Mass Effect ad talks choice, we choose Oprah

by Alexander Sliwinski { Nov 9th 2007 at 4:55PM }

Across the country video game marketing departments are screaming, "Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war!" Ads will begin to flood the airwaves and above we have the Mass Effect television spot.

It's worth pointing out that in almost every instance -- other than the released lesbian sex scene (SFW) -- Shepard is portrayed as a scruffy mocha-skinned man. We don't know if the character selection screen is still the same as it was many moons ago, but we're praying to make a short chubby mid-life black woman to save the galaxy -- like Oprah. There's something satisfying about the star of a space opera not being a run-of-the-mill action hero guy. Help "Oprah" Shepard on her quest in Mass Effect beginning Nov. 20.

Tags: ad, commercial, mass-effect, masseffect

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

robert @ Nov 9th 2007 5:02PM

gary coleman, i choose you

Spartacus @ Nov 9th 2007 5:04PM

Dashing white guy, blonde, about 6' tall, I choose you.

Ethan @ Nov 9th 2007 5:08PM

Alright. First I watched a Super Mario Galaxy trailer today. It captivated me, so I watched it again about twice. The same happened with the Assassin's Creed trailer, and now this. I have to say, the hollywood guys should be looking to take notes, because these guys are summarizing the pull of their games without giving a thing away.

gonk @ Nov 9th 2007 5:31PM

ugh, i still remember the spiderman 2 ads, they gave away EVERYTHING

LaughingTarget @ Nov 9th 2007 6:12PM

One of the best movie ads I ever saw was for Toys. It was just Robin Williams running through a field to say, "Watch the movie." The movie sucked, but that made me want to watch it.

plyx @ Nov 9th 2007 5:16PM

I still can't get past how much the "default" Shepard looks like one of the guys from Color Me Badd.

plyx @ Nov 9th 2007 5:18PM

http://www.eurweb.com/images/articles/200612/bryan_abrams(006-headshot-med).JPG

gonk @ Nov 9th 2007 5:30PM

A MAN CHOOSES! A SLAVE OBEYS!

CaptNink @ Nov 9th 2007 5:55PM

LOL!

+1 for Bioshock reference!

kinshadow @ Nov 9th 2007 5:39PM

I wonder if you could make Sherperd look like an Itallian plumber?

"You're blue-skinned bisexual alien princess is in another space-port."

kinshadow @ Nov 9th 2007 5:41PM

arghhh... I mean "Your blue-skinned bisexual alien princess is in another space-port."

Greg @ Nov 9th 2007 5:41PM

[URL=http://imageshack.us][IMG]http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/3919/mariocv9.gif[/IMG][/URL]

I can't wait!

gonk @ Nov 9th 2007 5:54PM

fail

Regulus Tera @ Nov 9th 2007 5:43PM

Those models are uncannier than the ones found in The Spirits Within.

Definitely not looking forward for this one.

kinshadow @ Nov 9th 2007 5:57PM

I couldn't disagree with you more.

Which games are you looking forward to that don't hit the valley?

Regulus Tera @ Nov 9th 2007 7:27PM

Metal Gear Solid 4 stays at the skirts of of the valley, though not enough to alienate me.

I would say Final Fantasy XIII, but, quite frankly, I hate the series after all the rampant sequelitis the Square side of Square-Enix is suffering. I have to give them the credit of having models realistic enough that do not look like ragdolls (apart from the bunch of leather belts and sometimes poofy hairdos).

This is why I hate it when people complain that the only true awesome graphics are either on computers or the PS3 and XBOX 360. It doesn't amount to much if the models do not look balanced enough to not creep me out.

BlackBeltJones @ Nov 9th 2007 5:44PM

I want Mass Effect so much.

LordMinogue @ Nov 9th 2007 6:01PM

The add is dark, which is good. A game is much better (IMO, of course) if the situation is hopeless and the main character is desperate then if the situation is about even and the main character is a penultimate weapon.

I hope the final release preserves the feel of the add. Gears blew it (the dark storytelling), so I'm not letting this raise my expectations that much.