bit until Bioware themselves took a stance against it, condemning Shepard to die in endings that pretty much accomplish the same thing no matter what's chosen. It felt contrived especially when I could think of several crew members, Javik specifically, who could've easily accompanied the player up into the citadel to pick up the mantle of sacrifice. The game built up my expectations and then failed to subvert them, and instead dashed them in a way that felt thoroughly unfulfilling. Wish they gave Shepard's story a better send off, but alas, that burden seems to have fallen to the community.
Same here. When I first finished the trilogy, five years ago, I was so disgusted at the ending (didnt have extended Cut) that I couldn't see anything related to Mass Effect without feeling bad. I've recently replayed it with mods like JAM, CEM and EGM, my experience was absolutely different. It saddens me to think how better the game could've been with more time, but at least my favorite subjects (genophage and geth) were excellently resolved.
Just why did EA have to release this game barely 2 years after the last one? Why Why Why can’t game publishes be more patient with their games? When have we ever heard any reviewer say “This game was good, but it would have been a lot better if it was released 6 months earlier?”
What makes ME3 even more disappointing are those moments of brilliance that shine through. The Rannoch and Tuchanka acts are some of the best segments of the trilogy. But then there's the incoherence of the Citadel mission, the maddening railroad of Thesia (my least favorite part of the game both from a gameplay and story segment), and the absolute disaster on Earth ruin the game. Even without the ending being bad, these parts would majorly get in the way of the game's quality.
Catalyst line is weakest in ME3, no doubt. Think thats because Mac Walters wrighted this core segment of the plot, and he always was weak in worldbuilding, just look at andromeda. Side plots were created by other people who also create majority of ME2 script. Lets be honest: main plot of ME2 was even weaker than in ME3, it was grand final that make it awesome. Still I love the whole trilogy even if it fails sometimes, but it still an amazing story.
@@alexeyburenkov2292 While I agree that the ME2 plot is weak, I love it most out of all the games, and that's because of the bond you make with the characters in the game. Bonds that will never be forgotten. That's what ME2 brought to the table, a reason to keep playing all of the series, despite the letdown of ME3.
Yeah, like replay the Mass Effect trilogy again! :D Damn I'm still prolonging my replay of them for as long as I can to forget as much of it as I can to enjoy it as much as possible when I actually do. ...but everytime I remember ME exists I just can't focken wait to play the trilogy again! :D
This series was amazing to go back to after the Legendary Edition. If nothing else years later things still hurt in a "what could have been" sense. If you ever choose to, it'd be interesting to look back in hindsight of the new edition, even briefly.
What more could he say? They left the whole thing at, almost, the same state as always was, except for the graph coat of paint and few changes, mostly made to ME1 combat. EAware would never give up its arm to twist🤷♂️
Both of you are way too late, since all the experts out there, who haven't even played a minute of it yet, already know, without any doubt, that the game will be a catastrophe. :P
Then take me as an exception. I feel sorry for all those who are disappointed, but I can't wait continue playing. Potentially the best action-rpg since TW3 as far as I can tell. Maybe even better, because, let's face it, it's a Mass Effect. :)
I had no idea that the Virmire survivor wangst-fest was originally scheduled for Thessia instead of the Citadel! That explains why the crew was so touchy-feely with Shepard after the Thessia mission - the dialogue was written with the idea that Shep would've lost Ashley/Kaidan there. I was like, "Why does everyone think I care about the Asari homeworld so damn much?!"
SockPuppet80 my problem with post thessia is that killing Kai Leng or not, the reapers were already 8 inches deep into Thessia's ass, the world is lost lol and Shepard needs many big boats (I call ships boats cuz I find it funny) to actually kill reapers, or the reaper needs to be like 15% done It's always the worst part of the game is post Thessia, no I don't give a shit and the music actually has a problem: I'm not sorry, that's some booty
Kalib Blanchard but we didn’t lose, not really, it’s all of two missions until we get back what was taken Kai Leng’s “victory” is contrived bullshit, and lemme show you, beat by beat You knock out Kai Leng’s shields in gameplay, he now has nothing but body armor The game cuts to a cutscene, He decides to drop his sword, runs up to Liara who seems perfectly content getting bitch slapped, and thrown at your squadmate, which by the way should either have dodged or just recovered, you have a heavily armored infantry unit (Garrus/Ashley/James) an armored biotic (Kaiden, Javik) or a nimble Synthetic (EDI) the only one who truly should’ve been dropped like that would be Tali and EVEN THEN she carries a shotgun, NOTHING is stopping her from blasting his ass back to the doorway while prone, of course ignoring Liara JUST FUCKING STANDING IN THE OPEN, against a gunship that’s laid down suppressive fire multiple times, and against a dude with a sword, nothing is stopping her except the writers from being regarded And of course the stupid little bubble thing that is just a contrivance to stop Shepard from executing him like the little bitch he is, just like on the Citadel He then tells the gunship (oh btw the only way he ever survives vs Shepard is by aerial support/escape), which by the way isn’t being targeted by Asari air support nor Reaper air forces to target the supports of a building Built on a hollowed mountain? Oh and here’s from the codex “some structures have stood longer than many civilizations” and 3 pussy missiles, on supports INSIDE the structure, cause the collapse of UNDER the structure The player doesn’t give a fuck about this “loss” because it’s ONLY due to the writers stepping in And the loss of thessia, like I said above, doesn’t matter either because regardless of recovering the Prothean VI or not, the reapers were 16 inches deep into Thessia’s ass, it was over for that planet long before Kai Leng showed up
Worse mistake, Partnering with EA. EA is the destroyer of Third Parties and like to rush games. I did like Mass Effect 3. I like the whole series, Mass Effect 1 has to be my favorite for the RPG elements and excellent story.
It was a forced takeover by sending one of their executives to be a “independent” investor, and once they had taken money and spent quite a bit the executive rejoined EA and gave them the ultimatum of paying it all back to leave (instant bankruptcy and closing of doors in practicality) or be absorbed. Pandemic was caught up too, and was subsequently shut down by EA of course. And you’ve seen what happened to BioWare with even the former owners leaving some time ago.
I remember finishing ME 3 and hating it. I was disappointed and I think I sold it in a week. Years later (2016) I saw the Mass Effect Trilogy box set for 15 dollars at my local gamestop, and I was like "Why not?" and bought it. I went through the whole trilogy and I couple of the DLCs that where included (I never played any of the before). Then when I finished ME3, I ended up really liking it a lot. There are so many good and emotional moments ( Like sniping bottles with Garrus, Mordin last performance, fixing the genophage, Tali's setting up a window on her home planet, Liara's embrace eternity moment) that made me appreciate game more than before. i think I was blinded by the awful ending that I forgot about those moments. I also saw the extended Ending for the first time and I thought It was great.
Let's not give Karpyshyn too much credit. He came up with the Dark Energy ending, and while it's better than the Starbrat (just about anything is though), it still makes no sense. Why would the Reapes leave tech that uses Dark Energy for organic civilizations to discover?
Even if you think ME3 was the low point of the series, that's still pretty damn good; all things considered. Personally, I loved ME3, and despite it's flaws (and ending) I thought it was one of the greatest gaming masterpieces I've ever experienced-- made even better with expansions such as Citadel. Cue nostalgia trip...
Just finished the game, I felt the game got rushed halfway when EA cracked the whip to secure their holiday sale's paycheck. Still though, with only 22 months, I can't complain with the flaws. And yeah, that shore leave hits me the hardest.
Yeah, it is good for a low point. Personally, I'll just spend my time writing fanfic patching those holes. What's here is compelling, and I'm invested, lol.
Man I would love a "Mass Effect: The Directors Cut" or something like that. Basically the three games polished and put together in one seamless game, where some of the issues with both story and design has been fixed. The series was always a joy to play for me, but the ending in 3 was a let down. Also the second game not really fitting in with the other 2 sort of left something to be desired, integrating it better into the story would have made for an amazingly cool game I think. And I'm sure "We fixed the ending" would be enough for people to go out and buy it?
Another Mass Effect is likely, but I'm torn as to whether it should happen. I think most people would agree that Mass Effect's best quality is it's world. But the reason I think it's world is so engaging is because the world was built in service of the story, not because it's just inherently interesting. I'll use the genophage as an example. The reason it is so meaningful because its more than just a character telling you a thing or a codex info dump. At first the genophage seems to just be a tragic backstory for your crewmate Wrex, but after that every Krogan merc you encounter is a reminder because now you know why they fight. On Virmire it comes to a head with Saren apparently having cured the genophage, causing a conflict of interest for Wrex. Even without considering the other games, that's a good set-up and payoff, but it gets better in Mass Effect 2 where it's developed further with Mordin, Grunt and Tuchanka. While Grunt's actual character is lackluster imo, his existence shows the extremes the Krogan will go to spite the genophage; Mordin on the other hand greatly elevates the story by providing us with a face to the perpetrators of the genophage and one of the best loyalty missions in the game. Then of course in Mass Effect 3 the Reapers invade and the Turian Primarch asks you to recruit the Krogan, allowing you to finally resolve - or not if you're a heartless bastard - this story. Comparatively if you talk to a Krogan about the genophage in Andromeda it is meaningless, it's just superfluous world building that serves no purpose. So while I love Mass Effect's world, if it's reduced to dropping references instead of being a meaningful addition to the story I'd rather they leave it be and make something new. TL;DR - The worldbuilding of the Mass Effect trilogy was effective because it served and supported the story, new stories in this world run the risk of being burdened with unnecessary and irrelevant worldbuilding, so maybe we should leave Mass Effect as it is.
