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[Karlone123]

I know the Reapers were obviously the bigger threat, but with ME3, it felt like Cerberus overshadowed the Reapers in many parts, seemingly being more involved and having a more bigger presence than the Reapers. Gameplay wise, it was entertaining to fight Cerberus but story wise Cerberus should have been used to a lesser extent and Reapers being more involved. I would have prefered Cerberus to have been an minor enemy or saved for a future game, because I saw Mass Effect being about fighting the reapers but felt more replaced by Cerberus.

 

You could say Cerberus and the Reapers had fair share of the spotlight but the Reapers do not feel as involved in the game as Cerberus does.

[dreamgazer]

Reapers, but it's somewhat difficult to differentiate between the two since Cerberus is this cycle's indoctrinated splinter group. 

[dgcatanisiri]

Well, technically, Cerberus troops were indoctrinated, so they were serving the Reapers' purposes for the most part, even if TIM was allowed to play off the leash.

 

But yeah, it was always the Reapers that felt like the real threat. They're the opposition at Tuchanka and Thessia, and Cerberus's involvement on Sur'Kesh is never adequately explained to justify why it was them - what in hell WAS Cerberus planning with Eve? This plot thread is never picked up on, and the appearance of Cerberus on Tuchanka has no relation to it, feeling very out of left field. Meanwhile, the geth are the major threat on Rannoch, but there's at least the Reaper down there as a reminder of 'hey, ultimate evil over here guys.'

 

Cerberus felt more like an irritant and an obstacle, a distraction at best. The Reapers were a threat.

[SporkFu]

Engineershep says Cerberus is no threat at all. 

 

Pre-coup we fight Cerberus a lot because while we're running around trying to unite the galaxy, TIM's got his troops pursing a goal too -- namely controlling the reapers. I think it's during an interview with Allers where shep can say the coup attempt was likely Cerberus' best shot, and they failed. And he's right; after the coup we don't really see much of Cerberus, except for a few side missions and Kai Leng a couple times, until we get to Cronos Station.

 

I won't count Omega here because it's both optional and possible to complete pre-coup. 

[ImaginaryMatter]

Cerberus. Logically it's the Reapers because they have giant ships that shoot giant laser beams, but taking out things like the dragon teeth, the organic blenders, or any sort of face or personal villain reduced them to background noise. The Ivory Mook Brigade, however, often gets assigned the more emotionally wrenching moments, they attack the Citadel and cause the majority of squadmate deaths. Even a situation like Thessia where the Reapers actually have a strong visual presence gets completely one-uped by Kai Leng's cutscene prowess.

[Probe Away]

Not quite on topic, but I think they should have split ME3 into two distinct halves; one half pre-invasion where you're battling Cerberus to locate and gather the resources needed to construct the Crucible, and one half where the Reapers invade and try to prevent you from completing it. This would have allowed the first half of the game to have more of an exploratory feel, since you wouldn't have been rushing to gather support against the Reapers.

As far as OPs question is concerned, this approach also could have avoided making Cerberus seem like as much of a threat as the Reapers. The slower pacing of the first half, coupled with the Galaxy suddenly going to hell when the Reapers invaded mid-game, would have put things into perspective.

[grey_wind]

Cerberus gets such a large role because the enemy factions in ME3 are very uniquely and explicitly designed. Unlike ME1 and ME2 where you could reskin the same faction over and over and tweak their powers a bit (Blue Suns, Eclipse, Shadow Broker army), the factions here are all distinct. I don't mean just gameplay-wise, but also in terms of character models and art style, all of which take a lot of resources.

 

Given that it would get boring to fight Reaper troops over and over again, and that the devs wanted to confine the Geth to the Rannoch arc, the only option left to diversify gameplay is to reuse Cerberus even in places it doesn't make sense.

 

Of course, that just begs the question as to why Cerberus was chosen as a priority for a faction to sink resources into when something more plausible like the Batarian Hegemony could have been chosen. Though the simpler route would have been to make less distinct and more simplistic enemy type factions like ME2, so you could resin and at least give the illusion of enemy diversity.

[Mordokai]

Engineershep says Cerberus is no threat at all. 

 

Engineershep laughs at everything the game throws at her. Then she incinerates it, overloads it and things go boom!

 

Though I admit it is fun to imagine the look on the face of combat engineer as he finally plops down his turret, happy to finally managed it, only to have it turn around and make minced meat of him...

 

Engineershep is also kinda troll

[SporkFu]

Engineershep laughs at everything the game throws at her. Then she incinerates it, overloads it and things go boom!

 

Though I admit it is fun to imagine the look on the face of combat engineer as he finally plops down his turret, happy to finally managed it, only to have it turn around and make minced meat of him...

 

Engineershep is also kinda troll

Indeed. Grissom Academy is particulary fun, because they try to set-up so many of them.

