It's Old Flames Only in Mass Effect 3, Says BioWare [UPDATED]

[Metalrocks]

How come Shepard has long hair...i don`t think that was available in character customization.

it is since part 1. but only available for the female character.

@topic
lol, sounds like fun. in part 1 i pretty much had always a affair with liara (male and female character). few of the saves i had one with ashley. so looks like i will have liara up my ass for being unfaithful to her (except with the female shepard) . good thing i have few saves were i kept away from others in part 2 and stayed honest to my liara

 

[btkliquor]

I'm done with Ashley. To quote Storm Dain "the ***** doesn't understand I can't call her if I'm dead". Jack all the way.

 

[Wither]

I am feeling so smug for not pursuing a relationship in ME1 so that I could be faithful to Tali in the sequel. MWAHAHA! My diabolical plan to be faithful to a videogame character is approaching fruition!

 

[Partezan]

How many sexual deviants does there have to be before they add them to a game? Just wondering because it's about time they put in a foot fetish

 

[Canadish]

I disagree that Thane was just put in as a romance option for FemShep. My MaleShep and Thane were like best buds (he had some excellent dialog, and nearly always had something new to talk about) and he was an excellent addition to my various combat 'loadouts.'

It's just a shame he will probably be dead, or die around the middle of the story, for ME3. Thane was awesome.

Just to note, Thane and the entire race of Drell actually were invented by Bioware to appeal to female audiences.
I can't find the interview it was stated in, but here's the line from the wiki instead

"The creation of the Drell species was the outcome of designing a male alien love interest that was required to be an attractive and stealthy assassin. The appearance of the resulting character, Thane Krios, then formed the basis of the design for other members of the drell species."

Not that I disagree with you that he grew to become more then that, but his initial spark of creation stemmed from being Estrogen bait

 

[Thedutchjelle]

I never played any of these games, but I had to say something about the picture in this article - How come an alien race turns out to be mammals and shaped the same way as a human female? I mean, seriously now.

Anyhow, on topic: I think it's pretty cool that they tie these games together Makes it one big game instead of different parts.

 

[TheAmokz]

Good thing my Shepard was human supremacist psychopath who hates love.

 

[saruman31]

Nvm...i watched the picture with low brightness settings.

 

[PunkRex]

Aaaaaw man I already did the whole confrontation thing with Liara and Ashley... Talis gonna kick my arse... still going to pick her though, that Quarian really gets my juices flowing.

 

[PunkRex]

Good thing my Shepard was human supremacist psychopath who hates love.

Thats sooooooo romantic.

 

[kelevra]

Does anyone else have the urge to romance Ashley and Jack, just to see the fireworks when they meet?

You... magnificent bastard I lolled so hard

 

[awmperry]

So they do intend to retcon previously straight characters into bisexuals.Lame Bioware.very lame.

And what's so bad about that? That means there are romance options for all players...

I honestly do not see how that is bad thing...

In the first Mass Effect Kaiden turns down the male shepard if you try and romance him.Also The same is said for Ashley.So now they all of a sudden swing both way? No I don't think so.

Those are both established characters.Its going to screw with the story as well as peoples immersion,especially the ones who have ported the same Shepard from ME1 to ME2 and into ME3.

This is my only objection to games making all romance options available to all player characters. Some people are straight, some are gay, some are bi; that's reality. A gay man won't suddenly fall for a straight woman just because they see the "I AM THE PROTAGONIST" sign on their shoulder. Similarly, even if you approach someone of a compatible preference, there's always the chance of being rebuffed. So even if the entire supporting cast of Mass Effect turn out bi - implausible and unimmersive in itself, quite aside from being out of character for about three quarters of the love interests - I'd want to see at least one of them say "Sorry, Shepard, I see you more as a brother or something... it'd be weird."

Bottom line: character is key. Just as you can't suddenly decide Ashley had a Turian best friend at school or a Quarian girlfriend in college, you can't say "oh, and Ash is bi now, have fun".

(EDIT: Also, as a lifelong RPG player, I find the roleplaying possibilities quite interesting. Imagine playing a frustrated Shepard - he's fallen for one of his crew, but that crew member either doesn't like guys or does and doesn't like him. No romance option - but a romance-related roleplaying option. It could affect the outcome just as much, maybe even more.)

I mean, I get the idea. There are gamers of all stripes, playing characters of all stripes, and everyone should be able to have a romance option that suits them. But I can't help but think that it diminishes the characters and cheapens the very option they're trying to introduce.

