Chapter Text
The Games
I see the series as having been able to go six games. The Save game files can be continued on, though they cannot 'skip' any step. But they can be started at any point. A player who starts in the middle may very well be facing a galaxy that looks nothing like one from someone who started with game one.
First, a "solo" game to set the stage, as it were, only wherein the stage is under construction.
An Space Empire-building game, but as a RPG/shooter from the perspective of a single individual whom gains increasing levels of 'pull' in how the empire grows... and where humanity is expanding, there happen to be aliens... and some of them arent happy with humanity. lets call it, 'Mass Effect: First Contact'.
Then we get 'Mass Effect: Dark Forces'. (Yeah yeah stealing slightly from Star Wars, which had a series of games in which the second installment, Jedi outcast, wasn't the second, but the third. (Dark Forces, Dark Forces II Jedi Knight, then Jedi Outcast...) Decades have passed since the events of 'First Contact', and humanity has expanded to the point that a galactic federation are considering the threat they pose against the prospect of humanity becoming a member of said federation. However, a threat from within rears its head, old grudges are inflamed and still there's something off about that ship...
Next we get 'Mass Effect: Cerberus'. This is not part of the core trilogy, but still takes the place of the original ME2. You thought the threat had passed, and even you found it hard to believe the enemy when he told you about his ship... but there are those who not only believe, but seemed to have known already, they're intent on you becoming a believer too, and then theres that they didn't so much save your life as that they resurrected you, and in exchange are asking you to deal with a teensy little problem at the centre of the galaxy... But Thankfully (or not), this is not "Star Trek the Final Frontier", you're not James Kirk and there aren't any friendly klingons coming your way.
Now we get to the First game in the core trilogy, the fourth game in the series, 'Mass Effect: Invasion'. To the Shock of All, those aliens that an old (dead) enemy tried to warn you about? They're real, and they're on their way... wait no. They're here. And since you've already killed one of them, its you and humanity that are in their crosshairs. And of course, they're so pissed off that they're not even going to try taking their time like they did with the Protheans - you dont have a century to attempt to save your race... thankfully, given how focussed on humanity they are, the other races are mostly being ignored... and unfortunately, they still don't believe the truth, and (some or most) of them simply don't like you and/or humanity...
Fifth Game... is 'Mass Effect: Galaxy At War'. (yet another name-stealing thing). The Blitzkrieg is over, the momentum broken. Now, now the hard part comes... actually taking back <spoilers>.
Sixth Game is 'Mass Effect: Retribution'. The final in the series, and the trilogy... The Reaper Invasion had been Slowed, Stopped, and turned back. The Galaxy was saved... but their origin was a mystery... until now. Their Origin has been discovered. The Andromeda Initiative had already been in the building stages both as a pioneering colonization program, and as a lifeboat in the event the galaxy was lost, but the revelation that the reapers came from Andromeda, the program is... changed, somewhat.
# 1 - Mass Effect First Contact
The year is 2145, and humanity has colonised Alpha Centauri, Arcturus and a handful of other systems no more than a hundred-fifty light years away from earth. But the worlds in those systems would not support large populations. Humanity is facing a population problem, Earth Especially. New ground, naturally capable of supporting human life needs to be found. And within Arcturus, a there is a mass relay larger than the one in Sol, the two in Alpha Centauri and the other three in Arcturus... On the other side of the relay, the rest of the galaxy. You play as Lieutenant Commander Steve Williams of the Systems Alliance Navy. You are a soldier, explorer, diplomat. You and your unit are to go out into the great unknown, to seek out new worlds, and should you find new civilizations...
'Act 1' of MEFC is the exploration beyond Arcturus. You explore worlds, establish forward outposts on various planets (like Andromeda), and as you slowly deal with the colonisation program's problems, and pirates, and the alien races you encounter, your character eventually gains a reputation. And then the person in charge above you dies, comms are lost with the systems alliance, and you gain command. (very much a '4x empire building game' from a roleplay, first person perspective.) A world you suggested as a research base is attacked. (If you dont play the game, or if you chose it, the other games will presume Shanxi) And from there, an alien race starts to invade the other outposts and colony worlds. It is up to you to take them on in act 2, while learning more about them. The climactic battle for act 2 is defending one of the worlds from all-out invasion - and its not always the same one in each playthrough... which colony world gets major-invaded is determined by, one, if you set one as a full-bore colony world, and if you haven't, then a random civilian outpost is selected. If you have more than one 'Full Colony', then two get invaded and you can only choose one to save... so for your playthrough, your williams will become infamous for loosing a colony on his watch, for having 'stretched resources too thin', on the other hand, if you just have one, you could still loose the colony, or if you save it, then you could become famous (note for later)
Act 3 is something of a climax. Juggling expansion, repair, defense and so on, eventually you grow sufficient forces to make a counter-strike on the aliens. If you went 'pro-human anti-alien', then it is simply a civilian target near human-held territory. if you however, went diplomatic and gained allies, you actually get to choose somewhere else to attack, and even have more information and the name of the species who has been attacking you. Your choice here holds significant influence on the future games, but they dont just boil down to 'Military, scientific or civilian targets'. and your level of response too. (Nuking civilian world is possible, but any attempt to ally with turians in ME:Invasion will fail.) Your attack can even fail, though you survive (which influences the perception over the 'eden prime' attack in 'Dark Forces', whether or not it is eden prime.)
