BBB Supports Mass Effect 3 "False Advertising" Claims
Uh… what?
Mass Effect 3
Players: 1 Offline Player
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Genres: Action, RPG, Third-Person Shooter
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Genres: Action, RPG, Third-Person Shooter
Release Date: March 6, 2012
Developer: BioWare
MSRP: $59.99
Developer: BioWare
MSRP: $59.99
Mass Effect 3 will follow from the events of the Mass Effect 2 DLC expansion Arrival and follow Commander Shepard as he/she tries to save the galaxy from the Reapers by rallying civilizations of the galaxy together, while also having to deal with Cerberus, who have decided to turn against him/her.
Characters with Character: Miranda Lawson
Posted By Robert G. about 3 months ago
More than just an avatar of perfection.
Note: The following contains spoilers. You have been warned.
The Mass Effect series is no stranger to “extremes.” We see it in a lot this in the overall design philosophy of the games; so called “civilized” cities such as Illium and the Citadel are pristine looking and very rigid in their design, while the more “marginalized” areas of the universe, such as Omega or Tuchanka are dilapidated and chaotic. We see lush environments contrast with man made structures, we see alien races of varying cultures clashing constantly over societal ideologies, and we see the extreme form of monsters in the like of the games primary villains, the omnipotent reapers.
This is kind of a hallmark of games that Bioware develops. They do so purposely, visually and orally showing us the extreme differences of each race, setting, and so forth to make them distinct and, at least initially. After the surface is scratched, we see that appearances are always deceiving. Bioware takes the very stereotype they perpetuated, and turn it on its head by examining it more closely, giving worlds and characters deeper complexity than what is typically perceived.
A good example of this is Miranda Lawson. Her cocky nature and pure perfection of being has been lambasted by many as the archetypical “Mary-Sue” of the Mass Effect series; completely confident in her abilities and confident enough to show it off. Or at least, that is one of the more common definitions of a Mary-Sue. The term colloquially is used to describe characters in fan fictions that are essentially the wish-fulfillment of the author. Today the term has crossed over to several forms of media, describing characters like Edward Cullen from Twilight, to Wesley Crusher from Star Trek. Video games have been criticized for this as well in the past; mostly due to the characterizations of video game characters becoming the wish-fulfillment of the player.
Seriously…do I have to say anything to prove this one true?
Miranda Lawson, the Cerberus Operative in Mass Effect 2, is such a character, in the most basic of senses at first. Upon first glance, we know that she has undying loyalty to Cerberus and their ideals, powerful biotic abilities, super intelligence, and the perfect body. In fact, she boldly claims to Shepard when the Commander calls her out on it, which she just states as a fact because its true.
And we see a lot of this in her own physicality. Miranda is, for the lack of a better phrase, the perfect woman. The games cinematics showcase this though camera angles and screen panning. Hell, her looks overall are one of the defining traits I keep finding on the internet, pointing out her perfect shape ad-nausea at times. It also made things difficult in terms of finding videos for evidence, as almost all of the videos showcase her sex scene with Shepard. So Miranda is a sexual icon in many ways, and people have focused on this aspect about only, but she is definitely more than a sexual icon. In fact, if anything it shows the burdens of extreme sexuality and perfection, mainly because of Miranda’s past.
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Mass Effect 3 Resurgence Pack DLC Revealed; Also Free
Reinforcements, weapons, and two new maps–all for free. Not bad BioWare, not bad…
BioWare Announces Free Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut DLC
BioWare promised Mass Effect 3 players news in April about their plans to address the controversy surrounding the game’s ending and now they have delivered just that.
A Socratic Debate: A Dialogue Between a Paragon and a Renegade
The following is a philosophical conversation between a Paragon and a Renegade. Each of them have a contrasting point of view, and will try to impose their will on the other by bring up evidence, as well as posing philosophical “what ifs” and “whys” against each other. How you interpret this dialogue is up to you.
N7 Weekend "Operation Goliath" Underway
Despite the controversy, Mass Effect 3 moves forward with a multiplayer promo this weekend.
Mass Effect 3 Video Review - ZGR
There sure is a lot of nerd rage floating around the net about Mass Effect 3. Daniel lets you know his thoughts!
BioWare Addresses Mass Effect 3 Ending and DLC Criticisms
After coming under increasing fire from a number of vocal gamers, BioWare has directly addressed some of the various criticisms being leveled at them regarding Mass Effect 3.
Mass Effect 3 Review
For every cynic and sycophant that staunchly made up their minds regarding this truly well crafted conclusion, the true test of Mass Effect 3 worth will be the long lasting influence of the series as a whole. And for my money, Mass Effect 3, along with the rest of the trilogy, deserves the accolades they receive.
