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Real Mass Effect 3 Ending Coming in April?

Bioware has spent the last seven years crafting one of the greatest stories in gaming history, providing hundreds of hours of entertainment to their many fans with the Mass Effect trilogy.  So what's their reward for expressing themselves through this work of art?  OUTRAGE!  Fans are furious over the game's ending and have started online petitions, charity groups, and Facebook pages to demand changes and updates.  They've done everything short of camping out in front of Bioware's office in an Occupy Citadel rally.  Today Bioware's co-founder, Ray Muzyka responded to the angry horde.

There will be no spoilers in this article, but know that the game ends with a sudden shift in gameplay mechanics, introduces new characters, and has several big plot holes which all leave players with a lot of information to fill in on their own.  While many simply see this as the studio ending their game on their own terms, there is a large group of fans who have demanded their money back, left low ratings on Amazon and other sites with user reviews, and bombarded Bioware's forums with complaints.

In a post on Bioware's blog Muzyka wrote: "It’s incredibly painful to receive feedback from our core fans that the game’s endings were not up to their expectations... but out of respect to our fans, we need to accept the criticism and feedback with humility."  While sympathizing with the complaints of fans, he added "I also believe in and support the artistic choices made by the development team.  The team and I have been thinking hard about how to best address the comments on ME3’s endings from players, while still maintaining the artistic integrity of the game."

Muzyka went on to point out "Some of the criticism that has been delivered in the heat of passion by our most ardent fans, even if founded on valid principles, such as seeking more clarity to questions or looking for more closure, for example – has unfortunately become destructive rather than constructive. We listen and will respond to constructive criticism, but much as we will not tolerate individual attacks on our team members, we will not support or respond to destructive commentary."  Which is a very polite and professional way to tell the more extreme critics to shut their pieholes.

However, the most interesting part of the statement was the following part:  "Building on their research, Exec Producer Casey Hudson and the team are hard at work on a number of game content initiatives that will help answer the questions, providing more clarity for those seeking further closure to their journey. You’ll hear more on this in April."  

Does this mean that a missing scene from the ending will appear as an update, or DLC pack next month?  Could the mysterious plot hole regarding the Normandy in the final scene be the subject of the game's next DLC pack?  If the true ending to the game does come as paid DLC, we might find even more outrage over that than what we're seeing now.  What do you think?  Are fans overreacting?  Is the confusing ending a ploy to sell DLC?  Has Bioware earned enough trust with gamers that they deserve the benefit of the doubt?  Sound off in the Facebook comments below.  You can read the full statement from Muzyak on Bioware's website.

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