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Humanity is a newcomer on the galactic stage, and players take the role of a customizable male or female character -- invariably with the surname Shepard -- who joins the elite SPECTRE corps as a representative of mankind's interests. As a SPECTRE, Shepard will investigate a mysterious attack on a human colony world -- and in the process discover a danger that threatens not only humanity, but the galaxy at large. Mass Effect utilizes many of BioWare's signature RPG elements such as extensive character building, engaging dialogue trees, and an engrossing, branching narrative. Unlike past BioWare hits like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, however, the combat is not turn-based. It instead controls much like a third-person shooter, such as Gears of War, with a useful cover system and over-the-shoulder aiming mechanics. The player is able to pause the action to line up shots and issue commands to other party members, however. Like Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire (another BioWare RPG), Mass Effect allows for the customization of the player character's appearance, gender and basic backstory, and the player's actions during the course of the game determine the ultimate good-or-bad orientation of the character at the end. Additionally, Shepard and his allies have various special skills and abilities that can be improved with the application of attribute points.
Mass Effect is also being turned into a multimedia franchise. Two books are currently avaliable and a Mass Effect movie was recently announced. The first Mass Effect book is a prequel to the first game, and the second book hints at what's to come, story-wise, in the second game.
The Krogan
The Krogan are native to the planet Tuchanka. After they almost destroyed their homewolrd in a vicisous nuclear war, the Krogan were forced to evolve to live in the eternal nuclear winter that had engulphed their world. Because of this forced evolution, Krogan are impervious to toxins, radiation, and extreme temperature. They also store water and nutrients much like a camel in the hump on their back. Their skin is extremely thick and as thick as iron, so bullets and explosions do minimal damage. They also have multiples of major organs, just in case one gets damaged. These qualities make Krogan extremely hard to kill, which makes them extremely well suited for combat and jobs as mercenaries and bounty hunters. Krogan also reproduce and mature at a rapid pace in order to keep their population steady.
DREADNOUGHTS are kilometer-long capital ships mounting heavy, long-range firepower. They are only deployed for the most vital missions.
CARRIERS are dreadnought-sized vessels are also carry a large amount of fighters. Smaller vessels are exclusively used in a support role to the warships during combat:
FIGHTERS are one-man craft used to perform close-range attacks on enemy ships.
INTERCEPTORS are one-man craft optimized for destroying opposing fighters.
"She’s the best ship in the fleet... if you've got a pilot who knows how to handle her." – Joker
A large portion of the advanced technology
developed and used by the numerous galactic civilizations in the Mass Effect
universe make use of the Mass Effect Field in thousands of ways, but the field
sees an especially significant military application. Mass Effect Fields are
used daily in many industries, and have formed the backbone of galactic
standard technology.
Mass Effect Fields are created by utilizing
element zero, a relatively common mineral found in the Mass Effect universe.
Produced in great quantities when a celestial body is bombarded with energized
radiation from a supernova explosion, element zero has the unique ability to
release dark energy when an electrical current is introduced to it, producing a
Mass Effect Field. Depending on the amount of element zero used and polarity of
the electrical charge, the dark energy distortion created by the element zero
will have different effects. The Mass Effect Field is the resulting volume of
space-time that is affected by the charged element zero, by either increasing
or decreasing the mass within that volume. A positive electrical current will
increase mass, and a negative current will decrease mass.
Mass Effect Fields have literally thousands of
applications in the galactic civilization of the Mass Effect universe, however
they enjoy an especially strong presence in the military and industrial
sectors. Some of the more common uses of Mass Effect Fields include: Used to
create anti-gravity drives for consumer and commercial vehicles. Used to
generate low-mass fields for space flight, allowing faster-than-light travel,
as well as high-mass fields, producing artificial gravity. Low-mass fields are
used to create blended alloys, and high-mass fields are used to create dense
metals for construction purposes. Many military vehicles use Mass Effect Fields
as well, allowing the use of advanced weapons technology and mobility
enhancement (like the MAKO). Infantry forces make use of mass effect generators
in their powered body armor to produce shields and lighten the weight of the
armor itself. Just about all standard infantry armaments use tiny element zero
cores to produce mass effect fields which significantly aid in targeting, and
can accelerate projectiles to many times their normal speed by generating a
low-mass field within the firing chamber.
A biotic ability Mass Effect Fields can also be
generated as a semi-natural ability by certain species. When a developing fetus
is exposed to dust-form element zero, there is a very small chance that the
mineral will coalesce within the fetus's nervous system as nodules, which, like
standard element zero cores, react to electrical impulses produced by the
brain. The few individuals that survive to adulthood (the mortality rate is
extraordinarily high) are known as biotics, and are highly sought after by the
various military forces in the Mass Effect universe due to their ability to
generate Mass Effect Fields at will. While initially a relatively weak ability,
with implants and training, biotic soldiers are fearsome on any battlefield. In
the second Mass Effect novel an experiment known as Ascension Project is run by
a group of scientists attempting to train children with biotic abilities
natural, as well as testing them with experimental biotic amplifiers, or amps,
to improve their abilities. Non-biotics also have a way to gain these abilities
for a short time. A drug known as Red Sand can be taken in powder form and
grants temporary biotic powers. These are not as strong as regular biotics though,
and will only allow the use of biotics on small, light items like paper.
Symptoms of a Red Sand addict include a reddish sheen on their teeth, refusing
to eat for long periods of time, and not being able to make eye contact. Red
Sand has only been featured in the Mass Effect novels so far. The only known
race to have naturally-occurring biotics are the Asari. This indicates that an
extraordinary event involving element zero probably occurred during their
evolution, and as a result Asari are some of the most powerful biotics in the
galaxy, their commandos being feared and respected warriors across all of known
space.
Like all Sci-Fi themed games, Mass effect has a deep and rich history in relation to its military technology. In addition, much like Halo, Mass effect too uses concepts such as Space warfare and Personal shields. However, there are major differences in the technology between these games. The standard infantry soldier is armed with an assault rifle and is protected by a Kinetic shield. In some cases, this shield is strong enough to withstand a direct shot from a pistol, however it is also nimble enough that the user can pick up and manipulate objects as small as one’s hair. Shepard's shields absorb the impacts The Kinetic shield draws it power directly from the user’s suit much like the MJOLINR suit in Halo. However, the Kinetic shields have some downsides to it. For instance, the shield is only activated when the on board sensors detect an incoming projectile at a velocity over an established threshold. Also, the shields only work at a certain range, therefore, if one was surprised and the opponent got close enough, they could avoid the Kinetic barrier all together and land a killing blow. A prime example of this case is Nihlus, when Saren shot him in the back of the head. Nihlus’s momentary lapse in attention allowed Saren to get within the range of Nihlus’s shields and render them ineffective. Nevertheless, the Kinetic shields are an important factor in battles and as such tactics like flanking and setting up ambushes are all the more important. Highly trained operatives, like Specters and the Cerebus commandos use the doctrine of “soak up the fire and advance”. What this means is that they expose themselves to fire and let the shields take the brunt of the attack, meanwhile they dart from cover to cover to find a good angle to fire upon their enemy. Once they have found a good spot, they let their much more advanced weapons make short work of the enemy soldiers. Teamwork also plays an important part, as often commandos split up into pairs and as one group lays down “cover fire”, the other group advances and flanks the enemy. The combined fire of the two groups makes short work of the enemies, as the powerful weapons reduce them to pulp. This makes the use of cover all the more important, as it gives the soldiers cover from the enemy and a chance to let their shields charge up again.
