Just who is Commander Shepard? We remember filling in the back story for Mass Effect’s main protagonist when by selecting from a series of options in the character creation section. But throughout the first two games, it didn’t really seem matter much if Shepard lived the life of a spacer or a colonist, or whether he was a war hero or sole survivor of a mission gone wrong. We’d like to see Shepard’s past come back to haunt him in Mass Effect 3.
Speaking to PC Zone, BioWare’s Casey Hudson recently revealed that their writers have access to over 1,000 story variables from the first two games while working on penning the plot for Mass Effect 3. So you’re seemingly innocuous decisions during the character creation process in the first game could blossom into a nice side quest in the upcoming title. At least, that’s what we’re hoping for.
Shepard and most of his crew must die
The final suicide mission in Mass Effect 2 was great. Marshalling all your resources and strengthening your crew for an impossible final mission was a great way to build up tension as you pressed forward through the campaign. But it was also a little disappointing.
We were ready to make the tough choices that would force us to sacrifice our crew members for the greater good. But with all our upgrades to the Normandy in place and our crew in tip-top shape, it was all too easy to follow BioWare’s bread crumbs that led to an ideal ending with no casualties. We hope that BioWare messes with our expectations and throws us some tougher curve balls when it comes to difficult decisions near the end-game in Mass Effect 3 - and that means main characters dying.
Above: People who need to die
This is no time to be conservative when it comes to killing off fan favorites. Sacrifices will need to be made - and our inner masochist wants to agonize over decisions that will affect the fate of the galaxy and whether or not our party members live or die. That’s why we’re hoping to see some surprises when we, hopefully, witness the untimely demise of crew members before we get anywhere near the game’s end. And we know it’s going to seem cliche, but Commander Shepard really will need to die a horrible death at the end of Mass Effect 3. Seeing him sail off towards some distant star while basking in the glory of his final victory will feel too much like an episode of Star Trek. Shepard should have to pay the price for universal peace with his blood.
Aug 31, 2010
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