Why is Kaiden Alenko so popular?

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Jenova65

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Azure Sky said:
Jenova65 said:
Azure Sky said:
I must admit, I didn't place too much thought into it.

I actually chose Ashley for the team on the basis that Kaiden is dead-weight in combat.
Depends on your class tbh, but you do need to level him yourself and not use the auto level function cos that sucks!
I actually ran Full Soldier (With the unlocked Biotic Lift perk) Ashley and Garrus.

Though, the only reason I took Ash over Wrex is because I know what happens later.
He is very useful against Saren, I always take biotics with me for that fight as Saren goes down so much faster against biotics :)
Liara's Singularity is pretty useful too!
 

0bserv3

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So the guy doesn't exactly break a mirror, he has hella emotional issues that need to be fixed, he will tell you about said issues if you ask but not if you don't, he toughs out migraines (which isn't exactly easy), he has empathy for his fellow man/woman/alien/mono-gendered-wierdos, doesn't shirk away from what needs to be done and is loyal to the core.

He may come off as a bit of a whiny ***** sometimes but its not like he's crawling in his skin or anything.
 

Jenova65

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0bserv3 said:
So the guy doesn't exactly break a mirror, he has hella emotional issues that need to be fixed, he will tell you about said issues if you ask but not if you don't, he toughs out migraines (which isn't exactly easy), he has empathy for his fellow man/woman/alien/mono-gendered-wierdos, doesn't shirk away from what needs to be done and is loyal to the core.

He may come off as a bit of a whiny ***** sometimes but its not like he's crawling in his skin or anything.
But he isn't whiny, he never whines, tbh.
I do have a theory that people think he whines because
A) Carth's voice actor (Sbarge)
B) Shepard tells him that talking about his history doesn't make him a whiner.....
C) If you have renegade Shep he will question your choices and male gamers hate being questioned.
Mostly C, I think......... ;-)
 

Gralian

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chemlight said:
Gralian said:
Eh, Kaiden served as my tech expert / hacker dude who opened stuff for me. That's all i really had him tagging along for, in relation to Ashley however she was useless as i played a soldier anyway so there was no love lost there. I suppose Kaiden is popular because he plays the "rough childhood" role that women seem to find endearing, like they want to protect him or give him a cuddle or something. He's not a tough guy, in fact, i thought Kaiden was a bit of a wuss. But again those qualities may appeal to women more.
Actually, completely wrong. One the reasons I liked him is because he was the only person on the whole damn ship I DIDN'T have to fix. "Fully functional human being here, Shepard." I think your reasoning would apply more to Thane.
I thought he ended up killing a guy because of his biotic powers? And that business with the girl he liked? And the horrible training facility he was forced to be put through as a child?

Just because someone appears to be 100% a-okay doesn't mean they are. People can have a lot of emotional baggage. Kaiden's just managed to bury it all so it makes him appear a 'deeper character' than the in-your-face Thane with his terminal illness and issue with his son(?). The point is to make Kaiden appear to be operating properly but have some skeletons in the closet that players opened up through dialogue, so to speak. Just look at Jack. She's like Kaiden taken to the extreme without his childhood issues having been repressed in a healthy(?) way.
 

Shavon513

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Kaidan is quite popular, because he is apart of ME1 main characters, most of which were well-written. I think he might have become more popular, once his fans realized how awful his cameo was in ME2, so they made their presence more known. For some reason, people have a hard time with Kaidan, because he is a good, decent, quiet guy, who only gets passionate when needed to. Oh, and he's also a guy, that is sensitive. Most gamers are male, and some of them don't like Kaidan and call him wimpy because he is not this overly macho badass like Zaeed or Wrex.
 

Jenova65

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Shavon513 said:
Kaidan is quite popular, because he is apart of ME1 main characters, most of which were well-written. I think he might have become more popular, once his fans realized how awful his cameo was in ME2, so they made their presence more known. For some reason, people have a hard time with Kaidan, because he is a good, decent, quiet guy, who only gets passionate when needed to. Oh, and he's also a guy, that is sensitive. Most gamers are male, and some of them don't like Kaidan and call him wimpy because he is not this overly macho badass like Zaeed or Wrex.
I agree, Kaidan fans realised that if they don't speak up then BioWare won't know that there are people out there who like the way he is written!
 

Loonerinoes

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Okay. Here's the reason why both Kaidan Alenko of ME1 and Jacob Taylor of ME2 rock socks. Are you ready? This reason is crazy, but it's totally true.

*ahem*

They're both decent guys with no huge personal fault.

The moment I went into ME1 and heard Kaidan's voice actor being the same as Carth I was a bit worried that it'd be hard for me to seperate the two characters. But immediately he started laying out the kinds of observations that Carth wouldn't even dream of and would sooner whine about. And with that there was no problem in me seperating him from the previous guy.

Jacob in ME2 is really pretty much the same thing, only he on the other hand has an even less troubled past than Kaiden does (or at least one that has a whole lot fewer personal regrets of his). Even with his personal mission, involving his father, you can easily understand him being utterly furious with his lack of responsibility. And not surprisingly posts immediately popped up ala "Jacob Taylor is so boring, he ain't worth shit."

As the old saying goes. We like people for their virtues, but we love them for their mistakes. Both Kaiden and Jacob have very few mistakes and as such some people just can't help but do a /spit routine on them whenever their names are mentioned, while others just look at them as really nice guys. Perhaps a bit boring, but still...nice guys and good characters certainly.
 

Mr.Squishy

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lacktheknack said:
...Wow, I feel so alone. As in, I loved every character in Mass Effect, bar none.
I feel the same way o_O

I mean, Kaidan was, as many say, a kinda average but nice guy that I really could just hang with and chill.

