For whatever reason I played as a female in Mass Effect, thus making all trailers for Mass Effect 2 hella awkward. I thought the story fit a female protagonist well, and the voice acting was better. Destuctoid wrote a nice article on the matter supporting a female character. What do you guys think?
Mass Effect
Game » consists of 21 releases. Released Nov 20, 2007
Humanity is still a newcomer on the futuristic galactic stage, and it's up to the charismatic Commander Shepard to investigate the actions of a rogue agent while under threat from a dangerous synthetic race known as the Geth.
Male vs. Female in Mass Effect
I'm just a "play as a dude" kind of dude, but I can see why someone would like the female Shepard's voice acting and style better.
Nothing wrong with that, even though my character in mass effect is on my avatar, other games like fallout 3 and dragon age orgins, I always create a female character because they are fun to look at for hours at a time killing stuff.
Male Shepard was the only good looking character model for your protagonist. Even default female Shepard was very meh looking imo. I tried creating a custom male and custom female Shepard, but it was IMPOSSIBLE to make one that looked good, irrespective of how much tweaking you did. Some of the custom Shepards from video reviews I saw were ugly as frack.
As far as I'm concerned, there is no such thing as a male Shepard. The actor for the role is so incredibly stiff and bland on his delivery that it very seriously sounds like a first read. Bioware is typically very good about their cast, but Male Shepard is unbearable in his monotony.
Female Shepard on the other hand comes across as extremely strong and confident. And while Sheppard is supposed to be something of a blank slate for the player to project themselves onto, Jennifer Hale evokes just enough of it for it to come across as a natural experience for the player.
Besides, aren't there enough bald space marines to go around? :)
Female Shepard's voice actor is BO$$
and if I'm going to stare at somebody's ass for hours when moving my character around, it should at least be a woman.
" As far as I'm concerned, there is no such thing as a male Shepard. The actor for the role is so incredibly stiff and bland on his delivery that it very seriously sounds like a first read. Bioware is typically very good about their cast, but Male Shepard is unbearable in his monotony. Female Shepard on the other hand comes across as extremely strong and confident. And while Sheppard is supposed to be something of a blank slate for the player to project themselves onto, Jennifer Hale evokes just enough of it for it to come across as a natural experience for the player. Besides, aren't there enough bald space marines to go around? :) "The hair feature is there for a reason, Sir. ;)
Female Shepard is totally the way to go. I made a good interesting character model for my lady Shepard, and decided she was the one. Well, she was, until BioWare decided that they were gonna take her name - Miranda - and give it to one of the characters in Mass Effect 2. We can't exactly have two Miranda's running around, can we? Damn you, BioWare.
To go off-topic a little, how great would it be if I kept my Miranda Shepard, but it became a running joke that she and Miranda Lawson have the same name?
If your immediatly focusing on a mans ass, I'd say you're probably supressing something ;)" Female Shepard's voice actor is BO$$ and if I'm going to stare at somebody's ass for hours when moving my character around, it should at least be a woman. "
But yeah, I generally agree that the female Shepard was a much better role. Her character model was nowhere near as good, and it was impossible to make anything that didn't look like it was made of clay but her voice acting was great, and it's nice to play as someone besides the bald space marine for a change, or the typical scantily clad female. Indeed, I think we need more lesbian space marines.
" @Heartbreak said:Randomly calling strangers gay isn't very funny, but hey you need to work on that ass of yours ;)If your immediatly focusing on a mans ass, I'd say you're probably supressing something ;) But yeah, I generally agree that the female Shepard was a much better role. Her character model was nowhere near as good, and it was impossible to make anything that didn't look like it was made of clay but her voice acting was great, and it's nice to play as someone besides the bald space marine for a change, or the typical scantily clad female. Indeed, I think we need more lesbian space marines. "" Female Shepard's voice actor is BO$$ and if I'm going to stare at somebody's ass for hours when moving my character around, it should at least be a woman. "
I'm practical: I always make a female and male character if I can. I prefer a ladies' bottom.
Also, in ME - Jennifer Hale for the win. She erased Bastila fucking Shan from my mind with that and Ophelia from BL.
Vanderloo-looking and Meer-voiced Shepard is and will be the iconic Shepard. Can't do anything about it, but the Mass Effect series have enough replayability to try both sides, and I think the female storyline should have something special, really.
I played both usually always do just to see what different plot points you can reach or just to see how much different the speech options are.
I also felt the story worked better for a female Shepard. Strangely enough, I felt Dragon Age Origins story worked better if you played as a female as well. Playing as a female just seemed to better highlight certain aspects and elements of the story in both games such as being the first human specter in ME, or a Gray Warden on DAO. Maybe it's a recent Bioware thing, or maybe it's just because I always get the feeling that women are second rate in the worlds/universes that Bioware has been creating recently. I dunno it's just a thought.
The voice actor for "Jane" seemed to have more depth of conviction, from what I heard, and she played it tough, which was a really welcome change from the usual stock choices we get.
