Chaos Raiden
Avid Gamer & Reviewer
NOTE: This review contains spoilers from Mass Effect 3. Anyone who has not completed the game yet should avoid reading this review.
Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut is the latest DLC released for Mass Effect 3. Unlike most DLCs released for games, this DLC contains extra dialogue choices, new and altered cutscenes, etc. Everyone should be forewarned that this DLC does not alter any of the original endings in the main game itself, although it adds one new ending to the game itself.
After installing this DLC and the latest patch, you are able to view new cutscenes included in this DLC, as well as new dialogues throughout the final mission in the game that clarify or explain certain mysteries left in the game, such as the origins of the Catalyst, etc. Few additional cutscenes are added in the DLC as well, such as what happened to the surviving species in the game after what ending you have chosen in the game, or what happened to your squadmates during the final Reaper laser attack on Earth.
A new ending included in this game is the 'Refusal' ending. This ending is simple, as it requires you to not choose any of the original endings by shooting the Catalyst or by dialogue. Doing so results to an entirely new ending, which can be viewed as the 'bad' ending of the game, since the Reapers will harvest all of the advanced species successfully
The original three endings are not altered to new ones, but extended with additional cutscenes and dialogues. In these three endings, many new cutscenes and dialogues are implemented to make sense of many unexplained stuffs in the original endings, such as why Normandy escapes from the battlefield, what happened to the advanced species (asari, krogan, etc), etc. Thanks to these new cutscenes and dialogues, the three endings actually make more sense to players, and it gives more closure to Shepard's storyline.
Unfortunately still, the original endings are not changed to much more better endings since many of our choices made in all Mass Effect games do not affect this much of the game's multiple endings. What actually made the game's original three endings bad to fans is that all three endings basically similar to each other, which is sacrificing something to achieve piece. In 'Control' and 'Synthesis' endings, your Shepard need to sacrifice himself/herself to save the galaxy from the Reapers. For 'Destroy' ending, your Shepard can destroy all Reapers in the galaxy, at the cost of all synthetics life in the galaxy, such as EDI and the geth. It is the core similarity of sacrifice that makes the original three endings seem bad to many fans, which I am unfortunately agree with.
Mass Effect fans who dislikes this game's original three endings will most likely not enjoy or like the Extended Cut DLC, although it should give some fans more clarification what actually happens in all three endings, as well as explaining some mysteries left in the game. I for one, enjoy this DLC for giving me more closure to my own Shepard's storyline. However, I do not enjoy this DLC as it did not give much more better endings that justify my own Shepard's heroic/renegade actions to save the galaxy.
Score: 8/10
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Additional new cutscenes and dialogues that explain certain mysteries in the game, such as the origins of Catalyst, etc.
- The original three endings make much more sense thanks to the new cutscenes and dialogues.
- A new ending is included.
Cons
- The extended original endings will most likely will not satisfy fans who hated the original endings of the game.
- There are no new, better endings that justify a player's Shepard's heroic/renegade actions in the game.
