Mass Effect 3 – what we want to see

Five things we want to see before Shepard saves the universe one last time

Words: GamesRadarTylerNagata on August 31, 2010

We don’t know much about Mass Effect 3. But we do know what we want to see before our personalized Commander Shepard saves the universe in the final chapter of the trilogy. Match your wish list against ours and let us know what you think.

Kill a Commander Shepard clone

Every hero needs to confront his dark side. Luke did it in The Empire Strikes Back, Cecil did it in Final Fantasy IV, and Shepard should do it in Mass Effect 3. If you remember, your Shepard in Mass Effect 2 was actually brought back from the dead by the Ceberus organization. So if they can do that, it’s not inconceivable that there could be a rogue clone of the original Shepard up to no good somewhere out there in space.

We’d love to see a side mission that finds you hunting down an imposter Shepard who’s ruining your good (or bad name), perhaps giving you a glimpse at the kind of commander you might have been had you made different decisions during the first two games.

Above: Good Ash meets bad Ash in Army of Darkness. It should be like that, only not as funny

A solution for SDTV owners

Maybe in the near future, everyone will be playing games on fat HDTV’s in 720p or 1080p. But we’re not quite there yet. Players rocking an old school standard-definition TV had trouble reading through the text in Mass Effect, and that’s just a shame. Scrolling through your party members’ stats and your inventory list is one of the finer pleasures of the RPG connoisseur. But players with a standard-definition set also missed out on a lot of the great Mass Effect lore BioWare loaded into its in-game encyclopedia, the Codex.

Mass Effect isn’t the only game with text that’s difficult to read on some standard definition TVs, but it’d be nice to see some kind of solution that will allow fans who don’t have an HD TV to read all the extra awesome lore that didn’t get a voiceover in Mass Effect 3.

Above: Everyone should be able to read about everything from FTL drive technology to the history of the Asari race, regardless of whether or not they own a nice HD TV

Speaking to The Escapist, BioWare released an official statement about the difficult-to-read text in Mass Effect 2, which provides some hope for bleary eyed fans who tried to read the text in the original:

“After investigating potential solutions, we have determined that while this issue does affect a small portion of SDTV owners, we are unable to resolve it for Mass Effect 2 through a title update. However, we have taken note of this issue and will take it into consideration as we plan future games in the Mass Effect franchise.”

Tali should be kind of ugly

The Quarian mechanist was one of the most popular members of Shepard’s crew, but even though you got to romance her in Mass Effect 2, you never got to see her face. That’s why we’re betting that you you’ll get to see what she really looks like in Mass Effect 3.

We just hope that when you finally lift the veil from her face, she doesn’t turn out to be too pretty. Here’s the thing. Tali is smart, she’s funny, and she’s kind of geek when it comes to ship technology. So she’s pretty much the perfect in-game soul mate for anyone who’s been following an RPG trilogy for about five years. If you’re like us, your love for Tali is more pure than an un-played NES in mint condition; it just transcends simple physical attraction. So making her gorgeous in a traditional sense would just ruin everything, because you’ve already grown to like her without having a clue as to what she really looks like.

At the very least, Tali needs some kind of horrible skin condition and perhaps a disturbing lip scar, something weird enough to make her shy about unmasking, but not so hideous that you’ll wind up racing through your radial menus for the option to back out of the conversation.

Above: Tali is the best. If you didn’t do her loyalty mission in Mass Effect 2, something is seriously wrong with you

Above: Here’s some fan art, which was tweeted by a BioWare artist earlier this year Some facial circuitry will work well, too. But we think this Tali still looks too good

Platforms:

Xbox 360, PS3, PC

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allen-beyers - March 13, 2012 10:29 a.m.