Garrus is basically Turian batman.

Wrex is a proud warrior race guy done right, I.E., he had brains, feelings and a sense of humour.

Ashley felt like a very real person, for better and for worse.

Liara was kind and sweet to everyone.

Ditto for Tali, although they're still kinda hard to compare..

I suppose I can see why some people hate some of the companions you pick up, but I also see why some love 'em
 

TheBoulder

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Lolth17 said:
chickencow said:
I thought people didn't like him. Seeing as how he's automatically dead if you start a new file in ME2. I found him to average and boring to be on my crew.
If you start a new ME2 game with a femshep, he's alive and Ashley's dead, fyi.

Also, Kaiden has way more of a personality than Jacob, so he wins best human male companion npc by default ;-/

In my playthroughs, I killed Ashley even when I didn't have a relationship with Kaiden. Can't stand that *****.


Personally, <3 Thane Krios. I won't apologize for my weird alien romantic thoughts.
No way, Zaeed shows more personality in a few lines of dialogue than Kaiden ever has. I can't even remember Kaiden's backstory.
 

Zannah

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tlozoot said:
Probably because he's the only one fangirls can fantasise about without needing to excorcise themselves of the creepy alien thoughts.
hey, what's wrong with being into Garrus? :p
 

tlozoot

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Zannah said:
tlozoot said:
Probably because he's the only one fangirls can fantasise about without needing to excorcise themselves of the creepy alien thoughts.
hey, what's wrong with being into Garrus? :p
It chafes, or so I've heard...
 

Zannah

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tlozoot said:
Zannah said:
tlozoot said:
Probably because he's the only one fangirls can fantasise about without needing to excorcise themselves of the creepy alien thoughts.
hey, what's wrong with being into Garrus? :p
It chafes, or so I've heard...
Fuck it (pun intended), I'd still give it a try.
 

Meggiepants

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Jan 19, 2010
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Well, you are going to get horrible responses here because Kaidan, and Alistair for that matter, were made for people who are sexually attracted to men. Seeing as this board is like 90% straight male, you're not going to get a satisfactory answer, though she:

Jenova65 said:
SNIPS!
Rant over ;-)
Is a good example of a lady who these characters were created for. I am also a good example of the demographic Bioware developers were thinking of when they created these guys.

Because despite what you may have read about über macho men and their rather lackadaisical attitude toward women being the most attractive kind of guy, most women are happy to have a fella who will talk to them, understands them and is kind to them. Both of these characters fit that bill.

As far as attractiveness goes, if you aren't attracted to men, it would be difficult for you to determine what it is about men that attracts women. As far as video game males go, he isn't bad.

As for the whole fanfiction thing well...
Souplex said:
A lot of fanfiction writers are female. He's the only romancable male in 1. Seems like the answer is obvious.
This answers that question quite well.
 

BloodMoonDancer

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It's rather interesting and yet frustrating to read some of the things posted. Some of it is untrue, some is just narrow minded and then, some is just meant to cause a negative reaction in others. I won't ignore the fair personal opinions and simple statements - but the haters are just a mystery to me.

Some people say he whines... does he? What do you consider whining? I am just wondering because I played as FShep and MShep and talked to all characters and I don't see any whining. He talks of his past and his experiences but he doesn't whine.

He is bland - is he? Did you actually spend time with the character - both genders and talk? I did with both genders and while he has less to say to an MShep, he is an interesting character for FShep.

I actually like most characters in Mass Effect 1&2 and Kaidan is among them. Do I like him better than most? Yes, I do. He is a mature character, who has dealt with his problems and didn't need or ask for help. He has a history - but that is exactly it; it is history and while he shares it in conversations he also points out that he has come to terms with it.
Additionally, he remains in his role as soldier throughout the game, never forgetting his duty and even continues it in ME2, when he doesn't follow Shepard blindly (this is shared with Ash).
So, yes I like him and I enjoyed the chance to choose him as LI and would like to see him in ME3 again. Of course I am aware that I will be branded as sad/rabid/delusional fangirl by some and I can't change that but it doesn't change anything.

As a little note for the few fair-minded: Forgive me the upcoming use of generalizations and clichés but the constant meetings with haters is getting really tiering. Also, I don't expect all female gamers to like Kaidan - they are entitled to their opinion and preferences of course but they tend to bash less, so I am not addressing them separately.

Of course I am aware that among the majority of slightly homophobic and often immature male gamer community - we are fighting a hard battle. To actually see characters that actually stepped away from a stereotypical path is very delightful change and as sad as it is - the motivational picture shown just recently, speaks more the truth than it should.
It is rather sad to see how many people just go on bashing and hating a character, for the bashing and hating sake. Why not just leave it to those that like it? Why not just accept that some people will prefer different characters, games, paths, ways, classes or what not.

I feel for you - Haters. May you find your own personal joy one of those days...
 

RobCoxxy

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He has an interesting backstory. And he's not a total racist ***** like that whore of a squadmate, Ashley.

When it came to that section in Mass Effect 1, yes, it was tense and emotional, but I did, essentially, just go "BYE ASHLEY."
 

Elijin

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I totally sacrificed the crap out of Kaiden, to express I didnt like him.

But then I did a second playthrough, and sacrificed the girl instead, for you know, achievements >.> So my ME2 file showed Kaiden being alive, in all his boringness.

I guess the girls like him because he's normal? I mean he's more or less a standard soldier, no crazy, nor deranged or creepy or anything, just your typical enslisted trooper, doing what it takes to make things safer. So he's the easiest to put into relatable settings? Personally, I found these things to make him incredibly boring. I want my party crazy, dammit!