"Shepard, going up this beam of light will result in your death, and everyone else's confusion.
Now that Mass Effect 3 has been out for a while, and the controversy of its lackluster ending beginning to die down, it’s time we take a look at what future possibilities the popular science fiction franchise may hold. Spoilers for the entire series will be prevalent throughout this article, so if you haven’t finished the Mass Effect games, you have been warned.
At the end of Mass Effect 3, whether you chose to accept it or not, Shepard stops the Reapers one of three ways, sacrificing his life in the process. Of course there is the shot of him taking a small breath if you satisfied certain criteria, but for futures sake, let’s just assume he is dead. It’s not like we haven’t been here before. Shepard died at the beginning of Mass Effect 2, and through the tireless efforts and endless resources of Cerberus, Shepard was resurrected. That would appear to be near impossible to occur by the galaxies current standards, with the Mass Relays having been destroyed and intergalactic space travel came to an abrupt stop. That wouldn’t necessarily mean that resources aren’t available to bring Shepard back to life, but with Earth spending its recent time fighting against a near unstoppable force, it’s highly doubtful Shepard could return from the dead again. So what does that mean for the next Mass Effect? Well if Shepard is officially dead, it would be hard to think, especially because of recent heat thrown BioWare’s way, that they would attempt to bring Shepard back to life, since it may create more plot holes. If Shepard is truly dead, we can guess that BioWare would select a new hero to become the face of the franchise.
Love is a battlefield, too bad we don't really know what happened on it.
But what if Shepard lives? This is probably the most likely scenario due to the massive amount of fan feedback, but with BioWare saying that Mass Effect 3 was to be the final installment of Shepard’s story, it can be assumed that he would not be the main focus of Mass Effect 4, or even a playable character. We can take from this, the same conclusion as if he were dead, in that Mass Effect 4 will feature a new hero.
So what we have determined is that Shepard is probably alive, and most likely not the main focus for Mass Effect 4. As per the ending for Mass Effect 3, we have also determined that space travel is no longer a possibility for the near future and Shepard’s squad is abandoned on a far away planet. Now, if BioWare wanted to stay within the same universe with Shepard and gang, the next Mass Effect wouldn’t seem to have space travel as a feasible option of travel. It’s not impossible that some one in the galaxy didn’t reverse engineer a Mass Relay, but it is never alluded to in previous games. They are something that was just found and never replicated. Knowing this, space travel would more than likely prove as another plot hole in a story that has too many to begin with. The idea of rebuilding Mass Relays or the reinstitution of space travel, don’t seem like very attractive ways to lure in a very upset fan base.
Taking all things into consideration, there is one strong possibility that may be possible. The game would more than likely take place near the end of Shepard’s life. The aged and crippled hero could still be featured in the story, as well as some other old friends. This would help keep those attached to the characters from the series happy, as well as allow for a ‘passing of the torch’ between Shepard and the newer, younger hero. It would also allow for the pulling of the heart strings on those comrades that passed away during the Reaper battle. The game would more than likely feel a bit more primitive, as space travel and intergalactic communications have just recently begun to prosper. The reinstatement of the Spectre forces and a new committee of selected councilors would be more than likely as well. It would be obvious that a new enemy would be featured in Mass Effect 4, either hostile aliens still reaming from the recent battles, or maybe something more treacherous than the Reapers. The Reapers did always say it was inevitable that life should end, and that it could not be stopped. Maybe something else could be the reason, who knows at this point.
"I don't always end games, but when I do, I make sure you don't know what the f*** just happened."
There are many directions BioWare could chose to go with the franchise. First Contact Wars, the Krogan Rebellion, a future Reaper Attack, the Prothean/Reaper battles, the possibilities are endless. They have created a rich history and intriguing back stories, so we can assume the next game will be just as great as the last three. The franchise is too popular to let die, and EA would never let a potential profit just go by the wayside. And after the fan feedback on Mass Effect 3′s ending, BioWare probably wants redemption. Regardless of the scenario played out in the next title, it will be a hit and will sell millions, but we will haut have to wait and see what BioWare and EA choose to do with our beloved series.
