Poll: Mass Effect 2 - decision help (spoilers)

[Chunko]

Mass Effect 2: MEGA SPOILERS.

Spoiler

I just finished my second run through ME2. However I plan to play through a third time because Mordin Solus died. Both times I played through I decided to save the collectors station for research. However I'm worried about giving that kind of power to Cerberus. I'm concerned that the Illusive Man might use the station against other council races in order to establish human dominance. I also think that the non-organic technology could brainwash the scientists who try to use the station. Additionally I'm think that the Illusive Man might not actually be human. You never see him in person, and this makes me worried as to whose side I'm on. He could be a reaper, or something else. Maybe he wants the humans to be the only organisms to join the reapers, and wants to use the station for that purpose/

On the other hand the galaxy might need the facilities to fight the reapers.

What should I do?

 

[Thunderhorse31]

You obviously want to destroy it for the reasons listed here. So just do it.

Remember, it's a game.

 

[Chunko]

You obviously want to destroy it for the reasons listed here. So just do it.

Remember, it's a game.

I don't really follow your logic. what does mass effect being a game have to do with anything?

 

[Amnestic]

Well

Spoiler

Pretty much the only time we see Cerberus attempts going well are a) Shepard and b) EDI. Every other experiment (Thorian Creepers, Rachni, Thresher Worm, Derelict Reaper) seems to end badly for them. Plus there's the fact that not too long ago Cerberus did trap a bunch of Alliance marines - possibly including Shepard depending on Origin story - and try to fuck them up with Threshers.

And now you're going to be giving them the mother of all Reaper tech. No, sorry, they'll probably end up accidentally creating a gravitational flux which blows up all the black holes and sends them outwards causing untold damage to the galaxy at large. Or they'll end up getting indoctrinated and becoming Collectors 2: Electric Boogaloo.

Seriously though, I wouldn't trust them with tech. Not necessarily because they're evil or anything (they are) but because they seem to be pretty incompetent.

 

[Chunko]

Well

Spoiler

Pretty much the only time we see Cerberus attempts going well are a) Shepard and b) EDI. Every other experiment (Thorian Creepers, Rachni, Thresher Worm, Derelict Reaper) seems to end badly for them. Plus there's the fact that not too long ago Cerberus did trap a bunch of Alliance marines - possibly including Shepard depending on Origin story - and try to fuck them up with Threshers.

And now you're going to be giving them the mother of all Reaper tech. No, sorry, they'll probably end up accidentally creating a gravitational flux which blows up all the black holes and sends them outwards causing untold damage to the galaxy at large. Or they'll end up getting indoctrinated and becoming Collectors 2: Electric Boogaloo.

Seriously though, I wouldn't trust them with tech. Not necessarily because they're evil or anything (they are) but because they seem to be pretty incompetent.

I never really thought of it that way. That's a pretty good point.

 

[Mr S]

You said it Amnestic.

 

[Upbeat Zombie]

I destroyed it, felt like the right thing to do.

 

[Thunderhorse31]

I don't really follow your logic. what does mass effect being a game have to do with anything?

Meaning you can experiment with different decisions that you wouldn't normally make in the interest of achieving different results, all with no IRL consequence. If you're willing to play through the game in its entirety because one character died (and I assume you're going to change that), then you can just as easily make different decisions for no other reason than "to be different," even when you don't see the in-game logic for doing so.

I would have thought the reasons NOT to save the base were obvious if you've played through both games (as Amnestic already pointed out), so I went with the "don't overthink it" response.

 

[Twilight_guy]

Well then just blow it sky high next time. It could be useful for research but honestly that torture factory seems like a blight upon the world so why preserve it? We'll have to see how it effect ME3 though.

 

[LetoTheTyrant]

It was the one time when choice seemed to be lacking. I could be good, and tell Cerberus to bugger off. It looked like you could be good and stick with Cerberus (not done it). You can be evil and stay with Cerberus. But it didn't look like you could be evil and tell Cerberus to go away.

When I say good, or evil, what I actually mean is good = destroy station, evil = keep station. I'd quite like to play a good character, keep the station (it's only science, science is not evil) but tell Cerberus to go away and give it to the council or something. And it didn't seem as if I could. I might be wrong mind.

