30-Day Mass Effect Challenge: Day 10

Favorite weapon(s)

I always do Kasumi's loyalty quest so I can pick up the Locust submachine gun as early as possible. My Shepard is a vanguard, and the SMG is about as heavy as she can roll, and Locust is the best, plain and simple.


Later on Shepard gets advanced weapon training, and I always choose sniper rifles because sniping is just so much damn fun.

As for heavy weapons, the Cain is amazing- launch a nuclear warhead!- but I tend to have the Arc Projector with me at all times. It's a chain lightning gun, and it's great for taking down heavy mechs.

30-Day Mass Effect Challenge: Day 9

Best piece of DLC

Without a doubt, the best DLC is the alternate costume pack #2!

No wait, what I meant to say is Lair of the Shadow Broker.


There's actually a lot of terrific DLC for Mass Effect 2- Arrival and Overlord are pretty bitchin', but come on. Nothing holds a candle to Shadow Broker!

I think of it a bit like Shepard's loyalty mission, particularly if you're in a romance with Liara- helping her out and taking down the GD Shadow Broker helps clear Shep's head for the suicide mission.

The gameplay is varied, the locations even moreso. There's humor, drama, romance, and a never-before-seen alien species. There are a couple of boss battles, including one against fellow SPECTRE and all-around BAMF Tela Vasir, who cuts Shepard down to size in more ways than one.


Then there's Liara herself, who has gone through a great deal of change in the two years since the events in Mass Effect. She's become her own person- one whose plans may not always align with Shepard's any longer. Focused on revenge to the point of obsession, Liara has hardened and become a total badass in her own right. And I love- love- that the major plotline of the mission is a "damsel in distress" scenario, and for once it's a woman doing the rescuing of a man- and that it's not her boyfriend she's out to save. It may seem like a small thing, but BioWare has flipped gender (and genre) conventions on their head.


On top of all the great story and combat, Lair of the Shadow Broker sprinkles delightful goodies all over the player once you've taken over the Broker's base, in the form of moolah, resources, crew member dossiers that provide huge amounts of insight into everyone on your squad, and surveillance videos from around the galaxy, which are often good for a laugh.

Lair of the Shadow Broker isn't just my favorite piece of DLC, it's one of my favorite missions in all of Mass Effect.

30-Day Mass Effect Challenge: Day 8

Anything you wish they had kept from Mass Effect in Mass Effect 2?

Mako, baby, I miss you.



I loved tooling around in that frequently-frustrating thing! Ah, the exploration. Coming across all the little unexpected goodies- an abandoned dig site here, a giant skull from an unknown creature there- busting around in the Mako is part of what gives Mass Effect that true sci-fi feel. I don't know why they ditched it completely in ME2. The shuttle was handy, but it was all get in - do the mission - get out. Maybe because matters were a little more urgent and pressing in the sequel? That does not bode well for a Mako-endowed ME3, where shit is really going down RIGHT NOW. Bah!

But then they gave us that P.O.S Hammerhead and UGH- is it made out of papier-maiché? Like, three hits from a turret and it's on fire.

Another thing from Mass Effect they should have kept in the sequel: removable helmets. I miss out on some sweet bonuses (and aesthetics) because I never wear any armor with a helmet or face mask...because they never come off. It seems like a small thing to complain about, but I want to see Shepard's face in dialogue scenes. And it's flat-out ridiculous when Shepard does something like drink right through the visor.


Other than that, yeah, I miss having so many RPG elements with regard to each character. Talk about streamlining! And level caps are always a drag.


But what's past is past! Onto the future: the new launch trailer is here! I see Jack! I hear Liara! Tali seems sad! I have feelings! I don't want everyone to die!

30-Day Mass Effect Challenge: Day 7

Favorite alien species

Duh, asari.


I like the calm world-view their 1000+ year lifespan affords them. I love their military prowess. I love that their monogendered, pansexualness means that they can mate with any gender from any species- not because oh, it's so sessy, but because oh, it's so insidious. In the Mass Effect universe, asari appeal to every species through some sort of...is it shapeshifting ability? Mind control? I don't know if that's been specified, but the point is, asari appear essentially humanoid to humans, salarian to salarians, and so on. And if they do mate with someone from another species, the babies are still asari. That is some sly take-over-the-universe shit!


Oh, and I love elcor, too. I am just saying.

30-Day Mass Effect Challenge: Day 6

Favorite sidequest

No doubt, Mass Effect blows ME2 out of the galaxy when it comes to sidequests. Not only is it simply a matter of quantity (there are about twice as many sidequests in the first game), but for the most part they're a bit...mmm, beefier, I guess. Don't get me wrong, Mass Effect 2 has some great ones- the first time I wandered around the wreckage of the Estevanico, worried it was going to teeter off the cliff, I frequently held my breath. And checking out the Normandy crash site? Pretty haunting. But too often the ME2 sidequests were just go here, set a timer, run! , and as a result they felt a bit like padding...not that I don't do them all during every run.

