Mass Alex: Mass Effect 2 - Part 12

When are they adding Thane to Smash Bros.?

we're episode 12 and Thane is just getting introduced

The observatory was raided because someone working there was involved in some serious crime stuff.

Good god, the man's gone probe mad.

THANE!

About that observatory, it was closed down to certain pornographic pictures being downloaded and shared on the observatory's WiFi.

thane ? time ? thane ? time ?

If aliens had the resources to travel through space infinitely to find us, they probably have enough resources to not need to in the first place.
Intelligent aliens probably exist, but i think regardless of the level of technology the universe is just too vast for us to ever see any.

Holy crap I have been waiting for him to finally add Thane! I was hoping for more character missions, because the next three are great...Thane, Samara, and LEGION.

@brangus: Hell yes

I think Illium contains all of my favorite missions in the game. I feel like they just fit the style of this game so well

@cikame: The speculative space travel questions definitely seemed fueled by science fiction reading. The notion that aliens are going to come here for our resources is a stretch for the same reasons that private enterprise aren't going to be funding themselves by extraterrestrial resource mining. In either case you have to be willing to imagine a universe where accelerating and decelerating large amounts of mass has a negligible energy cost, or propose the existence of some Unobtanium-like resource that makes that sizable cost worth it.

Hannah Shepard is Shepard's mother if you chose the Spacer background. I think you missed out on the sidequest in the first game where you actually get to talk to her.

@alex You have a mom if your Shepard has a Spacer Origin.

@libwilliam: Spoilers

I'm here mostly for the podcast with the mass effect galaxy music in the background. Any game that happens is a bonus.

Somehow never made the connection between the Asari/Krogan couple in this game and the one in ME3 until just now. Suddenly, depression.

@cikame: Totally what I was thinking, as well. On top of that, if they managed to stick around long enough to be space-faring, they've been peaceful enough not to destroy themselves. Doesn't, necessarily, mean that they would be that way with other beings, sure. But, like you said, they wouldn't have to get resources from us, so why bother with us at all except as a curiosity?

If there are other intelligent lifeforms that can reach us, I just don't buy them being hostile. I think people who believe that may be overvaluing humanity and Earth.

Gianna Parasini is back! Secret best Mass Effect character!

This game is so good, this series so good. Love the scanning alien podcast chat too!

Thane seems to exclusively stand in front of cool shit, ship engine cores, sunsets backlighting shutters. It's a good look.

Also, Thane!

The characters are so expressive and relatable in this game. Even the minor ones. I actually teared up a bit with Erinya's story.

Thane is the best, also RIP Thane ; _ ;7

Dang I love Illium. Just as horrible and corrupt as Omega it's just shinier and treats itself more classy.

My take on the aliens discussuon both in the video and in the comments is: all I heard is way too influenced by our own perception. I think the other life form could be so foreign and un-understandable that any attempt to even evalate it’s intentions would be futile. Therefore fear - conflict is the most likely outcome, in my mind.

I liked Thane in my game.

Unfortunately a true tragic character...

V: "I don't think humans are ready for the tech."

A: "We certainly aren't ready for the tech."

V: "Did you wipe that planet out already?"

A: "It was a poor planet."

I dont think it's 'overvaluing humanity', but rather applying human values. We've seen in history that the 'more advanced' human civilizations have tended to treat the 'aliens' that they have found as hostile or at best, simply 'lesser beings' - savages if you will. Because the explorers valued themselves more highly than the others, they felt justified in just taking what they wanted and any offering resistance were seen as hostiles to be eliminated.

Many people believe that true aliens (distinct species) would have the same reaction, but again, that's just projection. Truth is, we cannot know what their inclination would be. Maybe it would be observation like watching giraffes on the Serengeti or maybe it is a deer hunting trip. I think our evolved 'flight or fight' tends to bias us to 'worst case scenarios.'

Anyway, I love the tenor of Thane's voice.

I would think that any species that has mastered interstellar travel would have any need to harvest us for resources, so if they did, it would be for sport.

If Vinny hasn't read the book "Roadside Picnic" (the story that inspired the Stalker games), I would recommend it. In the story, all the artefacts and anomalies is just garbage left behind by aliens on a brief stopover where they didn't even try making contact.

I don't think Alex should leave the Reaper IFF to last. Sure, there's a reason to, but then you barely get to play with Legion.

My favorite fish-alien-man

OMG I can't believe Alex didn't kick that guy out of the window......

I'm gonna be extremely disappointed if Alex doesn't do the renegade interrupt in Mordin's loyalty mission.

I can't believe Alex is a narc.

@draugen: YES! So underrated.

Thane! My second favourite squad member to be collected on Illium...

Samara rules.

I want to recommend the short story "The Road Not Taken" by Harry Turtledove. The premise is that the aliens focused on the part of the "tech tree" that allowed FTL, and skipped a bunch of the techs that we have.

lol It triggers me whenever Alex walks away from NPCs having conversations. There's so much good stuff to listen to!

Y'all better be praying to Amonkira tonight...

I could write 5,000 words about hypothetical contact with aliens, but instead I'll just throw out one idea that no one ever mentions:

What if the aliens were "benevolent," but in a way that totally sucked?

Hell yeah, my boy Thane is in da building.

+1 to Childhood's End, Alex.

You'll understand 90s anime and JRPGs better afterwards.

Wow, surprising he's just now getting to Illium. I feel like I got there super early.

Most well known Renegade trigger in the game and Alex has the gumption to not pull it. I respect it.

I was hoping Alex would choose the Renegade option and throw that Merc out the window....

You went the Spacer background, @alex. Your mother is the Hannah Shepard discussed in that radio chatter you heard. The Spacer background is the only one that actually describes any of Shepard's family. It'll make for a nice thing in the third game, too.

Just my $0.02 here, but I would hold off on the Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC until the main story is finished. It's a big (and fantastic) DLC and was designed as such, similar to the Arrival expansion.

@bathala: It's a long ass game, isn't it? I don't mind the pace... I think Alex should do the game in whatever order. The game was designed to play that way.