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Who Is A Hero?
More importantly, who isn’t?
So on the same night I get into discussions about the end of the Mass Effect Trilogy and why Superman isn’t so great. This gets me to thinking about heroes and the nature of heroism. This in turn gets me to inflicting my ideas on you.
Shepard the Hero
The Mass Effect Trilogy has been one of the most-played, most acclaimed and then most-criticised game franchises ever. A third-person, cover-based squad shooter in an SF setting, it puts the player in control of one Commander Shepard, a member of the elite N7 commando corps of the Human Alliance. So far, so blah. But then things get interesting. Shepard can be male or female. They can have one of five specialisations that all require distinctly different playstyles. The choice of which ability to upgrade and when also affects the wya you have to play. The choices made from the different family backgrounds and pre-game reputations available actually do make a difference to the way NPCs react to the character. Further, throughout the games, certain key decisions and reactions are presented to the character as moral choices. Choices which not only have consequences much further down the line, but also change the way both allies and enemies react to Shepard, and their willingness to help them. The character can make or lose friends, be a faithful lover or a sexual…
