Mass Effect is a game that manages to plunder every sci-fi cliche under the sun and produce a truly compelling and enjoyable gaming experience. However it is not without faults.
By denying players the opportunity to romance a male character, there is a sense of disconnect for a gay gamer. It sends the message that it is not okay to want to romance a male character.
I hear ya there. Now, I'm a straight male, but as a rule I generally play female characters in computer games that offer a choice. Why? Because they generally get the more attractive costumes. But again the limited romance problem seems to be prolific: even a female lead character can't romance the male ones!
On the other hand it's better than Fable. It was possible to develop a male-male relationship in that, but in the 'Fade to Black' pseudo-sex scenes, it sounded like the poor guy was in serious distress! What kind of message is THAT sending?
even a female lead character can't romance the male ones!
Not sure where this line came from. In Mass Effect the female lead can romance a male character.
Anyways I am a straight gamer and I find it sad they didn't include a male-male relationship. For me it would allow more variety in the game. Hell I would have liked the option to have had a relationship with any of your shipmates.
Dan
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Re: [Computer Game]: Mass Effect, reviewed by Menchi (5/4)
As a woman playing a female Doctor Shepard, I would have enjoyed a bit more variety than Kaiden or Liara. I thought Joker was way cuter than Kaiden, and would have rather had a sort of relationship (or attempted relationship) with him, despite his problems. At the very least, they could have made the shipboard NPCs romanceable.,
I was a bit disappointed that my character has lesbian sex with the Consort without my permission (I was playing a renegade, and was a bit rude to her!) but there's no male/male romances available for my planned male paragon playthrough. Er, uh, you'd be surprised at the number of women who also enjoy that kind of thing.
Re: [Computer Game]: Mass Effect, reviewed by Menchi (5/4)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shattercrack
As a woman playing a female Doctor Shepard, I would have enjoyed a bit more variety than Kaiden or Liara. I thought Joker was way cuter than Kaiden, and would have rather had a sort of relationship (or attempted relationship) with him, despite his problems. At the very least, they could have made the shipboard NPCs romanceable.,
I was a bit disappointed that my character has lesbian sex with the Consort without my permission (I was playing a renegade, and was a bit rude to her!) but there's no male/male romances available for my planned male paragon playthrough. Er, uh, you'd be surprised at the number of women who also enjoy that kind of thing.
Actually not really. 60% of the consumers of Japanese Gay m/m romance literature and comixs are Japanese housewives. It isn't such a stretch to believe that a modest market of women into gay romance (not gay porn) exists. Which, when added with the multi-billion dollar gay market, is a sizeable market to neglect.
That's what sort of astonishes me. The evidence already exists that gay-friendly = lots of money. Look at the Sims, as I said before.
Conan
__________________ PSN: Evinshir - Little Big Planet - Rock Band 1 - Burnout Paradise - Resident Evil 5
I want to bring this up as an aside more than a direct critique. As a gay gamer, I find that it is a rough life finding satisfying computer games with romances in them. A lot of developers don't seem to grasp how media can affect the way people perceive themselves.
When you create a sandbox game with customisability - particularly a game like Mass Effect which wants you to out yourself in the shoes of the character and tell your own story through your actions and choices - there is a certain message being sent to gamers with the choices allowed.
By denying players the opportunity to romance a male character, there is a sense of disconnect for a gay gamer. It sends the message that it is not okay to want to romance a male character.
This negative message is further reinforced by allowing a lesbian love affair. Claiming "she's an alien who is asexual" loses its validity when said asexual alien is rendered as a beautiful woman with clear female traits, and refers to herself as female.
I don't think Bioware did this maliciously, but it is a serious concern. Jade Empire had a gay romance, and there was very little hoo-hah from the "moral" crowd against it. The precedent has been set. To not include a gay romance in a supposedly mature game is a step backwards, in my opinion.
Bioware is limiting players and is implying (even in unintentionally) that it does not approve of male-male relationships.
Some would argue that market forces dictate. But given that the gay market is a multi-billion dollar a year industry - and that there are a marked number of "gaymers" out there - it seems bad business sense to not try and tap into that market.
To argue that conservative gamers would boycott the game loses effectiveness when one looks at The Sims. It is a huge money spinner that not only has gay relationships, but gay marriage and simulated gay sex! And it isn't even R-rated. The PS2, PSP, PC and Mac versions allow for gay relationships. Only the DS version is non-gay friendly. But then it also doesn't have any sexual connotations at all.
So I feel the need to express my disappointment in Bioware's failure to show support for a market that they initially won over with games like Jade Empire - which allowed gay relationships.
For me, this was a big let down that genuinely spoiled my enjoyment of the game. It is not sufficient to argue "that's the way the world is." As a producer of media, and making the claim that I can make the story I want, Bioware has failed me.
To that end, Mass Effect is not supportive of gay gamers - and that is a shame.
This didn't effect the overall score - it's not so big an issue as to deserve that - but it is a disappointment that after the remarkable addition in Jade Empire, that in Mass Effect (which touts to be bigger and more mature) it is removed and the remaining romance subplots seriously dumbed down.
Conan
__________________ PSN: Evinshir - Little Big Planet - Rock Band 1 - Burnout Paradise - Resident Evil 5
Not sure where this line came from. In Mass Effect the female lead can romance a male character.
Sorry, I didn't make myself clear. That was more a general observation about computer RPGs with romance plots. I've not actually played Mass Effect to a point where I could develop a romance subplot.
Re: [Computer Game]: Mass Effect, reviewed by Menchi (5/4)
I agree that Bioware is dropping the ball. They've gone as far as grant normalcy to hot lesbian sex, but they still can't bring themselves to give male/male the same treatment. A real shame, and it speaks to a possible immaturity of the Bioware crowd. I say this as a straight gamer: the world need some homosexual badasses in media. Guys who stab and shoot and kill, and occasionally have sex with other men.
Having said that, I'm kind of sick of Bioware romances in general. I feel like there are far more interesting and compelling and game-affecting story arcs and dialog options that they could be implementing instead of the obnoxious slow slides into black'd-out sex groans. If there was a mechanic attached to your lover... such as the relationship unlocks powers/bonuses, then I'd be all for it. As it goes, the romance writing is embarrassing, way too verbose (good romances are understated, not drawn out to agonizing lengths), and it seems really hollow.
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Re: [Computer Game]: Mass Effect, reviewed by Menchi (5/4)
Since Bioware is moving to a "downloadable content" model, it might be that a lot of the issues people raise here will be rectified in subsequent releases. On the issue of romances, I think they were pretty brave---given the vocalness of the moral majority types---to put out a gay male one in Jade Empire. As to why there wasn't one in ME, it's hard to say. I am always leery of forcing a game or other entertainment venue to be a soapbox for social causes. It may be they simply didn't manage to get a good NPC together which fit and plan to put out something else later. Things like NPC romances are sauce, not fundamental to the meal. When you've got fundamental things to get working, they go by the wayside. For instance, KotoR II: The Sith Lords lacked any female character romances at all and, in fact, was rather underdeveloped for female characters. The game designers were rushed and had to tie off the most likely paths that players would take. The game for a light side male character was much better.
I'd love to play ME but lack an Xbox 360. More importantly, I'm not sure I have the time....
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