Poll: Favourite Mass Effect Squad

[HHammond]

So, I've been playing Mass Effect again and I was thinking about why I prefer the first game so much more then the second. It's not the re-tooled mechanics and lack of RPG elements (although I was disappointed by this) that hurt the game for me, it's that the squad is too big.

The first game had a very tight squad. Sheppard and 6 characters. All the characters had interesting back stories and they were mostly interesting to talk to (if you'll excuse Kaidan). Mass Effect 2 however has a much larger squad and because there are so many characters I just found it harder to relate to many of them. They just seemed less solid this time round.

While there were some great characters in Mass Effect 2 (Mordin being my favourite Mass Effect character) they just weren't as fleshed out. The focus was too divided between them all that none of them really connected with me.

Spoiler

Also, the choice in Mass Effect between leaving Kaidan or Ashley behind was a really hard one to make for me. When Ashley (who was my choice the first time which I still regret) died I generally felt sad. In ME2, during the suicide mission, the only character who I felt really bad about dying was Tali and Mordin. I couldn't have cared less about anyone else.

Also, their loyalty missions being pretty much mandatory really ruined the pacing of the game for me.

But that's just my opinion. Which squad do you prefer?

EDIT: I go into more detail below I thought I'd just verify some things. I realised it wasn't very clear when I said that ME2's characters weren't fleshed out I meant that most of theme weren't except for a few (which for me the most where Mordin and Tali. Whilst ME2 had some brilliant characters it also had a lot of rubbish ones (GOD Jacob is so boring) and I feel the ME1 cast was much more balanced compared to 2.

 

[lleihsad]

I disagree. I think the ME2 characters were exceptionally well-characterized, especially considering how many there are. Furthermore, the two returning squadmates became notably more flesh-out and well-realized in 2 than they were in 1. It made bringing them all through the final mission alive all the more rewarding for me.

 

[Hiname]

Ashley? Oh come on, if I could I would tapdance on the grave of that xenophobic *****.

It is hard to pick a good squad.. Though in the end I would not leave the house without Tali and Legion backing me up. I mean, Tali is awsome support with her drone.
As for legion and me.. we have some kind of Lord Of the Rings friendship when we both snipe stuff with the M-98 Widow. (Issnt it bliss.. my preciousssss...)

Shepard: "Im on nine already!"
Legion: "Current score: 17, Shepard-Commander."
Shepard: "Whaaaaat!? I will have no tincan outscore me!"
Tali: ".... Whatever."

 

[DustyDrB]

I prefer Mass Effect 2's. You don't really talk to squadmates more in the first game. People say that a lot about Mass Effect, but it isn't true. Whether you think they are good characters or not is debatable. I found Mass Effect 2's cast to be far more interesting.

 

[MisterShine]

2 by a mile.

In the first game all of the squaddies were good, but the only one I'd call exceptional is Wrex. While 2 had some that I felt were pretty weak/ho-hum (Grunt and Jacob), it had several exceptional new characters (Jack, Legion, Samara, Miranda, *swift inhale* Mordin), and the returning characters Garrus and Tali both took several levels in badass between the games, and instead of basically being one-note characters and info-dumps for their respective races, stepped into their own in terms of personality and being rather good romances to boot.

So while I would agree Bioware stretched themselves too thin with how many characters they gave us (this being painfully noticeable in how the characters rarely interact with each other, just with Shep), I'd say the characters themselves were much better. Like with all things Mass Effect 3, the key is identifying the point between how the two games did things differently that is the best all around.

 

[SageRuffin]

Fuck everybody, I liked Ashley. She had a flawed background marred with politics, she had flaws like real humans do, and if you put her in the right armor with the right weapon she was essentially She-Hulk (or She-Juggernaut). Her and Wrex pretty much became mainstays since Ash's combat specialties and Wrex's biotics rounded out my Infiltrator's tech skill quite nicely. I look forward to seeing Ash again in ME3.

And for the record, Ash isn't a xenophobe. She doesn't like aliens (and for good reason), but she's not afraid of them, which is what a "phobia" is. What fries my chicken even more is that Navigator Pressly openly admits that he doesn't like turians (granted, he also had good reason) and I have yet to see a single person call his character out on it. In fact, it almost looks like -

Ahem...

In ME2, I often used a squad-makeup of any combo of Zaeed, Miranda, Legion, and sometimes Kasumi. Given the way the combat mechanics worked, you either needed heavy-hitters (Zaeed, Legion) or versatile squad-mates (Miranda). Not to mention that those are some of the few characters I actually, you know, liked.

 

[starslasher]

sorry, hhammond, but i'm with most of these guys. I prefer the ME2 squad to ME1. I would have to disagree with your point that the characters were more fleshed out in ME1 than in ME2. Sure, the dialogues with the ME2 charactesr was limited in comparison with ME1, but it's more than compensated by their special side-missions and battle styles.

The side missions from ME2 was alot more fun into finding out more about the characters than simple dialogue. And it's not just for the backstory, but you are rewarded with their loyalty as well as their unique skills.

