32 réponses à ce sujet

[AdmiralCheez]

It is very easy to make an opinion poll or to list your favorites, to post photoshopped screencaps on the support threads or to drop an insult, but rarely do people actually state WHY they find [Squadmate] so awesome/unbearable.  This leaves the fanboys/girls annoyed, the haters frustrated, and the neutrals confused and wondering if they should leave the forums alone.  So really, we know you love/hate [Squadmate], but why?

--TL;DR About My Personal Opinions (Feel Free To Skip)--

ASHLEY WILLIAMS - Starting To Grow On Me
-Writing: Possibly the most well-written and most believable character in ME1.  She honestly feels like a real person, with a balanced set of strengths and flaws that make her truly human.  Unfortunately, suffers from Horizon Syndrome.
-Combat: I'm not too fond of combat-only classes, as I tend to use my squaddies as extended power bars, and when it comes to tanks I prefer krogans for their faster regeneration rate.
-Personal Taste: Despite the effort BW put into her character, I don't really see her as a person I'd get along with.  Maybe it's because she reminds me too much of my best friend (whom I fight with more than anyone else).  And reciting poetry during sexytimes sort of killed the romance for me.

KAIDAN ALENKO - Starting To Grow On Me
-Writing: His backstory seemed sort of meh, and nothing about him really stood out, IMO.  Caught HS from Ashley and is stuck in placeholder-land, though.  Poor guy.
-Combat: Surprisingly useful, no matter what class I play, but he tends to die a lot.
-Personal Taste: His crush on FemShep is adorable, and he's honestly a nice guy and good soldier, but he's goddamn boring.  I'd like him more if he had a sense of humor.

URDNOT WREX - Total Bro
-Writing: Takes the concept of "big, angry brute" and turns it on its head.  His backstory is far from what you'd expect, and his dry wit coupled with his bulk makes for unending hilarity.  I really like the direction BW took with him in ME2, since not only is being King of Krogans badass, but it offers nice resolution to the issues he was dealing with in ME1.
-Combat: Invincible, with the ability to cause some serious damage in a short amount of time, plus biotics for the lulz.  Pure win.
-Personal Taste: I tend to love the Big, Angry Dudes, and Wrex is no exception.  Just the right combination of badassery and humor, and I genuinely sympathize with the guy.  Plus, the Tuchanka Reuinion was the best part of ME2.

GARRUS VAKARIAN - Total Bro
-Writing: Mass Effect's most malleable character, who you can turn into a ruthless badass or a champion of justice depending on how you play (in both games!), which I think makes him interesting to metagame a little.  On top of this, I really liked his backstory, and I think he really matured between ME1 and 2.  The romance was absolutely hilarious and surprisingly sweet, and he has many facets to his character despite his lack of dialogue (f*cking calibrations).
-Combat: I think I used him more in ME1 than I did in ME2.  He's pretty damn useful, but gets really annoying with his constant battle cries and very limited understanding of the word "cover."
-Personal Taste: In ME1, he sort of came across as a n00bish ass.  In ME2, he's still an ass, but a BADass, and finally developed a sense of humor (thanks to removal of the butt-pole).  His confidence, DAT VOICE, occasional goofiness, and my itsy-bitsy turian fetish make him quite hawt, even though he's ugly as hell.  I also sort of empathize with him, since I know what it's like to have a really conservative father and a mom with a degenerative and painful neurological illness (I hate to baaaw about personal issues, but Parkinson's sucks balls), but I'm not going to go all WE HAVE SO MUCH IN COMMON IT WAS MEANT TO BEEEE on anyone because that sort of thing is stupid.  It was more of a "dude, no way" moment, even though I am starting to get sick of Garrus's personal issues.

TALI'ZORAH - I Like
-Writing: A bit of a walking codex entry in ME1, she really came into her own in ME2.  Her flaws and strong opinions, like Ashley, make her "human," and that loyalty mission of hers was a tear-jerker.  Call me a sap, but I was like OH MAN HUGZ FOR ERRYBODY.  Her romance was cute, albeit fangirly (and Shep's lines really sucked), and Liz Sroka put a lot of emotion into her lines, even though the accent seems a bit fake from time to time.
-Combat: Flimsy and only useful in certain situations.  I don't take her out very often unless I'm in desperate need of a pure techie.
-Personal Taste: Argh she is so f*cking cute.  Fanboy/hater wars made me lose interest in her for a while, though.

LIARA T'SONI - Sort Of Like
-Writing: To be honest, I hated her at first.  She was bland and creepy and oh-so-dainty, and her sudden GRR RAHR ARGH MUST KILL SHADOW BROKER in ME2 left me standing there like, "what the hell?"  However, she really evolved through the events of LotSB, but I feel like Bioware's trying to force me into liking her.  Stop it, BW; let the characters speak for themselves.
-Combat: Completely destroys everything with her biotics to the point where her low health isn't an issue.  This is what Jack should have been.
-Personal Taste: She's cute, I'll admit it, and I admire her spunk.  Plus, she's the only fully functional non-hetero romance at the moment.  I just got sick of the whole "oh, I'm feeling light-headed" thing in ME1 and Bioware's over-marketing of her.

MIRANDA LAWSON - Starting To Grow On Me
-Writing: "Look at me, I'm the perfect woman.  Isn't my ass pretty?"  Ugh.  I can't stand that crap.  However, her loyalty mission turned her into a genuinely sympathetic character, and the moments when she made a mistake or admitted she was flawed steered her slightly away from Mary-Sue-dom.  Could be a seriously awesome character, but needs work.
-Combat: Awesome skillset + squad bonuses = damn useful.
-Personal Taste: She has a pretty strong and complex personality, which is starting to grow on me.  I'd like her a lot more if she'd put some real clothes on.

JACOB TAYLOR - Fails, But It's Not His Fault
-Writing: He had a shot at being the Nice Guy Done Right, but any chance of that was nerfed by the awful, awful romance.  Between HussyShep and The Priiiize...  Seriously, Bioware, what the hell were you thinking?  This guy had so much potential!  Come on!
-Combat: He is the Diet Coke of vanguards.  Useful in a few missions, but when the "good stuff" is Pull, you're pretty pathetic.
-Personal Taste: He's actually pretty cute, and has some honestly awesome/endearing moments buried in the conversation-wheel quicksand.  All he needs to do is ditch the spandex and convince Bioware to present him a little better, and we might have a decent male lead.

GRUNT - I Like
-Writing: Things grown in tanks and bred to be super-powered remind me of Mewtwo and therefore invoke an eyeroll.  He's definitely no Wrex, and has quite a simplified view of the world, but it makes sense considering how young he is.  Sure, he's a bit one-dimensional, but if everyone is super-complicated and multi-faceted, no one stands out.
-Combat: He makes a great tank and that's about it.  But, as I'm not a fan of soldier-class squadmates, I don't use him much.
-Personal Taste: Grunt is hilarious and likes to kill things.  So he's hurr durr, so what?  It's good to have one of those for the lulz.  What would TF2 be without the Heavy?

JACK - I Like
-Writing: Backstory is ridiculously over-the-top, and her loyalty mission would have been pretty failtastic has it not been for the Puppy Eyes.  I like her romance, since it's really nice to see her finally calm down and warm up a little.  Swears a helluva lot, but so do I, so no issue there.
-Combat: Useless apart from Warp Ammo, which I choose for my bonus talent half the time, anyway.  Should I fuss about how powerful she looked in the cutscenes compared to how she actually played out, or should I leave that to someone else?
-Personal Taste: The belt-bra is stupid, but the fact that she's bald and covered in tats and STILL manages to be the prettiest human female squadmate (IMO) is damn impressive.  And even though she sucks in the field, some of her hidden dialogue is priceless.

MORDIN SOLUS - Total Bro
-Writing: Who'd have thought that the guy who brings the most lulz also brings in the heaviest ethical conflict?  Mordin's lines are genius, but the entire genophage subplot was handled brilliantly (apart from some seriously derpy lines from Shepard).  He's a masterpiece of a character.  Good job, Bioware, good job.
-Combat: My favorite of all power-spammers, he wipes the floor with anything not protected by shields or barriers.  He and Thane are my Collector-Busting Bro Squad.  However, he's made of paper.
-Personal Taste: The combination of excellent writing and spammerrific skillset make Mordin hard not to love.  Also, he's the only one that rotates what he has to say when he's busy (unlike "forcing talks" and "calibrations,") which made him really fun to bug the hell out of.  HEY MORDIN, WATCHA DOIN? *poke poke*

THANE KRIOS - Sort Of Like
-Writing: Overdone.  He's an assassin with a tragic past who's terminally ill, romantically poetic, has flashbacks, and is all spiritual and stuff.  Bioware tried way too hard to please the ladies with this one.  I like the zen thing he has going, but he's got more issues than Garrus.
-Combat: In the field, Thane is awesome.  He's got the perfect setup to take down Collectors (and with Throw, husks) all by himself, so those that say he's useless during the suicide mission have forgotten that there's more to it than being a Leader or Specialist.  His health isn't incredible and he's not very functional at short range, but damn, a biotic with a sniper rifle?  Hell yes.
-Personal Taste: I don't really see him as physically attractive, and the "oh so tragic" thing he has going is a bit of a turnoff.  I thought his loyalty mission was fun, too, since I got to beat up a politician, shoot his whiny son in the shoulder ("Oh my gods!"), and watch the turian groundskeeper get down with his bad self.  And he necksnaps.  Like a boss.

SAMARA - Sister From Another Mister
-Writing: I'm neutral on the whole Justicar thing, but it certainly makes for an interesting dynamic.  The whole thing with her daughters was suprisingly deep and made for great moral ambiguity.  Her little adventures are fun to hear about, and there's a surprising amount of emotion behind her controlled monotone.  Also, props for turning down Shepard.
-Combat: Samara rocks, and Reave is my favorite bonus power.  So she's not as impressive as she is in the cutscenes, so what?  She still kicks ass and takes names.  I mean, dayum girl!  Definitely my favorite pure biotic.
-Personal Taste: Her outfit is ridiculous, but she's absolutely gorgeous.  I don't agree with her Code and think it's stupid to live one's life out that way, but something about her focused mysticism intrigues me.  She's dangerous and perhaps a little bonkers, but I'll take her over Liara any day.

MORINTH - Sort Of Like
-Writing: A monster that makes no apologies for the destruction she causes, but the way she got there was genuinely tragic.  Part of me feels sorry for her and wishes there was some way to save her without killing her mother, but the rest wants her as far away from the rest of the galaxy as possible.  I was slightly annoyed that she plays like a bit of a placeholder, but the failmance was great for lulz.  And, well, murderous psychopaths are interesting.  "Genetic destiny of the asari?"  Gag.
-Combat: Dominate is way too much fun, but I like Reave better.  Other than that, see Samara.
-Personal Taste: I hate vampires, and I hate anything that reminds me of vampires.  Morinth reminds me of vampires.  Therefore, I am biased to dislike Morinth. (Yeah, I know, more of a succubus, really.  At least she doesn't drink blood, in which case I'd kill her every damn time without hesitation.) However, evil characters are lots of fun.  Too bad the only way to get her is to kill her mom, otherwise I'd use her more often.

LEGION - Total Bro
-Writing: The whole geth thing is incredibly interesting to me, and what Bioware did with Legion was incredible.  He's incredibly alien, yet surprisingly human, and utterly fascinating and hilarious in equal doses.  While it's weird having a geth on board, and he (okay, they) can be a bit of a creeper, Legion is right up there with Mordin.  Too bad he shows up so late in the game, because I love all the hidden dialogue.
-Combat: It's like having Tali with real weapons and more than two points of health, which is yet another reason for Tali to hate the geth.  Sorry, honey, but Legion totally outbadasses you.
-Personal Taste: God I love his eyebrows.  Oh yeah, and robots are full of win.  Also, who the hell decided to put such a nice ass on a geth, anyway?  With his white blood, phallic head, and big hole of his, he's like a walking Freudian slip.  Or maybe I need to get out more.

ZAEED MASSANI - Sort Of Like
-Writing: His personality is a bit flat, but that may be due to the lack of a dialogue wheel, plus he shows plenty of emotion during his loyalty mission.  His over-the-top stories are somewhere between repetitive and hilarious.  Backstory is interesting enough, and the hidden dialogue is awesome.
-Combat: Sigh.  Another soldier-class.  These would be so much better if the squad AI wasn't so bad.
-Personal Taste: Total badass, but his PURE RENEGADE ALL OVER THE PLACE doesn't mesh well with me.  Voice actor is great half the time, robotic the other half.  His arms are kind of weird.  He, Shep, Wrex, and Garrus should all get together sometime and compare facial scars.

KASUMI GOTO - Sister From Another Mister
-Writing: A light-hearted, sentimental thief seems a bit out of place in Mass Effect, but her warm personality, bubbly sarcasm, and quirky habits grew on me after awhile.  The greybox thing was pretty interesting, and I liked her loyalty mission (James Bond for a Day, awesome).
-Combat: Shadow Strike destroys everything, and her other powers aren't too horrible, either.  She has no defense whatsoever, though.
-Personal Taste: She's really, really cute.  I don't want her as an LI, though, since her crush on Jacob is both adorable and hilarious.  I didn't like her voice actor at first, but I don't mind it now.

--End TL;DR--

Modifié par AdmiralCheez, 25 janvier 2011 - 10:18 .

[Avilia]

Oddly we agree on nearly everything. One exception - Kaidan.

I didn't think he was underwritten at all - I found it refreshing to have an LI that didn't require me to fix them.