I actually have to say its kind of not cliche to have Tali be beautiful when she finally unmasks. It still shows that two people can fall in love without looks and just for the simple fact that she is the most interesting companion in game (Save for Garrus, best friend ever). (From Mass Effect 2) For Shepherd to have gone through all he did and love her undeniably and to help her gain an immunity to the outside world long enough for them to finally see eachother face to face is touching. BioWare did a good job with ME3, I have never felt so attached to fictional characters in my entire life...Such a great game.
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acespear - January 17, 2011 3:40 a.m.

I think that for Tali they might show her at the very end of the game (if you choose for the Quarians to reclaim their homeworld) and that she looks out on her reclaimed planet
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Farkward - November 20, 2010 8:08 p.m.

When ever I think of how ME3 will end I always think that either Shepard will get a chance to rule the galaxy or he will sacrifice himself to save it or maybe somewhere between. As for your team some of them could die but you could also do it were they wouldn't or if you hated them you could just send them to their death.
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peatysinglemalt - October 10, 2010 6:12 p.m.

to be honest, you are way off the mark with what i'd like to see... i think for the most part i'd be satisfied simply with unexpected (oxymoronic?) plot twists where our white-knight, beacons-of-hope shepards end up charred corpses betrayed by the various allies you've secured and come to adore, being remembered (if only briefly) as some intolerant, disgraceful fool that doomed the galaxy or at least 'charmed' them into exterminating mankind. and conversely, your ruthless, charles-bronson-on-a-harley, sexual predators try to get a little too greedy and self-serving but are subsequently seen as john lennon reincarnate even by members of the species you so successfully scoured from the council. also, more of those delightful renegade interrupts in conversations and not making the 'evil' teammates who resonate so well with your actions turn into some pathetic, teary-eyed and 'misunderstood' baby that just needed a little more milk from the teat and tlc. yeah, i'm looking at you, jack. show me an nbk stlye romance option and sociopathic, jack nicholson sidekick instead of going for moral ambiguity on those that aren't bleeding heart nuns. finally, because i like my points in 3s, for the love of god/buddha/allah, let me see a game replete with an apology for the mining mini-game in the last and bonus for having hundreds of thousands of metric units of palladium. 'probe launched', 'probe away', and 'launching probe' can be seen as scar tissue in my brain mris and the minor chuckle from our own 7th rock from sol did nothing to cleanse the bitter taste it left in my mouth.
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chrishadden - October 5, 2010 5:55 p.m.

Multi player campaign!!!!
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yukimasahiko - October 3, 2010 11:17 p.m.

Well for one I think fighting your clone would be awsome. There not saying the real shepered is a clone. As for tali I think she is cool but my fav is between garus or kaiden I just wish the love interest with them continued. And think about it there is away to make a clone in the time that sheperd is out of it.
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Gurkog - October 2, 2010 11:41 p.m.

I forgot to mention that a truly anti-HERO would use a new technology to kill the reapers, but also inadvertently cause cataclysmic damage to the galactic population, possibly even mass extinction. Think about the possibilities of using an end to justify the means. A truly good hero should have the option of manipulating the shady elements into sacrificing themselves for redemption instead. While an evil one could do the opposite involving benevolent factions.
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Gurkog - October 2, 2010 11:21 p.m.

I don't know about you all but Tali died during my suicide mission, so I do not really care what she looks like. I experimented with the options and only 2 characters seemed to be immune to death during that phase of the game. It kind of makes sense when you think about the 3 person squad based combat used for the game. I think I will try killing off as many as possible in ME 2 and see how it turns out in 3.
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bitingOwl - October 1, 2010 3:58 a.m.

Worst wish list EVER! ...Try this: 1. Normandy probes send live video feed of planet's surfaces to ship's nav screen. 2. More customizable weapon options. Even if they decide to give an easy-out auto-upgrade option for non RPG types. 3. More sex, and new strippers. 4. For the love of GOD... no freekin' shepard clones! (thats some "Days of our Lives" sh*t)
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knightmawk - September 22, 2010 12:52 a.m.