That brings me to their style of combat. I much preferred the battle system of ME2 to 1 and one of the reasons was that the characters had a more defined set of moves, instead of being streamlined into the very generic classes. I mean, rolling as the Soldier, engineer or the adept was fine, they were sufficiently discernable, but the other "cross - classes" - Sentinel, Infiltrator and Vanguard - wasn't that specialised. But then again, i'm not a fan of the hybrid class system (That's why I didn't care so much for Guild Wars, although i'm looking forward to guild wars 2). But in ME2, while the other characters can't be defined by the classes, their more unique playstyle has its appeal to me. Especiialy when they get their own unique move.

So i find that the me2 characters are more definable in terms of story as well as gameplay. But this is my opinion, feel free to argue with it.

 

[tlozoot]

Here's some vague thoughts.

ME1

Kaidan: Yeeeaaah...moving on.

Ashley: Came off as a space-bigot to begin with. Got slightly more likeable when I talked to her on a subsequent playthrough. She's almost an outdated personality with all the religion in the expanded cosmos. The speciesism is annoying but acts as a nice counterpoint to the others.

Tali: Tali = Quarian in ME1. I personally didn't find that much to her character apart from some hints at naivety. That was fine though as we primarily need to learn about Quarians through her.

Garrus: Unlike Tali Garrus has far more to give beyond information about his race. He's all divided about being the good, rightous cop and the hard, take-no-prisoners cop. I liked it.

Wrex: Sort of a general stand-in for his race, but not as much as Tali was. How he was all broken and embittered about the Krogan but how that eventually got more upbeat was nice.

Liara: Hmmm...she wasn't awesome. I thought she came across as pretty stereotypical. The atypical nice, shy girl that seemed custom built for the audience to project onto.


ME2

Miranda: She was kind of annoying and didn't have all that much to her. Her being all hard-faced and military while simultaneously having trust issues was decent. Really just seemed like a representation of Cerberus' more militant, but morally salvageable side. Seeing in Shadow Broker that she was unable to have a child and reading more about her made her a slightly better character.

Jacob: His sole existence seemed to just represent some dissent towards Cerberus. He gives you some of their pros but is also vocal about the cons, playing off Miranda who just expresses the pros (until right at the end of the game anyway). Daddy issues were meh.

Mordin: This guy rocks. He was funny, offered a clinical, comedic counterpoint to a lot of the crew and his issues were explored really well. His moral dilemma about the genophage was explored really well and when you talk to him next to the dead female Korgan during his loyalty missions, it was one of the most touching conversations in the game.

Samara: The whole killer-child-Asari angle didn't really get to me. She was far too stoic and calm most of the time. Didn't much interact with her.

Jack: Something of a stereotype. I acknowledge that her romance can be quite touching, but it's still quite cliched. Her being all angry and fucked up from her childhood wasn't explored thaaat well either. I didn't care for it.

Thane: Thane is a dude. I liked his spiritualistic angle more than Samara. He seemed to give more in conversation than just information on his race. His loyalty mission was quite nice and what I've seen of his romance was pretty good. Him dying and coming to terms with that as a life as an assassin just worked for me.

Grunt: Didn't really like the tank-mother angle. Thought the thing about being an outsider and trying to integrate into your species culture could have been done with more poignancy. Angry character is angry and wants to fight. He wasn't amazing but wasn't bad either.

Garrus: Seemed to lose a little since ME1. He's still wrestling with the good cop/bad cop mentality. As one of the shadow broker files note, he seems to be Shepard's pet and probably wont become a truly awesome character until he stops letting Shepard dictate his decisions and personality for him. Loyalty mission was only really affecting if you let Sidonis go.

Tali: Dad's death was touching, but once again she was mostly a stand-in for Quarians as a whole. Romance was really similar to Liara's. I call it slightly pandering again. The best thing about her was the whole 'WHOMG the Geth might not be bad' story and seeing her coming to terms with this. Leading onto...

Legion: Stand in for the Geth, but we want to know more about them, and by extension the character, because the revelation about the Geth is pretty engaging. On top of that there's some hints about the Geth's absolute sentience in how he seems to feel emotional attachment to Shepard's armour. His shadow broker stuff was hilarious.

Kasumi: Fun character. Not much to her though. Liked how she called you Shep all informal and stuff. Loyalty mission was awesome from a gameplay standpoint but we never really get invested enough in her character to care.

Zaheed: Gruff merc is gruff and wants MAN REVENGE! Pretty uninteresting.

Overall ME2 had more fluff and more what you might call superfluous characters, but with most favourites coming back (Garrus and Tali) and some of the overall series best (Mordin and Thane) I prefer Mass Effect 2's crew members.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

I disagree. I think the ME2 characters were exceptionally well-characterized, especially considering how many there are. Furthermore, the two returning squadmates became notably more flesh-out and well-realized in 2 than they were in 1. It made bringing them all through the final mission alive all the more rewarding for me.

this by far.

take the characters and dialogue/mission depth of the 2nd one, combine it with the overall story arc and rpg'ness of the first, and ME3 might just be my new favorite game.