I used him and Wrex together alot and they make everything fun. Once I got used to shooting at things floating around that is ;-)

Nice job and nice to see character critique that's thoughtful and not destructive

Modifié par Avilia, 25 janvier 2011 - 10:40 .

[AdmiralCheez]

@Avilia: Thanks. And yes, I'm using the Wrex/Kaidan combo at the moment and it kicks serious ass. I may actually elevate Kaidan to Bro-Status by the end of the month.

[Estelindis]

Thanks for the great read. :-)



For me, the ME2 squadmates most worthy of discussion are those who didn't quite work for some reason or other. I find your analysis of Thane quite interesting in that respect: you reckon you see what Bioware were going for with him, but you feel they laid it on too thickly. For me, the character that I felt didn't quite work in spite of really liking her was Jack. It's simply because she dries up a bit for FemShep. I figured that she'd had so many people trying to use her that someone just wanting to be her friend would make a difference. And it does - fair enough if she only wants to go so far with that. But the very hostile line you get from her if you try to talk again (and I was just making sure she hadn't changed her mind re. "that's a good place to stop") rather sours the whole thing.

[Manic Sheep]

I also agree on most things.

Tho Kaiden a bro to me, no idea why but I really like him. Guess I’m just a sucker for the shy guys who can actually kick ass even if his hair bump makes me think of Elvis. That and he seems to be pretty stable emotionally. Not saying he doesn’t have issues because he dose but he deals with it. Hell he often seems to be the one wanting to give shep advice in ME1 not just the other way around. He could use a little more fleshing out maybe and between the patched together romance line, the phoenix armor at the beginning of ME2, horizon and now General Williams becoming more important in the comic makes me think Ash was intended as the VS. I also like his deadpan humor tho it can be hard to catch and dosen't appear very often.

“Always good to RTFM (read the ****ing manual), maam”

I'd just follow standard operational procedure. Salute everything you cannot eat or kill."

Shepard: “I bet you say that to all you officers”
Kaiden: "Yeah, ever since I heard the Captain's mess gets better food”.

Yes I know, it is very sad I remember those lines.

I never did like Liara. Just didn’t really gel with her. The fainting thing and having to reapet the same conversation with her multiple times got on my nerves for some reason. The when she came back in ME2 and was all “BWHAHAHA REVENGE” it kinda put the nail in the coffin. However she was excellent in LotSB so she may yet be redeemed. I also don’t like how buddy bud bioware seems to force you to be with her.

Tali was another character who I didn’t really like to begin with but she is growing on me. She is soo much better in ME2 than she is in ME1. Shes a bit ‘young’ and girlish for my taste but I can’t deny that’s she kinda cute and I still have to hug her on her loyalty mission. Poor girl...

Miranda is steadily becoming one of my more liked characters tho I initially despised her. Ehh ill chalk that up to a bit of insecurities on my part maybe. I’m starting to appreciate the strong, independent, inteligent sexy and knows it kinda character she is and I'm glad she doesn’t adore Shepard right off the bat. Still needs to put pants on. Her top is fine but I’m tired of seeing her ass crack. Her romance makes me think of the "Miss independent" song.

Jacobs a nice enough guy I guess and dose have a few awesome bro moments burried in that dialogue but...I don’t know something about his manner is giving me weird aggressive vibes from him. Maybe it’s the way he stands or his tone or something. Even if femShep wasn’t such a hussy when talking to him I don’t think I would like him.

I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks Jack is actually really really pretty. I actually think she the best looking girl so far and she pulls off the bald look quite nicely (which is hard to do on a girl) but then Im a bit of a body art freak in the first place. A shame she is so overdone tho.

Other than that I have nothing to add. Wrex and Mordin are my too fav characters of the lot.

Modifié par Manic Sheep, 02 février 2011 - 05:20 .

[Ryzaki]

Characters I like

Kaidan -

The Character: Strong, competent, capable but not all in your face about it. He has a subtle charm to him that I don't see in any of the other squaddies except Legion. Also his level-headeness balances out my Shepard's wanting to save everyone in the galaxy tendences.

Gameplay wise: I always had Kaidan by my side. Heck I don't need to waste points in First Aid or Decryption with him around. That plus his biotics made him a permanet squaddie.

Ashley - She's a strong female who knows what she wants. Like Kaidan she's strong, competent and capable but not all up in your face. She also (if you paragonize her) is willing to admit flaws in her views.

Gameplay wise: I didn't use her too much. I tended to use Wrex or Liara instead.

Legion - Is awesome. Just...awesome. He shows very human qualities while being a geth.

Gameplay wise: Is okay I suppose. Though I prefer using Garrus/Miranda.

Miranda - Like both Ash and Kaidan she's SCC. She's also ruthess and willing to shoot someone in the face. Despite her looks she doesn't rely on them to get what she needs insteading using her intelligence.

Gameplay wise: Excellent Squadmate. Good at taking out all kinds of enemies thanks to Overlord and Warp.

Garrus - He is a loyal friend and willing to follow Shepard into hell itself even if he's not to sure why. He can hold his own and while he does lean on Shepard like that of a eager student he also isn't afraid to question Shepard.

Gameplay wise: Great squaddie. In ME2 thanks to Incisor being broken he's a beast.

Characters I dislike

Jack - She seems to me to be a weak character. Not phsyically but emotionally. The whole "Push everyone away so I don't get hurt." is played out and never works.

Gameplay wise: A resounding meh. She dies far too easily and most of her biotic skills I find useless. The only decent thing I found on her was her Warp Ammo.

Liara - Her obsession with Shep rubs me the wrong way especially considering my Shepards tend to either ignore her or insult her. She changed too quickly from over naive girl to tough woman. It was jarring. It also didn't help that I found neither version of her interesting, frankly both annoyed me.

Gameplay wise: A great squaddie. Her biotics in ME1 make combat trivial.

[Merlin 47]

Okay....I think I'll also list the squaddies and my like/dislike factor and as to why.

Ash - Somewhat like
I found Ash to be a well-written character; she was deep and actually had quite an interesting backstory to her.  She really came off as a female soldier in a male soldier universe.   In ME 1, she was perhaps the second best combat orientated character (if you didn't play a soldier; then she's third).  My biggest fear with her was quickly diminished when she started to recite Tennyson; it was refreshing to see that she wasn't the "atypical overlymacho female soldier trying to fit in".  No....her biggest flaw come from suffering from "Horizon Syndrom". 

Kaidan - EPIC FAIL
Kaidan....what can I say about him?  Nothing nice, that's for sure.  As a biotic, he's meh (Liara and Wrex blow him away), as a Tech Expert, he's also lacking (Garrus and Tali also blow him out of the water), and to top it all off, he's so.....bland.....as a character.  The term "background placeholder" comes to mind.  And he's so soft spoken!  I can barely hear him when he talks!  I kept shouting at him to speak up!  I kept hoping that maybe we could have fed him to the Thorian or maybe leave him on the Citadel like say....forever?  But seriously, he's one of those characters that you can forget about or that's considered a "placeholder", like Mhairi in Awakenings.

Wrex  - Bro
I was skeptical at first when I saw Wrex.  I figured, "oh great, some hulking jerk that is atypical of BioWare games".  Wrex....totally grew on me and surprised me.  He's got an awesome dry wit and the backstory involving his father is rather interesting.  I was a little sad when he wasn't going to be coming with us in ME 2, but it was great to see how he was coming with his people on Tuchanka.  And....that reuninon with him was AWESOME!  Now THAT'S how I had hoped to reunite with just about all the former crew members that would not be joining.  His skills in combat are a little lacking.  He's great, don't get me wrong, but where he shines is his biotics to really help him pack a punch.

Garrus - Brother from a different mother....literally
The reason why I get along with Garrus is because I've got a friend just like him, who happens to be my best friend.  He's a guy that no matter where I go, he's right there with me and I know he's got my back, no matter what.  He's a character that struggles between doing what's right and getting results.  He knows what the right thing to do is, but he's not crazy about all the hoops you need to jump through.  The moment I saw him in ME 2, I knew at at least I was getting part of the band back together.  I was a bit startled at how much he had changed from being on Omega, but knew that the "real" Garrus was somewhere underneath all that.  Still....it would have been nice to have more conversation with him......but, it was nice to see him back.  Garrus fills out the secondary gunner slot in any of my groups, whether it's as a secondary assault rifle user, or my sniper, Garrus' combat skills are second only to a Soldier Shepard.

Tali - I enjoy; she is my main Shep's LI
In a way, she suffers a bit of the same problem Kaidan suffers from in ME 1; she's a background placeholder.  BUT, unlike Kaidan, she has the added benefit of actually BEING interesting.  Not very useful in combat, but her tech skills surpass thsoe of Garrus, so she had a spot in my group.  She's very cute, but her biggest flaw is the fact that her romance can be very......"cutsey".  I mean, sure, it was in character and I happen to actually like shy, nice, girls.  But.....I can see why she can also grate on people's nerves.  Her opinions on the Geth/Quarrian wars give her that quality that Ash has, which is very nice to see in any character.  I personally think they can come to some sort of co-existance, but that's just me.

Liara - She's my little sister
When I first met Liara, I was like, "oh great.......here's the token eye candy (a title that would be given to Miranda; you know I'm right....).  What also bothered me was how naïve she was, which caused me great concern.  She's also a lightweight in combat, meaning she goes down often and early.  HOWEVER, her biotics make up for that in a BIG way.  However, she did a complete 180 in ME 2, and that kinda freaked me out a bit.  LotSB made up for that, and it was nice to see the "old" Liara at the end of the dlc.  I'm not too crazy about how BioWare "forces" Liara on you, but she's grown on me as a good friend and as a little sister.

Miranda - Like
Miranda is arrogant....which I'm sure is typical for Cerberus.  I got tired of her attitude, and the constant gratutius ass shots every third angle.  Ugh....can we just skip that?  It wasn't until her loyalty mission and if you took her in the final battle did she win my respect.  Miri's mission showed you that she's actually a person....not some piece of eye candy.  And, if you took her with you for the final fight, if you blow up the Collector Base, she tells TIM that she resigns.  She brings decent combat skills and her team boost is very nice; you really can't go wrong with either team boost.  Her biggest flaw aside from her attitude?  No more ass shots....please.....

Jacob - Like
I saw Jacob as a redone version of Kaidan.  Jacob has an awesome back story, involving his time as an Alliance soldier and a Corsair (which I want to find out more about, damnit!).  He's better in combat than Kaidan and sure, his biotics are on the same level as Kaidan's, he's still got more personality than Kaidan.  The problem with him is that if you're a FemShep....he can seem.....umm.....toolish.  As a MaleShep, I had no issues with Jacob; I used him and found him to be awesome.  I viewed him as an apology for Kaidan....someone Kaidan SHOULD have been.

Grunt  - Like
Now Grunt....he had quite the expectation to live up to, after having used Wrex a lot.  Grunt surpasses Wrex in just about every way.  His combat skills are supurb and combine them with his advanced shielding boost, he's unkillable, or, at the very least, it's near impossible to take him down (he still has a hard time with crowds of enemies).  Just like Wrex before him, he provides a lot of lulz as well, in a different way.  He's blunt and may not be as witty as Wrex, Grunt still makes me laugh.

Jack - Somewhat like
Jack reminds me of someone that tries too hard to be liked.  She's too hot and cold, which is something I dislike in anybody.  She's not exactly the prettiest girl to look at, but I'd rather at least look at her than Miranda (sorry.....at least Jack is "real").  I found her backstory to be somewhat....bland and confusing.  We didn't get enough on it for me to really care that much about her; LotSB helped somewhat, but not enough.  She does warm up to a Paragon Shepard, but I'd like to have continued to talk with her without needing to do her romance.  In combat, she's not that great.  Her powers are nice, aside from Warp Ammo (totally useless), but she could have had another power like Samara has or even Miranda.  It would have helped.  She needs to put more clothes on, in my opinion, because that belt bra?  Yeah...that's ridiculous; the tattoos and the swearing, I honestly didn't mind.

Mordin - Like
Mordin was AWESOME!  First off, the only reason why he gets a like from me is because I hardly used him.  He's not that great in combat; he's got decent skills, but they're not powerful enough to give him that "oomph", and he can be killed often, making him more frustrating to use.  But, his personality and lines make up for that!  He's a guy who's brilliant....but not wise at all.  I gave him a standing ovation after hearing him perform Gilbert and Sullivan.  I love his comments on whoever you're romancing aboard the ship; that just made me go, "Haha....what?"  It got interesting when I found out he was part of the STG and responsible for the Genophage.  He started to regret his decision on it, which was nice to see.  It turned him from a cold, calculating professor to someone that actually had a conscious.

Thane - Bro
I found Thane to be awesome.  He's a repentant assassin who wants to make peace with himself before he dies.  It's nice to see that as opposed to every typical bad-ass assassin that just wants to kill things and take names.  I love the conversations he and I have on the Normandy.  His skill set is nice!  Warp, throw and the ever-so awesome shredder ammo.  Combine that with his Marksman boost and he's deadly.  There are times I take him when I need precision sniping (sorry Garrus!) and he fits the bill nicely.  However, his biggest issue is his health, which makes him paper thin like Mordin.  This can be an issue, but one that can be forgiven for once you see him in action.

