So Mass Effect 2 has taken over my life for the last 2 weeks as I sail around the universe looking for clues to crush the Collectors. Nearing the end of my journey, I have already accumulated a team of arguably the best that the galaxy has to offer. Sure having a Justicar (the Asari version of a Samurai enforcer), a pure Krogan and Thane Krios (the greatest assassin of the time) onboard is great, but having 5-6 sexy and interested women is making me crazy. For newcomers to the Mass Effect universe, I’ll explain the importance of my last sentence – Mass Effect allows your avatar (Shepard) to develop romances with a crew member and it is one of the best bonuses to playing the game. In the first Mass Effect I went with the Asari scientist Liara T’soni initially, then rethought my justification for doing so and went with my heart Ashley Williams. Since Mass Effect 2 disallowed me the chance to have either of these women aboard my ship for this trip, I thought it necessary to have my man Shepard, move on to greener pastures.

You Must Choose But Choose Wisely
The dilemma for me now is that after many missions, rescue attempts and near death battles with my crew, I am at odds with two women who are more than compatible for Shepard. Being a sucker for punishment, I danced past the obvious choice in the uber sexy Miranda Lawson (if looks were everything she would have zero competition) and opted to woo the sociopathic, murdering, cussing, screaming, tattoo heavy, Subject Zero aka Jack. While most sane individuals would stay far across the other side of the ship to avoid this individual, I made it a point to stay in her face until she liked me. Plus my Shepard is no saint himself, having shot more than a few unarmed individuals for insubordination and various other reasons. I liked Jack because I knew Jack was a product of what was done to her, unwilling to play shrink, I wanted to be a buffer between the normal world and the inner demons which made her lash out. It worked, and after a few missions Jack would welcome Shepard coming down into the engine room to talk with her and after awhile I had him express his feelings for her. Saying it was a mutual feeling in her own little way, Jack asks for some time to think about it and I moved Shepard on to concentrate on the mission.

A few missions later, Shepard’s old machinist buddy Tali’Zorah needed rescuing. Now in the first Mass Effect, Tali was the equivalent of a teenager being made to go through a rite of passage into adulthood. Her main focus was to procure an item of worth to bring back to the Flotilla (her parent’s mothership) and fulfill her Quarian pilgrimage. Shepard was literally her only friend on the ship as I made sure he harbored no Xenophobic prejudices and didn’t hold a grudge against Tali due to her race. Tali is a Quarian, and Quarians are frowned upon in Mass Effect for accidentally unleashing a synthetic menace upon the universe known as the Geth. Since the Geth were responsible for thousands of deaths, people kept the blame of the Quarains strong and their race is treated as second class citizens universally. For Tali, Shepard was different, speaking to her as a friend, making sure her accommodations were comfortable and taking the time to learn more about her race, culture and immediate family.

Upon rescuing Tali, she joins the crew and the old feelings resurface as your conversations continue. This time it seems that Tali has matured into quite a young woman, being stronger, more firm on her wants and desires, and focused. When she is called back to the Flotilla to defend her honor after being accused of a crime, my Shepard stood with her as Captain and defense lawyer. Strangely after this occurrence she and Shepard are talking in Engineering and the topic switches to Quarian mating rituals and how they “do it” (since they are confined to wearing a suit). She let it slip that there has only been one person that she’s felt worthy of risking sickness to share atmospheres with, and as you can guess it’s Commander Shepard.

So romance drama has found its way aboard the new Normandy, SIGH! Now that the ice has been broken it becomes a choice of the young Quarian, the scarred ex-con, or to be a good Military Commander and keep my whoring paws off of my crew . Poor me right?

Who would you choose? Or if you have the game and beat it, who did you choose? Are you happy with your decision? I am thinking about doing 2 saves, just because I can but were it one I am leaning towards Tali. What do you think? Does my article make you want to pick up Mass Effect 2?