[ Spoiler warning if you haven’t played it yet ]

Well, most players of ME3 now probably tried out the ‘new’ Extended Cut with the ‘new/not so new’ ending to the story. My take on this is a bit more complex. It is not a major flop but neither a fantastic success. Overall I think it is better – actually much better than the original way they ended the game but there are a couple of ‘holes’ that need plugging. Mostly small questions or blatantly ‘duh’ issues.

Lets begin with the ‘run to the beam’ scene. Explaining how your squad mates that were with you at the start of the ‘run towards the beam’ got to the Normandy was explained a bit better. But at the same time it was a bit cheesy and opens the question – Aren’t there a damn Reaper shooting at you guys while the Normandy openly comes and land right in front of it! I mean really, that would be the ideal target for a Reaper or the Normandy could have taken out the Reaper… and then immediately after the Normandy leaves the Harbinger starts shooting again… Very convenient. How do you explain that one??

The extended dialog options with the Catalyst was done well. Even though I don’t really agree with the ‘facts’ as he/it stated. But it does help picture the story behind the ‘story’ and even raises some new questions – especially about the actual origin of the Reapers and Catalyst itself. Obviously they went over the rails somewhere and lost ‘focus’ about their actual intended ‘goals’. The fact that the Catalyst was aware of the Crucible but choose to ignore it is also a bit naive – I think. And why could it not take action itself for a new ending of the cycle considering all the other ‘smart’ and powerful things it was doing??

As before I first choose the destroy option (will try the others later) and there is still that ‘hint’ that Sheppard might have survived. I don’t know if this is part of it but when the crew of the Normandy place the names of their fallen friends/leaders the name plaque for Commander Sheppard is never actually seen being fixed to the wall. Instead, it is hold up close to the wall and then the scene ends with the Normandy taking off again (but I thought it crashed…).

The epilogue given by Adm Hackett does give a sense of a more ‘positive’ future despite the destruction and many deaths. I particularly liked the image of the Krogans with their babies and children. But what about Palaven? Or did the Turians suffer too much and were completely destroyed? Also, what about the Salarians?

Another thing never mentioned explicitly is what happened to the ‘people’ that were on the Citadel before it was taken over by the Reapers? What became of people like Bailey and the rest of C-Sec? Did they somehow escape before the take-over or hide away only to be killed when the ‘red’ ending blew up the place?

Then one thing that keeps on bugging me is why do/did the Catalyst look exactly like the boy Sheppard saw just before leaving Earth? That ‘smells’ of the indoctrination theory to me.

I still think the ending could have been a bit different but at least it is an improvement. At least now there is possibility of a continuation of the whole ‘Mass Effect universe – even though the Reaper threat has been removed. I’m sure there are other threats that will soon take its place 🙂