563 réponses à ce sujet

[TheIdiocyWizard2.0]

To be honest, I never actually liked Hales performance, even when the alternative was Meers rather lackluster voicing in ME1. I still like Meer better, and even more so when he picked his game up and out did himself tenfold in ME2 + 3. I know I'm in the minority, but it's as others have said. Hale does sound kind of bored, plus it feels unnatural IMO. I don't really know how to explain it.

Besides that, I almost never play a woman in RPG's as I like to add a bit of myself to the character, and RPing a male is much easier since I am one. That and my favorite character/romance is Tali, so...

[ArabianIGoggles]

To be honest, I never actually liked Hales performance, even when the alternative was Meers rather lackluster voicing in ME1. I still like Meer better, and even more so when he picked his game up and out did himself tenfold in ME2 + 3. I know I'm in the minority, but it's as others have said. Hale does sound kind of bored, plus it feels unnatural IMO. I don't really know how to explain it.

Besides that, I almost never play a woman in RPG's as I like to add a bit of myself to the character, and RPing a male is much easier since I am one. That and my favorite character/romance is Tali, so...

You're not in the minority.  Maybe on BSN, but the majority of people play as male shep.

[voteDC]

I've never had a problem with Mark Meers Shepard. Yes I think he plays it a little flat but by the same stroke I think Jennifer Hale plays it too over the top at times.

For me it comes down to that I prefer Hale's voice. I find it more pleasing to my ears.

[Coyotebay]

My first plathrough was with the male Shephard (already two years ago, wow), and I liked him a lot.  I'm gearing up for a FemShep run after I finish playing though KOTOR 1 and 2.  Enough time has passed where ME will feel somewhat fresh again.  I'll play for a more "perfect" ending this time.  First time through, both Miranda and Kelly Chambers ate it, and I had to kill the Geth.  Though you could argue that the "imperfect" playthrough is the more realistic and memorable one.

[voteDC]

Besides that, I almost never play a woman in RPG's as I like to add a bit of myself to the character, and RPing a male is much easier since I am one. That and my favorite character/romance is Tali, so...

I'm the completely opposite. I don't like to play as male in a game because I put myself into the part. I make choices that I would make and not what the character would make.

Playing as a female character makes me think on what they would do and not what I would do.

[geth47]

I think the true advantage of Mass Effect (specially if we contrast it with DA1, NWN, Kotor, Jade and others) is exactly the fact that we can have a totally voiced protagonist. And it´s possible to be either a he or a she.

 

 

Having said that, I´ll state my case:

 

Romance-wise, they were pretty much on the same level in ME1. On a personal level, I think male shepard gets some extra points because I think Ashley is a much more interesting character than Kaidan story-wise and a better addition to the crew gameplay-wise. and if one of them needs to bite the dust, since Liara can pretty much act as a replacement for Kaidan, I tend to save Ashley nearly all of the times. But I concede that this is a matter of personal taste. I know that Kaidan has his fanbase. 

 

Female Shepard does get some extra points too because of Liara. Male Shepard can bang a chick from outer space as far as appearances go, but there´s more mystique to female-shep/liara romances, because it was a way to insert lesbianism without really being lesbianism. Liara is a mono-gender alien. Who happens to have the general body structure, physical mannerisms and voice similar to a female human, but without really being so. It´s like eating in-vitro human meat. It´s cannibalism without the moral dillema. You´re not really destroying another human being and disrespecting his or her body in the process. 

 

 

In ME2, I think male shepard had a large advantage. His romances were simply better. Jacob was an uninteresting character. Thane had issues and would soon be dead. Romance him seemed depressing ("this guy will soon die, there´s nothing anyone can do. But what the hell? We will likely all die very soon too"). Thane was great material for being a friend and confident, but not exactly appropriate for a romance given his condition. Instead, I would have preferred Mordin as a comedy romance (why not?). Or lesbian jack. Or being able to romance Samara. 

 

Also, in retrospect, seeing how things turn out in ME3 with Jacob, I started to hate his romance option even more. I did like thane´s conclusion, however, Even the Citadel DLC sections featuring him are serious and some of my favorites. 

 

The only good romance in ME2 for female shepard is Garrus. 

 

As for male shepard, things look much better: You can have Jack, which works for both renegade and paragon males. She´s much more complex than initially though. Tali is no longer underage and is much more confident now. Romancing her is, from many angles, a matter of trust. Miranda is someone´s whose armature you must dismantle one piece at a time. 

