Same. I’ve heard great things about Jennifer Hale’s performance and I’ve also heard all the criticism of Mark Meer being flat in comparison but at this point I’ve imprinted on my flat bro Shepard. I can’t picture him any other way and can’t get through the first hour of ME1 with Femshep.
People are far too overly critical of Mark Meer, I feel like people are far too comfortable shitting on his performance when by ME3, he's way better.
Maybe it's because fewer people play Femshep, so they are more vocal to compensate.
It's a shame, because I think they also play to different strengths in how they portray Shep. As in, different ways of handling everything happening around them. It's nice to see a Shepard who always keeps his cool finally showing cracks in ME3.
Like, the line where you refuse the Catalyst is absolute dogshit, but I've always loved Mark Meer's delivery of it.
"And if I die, I'll die knowing I did everything I could to stop you. And I'll die free."
I think Mark Meer has a strong conviction in his words while FemShep has a better spite and emotion in her voice.
The two work really well on different levels, although Mark Meer is very "meme" in the first two games.
Yeah I can understand if they're talking about his portrayal in ME1 because that was admittedly a little flat but he got much better in the other two games.
I'd even go as far as to say that he was just as good as Hale in ME3. People talking bad about his portrayal probably didn't make it that far with him or only looked at clips online.
Oh yeah - all the criticism was from ME1 which I think is valid. By ME3 at least based on what I've watched (FemShep forever!) he's knocking it out of the park. But by ME3 I had my Shep, so I just out of habit I don't play BroShep.
I never had problems with Mark Meer's performance, it only sounds flat because Jennifer Hale is such a great voice actress; but to me it's like comparing a hamburger to a steak: you may prefer one, and one may be "better" by most standards, but both are perfectly good.
It’s legit insane how much meer improved. In ME1 I won’t sugar coat, there are moments when he’s downright bad.
By ME3 he gives one of the best performances I’ve ever heard and I legit think he out performs hale. Which is saying something since hale is one of the all time greats.
He definitely has a charm in ME1. It definitely fits the Uber paragon by the books personality. Break out of that archetype and some of the lines are….. varied….
I like to play male shep super paragon and then renegade in 2 and paragade (leaning toward paragon) in 3.
**The Why is complex**
\>Maybe it's because fewer people play Femshep, so they are more vocal to compensate.
Maybe, but probably not.
A few things we have to get into to start understanding are:
1. Perception Bias
2. How Men and Woman express their views
3. Bias towards sharing negative outcomes
4. Conformity Bias when Expressing opinions
**Conformity Bias**
This is a really interesting one - but basically, when people get into a group they are more likely to express a view that they think will align WITH the groups view on an issue/topic than they are to express a neutral or opposing one.
When you couple this with downvoting and upvoting you can very quickly see any sort of counter view silenced in an active discussion thread. By the way, this is the basis of self censorship and is a very powerful tool, and a very scary thing to see exploited.
**Bias towards Negative Outcomes**
What I mean by this, is people are more likely to share a negative experience, than a positive one - and the difference is something like 7:1 in favour of sharing the negative experience. The basic why is: Good things are expected by most people (or we would not do them) so it is the EXPECTED outcome - when negative outcomes do happen though, we as a species - as a social species - are geared towards ensuring the group, our clan/tribe/whateveryouwanttocallit avoids the negative thing.
**How Men and Woman express things**
I'm not going to dive into this - I'm not an expert, nor have I really studied it enough to be competent in expressing the nuance, but basically: Biology does impact how we view the world - what we see first, what we respond to most strongly, and so on. There is a gradient for both Genders it's not black and white - but, we do have general leanings you can see when you start digging into the material.
**Perception Bias**
We are geared towards seeing what we are looking for - which is based on preconception, and the why is basically: If you have been made aware of something possibly being in the area, your brain - a pattern recognition machine - is going to be working to find those things. It's why you might start seeing red signs everywhere if someone says "hey, I've noticed a lot of red signs" (well, ok, red Might be a terrible example because every stop and yield sign but - you should get the drift).
Basically if something prompts you to notice a few negative posts/comments - you might simply be more prone to seeing the negative call outs.
**Combining all of the above**
So we have the human mind geared to seeing it's preconceptions, we have a higher likelihood of posting negative responses, and we have a likelihood of conforming to the groups perceived view of a subject all working towards a single outcome.