Don't play this one in your playthrough, and the other games will take a generally middle-road, with some decidedly "renegade" choices thrown in the mix. Shanxi was a research outpost when the turians invaded, afterward turned into a military outpost. A Turian civilian colony was attacked for the 'act 3' events, and was almost nuked but the attacking human force failed to retain their beachhead in time to deliver the nuke - which ended up exploding elsewhere on the planet. Turians hate humanity for it, but since they didn't actually lose anyone to the nuke itself, it's just very difficult to get most members of the race to work with humans, and requires "hitting all the green lights" in the other games to get them as allies for Invasion.
A "Top end" playthrough would have twice as many worlds confirmed as colonised by the start of the next game, and if you chose the more dangerous military target, and succeeded in nuking it, congizant on the tidbit that in act '2' you lost a colony world, then from the second game onwards, Turian civilians are generally in favour or neutral about humans with some critical of their government/military. (the nuke to show how bad humanity's response can be, that it was a military target deeper in their territory and not the relatively undefended civilian colony much closer to human territory being interpreted as "we dont blame the civilians for their government and military leaders' mistake".)
Mass Effect: Dark Forces
This would basically be the canon first game 'reimagined'. The endgame save from ME:FC would carry over, but you play as Shepard, soldier, etcetera. BUT it would be less 'roleplay' and more akin to ME2. You're a soldier, so you have a limited selection for your inventory, but you become a spectre, so you can spend credits to expand that inventory in the way of ME2, just not buying individual guns (so no buying a gun nine times to give it to all squad mates and then not need to take it back before swapping squadmates.)
Your squad is MORE THAN THREE PEOPLE. You lead a proper fireteam, which numbers six. You have a partner, and the other four are split off into pairs (selectable from the squadmate selection).
You're on the SSV Normandy, a frigate that is actually a frigate on the inside as well as the outside. If you were to play 24 hours straight (as in, between missions, run the game with your character staying aboard the ship constant for 24 hours) you would find that the crew aren't static, they do rotate through sleeping berths, etcetera. Your ship does get into some space combat that isn't at the end. Any weapons commented upon by anyone who is simple a visual observer, are therefore visible. (commenting about gun ports on ships without any visible gun ports? or was that just babylon 5 and it was turrets? well those too come to think of it.) The Ship, a hundred-fifty metres long feels a hundred-fifty metres long. It's not so TARDIS-like (compare: how wide the ship is where the airlock is outside, compared to how it is inside, etc)
Your Squad starts as just soldiers from the alliance. Alenko and Jenkins are joined by three others, who act as your, Alenko and Jenkin's partners... and Jenkins can survive the game.
Then you get a celebrity of sorts... related to a famous or infamous person. (New playthrough from DF: Infamous. continued from FC: can be either) Ashley Williams, the granddaughter of General Steven Williams, (who you played as for the first game). Her rank when you meet can be different. Two factors: Fame, and if he was disgraced or not. he can 'famously' have defended the colony, or infamously lost one. And if you used nuclear response, success or not, disgrace. Nuclear option/Disgrace means she's an NCO, Enlisted. Without that, she's an officer. And how far up the ladder (O-1, O-2, or E-1, E-2) on fame. NOT a 'oh, we'll make it easier for her to advance because' infamous didn't work for, and worked against her, while fame didn't work against her, just not for her)
Tali would still be cute. And recruitable in different places.
Wrex is encountered later on, and not in the same place as tali and garrus...
Squad choice Expansion can therefore be slower, and not just 'two missions and have them all' and they're not the only ones that come aboard. and with the six-person squad, means you can have a 'powerhouse' build where each pair both carry similar skills and complimentary ranges, aka:
Garrus (Tech/Long Range) + Tali (Tech/Short Range), Alenko (Biotic/Mid Range) + Wrex (Biotic/Short Range), Ashley (Soldier-All Ranges) + Shepard...
Or Mixed build... aka:
Garrus (Tech/Long Range) + Wrex (Biotic/Short Range), Liari (Biotic-All Ranges) + Ashley (Soldier-All Ranges),
The Mako Sections are not exploration sections. It's also a hovertank APC that LOOKS like a hovertank APC. (The M-35 Mako doesnt look like it can take more than two people, not the four for part of feros.) Think strongly-up-armored Kodiak Shuttle, with a turret. and the engines look more suited to a hovertank... and rear entry, not side. (the Kodiak was that way to evoke 'helicopter')
Now, the story:
A Human Colony is targeted by a turian spectre. The colony going 'dark', at the 'right' time, the systems alliance deploys a stealth frigate to investigate, instead of sending an entire fleet for something that actually occurs a few times a year (the comms blacking out, not the other bit). particularly, one carrying shepard, a candidate for the Spectres, operatives of the Citadel Council. While on the world, they encounter Geth - a hive-AI race of synthoids, under teh control of said spectre. all familiar. And if the colony is Eden Prime, then bad news, somewhat... Saren discovers it during the raid, and though it is somehow implied as the reason for the attack... if it was eden prime. If it was elsewhere, then his motives are not revealed beyond that specific target due to being a 'shining example of what humans can build;, and even a point of criticism later on. 'why would I randomly attack a human colony' versus 'why would I attack an entire human colony to allegedly steal a prothean beacon that belongs to the council anyway?' )
Capture/or/kill Saren is still the overarcing 'mission', but at no point does shepard mind meld with a 50,000 year old machine. And so, what little he/she learns about the reapers either comes across as 'ridiculous conspiracy theorist bullshit', 'science fiction, bad science fiction', or 'probably a lie or maybe he's just gone nuts'.
