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Originally Posted by Ink.So.Well. My sentiments exactly though a large majority of Bioware forum posters can't stand her. Apparently to some she's just another example of how the company is "selling out" by catering to a bunch of immature teenagers.

I don't post in the Bioware forums, so I'm not familiar with what the average Bioware fan is sayiing. For me the trailer was extremely off putting. I couldn't care less about Bioware "selling out". Bioware is already a hugely popular mass market developer, and there is nothing wrong with that.

Originally Posted by Tha Xecutioner I don't really get the comparison for Subject Zero to some sort of angsty/Hot Topic-style teen - maybe it's because of the pale skin and tattoos? Knowing that she is some sort of ex-biotic prisoner pretty much explains everything we've seen about her character: pale skin (how do you get sun when you're in a cage/cell/laboratory all the time?), tattoos (the somewhat cliche thing for any hard-ass inmate or member of a gang to have), buzzed hair (came from running with gangs - she did say she kept the haircut), and a hard-ass/violent attitude (Kaiden did say in Mass Effect that he had known a bunch of test subjects/prisoners in the past who did not react well with the testing mentally - her personality is probably a repercussion of that).

I think you're overstating the look of the character and understating her attitude. I don't care as much about the skin and tattoos, it's the cliched personality that concerns me.

Originally Posted by Tha Xecutioner I don't think BioWare is using Subject Zero for the sole purpose of saying "Our game is edgy", but I do think that it is her role in the 10-person squad to show a little more of this mature/dark tone that we are expecting to see in Mass Effect 2. Out of the 10 person squad lineup, 6 have been revealed so far now (Thane, Tali, Grunt, Miranda, Jacob, and Subject Zero) and they've already shown a great amount of variety with these characters. It also seems like there aren't as many people (at least yet) who are on the border of Paragon/Renegade like in Mass Effect; that they are more polarized in their personalities.

But that preview is neither edgy nor mature, if anything it gives the opposite impression. Snarkiness and baditude haven't been edgy since Duke Nukem, and it shouldn't be equated with anything resembling maturity.

Idle Thumbs this week did a pretty good job of summing up my thoughts on the trailer.

Originally Posted by msdmoney I think you're overstating the look of the character and understating her attitude. I don't care as much about the skin and tattoos, it's the cliched personality that concerns me.

How can I understate something that we have little/no details about? Our understanding of her personality is minuscule at best. That's the problem that was brought up with the references to the BioWare forums - the fact that people are instantly condemning her character based off a one and a half minute video. In reality, it'd take about 10-12 hours of gameplay to figure out her character completely; and by then she could be a completely different person than we make her out to be. Just because she comes into the mix with a "cliched personality" doesn't mean she's really like that. A handful of devs and marketing reps for this game have said over and over that you'd be selling yourself short if you insinuate too much from these videos.

But that preview is neither edgy nor mature, if anything it gives the opposite impression. Snarkiness and baditude haven't been edgy since Duke Nukem, and it shouldn't be equated with anything resembling maturity. Idle Thumbs this week did a pretty good job of summing up my thoughts on the trailer.

You're comparing a quick glimpse of her personality to every video game in history, when I'm saying that she serves as the edgy role in the Mass Effect universe. Also, by mature I meant that she fits into a category suited for a mature audience - i.e. not kids.

The guys on the Idle Thumbs podcast are the ones who explicitly stated that they are worried about buying Mass Effect 2 now because of that trailer. In other words, one character (out of the ten to choose from, who you don't even have to talk to or play alongside) is actually making them question the entire game as a whole and possibly keeping them from buying it. Failed logic all around.

Isn't that a cop out from the marketing department then? In general terms you are saying. "here is a preview of our game, but it might not be an accurate representation of our game." They release a preview intended to be a representation of a portion of the game that they are making, but we're supposed to not have any reaction to that? You can't make your message to the public that complicated.

I know what you meant by mature, it frustrates me that the most childish and immature of characters and stories gets labeled mature.

Just to be clear, I haven't dismissed the game entirely, just what I've seen of her character thus far concerns me.

Also I don't think it was just this trailer, when combined with the Dragon Age trailer it seems like either the marketing dept. or Bioware is showing a different direction.

Originally Posted by Ink.So.Well. My sentiments exactly though a large majority of Bioware forum posters can't stand her. Apparently to some she's just another example of how the company is "selling out" by catering to a bunch of immature teenagers. If I didn't know any better I'd say most of them can't function without having something to constantly complain about.

I'm a member there, but most of the time I can't stand to post because everyone is so damned negative.

I'm guessing that they knew ahead of time that Subject Zero would elicit such a polar response from everyone, so saying something like "This preview isn't the full picture" would help ease the tension between the two sides of the debate.

Originally Posted by Anexanhume I'm a member there, but most of the time I can't stand to post because everyone is so damned negative.

