Mass Effect 3 and Relationships

[synobal]

So ya I just figure I'd put this out there. I really liked how Mass Effect 3 handled the romance options in this game. My end game 'romance' scene felt a lot more like two people in love than some hook up. It was really quite emotionally impactful and didn't try to go for any sort of fan service at all.

Also I really liked Cortez, sure there were some awkward moments and a couple really bad lines of dialog but over all it was nice to see a gay male portrayed as something other than a sterotype. I also like how they allowed you to be friends with him with him, instead of the typical choice I'd thought they would go with, which would be one of the two extremes, of I don't like gay people, and I want to touch your man boobs.


I didn't romance anyone except Liara, so I dunno if they handled anyone else as well though.

 

[Sp3ratus]

I liked how they handled relationships in general, not just your romance choice, in the game. The crew felt so much more "alive", because of them moving around, being different places in the ships, talking to each other, visiting the Citadel and so on. It felt like having an actual crew and not just static characters on board your ship.

I had Kaidan as a romance in ME1(FemShep, btw), but after the slap I got in the face on Horizon in ME2 by him, I ended up romancing Thane instead, which I was much happier with, since he's a much more interesting character. Then, I spent some time with him in ME3, but as you know, he died after a while, which made me a bit sad. I sent off Kaidan to Hackett as I didn't feel like continuing that romance. Instead, I somehow ended up in the shower with Traynor. I regret that a bit, as I would rather have gone for one of the squadmates, either Liara or Garrus, but well, too late now. I heard good things about the Liara romance though, so I'm looking forward to that, when I play through with my renegade Shepard, the next time around.

And yea, I really liked Cortez as well, I'm glad he didn't succumb to the stereotype. Helping him through the pain of losing his husband was very moving.

Oh, also, there was a girl in the Citadel Docks Holding Area I have to wait. She was waiting for her parents coming from Earth and talking to a Turian(working there) about it. She seemed so optimistic about it, but as time went on, she became less and less convinced they were coming. The Turian, on the other hand, seemd to come to care for her, saying he would "check in on her later, if that's okay" and such. It was a nice, little touch, easily missed, but I love that things like that are in the game.

 

[synobal]

I liked how they handled relationships in general, not just your romance choice, in the game. The crew felt so much more "alive", because of them moving around, being different places in the ships, talking to each other, visiting the Citadel and so on. It felt like having an actual crew and not just static characters on board your ship.

I had Kaidan as a romance in ME1(FemShep, btw), but after the slap I got in the face on Horizon in ME2 by him, I ended up romancing Thane instead, which I was much happier with, since he's a much more interesting character. Then, I spent some time with him in ME3, but as you know, he died after a while, which made me a bit sad. I sent off Kaidan to Hackett as I didn't feel like continuing that romance. Instead, I somehow ended up in the shower with Traynor. I regret that a bit, as I would rather have gone for one of the squadmates, either Liara or Garrus, but well, too late now. I heard good things about the Liara romance though, so I'm looking forward to that, when I play through with my renegade Shepard, the next time around.

And yea, I really liked Cortez as well, I'm glad he didn't succumb to the stereotype. Helping him through the pain of losing his husband was very moving.

Oh, also, there was a girl in the Citadel Docks Holding Area I have to wait. She was waiting for her parents coming from Earth and talking to a Turian(working there) about it. She seemed so optimistic about it, but as time went on, she became less and less convinced they were coming. The Turian, on the other hand, seemd to come to care for her, saying he would "check in on her later, if that's okay" and such. It was a nice, little touch, easily missed, but I love that things like that are in the game.

Yep Mass Effect 3 did a whole lot of things better than 2 and 1. I remember walking in on Garrus and Tali. That was epic! Also I didn't know you could romance Traynor I thought the new romance was the reporter lady.

 

[Kahunaburger]

This is why we can't have nice things.

 

[synobal]

This is why we can't have nice things.

Care to elaborate?

 

[Kahunaburger]

This is why we can't have nice things.

