Decided to name my Shepared "Eugene" since it works on three levels. First, it's old-fashioned enough that you could see Shepard never going by it, even with his lovers. Second, it fits with him being named after Alan Shepard, the first American in space, by referencing Eugene Bullard, the first Black American combat pilot. Finally, it references Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek.
Random headcanons for my Colonist War Hero Vangard run:
1. His parents were George and Mary. I imagine they were a teacher and milita respectively.
2. Shepard got his secondary exposure to eezo when he was too close to a drive detonation during the raid.
3. Anderson was part of the first team to reach Mindoir after the attack. He immediately struck up a mentor relationship with Shepard, sponsoring him to the Academy and the N7 program.
4. Because of Mindoir and the subsequent recovery, Shepard never actually earned a driver's license. He knows how to operate the Mako, but he only sorta kinda knows how to drive.
5. Shepard had Wrex and Kaidan with him when he spoke with Sovereign. This gave the Council the perfect opportunity to discredit after the the Collector attack—Kaidan was dead and Wrex a krogan mercenary.
6. Shepard pointed a gun in Conrad's face because he was having a really bad day—Kaidan dead, the Normandy impounded, the Council dooming the galaxy out of sheer bloody-minded stupidity—and he feels really bad about it. So he humors in Conrad in 2 and 3 as a way to apologize.
7. Since Mindoir, Shepard has only lived in barracks and on ships. When Anderson gives him the Citadel apartment, it's his first actual home in 17 years.
Also, this run confirmed my belief that Shiala and Emily Wong should've been romance options in ME3. Shiala should've also been a full squadmate, focusing on buffing/debuffing through her proto-Thorian abilities.
Also, this run confirmed my belief that Shiala and Emily Wong should've been romance options in ME3. Shiala should've also been a full squadmate, focusing on buffing/debuffing through her proto-Thorian abilities.
Shiala would have been a tough squadmate to add, as her fate was too up in the air. It was already hard enough having so many main characters who may be alive or dead, I doubt they'd want to add more.
Emily Wong totally deserved to be the ride-along reporter in ME3, though. Was the voice actress not available for 3, or did they just decide to kill her off via tweet?
Say, is there a mod for ME2 to let you still have cool cyborg scars even if your Paragon score is high?
You know if I think about it, this is exactly the way it should've gone in ME2. Psychopath Shepard presents a perfect external image, whereas terminator Shepard believes his actions should speak louder then his appearance.
Say, is there a mod for ME2 to let you still have cool cyborg scars even if your Paragon score is high?
You know if I think about it, this is exactly the way it should've gone in ME2. Psychopath Shepard presents a perfect external image, whereas terminator Shepard believes his actions should speak louder then his appearance.
The facial scar mechanic is just one of the many aspects of Mass Effect that seem random and unintuitive until you learn they were grandfathered in from KotOR.
It's probably my favorite game in the series, though I prefer ME3's faster and more tactical gameplay. The world feels so vibrant, so alive in a way that ME1 and 3 can't quite match. Illium and Omega and Zakera Ward feel like real places where people live instead of mere backdrops for the adventure. It reminds me of Star Wars, where it seems like you could turn down any corner and see a whole new story unfold.
I only realized this run—no idea how I missed it—just how cyberpunk it is. Huge swaths of the plot have transhuman themes, the Terminus Systems are really a corporate hellscape masquerading as a pirate's paradise, and many of Shepard's choices have an anti-authority slant.
The story is also dark. Thane's loyalty mission is the least depressing—and that still involves an estranged child trying to murder someone, xenophobic politics, and the heroes relying on the good graces of a dirty cop.
Here's Eugene, seen here realizing he has never met someone with a healthy home life:
Lair of the Shadow Broker is amazing. Though I wish you had more opportunity to call Tela Vasir out on her crap. She draws an equivalency between her actions and Shepard working with Cerberus, but Shepard is trying to save the galaxy and Vasir is doing wetwork for a jumped-up crime boss.
More Random Headcanons/Theories!
1. The Normandy SR-1's stealth systems did not fail; the Shadow Broker planted a beacon on it similar to the one found on the Reaper IFF. Had the Collectors been able to penetrate the IES otherwise, they would've been able to neutralize the SR-2 at any time—such as after taking off from Horizon.
2. After saving the Council, Garrus made a crack about Shepard getting endorsement deals. Shepard did the whole "favorite store on the Citadel" thing specifically to cheer Garrus up.
3. TIM expected large portions of the Normandy's crew to defect from Cerberus—Shepard, Joker, Jacob, Ken, Gabby, etc—but Miranda was a shock. That he didn't see it coming, that none of his leverage was effective in swaying her, is why he finally began to see Shepard as a threat.
4. Shepard is livid the entire game, but hides it behind mantle of command. They died, were brought back by a terrorist group, only to find that every they'd achieved had been erased. The Council went backslid on the Reapers because they're cowards. His crew drifted apart and most of them fell back into bad habits. Now hundreds of thousands of civilians are missing, probably dead, and the only people serious about dealing with it are the aforementioned terrorist. All of that enrages Shepard, which is why (through Renegrade interrupts) they are so much more vicious than before.
5. A romanced Liara partially ignored Shepard on Illium because, like the Virmire Survivor, she wasn't sure how much Cerberus controlled Shepard. With the Shadow Broker nipping at her heels, Liara wasn't about to give TIM leverage.