I truly believe! If u let them! They could save andromeda’s! Story! It wasn’t really that bad! It wasn’t great! By any means! So that’s not what I’m saying! But it wasn’t terrible! An if given the right ppl! They could salvage! It! Make it great! And release another two games to finish up that story! An could be an amazing series! With the first game just being like! Well u need to play it for the whole story to come together! But I think that would be great!👌🏻
ME: Andromeda was my first introduction to the Mass Effect series. I meant to get the original trilogy years ago but i thought it wouldn't be worth it because the first game was already out for a good 6 years (this was around 2013). I got the original ME: Trilogy after beating ME: Andromeda a month ago and wow, all I can say is that I have never been so emotionally attached to a series before. Playing through ME:1 to ME:3 was a blast. By going to a bit of spoiler territory here, I cried many times in ME: 3, most notably in the first 30 minutes when Shepard leaves Earth (music really helped set the mood), Mordin's sacrifice (I had the biggest sobbing moment there as I loved his singing personality in ME:2), Thane's funeral service, Liara's project and the final goodbye to all crew members before the final assault run towards Harbinger. I do have the extended cut and all DLC'S on xbox one, and the ending was quite satisfying. My ending had about 4-4.5k total EMS score which allowed me to get the destroy ending with Earth, Shepard and Normandy crew surviving. It gives me hope that Shepard will be reunited with his crew. I am currently feeling the Post Mass-Effect Depression everyone seems to be talking about. Even after 5 years after the release of the last installment of the original trilogy, there is still someone out there being affected by the great storytelling and character development . Thanks Bioware, and hopefully ME: Andromeda's DLC's and Sequels will follow a similar trend.
Haha, I feel you :D I've started the triology first in I think June 2016 after people kept recommending it for years and I was completely blown away by it. Since then I've spend a good 200 hours saving the galaxy and somehow I doubt that I'll ever stop. I can't value enough what BioWare has given us here, I'd really consider Mass Effect among the most important entertainment franchises of all time. For me, the essence of Mass Effect was, that in our darkest hour, we shine our brightest ....but only if we decide to and that's the point - Don't look for direction for direction will come your way someday. From there, the story is what you make of it.
I know the High EMS Destroy ending has Shepard take a breath at the end but him surviving should be impossible. If the massive outburst of energy from the Crucible didn't fry him the following explosion should evaporate him (the explosion was larger than the Citadel ring which is what... 13km in diameter? That's a huge explosion...).
@@dukes1993724 Some time ago I saw an information that they are working on next game from the series, no info what kind of game (so it might be new story, multiplayer title or continuation from Andromeda - for me most likely since it's story isn't closed as far as I'm aware). As for the lack of DLC - it could've been due to similar reasons why ME didn't have recognizeble ones - game had gameplay problems that were in need to fix, so learning from experience they decided it's better to use resources to take care of those problems instead.
i still dream that bioware makes a remaster of mass effect 3 where it fixes the ending to hell with mass effect andromeda if they ever revisited the franchise i want mass effect 4 with the Normandy crew
I would be nice to have a Mass Effect 4 with the Normandy SR2 crew again but they have try and make a canon ending in order to do that if they reboot ME3 with a good ending where Shepard is alive then we will have a Mass Effect 4 but sad to say that we won’t see them in the future games of Mass Effect😭😭
Earnur31 I agree, not everything has to be perfect and happy ending cheesy stuff. But we as the player after spending so much money and time in the game should be able to decide whether Shepard lives or dies. The whole sacrifice thing was a thing they added so they could make what they wrote (and rushed to write btw) make sense. Which still doesn’t. Too many plot holes. The reason Shepard had to die is unknown. What’s the point?? Why does he have to jump off into an abyss to conjoin synthetics and organics. Or shoot an explosive tank to destroy the reapers. Control would make sense as to why , I’ll give ya that. There is a solution btw: Javik. And it would make more sense than what we have. But we as the player should make the decision if he dies or not. It’s our story, our game we shape as we play. Also Shepard being alive would be good because then it’d be a happy ending which I know is repetitive, which is why we should choose if he lives or dies. But anyways it’s good because he gets to spend the rest of his life with his partner, have children, and finally live a relaxed life. People also want happy endings because reality and life isn’t happy, so we look to video games and books to fill that in. To finally have a happy ending. Some people just need happiness.
It’s not about happy or sad ending to me it’s your choices shaping up these ending,in the Witcher 3 there 3 ending happy,bitter sweet and bad all these endings are perfectly executed,i have been attached to these characters for years and have seen the cast grown through my choices,now you are telling me I’m not supposed to have a happy ending despite the choices I made? Now that’s horse shit.
I always come back to this series (Mass Effect- Years Later), every few months to a year. Aaaaaaaaand...anxiously await when "Years Later" tackles= "THE WITCHER" trilogy🙌🏿🙌🏿🙌🏿
If you ever get a chance to play the game on PC try out some of the ending mods. My personal favourite is John P's Alternate MEHEM, which is far more subtle in the changes it makes and so feels like an organic part of the game. The main MEHEM just goes too far and feels forced.
I understand the feeling but... deep down you know the glowing kid is there... it can't be erased if our memory... mods or no mods, turning the console down or not...
@@sandrobsnake Honestly it really can. John P's Alternate MEHEM has two options. One where you go through the ending pretty much as it was in the game but High EMS Destroy gives you the happy ending and one where it skips the hologram kid altogether and goes straight to the High EMS Destroy ending. I use John P's MEHEM because it keeps the "Joker, we've got to go" scene.
@@voteDC Yeah... But you didn´t undertood what I mean... The mods give logic to this stupid game, but you know deep down that the glowing kid is the writing choice of the two morons... That´s something that no mod can´t change.... But if it helps you that's a good thing. Unfortunately for me I have the glowing kid and Shepard accepting defeat printed in my mind forever...
@@sandrobsnake We are coming at it from different points. I didn't like the shipped endings because of their execution, which was woeful. The ideas behind them, while not what I would have done, weren't terrible. The worst crime the shipped endings committed was convincing people the rest of then game was great when it really wasn't.
Thanks for this in depph analysis video, i enjoyed it a lot. My summary always is: Even with all it's flaws, Mass Effect stays one of my most liked game-series. The only thing bad about it for me is that there is no gamepad support on PC so i can't really play it on my couch...... and that it's too long to replay without serious time consumption. Oh and yes, screw you EA for cancelling the Remaster that could've brought all 3 games into 1 box, with good tech support for new systems/consoles, and maybe some nice improvements here and there... unified controls for example...
But wasn't at the level of "inmersion" or even variety than the music from ME1-2 delivered. The music of ME3 was not "bad" but was "under produced" made just to evoque the "sense of an ending" comming...in other words, to make you feel sad all the way🤷♂️
What’s crazy is that Mass Effect 3 is the first ever mass Effect I’ve played and I fell in love with it, the lose I felt during the scene of leaving earth. I later got into the other games and books.
Actually with the new patches Andromeda is the better game......(no not the writing or dialogue) I speak of the combat and overall graphics. Also there is a choice in Andromeda if you wish to play multiplayer, fine, if not fine. Not so in ME3, it is mandatory to play multiplayer to have any say in the game ending as you must have 5000 Effective Military points and you cannot gain them by any means other than multiplayer or some PC cheat. So ME3 was one of the first games to punish the solo player a great deal. Andromeda has its problems with the dialogue and story, but it does not force you into mandatory multiplayer. Cheers!
Kit Carson the graphics and combat may be subjective but mass effect 3 defeats Andromeda in every facet, from combat squad cohesion and selection, to the variety in graphical areas that extends past different planets (with more of them)
Clint Carpentier or better wait for Harbinger to leave the you run to the beam without being injured so when Shepard goes to the console the Normandy SR2 can enter the citadel and get Shepard when the crucible fires
One of the few games that moved me emotionally (like the ending of Bioshock). It was a wonderful experience. But sadder than saying goodbye to my Mass Effect friends in 3 was what happened with ME Andromeda.
Yes, its been five years but yes the fucking end still hurts. And I have gained for the past five years a greater sympathy for the artists at Bioware who worked tireless and fucking thanklessly. (Thank you glassdoor.com for existing as you get a hint of the work environment and work culture across Bioware studios) I still will always have a utter distrust of anything Bioware produces. The Starchild argument hinges on the the whole organic/synthetic conflict, which as stated here and over a million times across a million videos and forums, was for most of the player base solved at Rannoch, which in turn obliterates all that work with Tali and Legion in 2 and going forward into 3 with the Geth and Quarians as whole groups as soon as the fucking kid opens his mouth. And yes you don't have to go for the gooey sappy saccharine ending of victory and life and happily ever after, but if a player fufills the requirements that three games have set up then yes that should be a fucking option.
Dude, it's been so fun playing the series for the first time, and as I complete one game, you review it a couple of days or weeks later. I already played the Halo series religiously, but playing Mass Effect alongside these videos was quite a treat. Hands down, one of my favorite RUclipsrs ever. And it was only two or three weeks ago that you put out the Mass Effect 2 video! I love the increase in quantity, while not sacrificing quality. Your analysis videos show a passion, but also analytical side, unrivaled by anyone else. I'm also excited to see what you do next. Of course, I love these documentaries of an entire video game series, so you should keep on doing them (Fallout could be a good one, since you have an affinity for sci fi shooters, and it has a lot of small but drastic changes throughout the games, which seems to be your specialty, picking up on very small but important details), but I also love your other singular episodes of abstract concepts in video games. The Doom one was one of my favorites for that, and I loved how you took something most people wouldn't even bat an eye at, and analyzed it for ten to twenty minutes.
Y'know, if EA really does want to make a new Mass Effect, I think their best bet might be to remake 3 with all the time it deserved. *sigh* a man can dream
See, for us true fans that would require a new trilogy entirely. You can't just make 1 game here, and skip last all the choices. It's just my opinion, no need to go spreading it around.
ME3 was a rushed cash-in, much like DA2. A remake of it would be quite welcome. Heck, an entire franchise reboot might be a future project that’d be worth doing. There’s so much that’s good about the setting that just failed due to gameplay issues and rushed development.
Justanotherconsumer if Bioware reboots Mass effect 3 with a good ending where Shepard lives without being injured when Shepard runs to the beam and just fires the crucible within the console and gets out because the Normandy SR2 flies in to the citadel getting Shepard and his or her squadmates before the crucible fires then escapes and lives with a happy ending
ME1-3 remaster... Take all of their time, fix the crap in each of the games, apply the original devs visions, get a 10/10 score for the best games of all time.
*EA has announced the same team that made Mass Effect Andromeda will be remaking ME 1-3 to minimize development costs alongside a statement* "You know, people don't like playing singleplayer games as much as they used to. Five years ago, SP games may have been better, but everyone is moving on to multiplayer, which is why our real dev teams are working on our upcoming -lootbox wastelands- multiplayer titles. In all seriousness, while this is a great concept, I unfortunately have lost all trust in EA in recent years, and months, to do something faithful and well. Despite this, that would be great if it was executed properly.
