The Mass Effect: Choices, Consequences, and a Terrible Ending

       Choice. Consequence. A pair that can never be separated. When you make a choice there is a consequence that comes with it whether immediate or delayed. Your life is nothing more than a stack of consequences that led you to how you feel, think, act, and live. It’s strange but it’s true. Sooner or later the effects of your actions will catch up with you.

     Though games tried to emulate this, nothing really hit the spot and was so involved like the Mass Effect series. Choices you make in this game affect not only what happens in the game you’re playing but also the sequels in this series (hence the metaphorical meaning of the title "Mass Effect"). I think it's neat and very well done. Certain characters remember your actions even though you may not have and act accordingly in the next game. I haven’t played a game that has had such an effect on your entire experience. I would experience deep regret when I realized I forgot to do something in the last game that would have helped me in the newer game. It emulates life in a small scale, because, just like real life, decisions you make in your life can’t be unchanged. They can be ameliorated, but they can’t be redone. While in most video games you can always just start over fresh or hit restart, in Mass Effect, it just seems fruitless when you already played up until third game and realize you should never had let a certain squad mate die in the last game. You just have to live with yourself. As the commander, all the events that happened were somehow directly and indirectly affected by your decisions. As a commander, you have to live with your choices. The trilogy really gives you a sense of significance which is tailored specifically to you.

     I have heard many things about the ending; such an amazing series ruined by such a lousy and uninspired ending. So Bioware finally released a “Extended Cut” DLC to expand on the original endings. Apparently, fans wanted more since they spent-no- invested so much time into creating their own Shepard and felt cheated from such blunt endings. So I guess I’m lucky to not have experienced that. I’ll be finishing Mass Effect 3 soon with the correct or modified ending. I hope that maybe I can see how the game is as a whole.    I've been told that the ending is now satisfactory due to the added DLC, but somehow that doesn't seem to assuage my concerns. I understand that ending a game of such magnitude would be difficult, but if you have writers who created this genius “choose your own adventure,” I’m sure they could find suitable endings from your choices.

      Edit (SPOILERS): I just recently beat Mass Effect 3 this past weekend and what everyone said was true. From what my friends told me, the original ending didn't expand on anything. Just random cut scenes and haphazard choices guiding your ending. No explanation of why certain things happened in the ending was given. Joker is randomly on a new “Earth.” You’re just given certain choices at the end that have no meaning. You destroyed, joined, or controlled the Reapers. This “extended” ending they offer is more like fixing up plot holes rather than giving more content. It’s still a shame that an ending couldn’t be a bit more specialized to the way you played the game. Whether you were an total jerk to the galaxy or a saint for all mankind, you can still change your ways and turn the tables on everybody. It works in other games because there is no paths you can follow. Deus Ex was awesome because the gameplay was what changed your experience, not the moral choices. So when it came to the endings, choosing one actually felt significant. In Mass Effect, it seemed underwhelming. Even if you disagree with my opinion, the ending cut scenes that were added on were terrible! It’s the same stuff just with different colors. It’s like they made one cut scene and just said, “Eff it! Just cut it up and put different voice overs…oh, and animations? Screw that! Pictures! Pictures for everyone!”

     It just literally felt like EA was just caving into fans demands. They didn’t think they made a bad and incomplete ending. They actually thought the original ending was good. This is something I realize when it comes to fan service. Even if fans clamor for change for the same thing, it’s up to developers to see if they can put enough heart into the production. If an author or a poet thinks they’re work is finished, asking them to make more will change the way it’s written. The first book or poem was written for and from the writer and his own heart and passion. When tasked to do more, you now have fans to appease and deadlines to me. You still want to do your best but there are other factors that you have jump through. Imagine if someone came to J.K. Rowling and told her that the 7^th Harry Potter book had too many plot holes…you need to make a good ending so fans will have more to read. She already did everything she wanted to do with Harry Potter. Now she has to write more? Most of her ideas might seem forced or rehashed and it wouldn’t feel inspired. Same goes for video games.

     Sorry for the rant but I really loved the Mass Effect series. Despite all the spoilers, I would recommend anyone getting through the trilogy. I am sure you can pick the first two for like 10 bucks total and the third one is about forty bucks now. 

MIGHTY MORPHIN' MASS EFFECT RANGERS GO!