The use of Kinetic shields is not limited to personal shields; instead, it is used aboard all military ships. These shields follow the same principles as their smaller cousins but are obviously much stronger and are able to take multiple salvos from ships. However, because combined fire from multiple enemies can wither them down, warships are also equipped with GARDIAN batteries. These serve as point defense and are used to shoot down enemy projectiles and ships that get too close and pose a threat. They are laser batteries and as such move at the speed of light, which make it close to impossible to dodge them. Although they are Laser batteries, they are limited in range and cannot be used over vast expanses. As such, they are only used for close encounters. Another noteworthy fact is that the Kinetic barriers do not stop the laser beams. COMBAT Space combat in the mass-effect universe is unique in the sense that, the combat resembles more of a 17 Century Ship combat than a modern high tech combat that you would come to expect. Because the underlying sting in all of Modern technology is heat, it is to be expected that the Mass effect Universe would also have to compensate for this problem. Tremendous heat is generated when a star ship fires its main gain, in fact a continuous volley can only be maintained for a short duration of time. After that period is over the Commander of the ship would have to vent the heat and this process leaves the ship in a venerable state, therefore a jump to FTL is initiated and the excess heat is purged. An important factor to note here is that the locale of the battle plays an important role; if the fight occurs near a star, it usually only lasts for a short time. However, if the fight takes place in the outer reaches of a solar system it can go on for a long period. As such, opposing fleets usually try to out maneuver each other and get a favorable position before engaging the enemy. The combat philosophy dictates that the Dreadnoughts fire at extreme range, at around 10,000 KM and as the other ships close in they too start to fire. In that sense, the dreadnoughts are the first ships to fire and they are followed by the Cruisers and lastly by the frigates. The cruisers and the frigates screen the Massive but the less mobile Dreadnoughts and Carriers and mainly pick off any damaged ships. The Fighters and the Frigates excel at this role. Because the Frigates are extremely mobile, they form wolf packs and go after the stricken ships. The fighters usually help in taking down the kinetic barriers by firing off torpedoes. The main force consisting of Dreadnoughts and Cruisers continue to close in and once within an intermediate range, begin to broadside each other; which is something akin to 17-century naval warfare. The Destiny Ascension Recently, the value of the Frigate and the smaller light cruisers was proved when the Geth led by Saren and Sovereign broke through the Citadel fleet. The Geth ships being smaller and much more maneuverable were able to fly out of harm’s way and in turn were able to inflict tremendous damage on the bigger and more cumbersome ship of the Citadel fleet. In fact, the Geth ships were able to put so much fire on the Destiny ascension, the flagship of the fleet, that its GARDIAN batteries were overwhelmed and could not comprehend all the target data it was receiving.
The Citadel is a gigantic space station that is home to the Citadel Council. It is believed to be the creation of the Protheans. After the disappearance of the Protheans, the Asari were the first to discover it. Shortly after the Asari discovered the Citadel, the Salarians then arrived, followed by the Volus, who were the third race to arrive. More and more civilizations began to join the Citadel and as a result of that embassies began to be established. Now the Citadel is the center of communication for political interactions between the various races that inhabit the galaxy. The Citadel is currently the heart of Galactic civilization.
Though having been discovered for well over a millennia, some very interesting things about the Citadel are still unknown. There is no knowledge of what material the Citadel is made of. The master control center and the cores location are unknown, as is the actual age of the Citadel. Finally, there are mysterious creatures that work on the Citadel. They are mute creatures known as the Keepers who do not do anything but work on the Citadel, though the specific processes that they regulate are unknown. The Council has ordered that no one interfere with the Keepers work, as they have no idea what systems the Keepers maintain. Keeping them from their maintenance could drastically damage the Citadel so the rule is strongly enforced. Omega Station Omega Station is a huge asteroid turned space station located in the Terminus System. Before their disappearance, the Protheans mined out the center of this asteroid, and used the materials they mined to build the station. The station is divided into several independent sectors and Omega has no central government. Each sector either has no law, or is ruled by powerful crime lords and their hired thugs. Omega Station serves as a homeworld to any and all species not welcome in Citadel space, so it is a natural breeding ground for petty crime. It is not uncommon to see people murdered right out on the streets. Since Omega Station is divided into many sectors that were not all built at the same time, there does not seem to be much of a layout to the stations. Roads will suddenly dead end and turn in places no one would guess, which gives the station a confusing and distorting feel for both visitors and residents. Omega Station serves as an important location for the second Mass Effect novel, Mass Effect: Ascension.
The main theme to the first Mass Effect
is that you are on the hunt for a rogue SPECTRE agent named Saren who has
somehow allied himself with the Geth. Over the course of the game you will
unravel deep and mysterious secrets about the galaxy and the apocalyptic threat
it faces once every 50,000 years in the form of the Reapers.
The first novel written about the Mass Effect universe, by
Canadian Drew Karpyshyn, this story fills in much of the background information
left unexplained by the game, such as the backgrounds of the Saren Arterius and
David Anderson. The book tells the tale of a young Alliance lieutenant David
Anderson investigated an attack on a human lab researching banned Artificial
Intelligence and the sole survivor: lieutenant Kahlee Sanders. It is later
revealed that a mercenary group, the Blue Suns, were hired by the leading
scientist at the lab, who feared Sanders would blow the cover on his illegal
research. Saren, a Council Spectre, then teams up with Anderson and manage to
find the maddened scientist and his research. However, Saren slips away with
the research, which pertained to the location and information of a unknown
technology (which the player in Mass Effect find out is Sovereign), and began
to plot his future plans for galactic domination. In this book, we learn quite
a bit of back history about humanity on the citadel as well as some of the
technology that is prevalent in the Mass effect Universe. The book also goes
into detail about the personality and character of the primary antagonist in
Mass effect, Saren Arterius and his goals for the future.
Mass Effect: Ascension This is the second novel about the Mass effect universe and is also written by Drew Karpyshyn, who to his credit has written the previous book, revelation and was the lead story writer on KOTOR 1 and Mass effect. The second book goes into great detail about the black ops unit Cerberus which is touched upon in the first Mass effect game and the game dispenses with Shepard as the main antagonist. It is set roughly two months after the events of the First mass effect game and great care is taken so as to not to mention major plot details from the first game. The Quarians are also a major topic in this game and as such, their culture and history is explored in great detail.
