User blog:Dam1730/Not the Ending we were Expecting

The ending of Mass Effect 3 was... interesting to say the least. I've read comments and blogs of people that have been angry about how the "trilogy" came to a close. I'm not angry, but I am confused. The ending of ME3 is unlike any book I've read, movie I've watched, or game I've played. Usually in a book, movie, or game we are given a clear sense of finality and openness. In Mass Effect 3 we are given both, which is very strange. In most cases, Shepard clearly dies as the Citadel goes up in flames or when they take control of the Reapers. Only if the player plays the perfect game are they given any glimpse that Shepard could have survived. The part that makes the ending even more strange is the Grandpa/Grandma Shepard scene with the child. Just two minutes ago I see Shepard dying and now I see him/her with a grandchild. The ending seemed very rushed. It was almost as if BioWare was under the gun to get Mass Effect 3 out and they needed to just get an ending. I was fully expecting the battle of all battles on the Citadel to get it to open up, but instead I was given a heavily injured Shepard limping to a console. Another thing that I thought was strange about the ending was how it handled the side characters. After three games in a relationship with Liara, I didn't see her anywhere in the ending. BioWare said they wanted fewer characters in order to focus more on Shepard's relationship with them. That's fine, but when the game ends you need to give that relationship the ending that it deserves. On the last mission I chose Garrus and Tali, both characters that have been in the series since the beginning, but I didn't even get a cutscene of their death or escape, they're just gone. This is leaving something open, but almost too open. Having the Citadel explode and the mass relays destroyed was almost too final; making me believe that the series will actually be a trilogy, but seeing the Normandy crashed and mostly intact makes me believe that the series will continue. I think the fact that we expected either a clear and distinct ending to the trilogy or an open ending allowing the story continue left many players confused like me. Now all we can do is wait and see what BioWare does next. Does the saga continue? Or, does it finally end?

Mass Effect 3, ending of Mass Effect 3