[KaiserShep]

They set up quite a few on Eden Prime during Javik's mission as well. The best place to mess with the turret, however, is on Sur'kesh, because I'm pretty sure it's the only instance in the game where the turret is introduced in a cut scene as if it's a big deal.

[SporkFu]

They set up quite a few on Eden Prime during Javik's mission as well. The best place to mess with the turret, however, is on Sur'kesh, because I'm pretty sure it's the only instance in the game where the turret is introduced in a cut scene as if it's a big deal.

Yeah, there too. That cutscene is funny -- and there's one for the atlas 'mech too -- as though it's the first time we fight Cerberus in the game or something. 

[KaiserShep]

That's the problem with making Grissom Academy available so early, since you fight 3 of them, and get to drive one.

[SporkFu]

That's the problem with making Grissom Academy available so early, since you fight 3 of them, and get to drive one.

There's also that N7: Cerberus Lab mission. No atlas but plenty of engineers and turrets. And From the Ashes. Optional missions both, though. So Sur'Kesh could be the first time you see the 'mechs and turrets. 

[KaiserShep]

I tend to hold those missions off until Sur'kesh is complete now, including From Ashes.

[SporkFu]

I'm delaying From the Ashes this time until after the Geth Dreadnought. I'm considering doing Omega early, like before Tuchanka, to make up for it. Can't bring Tali along on that one, anyway. And I might gain a few levels. And I get to renegade it up for awhile. And Aria loves me. 

[Farangbaa]

I'm delaying From the Ashes this time until after the Geth Dreadnought. I'm considering doing Omega early, like before Tuchanka, to make up for it. Can't bring Tali along on that one, anyway. And I might gain a few levels. And I get to renegade it up for awhile. And Aria loves me. 

 

I reserve Omega until I'm at least level 56 or something.

 

I want Aria at full power

[SporkFu]

I reserve Omega until I'm at least level 56 or something.

 

I want Aria at full power

I played it really early in my last game. Leviathan too. Did both missions as soon as they became available. I kinda liked it. But this time I can bring Tali on the Levaithan mission. So that one will keep til later. 

[grey_wind]

Yeah, there too. That cutscene is funny -- and there's one for the atlas 'mech too -- as though it's the first time we fight Cerberus in the game or something. 

Most likely because Sur'Kesh was designed to be both the main stage for promotional gameplay videos and the main stage for the demo.

[Dabrikishaw]

Cerberus. It's a little hard not to feel like they are when they're a central part of the plot in 2 of the games and form a central role in 3 of the expanded universe novels.

[Han Shot First]

The Reapers are by far the bigger threat.

 

Haven't said that, after ME1 the Reapers were underused and Cerberus evolved a writer's pet with far too much time and ink devoted to it.

[Karlone123]

Cerberus. It's a little hard not to feel like they are when they're a central part of the plot in 2 of the games and form a central role in 3 of the expanded universe novels.

It is quite weird for Cerberus to get such a major role and suddenly die out in ME3. Cerberus could have served as a protagonist in ME4 set after the Reaper war, seeking to advance humanity above the depleted races, if they weren't destroyed in ME3.

[ImaginaryMatter]

It is quite weird for Cerberus to get such a major role and suddenly die out in ME3. Cerberus could have served as a protagonist in ME4 set after the Reaper war, seeking to advance humanity above the depleted races, if they weren't destroyed in ME3.

 

I wouldn't count them out yet. If there's one thing we've learned is that Cerberus can radically change whenever the plot calls for it.

[KaiserShep]

I wouldn't count them out yet. If there's one thing we've learned is that Cerberus can radically change whenever the plot calls for it.

 

Post-war, Cerberus decides to start a gourmet ice cream chain.

 

"Cerberus...ice cream? What's the catch?"

 

"No catch. You get the first sample free."

 

"That's good."

 

"The sample is cursed."

 

"That's bad."

 

"But you get your choice of topping."

"That's good."

 

"The topping contains potassium benzoate."

 

......

 

"That's bad."

[themikefest]

It is quite weird for Cerberus to get such a major role and suddenly die out in ME3. Cerberus could have served as a protagonist in ME4 set after the Reaper war, seeking to advance humanity above the depleted races, if they weren't destroyed in ME3.

I wouldn't be surprised if it was a clone of TIM on the Citadel and the real one is some where else. Or there's still a group of Cerberus folks still around who rename the company and continue TIM's work.

[Ithurael]

Technically we fought the Reapers in more priority missions in ME3 vs Cerberus.

 

However we fought Cerberus in more missions overall in ME3 alone. I haven't done an analysis of the trilogy missions yet.

 

It seems that Cerberus was always the main antagonist of the series. We were suppose to understand that.

 

Now my question is why we were fighting the reapers...that made no sense.