Mass Effect 3 Resurgence Pack DLC Revealed; Also Free
Reinforcements, weapons, and two new maps–all for free. Not bad BioWare, not bad…
BioWare Announces Free Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut DLC
BioWare promised Mass Effect 3 players news in April about their plans to address the controversy surrounding the game’s ending and now they have delivered just that.
N7 Weekend "Operation Goliath" Underway
Despite the controversy, Mass Effect 3 moves forward with a multiplayer promo this weekend.
BioWare Addresses Mass Effect 3 Ending and DLC Criticisms
After coming under increasing fire from a number of vocal gamers, BioWare has directly addressed some of the various criticisms being leveled at them regarding Mass Effect 3.
Mass Effect 2 Saves Cannot be Imported to 3 via Cloud on the 360
Be aware that any saves of Mass Effect 2 on the cloud storage device will not transfer over to Mass Effect 3.
Mass Effect 3 Official Launch Trailer Sets the Tone
The official launch trailer is here, and god damn its impressive and a tad spoiler-y.
Characters with Character: Grunt
Note: The following contains spoilers. You have been warned. If you were to ask any
Mass Effect 3 in 5 seconds
We know you can’t wait to play it, but what does it really boil down to in the end ?
Mass Effect 3 Review
Posted By Robert G. about 2 months, 1 week ago
Mass Effect 3 Review
From the 8-Bit days of Pac-Man to the graphic capabilities of Heavy Rain, from the simple soundbites in Berserk to the epic chanting in Halo, and from the innovative gameplay in Super Mario Bros. to the innovative gameplay in Shadow of the Colossus, video games have constantly evolved as time slowly flows towards an unknown future. We look at the past and see pillars of excellence, games that mold the landscape on the whim of what they can represent for all of us. And we look to the future to see what shall join them in this exclusive club of memorable titles and masterful works.
| PROS | Amazing story moments and characters, Galaxy at War, Refined gameplay, voice overs and musical score. |
| CONS | Outdated graphics, Controversial ending and pre-release press, Little time to breathe after its all said and done. |
| WTF?! | The ending. |
Mass Effect 3 is the next god to take a spot in this pantheon. Or should I say,the Mass Effect trilogy. I feel as if I am reviewing just one game five years in the making, the culmination of this bold trilogy, the sum of its total parts. To write off one game of the series as good or bad sadly will not cut it anymore, since all three are accountable for shaping the storyline, and eventually the experience given to us. So really, the final grade behind this title is more of a formality than anything else; people have made their choices in the past week over their own likes and dislikes of the game, so what I say about Mass Effect 3 now will not sway anyone in that regard.
Out of the gate Mass Effect 3 has a lot to live up to. This RPG has evolved in the past five years, refining its shooter mechanics and perfecting the formula of its combat and presentation. Many have seen this as going away from its role-playing roots, but truthfully, how is Mass Effect 3 not a role-playing game at its core? The storyline, for example, begins with the chaos of an all-out war. The Reapers, the boogeymen for the past two titles, have finally arrived and have begun to destroy the galaxy, one planet at a time. As the courageous Commander Shepard, your job is to find a way to stop them, at any cost.
The actual storyline was never a high water mark for Mass Effect, following the traditional tropes of good vs. evil common in the high fantasy/space opera genre. But it was the journey, not the destination, that made it worthwhile trip to go on. Every nuance of a choice found in the previous titles having at least some ramification, both small and large, in Mass Effect 3. In most cases, it boils down to adding war assets to your cause. These war assets are basically how prepared you are for the game’s finale and determine the likelihood of success in destroying the Reapers and obtaining a good ending to the trilogy.
War assets are the closest thing to a statistical table you can get to in Mass Effect 3.
But most of these war assets are obtained through side missions and mini-quest lines that are regulated to simple fetch quests and minor conflict resolutions. Other assets are gained and lost through decisions in the past games; if you saved the council in Mass Effect 1 for example, you have less Alliance fleets for Mass Effect 3, but you gain the use of special assets such as the Destiny Ascension and more alien war assets to compensate. So the trade off is somewhat minimal, but changes based on how you played the past two chapters, reflecting the overall tone of the story you created.
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- March 14, 2012 at 03:08pm
While I never played more than a short bit of ME1, ME3 is probably my favorite next to ME2. Yes, the ending is jarring and incomplete, but that buildup to the end was amazing. There were powerful moments with the games characters, Shepard felt much more likable tome me, being a rather monotone action hero, in this one, seeming more troubled by the weight on his shoulders to try and save not just Earth, but everyone in the universe. Alot of things were fine tuned and though it’s a shorter game than ME2, it was much more action packed and intense. The build up to the end of the game was infinitely better than what we got with ME2, but alot of people didn’t see that once they got to the ending choices. It’s very deserving of scores it’s getting (Not like 90 and up scores), but alot of that is getting swamped in the hate people have for the endings.