The three games have their own strengths. Mine are: Mass Effect 1: World/Lore revealing Mass Effect 2: Story/Characters/Missions Mass Effect 3: Dynamic gameplay/Multiplayer
ME3 probably has my favorite music of the trilogy. Although objectively I'll admit I think ME2 had the best. ME3 soundtrack just really resonated with me emotionally. It was in many ways much more stripped down, minimalist, but the most melodic. It really made you feel like you're putting everything on the line. Do or die, now or never.
I waited 6 years to watch this video; I wanted to replay ME3 since 2012, first. And no surprise: your attention to detail amazed me once again: I thought I was crazy since no one seemed to mind the missing audio and recycled character tracks. I often dreamed of what this game could have been with the proper budget and development schedule. You're the man Raycevick
Hey just wanted to say that your video reviews are some of the most professional, comprehensive, and eloquent I've ever seen in any field at any level. The quality here puts even professional outlets like GameSpot and IGN to shame.
I agree with you in the sens that ME3 multiplayer mode isn't really attached to the story mode, except for Galactic Readiness and Military Strength rating, which requires playing multi, but I think it was a good set-up that encouraged the player to make full use of every aspect of the game. Which in this case, is a well-worthy thing. However, it's quite a nice thing to have when you need fresh air and get tired of the story mode and its quite lengthy dialog scenes and cutscenes, or simply when you need some good, intense action with other people or your friends and for that, ME3 multi is really excellent.
@@marco4149 I loved it too, not only is it just plain fun but also as Adnane said it's rather cathartic to just destroy enemies with friends after such a dialogue and cutscene heavy game.
Looking back this feels like a turning point. Not in bioware or EA but in big budget video games in general. Cut, compromised and rushed AAA games has since become the norm. I would take a mass effect 3 that stayed in the oven for 2 more years over a cyberpunk 2077 with 2 more years of development time. The kind of cut content you mention in the video is difficult to hear even after all these years. The mass effect 3 that could have been.
I've only just started playing this franchise, but the outrage the third game caused in 2012 (and its ending) reached me way back then when I only knew the franchise by name. But now that the 4th game has been teased, surely Shepard will return right? A reboot is the last thing I expect to see.
In my view personally, what we saw was Bioware's inflated ego and EA wanting something to compete with Activision or Microsoft. EA wanted to turn Mass Effect into a double digit selling product, and Bioware wanting to be a bigger company was more than eager to part of that, not realizing the sacrifices one has to make in order to do the yearly releases. And they suffered for it. A development cycle of barely 2 years, it is amazing and a credit to the development team that they managed to even salvage anything. You mention the ending that either way it would still be A, B or C. Again what people fail to miss is epilogue and the variation that comes with it. Dragon Age Origins had either 2 endings with minor variation. You/Alistar dies and You/Alistar lives. What mattered was that we got to see the visual aspect of our decisions made within that game. Chose the wolves over the elves, well now you can bring in a werewolf army at the final battle. The epilogue told you of what happened afterwards, by the decisions you made and how it affected that area and impacted the people. Mass Effect 3 does none of this, (even with the extended cut which what it adds does more damage than actual fixing). The game is a cautionary tale, a game company eager to rise top and a publisher desperate to compete in that faux gold rush of 2009-12. While DA:I was the 2am drunken apology, it was in some regards a step in the right direction. Mass Effect Andromeda on the other hand.................
I still have emotional scars over the ending. But I still agree with the notion you said at the end of the video, there is something good inside of ME3 and we should remember it's strengths. If they come back to Mass Effect in a post Andromeda world, I hope they set it after the Reaper War in the Milky Way.
While I can agree with most of what's been said here, Mass Effect 3 multiplayer has a special place in my heart as the most enjoyable shooter multiplayer I've ever had. I think it's because it is co-op ONLY, and not a lot of games get that right. Sure Destiny had co-op raids and stuff, but the meta was so fixed and it got stale super fast. Even after 8 years of Mass Effect 3 multiplayer, it's still fresh.
never forget Marauder Shields. He tried to stop us from the ending, he tried to warn us, but to no avail.
He is now rolling on his grave for the atrocity that is Andromeda
Indoctrination theory
I personally stil choose to believe marauder shields is actually Nihlus from me1. In my theory he was freed from reaper control after the destruction of sovereign, and went on to infiltrate the reaper forces when they returned to the Galaxy.
Indoctrination theory is still my ending. 6 years later and I'm still pissed off with the ending.
The unsung hero of ME3!
My first playthrough of Mass Effect 3 was with all the DLCs and the Extended Cut.
Maybe that's why I enjoyed the game way more than most people.
Same here. First time I realized people was complaining about the ending was afterwards and I was like wtf that was a good ending! lol
I liked it without all the DLC and the Extended Cut. It was even better with all the DLC and the extended cut when I played through it again. I actually thought the star child was an awesome twist at the end. Reminded me of something from an Isaac Asimov story.
@@psyn9510 Agreed
Same here. Actually, i bought the game on release day but in the demo i came to like the multiplayer part of the game so much that i immediately jumped into it and played only it until i unlocked everything to level X... oh god it was infuriating as hell, though i've never spent a dime on this, fuck no, and i blame all the players who did feeding that greed of fucking EA. But i admit even this day i play the multiplayer sometimes, and we have to acknowledge that the dlcs were free, however if they hadn't been, EA couldn't be able to ask money for the (absolutely random) unlocks.
By the time i finished and unlocked everything, the extended cut and all the dlcs were out! But i would have gladly given up the multiplayer part if it meant to make the base game better and more polished.
EA is the cancer to gaming.
Played the game for the first time with the From The Ashes expansion (got it from free with Origin Access), and I was surprised when I knew that was downloadable content.
Mass Effect 3... 5 Years Later... 3 years later.
Was going to comment on how sad it is that I'm getting to this 3 years after...the 5 years after. Makes me feel old man😂
yes and it is still a shitty game
So true. And all the points made in the video are right.
Wah? What do you- oh... oh.
Mass affect 3... 5 years later... 3 years later... 4 months later...
Mordin's death was the most emotional part of the game for me. "Had to be me..." I lost it
Someone else might have gotten it wrong.
I really like Garrus's dialog if you shoot Mordin. After you get back from Tuchanka, he asks how you got the support of the salarians and the krogan. If you're honest about the sabotage he asks if Mordin went along with it. Shepard just says nothing and walks away. Camera pushes into Garrus and he says: "damn this war."
“Would have liked to run tests on the seashells.”
"I made a mistake! I made a mistake."
I messed up my first playthrough and let Tali die...
"Hope that one day, there will be a game that lives up to this universe"
Oof. In retrospect, now that Andromeda is out, and all the backlash from it, that's such a tragic line.
assume its a dead IP now the only hope really is for EA to finally die and another developer takes the IP and retcons the hell out of the ending of 3 which i do sort of see as being inevitable then again maybe not Mass Effect was a pretty generic sci fi setting
Ea and bioware both said there will be more mass effect
I just bought andromeda for 5 bucks to play it for the meme
@@variableaxis9652 ME:Andromeda is much like Dragon Age 2. Not as good as the IP, but not a bad game by any means. And the combat in Andromeda is the highlight. It's sad that from the 100h+ story (100%complete, no fast travel) there are like 6 to 10h of actuall Mass Effect quality quests and less than 1h of hilarious cuscenes and conversations. I am glad that Casey Hudson is back at the helm now working on the next Mass Effect project. Regardless of what ever the rEApers will make them do this time.
Meh, with games like No Man's Sky, Agony, Fallout 76 etc Andromeda no longer pales in retrospect. But even if you hated the lack luster story, you have to hand it to Andromeda for taking combat beyond. I loved every bit of crafting a character how I wanted them to be and utilizing their strengths. Being able to Pull, Throw, and Charge was incredible.
to this day LEAVING EARTH track makes my hair stand.
Hoodie Mcbisckuts kinda ruins it
Leaving Earth makes me smile and cry all at the same time.
An End Once And For All was too good for that ending to the game.. seriously, it would have fit to a "perfect" ending, instead of being smacked onto the rushed end-product.
true
It is just very good
I was stuck on Earth waiting for extraction for over 45 minutes in the prologue on my first playthrough. I was playing as a soldier so I just kept spamming concussive shot at the Cannibals in order to preserve ammo.
lol
That actually sounds like an exceptionally broken xp farm.
U melt
ME3 is full of ludonarrative dissonance bullshit like that.
@@Elite7555 This term immediately threw me back to TotalBiscuit. I miss him. :(
Love Mass Effect... Even with all its flaws, which there definitely were several, it's still... It's hard to describe, but it drew me into its world and story in a way no other game ever has. I was legitimately depressed when it was over. And not even because of the ending; simply because there was no more to experience. The characters, the story, and even the gameplay. It all created this world that I got lost and completely wrapped up in. It will always be one of my favorite gaming experiences ever.
I completed the trilogy a bit ago, I've never felt so empty after finishing a series.. Keelah Sa'lai..
iExPreZz 'I am the very model of' *boom*
17 yr old me 'a scientist salarian'
iExPreZz I just finished the game too. Now I need a way to get rid of Liara's piano music out of my head, it feels so nostalgic, and I only finished the game couple of hours ago.
sedriensmorgasbord Mass Effect as a whole is one of the best and most memorable gaming experiences I've had. I played the whole trilogy this summer and boy was I immersed in the universe. When I wasn't playing I was reading trivia about the locations and characters or listening to the soundtracks. The amount of emotional investment you can have in this world and it's memorable characters is propably the biggest reason why so many were so dissapointed with the ending - which DOES feel rushed and a bit abrupt indeed, but maybe not so badly that many think.
Mass Effect is the only game that made de fell in love with a character, Tali. I really felt connected to everything that happened to Shepard and the crewmates. I'm about to play my 20th playtrough of the trilogy, and believe it or not, i usually do the same decisions, romance Tali when i can (shame on you ME1) because it reflects what I feel and want, is a personal connection that i think no other game can ever accomplish.
I still want to know what could have been if ME3 had it's third year of development.
