Generated Character of the Generation: Semifinals Group 1

Yay! The Boss is ahead for probably the last time in this thread's existence...

But if it means denying Mass Effect another victory, vote I shall.

A tough one! But my vanguard Shepard is a pretty amazing dude.

In SR3 the Boss had like 4 different VAs who were better than male Shepard.

Femshep on the other hand...

Eh.

There's only so much you can do with those lines.

The Boss.

As absurd a character as he is, he does at least have several distinct, identifiable personality traits.

As he did in SR2. Not like it really takes much to surpass Mark Meer's Shepard, though...

The Boss knows all the lyrics to "What I Got."

Get fucked Shepard.

Anywhoo, The Boss also obviously allows much more customisation options. Though while you could argue that Shepard gives you more agency as playing as your own character, that aspect was reduced per game, and was specifically one of my problems with ME3. That, and of course none of your choices across the games ever rarely mattered all that much. So while Shepard is technically a generated character, s/he eventually became much more of a pre-defined character in the end and was more akin to, say, Cole from inFAMOUS in that there are only really two different personalities of Shepard. Hell, from what I've heard about The Witcher games, it almost sounds like even Geralt gives you more agency as a character than Shepard, and Michael Thorton is undoubtedly a much more successful attempt at that sort of character in particular. Who you decide to fuck in Mass Effect is perhaps the only one defining choice that mattered towards your character in the end.

Playing as Renegade Shepard sure is fun, though... Nonetheless, The Boss took it for me due to better voice performances (yes, even over Jennifer Hale), and more customisation options. That, and I thought Shepard was ultimately a pretty weak 'player avatar' overall.

I don't understand why anyone would even like Shepard. He's too defined to be a good role playing character, and not defined enough to be interesting.

This is a really weird category.

That it is.

The fuck? This isn't the finals? Well I'll be.

The Boss is entertaining, but Shepard was my avatar in a world I enjoyed very much.

I'm genuinely surprised that Shepard is winning. Even playing as a renegade, Shepard is too much of a tight-ass to be even remotely interesting, and the male voice acting has some of the most robotic lines I've ever heard in a AAA title. Sucks that all these polls are going to be dominated by Mass Effect.

@TheHT: how does that make him/her a good character?

@alecofthewest: quiet you!

Shepard's great and all, but c'mon, the Boss is a brilliantly fun character in his/her own right. Just the reaction to Burt Reynolds is enough to win this.

How is Mass effect so damn popular ?

Looks like my vote evened it out!

This is hard, but I got to go with Shepard. But, I don't know if I voted for him because I like Mass Effect or because I like him. Cause I'm probably the only one that kind of likes Shepard, I've been through some shit with that dude. Also I voted and now it's 50/50!

Damn, this is hard. Mass Effect is my favorite series of this generation, but I still have to give it to The Boss.

Shepard.

Agreed.

It was a close fight, but Commander Shepard wins, 51% to 49%, and goes on to the finals.

Guess this shit is going to Mass Effect again. Ugh.