I will start with this – I haven’t played Mass Effect 3 yet. However, I have played through and enjoyed the first and second iterations of Mass Effect.
That said, I think it is silly for people to be so disappointed with how the game ends. I don’t care if the series ends with Shepherd simply waking up from a bad dream in the Final Fantasy Universe or if you find out that Tali is really a man. Fact of the matter is that you should expect to be disappointed in this series.
Why?
Two Reasons –
Reason One – Simply because you are expecting to save the universe and everything will end up okay in the end. Mass Effect has given you a lot of lose-lose scenarios to deal with in the past. This is not going to be any different. The only real choice is whether or not to buy this game new… to which I answer ‘No’.
Reason Two – If you want a better ending you will pay for it. EA and other publishers are moving towards a business plan of micro-transactions. Think about all the expansion packs and such that come out for almost every game. The goal is to keep you playing and paying for new content.
A lot of people claim to want more realism in games; this also hinders their arguments about bad game endings, certain weapons being over-powered or the constant ratings debate in sports games.
Not to rain on anyone’s parade, but saving the universe is bound to end in disappointment from some angle. If you want to be pleased with the ending of a game you also might want to try out going back to the games you have already played and enjoyed. The best ending is one that leaves you talking about what might happen next. Check out the movie Inception and try to tell me otherwise.
The worst thing video games have done is make you feel like the protagonist always wins or achieves the perfect ending. The world is a cruel place and it is high time gamers learned that too.
This will be no more true than when EA/Bioware release an add-on that will give you a chance to finish the game with a fairy tale wedding and hugs all around.
NoobTubeTV 
” The world is a cruel place and it is high time gamers learned that too.”
I PAY because I want enjoy, no need to pay for cruel things, I can have free in life
I agree with you to an extent. I just feel like people have to understand that ME3 is based on making tough decisions. Also, even though these games give the gamer some autonomy you have to realize that the stories are linear.
I believe that the end of ME3 is a form of frustration because people want to believe that the best outcome is always possible and in this case it might not be what most cosider to be ‘optomal’.
I don’t think anyone expected unicorn farts and rainbows. I think that they were expecting their choices throughout the other two games to actually affect the ending. That, and there are parts of the ending that literally do not make sense.
The ending seems rushed. It comes down to three choices… and you can pick the color of the explosion that happens. Seems a bit of a slap in the face after the marketing has repeatedly said that your choices from the previous games will affect the ending. They don’t, in any real way.
I totally agree with people that think a crappy ending is a crappy way to finish a game series that has THREE iterations for you to become engrossed in the gameplay and story – not to mention the characters.
However, I truly believe that when put into the hands of corporate people at EA and Activision, they would rather put out a half-cocked ending that leaves you bitter-sweet simply because it might save some $.
Either way, the gaming community is a constantly jaded one. You can’t please everyone (anyone) anyway… This blog has had quite a few hits today; so I imagine you guys aren’t the only ones to feel this way.