I genuinely think it would have been the best mass effect game
@Caleb Imrie it IS garbage because of time constraints which caused rushed story, stricter dialogue, and trash quest system, aswell as an ending that actually wasn't originally planned (the original ending was supposed to reveal that the reapers were actually slowing down the heat death of the universe, which was being accelerated by organics using Eezo for biotics and FTL travel.
@@NovaStrike118 It's not "garbage"
Better than what we got, if the leaks are to be believed.
@@NovaStrike118 I like it, especially for the character dialogue.
'EA wanted to capitalize on everything the developer had to offer immediately..and so the developers were tasked with making double the work in half the time.'
EA really is a cancer on gaming.
EA, Activision, Bethesda, and many other game companies should all be purged.
@@Yes_Fantasy_419 Activision-Blizzard you mean. Activision owns blizzard, and the blizzard of old (10+ years ago) died, loooong ago. If gamers really want change, they need to vote with their wallets and not purchase games, at all - that have practices or mishandle what they love. Simple as that. It takes dedication and reservation, but it can be done.
@Nick Spann nope
if Bioware were NEVER bought by EA and the rest of the Mass Effect trilogy was published by Microsoft, then GOD KNOWS how different things would have been.
@@tink5488 fuckin idiot if activision owns blizzard then it's just activision. There is no blizzard anymore! Just activision!
You'd think EA would get it by now, YOU CAN NOT RUSH GOOD GAMES!
They need to give developers enough time to make the great game, boosting sales and giving them more profit through sales. If they did this, we would all be happy.
With the profit margins idiots and preorders get them they don’t have to get anything besides their paychecks
Agree
helldwarf lies
You can not rush anything good :) But they will never learn. It is not about making good Games for EA. It is about making the most amount of cash in the shortest time. Regardless of how employes and customers feel. Just dont buy EA and they will die!
I have to say Raycevick that you make the industry a better place for everyone involved. The amount of research involved and deep critical analysis of the game and what went behind the scenes is truly an enriching experience. We've had a recent surge of content creators dissecting the industry in a way we have never seen before, but you're setting the standards to such a high degree that treats this medium with the seriousness and passion that it deserves. I'm not sure if you're the first pioneer in this regard, but you are surely leaving your mark.
Please never stop. Cheers!
At least they included the space hamster.
Man that cracked me up, how long i had to look for that thing was totally worth it
I had jokingly named it "Billy" (I name everything small and cute either "Billy" or "Jerry"), and literally almost scream "BILLY!!" in excitement when I saw him scurrying about beneath the reactor room.
@@KAMIKAZEKITTIES It's called Boo. And its the only giantminaturespacehamster you will ever see. Go for the eyes, Boo!
Hammond?
I downloaded the mass effect triology about a week ago, been playing it nonstop, got to Mass Effect 2 now. - Can confirm seeing the space hamster in that shop on Ilium was the highlight of the story so far.
“Except Jacob” is the best running joke and the correct response
"I am the very model of a scientist Salarian." :(
More like "I am the very model of-" *BOOM*
:,(
gonna make me cry holy shit
wait what the fuck happened to Mordin?
I haven’t beaten me3 yet
Nah, happy thoughts "It's a new start for us all."
I used Biotic Charge and Nova on Banshees. Why? I like living on the edge.
Taco1011 i was a soldier all the time pretty much. used to go at that them like a suicidal maniac
Taco1011 also using a shotgun
Taco1011 I did the same, but combined it with squad abilities so it wasn't like I was charging at a steel wall
Try that on nightmare difficulty. You get close to a banshee, you're dead.
Well, I only use Biotic Charge on Banshees, then I jump back, Shotgun with Incendiary, then Biotic Charge again.
If my Squad powers are up, I combo with the Biotic Charge.
I don't use Nova on Banshees because they can grab you WHILE you're on the Nova animation, and kill you.
I just finished this game two weeks ago and didn't think it was terrible. But made me very pissed off at EA. Could have been 5 times greater if they had 12 more months.
Or 24...
Dragon Age 2 was the last game I have ever pre-ordered.
So I fortunately was spared the shitstorm that was ME3... I just had to deal with the clusterfuck that was DA2...
Unpopular Opinion Alert: I think DA2 and ME3 were enjoyable and fun experiences (Although both were objectively flawed in design, kinda like Skyrim)
@@LunarOverdrive Divorced from all the other issues. It was alright... but after playing Origins, it felt like a huge bait and switch.
The fact that it was made in less than half the time of the first game should've clued me in on what kind of game it was. But I was naive back then.
@@LunarOverdrive ME3 was good, but it was obvious to everyone that it could've been a lot better that's the issue I guess. It is plain to see what potential it had, not to mention this was the cultivation of all 3 games meaning people had much higher expectations of it.
"Battle on Palaven was removed"
whatthefuck EA??!!
Jir that definitely would have been a fun fight
@Great Value Bleach day 1 patch is more important to queue
Why blame EA? Why not blame Bioware who were greedy enough to sell out to EA in the first place?
@@stuartfury3390 people need to be paid, EA is the only one who thinks it's smart to cut corners
@@aaron75fy Ohhhh so being greedy is fine then? Pretty sure bioware were being paid before they sold out.
Some review videos help you decide whether or not a game is worth your money. Some reviews you'll watch to validate your own dislike/like for a game or the company behind the game. This Mass Effect Series review opened my eyes to how video games are an art form. How every little bit, from audio, to visuals, to gameplay, to writing all blend and mesh to create a product that hinges on each part working together for success. I came into this mass effect years ago series expecting a typical review. I left with a completely new perspective on the art form that is video gaming. Thank you for your hard work.
Matt Yin if you like these, check out Matthewmatosis' reviews of the Zelda and Mario franchises. They're every bit as detailed and excellent.
Then what Kind of art was Mass effect Andromeda? Why isnt it a part of museumofbadart.org ?
The Citadel DLC is the true ending
For me it was... i replayed it 3 times in a row... just because i can.
"Do I Really Sound Like That?"
You mean the dlc in which you are on a party while the rest of the world is being squeezed by the reapers? Yeah, cool... Filled with a lot of logic...
San Blindsnake Fun Police
More logic police. But I agree, after ME3 who cares about logic?
Precisely. Mac Walters and Casey Hudson clearly didn't.
The Leaving Earth soundtrack always gets me... It's just a masterpiece to me.
For me it's the suicide mission
I love me3
Can anyone blame the BIOWARE for what they did for Mass Effect 3? I mean 22 months didn't give them enough time to do all that they wanted. Giving BIOWARE more time may have made the game better. Hell I would pay 100$ for the Directors cut of Mass Effect 3 to see what they actually wanted into the game.
collin mattingly Perhaps we can petition for BioWare to work on a trilogy Remastered to restore Cut content and include new Cinematics and endgame mechanics, (War Assets are divided into fleet strength, ground strength and Crucible strength each strength affecting the other in a suicide mission-Esk way.)
Never gonna happen. All the great Bioware devs got burned out and left, thanks to EA.
It doesn't excuse the way they handled the controversy, claiming "artistic integrity" and how "it was designed to spark speculations" for a clearly unfinished product instead of just admitting that the development process was hell. That said, knowing now how bad the deck was stacked against them has mellowed my opinion of Bioware.
Radintoriov And what do you think the backlash of shit talking your parent company would be? They couldn't afford to tell the truth as a business. Its sad but true.
One thing they could've done is a simple non-answer like "we are listening to your feedback and apologize" or something similar that didn't require them coming out and blaming EA. It would have still been unsatisfactory, but it would also have been less infuriating than the unprofessional way in which some of them attacked their consumer base.
"why having only two dialogs? to force the story to have only two branches"
btw this was true for ME1 as well. even when the dialog have 3 options sometimes two options will have the exact same response. and sometimes even sharperd saying the same line exactly.
Abdurrahman Khallouf yessss finally someone said this, “me1 is the best in the franchise” people keep using this as an argument to put me2 down and it’s so unjustified, the occasional imitation of choice in me1 dialogue is just laughable sometimes
yes, i remember some in dialogue choices, the top one and the "neutral" in the middle were the same response some times
More than sometimes, pretty often really! Not mentioning when the THREE answers were the same.
@@MEUAR yup just tried to go easy on ME1
Didnt play ME1 twice so I wouldn't know anything about it, ME1 was the worse in the triology for me simply cuz its just simply missing too much stuff that made ME2 and 3 great. Also small thing but I dont know why the armor in ME1 look like ugly halloween costumes.
Companies should learn that rushing development is usually a bad thing, but, EA.
Bad thing for us but not for them. They are on their money much faster which can be reinvested. The problem is the slow but sure way of destroying their long term reputation. But considering they are still in business they were right to do so in their own eyes.
Funny thing is they left them alone for Anthem and it sucked lol
So the short version is that the majority of issues with ME3 stemmed from deadlines set by EA and pulling resources _from_ BioWare's Mass Effect team to work on other projects, and ultimately ME3 suffered for it.
Kindergarten levels of incompetence on a massive scale. Shareholders ought to be ashamed not stepping in and sacking the management at that point. All that can be done is inform the masses not to support such publishers with our wallets and scare developers away from joining public traded conglomerates like Activision and EA. Hopefully the FIFA/Madden cash cow will eventually crumble to gambling regulations and their road maps seen as marketing lies, but I doubt it.
We can get even a shorter version from yours: EA. Fucking EA.
Despite its flaws, the ME trilogy is still my favourite game franchise and the only that's really made me care about the characters and story in over 30 years of PC gaming.
I'd have to disagree on the last mission on Earth. I remember playing it for the first time and being scared shitless when two brutes bust out of the wall in that dark alley. Earth itself felt like something so different than that of the mystical planets you encounter throughout the series. It's home, it's real, something familiar. I remember that having a big impact on me. Needless to say, after playing through the series about six times now, it did lose its sheen.
Me3 GREATEST fault that if changed, could make this game a 9+/10 is the entire London mission (along with the ending ofc). Just imagine how fucking awesome it would be if BW created the last mission similar to Suicide Mission, but with choosing entire fleets/races other than single persons for different tasks. One wrong decision, just like in the SM, could be devastating for entire fleets. This idea would make the player feel how much he/she has accomplished, showing all of the war assets collected actually do something. Imagine the tension that the player would feel, also the epicness of this section... LONDON mission is the biggest flaw of ME3, not necceserily the ending itself, period.
