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Apr 10, 2012 - 1:04 pm

Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut Divides Opinion [UPDATE]

[UPDATE] Thank you for all the comments. This article is an opinion piece, but we have edited some sentences to make the opinions of the author clearer to identify.

Well this was always going to happen wasn’t it. Following the internet uproar regarding the Mass Effect 3 ending, BioWare have responded to criticism by promising to release a free DLC in the summer called Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut. But as predicted by most neutral observers of the kerfuffle not everyone is happy with this solution.

Now the internet is on fire about how the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut will not solve the problem. Some fans believe that BioWare should stick to their guns on the ending out of principle and other make the point that drawing out the ending will only serve to make it worse. However the really great thing about the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut is that it will be an optional DLC. Those fans that want it can take it, and those that don’t can leave it. I honestly think that it will not appease those who did not like the ending, and it certainly will not please those who think that BioWare should have cut their losses or even those who weren’t really bothered about the ending. I know it sounds strange in the light of the furore but actually, realistically, I think , it was only a minority of the 1.5 million fans who bought the game who were disappointed enough by the ending to speak up about it.

Screenshot of Mass Effect 3 (Credit: EA)

Screenshot of Mass Effect 3 (Credit: EA)

Now BioWare have a chance to find a happy medium. The Extended Cut idea is actually quite an elegant solution. It is vague enough to allow them to make some massive changes but at the same time allowing them to stick to the basic framework. The danger is of course that they try and turn the ending into a tacky Hollywood movie. The Mass Effect series has always been about taking the bitter with the sweet. We here at GameBandits are very interested to hear your thoughts on the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut. Please feel free to write what you think in the comment section below. (AS)

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Comments

  • Edward Hannaford

    “… it was only a minority of fans who were disappointed by the ending.”  Oh, really?  How do you come to that conclusion?
    Based on the activity on the BioWare Forums, it was a *majority* of fans who were disappointed by the ending.  If you look at absolute numbers, of course, the number of people complaining on the forums is small compared to the number of games sold.  However, most people who buy the game don’t bother to login and comment on the Forums, so that’s an invalid comparison.  If you look at the ratio of forum posters who were dissatisfied with the ending vs. the number of forum posters who were satisfied, the numbers go way up.

    The ending to ME3 fails on several literary grounds, not just subjective “likes” or “dislikes.”  It was clearly thrown together in haste, without the normal quality control that their stories go through.  Sadly, it appears unlikely that the “extended ending” that BioWare has now promised will fix the literary problems, and ME3 will go down in history as a great game that was tarnished with a lousy ending.

  • guest

    google 10 reasons to love mass effect 3′s ending and all you find is reasons to hate it. Their is not a soul on this earth outside of someone getting paid or in bioware itself that played through the game and said “wow what a great way to end a series” Give me a break if it was a minority that hated the ending we wouldn’t even have this discussion.  The way me3 ended sucked and i don’t need a “happy” ending i just want it to make sense. The ending comes out of left field and no matter what it’s the same. What’s the point gathering war assets if the only difference is big ben blows up. WTF Bioware, EA, and anyone who is indoctrinated with the belief that this POS ending was great.

  • http://www.gamebandits.com/ Gamebandits

    Thanks for the comment @c51ac334dc4bc4aba0a78a4ad3b8f66d:disqus . You are right, the sentence sounded too much like a fact (the author changed it a little bit). 

    As you have noticed, this article is an opinion piece and the author merely thought that not everybody strongly disliked the ending (see the comment from @6d137cde7395119a1b9ea545a6b5cd0c:disqus for an example).
    We hope it is more to the point this way. 

    And as for not playing the games: Well, we can’t really ‘prove’ that we have played them…but as it is part of our job to play games…

  • http://www.gamebandits.com/ Gamebandits

    “cacophonous blast, the musicians tossing down their instruments and walking away”…nice analogy  @6ef2043277ff1fe9968e935dfb8d989f:disqus  And yes, maybe we dismissed the “‘vocal minority’ of dissenters” too easily.It is definetly true – for ME 3 and for every other well crafted story-arc – that a ‘bad ending’ will influence the ‘whole story’. Maybe there is still the chance to get a more coherent ending that has a ‘better influence’ on the whole Mass Effect series (let’s hope it will be more like the Blade Runner Final Cut than a re-edit of the classic Star Wars trilogy).

  • http://www.gamebandits.com/ Gamebandits

    Agreed @47704addfdd8b5c538d198a09a83b800:disqus …as you will read below, you are not alone with this. We also made some changes to the article as well.

  • Erin12

    I believe the people that complain about how bioware should not fix the ending should get over it because its not like they will be forced to accept the new endings and manypeople paid up to 80 dollars or more for the conclusion of the series only to find a crappy ending that they could not change. We shouldnt complain about the extended cutuntil we se it for ourselves! 

  • Gauravmahajan91

    Remember their advert….THE WAR ON EARTH HAS BEGUN….DECIDE HOW IT ENDS”…well..IT ENDS THE SAME…..

  • Celidus

    It’s pretty much a fact that not everyone who was dissatisfied with ME3′s ending became vocal about it. Yes, we may be a minority but that being said fewr have done more with less in the past. We can too. Hold the line.

    • Eric

      HECK YEAH!!!!!

  • Massacred

    OK, so here is my 2 cents.  Yes it is true, that only a minority of the people who purchased the game were disappointed with the ending.  However, keeping in mind that Bioware was planing on releasing downloadable content post release anyway, why should they not make the extended cut?  It seems logical from a business prospective to do so, as from what I know, most of the people who are complaining are the hardcore fan; ie.  those who were responsible for making Mass Effect popular in the first place.

  • Klnpouchet

    I dont think it was a minority, indeed the recent worst company in America proves it was much more than suspected. True enough only a minority spoke out strongly about it but a vast majority did not like it and simply sighed after the ending and forgot bout ME3. I believe a poll of how many persons actually replayed ME3 start to finish as compared to ME2 for istance will prove that statement.

  • Angry Bird

    i’m so disappointed of mass effect and bioware itself… they made such an crap ending and now we have to pay for a better one (extended cut)??!!?!?!? 

  • Koga

    when will this mass effect extended cut dlc be available??

  • Andrew Matthews

    What is confusing is how is all the other races going to get back to their home world without the mass relays since it was destroy by the crucible 

    • http://www.gamebandits.com/ Gamebandits

      That is a good point @google-6cb6d3953c34d7927dea279c20759e5b:disqus !

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Alan-Hoch/657908701 Alan Hoch

    I find it interesting how a number of the posters here are absolutely livid over the assertion that it’s only a “minority” that dislike the end of ME3, basically accusing the author of lying or at least of doing poor research. Yet, they offer no evidence for their beliefs beyond their own biased observations as in “well, I saw a lot of people mad on the forums so that must mean everyone hates it!”. In short, they are quick to accuse and self-righteous in their claims, yet provide no evidence for them beyond personal opinion. Talk about hypocricy!