Mass Effect 3 (SPOILERS)

[StormWolf]

if you listen very carefully at the end, when the ramps rise to the three options, you can hear a whisper... harbinger saying "choose". That sold me on indoctrination theory

 

[Empress]

EA stock has dropped, Gamestop is reported to be drowning in returns, price cuts for new copies across retailers, two articles in forbes on the matter ( mind you thats what investors will read not really the average gamer ) and a child play donation drive in protest that gained nearly 40k in almost 24 hours...

It's really not looking good... and while in my stomach I KNOW there is a plan in all this that this cliff hanger scenario was sort of planned...it's back firing badly, and EA/Bioware's PR is doing a horrid job of it. There is more or less a blackout from the company atm, yes a few cryptic hints that it's not over and that the ending was not really the ending...

but seriously, would it hurt to at least have said something by now? didn't have to be anything major, just " you guys are choosing the ending as we speak, we'll see what happens once all the launches are complete"

or something to that effect, didn't have to be anything meaty as far as leaking story

if you listen very carefully at the end, when the ramps rise to the three options, you can hear a whisper... harbinger saying "choose". That sold me on indoctrination theory

that was one piece out of a a few dozen clues " post hit by harbinger" that were pretty in your face...and through the whole game there are hints that they have been " attempting"

the big argument for why it wont work I think fails.

" the VI's said no indoctrination so it wont work"

the issue there...is that shep is NOT indoctrinated... being attempted against, but has fought it off.

Getting knocked out, with that emotional and adrenaline rush going, wounded, tired...Harbinger less than a 100 yards away.... THAT is when they get in when shep has no defense, THAT is the whole last sequence is the fight for control

 

[Blueberrypie]

I was going to destroy the Reapers and save humanity... Until I got Saren's option. Baby, I leapt into that beam of light like there was no tomorrow. Evolution, here I come!

I was satisfied with the ending. I felt like... Joker's savior. He had his romance, and as he became integrated with synthetics, his bone-disease wouldn't matter as much. He could now hold a fulfulling relationship with EDI! I became the Galaxy's savior, a modern Messiah.

Then I read through the pages here... Only to realize I've been played.
fFFffffffffffffffFUUUUU

 

[Empress]

big clue also comes from talking to EDI when she notes how the reapers are utterly obsessed with self preservation and how it disgusted her

why would something so obsessed with self preservation even attempt to help? granted the TIM and Saren "endings" let the reapers live... and those are painted up as happy good options, shep just needs to let go...

they really try to scare you with what destroying will do, even pointing out it would kill she too, and how nobody could live without the synthetics ( which is sorta a contradiction in a way too) interestingly its the ONLY option where the kid does not linger, and the only one where you get " breath" before the credits.

long story short, the game is not ****ing with Shep, it's also ****ing with the player ( which is not new to games, think back to the GC classic Eternal Darkness )

also when talking about his role as TIM, Sheen ended it with " don't go anywhere, I'm not finished yet" implying his role goes beyond what is currently in game. ( could mean a few things still)

big picture:

The end is a battle for your own mind, the choices presented are painted up in a positive light but both reflect exactly what your enemies were up to, both ask shep to basically give up to a point the third is flat out defiant remaining resolute to the aim

defy, break the hold... come to where you fell charging the beam



Bioware watches Meta data and constantly brag about it...Hudson just said in poor deflection attempt interview yesterday that like ME2, feedback.data determines DLC

OUR choices matter ( not us as an individual )

 

[Empress]

more and more like my theory is panning out as what is really going on.

GimmeDaGun wrote...

Some twittering with the devs - are we trolled or they are up to something that will blow us all away?

User 1: "I still want to believe you guys are sneaky trolls and have something going on you don't tell us yet. Can I get a cryptic reply?"
@masseffect: "The sun, it shines. www.youtube.com/watch"


User 2: "You are either a massive sadist or a beacon of hope."
@masseffect: "Can't it be both?"


User 3: "I kinda feel lost after that ending...not what I expected and left me feeling everything done was for nothing."
@masseffect: "We know it's a lot to take in! But hang in there. Your decisions matter."


User 4: "Are you holding something back, that could quell the large amount of frustration from the community, a tiny hint would be enough."
@masseffect: "Mike Gamble already said on his twitter, if the fans knew what was in store, the reaction would be different."


User 5: "I loved 98% of ME3..but something has to be up w/ ending..too much talent at BW for that business. Keep my saves?"
@masseffect: "We're keeping our saves, that's for sure."


User 6: "Fans are people too. Playing with their minds isn't that nice as it may look like to people from Bioware."
@masseffect: "We're not playing with anyone's minds, we are answering what questions we can and recording what feedback we receive."


User 7: "Its not that the ending was taken in the wrong direction its that it makes NO SENSE. Ashley was on the Normandy? she [was] with me."
@masseffect: "Probably a good thing to be cautious of."


