Storywise, Vega leads an elite Special Forces squad into battle against a mysterious alien threat known as The Collectors. Stationed at a colony in a remote star system, Vega and his soldiers must protect the civilians from a ruthless invasion determined to capture the population for unknown purposes. Sounds great. But the devil is in the execution.
“Mass Effect: Paragon Lost” is plagued by trite dialog and immature vocalization and phrasing of words. It plays as if the actors were asked to take on the personas of doe-eyed, exasperated, in-over-their-head newbies, arrested in their development, rather than mature and experienced soldiers.
More shameful is the animation. It looks like manga with no texture or details. It is also homogenized and Anglo-cized. Even the Krogan look less like frogs or whatever and more like albino humanoids. This works to alienate viewers who might be East-Asian, African-American, Black-Hispanic or any other group of color, making the trailer downright painful to watch.
Like most serious science fiction products, “Mass Effect” appeals to a widely diverse user-group because of its inclusivity. It allows players to alter their avatars to resemble themselves or anyone/thing they can imagine, changing eye color, skin tone, hair texture, lip fullness, nose structure, etc. Players avatars can have same-sex romances if players decide. And players can self-determine outcomes based on individual moral proclivities.
“Mass Effect: Paragon Lost” sanitizes this rich universe and replaces it with something even children over the age of 10 will be bored by.
“Mass Effect: Paragon Lost” comes out on Blu-ray and DVD December 28, 2012. Here’s the trailer:
This is what “Mass Effect: Paragon Lost” should resemble, both in dialog, voicing and animation: