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This page is for listing the tropes related to party members who first appeared in the original Mass Effect game.
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Mass Effect Alliance Soldier Costume
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Richard L. Jenkins
'We've got a Spectre on board! That's why I'm so wound up - I can't wait for the real mission to start.'
An over-enthusiastic Alliance soldier from Eden Prime, he is assigned as part of your squad when everything goes to hell there. Continuing in the long Bioware tradition of early sacrificial party members, he dies in the opening few minutes.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: He says he's itching for some action just before the Eden Prime mission. Too bad 'action' in his case meant watching his homeworld get scorched and being gunned down by a pair of geth recon drones.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Despite his boundless enthusiasm and naïveté, various characters imply Jenkins was a very competent soldier.
- Decoy Protagonist: He's a placeholder for your real Soldier squadmember who joins about a minute or two after his death.
- Doomed Hometown: Eden Prime is this for him. Pity he dies too soon for it to become a plot point. And it's not entirely doomed anyway; there's a DLC mission there in the third game.
- Forgotten Fallen Friend: Averted. The Normandy crew is very upset about his death, and in ME2 Dr. Chakwas reminisces about him over drinks with Shepard.
- He's also on the memorial wall in the Normandy in Mass Effect 3, and he will be mentioned if Kaidan, James, or EDI is brought to the Eden Prime mission.
- In private moments, Shepard is shown to give him/her-self grief over Jenkins' death since it was his/her orders that caused him to run into the ambush.
- One interpretation of when Shepard later encounters a young over-enthusiastic mercenary (who is also voiced by Josh Dean) on Omega, the reason they stopped dead in their tracks, turned slowly around and, if taking the Paragon interrupt, broke the kid's gun and ordered them home, was because he reminded them too much of Jenkins.
- Fun Personified: According to Chakwas. One of her stories involves him pestering Kaidan for a biotic demonstration, only for Kaidan to accidentally throw him so hard across the room, she thought he was seriously injured. Jenkins then leapt up, gleefully exclaiming:Jenkins: That was awesome!
- Gameplay and Story Segregation: If you're on a New Game+, he'll be level 50+ and still die to a few bullets after having been ordered to take point.
- Guest-Star Party Member: Despite being with you for at most a minute or two and dying right before the first fight, he is a fully functional squad member that can be issued orders and even has some skill points for you to assign despite never having an opportunity to use any abilities.
- Hero-Worshipper: To Shepard. This is rarely a good sign for a character's mortality rate this early in the story.
- Innocently Insensitive: If Shepard has a Survivor or Ruthless background, Jenkins can gush about what he/she's done is worth him being a Spectre candidate, to which Shepard can state that it's a past that brings him/her bad memories.
- Naïve Newcomer: Definitely had an incredibly idealistic outlook on the Spectres, and the heroism of Shepard him/herself.
- Leeroy Jenkins: Subverted, actually, despite the name. He's very eager to go out there and see action, but still follows Shepard's orders to the letter and takes point. In the end it still doesn't do him much good; some Geth drones ambush the squad and Jenkins gets gunned down before the rest know what's happening.
- Sacrificial Lamb: He dies just before the player's first battle.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: He got one conversation and a couple of lines. For a BioWare squad member, that's waving hello in passing.
Index
Mass Effect | |
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Genre(s) | Space opera, third-person shooter, Action role-playing |
Developer(s) | |
Publisher(s) |
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Platform(s) | |
First release | Mass Effect November 20, 2007 |
Latest release | Mass Effect: Andromeda March 21, 2017 |
Mass Effect is a science fiction action role-playingthird-person shootervideo game series developed by the Canadian company BioWare and released for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Microsoft Windows, with the third installment also released on the Wii U. The fourth game was released on Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in March 2017.
The original trilogy largely revolves around a soldier named Commander Shepard, whose mission is to save the galaxy from a race of powerful mechanical beings known as the Reapers and their agents, including the first game's antagonist Saren Arterius. The first game, released in 2007, sees Shepard investigating Saren, whom Shepard slowly comes to understand is operating under the guidance of Sovereign, a Reaper left behind in the Milky Way 50,000 years before, when the Reapers exterminated all sentient organic life determined to have met or exceeded a threshold of technological advancement in the galaxy as part of a recurrent cycle of genocide for an unknown purpose. Sovereign's purpose is to trigger the imminent return of the Reaper fleet hibernating in extra-galactic dark space, restarting the process of extermination. The second game takes place two years later, and sees Shepard battling the Collectors, an alien race abducting entire human colonies in a plan to help the Reapers return to the Milky Way. The final game of Shepard's trilogy centres on the war being waged against the Reapers. The fourth installment takes place in the Andromeda Galaxy and features a new cast of characters.[1]
![Effect Effect](/uploads/1/2/3/6/123699782/390148631.jpg)
All of the first three major installments of the Mass Effect series have been met with commercial success as well as universal acclaim. The series is highly regarded for its narrative, character development, voice acting, the universe, and emphasis on player choice affecting the experience.
- 2Games
- 2.1Main series
- 2.2Spin-offs
- 3Other media
- 3.2Novels
- 3.4Films
- 4Reception
Setting[edit]
The Mass Effect original trilogy takes place in a fictional version of the Milky Way towards the end of the 22nd century.
The Milky Way is inhabited by a variety of unique characters from many different sapient species, most of whom base their technological achievements on that of an ancient civilization called the Protheans. The advanced technology left by the Protheans includes quantities of a substance called 'Element Zero', which can be used to alter the mass of anything near it. By using this 'mass effect', the galaxy's many races are able to develop technologies such as faster-than-light travel, force fields and artificial gravity. Roughly three-thousand years before the start of the series, a galactic community was formed from the remnants of the Prothean civilization. This community is headed by the Citadel Council, a bureaucratic association led by three unique species: the Asari, a race of monogendered beings closely resembling blue-skinned human women; the Salarians, an amphibious species with considerable technological prowess; and the Turians, a heavily militaristic race of raptor-like humanoids. Over the centuries, the Council has encountered many other species that have become close political associates, while others remain independent.
In 2148, explorers on Mars discover ruins of a Prothean outpost. Additionally, Charon is discovered to be an artifact called a 'mass relay', which enables near-instantaneous travel to Arcturus; it is one of many mass relays littered about the galaxy. Their use allows humanity to come in contact with the Citadel Council and its associate species. As of the year 2183 (the time in which the first game is set), humankind is the newest species to join the galactic community and is still working to make a name for itself.
The Citadel Council partitioned the Milky Way into five different sectors, known as the Terminus Systems, the Attican Traverse, Inner and Outer Council Space, and Alliance Space. Earth is a significant setting, particularly in the third instalment. A space station known as the 'Citadel', which was discovered by the current inhabitants of the Milky Way, serves as the capitol for the galaxy; most species have an embassy there, and the Council meets there to deliberate matters of galactic import.
The fourth game takes place in the Heleus Cluster of the Andromeda galaxy, 634 years after the events of its predecessor. When the Milky Way races arrive there, Heleus is embroiled in a brutal conflict between two native races: the Kett, a barbaric race obsessed with assimilating the traits of other sentient species through a process known as 'exaltation'; and the Angara, a humanoid species whose civilization has recently been targeted and nearly decimated by the Kett. The Heleus Cluster is also the location of a series of ruins predating an advanced, spacefaring race known as the Jardaan.
The Jardaan made use of powerful terraforming technologies to colonize worlds in the Heleus Cluster, which were otherwise extremely hazardous and naturally unsustainable for life. They later fled from the Heleus Cluster three centuries before the arrival of the Milky Way races, when a protracted battle against an unknown enemy faction resulted in the usage of a weapon of mass destruction aboard a Jardaan space station. The weapon's activation unleashed a cataclysmic energy phenomenon known as the Scourge, which spread across the cluster and greatly damaged the Jardaan's terraforming systems. After the Jardaan left, the Angara, genetically engineered creations of the elder race, began to develop their own civilization before falling under attack by the encroaching Kett.
![Ranking Ranking](/uploads/1/2/3/6/123699782/669629913.jpg)
Games[edit]
Year | Title | Developer | Platform(s) |
---|---|---|---|
2007 | Mass Effect1 | BioWare | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 |
2009 | Mass Effect Galaxy | iOS | |
2010 | Mass Effect 22 | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | |
2012 | Mass Effect Infiltrator | IronMonkey Studios | iOS, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry 10 |
Mass Effect 33 | BioWare | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U | |
Mass Effect Datapad4 | iOS | ||
2017 | Mass Effect: Andromeda | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One | |
Mass Effect: Andromeda APEX HQ | iOS, Android | ||
Notes:
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Main series[edit]
Mass Effect[edit]
Mass Effect (2007), the first game in the series, was originally created as an exclusive title for the Xbox 360 but was later ported to Microsoft Windows by Demiurge Studios, and to the PlayStation 3 by Edge of Reality. The game focuses on the protagonist, Commander Shepard, and their quest to stop the rogue Spectre Saren Arterius from leading an army of sentient machines, called the Geth, to conquer the galaxy. During pursuit of Saren, Shepard develops key relationships with other characters, primarily their squad team members, all while learning of a far greater threat in the form of the Reapers. Saren has been mentally enslaved by the Reaper vanguard Sovereign, and sent into Citadel Space to initiate the purge of all advanced organic life in the galaxy, a cycle repeated by the Reapers every 50,000 years.
Mass Effect 2[edit]
Mass Effect 2, the second main game in the series, was released on January 26, 2010, in North America and January 29 in Europe.[2] A great deal of secrecy surrounded the game prior to launch, with few details emerging other than Casey Hudson, Project Director for BioWare, stating that 'players should keep their save files, because decisions made by the player in the first game will continue to have influences on their character in the sequel'.[3][4] The game takes place two years after the events of Mass Effect. Human colonies are being attacked, their colonists disappearing without a trace. The game's protagonist, Commander Shepard, is forced into an uneasy alliance with the pro-Human paramilitary organization, Cerberus, in an effort to discover the cause. Evidence emerges pointing to the 'Collectors', an advanced, enigmatic race of insect-like humanoids. Adding to the threat is the revelation that the Collectors are working for the Reapers. Shepard sets out on a 'suicide mission' to stop the Collectors, accompanied by a hand-picked team of soldiers, assassins, mercenaries, and specialists. Mass Effect 2 has received overwhelming critical and public praise since its release, for its characters, storyline, voice acting, and refined combat and gameplay with many critics calling it a major improvement over the original and an easy Game of the Year contender despite its January release. At Gamescom 2010, it was announced that a PlayStation 3 version would become available, which was released on January 18, 2011.
Mass Effect Alliance Ships
Mass Effect 3[edit]
Mass Effect 3, the third installment in the Mass Effect trilogy, was released on March 6, 2012.[5] Casey Hudson commented that Mass Effect 3 'will be easier [to develop] because we don't have to worry about continuity into the next one'.[6] However, decisions are routinely imported from the two previous titles to Mass Effect 3 in order to maintain continuity within the series.[7] In the final chapter of the trilogy, the Reapers have returned in force, and have begun their purge of the galaxy, attacking Earth. During this attack Commander Shepard is on Earth and forced to flee.[8] After fleeing Earth, Commander Shepard must hurry and rally the advanced races of the galaxy to make one final stand, not only to save Earth, but also to break a cycle that has continued for millions of years (hence providing the answer to Fermi's Paradox). The first official trailer was unveiled on December 11, 2010, during the Spike TV Video Game Awards.[9]
Mass Effect: Andromeda[edit]
Mass Effect: Andromeda, the first game in a new series, and the fourth major installment overall in the franchise, was revealed at E3 2015. It was released on March 21, 2017.[10] The title utilizes EA DICE's Frostbite 3 engine and was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Andromeda is the first game in the series to feature an open world environment and began during the time in which Mass Effect 2 takes place, then jumps 634 years into the future. The player's character is either Sara or Scott Ryder, designated as a Pathfinder – an operative tasked with discovering new planets in the Andromeda Galaxy.
Spin-offs[edit]
Mass Effect Galaxy[edit]
Mass Effect Galaxy (2009): This is a backstory set between the events of Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 and exclusively on the iOS platform. The story is focused around two characters who appear as squad members in Mass Effect 2: Jacob Taylor and Miranda Lawson. When the passenger liner Arcturian Jade is attacked by Batarian raiders with Jacob on it, he takes on the task of defending the ship. After safely arriving at their destination on the Citadel, Jacob's former CO contacts him about an undercover Alliance operation in the Nemean Abyss to investigate the Batarians' increasingly aggressive activities.
Mass Effect Infiltrator[edit]
Mass Effect Infiltrator (2012): A third-person shooter released on the Android, BlackBerry 10, iOS and Windows Phone 8 platforms. The story for Infiltrator involves Randall Ezno, a Cerberus agent, who discovers Cerberus's cruelty and goes rogue, killing Cerberus troopers and freeing prisoners from a hostile base. Players will 'receive rewards' for collecting evidence of Cerberus' crimes. According to EA, 'Every completed rescue and intelligence discovery in Infiltrator will increase a player's Galactic Readiness rating directly through the 'Galaxy at War' system in Mass Effect 3.'[11]
Mass Effect: Datapad[edit]
Mass Effect: Datapad (2012): A free app for iOS devices. Datapad allows players to check the status of the galaxy map in Mass Effect 3 and receive messages from characters. Datapad contains information about the characters, races, vehicles, weapons, and storyline of the Mass Effect universe, as well as mini-games that interact with the Mass Effect 3 'Galaxy at War' system. It has since been removed from the iOS App Store and the Google Play Store.
Mass Effect: Andromeda APEX HQ[edit]
APEX HQ is the official companion app for the Mass Effect: Andromeda multiplayer. Supported by iOS and Android devices, APEX HQ was released on March 15 in Canada, Ireland, Romania and Singapore, and worldwide on March 20, 2017. Through APEX HQ, players can view their progress in multiplayer, equip characters, assign skill points, manage Strike Teams, and access their friend list. The app cannot be used while signed into the game.
Other media[edit]
Rides[edit]
- Mass Effect: New Earth (2016): A 4D holographic experience introduced at California's Great America amusement park in 2016.[12]
Novels[edit]
- Mass Effect: Revelation (2007), by Drew Karpyshyn: The first novel based on Mass Effect, the plot is centred around then-Lieutenant David Anderson and tells the story of how he came to know Saren as well as the beginning of his relationship with Kahlee Sanders. It expands on the history of the Mass Effect universe and reveals in detail how Anderson failed to become the first human Spectre.
- Mass Effect: Ascension (2008), by Drew Karpyshyn: The second novel based on Mass Effect, the plot centres around protagonist Paul Grayson, a member of Cerberus, who is in charge of raising a biotic girl named Gillian. It is set some two months after the ending events of the first game.[13]
- Mass Effect: Retribution (2010), by Drew Karpyshyn: On July 27, 2010, BioWare released the third Mass Effect novel, a sequel to Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect: Ascension.[14][15]
- Mass Effect: Deception (2012), by William C. Dietz: The fourth Mass Effect novel, it centres on Gillian Grayson. Response to the novel has been largely negative due to inconsistencies with lore and characterization, prompting fans to petition BioWare to disregard the novel as canon.[16][17][18] In response, BioWare and Del Rey announced that a number of changes would be made in future editions.[19]
- Mass Effect: Nexus Uprising (2017), by Jason M. Hough and K. C. Alexander: The novel is the first of three intended to weave directly into Mass Effect: Andromeda, taking place 'concurrently with the adventure of the game itself'. The novel was published by Titan Books.[20]
- Mass Effect: Initiation (2017) by N.K. Jemisin and Mac Walters: This is the second novel in the Mass Effect: Andromeda book trilogy, and was published by Titan Books.[21]
- Mass Effect: Annihilation (2018) by Catherynne M. Valente: This is the third and final novel in the Mass Effect: Andromeda book trilogy, and was published by Titan Books.[22]
Interactive Novels[edit]
Mass Effect: Pick Your Path (2012) is an unofficial, popular interactive fiction novel written by Mike Kayatta that runs parallel to the events of Mass Effect 2. It follows the exploits of an unnamed Citadel merchant who chases Commander Shepard around the galaxy to gain an endorsement for his shop. Encouraged by The Illusive Man for unknown reasons, the merchant becomes haplessly entangled with the dangerous aftermath of Shepard's various adventures. The story, considered similar to the Choose Your Own Adventure series of books, features the same choice-driven format of the games, allowing the reader to choose between 'paragon' or 'renegade' actions, drastically affect the ending, and even romance a selection of unique party members. The full story was published by The Escapist in March 2012.[23]
Comics[edit]
Writer Mac Walters in front of a Mass Effect poster at the Dark Horse Comics booth at the 2011 New York Comic Con.
