User blog comment:The Milkman/End of the Line/@comment-212.78.179.247-20120712111051/@comment-5284772-20120713112507

@LilyheartsLiara: Must say it has been some time since I played Mass Effect 1, so evidently what I remember from it isn't correct...

However, In ME2 you had no reason to believe that The Illusive Man was indoctrinated. At least, I didn't see any reason for it to be the case, nor is there any diolag in ME2, for as far as I remember, that suggests it. As such, there was plenty of time to choose his side and ally with him if his solution proved "good enough" to you, even if you don't approve of Cerberus and The Illusive Man. It's the concept which is the important part.

Now that it appears clear that the Synthesis solution didn't even come specifically to light before you make the final choice, I find that the structure of the trilogy was possibly even faultier than I had thought. To introduce one of the big solutions so late and so short before the final choice seems to me like a bad design decision or bad planning.

This surprises me, because many of the trilogy's "smaller"problems had a terrific build-up and structure. Think of the the genophage problem for example, whose structe was great in terms of conflict introduction (ME1), conflict familiarization (ME2) and conflict resolution (ME3). Long before you actually had to make the choice, you were presented with at least two options for you to think about (already in ME1). in ME2 you visited Tuchanka and were confronted with not only the great will to shed off the genophage but also the violent temper of the Krogans. The final solution was presented to you also long before you had to make the choice, giving you enough time to fully comprehend what each choice would mean for the galaxy, the Krogan and your struggle against the reapers. The basic factions were introduced early on and you were allowed to gain sympathy for each of them, by talking and reasoning with them, but also by fighting alongside their main advocates, namely Wrex on the one hand and Mordin on the other hand.

I am convinced that if Bioware wanted the player to actively make a choice at the end of the game, the Mass Effect trilogy as a whole should have had a similar build-up. While I was rather emotionally involved with the ending, I can't help but feel that the final choice making and its presentation was rather out of the blue and should have been introduced calmly or should not have been given at all.