No, this shouldn't be. Yes, BioWare isn't as good at writing as they used to be. But their games are still good. Mass Effect 3 is not a bad game, even if you do think the ending sucks (which is a totally valid complaint). And the Mass Effect universe does have plenty of stories left to tell.

Now, BioWare should shelve the character of Commander Shepard, at least for now. As well as most other characters that were central to this trilogy of games. And, in a perfect world, they'd actually try something other than their typical "magic (space?) wizard must save the world from evil magic (space?) wizard with ancient race of evil dudes" plot, maybe getting some decent writers in the process. But most likely they'll just continue to push storytelling in games forward by making games with amazing presentation and games that come as close as we've seen to a summer blockbuster in video games, and as of right now Mass Effect is a brand that will get a publisher to give them a ton of money to make more games. Summer blockbusters will never be the most amazing stories, but what they do is push the industry forward in terms of technology, budget, and fanbase, making the way for smaller, cheaper, and more interesting games. BioWare is leading the way with a dull machete, leaving the paving of the road to others.

I completely agree with the people who feel BioWare isn't making the quality of stories they used to. But really, their stories were never that great. They just usually made better games than the people who did make good stories, and that's why BioWare is a huge company creating franchises while a company like Obsidian isn't. It sucks, but that's the way the entertainment industry works.

It seems to fleshed out to do nothing with it.  We need a Kart Racer, a Kinect controlled Mini Game Collection, and a physics based puzzle game. 

I'd love to see smaller stories set in the universe, even exclusively on a place like the Citadel. Something like playing a C-Sec officer in an LA Noire style game; set it in the wards.

But, after the end of 3, the universe is in such a state that it wouldn't be very interesting to go back to it. Makes me a little sad. :(

No but they need to bring in a whole new bunch of characters in a different time period I think.

@bartok said:

It seems to fleshed out to do nothing with it. We need a Kart Racer, a Kinect controlled Mini Game Collection, and a physics based puzzle game.

We need Mass Effect Kinect with the hit track "I'm Commander Shepard"

I've said it before, give me a ME game starring Garrus during his Archangel phase. MGS/AC meets Mass Effect. Please.

It won't end. It's owned by EA, and there is money in it. Simple as that. Whether or not it will be soon or far in the future is hard to tell.

That said, I feel like the ending was specifically made so that there could be no way to continue the games. Kind of like how the Harry Potter books end with them as adults, to prevent someone after her death taking up the reigns and basically making a mess of things.

@tsiro said:

If this is the end of the Mass Effect IP, I will cry forever. I love the universe way too much for this to be the end.

Same. A new story, with a new main character!

I don't know. Mass Effect 3 really fucked over the entire IP with its ending. So much so that I think BioWare needs to just cut its losses and move on. After Dragon Age II and now this, I can't trust them for a second when it comes to handling their IP's with any sort of care.

But...Mass Effect really does have an interesting universe at its base. It'd be a real shame if its lasting legacy is the third game completely shitting the bed. Get some new writers on the team, take it in a new direction as far as the lore and time period, and change up the gameplay (pretty bored of ME's combat at this point), then they might have something interesting on their hands.

Doesn't matter what I think, though. I'm sure someone at EA, either BioWare or somebody else, will make another Mass Effect game some day because it'll probably sell well.

I think they should give Garrus his own game and call it "Mass Effect : Calibrations".

@boj4ngles said:

I suspect that you might have a different opinion by the time you finish the game. A more negative one.

In case you're curious, I literally just finished the game. You're right, the ending is not good. I can sort of, kind of, barely see why they might've thought it was a good idea (though maybe I'll find out, now that I can go and read articles about it!), but it was still a poor ending. However, as I said before, I've spent 150+ hours (not including multiplayer) in this universe, and by far a majority of that has been awesome. So many of the characters, the races, and the locations are super cool. Hell, even considering the ending, I think this is my favorite science fiction universe.

Even after this, I would be crushed if the franchise was just left to die. There is so much more that could be done with this universe! Man, if there are no more Mass Effect games, I might have to start reading the novels (and video game books are for nerds!).

EDIT: Just to clarify, I think that it would be smart of Bioware to shelve Shepard and the events of these games in any future Mass Effect games. (Or, maybe, to make the events in any new games at most tangentially related to these games.)

To everyone saying that the endings fucked up the state of the universe, I say this: Just wait for the ending clarification DLC. I can make a few predictions here.

If the Indoctrination Theory is proven to be correct, then the whole thing with the relays blowing up was a hallucination, and they're still there.

Provided the ending is to be taken "as is," then I'm betting that the Mass Relays get rebuilt, within 50 years of the ending of ME3.

BioWare isn't done with Mass Effect yet. They have said that this will be the end of Shepard's story, not the end of the IP.

