Mass Effect3: Extended Cut - The good, the bad and the farewell

The following is a commentary on the recent Mass Effect: Extended Cut DLC.  Spoilers ahoy!

What the Extended Cut does well, it does very well and it fits within the framework of the vision of BW’s story.  It provides (some) clarity and closure to Shepard’s story and even introduces a fourth choice during the final sequence.  What the EC does well is provide closure to the ME1 and Normandy romances and delivers a somewhat satisfactory explanation to the events surrounding the Normandy and her crew.  The EC also delivers a more in character Shepard during the scenes w/ the Catalyst as she actually gets to ask questions this time. Shepard can even refuse the Catalyst’s choices.  This fourth choice doesn’t end well and feels like the epic story of “300” without the epic battle. I would have loved to have seen Shepard go down fighting in that ending, but she doesn’t. Whether it was meant as an insult to fans (it feels a bit like it) refusing the Catalyst’s choice is probably the most classically heroic choice of them all. Everyone dies, but they die on their own terms and free from any Reaper influence. Shepard sacrifices everything and everyone she knows including the galaxy itself so that the next cycle (thanks to Liara’s time capsule) will be prepared and can gain peace.  

What ultimately kills the Mass Effect ending for me is BW’s obsession w/ the narrowly focused theme of the “singularity is inevitable.”  While Shepard can reject the idea that synthetics will always destroy their creators, the consequences are pretty dire as opposed to going along w/ the idea.  Destroy and refusal net only destruction while control and synthesis net varying degrees of utopian society as BW sees it.  All the choices come at a price which is typical in a BW game, but in ME3 the picture painted is one sided.  Ultimately, I believe each choice was meant to define our Shepard, but something got lost in the translation.  I think what was lost was Shepard. ME3 is not about Shepard, although it pretends to be. The ME3 story, somewhat ironically, became about the destination, and not the journey we started so long ago w/ a friend. 

All that said, the EC does live up to the bargain of clarity and closure and for those who can love the game as it is, it does fix the endings. There is passion behind the Extended Cut and BW really did come through for the fans with making this DLC.  I still may not like the endings, but thanks BW for giving me a character I will never forget.