You Can Kiss Shepard Goodbye After Mass Effect 3

"We have ambitious plans to continue this franchise going forward. Mass Effect 3 is simultaneously a couple of different things: a thrilling and epic conclusion to the trilogy as we promised our fans we'd provide for Commander Shepard, but it's also a brand new beginning - it's an entry point for new fans."

Mass effect MMO confirmed for Q4 2013 release!

@Toms115: I wanted to destroy that bastard so badly.. Never mention that name again!

Honestly, I can't think of anything worse for the franchise than being overly fixated on Commander Shepherd. Shep is great and all that, but really ... three games are enough with the same character. I'm happy they're not going to drag him/her into another set of games. Let me run across him/her perhaps, hanging out in a bar or something so I can buy him/her a drink. But let the poor guy/gal retire. I think he's/she's earned it.

alex i love you

Alex, you more than anyone should know why people give it importance. I just finished the 4th season Madmen the other day and couldn't help but notice how Joan's hair got lighter with time. This happens in a bunch of shows (Pam from The Office comes to mind who pretty much turns into a blonde completely). People in the U.S. consistently ask for lighter and lighter women (and men) as protagonists. They want them White and preferably blonde.

It's significant because defaults represent the status quo. It's as easy as asking why is default Shepard not Black? or Hispanic? or Asian?

So its the end of the trilogy, who cares if you can't play shepard in another game, his/her storyline concludes with mass effect 3.

I don't really care about what the default Shepard looks like because I've always just customized my Shepard looks anyways.

My DudeShep is actually completely ugly and I can't see him any other way.

@PrivateIronTFU said:

@G3RHRT said:

Alex, you more than anyone should know why people give it importance. I just finished the 4th season Madmen the other day and couldn't help but notice how Joan's hair got lighter with time. This happens in a bunch of shows (Pam from The Office comes to mind who pretty much turns into a blonde completely). People in the U.S. consistently ask for lighter and lighter women (and men) as protagonists. They want them White and preferably blonde.

It's significant because defaults represent the status quo. It's as easy as asking why is default Shepard not Black? or Hispanic? or Asian?

Joan's hair didn't get lighter, and Pam's hair definitely didn't get lighter. Show me a blonde Pam and a Joan Holloway without red hair, please. Because I don't think those photos even exist.

@PrivateIronTFU said:

@G3RHRT: Even if Joan's hair is slightly lighter (which I still don't think it is), that hair in the second pic is still very much red. That first pic looks over-saturated. And all I can say about Pam is that her hair is more done-up in the later seasons, and with the exception of some highlights, her hair is still pretty much the same color.

Ok, then...

That last paragraph was hilarious

My FemShep already looked like this soooo...

i hear she will be on the cover of the collectors edition... if its true, ill be a little disappointed, im not sexist or anything, i love women, but i would rather a generic cover for it like they did for ME2, or at least the male version that has been around the WHOLE series

So the Mass Effect trilogy is not a trilogy. big fucking surprise. Would one of you assholes developing games please just stick to it when you say "this is a trilogy"? If you're branching off into a dozen new titles that branch off from the main game, that's not a trilogy. Just like Assassin's Creed is not a trilogy when you say "well, this is part 2:1, 2:2, 2:3". Just fucking stop already. Have the integrity in your product and story to say "we told this story in three parts and now we're going to do something else". The world doesn't need more of the thing over and over, until it finally sucks and leaves a bad taste in people's mouths.

This isn't surprising.  Those actors want to do something else
anyway by now.  It's not like Conan, otherwise the name of the
series would have been "Shepherd" after the hero, instead of
"Mass Effect", after the sci-fi setting.
 
@Branthog:   Shit changes.

"We have ambitious plans to continue this franchise going forward. Mass Effect 3 is simultaneously a couple of different things: a thrilling and epic conclusion to the trilogy as we promised our fans we'd provide for Commander Shepard, but it's also a brand new beginning - it's an entry point for new fans."
 
Translation: EA wants us to end this with a sequel hook and shoehorn in some unfinished stories to make people buy more of this series. Sorry we couldn't actually end it like we intended.

Does the carpet match the drapes?

"We have ambitious plans to continue this franchise going forward. Mass Effect 3 is simultaneously a couple of different things: a thrilling and epic conclusion to the trilogy as we promised our fans we'd provide for Commander Shepard, but it's also a brand new beginning - it's an entry point for new fans."  Translation: EA wants us to end this with a sequel hook and shoehorn in some unfinished stories to make people buy more of this series. Sorry we couldn't actually end it like we intended.

Sooo.. Shep dies at the end of ME3 as the ultimate sacrifice to stop the Reaper invasion. Christ on the cross and all that stuff.

Awesome, can't wait for Mass Effect 4, since in the magical world of gaming, a trilogy is usually 4-6 games. . 

Totally fine with that, the universe stands on it's own. Heck, I'd watch a star trek like show based in the mass effect universe.

@Alex_Carrillo said:

So, in the Mass Effect universe humans have all fucked each other to the point where all of humanity sort of looks the same. Everyone is a slightly brown color. It's safe to assume that this FemShep comes from a long line of horribly racist White supremacists who have chosen to inbreed with each other in order to retain their pale skin.

Thanks, White gamers. A racist in-breeder is now the savior of the universe.

Jebus,I hope you're joking mate. Otherwise methinks you need to chill the fuck out.

@Sammo21 said:

Alex making snarky comments that are utterly dick? Yeah, everything is still normal.

Snarky replys to Alex's comments by Dicks? Yeah, everything is still normal.

My female Sheperd's still the best. They should've asked just to borrow the one I made for the official female Shephard. And have you ever googled "female Shepard"? It's like the majority of the ones created that anyone bothered making a screen of look awful.

