A lot of words can have been thrown around the internet in regards to the end of Commander Shepards 3-game saga. "Polarizing," "Disappointing," "Tragic," and "Deus ex Machina" are on the lips of a very vocal portion of the fanbase. What was once an outcry against Day 1 DLC has shifted focus now to a Child's Play charity in favor of creating a downloadable "happy ending" for Shepard and company. On a side note, this is a pretty awesome idea for channeling fan outrage.
Recent interviews with Casey Hudson, the director and producer for the Mass Effect series, have him going on record saying that he wanted the games endings to be memorable, even if it has the fans debating what exactly they mean. He also goes on to promise more DLC in the future and that Bioware closely monitors fan feedback to determine what the DLC could actually contain.
So what exactly does happen in the end? What works for the ending of the series and what is getting fans up in arms?
Quick summary of the events of ME3:
Early on in Mass Effect 3, it's put forward that the best chance for humanity lies in blueprints for a mysterious superstructure intended to be built by the Protheans before the Reapers wiped them out. The plans for this possible weapon are discovered early in the game at the Mars ruins by longtime squadmate Liara. Only a few details are given about this potential weapon:
-It's massive in size, so much so that it will take the greatest minds and resources to build
-It's actual function is unknown, but it looks to utilize the Mass Relays in some way
-It requires a mysterious piece of technology that the Protheans refer to as the "Catalyst"
Through the course of the game, you recruit races from across the galaxy not only to help you bring the fight to the Reapers, but to help complete this gargantuan structure that comes to be called the "Crucible." Eventually you end up learning that the "Catalyst" is actually the Citadel, a very old, very large space station that sits as a political hub for all sentient life in the known galaxy. The interface between the Crucible and the Citadel come to form what ends up being a colossal transmitter that will transmit a signal that will end the war with the Reapers.
/summary
So lets start with what works with this ending.
-Usage of the Citadel
The Citadel has been a central plot point for all of the Mass Effect series, and having the finale of the series involve it was a very smart move by Bioware. It started as a mysterious structure thought to be left by the Protheans, full of its own little mysteries, as well as serving as the battleground for the final confrontation with Sovereign in ME1. Shedding more light on the function of this important location is immensely satisfying to fans following the series since the first game. Seeing the Citadel take the shape of a sort of alien broadcasting dish makes a cool sort of sense, as well as seeing the Keepers function in much the same fashion the Collectors did in ME2.
-Stripping Shepards power
It's no secret that the hero of Mass Effect has taken on an almost Messianic reputation as the savior of the Galaxy, and in a lot of ways, the game makes you feel like it's well deserved. You help to determine the fate of entire races in the series, go to where no man has gone before, represent a large portion of humanity as well as discover secrets and plots that will lead to intergalactic war with a godlike enemy.
Before you can reach the Citadel, you heroically stand with the last remnants of the Human resistance on Earth, hoping to reach the only transport to the Citadel. You storm the darkened streets at the end of days, dispatching foes like a force of nature. A bright blue beam that reaches from the ground to the heavens stands in stark contrast to the bleak and bleary sky. You and your loyal brothers in arms make a mad dash for this final objective, a scene that plays out as a nostalgic mirror to making the final surge for the Conduit on Ilos in ME1. This is your moment!
Except, you don't quite make it.
A massive Reaper drops in at the last second behind the beam, firing off a weapon that should leave you little more than a pile of ash on the ground. It feels like an eternity when the camera shifts away skyward. It looks like this might be the end for the intrepid hero, so close to his objective, so close to ending the entire conflict.
And then the camera comes back to a blurry focus in darkness.
Yes! Shepard does end up beating the odds yet again, but not without sacrifice. For the last portion of the game, you looks as though your on your last legs and ready to expire. You walk doubled over, wielding only a handgun. Your no longer the combat-rolling, tech-bursting, biotic-slinging demigod you once were, but your still alive, and you have one last chance to finish this.
Considering early on that a central tenant of this game is going to be sacrifice, this reduction of power makes you feel more vulnerable than you've ever been. Seeing Shepard is such a state of weakness makes it hard not to feel like this is a sort of tragic loss. Kudos to Bioware on this brilliant sequence. Speaking of sacrifice...
-The last tough choice
I'll get into more specifics in a bit, but every ending presented, even under the best conditions, has you making some sort of sacrifice for the good of the galaxy. All involve the Mass Relays, but each also deal with the fate of all artificial life in the galaxy. Destroying the Reapers also means destroying the Geth, who you may have come to ally with, as well as EDI, who has come to be a very valuable member of the crew through the course of the series. Choosing to control or synthesis involves Shepard making a sacrifice of his or her own life for the good of the rest of the galaxy. All of these choices have sacrifice strewn about them to some degree and help to reinforce this theme. This also paints the third part of the trilogy less as an adventure of discovery, and more as a tragic war story.
