Mass Effect 3: Vindication Is A 539-Page Book That Aims To Patch up, Rework, and “Fix” ME3's Story

DSOGaming writes: "Now this is what I call dedication. Gerry Pugliese has informed us about his book that is no less than 539 page and aims to patch, rework and ‘fix’ the storyline of Mass Effect 3. "

[ELpork]

Ohh boy... fan fic... *Eye-roll*

[john2]

pretty impressive that it's 539 pages with multiple endings

[ELpork]

Fine, impressive fan fic?

IDK why people keep trying to "Fix" the ending of Mass Effect, It was fine.

[Sovereign59]

Yeah, this isn't going to "fix" anything, regardless of how great of a story could be told in those 539 pages. It's not canon, so anything in it won't be reflected in the next game(s) in the franchise. The damage has long been done. Bioware had ample time to rectify things, but chose to stick to their refusal to compromise their "artistic integrity" and must move forward building upon the plotholes and lore inconsistencies they forged in Mass Effect 3.

[RE_L_MAYER]

idiots messed up everything I have been fighting for for those 3 games.....OH YOU MADE SOME DESIGIONS?well too bad cause nothing gonna change the endings

[-Foxtrot]

Mmmm hmmmm

Well I think I'm going to stick to the Indoctrination Theory, makes way more sense then the ending

In my mind...we never finished the fight

[youndamie]

Exactly, that theory is spot on. I don't understand why so many people doubt it. How did the reapers know what that kid(god child) looked like when Shepard was speaking with him??

[-Foxtrot]

Seriously everything about it makes so much sense, it would of been fantastic if it had made it look like a silly crap ending then see the credits role then BOOM you suddenly wake up as your team mates help get on your feet and you continue the rest of the game.

If they didn't waste their extra time after the ending leaked on the crappy totally not needed multiplayer then maybe they could of gave us a better ending and maybe throw in cut content they never finished like the Omega DLC

The theory makes so much sense, Bioware didn't use it though because they were embarrassed fans came up with a better ending then them. They could of took the way out and make ME4 start a new trilogy continuing the war against the reapers outside of the Galaxy, like going to their place to finish them off but no, they didn't.

Hey what about the scene with Shepard breathing...HE'S ALIVE and we get nothing on that.

Seriously ME4 should of been Shepard waking up whether it's in the future or whatever I don't know but his story isn't finished.

[youndamie]

@Fox Exactly Shepard is still alive. There is no way he could of survived if he really blew up the catalyst. He would've been disintegrated by the explosion or he would've floated off into space due to the obvious damage to the structure. But it is possible he narrowly survived harbinger's beam on earth where gravity and concrete are clearly visible. ME4 should conclude the shepard/reaper story line and expand the universe further. They should have Shep and crew discover a new galaxy and new antagonist.

[aliengmr]

It wasn't that people doubted it. When it was first purposed it was treated like it was Bioware's plan all along. Soon there after it was confirmed that Bioware hadn't done anything but make a crappy ending.

Where the resistance came from wasn't the theory itself, but that those that believed in it were convinced it was still Bioware's master plan, even after they were told it wasn't.

Also I think those not crazy about it wanted something "official" and not fan fiction.

[Sovereign59]

Regarding Foxtrot's comment, Bioware Montreal handled the multiplayer portion of the game, a separate team that was uninvolved in the development of the campaign. The addition of multiplayer can't rightfully be blamed for the poor quality of writing at the end of the game. The blame for this belongs with Casey Hudson and Mac Walters retreating into solitude to write their own ending and refusing to allow the rest of the team to subject their work to peer review, and with EA for forcing Bioware to work within a timeframe in which they had to rush to get the product out the door.

To be honest, the multiplayer in Mass Effect 3 was the game's redeeming factor for me. I found the ending(s) to the campaign to be so deplorable that after finishing the story once I never desired to go back and experience the story again. For comparison, I played Mass Effect 1 and 2 somewhere between 5 and 10 times each. But I did keep going back to play the multiplayer. Playing as all the alien races and playing with friends kept things fresh which was surprising as I had been someone that thought Mass Effect would be better off without a multiplayer mode when it was first announced.

[-Foxtrot]

@Sovereign59

The point is though why not waste resources and money on that second studio to help the main studio to finish off the game, get the new ending finished instead of rushed one and get the cut content finished to put into the game.

Instead when you know your main team is going to struggle after the leak you waste those resources on multiplayer.

I can't say if the writing would of been better but it would of helped

[Jakeherrera]

Because no devloper makes a labyrinth ending like that. It would of been cool if it was true if you didn't had enough military strength but Bioware hasn't confirmed it to be a possibly. If they did they wouldn't have had so much backlash. In my opinion the green ending was the best because Shepard dies like a hero for the good of machines and humans

[john2]

Indeed. I'm a fan of the Indoctrination theory and loved the documentaries that were released based on it

[Joseph225]

Same here. I don't know why people hated it. Makes more sense. How does the Catalyst look exactly like the kid from Shepard's dream if not for Indocrination?

That theory should have been the ending.

[AndrewLB]

Well it wasn't. And Casey Hudson was quite clear during the many times he said Shepard was NOT indoctrinated.