The year is 2183 and humanity is a relative newcomer in an inter-galactic community teaming with a multitude of races. However, when an ancient threat returns to extinguish all organic life, the fate of the galaxy rests on one human's shoulders...yours.
Overview
Developed by BioWare, Mass Effect is an award-winning science fiction RPG set in an expansive and diverse universe of strange alien species, galactic politics, and advanced technology.
A deep compelling story drives the action
Mass Effect is also being turned into a multimedia franchise. Two books are currently avaliable and a Mass Effect movie was recently announced. The first Mass Effect book is a prequel to the first game, and the second book hints at what's to come, story-wise, in the second game.
Races
Mass Effect has a large variety of races that have been compared to franchises such as Star Wars and Star Trek for their great variety and imagination. Some of the games primary races are listed below.Council Races
Garrus, a prominent Turian in the game
Turians
The Turians were invited to join the Citadel Council, (the governing body of the Citadel comprised of a member from each of the largest races in Citadel space) by the Asari and Salarians after their much needed help in quelling the Krogan rebelion nearly 1200 years ago. They currently have the largest fleet in Citadel Space, and they proudly maintain their role of galactic peacekeepers in Citadel Space. In the past there has been hostility between Humanity and the Turians, due largely to the First Contact War, which is known to the Turians as the Relay 314 Incedent. The Turians rely on the Asari for solving diplomatic matters, and the Salarians for their military intelligence, which creates an atmosphere where all three species lean on each other. This helps all the races known that there is more to gain by joining the Alliance than attempting to wipe them out.
Asari
Asari
The Asari are from the planet Thessia and are the most prominent and powerful species in the game. They were the first sentient race to discover Prothean technology and when they met the Salarians they proposed the idea of a council. An all female race, however they are asexual and therefore can reproduce with any alien species. They are known for their elegance, diplomacy, and biotic talent (they're born biotics). They live through millenia's of time and are a major part of galactic politics. The Asari have some of the best warriors in the galaxy, however there's not many of them.
A Salarian citizen
Salarians
Salarians are a warm-blood, amphibious race, and were the second species to discover the Citadel. They quickly formed an alliance with the Asari, and soon had a seat on the Citadel Council. Salarians are known as the best scientist and inventors of the universe, and are responsible for many great technological advancements. Salarians were able to transform the primitive, brutal, Krogans into some of the most feared mercenaries in the universe, though only years later they would turn around and develop the genophage virus that wouldnearly wipe out the entire Krogan population. Salarians do not live very long, with an average life span of only 40 years. This short lifespan is due to their hyperactive metabolism. This fast moving metabolism is what allows the Salarians to move, think, and talk at a much faster pace than other species.Non-Council Races
The Krogan
The Krogan are native to the planet Tuchanka. After they almost destroyed their homewolrd in a vicisous nuclear war, the Krogan were forced to evolve to live in the eternal nuclear winter that had engulphed their world. Because of this forced evolution, Krogan are impervious to toxins, radiation, and extreme temperature. They also store water and nutrients much like a camel in the hump on their back. Their skin is extremely thick and as thick as iron, so bullets and explosions do minimal damage. They also have multiples of major organs, just in case one gets damaged. These qualities make Krogan extremely hard to kill, which makes them extremely well suited for combat and jobs as mercenaries and bounty hunters. Krogan also reproduce and mature at a rapid pace in order to keep their population steady.The Krogan played an important part in the extermination of a dangerous race of insects known as the Rachni. These insectoid species were very hostile and attacked any foreigners that they came in contact with. After the defeat of the Rachni, the Krogan were hailed as the saviors of the galaxy and were honored for their role in the Rachni Wars. But their quick reproduction, coupled with their warlike demenor forced the Krogan to spread quickly throughought the galaxy, colonizing many worlds. Eventually they started aggressively colonizing worlds that were already occupied by other races, taking the worlds by force. Eventually, the Krogan began to spread into territorry that the Citadel Council had forbid them to colonize. This aggressive expansion led to hostilities between the Krogan and the Citadel Council, eventually leading to the Krogan Rebellion.
Due to their hardy nature and numbers, the Krogan were successful in defending against the joint attacks of the Asari and Salarians. It was only through the luckily timed arrival of the Turians and their fleet that allowed the Citadel forces to stem the Krogan advance. Even with the aid of the Turians, the Citadel forces were unable to bring an end to the war. In their desperation, the Citadel races looked to the Salarians, who created a biological virus, called the genophage, that would infect almost all the Krogans and make breeding very difficult. The Turians unleashed the genophage to tremendous effect, bringing Krogan reproduction to a crawl and the Krogan advance to a standstill. Now facing a weakened Krogan force, the Citadel forces were able to push the Krogans back, eventually defeating them to end the Krogan Rebellion. The price of vicory was a high one though, with the end results allowing only 1 in 1000 Kroganbirthsto succeed.This incredibly low reproduction rate has reduced the Krogan population dramatically, and unless a cure to the genophage is discovered, the Krogan race will be erased from the face of the galaxy.
The Quarians are a race with no planet to call home, thanks primarily to their own hubris and a race of sentinent machines known as the Geth.
The Quarians travel in what is called the Flotilla, a massive fleet of over fifty thousand space ships that is home to over 17 million Quarians. To prevent overcrowding and to add resources to the Flotilla's always dangerously low stores, every young Quarian must go on a rite of passage called the Pilgrimage. After leaving on the Pilgrimage, a Quarian is not allowed to return until they bring something useful back to the Flotilla. Other species tend to look down on the Quarians because of the Flotilla, because when it arrives in a system it has a largely negative impact on the local populance. The large number of ships in the Flotilla clog space traffic and the Quarians need for resources often forces them to strip local asteroid belts of their valuable metals. Since the Quarians have been living in a sterile atmosphere within the Flotilla, their immune system has become practically non-existant. For this reason any Quarian traveling away from the Flotilla carries a form-fitting vital suit to filter the air, keeping them safe from illnesses that would otherwise kill them. Quarians rarely leave the Flotilla though, unless it is to go on their pilgramage or because they have been exhiled for committing some form of unforgivable crime like rape or slave dealing.
