Reviews by The Walrus: Mass Effect 3 (PC)

[JWeinCom]

Dulfite said:

JWeinCom said:
Game was one of my favorite of all time until the ending. Not even the whole ending though. The moment with *spoilers* Anderson and Shepard at the end was amazing. One of the best scenes in a video game ever.

The actual ending just kind of ruins everything. After being able to defy overcome impossible odds throughout the game, you're forced to choose between 3 undesirable solutions to a problem that doesn't seem to actually exist.

The dlc ending helps make things a little better in terms of certain things making more sense, but it doesn't address the thematic flaws.

Still a great game, but if they'd stuck the landing, it could have been one off the best ever.

I have a couple questions:

1) what do you mean a problem that doesn't exist?

2) Which ending was the dlc ending?

1.  The reason for the catalyst is because apparently conflict between synthetic and organic life is inevitable.  However, in the game you only see evidence to the contrary.  If you play your cards right, you are able to broker peace between the Geth and the Quarians.  EDI, an unshackled AI, is a valuable ally to her human crew.  The conflict between the Geth and the Geth heretics show that even with a purely synthetic world, peace is not a given.  Conflict can exist even within a hive mind.

The starchild says that the conflict is inevitable, and you just have to go with it.  In the DLC ending, you can challenge him on it, but he shuts you down.  This is odd considering you'd been able to change the mind of every major villain (Serin (sp) in ME1, the Elusive man right before) in the game to that point.

2.  The DLC ending isn't a new ending per se.  It's basically a fleshed out version of the original.  There is more conversation with the starkid, and an epilogue at the end.  There is also a scene showing your crewmates getting saved by the normandy when they rush the citadel.  It was offered as DLC originally.  I think it was built into future versions of the game.  

You can also completely reject the starchild or shoot him, but that basically leads to the developers saying "go fuck yourself".