User blog comment:Mexican215/Yes another ME3 ending blog..Why ME3 shouldn't be the end of Shepard/@comment-6293599-20130222235755/@comment-1440333-20130223002810

No dude you are VERY wrong. The ending in Mass Effect 2 where Shepard dies IS the permanent game over, just like if you died in a battle within the game - you need to restart and try again. The fact it shows a sequence after that with credits is simply that it is a glorified game over, nothing more.

The ME3 endings are just that - Endings. Shepard either dies, breathes, becomes the Reaper Overlord, or sacrifices his/herself to save everyone. The game over here, same as Shepard's death in ME2, would be to refuse the Catalyst, whereby the cycle continues and the Reapers are stopped in a subsequent cycle. Just like the ME2 game over it features a sequence afterwards, credits and also a revised Stargazer sequence, yet it is still a glorified game over.