User blog comment:James12708/Possibility of a Mass Effect 4/@comment-70.50.192.100-20120912221921

Bioware and the abstract fans of the series have to realize, the game will never be the same without Shepard. Future titles, be it prequel, Sequel set millenia ahead, or miniature installments, none of them will have that awe-defining factor that playing as Commander Shepard, crafting the traits of your choices, your Love Interest etc. Sales will ultimately plummet as any other form of Mass Effect without Shepard will perish. This "Playing from a new perspective" idea is ok in theory and has backing (still 60 % of the community would object to it and rather continue Shepard) but again, the prevalence and charisma of Shepard overshadows it entirely. Nobody in the entire series has the combination of willpower, versatility, charisma and wow factor that Shepard has. There is so much more that the next game could expand on. The combat system for one, was one of the high points in ME3. Vastly improved from the first two games, where 3 made you make perennial decisions based on your class (Adept you want a higher Recharge speed for example) and the addition of combo detonations, Biotic in particular. You can further improve on that by bringing Shepard's N7 prowess into play. You know what makes being an Infiltrator so cool? You feel like an assassin. Now imagine Bioware incorporating the ability to import an Infiltrator save file from ME3 and now expanding on that by being able to be an N7 Shadow! Again, this is where Shepard's versatility comes into play. If you don't have a save file, simply choosing one of the classes (Obviously more revamped from ME3) that has been further improved Power Wise and Combat wise will suffice for new players. The aura of a new game stemming from a critically acclaimed series is bound to bring in the "Newbies" but further improvement on the combat system, incorporating more lore (Pertaining to the N7 training) into the core of the game and the fact we get Shepard back will be enough to bring back the "defrauded" portion of the community that feels the game has been shamed due to the perilous endings. Obviously all of this comes at a price. A canon ending. This would mean, Destroy would need to be Canon... HOWEVER. Based on the Indoctrination theory, which has more than enough evidence to orchestrate a transition from theory to "Waiting to be confirmed from developers", the game can transition (Sorry for overlapping use of the word) from the theory's dependency, to starting a whole new title after you finish the fight, where a new antagonist arises, taking precedence on Shepard but being more subtle but equally as threatening as the Reaper's albeit confirmation, rather than Reaper myth exemplified from the first two game's realizations. That is one way or another is the perennial battle for establishing order amongst all the races stranded on a rubble ravaged earth, with a group in particular finding vast amounts of Reaper technology and using it, becoming the looming threat, wanting to take over as the sole Apex race/power in the galaxy. This would also imply that we would have an actual Final Boss fight in the game (Probably the most advanced of the Reaper Tech filled enemies) rather than that poor excuse that Kai Leng was (Hell even on Insanity I had next to no trouble...). It is amongst you to discuss. I for one, will never buy Mass Effect again if Shepard is not the protagonist. You may object to this, but you cannot deny that Shepard has been the driving force behind this impeccable story filled with imperial lore that has captivated strong supporters of the community. Take this as you wish.