As the release of the much anticipated final chapter of the Mass Effect trilogy approaches, we take a look at some of the things we want to see included. Enjoy.
WARNING: Mass Effect 1 and 2 spoilers aplenty.
Tali’s Face
Tali’Zorah is one of Shepards longest serving and most loyal squadmates. She has fought at his side in both ME1 and ME2.
Fans of the original liked her so much they were disappointed that she was not a potential romantic partner, but were treated to a chance to rectify that in the second game.
However, even though Shepard was able to get the Quarian female into bed with him (after lots of awkward, unsexy, I might die if I touch you without taking various kinds of medicine talk) players did not get to see her face once the mask was removed.
People are almost expecting to see a Quarian sans helmet in the final installment, but I get a feeling Bioware may deny us and let it remain a mystery.
Still, as with any mystery, people want the answer. We get the sense that Tali herself is an attractive member of her species, and the silhouettes in her helmet seem to indicate some kind of cat-like features.
Some people are actually hoping that it turns out that she is not actually physically attractive. As she is an intelligent, strong, tech-smart, physically fit, funny, geeky girl with a good body, some feel that revealing her to be also good looking would ruin her character. Players have fallen in love with her despite her looks, so if she is proven to be a beauty it would make ugly talented people feel bad.
She’s a nerds dream girl. Besides there are plenty of other fitties for the rest of us.
We’d probably be happy to see any Quarian unmasked, just to get an idea to be fair, but as Tali is our star, she’s the one we’re mainly after.
Of course this will all be null and void if she died in the suicide mission.
A Tougher Suicide Mission
The idea of having a final mission where you’re beloved characters had no guarantee of making it back was fantastic.
The only problem with it was that it seemed ever so slightly too easy to ensure everyones safety.
Upgrade your ship to the gills and complete everyones personal mission, then choose the people who make the most sense to do special tasks.
This was enough for many people. I was lucky and saved my whole crew which I was pleased with, though I believe most players lost at least one on their first play through.
(That’s a lie. Grunt died on my first play through, but I reloaded a save because I second guessed myself when making a decision instead of going with my first choice. My first choice saved Grunts life.)
This time round though, the fate of the Universe is in the balance. Wars could be breaking out all over the place besides the Reaper threat.
This time, it has to be tougher to pull through.
However, I still would like the possibility of everyone making it through. It should be a hugely more difficult, but I love that by making the right choices and doing the right thing, you can give everyone a happy ending.
Masochists can be happy knowing that the complete opposite outcome is also a possibility. In ME2 it’s possible for no one besides Joker to make it back after the suicide mission as a flipside. It’s great to have both extremes and everything in between.
I don’t want to to be restricted to knowing someone must go, no matter how well I play.
Having said that… the choice between Ashley and Kaidan in ME1, is surely one of the most emotionally gut wrenching moments in a game.
Secondary Wars
There are plenty of rivalries about in the Mass Effect Milky Way.
Which brings about plenty of opportunity for distraction.
Supremacy of strength between Krogan and Rachni, gang rivalries between the Blue Suns and Eclipse, political fights between the Alliance and Cerberus, creators battling their offspring in the shape of Quarians and Geth.
All this under the setting of the impending Reaper invasion threatening everyone.
Less DLC, More Included as Standard
Gamers are really getting fed up with production companies milking so much money out of them. Bring back the days when games were finished and complete before they were released!
An expansion pack used to be something that near enough doubled the size of a game. We never minded that.
These little half hour titbits for the lions share of a tenner are not pleasing us.
Missing Characters Mean Something
In ME1, you had to choose to let one of your squadmates die. In ME2, you could potentially lose everyone.
In the next game we would like to see that the loss of these characters actually has a massive effect (teehee) on the story. Perhaps Mordin was the only one who was able to decode a certain something, but uh oh, he’s dead. Fail. Or you’re in need for someone to act as a negotiator between humans and the Geth. Oh crap! Legion burned up in that shaft! Fail.
Including a few bits like that would be fantastic. It could well all add up to the ending of the game. Your performance in ME1 and ME2 should have a powerful effect on whether you are able to save the Universe when it comes to it.
Varied Battle Strategies
In Mass Effect 2 most of the missions were quite linear unfortunately. You’d clear a room, move forward, clear the next, move forward and so on.
It would be great to see some more open battlefields where you could really utilise your squad commands.
In ME2, not once did I feel a need to position a sniper at range to pick off enemies while I got in close with a rifle or shotgun.
I have the ability to command a team, but I rarely feel much need to do so.
I’d like to see a high road and a low road that could be travelled and made use of for different tactics. There were a few battles like this in ME2, but they were few and far between.
It could even be interesting to include a stealth option.
Varied Missions
One of the most interesting missions in ME2 was Kasumis personal quest for revenge. Rather than the usual all-guns-blazing approach taken on quests, this one was much more subtle.
Shepard had to wander around a posh party in his finest wear silently sabotaging the security measures on a vault. It felt something like a James Bond spy mission.
More of this type of thing would be great. It could possibly be implemented as a Paragon choice as opposed to Renegade bloodshed.
A Choice of Who to Work For
ME1 had you running around for the Alliance. ME2 had you at the beck and call of the Illusive Man, head of Cerburus.
It would be great if ME3 went the Fallout: New Vegas route and let you choose whether you wanted to side with the goodies or baddies.
Either option would open up different missions and assignments, opportunities and endings.
As well as this, it would completely broaden replay value.
The Death of Thane Krios
Thane Krios is the Drell assassin with a conscience. While chasing after him, Shepard finds several innocent Salarians that Krios has locked away to keep them safe while he storms through wave after wave of mercs en route to completing a hit.
He’s a spiritual deep character who, though good at what he does, knows the difference between right and wrong.
Upon speaking to him on the Normandy, Thane lets Shepard know that he is ill with Kepral’s Syndrome and his time is running out. He asks that he may tie up a loose end with his son before the mission, so that he can knows that he will not be leaving unfinished business if he dies.
ME3 could offer one or two more final tasks for Thane to complete before his end comes. It would be nice if Shepard could find a cure for Thanes illness sure, but his awaited death finally coming to him would be a whole lot more dramatic.
A Real Romance With Kelly Chambers
Obviously this balances on whether or not she didn’t burn alive during the suicide mission.
This is probably only something a minority of people are bothered about, but for me at least, Kelly was the only woman on board the Normandy who had the right stuff.
She was funny, intelligent and gorgeous! Redhead to boot.
Asari women don’t do it for me like Twi’leks, Quarian metal faces are a huge turn off, Miranda was a bit of a scary bitch (need not mention Jack) and Ashley just never pushed my buttons.
You could get Kelly up to your room for a dance and a cuddle, but for some reason she didn’t count as a proper romance. At least that’s what the trophies/achievements would have you believe.
Come back to me Kelly…
