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 Melissia wrote:

 Wolfblade wrote:
I wouldn't say the "vast majority" is arrogance, a LOT of people were upset over it, so many that (iirc) they actually went back and tried to fix the ending.

"A lot of people" in what context? The game sold over three and a half million copies from what I can tell-- more, probably, because that number is around three or four years old. What percentage of these millions of people hated it, and what evidence do you have to back up your assertions? Because a few thousand people shouting on the official forums? There were just as many people, if not more, talking about how much fun they were having and how awesome the game was. Because a dozen people on Dakka were and are ranting about it? Again, there were just as many talking about how good the game was and how much fun they were having-- along with several people I knew personally that were intimidated out of the conversation about the ending because of how vitriolic people like Soladrin were being. Because a few internet reviewers shouted at it on their youtube channels? There were far, far more people simply playing the game without breaking in to incoherent rants than that. And still are.

I stand by the word "arrogance". Because he claimed to be talking for the "vast majority" of the playerbase, putting words in their mouths when he had absolutely no evidence aside from his own biased viewpoint. So he appointed himself to speak for everyone else. I never claimed much to be humble about my opinion-- I'm outspoken as hell, as most people know-- but certainly I only ever deign to speak for myself.

I'd like to turn that around, do you have any proof that there are more people that enjoyed the ending than those that hated it? The ending also wasn't a little controversial, it was headline news in gaming for what, a month at least? A very well made, and highly lauded series known for it's story telling ending on such a weak note (yes, it is. Whether or not you enjoyed it is a different matter) is going to have people up in arms, and in this case enough for the devs to rewrite their ending to it.

(Also, I'm not saying the game was bad (it was pretty good), but that people hated that all their decisions and tough choices they had to make were ignored. You claim that a majority of the people enjoyed the game, I claim that a lot of people hated the ending. The two are not mutually exclusive)

Well, this thread got to be cancer real fast - surprise surprise.

Having played DS1 and DS2 I decided to avoid 3 because...well, because I never beat the previous two. I suppose it's fair to say that I'm not very good at them and I never really liked how they were made - a lot of design choices that are still confusing to me. That all having been said, they're some of the best looking games I've ever played and harken back to the more baseline RPG mechanics. Beware, for some (or most, as in my case), the difficulty ranges from frustrating to downright infuriating - and has not gotten any better with age. If you're a fan of Dark Souls, this is kind of a moot point anyway, but if you are - DS3 is your purchase.

As for ME3? I'm a fan, a HUGE fan of ME1 and ME2 (and you've played both of those according to your OP, if I remember correctly), so naturally it makes sense for me to recommend it. I will with two addendums:

1 - The MP, while fun when the game launched, is practically dead (at least console side) - PC I'm not sure about. Sadly, and I think this still holds true, you NEED to play MP some in order to get an ending in SP. Not a big deal for everyone (in fact it might be that this ISN'T true anymore given my last playthrough was MP-less, I think, and I still got the 'ultimate' ending), but some people buy it with MP in mind.

2 - The decision based system that ME spent a lot of time in is present in it's 3rd iteration - and like some have mentioned, certain decisions you made previously are either ignored or changed, despite the previous two games showcasing the choice you'd made. It's annoying from a fan standpoint, but I guess I get why a lot of the changes were made - to make things flow better - but you might find it less/more so.

All in all I really liked ME3, the original ending...made very little sense, at least to me. It seemed very...disjointed and thrown together at the last second as though some VP was demanding that the dev team 'hurry up'. We know now that's not the truth and with the updated ending, a great many things are explained - thereby removing the whole 'the ending is crap' argument that so many people use as an excuse not to play/buy ME3.

Truthfully, I'd recommend ME3, it's definitely not 60 bucks anymore (whereas I believe DS3 will be for a bit, unless you can find a sale)so you'll have some money left over for any DLC you want to get (which, for ME3, are all pretty cool). Especially if you haven't played it before, it's worth seeing how the heroes you've spent so much time with handle the end of the universe.

Unless you've played/have ME 1&2 I would go for Dark Souls. Mostly because the experience of Mass Effect is the whole story not just the last act.

As for the Ending of Mass Effect 3, honestly, the main reason it suffers is because the DLC for the game REALLY should not have been DLC, It should have been part of the original release as a lot of the criticism laid upon the ending is in part because it was missing really important chunks of the story.

....also it could have really used an ending boss fight. (and I say this as someone who loves the game).

 Wolfblade wrote:
I'd like to turn that around, do you have any proof that there are more people that enjoyed the ending than those that hated it?

Nope. But I'm not the one making claims about "vast majorities".

 Chongara wrote:
We can say objectively that at least one person in this world walked from his ME3 experience feeling worse than he entered.

We can say that about every game, about every piece of media. Hell, I'm sure we can even say taht about LotR and other media considered beloved classics by most people.

 Frankenberry wrote:
Sadly, and I think this still holds true, you NEED to play MP some in order to get an ending in SP.

Nah, not any more. With the free DLC, you no longer need to play MP in order to get the "best" ending.

 Melissia wrote:

 Wolfblade wrote:
I'd like to turn that around, do you have any proof that there are more people that enjoyed the ending than those that hated it?

Nope. But I'm not the one making claims about "vast majorities".

 Chongara wrote:
We can say objectively that at least one person in this world walked from his ME3 experience feeling worse than he entered.

We can say that about every game, about every piece of media. Hell, I'm sure we can even say taht about LotR and other media considered beloved classics by most people.

