PTamp

The DLC dramatically improved from the incomplete mess of an ending that shipped with the game. That doesn't say much. The epilogue scenes do provide nice emotionally engaging visual easter eggs for long time fans in the finest tradition of RPG end credit slides. The basic incongruence between the three end choices and the heroic themes of the trilogy remain. As ambivalent as I am towards this EC, I know that much outrage and emotionally draining battles between fans would have been avoided if this had been in the original game. This revised ending may or may not be enough to satisfy fans in the end but it will be the last word from the creative team on this issue. It's too early to know if the half finished tripe they shipped was indicative of what we can expect in future from Bioware or if they can return to the levels of KoToR. The most reasonable assumption is that they settle into a comfortable mediocrity of it's recent efforts like Dragon Age 2 and this extended cut.

I loved the art and style of this title but ultimately I couldn't get into the protagonist Cole Phelps. The overarching plot involves the detective's rise in the LAPD over several years. This thread intertwines with Phelps' past in the Marines told in a series of flashbacks in the form of cutscenes. Eventually the past and present come together to define the character. The game itself plays as an interactive detective movie set in post-ww2 LA. PCC streetcars roll the wide boulevards as you drive to the crime scenes. I ultimately hated the car chase scenes. The controls weren't intuitive for me. The facial technology that went into the characters while you are interrogating them was quite impressive, however I felt that this aspect of gameplay became almost like work as I tried to read body language to determine if the person was lying.

I have been looking forward to this game for two years, I have never been so disapointed with a game ending. As the end of a trilogy I expected the resolution of the reaper plot, and Commander Shepard's story. This story has captivated me for at least 100 hours over the past several years. In fact, I bought my Xbox 360 to play this series. The ending of this game invalidates all the choices the character/player has made over three games. Not only that the resolution deviates from the theme of the series in a strange presenting choices that seem to contradict the message about the power of individuals to shape their own future. Characters and entire alien races we've grown to love over the course of the games are then summarily railroaded into a convenient ending with not further exposistion on their ultimate fate regardelss of what the player has done over the trilogy.