It is NOT difficult for me to avoid spoiling the ending of Mass Effect 3, probably because it was such a disappointment that I don't feel the need to tell everyone all the details.
It is a lesson in what NOT to do, and a cautionary tale to die-hard fans who feel particularly invested in a series like Mass Effect. I'm going to keep this article spoiler-free, because the first two games are truly some of the greatest RPGs to date, with the second one surpassing the first.
Mass Effect is a character driven story, set in the late 22nd century at a time after humanity's discovery of an ancient Prothean technology led to even larger discoveries including interstellar travel. Like Star Trek, there are races with history dating back thousands of years, and grudges have been carried over for generations. For example: thousands of years ago the galaxy was nearly overrun by the insect-like Rachni, and Salarian scouts found a formidable warrior race known as the Krogan to fight this threat. The Salarians advanced the Krogan technologically, but because the Krogan did not fully understand or earn the technology, they savagely rebelled against the Salarians. To keep the Krogan in check, the Turians and Salarians designed the Genophage - a genetic mutation that only left one in every thousand Krogan child alive at birth. Thousands of years later, the Krogan HATE the Salarians and the Turians, and those two still try to justify their ancestors' actions.
There are many back-stories similar to this in the Mass Effect universe, and all of them are pushed to the forefront of Mass Effect 3 as you race to unite the galaxy against an immeasurable threat. The game itself feels a lot like fan-service, but expertly written and relevant, until the end. Over the course of three games, you play as Commander Shepard: the best Humanity has to offer. You pick your own back story, where you grew up, your gender, your facial features, your neck thickness, your eye width - it is incredibly customizable. Throughout the first two games, you are challenged with following two different course of actions - paragon (good) or renegade (bad), which will not only affect the outcome of the endings for their respective games, but the story that follows. When you are loading your profile between games, you will see a checklist of the vital actions you took - the choices you made: who you sacrificed, who you spared. The third game feels like it would be a slap in the face to everything you encountered from the first two games if you were to take a predominantly renegade course all throughout, although some choices don't even seem like choices at all. Still, as it is the close of the trilogy - the grand finale, you can easily forgive a hardline paragon story.
What is not easily forgiven is the horrific ending which will be panned for years. Without spoiling anything, you have worked your virtual ass off jumping through hoops to bring the galaxy together; made sacrifice after sacrifice; consummated your possible romance; and lost a lot of good characters along the way. You're getting to the very predictable end where there is a very predictable epic battle scene.... and it doesn't work. Why doesn't it work? Because suddenly Shepard is expected to make one of three choices that completely undermine everything you worked for, everything your character believes in.... to quickly dispatch the big bad. There is no resolution, in fact, everything is a bigger mess than before.
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This article is NOT about Mass Effect, however. This is a cautionary tale to those who are so ridiculously invested in the Comic Book Movies of this year and the years to follow.
Expectations are through the roof for the big two capital studios that are set to dominate 2012: "the Avengers" and "the Dark Knight Rises".
Let's talk about "the Dark Knight Rises" first, as it has been building for the longest amount of time. I'm not a huge Nolan fan, but I respect his work, and comparing the films altogether - Nolan seems to be the first to take Batman seriously. I may not agree with all of his decisions and deviations, but at the very least I can appreciate his willingness to adapt this character without making him a parody of himself. I have been a huge Batman fan since I saw the 1989 film - in fact "Batman Returns" was the first film I ever saw in theaters. There have been so many interpretations of the character, from Keaton/Burton to Schumacher, Dini/Timm/Conroy's animated incarnation which is arguably the best, to the latest Nolan/Bale trilogy which has cemented itself in everyone's minds. I feel as though Batman has a very very soft cushion to fall on should any of his movies bomb... fans are already looking on towards another Batman not played by Christian Bale.
What we SHOULD expect....
-Bane to be a physical and intellectual match for Batman
-Massive character death
-Bruce Wayne to be taken down for all that he is
What we should NOT expect (but probably will anyway)....
-Bane to cripple Batman
-Miranda Tate to be torn between Bane and Batman
-A solid resolution
For that last point, it is not a jab at the director, the studio, or the franchise. Batman's tragedy is that his work is never done. There are more adventures left in Batman, even this Batman. We will not see them, most likely, but they are there to continue. In order to enjoy it for it's own merit, I'm comparing notes to "X-Men: First Class". You are not seeing Michael Fassbender try and play Ian McKellen. "The Dark Knight Rises" has faltered a bit here and there in trying to keep everything under wraps, however, the fact that the production and story is meant to be so secretive should tell you that it is NOT trying to adhere to fans' expectations. When I see it, I'm going to do my best to watch it as another entry in the Batman series; not the finale.
Next we have "the Avengers". As much as I want to treat this like the same monster, it truly is not. If "the Dark Knight Rises" somehow flops (and it won't), at the end of the day, it is just Batman. For the Avengers, this is Marvel's biggest venture. If "the Avengers" crashes (and it probably won't), then Marvel won't be able to recover as well - Thor, Captain America, the Hulk, and Iron Man will all take some of the blame. Truthfully, I am far more excited about "the Avengers" than "the Dark Knight Rises". The former is bold and is a crossover that has not been done before. Some people compare "the Expendables" (which I haven't found the desire to watch) with its cast of famous action stars to "the Avengers" - except Arnold Schwarzenegger isn't playing the Terminator, Bruce Willis isn't playing John McClane, Sylvester Stallone isn't playing John Rambo, and Jason Statham isn't playing Frank Martin. Similar to Mass Effect, where I wanted to see all the alien races I brought to the climactic battle actually fight (but that didn't happen) fans carry the expectation that their favorite characters are going to have their moments.
Another unknown lies within the characters themselves. With Batman, we see influence from Frank Miller, Alan Moore, and Jeph Loeb; but here, just as well, the cast of "the Avengers" holds a plethora of different perspectives. I think we know for certain that Robert Downey Jr has established Tony Stark and isn't going to disappoint us with a rendition that isn't faithful to what we can expect from the movie character; but what of the rest? Hulk has been adapted differently every time, and thankfully it looks as though they are getting it right this time. I think the big concern is on the relative cinematic newcomers: Captain America, Black Widow, and Hawkeye... especially Hawkeye. Non-fans and non-readers don't know anything about his personality, but Hawkeye is a hot-headed womanizer who ALWAYS butts heads with Iron Man.
What we SHOULD expect....
-Tony Stark to piss everyone off
-Every superhero from Iron Man to Hawkeye to have their moment
-Loki to reveal some cataclysmic force at his command
What we should NOT expect (but probably will anyway)....
-Character cameos
-Thanos or the like to be behind Loki's cataclysmic force
-The groundwork for a sequel to be laid down
DC and Marvel have their hands full working on the two big Comic Book Movies of 2012, and unlike Mass Effect 3, there is no interaction between the movie and the viewer that will influence the story. They HAVE to get it right the one and only time, or it's no good. My closing point here is just this: if you allow yourself to enjoy these movies for what they are moment for moment, you will have a better time at the movies. It's not about lowering your expectations - but putting them aside if only temporarily. You'll be glad you did.