Time To Save The Galaxy...

After some frustrating customer service at one video game retail store and some exceptional customer service at a sister store of that same video game retailer, a headache, and much excitement, I finally got my hands on Mass Effect 3, with the From Ashes DLC included. In order to celebrate the most anticipated game of 2012, I’m chronicling my journey through the galaxies of the final chapter of BioWare’s masterpiece. While I’m in the process of starting Mass Effect 3 (which is slightly delayed due to an exam in my Entertainment Law class and a pretty full schedule) I’m going to write some quick memories of my Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 experience.

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For anyone unfamiliar with the series check out the Wikipedia article about Mass Effect, which does a pretty good job explaining the basics about the series’ gameplay and universe, or the Mass Effect website. Oh, additionally, the following has some SPOILERS of Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2.

Mass Effect

The first time I stepped in the shoes of Commander Shepard (mine, by the way, is a male named Luke) I remember being impressed with the level of customization available not only on the appearance of the character but also on the combat stylization. In fact, I recall on my first play-through of Mass Effect I automatically selected Soldier, unaware of the fact that there were other classes available, because I was so excited to get started. When I replayed the game last summer, I created an entirely new character. I recall correctly, this Commander Luke Shepard was a space colonist and eventually became a war hero after enlisting in the military. Instead of selecting the Soldier class again, I chose to be a Vanguard, as I finally understood the game mechanics and the usefulness of biotic abilities. Throughout both games, I leaned closer to the Paragon side in my actions, although I tried my best to seriously contemplate and judge my actions on an individual basis, playing Shepard as though I had to live with the consequences of my actions forever.

Ashley & Garrus | masseffect.wikia.com

Throughout the course of my adventures through the galaxy, I completed a majority of the side missions in addition to the main story missions. Utilizing weaponry as well as biotic abilities, I choose to add additional firepower to my team by taking the military-minded Ashley on the majority of missions. When I took her, I usually took Garrus, the Taurian tech-warrior, as my third member.

Wrex & Tali | masseffect.wikia.com

When I switched it up, I used the Wrex, the brutish Krogan bounty hunter, and Tali, the Quarian tech-specialist, giving myself a balanced team most of the time. As much as I love Mass Effect, my favorite moments are few compared to Mass Effect 2. The part I enjoyed the most, however, was the feeling and depth the main mission planets provided. Feros was extremely atmospheric and the first time going through the game, I was caught off guard by the mutations that took place upon returning to the town. Noveria, too, created quite a desolate and abandoned atmosphere. The snowy planet was had beautiful scenery as did Virmire, the beach-themed planet. I can still remember playing on a warm, breezy day, feeling like I was actually on the planet storming Saren’s Geth base. That mission featured some of the most memorable and exciting series of events I’ve seen in any game. 

The characters were greatly detailed as was the dialogue between them. Developing relationships was one of the best parts about Mass Effect. For the most part, all of the characters were pretty intriguing. Unfortunately, the characters I found to be the least interesting were all of the love interests. For my Shepard, I had the option between Ashley (who was prejudice against all of our alien comrades) and Liara (who was less interesting then a snail race without salt). For female Shepards, they at least had Kaidan, who was fairly interesting and complex. Honestly though, I felt he paled in comparison to the depth I found in Tali and Garrus, which is likely why they were brought back for Mass Effect 2. It might be an unfair comparison. As a human character, there is less to learn about Ashley and Kaidan, especially compared to the cultural and racial differences between the alien members of my squad. 

From the landing on Eden Prime to the final confrontation on the Citadel, Mass Effect did a very good job of making me feel like I was actually fighting with a purpose! Below are some of the highlights of my story based on what I can remember as I attempted to stop the Geth:

• ·      Managed not to kill any of the people on Feros during the uprooting of the Thorian
• ·      Spared Shiala on Feros
• ·      Freed the Rachini Queen on Noveria
• ·      Saved Liara T’Soni on Therum
• ·      During the confrontation with Wrex on Virmire, managed to peacefully reconcile
• ·      Pursued a romantic relationship with Ashley
• ·      Choose to save Ashley over Kaidan on Virmire
• ·      Convinced Saren to kill himself during the final confrontation
• ·      Sacrificed the council during the battle against Sovereign for the greater good
• ·      Appointed Captain Anderson as the human representative to the council
• ·      Never did any of the DLC

Mass Effect 2

Having defeated Sovereign, I began the journey through Mass Effect 2 feeling triumphant and untouchable. BioWare, likely aware of my arrogance, quickly cut me down by allowing the Collectors to fire on my ship, cause my entire team and I to be separated. While I was subconsciously aware that I’d somehow have to rebuild my team (the same way Samus seems to always lose her powers in some creative way only to retrieve them once again in the Metroid series), I was still pretty shocked at how quickly and abruptly my ship was struck down. Having little time to reveal in my past success, I began to rebuild my crew, this time under the command of Cerberus.

