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I loved the first Mass Effect. I spent ages just exploring shit in the Mako. I didn't overly like the move towards more action-based gameplay in ME2.

I'll be getting ME3 for 360 on the day of release, if only because I want to see how the series ends.

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I've read a fair bit about ME, and i really like the concept, and the sci-fi theme. But i played the ME2 demo a while back and got bored really quickly. I might give ME3 a chance, but will i need to play the others to understand the narrative?

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Everything you do in one game will affects the story. You might get something as small as a different mission, or a message, or something as big as a major change in the story, but everything you do has consequences. If you don't play the first two (or play through the interactive comic book, since PS3 didn't have the first game), decisions are made for you, and you might have to deal with shit you never would have done had you been able to make the choice yourself. There are constant references to the previous game, and you'll be lost in places if you haven't played it, but you should be able to make sense of most of the story.

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so what's the deal with all the hate for the ending of ME3?? you can spoil it for me if you want, i doubt i'll ever get to it... but apparently it didn't claim to be what was told it was before release?? or something like that... you heard about that story??

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I don't know what people are bitching about. The ending I did (there are three) made sense. There was no way there was going to be a happy ending with a story like that..

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In the ending I did, Shepard is assimilated into a machine and takes control of the reapers, then pulls them back into dark space, saving the galaxy. There's other shit that you would have to play the game to understand, because I'm lazy and don't want to explain it.

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makes sense to me... i did play the demo and i know who they are... i would imagine one of the endings involve the destruction of earth, and maybe the other one is a happy ever after one... not sure why people are pissed about the ending though, is it because it's an official ending and not a cliffhanger??

i don't know, i figured you heard about that though since you're the only mass effect fan here...

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I just finished ME3 last week. I thought the game was alright. I was more into the ME series because of the thrill of space exploration, not because I wanted to play a generic third-person shooter. And the shooting was pretty generic, as it's always been in ME. although 2 and 3 are far superior to 1 in that respect.

The exploration and side questing parts of the game were poor. What happened to randomly stumbling upon some space pirates or a thresher maw? There wasn't even any mineral scanning ffs. And every time the Normandy was chased by a reaper, I heard the Benny Hill music playing in my head. Also, what was the deal with all the fetch quests? You didn't even have to speak to anyone, you just walked past them, and then came back later with the item. "yo dawg, I heard you like Prothean data discs, so I traveled to Hades Nexus and scanned several planets whilst getting chased by reapers to get you one, even though you've never met me before". Mass Effect was awesome in that respect, and every game since has been a step down.

The weapon/armor upgrade system was pretty nifty, and I dare say it was my favourite part of the game. Also, the power upgrade tree system wasn't too bad. ME1's weapon system was a nightmare to manage, whilst 2 was the polar opposite, as there was nothing to manage. I think 3 got this part right.

Which leads me back to the story, which is really the most important thing about the Mass Effect series. For me, most of the story was a bit of a let down, and the ending was full of plot holes, to the point that I find the Indoctrination theory is the only sensible conclusion to what was offered. I'l discuss that below. Spoilers ahoy!

The ending, and why I believe in the Indoctrination theory

- How did Shepard survive Harbinger's laser? If you're armor is melted to the point of being charred, surely that should have killed you. I think everything after the laser hits Shepard is in his mind.

- How did your 2 squadmates make it back to the Normandy? I know they can die if your war strength is low, but apart from that, there is no logical way they could have gone from running behind Shepard to being picked up by a shuttle and taken to the Normandy in such a short amount of time in the middle of a war with hundreds of reapers.

- How did Anderson make it onto the Citadel before Shepard? I believe he is a figment of Shepard's mind

- The Illusive man. How the fuck could he control Shepard's actions? And what was with the black oily cloud around the edge of the screen? I think this scene represented the reapers trying to take control of Shepard's mind by trying to sway him to TIM's point of view.

- The Star child. I think this was the reaper's last ditch attempt to stop Shepard's mind from activating the conduit. If your war strength was high enough, you got 3 endings. Destroy (red), control (blue), and Synthesis (green). People have said that this was an attempt to screw with people, as throughout the series, blue represented good, and red represented bad, and the reapers are trying to trick you into siding with them. You'll notice with the endings, with the control and synthesis ones, Shepard's eyes change to look like the Illusive man's, and he takes on husk features, whereas with the destroy ending, he stops limping and runs at the control panel, which may mean he finally overcame the reaper's attempts at Indoctrination. Also, you see what appears to be Shepard breath at the end of the game, lying in rubble. This would mean that his body never left Earth, as the citadel is blown to smithereens in the destroy ending.

- Where the hell was Joker going? Why did he leave the battle (with your team members who were just in the battle with you)? I can't explain it, even with the Indoctrination theory.

My belief? The ending is a set-up for Mass Effect 4. If Shepard is indoctrinated, he will be a villian in that game, and if he survived indoctrination, he will be an ally. Either way, he (or she) won't be the main protagonist.

Of course, I'm not completely sure about that theory, but it's the only way I can make sense of the ending. Otherwise, it's as bad as people were saying.

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