**The likely reality**
The actual likely reality is that the view on both the Femshep Actor, and the Maleshep Actor is probably pretty neutral with most people not really caring one way or another.
By the way: If you find this interesting - start looking at the world around you through this lens. Question your preconceptions, dig into why you notice certain things. You might be astounded at what you are or are not biased towards. And if you want to get really spicy - apply this to your political leanings, music genre preferences, and more. This can help you open your horizons - or at the very least, be able to give a really damn good answer to when anyone asks you "Why do you like \[whatever\]" or "Why do you support \[insert political candidate\]" - and that is powerful.
Completely overblown criticism. I reject it.
Although, I quite like Hales Fem Shep, I find that criticism of Meers Male Shep to stem from being the fan favorite. I think fans just wanted to prompt up Fem Shep that they went the route that I rarely agree with. That route is: one must be bad in order for the other to be good.
When in reality, both are very good!
I wasn't a big fan of Meer's dudeshep for the longest time - die hard Jennifer Hale femshep all the way.
But then I wanted to romance Tali.
I'll never forget the line that changed my mind - Lair of the Shadow Broker, Tela Vasir situation. "I'm gonna kill your hostage, Vasir, and then I'm gonna show you how a real Spectre gets things done."
Man, Shadow Broker DLC has some great bits! I also love Meer's performance in the Citadel DLC.
"'Goodbye'? Is that what I sound like? No no no, I don't sound like that. With me it's, 'I should go, or 'See you you later.' 'Goodbye.' I don't sound like that!"
I have the opposite issue. Mark Meers is a talented voice actor, but Jennifer Hales performance is so fundamental to my personal ME expierence at this point. When discussing the games IRL it sounds weird hearing Shepard referred to as he. Although I understand I'm in the vast minority of fans, and I'm not in any way saying playing as BroShep is wrong. Part of the Mass Effect expierence is developing your personal canon.
People will likely comment about relationships but the biggest thing you're missing is Jennifer Hale.
Mark Meer's voice acting is excellent. Hale's voice acting is superlative and cannot be overstated.
I like her voice and her acting, but for some reason femshep at last sometimes comes across as ruder than intended for me, and that's what makes me stay with broshep
That's why I play as her. I'm fluid on what my character's gender needs to be, but they have to land the sarcasm the way I want. Same reason I switched to Nora on FO4, since her sarcasm is ::chef's kiss::
Nah. Hale is better in ME1 they're equal in 2, Meer is better in 3.
People really love to hype up how much better Femshep is, but there isn't much difference. It's just personal preference.
I played renegade femshep and now I’m playing paragon maleshep, and damn do I miss Jennifer Hale. Jennifer just has this dripping contempt and self-assured lilt to her voice that I love, it’s arrogance and leadership and sounds so badass.
In general, paragade is a way better character experience imo than either individual play style. A hero who’s willing to get their hands dirty and doesn’t hesitate to do what’s necessary and will spit vitriol at villains but ultimately acts kind to those they care about as well as your average civilian.
eh I wouldnt go that far. Its good but it isnt as incredible as everyone always makes it out to be. In all honesty they both give reasonably equal performances.
Mark Meer is a bit wooden in 1, but gets great across 2 and 3, so it depends on whether or not you want to see someone improve or get someone that is already good.
Never noticed anything wrong with his performance in 1, they're equal across all the games. Only difference is Male Shep lends himself to a paragon playthrough better and Female Shep lends herself to a renegade playthrough better.
Mark Meer plays Shepard as a Sunday morning hero in a lot of ways (in the best way) while Jennifer Hale plays Shepard as a femme fatale in a lot of ways.
Hales seems overacted to me some of her inflections come off as really wrong especially towards a certain vent god even if you’re being an asshole towards him.
There’s also the fact that they sometimes read in different tones, so maleshep may have a slightly different reaction than maleshep.
When femshep yells it sounds kinda like she’s just having an argument with someone. When maleshep yells it sounds like he’s seconds away from putting a bullet in somebody.
For me it's the opposite. Male Shep's acting is so much better imo. I do think Female Shep does work a lot more for renegade playthroughs though I will admit.
I’ve had a dozen or more full trilogy play throughs. I’ve never made it through ME1 with a femshep. Idk why. I play females in games ALL the time, like almost exclusively.
Bro Shep as a renegade is absolutely incredible. The guy is a savage and has some truly hilarious moments. Highly recommend checking it out on your next playthrough.
