Your Sheppard

For a game with this level of diversity; I've never felt like playing the same way, especially with my Shepard(s).

I've played through with all the classes, mostly to aid in getting the achievements & gaining more bonus powers for subsequent playthroughs (since unlike the later games, you can't just change them once they're created).

I've also tried out all the back stories with both genders, since each has a subtle influence on who you interact with, how they speak to you and what about. For instance; Toombs knows Akuze Shepard, Major Kyle knows him/her as the 'Butcher of Torfan', Haliot personally blames Elysium Shepard for his failed attack, etc.

As for the appearance; I tried using the default male a few times, but he just reminds me of Dom Purcell; not a bad thing, but I just prefer to customise. Since the alterations on this one don't have any codes or anything, my Sheps rarely look the same way twice, though I tend to make them along the similar sort of lines each time, with perhaps a few tweaks for diversity; ie, hair style, scarring, eye colour.


"In High school I was Captain of the Machine-gun Team!" Nick Deezy

Mine are usually orphan survivors, I think. I don't really pay that much attention.

I like Soldiers and Infiltrators mainly.

I just use the Default Shep




You want tah fack wit me? You ah fACKING chioah boi compahed tu me ah chioah boi

In my head, my Shepard was (and is) an idealist in the first game, and becomes a bit tougher/more hardened/more of a renegade following her brush with death in game two (though she still retains a lot of her "paragon" ideals).

The third game is like her ascension into adulthood (I also love the fact that she looks like a real person for the first time in the series - my bad, I'll admit - so, unlike many people, I'm a big fan of that "face distortion/improved graphics" thing from game three).

As to her actual background, it's "spacer" (honestly I forget what this even means) and sole survivor (I think this is appropriate, considering she suffers a lot of survivor's guilt that wears on her more and more as the series goes on).

I probably put more thought into that than was necessary. :P

Also, don't spoil anything from the third game. I've only started playing it.

Is this strictly Mass Effect I or did you take those characters all the way through to ME3?

The adept and engineer are cool to play too. A totally different game.
The first time I tried to play the engineer, for example, I tried to play it in the same vein as I would a soldier- relying on weapons. But you have to really learn the powers and how to interlock them with your squad when you play as an engineer and adept.

For my money, I think in ME3 the engineer is probably the most powerful Shepard if you set her up just right.

The vanguard is probably the most intense fun to play if you get in there with the shotguns at close range.

I play them with different backgrounds. Usually as a female. I change her appearance every time and have only used the default Shep once each as a male and female. The rest of the time I try to make her (or him) unique looking.

'It's a work of art and there's really no "right" interpretation...' RDM