I generally play my dude as the good guy that does all with shivalry while my female shepard becomes the badass one that puts everyone in their place. So ME2 will be even more appropriate for my female Shepard since it's right down her alley. :)
Commander Strawberry Shepard was my character. She was a striking green eyed blond. Tough as nails but with a compassionate heart. She prized duty and the safety of her crew above her own desires. Because she was the lone survivor of a horrifying massacre, she was reluctant to use unnecessary violence. In the end, she saved the galaxy and redeemed her nemesis, but along the way, she tragically sacrificed her love for the greater good.
I almost always choose to play as the female when the opportunity is available in video games. There's probably some deeper psychological reasons for this, but whatever it is, I tend to enjoy the experience more when I accept the option. In Mass Effect, I was very impressed by the dynamic range of the female Shepard. Jennifer Hale's voice artistry is well known in the games industry. In addition to her role in Mass Effect, she's also starred as "Samus Aran" in the Metroid Prime series, "Bastila" in Knights of the Old Republic and a long long list of other titles. Her talent helped sculpt a multilayered character that was more believable than the majority of all other female protagonists.
This is one of point I can completely confirm when it comes to the portrayal of female player-characters in video games. Be it, The Elder Scrolls, Fable, or Fallout, choosing to play as a woman in their worlds is virtually identical to playing as a male. The worst offender of this that I've found in recent memory is Saints Row 2. Of course, the character from the first game is supposed to be the same character in the sequel and you only had a male option in the first game. I can only assume that the good taxpaying citizens of Stilwater provided for her sex change. But, in all regards to these games, the options and interactions between the female protagonist and all in-game characters are blandly sexless. I know that it is difficult for game developers to create different reactions to the main character depending on their sex, but it's not real. Ultimately, that scripting choice limits the sincerity of both character options."I chose a female out of curiosity [in Dragon Age: Origins] and was immediately taken out of the experience when everyone seemed to be treating her like a male." [Destructoid]
So, from my perspective, Commander Shepard is a woman. Heroic, tender and virtuous, I understand her relationships with the crew of the Normandy and within the Galactic Council. The recent influx of Bioware cinematic trailers for Mass Effect 2 are like watching some other game for me. The soldier I see on screen bears no resemblance to my interpretation. This is why I can't read any of the novels and would certainly be disappointed by any film adaption. However, the situations presented in the Mass Effect 2 promotional clips excite me. I look forward to taking my Shepard into those settings surrounded by a dangerous motley assortment of vagabonds and ne'er-do-wells again.
@Vorbis: I see your "Jerk" and raise you a "Bitch" ;-)
Man, I've never done a full playthrough as a female Shephard, but the one time I made one, I thought the voice acting was just not right. Maybe it's just because it wasn't what I was used to and I could hear the male shephard in my head saying the same lines. I thought the male voice acting was ace though.
The main reason I played female was because of Jennifer Hale. I usually play a rogueish type of male in RPGs, but knowing Jennifer Hale was doing the voice made me make the Mass Effect version of Ellen Ripley.
I would always choose female if your going to spend a long time looking at the back of a character... might aswell make it an attractive female (Dont know where i heard that from). However my dad is an idiot and when he walks in on me playing as a girl he would be like "OOOHH YOUR PLAYING AS A GIRL! HOW CUTE!"
I agree that female Shepard was better, but will play male because it makes me feel more personally involved in the story and lesbian romances aren't my thing.
Ill do my first playthrough with my Saved dude. than ill do another one Female. My question is, if im a Level 46 on my Save game, will I be a level 46 in Mass Effect 2? or does it only carry over my Past Decisons? what about gear?
The male Shepard has pretty bad voice acting in many parts. The female Shepard has okay voice acting in most parts.
" @natetodamax said:I didn't like how generic and unenthusiastic he sounded in most parts. However, some of his Renegade dialogue is great."The male Shepard has pretty bad voice acting in many parts. The female Shepard has okay voice acting in most parts. "I never had a problem with the male Shepard. Am I alone here? "
"pretty much...Nothing wrong with that, even though my character in mass effect is on my avatar, other games like fallout 3 and dragon age orgins, I always create a female character because they are fun to look at for hours at a time killing stuff.
"
When it comes to games that have the player shape the story through decisions, I always pick a male character. The choices that my character makes is a representation of the choices I would make if in the same situation, so there would be a disconnect between the character and I if she was a female (especially in romantic situations).
I play as a female Shepard. In fact most games where I'm given the option to choose my gender, I go female. A journalist on a podcast said that if they are going to have to look at the back of a character for 30 - 60 hours, they'd rather it be female. To which I agree. Maybe its some latent femanism residing inside me that longs to see strong female leads in games, but I doubt it. That being said, my female Shepard is probably the strongest female ever in a game and I love her for it. It kinda weirds me out to see any other face for Shepard, especially a male Shepard.
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