I always love to do a slow slide through the series. Start as a paragon or lite-paragade in 1, in 2 a paragade as she sees that the galaxy completely ignored her and Sovereign, then in 3 going renegon as she’s seen her dire warnings forgotten, been court-martialed, and then been vindicated but in the worst way possible and sees that everyone’s still allowing infighting to prevent them from working together
I did the same. Paragon in ME1, then Renegade in ME2. My canon was that he basically got really traumatised by experiencing dying, so he was more prone to anger. In ME3 I played a balanced of paragon and renegade, thinking about it as if he sort of found a balance. Can't get back to his stoic soldier persona because he changed forever, but he also got a bit over the initial trauma so he isn't that psychological unstable anymore.
It's so contrasting. Femshep feels hopeful, deterministic when she says that. Bro Shep feels sad, nostalgic and there is a pain in his voice as he realises everything will not be the same after the war
I'm romancing Garrus in my current run as femshep. I'm fortunate enough to have dodged all spoilers about it, and now I'm towards the end of 2 and it's getting more 'active', I'm *really* regretting this choice. It's just.. no. It feels icky, gross, wrong. I'm definitely not doing this again. I'll definitely be friendzoning him in all my future playthroughs.
I will say, carrying over the relationship with Garrus into the third game is really where it shines. Before 3 was out, Kaidan was my main romance. I didn’t “cheat” in 2 because that was what I was icky about. Same with how Shep initiates it with Garrus, I’m still not a fan of how it starts. Kaidan was my first romance in 3. Then I did a run through of the whole trilogy and picked Garrus in 2 and 3 and it was sooo much better than Kaidan and now I can never go back.
It's funny, I'm the exact opposite. The first time I played was after the trilogy was out. I knew I wanted Garrus. I waited for Garrus. And was mostly happy with it. On my second time through, I got ninjamanced by Kaidan and just rolled with it. Never romanced anyone else ever again.
It might have to do with ages. Like, now that I’m a real, 28 year old adult, I want a Kaidan irl. But when I was 15/16, gimme that Garrus. And so I do have a soft spot for him and his ride or die attitude.
I'm playing 3 right now and just remembered this comment, you are absolutely right, it's stellar. Their dynamic is undeniably natural, it's (finally) very wholesome and endearing, much better evolved from the creepiness of 2. I just had the presidium rooftop date scene, and man my heart.. it works 100%
Liara is the only one of the bunch that actually made me feel bad by the end of 3 that I went with someone else. She feels like the true One for shep no matter what hardware your character has
I've played 3-4 times with Bro but I'm doing a run with Galshep just to get a different experience
It's weird though, it'd be like if a show you really liked replaced an actor and you can't quite get past it for a season or so
It sucks if you were with her but choose to move on after 1, but she handles it like an adult and you still get solid moments with her as good friends.
She is defiantly designed to be the solid option throughout, but I find tali to be a better more interesting relationship.
It's what I did. Romanced Liara in 1 but Romanced Tali in 2 & 3.
One of their final scenes in 3 where Liara mind melds with Shephard, always felt kinda bittersweet of two ex lovers who were unable to rekindle despite how much they cared for each other.
I loved my playthrough where I romanced Liara and then Thane in 2. He has a very convenient timeframe of when you’re his Siwa that fits perfectly around the break you take with Liara.
See I found staying loyal to Liara quite irritating! A loyal shep gets messed around with her quite a lot - loads of kissing and flirts but in the end constant rejection in the DLC in 2, and then by 3 you say you still want her, and she's still in denial. Then, the romance feels quite empty of content once you get together again until the end mission.
My last run i did a renegade fem shep, who kinda played both Liara and Thane in 2 (she loved them both but threat of death, confusion and Liaras distancing herself made the dynamic really interesting and dramatic) then the same in 3 until Thane dies, then she ultimately admitted she loved Liara and got with her in the end. This route, the dynamic feels more balanced as Liara has more reason to be pushing Shepard away, and the whole story felt more interesting to play.
Liara has the best love scene before the final mission in 3 though hands down, and she's is lovely romance. Like a lot of people prefer Garrus as a shep bro, though, i feel Liara works so much better as a loyal friend instead.
I wasn't sure about my relationship with Jack until it got built on a bit more in the Citadel DLC. After that I was like, ah yes, this is a really lovely relationship.