 

[kintaris]

You obviously want to destroy it for the reasons listed here. So just do it.

Remember, it's a game.

I don't really follow your logic. what does mass effect being a game have to do with anything?

Well said, the whole point is that games should be developing to the point where they're not just 'games' and we're forced to think about our actions and their consequences.

OT,

Spoiler

I'm surprised this is the decision you're struggling with. Personally it seems pretty clear cut from the story and suggestions from dialogue in the first game and a hell of a lot of the suggestions in the second game from former allies that you shouldn't trust Cerberus. I think Bioware really missed a trick in not making Cerberus a lot more sympathetic in the second game to make this decision harder for you. Consider in contrast the Geth decision - I mean, Legion's explanation of the schism in the geth community turns the whole problem on its head. In the case of Cerberus, they haven't redeemed themselves at all, they are just the only ones willing to play dirty enough to save the galaxy - on this occassion, and only because it served humanity. There's no indication that any other atrocities they've committed will stop, and certainly giving them access to any other ancient tech or creature has ended with them royally fucking up and, ironically, killing a lot of humans.

In other words, unless you're intentionally playing the humanist badass, it seems to me that there's no logical or ethical reason to give Cerberus anything, let alone this. Just because they brought you back (without asking) doesn't mean they own your life and ability to make decisions, in fact they brought you back deliberately with your reasoning intact. If it backfires on the Illusive Man now, its his own damn fault.

 

[Hoplon]

I think the real tip off for me as to why destroying the station was the only way to go was the team on the derelict reaper and what happened to them.

Given that it could never be a good idea to keep any tech to closely related to the reapers own selves like that station was.

 

[L4hlborg]

Ofcource the Illusive man would try to use it for human dominance. He says so. He is just fucking persuasive. That's why you take the essentials of the talking and write them on paper to see how much sense it makes.

Also, you might wanna read the Mass Effect books. In the third one, the Illusive man starts fucking around with reaper tech and things don't exactly go too well.

I always support blowing shit up in moral choices, so go ahead if you ask me.

 

[mad825]

make a save. then do one save destroying it then the other saving it.

 

[Mikeyfell]

blow up the station, Shepherd's too badass to need help killing the reapers
unless you played as a Sentinel class, then you need the help.

 

[Flamezdudes]

Here.

Spoiler

I would recommend destroying the base. Cerberus are very unreliable and untrustworthy, they did horrible experiments in ME1 among other things. Giving them that Reaper tech would be the worst thing to do, as TIM (The Illusive Man) seems like he would just want to put Humans on top.

Why would you think he's a Reaper anyway? Come on, why would he bring you back from the dead and send you to kill the Reapers minions and there plans once again if he was?

 

[Chunko]

Here.

Spoiler

I would recommend destroying the base. Cerberus are very unreliable and untrustworthy, they did horrible experiments in ME1 among other things. Giving them that Reaper tech would be the worst thing to do, as TIM (The Illusive Man) seems like he would just want to put Humans on top.

Why would you think he's a Reaper anyway? Come on, why would he bring you back from the dead and send you to kill the Reapers minions and there plans once again if he was?

I was thinking he was a rogue reaper who wanted to overthrow the others or something if that makes sense.

 

[Valkyrie101]

It's an RPG, you make the choices. Otherwise it's pointless.

 

[Iggy Rufflebar]

With a threat like the reapers you'll need any advantage you can have, keep it and use it against them.

Destroying it seems pretty silly considering the last few seconds of the ending cutscene which I wont mention for spoiler-ific reasons

 

[Amnestic]

It's an RPG, you make the choices. Otherwise it's pointless.

True. But other users can offer a perspective on choices you hadn't considered before. Take my recent Fallout 3 Pacifist [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.232699-Poll-Fallout-3-Pacifist-Vault-112-Update-Run-Complete#8187726] run. I was stuck on a decision relevant to my character and reached out to the Escapist to see if they had some ideas.

And sometimes you just need to ask to affirm the decision that you want to make in the first place anyway.