Mass Effect - Best RPG series of all time?

[Fivelives]

There is a big chunk of time when Shepard and Anderson are having a chat at the end and it isn't too much of a stretch to think that they got picked up sometime during that but people couldn't just come to that conclusion on their own for some strange reason so Bioware made it quite clear, even if it involved a 5 second trip from orbit down to their exact location right in front of a giant Reaper pooping laser beams of doom all over the place.

Except that you only get that chat if you do everything exactly right. That's the "extended" ending - and in order to get it, you have to have done every paragon/renegade option with TIM through the entire game.

Unless you're talking about TIM's scene?

[Passionario]

Reality is: Hammer is down there BECAUSE we can't drop off near the beam.
If we can drop off AND take off near the beam, the whole thing becomes kind of retarded.

The way I see it, now that the Hammer is down there in force, it provides sufficient distraction to allow a single cloaked ship to approach from a distance, do a quick pickup, and dash away. Presumably, Harbinger did not fire at the fleeing Normandy because he's too busy incinerating Krogan heavy cavalry that was charging directly at the Citadel beam from another direction.

Supporting argument: you only get the pickup scene if your EMS rating is high enough (i.e., if Hammer provides enough distraction). Otherwise, it's molten metal death for your teammates.

[Gracerath]

There is a big chunk of time when Shepard and Anderson are having a chat at the end and it isn't too much of a stretch to think that they got picked up sometime during that but people couldn't just come to that conclusion on their own for some strange reason so Bioware made it quite clear, even if it involved a 5 second trip from orbit down to their exact location right in front of a giant Reaper pooping laser beams of doom all over the place.

Except that you only get that chat if you do everything exactly right. That's the "extended" ending - and in order to get it, you have to have done every paragon/renegade option with TIM through the entire game.

Unless you're talking about TIM's scene?

Well, there is the part where Shep and Anderson are talking to eachother over the radio or whatever as they are both trying to head towards the central chamber (slowly, I might add) and then yeah, I guess the part where you are both talking to TIM. I'm not sure if I managed to do every paragon option with TIM through the whole game. I think I missed the very first one on Mars but I can't remember. At any rate, enough time spent there that other stuff could have been happening elsewhere, such as a pickup.

[Flex]

Reality is: Hammer is down there BECAUSE we can't drop off near the beam.
If we can drop off AND take off near the beam, the whole thing becomes kind of retarded.

The way I see it, now that the Hammer is down there in force, it provides sufficient distraction to allow a single cloaked ship to approach from a distance, do a quick pickup, and dash away.

Except that multiple Makos come in and circle the extraction point. Previously we saw Harbinger had no problem smiting a single Mako that was moving, so a few of them not moving would make a nice big juicy target.

It's the worst and Bioware should feel bad for adding it.

[Arnock]

Yeah, I read back through the thread after making my post, my game was saved just before Marauder Shields made his heroic last efforts to protect me from the ending, so I didn't see any more of the additional content.


I'm going to have to replay back through ME3 eventually, I guess this is as good of an excuse as any.

[culhag]

Sorry, I haven't been following this thread, but I just came here to say that the extended cut is bad bad bad.

[Snake-Aes]

I liked the endings, contrary to apparently most. The convos with the Catalyst were "not in character", and the explanations afterwards are waaaay vague.
But they don't detract from the ending enough for me to dislike the endings.

Fun fact: I got ME1 in November together with my xbox. It was pretty much the first game I picked up for a console ever since Xenogears and Parasite Eve 2 (heh, been a while)
I fell in love. Hard. "play through every possibility twice on insanity" hard.
Then in February I got ME2. Bam.
Pre-ordered 3. Baaaaam.
Never played ME2 or ME3 in any difficulty other than "insane". Fun times.

[Klaudandus]

^
w00t, xenogears!

My fist is the divine breath! Blossom, o fallen seed, and draw upon thy hidden powers!! Grant unto thee the power of the glorious 'Mother of Destruction'!

Sorry, threadjack over. I just don't know many Xenosaga/Xenogears fans =P

[Snake-Aes]

^
w00t, xenogears!

My fist is the divine breath! Blossom, o fallen seed, and draw upon thy hidden powers!! Grant unto thee the power of the glorious 'Mother of Destruction'!

Sorry, threadjack over. I just don't know many Xenosaga/Xenogears fans =P

Threadjack NOT over! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN6z3jJ7ENw
Ever since 1999, this soundtrack is the one I associate the hardest with "shit, we're dead" feelings. From what I caught spreading the songs around, the lack of context doesn't stop the sensation either, just dampen it since the new guys won't associate it with "crap he's kicking our giant robot army's ass while on foot" moments.

[Klaudandus]

I still play Xenogears from start to finish at least once a year. =P

Chu-chu died for your sins.

Also, don't know if you have checked this out already =P
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL ... ature=plcp

[Fivelives]

Good! I hated that puffy pink bastard and her constant mission to tell the laws of physics to kindly go screw themselves (yes, I still play Xenogears, it's my go-to game whenever I'm bored and nothing in my growing backlog seems interesting).

Xenosaga on the other hand, isn't a game. It's a movie that I watch where I maneuver the characters from scene to scene.

[culhag]

I liked the endings, contrary to apparently most. The convos with the Catalyst were "not in character", and the explanations afterwards are waaaay vague.
But they don't detract from the ending enough for me to dislike the endings.

I wasn't really bothered by the original, but the new ending completely destroys the pacing.
The grand speech Shep gives after the end was ridiculous, boring, and tried to justify my actions a posteriori without me having any say. She was all like "I always knew I'd have to control them..." when 15 minutes before I was telling TIM that he was crazy for thinking that.

Never played ME2 or ME3 in any difficulty other than "insane". Fun times.

I don't know you do it ! I've only finished them on hardcore, and I even had to switch back to normal for the last battle in ME3.
I HATE infinite respawns.

[Klaudandus]

Good! I hated that puffy pink bastard and her constant mission to tell the laws of physics to kindly go screw themselves (yes, I still play Xenogears, it's my go-to game whenever I'm bored and nothing in my growing backlog seems interesting).

Xenosaga on the other hand, isn't a game. It's a movie that I watch where I maneuver the characters from scene to scene.

Some guy actually spliced together just about every cutscene for all 3 games, I think the result, just for Xenosaga 3 was a 9 hr movie.

[Fivelives]

http://www.amazon.com/Xenosaga-Limited- ... B000F3WJ38

Edit: actually, scratch that. Namco released a DVD version of all of the cutscenes as a bonus DVD packed in with Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra. They re-released it after it proved wildly popular in Japan.

[Treck]

I recently had time to finish ME3 again with the DLC, and I really liked it.
The extra bits they put in really works for it imo, and I liked the fact that they didnt really change anything, just added more info.
But I never really accepted the old ending as an ending, after I finished it the first time I sorta just took that as work in progress (and screw all the indoctrination theories). So I didnt really care that it was different.
Ive also had like 8 complete playthroughs now, so I feel that what actually happends doesnt really matter, but the options possible feel more interesting to me.

The "new" ending still left a few questions imo, altho none of them answers would make any difference
All in all I feel its a big shame it wasnt released this way, I think everyone would talk about ME3 a lot different.