Mass Effect 3

[Reg]

Do you believe Mass Effect 3 has caused you direct physical harm?

I think your posting might be. 

I'm sorry if your psyche is that fragile that an expectation of paying for 20 hours of entertainment has caused you physical harm. I'm sure you have a personal injury lawyer to call, so I'll leave you be.

Give it up kildorn. Look at Simond's posting history. Crazy ranting about Bioware is his major interest in life. Best to just ignore it and hope he gets back on his meds.

[Ingmar]

Every review of ME3 I've seen from gamers has been "Awesome fucking game until the last 10 minutes", which should entitle you to a 1% fucking refund.

So if I enjoyed a burger up to the point where I found a booger in my last bite? They should just refund me a nickel and tell me to go fuck myself, huh?

That is a terrible, terribly analogy. At least try to keep it to something remotely comparable, like a movie with an ending you hated or something.

[Pezzle]

Family goes to see Pirates of the Caribbean.  They love it up till the last 10 minutes where someone spliced in Freddie got Fingered or some amateur porn.  Refund?  You bet.   

[Paelos]

"I really loved my burger, but the last bite was nothing but Bun and sauce. The patty wasn't large enough for the bun! FULL FUCKING REFUND FOR THAT AWESOME BURGER"

A good opening and a good ending make for a good film provide they come close together. - Fellini

I don't begin a novel or a screenplay until I know the ending. And I don't mean only that I have to know what happens. I mean that I have to hear the actual sentences. I have to know what atmosphere the words convey. - John Irving

If I see an ending, I can work backward. - Arthur Miller

Point being, that when you fuck up an ending, you've fucked up pretty much your entire story.

[Velorath]

Keep the horrible analogies coming guys!  It's not like we can just discuss whether or not it's ok to return a game because you didn't like the ending.  We have to compare it to something similar like selling the clothes off a dead leper, somebody physically altering the end of a movie, or health code violations in a restaurant.

[Pezzle]

And actually, forget the analogies.  It is subjective anyway.  Enough pressure was felt by EA that they felt offering refunds would save some face.  Some people will get money back.  I doubt it will be enough to really matter and those that offer refunds get to appear caring.  Aside from the accountability issues and game quality, why wouldn't they?

[Paelos]

Any time we can work a leper into a thread, I think we get smarter as a species.

[Ingmar]

And actually, forget the analogies.  It is subjective anyway.  Enough pressure was felt by EA that they felt offering refunds would save some face.  Some people will get money back.  I doubt it will be enough to really matter and those that offer refunds get to appear caring.  Aside from the accountability issues and game quality, why wouldn't they?

Amazon is offering refunds, not EA.

[Pezzle]

I thought it was being done through Origin as well, my mistake.  The point still stands, and I seriously doubt it hurts Amazon.  They get to be that much more awesome to their customers.

(And actually, I had a serious gripe with my Amazon digital purchase.  I had to download the whole damn thing again because of Origin).

[Ingmar]

I'm actually not even clear if this is something special Amazon is doing, or if it is just their normal refund policy. Anyone know?

[Pezzle]

Not certain.  I CAN tell you that because of a flub with ME3 Amazon notified me I qualify for a free game code (redeemed through Origin).  Totally unexpected on my part.


Hello,

We're contacting you about order #xxxxxxxxx for "Mass Effect 3." We recently learned that some customers had trouble installing their game. We're very sorry about this.

If you've had trouble installing your game, please uninstall any existing files and then download the game again from Your Games and Software Library.

To help make it up to you, Amazon.com and Electronic Arts would like to offer a free EA game download.

To redeem your code, click the link for one of the Electronic Arts Game Downloads below and click "Buy and Download." Enter your promotion code in the box tilted "Gift codes & promotions" and click "Apply."

Mirror’s Edge -
Dead Space -
Dragon Age: Origins -
Mass Effect -

[Velorath]

I'm actually not even clear if this is something special Amazon is doing, or if it is just their normal refund policy. Anyone know?

Just normal policy.  They didn't make an announcement or anything.  Think somebody who returned a game posted on a message board that amazon allowed him to return it, and other people turned it into "amazon is offering refunds to ME3".