6. The previous Shadow Broker was an asari. Building such a vast network is exactly the kind of long-term plan matriarchs are known for. It would also explain why asari leadership immediately knew about Liara in 3—they always knew who the Broker was, but kept quiet about it for the same reason they hid Vendetta.
7. The Council considered Vasir a traitor, despite her protests to the contrary, which is why Shepard never faces any consequences—or even questions—about killing her.
I hit the point of no return on my ME3 LE replay the other day. Went ahead and did the DLCs I still had left, Leviathan and Citadel. Trying to decide if it's even worth going through the endgame again or if I want to just call Citadel the game's real ending and move on. I've beaten the original game several times already, and ever since EA changed from Origin to their new system none of the achievements seem to check off on Steam.
I think maybe Alan Shepherd, the Adept-turned-Engineer, is just gonna sail off into the sunset with his crew of buddies and his blue girlfriend.
One thing that bugs me that I never noticed before is that the relationship conversations have a pretty glaring omission. Like when Kaidan awkwardly suggested he might be into me, I didn't have the option to say "Hey man, I'm flattered and all, but I've been dating Liara since Game 1." Considering I didn't hook up with anyone in ME2 and reconfirmed my relationship with Liara in one of the first conversations with her in ME3, it should be pretty clear that Shep is taken. I get that they want players to have the opportunity to change love interest, but it feels like they could have done a better job of letting a monogamous Shep clear the air.
Getting close to the end of my ME2 run I've been doing with my fiancée, she's annoyed that we can't romance Garrus and Liara, but it sounds like in ME2 at least you can, so long as you romance Garrus first and THEN do the Shadow Broker DLC after the main plot is over. Sounds like in three she's not so forgiving and gets super mad if you try to hook up with someone else at the same time. I may need to investigate polyamory mods...
I'm not sure how I managed it by my renegade Zap Brannigan maleshep managed to hook up with way too many characters in ME2 like to the point where I thought I'd bugged the game.
+2
RingoHe/Hima distinct lack of substanceRegistered Userregular
You only get a relationship with Jack by *not* sleeping with her. Then you can romance one of Miranda/Tali/Ensign Reads My Mail. Is there something if you romanced the Virmire survivor in ME1? And then Liara in Shadowbroker
I certainly wouldn't mind the Krogan squadmate and the Asari squadmate being the same character if it frees up a slot for an alien species we've never had as a squadmate before.
So...Dalatrass Linron was the leak, right? She opposed curing the Genophage and only admitted to the females' presence under duress. Cerberus destroying the STG base stops the krogan while providing deniabiltiy. Given her later actions leading up to Priority: Tuchanka—not to mention the salarians looking at yahg and varren explicitly for use in deniable actions—it fits.
Linron is also an idiot. She was surprised that Wrex demanded a cure. That's the astropolitical equivalent of not knowing about the Cold War. How Linron ended up in charge of the Salarian Union is beyond me.
Some of the mods I'm using are so well done I can't tell them apart from the base game.
On the N7: Cerberus Lab mission, I found a datapad stating that Rupert Gardner (the janitor/chef from ME2) was indoctrinated by Cerberus and was one of the troopers killed by Shepard. The moment had dialogue, with Shepard and Garrus expressing their anger/grief, and Gardner's name was added to the Memorial Wall on the Normandy.
I had to check the wiki to be sure that was from a mod (probably EGM) and not canon.
I also may or may not have spent an hour editing RGB codes to give Eugene the correct shade of gray-green eyes.
You know who I want to be the Krogan in the next game?
The child of Ereba and Charr!
Facepaint, biotic headbutts, gimme gimme gimme!
Their child would be an Asari, not a Krogan.
The head butting would be even more hilarious though.
Reducing a person to their species! How very Ashley Williams of you! ;P
Being a (cultural) Krogan is a state of mind; the color of your skin or how flexible your head tentacles are is unimportant!
Just gimme a jacked Asari with strength enhancing cybernetic mods and a short temper, please!
So...Dalatrass Linron was the leak, right? She opposed curing the Genophage and only admitted to the females' presence under duress. Cerberus destroying the STG base stops the krogan while providing deniabiltiy. Given her later actions leading up to Priority: Tuchanka—not to mention the salarians looking at yahg and varren explicitly for use in deniable actions—it fits.
I wish this was BioWare's thought process. More likely Cerberus ninjas wearing frog costumes they bought from Spirit Halloween had already infiltrated the highest levels of Salarian intelligence before the series even started.
0
GnomeTankWhat the what?Portland, OregonRegistered Userregular
Been replaying the trilogy on the Steam Deck, as I'm on the go. It plays really well on it. Even ME3 runs great. It's just the right graphical era to run really smooth on the Deck.
Been replaying the trilogy on the Steam Deck, as I'm on the go. It plays really well on it. Even ME3 runs great. It's just the right graphical era to run really smooth on the Deck.
Legendary Edition? Because yeah, it totally is. ME1 with all its tweaks and a few legacy chokepoints (like that area outside Barla Von's on the Citadel) is perhaps best appreciated with the Deck's adjustable refresh rate taken down to 40fps if you want it to stay rock-solid the whole time, but ME2 (& 3 as I recall - I'm still in 2 in my current run) in the LE move at a happy 60 pretty much the entire time.
OG editions are probably fine but the lack of native controller support on them would be a minor hindrance, just for UI purposes as Steam Input can cover the other bases, unless you're using the (remarkably good in my limited experience) controller mods for them.
You know who I want to be the Krogan in the next game?
The child of Ereba and Charr!