Also, EA wouldn't let them kill this cash cow in it's prime. There will be more ME games, and I'm betting they'll take place after ME3.

But what I would really love is the Mordin Solus action/adventure game that Vinny was imagining on the Bombcast a couple weeks back. :D

No. I really want them to expand on the universe with different characters/stories/genres.

Mass Effect can live on and be whatever it needs to be.

Shepard is done though.

Nothing got fucked over or ruined or whatever irrational thinking you can muster. There's always a world of possibility.

I think they'll probably make something akin to Halo:ODST or an MMO spin off, but with the original writers gone and that horribly contrived ending to 3 I don't particularly care what they make.

Just finished the game tonight and while I was underwhelmed w/ the ending, I think the universe has more stories to tell. Would I buy a new ME game is the question after that ending..I don't know. The lack of player agency, lack of explanation and functionally identical endings (watched em all via YouTube) no matter what you do doesn't have me chomping at the bit for new a brand new game. Plus the very crass "buy some DLC" message post credits was a little more rancid icing on the rather bland cake.

Look, I've been dreaming/nightmaring about playing as a Turian since I was like sixteen, when I should've been having much sexier dreams. If Bioware doesn't someday allow us this option, I will have spent a life in error.

Unfortunately, I'm 90% certain that Bioware's going to make it an MMO.

@PassiveKaerenai said:

Look, I've been dreaming/nightmaring about playing as a Turian since I was like sixteen, when I should've been having much sexier dreams. If Bioware doesn't someday allow us this option, I will have spent a life in error.

Unfortunately, I'm 90% certain that Bioware's going to make it an MMO.

You can, right now, in the multiplayer.

Also I have absolutely NO idea where people keep pulling this MMO crap from. Not only is this implying they'll release a competitor to the MMO they just released, SWTOR, but they already made that game, it cost them a fortune, and the returns have been less than stellar so far. They're not going to get refunded for a project like that, I honestly have no idea why people keep thinking this is going to happen.

No, not at all. They have fleshed out an extraordinary universe that has tons of potential for more stories to be told within it. Just because one story didn't end like you wanted it to doesn't mean they should scrap the whole thing. That is a perfect "baby with the bathwater" suggestion.

So no, there will and should be more Mass Effect games, books, comics and films and I think that's great.

No but this should be the death of the Shepard Trilogy.

I hope they take a break from the series. Bioware should maybe try to revisit older IP. Then on the next gen consoles they should go back to the mass effect series. Set it 900 years in the future maybe let matriarch Liara or Wrex/ Grunt be a party member. The game can start like this.

In the year 3013 CE several races banded together to again make the galaxy whole.You are one of the few in charge of finding what is out there.Space travel on the galactic level is now again possible but since systems have been isolated for centuries, little is known about what awaits. This legendary technology that will be a tool for order has always been known as...

Mass Effect

Imagine the stuff the people at bioware could do with a 900 year time gap. What if a Krogan on on Earth evolved differently than a Krogan on Tuchanka or Illium. They could explore some neat ideas that didn't have to do with the reapers.

Yes yes yes x 1000

Unless they Indoc Theory into ME4 then yeah probably. Or at least the Hudson team should stop and go start something new.  I reeeeally want the Hudson team to take a crack at something like Master & Commander / Hornblower / Sharpe - I think that would be amazing, and Assassin's Creed has shown that historical fiction can sell.
 
It seems unlikely, but I wouldn't mind seeing the once-obligatory Obsidian take on Mass Effect.

I wouldn't mind if they just let it die and bioware actually tried something different for a change except for Dragon Age.

Absolutely not. That would be such a waste of the incredible universe that they've created. There are still plenty of stories to be told in that universe.

Since they already took the Mass Effect franchise out back and put two slugs in its stomach and one in its head? Yes, yes it is.

I wish they hadn't fucked it all up to death, but they did. Rest in fucking peace.

Albeit I do want more Mass Effect, and I will be willing to suspend any disbelieve in regards to that god awful ending, just to enjoy me some more. So take that.

@Pinworm45 said:

@PassiveKaerenai said:

Look, I've been dreaming/nightmaring about playing as a Turian since I was like sixteen, when I should've been having much sexier dreams. If Bioware doesn't someday allow us this option, I will have spent a life in error.

Unfortunately, I'm 90% certain that Bioware's going to make it an MMO.

You can, right now, in the multiplayer.

Also I have absolutely NO idea where people keep pulling this MMO crap from. Not only is this implying they'll release a competitor to the MMO they just released, SWTOR, but they already made that game, it cost them a fortune, and the returns have been less than stellar so far. They're not going to get refunded for a project like that, I honestly have no idea why people keep thinking this is going to happen.