Samara - A great friend
Samara reminds me of a follower of Helm - she sees the world in Black and White and no matter what the circumstances may be, the Code comes first and above all.  This can turn a lot of people off; however, being a Paragon, this doesn't cause any issues with me, because Samara respects my judgements and decisions.  I agreed that Morinth needed to die, but it makes me sad for her because she can never see her children ever again.  It makes you feel for her as a person.  She has that whole "Dame Helen Mirren" gorgeousness going on for her.  And, not only can she hold her own in combat, her skill set of biotics is also nice.  She has a slot on my team from time to time because of her skills and combat ability.  And Reave!  Best....biotic.....power.....EVER!  It's a toss up between her and LotSB Liara for my fourth slot, but I can't go wrong with either one.

Morinth - Despise...but actually liked more than Kaidan!
Okay....I know what you're thinking - how can I like Morinth more than Kaidan?  Well, because Morinth has one thing going for her that Kaidan doesn't - an interesting backstory.  She comes off as a somewhat sympathetic figure.  A part of me feels bad for her, because she does have a genetic disease.  But, she makes no apologies for the slaughter she causes and that just sends up a red flag to me.  I can't comment any more on her combat abilities, only because I never save her.

Legion - Like a lot
It made quite the dynamic when Legion and Tali had that face-off...so hats off first to BioWare on that one.  Now....Legion is another one of those "lol" characters that you can't help but laugh at.  Yet, at the same time, he also provides the other side of the Geth/Quarrian conflict, which helps me feel that it can be worked out.  He's awesome in combat and actually can survive.  Shame you get him so damn late in the game..... But after hearing what Legion has to say about the Geth and their involvement with Sovereign, you can't help but feel that they were also manipulated by the Reapers as well, and that they only want to exist like everyone else.

Zaeed - Like
He is AWESOME!  Shame we can't find out more about him (like from an actual dialog wheel), but it's awesome that he was one of the founding members of the Blue Suns.  Sure, he's renegade all the way...but in a way, so was Wrex in ME 1.  He's a total bad-ass, and can kick ass and take names, too!  When I want to obliterate the opposition, I bring in Zaeed and Grunt....it gets the job done!  The biggest issue with him is that he IS renegade all the way.  However, I am still willing to take him on certain missions.

Kasumi - Like
Kasumi has a refreshing personality for a thief and a pretty good skill set.  Plus, she's the only infiltrator in both games, which makes her useful from time to time.  The only problem I had with her was her loyalty mission.  That was very annoying....only two people?  No thanks, but it was a neat and creative loyalty mission!  Back to combat now and she can die.....often....  She's all right in combat too, but she seems a bit out of place in my squad.  If I'm fighting mechs, I'll take her, because she has Shadow Strike (which kills a lot of things) and Overload.  I'm sorry, but I don't see why she needs to be an LI.  I'm not against it, I'm just not seeing it is all.  Although I do hope something comes of her crush on Jacob; the two of them could use happiness with one another.

[Flamewielder]

AdmiralCheez wrote...
It is very easy to make an opinion poll or to list your favorites, to post photoshopped screencaps on the support threads or to drop an insult, but rarely do people actually state WHY they find [Squadmate] so awesome/unbearable.  This leaves the fanboys/girls annoyed, the haters frustrated, and the neutrals confused and wondering if they should leave the forums alone.  So really, we know you love/hate [Squadmate], but why?

Using the OP's format for consistency:
ASHLEY WILLIAMS - Main Love Interest
Writing: Possibly the most well-written and most believable character in ME1.  She honestly feels like a real person, with a balanced set of strengths and flaws that make her truly human.  Horizon encounter was bad but unavoidable in order to 1) give players a good excuse to cheat and explore the ME2 romances, and 2) stay true to the core values she displayed in ME1 (duty, courage, cautious about aliens)
Combat: Used as tank in combination with Wrex, for Infiltrators, Engineers, Adepts or Sentinels.
Personal Taste: I'm into poetry, travelled the world for work and leasure, spent weeks in tent camps in the arctic, sonoran desert, amazonian jungle and west african savannah, almost joined the service when I was younger when many friends of mine did. Of course I like soldiers!

KAIDAN ALENKO - Nice guy, never used much...
Writing: His backstory was interesting, giving me a first glance into the lives of Humanity's nascent biotics.  Stuck in placeholder-land...
Combat: I tend to favor specialists over compromise classes when selecting squaddies. If you expect a need for tech skills, why bother with half-measures?
Personal Taste: Definitely a good friend for my canon male Shep. He's got all the good qualities you'd want in a commissionned officer.

URDNOT WREX - Total Bro, will definitely help him out with his projects for the Krogans 
Writing: Dry wit and practical wisdom. Loved him taking issue with the Salarian plan to blow up Saren's lab and "cure" for the Genophage. Was happy I could talk him down.
Combat: Invincible, with the ability to cause some serious damage in a short amount of time, plus biotics for the lulz.  Pure win.
Personal Taste: Smart, witty and unstoppable... what's not to like?

GARRUS VAKARIAN - Total Bro, but not used often
Writing: I think the calibrations get so much bad press because Garrus is so well-written that you can never have enough of him.
Combat: Not used much: not as much "oomph" as a fighter like Ash or Wrex, and there are better techs out there. I did my own sniping, thank you.
Personal Taste: Tought him sort of bland in ME1, but I enjoyed how he evolved in ME2
TALI'ZORAH - Kid sister
Writing: A bit of a walking codex entry in ME1, she really came into her own in ME2.  Her flaws and strong opinions, like Ashley, make her "human," and that loyalty mission of hers was emotional.  Good lead-in for the quarian-geth question.
Combat: Flimsy but great in synthetic-rich environments. I push her "pure tech" skills and use her as a specialist.
Personal Taste: Imoen in sci-fi...

LIARA T'SONI - Sort Of Like
Writing: Bland in ME1, much better in ME2 but thought her evolution from solitary archeologist with poor people skills into information broker was just too much, even in 2 years time...
Combat: Biotic specialist, used as such in ME1. Found Samara much more useful in ME2.
Personal Taste: Too bookish and timid to my taste in ME1, funnier and likeable in ME2.

MIRANDA LAWSON - I like you; let's go shopping for some armor, OK?
Writing: Her loyalty mission turned her into a genuinely sympathetic character, and the moments when she made a mistake or admitted she was flawed steered her slightly away from Mary-Sue-dom.  Could be a seriously awesome character, but needs work.
Combat: Not specialized enough for my taste but I love bringing her along the final mission just to watch her hang up in TIM's face...
Personal Taste: She has a pretty strong and complex personality, like Ash. That outfit's really nice around the Normandy but I'd prefer her assets to look credibly protected...

JACOB TAYLOR - Beer bro
Writing: Nice guy done right, romance never even considered so I wasn't biased against him
Combat: Another walking compromise. Nothing really outstanding: there are better everything out there...
Personal Taste: Good disillusionned soldier. Earthy, believable. Let's have another round, bro...

GRUNT - I Like
Writing: One-dimensional but he's tank-bred, so at least it's consistent with the character.
Combat: He makes a great tank for my Infiltrator, especially against Husks
Personal Taste: Grunt is hilarious and likes to kill things.  So he's hurr durr, so what?  It's good to have one of those for the lulz. 

JACK - I Like
Writing: Her story is the only one that fits with our ME1 notion of Cerberus, so I bought it.
Combat: Used for warp ammo and shotgun against Husks
Personal Taste: Felt good to help her out more than I could corporal Toombs... and the only romance I was tempted to cheat on Ash with.

MORDIN SOLUS - I like
Writing: Nutty professor meets Leo Szilard. Best written character of ME2.
Combat: Too flimsy for combat, too useful in the lab. Ended up leaving him on the Normandy until the final mission.
Personal Taste: Entertaining, funny.

THANE KRIOS - Sort Of Like
Writing: Too similar to the soulful lone assassin stereotype. See "John" in The Replacement KIllers.
Combat: I do my own sniping, thanks... Shredder ammo is meh.
Personal Taste: I enjoyed his loyalty mission but that was about it. I was interested by the drell's notion of body & soul being separate things.

SAMARA - Elder sister
Writing: I was pleasantly surprised to see such steel and inflexibility among a species which apparently can't help but compromise.  The whole thing with her daughters was suprisingly deep and made for great moral ambiguity.  Her little adventures are fun to hear about, and there's a surprising amount of emotion behind her controlled monotone.  Also, props for turning down Shepard.
Combat: Samara rocks, and Reave is my favorite bonus power.  So she's not as impressive as she is in the cutscenes, so what?  She still kicks ass and takes names.  I mean, dayum girl!  Definitely my favorite pure biotic.
Personal Taste: She's definitely following Miranda to Morlan's Armor Emporium... but she's absolutely gorgeous.  I don't agree with the Code and other deontological monsters but I can understand the need for such a thing among a species who apparently knows nothing but compromise.  She's dangerous and inflexible, but I'll take her over Liara any day.

MORINTH - *shivers*
Writing: A monster placeholder condemned to be a foil in Samara's story.
Combat: I like Reave better.
Personal Taste: Whiny emo-goth teenager...

LEGION - Fascinating
Writing: The whole geth thing is incredibly interesting to me, and what Bioware did with Legion was incredible.  He's incredibly alien, yet surprisingly human, and utterly fascinating and hilarious in equal doses.  While it's weird having a geth on board, and he (okay, they) can be a bit of a creeper, Legion is right up there with Mordin.  Too bad he shows up so late in the game, because I love all the hidden dialogue.
Combat: It's like having Tali with real weapons and more than two points of health, which is yet another reason for Tali to hate the geth.  Sorry, honey, but Legion totally outbadasses you.
Personal Taste: I love his eyebrows... remind me of a certain Vulcan science officer.  Nice to see a really alien perspective  on ME issues.

ZAEED MASSANI - I Like
Writing: Suffers from inability to interact with other squaddies but he shows plenty of emotion during his loyalty mission.  His over-the-top stories are somewhere between repetitive and hilarious.  Backstory is interesting enough, and the hidden dialogue is awesome.
Combat: Decent soldier-class against organics but not used much..
Personal Taste: Total badass, nice renegadish mercenary. 

KASUMI GOTO - I like
Writing: Suffers from inability to interact with other squadmates.  The greybox thing was pretty interesting (I'm a Ghost In The Shell fanboy), and I liked her loyalty mission (James Bond for a Day, awesome).
Combat: No defenses, short range, I can usually snipe anything she can't shadowstrike. Usually watches the game from the bench...
Personal Taste: I like clever thieves...

[Siansonea]

ASHLEY WILLIAMS - Not a favorite
-Writing: I was with her until she started talking smack about aliens. Then she started in with the poetry. I will say that she was a realistic character though. I just didn’t like her.
-Combat: I never took her anywhere after Eden Prime. I just don’t like Soldiers.
-Personal Taste: All my male Shepards romanced Liara and saved Kaidan on Virmire. That pretty much says it all.

KAIDAN ALENKO - Adore
-Writing: Great, in a very subtle way. It was just a natural, normal conversation for the most part, no drama, nothing earthshaking, just chatting. In a video game? That was awesome.
-Combat: My go-to squad was always Kaidan and Liara, but I strongly favor biotics.
-Personal Taste: I thought he was odd-looking at first, but after one playthrough he started to grow on me, and I started to think he was actually kinda cute for a bunch of pixels and mesh.

URDNOT WREX - Krogan! Gar!
-Writing: Genophage! Gar!
-Combat: Pretty decent, but too tank-ey. I prefer a subtler approach.
-Personal Taste: Never liked krogan. They seem like Testosterone Overdose.

GARRUS VAKARIAN - Basically like.
-Writing: Not terribly consistent from ME1 to ME2, though I suppose Sidonis’ actions could explain the pretty dramatic shift in his personality. The romance was hilarious. Romances shouldn’t be hilarious.
-Combat: Pretty good in ME2. Didn’t really use him in ME1.
-Personal Taste: I like the voice actor, and some of that bleeds over into liking Garrus more than I probably would otherwise.

TALI'ZORAH - I wish I could kill her at Freedom’s Progress
-Writing: Well, they certainly know their audience, don’t they? Energetic little quarian—gag me. Any girl so irretrievably adawwwable irritates me to no end. And the gas mask is lame.
-Combat: Not a fan of her skill sets in either game. I think she’s actually worse in ME2. I do not like AI Hacking. Ooo, lets get the popcorn to shoot at each other. Distracting popcorn is not my idea of tactics. I’d rather let Jack Improved Shockwave or Pull Field them, or have Thane or Samara Throw Field them.
-Personal Taste: I just don’t get her appeal. Or rather, I get it a little easily. It’s like she was developed by NASA to appeal to young males. Dat Imaginary Face, Dat ASS, and DAT Non-threatening Plucky Personality just make me ill.

LIARA T'SONI - Adore
-Writing: She gives Shepard the obligatory Asaripedia in the first game, but I really like the asari so it’s okay. And I like elements of her backstory and the Lair of the Shadow Broker story arc.
-Combat: She rocked in ME1, and she rocks in ME2. Stasis is my second-favorite Bonus Talent (1st is Reave)
-Personal Taste: I like the asari the best of the non-human races, and she was a great companion in ME1. She had the best MaleShepard romance in that game by far.

MIRANDA LAWSON - Like a lot
-Writing: Very off-putting at first, until you get to know her. Then you realize WHY she’s so off-putting, and it makes her pretty interesting.
-Combat: Great. Warp and Overload, as well as squad health give her the Most Versatile award.
-Personal Taste: I like strong female characters, but more of the Miranda type than the Ashley type. She has a vulnerable side, but she’s unflinchingly self-aware.

