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Mass Effect 3 - Extended Cut Released on Xbox 360 and PC
Mass Effect 3 - Extended Cut Released on Xbox 360 and PC
June 27th, 2012, 18:41
I dunno, I like the new endings-- even the refusal. Makes a lot of sense, actually. The further explanation was much appreciated, and needed. Man I wish they'd keep making more games with these characters… I know they're going to continue the universe in some way, but I'm afraid we're going to be stuck playing the Protheans or some Cerberus shooter crap.
June 27th, 2012, 20:41
It's on sale via Origin here in Denmark for 199 kr. against the usual 399 kr. I paid 148 kr. against the normal 399 kr. at my local Gamestop store.-
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SasqWatch
June 27th, 2012, 20:58
Originally Posted by coasterI don't think you ever needed to play multiplayer. If you didn't play multiplayer, you just needed to do most/all the quests. I did all the quests anyway and didn't have a problem.
Just out of interest (in case anyone hates multiplayer like I do) it seems the Extended cut lowers the required EMS to get all the endings to 3100, which is apparently achievable without playing multiplayer.
As for the refusal ending that people are talking about - I think it makes sense personally. Some people thought that refusing would lead to another option. I think, agree or not with the game, that you see that the crucible + catalyst were the only option. There is no plan B. Refusing to do those would definitely mean the reapers win. I can't see anything else making sense (within the story Bioware created).
Watchdog
June 29th, 2012, 15:41
I think they did a good job with this overall.
The final conversation is significantly better now since: a) one of the added exposition bits clearly allows for reading some of the inconsistencies/contradictions as something "in-character", as opposed to writersī failure, b) Shepard is no longer forced to take the sketchy and questionable exposition resignedly at face value, now itīs possible to demand more info and reject each choice specifically, plus thereīs a new pretty neat way how to end the game, c) the added exposition makes the blue and green choices at least somewhat comprehensible, previously these were pretty much equal to shooting in the dark.
The three main endings now provide more closure and clarity (Iīm pretty sure some of these "clarifications" are in fact at odds with the intent in the original, but thatīs irrelevant now) both from the settingīs and charactersī perspectives, contain some nice cinematics, each gets completely different voice overs (voice actors did great job here), new music and there are epilogue slides which reflect the final choice taken, how some of the quests in the game were completed and who lived or died.
The red ending still has four variations based on EMS, at least I think - Iīve only seen the low EMS one on Youtube and the best one in my game, and at least these two felt really different from each other this time.
The blue ending has two variations based on EMS and there are two different narrations based on Shepardīs "alignment" (paragon/renegade).
Speaking of EMSī influence on the endings, the "conduit run" can end up in two notably different ways for the party members who were taken along and Normandy can end up in three different states.
Normandy plothole has been patched (though it involves a scene that was inserted into a rather inappropriate moment).
The blue ending is a b-movie cool&badass ending, the red ending is a Hollywood cliché ending and both fit because, well, space opera. The green ending is still what-is-this-I-donīt-even magic lol ending, but at least it now contains some nice voice acting. The fourth option is a meta-ending
(with good narrative merits, however).
All endings are now possible to achieve just by playing SP.
If they wanted people to speculate, this was a lot more sensible way to do it - as I see it, the potential questions largely (not entirely) shift from "wtf just happened" to "what might happen next".
The note that pops up right after the post credits scene is now much more .. sensitive.
Itīs a nice piece of PR actually
.
Thereīs still stuff that sucks in those last 25 minutes and the endgame combat run has been unfortunately unchanged, but all in all Iīd say The Extended Cut goes quite a long way to provide a more satisfying and appropriate conclusion to the series.
The final conversation is significantly better now since: a) one of the added exposition bits clearly allows for reading some of the inconsistencies/contradictions as something "in-character", as opposed to writersī failure, b) Shepard is no longer forced to take the sketchy and questionable exposition resignedly at face value, now itīs possible to demand more info and reject each choice specifically, plus thereīs a new pretty neat way how to end the game, c) the added exposition makes the blue and green choices at least somewhat comprehensible, previously these were pretty much equal to shooting in the dark.
The three main endings now provide more closure and clarity (Iīm pretty sure some of these "clarifications" are in fact at odds with the intent in the original, but thatīs irrelevant now) both from the settingīs and charactersī perspectives, contain some nice cinematics, each gets completely different voice overs (voice actors did great job here), new music and there are epilogue slides which reflect the final choice taken, how some of the quests in the game were completed and who lived or died.
The red ending still has four variations based on EMS, at least I think - Iīve only seen the low EMS one on Youtube and the best one in my game, and at least these two felt really different from each other this time.
The blue ending has two variations based on EMS and there are two different narrations based on Shepardīs "alignment" (paragon/renegade).
Speaking of EMSī influence on the endings, the "conduit run" can end up in two notably different ways for the party members who were taken along and Normandy can end up in three different states.
Normandy plothole has been patched (though it involves a scene that was inserted into a rather inappropriate moment).
The blue ending is a b-movie cool&badass ending, the red ending is a Hollywood cliché ending and both fit because, well, space opera. The green ending is still what-is-this-I-donīt-even magic lol ending, but at least it now contains some nice voice acting. The fourth option is a meta-ending
(with good narrative merits, however).All endings are now possible to achieve just by playing SP.
If they wanted people to speculate, this was a lot more sensible way to do it - as I see it, the potential questions largely (not entirely) shift from "wtf just happened" to "what might happen next".
The note that pops up right after the post credits scene is now much more .. sensitive.
