Poll: ME2: Did you trust Cerberus?

[lumenadducere]

I played the first game... but... where was Cerberus? Erm...

Anyway, what do you mean by trust? I kinda liked the Illusive man, but I followed my own views throughout ME2 and ended up... well... with them not liking me. But up until the end we were on good terms.

A ton of the sidequests in the first game had to do with Cerberus. They did experiments with Rachni, Thorian creepers, and Husks, and were directly responsible for wiping out the colonists of Chasca. They also were responsible for the Thresher Maw attack that the Sole Survivor background had to go through, which means that they wiped out the colony of Akuze and then Shepard's entire unit that went to investigate. They also killed Admiral Kahoku when he began to investigate them and were responsible for his marines dying as well. And who knows how many their Rachni and Thorian creepers killed when they got loose.

I have to agree that in regards to Cerberus the second game had pretty shoddy writing. None of these things get to be mentioned other than a token sentence from Miranda about the Rachni and the Thorian creepers, and it's all just glossed over with a lame excuse. As such a character-defining trait a Sole Survivor Shepard should definitely have had the option to bring up Akuze, but that fact that it's never mentioned is just a glaringly huge omission that I'm very surprised that the writers felt was okay.

 

[Brad Shepard]

Like hell i did! Im glad i had Miranda in my party, so she quit after i told him to fuck off.

 

[Jark212]

Hell no, I remember there experiments in ME1 and they murdered Admiral Kahoku...

But I greatly appreciate that they resurrected my Commander... But I still hate them...

 

[Diet Chaos]

They drugged and tortured Admiral Kahoku to death if he finds out what one of their cells did. They've performed some nightmarish, not to mention dangerous experiments, proving that they're more than willing to get their hands very, very dirty.

Helping the advancement of the human race is good and all, but the experiments Cerberus carried out flew over the line and landed hundreds of miles away from it, and then some.

 

[Spitfire175]

There were 4 things I could trust in Mass Effect 2. From counting up to the most trustworthy.
1. Counsellor Anderson
2. Tali
3. Joker.
4. Of course, Garrus.

Anyone or anything else, I always suspected something dodgy.
Cerberus was a necessary evil to tolerate for a while to stop the collectors. After that, I'll put their xenophobic space-nazi bits to the grinder.

 

[Irridium]

Kinda short sighted mate
Personally I believe in them they are working for the benefit of humanity sure their methods are questionable but show me one intelligence agency on the planet that wouldn't do something like that to ensure humanity's survival?

Except this is complete bullshit.

Cerberus is quite clearly working only for the benefit of Cerberus, and will screw over humanity if Cerberus profits from it. For example, the research facility on Pragia. Now torturing little kids to learn stuff is bad enough, but you also have to remember how most of the kids got their; batarian slavers. Cerberus is supporting the attacks of Batarians on human colonies to get more test subjects. They are quite clearly working against humanity to further their own interests.

So no, I don't trust Cerberus at all. They are quite clearly an evil corporation run by a charismatic bastard.

Not to mention that little nugget on Akuze, which I chose as my Shepard's backstory.

You'd think I could at least ask about the biggest, and worst part in Shepard's life. Its later revealed in the first game that Cerberus did it, and you can't even ask about it.

That event quite possibly shaped the way Shepard is, whether he's an insane jackass because of it, or he tries to help people to try and honor the soldiers that died. But no. You can't ask the leader of Cerberus about their actions that greatly effected you.

Seriously, what the fuck.

Screw Cerberus.

 

[GloatingSwine]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

No.

I wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw Grunt.

 

[Kurokami]

I can kinda predict what the unanimous answer will be. Personally, I made an effort to jam my middle finger up Cerberus' ass. I wouldn't trust the Illusive Man if he was voiced by Morgan Freeman and had my mother's face.

To be honest I didn't play the first ME and was quite fond of the Elusive man myself, then again I couldn't bring myself to power through and finish the game either.

 

[JaredXE]

Isn't it obvious that TIM works for the Reapers? I mean come on, he and Saren have the same fucking cyber-eyes!

No, I let Cerberus give me all the guns, ships and Miranda's ass I could handle(and that's a LOT of ass), then told them to fuck off at the end. And of course Miranda and the rest of the crew dug my groove and told TIM to fuck off too.

 

[Comma-Kazie]

Not in the least--while I appreciated them bringing my Shepard back I had a feeling they did so for their own ulterior motives.

 

[Canid117]

I trusted Miranda because of the sweet boobies but never the illusive man.

So by you're reasoning, you would have trusted the Illusive Man if he had an enormous cleavage?
......
I need a shower...

Granted martin Sheen's voice is soothing. I still probably wouldn't trust him because of the whole "ordering hit squads after me and committing large numbers of terrorist acts in the first game" thing. The Illusive man was undoubtedly responsible for all the horrible stuff you saw in the first game. The only really evil thing you were sure Miranda ever did was calmly gunning down that engineer in the beginning of the game. A lack of damning evidence and sweet boobage are a powerful combination.

 

[Meggiepants]

No. I knew as soon as the Illusive Man asked me to...

Spoiler: Ceberus lies!!!

