Commander Shepard probably isn't dead in Mass Effect 2

by Griffin McElroy { May 2nd 2009 at 4:00PM }

Following the release of the Mass Effect 2 teaser trailer, we've all been nervous wrecks about the assumedly unfortunate fate of the first Mass' protagonist, Commander Shepard. We really do not want him to be dead. We spent so much time molding him, as if from clay, to look just like us, only much more attractive.

Fortunately, at the end of a recent Mass Effect 2 dev blog post, the game's executive producer, Casey Hudson, responded to the notion of Shepard's corpsification, saying he "better not be." He continued, "we had a lot of big plans made, so if someone's gone and killed Shepard then things are going to take an unexpected turn." So, there you have it. Either Shepard is still alive, or some unknown, shadowy agent murdered him without Bioware's noticing. Either way, we should know more about Shepard's status when we see the game next month at E3.

Tags: bioware, commander-shepard, e3-2009, mass-effect, mass-effect-2, shepard

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Peter Moore @ May 2nd 2009 4:02PM

In other words, you play as Zombie Shepard. Got it.

Isaac @ May 3rd 2009 1:58PM

That would be pretty bad ass.

dimaskrenz @ May 5th 2009 9:57AM

Mmmm, zombies...

Crusty Magic @ May 2nd 2009 4:03PM

He was a Geth all along.

The Dark Wayne @ May 2nd 2009 4:09PM

I think we all knew that deep down

The Dark Wayne @ May 2nd 2009 4:11PM

on a side note I didnt care for the character creation, it was just like Oblivion. Either my guy was ugly, or he looked good but like he was from a different game than all the other characters. He also looked like Thomas Kretschmann for some reason.

Markez @ May 2nd 2009 4:22PM

In my heart, I knew as well. Ol' Shepard couldn't die, doesn't make sense. I didn't futz around with the character creation, I just left it as the default Shepard. My Fallout 3 guy was pretty nondescript, left that pretty much the same. My SR2 dude is a huge fatty with a mohawk and mutton chops.

This is old news, it's from Thursday. One of those few times I ever sent a tip in, and it pops up 2 days later :P

Speaking of SR2, I'd love to see a review on the Ultor DLC.

The Dark Wayne @ May 2nd 2009 4:35PM

my SR2 guy was an athletic but not quite musclebound englishman with mutton chops and a penchant for zebra stripes and biker paraphernalia

The Dark Wayne @ May 2nd 2009 4:37PM

also the DLC sucks

Markez @ May 2nd 2009 5:22PM

:( Is it just a small amount of more of the same? Or is it somehow worse than that?

WiredKnight @ May 2nd 2009 8:48PM

Yea. They wouldn't bother with the heroic hey-look-I-somehow-survived-this-massive-pile-of-debris-falling-on-my-head ending if they were just going to kill him off in the beginning of the next game.

Deadpool @ May 2nd 2009 4:12PM

Wow! Really? You don't say....

I haven't played the first one yet. So thanks for ruining it for me!

Peter Moore @ May 2nd 2009 4:15PM

This article didn't spoil anything from the first game.

Deadpool @ May 2nd 2009 4:27PM

They said Commander Shepard died. So there.,,,,ruined. I didn't know there were Commanders in the game either...ruined. People die in the game? Ruined! The game is called Mass Effect? Great! I didn't know the name of the game...ruined!

EVERYTHING IS RUINED!!!

I MISS BEA!!!!

THE Ezio Auditore de Firenze (PSN slycooper_rocker) @ May 2nd 2009 4:32PM

they said he didn't die

Markez @ May 2nd 2009 4:36PM

Well here's the biggest spoiler of all then, pal. THATS RIGHT, BEA ARTHUR IS ACTUALLY THE FINAL BOSS IN THE ORIGINAL GAME. For most of the game, sure, she seems like regular old esteemed Commander Arthur, but turns out she was secretly helping the Geth THE ENTIRE TIME.

BOOM ROASTED

The Dark Wayne @ May 2nd 2009 4:36PM

well then he knows he didnt die! How anticlimactic!

THE Ezio Auditore de Firenze (PSN slycooper_rocker) @ May 2nd 2009 5:02PM

dammit, foiled again by Dark Wayne

THE Ezio Auditore de Firenze (PSN slycooper_rocker) @ May 2nd 2009 5:11PM

someone get pedojokerbear asap! i need him to ruin the lives of the dark wayne's children.

Jason Statham (Aka Vegeta) @ May 2nd 2009 5:59PM

OH DEADPOOL!!!!!

Mike @ May 2nd 2009 4:17PM

#1 on my list of most looked forward to games.

