BioWare: A Dead Shepard Stays Dead

[Little Duck]

Meh it's ok. I lost mordin, but was so devastated I replayed and got him back with 100% survival.

 

[pinchy]

To me this is the exact opposite of consequences, finishing the story as one of the other characters (from either the first or second game) would have not only been fun but would have meant that your choices in ME2 had meaning. Saying oh yeah if you reached one of the endings you have to start all over again or just use our generic pre-created Shepard isn't a consequence it's a do-over.

Admittedly I can see why Bioware doesn't want to have to have one or more of the side character's voice actors doing the main dialog just for the small group who killed off their Shepard, as well as all the other work this would bring but why can't they just come out and say that instead of trying to weasel out of it like they did in that quote.

 

[hansari]

BioWare is keen on making your decisions in Mass Effect 2 matter, so much so that you might not be able to import your saves into Mass Effect 3 at all.

If that were true, wouldn't it be better to relay Mass Effect 3 across numerous playable characters?

(not like in "Heavy Rain"...but in like "Warcraft 3")

 

[Melon Hunter]

So the Lazarus Project won't work twice, I suppose?

Cerberus blew up the space station when it was compromised. They probably couldn't afford to resurrect Shepard again.

 

[deleted_scifidownbeat]

DELETED

 

[JeanLuc761]

Also, what right way is there to "play the game," I mean consumers should be able to experience the game as they see fit. Maybe they could be role playing a Shepard who cares more about stopping the collectors than spending time doing the loyalty missions.

If you skip all the loyalty missions you're essentially giving a gigantic "FUCK YOU" to Bioware, who undoubtedly poured thousands of hours of work into those missions to give them importance.

Say what you want but if the player is so lazy and/or anxious to get through the game while ignoring more than 60-70% of the content, I think they deserve to be punished for it.

 

[Jaranja]

Producer Casey Hudson spelled it out in black and white to Game Informer [http://gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2010/02/05/news-why-you-may-not-be-able-to-import-your-mass-effect-2-save-to-me3.aspx]: "Dead is dead

unless you know people that work for Cerberus. Which you do!

 

[Giantcain]

Sounds pretty lame to me, so no matter what, it doesn't matter at all what you do in Mass Effect 2. A fresh Shepard is established into Mass Effect 3 with a canonical background with what happened in the second game. So how is that different from any other game ever made?

only if you die so if you get the achievement survive the suicide mission your in the clear really

 

[BonerMacTittyPants]

There's going to be a save game editor with an option to "resurrect" your dead Shepard savefiles before ME3 comes out. I bet.

 

[Baconmonster723]

Honestly, I don't understand what the issue is. You die at the end of ME2, YOUR Shepard isn't in ME3. Shepard is meant to survive but if you are so incompetent that you can't survive the mission then you shouldn't continue anyway. It's not the fact that Shepard dies that is the issue. It is the fact that YOUR Shepard dies.

"And that is the tragic death of Gordon Shepard."
"Meanwhile, on the OTHER side of the galaxy, JOHN SHEPARD, HIS LONG LOST TWIN BROTHER, PREPARES FOR WARRR!"

You're right. This makes so much more sense.

You're right it does make sense. Because Mass Effect is meant to be 3 games comprising numerous stories, not 3 games comprising one story. So if you mess up (to put it lightly) in ME2 YOUR story is over. The game won't cater to people dumb enough not to find a way to stay alive when the vast majority of people stayed alive. Your choices have an impact on the ME world you create. Therefore, if you die, you waste everything you've worked towards. This isn't an issue of Shepard dying, this is an issue of people not accepting that Bioware means for this to be a trilogy that you have to earn, you can't just waltz on through and expect to just win because you killed the final boss. It's all about choices, and if you make the choice to be a terrible leader then you deserve the fate of your character dying, but don't expect them to cater to the extreme minority of people who killed off their Shepard because they can't seem to realize how to play the game.

this is stupid. "You can kill off your main character and lose all your stats, BUT DON'T WORRY! we'll just create you a useless clone to take up his mantle in the next game!"

am I the only one that thinks this is stupid?

And if only one outcome is canonical, than let that be the only outcome!

Stupid developers trying stupid things to add weight and uniqueness to their games....

