Mass Alex: Mass Effect - Part 05

Look who's back, Pyjak!

Ashley gets a bad rap by being called racist. Her concerns about aliens on the ship is based on military security, not race. Several points in the game she expresses disgust with actual racists, and her mistrust of turians is specifically tied to the First Contact War being so recent. It bums me out that Vinny is shaping Alex's impressions of her based on misconceptions. :/

Edit: I feel like I should clarify a few things:

First: My main point was that I feel that Ashley's character is often dismissed because she is considered racist, despite the writing that went into explaining the understandable prejudices she has and how she overcomes them. The writing never indicates that she believes her race to be superior, or other races to be inferior, which is what I was following as a definition.

Second: I hope I didn't give the impression that I thought Alex handled anything poorly or played the game wrong. I like the way he has been playing, without any foreknowledge of the world. It feels honest, the way he interprets and responds to the things that happen in the game, rather than playing the mechanics to his advantage. That's why I was disappointed, because it felt like his reaction to Ashley was influenced more by Vinny than the game. A similar situation almost happened last week with Garrus. That's just my own opinion on what I like about the feature.

Finally: Racism is bad, in all forms, and is never justified, funny, or harmless.

@vinny@alex You guys are doing a great job, and I'm really enjoying the series. Thanks for everything you do.

P.S. And don't forget to get the family heirloom when that quest comes up. ;)

Beastcast:

Vinny: There were names on the board, and Alex pointed at that.

Jeff: Are you blind.

The bun is back!

"Normady."

No force in the galaxy can stop that power-bun!

Alexy Quest is a good thing. <3

I love Alexy Quest

Mass Alex sustains me!

I'm partial to Wolf in Shepard's Clothing

I don't remember. Stuff can be sold, right? @alex should sell some items to get $$$

"Is this like the weird VR sex from Demolition Man?"

Aw yeah. Can't wait to watch some Project B.E.A.S.T 2: Space was a Mistake

Vinny seems like he's a fan of Kaidan. Wrong choice. This is a terrific feature but Alex messed up on that Ashley discussion and he realized it. Hopefully he doesn't listen to Vinny and goes deeper with everyone in their conversations.

These week long waits kill me. Finally! thanks

lol

The janky Mako mountain climbing stuff makes this game for me, it's the element of exploration which is missing from 2 and 3, part of the Star Trek fantasy.

The voice work in this series was awesome. Having people like Lance and Keith peppered throughout really made it for me.

I am shocked, SHOCKED that Alex didn't pick the "Damn corporations" dialogue option.

@lt_kettch237:

"I can't tell the difference between the aliens and the animals."

@lt_kettch237: GB crew in general make some really awful "thats racist" jokes. just add it to the list

@ht101: Kaidan is the worst

The quick save button is F6, I believe. :)

I had a feeling there would be people who wouldn’t like how Alex handled Ashely. But I guess that’s the Internet now...

The hell are you talkig about?

I quote: "Can't tell the aliens from the animals” (on the Citadel)

IIRC, Shield Boost is a good way to replenish your party-members' shields quickly to prevent them taking health damage and save on medi-gel.

I wonder what it tells about a person when they're so passionate about defending imaginary racists from justified scorn.

@dmcredgrave: I mean, Alex thought he could talk to a keeper and they're basically alien animals. *Shrug*

I just can't get behind Alex calling ShepShep "not real formal" when she's got the tightest bun I've ever seen.

I honestly cannot stand Ashley even if you take the racism out she's obnoxious as hell. Kaidan is basically just a potato. Potatoes compliment most meals, but aren't super memorable. Ashley is just always on some bullshit that is super grating.

Actually she's is pretty space racist as main characters go. Presley is the only other crew member who could be held up as 'worse' than Ashley.

I have been doing a full playthrough myself and she's pretty tense about non-humans for the majority of the first game. In the second game she straight up blames you for working with aliens over humans in the same breath she bad mouths your choice of working with Cerberus.

