Mass Effect 1
•The Story
Mass Effect is set within the Milky Way galaxy in the year 2183 where interstellar travel is possible through the use of mass transit devices called Mass Relays, a technology believed to have been built by an extinct alien race known as the Protheans.
The term "Mass Effect" is defined as a form of mass-negating technology, allowing the creation of physics phenomenons like artificial gravity or FTL travel.
A conglomerate body of governments known as the Citadel Council controls a large percentage of the galaxy and is responsible for maintaining law and order among races of the galactic community. Races that belong to the Citadel Council include humans, asari, salarians, and turians. Other alien races seen in the game include the reptilian krogan, the environmental suited quarians, and a hostile race of networked artificial intelligences called geth. Humanity is represented by the Systems Alliance, an organized body that joined the Citadel Council in 2157.
The protagonist of the game is Commander Shepard, a graduate of the Systems Alliance special forces program and a candidate to become the first human member of the Spectre force, agents who are above the law and answer directly to the Council. Shepard's squad members include
- human Systems Alliance marine Kaidan Alenko,
- human Systems Alliance soldier Ashley Williams,
- turian Citadel Security officer Garrus Vakarian,
- krogan mercenary Urdnot Wrex,
- quarian mechanic Tali'Zorah,
- and asari archaeologist Liara T'Soni.
Other characters include SSV Normandy captain David Anderson and SSV Normandy's pilot Jeff "Joker" Moreau.
•The plot
Mass Effect begins when Shepard is sent to the human colony of Eden Prime to recover an unearthed Prothean beacon. After landing on the planet, Shepard and Kaidan meet Ashley, who reveals that the colony is under attack by a geth army. The army is led by a rogue turian Spectre named Saren Arterius, who activates the beacon before escaping. Shepard ultimately locates the beacon and receives a vision showing scenes of war and death. The SSV Normandy and its crew are summoned by Ambassador Donnel Udina to the Citadel Station, but Shepard is unable to convince the Citadel Council of Saren's treason without solid evidence. With the help of Garrus and Wrex, Shepard is led to Tali'Zorah, who possesses a recording of a conversation between Saren and an asari Matriarch named Benezia. In the recording, the two discuss their victory while also mentioning an artifact called the "Conduit" and the return of the Reapers, a highly advanced machine race of synthetic-organic starships believed to eradicate all organic civilization every 50,000 years. Confronted with this evidence, the Council revokes Saren's Spectre status and makes Shepard the first human Spectre. Anderson relinquishes command of the SSV Normandy to Shepard, who uses it to follow several leads provided by Anderson and Udina.
On the world of Therum, Shepard rescues Benezia's daughter Liara T'Soni, who joins Shepard's squad because of her biotic abilities and expertise in the Protheans. On the colony of Feros, Shepard fights off Saren's forces and learns that Saren's flagship, Sovereign, possesses unique mind-control capabilities. On the world of Noveria, Shepard tracks down Benezia and defeats her, revealing that she and Saren are being controlled by Sovereign. After completing these missions, the Council informs Shepard that a salarian infiltration unit has uncovered Saren's main base on Virmire. Upon arrival, Shepard learns that Saren has discovered a cure for the krogan disease known as the genophage and plans to breed an army of unstoppable krogan warriors. When Wrex finds out about the cure, he clashes with Shepard over whether to destroy it, and Shepard must either kill Wrex, have Ashley kill him, or convince him to stand down. After this conflict, Shepard assists the salarians in destroying the base by planting a bomb in it. Inside the base, Shepard is confronted by Sovereign, who reveals itself to be an actual Reaper.