-Destruction of the Mass Relays
This is probably seen as one of the most heart-wrenching aspects of all the endings, and what hurts me the most. In order to end reaping of all advance life as we know it, the Mass Relays have to be utilized in order transmit the signal across the universe and stop the invasion. It is a kind of cool call back to the Arrival DLC to see that a Mass Relay can have a dramatic effect on an entire system, but the cost is steep. All of the Mass Relays have to be sacrificed in the process, though not at the cost of systems themselves.
Without these Mass Relays, it seems space travel across the universe is effectively cut off for all space-faring races. Whatever system an individual finds themselves at the end of the Reaper war, they can expect to be stuck there now. Pretty heartbreaking stuff if you've come to enjoy the military bravado of the Turians or the hyperactive mannerisms of the Salarians. It's even more bittersweet if you ended up having a romantic relationship with one of the non-human love interests.
Still, it's left vague enough that there may be some hope. While some may see Stargazers story to the child to be evidence that humanity never reached the stars again, there's so many other possibilities left in the wide universe of Mass Effect that maybe life can learn expand its reach across the universe again.
So what doesn't work with the endings?
-Loose plot threads
Mass Effect 3 does a very good job at wrapping up a lot of plots that deal with major cast and former crew members, as well as stories that follow the fates of entire races. While this feat is impressive, there are still some questions left from the first two games that don't go anywhere for one reason or another. One such thread has to do with the story concept of "Dark Energy."
Dark Energy itself ties into much of the science fiction of the Mass Effect universe, but it took a sort of ominous presence in the second entry of the series. Quarians study it on the planet Haestrom as a cause to accelerated aging of a dying sun, internal affairs on Noveria take note of their clients taking an increased interest. Even object Rho from the Arrival DLC makes mention of Dark Energy as a plot point. For many fans, it looked like this detail was foreshadowing something sinister on the horizon.
None of these details are actually followed up on in Mass Effect 3. We don't discover anything new about Haestrom or Object Rho. To some it looks like this might have been a Red Herring.
Another possibility is that this originally might have been part of the central conflict. Early reports from a leaked script for ME3 show that the motivation for the Reapers harvesting species actually had to do with helping to prevent the closure of the universe via Dark Energy. This would paint the Reapers in an entirely different light, and the final choice would look more like, "Utilize the Reapers help despite the horrific acts they have done in the past" or "Do away with the Reapers and have faith that the species of the galaxy can solve this problem on their own." It looks like this plot thread was dropped in favor of Reapers saving biological species in a sense as they would always end up destroying themselves via their own created AI constructs, much in the same fashion in the Quarians.
It's a pretty radical departure in some senses, and at the same time, the question of Biological life versus Artificial life feels like it was already finished with the war between Geth and Quarians, especially if you ended it in a peaceful fashion. Being told by the Catalyst that Biological life always ends up being snuffed out by AI constructs is disheartening after you have legion do a very biblical sacrifice of his own. Yet this conundrum is still very interesting in another light, and putting faith in biological life to advance past this point or become a hybrid between biological and synthetic life is interesting as well. I'm of two minds when it comes to this. I'd love to see the threat of Dark Energy come up again in the cannon story, maybe as DLC even.
Or just to find out that Kal'Reegar isn't dead. An email just saying that he did some heroics and died is no way to go out on such a cool character.
-Fate of the Normandy
This one is a head-scratcher.
How do my squadmates get back on the Normandy after we get blasted by a Reaper before getting to the Conduit? And why is the Normandy utilizing the Mass Relays anyway? Are they running from Earth for some reason? Is Shepard being abandoned?
And then we get to the crash-landing. What planet are we on? Are we cut off from Earth? If so, does that mean we've gotta start a new civilization on this planet? Does this mean that Tali and Garrus are screwed when it comes to survival of their species? And if Shepard lives from the Destroy option, does this mean he'll never get to see them again?
That's a ton of questions left open, and the logical conclusions look very grim in all honesty. While the tropical beach to relax on is sort of alluded to by Garrus in the game, this is sort of a deal with the devil. It's great to see most of the crew is going to be surviving, but being cut off from them for the rest of your life feels very tragic. Except for a very stupid, unexplained reason. Why were you running from the fight guys!?!
More to come...
No comments:
Post a Comment