Let me reiterate: The guy who will in the series still become saviour of the galaxy, doesn't even believe any of it for most of this game... or all of it, depending on playthrough.
Even with hints of something off, and should the colony attacked be eden prime and so discover the beacon before it gets blown up, shepard still thinks its a legend that Saren is either usingfor his own means, or saren is just insane enough to believe in the legend himself.
think about that, the consequences right there... even down to holy crap what about the attack on the citadel... which is still in this version of the game.
Simply put: Shepard doesn't know that Sovereign/Nazara is there to open the citadel's built in relay functions to bring the reapers. Shepard just thinks that the stakes are, if they fail, the seat of galactic government is destroyed, maybe with the current representatives. If Shepard does know (basically, any dialogue option that sounds like he's starting to believe in it, he's just using sarcasm/and or trying to distract saren by only appearing to) then he thinks its conspiracy theory stuff. (So the seat of galactic government is actually a huge mass relay that will destroy the entire galaxy... sure... like we wouldn';t have noticed that in the last millenia.)
The missions are different though. The side missions are not so 'side'. and the title is 'dark Forces'. He's now a spectre, so he's not just taking on Saren. And the game will hint to him being a spectre for almost half a year by the end of the game.
The game is split into five 'acts'..
Act one is basically partly, pre-spectre mission (Evaluation mission, then the call-out to whatever planet Saren is attacking), introduction to the Citadel Council, (different name, as its more 'galactic federation government' than 'political alliance between different governments'), the Citadel, and then the first mission after becoming a Spectre - He is sent to Virmire FIRST. Also the place that establishes Saren as possibly being crazy. nuking a garden world is, officially, his first act as a spectre.
Act Two is, consequently, his 'buttering up the council' before being allowed after saren again... despite the reports from the Salarians that the nuke was not his idea, nor was it a mere option. Going around the galaxy on missions. quite a few, actually. and for the Systems Alliance Navy. Geth, Mercenaries, Pirates, and more. Cerberus too. It's an 'intermission' period... most of the missions aren't even that important. That ends when, during a specific mission, they encounter a Quarian... (change from original: their suits record things automatically, and there are protected backups of the colonies own cctv so no intervention on tali's part just to get them to believe about saren being behind the attack)
THIS is where benezia comes in, or rather, Liara. Whose rescue mission is the first of Act Three.
Returning to the Council and Liara in tow, they get two missions: They can either go after Benezia on Noveria, in case she's still there and find out if she's gone crazy or if, as the council hopes, she is only working with saren in an effort to 'pull him back to the light'. Or they can go to Feros, where Saren had brought an army, before leaving with most of his forces, leaving a massive hole where the colony hadn't even built yet, making them wonder what he was there fore, since the colony infrastructure was, according to transmissions, left mostly intact. Either one can be done first, but the other one cannot be dealt with until after two other missions (Hello Admiral Hackett with your priority missions!) These are the missions that have more importance, and are ones that really would be dealt with by a spectre and with support of an army (versus the can-be-solo-ness of the others in act 2, and some even 'not-worth-a-spectre'), with quite a few before... dun dun DUUUN... Ilos.
Act Four: Search for Prothean ruins. Ilos is the LAST mission of this act. And it is the search for Ilos (by name or not) that is the heart of this act, with all other concerns fallen by the wayside. All possible squadmates must be recruited to activate this act. Lots of exploring and run-and-gunning. And some Hover-MAKO sections that make you learn certain tricks.
Act Five: Battle of the Citadel. You failed to get to Saren, and returned to the ship with the geth having disappeared through a weird mass relay before it destructed... and you're on your way to the Citadel to report in when you hear that holy shit he's attacking the citadel, having somehow arrived on the ground without a ship. You can go to Arcturus and comandeer a fleet or three, or go direct (influences the battle.) Arriving at the station, you find that C-Sec is getting overwhelmed, with a lot of territory on the wards already lost. basically, like the war-part of 'First Contact' on a station-level, not stellar cluster level. missions and so on, then the big one - get to citadel tower and, so on and so on.
(Honestly, the citadel battle section felt short whenever I played it. And since the entire game could be finished in 10 hours... I'm thinking of at least 20-30 hours for this one)
Basically, there are more pathways to the end, more branches to diverge... converge in different ways and so on. And Shepard STILL doesn't believe about the reapers, something even Cerberus knows and believes.
Next Chapter: Talking of Cerberus.