Nearly three centuries ago, the Quarians created the Geth to serve as workers and soldiers. The Geth started out as simple machines, but over time the Quarians improved them, eventually giving them full artificial intelligence. Eventually the Geth's networking AI became too powerful and they turned on their creators. What followed was a bloody, but brief civil war. Because the Geth had comprised the bulk of the Quarians military might, the Quarians were powerless to stop the rebellious synthetics. Faced with this fierce onslaught, the Quarians had no choice but to abandon theiry homeworld in the Flotilla. Because of the Geth uprising, the Council demed all AI production a danger to the galaxies well-being, and in order to prevent another tragedy, they banned all production and development of A.I. systems. Because of their nomadic ways, the Quarians are widely disliked across the universe. This dislike has caused some nasty rumors about the Quarians to pop up. The most prevalent of these rumors is that the Quarians only wear their environment suits to hide the fact that they are not a truly organic species, with rumor mongoers insisting that the Quarians are a mesh of organic and synthetic parts.
The Volus are the business men of the Mass Effect universe.
Early on in their history, the Volus formed an alliance with the Turians, trading their ability to handle complex economics for the Turians military protection. While they still mantain a good relationship with the Turians, they are now a Citadel species with their own embassy. The Volus's main duty is to manage the comples and delicate Citadel economy, but many Volus can also be seen in the market section of the Wards, selling all kinds of goods. The Volus's most important contribution to Citadel society is the Unified Banking Act, which created one bank for all Citadel species, and more importantly, one currency for all Citadel species. Many people in the Citadel believe that if Humanity gets a council seat, the Volus will get one as well.
The Volus hail from the planet Irune, and they must wear pressure and environment suits when traveling away from their homeworld. Irune is an unusual planet, lying to far away from any one star to be able to support life. Irune has a high pressure atmosphere though, which creates a very powerful greenhouse effect that traps enough heat from the closest star to warm the planet and create an ammonia based atmosphere. Becuase ammonia is such an unusual gas to breathe, any exposure to an oxygen based atmosphere will literally cause a Volus's skin to begin splitting apart. While a member of the Citadel, on Irune the Volus still maintain a tribal culture, where status is dependent on how good of a merchant you are. Always looking to get ahead, the Volus will also dabble in slave trading or other distasteful acts that they feel are neccessary in order to move up in the social hierarchy.
Batarians
The Batarians and generally seen as Humanoids with four eyes and a bad attitude. Recently, Humans and the Batarians had a small scale conflict in the Verge over territory rights. When it was clear humanity had the upper hand and that the Council was not going to intervene in Batarian favor, the Batarians severed all ties with the galactic community. Thus the began a period of self imposed exile, with the exception of well funded pirate raids on human colonies. Batarians who remain in the Terminus Systems are often slavers, pirates, and smugglers. However, the typical Batarian is not so vile. The majority of them are forced to remain on their home world by the oppressive Batarian Government and have little say in greater galactic issues.
Geth
The Geth are a race of synthetic machines. They were created by the Quarians 300 years ago as tools of labor and war. The Quarians attempted to exterminate the Geth when they showed signs of self-evolution, however, the Geth won the resulting war. This war lead to the repression of all artificial intelligences in galactic society. The Geth now reside in the Perseus Arm system and have kept to themselves until recently.
Commander Shepard is the main protagonist of Mass Effect. Shepard can be either male or female. Gender has little effect on the story, only truly deciding which characters are involved in the romance subplot of the game (Ashley and Liara for a male character, Kaiden and Liara for a female character). The default name of Shepard is John for males and Jane for females, but the player can customize the first name. The character's last name cannot be changed for dialogue purposes. If the player chooses to create a custom identity, they have a large array of Shepard's physical characteristics to customize. The game also allows the player the ability to choose what Commander Shepard's personality andmilitary service record. These choices affect what points you get for intimidate/charm abilities.
The player is able to choose from several options that concern Commander Shepard's history and origins. Shepard can either be male or female. His or her birthplace can be earth, an offworld colony, or somewhere in space (ie. a ship or space station). Shepard can also have been either a sole survivor, a war hero, or a ruthless soldier before the events of Mass Effect. At the time of the first Mass Effect, Shepard is approximately 29 years old, and a crew member aboard the SSV Normandy under Captain Anderson. Shepard's personality throughout the game is mostly determined by the choices the player makes both in dialogue and action.
Early on in the game, Shepard becomes the first human Specter in history. He is assigned a high-priority mission by the Citadel Council; to stop the rouge Spectre, Saren, at all costs. Throughout his travels Shepard encounters numerous allies and exotic locations. The player has the opportunity to obtain specific quests from companions through dialogue. Finishing these quests will reveal more of their backstory, along with their species' history and culture. Completing the main missions in the game will advance the plot, but the player has the oportunity to pursue as many side missions as they want. A romance subplot can exist between Shepard and one of his companions, reaching its "climax," if you will, before the final mission. A brief cutscene will play of Shepard and his or her love interest engaging in intercourse, provided the player has gone through enough dialogue with said love interest prior to the final mission.
Shepard is referenced throughout the game as being an extremely skilled soldier and having experienced many battles. The player may choose 1 of 6 classes for Shepard in the beginng of the game. The Soldier is the combat-focused class in which Shepard is skilled in all weapon types and armors. The Engineer will give Shepard many abilities relating to technology and debuffing his enemies. The Adept essentially acts as the magic class of Mass Effect; Shepard is able to use biotics which can manipulate his enemies and do great damage. The Infiltrator, Sentinel, and Vanguard are crosses between a Soldier and Engineer, an Engineer and Adept, and Soldier and Adept, respectively. After reaching level 20, Shepard receives a side mission to stop a rogue virtual intelligence. Completing this mission will grant the player the ability to choose a special class, unlocking a new talent.
While It is not known if he actually took part in any combat, it is known that he lost a brother in the war, and ever since he has held a grudge against humanity. His ruthless efficiency led him to be selected as a SPECTER at the age of 20, and he performed a variety of missions for the Citadel Council, who considered him their best agent until the events of Mass Effect 1. He was an out spoken critic of humanity’s expansion in the galaxy and he went so far as to sabotage Captain Anderson’s quest to be the first human to join the Specters. During one of his missions he encounters rumors of an advanced warship, which turned out to be the Reaper ship Sovereign, which he believes he can use it to elevate the Turian empire and put the humans in "their place".
Sovereign was the self-proclaimed "vanguard of the galaxies destruction”. Not much is known about Sovereign other than the fact that it was a Reaper that was left in our galaxy to open
CRUISERS are middleweight combatants, faster than dreadnoughts, and more heavily armed then frigates. Cruisers are the standard patrol unit, and often lead frigate flotillas.
Due to their hardy nature and numbers, the Krogan were successful in defending against the joint attacks of the Asari and Salarians. It was only through the luckily timed arrival of the Turians and their fleet that allowed the Citadel forces to stem the Krogan advance. Even with the aid of the Turians, the Citadel forces were unable to bring an end to the war. In their desperation, the Citadel races looked to the Salarians, who created a biological virus, called the genophage, that would infect almost all the Krogans and make breeding very difficult. The Turians unleashed the genophage to tremendous effect, bringing Krogan reproduction to a crawl and the Krogan advance to a standstill. Now facing a weakened Krogan force, the Citadel forces were able to push the Krogans back, eventually defeating them to end the Krogan Rebellion. The price of vicory was a high one though, with the end results allowing only 1 in 1000 Kroganbirthsto succeed.This incredibly low reproduction rate has reduced the Krogan population dramatically, and unless a cure to the genophage is discovered, the Krogan race will be erased from the face of the galaxy.
