Mass Effect 3 extended cut: Not perfect, but satisfying

The Mass Effect 3 Extended Cut is out, addressing several issues with the ending of the game that fans expressed outrage at. While the original ending was most certainly flawed (See our analysis of it here ), Bioware has taken a step that few other game developers do.

The Extended cut shows that they’ve been paying careful attention to much of the criticism. Most of the points of concern have been met, even if some have been less satisfactorily handled than others. The ending, subsequently, is no longer broken.

WARNING. Spoilers follow.

The best part about the new endings is that they adequately handle the lack of closure that the earlier endings were guilty of. Depending on your final actions, Admiral Hackett, Edi, or Synthetic-Shepard will speak to you, explaining the fate of the galaxy and the consequences of your decisions. The Synthesis option in particular now seems to offer some tantalizing possibilities for the future of the series.

There are also some still shots of your crew members, depicting the fates of those who lived and remembering those who died. These static images are a cheaper and less impressive alternative to actual video, but most RPGs with multiple endings employ them at some level or the other, and I think Bioware can be forgiven for this slight frugality, especially since the download size of the Extended Cut was an issue.

The new endings are, to sum up, much better than before, and I dare even say ‘good’ in terms of providing emotional closure. There’s even a new ending where you can reject the ghost child’s options. It’s short, but surprisingly poignant.

Expectedly, the Indoctrination Theory was given no love. (On the off-chance that somebody actually thought its validation was likely) Bioware also dealt with the smaller plotholes that fans pointed out.

Where did Shepard’s crew go? Why, they were wounded and had to return to the ship, of course. How did the Normandy end up at a Mass Relay? Joker was ordered to fall back, of course. Does the destruction of the Mass Relays kill billions of life forms? No, and maybe they can be repaired. (How simple it all is!)

The bigger weak links in the plot, like the Ghost Child and the explanation for why the Reapers periodically harvest all advanced organic life in the galaxy, aren’t dealt with nearly as well. This was expected, though, when Bioware made it clear that they were only going to elaborate on the story, not change it.

The Extended cut has also inserted some additional conversations into the game, some with your crew members, and others, notably, with the Ghost Child. We do get an elaboration on the reason for his existence, even if a fair amount of it remains as ambiguous as before.

Personally, I think the mystery behind the Reapers was the most terrifyingly intriguing thing about the Mass Effect universe, and the final explanation just didn’t do that mystery much justice. But perhaps the unknown always evokes more awe than the known, in which case it might have been better to leave those questions unanswered.

So yes, the narrative still retains its more ludicrous elements, but I guess Bioware is entitled to stick with the story they feel is appropriate.

Unsurprisingly, plenty of Mass Effect fans are still highly dissatisfied. But eventually there comes a point where one must acknowledge the very tangible improvements Bioware managed to make to its game and live with all the stuff that still doesn’t make any sense. That point may just be now.