Mass Effect 3 New Ending: What You Need To Know

Warning: A few spoilers below relating to the end of the game. Don't say we didn't warn you. Like most people who invested so much time in the Mass Effect trilogy, it's fair to say we at WhatCulture! were quite let down by the ending of the third installment of the franchise. It perhaps comes as a little comfort then, that Bioware recognized the backlash from fans of the series and actually decided to do something about it with their forthcoming update for Mass Effect 3. Bioware describes the Mass Effect 3 update as:

"A downloadable content pack that will expand upon the events at the end of Mass Effect 3. Through additional cinematic sequences and epilogue scenes, the Extended Cut will include deeper insight to Commander Shepard€™s journey based on player choices during the war against the Reapers"

Sounds good to us, but what do they mean by this? Well, accordingly to the official Bioware blog for the game, we can expect no actual change to the ending, with the over arcing storyline outcomes remaining largely intact, but a better emphasis on what each choice represents to the events of the game.

"The Extended Cut is an expansion of the original endings to Mass Effect 3. It does not fundamentally change the endings, but rather it expands on the meaning of the original endings, and reveals greater detail on the impact of player decisions The Extended Cut expands on the endings of Mass Effect 3 through additional scenes and epilogue sequences. It provides more of the answers and closure that players have been asking for. It gives a sense of what the future holds as a result of the decisions made throughout the series. And it shows greater detail in the successes or failures based on how players achieved their endings." - Bioware blog.

So, how do we get it and when? Well, the good news for Xbox 360 and PC game owners is that in the US and Europe the release date is June 26th, with the PS3 in North America recieving the patch on the same day. For the PS3 version in Europe we have to wait until July 4th - not sure why this delay is, guessing licencing reasons? The new content will come in the form of an update downloadable from Xbox Live, Playstation Network and from EA's Origins Store online and will be FREE - a rare treat from DLC worshippers Bioware, which is a good indicator of how despised the original ending was. You'll need to free up a couple of gigs on your hard drive for the update - 1.9gb to be precise. Bioware have recommended to experience the new content, you will need to load a game save before *SPOILERS - look away now if you haven't yet finished the game* the attack on the Cerberus Base and then play through the remainder of the campaign to experience the new endings. They also add this note:

"The Extended Cut endings will differ depending on choices made throughout the Mass Effect series, so multiple playthroughs with a variety of different decisions will be required to experience the variety of possibilities offered by the new content." - more Bioware blog extract.

So for those with multiple campaigns - people like us - who want to see everything, you will need to go back before the *SPOILERS AGAIN* Cerberus Base attack for each version of the ending for each play through. It will be interesting to see what has been added to the game and to check out fans reactions too. Get your downloads on the 26th June or 4th of July depending on location or console, we know we will!