 

Kelly is.. well... Kelly.

 

 

While the quality of Garru´s romance is great, male Shepard wins because he has both quantity and quality romances.

 

ME3 can be analyzed by the perspectives of players creating a new shepard against those who imported from me2 and possibly carried over romances from me1). 

 

If you did not import, it´s basically me1´s romance options again plus the homosexual ones. I did try steve and traynor once, but I never tried any of the me1 people without being from imports, so I can´t really judge on this matter. Personally, I would prefer that games were not socio-political platforms for the gay agenda, but anyway, Steve is presented as a nice person for whom you must feel sympathetic to. It was done in a convincing way. Traynor is funny, trying to adjust to life aboard a ship in times of war. 

 

 

As for the imported romances, I think male shepard gets a huge advantage because Thane died and Jacob ended bad. If you can call it an advantage (I would not) he can now also start romancing kaidan if he´s still around, while female shepard can´t do the same with ashley. While uninteresting to me, it is still one more option.

 

Citadel throws a few more bones towards female shepard, allowing her brief quasi-romances with James and Javik. And both do get more scenes with Samara.

 

Mark Meer can deliver his lines in a mechanical, distant way, specially in ME1. But that´s all right. It´s pretty much how I would imagine an elite military officer speaking to people. Hale can get over the top in a lot of scenes.

 

If you intent to play a full paragon or full renegade shepard, then female shepard will have a stronger emotional emphasis. However, if you like to mix paragon and renegade responses, male shepard delivers it in a more convincing way. A more restrained way, but a better way IMHO. 

 

Unlike Jennifer Hale (who is a great voice-actress for tv stuff), Mark Meer is the typical nerd/geek. This guy was (and probably still is) a true game aficionado. He understands the mechanics of the ME games and the complexity of the protagonists. He knows when he delivers his line that Shepard can be a very traumatized individual, can be also a celebrated war hero. Someone who liberated or destroyed the rachni. Someone who can be asexual, bisexual, homosexual, strictly heterosexual. Can be a man with anger issues and who takes **** from nobody, can be a person who has days with different moods, or even changes by the minute. Or can be a very patient, merciful  and passionate character. 

 

On the other hand, Hale gives us the impression that she was lectured that there were 2 possible female shepards, and people would pick one of them up in the first minute they played. There was the big and concerned mother-figure paragon shepard, and there was the psychopath and sadist renegade shepard. She seems to treat them as 2 entirely separated individuals, without realizing the fluidity one same shepard can experience.

 

Yes, I know that I sound like the gamergate crowd by stating that the woman was not a true gamer. But in this case it´s true and she herself admits. I don´t think she needs to be a gamer, and she overflows with talent. Her reputation as a voice-actress in entirely well-deserved. However, Mr. Meer´s familiarity with the style of the game at hand did pay off. I sincerely believe he delivered a better job and provided a smoother shepard experience. 

 

I would not be surprised if Jen one day end up stating in an interview that she did both Renegade and Paragon Shepards. She seems, since ME1 all the way to 3 and probably to this day, under the impression that she was hired to provide the voice for 2 distinct characters. You can pay attention to any line she says and realize if she was being paragon or renegade. She must think that she was the beauty and also the beast.  Too distinct characters. Mark understood (as should anyone willing to evaluate his work seriously) that he was both Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Harvey Dent AND Two-Face. Batman and Bruce Wayne. Superman and Clark Kent. His Shepard had to sound convincing as both extremes and all the intermediate layers. 

 

Jen did renegade shepard. And also paragon shepard.

 

Mark simply did Shepard. Commander Shepard. An undefined character in many aspects who can go through a big spectrum of emotions, encompassing many personalities and view-points. His shepard can drink a little or a lot from the renegade well. Can drink also a little or a lot from the paragon well. He can also mix water from the paragon and renegade wells in all kinds of proportions. And still, Mark Meer is all of these Shepards. He presents all of them in a convincing way and exactly because of the fact that he did not infuse a lot of emotion,  People who don´t realize how brilliant he was are not being able to see the forest because there are way too many trees obstructing the view. 

 

 And take notice that I´m a huge female shepard fan. I mean, if I need to stare at a character for hours and hours, I obviously prefer to be staring at a very attractive lady. I don´t think there´s any need for me to apologize for this. 

