(Warning, spoilers ahead. Anyone remember how to do spoiler tags? I'll edit!)
The two main endings (Well, three, actually, Destroy turns out VERY differently depending on the quality and condition of the Crucible) aren't really Paragon and Renegade, regardless of the usual use of blue and red. And Synthesis is more of a Crucible quality issue then anything else. I sort of understand people being irritated at the endings linked to the War Assets system, but at the same time, there was a similar system in regards to keeping the crew alive in ME2. If you speed through the game, do nothing but the main missions, ignore the side missions, don't grab any war assets or opportunities for reputation boosts, you're heading for the bad ending. Work at it a bit, and the endings are much better.
Yes, they're vague. The Normandys situation could have been explained so much better with a simple scene showing your squadmates heading back into space when they realize you made it to the Conduit, as they KNOW Shepard will manage to unlock the Citadel, and then having Hackett order them (And the geth if they're there) to run like hell once the Catalyst reveals what the Destroy option will do. Hit the Relay, get as far away as possible in the hope EDI might be able to survive it. As for being stranded on an unknown planet? The Normandy had Quantum Entanglement Communicators. Those don't need the Relays, although they're limited to linking to another specific QEC. But they're all over the galaxy by this point, given the need for communications systems the Reapers couldn't destroy. If they can figure out where they are (And I'd put money on them crashing back into the star system that particular relay was linked to), it's not impossible for someone to be in range to get them before supplies run out. And yeah, the Relays are gone. Big deal. They've been reverse engineered before. There's a second Conduit on Earth to study, quite possibly the wreckage of the Citadel, and it just so happens that the galaxies best minds and engineers are all in one location thanks to the Crucible project. I'm not saying it's a certain development, or that it'll be quick. It'll take years at the very least, possibly more. And entire sections of the galaxy will still be left isolated and alone, surviving or dying on their own merits and failures. It would be centuries at least before galactic civilization could truly rebuild. But it CAN rebuild.
That's the thing I love about the ending. It reshapes the galaxy, changes everything! It's the end of THIS era, and there's a heavy price to pay, but unless you screw up by the numbers, life continues! Life rebuilds! The people you met, the people you helped or fought, saved or crushed, are out there facing a brand new future, because of you. Commander Shepard saves the galaxy and creates a future unlike anything anyone could have expected! Yes, I wish there was more details! Bioware hurt themselves by trying to be too cute. But I honestly believe the ending was good. I want to see the future.
The two main endings (Well, three, actually, Destroy turns out VERY differently depending on the quality and condition of the Crucible) aren't really Paragon and Renegade, regardless of the usual use of blue and red. And Synthesis is more of a Crucible quality issue then anything else. I sort of understand people being irritated at the endings linked to the War Assets system, but at the same time, there was a similar system in regards to keeping the crew alive in ME2. If you speed through the game, do nothing but the main missions, ignore the side missions, don't grab any war assets or opportunities for reputation boosts, you're heading for the bad ending. Work at it a bit, and the endings are much better.
Yes, they're vague. The Normandys situation could have been explained so much better with a simple scene showing your squadmates heading back into space when they realize you made it to the Conduit, as they KNOW Shepard will manage to unlock the Citadel, and then having Hackett order them (And the geth if they're there) to run like hell once the Catalyst reveals what the Destroy option will do. Hit the Relay, get as far away as possible in the hope EDI might be able to survive it. As for being stranded on an unknown planet? The Normandy had Quantum Entanglement Communicators. Those don't need the Relays, although they're limited to linking to another specific QEC. But they're all over the galaxy by this point, given the need for communications systems the Reapers couldn't destroy. If they can figure out where they are (And I'd put money on them crashing back into the star system that particular relay was linked to), it's not impossible for someone to be in range to get them before supplies run out. And yeah, the Relays are gone. Big deal. They've been reverse engineered before. There's a second Conduit on Earth to study, quite possibly the wreckage of the Citadel, and it just so happens that the galaxies best minds and engineers are all in one location thanks to the Crucible project. I'm not saying it's a certain development, or that it'll be quick. It'll take years at the very least, possibly more. And entire sections of the galaxy will still be left isolated and alone, surviving or dying on their own merits and failures. It would be centuries at least before galactic civilization could truly rebuild. But it CAN rebuild.
That's the thing I love about the ending. It reshapes the galaxy, changes everything! It's the end of THIS era, and there's a heavy price to pay, but unless you screw up by the numbers, life continues! Life rebuilds! The people you met, the people you helped or fought, saved or crushed, are out there facing a brand new future, because of you. Commander Shepard saves the galaxy and creates a future unlike anything anyone could have expected! Yes, I wish there was more details! Bioware hurt themselves by trying to be too cute. But I honestly believe the ending was good. I want to see the future.