Interstellar space travel is still possible. All the faster-than-light ships are still fine and intact, it’s only the Mass Relays that were destroyed. While they obviously can’t travel across the entire galaxy, there are still dozens if not hundreds of star systems within a reasonable distance of Earth given the speed of ship based FTL drives. I also find it very unlikely a game called “Mass Effect 4″ will ever exist. We are most likely looking at prequels from here on out. While many complained about the lack of differences between the 3 endings, they do in fact create 3 extremely different outcomes, combine that with decisions made in the game like the Quarians/Geth and the Krogan situation, I don’t see how they could set a game after ME3 without declaring decisions from ME3 the “true outcome”, which, given the goal of personalized stories from day 1, I don’t think they would do.
The point I was getting to with all that rambling is that I find it highly unlikely that future Mass Effect games take place after Mass Effect 3, expect prequels and side stories from here on out.
Yeah, a lot of people seem to forget they still have FTL ships, so transport wouldnt be stopped, just slower- more like cargo ships today. Not sure ME4 would be good goo like you say. I’d just like another game in the universe- maybe 1st contact war?
I just want to point out to every one that bringing a character back from the dead twice is really bad idea. I don’t think the story writers would try and pull off something that weak.
you know what would be nice : A UNDEAD SHEPARD it would solve all the problems :P
What if we find that mass effect 3 never happend and instead you where being held prisoner by the reapers who where trying to breck you and you where indoctrnated and some how you breck free and kick some reaper ass!!!!!!!!!!!
are you crazy? all the endings are pretty much the same 1 shepard dies reapers die all the mass relays and technology gets destroyed 2. shepard becomes one with the reapers. reapers leave all the mass relays blow up 3 shepard fuses organic and inorganic life in which the reapers leave mass relays blow up and shepard is dead
the only variation between the endings are whether or not the reapers leave or if the reapers die THATS IT but yes unlikey that we get any more storys after….*shrugs*
Not all technology is destroyed, only artificial intelligence…
Anyway, it is more than just whether the reapers leave or are destroyed. Imagine the challenges of building an entire game where everyone is partially synthetic, and then turning around and building a different version of the same game where synthetic life doesn’t even exist, or another version where there is an entire armada of reapers being controlled by a disembodied Shepard. Not to mention there could be billions of Krogan at peace with the galaxy, at war against everyone or a dwindling population Krogan, The Quarians could be either extinct or stranded within FTL range of Earth, same with the Geth. Also, of the 19 teammate characters, anywhere from a handful to nearly all of them could be dead, with some being stranded on another planet. The endings themselves may have been quite similar, but the implications of the endings and the decisions made in ME3 make a direct sequel impossible from a logistics perspective unless serious concessions were made, and in that case, what would be the point?
Bioware already stated that no Mass Effect game will take place after 3. The next game they make will either take place before 3 or during the events of 3 but not after. These plans can change however but as of now no.
I i like Mass Effect but i played all three games.but i think there is more to come. Sence in the fam the A reaper did say this, (We can have our war but harbinger is coming.) thats from mass effect 3 when shepered killed the reaper at the base. we met the collectors, we met the reapers we have not me the force behind them and fought them . So there might be a Mass effect 4 or we meet them in multiplayer and battle him there for Peace. Otherwise there wont be a closure to the series
i think the protheans DID build ONE mass relay (a small one). “The Conduit”
you are right the protheans did create a mass relay not many people (myself included) seam tpo remember that fact so whos to say they didnt place those blue prints in the mars archives as well as the blue prints for the crucible
Well the problem is that the VI on Illos—where the Conduit was—told Shepard in ME1 that the Protheans there were working on the Conduit in secret and that all information within the Prothean empire regarding Illos and the Conduit project were erased so the Reapers would not learn of their project or location. This means that, while the Protheans there DID successfully reverse engineer a Mass Relay, to some extent, there would be no information, blueprints, or details on HOW they did this beyond Illos. If they could get back to Illos, then sure, they could probably figure out who it was made or find the blueprints. However I don’t believe there is any evidence to suggest they picked up those blueprints or anything from the VI while on Illos, either.