Some developer quotes:

------------------
"Certainly it’s a very polished experience. In the story it starts at a time with a very singular focus and purpose in the galaxy. You could say the previous games were just a preamble to this moment. Everything has been building to this. It’s like the Superbowl. Who cares what happened in the regular season? Now’s the one that matters.“Fans want a definitive end. They’ll be the judge of that ultimately when they play it and see how we do that. Certainly, what this game absolutely does represent is the culmination of almost a decade’s worth of work for the studio and for Casey [Hudson] and his team in terms of exactly what we’re trying to do with the game we kicked off almost ten years ago. “They’re working really hard to make it a real proper conclusion, something that’s fitting to what they’ve worked on for so long, and what the fans are telling us they’re dying to see. - Aaron Flynn http://www.vg247.com/2011/1...
---------------

We wouldn’t do it any other way. How could you go through all three campaigns playing as your Shepard and then be forced into a bespoke ending that everyone gets? But I can’t say any more than that…" - Mike Gamble http://www.gamezone.com/pro...
----------------

"We have to be hyper-aware of events in each individual's previous game," says Walters. "We had a paragraph written on what would happen in ME3 when finishing up ME1; the story was straightforward, in a sense. But still, this game took months of planning to get a handle on every different permutation."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/t...
------------------

"As Mass Effect 3 is the end of the planned trilogy, the developers are not constrained by the necessity of allowing the story to diverge, yet also continue into the next chapter. This will result in a story that diverges into wildly different conclusions based on the player's actions in the first two chapters." - Casey Hudson
---------------
"We have a really talented team of writers. We go through iteration after iteration, making it the best and most satisfying we can," he said.
"It's going to make some people extremely happy. It's going to make some people angry. But that's part of it, right? To invoke the emotion putting some of these stories to bed will naturally bring up.
He added: "I honestly think the player base is going to be really happy with the way we've done it. You had a part in it. Every decision you've made will impact how things go. The player's also the architect of what happens. "Whether you're happy or angry at the ending, know this: it is an ending. BioWare will not do a "Lost" and leave fans with more questions than answers after finishing the game, Gamble promised.
--------------

"This story arc is coming to an end with this game. That means the endings can be a lot more different. At this point we're taking into account so many decisions that you've made as a player and reflecting a lot of that stuff. It's not even in any way like the traditional game endings, where you can say how many endings there are or whether you got ending A, B, or C." -Casey Hudson

[AndrewLB]

I don't think Shepard even made it to Earth. Rather, he was indoctrinated where the Illusive Man was, on his space station where they kept the Reaper from the end of ME2. That's the point where the game just went to hell.

Good for EA though! /sarcasm They managed to get Bioware to rush the last part of the game and shore u sales, just in time for the Q1 financial report that wasn't looking good for EA.

A friend of mine works for Bioware and confirmed over the holidays that the rumors were true that EA made Bioware rush the game so they'd pad their stock price. Casey Hudson sent the writers home and most of their dev team, and took it upon himself to write the ending along with a couple others.

It amazes me that he'd pretty much ruin one of the greatest video game franchises ever made, destroy is own reputation, and that of Bioware... because he didn't have the balls to tell EA "It's not done yet. I won't release this game till it's done!". I for one wont buy another one of their games again, and I'm sure i'm not alone on that one.

[RE_L_MAYER]

same here...im being abducted

[lennonisgod]

I love the games. I'm not really interested in reading this, though. My question is, should I read the official books? They have a graphic novel omnibus on Amazon I always think about getting.

[aliengmr]

The books are good except the last one. It was released right around the time ME3 and coincidentally was filled with major continuity errors. Not sure about the Comics though.

[RE_L_MAYER]

comics are not baad they show some good story fill ins

[linkenski]

If a game ships with a broken story that is canon, then the ship has sailed... don't write a full effin' book about it and expect to sell it *facepalm*. We all hate ME3's ending unless we're delusional or ignorant but past is past. Bioware know they screwed up, and are moving onwards. I can't believe there's still so many who hasn't done that as well.

[ShiftyLookingCow]

I believe it is free. The link is in the article. Its just that many fans were quite attached to the series for years, only to get the RGB ending. This seems to be one guy's attempt at getting peace and sharing it.

If not for Marauder Shields fan comics and ACAVYOS Shepard ending reaction video, it would taken longer for me to get over the cra'py feeling.

Of course, the best thing to come out of years of following ME has to be manslayer's Gamer P'oop videos.

[linkenski]

Don't get me wrong, ME3's ending broke my heart and left me feeling really empty because it was such a rushed writing-job where they missed the most important opportunity in the series. I felt cheated, I was vocal and angry but despite all the support I gave to 'retakers' I was pissed because of all the "what could've beens" and no rectification would ever change the fact that people had seen the original awful ending in the first place. I've lost faith in Bioware's writers, especially Mac Walters who should never write anything ever again as a Lead if I had a say in it.

But seeing this now, 2 years later, I just don't really care anymore. They screwed up and it's kinda sad to see so many are still so concerned with it.

[--Onilink--]

I hated that they completely bypassed the dark energy storyline that was builind up on 2... And only to get that god awful ending. I really liked the rest of the game though, very complete and good closure on most aspects(genophage, quarian war, etc)

[Dan_scruggs]

Further evidence that Mass Effect makes people go insane.

[linkenski]

Man, I wish they'd 'valve'd' us and didn't ever make ME3 in the first place. Their fanbase has been divided completely and some are still in denial... I miss back when ME2 was the shidd. I know people give it flack for having stupidity and a bad plot but I loved it, made me look up to Bioware as a game developer, but ME3 just shat all over that.

[Agent_hitman]

lol fixing the broken ME3 story..

[Ocsta]

That ending made me cry. From pure, unadulterated rage.

[Godmars290]

And I can only think that ME's devs either didn't put in half as much effort, or weren't allowed to. Had to work through interference from publisher demands.

[hazelamy]

the only way to fix the ending.
invent some sort of memory erasing device and erase my memory of the ending.
then never let me actually see the ending.

that way i can always imagine the game game has a great ending.

[VTKC]

I think people have already thought of their own endings in the own heads. (I know I did, I was sad enough to type it up and read it all to myself.) Theres going to be trouble now they have decided to go over this AGAIN. Its been so long I think people have gotten over this including me.