- Mass Effect: Redemption is a four-part comic book mini-series that was released between January and April 2010. The story, which revolves around Liara T'Soni, is set in the interim period between the prologue and main storyline of Mass Effect 2, and is related to the downloadable content 'Lair of the Shadow Broker' that was released for the game.[24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34]
- Mass Effect: Incursion is an on-line comic (8 pages) that follows Aria T'Loak's encounter with the Collectors one week prior to the opening events of Mass Effect 2. The events of Incursion link into the events of the comic miniseries Mass Effect: Redemption. It was released June 21, 2010 through IGN.[35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43]
- Mass Effect: Inquisition is an on-line comic (8 pages) written by Mac Walters. Taking place after Mass Effect 2, the plot follows Captain Armando-Owen Bailey during his investigation of Executor Venari Pallin and corruption within C-Sec. It was released October 26, 2010 through USA Today.[44]
- Mass Effect: Evolution is a four-part comic book mini-series. The first issue was released in January 2011. The story focuses on the origin of the Illusive Man and is set during the First Contact War, shortly after the discovery of the Mass Relays.[45]
- Mass Effect: Conviction is a free short (10 page) single issue mini-comic written by Mac Walters. Taking place before Mass Effect 3, the plot follows Lieutenant James Vega during his stay on Omega before returning to Systems Alliance service. Released in September 2011 available through a digital distribution promotion exclusively at participating retailers.[46][47]
- Mass Effect: Invasion is a comic book series (4 issues) released between October 2011 and January 2012. It follows Aria T'Loak, the pirate queen of the space station Omega, as her station comes under attack from a new threat unleashed by Cerberus, the human survivalist organization.[48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56]
- Mass Effect: Homeworlds is a comic book series (4 issues) written by game lead writer Mac Walters released April 25, 2012. Each issue focuses on a main character from the Mass Effect series.[57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66]
- Mass Effect: Blasto: Eternity Is Forever is a 14-page single-issue written by Mac Walters released on November 7, 2012, through digital distribution. The main character is Blasto, the protagonist of several in-universe films, depicted as the galaxy's first Hanar Spectre.[67][68][69]
- Mass Effect: He Who Laughs Best is a short (10 page) single issue mini-comic written by Mac Walters released on May 4, 2013 for Free Comic Book Day 2013. It explains how Jeff 'Joker' Moreau became the SSV Normandy's pilot prior to the events of Mass Effect.[70]
- Mass Effect: Foundation is a 13-issue comic series written by Mac Walters. The first issue was released on July 24, 2013. It features a story that runs parallel to the game trilogy and is designed to expand the universe as a whole.[71][72]
- Mass Effect: Discovery is a comic book series (4 issues) written by Jeremy Barlow released in 2017. Each issue focuses on Andromeda Initiative from Mass Effect series.[73]
Films[edit]
- Mass Effect: On May 24, 2010, EA announced that Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. acquired the rights to a Mass Effect film, with the game's executive producer Casey Hudson, as well as Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuck from BioWare, serving as executive producers. Initially, Legendary planned to produce the film with Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni, and Avi Arad, with a screenplay by Mark Protosevich.[74] Protosevich and the producers have stated that the film will follow the plot of the original game.[75] On October 24, 2012, Variety announced that Morgan Davis Foehl would be writing the screenplay.[76]
- Mass Effect: Paragon Lost (2012): On April 7, 2011, EA announced that anime distributor Funimation Entertainment and Japanese studio T.O Entertainment will produce an anime film adaptation based on the series.[77] The film was released on December 28, 2012.[78] It serves as the prequel to Mass Effect 3 and follows the early career of Alliance Marine James Vega as he leads an elite Special Forces squad into battle against The Collectors. Stationed at a colony in a remote star system, Vega and his soldiers must protect the civilians from a ruthless invasion by the Collectors, determined to capture the population for unknown purposes.
Fan films[edit]
Mass Effect: Assignment (2012) is a fan film set in the same timeline as the Mass Effect game series, but following a group of original characters. The film follows the story of two N7 Soldiers, Meer and Hale, who are hunting down Defoe, a smuggler whose cargo is of great interest to a lot of parties. The film was produced by filmmaking duo Sneaky Zebra and marks the first fan film set in the Mass Effect universe. The film features the unique element of being interactive much like the games series allowing the viewer to choose the path of the plot to four possible endings.[79] Three character-based teaser trailers were released in December via Machinma with the full short being released in February 2012.[79][80]
Red Sand (2012) is a fan film that serves as a prequel to the Mass Effect series. It is set 35 years before the plot of the games and tells the story of the discovery of the ancient Prothean ruins of Mars. The film stars Mark Meer, voice of the male version of Commander Shepard in the games, as Colonel Jon Grissom. It was produced by the students and faculty of the Digital Video Program at the University of Advancing Technology in Tempe, Arizona.[81][82][83]
Action figures[edit]
Two series of action figures were released by DC Direct and Big Fish Toys for Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3. Series one included action figures of Commander Shepard, Grunt, Tali, and Thane. Series two included Garrus, Legion, Miranda, and Mordin. Each figure features game-accurate accessories and can be found in game and hobby shops and various online retailers. The figures tied to Mass Effect 3 include bonus downloadable content, which is exclusive and different for each character.
Board games[edit]
Risk: Mass Effect Galaxy at War Edition (2013) was announced by USAopoly and was released in Fall 2013.[84][85]
Art books[edit]
Two Mass Effect art books have been released: 2007's Art of Mass Effect,[86] published by Prima Games and 2012's The Art of the Mass Effect Universe,[87] published by Dark Horse Comics. The former book showcases the design sketches and concept art which was created for the original Mass Effect game, while the latter includes art, sketches and paintings for the entire trilogy, including several pieces originally published in the first book.
Reception[edit]
Game | Metacritic |
---|---|
Mass Effect | (X360) 91[88] (PC) 89[89] (PS3) 85[90] |
Mass Effect 2 | (X360) 96[91] (PC) 94[92] (PS3) 94[93] |
Mass Effect 3 | (X360) 93[94] (PS3) 93[95] (PC) 89[96] (WIIU) 85[97] |
Mass Effect: Andromeda | (XONE) 76[98] (PC) 72[99] (PS4) 71[100] |
The Mass Effect series, particularly the second game, has received universal acclaim.[101]Colin Moriarty stated that 'the Mass Effect series is one of the defining video game franchises of [the seventh] generation'.[102]GamesRadar called Mass Effect the best new franchise of the (then seventh) generation, saying 'The galaxy was so well-constructed that it felt like a decades-old franchise and represented a high-water mark for video games as a story-telling medium.'[103]IGN rated the Mass Effect trilogy the best Xbox 360 game(s) out of a list of 25, despite being multiplatform.[104]
I've spoken hundreds of times over the last 15 years and I'm always taking two-steps forward and one step back. Technical presentation for an interview. The point is to try, not to succeed absolutely.
Mass Effect 2 is widely considered to be one of the greatest games of all time. It garnered numerous game of the year awards and is critically the most successful game in the series. It received over 70 perfect review scores.[105]
While Mass Effect 3 also garnered critical acclaim, controversy surrounded its release due to the public's reaction and refusal to accept the game's (and the trilogy's) ending. This eventually led to BioWare releasing an 'extended cut' patch to the ending of Mass Effect 3 which would expand upon, but not replace it.[106][107]
The fourth installment, Mass Effect: Andromeda received mixed critical reception and was considered not up to par with the original trilogy.[108][109]
Sales[edit]
Two weeks after the game was released, Mass Effect 2 shipped two million copies to retailers.[110] The game sold over 500,000 copies in the month of release, despite being released at the end of the month.[111] Before the release of the third game, the series sold a total of 7 million copies worldwide.[112]
Mass Effect 3 sold over 800,000 copies in its first 24 hours,[113] and its opening month sales were twice that of its predecessor's,[114] selling over 900,000 copies on the Xbox 360 version, outselling the PlayStation 3 version 4 to 1 and bringing in over $200 million in revenue.[115]Mass Effect 3 was the most commercially successful game of the series, selling over twice as many copies as Mass Effect 2 in their respective launch months[116] and generating lifetime sales of over six million copies.[117]
As of July 5, 2014, the Mass Effect series had sold a total of 14 million units.[118] By the end of March 2018, at least 2.5 million retail copies of Andromeda had also been shipped for $110 million in revenue;[119] additionally, more than 0.35 million copies of the game were purchased digitally in March,[120] and $53 million in net sales from digital and special editions for Andromeda were generated in March but deferred to a later date,[121] putting total lifetime sales for the franchise at over 17 million.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^'Mass Effect: Andromeda: release date, setting, combat, story – everything we know'. PCGamesN. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
- ^Reilly, Jim. 'Mass Effect 2 Release Date Announced'.
