WARNING! THE FOLLOWING PIECE OF WRITING CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM THE FROM ASHES DLC, THE ENDING AND MASS EFFECT 2! IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SPOIL THESE FOR YOURSELVESTURN BACK NOW! HOWEVER IF YOU DON'T CAREOR HAVE ALREADY BEATEN MASS EFFECT2AND 3OR SIMPLY DON'T MIND SPOILERS READ ON.YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

First of all I'd like to put something out there and say on my playthrough I was using an imported save file from Mass Effect 2 and yes I am a fan of the series since it got its its claws in my with the demo for Mass Effect 2on the PS3and have enjoyed the series since then. So before I get to the ending that has stirred up quite bit of a commotion I'd like to start with the part that first caused some discontent and by that I mean the day 1 downloadable content From Ashes.

Yes I did get it as being a fan I figured it would be interesting to get some perspective on the alien race that left the information that commander Shepardwould laterdiscover in his cycle aka the Prothians. While it may seem strange that they would even bother to do this those that have played Mass Effect 2 will recall that the last time Prothians were seen they were known as the Collectors and were being used by the Reapers. At the same time this DLC provides a glimpse as to what a normal Prothian would have looked like and provides further information on this race. While one could largely and rightlyargue that this is DLC islarglyaimed at thefans of the series the unique information that this DLC provides could also interest newcomers to the series. However I would argue that getting this DLC and going through the whole game with it is the best way to appreciate it as it gives a glimpse into how the Prothians battle with the reapers progressed as well as some lesser known information. While this was a day 1 release for downloable content asawhole it felt largely solid but overpriced. Aside from the character you gain access to as well the costume choices and the additionalweapon itdoesn't really add much and the whole mission that you do to gain access to the character is without a doubt short. Hands down. Further more the weapon in question that you get from the DLC is arguably the worst assault rifle around for4 main reasons. Itburns through ammo fast,you can't carry spare clips for it,limited inammo that you cancarry for itand you have to stay on target to deal any real damage.Is it worth$9.99 price tag? I say no it isn't simply for the reasons mentioned previously. You could easily pass on this DLC and not miss a thing as there is nothing really in there that is vital to Mass Effect 3 as a whole.

Now we come to the real controversial part that has sparked gamer outcry and complaints and by that I mean the ending for Mass Effect 3. You spend the whole game preparing for this point gathering resources and such in preparation to use the crucible and defeat the reapers once and for all. Sounds like an epic grand scale operation to be carried out right? I went into this final fight with a galactic readiness of about 96% and about 6000+ effective military strength so based on what I read I had a feeling I was going to get the so called secret ending. (Yea I searched far and wide for all those resource points and spent time in multiplayer) When I reached the finalpoint in the gameI made mychoice and chose to destroy the Reaper menace once and for all. You spend the whole game preparing for this moment so I figured why the hell not destroy them makes good sense right? So I did that and watched the final cut scenes playout and in the end I was left with a sense of disappointment. Not outrage but disappointment none the less. You see for me it left a number of questions unanswered. The mess effect relays and the citadel all go up in smoke. Hell even theNormandy gets taken down. So that begs the question what is the aftermath of this whole ordeal? What happens to your team? What happens to the alien races thatyou worked so hard to either bring together or pour moresalt onold wounds? Hell what happens to the counsel that you worked so hardto get them to help you and deal with the threat that was the Reapers? Your finial choice should havehad some impact on the end result because anyone who has seem the trailers would probably get the sense that this was going to be an epic game that would end Shepards story with very loud and very big Bang that would havedone justice to the series. Instead it ended with a small bangand a small piece ofcake. If they were short on time they could havedone likewhatthey did with the whole Dragon Age serieshas done withits endings and simplyput up a picture with a brief summary of what happened toeach characterand race. I'm sure many would have found that acceptable as it would have provided some closure and answeredany lingeringquestionsplayerswere left with regarding the aftermath.