Everything was going according to plan. I had formed an alliance with the Turians and the Krogan, the Quarrians had my back and the Asari figured they could better go down fighting. Cerberus had been taken care of. The Crucible was just passed the Mass Relay, waiting for an opening to dock and put an end to the Reaper threat. I managed to beat the odds and arrive at the core, presented with 2 options that could possibly end this.
This was the moment I had been working towards. Thousands had died to make this happen. Peace was within my grasp. Everyone was counting on me.
And then 'it' reared his head. 'It', the core of what makes us human. Curiosity.
I wasn't going to gamble all of this on what some alien technology had told me. I shot the Catalyst. Perhaps it would offer a third way to end this, with even fewer casualties. I didn't really expect anything to happen, it wouldn't matter. It's not like he was of flesh and blood either. You can shoot NPC's all the time without them taking note. It's a quirk shared among all games. I would just turn around again and chose one of the two options presented to me.
It pissed him off. Curiosity had cost me victory. The Cycle continued. Earth was destroyed. The Asari whiped away. The Turians harvested to the last soul. Salarians, Quarrians, all gone. Humanity...
I don't think the end of a game has ever clung to me like this. I really felt down, having failed everyone. That loss was framed wonderfully by the VI of Liara, the one she left as a last resort, a beakon of hope for those to come afer us... My Liara. They all died, becaus of my folly.
I didn't think Bioware had the balls to one up me like that.
Tomorrow, I'm starting from my last save point, to see a peace be made. It won't be my story though. It won't be my victory. My Shepard died right then and there, taking down everyone in his last folly.
Everything else is sublime.
I am thinking of doing another 3 game run.
Thanks for not spoiling things. I was just gutted that something that I'd do a dozen times in a game seemingly cost me everything. I mean, it would in 'real life', but I didn't expect Bioware to have actually gone out of their way to foresee me doing that... Like I said, I'll play it through again to see how things do work out if I stick to the script, but my story ended there. Kind of bummed that I have to replay everything from the Cerberus base on. That's a lot of game for someone with limited time.
Would I enjoy playing through ME1 and 2 after playing 3? I've heard that there are things that are handled very differently in the first 2 games, and I can imagine them being graphically inferior to 3. I really liked ME3, but I wouldn't want to spoil it by playing older, lesser games in the series. Anyhow, I did the graphic novel thing, so I got the gist of the story that way. I wouldn't mind playing the game again and taking very different decisions early on. If only I had the time...
ME2 is arguably the best out of the three games. The first one has much more stuff to tinker about with regarding classes and stat/powers management but that's only a plus if you like that kind of stuff to begin with. It also has an awful inventory system. The second one is much more action focused but its main antagonist and plot is inferior to the first. Choices you make throughout the games only matter in that moment, ironically. Only the moment when you're hesitating on what to do burdens you a bit, by the time things resolve, you realize the choices you made throughout the 100+ hour journey are nowhere near as important as Bioware would have let you believe.
Woah you never played ME1 or 2. So your story just picked up on ME3? Wow. And you still got into it, shows how excellent these games are. Imagine that feeling carried across 3 entire games, its incredible what they have done.
As for playing them, ME1 is different, its more RPG in nature, less action oriented. I think that makes it a worse game, the RPG elements were never that great to begin with. The story is incredible. I think ME2 is the best of the series, it changed the combat to what you see in ME3, its not as refined as ME3 but still extremely playable. But the characters and plot lines you go through is amazing, feels like a Star Trek game. ME2 I would recommend for sure.
Not true, almost every choice you make has major impact throughout the story of all three games. You can have a totally different cast in ME3 for instance. Its the ending that is the only issue.
Really? Please, let me know of all of those important decisions you made during the course of the games that were so different in their outcome. The choice in and of itself is inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, it only helps for immersion and character development, the major plot moments will be practically the same regardless of what you did to get there, and that happens over and over again throughout all games. I am as big of a ME fan as anyone here, but it was the journey, the setting, the lore, the characters, the impressively crafted historial background what lured me in, not the choice/consequence mechanics in the games.
Right I get what you are saying the journey you go on is the same but to say the decisions only matter in that moments worng. The choice of who to save in the first ME game changes a major cast member through two games. Who lives and who dies has a big impact on character development you may miss, character driven moments that can be far more emotional depending one what choices you have made. I understand different characters fill the same roles some of the dead ones do but its still not the same as going with one character and experiencing their entire arch (its the difference of watching Star Trek with the main cast or Star Trek with Kirk and a bunch of red shirts), many which your choices determine their eventual fate. In ME3 all the choices you made in ME1 and 2 come to a head and every major character you have talked to and influenced has their moment, what that moment is is entirely up to the choices the players make.
The story and lore in the first game is absolutely amazing, so much of it seemed so wonderous, mysterious, and terrifying, First encounter with Soveriegn, conversing with Saren, conversing with the Prothean VI, etc. I'm not sure if playing it now will have the same impact though.
While it's obvious that the larger story arc is set in stone, I do think that the choices you make are of significant influence. Although, that could all be smoke and mirrors, having only played through ME3 once. Would not killing Wrex cure the genophage earlier on? Can you shun the Krogan, blowing up any hope for a turian alliance, in favor of the salarians? I could look all of this up of course, but I'd rather be left in wonder over it.
Anyhow, all the choices I made helped define my experience, to a point where a second play through seems offputting, as it would require me to make a lot of choices that go against who I am as a person, or end up playing the exact same game I experienced on my first run..
You know me and what consoles I (don't) own. How the hell should I have played the other 2 games? The WiiU has the interactive comic detailing the mayor events of the first 2 games though, giving you the opportunity to make all the choices you would during those 2 earlier installments. If it hadn't, I don't know if I would have been as compelled to get it, even being heavily discounted as it was. Also, the graphical fidelity and quality of the mocap and voice acting really helped. It all just had this movie-like quality to it, which made it very easy to connect with the different characters. That and you can still do a lot of emotional connecting over the course of 40 hours of game.
I might try ME2, having just checked that it's available on Steam. As for the actual action gameplay, I didn't think that much of it. It's RE4 with a cover system added on top. My squadmates were rarely used beyond using the same powers over and over again, without ever feeling the need to dabble with positioning them tactically or whatever. The cast of enemies was rather limited as well, with only a handfull of Cerberus troops or Reaper foes.