[kildorn]

Not certain.  I CAN tell you that because of a flub with ME3 Amazon notified me I qualify for a free game code (redeemed through Origin).  Totally unexpected on my part.

Was it for ME3, or was it regarding that idiocy EA/Bioware did with BF3? Where they promised it to everyone and then went "oh shit, we never cleared that with anyone" and wound up finally honoring it?

[Ingmar]

I'm actually not even clear if this is something special Amazon is doing, or if it is just their normal refund policy. Anyone know?

Just normal policy.  They didn't make an announcement or anything.  Think somebody who returned a game posted on a message board that amazon allowed him to return it, and other people turned it into "amazon is offering refunds to ME3".

That is what I suspected.

[Pezzle]

Not certain.  I CAN tell you that because of a flub with ME3 Amazon notified me I qualify for a free game code (redeemed through Origin).  Totally unexpected on my part.

Was it for ME3, or was it regarding that idiocy EA/Bioware did with BF3? Where they promised it to everyone and then went "oh shit, we never cleared that with anyone" and wound up finally honoring it?

was for ME3, added content to my post.

[Surlyboi]

Every review of ME3 I've seen from gamers has been "Awesome fucking game until the last 10 minutes", which should entitle you to a 1% fucking refund.

So if I enjoyed a burger up to the point where I found a booger in my last bite? They should just refund me a nickel and tell me to go fuck myself, huh?

That would be a health and safety issue. As in the reason you are entitled to a refund there is because realistically you're entitled to have the establishment shut the fuck down by the government. I do wish people would stop trying to compare physical harm to something that cannot physically harm you.

"I enjoyed Lord of the Rings until the last chapter, REFUND" is a far closer analogy.

[Jeff Kelly]

No it's EA origin as well.

I'm with you guys that trying to get a refund just because you disliked certain parts is rather silly. You could argue however that with the appaling state of game reviewing, game reporting and disingenuous marketing you cannot really make an informed decision about buying a game nowadays.

Metascore on metacritic is over 90 with the worst listed review being a 80. With the exception of the Giantbomb review nobody even mentions the ending because no reviewer got that far before he released the review, since reviewers assumed that a game that was great 90% of the way probably will be awesome at the end as well. That turned out not right at all.

So with Bioware promising an awesome conclusion and no reviewer stepping up and calling their bullshit aiming for a refund might be the only thing left, if you don't want to roll over and write off the money for a game you hated.

[UnSub]

Family goes to see Pirates of the Caribbean.  They love it up till the last 10 minutes where someone spliced in Freddie got Fingered or some amateur porn.  Refund?  You bet.   

I don't even think you need to go that far - just that you took your family to see "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End".

Caveat emptor on narrative - I don't think you should be able to return a title based on not liking the last 15 minutes. You consume the experience, you are doing exactly what the game is designed to do.

If you play the first 5 minutes and hate it, that's another story.

[rk47]

I have no complaints. I felt I had my money worth even though I'm only done with Palaven. I kept coming back to MP from my friend's invites and abandoning the main campaign completely.

I haven't seen the ending, it can't be so bad that I want a refund.

Also. Reset my Human Sentinel to have no Tech Armor points. Hmmm. Not sure if this is the right decision but it should be interesting.

[Ratman_tf]

My point is basically: If you enjoy 99% of a product and dislike 1% of it, you are a huge douchebag for using it fully and then demanding to be compensated for all 100% of it.

So how the fuck do I go about getting my money back for the last 4min30secs of Mass Effect3? 

I keed. I started a brand newplaythrough of all 3 Mass Effects last night. The series is soo good. Fucking shame about the retarted ending.

[Sky]

I kept coming back to MP from my friend's invites and abandoning the main campaign completely.

In an oddly disturbing trend that started with me grouping a lot in TOR, I've played nothing but multiplayer since I tried it.

Finally getting up enough in level to feel effective, level 18 human engineer. Maxed the drone and both incinerate and the shocky one are 4 or 5. Been playing against geth/reapers so much I didn't realize incinerate has a homing function! And a maxed drone is too cool, as nice as the shocky upgrades for it look, I had to go with missiles.

[Fordel]

Every review of ME3 I've seen from gamers has been "Awesome fucking game until the last 10 minutes", which should entitle you to a 1% fucking refund.

