Just a short time ago, EA has defended its stance and has been cleared of all claims that they falsely advertised Mass Effect 3 to the masses. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) investigated the matter and to the best of their abilities they did not see anything that showed EA falsely represented the title.
The ASA became involved in the investigation after numerous complaints were made, specifically about the line that said the "decisions you make completely shape your experience and outcome."
As we noted in our review, Mass Effect 3 was a good game marred with a completely garbage ending. Yes, ending. Singular.
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The ASA became involved in the investigation after numerous complaints were made, specifically about the line that said the "decisions you make completely shape your experience and outcome."
"The ASA acknowledged the belief that players' choices in the game did not influence the outcome to the extent claimed by EA.
"However, we considered that the three choices at the end of the game were thematically quite different, and that the availability and effectiveness of those choices would be directly determined by a player's score, which was calculated with reference to previous performance in the game(s).
"We also acknowledged that there appeared to be a large number of minor variations in the end stages of Mass Effect 3, and that those were directly impacted by choices made by players earlier in the game(s).
"Whilst we acknowledged that the advertiser had placed particular emphasis on the role that player choices would play in determining the outcome of the game, we considered that most consumers would realise there would be a finite number of possible outcomes within the game and, because we considered that the advertiser had shown that players' previous choices and performance would impact on the ending of the game, we concluded that the ad was not misleading."
"However, we considered that the three choices at the end of the game were thematically quite different, and that the availability and effectiveness of those choices would be directly determined by a player's score, which was calculated with reference to previous performance in the game(s).
"We also acknowledged that there appeared to be a large number of minor variations in the end stages of Mass Effect 3, and that those were directly impacted by choices made by players earlier in the game(s).
"Whilst we acknowledged that the advertiser had placed particular emphasis on the role that player choices would play in determining the outcome of the game, we considered that most consumers would realise there would be a finite number of possible outcomes within the game and, because we considered that the advertiser had shown that players' previous choices and performance would impact on the ending of the game, we concluded that the ad was not misleading."
As we noted in our review, Mass Effect 3 was a good game marred with a completely garbage ending. Yes, ending. Singular.
(via)