User blog comment:Spartan0700/Mass Effect 3 Ending, a Different Argument. (SPOILERS!)/@comment-4829954-20120316044648/@comment-3062992-20120316120334

Thank-you, I'm glad I'm finding out that I'm not alone, that there are more people out here who think the same as I do.

A lot of us had to know the ending wasn't going to bode well for Shepard but I personally assumed it would be somehow tied to my decisions and choice to save the Collector Base. I can definitely live with a sad ending, because ultimately, that's how life is. But the way they just dropped everything and everyone with both a bang and a sigh was an even bigger and more baffling curveball than the Crucible-child himself or the destruction of the relays.

In many interviews and statements, the creators emphasized the power of choice and building believable characters and story. That said, they delivered with in regards to believable characters and (depending on who you talk to) story, but the power of choice was a lot less present than before; both in the conversation wheel and the outcomes.

For example, with everyone stranded in the Solar System, I felt like I had saved Rannock for nothing. Everything you did in previous games only became a number, a War Asset that helped you achieve a barren ending.

There's no way they're going to let their baby bomb and go down in flames like this. The commercial success was no-doubt phenomenal, but they'll need to secure customer loyalty if they want another chance at a blockbuster release. If they had put a lot more effort into the epilogue cutscene, regardless of how much time they had, I think there'd still be some uproar because some people didn't get to have "little blue children", but as you said, a lot LESS.

Furthermore, I suggest that "slap in the face" is actually the impact of the aforementioned curveball, because I don't think I've ever been slapped that hard in my life.