Sovereign reveals that the Reapers remain outside the Milky Way waiting for organic life to develop and discover the Mass Relays, before being harvested upon reaching their peak. Shepard also finds Saren, who claims that his allegiance to Sovereign will save organic life forms by demonstrating their usefulness to the Reapers, but ultimately escapes. Shepard then receives news that both Ashley and Kaidan have become pinned down and has only enough time to save one of them before the bomb explodes. Back on the SSV Normandy, Liara is able to pinpoint the Conduit's location on a Prothean world known as Ilos. There, Shepard learns that the Citadel Station is actually a huge Mass Relay that the Reapers use to invade the galaxy. During the last extinction cycle, a few Protheans survived on Ilos via cryopreservation and then re-entered the Citadel Station via the Conduit, a reverse-engineered miniature mass relay disguised aboard the station as a statue. The scientists managed to sabotage the process that would summon the Reapers in order to prevent future extinction cycles from succeeding. Saren plans to undo this sabotage, and needs the Conduit to get him inside the Citadel.
Shepard pursues Saren through the Conduit, arriving at the Citadel as it is under attack by Sovereign and a massive geth force. After confronting Saren, Shepard can fight or convince him to rebel, and, if convinced, Saren will thank Shepard before committing suicide. Joker then informs Shepard of a human Systems Alliance fleet massing to counterattack. Shepard can order the Alliance fleet to save the Council and risk heavy casualties or go directly after Sovereign while risking the death of the Council. Saren's corpse is then reanimated by Sovereign, who attacks Shepard while simultaneously fighting off the Alliance. Eventually, humanity prevails, and Saren's corpse is destroyed while Sovereign is dispatched by the SSV Normandy. If Shepard chose to save the Council, the Council will thank humanity and add a human member to their ranks. The other choice will result in the death of the Council, letting humanity take over. Regardless of outcome, Shepard is asked to nominate either Anderson or Udina to this new leadership position. Shepard does so, then turns away from the proceedings, vowing to end the Reaper threat.
• The player plays Commander Shepard, Officer of the Special Armed Forces (N7) of the Interstellar Alliance. From his actions and decisions aboard the Normandy frigate will depend the fate of the human species and the entire galaxy. Outside the Normandy, Shepard is always accompanied by two members of her crew, to choose according to the people hired during the adventure or already present on the ship at the beginning of the game. Each one has a personality and a different class. It is possible to have in-depth relationships with these crew members including a romantic relationship if the player pushes the right character in the right direction.
The different people who can accompany Shepard are:
• Ashley Williams, an Alliance soldier with the rank of Gunner recruited on Eden Prime. She becomes the gunsmith on the Normandy, despite her reluctance to rub shoulders with non-humans on board.
• Kaidan Alenko, a human with L2 biotic implants from the Alliance. He acts as an on-board repairman on the ship. His old L2 implant model has been fatal to more than one of his classmates, but he suffers only from particularly painful migraines.
• Garrus Vakarian, a Turien, former member of the Citadel security forces. It leaves the latter because it no longer supports the abundant paperwork, and wants to be "more efficient".
• Liara T'Soni, a scientist and archaeologist Asari. She studied prosthetic artefacts, and had little contact with other breeds because of her young age for a member of her species (she is 106 years old in this part). She lends her biotic talents to the crew.
•Tali'Zorah "Tali" nar Rayya, a Quarien engineer. She joined the machinists of Normandy, and suspended her pilgrimage to help Shepard in her mission.
• Urdnot Wrex, a Krogan mercenary. He has a personal account to settle with Saren. He once had great influence over Tuchanka, whom he left, leaving the other Krogans to their fate.
Other important characters:
• David Anderson, former Normandy Commandant, takes responsibility for the Eden Prime incident at the beginning of the game to leave the field open to Shepard in whom he believes.
• Jeff "Joker" Moreau, he is a very gifted helmsman (driver), with a frank talk humorous. He suffers from osteogenesis imperfecta, and thus shows a physical weakness, even if this does not impair his excellent helmsman qualities.
• Saren Arterius, Turien and former Specter, he is pursued through the galaxy by Shepard to answer for his actions on Eden Prime.
• Benezia, Matriarch Asari very influential, she is the mother of Liara and has powerful biotic
powers. She rallied to Saren in her escape.
•The characters
