ME3 DLC Impressions

Well, though the reviews are mixed, I must admit that I truly enjoyed the Extended Cut DLC for Mass Effect 3.

Several questions were answered (like HOW ON EARTH did my ground crew get back to my ship!?), some loose ends were tied up, and at the end of it, I could sit back and simply enjoy a fabulous end to a much-loved video game icon.

Some people disagree. They enjoyed the mystery and ambiguity of the original ending because it allowed them to create their own without having an ending that they didn’t necessary want shoved down their throat. I would dare to say that they are, by far, in the minority. The collective outcry for such a downright disappointing ending was staggering, and I don’t believe that Bioware could risk alienating such a large portion of their fan base. Do I think they were happy to have to back-peddle and say “Oh! Just kidding, guys. Here are the real endings!”? No. Not even a little bit. Even when their fans rallied together to send multi-colored cupcakes to Bioware’s office in protest of the endings, Bioware pulled one of the nicest jerk moves I’ve ever seen and donated every single one  to charity instead.

But I digress. Let’s get back to what Bioware has done right, shall we? Let me just start by saying that I didn’t want a “happy ending” for this series. I wanted one that gave me answers and closure for Shepard. And the DLC delivered. I chose the destruction ending because I wanted to leave my galaxy with a clean slate without the imminent threat of reapers. Sure, they would probably reach conflict with synthetics in the future, but they were given the choice. That’s what I feel that my Shepard would want to give to people. You see civilizations cheer as the reapers are shut down. There is even a touching scene where your squad places Shepard’s name on Normandy’s ever-growing board of casualties. This is what I wanted the first time around.

Hats off to you, Bioware. I’m going to go make googly eyes over baby Krogan. Seriously…. Tons of baby Krogan.

D'awww