Quarians
Quarian
The Quarians are a race with no planet to call home, thanks primarily to their own hubris and a race of sentinent machines known as the Geth.
The Quarians travel in what is called the Flotilla, a massive fleet of over fifty thousand space ships that is home to over 17 million Quarians. To prevent overcrowding and to add resources to the Flotilla's always dangerously low stores, every young Quarian must go on a rite of passage called the Pilgrimage. After leaving on the Pilgrimage, a Quarian is not allowed to return until they bring something useful back to the Flotilla. Other species tend to look down on the Quarians because of the Flotilla, because when it arrives in a system it has a largely negative impact on the local populance. The large number of ships in the Flotilla clog space traffic and the Quarians need for resources often forces them to strip local asteroid belts of their valuable metals. Since the Quarians have been living in a sterile atmosphere within the Flotilla, their immune system has become practically non-existant. For this reason any Quarian traveling away from the Flotilla carries a form-fitting vital suit to filter the air, keeping them safe from illnesses that would otherwise kill them. Quarians rarely leave the Flotilla though, unless it is to go on their pilgramage or because they have been exhiled for committing some form of unforgivable crime like rape or slave dealing.
Nearly three centuries ago, the Quarians created the Geth to serve as workers and soldiers. The Geth started out as simple machines, but over time the Quarians improved them, eventually giving them full artificial intelligence. Eventually the Geth's networking AI became too powerful and they turned on their creators. What followed was a bloody, but brief civil war. Because the Geth had comprised the bulk of the Quarians military might, the Quarians were powerless to stop the rebellious synthetics. Faced with this fierce onslaught, the Quarians had no choice but to abandon theiry homeworld in the Flotilla. Because of the Geth uprising, the Council demed all AI production a danger to the galaxies well-being, and in order to prevent another tragedy, they banned all production and development of A.I. systems. Because of their nomadic ways, the Quarians are widely disliked across the universe. This dislike has caused some nasty rumors about the Quarians to pop up. The most prevalent of these rumors is that the Quarians only wear their environment suits to hide the fact that they are not a truly organic species, with rumor mongoers insisting that the Quarians are a mesh of organic and synthetic parts.
Volus
The Volus are the business men of the Mass Effect universe.
A Volus in his environmental suit
Early on in their history, the Volus formed an alliance with the Turians, trading their ability to handle complex economics for the Turians military protection. While they still mantain a good relationship with the Turians, they are now a Citadel species with their own embassy. The Volus's main duty is to manage the comples and delicate Citadel economy, but many Volus can also be seen in the market section of the Wards, selling all kinds of goods. The Volus's most important contribution to Citadel society is the Unified Banking Act, which created one bank for all Citadel species, and more importantly, one currency for all Citadel species. Many people in the Citadel believe that if Humanity gets a council seat, the Volus will get one as well.
The Volus hail from the planet Irune, and they must wear pressure and environment suits when traveling away from their homeworld. Irune is an unusual planet, lying to far away from any one star to be able to support life. Irune has a high pressure atmosphere though, which creates a very powerful greenhouse effect that traps enough heat from the closest star to warm the planet and create an ammonia based atmosphere. Becuase ammonia is such an unusual gas to breathe, any exposure to an oxygen based atmosphere will literally cause a Volus's skin to begin splitting apart. While a member of the Citadel, on Irune the Volus still maintain a tribal culture, where status is dependent on how good of a merchant you are. Always looking to get ahead, the Volus will also dabble in slave trading or other distasteful acts that they feel are neccessary in order to move up in the social hierarchy.
Batarians 
Batarians
The Batarians and generally seen as Humanoids with four eyes and a bad attitude. Recently, Humans and the Batarians had a small scale conflict in the Verge over territory rights. When it was clear humanity had the upper hand and that the Council was not going to intervene in Batarian favor, the Batarians severed all ties with the galactic community. Thus the began a period of self imposed exile, with the exception of well funded pirate raids on human colonies. Batarians who remain in the Terminus Systems are often slavers, pirates, and smugglers. However, the typical Batarian is not so vile. The majority of them are forced to remain on their home world by the oppressive Batarian Government and have little say in greater galactic issues.
Batarians
A Geth "hopper"
Geth
The Geth are a race of synthetic machines. They were created by the Quarians 300 years ago as tools of labor and war. The Quarians attempted to exterminate the Geth when they showed signs of self-evolution, however, the Geth won the resulting war. This war lead to the repression of all artificial intelligences in galactic society. The Geth now reside in the Perseus Arm system and have kept to themselves until recently.CREW
Garrus, Ashley and commander shepard
Wrex, Kaiden and Commander Shepard
From left to right, Garrus, Ashley and Liara
- Lt. Commander Shepard - Commanding officer on the Normandy
- "Navigator" Pressley - XO of the ship and second in command
- Lt. Commander Kaidan Alenko - Marine- Sentinel class
- Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams - Marine- Soldier class
- Jeff "Joker" Moreau - Pilot of the Normandy
- Dr. Chakwas - Ship's doctor
- "Engineer" Adams - Chief engineer of the Normandy
NON- HUMAN CREW MEMBERS/PARTY MEMBERS
- Tali'Zorah Nar Rayya - Quarian member who is on a pilgrimage
- Liara T'Soni - An Asari scientist who happens to be Matriarch Benezia's daughter
- Urdnot Wrex - A bounty hunter and one of the last Krogan battlemasters in the galaxy
- Garrus Vakarian - A member of C-Sec, he spearheaded the investigation into Saren's activities
MAIN CHARACTER/PLAYABLE CHARACTER
Commander Shepard is the main protagonist of Mass Effect. Shepard can be either male or female. Gender has little effect on the story, only truly deciding which characters are involved in the romance subplot of the game (Ashley and Liara for a male character, Kaiden and Liara for a female character). The default name of Shepard is John for males and Jane for females, but the player can customize the first name. The character's last name cannot be changed for dialogue purposes. If the player chooses to create a custom identity, they have a large array of Shepard's physical characteristics to customize. The game also allows the player the ability to choose what Commander Shepard's personality andmilitary service record. These choices affect what points you get for intimidate/charm abilities.
The highly customizable physical characteristics of Commander Shepard
The player is able to choose from several options that concern Commander Shepard's history and origins. Shepard can either be male or female. His or her birthplace can be earth, an offworld colony, or somewhere in space (ie. a ship or space station). Shepard can also have been either a sole survivor, a war hero, or a ruthless soldier before the events of Mass Effect. At the time of the first Mass Effect, Shepard is approximately 29 years old, and a crew member aboard the SSV Normandy under Captain Anderson. Shepard's personality throughout the game is mostly determined by the choices the player makes both in dialogue and action.