So if I enjoyed a burger up to the point where I found a booger in my last bite? They should just refund me a nickel and tell me to go fuck myself, huh?

That is a terrible, terribly analogy. At least try to keep it to something remotely comparable, like a movie with an ending you hated or something.

I can get a refund on a movie purchase.

[rk47]

Guys, i'll add you up in origins when i get home 'farkov' is my Origin ID

[kildorn]

Also. Reset my Human Sentinel to have no Tech Armor points. Hmmm. Not sure if this is the right decision but it should be interesting.

You're basically just a throw-bot without tech armor. For humans, tech armor kind of sucks anyways (the explosion effect is almost always useless, and you need the last evolution to make the cooldown debuff not so painful)

When you're capped out, it's worth a few points in theory. I was trying it tonight with +20% power damage while up, and the cooldown reduction. With just a pistol, throw was still reasonably fast and I didn't feel I was gimping myself by keeping it on. Without that last evolution though, ugh.

I just built but haven't played a turian sent with nothing but overload, tech armor, and the +damage and +shield trees. Using a revenant. In theory, this dude should be a solid tank.

[rk47]

Feels OK if I chain Warp with the Reset Cooldown Throw.
When Geth Primes or Hard targets come out, I could Warp, Throw > Reset > Warp again. Wait for Throw. Repeat Loop.

Anyway, I'm downcast with the fucking crate now and the falcon nerf.
I suppose I'm asking too much from Bioware to show some common sense and introduce fixed price rifles, AT LEAST FOR THE MARK I version,

Also:

You are now ready to chat with Masood.
Masood: Thanks for contacting EA Help! My name is Masood how may I help you?
you: Is it possible to get a refund for my purchase?
Masood: Steve may I know for which game?
you: Mass Effect 3 Digital Deluxe Edition
Masood: Steve may I know, why you want a refund?
you: I feel the quality of the game does not match the advertised facts.
you: My multiplayer experience is pretty much ruined by the random upgrades.
you: I felt scammed when the upgrade packs was simply a ruse to get me to spit out dollars and cents for virtual upgrades.
you: And the single player experience wasn't up to par.
you: I haven't even finished it...and I already felt the decline.
Masood: Steve it's not a genuine reason to refund a game. I'm sorry to say, refund couldn't be done.
you: Oh?
Masood: Thank you for contacting EA. Is there anything else I can help you with today?
you: A dissatisfaction isn't sufficient to acquire a refund?
you: I will keep this in mind when I purchase future titles from EA.
Masood: Unfortunataley no.
Masood: Thank you for contacting EA. Is there anything else I can help you with today?
you: No. I'm afraid not.
Masood: If you need help with anything else, please feel free to contact us anytime!
Masood: Thank you for contacting Electronic Arts support today.
Have a great day!
Bye and take care!
The chat session has ended. Please contact us again if you need further help.

[Simond]

On the other hand: http://social.bioware.com/forum/Mass-Effect-3/Mass-Effect-3-Story-and-Campaign-Discussion-Spoilers-Allowed/I-just-returned-my-ME3-on-Orgin-And-how-you-can-to-inside-10302791-1.html

[Tebonas]

Yes, I hate the ending of Mass Effect 3 with the fiery passion of a thousand exploding Mass relays.

I don't give a fuck whatsoever about multiplayer.

Still, the rest of the game certainly was worth the money I paid for it. Other than the last 5 minutes it was a superb game.

[rk47]

Thanks Simond, will troll them back tomorrow. :P

[Margalis]

Metascore on metacritic is over 90 with the worst listed review being a 80. With the exception of the Giantbomb review nobody even mentions the ending because no reviewer got that far before he released the review, since reviewers assumed that a game that was great 90% of the way probably will be awesome at the end as well. That turned out not right at all.

Most of the reviewers didn't even finish the - oh wait, you beat me to it.

Yeah.

If you return the game you're punishing Amazon for having lenient return policies, not Bioware. It's a pretty terrible way to 'send a message' to Bioware.

This is somewhat dependent on what deal Amazon has with EA.

That said, I do think that returning a game because you disliked the ending is pretty dumb. Honestly returning a game because you dislike the opening is pretty dumb too. Other than technical issues or things like realizing you bought the wrong thing by mistake it's hard for me to see returning opened games as legit.