 

[Texas Joker 52]

Personally, I liked both. Why? Because I only ever played with Tali and Garrus, and occasionally Wrex. I didn't care for either Kaiden or Ashley, mainly because I felt that Kaiden was pretty much a cardboard cutout in terms of personality, whereas Ashley bugged me mainly due to her rather intense dislike for aliens. Liara was ok, though she seemed much too distant, and I was always uneasy around the Asari. Not sure why, since I don't have anything against them.

As for Mass Effect 2, I mainly ran with Tali and Garrus. I missed Wrex, while Grunt was an interesting character that fit the Krogan niche. Mordin was funny as a cross between Captain Kirk and a fairly well renowned doctor. Scientist Salarian of course, never hurt. Samara, however, always seemed cold, though she most definitely had her reasons. I would be cold in her position too. Thane seemed to be one of the sadder characters in that he was a family man, but dropped the ball, if unintentionally. And Legion is pretty cool simply because he is a Geth that doesn't want to shoot me. And, like Mordin, the robot definitely adds to the entertainment value.

The others... I didn't much care for. My hate for Miranda is unending, while I could take or leave Jacob. He was a nice enough guy, but I never felt a 'buddy' connection with him like I do with Garrus. And Jack, well, I like insane characters, but, like Jacob, she couldn't fill the niche that Tali does when it comes to a dependable female ally.

As for the DLC squadmates, I particularly liked Kasumi, simply because she was the only other character with a really evident sense of humor, other than Joker. Zaeed was nice, simply because he was a cynic.

Overall, in the Mass Effect universe, I'll most likely choose alien allies over human nine times out of ten. Besides, Tali and Garrus were better friends than anyone else in the two first games anyway, can't wait to see how they're characterized in Mass Effect 3!

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Eh. They both have Tali and Garrus.

ME2 gets Tali later, and Garrus becomes more badass (which is bad, imo).

So, I vote 1.

 

[tehlordofmyownworld]

I played about an 3 hours of Mass Effect 1, and eight times that for Mass Effect 2.From what it seems like to me , between the games quite a lot of content was taken out, and mass (teehee) simplifications made to make it reach out to a wider audience.It was a bit smoother for me, yet it felt a little bit too cut out.

 

[Mogget128723]

Ashley? Oh come on, if I could I would tapdance on the grave of that xenophobic *****.

It is hard to pick a good squad.. Though in the end I would not leave the house without Tali and Legion backing me up. I mean, Tali is awsome support with her drone.
As for legion and me.. we have some kind of Lord Of the Rings friendship when we both snipe stuff with the M-98 Widow. (Issnt it bliss.. my preciousssss...)

Shepard: "Im on nine already!"
Legion: "Current score: 17, Shepard-Commander."
Shepard: "Whaaaaat!? I will have no tincan outscore me!"
Tali: ".... Whatever."

^This.

I always took Tali on runs... she's surprisingly adept with her shotgun, and my second squadmate varied between Garrus and Legion. Both of them snipe, and both of them are just awesome characters XD

I also absolutely adored the last mission in ME2. I'd gotten very attached to my characters after doing every single possible sidequest with them watching my back, and I spent four hours loading and reloading as I tried to figure out which loyal character was best for each job. In the end, battered and scarred, but alive and proud, I received my 'No One Left Behind' achievement.

But the first time I ran though the mission, something happened that made me want to laugh and cry at the same time.

Spoiler

After kicking the creepy human reaper thing's shiny metal ass with Tali and Legion on my squad, the whole falling animation played out like normal. Shepard gets up untouched because he's awesome, and pulls this GIANT hunk of metal off of Tali. She dusts herself off and gets back on her feet. Then Shepard goes over to Legion, who wasn't hit by anything, rolls him over, and GASP!! Legion's DEAD!

The fragile little Quarian that can't get a hole in her suit for fear of every disease ever took eight times as much damage as the indestructible hulk-robot that survived a sniper shell through the chest.

WAT.

 

[WolfThomas]

I liked the second a lot more, it was like having my own little private army, I loved the way everyone fought in the end part, just they were doing different things.

 

[Awesome74]

Eh. They both have Tali and Garrus.

ME2 gets Tali later, and Garrus becomes more badass (which is bad, imo).

So, I vote 1.

Wait, more badass is a negative thing? How so?

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

So, I've been playing Mass Effect again and I was thinking about why I prefer the first game so much more then the second. It's not the re-tooled mechanics and lack of RPG elements (although I was disappointed by this) that hurt the game for me, it's that the squad is too big.

The squad in the second game was big? I never noticed. (semi kidding) I used the same squad in both games.

Tali and Garrus.

So yeah, as far as I was concerned, after Horizon, the squads were identical.

 

[DarkhoIlow]

I chose equally because I have used the same squad in ME1 and ME2 respectively.

Garrus and Tali ftw!

Liara was LI in ME1 and Tali in ME2.

 

[Revolutionary]

I like me2 because I get to use Garrus AND sammara...yeah.

 

[Hyperactiveman]

ME1 hands down... More balanced... Easy to figure out what you'll need from each character and no bullshit.

 

[Super Toast]

Mass Effect 2 had the return of Garrus and Tali, as well as the addition of Grunt, Thane, Mordin and Legion. Guess which I thought was better?