Mass Effect 3 Extended Cut: Review

So, a while back I promised that as soon as I finished a replay of Mass Effect 3 I'd give you all a wonderful review of the new Extended Cut DLC. By now I reckon you must all think I'm a really, really slow gamer. I promise I'm not completely useless, but a few real life commitments took over (including my performing in support of Gillian Mother****ing Clarke I might add; glory in my magnificence!) and it's taken forever to get this written up. Sorry about that...

Anyway, enough about me. You don't care about me, you care about Mass Effect. And so you should, as I've never stabbed a Husk with a kitchen knife, much less an omni-blade. Spoilers abound, after the handy cut...


So, I suppose any review of these endings is coloured by the author's stance on the original endings, and thus I had better clarify mine a bit. I didn't like 'em, over much. In a game characterised by complexity, depth and emotion, stripping all that out for vagueness and some cheap Deus Ex Machina character seemed baffling to me as a writer. Granted the whole concept of the crucible seemed a bit ham-fisted from the off, but its personification in the endings grated quite a bit.

Like a lot of people, I wasn't enamoured of the green ball, red ball, blue ball choices either. But my absolute biggest bugbear was the lack of depth; whatever ending you chose, you were left with zero understanding of what state the universe was left in,  or what the hell happened to all those friends and loved ones.

So how do the endings change all this?

Regrettably, no ending brings Saren back to kick arse and take names.

In terms of my biggest gripe, it clears it all up fantastically. Whatever the ending, the repercussions are shown solidly. The state of the galaxy is shown, some hint of what the futures hold for the friends who got you there is revealed. Closure is attained, which was always the biggest problem I had.

The endings themselves are still a bit weak; if you were hoping against hope for something utterly different you'll not be pleased. Sure, the "refusal" ending is there. And for all the criticism it's received it's actually quite powerful in its own way. But I'm willing to bet that galactic extinction is not going to placate those the ending appears to have been put in to satisfy.

The other endings all have their pros and their cons. Control sees Shepard achieve some sort of God-like state, think of that what you will (I think it's naff, personally). Synthesis is interesting, but vague as all hell. Don't get me wrong, I understand the principle, but the lack of explanation as to how the hell all this is supposed to happen leaves it all feeling a bit weird. Destruction is probably the most satisfying ending on a purely visceral level. Here the cyber-Cthulhu monstrosities that you've opposed every step of the way aren't suddenly the galaxies new best friends, and cut-scenes showing them pop their mechanical clogs give a real feeling of victory to the war you've been fighting for three games.

Of course, that victory has a hell of a price. Bye-bye Edi, bye-bye newly befriended Geth. Ultimately, the sacrifice of an entire sentient species just didn't feel like something my Paragon Shep was likely to agree to.

And no, Indoctrination Theory didn't pan out. Heck, 50 Shades is popular, but it's still just fan-fic.

All told, the endings still feel a bit ham-fisted and rushed. They still don't live up to the quality of the rest of the game. They do however improve what went before exponentially; all told, if I'd been given this in the first place I might not have been all that disappointed.

I still want to shoot that Stargazer in his stupid face, though.