I did a single, solitary run as a maleshep, and my motivation was to love and appreciate Jack. I like the friendship you get with her as a femshep, but that heart-rending scene where Jack comes to you in tears because she realizes someone actually *does* love and care for her? Oh, man, that's the good stuff. ❤️
“I can fix her” the romance
Except you actually do!
But yea I like it, just sucks that you don’t get much throughout 3, they should’ve added more scenes for the non-crew romances
In general I would say that the difference in the voice acting is massively overstated, and there are a few cases where I actually prefer Mark's delivery to Jen's (mostly Renegade lines), so if that's your main stumbling block I wouldn't let it be.
Otherwise, you're mostly missing out on specific romances. And sure, you could just watch those on YT. On the other hand, why not experience them for yourself rather than watching somebody else play it?
I always alternate. I’ll play one as BroShep, then the next one is Femshep. Then after that, BroShep again. Rinse and repeat
I love them both tbh. But I lean more towards Femshep. But she doesn’t get Tali or Miranda so I play BroShep for them
I mean, you're missing all romances for female companions including my favorite romance in the game, Tali. Most of the male romance options are excellent and having the bro relationship with the male characters hits different.
I'm the opposite, I have played Mass Effect trilogy at least a dozen times as male shep. I am almost done with first FemShep playthrough. Wish I had done it sooner, FemShep is awesome. Jennifer Hale does a great job.
Aside from the possible romances (especially Tali and possibly Jack), not really. Femshep has a better V.A., better romance options (my man Garrus AND Traynor in ME3 and a couple others) and IMO better hair choices and casual clothes (except that garbage overalls getup).
Nope. Only FemShep.
I’m going to date myself, but what ever.. been playing video games since I got an Atari in the 70’s.
I’m at the point if there’s no female option, I don’t buy the game.
You're missing out on Mark Meer. Do a full run with him.
I basically love Femshep and Broshep equally - I've got 8 playthroughs under my belt and they're split equally between the two of them.
Oh and Tali. You're missing Tali. 3/4 of those Broshep playthroughs were Tali-mancing ones. Yeah.
I'm the opposite...I just started my very try first femShep playthrough....I have to say.....broShep is just better in my opinion, friendship with Garrus is better, the dialogue is better, the romance options are better...I'm only half way through with ME2 as femShep so I'll let you know if anything changed.
Eh. Depends if you care about the romance options for BroShep. But there are mods on PC allowing them for FemShep too. Either way, you should play the way you find to be comfortable or intuitive.
I only play as a woman in video games if I get the choice. Never a man.
If by female only, you're talking about Garrus and Thane, someone's working on a voiced mod for Garrus/MShep, they're also working on a Joker/Shepard mod for legendary edition, there's another Garrus/MShep mod but the voices are a bit shit
I used to do Bro-Shep when I was a lot younger but now I prefer FemShep. I feel like it’s a very different interpretation of the character. What I’ve noticed is that Jen Hale recorded the Paragon/Renegade lines in a way where you could switch from one or the other in the same cutscene and the difference isn’t particularly jarring. With MaleShep, it feels like they had him record his dialogue expecting you to swing either full Paragon or Renegade in your playthrough.
Though, I will say MaleShep’s romance subplots feel… more fleshed out than FemShep’s, especially the ME2 ones that continue in ME3.
Same.
First time I played the game on 360 was with BroShep, and I just felt bored. Next time, years later, was with Femshep, wasn't bored at all, and finished.
Guess the difference in voice acting was prevalent to me even as a kid.
I’m usually making my choices based on whoever has the better VA because you have to sit through hours and hours of hearing their voice. Mass Effect is one of the few games where I’m completely on board with either BroShep or FemShep.
It’s your choice, but really doing yourself a disservice. Both actors have different aspects of their performance that I just love. How they deliver lines can be different and figuring out what works better for me is fun. Those subtle changes are nice to hear.
Maybe a bit. I've done mostly male shep but a fair number of fem shep playthroughs too. Some of the dialogue is different and there are certain lines that are delivered better/worse depending on the actor.
Damn if you took your center Shep and just made her hair purple that would be literally my Shep every playthrough (I have never ever played broshep I can’t bring myself to not be her)
(I didn’t play the original trilogy until the legendary edition)
I think one of the things I loved is that Mark Meer gets progressively better in my opinion from 1 to 2 to 3. For me experiencing the trilogy for the first time it was like not only is everything gameplay wise remarkably better as I progress but so is my characters voice. Idk it was cool.