I don't disagree. But Bioware made SWTOR almost a decade after KOTOR, and I wouldn't bank on them getting scared off the MMO scene forever and ever after just one flop. Especially when the flop wasn't that dire to begin with. You're right though, it won't be on the table for a long while yet.

The other thing is, practical realities aside, that ME is very clearly MMO material. There are tons of reasons why SWTOR didn't work out, but bizarre as it sounds, I think the problem with Stars Wars is that it's an exhausted franchise, with so many games being produced that it can't muster the hype it needs to justify an MMO. ME is the younger, smarter cousin: incredibly popular, with a universe that's still fresh, and a fanbase who actually play games.

Anyway, this is the place from whence I am 'pulling this MMO crap'. And playing as a Turian in multiplayer is not part of my dream. I'm talking about a Dragon Age kind of choose-your-story. Except better. And with alyens.

they said before 1 was released that ME was gonna be a 3 part game....so theres 3 parts now...thats the most logical reason compared to your essay.

I've read through all the responses and it seems like there is general consensus that the IP is not creatively exhausted, (like star wars or warcraft for example) and therefore there is fertile ground for expansion of the franchise. I agree with this in theory.

There is also I think universal consensus that the Shepard story arc should and will be retired. I agree with this completely. There also seems to be some implicit suggestion that poor storytelling and plot in ME3 may have been due to exhaustion of the Shepard story arc, not the IP in general and I think I've adopted this opinion.

I have not heard any convincing, general defense of Bioware. I'm still of the opinion that they can no longer be depended on to make games that intelligently develop an IP with attention to details and creativity.

Basically, I'm no longer a day-one buyer for Bioware games but I hope they improve.

@tsiro: I'm glad you enjoyed the game. I hope they take the franchise in a good direction, just not so sure they will.

@SASnake said:

they said before 1 was released that ME was gonna be a 3 part game....so theres 3 parts now...thats the most logical reason compared to your essay.

I don't know, wasn't the same said, or implied about Assassin's Creed? Which ended up having a trilogy within their trilogy? We're in a gaming market that seems to frown upon new IPs. I'm sure EA is going to push out more games with the Mass Effect IP, and they've technically already have on the mobile market.

Personally, I'd like for the ME IP to be finished, but we all know that would probably never happen.

@boj4ngles:

GTA IN SPACE!!!!!!

Shepard is done I don't want to see Shepard in anymore mass effect games. Some cool setting could be playing as a krogan after the genophage, maybe during the krogan rebellion, or it could be set when the drell home world was dying. Or it could be set in the far future when some how intergalactic space travel is possible without the relays. Also, the ME universe is too big to just throw out the window but they should not release a new ME game until a year or two into the next gen consoles.

I would love to see more stories in this universe fleshed out. There is so much to build on I think it could be very interesting.

Fuck no.

No. Shepard's story, yes, but I want the IP to keep going.

Yes. Also, intellectual property is a propaganda term that lumps together laws that have nothing in common.

@WilltheMagicAsian: to be fair though, Assassins Creed was going to be a trilogy...before they did research for Ass Creed 2 and ended up having a wealth more of information that they decided to stretch out for 2 more games set within that time period, why they werent called "3". ME on the other hand, is a written universe, which means in order to have excess information would require somebody to actually write it, rather than have left over research as Ass Creed had.

I'd happily play a prequel, say, something along the lines of Mass Effect: Revelation. I feel like playing as Saren would be pretty interesting. He wasn't always bad, so watching him become so evil would be kinda cool.

@Kraznor said:

No, not at all. They have fleshed out an extraordinary universe that has tons of potential for more stories to be told within it. Just because one story didn't end like you wanted it to doesn't mean they should scrap the whole thing. That is a perfect "baby with the bathwater" suggestion.

So no, there will and should be more Mass Effect games, books, comics and films and I think that's great.

They burned the potential to in the ending. What is left in the galaxy post-Shepardapocalypse?

- Burned out destroyed Earth with a hole the size of The Citadel on one side. In orbit around it is what is left of a heavily armed combat fleet with no where to go. Option: Depending on your choice the Reapers may or may not be hanging around with no where to go as well. The only reason why that would be interesting is watching how they go insane and cannibalize themselves as they starve to death because they can't leave and Earth can't support them especially after being ravaged by The Reapers and hit with The Citadel which made the comet that wiped out the dinosaurs look small.

- Depending on what you chose, with the Destroy option the reapers are at least dead so people can return to their home systems. Oh wait, survivors and refugees used to the relays flee so a lot of species can't return to their home worlds because the relays are gone. If you chose the Control or Synthesis then they are still refuges far from home and The Reapers are just hanging around their home systems.

So exactly what exciting developments would a new game, book, comic, and film be about? How some refugees on the fringe of the galaxy where basically thrown back to the interstellar stone age? That actually could be entertaining but not in the way I think you meant.