 

Female Shepard provides a strong white experience. Can also provide a separate strong black experience. Male Shepard has a toned down black experience. A toned down white experience, but can convincingly provide several layers of gray in-between. People who accuse Mark of being a bad actor simply failed to realize that he restrained himself in order to suit the openness and fluidity that the character at hand offers. it must have been an enormous challenge for him as a actor, but he did find the best way around it. 

 

Unlike female shepard, during a conversation, male shepard can cycle freely between paragon and renegade responses without giving the impression that he´s going through a bipolar episode. 

 

I´m very glad that I don´t need to chose. Female Shepard is a major bonus for me. The ME series would not be the same without her. She added a lot to the table. Too bad that in the romance department she was lackluster (well, aside from traynor, Liara, Garrus and TO SOME, Kaidan). I mean, considering that so few people pick her up I´m surprised that Bioware that bioware even decided to stick with her by offering more alternative romances instead of merely borrowing from male shepard´s with a few alternative lines. 

 

I love the fact that I can alternate between the two. And the fact that there was exclusive content for female shepard (even if it was disappointing at times, like Jacob). 

 

But if I had to chose? I would have to say male shepard. For the reasons I just provided.

 

Female Shepard is great.

 

Male Shepard is greater.

 

Being able to have both in alternatives plays is even greater. 

[voteDC]

My only romance issue in the games is with Jack (okay with a minor in Jacob).

Play as female Shepard and Jack just kind of stops in ME2 and it doesn't seem natural. Her development in the second game relies too much on what you do as male Shepard.

Jacob irritated me because he was my first ME2 romance and ended up deciding Shepard wasn't worth waiting for.

[KaiserShep]

It's too bad that Jack's friendship path kind of seems like a dead end. Regardless of Shepard's gender, I prefer for Shepard to be her friend than her lover, so it would've been nice if it could have been more developed outside of romance

[Cameron Star]

I'm on my third playthrough of the trilogy and each one has been with a femShep so far. Well, I started ME1 with a "broShep" once but only did a few missions before getting tired of having played nothing but Mass Effect for three weeks straight.

I just prefer playing female in video games, not sure why, even though I'm not one.

 

I agree about Hale's voice acting being a bit "bored and tired", but she's not too bad. Meer is pretty good, fun guy irl too.

[StephyMV]

Well, if a game has the female option, I'll always pick that, as it is relatable to me. There's not a lot of (playable) heroines in games as it is...

 

The second reason would be that I simply can't stand Meer's voice. Jennifer Hale is hard to match, but he could have at least tried. The fact that some say "he got better later on, and Hale stayed the same throughout..." is because simply she did not need to improve, while he did need a lot of it. It's the same as comparing F1 teams. The best team at the beginning of a season will improve less than its competition throughout a season because their car is pretty much already at the top of its performance (and there's not much else that can be done to it), while the competition (because they're behind) has a lot more possibilities to make their cars better, as they are not yet at their peak performance, meaning that they will have had more performance improvements throughout the season than the current winning team.

 

FemShep looks good in casual outfits, too bad the N7 armor doesn't do her justice (specially the upgraded parts).

[KaiserShep]

FemShep got the short end of the stick in terms of casual wear. The dress is fine and good for meeting Joker for sushi but hell if it's good anyplace else, while M!Shep gets a leather N7 jacket. I like the hoodie but being a CE addition makes it kinda not count.

[Han Shot First]

FemShep got the short end of the stick in terms of casual wear. The dress is fine and good for meeting Joker for sushi but hell if it's good anyplace else, while M!Shep gets a leather N7 jacket. I like the hoodie but being a CE addition makes it kinda not count.

 

I'm probably alone in not liking the hoody. It looks too casual aboard the Normandy, like Shepard is wearing his or her exercise gear on the bridge. And aboard the Citadel there are better options. (Alliance dress blues or male Shep's leather jacket)

[KaiserShep]

I'm probably alone in not liking the hoody. It looks too casual aboard the Normandy, like Shepard is wearing his or her exercise gear on the bridge. And aboard the Citadel there are better options. (Alliance dress blues or male Shep's leather jacket)

 

I actually love the hoodie, but don't care to have it on in the ship, but since the game didn't allow us to swap outfits outside of the Normandy pre-Citadel DLC, I did end up using the CIC with Shepard wearing it if I wanted Shepard to roam about the Citadel in something other than a uniform.

