Characters

THE HERO:

Commander Shepard
Commander [John, Jane, Jack, Max, Elizabeth, etc.] Shepard is the player's avatar, that is he or she is the sole player-controlled character in Mass Effect. His or her gender is really only relevant to the optional, but meaningful romantic side quests. Shepard clearly fills the role of the classic "hero" archetype and is the game's protagonist. Like all of the characters in Mass Effect, Shepard fits the "fantasy" character type. The Commander walks the walk of a proud soldier to which either a brutish or heroic personality can be applied. This personality is up to the player to create. Through conversations and actions the player can make Shepard into a chivalrous hero or ruthless agent. As a good guy/girl, Shepard is who I want him/her to be: generally nice, but not ridiculously benevolent. Shepard is a soldier, not Santa Clause. Like I mentioned previously, being a douche bag is not as fun as it could be. He's mean without taking a lot of action and often for no good reason. This is a little at odds with his mission to save the galaxy. Still, it's humorous to punch annoying civilians on occasion and it's refreshing to just order your team to start shooting instead of wasting time being diplomatic. Too often unfortunately, the choices you make are followed by very similar consequences. There is repeatedly no difference between outcomes other than the way the NPCs react emotionally. These reactions are quite evocative, as I said before, they often make the difference between choosing good over evil. However it would be nice if there were heavier repercussions to your choices a little more often, because when the choices do matter, the game excels.
One of the problems with Shepard's character arc is that the character does not really transform or even gain much enlightenment. It's partially because the player has a great deal of control over Shepard's thought and he/she is not likely to go through any significant life changes or experience any epiphanies while playing Mass Effect. Therefore, the player's choices will probably remain consistent throughout the story. Also, the story doesn't leave much room for the character to advance. He/She starts out as an experienced soldier and ends the game the same way. Sure, Shepard's skills increase as he/she gets more experience but this is not tied to the story at all and the Commander doesn't learn any significant new abilities. Early in the game, Shepard does at least attain the unrestricted rank of Spectre, which means he can go around doing pretty much whatever he wants to get the job done. This doesn't really affect his character as much as it affects his rights though. Once again, I feel the need to bring up KotOR because of how the protagonist in that game goes through the arc of starting off as a foot soldier, then learning to use the Force and becoming a Jedi, and finally becoming the savior of the galaxy. The growth of your character made it feel like more of a journey than just a mission. One more thing that would add depth to Shepard is some kind of personal flaw. The story isn't a tragedy so it isn't a necessary device but it seems a bit strange how he never really makes a mistake. Shepard's advantages over KotOR's hero come in the form of his/her definable background, very variable appearance, audible voice, and even his/her authoritative position. While it doesn't give the Spectre much room to change, it does give you a lot of freedom and the respect of most people you meet across the galaxy. This story is more immediate than KotOR's and any time spent learning lessons could slow down the pace too much. Controlling Shepard's thoughts and feelings is also quite intuitive and his/her resulting lines are fairly well-written. The Commander's "the only kind of person who can protect the galaxy," no matter what you make of him/her.

EDIT 2/21/09 - The teaser trailer for Mass Effect 2 is telling us that Commander Shepard has been Killed In Action! WTF? Will we be playing as someone else? I just realized now that I'll really miss Shepard if he/she is dead.

ALLIES:

Lt. Kaidan Alenko
The lieutenant with biotic powers is the first member of your core party you meet as he is already a member of your crew. If you choose to play as a female, you can form a romantic relationship with him. I cannot attest to his sex appeal, but women (or those claiming to be women) on YouTube seem to like him. He's pretty cool, though not quite as interesting as Carth Onasi of KotOR, who shares his voice. He doesn't have his own side quest other than the relationship with Shepard but his backstory is still interesting. He lends Shepard his moral support when the chips are down and his ability to unleash "dark energy" and tech powers is useful in combat. On the whole, he's a good, dependable guy and it's a sad thing to choose to let him die on Virmire. On the other hand, it's harder (for me at least) to sacrifice the other possible candidate.

Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams
Here we have, in my opinion the hottest member of the crew, though that's not saying much considering her competition of various species. She is hot anyhow, with a fiery and frequently funny personality to match. I really like Ashley and I found it easy to make Shepard like her too, even though their possible romantic interest in each other has no clear starting point. She's a skilled soldier who specializes in weapons and is always up for a fight. She is not a perfect person, with some prejudice against other species and a headstrong attitude, but her flaws make her more human. Either she or Kaidan must die on Virmire and it seems natural to save Ashley if you're a good guy and save Kaidan if you're a good girl. If you're a renegade, it probably doesn't matter because you'll likely have spurned any romantic advances. Either way, it's a sad moment. If you do fall in love with Ashley and rescue her, you'll have the option (as you do for any of the romances) to participate in a tastefully choreographed sexual encounter, which includes a brief, controversial shot of her polygonal ass. It seems ridiculous for FOX News to bitch about this when the Internet and games like Grand Theft Auto exist, but as usual, nudity is more treacherous than bloody violence against civilians and police officers. Anyway, Ashley's awesome.