Yes, the Protheans did make their own Mass Relay.
…Hrm… Hehe, LOOPHOLE! Ladies and germs, we still have an active Relay!
Think on it people! The Conduit, a Prothean Relay, was NOT on the Mass Relay Network!
It is, in effect, on another server, in another country! So, figuring it took a planet-sized rock to bust up a full-size Relay, it can only be assumed that an equivalent for a smaller Relay would be necessary, as the Citadel didn’t so much explode as simply fall apart.
Furthermore, they never said the Citadel-Ilos Relay was inactive. Thus, we can haz Relay!
…And, honestly, who says the Protheans were the only ones what made their own Relay(s)?
Finally, barring the techo-bomb option (where-in all Reapers and synthetics go boom), I am of the firm belief that Shepard is too damn stubborn to let something as lame as a self-destructing super-station off him, even when he’s all but falling apart at the molecular seams due to getting a Reaper Cannon broadside by Harbinger the Lame… seriously now, dude had to drop a frigging Cruiser on the Normandy SR-1 when he managed to kill Shepard… methinks that Harbinger is a lame fool with a penchant for self-promotion in the excessive manner,
Derek, the Citadel fell apart in front of our very eyes, the Conduit with it. There is no loophole.
An interesting point, and assuming Javik survived with the Normandy (I am assuming Javik knows something about the Conduit since he knew about the Crucible, therefore hinting at he is someone of importance), perhaps his long-lasting memories will serve as the tool for the next space-faring plot driver?
Assuming Shepard is a heterosexual, an you chose to enter Intimate relations with Ashley Williams, or another human Female. (I am not sure if an Asari-Human child would work) perhaps Ashley became pregnant, and somehow survived the Mass-genocide of the synthetics, and a “Mass Effect 4″ would follow Shepards child. Just a thought.
Asari+human just turns into another Asari :)
That makes me smile :)
The mass effect 3 ending left me at aloose end. I did all 3 endings and although I desprately want there to be a mass effect 4, I feel that there would be a few problems. The first is that, obviously, shepard is considered dead. Unless you consider the sharp intake of breath, witch I feel bioware added in for the possibility of another game. The second is that the mass relays are destroyed, but they could be rebuilt with plans for the conduit. The third is that the normandy is destroyed and the crew stranded but I do feel there will be a ME4, if not from bioware it will be like halo 4 and by someone else. And yes Harbinger hasn’t been defeated.
Dude… first off, the Ilos VI barely had enough power to handle the Saren situation. They’d confirmed it (in ME2, I think) that it was offline when they checked.
Second, as previously stated, barring the techno-bomb approach, I firmly believe it’d take more than an oversized, ancient space station falling apart to kill Shepard… especially if he/she went the whole Organo-Synthetic conversion route. That one would effectively completely rebuild Shepard, wouldn’t it?
Third, again, they never stated the Ilos-Citadel Relay was offline, or that it was one-way (I think). You also figure it took what amounted to a small planet to destroy the Alpha Relay in the Aratoht system, so I doubt a simple station falling apart is gonna bust a Relay triple the size of an M-35.
The conduit relay is in fact one way. Vigil stated that it was a prototype, and thus only one way. This is why the Protheans that used it to alter the Keeper signal were stranded on the Citadel.
but wasnt the enire cittadel like a gigantic mass effect relay? think about its activation as it was used by the reapers as a me gate to start from the center and cut the snakes head so to speak
I very much would like Mass Effect 4 and continuation of the story. The writers just have to get together and figure things out. I just hate prequels.