User 8: "Do y'all have any ETA when more news will be released? Dying for news on a new ending/DLC."
@masseffect: "No ETA yet, but you will be updated via Facebook and Twitter when the news is available :)."

And some more:

User 1 -Well, i think i'll stop naggin you and trying to get you to talk about the indoctrination theory. :( Good game though!
Merizan - I want people to make up their own minds right now, then when more people have played we'll talk :)

User 2 - then I want to SEE that he was lying. I want to get up and finish the fight with Commander Shepard. Then retire.
Merizan - augh. want. to. discuss! Staying spoiler free for now :P

User 3 - But should've confronted the kid instead. Shep went meekly into the night.
Merizan - are you sure he went meekly into the night?

 

[Phil]

Either way, BioWare should never do something like this with future titles again. There comes a time where they just need to tell EA to shove it, no matter the consequences.

 

[Empress]

im not too too upset, I mean getting DLC, more because of the fact I have a ass load of free MS points from the rewards program so I am not spending anything out of pocket.

 

[Johnnysaurus Rex]

OUR choices matter ( not us as an individual )

But everyone else is dumb. I know a surprising amount of people who picked Control. I also know even more who thought only Synthesis destroyed the relays. It's honestly the one reason I chose Destroy was because I thought about all the stranded species.

 

[Empress]

I was cautious from the start of that whole sequence after getting knocked out, too many warning signs leading up to it that something was not right, warnings exploded like spidy in a mosh pit- I didnt believe a single thing said, once I heard how he painted a pretty picture for things TIM wanted, and SAren wanted...I knew it was all BS and not real.

glad to see the dev hints starting to lay the cement for that claim

 

[Phil]

I picked control accidently on first shot, meant to destroy so I went back a save.

If they can fix the issues first, like changing your armor pieces and clothing since it takes AGES to load. I also encountered a "Disk is dirty error" after me and Tali made woopiee the first time, mainly because I had to swap disks and neither disk was dirty or even with a scratch. That and when it freezes when I go to the Citidel armory, those are mainly the only errors I had, and I hope I encounter no more.

 

[Empress]

I "Disk is dirty error" after me and Tali made woopiee the first time,

something your not telling us Mully? no no, shhhh it's okay Joker understands too...so does everyone if you like green flavoured love....


hehe


actually the armour bit was annoying, Dont even bother trying to load it down at cortez's station that never worked..

I also got scary freezes and lag in space battle scenes or like during the cutscene during the start of the coup.

 

[Phil]

But... she said her systems adapted to Sheps... no more booster shots...

Was still totally worth it... and dem hips...

>_>



I read somewhere on the BioWare fourms that someone waited 15 minutes for the armor/clothes to load and it still said loading. That's where I guess is that the game has become self aware and is just trolling with the player. Seriously, how does it go from instant loading in ME2 to ages in ME3?

I also got one freeze in multiplayer when the next wave started, and one freeze when I took the elevator down to see Mordin and Bakara.

 

[Phil]

[YOUTUBE]yPJj8efNskM[/YOUTUBE]

I heard Legion meets a similar fate if you sold him in ME2.

 

[Empress]

*cough* oooh look the kids file name is harbinger

note there are many claiming its fake...

 

[Phil]

Well now...

 

[Arm514ve]

that now makes me want to blow the kid up even more. :CSly

 

[Empress]

some claim its shopped, but as someone who works in different 3d apps every day I see it pretty cleanly. Not saying it " can't " be faked, because yes, yes it can, but looking at the attributes and such it looks clean... so again, covering my ass I say take with a grain of salt, but over all has me arching a curious brow, even if it is grasping at emergency induction tubes


also though, the Crucible

Crucible means a test........

or a container that can survive high temperatures....

the catalyst well obviously a key or something to trigger a chain of events

the kid starts the test?

 

[Phil]

Adena, everytime you post here with more info it makes my head spin. Not that I am complaining, just shows more and more that there remains... more.

Also, I realized all love interests in ME2 for only Femshep get sorta screwed in ME3, with Garrus being the only one who remains. Like a youtube comment says in one vid...

*Jacob to Thane* "Uh huh... I dunno about you, but I'm loyal to more then my next paycheck".

*Can't wait 6 months for another Priiize while Thane patiently waits to see Shepard again, dying slowly all the while*

 

[Empress]

Mari Letje ‏ @redlettermedia Dunno if you guys play games, but the just-released Mass Effect 3 is a mess deserving of the Plinkett treatment. Staggering.



Red Letter Media ‏ @MariLetje Will will be doing something with Mass Effect 3... stay tuned...




oh no

 

[Nihl]

Good thing I chose to be an ass and blow up the reapers. To be honest one of the main driving points for it was I saw Anderson was the figure who did it. He's never led me astray.