History Analysis / MassEffect2

! Morinth and Legion - counterparts to each other
Take a closer look at Morinth and Legion and you will find that there are many similarities between them. Both's very existence is illegal in Citadel space, Morinth from her being an Ardat Yakshi DeathBySex inflicting HornyDevils, Legion from being a sentient networked AI. Both would face a lot of suspicion and hostility from most organics, with Morinth being hunted from system to system and Legion being shot at on sight wherever it went. The creation of both occurred because their creators attempted to skirt around some deep taboos (pureblood conception in Morinth's case, networking virtual intelligence programs in Legion's case), both their creators now face a lot of scorn over their mistakes (Quarians as a whole, and asari asari pairings) and both their creators attempted to destroy them (Morinth's own mother, and Legion's Quarian creators). Both come from societies that value consensus building, and both their species actually want connection and understanding with other species, rather than hostility. Both can wield assault rifles and both can temporarily dominate other members of their species. And from this point on, you realize that Morinth is basically a Legion that failed. Here's why.

* By making her non recruitable and thus unable to die permanently in this game, the devs were saving her for the very important role she would play in 3. In fact, had Liara not been there, the Alliance and Council would have fought a conventional war - and lost. There wouldn't even have been beacons to FlingALightIntoTheFuture and warn the life forms of the next cycle.

** Liara has warp, a deadly homing ranged attack, she has Singularity which is the most effective crowd control ability ever and the very useful Stasis. This would have made her a devastating weapon against Collectors and husks, more so than Jack. However, she is as squishy as Jack, because this game removed the Barrier ability she had in the first game. Also, she can only use light guns and is not even military. Therefore, she would have been just like a loyal Jack - poor fire team leader, excellent choice for the biotic bubble, and a HoldTheLine score of 1. Due to her experience as an archeologist, she also has some limited tech ability, which would have made her a possible choice but not a good choice for the vents.
** Since she never would have even joined the squad if the Shadow Broker mission wasn't done, there would have been absolutely no possibility of her being disloyal.

* Which is 0 if the Bekenstein heist wasn't pulled off because she stupidly wants to carry out a burglary just to get some memories of her LostLenore when the survival of humanity is at stake.

Morinth has an assault rifle, standard crowd control biotics and Dominate that can turn some other poor Collector sap into a damage sponge and distraction. So why is she only a 2 and incapable of saving anyone else? Because she is a mass murdering psychopathic CompleteMonster with absolutely no loyalty to anyone except herself.

* That score drops to 0 if her loyalty was lost because she is worried about her precious Migrant fleet either disintegrating due to political infighting or under threat from a Geth reprisal attack due to Legion transmitting data on Rael's experiments.

Morinth has an assault rifle, standard crowd control biotics and Dominate that can turn some other poor Collector sap into a damage sponge and distraction. So why is she only a 2 and incapable of saving anyone else? Because she is a mass murdering psychopathic CompleteMonster with absolutely no loyalty to anyone except herself.

Morinth has an assault rifle, s

* Her disloyal score dropping to 1 could be due to her still worrying about Oriana. But more importantly, if Shepard sided with {AxCrazy Jack}

" That score drops to 1 because he is distracted. He even lampshades it.

* Her score drops to 1 because she is distracted by Morinth still running around inflicting DeathBySex.

* However without having been inducted into Clan Urdnot he has no sense of loyalty to a team, which is why his score drops to 3. He is still enough of a soldier to protect the weak but trying, but his apathy towards the slacking weak is what gets them killed.

Garrus -When loyal his score is 4. Why is it so high, considering he was a bit of a GlassCannon in the first game? Because a sniper who can also bunker down with an assault rifle and hold position is perfectly capable of fending off enemy assaults on his own. His score is higher than the minimum 2 needed to survive because of his effectiveness as a squad tactician. Even if not loyal, his turian dedication to duty will ensure that he will switch to long range kills as neccesary to help keep others alive.
* If not loyal, he is distracted by the fact that he has unfinished business with Sidonis, but his dedication to Shepard and the mission is still high enough that he can still survive and help others survive without having done his quest. He is just that useful a sidekick to Shepard.

----

The interchangeability of squadmates in certain story-relevant roles and, conversely, the dependency of [[StoryBranching said roles' outcomes (success or tragedy)]] on the suitability of the actors is what gives the strictly linear Suicide Mission its amazing variability. Even though it doesn't matter much, for instance, which loyal squadmate escorts the ''Normandy'' crew back to the ship, the option to choose one and the palpable consequence of that teammate being absent for the rest of the mission give the players an illusion of controlling their own story. By extension, the multitude of winning scenarios guarantees that most players end up feeling like they have been told a personal and unique story, even though all players start the endgame with roughly the same "decks" and experience exactly the same story beats along the way.