"Hmm... someone gay might play this. But hey, sexuality is basically just wallpaper, right? We'll just redecorate Kaidan so he now likes guys too."

Okay, maybe Kaidan's a bad example, particularly given the porny lighting and setup of the "I shall now go and talk to Kaidan" scene when talking to him on board the Normandy in the first game. But the point stands - most people's sexuality is utterly integral to who they are; not the main thing that defines them or something to be worn on one's sleeve, but vital nonetheless. Retconning characters like that just makes it look like Bioware think it's something that doesn't really matter, something that can be changed to appeal to a bigger market share.

The characters are established. Ashley is straight. Kaidan is (theoretically, but dubiously) straight. Liara is... well, the blue lot (I can't believe I've forgotten what that species is called) are a special case. Jack's definitely bi, and so on. There are so many options available to a player already - they don't need to change existing characters to make them fit.

 

[gh0ti]

I'm actually kind of annoyed about this, though I've known for some time this was the route they were going down. The way I saw the romances, in the first Mass Effect, you build a relationship with a character that ends with you having sex. Two years later, in the second Mass Effect, your character wouldn't be sure he/she would ever see that love interest again and wouldn't know whether they themselves had moved on or not. I think in such circumstances, someone is allowed to build a new relationship and have sex with someone else without it being a betrayal of either of them.

 

[ZehMadScientist]

As long a s there are proper responses Sheperd can give to the Catfights, i'ts all cool with me. Also, all the people who are going to enjoy the Jack vs Liara battle of the century, hell I ain't gonna stand there with some popcorn, I'm getting the hell outta there!

Because everyone seems to forget, Shepard is the one responsible for being a pimp, so maybe they will tag team to kill Shep's arse first, before biotically ripping each others spine out.

 

[Vivace-Vivian]

Thanks to the devs for adding the gay and lesbian options.

That certainly made my day.

 

[theaceplaya]

Oh man, it's been so long and so many playthroughs I don't remember who my various Shepards boned. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

 

[JDviewer]

Does anyone know if ME3 will have symbols next to dialogue options like in DA2? It would be helpful to know how early some of the romance steps are in the next game. Femshep could flirt with Jacob (without any consequence) early on in ME2 while it took completing most characters respective loyalty missions before any romance options were available.

 

[KAPTAINmORGANnWo4life]

I don't understand, from a character standpoint, why Shepard would just turn homosexual all of a sudden. What, did seeing London getting nuked awaken your repressed sexuality?

I sense a strong mixture of fan service and whining.

Are you talking about what I said? I don't care for the romance plots at all, especially if there's more pressing matters to attend to. Like Earth being nuked at the start of the game.

And it is a valid point. The only homosexual inkling Shepard has had was if you romanced one of the Asari squad mates as a woman. Every other romantic subplot has been heterosexual. If you're gay, wouldn't you be gay at the start of the series? And since there's even achievements for having romance in both games, most people have had their character bumpin' uglies with the opposite sex.

 

[lobster1077]

I don't understand, from a character standpoint, why Shepard would just turn homosexual all of a sudden. What, did seeing London getting nuked awaken your repressed sexuality?

I sense a strong mixture of fan service and whining.

Are you talking about what I said? I don't care for the romance plots at all, especially if there's more pressing matters to attend to. Like Earth being nuked at the start of the game.

And it is a valid point. The only homosexual inkling Shepard has had was if you romanced one of the Asari squad mates as a woman. Every other romantic subplot has been heterosexual. If you're gay, wouldn't you be gay at the start of the series? And since there's even achievements for having romance in both games, most people have had their character bumpin' uglies with the opposite sex.

There actually was a homosexual romance with Kaiden in the first game, albeit hidden in code.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPMOlEfhWGE

 

[KAPTAINmORGANnWo4life]

I don't understand, from a character standpoint, why Shepard would just turn homosexual all of a sudden. What, did seeing London getting nuked awaken your repressed sexuality?

I sense a strong mixture of fan service and whining.

Are you talking about what I said? I don't care for the romance plots at all, especially if there's more pressing matters to attend to. Like Earth being nuked at the start of the game.

And it is a valid point. The only homosexual inkling Shepard has had was if you romanced one of the Asari squad mates as a woman. Every other romantic subplot has been heterosexual. If you're gay, wouldn't you be gay at the start of the series? And since there's even achievements for having romance in both games, most people have had their character bumpin' uglies with the opposite sex.

There actually was a homosexual romance with Kaiden in the first game, albeit hidden in code.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPMOlEfhWGE

Well, nobody actually got that ending, now did they?