Pre-Service History
- Spacer: Both of your parents were in the Alliance military. Your childhood was spent on ships and stations as they transferred from posting to posting, never staying in one location for more than a few years. Following in your parents' footsteps, you enlisted at the age of eighteen. This gives you a 2 Paragon rating.
- Colonist: You were born and raised on Mindoir, a small border colony in the Attican Traverse. When you were sixteen slavers raided Mindoir, slaughtering your family and friends. You were saved by a passing Alliance patrol, and you enlisted with the military a few years later. This gives you a 1 Paragon and 1 Renegade rating.
- Earthborn: You were an orphan raised on the streets of the great megatropolises covering Earth. You escaped the life of petty crime and underworld gangs by enlisting with the Alliance military when you turned eighteen. This gives you a 2 Renegade rating.
Psychological Profile
- War Hero: Early in your military career you found yourself facing an overwhelming enemy force. You risked your own life to save your fellow soldiers and defeat the eenemy despite the impossible odds. Your bravery and heroism have earned you medals and recognition from the Alliance fleet. This gives you a 2 Paragon rating.
- Sole Survivor: During your service, a mission you were on went horribly wrong. Trapped in an extreme survival situation, you had to overcome physical torments and psychological stresses that would have broken most people. You survived while all those around you fell, and now you alone are left to tell the tale. This gives you a 1 Paragon and 1 Renegade rating.
- Ruthless: Throughout your military career, you have held fast to one basic rule: get the job done. You've been called cold, calculating, and brutal. Your reputation for ruthless efficiency makes your fellow soldiers wary of you. But when failure is not an ooption, the military always goes to you first. This gives you a 2 Renegade rating
Early on in the game, Shepard becomes the first human Specter in history. He is assigned a high-priority mission by the Citadel Council; to stop the rouge Spectre, Saren, at all costs. Throughout his travels Shepard encounters numerous allies and exotic locations. The player has the opportunity to obtain specific quests from companions through dialogue. Finishing these quests will reveal more of their backstory, along with their species' history and culture. Completing the main missions in the game will advance the plot, but the player has the oportunity to pursue as many side missions as they want. A romance subplot can exist between Shepard and one of his companions, reaching its "climax," if you will, before the final mission. A brief cutscene will play of Shepard and his or her love interest engaging in intercourse, provided the player has gone through enough dialogue with said love interest prior to the final mission.
Commander Shepard can be played as a female.
Shepard is referenced throughout the game as being an extremely skilled soldier and having experienced many battles. The player may choose 1 of 6 classes for Shepard in the beginng of the game. The Soldier is the combat-focused class in which Shepard is skilled in all weapon types and armors. The Engineer will give Shepard many abilities relating to technology and debuffing his enemies. The Adept essentially acts as the magic class of Mass Effect; Shepard is able to use biotics which can manipulate his enemies and do great damage. The Infiltrator, Sentinel, and Vanguard are crosses between a Soldier and Engineer, an Engineer and Adept, and Soldier and Adept, respectively. After reaching level 20, Shepard receives a side mission to stop a rogue virtual intelligence. Completing this mission will grant the player the ability to choose a special class, unlocking a new talent.
VILLAINS
SAREN ARTERIUS
Saren Arterius is a legendary Turian agent of the elite SPECTERS branch of the Citadel military and he was also the chief antagonist in the first Mass Effect game. He has a long and shady past with allegations that he took part in the first contact war against humanity.
Saren
During the events of Mass Effect 1, Saren attacks the human colony at Eden Prime in order to get the Prothean Becon that the humans had found on the planet and that is the players first official introduction to Saren. Over the course of the game it is revealed that like so many others, Saren has fallen prey to Sovereign’s mind indoctrination power. Hell bent on finding the conduit and unleashing the reapers on the galaxy, Saren has dispatched an army of Geth under his command to scour the universe in search of clues about the conduit's whereabouts. To bolster his forces, Saren creates a facility on Virmire to find a cure to the Krogan genophage, which would allow him to build a large army of Krogan warriors. Ultimately Saren finds the conduit on Illos, closely followed by Shepard, who, disobeying the Council's explicit orders, has left the Citadel to take down Saren. Saren aids Sovereign in trying to fully open the Citadels relays but is killed by Shepard before he is successful.
SOVEREIGN
Sovereign was the self-proclaimed "vanguard of the galaxies destruction”. Not much is known about Sovereign other than the fact that it was a Reaper that was left in our galaxy to open
Sovereign during the attack on the citadel
the Mass Effect relay that would bring the Reapers back into our galaxy. It can be inferred that Sovereign was an extremely advanced A.I. and that it was capable of deceiving even the smartest of minds. It had the power to indoctrinate people, effectively taking completely control them. It also possessed an extremely large element zero drive that allowed it to land on planets; something that ships the size of Sovereign should not be able to do. Sovereign also possessed a gun that was capable of obliterating any ship in the Citadel fleet. It can be argued that Sovereign was the main antagonist in Mass Effect because of the fact that its corruption of Saren led to Saren's betrayal of the Council and his role in tracking down the conduit. At the end of Mass Effect, Sovereign leads a Geth fleet to the Citadel in an attempt to open the mass relay, but is attacked by a human fleet and is ultimately destroyed by a torpedo from the Normandy.
Military Ship Classifications
CRUISERS are middleweight combatants, faster than dreadnoughts, and more heavily armed then frigates. Cruisers are the standard patrol unit, and often lead frigate flotillas.
DREADNOUGHTS are kilometer-long capital ships mounting heavy, long-range firepower. They are only deployed for the most vital missions.