I personally think that if there is a ME4, that it may not actually be a continuation of Shepherd, but perhaps a kin of Shepherd, lets face it, how many people have romanced at least someone in ME1 / ME 2 / or ME 3. Especially with Liara at the last scene in ME3 just before you head off to attempt to get to the Citadel from Earth (Lets face it she said she was sharing a memory, but all I saw was a blinding white light and then that was it, almost like having sex for the first time lol). For all we know ME4 could very well be generated from a Romanced child of Shephard, and personally I think that would be more preferrable at this point in time then if it were a continuation of just Shepherd him (or herself). It would give us a lot more racial options as far as ME4 and beyond as far as being Quarian, Asari, or Human, and (and Im getting to the end of this), you could theoredically take all the past saved game data from ME1/ME2/ME3 and compile it into ME4 with this setting as you hear all the things your father / mother did to save the galaxy from the Reapers, and trying to live upto that well… need I say more. (I would hope not). Anyone onboard at all with this kind of gameplay concept? Or should I keep walking?
You all make some very good points but I think they dont really need to explain every little detail you guys are going into, all they need to do is put the game some time in the future, given the fact it was a war and a war of massive scale they could simply say a great deal of info was lost, what happen to certain races and people. It could be set in the mass effect univ we have come to love just far enough ahead that all the diff choices made could be explianed away. I for one would still enjoy the game even without shepard as I think hes done enough and time to let him enjoy being a hero and rest.
You people cant be serious!! You think these are plot holes? Bioware has gone too far to let crap like that happen! Im telling you, Look into the “indoctronation theory”. It will smooth things out.
I fully support you in this. You have to do a little more digging then just playing the game to get, what happens in the end.
same it would be nice to see that ,but what if you picked the other two ,
sintesys : you lose ?
control :you lose ?
destroy :you win /lose all tech it woud be a real dissapointment to only have one choice in the end
I think it would be like if you didn’t import ME2 character to ME3, it just assumes best possible ending, if you chose the wrong answer it would be fine. It would be “oh you chose synthetic, naw i think you chose destroy”.
for starters mass effect 3 was great to play i m not a particular crazy gammer but it kept me glued to my laptop for 24 h to finish it ,i just could not get enought of it and when i finaly reached the 3 choices with the “starchild” i was thinking just before i picked how much i aprecieted the game for all the choiches i had .and made, being a bit evil a bit kind ,the breathtaking battles ,the great sniping system and weapons and like so many of you i picked synthesis ,i have played all mass effect games twice and i could not help but feel a bitter taste for the ending it had gave ,
reading many reviews that praised the ending only increased my dissapointment to how low the expectations of some fellow gamers were , also the biggest showck and amusment was when i read a article that stated that getting mass effect + all availeble dlc would cost you around 800 $ ,it would apear that the developers shifted there attention from making a great game( like the previosu 1 and 2 were) to transforming it into a cash cow &milking it for all its worth….. to the developers i give a bow and a thx but also a frown for the ending that left me with the all to popular WTF?
Guys, I believe everything is gone. As in the Normandy is the only surviving ship containing any race that was on board. How did we know? Remember that one mission that involved blowing up a Mass Relay in Batarian space to prevent an advanced Reaper invasion? You choosing to blow that shit up resulted in a loss of an entire system; angering your Batarian friends and destroying the Batarian’s already poor impression of humans.
Your choice in Mass Effect 3 will overload and destroy all Mass Relays, meaning all systems (found or not) that contain a Mass Relay or within the blast radius of the explosion will be wiped out or severely wrecked (destroying all life). Mass Effect 4 will be a brand new plot line derived from potential descendants (depending on how many you banged) of Sheppard.
Actually,Shepard lives in the best possible ending. No need to resurrect him. Mass Effect 4 would just have to assume the best possible ending. I think the DLC will make things clearer. I didn’t think about how the conduit could be intact from the Citadel wreckage.
