BioWare Mondays
I have no idea whether Operation Savage, the weekend campaign in Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer component that just wrapped up, was a success or a failure, and since I don’t really dabble in that part of the game I also can’t say I care that much about it. If you managed to score yourself a loot box of some value…good show.
The real story this week, though, is tomorrow’s release (for North American players, at least) of Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut. This much-anticipated enhancement to the endgame sequence of Mass Effect 3 will either handily settle the controversy that has surrounded the game’s ending, or re-ignite it with the white-hot fury of a thousand eezo cores. Series executive producer Casey Hudson conceded that not everyone can be completely satisfied, and re-iterated that those hoping for a ground-up rebuild of the game’s endings will be out of luck.
Of course, some people have come up with…other solutions.
The download for Extended Cut clocks in at 1.9 GB, which is larger than even Mass Effect 2’s biggest DLC, Lair of the Shadow Broker. It’s possible that BioWare has added a whole bunch of cutscenes and little else to the game, though I gather that what content will be presented to players will be dependent on the choices made both earlier in the game and throughout the series, and that several playthroughs may be needed to view all the added content. That, at least, sounds like a good thing.
There’s little else in the way of news from BioWare this week. Star Wars: The Old Republic systems designer David Hunt penned a blog post about the upcoming version 1.3 update for the game, and the latest community Q&A answered some questions about the game’s design process (among other things).
(SPOILERS AHOY)
Ok… Just got around to playing the Extended Cut. I am so frickin’ happy right now. The little ghost child started talking and… the weird part… I didn’t want to shoot him in the head. What he said actually seemed perfectly fine with just a little tweaking by some extremely talented writers. To the point I didn’t even tell him to go screw himself (which I found out was an option when I tried for a different ending). I chose the same ending as the first time I played, Control, and damn… so much better. Best of all was the correction of all the inconsistencies. The Mass Relays didn’t explode (they just fell apart a little). The Normandy had a reason to leave (and your companions were actually meant to be on board). There was no part where I was thinking “This doesn’t make sense” or “Now everyone is screwed”.
I do wish I had been able to experience these endings after originally playing it. It’s been a few months, so I’ve lost some of my attachment to the characters and the story that I had, but it was still amazing. And I think this is officially now, in my opinion, the greatest game ever made (or perhaps I should say series as well).