Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut Strives for Clarity, Closure
But will it quiet the rabble? We can only hope.
Published: April 5, 2012
It took only as long as the first folks finishing the events of Mass Effect 3 for the first grumbles to start, and as more and more people closed out the end of an epic trilogy that spanned hundreds of hours of exploration and moral choices aplenty, the grumbles turned into a murmur. The murmur became a din, which only strengthened into a cacophony of voices expressing... displeasure at the way BioWare closed their three-part space opera. And the reason for all this uproar? The ending, they say, sucked.
And, of course, they're absolutely right.
It's not a controversial stance, but unlike some of the more vocal corners of the Intertubes, we here at TPS have never really understood the vehemence with which people have taken to calling for the collective heads of the folks up in Edmonton. When all is said and done, like every other creative medium out there, it's the choice of the creators to say how things come to an end. The problem was that, for many (and we count ourselves among that number), the ending didn't really provide much in the way of impact or closure. Seemingly every choice made over the course of three games was banished to a trio of "options" that were, for all intents and purposes, subtle tweaks on one singular ending, and after hundreds of hours of brokering peace and making hard decisions, it all seemed to come to a close without really considering those choices.
Call it a climax that simply could not have possibly lived up to the moments that preceded it. And yet, while we're not okay with that, we're of the mind that it truly was about the journey -- particularly the one that took place in Mass Effect 3 -- rather than the end destination. There's no denying that that journey feels a bit hollow after the conclusion, however, and BioWare is listening to the outcry.
To that end, they're prepping something called the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut, a series of "cinematic sequences and epilogue scenes" that will be released later this summer at the low, low price of nothing. Zippo. Zilch. You'll hopefully have your closure and repercussions, but no matter what, BioWare isn't going to charge you for it.
"We are all incredibly proud of Mass Effect 3 and the work done by Casey Hudson and team," boasts BioWare GM and Co-Founder Dr. Ray Muzyka. "Since launch, we have had time to listen to the feedback from our most passionate fans and we are responding. With the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut we think we have struck a good balance in delivering the answers players are looking for while maintaining the team’s artistic vision for the end of this story arc in the Mass Effect universe."
Not one to just let a complement go by without adding his own two cents, that very same Casey Hudson, Mass Effect's Executive Producer, chimed in with more. "We have reprioritized our post-launch development efforts to provide the fans who want more closure with even more context and clarity to the ending of the game, in a way that will feel more personalized for each player."
This will hopefully come as good news for those looking for something a little more substantial at the end of the game, and though it's not clear exactly what BioWare is working at right now (and likely won't be until we're able to download the extra content and see if and/or how it adjusts to all those myriad decisions we made over the course of three games), we're certainly hoping this will quiet some of those screaming bloody murder about how the series ended -- scratch that, how the trilogy ended. Given the sheer amount of lore that was present in the games, there's obviously room for more adventures, though whether they'll stick with the adventures of Commander Shepard and crew or go elsewhere in the universe or timeline is a mystery.
More questions abound, of course. Will the new ending rewrite things?Will all those choices be reflected? Did any of them even matter? Will we make it through this story without spoiling anything? It's pretty clear the most of the fans didn't want a happy ending per se, they just wanted to see how their decisions had a measurable impact on the final moments. Looks like it 's time to start counting the days until another Mass Effect-related release, but as soon as we have a firm release date and any new deets, we'll make sure you know. Because we love you almost as much as we love the Mass Effect universe.
And, of course, they're absolutely right.
It's not a controversial stance, but unlike some of the more vocal corners of the Intertubes, we here at TPS have never really understood the vehemence with which people have taken to calling for the collective heads of the folks up in Edmonton. When all is said and done, like every other creative medium out there, it's the choice of the creators to say how things come to an end. The problem was that, for many (and we count ourselves among that number), the ending didn't really provide much in the way of impact or closure. Seemingly every choice made over the course of three games was banished to a trio of "options" that were, for all intents and purposes, subtle tweaks on one singular ending, and after hundreds of hours of brokering peace and making hard decisions, it all seemed to come to a close without really considering those choices.
Call it a climax that simply could not have possibly lived up to the moments that preceded it. And yet, while we're not okay with that, we're of the mind that it truly was about the journey -- particularly the one that took place in Mass Effect 3 -- rather than the end destination. There's no denying that that journey feels a bit hollow after the conclusion, however, and BioWare is listening to the outcry.
To that end, they're prepping something called the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut, a series of "cinematic sequences and epilogue scenes" that will be released later this summer at the low, low price of nothing. Zippo. Zilch. You'll hopefully have your closure and repercussions, but no matter what, BioWare isn't going to charge you for it.
"We are all incredibly proud of Mass Effect 3 and the work done by Casey Hudson and team," boasts BioWare GM and Co-Founder Dr. Ray Muzyka. "Since launch, we have had time to listen to the feedback from our most passionate fans and we are responding. With the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut we think we have struck a good balance in delivering the answers players are looking for while maintaining the team’s artistic vision for the end of this story arc in the Mass Effect universe."
Not one to just let a complement go by without adding his own two cents, that very same Casey Hudson, Mass Effect's Executive Producer, chimed in with more. "We have reprioritized our post-launch development efforts to provide the fans who want more closure with even more context and clarity to the ending of the game, in a way that will feel more personalized for each player."
This will hopefully come as good news for those looking for something a little more substantial at the end of the game, and though it's not clear exactly what BioWare is working at right now (and likely won't be until we're able to download the extra content and see if and/or how it adjusts to all those myriad decisions we made over the course of three games), we're certainly hoping this will quiet some of those screaming bloody murder about how the series ended -- scratch that, how the trilogy ended. Given the sheer amount of lore that was present in the games, there's obviously room for more adventures, though whether they'll stick with the adventures of Commander Shepard and crew or go elsewhere in the universe or timeline is a mystery.
More questions abound, of course. Will the new ending rewrite things?Will all those choices be reflected? Did any of them even matter? Will we make it through this story without spoiling anything? It's pretty clear the most of the fans didn't want a happy ending per se, they just wanted to see how their decisions had a measurable impact on the final moments. Looks like it 's time to start counting the days until another Mass Effect-related release, but as soon as we have a firm release date and any new deets, we'll make sure you know. Because we love you almost as much as we love the Mass Effect universe.