JACOB TAYLOR - Bores me
-Writing: Not great, the weakest link in story terms, most boring loyalty mission, and worst voice acting. It’s a shame too.
-Combat: Pretty decent, better than some, but he doesn’t really stand out. Barrier is a waste of time.
-Personal Taste: He’s not bad-looking, though I wish I could click his Eye Width out a bit and click his Jaw Width in a bit. Nice bod, but his outfit is silly looking. Seriously, he and Miranda should not be wearing matching thigh-high boots. And is that a codpiece? Dude...

GRUNT - Krogan! Gar!
-Writing: Decent, actually, but I just don’t care about the krogan. Just wipe them out already.
-Combat: I dunno, I’ve only ever had him fight a Thresher Maw, some varren, and some klixen.
-Personal Taste: I pretty much leave him in the tank half the time.

JACK - Basically like
-Writing: Good. Pretty grim stuff, but I like that they went there.
-Combat: More useful than a lot of people seem to feel she is, but I don’t play on Insanity. She’s my go-to gal for crowd control.
-Personal Taste: I like her, she’s dangerous and unstable, without being a boring cliche of a dangerous unstable character. She’s actually more together than she lets on.

MORDIN SOLUS - Adore
-Writing: Wonderful, from start to finish. I love that he has humorous aspects to him, but he’s no Jar Jar Binks. His funny moments come at just the right times, and he’s capable of great ‘heavy’ moments as well. Dude has range.
-Combat: Great, Incineration Blast owns (and is one reason I love to play Infiltrators).
-Personal Taste: I love non LI characters like Mordin who exist in the game to further the story, not just for Shep’s Lovin’.

THANE KRIOS - Mostly like. Ish.
-Writing: I kind of don’t care for the Dead Wife/Wayward Son motif, but they did it as well as they could. Every time he goes into one of his PTSD flashbacks I think “people seriously want to hit that?”
-Combat: Fantastic. Warp, Throw, Sniper Rifle are all favorites of mine.
-Personal Taste: Character-wise I find him a little boring, but he still shows up in my squad an awful lot because he’s got such a great skill set. There’s a reason they save him and Samara for after Horizon, they don’t want the first part of the game to be TOO easy.

SAMARA - Adore.
-Writing: Best in the game. I feel like you have more conversations with her than you do with most of the others, and every time you talk to her she has something interesting and thought-provoking to say. And it isn’t all about Shep’s Lovin’. When that topic was raised, and she turned him/her down, I was practically applauding. I guess the Asari Fanservice character didn’t get the memo that she was supposed to fall all over Shepard.
-Combat: She and Thane are rock stars. Her biotic suite is great for crowd control AND taking down bosses. She’s my near-constant companion in combat.
-Personal Taste: I just like everything about her. Her maturity, her patient and serene interactions with Shepard, and even her ****ty outfit. I mean, why would an asari think that outfit was overly sensual or even revealing? They don’t have males.

MORINTH - Guilty pleasure.
-Writing: All too brief, but what’s there is good. I get tired of talking about vids and sculptures with her though. She’s a bit one-note, but there isn’t time to really give her much else. Voice acting is uh-mazing.
-Combat: I don’t like Dominate, it’s just like AI Hacking, which I don’t like, but for organics. Distracting popcorn isn’t good tactics.
-Personal Taste: I like her aura of menace, laced with sexiness and a kind of tragic loneliness. She’s nifty. But I like Samara better.

LEGION - Basically like.
-Writing: My first thought was “hoo-boy, the gave the fanboys a pet geth”, but luckily they used that as an opportunity to bring in a new story element that is really cool and made me actually interested in the geth for once. I was never interested in them in the first game.
-Combat: Great if you’re facing synthetics, which you don’t do very often.
-Personal Taste: A little wooden for me, but overall I like the character quite a bit.

ZAEED MASSANI - *Yawns*
-Writing: There was writing?
-Combat: Inferno Grenade is good, and Concussive Shot is occasionally useful, but so what?
-Personal Taste: Meh. Vido Santiago, on the other hand, is kinda hot...

KASUMI GOTO - *Yawns again*
-Writing: Decent, and she has one of the best Loyalty missions (only Liara’s and Samara’s are better).
-Combat: Okay-ish, but I do not like Flashbang Grenade. Part of it has to do with not liking the word “Flashbang”
-Personal Taste: Not terribly compelling, to be honest. She looks like a human version of Tali. I don’t go for the hidden face=air of mystery thing. And her outfit is oddly unflattering.

Modifié par Siansonea II, 26 janvier 2011 - 08:34 .

[Aeowyn]

ASHLEY WILLIAMS - Like
-Writing: I really, really love Ash. She feels like a sister from another mister. She's different from any other game character I have met tbh, just because she's down to earth but still has her opinions and stands by them (never romanced her so can't tell).
-Combat: To be fair, I never used her for combat. I preferred to have much tech and biotics in my squad so sadly she was underused.
-Personal Taste: Like I said above. I really like Ash and I hope my Shep can reconcile with her friend in ME3. If I met someone like her IRL we would probably discuss alot on things we disagree on, but I think we'd still get along just fine.

KAIDAN ALENKO - Like
-Writing: Well written. He's just a normal soldier who's dealt with his issues and is mature about the way he sees the world. I like.
-Combat: Very useful. Tends to die a lot though.
-Personal Taste: Well the romance kind of confuses me. Especially since he seems to have a crush on FemShep like an hour after meeting her, but turn him down and he's still a nice guy to talk to.

URDNOT WREX - Like a lot
-Writing: Just gonna quote Admiral Chavez on this > "Takes the concept of "big, angry brute" and turns it on its head.  His backstory is far from what you'd expect, and his dry wit coupled with his bulk makes for unending hilarity.  I really like the direction BW took with him in ME2, since not only is being King of Krogans badass, but it offers nice resolution to the issues he was dealing with in ME1."
-Combat: Love him in combat. Soldier badassery with biotics that saved my ass more than once.
-Personal Taste: Wrex is hilarious. He's outspoken and doesn't give a **** of what others think of him. I respect him for that. I also respect him from trying to unite the Krogan clans and hope to see more of him and his krogan leadership in ME3.

GARRUS VAKARIAN - Hell yes
-Writing: I think he's matured from ME to ME2. Some might call him a whiner, but he's doing something about it and in my books it's better than someone who wines and doesn't do anything to change his situation. People who paragoned him in ME complain that their efforts was for nothing, but the way I see it, he doesn't actually kill civilians to get to the bad guys and Omega is a lawless pisshole so that's something I guess.
-Combat: I use him all the time. Infiltrator team ftw.
-Personal Taste: Well, he's my main romance so my personal taste is biased.

TALI'ZORAH - Like but meh
-Writing: To be fair, I didn't like the way she developed from ME to ME2. Sure, she matured, but I don't like the crush she seems to have and well....I'm going to leave it at that.
-Combat: Don't take her very often. I like her drone, but she tends to die a lot for me.
-Personal Taste: I like Tali as a friend. She's cute.

LIARA T'SONI - Sort Of Like
-Writing: I thought she was sweet at first. The young asari who hasn't seen much combat. Her development in ME2 left me going "eh...what?", but it turned out nicely with LotSB. However, I DON'T like how she's pushed as canon romance and whatnot. The treatment of her and VS in the Genesis comic is just BS.
Combat: Like I've stated before. I like hybrid characters more and therefore I didn't use her much.
-Personal Taste: See the end of the writing section.

MIRANDA LAWSON - Starting To Grow On Me
-Writing: I hated her at first. I can't stand self-righteous characters and I really tried to like her, but failed. Now however, she's starting to grow on me. She has an interesting backstory and even though her stance on the Collector base seems to be a bit OOC, I'm hoping to see how she developes in ME3.
-Combat: Very useful.
-Personal Taste: She has an interesting backstory and even though her stance on the Collector base seems to be a bit OOC, I'm hoping to see how she developes in ME3. But please BioWare, for the love of God, give her some better clothing, or at least some armour in combat.

JACOB TAYLOR - Like
-Writing: Again, quoting Admiral Chavez here: "He had a shot at being the Nice Guy Done Right, but any chance of that was nerfed by the awful, awful romance.  Between HussyShep and The Priiiize...  Seriously, Bioware, what the hell were you thinking?  This guy had so much potential!  Come on!"
-Combat: Eh... use him sometimes. His "pull" is useful sometimes. He's pretty crap on his LM though.
-Personal Taste: I like him. He's got his head on straight and I enjoy the feedback he gives for the mission, squad etc. I don't like how FemShep has her rape voice on whenever she speaks to him however. And I don't like how BioWare seems to have given him the "ooh look at me all muscles" role.

GRUNT - No
-Writing: Honestly, he was kind of bland and boring for me. His "ooh battle, boom boom" attitude wasn't very interesting tbh.
-Combat: Don't really use him much.
-Personal Taste: Don't really like him. He's a baby krogan and that's about it.

JACK - I Like
-Writing: She's really "every personal problems you can have wrapped in a box and sent to BioWare HQ", but at least nobody can call her boring. From what I've seen of her romance, it's very sweet and nicely done.
-Combat: Love her shockwaves, but her lack of armour kind of puts me off from bringing her anywhere.
-Personal Taste: I like Jack. She's complicated, her tattoos are beautiful and so on. However, I think that since she was raised in a Cerberus science facility from infancy, she should have developed some kind of "Stockholm syndrome" when it comes to Cerberus.

MORDIN SOLUS - Scientist salarian of love
-Writing: Best. writing.ever. He brings the comic relief but is still burdened by his work on the genophage. BioWare managed to make a good balance of the two and Mordin turned out to be win.
-Combat: Good powers and he knows how to use him. He dies ALOT however.
-Personal Taste: I'm surprised he hasn't punched my Shep concidering how often I go talk to him. I love Mordin. The singing was a surprise that made me LOL and his sex-talk had me in fits.

THANE KRIOS - Meh
-Writing: Carth-syndrome, dying, an assassin who only see himself as a weapon. He hasn't really grown on me.
-Combat: Garrus and Thane + infiltrator Shep = awesome.
-Personal Taste: I've never romanced him since I really don't find him attractive at all. His spirituality and the way he's supposed to be some kind of monk-assassin was just boring. Liked his LM though. Shooting his son in the shoulder, punching an ass and dancing turians ftw.

SAMARA - NO
-Writing: Ok, I have to admit, she's well-written.
-Combat: Don't really use her that much. If I have to choose between her and Jack I choose Jack for her shockwave-spam.
-Personal Taste: Outfit is just stupid. I don't like the hypocracy she has and even though I liked her at first, she completely turned me off when she said she was going to be forced to attack my Shep after her oath was finished because my Shep happens to be renegon. Nevermind the fact that my Shep hasn't actually done anything that would break the Code in Samara's presence, and has certainly not killed innocents. Although I guess that's BioWare's fault.

MORINTH - Can't comment.

LEGION - Adorable.
-Writing: By far the most interesting squaddie. The fact that he's a geth from a different faction when the geth were pretty much what we fought in the first game is interesting, and brought a grey zone to my "geth is bad" - thinking.
-Combat: Infiltrator with explosive combat drone? Hell yes.
-Personal Taste: "No data available." I love Legion. That is all. Still blow up the heretics, but Legion is awesome.

ZAEED MASSANI - Sort Of Like
-Writing: I find Zaeed interestingly written. However, lack of dialogue wheel makes him fall flat.
-Combat: Sigh.  Don't bring him much.
-Personal Taste: I'm still torn over his LM. He's a badass, but yeah. Still torn.

KASUMI GOTO - Meh
-Writing: I liked the Grey box. That's all.
-Combat: Love her Shadow Strike but if it fails she dies.
-Personal Taste: I don't really like her. I don't see a valid reason for her even being on a ship. Since when do you need a thief to attack the Collectors? Her grey box was interesting though, and I hope we get to see what's on it if you decide to keep it.

[Alienmorph]

Premise: as anyone else I like some characters more than others, but I don't bother me wasting time hating any of them. So don't expect any "I so want to kill this one" line.

ASHLEY WILLIAMS - In the middle of favourite/dislike scale
-Writing: good in ME1, a bit disappointing in ME2. She's the personification of the (more or less) justified harsh between humans and aliens, and  I like the fact she's the only one who seriously questions Shepard's alliance with Cerberus, but the dialogue on Horizon seemed simply a quick way to get rid of her. I romanced her only once, I don't like her as LI.
-Combat: a decent soldier, but I don't bring her very much in combat.
-Personal Taste: I save her on Virmire in the hope of seeying some more interesting dialogues between her and Shepard in ME3, about what he did after Horizon and eventually about his romance.

KAIDAN ALENKO - Indifferent
-Writing:
male biotic, he suspects that he was willingly exposed to Eezo to turn him into a biotic. Side effects of this. Friendly and open-minded. In one word redundanct. Except for the Jump Zero background he's too similar to my Shepard.
-Combat: he's good as support character, but if I wanta a soldier I take Wrex or Garrus, and Liara if I want a biotic. I am the sentinel of the team. Again, redundact.
-Personal
Taste: he's the friendly comrade, so close to you that he had to die, or to go away to his road. Sadly I prefer to have Ash as character who left you.

URDNOT WREX - Don't f**k with Wrex ^__^
-Writing: when you meet him for the first time he looks like the classic space barbarian. And he is. But he has a lot of funny tales, his species got an interesting background and you quicly find out that's more than a mindless brute. I was sorry to don't have him back, but his evolution in ME2 was so natural that I'm not sad at all now.
-Combat: chaaaaaaarge!!!
-Personal Taste: I like big guddamnd aliens. And he's the biggest. Can't wait to see him leading the krogans in the final battle in ME3.

