Mass Effect Three has taken me by surprise. Coming from the experience of a character driven Mass Effect 2, this one shifted the focus completely on the story. There is loss, an unavoidable loss of people in this game. I can do absolutely nothing to save all. This game kept me in content pressure to gather support to fight an overwhelming enemy. The game began with a reaper attacking earth and quickly stating that it cannot be stopped. The loss of life in humongous magnitude seems adept.
The combat is overhauled. It was different from the previous games. I still went with Sniper and Pistol combination however found myself using Black Widow V sniper rifle thought the game. Don’t recall using the pistol ever except for the very first and the very last mission of the game. The weapon served me well throughout the play through.
My most enjoyable thing in the game:
A mission called “Shore Leave” was the most enjoyable mission for me. It was a light hearted and rather comedic mission to play. Also allowed me to catch up with mostly all the connections in game. I missed Legion and Thane.
Second, planet scanning again hahaha. This time it is even more fun to scan planets as over scanning let to reapers chasing you around and eventually killing you. I got a terrible jump scare the very first time I heard the sound of reaper scan chase. There was moment when I really took off my headset while scanning the planets. The scanning itself is simple in this game and it more about finding War assets or side quest items rather than finding minerals or elements. I read in the game wiki that we need to have more that 7800 was assets to get the best ending possible. So I seen my time around that and ended up 100% scanning each and every system and planet.
The world:
The world seemed relatively smaller in scale in this one. I did not find much scale to maps as such. On the contrary the story elements placed in each mission surpassed this effect completely. The engagement with the objectives seemed tight and necessary. It always felt that the positive outcome of the mission is necessary and a solid determinant of survival. There was heavy focus on bringing the different special to work together. Cooperation, trust, alliance seemed to be my driver in each and every decision I made. I walked the path of “Paragon” on this one also to the end.
Favourite Ally:
Contrary to Mass Effect 2, I could not bond much with all the characters in the game. The bond or drive was mostly about the outcome of the alliances. I spent my entire game with EDI (Synthetic AI) and Javik (Last Prothean). Yes thats true. I played the entire game with these two team members except for a few members where it was mandatory to have a specific character as squad mate.
Other than that I lost my fondness for Jack and ended up with Ashley Williams for the sake of it. In true sense, the focus remained on survival. Very strange to me. It also become clear to me that in the previous title I went for Jack for entirely physical pull. I am kind of surprised to realise that.
But If I have to pick one then perhaps liked the company of Garrus.
Ending Path Selection:
I chose the path of “Synthesis” as the game ending choice.
In this choice all lifeforms be it organic or synthetic are modified so that they can coexist peacefully.
Why choose Synthesis ending?
Throughout the game I made decisions to bring allies together. Attempts to create harmony. I brought the Geth and Quarians together, brought Turians and Krogans to work together, brought Humans and every other races (except reapers) to work together. Preservation of life was the essence of the entire play through for me. Synthesis ending allowed me to modify all life forms as Hybrids that reenforced peaceful coexistence. A board rewritten where all are equal and progress is always “Mutual”. No boundaries.
Why not Destroy ending?
I lost several allies over several missions. Mordin Solus, Legion, Thane Krios and many more. Mordin sacrificed his life to cure the tragedy of Genophage shrouded upon the Krogans. Legion gave up its life to endure free will in all the Geth. They sacrificed themselves for the continuity and prosperity of the entire species. I could not simply ignore the nobility in that and that forms one of the main reasons for me to choose the synthesis ending that allowed for destruction of the synthetics completely including the “Geth” and “EDI”. Speaking of EDI, as the game progressed I vouched for EDI to practice free will and make decisions on her own eventually enticing a fragment of the feeling of finding humanity in an AI. How could I then simply destroy it. No.
I could not choose to “Destroy”.
Why not Control ending?
I would have easily picked control ending. But my mindset changed towards the very end of the game. During my talks to the catalyst, it mentioned that the chaos is inevitable. That advanced organics are bound to create advance synthetics and the eventuality of overrule is undeniable. For the same reason the catalyst controlled the reapers to eliminate all advanced races and leave the insignificant ones to eventually evolve and build their own chaos. I could see the truth in the revelation.
However, to take control of the reapers by me simply meant finding and deciding the ways to control the chaos myself. How does that solve anything. It is merely a change of “Management”. The elimination will happen. This gives air to the fire set by the Illusive Man where he sought controlling reapers as means to human domination. My goal during the entire game was not domination but persistent peace via free will. I could not choose “Control” ending. Rather I denied it.
Conclusion:
The series has indeed been like a roller coaster ride with so many ups and downs. I have thoroughly enjoyed the game. With my persistent character progression I was able to experience a hell of a story. Towards the end, I feel a gentle calm in the outcome of the trilogy. While I think about it, it seems I would do something like that in real life also. A hero of my own story, hahaha.
Special Thanks to Blitzy for making me play this fantastic masterpiece.
Cheers and Onwards!
Game Card
Farewell All
Video Playlist
In-game Screenshots
