Yesterday, we got to meet some of the new squadmates introduced in Mass Effect: Andromeda. One of them, pictured above, is named Cora Harper. Harper is your second-in-command on the Pathfinder mission to find a new home for humanity.
“To be brief, I am a biotic, the team’s operation’s specialist in charge of ground missions, and I spent the last four years serving alongside Asari commandos,” Harper says. OK, cool. She sounds like a badarse.
Wait a minute, though. Harper. Harper. That name sounds familiar. Who who else has that surname?
The Illusive Man does, AKA Jack Harper. Do you see a resemblance?
Uh oh…
Cora Harper – Pathfinder second in command
Jack Harper – The Illusive Man#MEAndromeda #BioWare #MassEffect #MassEffectAndromeda pic.twitter.com/VZdth2CDiY— BioFan (@BioFanOfficial) January 26, 2017
Now, this could just be coincidence. We do know, however, that Jack Harper had a family before Cerberus, so it’s certainly possible that they could be related. Harper’s Illusive Man connection would also be ripe for storytelling tension, as players inevitably wonder if she is going to be Solas 2.0. Then again, Harper mentions that she spent time with Asari commandos, so it’s also possible that her politics don’t align with that of Cerberus (also an interesting possibility!)
That said, the potential threat of Cerberus influence over the mission has fans in a speculative frenzy. Another thing revealed yesterday was your ship would come equipped with SAM, an AI designed by Pathfinder Alec Ryder. Ryder’s biography briefly appears during the trailer, and while it’s impossible to read as-is, knightsfan went ahead and blew it up for us:
That last bit reads, “Alec became interested in artificial intelligence as a means of human advancement.” That sure as hell sounds Cerberus-y to me (“Cerberus supports the principle that any methods of advancing humanity’s ascension are entirely justified,” says the Mass Effect Wikia.) And we know that Cerberus has some experience building AI — they created EDI, after all.
Maybe fans are reading too much into all of this. It doesn’t help that even Mass Effect‘s producer is teasing people about the potential implications of AI usage:
That’s right, folks. AI. Not VI. Wonder how that happened….
— Michael Gamble (@GambleMike) January 27, 2017
Guess we’re gonna find out what’s going on soon: Mass Effect: Andromeda drops on March 23.
Comments
14 responses to “A Small Detail You Might Have Missed In Mass Effect: Andromeda’s New Trailer”
Im Pro illusive man. He got shit done till those pestering alliance scum made it their business and stuffed everything up.
If Cora really is the offspring of the illusive man, I hope she shares the same ideology because that sounds like it could be loads of renegade fun
*edit*
that last screenshot mostly translated;
I can’t make out what comes after Sierra either but the others are obvious since they are ME lore related
Charon Relay – the first relay found, located in pluto
Shanxi – the only human colony to have been occupied by an alien force
and the last word is attache
edit: oh it might be Sierra Nevada, an actual place in USA
The ‘Sierra Nevadas’ is a mountain range in the US. It was a bit odd because sometimes you can use it in plural to describe the whole area. And Attache is “a person on the staff of an ambassador having a specialized area of responsibility.”
Cool, thanks for that.
I do remember those locations from the books. I was thinking Sierra Nevada as well, does ring some bells from the books / game and it is a well known treacherous region
personally speaking I’m more worried that the whole human team (the Ryder twins included) is jacked up to S.A.M
being able to be quite literally fed false information directly to your brain by an AI is bound to not end well heh
Not just the whole human team, but all of the pathfinders, from the sounds of it… Skynet anyone?
oh is it implied that the asari etc are jacked in? i got to rewatch it now haha
I kind of think our non human squad mates (Peebee, Vetra etc) are free from neural implants since they aren’t originally part of the team (well from the video anyway)
From the andromeda initiative vids, the team and all payhfinders are jacked into SAM
What’s with all the humans on the team? Give me the aliens!
This is the human vessel.
Each of the major races has one.
Sure, but there are going to be aliens in the party for sure. I suppose what I should say is I want to see more of the options for part members.
Still sad no Hanar teammate. Such a missed opportunity…….
I want a Volus riding an Elcor with guns strapped to him, sort’ve like Dino-Riders
Really looking forward to this one