Necessarily*
+John Doe yeah, the sole idea of synthesis is basically space magic, which is so unfitting to the universe where every mechanism and technology is explained and thoroughly described. Also ME: Andromeda made synthesis unnecessary by showing SAM as an example of completely non-rebelious AI.
London mission is a bullet in the head, I'd rather try to tear through the citadel's hull using the normandy.
@@grzegorzd5036 Besides the "synthesis" ending takes away all free will from the caracters it impacts it on, which makes it not only unconsistent space magic, but immoral inconsistent space magic
Long story short...EA killed Bioware...just like every other dev under its evil claws.
GrimReaper Alva Last KOTOR level master piece made was def ME 2
Respawn Entertainment is doing alright.
2 years late but... Respawn and DICE are doing pretty well.
@@zebbr0s I don't think so. Respawn basically are disregarded by EA. Titanfall 1 was a random success, and Titanfall 2 proved that it was random. Without any advertisement from EA, without good release date, the game was destined to fail. Apex Legends was, again, a random success, as it too had no advertisement from EA. The fact that Respawn are still alive is a miracle itself, and i think that this miracle won't last.
As to DICE, well, are they the same DICE as before? As i heard currently they are something like Bioware Montreal: a studio with and old name, but completely other people. Correct me if i'm wrong pls.
Dissonance ehhhh, I mean, we got Mass Effect 2 when EA had BioWare... let’s just give it a couple of years, just to be safe.
Day one DLC: Javik, who was clearly already in the game and was just an unlock for data probably already on game disc. Sounds like EA to me.
Drew K's absence was hugely significant.
As was Jack Wall's. 👍
Drew Karpyshyn was the reason Mass Effect 1 & 2 were the best but when he left Mass Effect 3 was ok but the ending was not good even though the game was ok but rushed and the soundtrack was good in Mass Effect 3 I loved it but made me feel sad 😢 while in Mass Effect 2 made it awesome
Deus Ex would be a great candidate for a years later series, from the original to Mankind Divided
Too many videos about DX already. I'd prefer something not so well-known from the same era
It isn't that well-known. I'll gladly watch that
So a major studio gave a talented developer an unconscionable release schedule, leaving said developer scrambling to stitch together the best game possible even as it would inevitably be eclipsed by the bountiful glitches & cut content, all for the sake of a major studio's greed that exhibits *profound* apathy for the developers in their employ, their consumers, & the very concept of art as a whole. Culminating in a solid experience that nonetheless invariably leaves a bitter taste given all that taints the experience due to the inscrutable actions of the publisher.
(Glances not at all subtly to my copy of Fallout: New Vegas)
"Gee, where oh *where* have I heard that story before?..."
It's incredible how F:NV, even rushed, held quite well. ME3 had the additional difficulty of living up to its predecessors and sealing the narrative.
But new vegas ended up being one of the best rpgs ever
@@psychomantis1926 I've recently read about ME3's development hell. I dont know if F:NV went through the same shit, but that might be another reason why ME3 is what it is.
@@mrcopycat2355 yeah. New vegas just had little time and didmt know the engine. That atill let them make a great game.
Your prose is pompous and affected...you've won me over :D
22 months, and they managed to pull off a GREAT GAME, despite many flaws. Imagine if they had 3-4 years and Drew Karpyshyn still worked for Bioware, it could have been one of the greatest games ever. People, don't blame Bioware, blame EA.
If Bioware had time and if Drew stayed, Mass Effect 3 original game would have had: Retaking Omega, Retaking Palaven after gaining the support of either Krogans or Salarians, a better mission in Thessia and a Reaper battle, better explanation of Cerberus, a Prothean squadmate, explanation of the origin of the Reapers, a final mission similar to the Suicide Mission from the second game, but this time, it's not just your squadmates and your crew's life at stake, it's the ENTIRE GALAXY that's at stake, a final badass confrontation and a battle with Harbinger, and an ending involving Shepard being indoctrinated and the dark energy storyline, like Drew had originally planned. Urghh, listing all these awesome things that would have been in the game, I hate EA even more now.
Agree with you completely
Yeh
samith hegde but they didn't and the game was an insult to the lore and the fanbase.
I'm never gonna buy anything sold by EA, they can go to hell.
omfg why. Why did you have to say all that?! GUH I almost forgot about the flaws of ME3 in the light of Andromeda's dick-sucking. But... but... geez the world's not fair.
Anyone else notice that these videos have steadily gotten longer and longer as the series goes on?
EMAN MaGEE fine by me!
EMAN MaGEE Like my erection
@EEMAN MaGEE more comparison to predecessors I guess. :)
I love long informative videos like these. I'm hoping he continues the trend with games like Elder Scrolls, Fallout, or even a video on the downfall of Call of Duty.
Ugly bitches want to fuck too!!
"A non game breaking shippable" thank you for not blaming QA, this made my day.
God, I am so glad I played Me3 post DLC and Extended Cut. I would have rioted if I had to play through the Vanilla game.
Getting to the ending of the original release SUCKED!!! To be clear, the DLC and Extended Cut functioned as a tourniquet on a severed limb, it prevented death but didn't replace the limb. With the those extras you could finish it properly at least but the writing was still shoddy at the end.
Prior to the extended ending dlc, the ending made no sense. It still doesn't to some extent but, at least it ties up most of the loose ends.
You would've been fuming demanding your money back
CalzoneLord mass effect 3 was my first mass effect game so I thought the ending was weird, then I played mass 1 and 2 and then I got why everyone was pissed, they butchered such an incredible trilogy with such an awful ending.
When I played 3, it was like 2016, so everything was already out but I didn't know anything about the ending, so I got to experience it as someone at the time would have and the ending made me mad as hell. A few days later, I heard about the Extended Cut which made things a bit better.
My major problem with Mass Effect 3 is what could have been. I am not mad, just disappointed.
Mass Effect 1: best story
Mass Effect 2: best world/character building
Mass Effect 3: best gameplay
ME3 had the best emotional moments as well
@@journey95far49 Apart from the ending, people also seem to hate on ME3 because its somehow "Linear". I giggle at that evertime because all the fucking games were linear, narrative expiriences.
Yeah pretty much
While ME2 definately had the better characters, id give the better worldbuilding to the first one
Andromeda: best disappointment
Watching your three retrospective videos fosters a lot of frustration in me, because it reminds me of the time invested in these games, and how it all ultimately turned out. I fell really let down with how it all ended. However, its important to acknowledge what you stated; that the developers themselves worked night and day for months on a product they werent really happy with. From an artists perspective, that must be downright depressing.
Its sad to see how corporations sole focus is monetary gain rather than creating something special. The team really created something great with the time constraint they had.
Don't worry, no matter how Shitty Andromeda is, we still have the trilogy.
It's flawled and such, but has such great characters and story. No matter how much EA tried to destroy it, you can really get rid of the characters we grew to love.
Mass effect 3 with all the DlC is one of the best games I have played ever.
You must not have played many games then...
It's deeply flawed, but it has a hell of a lot to love in it. When Mass Effect 3 fires on all Cylinders, it's absolutely incredible. But it doesn't manage that more than 2 or 3 times in the whole game.
@@RFA_The-DuDe And you have bad taste in games...
@@Subwolfer7564 You like what you like.. i like what i like... nothing wrong with that...
@@RFA_The-DuDe So why go out of your way to insult people on what they like then. Seems a bit hypocritical.
I had a romance with Tali and I found it super funny how they were flirting the entire time on the Geth Dreadnought
I live in Vancouver and now I am offended by bioware lol
LOL triggered!
Same here! So much potential. It's super cool they set the opening sequence here though.
Nicholas Siqueira me too...I live by Broadway station..it's rare to see Vancouverites on a thread lol
Those bastards should have set it in Edmonton, never get to see Edmonton in a video game... ): traitors!
MDK2 (developed by Bioware) begins moments after the conclusion of MDK, with Kurt, Max, and Dr. Hawkins celebrating their victory over Gunther Glut, and thus saving Earth from the alien invasion. However, in the midst of their celebrations, they discover a remaining Minecrawler heading towards Edmonton. Kurt destroys it, but as he awaits to return to the Jim Dandy space station, he is taken prisoner by a massive alien. Source: Wiki
5 years later and I'm still pissed at EA for what they did to Mass Effect
ME:3 is a masterpiece compared to ME:A :'( I was ready for anything but any hopes I did have got shot down in flames.
You're not the only one.
Mick Howard Mass Effect 3 is one of the best games I've ever played with one of the worst endings I've ever witnessed. While the game is still excellent, I'm sad to say I think that ending ruined the franchise. It pisses me off, because you can tell it was a trilogy made with such a passion and effort... ruined by that piece of crap ending.
Hell 8 years later I still get mad whenever I think about Mass Effect 3 and I skipped Andromeda entirely.
Imagine rushing the grand finale of one of the best gaming trilogies of all time. 9 years later it still makes me sad
Yet.. this is still my favourite gaming trilogy of all time.
@@jaykdos9521 same for me. I just wish it ended on a high note. ME3 is a good game, but obviously rushed. ME1+ME2 will always remain at the pinnacle of gaming experiences for me.
@@Shvabicu blah blah journey blah blah destination lmao.
I do agree though, I defend 3 but I'll admit there's a LOT they could have done different that would make it better. But I think we're pretty damned lucky to get a game that we did. We could have gotten worse, like Andromeda.
How's it rushed in the end when there is like 4 endings?
@@alexh6767 I don't think you remember the ending on Launch. Starkid had about 14 lines of dialogue and all the endings were the same with a color filter
There was no voice over, no slideshow. Just Joker trying to outrun the Mass Relay explosion.
(Which in the Arrival DLC, was enough to wipe out a star system)
And that's it.
Oh, right and a pop up at the end to buy more DLC
It wasn't until massive backlash that we got an extended cut with the slides. If that was the shipped ending, I think the fan base would've been alright with it. But we saw it as too little too late.
Marauder Shields is the true hero of this game.
