Because the game is "organic" in that it evolves as you make your choices playing it, Shep cannot be the absolute main character. I'm a published SF and Fantasy writer myself, and it is impossible for your main character to have every piece of information needed to move the story along. He/she needs to acquire other knowledge from other places and people.
Why Liara? You need an expert on the Protheans, one who can understand the images left in Shep from the beacon, one who has seen archelogical remains on many planets and begin to piece together a "history" of them.
Look at the aliens in the ME Universe, those who have time, intelligence, and the drive to find out about the Prothean history by visiting sites and digging them up, literally. Digging up a 50,000 year old dead culture, which is similar to finding out about Neanderthals for us.
Krogan? Long lived, but Er, no, they are so military focussed that even Mordin laughs at the idea of a Krogan scientist.
Salarians. Too short lived. 40 years
Quarians. Too focussed on their migrant fleet life and getting the homeland back or defeating the geth. No life span given but assumed equates with Human normal of about 70-80.
Hanar. Too bound up in the religion of the "Enkindlers" aka Protheans... plus they are jelly fish and digging on dry rins is not something I seem them doing.
Drell. Nopes as they work for the Hanar, and their speciality seems to be assassins, and though they lke hot and dry, I can't see them being personally motivated. Plus they are bound to the Hanar race planet and the people and work for them for saving their lives when Drell world dlied.
Elcor. Just no - too big and lumbering to do the work required, plus they seem to be very conservative, so why would they want to find out about a 50k ancient race?.
Volus. Traders, and remind me of the Ferengi! No idea how long they live.
Humans. Nope. Why on earth would they have the interest in a race that old when there is nothing to draw them to it? Plus lack of resources etc to set out being an Archeologist in the universe.
That leaves the Asari.
Long lived? Check
Curious about everything? Check
Interested in lost causes? Check - some are.
Liara is a rebel and socially immature - Archeology is a retreat from all society and I think a rebellion against her mother too.
So she has the time and youth to indulge in this research. She has the motivation - avoiding society and people. They also all seem to be naturally good fighters - many times we hear how they spend their youth as mercs, so her change to a competent soldier is not as startling as some folk have suggested. She has the racial instincts like reflexes and reaction times, plus the biotics to be a good fighter pretty damned fast.
That comes down to the Asari who do live long, who are known for having
misspent youths trying everything going before they settle down in the
Matriarchal phase.
Ergo I submit that Liara is the ONLY person in the game, of any race, fully qualified to play the part she has done and give or interpret the information Shep gets from the beacon to lead him/her to Ilos!
Like her or not, she has to be there for plot reasons, and us nit-picking the story the way we would not do if all 3 games were out without a break in making them, or were a series of novels we read that had been printed concurrently, we wouldn't see a problem. It is only the gap between games and the need to pull everything apart that is highlighting what are not actual flaws in the story arc.
Modifié par Zan51, 11 juin 2011 - 12:51 .
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