jasta

If I try to listen music while doing something else I just get distracted by the music and lose focus on whatever it was I was trying to do.

Music time is music time.

I'm a Kickboxer and have been doing Krav Maga / PDR for the past 3 years. Even with all the training in the world the best defense is still in track and field. You'll win every fight you don't get into.

So, Brad was the big winner last time. 

Mass Effect 3, no question about it.

@Jasta said:

@boj4ngles said:

@Jasta said:

I seem to remember someone from Bioware saying "You should probably hang onto your Mass Effect 3 save." or along the lines of that. So based on this and the popularity of the IP, I'd guess that Bioware is in no way finished with Mass Effect.

Oh I know, there is no way they're going to scuttle the IP, it is way too profitable. My question is whether or not they should? Is the quality of the IP just going to deteriorate from here on out (due to a number of factors) and therefore make an abrupt end to the series preferable to a slow decent into crappiness.

I totally agree with you that the IP will go on, I'm just asking if it's even a good idea.

If by "due to a number of factors" you mean the ending of Mass Effect 3, then I say there is absolutely no reason they should dump the series. Despite the massive amount of controversy surrounding that game at the moment, there still a good chance it will be my (and many others) GOTY 2012. I put 35 hours into that game and loved every minute of it. They screwed up the ending but almost aced the rest of the game in my books.

Sorry I should have clarified. When I said "number of factors" I was referring to my OP. The "factors" IMHO are:

1. Deteriorating quality of writers at Bioware. I'm of the minority that thinks the writing throughout ME3 was bad, not just ending. I didn't like the lazy and random use of cameos to bring back characters, the tone of the Reaper war which never really felt dire or urgent. Also the dialogue was just stupid at times, and especially the introduction of characters for nothing but sex. It just seemed to be an inferior game to ME1 and ME2. Couple this with the disappointment that was DA2, and it seems like Bioware is in creative decay and therefore poor stewards of the franchise.
2. EA's influence on the development of Mass Effect Games. Simply put, they are forcing developers (Bioware) to rush out products that feel unfinished and not entirely thought-out. DLC is an issue as well, but admittedly it does not necessarily affect the quality of the games.
3. The state of the IP's cannon post ME3. Frankly, the ending is game breaking (IMHO) and potentially fatal for future entries to the series. One of the hallmarks of the series is that it takes its own fiction very seriously and will reward players who do so. That is a pro. The con is that if suddenly they series is no longer taking itself seriously, fans who have made an investment into it will be turned off.

So I think there are some bigger problems even outside the game itself that bode poorly for the franchise's future.

All of the points you make are valid, but on almost all counts I disagree with them (apart from the ending). Coming to a consensus when people at opposite ends of the spectrum are so passionate about their argument is near enough impossible. The only thing I'm willing to bet is that when the next Mass Effect gets released, all the people who said they would boycott the series after finishing Mass Effect 3 will buy it. 

Neither of us are wrong in this debate, but finding a universal opinion on such a diverse argument just isn't going to happen.

Who knows, this new Summer DLC might FIX EVERYTHING. =P

Don't mind if I do.

@Jasta: That seems crazy. There will be new consoles out before any new Mass Effect game could exist, won't there? Importing saves to that would be impossible. Are you sure you're not thinking of something they said regarding dlc for 3 or whatever?

Who's to say importing saves from one console to another is impossible?

Here's the article I quoted the guy from - http://www.gamerzines.com/xbox/news-xbox/mass-effect-3-saves.html

“We want the outcomes to be satisfying to the player. That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re all going to be happy or positive, but they have to be satisfying. Players have to understand that the choices they’ve been making in this game and in previous have had an impact, and that they’re an architect in what happens.”

@Jasta said:

I seem to remember someone from Bioware saying "You should probably hang onto your Mass Effect 3 save." or along the lines of that. So based on this and the popularity of the IP, I'd guess that Bioware is in no way finished with Mass Effect.

Oh I know, there is no way they're going to scuttle the IP, it is way too profitable. My question is whether or not they should? Is the quality of the IP just going to deteriorate from here on out (due to a number of factors) and therefore make an abrupt end to the series preferable to a slow decent into crappiness.

I totally agree with you that the IP will go on, I'm just asking if it's even a good idea.

The Walking Dead has taught me more than enough on how to handle a Zombie apocalypse situation.

I seem to remember someone from Bioware saying "You should probably hang onto your Mass Effect 3 save." or along the lines of that. So based on this and the popularity of the IP, I'd guess that Bioware is in no way finished with Mass Effect.