No, in a sense both endings are canonical, seeing as how whatever you chose is essentially canon. This may be a difficult concept to grasp, however, is it canon that the Rachni queen is alive or dead? seeing as how that is a choice you make. Is it canon that Wrex is the leader of clan Urdnot on Tuchanka or that he is a pile of radioactive goo on Virmire? Is it canon that the Council is alive or dead? Is it canon that Ashley or Kaiden is dead? There really is no canon in this game. Sure the overbearing arc of the series is that Shepard lives, but what makes this game different is that you in a sense create your own canon. This is the end of your Shepard, this is the end of your story in Mass Effect. However, you can't expect Bioware to come up with a whole new character in the third installment because 1% of the player base was bad enough to get their character killed. If you don't want to try and stay alive maybe you shouldn't play this game.

but see, those things are all different. they're all parts of the story that can build ontop of eachother and affect the next game. With this, it's almost like saying, "Yep, you can die... but the only REAL repricussions is that you won't be able to continue your storyline. We'll just rob you of everything you've worked so hard to create."

And I don't play this game. I don't want mass effect because from what I've seen and played, the whole thing feel very empty to me. But that's just me.

The real issue that I'm getting at is this: I understand what the developers are trying to do here, but it just seems like an arbitrary punishment who's only goal is frustration and annoyance. Doing this makes about as much sense to me as giving someone a hammer and telling them, "GREAT! You beat the game, now you have two choices: 1, you can play it again with even MORE unlocks and MORE fun, or you can take this handy-dandy hammer I have here and crush your disc into millions of little pieces. BUT DON'T WORRY, because we'll give a new disc where you can start from scratch, rather than having access to the extra unlocks and fun! doesn't that sound GREAT?!"

Am I really the only one that thinks this is a dumb idea? I mean, really?

I getcha. No worries, I can definately see your viewpoint on this. It may seem really dumb at the moment, but just keep in mind what Bioware is trying to do is very ambitious and they are bound to make some dumb moves throughout. I personally don't believe it is, however, I respect your stance on it. But don't worry. The only way this can really happen is if you REALLY REALLY TRY to die. Trust me, you literally have to skip about 75% of the game to get yourself killed off. So even though it could be a really stupid idea, it really is a fair punishment for someone who purposefully kills off their character or just skips the vast majority of the game. Also, even if your character dies you can still correct this issue in ME2 simply by playing it over again, I have tried to kill off my Shepard and I beat the game in around 10 hours skipping roughly 75% of the game. So putting in a little extra effort to stay alive really doesn't take much time.

I just wanna stress though, I had to TRY to kill myself off, so I don't see it as an issue because if you pick the game up and play it realistically at all, you will survive and your save carries over. Is it kinda a slap in the face if you die? Sure, but it's fair just because it shows that you didn't actually play the game.

 

[Cliff_m85]

And this is why you do your loyalty missions, folks.

I was nervous when I put disc one in for the finale. Worried about losing my team or even one member. But really you're bound to survive with everyone if you do the loyalty missions, get the ship upgrades, and think for two seconds about the members you choose. I hope number three tosses a curve-ball into the decision making. I was actually hoping for a choice during the suicide mission akin to the "Which will you leave to die" in ME1.

 

[Cliff_m85]

Also I think the people complaining have no concept of marketing.

I have Gears of War 2. Rented GoW 1. No real reason to buy #1.

But Mass Effect 2 has a story that's effected by Mass Effect 1. If I want the total story I'm going to either have to rent ME1 about 20 times or buy it. Most likely, buy it. Then when Mass Effect 3 comes out the events in both 1 and 2 effect it....so I'd need to have all three if I want to find out the complete story.

Mass Effect 3 will have people playing through 1 and 2 again. As such, it's economically genius to make it 'shephard's tale'.

 

[The Bandit]

I was hoping they would introduce a new character. Not because I'd like to play as him, but because I'd like to see how the galaxy reacts to Shepherd's death.

 

[The Bandit]

So, I'm guessing messing up the first time and losing Zaeed, Jack and Legion in ME3 I won't be able to use those characters?

No. Why would you be able to? Were you able to use Kaiden/Ashley?

 

[AndresCL]

Then i guess its good i didint died.

 

[Pimppeter2]

I love Bioware, I hope this catches on with other developers

 

[Meshakhad_v1legacy]

If your Shepard died in ME2, I suggest reloading the character and playing again. I'm going through my second playthrough with the same Shepard, with the intention of saving everyone this time.

Also, I'm pretty sure that sparing the rachni in ME1 will result in the rachni pulling a Big Damn Bugswarm in ME3.

 

[brunothepig]

God damn. You can kill yourself? I really have to get these games. I need me a job lol. Or just a couple of hundred bucks a month... Whatever.