Just yesterday, Bioware released their gutsy last attempt to reclaim fans of the Mass Effect series for their future games and profits, by giving gamers a more fleshed out and expanded set of endings to the trilogy.
All three of the previous endings received a more gratifying cinematic climax, rewarding you with the “because you chose this ending, -blank- happened” which leaves less to be infered and more to be seen and enjoyed. For example, (SPOILER) in the newly expanded synthesis ending, a soldier and a husk are dueling it out, but then a beam of green light washes over them, and because they are now both synthetic and biotic, they stop fighting and just stare at each other with understanding. It’s cool, and it definitely shows more impact and gratification than that nonsense we got a couple months back.
Unlike most, I never really cared about the Normandy scene, but it is nice to see that he wasn’t a complete wimp and that it was orders from higher up on the food chain to run. But honestly, I still don’t buy Joker running. He’s too badass and Seth Green wouldn’t allow it.
(SPOILER) And how can we review the Extended Cut without mentioning the new Mass Effect ending. The reason I call it the Mass Effect ending is because it defines the series, and allows you to decide how things play out. With the extended cinematics in the other endings which are awesome, I honestly don’t think this new ending was necessary, but it was invigorating for sure. You told the star child to screw off, and then for the briefest second he gets a devil voice and shouts “So be it”. By rejecting all of his tools and his overall game, you as Shepard end up losing the entire fight against the Reapers. But what I absolutely loved about this ending is how realistic it seemed. We lose, which is acceptable, but later cycles beat the Reapers all because of the history we left for them to learn from.
So, in conclusion, I love the new endings. I wish these could’ve been what we received with the original game, but at least we have them now and can put a great trilogy properly to rest. And will the refusal ending be made canon, so that Bioware can continue the series with the next cycle of human beings destined to end the Reaper threat?…