CARRIERS are dreadnought-sized vessels are also carry a large amount of fighters. Smaller vessels are exclusively used in a support role to the warships during combat:
SSV NORMANDY
"She’s the best ship in the fleet... if you've got a pilot who knows how to handle her." – Joker
The SSV Normandy is a prototype warship developed in collaboration with the Turians and funded in part by the Citadel. She is in the service of the Humans System Alliance and is classified as a frigate. The Normandy is optimized for deep reconnaissance missions into hostile areas such as the Terminus systems and the border areas with the Geth. She is considered to be the most technologically advanced ship in the navy and as such includes a lot of unique features such advanced stealth systems and an advanced drive core. Captain Anderson originally commanded the Normandy, but he relinquished command when Commander Shepard was chosen to be a Specter. Specifications Although she has a lot of notable systems, the Normandy's most unique feature is her Internal Emission sink, which helps her to avoid being detected by sensors by storing the generated heat in heat sinks that are located within the hull. Although it does not make her any less visible to the naked eye, when in stealth mode the Normandy is invisible to all but sensors that identify a vessel based upon the heat signatures. The Normandy can effectively remain invisible for about two to three hours, but after that period the heat sinks have to be radiated or the crew will be cooked alive. However, with the heat sink enabled the ship cannot jump to another system, instead being forced to go into silent running mode. It has a relatively small crew numbering 30. Should the Normandy’s design prove to be successful in field tests, a follow-up class of vessels will likely be approved, incorporating "lessons learned" during the field tests. The Normandy has respectable amnesties such as good-sized crew quarters, a common dining area, and a fairly large hanger area where the Mako is held. The Normandy The star map also comes with a small medical facility with a full time doctor, as well as multiple ejection pods to use if the need arises. It has a large bridge with the pilot at the helm and unlike normal human vessels, it does not have a central area for the commanding officer to sit and look over the bridge. Instead, it is built similar to Turian designs. In essence, the entire top deck of the ship is one massive bridge, with the star map located towards the middle on a raised platform. the conference room is all the way at the end of the first deck, and the engine room is present on deck three, in the underbelly of the ship.
MASS EFFECT FIELD
Overview
A large portion of the advanced technology
developed and used by the numerous galactic civilizations in the Mass Effect
universe make use of the Mass Effect Field in thousands of ways, but the field
sees an especially significant military application. Mass Effect Fields are
used daily in many industries, and have formed the backbone of galactic
standard technology.
Creation
Mass Effect Fields are created by utilizing
element zero, a relatively common mineral found in the Mass Effect universe.
Produced in great quantities when a celestial body is bombarded with energized
radiation from a supernova explosion, element zero has the unique ability to
release dark energy when an electrical current is introduced to it, producing a
Mass Effect Field. Depending on the amount of element zero used and polarity of
the electrical charge, the dark energy distortion created by the element zero
will have different effects. The Mass Effect Field is the resulting volume of
space-time that is affected by the charged element zero, by either increasing
or decreasing the mass within that volume. A positive electrical current will
increase mass, and a negative current will decrease mass.
Applications
Mass Effect Fields have literally thousands of
applications in the galactic civilization of the Mass Effect universe, however
they enjoy an especially strong presence in the military and industrial
sectors. Some of the more common uses of Mass Effect Fields include: Used to
create anti-gravity drives for consumer and commercial vehicles. Used to
generate low-mass fields for space flight, allowing faster-than-light travel,
as well as high-mass fields, producing artificial gravity. Low-mass fields are
used to create blended alloys, and high-mass fields are used to create dense
metals for construction purposes. Many military vehicles use Mass Effect Fields
as well, allowing the use of advanced weapons technology and mobility
enhancement (like the MAKO). Infantry forces make use of mass effect generators
in their powered body armor to produce shields and lighten the weight of the
armor itself. Just about all standard infantry armaments use tiny element zero
cores to produce mass effect fields which significantly aid in targeting, and
can accelerate projectiles to many times their normal speed by generating a
low-mass field within the firing chamber.
Biotics
A biotic ability Mass Effect Fields can also be
generated as a semi-natural ability by certain species. When a developing fetus
is exposed to dust-form element zero, there is a very small chance that the
mineral will coalesce within the fetus's nervous system as nodules, which, like
standard element zero cores, react to electrical impulses produced by the
brain. The few individuals that survive to adulthood (the mortality rate is
extraordinarily high) are known as biotics, and are highly sought after by the
various military forces in the Mass Effect universe due to their ability to
generate Mass Effect Fields at will. While initially a relatively weak ability,
with implants and training, biotic soldiers are fearsome on any battlefield. In
the second Mass Effect novel an experiment known as Ascension Project is run by
a group of scientists attempting to train children with biotic abilities
natural, as well as testing them with experimental biotic amplifiers, or amps,
to improve their abilities. Non-biotics also have a way to gain these abilities
for a short time. A drug known as Red Sand can be taken in powder form and
grants temporary biotic powers. These are not as strong as regular biotics though,
and will only allow the use of biotics on small, light items like paper.
Symptoms of a Red Sand addict include a reddish sheen on their teeth, refusing
to eat for long periods of time, and not being able to make eye contact. Red
Sand has only been featured in the Mass Effect novels so far. The only known
race to have naturally-occurring biotics are the Asari. This indicates that an
extraordinary event involving element zero probably occurred during their
evolution, and as a result Asari are some of the most powerful biotics in the
galaxy, their commandos being feared and respected warriors across all of known
space.
WEAPONS OF WAR
KINETIC SHIELDS
Like all Sci-Fi themed games, Mass effect has a deep and rich history in relation to its military technology. In addition, much like Halo, Mass effect too uses concepts such as Space warfare and Personal shields. However, there are major differences in the technology between these games. The standard infantry soldier is armed with an assault rifle and is protected by a Kinetic shield. In some cases, this shield is strong enough to withstand a direct shot from a pistol, however it is also nimble enough that the user can pick up and manipulate objects as small as one’s hair. Shepard's shields absorb the impacts The Kinetic shield draws it power directly from the user’s suit much like the MJOLINR suit in Halo. However, the Kinetic shields have some downsides to it. For instance, the shield is only activated when the on board sensors detect an incoming projectile at a velocity over an established threshold. Also, the shields only work at a certain range, therefore, if one was surprised and the opponent got close enough, they could avoid the Kinetic barrier all together and land a killing blow. A prime example of this case is Nihlus, when Saren shot him in the back of the head. Nihlus’s momentary lapse in attention allowed Saren to get within the range of Nihlus’s shields and render them ineffective. Nevertheless, the Kinetic shields are an important factor in battles and as such tactics like flanking and setting up ambushes are all the more important. Highly trained operatives, like Specters and the Cerebus commandos use the doctrine of “soak up the fire and advance”. What this means is that they expose themselves to fire and let the shields take the brunt of the attack, meanwhile they dart from cover to cover to find a good angle to fire upon their enemy. Once they have found a good spot, they let their much more advanced weapons make short work of the enemy soldiers. Teamwork also plays an important part, as often commandos split up into pairs and as one group lays down “cover fire”, the other group advances and flanks the enemy. The combined fire of the two groups makes short work of the enemies, as the powerful weapons reduce them to pulp. This makes the use of cover all the more important, as it gives the soldiers cover from the enemy and a chance to let their shields charge up again.