I hated how three felt so rushed after Rannoch, and how the ending itself was set without any way to influence anything. The indoctrination theory actually numbed that feeling quite a bit until Bioware themselves took a stance against it, condemning Shepard to die in endings that pretty much accomplish the same thing no matter what's chosen. It felt contrived especially when I could think of several crew members, Javik specifically, who could've easily accompanied the player up into the citadel to pick up the mantle of sacrifice. The game built up my expectations and then failed to subvert them, and instead dashed them in a way that felt thoroughly unfulfilling.
Wish they gave Shepard's story a better send off, but alas, that burden seems to have fallen to the community.
Same here. When I first finished the trilogy, five years ago, I was so disgusted at the ending (didnt have extended Cut) that I couldn't see anything related to Mass Effect without feeling bad.
I've recently replayed it with mods like JAM, CEM and EGM, my experience was absolutely different. It saddens me to think how better the game could've been with more time, but at least my favorite subjects (genophage and geth) were excellently resolved.
Funny enough, now that you mention Javik, originally he was the Catalyst and had to sacrifice himself to activate the Crucible.
Indoctrination theory was beyond stupid, it was much worse than the actual ending
Just why did EA have to release this game barely 2 years after the last one? Why Why Why can’t game publishes be more patient with their games? When have we ever heard any reviewer say “This game was good, but it would have been a lot better if it was released 6 months earlier?”
Maybe take a business class and you might understand.
@@raycom201 Yes it’s all about the $$$$ I’m not stupid but fuck EA and their lack of long-term planning.
What makes ME3 even more disappointing are those moments of brilliance that shine through. The Rannoch and Tuchanka acts are some of the best segments of the trilogy. But then there's the incoherence of the Citadel mission, the maddening railroad of Thesia (my least favorite part of the game both from a gameplay and story segment), and the absolute disaster on Earth ruin the game. Even without the ending being bad, these parts would majorly get in the way of the game's quality.
Catalyst line is weakest in ME3, no doubt. Think thats because Mac Walters wrighted this core segment of the plot, and he always was weak in worldbuilding, just look at andromeda. Side plots were created by other people who also create majority of ME2 script. Lets be honest: main plot of ME2 was even weaker than in ME3, it was grand final that make it awesome. Still I love the whole trilogy even if it fails sometimes, but it still an amazing story.
@@alexeyburenkov2292 While I agree that the ME2 plot is weak, I love it most out of all the games, and that's because of the bond you make with the characters in the game. Bonds that will never be forgotten. That's what ME2 brought to the table, a reason to keep playing all of the series, despite the letdown of ME3.
They all felt very rushed given the severity.
damn, 5 years already, I´ll be dead real soon at this rate :D better do something with my life
Play more games! :D
Yeah, like replay the Mass Effect trilogy again! :D
Damn I'm still prolonging my replay of them for as long as I can to forget as much of it as I can to enjoy it as much as possible when I actually do.
...but everytime I remember ME exists I just can't focken wait to play the trilogy again! :D
replay mass effect again and you will regret nothing :)
Griffith did nothing wrong!
U mean play the trilogy all over again!!!!
This series was amazing to go back to after the Legendary Edition. If nothing else years later things still hurt in a "what could have been" sense.
If you ever choose to, it'd be interesting to look back in hindsight of the new edition, even briefly.
What more could he say? They left the whole thing at, almost, the same state as always was, except for the graph coat of paint and few changes, mostly made to ME1 combat. EAware would never give up its arm to twist🤷♂️
Will you do Mass Effect: Andromeda... A week later?
more like 5 minutes later
Both of you are way too late, since all the experts out there, who haven't even played a minute of it yet, already know, without any doubt, that the game will be a catastrophe. :P
Chew Bacca They certainly are not. Quite the opposite.
Then take me as an exception.
I feel sorry for all those who are disappointed, but I can't wait continue playing. Potentially the best action-rpg since TW3 as far as I can tell. Maybe even better, because, let's face it, it's a Mass Effect. :)
"It's shit" - Raycevick
I had no idea that the Virmire survivor wangst-fest was originally scheduled for Thessia instead of the Citadel! That explains why the crew was so touchy-feely with Shepard after the Thessia mission - the dialogue was written with the idea that Shep would've lost Ashley/Kaidan there. I was like, "Why does everyone think I care about the Asari homeworld so damn much?!"
SockPuppet80 my problem with post thessia is that killing Kai Leng or not, the reapers were already 8 inches deep into Thessia's ass, the world is lost lol and Shepard needs many big boats (I call ships boats cuz I find it funny) to actually kill reapers, or the reaper needs to be like 15% done
It's always the worst part of the game is post Thessia, no I don't give a shit and the music actually has a problem: I'm not sorry, that's some booty
SockPuppet80 It's a big deal too, but i think being sad over Shepard losing was extremely mopey.
I mean, maybe because millions of Asari were dying and you lost because Cerberus beat you to the punch? How is that even a question?
Kalib Blanchard but we didn’t lose, not really, it’s all of two missions until we get back what was taken
Kai Leng’s “victory” is contrived bullshit, and lemme show you, beat by beat
You knock out Kai Leng’s shields in gameplay, he now has nothing but body armor
The game cuts to a cutscene, He decides to drop his sword, runs up to Liara who seems perfectly content getting bitch slapped, and thrown at your squadmate, which by the way should either have dodged or just recovered, you have a heavily armored infantry unit (Garrus/Ashley/James) an armored biotic (Kaiden, Javik) or a nimble Synthetic (EDI) the only one who truly should’ve been dropped like that would be Tali and EVEN THEN she carries a shotgun, NOTHING is stopping her from blasting his ass back to the doorway while prone, of course ignoring Liara JUST FUCKING STANDING IN THE OPEN, against a gunship that’s laid down suppressive fire multiple times, and against a dude with a sword, nothing is stopping her except the writers from being regarded
And of course the stupid little bubble thing that is just a contrivance to stop Shepard from executing him like the little bitch he is, just like on the Citadel
He then tells the gunship (oh btw the only way he ever survives vs Shepard is by aerial support/escape), which by the way isn’t being targeted by Asari air support nor Reaper air forces to target the supports of a building
Built on a hollowed mountain?
Oh and here’s from the codex “some structures have stood longer than many civilizations” and 3 pussy missiles, on supports INSIDE the structure, cause the collapse of UNDER the structure
The player doesn’t give a fuck about this “loss” because it’s ONLY due to the writers stepping in
And the loss of thessia, like I said above, doesn’t matter either because regardless of recovering the Prothean VI or not, the reapers were 16 inches deep into Thessia’s ass, it was over for that planet long before Kai Leng showed up
Worse mistake, Partnering with EA. EA is the destroyer of Third Parties and like to rush games. I did like Mass Effect 3. I like the whole series, Mass Effect 1 has to be my favorite for the RPG elements and excellent story.
It was a forced takeover by sending one of their executives to be a “independent” investor, and once they had taken money and spent quite a bit the executive rejoined EA and gave them the ultimatum of paying it all back to leave (instant bankruptcy and closing of doors in practicality) or be absorbed. Pandemic was caught up too, and was subsequently shut down by EA of course. And you’ve seen what happened to BioWare with even the former owners leaving some time ago.
@@bogusjuan4998 Very sad indeed. Bioware is one of those dearly missed companies, much like Blizzard, Westwood and many others.
I remember finishing ME 3 and hating it. I was disappointed and I think I sold it in a week. Years later (2016) I saw the Mass Effect Trilogy box set for 15 dollars at my local gamestop, and I was like "Why not?" and bought it. I went through the whole trilogy and I couple of the DLCs that where included (I never played any of the before). Then when I finished ME3, I ended up really liking it a lot. There are so many good and emotional moments ( Like sniping bottles with Garrus, Mordin last performance, fixing the genophage, Tali's setting up a window on her home planet, Liara's embrace eternity moment) that made me appreciate game more than before. i think I was blinded by the awful ending that I forgot about those moments. I also saw the extended Ending for the first time and I thought It was great.
XTheProtagonistX still a bad ending
Never played it but I heard great things.
"Where do you go from there?" Downhill, apparently.
"A long time -ago- in the future in a galaxy far, far away...." :P
lol, they pulled a prequel...
Without Drew Karpyshyn and Chris L'Etoile there to keep the writers in check, for sure.
Let's not give Karpyshyn too much credit. He came up with the Dark Energy ending, and while it's better than the Starbrat (just about anything is though), it still makes no sense. Why would the Reapes leave tech that uses Dark Energy for organic civilizations to discover?
Linkenski
Ramon
It breaks my heart - this could have been of the best story driven games ever
Can't wait for Mass Effect Andromeda: One Month Later
Nah, give them time to release patches and maybe a DLC... It will be more fun this way ;)
+Teo Test 5 months later...
@@teotest3255 Aaaaaand all dlc was cancelled. Mass Effect died on 3
You mean Andromeda:That part of the month, my face is tired edition?
Even if you think ME3 was the low point of the series, that's still pretty damn good; all things considered.
Personally, I loved ME3, and despite it's flaws (and ending) I thought it was one of the greatest gaming masterpieces I've ever experienced-- made even better with expansions such as Citadel. Cue nostalgia trip...
Sultan ME2 was the low point with it's lack of a main story.
Sultan While it obviously has a goood bunch of bad, I still think ME3 is a FANTASTIC game
Sultan me too ! was really invested in the characters and the story.
Just finished the game, I felt the game got rushed halfway when EA cracked the whip to secure their holiday sale's paycheck. Still though, with only 22 months, I can't complain with the flaws.
And yeah, that shore leave hits me the hardest.
Yeah, it is good for a low point. Personally, I'll just spend my time writing fanfic patching those holes. What's here is compelling, and I'm invested, lol.
Man I would love a "Mass Effect: The Directors Cut" or something like that.
Basically the three games polished and put together in one seamless game, where some of the issues with both story and design has been fixed.
The series was always a joy to play for me, but the ending in 3 was a let down. Also the second game not really fitting in with the other 2 sort of left something to be desired, integrating it better into the story would have made for an amazingly cool game I think.
And I'm sure "We fixed the ending" would be enough for people to go out and buy it?
Another Mass Effect is likely, but I'm torn as to whether it should happen. I think most people would agree that Mass Effect's best quality is it's world. But the reason I think it's world is so engaging is because the world was built in service of the story, not because it's just inherently interesting.