Facepaint, biotic headbutts, gimme gimme gimme!
Their child would be an Asari, not a Krogan.
The head butting would be even more hilarious though.
Reducing a person to their species! How very Ashley Williams of you! ;P
Being a (cultural) Krogan is a state of mind; the color of your skin or how flexible your head tentacles are is unimportant!
Just gimme a jacked Asari with strength enhancing cybernetic mods and a short temper, please!
It would be nice to see the post-genophage Krogan evolve past being a monoculture.
Krogan society is already divided into clans, so I can see those clans specializing as they reintegrate into the larger galactic community. One clan uses the business connections they formed while working as mercenaries to develop into a consumerist corporation. Another clan organizes itself like a labor union, believing that their species should continue to rely heavily on their naturally advantageous physical strength and endurance. One clan becomes a religious commune, seeing spirituality as the path to ridding their species of its violent reputation. Another clan wishes to harness the power of technology, believing it has always defined Krogan history (from the nuclear wars to the uplift to the genophage), causing them to start an R&D lab and think tank.
And these factions could have sidequest potential. The corporate clan asks you to eliminate some saboteurs who are trying to prevent them from partnering with a Volus company. The union clan wants your help with putting on a demonstration that will convince a client to choose them over cheaper Geth or Vorcha labor. The religious clan needs help rooting out some subversives who turn out to be secret Kett Behemoths. And the academic clan wants you to convince the Salarians to accredit their new university by field testing some of their inventions.
That is exactly the kind of growth we need to see in Mass Effect 5. One of the biggest things holding back Star Wars is its inability to let go of its original setup. There's always an Empire, always a plucky Rebellion or Republic. Nothing ever changes so, eventually, it feels like nothing ever matters. Compare that to Star Trek, where almost every part of the setting shifts across series and era.
Imagine how empty it would feel if ME5 gives us the same world we've had for three games already?
+5
daveNYCWhy universe hate Waspinator?Registered Userregular
That is exactly the kind of growth we need to see in Mass Effect 5. One of the biggest things holding back Star Wars is its inability to let go of its original setup. There's always an Empire, always a plucky Rebellion or Republic. Nothing ever changes so, eventually, it feels like nothing ever matters. Compare that to Star Trek, where almost every part of the setting shifts across series and era.
Imagine how empty it would feel if ME5 gives us the same world we've had for three games already?
Easy enough to do given the setting's technology. Just have your character be on an task force that explores space that's locked behind deactivated mass relays. Something something they are able to do a one-time spin-up of the relay so they don't get a bunch of Rachni or Krogan-who-didn't-nuke-themselves coming back at them.
Tad difficult to pull that off post-ME3 though.
Shut up, Mr. Burton! You were not brought upon this world to get it!
Here's your problem. The previous entry crashed and burned hard. Then the subsequent remaster of old games did well. So expect the new game to be chock full of memberberries. I mean even the trailer went with "'member Liara?".
Hell, it's funny you mention Star Trek. Because their announcement of Picard S3 was also straight up "'member TNG?" with its cast list. And the latest episode is just fucking dripping in memberberries. ...Don't get me wrong, I'm watching it and I'm really liking it. But it's up to its eyeballs in memberberries.
"The sausage of Green Earth explodes with flavor like the cannon of culinary delight."
Here's your problem. The previous entry crashed and burned hard. Then the subsequent remaster of old games did well. So expect the new game to be chock full of memberberries. I mean even the trailer went with "'member Liara?".
Hell, it's funny you mention Star Trek. Because their announcement of Picard S3 was also straight up "'member TNG?" with its cast list. And the latest episode is just fucking dripping in memberberries. ...Don't get me wrong, I'm watching it and I'm really liking it. But it's up to its eyeballs in memberberries.
Andromeduuuuuh crashed and burned not because it didn't use characters we knew about but because it tried to play it safe in galaxy that didn't have anything to do with the title of the game and refused to touch the milky way after the garbage fire that was the ending of me3.
And the current season of picard is doing well despite the memberberries, not because of it, imo.
edit:
I realise this isn't going to stop some coked out studio executive from sticking to playing it safe and demanding a sandboxy universe with a grindy crafting system and a VA role for Keanu Reeves but the points still stand.
So, we all agree that Kai Leng is a punk-ass bitch, but I think the foundational problem with him is that he never gets a real victory. The closest he comes is Thessia, which is practically designed to feel unfair and unearned. But the Citadel? His introduction? He barely beats a dying man. Compare that to Saren on Eden Prime or Virmire and Leng is simply lacking.
Eugene, pictured realizing that for all the universe has taken from him, he is blessed with true companions:
+3
RingoHe/Hima distinct lack of substanceRegistered Userregular
Even if Thane isn't there to help, the Citadel fight feels exactly like Thessia - cheap and unearned
Just finished Priority: Thessia. One of the most impactful moments in the trilogy hampered by Kai Leng being maybe the worst-written villain in modern fiction.
Theory: Udina learning about Athame led him to support Cerberus.
-TIM found out about Athame shortly after Mars, but couldn't move against a secure Thessia. So, his objective becomes weakening the asari enough that the temple is vulnerable.
-Now, TIM could wait for the Reapers to strike Thessia, but he's racing a ticking clock: eventually, Asari High Command will become desperate enough to reach out to Shepard.
-Asari power is more closely tied to the Citadel than any other species. Accordingly, they would suffer the most if the Citadel fell.
-Udina is desperate and angry. His worst fears came true right before his eyes—Earth is in danger and the Council refuses to aid what they see as an expendable client race. He's willing to do anything with the slightest chance of helping Earth.