- ^GI Staff (March 2008). 'Afterwards: Mass Effect'. Game Informer (179). p. 24.
- ^Brudvig, Erik (February 23, 2009). 'BioWare Suggests Hanging on to Mass Effect Saves'. IGN. Retrieved March 8, 2009.
- ^Mike Fahey (March 4, 2011). 'Mass Effect 3 Thrusts Its Way into Early 2012'. Kotaku. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
- ^'BioWare Already Looking Forward to Mass Effect 3'.
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- ^'Interview: BioWare's Casey Hudson on the making of Mass Effect 2'. Archived from the original on December 27, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2010.
- ^Matulef, Jeffrey (January 28, 2016). 'New Titanfall game and Mass Effect: Andromeda coming in the next 14 months'. Eurogamer. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
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- ^'Mass Effect: Retribution Announced'.
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- ^'Canon errors in Mass Effect: Deception'. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
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- ^'Announcement: official Mass Effect novels coming from Titan Books in 2017!'. Titan Books. June 12, 2016. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- ^'Mass Effect: Initiation - Titan Books'. Titan Books. November 28, 2017. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- ^Pierse, Conal (October 25, 2017). 'Announcing Mass Effect: Annihilation'. BioWare. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- ^'Mass Effect: Pick Your Path'. Escapist Magazine. March 28, 2012.
- ^Schedeen, Jesse (July 21, 2009). 'Mass Effect Comes to Comics'. IGN. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
- ^'Mass Effect Explodes Into Comics!'. Dark Horse Comics. July 21, 2009. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
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- ^'Mass Effect: Redemption #1'. Dark Horse Comics. January 6, 2010. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
- ^'Mass Effect: Redemption #2'. Dark Horse Comics. February 3, 2010. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
- ^'Mass Effect: Redemption #3'. Dark Horse Comics. March 3, 2010. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
- ^'Mass Effect: Redemption #4'. Dark Horse Comics. April 7, 2010. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
- ^'Mass Effect: Redemption #1'. Dark Horse Comics. April 20, 2011. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
- ^'Mass Effect: Redemption #2'. Dark Horse Comics. April 20, 2011. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
- ^'Mass Effect: Redemption #3'. Dark Horse Comics. April 20, 2011. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
- ^'Mass Effect: Redemption #4'. Dark Horse Comics. April 20, 2011. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
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External links[edit]
- Official website (Mass Effect Trilogy)
- Official website (Mass Effect: Andromeda)
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mass_Effect&oldid=904910365'
Look beyond the starships, biotics and looming alien menaces, and it’s Mass Effect’s characters – the people (and aliens) with whom you fight, flirt and fu… umble – that are its beating heart. The cast of the original trilogy still fuel fan debates about best squadmates and favourite moments, like Mordin’s merry songs of scientist Salarians, Tali and Legion’s debate over the soul of the Geth, or Garrus’s endless calibrations.
If you’d like to know everything we do about Mass Effect: Andromeda, click here for all the details.
Hence, no site’s coverage of Mass Effect: Andromeda is complete without a lengthy look at the characters that will make your time in the new galaxy memorable. Here is ours.
The Ryders
We’re kicking off with a look at the player characters. Scott and Sara Ryder are twins in their mid-20s, and you can play through the game as either. Whomever you don’t choose will still appear in the game (and no, you can’t romance them. Dude.)
As with Shepard in the original trilogy, you can customise their appearances, their backgrounds, and their forenames, though if you keep the default, NPCs will occasionally refer to you as Scott or Sara. Your dad and twin always uses their default forename, to avoid the confusion of everyone being called Ryder.
You inherit the title of Pathfinder from your dad, the illustrious galactic explorer and N7 marine Alec Ryder (more on him later). It’s your job to scout new planets to settle and solve any problems with doing so. For better or worse, you’re integral to the Andromeda Initiative’s mission, and can expect to be viewed accordingly.
Otherwise, who Ryder ‘is’, is up to you. Lead designer Ian Frazier says “as in the trilogy, you can be a jerk, but not a true villain. Ultimately you’re a hero – you decide what kind of hero.” You can react to others’ statements with one of four tones (casual, professional, emotional, logical), and as you do so, Ryder’s personality will settle accordingly, unlocking corresponding interactions – a hot-headed, emotional Ryder will be able to say and do things that a cool, collected Ryder won’t, and vice versa. Andromeda’s morality system is more nuanced than in the past, allowing for more shades of grey, but you still can’t be a truly evil person. Just know that there are consequences, with other characters referencing your earlier choices and comments.
When it comes to your look, you can’t change the default Ryders, but there are other human presets to choose from, all of which can be tweaked. As the Andromeda Initiative isn’t a military venture, you’ll also find a few more flamboyant haircuts than in the original trilogy. More importantly, you can choose Ryder’s military training, which determines your initial combat abilities. More on that in our combat guide.
One more thing: Ryder can get a pet pyjak – a space monkey – and it can wander around the Tempest.
Mass Effect: Andromeda squadmates
These are the guys, girls and monogendered aliens who can join you on missions. They have their own skill trees, and extensive interactions with Ryder – up to and, in some cases, including, romance.
Excitingly, loyalty missions – a much-loved feature of Mass Effect 2 – are back. You can build “trust” with your squadmates, and their loyalty mission will unlock at a certain level of trust. Unlocking all of them in one playthrough is very difficult, since some characters’ personalities and agendas conflict with one another. Completing a character’s loyalty mission unlocks a new and powerful skill tree for them.
Cora Harper
Like the Ryders, Cora arrives in Andromeda aboard the human ark, Hyperion. As such, she’s one of the two squadmates available from the start of the game. Cora is a romance option for Scott Ryder – as was made graphically clear in the New Earth trailer – but she’s not into Sara.
Cora is your team’s operations specialist in charge of ground missions, a human biotic, and one of your two starting squadmates. After a career in the Alliance military, she served with Talein’s Daughters, an Asari commando unit, as part of a Council inter-species integration scheme. She is second-in-command of the human Pathfinder team and Alec Ryder’s appointed successor, so she’s understandably ruffled when you get the Pathfinder job instead of her.
Cora’s in-game skills are as follows:
- Charge
- Nova
- Shield Boost
- Asari Commando – Cora’s unique offensive skill tree, which boosts shotguns, powers and melee attacks
- Defensive Training
One more thing: she shares a surname with the human supremacist, the Illusive Man, whose name was revealed to be Jack Harper. Check out our story guide for more evidence of Cerberus’s theorised connection to the Andromeda Initiative, and everything Bioware have said denying it.
Liam Kosta
Liam specialises in crisis response for the Pathfinder team. In the team briefing, we learn he studied engineering at university, but left to train as a policeman. He was “hand-picked” by Alec Ryder due to his multidisciplinary skills. He’s also a Londoner, and thus has a British accent.
“Liam is the youthful, enthusiastic, and in some cases, the idealistic follower that you get,” creative director Mac Walters told Game Informer. He’s got high hopes for humanity’s future in Andromeda and will try to encourage the team in dire situations, but he’s also hot-headed and quick to react emotionally if things go south. Sounds to us like a great opportunity for a serious reality check on those youthful high spirits about halfway through the game.
Though cheerful, he takes his duties seriously and supports Ryder’s decisions. “He’s got Ryder’s back,” says Walters. We got a look at his loyalty mission at Pax East – you help him search for a “contact” apparently captured by pirates, but the footage doesn’t give away much more than that when it comes to the story. The mission itself is a fight through a Kett ship as gravity fields change direction around you, and features a few jokes, showing some of the game’s lighter tone.