GARRUS VAKARIAN - Dextro-bro.
-Writing: he's on of the characters who evolves much, the only shame is that appearently you was able to drive him in a certain direction, when in ME2 he becomes a turian Punisher whathever you did. But it's not a big problem because I've always pushed him in that way.
-Combat: my soldier squadmate. Always.
-Personal Taste: I like turian's design, I like his voice, and his characterization. Plus my Shepard at least needs one trusted frien, with all those Cerberus officers and psycho he got aboard.

TALI'ZORAH -
-Writing: she's my favourite character. I like a lot her dialogues and her personal story. The only thing a bit odd are the initial dialogues with her in ME1, where Shepard's almost forced to be a douche with her. But it's a flaw that happens with Wrex and Garrus too, so I don't mind of it. 

-Combat: In ME1 she has very useful skills. In ME2 she was a bit weakend, but placing her in a strategic position, and improve her skills she becomes quite useful. And taking her donw makes only my Shepard angrier... that's not a good thing for any enemy.
-Personal
Taste: she's one of the best ME's characters for me, and my main (almost unique) LI. It's funny seeying how many people complains about the fact she's designed to be adorable and likeable among any other, especially seeying how much more other character are pushed up by BW. Not that I mind of haters'silliness.

LIARA T'SONI - Like
-Writing: in ME1 she's the girl closest to the "damsel in distress" clichè (both Ash and Tali are fighting with someone when you met them... she's trapped in a bubble), but she's an interesting and plot-worth character. Her maturation and rise as new Shadow Broker was a pleasant and unexpected surprise.
-Combat: a bit overpowered in ME1, especially compared to the other biotic of the team. More balanced in LotSB.
-Personal
Taste: the asari race is a bit clicheous (they're designed to be the most attractive female aliens of the game, admit it) but she's ok. I stopped to 'mance her because of LotSB because you're almost forced to return with her. That's a shame, 'cause I liked her ME1's romance.

MIRANDA LAWSON - Potentially good.
-Writing: BW loves the Ice Queen characterizations, and normally they do them very well. Sadly it's not the case of Miranda... after shooting Wilson and saing boring things about her genetic engineering there's not much left of that characterization. But she's still more than decently written.
-Combat: a good fighter, with many useful skills. Nothing to complain about this.
-Personal
Taste: I see a lot of potentialy for this character, if only BW will stop with "I'm perfect and you don't!" and with the ass-shots during missions and dialogues.

JACOB TAYLOR - Boring.
-Writing: he starst well, he has some initial good dialogues. Then he becames really, really boring. His LQ also is a bad copy of Apocalypse Now, that's a thing that really disappointed me.
-Combat: nothing irreplacable. I want a biotic? I pick Miranda. I want a soldier? I pick Garrus. Like happened with Kaidan.
-Personal
Taste: It was that necessary to have TWO Cerberus officers only to have an extra romanceable male? I'd preferred that BW focused its efforts in improving Miranda. 

GRUNT - aka Wrex 2.0.
-Writing: Interesting, He has the gepotic ential to be the savior of his race, but he's a mindless brute. Will Shepard good enough to help him achieving his destiny?
-Combat: Chaaaaaaarge! 
-Personal Taste: he's clearly designed to replace Wrex (and not only beause he's a krogan), but he turns out as an intresting character too.

JACK - dislike.
-Writing: I dunno how many time I found in comics and telefilms her story. Really. You pass 1/2 of the time with her talking about how much she loves kill people and then she melts in you harms if after a quick f**k you come back for more? Well... de gustibus.
-Combat: I don't use her very much, she's got decent biotic skills.
-Personal Taste: Every one in ME's story evolves in some way. She doesn't. And I really don't see how she can evolve from her actual characterization in a plausible way. She's too static and predictable as character. Plus... why I should recruit a naked woman to fight in SPACE?

MORDIN SOLUS - pure awesome!
-Writing: Great, it's not a coincidence that he was written by the same author of Tali's dialogues. Awesome dialogues, background and humorous moments.
-Combat: a bad**s. Very useful.
-Personal Taste: I didn't like salarians in ME1. I'm so grateful that BW added him to second chapter changing my opinion.

THANE KRIOS - Quite like.
-Writing: he's interesting as bro character, he's the only new ME2's male squadmate beside Mordin with a decent friendship path. His romance sounds a bit too emo because of the "I'm dying and I'm in mourn for my wife" stuffs, but surely is better written that Kaidan or Jacob's.
-Combat: a good support character. But I prefer Garrus as sniper.
-Personal
Taste: I like him and the drells in general, I only wanted he was more plot-worth, because essentially he was included just to give to the female players one more alien LI, and he doesn't do anything else important. That's a shame.

SAMARA - Intially disliked, I revalued her a lot.
-Writing:
the honourable vigilantess. Not particularry original, but she's well written, and her personal story about her familiar business make her more interesting.
-Combat: a lot useful.
-Personal Taste: who needs Jack for biotics with Samara in the team? She only needed some outfit less porno-looking for missions on vacuum environments. Why there's such a need of necklined outfits when everyone wears dammit tight stuffs?

MORINTH - I don't use her. I always save Samara. I don't like space vampires.

LEGION - Like.
-Writing: thanks to him the terminatorish cliches about the Geths were swept away. I'm a lot happy of this.
-Combat: nice combo between a sniper and a tech. But I usually go in battle with a sniper and a tech (Garrus+Tali) so I don't use him very much.
-Personal Taste: an unexpected and really, really interesting addiction. And thanks to him probably I'll able to make peace between quarians and geths. A valuable character.

ZAEED MASSANI - mhe.
-Writing: nice warstories. Nothing else really interesting.
-Combat: A decent heavy soldier, but quite useless after recruited Grunt and Garrus. Inferno Grenade is good as acquired skill for my Shep at least.
-Personal Taste: Another crazy and triggerhappy character. Oookay.

KASUMI GOTO - like
-Writing: My favourite human character. I liked a lot her LQ too.
-Combat: Nice fighter, she works quite good paired with most of the other squadmates.
-Personal
Taste: the only truly female brosephine. And she says a lot of kindle things about Tali. 

[Breakdown Boy]

ASHLEY WILLIAMS - Whatever...
-Writing: She was a generic LI option, character was not so interesting, but she had my back in ME anayway. Then she acted like a freaking idiot on Horizon.
-Combat: I only used her for combat when I was a vangaurd. I preferred to have much tech and biotics in my squad so she was underused.
-Personal Taste: She's hot, so she was a LI for one play through, but still the best VS. 

KAIDAN ALENKO - Loser
-Writing: Boring and generic.
-Combat: Very useful apparently, I either used him the least in ME1.
-Personal Taste: He doesn't interest me at all, always sacreficed him at Vermire. 

URDNOT WREX - The man...err..I mean Krogan!!!
-Writing: Simple yet cool character. But not really my first diologue choice when heading to the cargo bay.
-Combat: Love him in combat. He's a real biotic soldier, krogan+soldier+biotic= AWSOME!!!! Used him alott.
-Personal Taste: Wrex is cool and BADASS!!!

GARRUS VAKARIAN - BBF (Best Bro Forever)
-Writing: If Shep has a best friend then it's this guy. He's a bit confused about his morality but hey aren't we all. 
-Combat: Great help, always one of my first choices.
-Personal Taste: He's my bro, the guy who will stick whith me to the end!

TALI'ZORAH - Nice addon
-Writing: Hero worship on Shep, works for the insecure not for me. She's cute, but her being an LI is realy random, like is the relatioship not totally onesided, it just doesn't make sense. She is loyal which is cool.
-Combat: Useless in any other mission that does not include hundreds of geth/ mechs.
-Personal Taste: I like Tali as the Normandy's engineer and she is like the little sister everyone wants to protect but besides that...

LIARA T'SONI - She was great...
-Writing: She was realy cute in ME1 totally my LI every play through, but in ME2 she's kind of cold and focused on something else, kind of wierd how she shrugs off Sheps return...magic is lost.
-Combat: She was my regular companion as a soldier.
-Personal Taste: It was great while it lasted but she's changed and not for the better...

MIRANDA LAWSON - Love her
-Writing: Her arrogant nature made me interested and it was kind of a challenge, like the whole 'earn my trust' thing was cool. Best written character on the Normandy. 
-Combat: Very useful. Use her all the time.
-Personal Taste: My favourite character.

JACOB TAYLOR - Like
-Writing: Ruined potential.
-Combat: Used alott with Miranda and especially versus Krogan and Vorcha. 
-Personal Taste: He's a straight shooter and could have been the next best thing since Garrus in terms of bro's if he was written better.

GRUNT - Not Wrex
-Writing: Generic Krogan but with insecurites. 
-Combat: Only when I am a Adapt or Sentinal do I use him often.
-Personal Taste: He aint Wrex. 

JACK - I Like
-Writing: Well written and LI story line is touching but also an unlikely match.
'-Combat: Only worth it on Veteran and lower dificulty, hate the shotgun limitation.
-Personal Taste: She's complicated and deeply written and she ads some colour with her diologue.

MORDIN SOLUS - Interesting
-Writing: Comic relieve done well, Normandy needs a Scientist. 
-Combat: Good powers and he knows how to use him. He dies ALOT however.
-Personal Taste: He's unique in all ways, which makes him cool to have.

THANE KRIOS - Meh
-Writing: Uninteresting
-Combat: Great with Miranda and Vangaurd Shep.
-Personal Taste: Does not interest me in the slightest.

SAMARA - Hot mama
-Writing: She's well-written.
-Combat: Use her sometimes, her assault rifle plus biotics is a plus.
-Personal Taste: Asari bartender would be better for ME3. 

MORINTH - Keep of ship...oh wait she's dead, problem solved!

LEGION - Cool


ZAEED MASSANI - Badass but you could learn something from Shep, and not the other way around.

KASUMI GOTO - Cute
-Writing: Funny character, whish there was more diologue. 
-Combat: Stun granade is cool.
-Personal Taste: Add to ME3 and add as LI or make her and Jacob hook up.

[V-rex]

ASHLEY WILLIAMS- Idolized.
-Writing: She is easily one of the most fully realised characters in games today, because they weren't afraid to depict her with obvious negative qualities as well as positive ones and keep both in equal light, rather then just make her into the archetypical 'perfect nerd girlfriend' figure like so many others. She's attractive, bold, funny and humanly flawed and as an LI she was the only one in Mass Effect 1 who could consistantly stand side by side with Shepard on equal terms, rather than swoon at the mere thought of him. Frankly, she's awesome.
-Gameplay: Doesn't matter, in my experience all my squadmates in games just got stuck against walls. Useless, so really skills and tactics never came into it
-Personal taste: I love tough women and Ashley is about as tough as they come, sure Horizon kind of messed me up a bit but I'm not about to let one crummy four minute appearance compromise my mental image of the character, as much as Bioware clearly wanted me to do that.

KAIDAN ALENKO- Alright.
-Writing: This guy is impossible to hate, he's too nice and too friendly and too calm and mature to actually warrant the level of almost bloodthirsty hate he recieves for being so 'whiney'. That said, I much preferred the harsh and beautiful Ashley Williams to the calm and kind Kaidan, plus Ashley was always my romance so as much as it hurt me to do so, Kaidan never survives Virmire with me. That said, the fact that it always hurts me when I do it has to count for something.
-Personal taste: Again, I like nice people. Unfortunatley he wasn't as much as Ashley so while I still liked him, I consider Ashley my favorite of the two.

WREX- DA KING IN DA HOUSE BIATCH.
-Writing: Wrex is easily my favorite male teammate I've ever had in game. A huge tough wise cracking reptilian version of Marv from Sin City if he had gone on the 'awesomesauce' steroid diet? Me likey. Now true he does have a few moral problems (a tendancy to shoot unarmed prisoners and point guns at my face) but I forgive him because, again, he was a fully realized character so flaws are expected. Plus he's a lot more intellectual and calm then the average Krogan.
- Personal taste: I am a Krogan enthusiast.

GARRUS VAKARIAN- Like quite a fair bit.
- Writing: From the early concept art Garrus had been pegged as the default 'Alien sidekick' of the series. You know, that one alien dude who is best friends with the main character because sci fi demands that the best male friend of the main character be an alien? In that respects, Garrus filled his role quite well in the first game but really took a shine in the second, becoming Shepard's closest fighting buddy over the course of the story. True they took a lot of liberties with his character but it's still great having him back.
-Personal taste: Garrus is awesome and he's been with me two games in a row. Let's see about the last one. I imagine they'll be pulling strings to make sure he can come back.

TALI'ZORAH- ehhhhhhh
-Writing: In Mass Effect 1 Tali was little more than a Quarian encyclopedia with hips and chicken feet. I can never say I was among the party of people who drooled at the mere thought of her, in fact I sometimes forgot she even existed on the Normandy, being far too busy chatting up Ashley to give her a second thought. I do remember being very turned off when I heard from her that the Geth attacked her people because they had tried to kill them.
In Mass Effect 2 I was happy to see a familiar face.. so to speak.... but sadly I didn't much care for how Tali had developed over the last game. I found her romance aspect with Shepard to be shoved in kind of and actually sot of offputting. I still worked to keep her alive in the suicide mission but truth be told, Tali was never one of my MAJOR favorites in Mass Effect 1 and the same carries over in Mass Effect 2.
-Personal taste: Can never say I was really among the camp of people who so desperatley wanted to have sex with the strange creature with chicken feet that wore a gasmask. No offence intended but that was always wierd to me. Let it be clear, I respect your choices. Tali is by no means my favorite but she is also by no means a sore spot for me either.

