So, I already posted in another thread that I am getting tired of people complaining about what they perceive as cliche writing. To keep my sanity, and maybe to make some people see a different side of things, I would like to briefly expand on why their complaints are coming across as ridiculous.
I will do this by going over the major complaints that seem to be repeated ad nauseum.
1) We fight, or we die
So, we have a line that is used in a lot of movies. Like most of the lines and plot devices people seem to complain about, it is an "over"-used line. I can almost agree to the complaint with this one, which is why I put it first.
Now, to put a little spin on the whole thing. Shepard has always been a Soldier. Throughout Mass Effect 1 and 2, it is made clear that he/she is a person who beats the odds. To quote a line from Liara: "You succeed against odds most people won't even take on." This is part of Shepards character. He/She refuses to give up and sees no alternative to fighting the Reapers, or any threat of such magnitude. He/She knows full well how desperate the situation is.
But to Shepard, there is no doubt about what Humanity needs to do. Throughout ME1 and 2, it is made clear that Shepard thinks of this as one of humanity's greatest traits. To fight and prevail against incredible odds, to yell defiance at beings "Infinitely their greater".
In the beginning, in ME1, we see Shepard trying to reason with a Reaper (Virmire). I seem to recall some dialogue choices aimed at attempting diplomacy. After that fails, there is no other conclusion left in Sheps mind. We fight, or we die. This is why he/she never even considered taking Sarenn's logic at heart.
"We fight, or we die." then, is nothing more than Shepard's philosophy. What I will agree to, is that the line could have been phrased better, less over-dratamized. However the intent behind the line is perfectly in character with Shepard.
2) The kid getting blown up
This is something that irks me to no end. I have read a few alternate ideas on how to supposedly "better" do this scene. Let's analyze what we have first, shall we?
The game opens up with that little kid playing on the rooftops. A happy kid. A normal kid. Shepard sees that and it forms a connection. Keep in mind what SHepard already knows/firmly believes. He/she knows the Reapers are close. He/she knows that there will be mass destruction and killing coming very soon. If you put yourself in Sheps situation, a scene of an innocent, playing child would be like a Sledgehammer blow. Why? Because it is doomed to not last. I will get to this again later.
Now, the Reapers attack. Everything goes haywire. Earth is not prepared. Shepard tries to get back to the Normandy and on the course, they stumble across the very same child. Coincidence? Sure, dramatic coincidence. A regular old plot device, perfectly validated. Why? The scene where the kid refuses to let Shepard help him is pretty loaded with more assaults on Shepards emotions/sanity.
The kid is hidden (hiding, a thing any child would do in this situation). He is scared witless. Evetrything around him is being destroyed. He possibly saw his apartment get blown to pieces. Maybe with his parents in there. He probably saw death for the very first time, in the form of giant monsters. Shepard comes along and offers help. But did you notice something after Shepard asks the kid to come out? Yeah, we see a Reaper walking in the background. The kid sees it, too. Can you imagine the impact of that on the kid's mind? There's a random stranger, offering him help, but in the background, he sees the machines that are destroying everything he knows and nothing can stop them.
"You can't help me." he says. And he means it. And why is that important? Because it punches Shepard straight in the face, that's why. Another blow to Shepards mind, another indicator that he/she cannot win. He/she knows this and it is illustrated here and made more powerful.
So then we have Shepard leaving on the Normandy. Just before they leave, Shepard catches sight of that same kid, the kid who claimed Shep can't help him. He gets to the escape shuttle. He scrambles on. Maybe, just maybe, there is hope.
But then the shuttle gets blown to bits.
How do you think Shepard feels now? He/she knows there is no hope of winning. Can you imagine how painful it would be to Shepard to see, so plainly, a reminder that whatever he/she is going to do, he/she will fail?
And this is really the point I am trying to make. The scene and the entire setup is not intended to make us care about a random child, or even to illustrate how evil the reapers are. It is designed to take Shepard's mind and heart and twist and squeeze and crush them. It is designed to have maximum impact on the main character. Yes, he/she is "successful". Yes, he/she succeeds against the greatest odds. But no matter what he/she does, it is now clear to him/her that she will fail.
And in turn, we, as the players, can relate better to Shepard. Unless you are not a completely heartless wretch, you can understand what kind of impact this has on the character and it makes Shepard more human than ever before. He/she will fail. All he/she can do is survive. Which leads me to the next point:
3) "This is not about strategy or tactics. This is about survival."
A lot of people are complaining that this is utter nonsense and just some random drama-line. Again, let us look at it from Shepards perspective. He/she knows the Reapers are more powerful, more intelligent and more advanced than any other race. He/she knows that there is no chance in hell that this war can be "won".
Yes, on a whole, strategy and tactics tend to increase chances of success. But this is Shepard we are talking about. He/she knows there is no amount of planning that could make this war turn for the better. He/she believes by now that the only thing they can hope for, and have to fight for, is survival as a whole.
This is a "weak" Shepard people.
"I'm doing everything I can...but I'm tired. Tired of dealing with Cerberus, tired of the Council ignoring me, tired of my closest friends not believing me. I have no idea how we're going to do this. You've seen the data. Even if we "win" you and I won't get to see the parade."
He/she is tired. He/she is supposed to take on the burden of the entire galaxy and you expect him/her not to show any signs of weakness?
Conclusion
These are just my thoughts on the matter. Yes, there is dialogue and lines that are used that have been used before and some of them more than others. Some of them, I might possibly phrase different. But on a whole, I think this fits perfectly into Shepards character and also into what we were promised...that we will see a more "human" Shepard in ME3.
I would invite those people, who think the dialogue and story are too cliche, bad, stupid, to step forward and give valid suggestions as to how to do things better. I have yet to get a reply to this invitation. The last person I talked to directly just outright refused.
There are many other lines people **** and moan about...I won't go into all of them, because most of the complaints are just really silly. Complaining about Shepard turning around and saying "Good Luck" to Anderson is bad? Really?
Anyway, just my take on things. And people are welcome to not like the story of ME3. That is personal preference and I will never argue against that. However the "excuses" put forward and the allegations against Mass Effect's writers are sometimes really staggering and silly.
Cheers!
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