Ashley is sadly pigeon holed as the conservative jar head from the beginning and it doesn't really change until the 3rd game. I like her character more than Kaidan only because she's colorful while he's the whitest toast there is. Just... man she's annoyingly racist (specist?).

Dang, this is a very good title.

the ashley is racist thing is just an incredibly tired complaint that also reeks of hypocrisy in that so many players overlook all the other characters being prejudiced against the other species when you're just learning about them too. garrus thinks krogans are savages and was all for the genophage. tali thinks the geth should have been wiped out. wrex distrusts turians and hates salarians. the big fan favorite in mass effect 2 is the architect of an entire species genocide, and the big fan favorite in mass effect 3 is proud of enslaving the entire galaxy!

but nah, ashley's the one racist of the mass effect series, never mind that the game lets her grow and learn to respect and be friends with aliens, like literally everyone in the crew if you give them the time of day.

ANYWAY

it's good to see alex getting more comfortable with the combat and that darned hacking minigame. he just has to not be as stingy with the medi-gel, and he'll be good for the rest of the game for the most part.

oh and i definitely remember the space monkey quest! sure was cathartic just blowing them up on my renegade playthrough lol.

Ashley is very much racist.

That said, she's still a 10000% more interesting character than Kaiden has ever or will ever be, and should be the canonical choice.

There's really no point in arguing about who's the worst of the human companions in Mass Effect when they're all about as dull as you get, at the same time as you're surrounded by all these interesting aliens with quirky personalities and long-storied connections to the history of the rest of the galaxy. Miranda, Jacob, Kaidan, Ashley, James Vega... I like some of them more than others, but why even bother ranking them. When the decision came in this game, I had a hard time because I had to pick who I least cared about, and changed my pick the second time through after dying during the sequence. Kaidan survived the first time, Ashley the last. And then it doesn't matter at all 'cause they're just written out of the sequels, spending all their time talking shit to you or being in a sickbed.

In my playthrough I did the Liara mission last out of the 3 options, which means I went a huge chunk of the game without her, and didn't have the time to develop that relationship, and had basically already settled on Kaidan, who kind of sucks.

I jumped at the chance to dump his ass in 2, but I wonder how differently my entire playthrough of the trilogy would have been if I'd just done that mission first.

I have played this game 3 times and have never seen this monkey sidequest what the fuck is this?

Just a heads up Alex, whenever "investigate" is an option you should pick it first otherwise you will lose the chance to pick it.

Also don't let people's (Vinnys) hate of Ashley keep you from getting to know her story. She's an interesting character. Also Garrus and Tali are just as racist as she is.

Very excited for this week's Alexy Quest. My favorite feature!

HE DROPPED THE DATA MODULE!

-Urdnot Wrex

I wouldn't call her "interesting", exactly. Just... far better than Kaiden, your other choice.

Any reference to Andromeda should be banned from this series D:

I like how we're on episode 5 and people are still figuring out a title for the series because "Mass Alex" is so bad, everyone assumes its placeholder or subject to change.

Look at your journal! You have a list of all your main quests on one tab, and all your side quests (assignments) on the other tab. It will help you guys keep track of what you're doing.

Here we go.

Don't be so afraid of using medi-gel, it is honestly the difference between you breezing these fights and struggling right now as you are not playing badly. And you are always getting more than the six you can carry. It's doubtful you will run out.

Also please use the journal!!!!

I'm so glad they found the sphere, but bummed they didn't read the story. Specifically the last page.

Really enjoying this feature guys!! Thank you

@toug: At the very least you get the funnier introduction to Liara, who has somehow survived being stuck in a bubble for an unreasonable time frame and has partially lost her shit

It is a bit odd that all the dialogue about biotics assumes that Shepard doesn't know anything about it, instead of possibly being a biotic herself.

HE DROPPED THE DATA MODULE. Well said Wrex, my man, well said.