Garrus Vakarian
This guy is like a space police officer. He has a really neat introduction where he pops some stupid hostage taker in the dome from twenty feet away, but after that he has no more slick signature moves. He does have a character arc, though. With Shepard's influence, Garrus can change his views on his methods for getting things done. He starts off with a fairly logical but merciless point of view. He is in favor of execution and justice. If you're a nice guy/girl you can convince him to "do things right or [not do] them at all." This arc ties into his side quest which involves an organ-harvesting mad scientist. It would be nice to see the rest of the characters have their own arcs, especially if the player has the power to influence them. Garrus is a decent addition to the party, though his analytical tone gets a bit dry sometimes. A few more of those nice moves would have made him more interesting.

Tali'Zhora nar Rayya
Tali is sort of the kid of the ship. I don't know how old she's supposed to be but that's just what she seems like; a little homesick, fascinated by new sights, and inexperienced. I expected that she would be lame at first, but I soon grew to like her because of the enthusiasm conveyed by her high, excited voice and her commitment to the mission. In addition to being an ally to Shepard, she also takes the role of "herald" by providing information that changes the course of the plot and sets Shepard and his team in a new direction. She's quite useful for cracking computers and locked doors and also handy with grenades.

Urdnot Wrex
This krogan mercenary is probably the most badass, well-written character in Mass Effect. His dialogue is short and to the point and all delivered in an wonderfully rough, gravely voice. He's often quite humorous too, with lines like, "Anyone who fights us is either stupid or on Saren's payroll. Killing the latter is business. Killing the former is a favor to the universe." He's also the only one who has the balls (4 of them according to Garrus) to stand up to Shepard. Wrex has a tough exterior but you can tell there's a lot more to him than mindless brute force. He has an interesting past and, like Garrus and Tali, a side quest. I found this quest to be a bit disappointing for such a great character because it just seems that fetching a family heirloom is beneath this warrior. Plus, there are no cinematics for it, a common annoyance in Mass Effect's side quests. At one point in the game, you can choose to shoot him if you really want to. Yet even playing as a villain, I keep him alive. He's just too cool to kill. Besides, you'll want him by your side in later battles, throwing synthetics around with his biotic powers and blasting them with his shotgun, growling, "Give me something to kill!"

Liara T'Soni
If I wanted to be mean, I could call her the opposite of Wrex. Dr. T'Soni is the third and last romancable character and can be wooed by either a male or female Commander. Ostensibly this is because her species has only one gender and they can meld their minds with other life forms but part of me suspects the designers knew a "lesbian" sex scene would be a selling point of the game for some people. She will always be the one of the points in the potential love triangle between Shepard, Ashley/Kaidan, and her. Despite being of another species, Liara is easily the least interesting option for courtship and possibly in the entire party of key characters. She has trouble knowing when to shut up and her voice is a bit monotonous. Some of her explanations seem as long-winded as my descriptions of character and story (but not even close to the melodramatic monologues found in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots). I still feel for her though, especially after she has to help kill her own mother, who works for Saren. She devotes all her skill points into using biotic powers, which is occasionally helpful when the fighting starts. Still, she is probably the least of Shepard's six core allies.

THE MENTOR:

Captain David Anderson
Eloquently voiced by Keith David, Captain Anderson serves as Shepard's primary mentor, though most of the mentoring happened before the game begins. Early in the game, he talks the Commander through some objectives and gives advice. Though you can't tell by his poorly-designed uniform, he's actually a badass, and is instrumental in the success of Shepard's mission. He represents what Shepard could become if he chooses the path of the paragon, the good guy. He has a balanced personality and is an able leader. He has a past with the villain, Saren, which you can learn the details of if you read the prequel novel to Mass Effect.

THE SHADOW:

Saren Arterius
I would have to describe this bad guy as an "exaggerated" antagonist because to be realistic, I think his species would have to exist. Also, he is part machine, rides around on a hovering pad that fires rockets, and seeks to bring unstoppable, genocidal robots to power. Saren is a sinister villain that needs a little more development to be seen as truly frightening. Even though he shoots one of the minor good guys on the first mission, his brutality is hardly ever witnessed, just talked about. I think it would have been helpful motivation for the player if Saren's evil doings were presented more clearly. Comprehensively, he is a pretty good bad guy; he looks great and sounds great, but he talks to much and what he says is sort of noncommittal. It is too easy to turn him away from his evil scheme at the end of the game so I recommend taking the quickest way through the conversation and just blasting him. Luckily, his hesitation and lack of zeal can be explained by the evil Reaper controlling him. This giant machine is the real threat to the galaxy and it's freaking huge and powerful. The idea that there are a whole bunch of them is more menacing than Saren ever is. It's okay though. Saren's just a bit more complex than you might expect.

GUARDIANS:

The Geth and others
These synthetic AIs work for Saren because they worship the Reapers as gods. They are just tools, but they have an interesting past and personalities, something I wasn't expecting from droids. They basically come in many forms, all of which try to kill you and your party members. They are the guardians of Mass Effect, along with some other species and strange creatures that attempt to prevent Commander Shepard and his allies from saving the galaxy.