Cerberus Logo | masseffect.wikia.com

I assumed the same class I had from the previous game and became a Vanguard for Cerberus. After being put back together Six Million Dollar Man style, I knew I was in for quite a ride. While the gameplay changed pretty distinctively, the universe was very much consistent with the first game. 

Mordin & Grunt | masseffect.wikia.com

My favorite memories from Mass Effect 2 definitely center on the loyalty missions. The missions not only served to prolong gameplay but also introduced me to a different side of the character in most cases. The game also introduced a wider variety of squad members this time around. Mordin, the Salarian Scientist, for example, was not only unique in that he was the first possible Salarian squad member, but he also had a distinct style of speaking and sense of humor, which allowed me to connect with him on a more personal level. Since playing this game, every subsequent game has had to do what Mass Effect 2 did; make me care about the character. I'm sure I cared about character depth on a subliminal level prior to playing Mass Effect 2, but now I'm hyper-aware when a shallow character acts as the protagonist. This isn't really a bad thing, though, as character development does a lot for a game. Mordin, who in my opinion is on the weaker side when it comes to offensive ability, was one of my favored characters whereas Grunt, who was a less cool version of Wrex with less personality, was one of my least favorites, even though he was probably better suited to be on the battlefield in most cases. 

I was also glad to see not only recurring characters like Garrus and Tali, but the way in which they developed was also impressive. Garrus, like you’d expect, treated Shepard like an old friend. It was interesting to actually feel the connection they had and understand the familiarity between the two. In other games that feature war buddies, you simply are told that you and some other character have a history, but to have experienced the war stories Shepard and Garrus are sharing first hand in the first game greatly enhances the experience. 

Thinking back now, I loved the recruitment aspect of the game as well. Going after the Archangel and the scientist on Omega was one of the coolest experiences ever. Gang wars have not been so well done since the days of GTA: San Andreas. In addition, the recruitment of the prisoner was by far one of the coolest parts in the game. After learning Jack’s name, I expected a huge, burly dude that was capable of making Grunt cry. What I got, instead, was a bald-headed, tattooed girl with a bad attitude. I recall first seeing her and being half confused and half elated, because I saw so much potential for her to be a deep, interesting character. Unfortunately for Jack, I was also very taken by Miranda, the Cerberus office who aided in rescuing me from my old ship’s wreckage. Must’ve been the accent (or the bodysuit). Anyway, I recall actually being engaged with the conversations they had, and wanting to know more about her especially after completing her loyalty mission. 

Miranda & Samara | masseffect.wikia.com

As far as my squad is concern, I generally used Miranda and Samara, but I changed the party as the situation dictated, utilizing everyone at some point in the game (with maybe the exception of Jacob and Grunt, as I didn’t really care for them that much). I also rejoiced in the diversity of level design this time around. During Mass Effect, aside from main-story missions, the planet surfaces and dungeons/building interiors were very similarly designed (with some exceptions like the Luna mission). Additional, the item management of this game was much better. Instead of worrying about inventory like I did in the first game, I was free to focus on character development and action. All in all, Mass Effect 2 was not what I expected; rather it was something far greater. As I fought against the Collectors, there were several major decisions that I made:

• ·      Imported my Shepard from Mass Effect (and got the associated perks)
• ·      Recruited all squad members and completed all loyalty missions
• ·      Pursued a romantic relationship with Miranda (Sorry, Ash!)
• ·      Managed to save all of my crew and squad
• ·      Fully upgraded the ship
• ·      Survived the suicide mission
• ·      Destroyed the Collector’s ship
• ·      Never did any of the DLC

Now that my Xbox is done updating and the DLC is done downloading, I must venture off, dear readers, to save the galaxy from impending doom. I’ll keep you posted!