The choices seem to have changed slightly, control seems like the much more sensible option now, but I stuck with the destroy ending because that's how my character roles. Liked the extra dialogue and cut-scenes around the explosion giving a better idea of what was happening, but the prologue bit after that with the still frames and the voice over seemed cheesy, unnecessary, and a bit half-arsed. But over all this is an improvement.

Roujin wrote:

Doesn't sound like an improvement. Sounds like they actually tried to make out the ending was real and everything that you see actually happens. Which means the ending makes no sense and is back to being a stupid, incoherent mess from the sounds of it.

I didn't need to know anything about the starchild, it appears from nowhere, at the end of a story spanning 3 games, and now seems to want you to do exactly what Saren wanted to do in ME1.

The fact that they have now made the end sequence an actual series of events is the stupidest thing I ever heard.

How do they explain why the army calls for a retreat after the reaper guarding the beam leaves? How do they explain how Anderson got on the citadel first? How does TIM find Shepherd in the citadel? What is the mystery injury sustained by shepherd after Anderson is shot? Why does a station of which the sole purpose is believed to be a weapon to stop the reapers, have 2 additional options built into it? Why does the starchild even give you a choice, surely he can just say, yeah, you want that terminal there mate?

I can't be arsed with the end now, will watch vids on youtube and make final conclusion.

Just watched the extended cut control video.

It adds nothing, and explains only what should have been completely obvious to anyone making the control choice, in terms of what happens to shepherd.

I also noticed that the starchild still says that 'they' were controlling the illusive man. The illusive man is indoctrinated, but the starchild isn't a reaper hallucination anymore. So what is the purpose of TIM in the game? He ruthlessly acquires reaper tech to help cerberus' goal of reaper control for shady reasons that are never explained. But actually he was being controlled by the starchild all along, an advanced ai of the reaper creators, that was presumably non functional until some point during the crucible build, who for some reason wanted TIM to act like a total crazy obsessive douche who wanted to control the reapers, had him collect all that reaper tech for an unknown purpose and then show up on the crucible and carry on acting like a lunatic because?

It makes no fucking sense anymore. The plot hole filling of the Normandy escape was laughable, because all it does is show you something even a simpleton could have come up with as to why the Normandy outruns the blast.

There's no additional remarks or story about your team mates, just some generic still shots.

Anyone who prefers the literal series of events at the end which now make no sense, over the indoc theory is a full on simpo.

Gonzo wrote:

Quite what world monkey lives in to say destroy was bad, control good, synth the best, I have no idea.

It's what the game tells you about them, rather than my personal interpretation. In destroy, you commit genocide. Control, everyone lives and works together. Synthesis everyone lives, works together and everything is paradise. 

There's still the twisted logic of it suddenly being alright to adopt the tactics you've been fighting against across the three games. There's still the rejection of the 'stronger through diversity' stuff with the synthesis ending. But thats why the ending is bad. They've clearly ranked the endings though, and they're more in line with the traditional red = renegade, blue  = paragon.

Little Franklin wrote:

Anyone else noticed think they'd changed the control ending. Before I'm sure the kid said it meant the Reapers would leave but the cycle would continue, which I assume means they'd just come back again. But this time her seemed to be saying the Reapers would be yours to use however you please, which seems by far the best option.

monkey wrote:

There's still the rejection of the 'stronger through diversity' stuff with the synthesis ending.

Is there? It doesn't necessarily mean everyone would be the same does it?

There is an undercurrent to the control ending that Shepard has the god-like powers that he's always argued are dangerous. And you're enslaving the reapers and making them help. In the synthesis ending, reapers, husks and krogan are all skipping merrily around hand in hand, choosing to help each other. 

The synthesis thing doesn't mean every one is the same I suppose. It does mean there's less variety between life forms though.

Right. After loading a game from before the beam twice and still failing to see any extra content I watched the new endings on youtube.

The ambiguity of the original decisions are gone. Originally, it was far too risky to choose control because the god child fucker makes it clear it could very well destroy what makes you, you. And you could just turn over to his original thinking and start harvesting again. Now it's the best ending because you get all the benefits of the Synthesis decision without having to fuck around with everyone else's DNA without their permission. Plus the Reapers are seen rebuilding the mass relays.

Synthesis is alright. I would expect something much more drastic than people just get sparkling epidermal cybernetics and glowing eyes.

Destroy now seems like the plebs choice. I was more than happy with my decision in the original ending to destroy the Reapers because the other two seem like such gambits under the auspices of the star child.

Anyway, it's still a shit ending and I can't believe the series has garnered as much thought on it as it has. I really don't think it's deserving.

Well, thanks I guess. I'm not going back in though.

"Synthesis is the final evolution of all life". Sounds pretty sweet to me.

It does seem like control is now the 'correct' choice.

What? Control is creepy. Shepard is like the galactic space dictator. Whereas with Synthesis not only does everyone survive but the Reapers have free will and are all nice and lovely and the previously destroyed races can kinda live on through them, which is nice.

EvilRedEye wrote:

Shepard is like the galactic space dictator.

You got that impression? I took it that he was some kind of galactic space defender of the peace. It didn't give me the impression he dominates the other races at all. Just protects them and aids in rebuilding. And I assume gives them reaper tech (without indoctrination negatives).

Bollockoff wrote:

EvilRedEye wrote:

Shepard is like the galactic space dictator.

You got that impression? I took it that he was some kind of galactic space defender of the peace. It didn't give me the impression he dominates the other races at all. Just protects them and aids in rebuilding. And I assume gives them reaper tech (without indoctrination negatives).

More of a lovely God than a dictator.

Dunno, I just didn't like it. But I didn't like it in a good way! With the original endings I played through them all and then felt I didn't really have a canonical ending because they were very similar and the overall outcome felt virtually identical. But with the extra stuff I went with Synthesis and even having watched the other endings on YouTube, I still feel Synthesis is my ending because I prefer it to the others now that there's more details on what happens next.

What details about what happens next have actually been added though? 

In the control ending they added nothing that you didn't know already. They just confirmed that yes, Shepherd is absorbed into the catalyst to become virtual space jesus.