BioWare plans on releasing a DLC add-on that will hopefully rectify Mass Effect 3’s ending, which has caused tons of online backlash among a group of passionate fans.
What was supposed to be a glorious ending to a three-part space opera about making space bros and saving the galaxy, turned quickly into a nightmarish reality for developer BioWare and publisher Electronic Arts. Mass Effect 3 launched March 6 to great acclaim, but soon after a black hole of nerd rage over the game’s ending appeared to swallow such early impressions from existence.
Ending wise, to what in particular? I can’t say for spoiler reasons, duh. But from online responses that have flooded the Internet, many Mass Effect fans were disappointed that the conclusion to the Mass Effect 3 didn’t tie up enough loose ends, or lacked a certain level gratifying closure. Actually… they weren’t just disappointed, oh no, they were awfully down-right pissed.
So much so, that they banded together, created online petitions, and shouted loudly to anyone within Internet radius about the ordeal. “THE WORST CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY,” as a few dissenters would often be heard crying on message boards, and in a less civil manner too – I tell ya what.
One such online petition, which drew the support/anger of enthusiast gamers everywhere, was for BioWare to release a post-game patch that would scrap the current Mass Effect 3 ending and replace it with a “better” one. Or as I’ve coined, “The Heck With The Artist’s Own Vision, We Know Better” Patch 0.12.
It’s a scary thought that with enough Internet heckling, that any artist could be forced to change something in their creation, be it a movie, or book – not out of a significant offense, say racism or homophobia – but because one aspect wasn’t to their approval. It’s alright to complain till your face turns blue about how holy-poo-poo you think an ending is, but it’s another to demand changes.
Although, perhaps I’m being a bit alarmist in my reasoning (I’m sure I was Chicken Little in a past life.) Maybe there’s a middle road to keeping artistic vision and satisfying those who felt truly upset at Mass Effect 3’s ending. And maybe that’s the exact idea BioWare has with their latest news, an “Extended Cut” downloadable add-on which would address the aforementioned ending concerns.
The Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut will arrive free of charge – a good gesture on BioWare’s behalf – this Summer, and according to EA, will tact on “additional cinematic sequences and epilogue scenes” to the game. Further more, “The Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut will give fans seeking further clarity to the ending of Mass Effect 3 deeper insights into how their personal journey concludes.”
As for the concerns of artistic vision, which have me and my fellow gaming prudes hugging our consoles tight like safety blankets, BioWare Studio co-founder Dr. Ray Muzyka said, “with the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut we think we have struck a good balance in delivering the answers players are looking for while maintaining the team’s artistic vision for the end of this story arc.”
Here’s hoping the Extended Cut DLC will do as Dr. Muzyka says. It would be nice for all this outrage – whatever side you happen to sit on – to die down for good. Now, we don’t have any particulars of what the DLC content will be, and how will this effect other DLC down the pipeline, but we will in due time.
Please stay here on Walyou for more gaming news, like info about the Double Dragon reboot and the new Final Fantasy XIII-2 costume DLC.