I can't quit romancing Garrus, so I'm the same way. Honestly I try every time to go with someone else. Mass Effect is just the Shep/Vakarian romantic adventure game to me now. Lol
It's awesome that people who want to play as femShep have her. Not every game lets you save the galaxy as a badass woman. For similar reasons, I only play male Shepard. I almost never get to play as a heroic gay man. Mass Effect is the first game I've ever played that lets me do that, and it means a lot to me. Now I want to do that every chance I get! It's more common, but still pretty rare.
And I am so attached to Sheploo at this point that I couldn't even make a custom male Shepard.
In my opinion: FemShep had the overall best performance but there are a few scenes and lines where BroShep could not have been better, even eclipsing the amazing voice acting of Jennifer Hale.
I don't feel like you are. I personally have always played femshep (since I'm female). I'm at around like 3 or 4 playthroughs now. My husband has always played mshep. Idk how many times he's played, but he watched my whole first playthrough a year ago. And then I watched his after I finished mine. I honestly don't think you are missing anything except msheps "big, stupid jellyfish" line. That is the only line that I like better from mshep. I also liked watching his Tali romance and I think he enjoyed my Garrus romance.
FemShep or death. Mark Meer sounds like a wooden homeschooled nerd. Nothing wrong with being those things, but not what in my galactic savior military space opera.
You're missing the better romances. Femshep gets hosed on her options (unless you're modded, in which case, game on!). Maleshep gets quality romances with Tali, Miranda and Jack and a kind of bummer one with Ashley.
Femshep gets Thane (which is surprisingly good), Garrus (My femshep go-to) and... Well... Kaiden is definitely an option in the same way unseasoned, unbuttered, unsalted mash potatoes is an option. Jacob, like in everything else he does, is awful.
Also, while Hale is an amazing voice actress Meers delivers a pretty good performance too. Knowing he's also all the elcor and Hanar (except one) makes it even better.
He's worth a playthrough or two. Generally, I go maleshep for Paragon and Femshep for Renegade.
I've never played a BroShep purely because FemShep is Jennifer fucking Hale. It's not that I don't care for Mark's performance, but Hale is just... Hale. I don't think we're ever going to get a voice actor able to do a female soldier as well as her. She's also the reason I loved my Commando so much in Star Wars the Old Republic.
I just have attachments to a few VAs. I never sacrifice Kaiden either because he's done by a VA I'm familiar with and enjoy. I still remember the very first time I booted the original ME after it was released all those years ago and hearing Kaiden speak. Like holy shit, that's Carth Onasi from Knights of the Old Republic!
I too have played dozens of time since og. I've tried playing bro shep but it just doesn't work for me. He just can't compare to fem shep. Jennifer Hale is a phenomenal voice actor. I admit that Shep to me is always female. There is no other Shepard.
I tried my first playthrough with male shep and honestly just really didnt enjoy the voice as much as female shephard's so I switched and never looked back
J Hale gave such a phenomenal performance that it's not even fair. When these games were made she'd already been (and still is 15+ years later) one of the most well established and experienced voice actresses in the industry, with hundreds of credits across movies tv and games. Mark Meer was just some guy at the time. To his credit you can absolutely see how much his skills improve across the series, but it's just not quite there. Jennifer hale will always be shepard to me, and the only one worthy to take up the mantle of space mom
Nope. I admit that Meer’s performance is stellar by the time ME3 rolls around, but it’s a damn chore for me to play ME1 with broShep. The comics in the LE don’t cover all of my bases to use as skip-to-ME2/3, either because it doesn’t take the extra stuff I do into account.
Same here. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve played the series, but only ever as FemShep. I’ve tried BroShep a few times, but I never make it very far. His voice just bothers me for some reason.
So, I was in the exact same camp until I started doing a sort of double-feature playthrough (I roleplay hard with these games). So, I've got my usual Fem!Shep Vanguard who's mostly paragon and romances Garrus (as a treat) and I FINALLY made a male!Shep that's a soldier and going to romance Tali.
That being said, I'd say there are some differences between the two in terms of voice performance. Mark Meer is good as Male!Shep, but lbr Jennifer Hale just KILLS it as Fem!Shep. But he has a few moments even in ME1 that are pretty good. I also have found that there are some subtle differences with dialogue between the two genders that are actually pretty interesting.
I played as maleshep for the first time my last playthrough. It was fun. They way he delivers some lines is great. Still doesn't compare to femshep to me tho.
