This post isn't really from a romance perspective, but it kind of overlaps with it in terms of character DLC. I hope you don't see this as off topic, because I feel it really goes hand-in-hand with the idea you have here.
I. Introduction
Mass Effect 2 - probably the most popular game of the trilogy. It introduced an awesome new combat system, better graphics, expanded on the game's lore, showed us new races, home-worlds, and more. But what did it actually accomplish in terms of the main plot? You know, the one that involves the Reapers taking over the universe and all?
II. Mass Effect 2's Plot Relevance [or lack thereof]
If you haven't figured it out already, it accomplished little to nothing in terms of the main [Reaper] plot. What I'm basically saying is that someone can play
Mass Effect 1 and then go straight to
Mass Effect 3 (without playing the second game) and have no problem keeping up with what is going on. How, you ask? Lets review the main details.
- The entire Collector sub-plot had no real effect on the story. So now we know the Protheans were turned into Husks - thats great, but apart from a fun fact, doesn't really contribute much.
- Cerberus involvement wasn't that important either. They revived you and were your allies [sort of] in the second game, but if you skip Mass Effect 2 , Shepard never died in the first place and Cerberus was your enemy in the first game, so them being your enemies in the third game is no surprise.
We learn that the Reapers harvest races to make more Reapers [human mush in the Collector base]. Thats great and all, but we're given that information again in the third game anyway, so skipping Mass Effect 2 is no big deal. The Human Reaper plot was chucked out the window too.
I think those were the main points that the second game brought forth, all of which are trivial, unnecessary, and abandoned in the third game. If we could have skipped the entire game and go straight to
Mass Effect 3 , then surely something must be wrong. So at this point, we must ask ourselves, what was the point of
Mass Effect 2 ?
III. What's the Point of Mass Effect 2?
My answer? An excellent
character development saga . We had a massive roster of about a dozen unique squadmates, each of a different race and with with a different occupation. We had interesting missions to find these squad-mates in the first place that told us a lot about their backstory and origin. We then had follow-up missions, dubbed "loyalty missions" which further gave us more information about them. Each squad-mate basically got two extensive missions that built upon their character and past.
The problem?
Most of these characters aren't even present in Mass Effect 3 . Sure, Garrus, Tali, and Liara return with missions on their home planets. Sure, Mordin gets probably the most epic mission in the entire series. But what about Thane, Grunt, Jack, Miranda, Jacob, and Zaeed? Yeah, they had brief cameos, but do you honestly think a brief cameo is enough when we spent so much time learning about these characters? Why go through the trouble of giving these characters extensive missions in the second game when you completely neglect and toss them out in the third game?
In addition to this, you throw in characters like James Vega in
Mass Effect 3 , which we know nothing about. Do you really think its a good idea to introduce a brand new [and quite bland and generic] character in the final game of the trilogy, especially when you're tossing out characters that we spent so much time developing and learning about? I don't think its appropriate to introduce a new character so late into the saga, especially when he is taking the place of squad-mates that we spent so much time developing and learning about.
IV. Making Mass Effect 2 Relevant
Where am I going with this? As of right now, from a story standpoint,
Mass Effect 2 is completely irrelevant and might as well have been a spin-off game. BioWare, for reasons I do not understand, tossed out the most important part of
Mass Effect 2 in
Mass Effect 3 - the character development. You develop an entire roster of characters that we grew to love in the second game, and then basically give them the axe in the third, and most important, game.
So how can we make
Mass Effect 2 relevant to the series again? I think I've made it fairly obvious, especially considering the fact I'm posting in this thread -
give the Mass Effect 2 characters more focus in Mass Effect 3 rather than practically abandoning them completely, which you did. Not only does this improve the quality of your story, but it is also economically viable due to the high demand for such a thing.
V. Possibilities & Suggestions
Many of the characters I mentioned earlier have tons of potential for a character-focused DLC and mini-arc. Hell, many of the characters I mentioned also have potential to return as squad-mates once again. Though there are already tons of suggestions in this thread, here are some of my personal suggestions for these characters:
- Grunt : The guy's team was slaughtered against indoctrinated Rachni. Considering Shepard is his battle-master, and Grunt loves fighting, which Shepard does plenty of, there is no reason for him not to join you after that mission as a squad-mate. To make it a worth-while DLC, you can give him some sort of mission too. For example, maybe he can get a recon mission to obtain some of warlord Okeer's old data that will be helpful in the war, or maybe an old Krogan super-weapon that will help out. There are tons of possibilities.
- Thane : While some may think he had an epic death, I found it pretty 'derp' - worthy. He had about a dozen chances to kill Kai Leng, and intentionally missed out on all of them (aiming a gun at Kai Leng's head from behind and posing, or running straight into Kai Leng's sword when he had a gun and could have shot from a distance). This is not to mention that Shepard and two other squad-mates literally stand there and stare as Thane fights. The solution? Perhaps a mission to find a cure for Thane's illness. It could be on a planet that is also relevant to Mass Effect 3 's plot [for example, we need to stop Cerberus on a certain planet and we find this along the way]. Then after doing the mission and getting cured, he can rejoin us as a squad-mate. For those people who romanced him, they can continue their romance with him.
- Miranda : Kind of similar to Grunt. She has beef with Cerberus, and guess what - Shepard is fighting Cerberus for most of the game anyway. So why not have her join you as a squad-mate again and have a Cerberus focused mission? Something like this can easily fit into the plot given how many Cerberus run-ins Shepard has. Again, for people who romanced her, they can continue it here.
- Jack : She can get a Cerberus related mission where she has to save one of her students from a base. Conveniently, that base also holds something Shepard needs, or perhaps Cerberus is holding down a pivotal location that the alliance needs. Regardless, Shepard gets to accomplish something plot relevant while helping out a friend. This can happen after the Grissom Academy mission, and after completing this DLC mission, she can join your team and continue a potential romance.
VI. Conclusion
Conclusively, there is no reason
not to do this. There is high demand for such a DLC thus making it economically viable, and the story potential is there as well. As of now, most
Mass Effect 2 characters [and romances]
really got the short end of the stick, which I think is kind of bad considering how the entire second game was focused on developing these characters. As of now, I see
Mass Effect 2 as pointless to the trilogy considering one of the most pivotal aspects of it were abandoned. Please realize this.
Anyway, sorry for the wall of text. I congratulate anyone who managed to read through all of this and I hope it was an entertaining read. I also hope BioWare takes notice of this thread, and the potential such an idea can have.
Modifié par Yokokorama, 01 juillet 2012 - 02:52 .
Retour en haut
Thane short banter with Drell assistant.