The end of the game in ME3 was a dream after Shepard was knocked unconscious. He has been dealing with indoctrination through out the game in small details that players over-look. In the end if you chose to blow up the reapers you chose correctly, there is no other option, if say chosen to control the reapers they get exactly what they wanted. Meaning your indoctrinated, they own you. Its a fight for your willpower. In the dream while your on the citadel no one else is with you. However The Illusive man is the part of your mind that is indoctrinated, and Admiral Anderson is the portion still controlled by you, untouched by indoctrination. Notice that when you shoot Anderson you start bleeding in the same spot you shot him at. This is less a psychical wound but a mental wound, your willpower has now suffered a tremendous fracture, its weaker, but your mind successfully defeated indoctrination.If you notice Shepard’s eyes turn the same color and shape as the Illusive man whenever say player decides to control repairs. Shepard is not dead, his crew in not stranded, and mass relays are not destroyed. For-say ME4 is about finishing the reapers, and possibly clearing the rest out or maybe your over taken and a full retreat is given then you spend the game regrouping a new attack force. This would be the best guess from what has happened. Killing of the main character would be to tremendous. Refer to the Halo series master chief is thought to be dead but he is just MIA in space on another adventure.
That is a GREAT THEORY a round of applauses ,if it is so i cant wait for the next release u said about changing eye coloration same as the sun changed in me2 in the elusive man lair ? as for regrouping and finishing the retreating forces not so… in game and lore wise your entire armada was either crippled or destroyed so i cant see folowing gigfantic engines of destruction with space junk realy happening…
Sadly, the indoctrination theory has been somewhat disprove. Not saying it is, just a possibly chance due to the new DLC, it may disprove the idea. But I don’t know, hopefully it all turns out in the end. Id like to see Shepard again, I mean I just started the series in ME2 and i hate to loose all that ive worked for just to get this, really? He dies, for me that would suck.
Yeah, their are some plot holes with my new game idea I don’t know its just a guess. I have no clue whats the main topic of next game, hope for the best i guess.
READ this idea would be good for bioware.. so lets pretend Shepard dies, well what if the love intreast he had, had a child? The begging would have to fill in plot wholes. Earth is now populated by all races because the ralays went down. So this all starts off with Shepard’s child who’s name is still Shepard starting a new story. Shepard the 2ed has to find a way to reunite the races with Their homeworlds. This could prove useful because mass effect 3 ended with caos it makes sense that his child would fix the last Shepard’s mess on top of all this a ton of other events will happen ofcorse. This story is just a idea but it would please the player if Shepard died.
that would be stepping on new ground realy unsttable ground ,i dont think that there is a game (as popular as ME 1,2) with the concept of the next generation stepping in,and reuniting the races with their homeworld
that would have big problems :
-quarians either destroyed by u and geth and geth are finished of by destroying the reapers….
-krogan will either be happy u cured them and start breeding like crazy if there are females arround or be reallly angry after noticing the cure was fake
-vorcha same story but they will just breed like crazy
-as for the assari drell salarriant turians etc i cant tell (think the citadel council …verry little coop)
The fact of the matter is they have left alot of option they have a gigantic history and lore but it would feel dissapointing to play the next game(being bassed on the other events of me like krogan wars/first contact war,etc) when u alredy know what happens
ME4 will show the quest for lost technology, with an environment a little bit primitive compared with ME trilogy.
The player will start on a planet (earth?) and won’t be able to travel until old technology will be again at disposal or reconstructed.
See you….somewhere in the galaxy!
:)
Possible the way, Angry Joe talked. But I just wonder what would happen with your love interest, crew, and who’d you be?
Given the new DLC extended Ending, the Indoctrination Theory has been proven wrong by what i can infer. So a shout out to Luca, i think that your guess on the next game is correct. Shepard lives in the best ending so i think he is going to find some space junk ship and go in search for help, his crew, and start rebuilding the mass relays or something like that. Possibly you go to each star system and rebuild them while rallying more help. But im still wondering what you’ll be fighting, i don’t want to play a game where all i do is fly a ship finding space trash woot woot.
I suggest getting the extended ending DLC it gives you the ending everyone wanted. Happy ending (I chose the destroy ending), your alive, your crew is alive, the fleets are intact, the planets are saved. Now all that’s left is Shepard gets up out of the concrete jungle and heads off to find his crew and do some much needed repairs to the Mass Relays.
problem solved with new dlc on 26 june ….or is it? muhahahajhaha
I liked it