AU Diary: Fear Effect 2

No, I don’t mean the risqué PSone shooter. I mean Mass Effect 2 and F.E.A.R. 3. Oh, and there’ll be spoilers for the former.

I repeat: Mass Effect 2 spoilers ahead.

I wrapped up Mass Effect 2 last night – my quest to destroy the Collectors derailed after my 360 red-ringed a few weeks back. That final mission was great. Well, it was great right up until the final boss fight, which was… about as run-of-the-mill as boss fights can get. Shoot the glowing orange bits? For massive damage? Sigh.

And it was too easy. In fact, the whole suicide mission aspect proved a misnomer as not one of my crew came close to dying. Sure, I was playing on Normal (my fault!) and I’d done all the loyalty missions and upgraded the Normandy, but… really? Where was the bit where you felt like you were in any danger?

Bioware did do a great job though in enabling you to lead your crew. Those crucial decisions as to who should act as the specialist or lead the second team or escort the surviving crew was handled in expert fashion. Ensuring that everyone survived was down to your ability to choose the right person for each task. And that relied on you having to get to know each each crew member through their loyalty missions and talking to them over to course of the game.

Like a genuine leader, you had to know the personality and skills of your crew.

I knew Kasumi was the best person to sneak in via the ventilation shaft. I knew Garrus was best equipped to lead the second fire team. I knew Samara was the one to maintain the biotic barrier. I knew Jacob could be relied on to ensure the abducted crew safe passage back to the Normandy. I knew Miranda and Thane would have my back during the final assault. And I knew the rest of the team had the firepower to hold off our pursuers.

I knew because all the character interactions leading up to that point are about trust. By the endgame, my crew trusted me and I trusted them.

The Illusive Man, however, I did not trust in the slightest. I blew up the Collector ship without a second thought.

For those of you who have also finished Mass Effect 2, what were your thoughts on the suicide mission? What choices did you make and why?

As for F.E.A.R. 3, by the time you read this I’ll be at an event for it and hopefully getting some hands-on time. Let me know if you have any specific questions and I’ll try to address as many as possible in my write-up.

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