LIARA T'SONI- undercurrent of rage but with hypocritical nice things to say as well.
-Writing: I have to be totally, totally honest here.... I hated Liara in Mass Effect 1. I couldn't handle having a shy awkward damsel in distress falling in love with Shepard almost as soon as she caught a glance of him, I got annoyed hearing her almost faint every time she did the mind meld. In Mass Effect 1 I found myself thinking that she was made of pudding and she annoyed me consistantly the whole way through. When the option came up to cancel out any thought of romance I couldn't hit that 'I wuv Ashley' option fast enough.
To her credit, Liara does get better in Mass Effect 2. Tougher, more alert, more confident and more assertive. However I feel a strange bitter resentment that she's become Bioware's favorite 'pet' considering she's had comics and a DLC made for her and been given a major role in the story. It's like the game is punishing me for choosing Ashley over Liara and even though I know this probably isn't the case, it's enough that it's created a huge burning cancerous mass of anger within me that will always foreshadow any and all appreciation I might ever be capable of having for the character.
The bitterness hurts.
-Personal taste: I said I loved tough women before, in the first game Liara was not a tough woman. Simple as that. However while I have spewed forth a LOT of bile and hate let me make something clear, the Liara fanbase has always been very nice and friendly to the Ashley and Kaidan fanbase, so I am here right now making it clear that I respect their choices and don't want this to cause any offence.

MIRANDA LAWSON- Oh f*ck off!
-Writing: In and of herself she's a decent enough character. Even if I find her snarky attitude rather off putting at points, it must be said though that the fact that a character who's accent derives from my native Australia has become an icon of the franchise is a good thing.
Now the bad bit, her rump. Or rather, the game's obsession with her rump. We've all heard the complaints a million times so I'm not going to go into details. Only express that it was obnoxious and immature the way they kept doing that. And just the fact that they couldn't stop themselves from doing it was enough to make me resent the character for it.
-Personal taste: I hate it when people try to pander to me with attractive women by doing this with camera angles. I'll decide for myself if I find the character attractive, game, stop trying to advertise her.

JACOB TAYLOR- Limitless tragic sympathy.
-Writing: It makes me feel guilty to say that I didn't like Jacob all that much. Because it seems like no one does sometimes. With that in mind, I always try to be nice to him in game and since the old rule of 'if you can't think of anything nice don't say anything at all' plays into effect. I'll be nice and not say anything more.
-Personal taste: .....

MORDIN SOLUS- Like
-Writing: Fantastic, blatantly the comedic relief of the squad but he still has enough real depth and emotion (especially in his loyalty mission) to actually give him character and purpose beyond just being an eccentric joke factory. He's great to have around just for the laugh factor alone and I hope to see him again some time in Mass Effect 3.
-Personal taste: He is the very model of a scientist Salarian. Great addition.

JACK- loved
-Writing: Yes, Jack is subject to a few cliches and yet even though her attitude is kind of standard tough girl chic, she managed to have, again, actual human emotion and confliction that plays out in a huge way in her own character arc. She's a victim of so much pain and hardship that one part of me just wanted to hug her while the other part of me wanted to run away before she realized that I intended to hug her. I made an additional playthrough of Mass Effect 2 just so that I could romance Jack. If it weren't for Ashley, she'd be my girl.
-Personal taste: I certainly like the angry misanthropic chick with the shaved head who swears a lot. Possibly because I myself am an angry misanthropic dude with a shaved head who swears a lot. Who knows?

GRUNT- Endearing
-Writing: No, Grunt is not Wrex. He can never be a substitute for Wrex, but you know what? Why should he be? Just because he's a Krogan does not mean that he needs to be rated in relation to Wrex. In fact I can actually relate to how he must be feeling right now, constantly being compared to someone of higher status, with nothing he'll ever do being 'good enough' for everyone else. He's not Wrex and he doesn't have to be!
Anyway, I found him rather endearing. Cute even, like an excited kid when he goes into battle gleefully destroying stuff, he's great fun to have around. I ordered a model of him from the Bioware store and I don't regret it. Grunt's better than not having a Krogan at all.... by a great deal too.
-Personal taste: I can't help but like him. Maybe it's because it's like having a cute baby krogan on the team, but all his mannerisms are just sweet to me.

THANE KRIOS- he's cool.
-Writing: I find Thane's spirituality and philosophy on life facinating and I was deeply moved by the tragedy of his broken family life. Given that I've never romanced him for I always play male, I won't ever know the full depths of his story. But what I've seen is impressive.
-Personal taste: Nothing like a green lizard ninja.

SAMARA- Very good, very good.
-Writing: I thought it was very mature of Bioware to add a strong, gracefully aged female character to Mass Effect who wasn't going to be sleeping with Shepard. They lose a couple of points for the titilating outfit that looks like she's something of a cougar but still, point remains. Samara is tough and valuable to the team. Too bad about her bad family secrets, eh?
-Personal taste: Giant blue cleavage that could conquor worlds not withstanding, Samara is a well characterized and respectful depiction of a badass female and I'm actually willing to let the whole boob thing go because at least the camera doesn't zoom in on them every ten seconds like it does with Miranda.

LEGION- Oooooh yeah.
-Writing: Without question the most bold and interesting edition to the story. Daring to challenge our misconceptions about a race we thought for the longest time were enemies and giving voice to the Geth point of view of the Morning War and of their place in the galaxy in general. Unique, as interesting simply to look at as he is to talk to, Legion is a great character that challenged the notion of what it means to be human and about what truly is 'life' as we understand it?
-Personal taste: Read my insignia, I heart Geth. Legion is Geth, hence I heart Legion.

Zaeed and Kasumi? Never downloaded, don't have any opinion on either.

Modifié par V-rex, 26 janvier 2011 - 12:53 .

[Aigyl]

Like mrsph I'll just cover the ones I liked less:

Kaidan - [insert cool slang here]
Writing: I think he suffers if you're a MaleShep. His stories of brain camp were both interesting and horrifying, but he just doesn't open up enough. When I got round to playing a FemShep I was staring in awe at this guy actually showing a personality.
Combat: Awesome. He dies a lot but he turns charging Krogan into a complete joke with Neural Shock and Lift. Plus he can open crates if I'm not playing a techie.
Personal Taste: Just didn't really appeal to me. I think he's something of an acquired taste, like olives or anchovies.

Liara
Writing: She seemed a bit... under-developed in ME1. She had an appeal but her romance moved way too fast (she's fallen in love with my Shepard one hour after having met him? Oookay) and her character development is a bit off, having to kill her own mother doesn't seem to affect her at all once you're off Noveria. LotSB was brilliant however.
Combat: Awesome, easily the most powerful squadmate in ME1 and packs a punch in LotSB.
Personal Taste: Great in LotSB, but she seems to flail around a bit and go in all sorts of directions until you hit that DLC and her character is brought into harmony with itself. Bioware seems to have nailed her so she should be good from now on.

[mineralica]

Edit: can't understand what happened with spacing
ASHLEY WILLIAMS - okay.
Writing: very well developed and justified, but her romance scene with double quotation of "Oh Captain, my Captain" looks strange.
Combat: pure Soldier, but Wrex is better both as tank and as damage dealer, so didn't use her much.
Personal taste: too rough for me. Virmire doesn't help to my relationships with this character.
KAIDAN ALENKO - I'm very biased.
Writing: finally character who successfully dealt with own problems. Plus, slips. Plus, random sarcastic lines (like in Chora's Den with Ashley). Have problems in ME2 since he and Ash were turned into united "VS".
Combat: problematic. Kaidan 50 lvl are as different as sky and Earth - low-leveled is made from glass and uses pathetic ability once in a blue moon while high-leveled is walking machine for controlling enemies.
Personal taste: I miss him.
URDNOT WREX - Wrex! My friend!
Writing: sarcastic, badass, sensible. His elevator talks were one of the most fav parts of ME1, as well as meeting on Tuchanka was one of the best moments in ME2.
Combat: best squadmate ever. Tank with controlling functions - you must be kidding. All weapons are available, plus regeneration, plus heavy armour
Personal taste: I understand that his role as battlemaster is more important than being squadmate, but Wrex would be an excellent addition to the team. I'm in awe.
GARRUS VAKARIAN - again?
Writing: mentor-apprentice relationship with Shepard in both games. Nearly the same LMs in both games. Awful fallen from nowhere start of romance, continuous suspicion that Garrus really doesn't want it - and brilliant, gentle and touching romance scene.
Combat: was O.k. in ME1, became the worst sniper in ME2 - I mean, Thane (throw and warp), Zaeed (grenade) and Legion (Widow and drone) are better. Hardly ever use him in ME2.
Personal taste: not impressive. Maybe some more dialogues and not "lessons of wise Shepard" development will change it?
TALI'ZORAH VAS NORMANDY NAR RAYYA - little sister
Writing: I liked her in ME1 - she was a bit cynical. In ME2 she had a personality shift into the area of more gentle, naive and sensitive woman (which is good), but her thoughts about the Geth and several overreactions (as covering her farher's crimes and sometimes unexpected feelings towards to Shepard) spoil the mood.
Combat: very good in ME1 (especially in the beginning - she has a pretty good starting armour; plus, shotguns were the best weapon), almost useless in ME2 (too fragile to CQC, drone is good s distraction but has a big cooldown, shield drain, although, is very good; AI hacking is useless)
Personal taste: I can see interesting development of Tali into Admiral - she really cares about her people. This move also removes her from battlefield, which is good for such fragile girl.
LIARA T'SONI - creepy.
Writing: I find her feelings towards to Shepard which happened almost simultaneously with death of her mother strange. Also I find strange this facts: Liara didn't warn anybody before running after Shepard's body; she didn't wish to join Shepard even after s/he helped her with SB (heal Feron and join, leaving drell as new SB, gain information from him regulary), photo frame of SSV Normandy near her bed. I'm starting to think if Shepard really know her.
Combat: good biotic in both games, especially new Stasis.
Personal taste: Liara is okay, but I really don't like when she is shoved in my face by devs.
MIRANDA LAWSON - XO.
Writing: appeared as cold and arrogant person, developed in caring woman who abandoned Cerberus for Shepard. Respect!
Combat: tear anyone apart. Overload, Warp and passive bonuses - all you need if you don't know for certain which enemies are expecting. Also must have for organics with shields or synthetics with armour.
Personal taste: I'm audial so resistant to buttshots if dialogues are okay, and this is completely that case. Someone stole the title "favourite woman in the galaxy" from her, but Ms. Lawson is still damn close.
JACOB TAYLOR - but the...
Writing: best friendship lines and worst romantic lines I've ever heard. Mostly it's because of femShep's intonation during the talk - I can't listen to him without giggling hysterically if forgor to remove earphone on "I'm more interested in talking a bit". But, again, the priiize.
Combat: shotgunners were sufficiently nerfed, and this is noticeable - Jacob runs to enemies and instantly dies. Plus, I prefer to have squadmates with protection damaging abilities. Worse as tank than Grunt, Zaeed and (ha-ha) Mordin, worse as biotic than Samara or Jack.
Personal taste: I wish person wrote his romantic dialogues don't try to repeat this on another LI.
MORDIN SOLUS - why not interested?
Writing: his problems as scientist looks believeable, his random lines are hilarious, and his singing...
Combat: burns! His unique ability leads to very powerful shields and Incinerate Wave does wonders with husks and any other creatures without barrier or shield.
Personal taste: must have for ME3. Love him.
JACK - dat personality
Writing - character which talks about own problems and really has past which s**ks. Reminding to all biotic Shepard what could happen if they had been unlucky. Brilliantly warms up and opens if romanced.
Combat: same problem as with all shotgunners.
Personal taste: very pretty indeed. Justified to be such person as she is - brutal and with dirty mouth. Love her.
URDNOT GRUNT - may I send him to Tuchanka?
Writing - baby krogan can't have many stories to tell, but that constant: I hate salarians... I hate turians...
Combat: best tank in game. It's such a pleasure to watch Grunt charging through the pack of husk. The problem is to make a pack of unprotected husks from pack of protected ones.
Personal taste: much worse than Wrex. For destructive force I have Jack. So Wrex can take this baby any time he wants.
THANE KRIOS - sins of father.
Writing: good - philosophy. CATASTROPHE: Carth syndrome.
Combat: sniper with potential to Warp Bomb - excellent! But fragile. Nah, still excellent.
Personal taste: take pleasant low voice (mmm...), add some agilty and sniping (mmmm!), big sad eyes (nom-nom), long talks about soul and philosophy (wow!) and instantly kill all with dead wife who was the best happened in his life and long-lost son. BioWare hates female players?
SAMARA: mentor
Writing: very touching story about her three daughters, especially a part from LotSB. I wish Hannah Shepard was portrayed like this, not as in that email. Has many interesting stories to tell.
Combat: extremely good damage dealer, Reave also work as controlling ability, but rather fragile. I also love her battle cries.
Personal taste: not at all glad with her outfit, but in other questions Samara is perfect.
MORINTH: the monster.
Writing: causes strong feelings - her story is tragic, but she still doesn't deserve to live (hello, Nef and Nef's mother. And that asari villiage). Smallest number of dialogues. Dialogues during recruiting shows her as immature and addicted to violence, what also doesn't add to appealing.
Combat: half not as useful as Samara. Domination only slightly more useful than AI hacking, she is extremely fragile and hasn't got protection damaging abilities.
Personal taste: I regretted I picked her.
LEGION - 1183 times Legion.
Writing: not so many lines, but existing are super hilarious (Shepard-commander?). Although "enemies which were found out to be indoctrinated" isn't a new story, it's still interested. Plus there are plenty unclear moments for further development (piece of armour moment).
Combat: drone for distraction, Widow for curious, Geth Shield Boost for super curious. Next!
Personal taste: those head plating is super cute. And shaking hands. Records from Morning War make us re-consider all conflict. Legion is super interesting.
ZAEED MASSANI - badass.
Writing: hardened copy of Wrex, merc which understands that shooting in everyone you was told to isn't good. His "dialogues" are the cure for character - one of the most entertaining char to talk with (2nd when Mordin is the 1st).
Combat: sniper with grenade which stops even the protected target and incinerate ammo - very popular as a squaddie.
Personal taste: I love that VA. I love that "crater face". I love that he can hear the voice (and pistol) of reason. I hope Zaeed will be back in ME3.
KASUMI GOTO - I'm a fan.
Writing: very good story about Grey Box (Kasumi spends time with box of memories, main Shepard - with photo frame of memories). Very funny lines on missions (mmm.... ramen o_0). Finally cheerful woman on the ship!
Combat: should be nerfed. Especially Rapid Shadow Strike.
Personal taste: my favourite character in ME2. I also like her crush on Jacob.