I'd like to clarify here, I'm sure someone else has already done it, but Tali isn't keeping herself masked because she is shy. She keeps the mask on because if she takes it of she dies. The Quarians are extremely sensitive to bacteria, that's why they wear those suits. Not to hide their faces but simply to not die a horrible chocking death from a common cold. Also, she's an alien, so.... I mean.... she's probably going to be..... alien-looking...
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tai0316 - September 11, 2010 5:14 p.m.

Shepard SHOULD be able to have a happy ending if she (in my case) fights for it. I want Thane to live. I've thought that perhaps as some possiblities for tough choices she might have to choose to save Thane (if he was her love interest) and sacifice curing the Genophage. Something like that. I think there should be as always multiple options depending on how you play your cards. Bioware's always been about choices and I think the end could be spectacular but only if we have the chance to win it all, lose it all or several things in-between. Don't forget that one of the things that so great about Mass Effect is the re-playability. Everyone could get the endings they want: everyone lives, everyone dies, some people die etc. We could play through over and over and see all endings which would make me very happy. I just think that Shepard deserves the chance or choice to ride of into the sunset, happy if that's what the player chooses and fights for.
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Josephnero - September 10, 2010 4:53 p.m.

last part seems bullshit from a phsycho
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lincoln6echo - September 6, 2010 12:59 p.m.

I'd simply like for the ability to crouch (regardless of available cover) to make a return. In ME2 you couldn't crouch unless you were behind something. And seeing how clicking either analog stick brought up the mini-map or directional arrow, it easily could have been worked in. Which is why I'd like it return. The "readable text for SD TV's" is a must and the "kill your clone" is a pretty good idea too. As for Tali...I kinda like not knowing what she looks like. Though I'll hand to the fan art by the Bioware artist, that's damn close how I imagined her.
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dagbat02 - September 4, 2010 11:33 p.m.

You should be able to recruit characters from ME1, ME2, and new characters from ME3. Characters should be able to die on any mission throughout the game... not just the end at pre-established points. Sheppard should face-off against the illusive man at the end. The rachni need to have a role in ME3. The points about a clone sheppard or ugly tali is just stupid.
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dbleja - September 3, 2010 4:15 a.m.

I want to see female Krogans, female Turians, female elcor, female salurians....you get the picture. I hate how most of the races in the vast galaxy of Mass Effect are represented by basically one model each. It makes the game feel lazy and low-budget. Obviously the game is anything but low-budget, so make those Bioware model designers get to work!
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foamguy - September 3, 2010 12:39 a.m.

im all for that idea where we finally get to see tali's face but it would murder the "give tali a face" meme on the internet
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skyline19 - September 2, 2010 10:32 a.m.

Yeah earth needs to be visited in ME3, Mars aswell that would be cool. in the first game also there were side quests that related to Shepards back story, there was alot of lore on his life in those missions.
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elpurplemonkey - September 2, 2010 7:38 a.m.

"Tali is smart, she’s funny, and she’s kind of geek when it comes to ship technology. So she’s pretty much the perfect in-game soul mate for anyone who’s been following an RPG trilogy for about five years" Erm, ahem...have you seen Miranda? Yea she's sort of a bitch when you first meet her, but I have to ask this again- have you SEEN Miranda? And I wasn't disappointed at all with the suicide mission at the end. I agree that a few people should die to increase the tension and demonstrate the severity of the situation in ME3, but let's not go overboard. But a part of me thinks that enough people died in ME2. It wasn't that easy to keep everyone alive. I mean, even when you make the right decisions, people die sometimes. Mordin, poor Mordin. Let's not bring up those old wounds.
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caboose4400 - September 2, 2010 6:13 a.m.

@ TURbo next time you right somthing like that you wanna just freaking maybe leave a *SPOILER ALERT* at the top of your comment please?!
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Psylockerules - September 2, 2010 3:37 a.m.

i like the idea of an evil clone. but how about the Virmire sacrifice (kaiden/Ashley) all pissed off and angry being controlled hunting u down....? after all there was enough tome 4 them to be taken
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