I definitely would like to see Mass Effect continue. The trilogy may have ended, but it mostly just means the storyline was brought to…somewhat completion lol Would be interesting to see them do it as a timeskip where the races have managed to rebuild the Relays and started to bring themselves together again.
- March 14, 2012 at 02:47pm
They couldn’t have decent choice-acknowledging endings or sideplot resolutions because that would alienate people who haven’t played other MEs. And as we all know, Mass Effect 3 is intended to be the best entry point to the series.
Because that’s how trilogies work.
And no, it’s NOT ALL the people who decided to hate the game beforehand that are complaining. I’d say everyone in their forums that are complaining can’t be the half-mad oldschoolers or backers of other RPG companies COUGHOBSIDIANFANBOYSCOUGH, since they got themselves banned long long ago.
- March 15, 2012 at 08:52am
I have to disagree. The main sideplots did get strong, emotional resolutions, it’s the main plot resolution that is producing all the rage.
As for the “entry point” issue, i got the feeling that this was what they were trying to do, during the marketing campaign pre-release, but i think they really failed at it. During the 2nd act i was constantly thinking that if i wasn’t a big fan of the series i wouldn’t give a crap about all these emotional moments. I like ME3 but i wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who hasn’t played the first 2 games.
Also, it’s not only the choices made through ME 1&2 that don’t get decent acknowledgement in the ending, the choices made in the final game suffer the same fate.*****SPOILERS!!!*****
I still don’t get how having greater flee support or improved Citadel defences offers me more end-game options…
*****SPOLILERS!!!****
- March 14, 2012 at 12:51pm
Outdated graphics? Should have played on the PC, I was completely blown away on how beautiful it looked.
- March 14, 2012 at 02:31pm
The graphics might look a little better, but the animation and plastic faces are still very prominent. PC just makes it more tolerable lol
- March 14, 2012 at 02:48pm
The godawful Unreal engine they used has been dragging down the trilogy from day one…
- March 14, 2012 at 03:32pm
Yeah the series has never been that impressive of a game visually outside of maybe some CGI stuff, which never made much sense to me, being that the game is constantly bringing in close-ups of these really emotion-less faces. It stood out alot more with ME2 and while ME3 tried to hide it abit more behind like…face filters or something and some slightly better visuals, alot of the textures are really kinda bad and muddy.
- March 14, 2012 at 01:28am
That was what bugged me the most was the lack of an Epilogue. Shepered i could care less about but i want to know what happens to Garius, Liara as well as all the raced like the Krogan
- March 13, 2012 at 08:02pm
No one, least of all the companies themselves, is claiming that EA or BioWare will never make another Mass Effect game. All that is being said is that Mass Effect 3 is the culmination and conclusion of the current overarching storyline that has driven the series up to this point. You do understand what the definition of a trilogy is right? And that producing one for a franchise does not automatically preclude further stories in said franchise, right?
And as for the second portion of your statement… Honestly words fail me. You cannot really be trying to claim that BioWare is ripping off Gurren Lagann, right? I mean there are a million reasons why that is nonsense not the least of which being both series premiered the same year. Also I don’t recall there being a lot of mechs shaped like human heads in the Mass Effect universe.
- March 13, 2012 at 09:07pm
I’m all for chipping away at the Mass Effect series but I agree with Shaun and am just confused how ME ripped off Gurren Lagaan.
Elaborate?
- March 13, 2012 at 09:30pm
There are some similarities.. the more subtle ones then just giant mechas fighting. GL is a lot deeper than just that.
http://i.imgur.com/acSCH.jpg
(not my image)I suppose it’s questionable, whether GL was the first to have similar themes involved though.
Bioware/EA ripping off other franchise wouldn’t surprise me either. - March 15, 2012 at 08:57am
It’s definitely not staying a trilogy, BW have made it clear they want to expand on the games’ universe. It’s Cmdr Shepard’s story that’s over.
- March 13, 2012 at 06:07pm
I kinda like the endings to some degree, but they are flawed. Without giving a spoiler to what they actually are, I’ll say that if Bioware simply went into more detail on what happens in each ending, perhaps add some epilogue notes like at the end of Dragon Age Origins, then they would be much improved.
Otherwise, a very good game.
Mass Effect 3 Video Review - ZGR
There sure is a lot of nerd rage floating around the net about Mass Effect 3. Daniel lets you know his thoughts!
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RAD episode 242-Mass Effect 3
Birdman totally abandoned sleep over the weekend to bring you this BT FIRST review of Mass Effect 3. Birdman brings his female Commander Shepard and lets you know how the fight against the Reapers went. This review contains small SPOILERS!
