Just started replaying Mass Effect 1 with a new game, but same Shepard. Karpyshyn and his team did it right. Why, oh why didn’t the producers in the third game pay attention? This is a great example of how to start any work of fiction be it game, movie or book.
The irony is that you are maybe 10 minutes into the first game when you see a picture of this huge, squid-like spaceship. It’s creepy as hell, and later you learn that you have been shown the ultimate villain of the first game.
Contrast that with the third game where ten minutes from the end a brand new villain — not just to the third game, but to the entire series is pulled out of thin air. And they wonder why people were upset by the conclusion. *sigh*
They had the villain. It was Harbinger. As I recall, he is mentioned at the end of ME1. He threatens you constantly in ME2. He turns up in ME3, and is referred to, although he seems to have gone mute in the third game. The Illusive Man and Harbinger were your antagonists in that third game. Not the pulled-out-of-somebody’s-ass-Star Child.
Well thanks to the Mass Effect 3 Clusterduck I found your site and novels so its not all a lost cause ;D
Its offical now: the first Mass Effect is still my favorite.
Cant wait to see what you have in store for you Kai/Shep story. I have 4 Shepards again and 2 romanced him and the other 2 went with Liara.
Hi, Kristina, welcome, and thanks for the kind words. Alas I’ve had to put aside the Mass Effect story to address the editorial notes on my next novel, and to get our next Wild Card book, LOWBALL out the door. I’ve got an action sequence on Omega to write, and finally the conclusion. This thing grew like Topsy, but it has been fun.
I think I have to agree now that I have restarted ME1. It’s a great game. I miss being able to vault, and duck into cover quickly, but it sets up the world and the characters so well. The second game had amazing atmosphere, and I loved Zaeed and Thane. Great characters. They also built the sense of menace and tension very well.
It’s strange about Kaidan — so many players hate him, but Raphael is an amazing voice actor, and when I compared the romance thread in ME3 with Kaidan to the romance thread with Ashley I discovered they did a way better job with the Kaidan thread. A friend romanced Ashley and had very little interaction with her. Maybe because they got together in the first game? Hard to say. I confess I ended up with a crush on Kaidan in the first game. Wish they had had the guts for the male Shep/Kaidan romance back in one.
I’m still heartbroken over the failure of this series. It could have stood as one of the best games every made, but they ruined it. They also completely wrecked Dragon Age 2. I’m hoping the somebody at Bioware is paying attention. I may have ruined my chances of ever working for EA again with my posts, but someday they have to listen to somebody. Right? Or at least we can hope.
We have pretty lively discussions on my Facebook page. Do friend me and join in.
From what I gathered on the BSN Ash’s regular writer (Chris E’toli) from ME1 went to Bethesda to work on the Elder Scrolls stuff so she definately didnt have the same kind of content for 3 like Kaidan did.
Righto! Ill be sure to look you up on FB. 😀
Have to agree about the 2ed game. Loved the characters and side missions.
Ah, another writer who knew the characters and knew the series cast aside. That’s explains a lot.
It was so clear that the dying sun in ME2 was really significant, and apparently Drew Karpyshyn was going to have that be an essential component of the end of the game. But he had been eased out too.
Yes, time for an all round frowny face. >:(