User blog comment:StagedDom19/Missing the Main Problem/@comment-2256917-20120710190737/@comment-5274392-20120711035946

First, I'd like to say this has been a fun discussion with you AnotherRho.

Now, I do agree that Bioware's writing team could be improved as well as the company's quality control. And I like your retake on Aeia. Yes, Bioware had too many characters in ME2, and the fixed it in ME3, however, that still doesn't excuse ME2's terrible use of good characters. As for the Biotics, I was merely stating that plotwise, they seemed little forced in because Mordin was recruited to solve the problem the biotics fixed. I wasn't saying Biotics shouldn't be in the squad, however, if Bioware had given a mission in which we fail because we couldn't get pasted a hive of seeker swarms, and Mordin said that his invention would never reach that magnitude to repel said swarms, then recruiting a biotic would have been a useful thing to do.

For character relationships, I did forget to talk about the fantastic use of actually having the companions interact with each other on the Normandy. It was a nice touch, and made the squad much more realistic.

Now for the gut: the theme. What is the theme for Mass Effect? I believed after playing ME that it was striving to continue fighting even against a hopeless cause. Further, ME2 did capture this, and I was happy with that aspect of the game. However, the ending of ME3 happened. Bioware, the writers and creators of this series, stated that the theme was synthetics vs organics. I'm fine with that being the theme, however, unlike ME and ME3, none of that is present in ME2. If Shepard had found out in ME2 that there was a possible chance he was just a VI in a comatose body, and he had to fight a mental battle to find out that he truly was still human, and the game is based on Shepard's search for the truth, then yes, ME2 would have been with the theme. If we could follow the plot I just presented, we could establish in-game what defines sentience, which is huge for plot-lines such as the geth. Along the way of this path, you could possibly find out more about the reapers, which could directly lead into ME3. However, this is a plot I just created on the spot as I was writing this, so it might not be that good. I like your theme however.

ME2's plot is great, if it was a standalone game. It isn't, and it tells a story that is almost competely irrelevant to the other two. A series usually follows a single goal, unless in certain circumstances(such as the Elder Scrolls). Star Wars' goal was do defeat the Empire, which they do in all three movies. LOTR's goal was taking the ring to Mordor, which they did in all three books. Halo was about defeating the Covenant, which happened in all three games. I could go on, but you get my meaning. Lastly, I do like how you compared ME3's plot to Shepard being an errand boy.