-TIM leaks everything to Udina. The asari have known about the Reapers the entire time, their entire regime is based on violating the very laws they forced on the rest of the galaxy. They had 3,000 years to prepare and did nothing. Worse, their continued silence actively aids the enemy. Imagine Udina's rage in that moment. Bad enough the asari refused to help Earth to protect their own borders; now he knows the real reason is that the "most enlightened race in the galaxy" was afraid of embarassment.
-I don't think TIM ever expected to hold the Citadel. The goal was to draw forces away from Thessia in a costly retaking, then take Vendetta while the asari were distracted. The coup's failure forced him to wait for the Reapers to do the job for him.
-This resentment towards the asari, towards the system they built, is why Udina's last act was to point a gun at Tevos.
Post-Game Speculation:
So, asari hegemony is done. Even without the incalculable economic loss from the Fall of Thessia, the cultural blowback when Athame becomes public will be unprecedented. Think of how the turians alone would react: their ally of milennia not only knew about the threat, but did nothing while Palaven burned. Asari culture itself revolves around "the wisdom of the Matriarchs." How many young asari will pay heed to it once they know the truth?
Also, this concept wasn't as prevalent in the social consciousness in 2012, but uh...Javik is a fascist, right?
Just finished Priority: Thessia. One of the most impactful moments in the trilogy hampered by Kai Leng being maybe the worst-written villain in modern fiction.
Theory: Udina learning about Athame led him to support Cerberus.
-TIM found out about Athame shortly after Mars, but couldn't move against a secure Thessia. So, his objective becomes weakening the asari enough that the temple is vulnerable.
-Now, TIM could wait for the Reapers to strike Thessia, but he's racing a ticking clock: eventually, Asari High Command will become desperate enough to reach out to Shepard.
-Asari power is more closely tied to the Citadel than any other species. Accordingly, they would suffer the most if the Citadel fell.
-Udina is desperate and angry. His worst fears came true right before his eyes—Earth is in danger and the Council refuses to aid what they see as an expendable client race. He's willing to do anything with the slightest chance of helping Earth.
-TIM leaks everything to Udina. The asari have known about the Reapers the entire time, their entire regime is based on violating the very laws they forced on the rest of the galaxy. They had 3,000 years to prepare and did nothing. Worse, their continued silence actively aids the enemy. Imagine Udina's rage in that moment. Bad enough the asari refused to help Earth to protect their own borders; now he knows the real reason is that the "most enlightened race in the galaxy" was afraid of embarassment.
-I don't think TIM ever expected to hold the Citadel. The goal was to draw forces away from Thessia in a costly retaking, then take Vendetta while the asari were distracted. The coup's failure forced him to wait for the Reapers to do the job for him.
-This resentment towards the asari, towards the system they built, is why Udina's last act was to point a gun at Tevos.
Post-Game Speculation:
So, asari hegemony is done. Even without the incalculable economic loss from the Fall of Thessia, the cultural blowback when Athame becomes public will be unprecedented. Think of how the turians alone would react: their ally of milennia not only knew about the threat, but did nothing while Palaven burned. Asari culture itself revolves around "the wisdom of the Matriarchs." How many young asari will pay heed to it once they know the truth?
Also, this concept wasn't as prevalent in the social consciousness in 2012, but uh...Javik is a fascist, right?
Whoa there, labelling Kai "I ate your cereal" Leng as a villain is a bit much.
Henchman with a name, perhaps. tertiary antagonist, maybe. But villain?!
Re: your speculation
I honestly can't wait to see what they do in me4.
Athame feels like a secret only the Asari higher ups and, well, Shep know about, I don't think anyone would leak that.
I think the asari's and, to a lesser extent, the turian's more pronounced role on the galactic stage will diminish because the citadel (and therefore the relay gates) will be inoperable for a few decades.
War, as shitty as it is, is a great reset button for societies; I can't see everyone clamouring for the "good old days" when only the asari/turians/salarians had a say, especially considering that one deranged human was right about the evil space robots all along and they did nothing.
Javik being a facist is a bit of a reach as we don't know how their (prothean) society was run but that the protheans were, as a species, a giant bag of dicks was definitely around when the game released.
I mean a subplot to Liara's story is that the prothean's weren't enlightened or special or especially benevolent; they were kinda like the reapers (yes yes slavery/subservience isn't quite the same as being gooified) and got outreapered.
Also, this concept wasn't as prevalent in the social consciousness in 2012, but uh...Javik is a fascist, right?
Don't look now, but so is every Turian.
If you want to hear Javik give some uncharacteristically complementary praise to a society of primitives, bring him and Garrus on the two missions with Tarquin Victus and the big bomb.
Also, this concept wasn't as prevalent in the social consciousness in 2012, but uh...Javik is a fascist, right?
Don't look now, but so is every Turian.
If you want to hear Javik give some uncharacteristically complementary praise to a society of primitives, bring him and Garrus on the two missions with Tarquin Victus and the big bomb.
I don't think that's entirely fair; Turians are authoritarian, yes but the other stuff you generally see in fascist society is missing.
Or rather we aren't explicitly told how the press, opposition etc is handled. And the turians don't go out looking for fights the way Krogans do.
If you look at what Garrus was up to between me2 and me3, he collected evidence, took that to his dad (who thought it had merit), who took it to someone else who then gave Garrus funding to do something about it.
