When it released last March, the controversy surrounding Mass Effect 3's endings were a focus of intense discussion.

Some vehemently opposed the way BioWare choose to end the trilogy, accusing the developer of cutting corners allowing for a lethargic, albeit confusing ending. Other players believed there was much deeper meaning to the mystery of the conclusion. We've been waiting for the Extended Cut DLC to clear everything up and now that the wait is over, we're both ecstatic and disappointed at what BioWare has wrought.

Editor's Note: This article contains spoilers regarding Mass Effect 3 and the Gears of War franchise. If you intend to play the games and/or don't want the endings ruined, then progress no further.

If you haven't seen the endings yet, check out all of them on GamesRadar.

Andrew's argument for botching an opportunity

A while back, I wrote an article stating my horror as to how fast people jumped on the 'hate BioWare' bandwagon. To me the conclusion of ME3 was more ambiguous than anything. As soon as Harbinger's beam smoked you, that was when I noticed everything around Shepard seemed... different. From the control the Illusive Man had over Anderson to the way Shepard cringed when the Reaper noises echoed across the screen, there was too much that materialized at the end for me to consider it a simple mistake; a failure at elaboration.

Obviously a great deal of people felt the same way which is what gave rise to the Indoctrination Theory. Simply put, people thought the entire final sequence was really Shepard going through the Indoctrination process; attempting to stave it off. Certain videos gave immense evidence to this claim and it honestly seemed like such an intelligent way to leave the series in suspension. However, after the Extended Cut DLC dropped, this theory was immediately dis-proven.

Didn't you know? These guys could be helping you out soon!

Saying all of that, I personally would like to apologize for my stance on the matter. Maybe it was just the sequence of events and the missing pieces that made this whole Indoctrination Theory plausible, but I'll be damned if I couldn't say it was convincing. The new endings are extremely well done, and provide ample information that satisfies my lingering questions. The Catalyst now elaborates on its history, new cut-scenes show Hackett finding out someone got to the Citadel and even how your team gets off world. Most importantly though, the new endings show a very different, yet similar conclusion that feels much better than the original ones ever could. Though, now that we know this was the way BioWare wanted to tread all along and not the way of Indoctrination, I feel a bit dismayed.

BioWare should be commended for going the extra mile for not only acknowledging the fans disproval, but for following it up with a free piece of DLC that clears up any previous issues. There are few companies that would go this far and for that, BioWare, I applaud thee. However, now that we know the truth about the ending, it pains me to realise that either ME3 was rushed out the door at the last minute, or somebody gave the green light to ship the game despite the unfinished ending. We can speculate that it's 'all EA's fault' but that's an unfair accusation as we know nothing of the game's final days of development.

Anderson dying was still a strong sequence.

Regardless of the answer to why the game shipped the way it did, the fact of the matter is that it did ship that way. Akin to Mortal Kombat's horrific online multiplayer and Dark Souls' downright broken multiplayer component, this is something that just cannot be looked over when judging the entirety of the game. What were they thinking? ME3 was incredibly detailed thoroughly and then the end just throws a bunch of janky situations together and we were supposed to be pleased with the outcome? Again, that's why I thought something greater was at hand and this brings up a whole different issue I have with story-writers.

The Indoctrination Theory was an very intelligent take on how ME3 ended and I think if BioWare made it work then we'd be talking about how revolutionary this kind of narrative was instead of, you know, how bastardized it became. Could you imagine if after playing through the game you found out the final choices you were given were a ploy? What if Shepard was tricked into allowing the Reapers to live, forever sealing the fate of the galaxy? The thought of this kind of decision making lifts my gaming soul to untold heights, but alas, this was not the case at all with ME3. It might sound odd, but this reminds me of Epic Games' missed opportunity for the Gears of War franchise.

Even Shepard wanted to see what happened next.

Stay with me here; Gears is something people look at and only think of thick dudes, chainsaws, cover and guns. Well, it didn't use to be like that and if you were there with me during the first Gears, you know exactly what I mean. The Locust were an unknown enemy, one that just emerged and slaughtered humanity by the billions and nobody knew why. Hostages were not taken, communication was impossible, making the situation as dire as possible. As you progressed through the game, the precious resource known as Imulsion was introduced to the player and some of the history of Sera was told.

The rush for the revolutionary resource orchestrated the Pendulum Wars, a 79-year civil war. It all seemed so clear to me and a few other websites that, perhaps, the Locust were the good guys in this matter. I mean, maybe the humans were killing the planet or hurting the Locust by siphoning so much Imulsion, forcing the hand of the Locust. Be honest; how amazing would that have been? Over what we got, I feel this was a completely wasted opportunity to blow away gamers of all kinds. Instead, Gears will still be known for its hardcore action and its lackluster narrative. BioWare has followed in the exact same footsteps and disappointed fans with their decision making process.

