Let me start by saying I really enjoyed playing the Mass Effect games. They are awesome.

I found the plot, though, incoherent. Especially in ME3. I don't mind small conveniences like "good thing this random teleporter beam designed to suck up corpses has easy entrée to the reaper's command center," because it's a game.

But how on earth did Cerberus amass seemingly billions of elite special operations forces with nobody noticing? What do you mean the secret weapon against the reapers has been improved each cycle by people who didn't know what it was supposed to do? How could that possibly result in a functional device?

It's clear, I think, that this wasn't necessarily the direction the first game was going. Cerberus was the subject of a side quest, but nothing more. The authors of the lore seemed to be taking great pains to ensure everything was logical, based on the in-universe rules they had established.

...and then ME2 kicks off and the series is almost as much about Cerberus, from this point on, as it is about the reapers.

What did you think about how the plot unrolled?

(You may also wish to read this series of essays. It's about 18 billion words long, though - fair warning. https://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=27792)

I finished my second Mass Effect original trilogy run two days ago, and today is one year since I first played ME. Below I have my goodbye to my second Shepard, Alana, a Renegade Vanguard. (Spoilers below)

Alana Shepard

October 18th, 2017, to June 23rd, 2018

Alana Shepard was not what you might think of when you think of a hero. Born on Earth, she was orphaned at a young age, and survived on the streets of some of the planet’s worst slums. Though the vids told the story of her enlisting in the Alliance Navy, she was essentially conscripted. Even as an untrained 18 year old, her biotics made her a danger to herself and others.

The structure of the Navy changed Shepard’s life, but it didn’t change who she was. Both the anger she harbored from her abandonment and the stubborn determination that kept her alive on the streets remained. Her rage drove her to kill countless Batarians on Torfan, despite the loss of her squad. Her actions on Torfan were at once monstrous and impressive, and they caught the eye of the N7 program. The Butcher of Torfan became one of the Alliance’s top operatives.

Watching Alana Shepard fight was awesome in the truest sense of the word. That a combatant could be so efficient and powerful was beautiful; that she might be heading for you next was terrifying. Many wondered if, somehow, her unknown parents were Krogan and Turian. In each of her biotic charges, there was the power of a Battlemaster and the precision of a Legionnaire. It was this combat prowess that drew Shepard and Garrus Vakarian together.

As the saying goes, there is no Shepard without Vakarian. Alana and Garrus were partners on and off the battlefield, ever since Garrus’ stint as Archangel on Omega. Despite all the bullets that tried, the only thing to make it past their armor was their love for one another. This love kept them at each other’s side all the way to the conduit.

On the Citadel, Alana Shepard did what she did best. When the Catalyst was done speaking to her, she leveled her pistol, and fired. This failed to activate the Crucible, dooming her cycle to be defeated by the Reapers. The same strength that helped Alana resist the Reapers in the entire campaign was her undoing. Alana Shepard was not what you might think of when you think of a hero, because she could not save the galaxy in its darkest hour.

I do intend to come back to these games, as I feel there are at least a few more Shepards whose stories I need to tell. That said, I will be waiting a bit longer before I start my next run, either starting on N7 day, or next summer on the two year anniversary from my start. I'm open to discussion, either about Mass Effect (I've only played the OT), or about Alana Shepard.