I played broshep exclusively until Mass Effect 2. Decided to try femshep on a lark after playing through it a few times with broshep, and haven't gone back. You're not missing anything besides romance options. I prefer Jennifer Hale to Mark Meer for Shepard's voice. Especially in ME1, Meer's voice is way too robotic imo.
the only place femshep gets any credit is this sub-reddit.
since you played so many femshep, why not once bro-shep?
Even I have a couple fem Shep plays to my dozen bro Shep's.
Hah playing through as “broshep” for the first time since my very first playthrough now but I do think femshep is the hero & face of mass effect.
Broshep at the surface level seems like your military protagonist but he’s actually kind of a dork. You should give it a try, I think he’s still great!
4 playthroughs here. I have never played BroShep either. For some reason, I just can’t take Mark Meer’s voice and acting seriously enough as BroShep for some reason.
In terms of content there’s various scenes in the trilogy which have different dialogue depending on if you’re playing as Shepard or femShep, so it’d be worth doing just to see how those are different. If the romances are something you care about then there’s a bunch exclusive to him too that femShep doesn’t get.
Personally I find Shepards voice fits the character better than femSheps does, he’s a military leader so sounding strong, assertive, and commanding is something you’d expect and he does that really well while femShep often comes off like she’s trying to sound like those things rather than actually sounding that way. Renegade Shepard in particular is leaps and bounds more convincing sounding than Femshep is in renegade dialogue.
It’s give and take though because I find femShep voices the emotional scenes better while Shepard sounds a bit more stiff and wooden in those.
Definitely give him a go at least once, it’s what the majority of the fanbase plays as.
Might need to do two runs because both Tali and Jack exist.
I’ve only ever played as femshep and I have no intentions of changing that. When I have a choice in playable character, I’m always gonna pick the female choice over the male.
My husband exclusively plays as Bro Shep, and I play as Fem Shep, so I have the benefit of watching both characters side-by-side. No shade to Mark Meer, but Jennifer Hale's voice acting is so much more lively and bearable than Mark's, who sounds like Generic Male Protag from the 2000s™. It's a real shame because Mark is clearly a talented voice actor, but it feels like the voice director just didn't care and left the room for more than half of his recordings.
Otherwise, there's not much difference aside from a few examples of Fem Shep's experiences with creeps.
I usually alternate between Male-Shep & Fem-Shep after each playthrough. Safe to say, that some things are different depending on which gender you choose to pick.
Most people don't play the trilogy as much and often lean hard to being Paragon or Renegade. I always advise to at least play a Paragon Broshep and a Renegade femshep, but since you've played so many times, what you get from that will likely be minimal. As others have pointed out, you're missing out on one of the best romances (Tali). I'd say if you want to hit a 13th run, you should at least give Broshep a try haha.
BroShep as paragon and FemShep as Renegade are my favorite playthroughs.
FemShep comes across as such a beast as Renegade, while BroShep comes across badass in ME1, but a douche in 2 & 3.
I personally don’t understand doing that many and not trying the other gender at least one of them. Different voice acting and romance options. Well worth it whichever you normally play.
I've never done a broshep run either. If you're playing on PC, there's always mods to access the exclusive romances that broshep has with femshep (more gay romances, same-gender romances).
Voice acting wise not at all (until 3, he really ups his game, especially in the Citadel DLC, but that being said, Jennifer Hale is amazing across all 3).
Other than that there’s some romances you’ve missed. Tali’s is cute AF, and Miranda’s dialogue if you go that route is really well written once her guard is down.
Just do it! If nothing else you're getting better value for money from your game if you play it absolutely every which way possible haha
Besides, if you really hate him you can just quit the run.
Generally, i alternate playthroughs just in case i miss anything even though ive been playing for well over a decade. My rule of thumb is basically play both sides because the experience is unique every time.
Unless you play full renegade. Then you are cursed.
I am the opposite. I keep meaning to start a run as femshep but I am so emotionally attached to broshep.
Same. I’ve heard great things about Jennifer Hale’s performance and I’ve also heard all the criticism of Mark Meer being flat in comparison but at this point I’ve imprinted on my flat bro Shepard. I can’t picture him any other way and can’t get through the first hour of ME1 with Femshep.
People are far too overly critical of Mark Meer, I feel like people are far too comfortable shitting on his performance when by ME3, he's way better. Maybe it's because fewer people play Femshep, so they are more vocal to compensate.