The events in Mass Effect were far more engaging, I thought. Wiping out pockets of geth infiltrators, helping to defend an outpost from rachni invaders, negotiating with a cult leader, investigate the nefarious dealings of Cerberus...all more substantial than simply, I don't know, turning on a shield generator. But more importantly, nearly every ME sidequest had dialogue, which infinitely helps to make them engaging. In the sequel, Shepard and her pals were nearly silent through every sidequest. It's jarring. And it stinks!

My favorite from either game? I Remember Me, which is available to a Shepard with a colonist background. Shepard is charged with talking down a recently-rescued slave from committing suicide. It's heavy stuff, very well-written and completely heartbreaking.

huggin' it out with Talitha

30-Day Mass Effect Challenge: Day 5

Favorite loyalty mission

But they're all so good!

Okay, I'm not wild about Grunt's, but even that is saved by having an awesome reunion with Wrex. But really, though each loyalty mission is different in terms of the gameplay style, the amount of combat, and how much Shepard actually has to do, they're all quite emotionally engaging. Shep has to make some tough decisions- or encourage others to do so- as her companions sort out shit from their pasts in order to better focus on the present.

I love Samara's, wherein you accompany her to Omega so she can find and kill her daughter Morinth. Shepard working his/her way through the nightclub to draw Morinth's attention is hilarious, from punching out a lecherous turian to this:



(seriously, "I do wanna think that!" makes me laugh out loud every damn time I hear it)

Then, if you successfully arouse Morinth's interest, there's the BAMF showdown between her and her Justicar mother, which culminates in Shepard choosing which one will die.



Great stuff! But my favorite? My favorite, I think, is Tali's.


Visit the quarian flotilla, get all And Justice for All as you defend your bestie against bogus treason charges, and kill a shit ton of geth...yes please. There's tough combat. It greatly develops Tali's character and her relationship with Shepard. You help steer the course of the frickin' galaxy as you advise the quarians as they consider all-out war with the geth. And you get to hear voice work by Claudia Black in the role of Admiral Xen. Ain't nothin' not to love here!


You know, I just thought- why don't the quarians have clear face masks? Would it make a difference to them? At least they could see each other, geez. I know it's a conceit for the game to make 'em more mysterious and all, but in their universe, what the heck?

Also, for some reason, I thought maybe quarians do this so they can make out with each other (or Shepard) easier:


Also, I'm very very tired.

30-Day Mass Effect Challenge: Day 4

Favorite storyline mission

Easy peasy: Virmire (Mass Effect)


What begins as a lovely Mako ride on the beach in search of an infiltration team with whom the Council lost contact turns into a real kick in the quad real quick...and at least one of your teammates will die. I mean permanently die, not comic book come back to life in twenty issues die!

Battle your way through countless geth...meet up with the salarian infiltration team who informs you that Saren's base is here on Virmire. And he's building a krogan army thanks to a possible cure for the genophage. Uh oh.

Wrex gets up in your grill about that genophage cure, rightfully concerned about the future of his people. Everyone points guns at everyone. Is disaster averted, or does Wrex bite it right there on the sand?


Your team splits up- based on your decision, either Ashley or Kaidan will head off with the salarians to create a distraction. The other will stay behind and arm a nuke that you're going to use to blow up Saren's base.

Choose two more team members and lead tham into the base and find evidence of Sovereign's hinky mind-control powers with oodles of indoctrinated salarians milling about within and without prison cells. Decide their fate! Set them free, or leave them to die in the blast. Meet up with one of Saren's scientists and decide her fate- tell her to split, or kill her.


Inside the base, fight your way through more salarians, krogan, husks, and geth. Then when you come across another prothean communication beacon...effing Sovereign shows up and makes with the smack talk.


Shit goes down outside- geth are swarming around the nuke! Run back and help! But now the geth are swarming around the distraction team! You can only save Ashley or Kaidan. One of your crew must be left behind to die in the nuclear blast.

Then Saren decides to finally show up, riding around on his space scooter and throwing explosives at you.


Fisticuffs ensue! Shepard gets in a nice haymaker before it's time for the nuke to detonate. Haul your saved teammate onto the Normandy and get the eff outta there. BOOM. Have some cries.


Yes indeed, Virmire is one of the most epic storyline missions in the series. It has everything! Ah the action! Oh, the pathos! Ooh, the music!

I love the suicide mission in Mass Effect 2 almost as much, but Virmire is just the most.