Care to elaborate?

Happy to.

When people heap praise on storytelling that would (rightly) be seen as laughably bad in any other medium, it perpetuates low standards in the community and in game writing. Ergo, we don't get nice things.

 

[synobal]

This is why we can't have nice things.

Care to elaborate?

Happy to.

When people heap praise on storytelling that would (rightly) be seen as laughably bad in any other medium, it perpetuates low standards in the community and in game writing. Ergo, we don't get nice things.

What was so bad about it? You're not really saying anything.

 

[Sp3ratus]

I liked how they handled relationships in general, not just your romance choice, in the game. The crew felt so much more "alive", because of them moving around, being different places in the ships, talking to each other, visiting the Citadel and so on. It felt like having an actual crew and not just static characters on board your ship.

I had Kaidan as a romance in ME1(FemShep, btw), but after the slap I got in the face on Horizon in ME2 by him, I ended up romancing Thane instead, which I was much happier with, since he's a much more interesting character. Then, I spent some time with him in ME3, but as you know, he died after a while, which made me a bit sad. I sent off Kaidan to Hackett as I didn't feel like continuing that romance. Instead, I somehow ended up in the shower with Traynor. I regret that a bit, as I would rather have gone for one of the squadmates, either Liara or Garrus, but well, too late now. I heard good things about the Liara romance though, so I'm looking forward to that, when I play through with my renegade Shepard, the next time around.

And yea, I really liked Cortez as well, I'm glad he didn't succumb to the stereotype. Helping him through the pain of losing his husband was very moving.

Oh, also, there was a girl in the Citadel Docks Holding Area I have to wait. She was waiting for her parents coming from Earth and talking to a Turian(working there) about it. She seemed so optimistic about it, but as time went on, she became less and less convinced they were coming. The Turian, on the other hand, seemd to come to care for her, saying he would "check in on her later, if that's okay" and such. It was a nice, little touch, easily missed, but I love that things like that are in the game.

Yep Mass Effect 3 did a whole lot of things better than 2 and 1. I remember walking in on Garrus and Tali. That was epic! Also I didn't know you could romance Traynor I thought the new romance was the reporter lady.

Well, Traynor asked one day if she could come up for "game night" or whatever, something to relax. Then it quickly turned to romance and for some reason I accepted it. I think the British accent got me, I'm a sucker for those.

The reporter lady seemed flirty, but nothing really happened, but I think that was because of what I'd done with Traynor. As I said though, I look forward to seeing some of the other romances, like Liara who you can romance all the way through.

 

[synobal]

I really am not that heavily invested in the romance options myself. I just felt that of the three games Mass Effect 3. They really handled all the character interactions so much better in this one.

I loved how sacrifice was such a strong theme in the game.

 

[Kahunaburger]

This is why we can't have nice things.

Care to elaborate?

Happy to.

When people heap praise on storytelling that would (rightly) be seen as laughably bad in any other medium, it perpetuates low standards in the community and in game writing. Ergo, we don't get nice things.

What was so bad about it? You're not really saying anything.

Bioware romantic dialogue is almost universally terrible, and is arguably the worst aspect of their writing. It is neither realistic nor interestingly unrealistic, and is basically equivalent to what you'd find in a particularly bad soap opera. Here's a fun experiment - watch a Mass Effect "romance" cutscene with someone who doesn't play video games and see how they react.

 

[Nothing Tra La La]

I've only finished one playthrough, and it was with my Kaidan faithful femshep. The romance was beautiful, and they felt so much more connected than in ME1, but the best moment was the most bittersweet. Kaidan was basically saying goodbye to her in London, and then Hale delivered some of the most incredible VA work I've ever heard.
Something along the lines of: "We are going to make it through this. And when we do, I'm going to be right here waiting. And you'd better show up."
She sounded genuinely on the verge of tears.
I had to pause the game for a few minutes to regain my composure.

I'm still incredibly devastated over the endings (who isn't?) but I'm thinking of doing another playthrough just to see the different interactions.