Liam’s profile says he’s a close-range fighter who moves quickly with his jump jets, and favours ‘overclocked dual omni-blades’. His favourite ability is ‘havoc strike’, in which he leaps forward to stun enemies and prime them for combo detonations. In Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer, havoc strike was exclusive to the Turian Havoc Soldier, which will return as a class in Andromeda’s multiplayer.
His in-game skills are as follows:
- Frag Grenade
- Havoc Strike
- Overload
- Military Training – boosts Liam’s offensive abilities in general
- Defence
Pelessaria ‘Peebee’ B’Sayle
Peebee is an Asari, but if you think you know what to expect from previous experience, you’re probably wrong; she has little in common with the po-faced Liara or Samara, or the femme fatale Morinth.
“She’s very bubbly; Liara was very serious,” says Walters. “Peebee will buck the norm at any given time. She’s not about rules or culture or anything like that. She’s not even about teams or teamwork.”
BioWare wanted to play with your perception of alien species, so your new Asari will be flighty and blunt rather than solemn and diplomatic. I guess that’s the nature of a colonisation mission; it attracts the misfits. Her name is actually a nickname, a contraction of her full name Pelessaria B’Sayle. She hails from Port Lerama, capital of the planet Hyetiana, a hub for Asari science and education.
Bored with the Milky Way, she came to Andromeda aboard the Nexus, but soon went roaming on her own; her profile describes her as “pathologically independent”. She’s interested in the alien technology which you investigate as you explore the Heleus Cluster, and as such, your paths will cross early on.
We got a look at Peebee’s thirst for treasure-hunting in footage of her loyalty mission, courtesy of IGN. Having tracked a signal from the mysterious Remnant to a very hostile lava planet where the Tempest can’t land, Peebee tricks you into an escape pod and launches you at the surface. It seems she has a rival, another Asari named Kalinda, who tries to steal her discovery from under her nose.
Peebee’s profile says she is a gunslinger and a “biotic destabiliser” when it comes to combat, with her favourite weapon being a Sidewinder Outlaw pistol and her favourite power being “Invasion”. As we found in our hands-on time with the game, that’s actually a new tech power, not a biotic one. It releases a swarm of VI drones at a target, weakening their defences, and can be upgraded to spread to nearby enemies.
It’s also confirmed that Peebee is a romance option. Her voice actress, Christine Lakin, says she Peebee is “one of the most fun characters I’ve voiced.”
Interestingly, Peebee is one of the very few Asari with eyebrows. They’re the result of a recessive gene somewhere in her ancestry.
Vetra Nyx
Born on the Turian homeworld of Palaven and having resided in “too many places to count“, Vetra is a drifter, who at some point drifted into the wrong crowd: she has survived the rough world of smugglers and mercenaries, sharpening her street smarts and adaptability along the way. She’s a good person to have with you when dealing with crooks.
Her experiences have also taught Vetra the value of having someone to watch her back – she’s fiercely loyal once you prove yourself worthy of her trust. In combat, she favours her modified Cyclone assault rifle, and wears customised power armour which provides reinforced shields when activated.
Vetra features briefly in the New Earth trailer, and appeared for the first time in a gameplay trailer from The Game Awards 2016, where she accompanied Sara Ryder and Drack (see below) on an away mission to the planet Kadara.
If you fancy hooking up with the savvy Turian, it’s looking like she’s a romance option with either gay or bisexual tastes – this is based on our time with the early access trial, so don’t take it as 100% confirmed just yet.
Danielle Rayne provides Vetra’s voice – she appeared in Revenge, Hawaii Five-0 and the short fan film Portal: No Escape. Also: she’s tall, and will have her own unique rig (like many alien races) to keep her that way.
Nakmor Drack
Drack is a very old male Krogan. Given their fondness for violence, this should tell you a few things about him right away: he’s seen a lot of fighting, and gotten very good at it. According to his profile, Drack “spent more than 1,400 years causing a ruckus in the Milky Way – wearing the title of soldier, mercenary, and at times, pirate.” This would mean he is old enough to have been born during the Krogan rebellions, which ended in around 800 of the Council Era (CE), with the Andromeda Initiative leaving the Milky Way in 2185 CE. He has plenty to say about the genophage and the galaxy’s treatment of his species.
Drack wears a badass spacesuit adorned with bones – according to his character kit, these are Kett bones. He was first revealed in that TGA trailer, getting off the Tempest with Ryder and Vetra, and can be seen slapping some aliens around in the New Earth trailer. “I don’t need an army,” says Scott Ryder. “I’ve got a Krogan.”
Drack’s profile describes him as a veteran warrior and close combatant, who favours a Ruzad shotgun – apparently, ‘Ruzad’ is the Krogan for ‘judgement’. Ian Frazier has also said that we’ll see “an entirely new Krogan gun, sort of a spiritual successor to the Claymore“, but since that gun was so rare and powerful, we’d be a little surprised if Drack’s starting weapon was its successor. His favourite ability is Blood Rage, which enhances his melee damage, damage resistance, and health regeneration – this sounds functionally similar to Grunt’s Krogan Berserker ability. He has the incinerate tech power, but otherwise, he’s all about combat skills.
We’ve met Drack’s clan before. If Wrex leads Clan Urdnot in Mass Effect 2, a Clan Nakmor ambassador and two warriors can be found in the Urdnot camp, intent on negotiating an alliance. Most of Clan Nakmor joined the Andromeda Initiative, and Drack tagged along, tempted by the promise of a whole new galaxy full of stuff to shoot.
A video profile courtesy of IGN states that he’s also very dutiful, sticking to his role on the Nexus and to his granddaughter, Kesh, who serves as its superintendent. “He’s a guy with a lot of heart,” says Bioware writer Cathleen Rootsaert.
Finally, many Mass Effect fans like Krogans, but if you really like Krogans, Frazier is deliberately coy about what would be the most anatomically-challenging coupling in the series to date:
@sneakywtchthief We're being pretty hush-hush on who does and doesn't have a romance, so I can't say. But if we did, I'd call it Kromance.
— Ian S. Frazier (@tibermoon) February 15, 2017
Jaal Ama Darav
Confirmed as your sixth squadmate by combat trailers and our hands-on preview, here’s Jaal making his debut in the New Earth trailer:
Jaal is an Angara, who sit alongside the invading Kett and the ancient Remnant as one of the three species native to the new galaxy. You are not the only ones suffering at the hands of the Kett; in another IGN profile, Cathleen Rootsaert reveals that Jaal is a high-ranking member of the Angaran resistance against them. He joins your team as a kind of liaison between you and the Resistance, but is also not satisfied with his place and direction in life. He goes on quite the arc as he adjusts to his role on your team.
It’s been about 80 years since the Kett arrived in the Heleus cluster and started beating the Angara up. Once an advanced race, they haven’t fared well against the Kett so far, which is where you come in. Rootsaert says the Angara “as a species are very free with their emotions”, openly expressing sorrow, joy and anger with tears, hugs and punches to the face. In our preview, we certainly found Jaal very direct – a trait magnified by his incomprehension of Milky Way idioms. Imagine Drax from Guardians of the Galaxy and you’ll get an idea of the kind of humour you can expect.
Mike Gamble tweeted the following picture of Jaal with a sniper rifle, which should give you an idea of what he’s like in battle:
Since you asked… @AarynFlynnpic.twitter.com/pzntFUdFQn
— Michael Gamble (@GambleMike) February 8, 2017
It’s also confirmed that Jaal will be a romance option.
Anyone else?
Six squadmates is all we get for now, but at one point in development, seven squadmates were planned: that leaked survey said “you will recruit seven distinct crew members to fight by your side”, and Eurogamer spoke with creative director Mac Walters in December last year, who revealed that a squadmate had been cut.
Walters uses the masculine pronoun, so he was male, and Eurogamer’s interviewer assumes that he was Salarian. Walters seems to accept this suggestion, saying “part of” the decision to cut him was that “we have a Salarian on the crew”, referring to your pilot (see below).
In that interview, Walters says “it is possible” that the cut squadmate will return. If there’s any chance of a seventh squadmate, it’ll happen via DLC.
Mass Effect: Andromeda Tempest crew
Every band needs its roadies – these are the people who make it all happen behind the scenes while you and your squad are out exploring. They live alongside you on your sleek new scout ship, the Tempest, and keep it all running smoothly. They all have lots to say, and some can be romanced. Note that while only squadmates have loyalty missions, “other crew can have missions of their own“.
