Mass Effect Message Board older than one year ago

Confirming what some had suspected ever since BioWare revealed that the current Mass Effect series as we know it would conclude as a trilogy, series producer Michael Gamble dropped the bomb on PC Gamer today that Commander Shepard, regardless of whatever gender version of that character you happen to prefer playing as, will no longer be the star of the show following Mass Effect 3.

With Mass Effect 3, erm, effectively wrapping up the Shepard storyline, the question then turns to what the future may hold for the franchise in general. According to Dr. Ray Muzyka, the future is still entirely bright for the series.

While fans of the franchise are undoubtedly pleased to hear that Mass Effect will live on, sans Shepard, it's still a bittersweet piece of news for those who grew accustomed to their particular DudeShep and/or FemShep. Plus, after all the fervor over how FemShep's new hair style would affect gender stereotyping in video games, today's news that the world chose redheaded FemShep to represent female empowerment or something seems just a little less impactful than it would have otherwise. Which is to say, less impactful than already not impactful at all, because Jesus Christ people, it's a goddamned default hairstyle for an editable character in a role-playing game. There are Teen Choice Award voting categories with greater societal meaning than this nonsense.

Oh well, at least this woman will be happy, I guess?

Jennifer Hale has appeared in a great many more games than you probably realise. The person behind the voice of the female Shepard in all three Mass Effect games is also responsible for Metal Gear’s Naomi Hunter, SOCOM’s HQ, and even the grunts and groans of Metroid Prime’s Samus. And of course her spookily good British accent as KotOR’s Bastilla. Amongst literally hundreds of others, in gaming, TV and film. We caught up with Jennifer as she drove through LA, to ask how she came to provide so many of gaming’s iconic voices, the combination of anonymity and fame, and which of the Commander Shepards she’s voting for to appear on Mass Effect’s cover.

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Oh dear, there appears to have been some kind of mistake here. Bioware, as part of their long-awaited marketing acknowledgement of the female version of Mass Effect hero Shepard, have offered fans the option to vote for which of six new versions of FemShep (I really dislike that portmanteau for reasons I can’t entirely pinpoint, but it seems rather too late to resist it now) will be added to the character creator options in Mass Effect 3. However, none of them look like the FemShep I know, and thus presumably you know. Mysterious! Someone must have uploaded some fan-art by mistake, right?(more…)

As if I needed any further proof that other people are wrong, BioWare have revealed to VG247 that only 18% of Mass Effect players pick the lady Shepard. With the obviously better choice finally getting recognised by the game’s marketing, that less than a fifth of gamers pick the Jennifer Hale-voiced heroine genuinely surprises me. Because, well, girls are best.

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You can have a relationship with whomever in BioWare's Dragon Age series. Male-male? Female-female? Go for it, adventurer! That's not the case in Mass Effect, a consistent source of criticism against the sci-fi epic. That changes with Mass Effect 3, according to a Tweet from executive producer Casey Hudson.

"Happy to confirm #ME3 supports wider options for love interests incl. same-sex for m&f chars, reactive to how you interact w/them in-game," said Hudson in a surprise update yesterday morning.

As for how that will exactly play out, Hudson isn't saying just yet.

"Some game sites saying 'previously straight chars now available for both m&f [male & female] chars' not necessarily true," he clarified. "Will have some new LI's [love interests] in #ME3."

Whether or not you ever encounter these new relationships options in Mass Effect 3, it's great to see the company responding to something players have been asking for. Having the option is what's important.

Despite admitting that they’ve yet to figure out any kind of useful multiplayer for Mass Effect, Bioware’s Casey Hudson has said that the idea of an MMO in the universe “makes sense”. Speaking to world-bestriding super-magazine Game Informer, he said: “Part of what you’re trying to do is save the universe so you can live in it. That’s part of the promise, I think, for any great IP. It has to be a world worth saving… I think Mass Effect has that quality to it. If you get rid of the Reapers and win that, wouldn’t it be amazing to just live on the Citadel or just take a ship to Omega? That makes sense.”

I feel like any genuine space-life MMO would be pretty amazing, and perhaps Eve Online will manage that in the coming years. Or maybe Bioware will make a space MMO of some kind. Hmm. Thanks, VG247.

Spoilers! Get yer spoilers ‘ere! Only three quid a dozen! Howzabout that then ma’am, a punnet full of Mass Effect 3 details, yours for just a paaaaarnd.

Actually, I’m guessing these are not especially meaty ME3 spoilers, as rather than spoiling late-game plot stuff they document the status quo for Shepard and chums at the start of Bioware’s next galactic opus – but if you really do want to go in totally blind you should look away now. (more…)