Modifié par mineralica, 26 janvier 2011 - 03:40 .

[Spartas Husky]

dont need to add anything more than what the OP stated.

[Addai]

In ME I could have left everyone on Virmire and walked off with Garrus and Wrex.

In ME2, I liked Garrus, Mordin, Legion and Jack best. A lot of it is in the voice acting, I think. The writing on Mordin struck me as the best. His spiritual side was not overdone like Thane's, and his humor was priceless. Garrus walks a fine line between genuine, likable guy and badass. The romance was super well done for what was there- not too hot, not too cold, just right.

Character I was most surprised that I liked: Miranda. I just wish you could put her in something but Bondgirl spandex.

Modifié par Addai67, 26 janvier 2011 - 07:29 .

[Elyvern]

I wrote this list for another post elsewhere, but figured since there are some good and well defined lists going on here, I should re-post this. The ranking begins from the characters I like best and going down the line. It only includes characters I truly like.

CHARACTERS I LIKE

1. Miranda - Duh. I get a little embarrassed when I have to explain why sometimes. List-wise, she leads by a damn long shot compared to every other character, and I must consciously stop myself from gushing. Basically, I have a type and she fits that type to a T: intelligent, dedicated, emotionally detached and reserved, pragmatic, utterly self assured. But at the same time, capable of great compassion and warmth when the situation/relationship warrants it. That she's a survivor who despite her past becomes the greater sum of her parts, and in spite of her past, rose to aspire at selfless ideals are also a big draw. I could gush all day, so uhh I shall stop here.

2. Mordin - Pragmatic because harsh times call for harsh methods, but never once does he succumb to hubris. He keeps himself in a state of constant awareness of his actions, enough to humanise him and any act he commits, he imbues it with the moral consideration it warrants, but that nonetheless doesn't detract him from his duty. He links me to the rest of the universe more than any character through his historical anecdotes, his philosophical musings, his ruminations on art and culture - which almost makes him a kind of moral compass for me because you know you can count on him as he sees things from every angle.

3. Wrex - I'm seeing a damn pattern here. Pragmatic and unapolegetically so. It's so refreshing. This guy embodies brutal common sense in its purest quality. Also love the fact that as a race and culture, he's compelled to act unthinkingly, or to be stuck in a one track mind to warmonger. But you can sense a silent kind of despair at the core of his cynicism about the krogan race right from the start. He's already a winner in my books, but becomes a real champ when he decides to reverse that sense of despair and go against his cultural conditioning by rallying all the krogan clans while not abandoning his harsh principles in the first place.

4. Ashley – Down to earth and practical, she harbours very few illusions about how the world works. But at the same time, she has that idealistic streak, that sense that she can serve and serve a good cause well. But at the same time because of that, she’s also very much hurt by the stigma her family name carries. Nonetheless, she’ll keep trying. It isn’t in her nature to give up. Her vivid wit and quick temper is a great example of that indomitable spirit. In terms of being a normal human like any of us, she comes closest, with her own baggage of biasness and ignorance. And the fact that she’s willing to change and reconsider her prejudices, to inform and empower herself (through Shepard’s help) just makes her such a dynamic character.

5. Liara –Mac Walters derailed her character to the point where I find it extremely hard to reconcile Liara from ME1 and Liara from ME2/LotSB. In that sense, she actually doesn’t feel like a character to me. I actually feel negatively towards her ME1, crept out by her sudden and unprovoked attraction to Shepard. LotSB totally changes that impression, but then it was like she became a totally different character, and I keep asking myself, who is the real Liara? At any rate, I really appreciate her newly found independence. It’s very nice to have another LI (like Miranda) who can arguably stand toe-to-toe with Shepard. Her newly acquired sense of practicality, be it driven by her tendency to be obsessive over her goals, or the feeling that she’s emerging from her sheltered academic life to take her place in the bigger galaxy, was very welcomed, but she continues to retain that core of compassion that defines her. It’s an amazing balance, and I feel she, like Kaidan, will stand by your side as long as you need her to be.

6. Tali – I love how I can really see her come of age in ME2. I’m extremely impressed by her loyalty to her people, but at the same time, you can see that she doesn’t blindly stick to preconceptions. In many occasions, she shows she’s willing to see different points of views. Even when faced with an ingrained distrust against the geth, she’s also magnanimous enough to admit she could be wrong and is willing to set old hatreds aside for special circumstances. Her romance is heartbreaking when she reveals insecurity about herself and the stigmatisation of her race. What I don’t like about her is I feel her familial loyalty just binds her too tightly and she really needn’t be portrayed as being so enamoured of Shepard.

7. Kaidan - A core of self assurance anchors his personality, and you get the impression he has great integrity and definitely not someone who blows with the wind. You get the impression he’s a deep thinker who considers all things from every angle he can and tries to arrive at a rational position. However, he isn’t stuck in his ways to reject possibilities. And even if he disagrees with you, he isn’t afraid to speak his mind and leave you to judge without attempts at obfuscation or excuses. And all this is done without any fanfare or attempts to draw undue attention to himself. A rock solid ally if you win him over, but even if you don’t, he’s willing to give you the benefit of a doubt.

8. Samara - Although you don’t get much of a sense of who she was before the birth of her children, there is still the impression that her life after so many hundred years was almost torn apart, and she had to rebuild her entire self image to become a justicar. I can’t imagine what strength of character it must take to compel her to hunt down Morinth and to do so for 400 years. And yet, recently, I keep having this feeling that although she adheres to a code so harsh and so defined that it’s actually stifling, it actually doesn’t gel with her personal nature. Constantly pointing out how the code could be circumvented to prevent needless deaths to people around her makes me feel she definitely has a compassionate and humanistic side. Yet she recognises the pitfalls of that and thus quells down her personal feelings to do what she considers as necessary, only then allowing herself to grief. I have great respect for that.

[Blansten]

ASHLEY WILLIAMS - Love
-Writing: Loved her personality and that she had very strong beliefs (even if I didn't agree with all of them) .
-Combat:
Really only had her in my squad for my Adept and Engineer characters but she did an adequate job.
-Personal Taste: I don't agree with many of her views but she is a straight shooter and I like that in a person/

KAIDAN ALENKO - Love
-Writing:
Thought he was one of the few team mates who had their act together was a great friend to all my Sheps. Virmire was a tough choice each playthrough.
-Combat: Only ok for me he died a lot so I didn't use him very ofter after the Citadel
-Personal
Reminds me of a friend of mine

URDNOT WREX - ADORE
-Writing: Loved everything about his character and loved the friendship in both games.
-Combat:
Badass. One of my main squadmates played more games with Wrex and Liara than anyone else
-Personal
Taste:If he were real he would be my BFF

GARRUS VAKARIAN - meh in ME1 really liked in ME2
-Writing: Mass Effect's was lukewarm on him in the first game but he really grew on me in the second game
-Combat: Never really had him in my squad during ME1 (after the acheivement) He became one of my go to squad mates in the second game

TALI'ZORAH - Little sister
-Writing: I liked her story throughout both games. Prefered the first game where we could be friends. Felt the "crush" thing was heavy handed in the second game
-Combat: Never really have her in my squad, probably because I mostly play Infiltraitors
-Personal Taste: Very likeable

LIARA T'SONI - Adore
-Writing:
Took me a couple playthrough's before I took the time to talk to her but then she became one of my 2 favorite squad mates in both games. The change from ME1 to ME2 was too drastic and not handled well but I feel that LOtSB tied the 2 Liara's together perfectly and made me love her even more
-Combat: Kicks so much ass it shocked me the first time I had her in my squad. She and Wrex are the 2 I always have in any ME1 playthrough I do now
-Personal Taste: I always liked her and she never came acoss as weak to me, feel like they finally found the right balance in the DLC. I think she is awesome

MIRANDA LAWSON - dislike
-Writing:
Turned me completely off in the first 20 minutes of the game, started to warm to her during the loyalty quest and then she went back to my dislikng her during the suicide mission.
-Combat: Well rounded and squad bonus is great.
-Personal
Taste: Would not be someone I would associate with.

JACOB TAYLOR - poor Jacob
-Writing:
so much potential
-Combat: weak
-Personal
Taste:

GRUNT - I Like
-Writing:
He Is Krogan ... what's not to like
-Combat: Awesome Tank
-Personal
Taste: He is no Wrex but I liked his one track mind

JACK - Love
-Writing: Love Jack and thought she had a great backstory. She had the best character arc in ME2 if you romanced her
-Combat:
Should have been much stronger but she is ok
-Personal Taste: Loved her comments during missions.

MORDIN SOLUS - Love
-Writing:
Brilliant, Funny and made of awesome
-Combat: Good skill set I was surprised at how well he help up
-Personal Taste: Loved everything about him

THANE KRIOS - Love
-Writing: Tragic character but I thought he was well done. I loved how he was written and voice acted
-Combat:Very happy with his skill set and I took him on most of the missions
-Personal Taste: Thought he was a great addition

SAMARA - LOVE!
-Writing:
Loved her story and hoe she was portrayed
-Combat:
Ass kicking goodness. Like to team her up with Garrus
-Personal
Taste: I am a definite Asari fan, I hope in ME3 I can have her and Liara on my team

MORINTH - Never picked her up

LEGION - Really Like
-Writing: Love that they made a machine one of the most vulnerable characters. His apparent Shep worship was adorable. Hope they don't pull the rug out in ME3
-Combat: What Tali should have been. I just wish he had appeared earlier in the game
-Personal Taste: Hope he stays the same Legion in the next game.

ZAEED MASSANI - meh
-Writing: way over the top
-Combat: Sigh.  never use him
-Personal
Taste: meh.

KASUMI GOTO - really like
-Writing:
Best loyalty mission wish she had been a main character with dialog options
-Combat:
Shadow Very effective for me but is a bit too frail
-Personal
Taste: Love her personality.

[jeweledleah]

Ashley. grew on me after a while, she's an interesting character once you get to know her and oddly, her unexpected liking of poetry was what won me over. never use her in combat though, prefer wrex. I saved her in one play through and only did one incomplete romance for a tragic shepard.



Kaidan. my favorite LI and all around nice guy. very subtly written - I like that about him. use him extensively for combat, found him to be extremely useful (I play on lighter difficulties, so he didn't die as much on me) my preferred VS.



Wrex - awesome dude. use him in combat a fair bit, especially when I play squishier classes. love the way he's written and just how much of a trope buster he is.



Garrus - my best bud. use his a lot in ME1, a lot less in ME2 as apparently he's gotten even more reckless and the only character that dies more on me is Jack. Love the way he's written and his evolution from ME1 to ME2.



Tali. Adorkable. I use her mainly when fighting against Geth, in both games, I love her growth asa character from game to game, see her mainly as a little sister material, so I hope she and Kal Reegar can have a happy ending



Liara. like. preferred LI for my canon male Shep. her personality resonates with me best out of all the ME characters so far. starting to use her in combat a lot more, in the beginning, I mostly stuck to combination ability characters rather then pure specialists. I don't think her change in personality is abrupt (after all it was several years and they were pretty busy years for her..I've changed drastically myself when life hit me over the head like it did her, so yeah, it resonates with me)



Jacob - grew on me somewhat, was indifferent at first. attractive, but not my type, so never gets romanced. VA for fem shep when interacting with him is off putting, which is a pity as he is actualy quite interesting. almost Kaidan 2. but doesn't have Alenko's charm in my eyes. use him for combat a fair bit, I find him to be a pretty solid squad mate.



Miranda. grew on me, much like Ashley. she's better written then I first gave her credit for, but her high heels annoy me, so I don't use her much for combat...despite the fact that she kicks ass when you give her a chance :/



Mordin - Adorable. yes, I find him adorable. exceptionally well written character, my favorite to bug between missions, after Kasumi. going to try to use him a bit more on ground missions.



Zaeed - barely tolerate. don't trust him one bit. voice work is good and I suppose he's well written (I don't trust him precisely because of the way he's written, so I suppose that's something), solid but forgettable in combat. only lives through canon playthroughs as my canon sheps don't like to lose people under their command.



Kasumi - love. wish she had more lines and conversation options. use her for combat a fair bit, especially after completing loyalty mission, she requires a bit of micromanagement to not die stupidly, but in general, she kicks butt.



Samara - my preferred biotic. Well written, kicks butt, she's one of my squad mates that I rely on with no reservations.