[Lantyssa]

I wouldn't return it, but I can see why a lot of people would want to.  They took a multi-part series the players grew to love over years, and made a nonsensical ending.  It wasn't just a bad ending, it was an out of left-field WTF sort of ending to something people invested a lot of time and energy into.  Then it was followed by a quick kick to the groin of an advert.

So people are left confused, disappointed, and/or possible bilked of an actual ending TBD.  Whomever greenlit it wasn't considering fan response to the end of a beloved series.  It's a PR disaster, and approving refunds can only help with goodwill at a time when people are ready to write-off a company they had absolute faith in.

[UnSub]

It sets a nasty precedent though, and one that appeals to ugly gamer entitlement (or even just plain ripping off the system).

"I loved the game up and finished it 3 times but hated the ending, so give me a refund!"

Plus, when does that refund period end? Every player buying it from this point forward could be disappointed with the ending, so does that mean they can go to EA and get a refund at any point? Does it work on other titles? Can I get a refund on Dante's Inferno because it had a visible penis in the closing CGI and I don't want to see things like that*? Can I get a refund on Alan Wake because "it isn't a lake, it's an ocean" isn't an ending?

BioWare's best bet is to indicate that they will be releasing some free DLC that will provide a more satisfactory ending, so players should hold onto copies of ME3.

Heh, and it doesn't seem that long ago that "it's a BioWare game, and those are always good" was the standard reaction to any concerns about their titles. 

* actually, I had a "was that really what I thought it was?" and then laughed about it

[rk47]

After Dragon Age II, I'm ready for anything. 

[Kail]

If you return the game you're punishing Amazon for having lenient return policies, not Bioware. It's a pretty terrible way to 'send a message' to Bioware.

This is somewhat dependent on what deal Amazon has with EA.

Allegedly, no special deal at all, it's standard policy for Amazon.

[rk47]

You are now ready to chat with Jasjeet.
Jasjeet: Thanks for contacting EA Help! My name is Jasjeet how may I help you?
you: Hi I didn't get the recent Commendation pack for N7 online ME3 play.
you: Although I was sure I completed Silver Reaper missions.
you: I did receive my Victory pack.
Jasjeet: Please provide me your origin ID Steven
you: farkov
Jasjeet: Thank you for the information.
Jasjeet: Please give me just a moment while I look into this further.
you: ok
Jasjeet: Please check it again.
you: I'm unable to tet it out now Jasjeet, I'm at work.
you: test*
you: Is there somewhere I can check online
Jasjeet: social.bioware.com
you: Operation Goliath Commendation (Valid until Tuesday, March 27 at 5pm PST)
you: is this it?
Jasjeet: Yep
you: Thank you Jasjeet!
Jasjeet: Welcome.
Jasjeet: Thank you for contacting EA. Is there anything else I can help you with today?
you: Nothing else...
you: but one question.
you: What can change the nature of man?
you: I got a friend who asked me that.
you: Just wonder what I should answer him.
Jasjeet: Man himself.
you: Thanks
you: See you

[Ratman_tf]

You are now ready to chat with Jasjeet.
Jasjeet: Thanks for contacting EA Help! My name is Jasjeet how may I help you?
you: Hi I didn't get the recent Commendation pack for N7 online ME3 play.
you: Although I was sure I completed Silver Reaper missions.
you: I did receive my Victory pack.
Jasjeet: Please provide me your origin ID Steven
you: farkov
Jasjeet: Thank you for the information.
Jasjeet: Please give me just a moment while I look into this further.
you: ok
Jasjeet: Please check it again.
you: I'm unable to tet it out now Jasjeet, I'm at work.
you: test*
you: Is there somewhere I can check online
Jasjeet: social.bioware.com
you: Operation Goliath Commendation (Valid until Tuesday, March 27 at 5pm PST)
you: is this it?
Jasjeet: Yep
you: Thank you Jasjeet!
Jasjeet: Welcome.
Jasjeet: Thank you for contacting EA. Is there anything else I can help you with today?
you: Nothing else...
you: but one question.
you: What can change the nature of man?
you: I got a friend who asked me that.
you: Just wonder what I should answer him.
Jasjeet: Man himself.
you: Thanks
you: See you

Oh wow.