- Joined
- Jun 18, 2002
- Messages
- 28,553
Tags: Mass Effect
<p>TNO decided to take a look at Mass Effect but not from the usual game point of view, instead by taking an in-depth look at its story (He originally posted this in our forum but why just leave it there?). <a href="http://www.rpgcodex.net/content.php?id=201">Here's what he came up with</a>:</p>
<p> </p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">These are good subversions, but they aren't pulled off properly. Humans are still 'special', and one of the endings of the game lets you put them wholly in charge. Whatever choice you make humans become the top dog, as all of the other species get mauled by the terminators. The reveal of the real big bad (the 'Reapers') does set them up as nasty villains ("slaughtering all life in the galaxy? peh. We've done that repeatedly for millions of years.") But no explanation is ever offered for why they bother doing this - Bioware hides behind alien inscrutability (you can't possibly understand, beyond your comprehension etc. etc.) Maybe sequels will satisfy this, but I don't hold my breath for this explanation being any good.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">[...]</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">One thing that deserves a rant are the SPECTREs (Special whatever and Tactical Reconassaince, or whatever the backronym was.) Another part of Bioware's formula is having a leet crew of kewl people who have absolute power to protect the established order by any means necessary (see the Grey Wardens). This trope is rammed into the game with barely any justification. Intelligence services? Sure. Black ops? Fine. But mankind has never done this 'special dudes who are cool and answer to no one' as the best way of doing these things. Why would wider alien community (of multiple species) agree to this sort of thing? What if one of them discovers a plot device of doom and goes crazy?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Crazy is good.</p>
<p>TNO decided to take a look at Mass Effect but not from the usual game point of view, instead by taking an in-depth look at its story (He originally posted this in our forum but why just leave it there?). <a href="http://www.rpgcodex.net/content.php?id=201">Here's what he came up with</a>:</p>
<p> </p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">These are good subversions, but they aren't pulled off properly. Humans are still 'special', and one of the endings of the game lets you put them wholly in charge. Whatever choice you make humans become the top dog, as all of the other species get mauled by the terminators. The reveal of the real big bad (the 'Reapers') does set them up as nasty villains ("slaughtering all life in the galaxy? peh. We've done that repeatedly for millions of years.") But no explanation is ever offered for why they bother doing this - Bioware hides behind alien inscrutability (you can't possibly understand, beyond your comprehension etc. etc.) Maybe sequels will satisfy this, but I don't hold my breath for this explanation being any good.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">[...]</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">One thing that deserves a rant are the SPECTREs (Special whatever and Tactical Reconassaince, or whatever the backronym was.) Another part of Bioware's formula is having a leet crew of kewl people who have absolute power to protect the established order by any means necessary (see the Grey Wardens). This trope is rammed into the game with barely any justification. Intelligence services? Sure. Black ops? Fine. But mankind has never done this 'special dudes who are cool and answer to no one' as the best way of doing these things. Why would wider alien community (of multiple species) agree to this sort of thing? What if one of them discovers a plot device of doom and goes crazy?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Crazy is good.</p>
