Fans of Mass Effect 3 may have gotten what they wanted with the release of the Extended Cut of the game, released last week by BioWare. The Extended Cut answered many questions about the fate of Shepard's team, their allies, the various alien races who united against the Reapers.
One thing that wasn't fully addressed was the survival of Shepard, who dies in most of the endings but appears to survive in the "Destroy" (or red) ending choice. Shepard's body can be seen moving amidst the wreckage at the end of the cinematic.
Tully Ackland, a community coordinator for BioWare addressed questions regarding Shepard's death and confirmed that he or she in fact lives at the end, provided that the player chooses the "Destroy" ending.
He writes: "You may notice that in the 'Shepard lives' ending, the love interest hesitates to place Shepard’s name on the wall, and instead looks up as though deep in thought. This is meant to suggest that the love interest is not ready to believe Shepard is dead, and the final scene reveals they are correct. As the Normandy lifts off, there is hope that the love interest and Shepard will again be together."
While it's nice to receive a confirmation on Shepard's survival, it raises questions as to which of the endings will be codified into the Mass Effect canon, and whether future adventures await Shepard.
