ImperiousRix

@Dixavd:

I'd say you're right if I hadn't just completed a 30 hour Mass Effect 2 playthrough in which I was staring at my character's face and getting reacquainted with him. If it indeed looks like Bioware is going to take a while at this point, I may just go through with re-designing him, but I'm pretty dead-set on just not playing at all at this point.

@Dixavd:

All the choices carry over, even the gender, but it's just the face.

So essentially, it'd be like if in a film series, the lead actor was replaced with someone else. All his background and actions are assumed to be the same, but it's just incredibly jarring to see an unfamiliar face.

@Dixavd:

Yeah, I get what you mean, as I actually wanted to make small changes to my Shepard over the course of the series.

But those mostly were things like hair and facial hair. I had no desire to change his face. Yet, even in Mass Effect 2, changing anything about your Shep's appearance meant starting from scratch so (in that game) rather than lose the face that to me had come to identify my character, I just left it as is. Apparently that was a mistake, as Mass Effect 3 has just decided to throw that face out entirely.

@Sackmanjones:

The fact that your Shepard imported at all makes me hate you. Not even taking into consideration that he somehow came out handsomer.

This morning, I hurriedly found time to get in a Mass Effect 3 play session. I've been drowning in work from school, and words cannot describe how badly I've wanted to play.

So with a few hours of downtime, I booted up ME3 for the first time, DL'd all the updates and DLC that I got aaaaaannnnd... promptly turned the game off when I was told that my Shepard's face would not import. I turned the game back on, tried to make a close approximation of my Sheps face, but, finding it to not be the same at all, turned off the game again. I found a hackneyed 'solution' online, thought about attempting it, but didn't.

I am seriously depressed. My Shepard is not 'My Shepard' unless he looks like my Shepard (if that makes any sense). I'm reading that it has something to do with characters created from Mass Effect 1 that is causing the import issues, but that only makes me more depressed. Wasn't the whole thing about Mass Effect that it was SUPPOSED to be a pervasive experience across multiple games? How could Bioware mess up that basic principle? Supposedly a patch is coming, but who knows when that'll come...

Anyway, I'm not saying this has any bearing on my final thoughts on the game, mainly because it has completely stalled out my ability to play the game at all. Just was reaching out to the GB community to see how many others were affected, and how many of those are pretty damn bummed because of it.

@FriskyHeadCrab said:

Um, so all this speculation over patriotism. You guys actually played those other assassin's creed games right? When was any faction/country/religion portrayed in a good light?

Also: the main character is obviously either native american, or informed/equipped by them. I doubt he'd have much love for either side of the revolutionary war. So, you know, cool your jets there Downton Abbey.

This.

@Simulacrum:

I am seriously just considering getting it locked since it's swerved WILDLY into an area I never intended. Besides, Alex has his post up now, so if people really want to continue this 'discussion' they could do it over there.

Can we keep it civil here, please? I'm all for genuine discussion, but there's really no need to start attacking one another over this.

If I may give my two cents, I would just like everyone to remember WHO we've been killing in video games for years now. Everyone has gotten it at one point or another, and whilst I'm not naive enough to believe there hasn't been some outcry from the various countries and races who have been on the other end of our virtual genocide (nor am I naive enough to honestly think there wouldn't be some backlash if it were an American being killed on the cover), I please ask everyone to keep it in perspective.

If you're genuinely offended by the image, even if I don't understand it, I support your right to have it. However, let's not all jump to conclusions and let's not all lose sight of (again) how many people of other races and cultures we've killed over the years without so much as a second thought. Do unto others, and all that...

I'm a lot more interested in how the gameplay mechanics will be affected by this setting. Early Colonial America isn't exactly known for its towering structures or sprawling cities, so I'm guessing Ubisoft will have some new stuff to roll out from a gameplay standpoint in this game.

How cool would it be if it turns out to be extremely nature-focused, using natural elements like trees, snow and camouflage to provide the Assassin his elements of surprise and stealth instead of leaping from large structures.

@TrueEnglishGent:

I do, sadly. I'm also being informed that, apparently, the subject of the American Revolution is still very much a touchy subject. I'm a bit flabbergasted, to be honest.

@Oldirtybearon said:

@Jaytow said:

If the front cover is a British soilder about to be killed then I will not buy this game. Not just that, I will never buy a ubisoft game again. No doubt this game will play into many Americans ridiculous account of events.

It's more likely that this Assassin's job will be to, well, assassinate members on both sides of the conflict. It was heavily alluded to that Washington was a Templar, and I have no doubt that there will be British Templars as well. If anything, this was a smart play on Ubi Montreal's part to make the protagonist a Native American.

Also, notice the position of the Assassin and his Red Coat target on the cover. They're in the middle of the conflict. If anything, I think the Revolution will serve as a backdrop to this Assassin's mission.

I'd agree, and let's not forget that Colonial Americans were still very much British. Their sensibilities and customs were informed by their British heritage and a great many of them (AKA Loyalists) still considered themselves British and sided with the monarchy.

I wouldn't be so quick to assume that Ubisoft would not take a callous and ham-fisted approach with the game. Recall that they did make Assassin's Creed I, which depicted the Crusades, a conflict of two RELIGIONS, in a very respectful manner. Also, throughout the ACII storyline, you dealt with the Catholic church, even fought the GD Pope, and it was again handled well.

I'm sorry if people feel that the setting is offensive, or are already making assumptions regarding what the narrative message will be, but I do think it's a bit silly and close-minded.