Heh! I thought so but I wasn't entirely sure. I'd post there as well (I'd mention my user name but the last thing I want to do is bring some of the type I had mentioned here to whine) but I too rarely post and whenever I do it is usually what most of their community would consider "low brow" or "irrelevant" comments. The collective opinion of their boards was indeed overwhelmingly negative until recently when Zero's introduction vid spawned a whole new legion of new posters labeled as "ultra bioware loyalists" () who seem to enjoy giving most of them a hard time to which the naysayers play the victim and beg the mods to swing their ban hammer. Lately browsing through it all has been akin to carrying a wounded soldier through a damn war zone.

Although it's refreshing to see some balance being forcibly injected in the community I can't help but now feel a slight tinge of embarrassment for being a huge fan of this game. Especially after all the ridiculousness I've seen and read from the worst of them because most of the new jacks are just as high strung. Many seem perfectly content remaining absolutely oblivious to just how much of their smug intolerance and superiority complexes are strengthening the most common stereotypes about gamers in general.

It wouldn't surprise me if the company did decide to cater to the mainstream in the future because of the backlash of their hardcore fans and their near unobtainable standards. They don't seem to care or even realize though their opinions are taken into consideration that they won't just up and decide to cut a character in the development stages most of the devs feel is a solid fit for their vision. They just continue to wage war wishing upon star after star that their passionate tirades will ironically prevent what they've already convinced themselves is happening now. Ugh. All of this constant bitching may very well end up ruining it for the rest of us that just want to play great games not meticulously speculate, berate, dictate or otherwise undermine the development of them.

...Meh. If I keep droning on about this I'll end up turning into what I oh so loathe with a passion so I'll just live and let live. Worst comes to worst I have no qualms restricting use of the boards to news and vid updates only.

Anyway... given what we know now concerning the current roster of available characters has anyone figured out who is going to comprise their intergalactic suicide squad?

Better yet is anyone thinking of corrupting their canon Shepard (like I am) in the sequel?

With the introduction of Zero I plan to twist my Paragon into a two timing asshole in hopes of an eventual biotic cat fight between Zero and Liara. Should be hilarious to say the very least. I also plan on de-clawing my ice queen of a Renegade female Shepard into a more tolerable beacon of light and righteousness, haha.

I'm enjoying the thread! It's a fascinating read. Personally, I think I'll be able to get into any story Bioware comes up with. That doesn't mean I'll like all of the characters they invent (ie. Subject Zero), but that's probably okay because I can just leave her on my ship if I don't enjoy her company.

But I do think that the music that played during the Subject Zero video lends it a certain attitude that might not be present when we're playing the game to Mass Effect's sci-fi soundtrack. So she might fit in better than we think. It's not like when she joins the party they're going to play this punk music or something.

I've converted my Amazon Visa card points into gift cards ($25 x 3) to be used for Mass Effect 2 CE whenever it becomes available. I check Amazon.com every day, but so far, nothing. Oh well, it's still 4 months away, and I'm pretty sure they didn't announce the CE for Dragon Age: Origins any earlier than that. It'll come!

Release date January 26, 2010. I didn't think I'd see this game released until March, but this is even better news. Can't wait!

Awesome news indeed, I'll be able to hopefully use some GCs from Christmas then lol.

I too was expecting March. Man I'm goona be poor.

Crap! Way to early for me. I doubt I'll be done with Dragon Age by then! ARGH!

... alot of shit i want in january... the preorder costumes are sweet though.

Can't wait until January. I'm glad there is so much to look forward to that month because it's often the most depressing month of the year

Originally Posted by RelentlessRolento ... alot of shit i want in january... the preorder costumes are sweet though.

Ditto and check this out, preorder Inferno Armor:


Haha but still pretty sweet

where do you get that preorder armor? the one on gamestop looks different.

Originally Posted by sendme where do you get that preorder armor? the one on gamestop looks different.

the EA Store

I don't want to preorder from either of those though lol.

so ea store has one set of armor and gamestop has another set and a gun. I'm really starting to hate preorder bonuses like this. I wonder how long in game till you get better gear.

There's a collector's edition now at amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Mass-Effect-2-...7430257&sr=8-9

Guess who's back?

This game is just... ugh. So. Damn. Gorgeous. It is a great day to be a ME fanboy.

Oh, and the CE is includes the following though no word as to weapon or armor specifics:

- BETTER FUCKING COVER ART FOR ONE (>_>)
- Tin case
- Issue 1 of the new ME comic
- 48-page "Art of Mass Effect" Art Book
- Behind the scenes DVD
- New exclusive armor and weapons (neither of the preorder ones to my knowledge)

I couldn't find any info on that Amazon page so correct me if I'm wrong. Not a bad haul for only $10 more. What really astounds me though is the devs ability to release a video that seems to appeases most of their naysayers on their own forums. The only problem is now they're bitching about having to pick up ammo in a damn shooter RPG. LOL. They are without a doubt utterly hopeless, haha. I have no doubt they'll be a reasonable explanation for ammo pick ups via codex. Sheesh. >_>'

MUST HAVE GAME IS MUST HAVE KTHX.

The Collector's Edition box art for this game is probably the most boner-inducing cover I've seen in a while. I'll gladly drop dollars on it.