According to this BioWare blog post Mass Effect 3 is a little different from its predecessors in that Shepard’s reputation isn’t dependent on the paragon or renegade score. Reputation is now an additive value, so you won’t miss certain dialog options or paragon/renegade encounters just because you don’t devoutly adhere to the paragon or renegade path from beginning to end.
In other words, now you can play the game in a more varied manner - making decisions that truly fit your character and the situation - without worrying about missing out on some content.
I’m inclined to welcome this change, since it allows me more breathing room to enjoy the story. I can choose to be unfriendly, violent, and careless throughout each encounter but still choose to be kind and gentle toward my potential romantic interests - showing a truly multifaceted (or perhaps schizophrenic) personality.
That said, I find that the renegade and paragon options differ very little in Mass Effect 3. You’re always going to end up the hero, no matter what you choose: you might mildly hurt some feelings, but it probably won’t cost you anything; or you might gain some begrudging friends and a paltry few extra military strength points. Generally your decisions are smaller in scale than they were in the previous installments of the Mass Effect series. You won’t be making any major galactic impact like rescuing the Council or letting them suffer their fate without your intervention. At least until the ultimate decision of the game - although as far as I can tell the ending varies little regardless of your final choice.
I would really like to see a game that legitimately lets you change the story so you can be the hero, antihero, or whatever you want. Even if it was a small, experimental game as a proof-of-concept, I would probably pick it up.
ReplyDeleteI get frustrated with role-playing games like Mass Effect (though I really liked the first game -- gotta pick up the next!) because I can't truly "role play" how I would respond to the situation. At least with the 8-bit/16-bit "silent hero" archetype, it was less frustrating because there wasn't anything "you" could say. I wonder if my lack of frustration then was just due to my age at the time, or because it never occurred to me that it could be different?
At least ME1 and ME2 let you make some pretty universe-altering decisions (even antihero ones), but ME3 is much more scripted.
DeleteBut it's true, there's always the inherent inability to make your character say "what you would say" in real life.