Posted by We’re back with our month-long Mass Effect challenge! For previous days, click here.
Mass Effect Month, Day 17: What is your least favorite mission/loyalty quest/side quest?
Sigh. I think I’ve already groused about Jacob’s loyalty mission, so I won’t do that again, but… well…
Virmire in Mass Effect. As much as I think Kaiden is about as interesting as a piece of white bread, he doesn’t deserve to die. One day I’ll save him, I swear.
My stomach literally just turned into a knot thinking about playing that mission again.
Part of the reason I dislike this so much is because of the obvious “Kaiden or Ashley” choice that will stick with you for the entire trilogy.
But part of it is really aggravation at myself for… caring about the characters so much. I have felt so guilty every time I left Kaiden behind, but I can’t bring myself to leave Ashley, not because she’s on my away team the most (or some other tactical reason), but because I like her. And I know that she and Shepard always wind up BFFs.
How ridiculous, right?
So, Virmire isn’t my least favorite mission because it is poorly done. It’s actually a really involved and interesting mission, and is overall enjoyable. A lot of small plot threads come to a head here, and Shepard has the opportunity to make a lot of choices that really impact the game. So why is this mission my answer for today’s question?
I guess it’s because it makes me feel emotions that are uncomfortable, and I have to face them, again and again.
I suppose that should make this my favorite mission, then, shouldn’t it? After all, it’s when we feel something real during a video game that we truly experience the power of this medium.
What about you? What’s your least favorite mission? What is the most emotional mission for you in the series? Who did you pick on Virmire? Let me know in the comments!
I should go,
~ Athena
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Whenever I play Mass Effect, I always leave that rogue VI mission on the moon until the very end, if I do it at all. Of all the missions in the all the games, it’s the single one I really, really, *really* don’t like. The whole setup is just aggravating, with the three bases and all the turret guns and drones and nonsense. Leaves a bad taste just thinking about it.
As much as I don’t like choosing between Ashley and Kaiden on Virmire (I guess I’m more biased towards Kaiden than Ashley), I really don’t like dealing with the situation in ME3 on Rannoch with the geth and the quarians (or, Legion vs. Tali). I just want them all to get along, but that’s just not an option, and I don’t like the results either way. It’s definitely one of the more emotional moments in the series.
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Yeah… it doesn’t really stick out in my mind, which is odd for me, but yes I do remember it was just sort of… annoying.
Really? I found that fascinating! I somehow brokered a peace between Tali and Legion/the geth and quarians, but no there really isn’t any sort of “happy endings” with that one…
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That was really a tough choice on Virmire. I accidentally saved Kaiden on my playthrough and reloaded to save Ashley instead…. oops. Hey! If it were up to me I would’ve saved both, but Ashley’s sarcasm pushed her closer to my gamer heart. No regrets!
My least favourite Loyalty mission is Zaeed’s in Mass Effect 2. You basically have to kill a bunch of innocent workers (or have a high level charm) to earn the idiot’s loyalty. Nope!
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