Sure, that isn't the same as prepping anti-reaper warships but I just can't imagine that sort of fair burocracy happening in Russia or North Korea; some official in the chain would pocket the funding and tell Vakarian Senior to take a hike.
Also, this concept wasn't as prevalent in the social consciousness in 2012, but uh...Javik is a fascist, right?
Don't look now, but so is every Turian.
If you want to hear Javik give some uncharacteristically complementary praise to a society of primitives, bring him and Garrus on the two missions with Tarquin Victus and the big bomb.
I don't think that's entirely fair; Turians are authoritarian, yes but the other stuff you generally see in fascist society is missing.
Or rather we aren't explicitly told how the press, opposition etc is handled. And the turians don't go out looking for fights the way Krogans do.
If you look at what Garrus was up to between me2 and me3, he collected evidence, took that to his dad (who thought it had merit), who took it to someone else who then gave Garrus funding to do something about it.
Sure, that isn't the same as prepping anti-reaper warships but I just can't imagine that sort of fair burocracy happening in Russia or North Korea; some official in the chain would pocket the funding and tell Vakarian Senior to take a hike.
See, now we're getting into some really meaty sci-fi hypotheticals that Mass Effect and its primary inspiration Star Trek have always done a notably poor job exploring. Specifically, the implications of xenopsychology and how that could potentially clash with human cultural assumptions.
If I accuse the Turians of being fascist, does that statement inherently carry a value judgment with it? It certainly would if I said the same thing about a human society. Fascism's repeated historical failures and the atrocities that have arisen as a consequence have turned the ideology into a much deserved loaded word with lots of baggage. It's not a claim one casually makes without the intention to smear.
Likewise, your example of the corrupt official is also rooted in human behavioral patterns. We know that a human official in a human autocracy would behave that way because human history has given us a very thorough understanding of human nature.
But all that goes out the window when talking about aliens. Their cultural and even evolutionary history is entirely divorced from our own. We don't know if Turians have ever had a holocaust. We don't know if their brain chemistry temps them toward corruption with the same frequency our own does.
Now I want to make it clear, I don't blame you or anyone else for applying your existing moral and ethical assumptions to aliens in Mass Effect, because the games do very little to discourage you from it. Aliens in Mass Effect exhibit an emotional range that does not differ significantly from human expectations. They become happy, sad, and angry at all the same things that would evoke those same emotions in us. This is not an oversight, but rather done by design. Mass Effect is a game that must be sold to not only hard sci-fi nerds but also general audiences. Humans crave familiarity, and will often find aliens to be alienating just on their superficial appearances alone. Having the aliens in your setting also think and feel in ways that are radically different from humans just risks making it even harder for your average gamer to sympathize with them.
Also, even if BioWare's intention is to imply that the Turians are fascist, they're still going to walk on eggshells whenever it comes up in the lore. Being too overt about humans in their setting being allied with aliens who practice a functional version of fascism could lead to someone accusing them of endorsing fascism for humans in real life, which I'm sure is an outcome they would prefer to avoid.
But if they did ever really get into the meat of it, that could lead to some fascinating dialogue. Imagine how the Turians must view us through the lens of their own deeply ingrained cultural biases.
"Humans do not care for the wellbeing of their subordinates like we do, which is why they must give every individual an equal say in important matters of state, regardless of qualifications. Humans who do not contribute much to their society are selfish and unwilling to make necessary sacrifices, which is why they impose a social safety net on everyone else. Humans are soft on crime because criminal tendencies are so common among their species, they would need to arrest everyone otherwise. Humans are so xenophobic that they could never trust themselves to act as benevolent caretakers to a lesser species, as we do to our beloved Volus little brothers."
If any of the above statements seem repellent to you, consider how we would sound to a Turian if we made our own judgements about their society.
I don't remember if it's just the Turians, or all species as a whole. But one of the reasons that Humanity potentially scares them is that unlike the Turians who force their entire race to serve in the military, Human military is both 100% optional, and only like 2% of the total population even serve.
And in many ways Human military power is equal or even greater than Turian military power.
2%. Now imagine what happens if you piss off these apes enough that they all decide to start picking up a gun.
"The sausage of Green Earth explodes with flavor like the cannon of culinary delight."
That is exactly the kind of growth we need to see in Mass Effect 5. One of the biggest things holding back Star Wars is its inability to let go of its original setup. There's always an Empire, always a plucky Rebellion or Republic. Nothing ever changes so, eventually, it feels like nothing ever matters. Compare that to Star Trek, where almost every part of the setting shifts across series and era.
Imagine how empty it would feel if ME5 gives us the same world we've had for three games already?
I mean... that's one of the biggest problems Andromeda has, right? New galaxy, but the same basic setup, complete with a mini-Citadel, and very little anything new. It didn't help that the Kett, mechanically, were just re-skinned ME3 Reaper forces. Or that the Angarans were far less interesting than the species we've grown accustomed to in the trilogy.
And when not dealing with the mustache twirling, vaguely evilly religious Kett, we're putting out the same fires we did in the first ME game because, due to the timeline, none of the progress Shep's actions may or may not have had apply to Ryder's reality. In that sense, it feels like a regression.
I will say this: the Tempest is my favorite ME ship. I just love it. And I hope that ME5 improves on all the things Andromeda dropped the ball on while giving us another really great ship to live in.
Posts
These are always amazing (from this channel).
Finished ME1!