The interchangeability of squadmates in certain story-relevant roles and, conversely, the dependency of said roles' outcomes (success or tragedy) on the suitability of the actors is what gives the strictly linear Suicide Mission its amazing variability. Even though it doesn't matter much, for instance, which loyal squadmate escorts the ''Normandy'' crew back to the ship, the option to choose one and the palpable consequence of that teammate being absent for the rest of the mission give the players an illusion of controlling their own story. By extension, the multitude of winning scenarios guarantees that most players end up feeling like they have been told a personal and unique story, even though all players start the endgame with roughly the same "decks" and experience exactly the same story beats along the way.

The set of loyal squadmates is always a subset of R*, therefore it likewise has 13 potential items but can only hold 12 at any time. Its membership is determined mainly by completing the so-called Loyalty Missions of the respective squadmates, with following particularities:

The main appeal, driving force, and resource in ''Mass Effect 2'' are the [[PlayerParty thirteen recruitable companions (squad mates)]] of Commander Shepard[[note]]This includes both the two {{DLC}}-only companions and the secret squad member Morinth.[[/note]]. The entire game revolves around them, and the Suicide Mission is quite consciously a FinalExamFinale level taking form of a weird {{Puzzle|Game}} and CollectibleCardGame hybrid. The collectible card aspect comes from the fact that the outcome of the endgame depends largely on what "deck" (i.e. which squad mates) you bring with you to the Omega 4 relay. The puzzle aspect is owed to the complex but static set of rules that determine your success or failure in the Suicide Mission--rules that are pretty obvious if you pay attention to your squad mates beforehand.

A bulk of ''Mass Effect 2'' concerns [[AvengersAssemble the composition and enhancement of your "deck"]]. This largest part of the game is very [[http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/mm/49 options-driven]], meaning that you can do any missions in any order, mostly without fear of immediate harsh consequences. This part ends with the first true major choice of the game that finalizes the state of the "deck", namely, the choice of when to [[PointOfNoReturn enter the Omega 4 relay]]. The entire Suicide Mission boils down to (a mere) ten more choices that determine its outcome, as you are repeatedly forced to put your squad mates (including ones whom you might need later on) at risk of a PlotlineDeath in order to advance the mission. Your task is made easier by the fact that for every choice, there are at least three possible winning decisions--although, of course, you may not have all of them in your "deck" at that point. However, the game also refuses to hold your hand in solving this puzzle with obvious hints and instead makes you rely on common sense and prior knowledge of the individual squad mates' strengths and backgrounds to make ideal decisions.

The interchangeability of squad mates in certain story-relevant roles and, conversely, the dependency of said roles' outcomes (success or tragedy) on the suitability of the actors is what gives the strictly linear Suicide Mission its amazing variability. Even though it doesn't matter much, for instance, which loyal squad mate escorts the ''Normandy'' crew back to the ship, the option to choose one and the palpable consequence of that teammate being absent for the rest of the mission give the players an illusion of controlling their own story. By extension, the multitude of winning scenarios guarantees that most players end up feeling like they have been told a personal and unique story, even though all players start the endgame with roughly the same "decks" and experience exactly the same story beats along the way.

!!!Recruited squad mates (R*)
This set is the base of all other pre-endgame options. There are 13 items available for this set (Garrus, Grunt, Jack, Jacob, Kasumi, Legion, Miranda, Mordin, Morinth, Samara, Tali, Thane, Zaeed) but it can only contain up to 12 at any time. Recruiting a squad mate generally takes place in the course of a single Dossier mission, but with several particularities:

* Two squad mates (Jacob, Miranda) don't have to be recruited, as you start the game with them.

* Two squad mates (Grunt, Legion) require manual activation after their respective recruitment mission before they can join as team members.

* One squad mate (Morinth) can only be recruited by recruiting and then killing another during her loyalty mission (Samara).

!!!Loyal squad mates (L*)
The set of loyal squad mates is always a subset of R*, therefore it likewise has 13 potential items but can only hold 12 at any time. Its membership is determined mainly by completing the so-called Loyalty Missions of the respective squad mates, with following particularities:

* Two squad mates (Samara, Zaeed) can die during their respective loyalty missions, although in Zaeed's case, it is only possible after the Suicide Mission and is thus irrelevant to the endgame.
* One squad mate (Morinth) is loyal immediately upon recruitment.

Additionally, two pairs of squad mates (Jack and Miranda, Tali and Legion) are scripted to get into a confrontation after the loyalty of both characters in a pair is earned. Unless you are able to persuade them to calm down, you are forced to support one side in the argument, losing the other's loyalty.

This set is a mix of story-relevant upgrades, gameplay-relevant upgrades, and even purely cosmetic upgrades (Med-Bay Upgrade). Only the three story-relevant upgrades (Heavy Ship Armor, Multicore Shielding, Thanix Cannon) have impact on the course of the Suicide Mission. The availability of all upgrades is directly derived from R*, since they can only be unlocked for purchase by talking with a specific squad mate.

!!!Romanced squad mate (F)
The [[RomanceSidequest romanced squad mate]] is a singular member of the conjunction of L* and the fixed set of romanceable squad mates determined by Shepard's gender (Garrus, Jacob, Thane for female; Jack, Miranda, Tali for male). Of these, only one romance for each gender (Thane, Jack) has any effect on the course of the endgame, and that effect is purely cosmetic.