 Frankenberry wrote:
Sadly, and I think this still holds true, you NEED to play MP some in order to get an ending in SP.

Nah, not any more. With the free DLC, you no longer need to play MP in order to get the "best" ending.

Are you going to ignore the huge (imo) uproar around then? The fact the devs went back and changed the ending? The fact that most gaming news/review source blasted the ending as being a complete let down?

I havent played either, but if I had to choose, DS3 for sure.

 Wolfblade wrote:
Are you going to ignore the huge (imo) uproar around then?

I'm not ignoring it. I am, however, countering the pretentious assumption that because there was a big stink over it in the attention-starved gaming media, that means that everyone must have hated it. For a group of people that is so willing to be skeptical about the gaming journalism industry in every other area, people here are so quick to jump on the bandwagon when it agrees with what THEY are saying.

 Melissia wrote:

 Chongara wrote:
We can say objectively that at least one person in this world walked from his ME3 experience feeling worse than he entered.

We can say that about every game, about every piece of media. Hell, I'm sure we can even say taht about LotR and other media considered beloved classics by most people.

Exactly tastes vary. Why should I be picked on for expressing my opinion that I hate Mass Effect 3 because I just found the ending rubbed me the wrong way that much? You think the game is great and I disagree with that vehemently. However you don't see me broadly dismissing you as someone who "should be ignored" or as "pissy" or saying that folks should only pay attention to folks that are "better-minded" than you. I recognize that you had a vastly different experience with the game, that resulted in vastly different perceptions of it yet I manage to do so without being needlessly pejorative and dismissive towards you simply holding that opinion. I disagree with you about the game and for the life of me I really just can't comprehend your perspective, but I don't see that as grounds to dismiss your general competency at holding opinions. Sure you're wrong about the game but there isn't anything wrong with being wrong.

Simply put, because your post made the conclusion that the game shouldn't be played by anyone because you didn't like the ending, disregarding all other aspects of the game, and whether or not other people would feel as strongly even IF they end up disliking the ending. That's not helpful at all. Yeah, I get that you were just lazily larking and snarking. But then, if that's all you're going to do, why post at all?

Hell, I said "Dark Souls 3 pulled too much from DS1 when I liked DS2 better", which to me I said was a bad thing about an otherwise great game, but at the same time if they liked DS1 better that's at least helpful to them to decide that they would want DS3.

 Melissia wrote:
Simply put, because your post made the conclusion that the game shouldn't be played by anyone because you didn't like the ending, disregarding all other aspects of the game, and whether or not other people would feel as strongly even IF they end up disliking the ending. That's not helpful at all. Yeah, I get that you were just lazily larking and snarking. But then, if that's all you're going to do, why post at all?

Hell, I said "Dark Souls 3 pulled too much from DS1 when I liked DS2 better", which to me I said was a bad thing about an otherwise great game, but at the same time if they liked DS1 better that's at least helpful to them to decide that they would want DS3.

My opinion that the ending is so terrible it overshadows any good elements of the game is one I genuinely hold. My opinion that the game as a whole is so terrible I could never recommend to anyone is one I genuinely hold. If anyone asks me if they should buy it vs almost any other product my answer is going to be "other product" and this is an honest and genuine response on my part. That I chose to be a little be colorful with my wording is hardly cause to rip into me personally. As to how helpful that is it's up to the OP, not you.

Maybe they find such commentary to be too biased and dismiss it.
Maybe they find the fact the game could inspire such bile as a warning sign to not try it (as you should! don't give them your money for this game!)
Maybe they find the fact the game could inspire such bile as a source of curiosity and try it just to see what the dang fuss is about.

Why post at all? Because they asked for opinions on which game they should buy. I hold on a strong opinion on which game they should buy. When someone asks for opinions on something you have a strong opinion on, you generally want to share it. I gave an opinion on which game they should buy and when pressed (by you), why I felt that way. It'd certainly be fair to call out my opinion as on the extreme end of the hater spectrum, though I doubt it really needs a call out to be obvious.

Is it just that you demand an non-snarky expression of the exact same idea? OK:

I think you should buy Dark Souls 3. Mass Effect 3 is a very bad game. The ending is so bad that none of the game's other elements are worth talking about. I felt like the game was a waste of my money and time and would hate to see someone else also waste their money and time.

That's at least better. Either way, I think we should stop the conversation just because we're now on page two of it and this thread doesn't need any more of it.

 Chongara wrote:
an awkward lunch date with a girl from OKCupid.

On the bright side, we can say that since you spent money on ME3, you were spared this fate

The first playthrough of DS3 feels /amazing/ to a fan, if you've played the first one. Which you absolutely should. IMO its an absolute must play for rpgs.


The multiplayer is not balanced very well yet, but I feel the game was worth my money. It's a great experience.

You could pick up the whole Mass Effect serioes for like $60. Although DS 3 is awesome.

ME3 as a part of the whole trilogy is in my top five games of all time, the ending didn't overly bother me though. There was obviously a disconnect, the fact the lead writer left to work on Star Wars, is clearly evident in some of the choices they made as a writing team.. but it is what it is, I still enjoyed the game right through to the ending.

Although I'm also happy to admit I liked the adjusted ending more. Still one of my most replayed series regardless, played 1 to 3 all the way through three times, and played 2 a couple more, and 3 a fourth as well. Still have a few more achievements to go back for at some point.

I'd agree though, best bet would be to track down a Trology edition if you can get it.

Never played Dark Souls so can't really comment on it.