Decided to name my Shepared "Eugene" since it works on three levels. First, it's old-fashioned enough that you could see Shepard never going by it, even with his lovers. Second, it fits with him being named after Alan Shepard, the first American in space, by referencing Eugene Bullard, the first Black American combat pilot. Finally, it references Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek.
Random headcanons for my Colonist War Hero Vangard run:
2. Shepard got his secondary exposure to eezo when he was too close to a drive detonation during the raid.
3. Anderson was part of the first team to reach Mindoir after the attack. He immediately struck up a mentor relationship with Shepard, sponsoring him to the Academy and the N7 program.
4. Because of Mindoir and the subsequent recovery, Shepard never actually earned a driver's license. He knows how to operate the Mako, but he only sorta kinda knows how to drive.
5. Shepard had Wrex and Kaidan with him when he spoke with Sovereign. This gave the Council the perfect opportunity to discredit after the the Collector attack—Kaidan was dead and Wrex a krogan mercenary.
6. Shepard pointed a gun in Conrad's face because he was having a really bad day—Kaidan dead, the Normandy impounded, the Council dooming the galaxy out of sheer bloody-minded stupidity—and he feels really bad about it. So he humors in Conrad in 2 and 3 as a way to apologize.
7. Since Mindoir, Shepard has only lived in barracks and on ships. When Anderson gives him the Citadel apartment, it's his first actual home in 17 years.
Also, this run confirmed my belief that Shiala and Emily Wong should've been romance options in ME3. Shiala should've also been a full squadmate, focusing on buffing/debuffing through her proto-Thorian abilities.
Shiala would have been a tough squadmate to add, as her fate was too up in the air. It was already hard enough having so many main characters who may be alive or dead, I doubt they'd want to add more.
Emily Wong totally deserved to be the ride-along reporter in ME3, though. Was the voice actress not available for 3, or did they just decide to kill her off via tweet?
You know if I think about it, this is exactly the way it should've gone in ME2. Psychopath Shepard presents a perfect external image, whereas terminator Shepard believes his actions should speak louder then his appearance.
The facial scar mechanic is just one of the many aspects of Mass Effect that seem random and unintuitive until you learn they were grandfathered in from KotOR.
Everyone's? But what about Galaxy and Infiltrator? ...wait, I see your point!
Steam | XBL
It's probably my favorite game in the series, though I prefer ME3's faster and more tactical gameplay. The world feels so vibrant, so alive in a way that ME1 and 3 can't quite match. Illium and Omega and Zakera Ward feel like real places where people live instead of mere backdrops for the adventure. It reminds me of Star Wars, where it seems like you could turn down any corner and see a whole new story unfold.
I only realized this run—no idea how I missed it—just how cyberpunk it is. Huge swaths of the plot have transhuman themes, the Terminus Systems are really a corporate hellscape masquerading as a pirate's paradise, and many of Shepard's choices have an anti-authority slant.
The story is also dark. Thane's loyalty mission is the least depressing—and that still involves an estranged child trying to murder someone, xenophobic politics, and the heroes relying on the good graces of a dirty cop.
Here's Eugene, seen here realizing he has never met someone with a healthy home life:
Lair of the Shadow Broker is amazing. Though I wish you had more opportunity to call Tela Vasir out on her crap. She draws an equivalency between her actions and Shepard working with Cerberus, but Shepard is trying to save the galaxy and Vasir is doing wetwork for a jumped-up crime boss.
More Random Headcanons/Theories!
2. After saving the Council, Garrus made a crack about Shepard getting endorsement deals. Shepard did the whole "favorite store on the Citadel" thing specifically to cheer Garrus up.
3. TIM expected large portions of the Normandy's crew to defect from Cerberus—Shepard, Joker, Jacob, Ken, Gabby, etc—but Miranda was a shock. That he didn't see it coming, that none of his leverage was effective in swaying her, is why he finally began to see Shepard as a threat.
4. Shepard is livid the entire game, but hides it behind mantle of command. They died, were brought back by a terrorist group, only to find that every they'd achieved had been erased. The Council went backslid on the Reapers because they're cowards. His crew drifted apart and most of them fell back into bad habits. Now hundreds of thousands of civilians are missing, probably dead, and the only people serious about dealing with it are the aforementioned terrorist. All of that enrages Shepard, which is why (through Renegrade interrupts) they are so much more vicious than before.
5. A romanced Liara partially ignored Shepard on Illium because, like the Virmire Survivor, she wasn't sure how much Cerberus controlled Shepard. With the Shadow Broker nipping at her heels, Liara wasn't about to give TIM leverage.
6. The previous Shadow Broker was an asari. Building such a vast network is exactly the kind of long-term plan matriarchs are known for. It would also explain why asari leadership immediately knew about Liara in 3—they always knew who the Broker was, but kept quiet about it for the same reason they hid Vendetta.
7. The Council considered Vasir a traitor, despite her protests to the contrary, which is why Shepard never faces any consequences—or even questions—about killing her.
I think maybe Alan Shepherd, the Adept-turned-Engineer, is just gonna sail off into the sunset with his crew of buddies and his blue girlfriend.
One thing that bugs me that I never noticed before is that the relationship conversations have a pretty glaring omission. Like when Kaidan awkwardly suggested he might be into me, I didn't have the option to say "Hey man, I'm flattered and all, but I've been dating Liara since Game 1." Considering I didn't hook up with anyone in ME2 and reconfirmed my relationship with Liara in one of the first conversations with her in ME3, it should be pretty clear that Shep is taken. I get that they want players to have the opportunity to change love interest, but it feels like they could have done a better job of letting a monogamous Shep clear the air.