[aoibhealfae]

I have no trouble with modding FemShep to wear nice in-game dresses. If I really have to be that shallow, I choose FemShep because she is hot. Playing a beautiful and confident woman who kick ass most of the time made it fun for me.  

Spoiler

 

and I have a weakness over her Cerberus Nightmare armor. Its just plain gorgeous, unique, NEVER clips and I like to watch her fight in it.

Spoiler

and it match with Kaidan's blue armor. Spectre-tastic.

Technically, I don't care which VA is better since all I care was me enjoying playing the character. That's the bottom line.

 

I tried playing MaleShepard but why should I? There's a lot of default male MC in RPGs. I could have just boot up Bioshock or Resident Evil or Assassin Creed or Final Fantasy or Silent Hill or Deus Ex just for that. There are female characters in some of those franchise but its still rare to play a female MC as a speaking role in Scifi RPG. The fact that Bioware allow this as an option made it awesome 

 

And more on the shallow part. Its really HARD to customize a good-looking and expressive MaleShepard. Mass Effect is not the Sims. The options is too limited,.And I don't enjoy playing Shepardloo. I don't know.. I just find him very unattractive and too processed. Mark Vanderloo is hot... but not the CGI version. For me, ShepardLoo is NotShepard. He's a supermodel wearing Shepard's armor. Its hard to suspend my disbelief with him.

[KaiserShep]

It's too bad that armor is only available as Cerberus-branded on console. Even Liara gets a proper one.

[Oni Changas]

Male Shep because I'm a Mayun [/Linkara]

 

Also like Mark Meer's work and find his performance less try hard and more endearing. And it's hard to imagine someone with FemShep's frame and the way she carries herself to be kicking the the sheet out of krogan and such. Until there's a body editor where I can make a Rousey-esque frame for FemShep (with the brutality and mean mug to match) I'll stick with the frank and beans.

[Dahae]

Femshep for me. I forget male shepard even exists because Femshep just seems to fit better in my eyes.

Plus I love her VA, I think she's great.

[aoibhealfae]

What I really want was Brooke's armor. It look weathered and it have that nice sheen. The recolor doesn't change the glowing LED thingy.. grrr... Armax Arsenal Arena should have just redesign it back to Alliance colors. But really, its the best in-game armor with better stats than the N7 or other full armors. Its sad that hardly anybody use it because of the Cerberus thing. What's up with Bioware, giving us DLCs with Cerberus uniforms when we spend most of the game killing their people...

Spoiler

[Vazgen]

What's up with Bioware, giving us DLCs with Cerberus uniforms when we spend most of the game killing their people...

They give those to the players to troll Kaidan

Spoiler

[themikefest]

They give those to the players to troll Kaidan

Spoiler

Or to wear if the player decides to shoot Ashley.

[GreatBlueHeron]

I prefer femshep, though I finally created a maleshep I like and am working on a trilogy completion with him. Hale's VA is top notch, although a little over the top at times. Meer is OK....mostly flat. Does a great job with the Vorcha.

Why femshep? I'm a woman and I take every chance I can to play a woman protagonist (as they are few and far between). Got tired of playing mostly dudes for 20 some years, so if there's an option to choose, female first, then male playthroughs.

Eta: The person upthread mentioning the insertion of the so-called "gay agenda" in video games. I'm gay and I'm still trying to figure out what exactly the "gay agenda" is. If I had to choose, it would be probably be the insistence that we LGBTQ people are human beings deserving of respect and rights equal to that of non LGBTQ people. Funny how having straight romance choices in games is never viewed as political. It's viewed as "normal", the default. Well, we all aint straight, so if there weren't any bi or gay romance options, but there were straight options, then that would be making a social and political statement. People claim to not like identity politics (that gets floated around here from time to time), but what they don't realize is that the status quo is identity politics. Diversity is a great thing, except for the people who've always been represented. Still don't know why that is. It seems to be fear pushing the backlash, but fear of what, exactly?

[Quarian Master Race]

Somebody actually referred to a "gay agenda"?  I'll get my tinfoil hat. Don't want the homosexes hacking into my brainwaves with their propaganda.

Also, femshep would be best except I can't bang Kal'Reegar. They're about even to me, both have their ups and downs depending on the line in question being delivered. Meer and Hale both did a great job overall IMO.

[von uber]

IEta: The person upthread mentioning the insertion of the so-called "gay agenda" in video games..... It seems to be fear pushing the backlash, but fear of what, exactly?

 

Fear that they may be forced to come out of the closet