The Beacon

There’s nothing we can do for Nihlus. A dockworker saw the whole thing and tells us about this other Turian, Saren. On we go, fighting our way to the spaceport and the Beacon. However, Saren’s there first.

A cut scene shows Saren approach the Beacon and get caught in its beam. He leaves before we can arrive.

After we clear the landing area, we’re alone with the Beacon. Kaidan, curious, approaches. It tries to grab him in its beam. I knock him aside and end up caught in the beam myself. Visions of Geth and destruction are shown to me until I pass out and collapse. When I awaken, I’m back on the Normandy. Kaidan and Ashley brought me in. Doc clears me for duty. I really don’t want to tell anyone about my dreams — they sound so childish and unspecific — but we’re on our way to the Citadel to report our experience to the Council.

Meanwhile, in a cut scene, we see Saren on his ship (that threatening claw from earlier). He has an associate, The Matriarch, who discusses me, the Normandy, and my superior, Captain Anderson. That I’ve accessed the Beacon makes Saren . . .

. . . unhappy.

Eden Prime

One of my crew, a young and enthusiastic lad, is killed immediately. As Kaidan and I continue on mission, we find another soldier, Ashley, fighting frantically to save herself. The enemy? Geth, a synthetic AI species created by the Quarians. 

One of the great trash mobs in gaming, the Geth are deeply unsettling.

They rebelled, driving their makers into exile, and then disappeared behind the Perseus Veil (great name, no idea what it means) 200 years ago. Their backstory doesn’t really matter. because they’re here to impale humans on metal spikes and turn them into zombie-like husks.

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MASS-ive Undertaking

I’d like to try looking at the Story Enneagram of another game, and the grandaddy awaits, Mass Effect. Can I do it? I bought myself the Legendary Edition, all three games, and I haven’t played in years, so I have a tiny feeling of freshness and a large feeling of nostalgia. The minute that menu music started playing, I teared up. This and Dragon Age were my first RPGs. Let’s try!

Backstory begins. We’re told that humans in the year 2148 discovered alien ruins on Mars that jumped our space-faring civilization forward. We now have the plans — I think? — to build a relay machine, the Mass Effect. Yet, the universe and many alien races already use this technology, so Mass Effect relays are spread about the cosmos.

My little, tiny ship flies into the glowing ball of the Mass Effect relay and shoots out across the universe like a bullet from a barrel
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