The child of Ereba and Charr!
Facepaint, biotic headbutts, gimme gimme gimme!
Someone call BioWare right now.
If this isn't in ME5 then the current Devs aren't even REAL fans of the series!
The head butting would be even more hilarious though.
Steam | XBL
So...Dalatrass Linron was the leak, right? She opposed curing the Genophage and only admitted to the females' presence under duress. Cerberus destroying the STG base stops the krogan while providing deniabiltiy. Given her later actions leading up to Priority: Tuchanka—not to mention the salarians looking at yahg and varren explicitly for use in deniable actions—it fits.
Linron is also an idiot. She was surprised that Wrex demanded a cure. That's the astropolitical equivalent of not knowing about the Cold War. How Linron ended up in charge of the Salarian Union is beyond me.
Some of the mods I'm using are so well done I can't tell them apart from the base game.
I had to check the wiki to be sure that was from a mod (probably EGM) and not canon.
I also may or may not have spent an hour editing RGB codes to give Eugene the correct shade of gray-green eyes.
Reducing a person to their species! How very Ashley Williams of you! ;P
Being a (cultural) Krogan is a state of mind; the color of your skin or how flexible your head tentacles are is unimportant!
Just gimme a jacked Asari with strength enhancing cybernetic mods and a short temper, please!
I wish this was BioWare's thought process. More likely Cerberus ninjas wearing frog costumes they bought from Spirit Halloween had already infiltrated the highest levels of Salarian intelligence before the series even started.
Legendary Edition? Because yeah, it totally is. ME1 with all its tweaks and a few legacy chokepoints (like that area outside Barla Von's on the Citadel) is perhaps best appreciated with the Deck's adjustable refresh rate taken down to 40fps if you want it to stay rock-solid the whole time, but ME2 (& 3 as I recall - I'm still in 2 in my current run) in the LE move at a happy 60 pretty much the entire time.
OG editions are probably fine but the lack of native controller support on them would be a minor hindrance, just for UI purposes as Steam Input can cover the other bases, unless you're using the (remarkably good in my limited experience) controller mods for them.
Steam | XBL
Is Aethyta not enough for you?
Krogan society is already divided into clans, so I can see those clans specializing as they reintegrate into the larger galactic community. One clan uses the business connections they formed while working as mercenaries to develop into a consumerist corporation. Another clan organizes itself like a labor union, believing that their species should continue to rely heavily on their naturally advantageous physical strength and endurance. One clan becomes a religious commune, seeing spirituality as the path to ridding their species of its violent reputation. Another clan wishes to harness the power of technology, believing it has always defined Krogan history (from the nuclear wars to the uplift to the genophage), causing them to start an R&D lab and think tank.
And these factions could have sidequest potential. The corporate clan asks you to eliminate some saboteurs who are trying to prevent them from partnering with a Volus company. The union clan wants your help with putting on a demonstration that will convince a client to choose them over cheaper Geth or Vorcha labor. The religious clan needs help rooting out some subversives who turn out to be secret Kett Behemoths. And the academic clan wants you to convince the Salarians to accredit their new university by field testing some of their inventions.
Imagine how empty it would feel if ME5 gives us the same world we've had for three games already?
Easy enough to do given the setting's technology. Just have your character be on an task force that explores space that's locked behind deactivated mass relays. Something something they are able to do a one-time spin-up of the relay so they don't get a bunch of Rachni or Krogan-who-didn't-nuke-themselves coming back at them.
Tad difficult to pull that off post-ME3 though.
Hell, it's funny you mention Star Trek. Because their announcement of Picard S3 was also straight up "'member TNG?" with its cast list. And the latest episode is just fucking dripping in memberberries. ...Don't get me wrong, I'm watching it and I'm really liking it. But it's up to its eyeballs in memberberries.
Andromeduuuuuh crashed and burned not because it didn't use characters we knew about but because it tried to play it safe in galaxy that didn't have anything to do with the title of the game and refused to touch the milky way after the garbage fire that was the ending of me3.
And the current season of picard is doing well despite the memberberries, not because of it, imo.
edit:
I realise this isn't going to stop some coked out studio executive from sticking to playing it safe and demanding a sandboxy universe with a grindy crafting system and a VA role for Keanu Reeves but the points still stand.
So, we all agree that Kai Leng is a punk-ass bitch, but I think the foundational problem with him is that he never gets a real victory. The closest he comes is Thessia, which is practically designed to feel unfair and unearned. But the Citadel? His introduction? He barely beats a dying man. Compare that to Saren on Eden Prime or Virmire and Leng is simply lacking.
Eugene, pictured realizing that for all the universe has taken from him, he is blessed with true companions:
Theory: Udina learning about Athame led him to support Cerberus.
-Now, TIM could wait for the Reapers to strike Thessia, but he's racing a ticking clock: eventually, Asari High Command will become desperate enough to reach out to Shepard.
-Asari power is more closely tied to the Citadel than any other species. Accordingly, they would suffer the most if the Citadel fell.
-Udina is desperate and angry. His worst fears came true right before his eyes—Earth is in danger and the Council refuses to aid what they see as an expendable client race. He's willing to do anything with the slightest chance of helping Earth.
-TIM leaks everything to Udina. The asari have known about the Reapers the entire time, their entire regime is based on violating the very laws they forced on the rest of the galaxy. They had 3,000 years to prepare and did nothing. Worse, their continued silence actively aids the enemy. Imagine Udina's rage in that moment. Bad enough the asari refused to help Earth to protect their own borders; now he knows the real reason is that the "most enlightened race in the galaxy" was afraid of embarassment.
