The fun isn't the destination, but the journey.

After reading most of the posts in this thread, I am almost convinced that the terrible ending was 100%  intentional as it seems like almost everyone is ignoring all of the real problems of the game (removal of RPG elements, dumbing down the gameplay, and an insipid story) while they focus on the awful ending.

If true, it is actually quite brilliant as EA/Bioware already knew they were going to get a high metascore regardless of the game's quality so they dumbed down the series to lure in the unwashed CoD playing masses while hoodwinking the true fans by making them focus all of their energy on an ending so awful that it had to be planned.

As for the final part of the evil plan, it would seem that EA/Bioware will now move to placate the fans by changing the ending to something more appropriate while also getting a few extra dollars from DLC.

I'll give EA/Bioware the benefit of the doubt, and not assume the preceeding thought process went through their heads. I guess I just like to think of EA (the company that ruined more great series than I can count) as a bunch of incompetents, and not as a cold calculating cabal of executives vexing us with nefarious and convoluted schemes.

Maybe EA was not capable of this on their own so they bought Bioware to come up with better schemes for making money.

Thus, Bioware's effort was put into the scheme of diverting fan rage of gameplay issues to the ending, instead of the creation upper echelon games like some of their past work. 

I didn't hate the ending. In fact I liked it. I didn't love it, I liked it and I'm still thinking about therepercussions it will have on the future of the series.

What's wrong with an ending that throws out what you think should happen for the unexpected? Would you rather have Jeff Goldblum and Will Smith deliver a computer virus and then nuke their asses? Well I've seen that movie and 100s of others like it with the same happy ending. You know what sci-fi movie has an unforgettable ending? The 1978 "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". Spoiler Warning! We lose and the aliens take over all of the earth and the only human left is about to be assimilated right before the credits role. I wasn't expecting that when I first saw the movie. The 90's remake ruined it so it could have a happy ending. Almost all movies find a way to save the world and the people can go on like nothing happened. Luckily games don't have to follow that formula and I'm glad ass Effect 3 gave us something worth talking about rather than something to forget.

That's why I liked the Mass Effect 3 ending. The whole game you're thinking the Crucible is some big gun you're going to point at the Reapers and BANG they'll be dead and the galaxy can go on like nothing happened. That's the kind of thing you'd expect from a typical blockbuster movie too afraid to do anything different to make any kind of real impression. I doubt I'll ever forget the Mass Effect 3 ending because I didn't see it coming. I picked option 3 and what I got was a brave new frontier. Who knows what it will all mean for the future of the galaxy and the meaning of the word "life".

Who cares if there were some plot holes? I don't nitpick books, movies, TV shows, and games. Life is too short to over think everything so you can complain. The small details don't matter to me. I like the big picture and the ending of Mass Effect 3 was big. Even if you hated it you have to admit it was fearless and went where nobody expected. I can understand if you'd like to see more of what happened to your favorite characters. But that's not enough to hate the whole ending or game, for that matter.

I'm going to bring up another sci-fi movie with a forgettable ending. "I Am Legend", with Will Smith. It's based on a short book that was made into two other movies previously. The original movie had a great ending because the "hero" realized that he is the real monster to those he considered monsters and killed with contempt. Will Smith's version was supposed to have the same ending, but test audiences hated it so they changed it so he just blows himself and the "monsters" up.

If the Mass Effect 3 ending had been tested and audiences hated as much as the internet has been complaining we would have ended up with a big gun that shoots the Reapers in the face. Sure most people wouldn't have complained but most people wouldn't have remembered it by next year either.

The ending was big and unforgettable. Stop other thinking it, don't focus on the little things, and let go of what you think should have happened so you can deal with what did happen.

I have never played a game were the ending ruined everything for me like Mass Effect 3 did.

all those 100+ hours of pure joy playing the series, the last 10 minutes destroyed everything... I haven't been able to play any videogame for the last 2 weeks beacuse of it and that says quite alot beacuse I have never had more then one week break from videogames for the last 25 years...

And I sure as hell will never ever play the Mass Effect series ever again

"The last 10 mins of the game ruins the entire trilogy."

hahaha this really demotivates me u know XD haven't played ME3

Yeah on a journey where you meet real people etc. In computer game you're not immersed to that degree and everything in Mass Effect is with the idea of chosing the ending.

I like the OP had a similar "WTF are people complaining about....until the last 10 minutes".

I'm sorry but for most games yes, you'd all be right and the ending wouldn't matter much. In the case of Mass Effect it couldn't matter any more than it does.

I replayed ME1 and 2 to get a save game for 3....I shouldn't have bothered, the ending left me feeling hollow and generally crap. What a waste of what could have been the best ending in a computer game ever with only minimal effort. The story, characters, everything had been laid down only to be pissed, shit and puked on by the utter pricks that came up with the last 10 minutes direction.

It's beyond bad, beyond awful, an absolute shambles and a disgrace.

If you guys are defending it any way shape or form or saying it doesn't matter because of the great time befoe then you obviously either haven't even played any of the games, haven't actually experienced the ending or didn't really enjoy the game or put any thought into the choices you made etc.

The whole idea of the games was for people to to chose - cause - effect.

The last 10 minutes went so far against that it was literally unbelievable.

QFT!

I agree that the ending being unexpected is a good thing, I was quite happy with Shepard being dead (and the ending that keeps him alive is stupid in my opinion). An 'everyone lives happily ever after' ending would have seemed pretty damned weak to me.

I don't have a problem with two of the actual endings (the destroy and merge endings), conceptually they're fine, but the actual writing of the scene was poor compared to the rest of the series and big ideas don't excuse poor writing. The ending I do have a problem with (synthesis of man and machine) just took away my suspension of disbelief. The idea that some green beam of light can turn all organics half synthetic and all synthetics half organic seems absurd to me even in a science fiction universe.

Also did anybody else kind of get the feeling they were playing Deus Ex again? The three options to destroy, control or merge...

The game is really good and it deserved the grades.

What doesnt deserve the grade are the day 1 DLC and the nerve they have to state in official channels that its optional content. You're missing out in a very important perspective and backstory of the Prothean civilization if you dont get it.
Also the perfect ending requiring you to play multyplayer is also true, and the developers again came out and lied to say it isnt.

I'm disappointed with this Bioware team for the lies, but the game itself is great.

Mass effect 4 though... if i see multiplayer or day one DLC anywhere near it im gonna pass it though. Dont count on me to incentivate these criminal policies.