User blog comment:StagedDom19/Missing the Main Problem/@comment-2076032-20120709133005

BioWare was sued. It was dismissed, and BioWare were found not guilty of any charge of false advertising. Everything I wanted to say about this has been said by other comments, except for one thing: you're right about choices not mattering, but not in the way you think.

All choices in these games are presented by the writer, who gave you a set of choices. I'm sure there are a dozen other choices that you could make in any given scenario throughout the games, but to follow a specific storyline, you are limited to the "illusion of choice." Each dialogue option you choose, or whether or not you let the council die, is a predetermined choice, given to you by the developers. None of them matter, because you're not making your own choices anyway. In fact, in that way, all those choices act in much the same way as the mass relays work as a trap for the reapers, guiding advanced civilisations to one specific point, the citadel. Likewise, all the choices you make throughout the game are bringing you to one specific point - the parallels there are mindbogglingly clever, the way the storyline and the gameplay intertextualise so well. Aside from a sloppy ending, which has in my opinion been wholly redeemed, the overall result of the series is quite genius. You are entitled to your opinion, but as a professional literature critic myself, I have to point out that you have been given a number of very good points you should consider for your next rant, perhaps reconsider how you feel personally about the series compared to its actual quality, leaving personal feelings aside. I have not been paid by EA, but I would quite happily give this series a 9/10, losing 1 point for not having a proper ending to begin with.