@mems1224: You spend all of the games within Human fleets where the aliens are the minorities so for the player, aliens are treated as token characters to fill slots on the team. What matters isn't humanity's actual positioning in the games (which is complicated since there is no majority race in the galaxy, and everyone treats humanity as more powerful than it currently is because of how fat the Alliance is growing) but instead how the player is made to feel about humanity (and in turn, Ashley) in spaces that the player is in.
Edited because both sentences originally made the same point and I thought it was confusing.
She's not irredeemable but in Mass Effect 1 you literally have a choice between saving her or Kaiden: why would you bother saving her given her xenophobia just because she could change later? With the other characters, you don't have a similar early choice to drop her from the story so every player gets to see them start to redeem themselves.
Ashley is also a light-skinned woman (not an alien) so her racism feels much closer to home. Many people have probably met someone like her - not overtly aggressive, but still slips out shitty opinions on those from a different background when around people they think would be cool with it. Even if they haven't she probably reminds people of those white women you hear about on the news who call police on any black person they find suspicious. The similarities to real life are so obvious, of course people are going to react more emotionally to her than the more serious actions of other crew members.
Plus, remember that in these games, murder of nameless characters is a requirement to play it - you have to kill hundreds through the combat system to see the story - so the idea of mass murder is lessened and disconnected (hence, the murderous past of Wrex or of the Quarian's - which Tali supports - don't feel like such a black mark: Every team member has to be a murderer in this game anyway)
There are a few dissenting voices toward the narration. I'll say this: the voiceover they hired either tried to sound hard and a bit edgy, or was directed to sound that way. It didn't hit the mark for me, but wasn't a complete miss either. Personally, I definitely needed the content of his writing. The slice of gameplay they served would've been a confusing conundrum otherwise.
Don't forget: most people that play games are not even remotely as interested as we are.
Danny O'Dwyer pointed out that the narrator wasn't a hired voice actor, it's CD Projekt Red's lead writer, Borys Pugacz-Muraszkiewicz. He seems to just talk like that. At this Noclip timestamp link, you can hear him about when he was the English translator for the Witcher 1.
Forewarning, this is all from second-hand advice as I've never been in good enough health to train at a gym:
Does this gym have a personal trainer option? My mum found having a few classes with them to be extremely helpful in getting over her anxiety of training in public. Personal trainer sessions get you acclimatised to training with someone watching except with the reassurance that the person watching wants you to do well and has the expertise to give solid advice. Plus, they teach you what to focus on while training (i.e. how to use the equipment and they can help to structure your goals and expectations) which stops you getting distracted by your anxiety over the strangers around you.
Personal training sessions can be expensive but from those I've talked to, they seem to definitely be worth it in allowing you to actually ustilise your time at the gym in future. In my mum's case, they got her through the first few weeks where her motivation could have waned and caused her to give up.
Battle Chef Brigade is short and not very intense. When I was in a state of choice paralysis (where whenever I did try and play something, I just burnt out) it was a great game to rebuild my motivation. After I finished Battle Chef Brigade, I found it much easier to hold my attention with longer games.
During my most severe episode of suicidal depression, I kept thinking about ending it all on Waterloo Bridge (London, UK): instead I walked to the Samaritans charity and spoke with someone for a few hours before heading home finally able to cross the River Thames without fear. Things haven't been easy but I've been diagnosed with OCD (with depression as a symptom) and am getting lots of support. I took time away from University after it but I'm heading back next month. I'm still here. I feel hopeful.
Aren't the "founders editions" (i.e the ones released within the first 3 months or so) always ridiculously expensive, or is that just a misconception I've got from only partially paying attention to these things? Regardless, I have a gaming PC in rather bad condition now (originally built in 2012, with one upgrade to a 970 since) so I may save up to build a mostly new one, and the jump in possible visuals I saw on showcase today make me much more interested in doing that sooner (i.e. next few years) rather than later.
Anyway - I thought those shadow effects looked truly stunning regardless of price tag. It's genuinely amazing how great texture and lighting tech has got (now if only models and animation could be given as much of a focus...)
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