I'll use the genophage as an example. The reason it is so meaningful because its more than just a character telling you a thing or a codex info dump. At first the genophage seems to just be a tragic backstory for your crewmate Wrex, but after that every Krogan merc you encounter is a reminder because now you know why they fight. On Virmire it comes to a head with Saren apparently having cured the genophage, causing a conflict of interest for Wrex. Even without considering the other games, that's a good set-up and payoff, but it gets better in Mass Effect 2 where it's developed further with Mordin, Grunt and Tuchanka.
While Grunt's actual character is lackluster imo, his existence shows the extremes the Krogan will go to spite the genophage; Mordin on the other hand greatly elevates the story by providing us with a face to the perpetrators of the genophage and one of the best loyalty missions in the game.
Then of course in Mass Effect 3 the Reapers invade and the Turian Primarch asks you to recruit the Krogan, allowing you to finally resolve - or not if you're a heartless bastard - this story.
Comparatively if you talk to a Krogan about the genophage in Andromeda it is meaningless, it's just superfluous world building that serves no purpose. So while I love Mass Effect's world, if it's reduced to dropping references instead of being a meaningful addition to the story I'd rather they leave it be and make something new.
TL;DR - The worldbuilding of the Mass Effect trilogy was effective because it served and supported the story, new stories in this world run the risk of being burdened with unnecessary and irrelevant worldbuilding, so maybe we should leave Mass Effect as it is.
I truly believe! If u let them! They could save andromeda’s! Story! It wasn’t really that bad! It wasn’t great! By any means! So that’s not what I’m saying! But it wasn’t terrible! An if given the right ppl! They could salvage! It! Make it great! And release another two games to finish up that story! An could be an amazing series! With the first game just being like! Well u need to play it for the whole story to come together! But I think that would be great!👌🏻
ME: Andromeda was my first introduction to the Mass Effect series. I meant to get the original trilogy years ago but i thought it wouldn't be worth it because the first game was already out for a good 6 years (this was around 2013). I got the original ME: Trilogy after beating ME: Andromeda a month ago and wow, all I can say is that I have never been so emotionally attached to a series before. Playing through ME:1 to ME:3 was a blast. By going to a bit of spoiler territory here, I cried many times in ME: 3, most notably in the first 30 minutes when Shepard leaves Earth (music really helped set the mood), Mordin's sacrifice (I had the biggest sobbing moment there as I loved his singing personality in ME:2), Thane's funeral service, Liara's project and the final goodbye to all crew members before the final assault run towards Harbinger.
I do have the extended cut and all DLC'S on xbox one, and the ending was quite satisfying. My ending had about 4-4.5k total EMS score which allowed me to get the destroy ending with Earth, Shepard and Normandy crew surviving. It gives me hope that Shepard will be reunited with his crew. I am currently feeling the Post Mass-Effect Depression everyone seems to be talking about. Even after 5 years after the release of the last installment of the original trilogy, there is still someone out there being affected by the great storytelling and character development . Thanks Bioware, and hopefully ME: Andromeda's DLC's and Sequels will follow a similar trend.
Haha, I feel you :D I've started the triology first in I think June 2016 after people kept recommending it for years and I was completely blown away by it. Since then I've spend a good 200 hours saving the galaxy and somehow I doubt that I'll ever stop. I can't value enough what BioWare has given us here, I'd really consider Mass Effect among the most important entertainment franchises of all time. For me, the essence of Mass Effect was, that in our darkest hour, we shine our brightest ....but only if we decide to and that's the point - Don't look for direction for direction will come your way someday. From there, the story is what you make of it.
No Andromeda DLC coming. The franchise might be completely toast
Bleed Green The remaster is coming.Right?R-Right..?
I know the High EMS Destroy ending has Shepard take a breath at the end but him surviving should be impossible. If the massive outburst of energy from the Crucible didn't fry him the following explosion should evaporate him (the explosion was larger than the Citadel ring which is what... 13km in diameter? That's a huge explosion...).
@@dukes1993724 Some time ago I saw an information that they are working on next game from the series, no info what kind of game (so it might be new story, multiplayer title or continuation from Andromeda - for me most likely since it's story isn't closed as far as I'm aware). As for the lack of DLC - it could've been due to similar reasons why ME didn't have recognizeble ones - game had gameplay problems that were in need to fix, so learning from experience they decided it's better to use resources to take care of those problems instead.
i still dream that bioware makes a remaster of mass effect 3 where it fixes the ending to hell with mass effect andromeda if they ever revisited the franchise i want mass effect 4 with the Normandy crew
Sorry... Not artistic enough...
I would be nice to have a Mass Effect 4 with the Normandy SR2 crew again but they have try and make a canon ending in order to do that if they reboot ME3 with a good ending where Shepard is alive then we will have a Mass Effect 4 but sad to say that we won’t see them in the future games of Mass Effect😭😭
Earnur31 I agree, not everything has to be perfect and happy ending cheesy stuff. But we as the player after spending so much money and time in the game should be able to decide whether Shepard lives or dies. The whole sacrifice thing was a thing they added so they could make what they wrote (and rushed to write btw) make sense. Which still doesn’t. Too many plot holes. The reason Shepard had to die is unknown. What’s the point?? Why does he have to jump off into an abyss to conjoin synthetics and organics. Or shoot an explosive tank to destroy the reapers. Control would make sense as to why , I’ll give ya that. There is a solution btw: Javik. And it would make more sense than what we have. But we as the player should make the decision if he dies or not. It’s our story, our game we shape as we play. Also Shepard being alive would be good because then it’d be a happy ending which I know is repetitive, which is why we should choose if he lives or dies. But anyways it’s good because he gets to spend the rest of his life with his partner, have children, and finally live a relaxed life. People also want happy endings because reality and life isn’t happy, so we look to video games and books to fill that in. To finally have a happy ending. Some people just need happiness.
It’s not about happy or sad ending to me it’s your choices shaping up these ending,in the Witcher 3 there 3 ending happy,bitter sweet and bad all these endings are perfectly executed,i have been attached to these characters for years and have seen the cast grown through my choices,now you are telling me I’m not supposed to have a happy ending despite the choices I made? Now that’s horse shit.
Looks like your wishes were granted mate!
Mass Effect 3 was 5 years ago? Fuck.
6 years ago now.
I always come back to this series (Mass Effect- Years Later), every few months to a year.
Aaaaaaaaand...anxiously await when "Years Later" tackles=
"THE WITCHER" trilogy🙌🏿🙌🏿🙌🏿
My chosen ending for Mass Effect 3 is the one where I turn off my XBox just after Anderson and Shepherd have their last conversation.
If you ever get a chance to play the game on PC try out some of the ending mods. My personal favourite is John P's Alternate MEHEM, which is far more subtle in the changes it makes and so feels like an organic part of the game. The main MEHEM just goes too far and feels forced.
I understand the feeling but... deep down you know the glowing kid is there... it can't be erased if our memory... mods or no mods, turning the console down or not...
@@sandrobsnake Honestly it really can. John P's Alternate MEHEM has two options. One where you go through the ending pretty much as it was in the game but High EMS Destroy gives you the happy ending and one where it skips the hologram kid altogether and goes straight to the High EMS Destroy ending.
I use John P's MEHEM because it keeps the "Joker, we've got to go" scene.
@@voteDC Yeah... But you didn´t undertood what I mean...
The mods give logic to this stupid game, but you know deep down that the glowing kid is the writing choice of the two morons... That´s something that no mod can´t change....
But if it helps you that's a good thing. Unfortunately for me I have the glowing kid and Shepard accepting defeat printed in my mind forever...
@@sandrobsnake We are coming at it from different points.
I didn't like the shipped endings because of their execution, which was woeful. The ideas behind them, while not what I would have done, weren't terrible.
The worst crime the shipped endings committed was convincing people the rest of then game was great when it really wasn't.
Thanks for this in depph analysis video, i enjoyed it a lot.
My summary always is: Even with all it's flaws, Mass Effect stays one of my most liked game-series.
The only thing bad about it for me is that there is no gamepad support on PC so i can't really play it on my couch...... and that it's too long to replay without serious time consumption.
Oh and yes, screw you EA for cancelling the Remaster that could've brought all 3 games into 1 box, with good tech support for new systems/consoles, and maybe some nice improvements here and there... unified controls for example...
This series ended my gaming career. I knew there'd be nothing like it again. Still play it from the beginning...it's that awesome.
Leaving Earth, the End of an Era, An end once and for all, etc.
The music in this game is breathtaking.
But wasn't at the level of "inmersion" or even variety than the music from ME1-2 delivered. The music of ME3 was not "bad" but was "under produced" made just to evoque the "sense of an ending" comming...in other words, to make you feel sad all the way🤷♂️
Absolutely the same thing. Everytime i hear those it's just...i don't know...so inspiring
What’s crazy is that Mass Effect 3 is the first ever mass Effect I’ve played and I fell in love with it, the lose I felt during the scene of leaving earth. I later got into the other games and books.
I actually LOVED ME3's Online, I still play it today.
Same here bro lol! I've been around since the Beta.
I had no idea it was still active? Unless it's on PC you are playing?
@@GatoSanDad Of course It's on PC, who still plays on console.
JK
@@allknowingfreddybear9291 I should of figured lol
We will honor Marauder Shield's sacrifice. :P
ME3 still better than Andromeda
George NoX and getting stabbed is probably better than getting shot but I don't want either.
Actually with the new patches Andromeda is the better game......(no not the writing or dialogue) I speak of the combat and overall graphics. Also there is a choice in Andromeda if you wish to play multiplayer, fine, if not fine. Not so in ME3, it is mandatory to play multiplayer to have any say in the game ending as you must have 5000 Effective Military points and you cannot gain them by any means other than multiplayer or some PC cheat.
So ME3 was one of the first games to punish the solo player a great deal.
Andromeda has its problems with the dialogue and story, but it does not force you into mandatory multiplayer.
Cheers!
I honestly think Andromeda's the second-best game in the series.
Kit Carson the graphics and combat may be subjective but mass effect 3 defeats Andromeda in every facet, from combat squad cohesion and selection, to the variety in graphical areas that extends past different planets (with more of them)
ME1 is better than Andromeda.
37:10 The Final Push... Have you ever tried to just... walk to it?