ABOARD SHIPS
The use of Kinetic shields is not limited to personal shields; instead, it is used aboard all military ships. These shields follow the same principles as their smaller cousins but are obviously much stronger and are able to take multiple salvos from ships. However, because combined fire from multiple enemies can wither them down, warships are also equipped with GARDIAN batteries. These serve as point defense and are used to shoot down enemy projectiles and ships that get too close and pose a threat. They are laser batteries and as such move at the speed of light, which make it close to impossible to dodge them. Although they are Laser batteries, they are limited in range and cannot be used over vast expanses. As such, they are only used for close encounters. Another noteworthy fact is that the Kinetic barriers do not stop the laser beams. COMBAT Space combat in the mass-effect universe is unique in the sense that, the combat resembles more of a 17 Century Ship combat than a modern high tech combat that you would come to expect. Because the underlying sting in all of Modern technology is heat, it is to be expected that the Mass effect Universe would also have to compensate for this problem. Tremendous heat is generated when a star ship fires its main gain, in fact a continuous volley can only be maintained for a short duration of time. After that period is over the Commander of the ship would have to vent the heat and this process leaves the ship in a venerable state, therefore a jump to FTL is initiated and the excess heat is purged. An important factor to note here is that the locale of the battle plays an important role; if the fight occurs near a star, it usually only lasts for a short time. However, if the fight takes place in the outer reaches of a solar system it can go on for a long period. As such, opposing fleets usually try to out maneuver each other and get a favorable position before engaging the enemy. The combat philosophy dictates that the Dreadnoughts fire at extreme range, at around 10,000 KM and as the other ships close in they too start to fire. In that sense, the dreadnoughts are the first ships to fire and they are followed by the Cruisers and lastly by the frigates. The cruisers and the frigates screen the Massive but the less mobile Dreadnoughts and Carriers and mainly pick off any damaged ships. The Fighters and the Frigates excel at this role. Because the Frigates are extremely mobile, they form wolf packs and go after the stricken ships. The fighters usually help in taking down the kinetic barriers by firing off torpedoes. The main force consisting of Dreadnoughts and Cruisers continue to close in and once within an intermediate range, begin to broadside each other; which is something akin to 17-century naval warfare. The Destiny Ascension Recently, the value of the Frigate and the smaller light cruisers was proved when the Geth led by Saren and Sovereign broke through the Citadel fleet. The Geth ships being smaller and much more maneuverable were able to fly out of harm’s way and in turn were able to inflict tremendous damage on the bigger and more cumbersome ship of the Citadel fleet. In fact, the Geth ships were able to put so much fire on the Destiny ascension, the flagship of the fleet, that its GARDIAN batteries were overwhelmed and could not comprehend all the target data it was receiving.
KEY LOCATIONS
THE CITADEL
The Citadel is a gigantic space station that is home to the Citadel Council. It is believed to be the creation of the Protheans. After the disappearance of the Protheans, the Asari were the first to discover it. Shortly after the Asari discovered the Citadel, the Salarians then arrived, followed by the Volus, who were the third race to arrive. More and more civilizations began to join the Citadel and as a result of that embassies began to be established. Now the Citadel is the center of communication for political interactions between the various races that inhabit the galaxy. The Citadel is currently the heart of Galactic civilization.
Mystery
Though having been discovered for well over a millennia, some very interesting things about the Citadel are still unknown. There is no knowledge of what material the Citadel is made of. The master control center and the cores location are unknown, as is the actual age of the Citadel. Finally, there are mysterious creatures that work on the Citadel. They are mute creatures known as the Keepers who do not do anything but work on the Citadel, though the specific processes that they regulate are unknown. The Council has ordered that no one interfere with the Keepers work, as they have no idea what systems the Keepers maintain. Keeping them from their maintenance could drastically damage the Citadel so the rule is strongly enforced. Omega Station Omega Station is a huge asteroid turned space station located in the Terminus System. Before their disappearance, the Protheans mined out the center of this asteroid, and used the materials they mined to build the station. The station is divided into several independent sectors and Omega has no central government. Each sector either has no law, or is ruled by powerful crime lords and their hired thugs. Omega Station serves as a homeworld to any and all species not welcome in Citadel space, so it is a natural breeding ground for petty crime. It is not uncommon to see people murdered right out on the streets. Since Omega Station is divided into many sectors that were not all built at the same time, there does not seem to be much of a layout to the stations. Roads will suddenly dead end and turn in places no one would guess, which gives the station a confusing and distorting feel for both visitors and residents. Omega Station serves as an important location for the second Mass Effect novel, Mass Effect: Ascension.
Storyline
Mass Effect
Mass Effect Novels
Mass Effect: Revelation
Mass Effect: Ascension
Mass Effect: Ascension This is the second novel about the Mass effect universe and is also written by Drew Karpyshyn, who to his credit has written the previous book, revelation and was the lead story writer on KOTOR 1 and Mass effect. The second book goes into great detail about the black ops unit Cerberus which is touched upon in the first Mass effect game and the game dispenses with Shepard as the main antagonist. It is set roughly two months after the events of the First mass effect game and great care is taken so as to not to mention major plot details from the first game. The Quarians are also a major topic in this game and as such, their culture and history is explored in great detail.
'When they vanished fifty thousand years ago, the Protheans left their advanced technology scattered throughout the galaxy. The chance discovery of a Prothean cache on Mars allows humanity to join those already reaping the rewards of the ancients’ high-tech wizardry. However, for one rogue militia, the goal is not participation but domination. Scientist Kahlee Sanders has left the Systems Alliance for the Ascension Project, a program that helps gifted “biotic” children harness their extraordinary powers. The program’s most promising student is twelve-year-old Gillian Grayson, who is borderline autistic. What Kahlee doesn’t know is that Gillian is an unwitting pawn of the outlawed black ops group Cerberus, which is sabotaging the program by conducting illegal experiments on the students. When the Cerberus plot is exposed, Gillian’s father takes her away from the Ascension Project and flees into the lawless Terminus Systems. Determined to protect Gillian, Kahlee goes with them… unaware that the elder Grayson is, in fact, a Cerberus operative. To rescue the young girl Kahlee must travel to the farthest ends of the galaxy, battling fierce enemies and impossible odds. Nevertheless, how will she be able to save a daughter from her own father?"
Mass Effect games
Edit
| Name | Platforms | Developer | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Mass Effect 2 released on Jan. 26, 2010 |
PC, X360 | BioWare |
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Mass Effect: Galaxy released on June 22, 2009 |
IPHN | EA Mobile |
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Mass Effect released on Nov. 20, 2007 |
X360, PC | BioWare |
| Name: | Mass Effect |
| Total games: | 4 games |
| First game: | Mass Effect |
| Aliases: |
|
Jeff "Joker" Moreau first in Mass Effect |
2
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Kaidan Alenko first in Mass Effect |
2
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Garrus Vakarian first in Mass Effect |
2
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Commander Shepard first in Mass Effect |
2
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Urdnot Wrex first in Mass Effect |
2
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Liara T'soni first in Mass Effect |
2
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Ashley Williams first in Mass Effect |
2
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Donnel Udina first in Mass Effect |
2
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Tali'Zorah nar Rayya first in Mass Effect |
2
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The Shadow Broker first in Mass Effect |
2
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| See all » |
