One of my favorite things in Mass Effect 2 is you can try and romance Samara...
... and she REJECTS you.
Why is this important? Because she draws a line. She says no. She has affection for you, but is unwilling to go to the next level. She ends it before it can begin and outright states her views of sex and romance, saying it's not even her code that forbids it - it's all her decision. And her decision is not to do it.
That is IMPORTANT for character growth. It shows that she has her own personal standard, whether you agree with her or not, and she's not going to just drop her pants because you tell her to.
Kaiden in ME1 expresses confusion and even acts upset if Female Shepard romances both him and Liara. "I didn't realize you were a.... that you prefer other women....", he states bewilderingly. Ashley in ME1 is hyper conservative and religious (they're usually the first to shun homosexual activity).
My point being, you can play Shepard as gay as you like, but it's making every character omni-sexual is bad character development. A character should have a preference, whether it's brunettes or apple pie or Donnie Darko, about the things they like or dislike or have no interest in at all. Sexuality is a big part of what defines people, and painting everyone with a broad brush, especially at this stage of the game, dilutes them as individuals and clumps them together as mere romance stats to arbitrarily tweak without diving into the heart of why they would care, why you would care, and why both of you, either straight or gay, would "click".
And I say that as a bisexual woman, one that wished Tali was romanceable for Female Shepard. I have a male account just for her. I ended up hooking up with Garrus with my FemShep. But one of the things that works is both of them have their preferences and state their interests, whether Garrus is bragging about his success with the ladies (a few times in fact), or Tali confesses her romantic urges for a specifically MALE Shepard in a very touching, revelatory scene (that outright doesn't exist for female Shepard).
To alter the characters so every single one of them is bisexual, with no "standard" or "preference" like Samara showed so deftly, the characters become blank slates that you customize just as much as you customize your main character.
And that's problematic, for me at least. My character in Mass Effect is my character, either gay or straight or, in my case, bisexual. But she reacts to the world around her, she has to adapt to the personalities surrounding her. She can soften the rage of Jack, but she's not going to make Jack wear pink dresses and act super-feminine. She can be nice to Tali, but Tali just prefers "dashing, strong commanders". It's very odd to think that Shepard has such godly power to just alter the sexuality of everyone around her to suit her interests, making Mass Effect less a journey of dealing with the harsh circumstances you're given and more a harem fantasy that, in an odd way, taps into that old, alarmist Fox News story about how you can "have sex with anything".
Basically, I AM upset that Tali won't sleep with my FemShep. But I don't want them to change that. Her not jumping in bed with me is an essential part of who she is; it defines her preferences, interests, standards, positives, and flaws. I don't have to agree with her either; where we disagree (on sexuality or dealing with the Geth) is what makes her believable. She's a dear friend to my Shepard, a girl with whom mine has an unrequited crush (just like Samara), but like reality, I have to just deal with it, focus on the bigger picture, cope, and perhaps find love and happiness somewhere else with someone else (Liara or Garrus... hmmm...)
That's how you write a good character, and I don't oppose homosexuality in Mass Effect at all... but I am concerned about the integrity of the prior characters. Even with my interests, it would be odd and disconcerting if Tali suddenly wanted to sleep with me, if Wrex wanted me to bear his children, or if Thane decided in the last few months of his life that he actually prefers men and his loving relationship with his wife was all a mistake.
Like most fans, I'd just want consistency. I'm sure Bioware, in all their infinite wisdom and power, could have just created a new character to fill the bisexual void for men ('cause us ladies have Liara and Kelly). That's my stance, and I won't say it's correct, but it's just my opinion on character development between games. It CAN be done, but it has to be done carefully. If not? Well, it just will ring hollow. And bisexual and gay individuals deserve more than table scraps and compromises that seem insincere.