Mass Effect 3 in 5 seconds
We know you can’t wait to play it, but what does it really boil down to in the end ?
Let's Play Mass Effect 3 demo
The most anticipated demo of the most anticipated game of 2012 ended up in Benzaie’s hands a few days early… Will you resist watching his LP ?
A Socratic Debate: A Dialogue Between a Paragon and a Renegade
The following is a philosophical conversation between a Paragon and a Renegade. Each of them have a contrasting point of view, and will try to impose their will on the other by bring up evidence, as well as posing philosophical “what ifs” and “whys” against each other. How you interpret this dialogue is up to you.
Characters with Character: Commander Shepard
What constitutes a good character? Join me in this series that attempts to look at these characters and tries to peel away the layers of depth they have. Join me as we find Characters with Character in our Special Mass Effect Retrospective! This week is Commander Shepard!
RAD episode 242-Mass Effect 3
Birdman totally abandoned sleep over the weekend to bring you this BT FIRST review of Mass Effect 3. Birdman brings his female Commander Shepard and lets you know how the fight against the Reapers went. This review contains small SPOILERS!
Characters with Character: Grunt
Note: The following contains spoilers. You have been warned. If you were to ask any
Characters with Character: Miranda Lawson
What constitutes a good character? Join me in this series that attempts to look at these characters and tries to peel away the layers of depth they have. Join me as we find Characters with Character in our Special Mass Effect Retrospective! This week is Miranda Lawson.
Characters with Character: Mordin Solus
What constitutes a good character? Join me in this series that attempts to look at these characters and tries to peel away the layers of depth they have. Join me as we find Characters with Character in our Special Mass Effect Retrospective! This week is Mordin Solus.
Mass Effect 3 Co-op a Thing?
Does a grainy scan of a South African videogame magazine constitute proof that we’re getting multiplayer in Mass Effect 3? Not concretely, but then again, Bioware hasn’t exactly used the word “no” when asked about it.
Mass Effect 3 May Feature Kinect Support
People wondering about the future of Kinect beyond gimmicky party titles may want to keep an eye on BioWare, and what they may be doing to Mass Effect 3.
My thoughts on Miranda Lawson as drawn by Katie Tiedrich(sp?):
http://awkwardzombie.com/index.php?page=0&comic=022012
I cant stop seeing Michel Jackson when I look at her face since I saw the Angry Joe Review of ME2…..
She was the first female Krogan they ever showed in the series. I gotta say, Miranda was hideous. The Male Krogans look kinda cool, but she was a dog.
She’s a very bland character when you get right to it. In the end she’s still a mary-sue regardless of any “flaws” she may have (didn’t Stephanie Meyer try to defend Bella by saying she wasn’t a mary-sue due to having so called “flaws?” ). Miranda does have her moments and I will admit that her defiance of The Illusive Man when it came to destroying the Collector Ship did earn her some point. But I still don’t like her nor did I find her interesting as a character.
This is easily your weakest analysis. Where’s the discussion of her relationship with Cerberus? What about her fight with Jack? This article basically amounts to “She has a backstory” and that criterion is hardly enough to give her “character.”
Unless you can give a believable breakdown of the line “You were a mistake”, I refuse to view her as anything less than a bitch; she may have a softer interior, but beneath that is just another layer of bitch. A “she’s not totally perfect” backstory doesn’t make her any less of a flat Mary Sue.
But her being a bitch never changes, it really was not worth mentioning this time around. At least not in great detail.
And I thought about putting in a lot of the backstory for Cerberus…but I was saving that for someone else…
But to each their own I guess, sorry if it was weak to you dude. I shall try harder next time.
But how is she a “character with character” then? I’m not disproving of her being bitchy or unlikable, but if you’re not going to delve into why, then I can’t really accept her being worthy enough for this article. Loghain and Anders are also characters people can view very negatively, but those had plenty more backstory and reasons for their actions. When Loghain acts like a bastard, it’s because of paranoia and deep-seeded hatred. When Anders acts like a bastard, it’s because of past trauma and his merger with a Fade Spirit. When Miranda acts like a bitch, it’s because… um… she’s a bitch. Denouncing Jack as a mistake has zero connection to her family issues… where’s the character in that?
Fuck Anders. And fuck the writing team with a rusty spiked mace.
Not only did DA2 retcon every key decision from my imported savegame (I turned Anders at the first chance to the Templars) but also was the key plot point set up in a DLC for Avakening of all things.
I loved watching the progress of Miranda’s character over the run of the game, it was very refreshing to see the story play with and eventually turn the stereotypes on their head, as you said. Great article, I can’t wait to see your look into Tali.
Good analysis, but I still don’t like her
Agree 100%