I say play with the revised ending. The new ending isn't that much different to me, it just expands more about what is going on during the ending and after the ending when you do...well what you do. With that being said, I can see merit on why someone would want to play it how it was shipped before, I just think the new stuff simply explains the original ending better. With that said, Brad, do what you wish but I would advise to just play the "new" ending.  

The new Endurance Run is an hourly poll of which actions Brad should take in life.

if he wants the 'authentic' experience, i think he should just play the original (if only to see what all the hub-bub was about). but either way he's fine- i doubt his evaluation of the game will hinge upon the ending.

Whether or not people like the revised ending or not, BioWare made the revised ending canon. BioWare could've chosen not to revise it and leave it as is and just offer an explanation to gamers. But they did listen to gamers, they did revise it, and as such, is now canon.

Long story short, Brad should play it with all patches, all DLC and all revisions installed.

@MackGyver said:

Whether or not people like the revised ending or not, BioWare made the revised ending canon. BioWare could've chosen not to revise it and leave it as is and just offer an explanation to gamers. But they did listen to gamers, they did revise it, and as such, is now canon.

Long story short, Brad should play it with all patches, all DLC and all revisions installed.

this. the devs made a game the way they wanted, changing the ending to better explain their thought process. He should play that

i hear what y'all are saying, but i get the sense brad wants to know for himself what the controversy was all about- to that end, he'll probably end up watching the original, if only to satiate his curiosity.

edit: let's be real- he'll watch one, and youtube the other.

Brad's already expressed quite clearly how he intends to play the game. So...that way, I guess.

@Sackmanjones: To improve the game. Yes play the revised. To UNDERSTAND peoples vitriol and disappointment he HAS to play the original. As a games reviewer and a person who life is games and the games industry. He MUST play original then revised.

If someone goes to me "Hey Imma go play Mass effect 3....I heard people hated the ending. Should I see it?" I say yes and go on a massive explanation about how you should play it original and then see the better ending.

Someone that goes "Hey I wanna play Mass effect 3 is it good?" Id say "It was fantastic. Except the end. it was terrible, but they released a better ending as free DLC so download that before you get there. Unless you want to see the original."

@mellotronrule

Yeah your right. As-long as he does it is. A bout a month to go.....and hopefully he dosnt give up.

Original ending

Because all the revised ending does is take a bunch of shit that should have been common sense and spell it out explicitly. The original ending assumed we had some intelligence. Then everyone bitched, so they made a new ending that treats us like idiots.

@StarvingGamer said:

Original ending

Because all the revised ending does is take a bunch of shit that should have been common sense and spell it out explicitly. The original ending assumed we had some intelligence. Then everyone bitched, so they made a new ending that treats us like idiots.

Thats a bit simple. While you are kinda right. They did outright change a few things that were pretty terrible. However on the whole you are kinda of right, just overly simple.

I'm pretty sure he said on one the bombcast that he wanted to see the original ending just to see what the fuss was all about.

Whichever one he wants

Play Original, Youtube the DLC ending.

If he wants to properly consider it for Game of the Year discussions, he needs to see both, but he probably needs to play through to the original ending.

Yeah, the revised ending exists, and represents the developers' true vision or whatever, but no one who cared really saw it before they saw the original ending. The damage was already done and after-the-fact revisions only help so much.

Somehow, he needs to see both.

Doesn't really matter but he seemed to want to see it as it originally was so I'll go with that one.

I think he should play the original ending but it's all I played and was satisfied, I never even bothered to see the revised ending on youtube I was content with the ending.

@Sackmanjones: Brad should play what ever the fuck he wants to play.

@StarvingGamer said:

Original ending

Because all the revised ending does is take a bunch of shit that should have been common sense and spell it out explicitly. The original ending assumed we had some intelligence. Then everyone bitched, so they made a new ending that treats us like idiots.

And negates everything that was kinda ballsy about the ending in the process.

@Brad needs to see the original. You can't see the director's cut and then go back and watch a butchered theatrical cut. Your brain fills in all of the plot holes with knowledge from the more complete work and it will just make sense.

Extreme example to bring the point home: This clip of Star Wars is 30 seconds, summarizing 6+ hours of movies. Watching it now makes perfect sense. If this was released directly to theaters in 1977 as the "theatrical cut," Everyone would have demanded their money back because it was nonsense.

Brad can say he'll go back and view the original endings, but the nature of the human brain dictates that the correct order to view these in if you want to understand the context of the controversy is Original, then the Extended Whitewash Cut.

(Actually, Original, wait a few hours to mull it over, watch the Indoctrination Theory 30 minutes video on youtube, wait another few hours, then watch the Extended Cut. That pretty sums up most of our experiences with it without the long months in between.)

Depends on what he wants to get out of the experience. If he wants a better understanding of why there was so much commotion over the ending back around release time - though I really don't think that is what he is going for - then he should play it in the state it was released in: original ending and optionally Javik installed, then YouTube the extended cut later.

@StarvingGamer said:

Original ending

Because all the revised ending does is take a bunch of shit that should have been common sense and spell it out explicitly. The original ending assumed we had some intelligence. Then everyone bitched, so they made a new ending that treats us like idiots.

Original ending was a handful of people thinking they could pull off an intellectual, outside-the-box conclusion. The revised ending was admission that they couldn't.

@MackGyver:

I agree completely with your opinion.