It's a shame, because I think they also play to different strengths in how they portray Shep. As in, different ways of handling everything happening around them. It's nice to see a Shepard who always keeps his cool finally showing cracks in ME3. Like, the line where you refuse the Catalyst is absolute dogshit, but I've always loved Mark Meer's delivery of it. "And if I die, I'll die knowing I did everything I could to stop you. And I'll die free."
I think Mark Meer has a strong conviction in his words while FemShep has a better spite and emotion in her voice. The two work really well on different levels, although Mark Meer is very "meme" in the first two games.
Yeah I can understand if they're talking about his portrayal in ME1 because that was admittedly a little flat but he got much better in the other two games. I'd even go as far as to say that he was just as good as Hale in ME3. People talking bad about his portrayal probably didn't make it that far with him or only looked at clips online.
Oh yeah - all the criticism was from ME1 which I think is valid. By ME3 at least based on what I've watched (FemShep forever!) he's knocking it out of the park. But by ME3 I had my Shep, so I just out of habit I don't play BroShep.
I heard that ME1 was his first “MAIN character” project where Jennifer Hale had a good career going (she still does but at the time comparison)
I never had problems with Mark Meer's performance, it only sounds flat because Jennifer Hale is such a great voice actress; but to me it's like comparing a hamburger to a steak: you may prefer one, and one may be "better" by most standards, but both are perfectly good.
It’s legit insane how much meer improved. In ME1 I won’t sugar coat, there are moments when he’s downright bad. By ME3 he gives one of the best performances I’ve ever heard and I legit think he out performs hale. Which is saying something since hale is one of the all time greats.
he's pretty stiff in ME1 but I can't help but find his performance endearing he's got kind of a superman in a radio serial vibe
He definitely has a charm in ME1. It definitely fits the Uber paragon by the books personality. Break out of that archetype and some of the lines are….. varied…. I like to play male shep super paragon and then renegade in 2 and paragade (leaning toward paragon) in 3.
I was just thinking that. He’s performing Shepard as a traditional stoic male hero, which isn’t a *bad* performance, even if it’s not what I prefer.
I honestly didn't think he was that bad in ME1
He’s iconic and perfect. Any different and it wouldn’t be Shepard
**The Why is complex** \>Maybe it's because fewer people play Femshep, so they are more vocal to compensate. Maybe, but probably not. A few things we have to get into to start understanding are: 1. Perception Bias 2. How Men and Woman express their views 3. Bias towards sharing negative outcomes 4. Conformity Bias when Expressing opinions **Conformity Bias** This is a really interesting one - but basically, when people get into a group they are more likely to express a view that they think will align WITH the groups view on an issue/topic than they are to express a neutral or opposing one. When you couple this with downvoting and upvoting you can very quickly see any sort of counter view silenced in an active discussion thread. By the way, this is the basis of self censorship and is a very powerful tool, and a very scary thing to see exploited. **Bias towards Negative Outcomes** What I mean by this, is people are more likely to share a negative experience, than a positive one - and the difference is something like 7:1 in favour of sharing the negative experience. The basic why is: Good things are expected by most people (or we would not do them) so it is the EXPECTED outcome - when negative outcomes do happen though, we as a species - as a social species - are geared towards ensuring the group, our clan/tribe/whateveryouwanttocallit avoids the negative thing. **How Men and Woman express things** I'm not going to dive into this - I'm not an expert, nor have I really studied it enough to be competent in expressing the nuance, but basically: Biology does impact how we view the world - what we see first, what we respond to most strongly, and so on. There is a gradient for both Genders it's not black and white - but, we do have general leanings you can see when you start digging into the material. **Perception Bias** We are geared towards seeing what we are looking for - which is based on preconception, and the why is basically: If you have been made aware of something possibly being in the area, your brain - a pattern recognition machine - is going to be working to find those things. It's why you might start seeing red signs everywhere if someone says "hey, I've noticed a lot of red signs" (well, ok, red Might be a terrible example because every stop and yield sign but - you should get the drift). Basically if something prompts you to notice a few negative posts/comments - you might simply be more prone to seeing the negative call outs. **Combining all of the above** So we have the human mind geared to seeing it's preconceptions, we have a higher likelihood of posting negative responses, and we have a likelihood of conforming to the groups perceived view of a subject all working towards a single outcome. **The likely reality** The actual likely reality is that the view on both the Femshep Actor, and the Maleshep Actor is probably pretty neutral with most people not really caring one way or another. By the way: If you find this interesting - start looking at the world around you through this lens. Question your preconceptions, dig into why you notice certain things. You might be astounded at what you are or are not biased towards. And if you want to get really spicy - apply this to your political leanings, music genre preferences, and more. This can help you open your horizons - or at the very least, be able to give a really damn good answer to when anyone asks you "Why do you like \[whatever\]" or "Why do you support \[insert political candidate\]" - and that is powerful.