Kallo Jath
Meet your new pilot. Kallo Jath is a male Salarian who helped to design the Tempest, so who better to fly it? He narrates the briefing that walks you through it and the Nomad. It’s nice to know we’ll have a Salarian to chat with on the bridge, even though there’s no conceivable way for Kallo to be as cool as Mordin Solus.
Dr Lexi T’Perro
As the doctor who gives you a checking-over after you’re thawed out of cryosleep, Lexi T’Perro is one of the first faces you see in the Andromeda galaxy. She transfers from ark Hyperion to your ship, the Tempest, where it’s her job to look after the Pathfinder team’s physical and mental wellbeing.
As creative director Mac Walters says, “you can go to Lexi and get opinions from her about how you’re playing the game, and how people are reacting to the decisions you’re making”. This is helpful for anyone looking for pointers on keeping morale high or forming certain relationships within the crew – she’s your wingman/wingperson. Wing-Asari. Whatever.
She’s voiced by Game of Thrones actress Natalie Dormer, and has “her own things that she’s dealing with”, including a rivalry with Peebee, a bit of a crush on Drack, and the pressure of taking care of the Andromeda Initiative’s biggest, best hope (that’s you).
Gil Brodie
Gil is the Tempest’s engineer. He’s voiced by Gethin Anthony, known for playing Renly Baratheon in Game of Thrones. As fans will know, Renly was the husband of Natalie Dormer’s character, Margaery Tyrell.
Gil says he came to Andromeda to find a purpose for himself, and he responds well to a bit of flirting from Scott Ryder. He’s a pretty colourful personality with a bizarre sense of humour – one of lead designer Ian Frazier’s favourite things about him, but which will probably divide fans.
You can see a little more of Gil in IGN’s tour of the Tempest, where he discusses getting the Nexus up and running.
Suvi Anwar
Suvi is a young Scottish lady who serves as the Tempest’s science officer. She sits across the bridge from Kallo, gazing at the stars. She is one of Ian Frazier’s “favourite characters”.
Suvi is religious, and speaks openly about her faith in an airy Scots’ brogue. She sees science and religion as complementary, with the former as a means of understanding “the divine intelligence behind all of creation.” Gamespot have a cool piece discussing her place in Mass Effect’s tradition of exploring philosophy.
Suvi also has a slightly ditzy streak, which is on show in IGN’s tour of the Tempest – following a family tradition, she licked a rock while exploring, and contracted some kind of rash. She is voiced by Glaswegian actress Katy Townsend, who has also appeared in Fallout 4 as Cait and something called ‘Monster High: Electrified’.
SAM
SAM stands for Simulated Adaptive Matrix. It’s an AI designed by Alec Ryder himself, and sees and feels as the Pathfinder does via a neural link. The Pathfinder team briefing mentions the first such links were created by your mother, a Dr Elen Ryder.
Thanks to these links and a quantum entanglement communication system, SAM can support you while you’re on missions from its node in the ark. This support includes “situational awareness, problem solving and even tactical enhancements” – SAM’s computing power can enhance your combat abilities in the form of six ‘profiles’. See our combat guide for more on that.
When SAM was first revealed, it was assumed that it would be the Tempest’s equivalent of EDI, the Normandy’s AI from the original trilogy, to which Mass Effect producer Fabrice Condominas says:
“Yes and no. Yes, in the sense that SAM is ultimately not a living being; it’s more of an AI or robot. But it’s way broader than EDI, the relationship is way different. SAM handles a number of things as well as your vessel. It is connected to you permanently and was connected to, and knew, your father, Alec. There’s a very specific relationship there. It’s more of a partner than EDI was. You’re way closer emotionally to SAM.”
Mass Effect: Andromeda secondary characters
Neither crewmates nor squadmates, these are the supporting players who will nonetheless have an important role in the story, whether through villainy, political power or family ties.
Alec Ryder
Meet your dad. Alec Ryder was one of the first humans to travel through a mass relay, and later completed the Alliance’s gruelling N7 training to confirm his status as one of humanity’s best soldiers. According to his assessment in the Pathfinder team briefing, he fought the Turians on Shanxi in the First Contact War, and served as a military attache to the Citadel in the 2160s.
A skilled scientist as well as a soldier, he became interested in artificial intelligence “as a means of human advancement” (an interesting choice of words). His pursuit of this illegal technology led to him being dishonorably discharged from the Alliance military, which conveniently freed him up for the Andromeda Initiative.
Alec begins the game as Pathfinder for the Initiative’s human expedition – a role which you, as one of his kids, later inherit. As the human Pathfinder he’s worked closely with Jien Garson, the Initiative’s founder; they appear side by side in the early trailers, some of which Alec also narrates. His voice actor is Clancy Brown, whom you may recognise from Starship Troopers, The Shawshank Redeption, and the Warcraft movie (but don’t hold that against him).
The Kett Archon
![Effect Effect](/uploads/1/2/3/6/123699782/631649470.jpg)
Andromeda’s main villain, we got our best look at the Kett Archon in the New Earth trailer. He says simply “I am Archon” before demanding that the Pathfinder team “surrender or burn”. This is followed by an attack.
Scott Ryder says “we’ve been outplayed. The Archon is a master of his game,” just as we see footage of the Archon unleashing a blast of blue energy, so he clearly has powers of some kind, and we can surmise he’s a skilled leader or manipulator who views you as a threat. Beyond that, we don’t know much.
Jien Garson
The Andromeda Initiative is Jien Garson’s brainchild; she is its founder and director. She’s a human, continuing Mass Effect’s usual depiction of humans as the most expansionist and ambitious of the Milky Way species.
Garson appears in the Andromeda Initiative ‘orientation’ trailer, in which she explains that she will be overseeing the mission from the Nexus. She is voiced by Sense8 actress Jamie Clayton.
Jarun Tann
Jarun Tann is a Salarian politician, prominent in the Andromeda Initiative’s efforts to establish a government in the new galaxy. His voice actor is Silicon Valley’s Kumail Nanjiani, who discusses Tann’s personality in this interview.
To be honest, he’s not as effective as you’d hope. Nanjiani says he’s “a little bit in over his head, but doesn’t want anyone to know.” He means well, but also likes power, and plays up his own effectiveness and importance. Nanjiani’s closing thoughts concern the moral shades of grey in Mass Effect, which you’ll navigate in your dealings with Jarun Tann.
Sloane Kelly
Featured in the TGA 2016 trailer, Sloane Kelly was head of security on the Nexus before getting kicked out after its arrival in Andromeda. She then found her way to the planet Kadara of the Govorkam system, and rose to a position of power among the outlaws there. As leader of one of the game’s factions, she’s a key player in the complicated politics of the Heleus cluster. Whether you approve or disapprove of what she represents, and how you deal with her as a result, is one of the key questions of Andromeda’s politics.
Before joining the Andromeda Initiative, Kelly served in the Alliance with a “nearly spotless” record. Hotheaded and uncomfortable with authority, those few blemishes were a number of “altercations” with other officers.
Kalinda
First revealed in footage of Peebee’s loyalty mission, Kalinda is a rival of your Asari squadmate in her search for Remnant technology (she asks if Peebee is “tracking that sweet signal too”).
Ancient Andromedan tech isn’t her only interest, though: she instructs her henchmen to hinder the party, offering “a triple share to whoever brings me their sweet implants”, suggesting that the value of a Pathfinder’s SAM implants is widely understood. She also sics a Krogan outlaw named Krannit – whom you “keep running into” – on you.
That about covers everything we know so far, but Mass Effect: Andromeda is still new, so we’ll update this as we explore further.
Systems Alliance Mass Effect
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Was it fate or destiny that brought him to where he was now? Was it fate that brought him to Elysium? Was it fate that brought him to the Normandy? Was it destiny that brought him to beat Saren and the Collectors? And perhaps the most common question: was it his destiny to have defeated the Reapers and saved the galaxy? Or was it just a matter of fately steps that led him to that course? These were the questions the galaxy asked after the day was won. Those were the questions the eternally grateful galaxy asked after Commander Shepard disappeared.
After Shepard saves the galaxy from the Reapers, he is somehow thrown into the world of Thedas. There he finds a new world’s growing list of problems. Instead of sitting out this one, he charges into battle in order to help out his new allies and do his part in saving this new world of aliens and monsters. Who knew he’d have to save the world yet again? That is, if he doesn’t get killed by magic or dragons or whatever the hell that giant hole in the sky is. Garrus sure owes him that drink.
