CHRIS GIANCAMILLI
STAFF WRITER

Last month, Bioware’s “Mass Effect 3” was released to critical acclaim from many review websites such as IGN.com, Gamespot.com and 1UP.com. While professional reviewers are pleased with the game, die-hard fans of the series have their objections to the game’s ending.

The Mass Effect series has always stressed the importance of the player’s decisions within the game’s storyline leading to numerous outcomes and endings. In the previous games, endings would be specifically tailored to the choices players made. These choices would determine whether certain characters would live or die and the fate of several key locations. In “Mass Effect 3” however, the endings don’t quite reach the same level of uniqueness.

Fans started several social media campaigns including “Retake Mass Effect – Child’s Play.” The group, set up through the website Chipin.com, was established to raise funds for the Child’s Play charity while raising awareness for their dissatisfaction with “Mass Effect 3’s” ending. Though the group is no longer accepting donations, “Retake Mass Effect” has accumulated more than $80,000 for the Child’s Play charity.

Thankfully, their pleas have not gone unnoticed. On March 21, Bioware co-founder Dr. Ray Muzyka responded in the blog section of Bioware.com.

“…Exec. Producer Casey Hudson and the team are hard at work on a number of game content initiatives that will help answer the questions, providing more clarity for those seeking further closure to their journey. You’ll hear more on this in April,” said Muzyka.

Muzyka’s post signals an important victory for the petitioners and fans alike—it lets fans know that developers are listening. The creators care about the fans’ reactions to the game and are trying to resolve the issues.

Whether Bioware’s update to the game is well received by the fans remains to be seen. Hopefully, other developers will take notice of the effort fans have gone through to change a franchise they care for.