Save the reaper ship at the end that he wanted to try to get a weapon to help humans. It was pretty obvious.

I do think it was sneaky of Bioware to choose President Bartlet to voice the Illusive Man.

Sneaky sneaky! You won't lull me into trusting you that easily Illusive Man!

 

[Nevyrmoore]

Isn't it obvious that TIM works for the Reapers? I mean come on, he and Saren have the same fucking cyber-eyes!

Having cybernetics != working for the enemy.

It makes sense for him to have cybernetics, he's the Illusive Man, quite arguably one of the most powerful people in the galaxy. He'd want to live as long as possible to stay in control as long as possible. Cyberware and bioware probably allow for that.

Also, I don't see how TIM would be working for the Reapers. He's pro-humanity, while the Reapers are very much anti-everything. It goes against his interests if he sides with them. There's also been no way for the Reapers to communicate with anyone in the Milky Way, except through Harbinger's use of the Collectors. And even then, the Collectors have remained extremely secretive.

 

[Arcanist]

Do I trust them? Not in the slightest.

Did I understand their motivation, and the inherent need for there to be SOMEONE doing what they were doing? Yes.

The council outright dismisses the reapers. Even after you prove their existence. The council is basically the UN, the figureheads who bicker and talk but don't do anything. Cerberus, whether you agree with their methods or not, are doing something.

Whether they're "good" or side with the reapers in the end (resulting in a "Gondor calls for Rachni!" situation) is yet to be seen. It's entirely possible, given the whole Saren thing, even strong minds can be corrupted. But the Illusive Man seems too intelligent for that. He knows he'd be cattle with the illusion of control if the reapers took over, so even if they screw around behind your back, I think they're just as concerned about self preservation as you are.

Even when he tries to get you the base at the end. Yes, it could have been bad. It COULD have. You're not dealing politics, you're fighting a rather nasty war.

Right now the only thing that matters is the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Look at this from the Council's perspective.

What 'proof' have you actually presented? A broken hologram and the ramblings of an obviously insane rogue Spectre, that's what. And don't give me that 'But they saw Sovereign up close!' crap, because Sovereign, as impressive as he is, could easily be explained as Geth tech, because no viable parts where recovered from its corpse for study. What seems to be the more likely explanation: That mecha-chtulus have come to pick up lunch after 50,000 years of faffing about, or that the Geth managed a few steps forward in shipbuilding?

On topic, I don't trust Cerberus in the slightest. My opinion on the Illusive Man using the Collector's tech from the station I gleefully nuked can be summed up by Samara: 'The Illusive Man thinks he is wise enough to use the technology from that place. He is not.'

 

[soren7550]

Don't trust 'em in the least bit. Do I trust my crew (SSV Normandy SR2) however? My feelings are mixed about them.

I've completed the whole of ME1 several times (all the sidequests & etc.) and I've read the Mass Effect books multiple times as well. I know how they really are.

 

[Vrex360]

Not at all, I was literally expecting a betrayal at any point. Pretty much every mission they sent me on turned out to be a trap, they sent me out into the fray with a ship that is only halfway finished and never at any point do I get the feeling the Illusive Man was helping the colonies out of the kindness of his heart.
So no, I did not trust Cerberus. It gave me great delight blowing up the Collector base.

 

[Huxleykrcc]

The thing is, they're predictable--logical, in other words. Evil or not...well, that's debatable. But I trust them to do what their principles suggest.

But hell, I was really kind of unimpressed with the story arc in Mass Effect 2. The writing was excellent, but they do jackshit with the whole Cerberus good-or-bad arc; as in, they don't arc the damn thing, but keep it as a static theme. I found myself a little bored.

 

[Knight Templar]

Why would I trust them?
If you trust them then you would agree they are a racist terrorist group seaking power for humans by any means. If you don't trust Cerberus then they are a racist terrorist group seaking power for themselves by any means.
"Strength for Cerberus is Strength for Humanity", "All glory to the empire".
If they are truthful then I am helping forge the new galatic empire and trading death for a life of oppression under their rule. Swapping foes is never a good battle plan.
I don't trust them, I don't need them, I don't want them.

Sneaky sneaky! You won't lull me into trusting you that easily Illusive Man!

If they wanted a voice people would trust they would pick Liam Neeson.

 

[bladeofdarkness]

for all the "you can't trust them" talk
the illusive man is generally a better boss then the council, who's only contribution to the goal seems to be bitching at you

 

[Meggiepants]

Why would I trust them?
If you trust them then you would agree they are a racist terrorist group seaking power for humans by any means. If you don't trust Cerberus then they are a racist terrorist group seaking power for themselves by any means.
"Strength for Cerberus is Strength for Humanity", "All glory to the empire".
If they are truthful then I am helping forge the new galatic empire and trading death for a life of oppression under their rule. Swapping foes is never a good battle plan.
I don't trust them, I don't need them, I don't want them.

Sneaky sneaky! You won't lull me into trusting you that easily Illusive Man!

If they wanted a voice people would trust they would pick Liam Neeson.

Liam Neeson's voice would never go so low! It is too noble a voice to be used in such a wicked manner!

Martin Sheen however, his voice is morally ambiguous.