Morinth - I'm weary of her. she's an interesting character, but she only lives for 2 Sheps (heavy renegades) mainly because Samara can become liability due to her justicar code in a future, however, I'll most likely kill Morinth off - because she's also a liability, not to mention no matter how renegade I am, I just cannot allow her to keep killing innocents once we part ways.



Thane - a tragic hero. I like him, but in a detached sort of way. use him in combat at times but not too often, mostly for variety. cannot consider him as an LI, due to his attachment to his wife.



Jack - I like her, I find her fascinating and a challenge to break through to. don't use her in combat much though as she's reckless and far too squishy. LI for my paragon Shep, who's not attached to Liara.



Grunt - ok, I guess. Diet Wrex. I actually almost forgot him. his intro trailer is the most compelling thing about him in my eyes.



Legion - wish we got him earlier in a game, he sounds like a great character, but I cannot bring myself to kill off Gabby and Ken, just to play around with legion some more.

[Erasmus37]

Ashley-  Sucks
Pros:
-fairly well-written backstory, believable personality
Cons:
-never found any use for her in combat whatsoever
Dealbreaker (to quote 30 Rock's Liz Lemon):
-her xenophobia/distrust of aliens made her personality stand out more, but it's a trait I honestly despise in people

Kaidan- Sucks
Pros:
-seems like a decent enough guy and soldier
-versatile in combat, though I never used him much
Cons:
-pretty much a colorless personality if you aren't romancing him as FemShep
-seems even more of a douche bag on Horizon than Ashley
Dealbreaker:
-that weird stare/turn head-thing in the cutscene when you walk up and talk to him, real creepy

(I was fine with killing Ashley, Kaidan or even both of tehm if there was such an option on Virmire, but I chose Ashley just because I hated being called 'skipper'.)

Garrus- Total baller
Pros:
-my favorite character for a fight in ME1, I took him everywhere
-really well-written personality, I definitely identify with the conflict he feels about doing what he thinks is right, but trying to stay within the law
Cons:
-I didn't find him as useful in ME2, but that's a minor complaint

Liara- Good
Pros:
- it was nice to have a genius on the ME2 team
- really good in a fight, I never used her much only because she could disrupt the battlefield in so many ways, fights became too easy
- sweet girl, pretty good-looking, the best romance option in ME1 IMHO; I very much approve of a female-female relationship being available
Cons:
-she sucks in ME2: I was happy to see a tougher, more world-wise in ME2 at first, but it went too far almost, I agree with whoever posted above that it was jarring; LotSB was a little better
-not so much her fault, but I would have rather romanced Shiala:D

Wrex- Total Baller
Pros:
-absolutely awesome for a fight and didn't need as much micromanaging as Liara to be so good
-I liked him sticking up to Shepard on Virmire since nobody else on the team really does... ever
Cons:
- not as fully developed as Garrus or the potential love interests

Tali- Good
Pros: 
-fairly useful in a fight, but nothing amazing
-sweet girl, I loved learning about the quarians from her, even better in ME2
Cons:
-even though she was a sweetheart and fine as a friend, I didn't like that 'knight in shining armor I'll follow everywhere' vibe to her romance and overall attachment to Shepard; I generally don't find that an attractive quality in girls for a relationship and there was already entirely too much of that in ME anyways
-obnoxious Talimancers 

Miranda- Total baller, canon romance (unless Bioware provide some awesome Asari in in ME3) 
Pros:
-probably my favorite character for a fight in either ME1 or ME2, she had my favorite set of skills
-I loved her as a character: she was tough, ambitious while her flaws were believable and not overdone
-my favorite of the romances that I attempted by far (no Ashley or guys)
-her interactions with Jacob, Jack, etc. provided welcome interaction between crew members that Shepard wasn't at the center of
-great, uh, character model 
Cons:
-i still don't know what Bioware did with her face that made it so hit-or-miss at times: there were dimly lit areas that made her look absolutely frightening; JeanLuc's textmod was very helpful, however, so hat's off to him  

Mordin- Good
Pros:
-probably the funniest character in the game
-decent in a fight, mostly I just liked knowing we had a Salarian Special Forces onboard
Cons:
-kind of hard to get a grasp on him as a character, maybe?  the way he talks an everything, I didn't feel like I got to know him as well as some

Jacob- Sucks
Pros:
-history and fights with Miranda, as already described
Cons:
-never used in fights
-pretty bland in ever possible way
Dealbreaker:
-the goddamn way Bioware animated his mouth is weird as hell, end of story

Thane- Meh
Pros:
-stylish character model, assassination cutscenes
-new race I'm interested in learning more about
Cons:
-hardly ever used in fights
-not exactly bland, but the whole 'religious assassin' bit is really overdone and it made me less interested in getting to know him

Jack- Sucks
Pros:
-a psychopath provided some color to the Normandy crew 
Cons:
-worthless in a fight because she dies quicker than anybody else I used
-personality way too over the top: I want to be intrigued by a psychotic character, want to know what makes them tick, instead she just annoyed me
Dealbreaker:
-her romance had a lot of potential but it was completely unbelievable; I am very aware that the effects of years of abuse and living in fear for your life do not get resolved the first time somebody sits down and says "I'm sorry, you really have had it rough," it would likely take a person in her shoes years to trust somebody in such manner; I feel like Bioware really could have made her romance a difficult ordeal in ME2 and rewarded those who stuck with it anyways with Jack's respect or a breakthrough in ME3 after Shepard and Jack had been through a lot together, but they rushed it; then again, how many fanboyz would have sat through that?  

Grunt- Good
Pros:
-good in a fight, but absolutely amazing if you get him health upgrades and the Krogan shotgun
-typical Krogan awesomeness, I liked how everybody except shepard was afraid of him 
Cons:
-still not Wrex 

Samara- Total baller
Pros:
-loved her as a character: she's tough and principled without being robotic thanks to the really fascinating backstor, which is tragic, really, but not overdone
-excellent in a fight, I used her as much as Grunt and almost as much as Miranda; pretty cool having a justicar onboard
-keeping her from being romanceable adds an untouchable mystique to her that is totally in line with her backstory and the kind of person she is, I'm glad the developers id it the way they did
Cons:
-is it just me or is her jaw enormous? it puts Miranda's to shame 
-why is it that every light-blue sari in the universe seemingly on the team and every other one we run into a darker shade?  give me a Shiala to romance, dammit 


I still haven't played with Zaeed or Kasumi, so I'll update this when I do

Modifié par Erasmus37, 27 janvier 2011 - 07:58 .

[gabrielk2020]

I actually liked all the squaddies. It's just that I liked some more than others. Garrus, Miranda, and Mordin are probably my three favorites though.


I like Garrus because he's like my buddy and the combination of voice acting and in-game character work give the impression of someone who I can trust.

Miranda is based on Yvonne Strahovsky and I admit to being a fan. But beneath the cold professional Cerberus exterior, there's more depth and character than you might expect.

Mordin is just damn funny. And he sings.

Modifié par gabrielk2020, 27 janvier 2011 - 08:09 .

[Sister Helen]

Mordin ... Best. Character. Ever... Loved the Gilbert and Sullivan tribute.



If you DON'T pursue a love match with any of the squad from ME2, and you talk to Mordin, he decides that you have a thing for him and "lets you down gently" by talking about his species low sex drive and "if I were to go human, I would choose you."



Hilarious dialogue, and my femshep had the best expressions ever.

[Trintrin86]

I don't base my like/dislike around combat, so I'll just talk writing/would I have a beer with them.

ASHLEY WILLIAMS - OK
-Writing: She's believable, I appreciate the inclusion of a character that was human centric without being comepletely prejedice about it. I think the poetry thing was a miscalculation, particularly during the scene leading up to the sex sequence. I get why they did it, it just felt forced. However, her being judgemental on Horizon, then cooling down later, made sense with the way her character was written.
-Beer?: I think she's be cool to have a beer with, but we'd never be best buds.

KAIDAN ALENKO - <3
-Writing: The 1st time I played ME1 I intended to romance him with a FemShep just to see the "scene" everyone was making a fuss about on Fox News. I wasn't sure how to go about it so I kept him in my party the whole time. He is probably the most subtle characters in ME1. I loved his attitude towards his issues ("I'm 32 Shepard"). And he is suprisingly deadpan funny if you have him with you at the right moment. Yup, total fictional character crush. The *only* complant I had was this it seemed a little out of character for him not to give Shep a chance to explain on Horizon (particularly if they had a romance, I've played Horizon with characters that didn't romance him and it was a little better).
-Beer?: I 'd drink several beers with him then drunkenly ask to have his baby.

URDNOT WREX - Awesome
-Writing: Very good, like the fact he's written against type and surpisingly funny. I love he greets Shepars in ME2, totally clear that you guys have been through hell & back together and that winning his respect was no small feat.
-Beer?: BAR FIGHT!

GARRUS VAKARIAN - Meh ME1, Like him alot ME2
-Writing: I thought he was kind of boring in ME1 to be honest, I thought he was kind of whiney (boohoo...I can't just shoot people I don't like). ME2 was different. He clearly had matured and they story of how he and the chick got some stress relief was awesome.
-Beer?: ME1, no. ME2 Yes...and share dirty stories.

TALI'ZORAH - Like her a lot
-Writing: Cute in ME1, awesome in ME2. Total character growth, her mission actually made me tear up when she found her father.
-Beer?: No beer with Tali, cute girly drinks with umbrellas.

LIARA T'SONI - Like Her
-Writing:
In ME1 it felt like I was talking to a 16 year old girl...which made the romance part very, very strange.  ME2 I was all like "WTF?" LotSB however, changed that, as well as her conversation on the Normandy. I finally got a sense of her beyond "zomg I have a crush on Shepard" and "Look at me be all tough now!"
-Beer?: I wouldn't mind meeting up with her for a quick beer before going out and meeting up with my other buds.

MIRANDA LAWSON - Like her
-Writing: I like her because she knows she's not perfect, but tries to keep up the veneer because if she not perfect she's nothing. I loved the stuff between her and her sister, and I like that while she is/was loyal to Cerberus she can see past that in the end if you want her to.
-Beer?: Minranda doesn't drink beer. Martinis all the way baby.

JACOB TAYLOR - As a Bro I like him a lot, as a Romance, Oh god no!
-Writing: After I got past the fact that my Kaidan faithful FemShep seemed to want to jump his bones everytime she wanted "talk to him a bit" I liked Jacob, he seemed like a cool dude, hell even with a FemShep it was downright bromantic Then I made the terrible terrible mistake of romancing him and discovered he is some sort of creepy stalker.
-Beer?: As a friend I would love to "Get loud and spill some drinks on the Citidel." As a romance I'm pretty sure I'd mace him in a bar.

GRUNT - Meh
-Writing: They did "intellegent yet bloodthirsty" krogan with Wrex. I kind of felt like Grunt was Wrex without the biotics. I'd have liked him more if they had taken the bloodthristy aspect a little farther.
-Beer?: Well if wanted to have a beer with we I would be too afraid to say no, but otherwise let's just be work friends.

JACK - Nah
-Writing: WTF? Yeah...her life sucked, but whoa nelly! She was way over the top and not in a good way. I would have liked her more if she didn't have the soft creamy center when romanced.
-Beer: I have a feeling it would end up with us throwing broken bottles at each other.

MORDIN SOLUS -
-Writing: This genius was the work of a pure genius. His dialouge is amazing, his sex talk even more amazing and the first time he sanf Gilbert and Sullivan I had to look to my husband to be sure that I didn't just dream something awesome.
-Beer?: We'd be drinking buddies.

THANE KRIOS - Meh
-Writing: Assassin with a heart of gold. Yeah I get it. He's has an awesome design, but other than that I'm not impressed.
-Beer?: So he can poison me and then tell me that he's really sorry? Skip

SAMARA - <3
-Writing: She is the most complex character in this game, hands down and a perfect portrayal of the DnD Lawful alignment (Lawful Good or Lawful Neutral is debatable). Every convo with her is great, I loved he fact that you get a "kinda" romance with her. If anyone could have gotten my Kaidan faithful FemShep to cheat it would have been her.
-Beer?: Fine wine baby, fine wine.

MORINTH - Like
-Writing: I have a speical place in my heart for unremorseful psycho/sociopaths. HAd Jack been a little bit more like her maybe I would have actually gotten into Jack. But the who sex angle bugs me. She kinda felt like the obligatory Asari tramp, only this time it kills you.
-Beer?: Do I look like I've lost my mind?

LEGION -
-Writing: Putting the "Itelligence" in AI. The introduction of the idea that the geth may actually a complex artifically *species* was handled brilliantly by Legion. For the first time I actually considered the fact that I was shooting a sentiant creature when I was mowing down the geth in ME1. And he added moral ambigutiy to the Quarians and their quest to retake the Homeworld. Well done writers, well done.
-Beer?: Kinda of pointless since he can't drink it, unlees  I had a beer and he had some WD-40.

ZAEED MASSANI - Throwaway
-Writing: I'm...not even sure why he was included in the game. He has little personality and he adds nothing to the story, other than to give Pragaon Shep a chance to beat the heck out of someone.
-Beer?: No.

KASUMI GOTO - Awesome
-Writing: Now this was a nice DLC character, cool mission, well written and even with her "drama" she see lighted hearted. A breath of fresh air. Her comments on Jacob are too cute and I like the idea of party members developing relationships (romantic and otherwise) with each other. Of course if Jacob returned her affections I would have to slap him around for turning into stalker Jacob.
-Beer: She can come out with Tali & I for fruity girly drinks any day.