Not a big fan of sci-fi. I liked the first ME though. But honestly, I've no interest in the third or it's possible sequel, so...whatever.

ME1 is a great game, just finished yesterday, 37 awesome hours of joy. Now i know what happens in ME2 and ME3 because of youtube, and i hate the fact that my renegade femshep, humans are the fucking master race in the Milky Way, we are going to rule the damn citadel playthrough doesn't matter on either game. So i will choose to see this franchise as a single game, the way it ended for me in ME1.

Am i crazy?

I've posted my idea for a new Mass Effect game before, but what the hey; here it is again.

I'd rather not have a prequel since they usually don't interest me in the slightest. There are exceptions, but generally, going back in time in a story leaves me flat; unless it's something like KOTOR, where it's so long ago that it only has certain thematic connections to the source material.

For ME4, I'd rather see something set a bit past ME3. With what they learned while building the Crucible and whatever Reaper tech was scavenged, the arduous task of rebuilding the Mass Relay system has begun. It's slow work as many races are still rebuilding from the Reaper attack. The perfect atmosphere for an ambitious freelancer to make their fortune.

You start the game by making your character; choose from human, salarian, turian, krogan, or asari. Bonus if every race has a male/female option; not just humans. If they wanted to get really nuts, add a volus too. Your combat skills would be almost worthless, but you would make up for it with your negotiation skills, letting you hire better mercenaries at cheaper prices for squad members/bodyguards.

Basically, I'm envisioning a Privateer-like game where you wander the galaxy, amassing fame and wealth however you see fit. Will you be an honest merchant, a roguish smuggler, or a ruthless drug dealer/slave trader? Hire mercenaries for your crew or form partnerships with other freelancers. Upgrade your ship or buy a bigger and better one.

I think a set up like this could allow for a ton of customization and immersion in the game's universe. Combat itself would often be as prevalent as you decide, as the game would allow you to talk your way out of fights or turn conversations into shoot-outs.

It would make exploration much more in tune with the games story than it often was in the first three games and would be a reasonably new direction to take the series so it doesn't stagnate into yet another military shooter. Your saved games could dictate which ME crew members could make cameo appearances. Imagine negotiating with Wrex to secure a major Tunchunka trading route or striking up a partnership with Aria.

Incorporating the endings could be a bit problematic, depending on how all that ends up. Personally, I'd love to see a Mass Effect game based on the "green" ending. It would provide interesting character moments and introduce new abilities to specialize in. But all that will have to wait till we see how the ending crap all shakes out.

EA is going to run this bitch straight into the ground!

No, this can be the end of Shepard's story but i could see a spin off taking place before mass effect 1 or in between one and two and it could be a slightly different feel. I was thinking kind of how prey 2 was shaping up, your a gun for hire or some kind of bounty hunter and you play solo or maybe have a small team that supports you. Have that added with some of the mass effect treats like conversion wheels and choices changes your outcomes. They could then change up the paragon and renegade meters and have a more shades of gray system since this would be a gritter story from the start.

no way! Ending was bad... doesn't leave a lot of room for additional story at that moment in time.... yada yada yada.

But, I would love to see a game when humans first enter interstellar space with the mass relays and discover alien life. That would be some sweetness! Maybe your character would have the first interspecies one nighter!

@boj4ngles: I just think that EA needs to loosen the leash on bioware they still have talented writers its just that Mass Effect 1 and Dragon Age Origins had a much longer time in development time. 2.9 games of the Mass effect series are pretty good. Maybe I'm not a huge Star Wars or Star Trek guy but I care more about the Krogan more than any wookie or Klingon, I know what the MO for the average salarian is, I know about some biology of the turians and the Quarians. Thats not something I can say for most other scifi universes.

People care about these characters and races because bioware did a good job making them and I'd like for them to take a break and revisit this series with a long 500 year time skip. they need to stick to their guns though, have the mass relays gone for that 500 year period and now space travel is here again maybe new conflicts have arisen. Maybe some minor species are now in power, I don't know, they can do so much because it is Sci Fi and they are really good at coming up with semi plausible sci fi ideas.

a first person shooter where you fight robots

If they want to do a "hundreds of years in the future" then why stick with Mass Effect? They might as well start over from scratch because none of the characters or races would be the same or matter except for "The Shepard". If they wanted an ending to spin a stand alone or MMO game off, Bioware specifically crafted a particularly bad ending to try it from.

If they made a great one off story with a new cast of characters, I'd be down for it. Maybe instead of being a solider you could be a Firefly type crew of honorable bandits! Something like that would be fun as the talking and character depth would happen more than the action stuff. If they could just make it as good as ME2 I'd play another ME game, 3 was such a goddamn letdown, even without the ending I still didn't care for it nearly as much as I did for 2.