Which Mass Effect is best? We’re embarking on our own suicide mission by giving our verdicts on some of PC gaming’s most beloved series, including Dark Souls and Hearthstone.
I thought this would be easy. I know my personal ranking for the Mass Effect games. Ask and I’ll shout them out without hesitation, like a sleeper agent responding to a deeply embedded activation phrase. The problem is, everyone knows their personal ranking for the Mass Effect series and carries them as if the arrangement of a few numbers were the only universal truth they have.
But it’s easy to understand why we vary so wildly—the Mass Effect games are a collective space opera spanning over a hundred hours of love, death, and ancient alien doomsaying spun out in branching paths specific to the person that played them. Some players spent hours getting to know Wrex, others killed him immediately. Some thought Mordin a murderous, pompous dingbat while others gave him a chance for redemption. Some players punched every character they could, others kissed every character they could. It’s a BioWare game.
And each is just different enough to make enough distinctions between them in order to determine the One True Order for the Mass Effect series.
Now, in ascending order of goodness..
Mass Effect Andromeda
The promise of a new galaxy, far, far away was too much for Andromeda’s to handle. After 400 years of continuous space travel in one direction, somehow the new system has fewer alien races, less biodiversity, and even more banal ancient alien tech strewn about each planet. If only excavating a pyramid were as easy as solving a simple glyph-based Sudoku puzzle.
We’ve written about the problems we have with Andromeda at length: the enough to rank, the , the that are cool with colonization, and despite for quest design, the awful writing can’t sustain them.
Some of our bigger complaints, like the and excruciating have been tweaked in post-release patches, but they don’t detract from the larger truth that Mass Effect Andromeda is a game far too big for its own good. The open worlds are empty, lacking any natural curiosities besides quest markers. Southeast Idaho's black desert is a more interesting landscape than nearly any planet in the game. And chances are, that quest marker is just going to send you on an aimless trip all over the surface fetching items for short stories packing as much meaning as a weekly drunk text from my dad. It’s hard to imagine in this new setting with a similar structure.
Even so, no one else but Bioware makes games like this. There’s fun to be had in Mass Effect Andromeda, either in the customizable combat or in the occasional charming conversation with a crewmate. Just expect to sift through dozens of hours of cripplingly safe sci-fi to find something to love.
Mass Effect
Laying down a space base
Developed: BioWare Published: Electronic Arts
2007
The original Mass Effect is still a great game, but in the rearview, its flaws are clear as day. The combat is clunky, its pacing isn’t consistent, and planetary exploration is an empty vessel except for the occasional Thresher Maw. But each flaw represented early ideas that Mass Effect 2 and 3 crystallized in the long run.
Developed: BioWare Published: Electronic Arts
2007
The original Mass Effect is still a great game, but in the rearview, its flaws are clear as day. The combat is clunky, its pacing isn’t consistent, and planetary exploration is an empty vessel except for the occasional Thresher Maw. But each flaw represented early ideas that Mass Effect 2 and 3 crystallized in the long run.
Ashley or Kaidan?
One of the hardest decisions in Mass Effect is whether to save Ashley or Kaiden during the operation on Virmire. Who did you choose on your first playthrough? Any regrets?
Time hasn’t been kind to the combat. The vestiges of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic are still visible in the busy combat interface, and it’s obvious that those two ideologies—third-person shooting and actionbar RPG efficiency—failed to find a sweet spot until Mass Effect 2, and weren’t refined until Mass Effect 3. In the original game, you can aim directly at an enemy and miss because math. Tell the teachers of the world, scream it from the mountaintops. Math is bad.
While you’re at it, scream about the Mako. There are some people that choose to die on the Mako’s hill, which is a shame, because while it may align with one of the series’ greatest strengths in exploration, it doesn’t ever approach its full potential. At best, the Mako is a dopey physics turret on wheels that gets you to and fro. Otherwise, planetary exploration is limited to bouncing around empty terrain until a space worm eats you, or worse, you get stuck in the nonsensical mountain topography. I’m not sorry: The Mako Is Bad 2016™.
Grievances aside, Mass Effect’s greatest achievement is in how it introduces an entire galaxy and history with the most restrained and self-contained story of the bunch, featuring the series' most sympathetic villain by miles, Saren. He comes off as a stern, militaristic jerk, but discovering his true motives turn him from Videogame Bad Guy into a sympathetic, tragic character. He wants to form an alliance with the Reapers to prevent them from harvesting the whole of organic life. He wants to save the damn universe. Well shoot, that sounds nice.
Navigating Saren’s sabotage alongside the frustrating bureaucracy of the Citadel Council while grappling with privilege of becoming a Spectre—basically an intergalactic super cop—sets up some grounded (for sci-fi) moral and political dilemmas. Do you abuse your newfound power to sidestep and possibly supplant the Council? Or do you work with them despite their distrust of humanity?
No matter, the Reapers make their presence known and you’re forced to make some difficult decisions. And despite their apocalyptic prophesying, I remember the first time I completed Mass Effect, when the idea that I’d be playing two more games over the next five or so years with my Shepard dawned on me. Even though I didn’t like the combat or clumsy Mako rides much back then, I still felt a profound sense of excitement knowing my specific journey was far from over and that it would probably only get better from here. Mass Effect is an imperfect game, but laid a perfect foundation for a quickly ballooning universe that I’ve yet to tire of nearly 10 years later.
While you’re at it, scream about the Mako. There are some people that choose to die on the Mako’s hill, which is a shame, because while it may align with one of the series’ greatest strengths in exploration, it doesn’t ever approach its full potential. At best, the Mako is a dopey physics turret on wheels that gets you to and fro. Otherwise, planetary exploration is limited to bouncing around empty terrain until a space worm eats you, or worse, you get stuck in the nonsensical mountain topography. I’m not sorry: The Mako Is Bad 2016™.
Grievances aside, Mass Effect’s greatest achievement is in how it introduces an entire galaxy and history with the most restrained and self-contained story of the bunch, featuring the series' most sympathetic villain by miles, Saren. He comes off as a stern, militaristic jerk, but discovering his true motives turn him from Videogame Bad Guy into a sympathetic, tragic character. He wants to form an alliance with the Reapers to prevent them from harvesting the whole of organic life. He wants to save the damn universe. Well shoot, that sounds nice.
Navigating Saren’s sabotage alongside the frustrating bureaucracy of the Citadel Council while grappling with privilege of becoming a Spectre—basically an intergalactic super cop—sets up some grounded (for sci-fi) moral and political dilemmas. Do you abuse your newfound power to sidestep and possibly supplant the Council? Or do you work with them despite their distrust of humanity?
No matter, the Reapers make their presence known and you’re forced to make some difficult decisions. And despite their apocalyptic prophesying, I remember the first time I completed Mass Effect, when the idea that I’d be playing two more games over the next five or so years with my Shepard dawned on me. Even though I didn’t like the combat or clumsy Mako rides much back then, I still felt a profound sense of excitement knowing my specific journey was far from over and that it would probably only get better from here. Mass Effect is an imperfect game, but laid a perfect foundation for a quickly ballooning universe that I’ve yet to tire of nearly 10 years later.
Mass Effect 3
A nice try at goodbye
Developed: BioWare Published: EA
2012
Developed: BioWare Published: EA
2012
The Citadel DLC
Perhaps the best DLC add-on in the entire series, The Citadel was a sweet, subdued adventure that took place after the end of ME3 that reunites old friends and lovers with one last party.
It’s easy to forget that Mass Effect 3 wrapped up a dozen character arcs with a tight series of tremendous finales and elegant third person combat scenarios. Instead it gets an inordinate amount of flak for its final few minutes. I get it. Introducing a moral fulcrum in the form of a dead kid we know next to nothing about and in three assorted flavors (red, blue, or green) made the series conclusion feel more hamfisted than it had to. I made my robots and people into cyber plants with a green light or something—it was silly.
The ending and themes have their problems, sure, but fixating on them distracts from the otherwise excellent third act, especially in terms of what made Mass Effect 2 so great: character. For the dozens of pins Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 set up, Mass Effect 3 knocks a ton of them down, giving the majority of its characters and conflicts lovely goodbyes. In one of many, Mordin dies in poignant self-sacrifice as he comes to terms with the mistakes he made in engineering the genophage, and opts to disperse the cure before an explosion consumes him whole. Unless you shoot him to stop it, that is—or if a certain Krogan is clan leader, Mordin will disappear and fake his death. He may not even be in your game at all if he died in Mass Effect 2. The tall stack of variables Mass Effect 3 juggles and follows through on are staggering for how cohesive it feels, largely because the Reaper narrative needs a neat bow, and fast.
In Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2, the Reapers were still coming, but they felt like a distant threat, an excuse to assemble a hodge podge team of sci-fi weirdos, and the best time to get to know someone is under the certainty of doom. But in Mass Effect 3, the Reapers are here, and by god, they’re levelling cities. The narrative manages to sandwich a galactic conflict with a satisfying series of character arcs in a batch of reunions that avoid playing like a sitcom reunion episode. Everyone is under a lot of pressure—saving organic life, and all—so nearly every mission carries the same urgency as the climax of Mass Effect 2. This comes at the expense of gathering an entirely new team and getting to know them (a BioWare staple) but if viewed as a direct extension of Mass Effect 2 rather than a game meant to stand on its own, it becomes much easier to appreciate Mass Effect 3 and the characters you’ve come to know over the course of the series.
Some are still with you, some have moved on. Tali, my BFF, returned to the Quarian fleet in a leadership role to take back their home planet from the Geth. I felt proud, watching her take charge. Wrex is a clan leader back on Tuchanka, leading the crusade for a cure to the genophage, a virus designed to make krogan females infertile. If Mordin manages to cure it, Wrex names his firstborn after him—you beautiful space lizard man, you. Each crewmember, new and old, still have individual stories, but because there’s no sidestepping the Reapers this time around, they all tie into the greater conflict, making Mass Effect 3 feel more urgent and swift than its predecessors.
And it’s because of this that many players found the ending so abrupt and insubstantial. Rather than getting a hyper specific ending that reflected the branching decisions of their Shepard’s life, the overall course of the series was much more parabolic, widening in Mass Effect 2, but ultimately sprinting to the same hokey decision point in Mass Effect 3. It’s not a great final impression, but more than any disappointment, I remember the faces I punched and kissed along the way.
And it’s because of this that many players found the ending so abrupt and insubstantial. Rather than getting a hyper specific ending that reflected the branching decisions of their Shepard’s life, the overall course of the series was much more parabolic, widening in Mass Effect 2, but ultimately sprinting to the same hokey decision point in Mass Effect 3. It’s not a great final impression, but more than any disappointment, I remember the faces I punched and kissed along the way.
Mass Effect 2
Mass Affect
Developed: BioWare Published: EA
2010
Developed: BioWare Published: EA
2010
Thane lust is real, cannot die
One of Mass Effect 2's most beloved characters is Thane, a humble, soft-spoken assassin with a kind heart. And nice abs. The undying thirst for Thane is representative of the love for ME2's characters, which isn't always so sweaty and difficult to Google at work. (Image source)
Mass Effect 2 represents a significant shift for the series and BioWare’s design sensibilities as whole, placing its greatest efforts into developing deep, interesting characters—sometimes at the expense of urgency, but ultimately in service of creating a much more personal experience.
It’s not the most refined game in the series, but Mass Effect 2 is fortunate enough to exist in a suspended state of expectation between what the first game set up and what the third was meant to fulfill. It doesn’t need to reintroduce the galaxy or tie up any loose ends, and because of that, it can play a little looser with its structure. The Collectors and Reaper threats are always lurking in the background, but never really thrust the larger narrative forward until the very end, which lends more time to Shepard and their crew to hang out and scour the galaxy for volunteers at their leisure. Despite the whole apocalypse scenario, there’s plenty of time to tend to each primary crew member’s particular problems via their loyalty questline. It’s a little too convenient, but worth the suspension of disbelief, because BioWare killed it with these characters.
Everyone has their favorite. I’m partial to Jack, a notorious criminal formerly locked away in a Cerberus test facility and mercilessly poked and prodded for the sake of science. She didn’t have a pleasant childhood, to say the least. I earned her loyalty by addressing her trauma in the most direct way we could: by planting a bomb in the test facility she was raised in. We fell in love despite our equally hard exteriors and learned to cry again (in private). My Shepard was an orphan, raised on the streets of some dirty megacity on Earth. Jack and I, we got each other, you know?
It’s not the most refined game in the series, but Mass Effect 2 is fortunate enough to exist in a suspended state of expectation between what the first game set up and what the third was meant to fulfill. It doesn’t need to reintroduce the galaxy or tie up any loose ends, and because of that, it can play a little looser with its structure. The Collectors and Reaper threats are always lurking in the background, but never really thrust the larger narrative forward until the very end, which lends more time to Shepard and their crew to hang out and scour the galaxy for volunteers at their leisure. Despite the whole apocalypse scenario, there’s plenty of time to tend to each primary crew member’s particular problems via their loyalty questline. It’s a little too convenient, but worth the suspension of disbelief, because BioWare killed it with these characters.
Everyone has their favorite. I’m partial to Jack, a notorious criminal formerly locked away in a Cerberus test facility and mercilessly poked and prodded for the sake of science. She didn’t have a pleasant childhood, to say the least. I earned her loyalty by addressing her trauma in the most direct way we could: by planting a bomb in the test facility she was raised in. We fell in love despite our equally hard exteriors and learned to cry again (in private). My Shepard was an orphan, raised on the streets of some dirty megacity on Earth. Jack and I, we got each other, you know?
This is just one of 12 crew members, each with their own recruitment and loyalty missions, and distinct, flawed personalities. It’s through these relationships that Mass Effect 2 does its most potent world-building—not grand open world exploration levels and blockbuster spectacle, but through how a character speaks, what they’re wearing, what they perceive as kindness, if they can perceive kindness, their treatment of one another, and so on. For example, it becomes clear pretty quickly that the Krogan are a proud, aggressive species, but understanding why and how is an exercise in empathy, which is key in nearly every companion questline. Turns out, Krogan can be pretty chill (which Mordin learned tragically late).
This isn’t to say it’s just an expensive visual novel. Mass Effect 2 also revamped the combat into a fluid tactical third person shooter with expressive RPG trappings and a heavier focus on real time interactions. It wasn’t truly refined until Mass Effect 3, but it streamlined the management of squad members and their individual abilities without stripping away complexity. You can play it like a third person shooter without ever pausing, or you can freeze time as you like, moving members and deploying abilities like a sci-fi middle manager due for a promotion.
All this, driven by a sense of impending doom through the slow unravelling of the mystery surrounding the Collectors, and one of the best hooks in RPG history: prepping for a suicide mission. The high stakes aren’t trivialized either—you’re heading into the Collector base, a pulsing hive of powerful ancient technology controlled by the Reapers where it’s possible for you and everyone you bring along to die. And if they don’t survive, it’s probably your fault. I lost Thane and still feel pangs of guilt when I remember. A fictional character with green skin and bug eyes! Guilt!
Mass Effect 2 is the best in the series because it dedicates so much time to building such meaningful relationships, and then puts them at great risk. Sure, it’s a shiny, action-packed space romp, but above all else, Mass Effect 2 is an exciting, moving collection of sci-fi vignettes about love and loss.
This isn’t to say it’s just an expensive visual novel. Mass Effect 2 also revamped the combat into a fluid tactical third person shooter with expressive RPG trappings and a heavier focus on real time interactions. It wasn’t truly refined until Mass Effect 3, but it streamlined the management of squad members and their individual abilities without stripping away complexity. You can play it like a third person shooter without ever pausing, or you can freeze time as you like, moving members and deploying abilities like a sci-fi middle manager due for a promotion.
All this, driven by a sense of impending doom through the slow unravelling of the mystery surrounding the Collectors, and one of the best hooks in RPG history: prepping for a suicide mission. The high stakes aren’t trivialized either—you’re heading into the Collector base, a pulsing hive of powerful ancient technology controlled by the Reapers where it’s possible for you and everyone you bring along to die. And if they don’t survive, it’s probably your fault. I lost Thane and still feel pangs of guilt when I remember. A fictional character with green skin and bug eyes! Guilt!
Mass Effect 2 is the best in the series because it dedicates so much time to building such meaningful relationships, and then puts them at great risk. Sure, it’s a shiny, action-packed space romp, but above all else, Mass Effect 2 is an exciting, moving collection of sci-fi vignettes about love and loss.