## Implicit choice (squad mates holding the line): HTL* = S* minus P4* minus ESC

## Biotics* = { "Samara", "Morinth", "Jack", "Miranda", "Thane", "Jacob" }

## SELECT [=FL2=] from {S* minus BS}

* Phase I (steps 1 through 4) consists mostly of cutscenes and evaluates the player's initiative and readiness to go beyond the explicit instruction in preparation for the SuicideMission--namely, to discover and to acquire Secondary Resources without an obvious indication to their usefulness. It punishes the insufficiently prepared players by handicapping them in phase II via the loss of some Primary Resources, but, ingeniously, makes this seem like a PlotlineDeath by denying the player any immediate agency in it, as well as giving only vague hints at how it could have been prevented. To further throw the player off-balance, loyalty, while essential elsewhere, provides no protection to crucial Primary Resources in this phase.
* Phase II (steps 5 through 16[[note]]step 17 is not included here because it has no tangible impact on the outcome of the Suicide Mission[[/note]]) is a FinalExamFinale that repeatedly tests the player's knowledge of the setting, of the squadmates' backgrounds and personalities, and of the game rules, as well as their own common sense. Failure in these tests leads to further losses of the Primary Resource, negatively impacting the player's capacity to overcome later tests, and ultimately, to an inferior ending.
* Phase III (steps 17 through 20) once again consists mostly of cutscenes that rate the player's performance--only this time, they evaluate both the pre-endgame progress and the phase II decisions and award the player one of three possible endings.

* Phase I (steps 1 through 4) consists mostly of cutscenes and evaluates the player's initiative and readiness to go beyond the explicit instruction in preparation for the SuicideMission--namely, to discover and to acquire Secondary Resources without an obvious indication to their usefulness. It punishes the insufficiently prepared players by handicapping them in phase II via the loss of some Primary Resources, but, ingeniously, makes this seem like a PlotlineDeath by denying the player any immediate agency in it, as well as giving only vague hints at how it could have been prevented. To further throw the player off-balance, while essential elsewhere, provides no protection to crucial Primary Resources in this phase, loyalty.

* Phase I (steps 1 through 4) consists mostly of cutscenes and evaluates the player's initiative and readiness to go beyond the explicit instruction in preparation for the SuicideMission--namely, to discover and to acquire Secondary Resources without an obvious indication to their usefulness. It punishes the insufficiently prepared players by handicapping them in phase II via the loss of some Primary Resources, but, ingeniously, makes this seem like a PlotlineDeath by denying the player any immediate agency in it, as well as giving only vague hints at how it could have been prevented. To further throw the player off-balance in this phase, loyalty, while essential elsewhere, provides no protection to crucial Primary Resources.

* Three more (Garrus, Jack, Mordin) are mandatory, since it is not possible to enter the Collector Ship PlotTunnel without recruiting them first.

* Phase I (steps 1 through 4) consists mostly of cutscenes and evaluates the player's initiative and readiness to go beyond the explicit instruction in preparation for the SuicideMission--namely, to discover and to acquire Secondary Resources without an obvious indication to their usefulness. It punishes the insufficiently prepared players by handicapping them in phase II via the loss of some Primary Resources. Ingeniously, the game creates the impression of {{Plotline Death}}s by denying the player any immediate agency to stop them, as well as giving only vague hints at how they could have been prevented. To further throw the player off-balance, loyalty, while essential elsewhere, provides no protection to crucial Primary Resources in this phase.
* Phase II (steps 5 through 16[[note]]step 17 is not included here because it has no tangible impact on the outcome of the Suicide Mission[[/note]]) is a FinalExamFinale that repeatedly tests the player's knowledge of the setting, the squadmates' backgrounds and personalities, and the game rules, as well as their own common sense. Failure in these tests leads to further losses of the Primary Resource, negatively impacting the player's capacity to overcome later tests, and ultimately, to a progressively inferior ending.

!!!Loyal squad mades (L*)

!!How could have all this been used to make ''[=ME3=]'' ending better?
''Analysis coming soon...''

## Remove MAGIC(S*, L*, P4*, ESC) from S*[[note]]Here, MAGIC is the yet-undiscovered function that determines which squad mates die holding the line, based on their number, loyalties, and intrinsic defense values.[[/note]]

''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' is the most universally adored part of the original ''Franchise/MassEffect'' trilogy, and despite its improved gameplay refinement and variety, ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' could never supplant its predecessor--because part two had something the sequel didn't: a mind-blowingly epic ending that left every player in awe. But what exactly made the ending of ''Mass Effect 2'' so amazing? Although the magnificent cutscene direction and musical composition contribute a lot to the ending, the key to the awesomeness of 'Mass Effect 2'' endgame segment lies in the gameplay design and the story scripting of the entire SuicideMission.

!!!How could have all this been used to make ''[=ME3=]'' ending better?

''Analysis coming soon...''