Itīs a nice piece of PR actually
.Thereīs still stuff that sucks in those last 25 minutes and the endgame combat run has been unfortunately unchanged, but all in all Iīd say The Extended Cut goes quite a long way to provide a more satisfying and appropriate conclusion to the series.
Last edited by DeepO; June 29th, 2012 at 17:12.
June 29th, 2012, 20:59
Originally Posted by CountChoculaYes, there ere paid DLCs, however there were for multiplayer. Some of the DLCs for multiplayer are free as well….
Wasn't there already a paid DLC? Was it popular?
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SasqWatch
June 29th, 2012, 21:06
How's ME 2-3 compared to ME1? Do they have better levels (larger / more interesting worlds?) is combat and AI improved a lot?
ME1 had at least a few memorable moments, but overall i wasnt too impressed. Not sure if i should play the follow-ups.
ME1 had at least a few memorable moments, but overall i wasnt too impressed. Not sure if i should play the follow-ups.
June 29th, 2012, 22:22
Different types of games. ME1 has its flaws but epicness feeling is enough to keep going.
The two others turn to exceptionalism and have more polished game mechanics, even though they fail to deliver on a larger scope.
The two others turn to exceptionalism and have more polished game mechanics, even though they fail to deliver on a larger scope.
SasqWatch
June 30th, 2012, 04:10
That's typical. Are there any DLC's worth having? Eventually there's probably gonna be some box with ME 1-3 and DLC's.
June 30th, 2012, 04:42
I've only just started playing ME1, but the general opinion about ME2 seems to be that all the mission-based DLCs are worth getting. Some people claim that Lair of the Shadow Broker is the best DLC Bioware has ever done.
You can only purchase them from within the game though, so don't expect to ever find those on sale.
You can only purchase them from within the game though, so don't expect to ever find those on sale.
June 30th, 2012, 10:18
Originally Posted by aries100I thought there was some singleplayer DLC that gives you a new companion character. Perhaps it was just some sort of pre-order bonus.
Yes, there ere paid DLCs, however there were for multiplayer. Some of the DLCs for multiplayer are free as well….
For me to buy the ME3 DLC at full price, it would need to really enhance the replay value of the game, or add a lot of new content, or I would simply wait until it goes on sale for around $2 (or not buy it at all).
They seem to produce an awful lot of DLC that adds some weapon pack, or, perhaps one new companion character plus a very short mission, and this simply isn't appealing enough to buy it.
Out of all the DLC for various Bioware games over the past few years, I liked Project Overlord, Lair of the Shadow Broker and the Awakenings DLC for DA:O. I suppose Return to Ostagar and the Darkspawn Chronicles were fun to play as well. Haven't played any of the DLC for DA2 and don't have plans to purchase.
June 30th, 2012, 11:02
Originally Posted by CountChoculaAfaik there is one single-player DLC for ME3 called "From Ashes", and it sells for $10.
I thought there was some singleplayer DLC that gives you a new companion character. Perhaps it was just some sort of pre-order bonus.
but…
Originally Posted by CountChocula…sums up the reviews I've read.
They seem to produce an awful lot of DLC that adds some weapon pack, or, perhaps one new companion character plus a very short mission, and this simply isn't appealing enough to buy it.
June 30th, 2012, 21:42
Originally Posted by vurtIīd say that depends on how much youīll find yourself enjoying the game.
That's typical. Are there any DLC's worth having?
The price of all ME2īs paid DLCs is rather questionable and you can apply all of them into an ongoing playthrough without issues, so it may not be without merit to decide after youīve played a representative chunk of the base game first (say, up to and included Horizon main quest part). If you find yourself bored by then, I donīt think thereīs any reason investing into any of the DLCs, itīs very unlikely any of them would change your outlook
.That said, short sorta reviews:
Spoiler
All in all, itīs Shadow Broker >>>>> Overlord >> Kasumi >>>>>>>>>>> Arrival.
Originally Posted by JDR13Easily the most annoying DLC for the series.
Afaik there is one single-player DLC for ME3 called "From Ashes", and it sells for $10.
but…
Thereīs definitely not enough content or production values to justify the price, but the nature of the content makes this really inappropriate for a DLC material (from playerīs perspective, from business perspective it was likely a good move unfortunately, at least short term).
Besides two nice cinematics, the mission itself is nothing to call home about (and is short), but the companion is one of the more memorable ones in the whole series, dispenses pieces of lore which flesh out the setting noticeably and while he tends to be repetitive at times, his story arc is very good overall (and can end up in three different ways, depending on how you respond to him in certain dialogues).
Moreover, the character is pretty much the only piece of content which directly foreshadows one significant facet of the gameīs ending.
Basically, ME3 is a quite noticeably better game with this character and itīs a typical "shouldīve been in the vanilla" case.
Iīd say itīs really close to a must have for anyone who goes into ME3 as a fan of the previous two games, but recommending this feels way too close to supporting market abusing tactics, so Iīll just leave this at a sigh.
Last edited by DeepO; June 30th, 2012 at 23:04.
June 30th, 2012, 22:18
Originally Posted by CountChoculaYour right it was a pre-order bonus. Bioware then turned into a dlc download for $10. Not a good move but one of the many they seem to do lately. So really all there dlc has been for multiplayer mostly.
I thought there was some singleplayer DLC that gives you a new companion character. Perhaps it was just some sort of pre-order bonus.
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Opinions are like assholes, everybody's got one and everyone thinks everyone else's stinks.
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Mass Effect 3 - Extended Cut Released on Xbox 360 and PC
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