I think the discussion is rather: Should Shepard be able to newly romance Ashley or only be allowed to if he romanced her in the first game; the player and which games he has played will not be the issue. since everyone will be able to pick decisions for the first two games, including choosing a LI, like in the poor genesis comic. If you look at life, sometimes it takes people longer to realize, they have deeper feelings for each other, so I say it should be an option. Especially Shepard's death can be a powerful emotional trigger to realize those deeper feelings a little late.
Of course that means different romance paths and if you rekindle an existing relationship it should be different and deeper, but that doesn't mean, it should be impossible to start a fresh romance as well. And don't come with the whole "ressources" argument, because there is a lot of time left and even if the delayed it for gimmicks like multiplayer or kinect, the writing team will hardly be involved in this full-time, so they should have the time to write different romances for different circumstances in a way that everbody will be satisfied.
Again, I want the most epic love story for Shepard and Ashley, but I don't want it because I have earned it by being faithful; I am faithful because I want to be and not because I expect a special reward for it. People who love each other will choose to treat the subject of their affection specially and may sometimes label it a reward for the fun of it, but being faithful for the reward is just cheap, imho.
Love has its own rules and sometimes it just happens and it doesn't matter how long you have been in love, for you to want to treat the one you love specially. Love may come in all flavours, shapes and sizes, but that doesn't mean, that one kind is worth more than the other.

Realization
Modifié par elektrego, 09 août 2011 - 08:41 .