I'm a massive fan of both franchises, but I can't sit back and accept the fact that there just wasn't opportunities to make better decisions. Both trilogies are now over, but with Judgment coming and more DLC for ME3 to come, you can bet we haven't seen the last of any of these franchises. I just hope this time around, we don't run into the same circumstances.

Labels: Andrew Whipple III, Bioware, Epic Games, Gears of War, Gears of war 2, Gears of War 3, Mass Effect 3

So, that's the end of 2008. Did the guy in the red coat leave us all plenty of video games? Lets hope so, here are my top 5 games of 2008...

#5 Star Wars: The Force Unleashed


I only picked this game up recently but now wish I had picked it up earlier. The immersive story line, brilliant acting and compelling force powers make it a classic Star Wars game to rival the likes of the Battlefronts. It certainly has its flaws though which is what puts it in only at number 5.

#4 Fallout 3


Bethesda have once again created another amesome RPG. The post-apocalyptic, futuristic setting of Fallout 3 can seem very basic when compared to the beautiful environments of Elder Scrolls VI: Oblivion but this simply adds to the almost overpowering sense of destruction and anarchy from this great game

#3 Fable 2


What kind of Hero will you be? The main selling point of Fable 2 runs true throughout the game, allowing you to play good or evil. Nothing new in a game, especially a RPG but the thing that makes Fable 2 stand out from the crowd is your complete freedom within the game. Do anything, from raising a family to bounty hunting. Save Albion from the forces of evil or get a job and become a simple citizen of the land.

#2 Race Driver: GRID



I'm not usually one for driving games, I don't know the first thing about cars or engines or anything like that so I end up racing a Ferrari in an off-road race or something. But with GRID i became totally hooked and pretty much played nothing else through the summer.

#1 Gears of War 2



The follow up to the legendary Gears of War 1, many critics said that it couldn't out do the prequel. Gears 2 however, surpasses its predesessor in almost every area. Epic have created a game that will be used to compare to other shooter games for years to come. This Legendary game is easily my number one of 2008

Lewis

Labels: Fable 2, Fallout, Game of the Year 2008, Gears of war 2, GRID, Star Wars, The Force Unleashed

The sequel to arguably 360’s most treasured game to date, Gears of War 2, was probably the most eagerly anticipated game of the year and last week Marcus and co. returned to kick Locus arse once again.

Gears 2 is a constant battle for survival for the humans of Sera. The Locust have been sinking cities through a new, unknown means and now Jacinto is their last beacon of hope. In a final, desperate attempt to destroy the Locust, an attack at the Locust’s home turf is made. Marcus and the rest of Delta squad return to the Locust tunnels to take the fight to them. As humanities final stand, Gears of War 2 involves larger battles with more gears being sent into the action.

On first impressions of Gears 2, there isn’t much evidence of change from the sequel. Take cover-kill-move is still the most effective tactic, the graphics are still beautiful and the many ways of massacring the locust still never get old. Epic boasted of the many improvements and modifications it has made on Gears 1; apart from changing the roadie-run so you don’t jump to cover when simply trying to get from A to B and a stronger cover system, there isn’t much evidence of this. Not that it’s a problem, there wasn’t much in Gears of War 1 that needed improvement and if Epic had messed with the sequel too much it would have lost the magic of the first game.

The two main aims of Epic when they began Gears 2 were better plot and longer game play. By bringing comic book writer, Joshua Ortega on board they hoped to make the game more emotional with a deeper plot. Don’t expect Gears 2 to have you blubbing like a baby, it won’t. But who would buy this game for its emotional content anyway? The length of the campaign has been improved though. I managed to play through it on the normal difficulty in 3 days but that was pretty much constant play when I wasn’t sleeping or at college. Average campaign length is about 10-12 hours but I’m sure plenty of people will be able to tear through it at a quicker rate.

As well as the main plot of ‘kick the crap outta the locust’, sub-plots have also been added, the search for Dom’s wife, Maria being one of them. Many of these plots aren’t finished by the end of the game. The finale of the game is also rather disappointing. The sudden ending is anti-climatic, rushed and as annoying as the ending to Halo 2 but clearly gives the opportunity for a Gears of War 3.

Despite its few flaws, Gears of War 2 is an exceptional game, far surpassing the prequel and can be expected to be under many gamers Christmas trees this December - that is if you can wait that long to play it.

9.5/10

Lewis

Labels: 360, Gears of War, Gears of war 2, Review, Xbox