User blog comment:Nord Ronnoc/A Tale Of Two Game Series/@comment-2250460-20121111231413/@comment-5287758-20121112114602

Counter arguments:


 * Although there aren't 6 playable origins in ME, the 3 that are present define the psychological profile to a good extent. Spacers due to their proper upbringing get a boost of paragon points, Earthborn due to the hard and unpleasant life on the streets give Renegade points. War Hero and Ruthless give Paragon and Renegade points respectively. And these points just define how diplomatic or aggressive your character is from the start. But as the game progresses, you can move past your background and live your life. In other words: Your past doesn't have to control you. You are a free man, who although is haunted occasionally by his memories, is free to make choices without any prejudice. That's what is best about ME, no matter how much you have suffered, no matter where you are from, you can choose to be something different.


 * Game confirmed sons? Settling down, atrophying your skills and live a peaceful life? Of course, who doesn't want that? But Shepard's character is such that he will always be hunted or be the hunter. For such a personality, settling down, having kids is a distant dream. Only after the greatest threats have been subdued can he settle down, unless he doesn't survive it. We all wanted little blue babies, a house on Rannoch, etc. But those wishes 90% of the time don't come true. But Shepard's actions made sure that a billion others will have what he/she could not.


 * Gaining new skills or refining existing ones, not a choice to be made lightly. However, refining your skills should take precedence over learning new ones, you practice something long enough, you will become unbeatable at it. New skills are good, but they also divert your attentions from your original talents. Its after all a gameplay difference between DA and ME. As for the challenge, there's plenty in ME. Retreating from combat is not shameful, its a strategic move, not a cowardly one. Taking stock of your enemies' strengths, healing yourself in the process and figuring out a new plan is just more realistic. This is not a fistfight match.


 * Morality bar is a gameplay and a psychological analyzer. If your character has from the beginning displayed compassionate and just actions, surely any new decision you take will be influenced by such traits. If you choose to take a darker path, there are options available. Do you think you, a kind and compassionate man, could suddenly turn into a ruthless and frightening personality? Unless you have psychological problems. Same goes for vice versa. And despite being a ruthless, cold person, you can still commit acts of compassion, you have options. Being compassionate and ruthless at the same time is an excellent choice, as it balances out both the good and evil sides in you.


 * In ME, people can be charmed or intimidated, hence avoiding a firefight. Stealth is very useful, but for a character like Shepard, it doesn't apply. Shepard's a soldier, not an infiltrator(note, this is not infiltrator class) or an assassin. Straight up fights are more honorable than sneaking around anyway.


 * We have 6 different classes in ME, all of them having different set of skills. If one is smart enough, he will use them properly. Heavy fire support-soldier, tech skills-engineer, infiltration and sabotage-infiltrator, charge and close quarters combat-vanguard, biotic specialization-adept, biotic and tech combos-sentinel.


 * Companions do react to choices in ME. They do argue against the player at critical points and they most definitely voice their opinions at other times. But they also give the player free rein over the decisions, without too much influence from others. As for influencing the characters, its possible too to a certain extent. Characters who are too much influenced by others are not stable at all, they need to retain their originality. That's what makes ME great again, it preserves the identity of individuals, despite what their commander wants them to be.


 * Lots of items generally make things more cumbersome and difficult to handle. Its very easy to lose track.