[Luis Dias]

ME3 had the gameplay, just not the structure. ME2 was the peak with its episodic structure and an ending that appreciated and took care of all those previous episodes (to a limited point).

ME2 was great because it felt like a star trek show episode every time I played it at night. Had the continuing characters with their own arcs, a episodic small stories that weren't generally too high-concept, but entertaining per se and had conclusions of their own, without breaking the overall plot.

ME3 just felt like this immense gritty, pain filled, grimdarkian big huuuuge episode, breaking us down each time the Reapers destroyed yet another planet or another station, giving us time just to salvage something that could bring us to a comeback that never actually paid off at all... It was an emotional Titanic.

[BloodEagle]

but, what in Mass Effect 2 is so ****ed up?

Cerberus?  It makes no sense. Um.... The Collectors? They make no sense, esp. when looking at the third game.

Oh, and Miranda.

I don't disagree, I think Mass Effect 3 had the best gameplay of any of their titles since...BG2 maybe?

i dropped it very frustrated with the isometric kind of thing..

Really?  The only thing I found really frustrating was that I didn't realize that events (quests) ran concurrently, resulting in me making really stupid decisions at the start.

Never did finish BG2....  I should probably go back to it.

-----------------

Also, to the people groaning about multiplayer in upcoming Bioware games....

http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/09/06/ea-goes-100-online-with-gaming/

EA Labels President Frank Gibeau said that the company is full-on embracing cloud gaming and online interaction: "I have not green lit one game to be developed as a single player experience. Today, all of our games include online applications and digital services that make them live 24/7/365."

Also relevant: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6TmTv6deTI

[General Battuta]

multiplayer was the best part of me3

[Beskargam]

idk bout that. rannoch and tuchanka were high points for me.

[General Battuta]

Tuchanka was great, but the loss of the lead Geth writer (and the guy who made Legion and the Geth so cool in ME2) really ****ed Rannoch over.

[Madrox]

Tuchanka was great, but the loss of the lead Geth writer (and the guy who made Legion and the Geth so cool in ME2) really ****ed Rannoch over.

I played by Rannoch and tought that thei conclusion was really fine.
not spectacular. but fine.

[Beskargam]

Tuchanka was great, but the loss of the lead Geth writer (and the guy who made Legion and the Geth so cool in ME2) really ****ed Rannoch over.

what happened to the lead geth writer? there were some contradictions between me3's geth and me2's. had me scrathcing my head. Disliked how legion died. did not seem necessary compared to mordins

[General Battuta]

He left BioWare late in ME2 development. He was also the guy who wrote the superb ME1 codex entries, and most of the planet entries on the galaxy map.

[Beskargam]

that is extremly unfortunate. do you have any insight about geth in me3 becoming "true individuals" or "true ai" and where that came from?

[General Battuta]

I dunno, it's bull**** that runs completely against ME2's big themes. In ME2 the Geth were an alternative but equally valid form of intelligence; they had no desire to become like anyone else and actively opposed the use of alien technology to change themselves. Then in ME3 they were all 'let's use alien technology to become ~juuust like youuuu~~~~~'

[An4ximandros]

It's called bad writing, change something for no reason and shoehorn an excuse in, there was no signs that the Geth were changing their minds about what they should do until the Rannoch chapter.

[Beskargam]

so why can't the editor be unlocked to mod the me games?

[An4ximandros]

It was either restricted by their licence agreement with Epic Games, the guys who made the engine, or because it would undermine DLC, I'm not exactly sure.

[Beskargam]

can that be worked around? I would love to mod me1. hexeditor seems limited

[Grizzly]

I don't disagree, I think Mass Effect 3 had the best gameplay of any of their titles since...BG2 maybe?

I disagree. BG2 was a lot worse. It stuck too close to it's AD&D principles, leading to weird situations.
ME3's gameplay is just so much better balanced and ... well... original.

[Sushi]

So, I just finished my first ever complete Mass Effect playthrough, with extended cut and both the From Ashes and Leviathan DLCs.

I mostly enjoyed the ending, FWIW. I certainly didn't come away feeling disappointed. The final choice felt real and extremely weighty, and my Shephard was extremely torn between the available choices. I eventually ended up going Synthesis, and was satisfied with how that turned out.

So, from someone who was not involved in any of the hype and saw game and its ending in its most complete/fixed form to-date, I'm content with how it turned out. FWIW.

[Luis Dias]

I eventually ended up going Synthesis, and was satisfied with how that turned out.

Eheh.