Mass Effect 3: Vindication Gerry Pugliese @MassEffect3V MassEffect3V@gmai January 16, 2014 Mass Effect 3: Vindication is NOT a game. Mass Effect 3: Vindication is viewable online (for free) as a PDF, available at Mass Effect 3: Vindication’s twitter page: @MassEffect3V. Mass Effect 3: Vindication is a fan creation. Mass Effect 3: Vindication has NO affiliation with BioWare or Electronic Arts Inc. Mass Effect 3: Vindication is not intended for commercial purposes.“This unit approves.” = DC Douglas, a.ka. Legion 2-Mass Etect 3: ndaion, Gerry Pugese.January2014,Introduction “In the year 2148, explorers on Mars discovered the remains of an ancient space faring cWvlization. In the decades that followed, these mysterious artifacts revealed startling new technologies, enabling travel to the furthest stars. The basis for this incredible technology was a force that controlled the very fabrio of space and time. They called it the greatest discovery in human history. The cWvilizations of the Galaxy cail t...Mass Effect.” - BioWare, 2007 Welcome to... oblivion! Prepare yourself for the vindication! Now that would be a douchey way to start off, huh? Il spare you the grandiose statements...for now. Hi. My name is Gerry. I'm a huge Mass Effect fan and I was really disappointed with how Mass Effect 3 ended. No lie, after | beat ME3 the first time, | literally typed "Mass Effect 3's ending sucked’ into Google and — wow! —| wasn't alone, pissed off gamers were everywhere. Fast forward to July 2012, after the Extended Cut DLC came out, and | got this crazy idea: | could rewrite ME3. That's right, me, a broken down schmuck from New Jersey with no video game industry experience. | was 2 professional blogger for awhile, and | took a screen writing class once, and | have bits and pieces of incomplete screenplays packed away in boxes. You know, the perfect qualifications for writing video games! But, | did it, Presenting Mass Effect 3: Vindication, a fan revision, and blueprint, for fixing Mass Effect 3. ME3, was the epic end to a beloved trilogy that was anything but epic. Check that. ME3 becayne epic, but for all the wrong reasons: Electronic Arts was named the worst company in America; a fan fund-raiser raised $80,000 to retake Mass Effect; two BioWare co-founders left the company; tri-colored cupcakes bombarded BioWare's Edmonton headquarters; mea culpa Extended Cut was released, and then months later mea culpa Citadel was released. Problematic This is not the legacy Mass Effect should leave — just like there is Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back Return of the Jedi and that, uh, you know, other shit. ME3V is the product of more than a year of hard work and way more cash than I'd care to disclose, but it shows that, with a little determination, forthrightness, and a Jot of coffee, one human can reshape the universe as we know it. Sound familiar? Why do this? I'd be lying if| didn't admit there is a personal gamble here. Helloooo, game companies! And miscellaneous people who might want to hire me. if you like what you're about to read, I'd love to discuss any opportunities you might have. | have a resume, references, I'm up to date on all my shots and house broken. So yes, part of why | wrote ME3V is because | think it'd be really cooi to work in the video game industry, and | know can do it Phew! Now that I've got that out of the way, here's the other reason why | created ME3V. As a"super-fan,"| just couldn't let Commander Shepard go out like that! ME3 grossly whitewashed, overlooked, or made irrelevant, so many of the choices we made during Shepard's journey: the Rachni, the Collector base, rewriting the heretics, and. choosing 2 councilor — just to name a few of the things that irked me. Maybe the spirtts spoke to me, but I felt | could do better. ‘Then there are the endings. Listen, any overweight, balding, high school gym teacher will tell you that you sprint hard to the finish. You don't fumble, bumble, and limp to the end. Even with Extended Cut, which basically just elaborates on a bunch of bad endings, ME3 takes players on a grand journey and leaves them saying, "What the fu— 2" Commander Shepard deserves more. So yes, | know how arrogant this will sound, but I feel, via the changes, revisions, subtractions and additions, | present in ME3V, | make ME3 a far better game than what the entire staff at BioWare spewed forth. Pelt me with rocks if you want to, but | must stand behind my work If| don't, who will? Maybe you? We'll see. ‘3-Mass Etct3:Undoation, Gey Pugse.January2014,