-I don't think TIM ever expected to hold the Citadel. The goal was to draw forces away from Thessia in a costly retaking, then take Vendetta while the asari were distracted. The coup's failure forced him to wait for the Reapers to do the job for him.
-This resentment towards the asari, towards the system they built, is why Udina's last act was to point a gun at Tevos.
Post-Game Speculation:
Also, this concept wasn't as prevalent in the social consciousness in 2012, but uh...Javik is a fascist, right?
Whoa there, labelling Kai "I ate your cereal" Leng as a villain is a bit much.
Henchman with a name, perhaps. tertiary antagonist, maybe. But villain?!
Re: your speculation
Athame feels like a secret only the Asari higher ups and, well, Shep know about, I don't think anyone would leak that.
I think the asari's and, to a lesser extent, the turian's more pronounced role on the galactic stage will diminish because the citadel (and therefore the relay gates) will be inoperable for a few decades.
War, as shitty as it is, is a great reset button for societies; I can't see everyone clamouring for the "good old days" when only the asari/turians/salarians had a say, especially considering that one deranged human was right about the evil space robots all along and they did nothing.
Javik being a facist is a bit of a reach as we don't know how their (prothean) society was run but that the protheans were, as a species, a giant bag of dicks was definitely around when the game released.
I mean a subplot to Liara's story is that the prothean's weren't enlightened or special or especially benevolent; they were kinda like the reapers (yes yes slavery/subservience isn't quite the same as being gooified) and got outreapered.
Don't look now, but so is every Turian.
If you want to hear Javik give some uncharacteristically complementary praise to a society of primitives, bring him and Garrus on the two missions with Tarquin Victus and the big bomb.
I don't think that's entirely fair; Turians are authoritarian, yes but the other stuff you generally see in fascist society is missing.
Or rather we aren't explicitly told how the press, opposition etc is handled. And the turians don't go out looking for fights the way Krogans do.
If you look at what Garrus was up to between me2 and me3, he collected evidence, took that to his dad (who thought it had merit), who took it to someone else who then gave Garrus funding to do something about it.
Sure, that isn't the same as prepping anti-reaper warships but I just can't imagine that sort of fair burocracy happening in Russia or North Korea; some official in the chain would pocket the funding and tell Vakarian Senior to take a hike.
See, now we're getting into some really meaty sci-fi hypotheticals that Mass Effect and its primary inspiration Star Trek have always done a notably poor job exploring. Specifically, the implications of xenopsychology and how that could potentially clash with human cultural assumptions.
If I accuse the Turians of being fascist, does that statement inherently carry a value judgment with it? It certainly would if I said the same thing about a human society. Fascism's repeated historical failures and the atrocities that have arisen as a consequence have turned the ideology into a much deserved loaded word with lots of baggage. It's not a claim one casually makes without the intention to smear.
Likewise, your example of the corrupt official is also rooted in human behavioral patterns. We know that a human official in a human autocracy would behave that way because human history has given us a very thorough understanding of human nature.
But all that goes out the window when talking about aliens. Their cultural and even evolutionary history is entirely divorced from our own. We don't know if Turians have ever had a holocaust. We don't know if their brain chemistry temps them toward corruption with the same frequency our own does.
Now I want to make it clear, I don't blame you or anyone else for applying your existing moral and ethical assumptions to aliens in Mass Effect, because the games do very little to discourage you from it. Aliens in Mass Effect exhibit an emotional range that does not differ significantly from human expectations. They become happy, sad, and angry at all the same things that would evoke those same emotions in us. This is not an oversight, but rather done by design. Mass Effect is a game that must be sold to not only hard sci-fi nerds but also general audiences. Humans crave familiarity, and will often find aliens to be alienating just on their superficial appearances alone. Having the aliens in your setting also think and feel in ways that are radically different from humans just risks making it even harder for your average gamer to sympathize with them.
Also, even if BioWare's intention is to imply that the Turians are fascist, they're still going to walk on eggshells whenever it comes up in the lore. Being too overt about humans in their setting being allied with aliens who practice a functional version of fascism could lead to someone accusing them of endorsing fascism for humans in real life, which I'm sure is an outcome they would prefer to avoid.
But if they did ever really get into the meat of it, that could lead to some fascinating dialogue. Imagine how the Turians must view us through the lens of their own deeply ingrained cultural biases.
"Humans do not care for the wellbeing of their subordinates like we do, which is why they must give every individual an equal say in important matters of state, regardless of qualifications. Humans who do not contribute much to their society are selfish and unwilling to make necessary sacrifices, which is why they impose a social safety net on everyone else. Humans are soft on crime because criminal tendencies are so common among their species, they would need to arrest everyone otherwise. Humans are so xenophobic that they could never trust themselves to act as benevolent caretakers to a lesser species, as we do to our beloved Volus little brothers."
If any of the above statements seem repellent to you, consider how we would sound to a Turian if we made our own judgements about their society.
And in many ways Human military power is equal or even greater than Turian military power.
2%. Now imagine what happens if you piss off these apes enough that they all decide to start picking up a gun.
And when not dealing with the mustache twirling, vaguely evilly religious Kett, we're putting out the same fires we did in the first ME game because, due to the timeline, none of the progress Shep's actions may or may not have had apply to Ryder's reality. In that sense, it feels like a regression.
EDIT: spoiler tags for safety