DBuck_Eye @ May 2nd 2009 4:22PM

Anyone else smell some foreshadowing in the air?

wocyob @ May 2nd 2009 4:25PM

when is E3 again?

SleepNeed @ May 2nd 2009 4:31PM

I can't wait for E3 when they tell us some more about ME2. I've played Mass Effect about 6 times now, every time I tried something different (like being what I would do one time, trying to bed Ash and Liara which had hilarious results, so on and so on.)

I've already pre-ordered on Amazon.com

cknblade @ May 2nd 2009 4:34PM

Next up on Fox: SeXbox porn star dies in sequel from a disease likely caught from having GRAPHIC SEX with aliens.

The Dark Wayne @ May 2nd 2009 4:35PM

I lol'd +1

The Dark Wayne @ May 2nd 2009 4:37PM

Man I cant wait for E3. It's like Christmas, but instead of action figures you get knowledge

Hashbrown Hunter @ May 2nd 2009 5:16PM

Finally, now I know what to get you for Christmas this year!

Moptimus Slime (Ziggy played Guitar Hero, but not Smash Hits) @ May 2nd 2009 6:06PM

A giant Supercomputer that he can use to hijack peoples cell phones and create a 3D recreation of Gotham City?

Hashbrown Hunter @ May 3rd 2009 1:12PM

Uh....that sounds expensive.

How 'bout some Tic-Tacs?

Deadpool @ May 2nd 2009 4:39PM

Wow down votes are in full force today. I'd better shut up.....Nah that's not gonna happen.

Markez @ May 2nd 2009 4:49PM

Deadpool, ol pal, my Bea Arthur loving buddy, don't feel bad. Maybe this will cheer you up, yes they're real episodes:

Season 1, Episode 13: A Little Romance
Rose doesn't tell her friends that her boyfriend is a dwarf because she fears people will make fun of them.

Season 1, Episode 18: The Operation
Dorothy is afraid to have an operation for a benign growth on her foot.

Season 2, Episode 20: Whose Face Is This, Anyway?
The other graduates at Blanche's high school reunion make her feel her looks have faded, and she decides to have plastic surgery.

Season 3, Episode 21: Larceny and Old Lace
Sophia believes that her boyfriend Rocco, who claims to be a retired gangster, has robbed a bank to impress her.

Hopper @ May 2nd 2009 5:00PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eqNaglgfHY
Golden Girls is legit. I was more upset when Estelle Getty died though.

Those old ladies and their shenanigans!

Deadpool @ May 2nd 2009 5:08PM

Thanks guys. But you what would really cheer me up? Money! You got any you can give me? You guys are rich right? 1 million dollars would be fine. That's a lot of Top Ramen. :)

Moptimus Slime (Ziggy played Guitar Hero, but not Smash Hits) @ May 2nd 2009 5:56PM

you know what cheers me up? Pretending like Golden Palace never happened

Chris @ May 2nd 2009 4:44PM

I'm guessing the story will involve Shepherd being captured and everyone thinking he's dead or something like that and for part of the game you will be on your own and not in a group. Hopefully they wont go the whole Ghost in the Shell route - his body dies but his mind survives somehow. That's been done a million times before and is getting a bit tired.

The Dark Wayne @ May 2nd 2009 4:46PM

im thinking since that trailer had stuff mentioning Cerberus, that maybe Shepard is under deep cover, even pretending to be dead to infiltrate them

smcn @ May 2nd 2009 10:25PM

My guess is the Collectors (Mass Effect: Ascension) will likely play a large role in ME2. Shepard meets with or is captured by them which leads Cerebus to believe her* dead.

* Yes, Shepard is female. Deal with it.

The Dark Wayne @ May 2nd 2009 11:57PM

what are talking about? This isn't KOTOR where there's an official canon Revan or whatever. Shepard's whatever you make him/her, so there's no reason youd have to say to deal with it

Deadpool @ May 2nd 2009 4:47PM

BEA!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOooo!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6icbHgz6fI

why not the LS2LS7? @ May 2nd 2009 4:54PM

I doubt even the uploader of that clip watched it for 3:28.

Univalve X @ May 2nd 2009 4:58PM

Thanks for the spoilers Joystiq! I can always count on you!

Snowblind @ May 2nd 2009 7:20PM

Just for the record, the original game does *not* imply Shepard is killed and there's no cliff hanger or anything like that.. The game ends properly, while leaving room for sequels, the way it should be done.

The first teaser trailer stated that Shepard had been "KIA" which for some reason lead many people to believe you wouldn't be playing as him in ME2.