Don't remind me ;-;
Clint Carpentier or better wait for Harbinger to leave the you run to the beam without being injured so when Shepard goes to the console the Normandy SR2 can enter the citadel and get Shepard when the crucible fires
One of the few games that moved me emotionally (like the ending of Bioshock). It was a wonderful experience. But sadder than saying goodbye to my Mass Effect friends in 3 was what happened with ME Andromeda.
Yes, its been five years but yes the fucking end still hurts.
And I have gained for the past five years a greater sympathy for the artists at Bioware who worked tireless and fucking thanklessly. (Thank you glassdoor.com for existing as you get a hint of the work environment and work culture across Bioware studios)
I still will always have a utter distrust of anything Bioware produces.
The Starchild argument hinges on the the whole organic/synthetic conflict, which as stated here and over a million times across a million videos and forums, was for most of the player base solved at Rannoch, which in turn obliterates all that work with Tali and Legion in 2 and going forward into 3 with the Geth and Quarians as whole groups as soon as the fucking kid opens his mouth.
And yes you don't have to go for the gooey sappy saccharine ending of victory and life and happily ever after, but if a player fufills the requirements that three games have set up then yes that should be a fucking option.
Read the indoctrination theory or watch a video about it on line, it'll change your point of view completely
Dude, it's been so fun playing the series for the first time, and as I complete one game, you review it a couple of days or weeks later. I already played the Halo series religiously, but playing Mass Effect alongside these videos was quite a treat.
Hands down, one of my favorite RUclipsrs ever. And it was only two or three weeks ago that you put out the Mass Effect 2 video! I love the increase in quantity, while not sacrificing quality. Your analysis videos show a passion, but also analytical side, unrivaled by anyone else.
I'm also excited to see what you do next. Of course, I love these documentaries of an entire video game series, so you should keep on doing them (Fallout could be a good one, since you have an affinity for sci fi shooters, and it has a lot of small but drastic changes throughout the games, which seems to be your specialty, picking up on very small but important details), but I also love your other singular episodes of abstract concepts in video games. The Doom one was one of my favorites for that, and I loved how you took something most people wouldn't even bat an eye at, and analyzed it for ten to twenty minutes.
Y'know, if EA really does want to make a new Mass Effect, I think their best bet might be to remake 3 with all the time it deserved.
*sigh* a man can dream
See, for us true fans that would require a new trilogy entirely. You can't just make 1 game here, and skip last all the choices. It's just my opinion, no need to go spreading it around.
Congratulations Raycevick, to get these out in time for MA:A with this much quality is impressive!
Marauder Shields... Now that's a name I 've not heard in a long time.
ME3 was a rushed cash-in, much like DA2. A remake of it would be quite welcome.
Heck, an entire franchise reboot might be a future project that’d be worth doing.
There’s so much that’s good about the setting that just failed due to gameplay issues and rushed development.
You really don't know shit about games
Justanotherconsumer if Bioware reboots Mass effect 3 with a good ending where Shepard lives without being injured when Shepard runs to the beam and just fires the crucible within the console and gets out because the Normandy SR2 flies in to the citadel getting Shepard and his or her squadmates before the crucible fires then escapes and lives with a happy ending
I've read somewhere that remaster is very well might be done. Whether it's from graphics or story standpoint, it's hard to tell.
On the note of Mass Effect Andromeda, had there ever been a game that's received this much negative attention prior to release?
DrearierSpider1 What is Infinite Warfare?
Tantalized_Funyons What is Halo MCC
Them Donuts I thought MCC was looked forward to until it came out and the game was broken
Patrick Murphy yup, that's why we won't talk about MCC
What is Ultima 9, The 3rd Birthday, or Deus Ex: Mankind Divided after the "Augment Your Pre-Order" crap?
Leaving earth gives me chills and hurts my soul.
please do Dragon Age: Origins!!
Cancelled all my plans, ordered 7 pizzas, locked all the doors and holed myself up. A new Raycevick video came out.
can't they make ME1-3 HD instead of continuing ME Androcrap?
ME1-3 remaster... Take all of their time, fix the crap in each of the games, apply the original devs visions, get a 10/10 score for the best games of all time.
*EA has announced the same team that made Mass Effect Andromeda will be remaking ME 1-3 to minimize development costs alongside a statement*
"You know, people don't like playing singleplayer games as much as they used to. Five years ago, SP games may have been better, but everyone is moving on to multiplayer, which is why our real dev teams are working on our upcoming -lootbox wastelands- multiplayer titles.
In all seriousness, while this is a great concept, I unfortunately have lost all trust in EA in recent years, and months, to do something faithful and well.
Despite this, that would be great if it was executed properly.
Best goddamn idea fucking ever!!!!!! If I get enough support I might encourage this to Bioware and send hate mail to EA.
They'd probably make you pay to have Garrus and Tali on your squad in ME2, and every Loyalty Mission would be buyable DLC
Dante Strife If EA did that I would track down their buildings and kick every worker in the balls and castrate them.
The three games have their own strengths. Mine are:
Mass Effect 1: World/Lore revealing
Mass Effect 2: Story/Characters/Missions
Mass Effect 3: Dynamic gameplay/Multiplayer
ME3 probably has my favorite music of the trilogy. Although objectively I'll admit I think ME2 had the best. ME3 soundtrack just really resonated with me emotionally. It was in many ways much more stripped down, minimalist, but the most melodic. It really made you feel like you're putting everything on the line. Do or die, now or never.
The Mass Effect Series as a whole is still smashing. I've been replaying it over and over.
The series is a different beast when modded. Quality of life and no bullshit endings galore.
It' s great to see how you incorporate what goes on behind the scenes.
This game broke my heart. Not just because of that shitty ending by but because Miranda got sidelined
Peter Parker and Wrex!
Pff. Wrex, huh. I shot him in the face.
Broke my f*cking heart
Do Spec Ops The Line Please
cat oh my god yes
I so want to do this! Though it depends on how much information I can get about the pre-production, as not much is recorded for the game there.
yay i wish i could sponsor you on patreon but i have no money :(\
also I usually skip the pre production bit, sorry!
Raycevick ask yager, they would be willing to talk. my friend is a journalist and they were quite willing to speak about it with him
How about Deus ex or Planescape torment ?
I waited 6 years to watch this video; I wanted to replay ME3 since 2012, first. And no surprise: your attention to detail amazed me once again: I thought I was crazy since no one seemed to mind the missing audio and recycled character tracks.
I often dreamed of what this game could have been with the proper budget and development schedule.
You're the man Raycevick
Hey just wanted to say that your video reviews are some of the most professional, comprehensive, and eloquent I've ever seen in any field at any level. The quality here puts even professional outlets like GameSpot and IGN to shame.
> the most professional, comprehensive, and eloquent I've ever seen in any field at any level.
Its actually pretty average.
@@malowski111 like you can do any better
I wasn't a fan of multiplayer in mass effect because it didn't need multiplayer not one bit
Tevya Smolka I did not pay attention to it for one second. But then I played it... I'ts one of my favourite multiplayers now.
well i am glad you enjoyed it more then i did.
I agree with you in the sens that ME3 multiplayer mode isn't really attached to the story mode, except for Galactic Readiness and Military Strength rating, which requires playing multi, but I think it was a good set-up that encouraged the player to make full use of every aspect of the game. Which in this case, is a well-worthy thing.
However, it's quite a nice thing to have when you need fresh air and get tired of the story mode and its quite lengthy dialog scenes and cutscenes, or simply when you need some good, intense action with other people or your friends and for that, ME3 multi is really excellent.
@@marco4149 I loved it too, not only is it just plain fun but also as Adnane said it's rather cathartic to just destroy enemies with friends after such a dialogue and cutscene heavy game.
Better than GoW’s horde mode
Looking back this feels like a turning point. Not in bioware or EA but in big budget video games in general. Cut, compromised and rushed AAA games has since become the norm. I would take a mass effect 3 that stayed in the oven for 2 more years over a cyberpunk 2077 with 2 more years of development time. The kind of cut content you mention in the video is difficult to hear even after all these years. The mass effect 3 that could have been.
I've only just started playing this franchise, but the outrage the third game caused in 2012 (and its ending) reached me way back then when I only knew the franchise by name. But now that the 4th game has been teased, surely Shepard will return right? A reboot is the last thing I expect to see.
In my view personally, what we saw was Bioware's inflated ego and EA wanting something to compete with Activision or Microsoft. EA wanted to turn Mass Effect into a double digit selling product, and Bioware wanting to be a bigger company was more than eager to part of that, not realizing the sacrifices one has to make in order to do the yearly releases. And they suffered for it. A development cycle of barely 2 years, it is amazing and a credit to the development team that they managed to even salvage anything.
You mention the ending that either way it would still be A, B or C. Again what people fail to miss is epilogue and the variation that comes with it. Dragon Age Origins had either 2 endings with minor variation. You/Alistar dies and You/Alistar lives. What mattered was that we got to see the visual aspect of our decisions made within that game. Chose the wolves over the elves, well now you can bring in a werewolf army at the final battle. The epilogue told you of what happened afterwards, by the decisions you made and how it affected that area and impacted the people.
Mass Effect 3 does none of this, (even with the extended cut which what it adds does more damage than actual fixing). The game is a cautionary tale, a game company eager to rise top and a publisher desperate to compete in that faux gold rush of 2009-12. While DA:I was the 2am drunken apology, it was in some regards a step in the right direction. Mass Effect Andromeda on the other hand.................
I would have liked to seen what was in the original script for Mass Effect 3.
It's on the net... Dark energy plot...
I still have emotional scars over the ending. But I still agree with the notion you said at the end of the video, there is something good inside of ME3 and we should remember it's strengths. If they come back to Mass Effect in a post Andromeda world, I hope they set it after the Reaper War in the Milky Way.
While I can agree with most of what's been said here, Mass Effect 3 multiplayer has a special place in my heart as the most enjoyable shooter multiplayer I've ever had. I think it's because it is co-op ONLY, and not a lot of games get that right.
Sure Destiny had co-op raids and stuff, but the meta was so fixed and it got stale super fast. Even after 8 years of Mass Effect 3 multiplayer, it's still fresh.
Andromedas MP is even better!!