@G3RHRT said:

@PrivateIronTFU said:

@G3RHRT said:

Alex, you more than anyone should know why people give it importance. I just finished the 4th season Madmen the other day and couldn't help but notice how Joan's hair got lighter with time. This happens in a bunch of shows (Pam from The Office comes to mind who pretty much turns into a blonde completely). People in the U.S. consistently ask for lighter and lighter women (and men) as protagonists. They want them White and preferably blonde.

It's significant because defaults represent the status quo. It's as easy as asking why is default Shepard not Black? or Hispanic? or Asian?

Joan's hair didn't get lighter, and Pam's hair definitely didn't get lighter. Show me a blonde Pam and a Joan Holloway without red hair, please. Because I don't think those photos even exist.

Sorry dude - its all about the lighting. We all appreciate the effort you put in though.

Good. I don't want to play Shepherd a 4th time. Hopefully they do something different with the franchise. They have a great universe. I'd personaly love if they explored the Biotics side more in a 4th game.

I clicked that link that shows a blond version of that model, and oddly enough she resembles Samus.

Personally, I don't give a hoot about FemShep anyway. I just go with default Male Shep just because it feels right.

Now that the Trilogy will end. I wonder what they'll do next with the series. Personally I would love a large online world with actual people and you can build your own ship and assemble your own crew. Basically an MMO but with ME2 (3) gameplay mechanics and gun play.

Well, RedHeadFemShep and I had a good run, it had to end sometime.
 
I'll remember our relationship for what it was SUPPOSED to be.

@Double0hFor said:

i hear she will be on the cover of the collectors edition... if its true, ill be a little disappointed, im not sexist or anything, i love women, but i would rather a generic cover for it like they did for ME2, or at least the male version that has been around the WHOLE series

Dude... Really? You'd rather have that douchey, roid-head, maleshep on the front of your box? Why? I mean, it baffles me that people even play as default MaleShep, considering the character design is so generic and the VO so shitty. FemShep just provides a better story and playing experience, I'd happily take a box with her on it.

Like Alex said, it is nice to see that Bioware is supporting FemShep. I have been a FemShep fan since the first Mass Effect and will roll with her into the 3rd game! I think more of a problem here is they make her out to be a more of an evil witch rather than a badass.

Anyways, the only true Shephard is here...

Bioware did this bullshit to troll the internet and it worked. They were stupid to even put ManShep's face on the second  games cover. Look at the ME2 collector's edition. Just a big N7 all wet and glistening. That's a cover I can get behind. No guns. No tits. Tells you everything you need to know. "Mass Effect 2 is inside."  I'm pretty sure this is one of the reasons why the casual gamers out there don't like being lumped in with the rest.

That's essentially what my Mass Effect 2 female Shepard looked like. But I find it slightly ridiculous that BioWare feels the need for ultra-political correctness. Shepard, according to the original ME universe canon, is a man, but they've discarded that over the course of the trilogy in favor of socially diplomatic neutrality.
 
I feel no oppressive misandrism for the lack of a male character option in Bayonetta. In my opinion, canonicity should stand above being excessively politically correct.

Alex, as someone who remembers at one point criticizing your writing early on in your arrival to Whiskey Media, I have to say that you have been absolutely pitch-perfect since the move to the East Coast.

I don't know why, and I wouldn't ask, but congratulations and keep it up.

What's wrong with redheads? I think women with red hair are hot! And no i don't have red hair, i have brown hair.. that's probably why i like red heads.. I'm least attracted to blondes personally, but in the end i do not care at all what colour the woman's hair is. I'll probably even have a thing for women with grey hair when i get older.

I figured Bioware would continue the Mass Effect series but it's nice to have it confirmed. Going to miss Shepard and I doubt the other characters will appear in future games either but more stuff in the same universe is definitely a good thing.

@Frumpa: Hell, no. It's too obvious to deny it.

Redheads are awesome, but then again, hair color doesn't mean shit. 
 
Also, after all the fuss over her hair color, she won't be back after this game.  Which makes me laugh at everyone that freaked out over that thing we call hair, which isn't even significant when you think about it since when everyone dies, the last thing we'll think about is how hot the color of her hair was.  SILLY!!  

Shepard isn't flexible enough, so Garrus reaps Shepard to death.

Superfluous comment for the sake of quests. Also, willing to bet that most of the femsheps created by players exist for the sole purpose of unlocking girl-on-girl cutscenes. Just sayin'.

Meh, I saw it coming way back when I played Mass Effect (I was late to the party with talk of ME3). 
If BioWare decide to make more ME games... God help them. It would not be the same without shepard.

Sounds refreshing to me!

So happy to hear that the universe will continue. Hopefully I get to see more of the Citadel in the next / following games - or places as epic as that was.

@AndrewB: That's what i was thinking.

I really really hope whatever new Mass Effect game they make is a clean break from the gameplay of the trilogy. If they really want to establish the Mass Effect universe as one that can stand on its own and support a wide variety of games, then the next game needs to be a radical departure. It needs to not be an action game.

I'd like to see an adventure game. Maybe something in the vein of L.A. Noire. Space crime would be awesome to root out.

@mlarrabee said:

That's essentially what my Mass Effect 2 female Shepard looked like. But I find it slightly ridiculous that BioWare feels the need for ultra-political correctness. Shepard, according to the original ME universe canon, is a man, but they've discarded that over the course of the trilogy in favor of socially diplomatic neutrality. I feel no oppressive misandrism for the lack of a male character option in Bayonetta. In my opinion, canonicity should stand above being excessively politically correct.

I think it's more because so many of their fans preferred playing as FemShep and complained that she was underrepresented. In a game based around choice, it makes sense to support players' choices. They were catering to their fans' wishes: not some ideal of political correctness.