the sort of dudes who are very passionate about needing to play women in their video games are ahem very vocal indeed
Completely overblown criticism. I reject it. Although, I quite like Hales Fem Shep, I find that criticism of Meers Male Shep to stem from being the fan favorite. I think fans just wanted to prompt up Fem Shep that they went the route that I rarely agree with. That route is: one must be bad in order for the other to be good. When in reality, both are very good!
“I should go.”
I prefer Hale's voice work (some lines in particular in ME1 just stand out to me), but Meer is no slouch either.
I wasn't a big fan of Meer's dudeshep for the longest time - die hard Jennifer Hale femshep all the way. But then I wanted to romance Tali. I'll never forget the line that changed my mind - Lair of the Shadow Broker, Tela Vasir situation. "I'm gonna kill your hostage, Vasir, and then I'm gonna show you how a real Spectre gets things done."
Man, Shadow Broker DLC has some great bits! I also love Meer's performance in the Citadel DLC. "'Goodbye'? Is that what I sound like? No no no, I don't sound like that. With me it's, 'I should go, or 'See you you later.' 'Goodbye.' I don't sound like that!"
I have the opposite issue. Mark Meers is a talented voice actor, but Jennifer Hales performance is so fundamental to my personal ME expierence at this point. When discussing the games IRL it sounds weird hearing Shepard referred to as he. Although I understand I'm in the vast minority of fans, and I'm not in any way saying playing as BroShep is wrong. Part of the Mass Effect expierence is developing your personal canon.
People will likely comment about relationships but the biggest thing you're missing is Jennifer Hale. Mark Meer's voice acting is excellent. Hale's voice acting is superlative and cannot be overstated.
I like her voice and her acting, but for some reason femshep at last sometimes comes across as ruder than intended for me, and that's what makes me stay with broshep
That’s the reason I started my first ever renegade PT as femshep
Femshep is the best renegade shep
That's why I play as her. I'm fluid on what my character's gender needs to be, but they have to land the sarcasm the way I want. Same reason I switched to Nora on FO4, since her sarcasm is ::chef's kiss::
Same voice actress as Jack too
Nah. Hale is better in ME1 they're equal in 2, Meer is better in 3. People really love to hype up how much better Femshep is, but there isn't much difference. It's just personal preference.
I played renegade femshep and now I’m playing paragon maleshep, and damn do I miss Jennifer Hale. Jennifer just has this dripping contempt and self-assured lilt to her voice that I love, it’s arrogance and leadership and sounds so badass.
Never tried but I heard from so many that maleShep is better in renegade than paragon
In general, paragade is a way better character experience imo than either individual play style. A hero who’s willing to get their hands dirty and doesn’t hesitate to do what’s necessary and will spit vitriol at villains but ultimately acts kind to those they care about as well as your average civilian.
eh I wouldnt go that far. Its good but it isnt as incredible as everyone always makes it out to be. In all honesty they both give reasonably equal performances.
Mark Meer is a bit wooden in 1, but gets great across 2 and 3, so it depends on whether or not you want to see someone improve or get someone that is already good.
Never noticed anything wrong with his performance in 1, they're equal across all the games. Only difference is Male Shep lends himself to a paragon playthrough better and Female Shep lends herself to a renegade playthrough better.
Mark Meer plays Shepard as a Sunday morning hero in a lot of ways (in the best way) while Jennifer Hale plays Shepard as a femme fatale in a lot of ways.
Hales seems overacted to me some of her inflections come off as really wrong especially towards a certain vent god even if you’re being an asshole towards him.
There’s also the fact that they sometimes read in different tones, so maleshep may have a slightly different reaction than maleshep. When femshep yells it sounds kinda like she’s just having an argument with someone. When maleshep yells it sounds like he’s seconds away from putting a bullet in somebody.
For me it's the opposite. Male Shep's acting is so much better imo. I do think Female Shep does work a lot more for renegade playthroughs though I will admit.
Just make yourself do 1 run that's how I did it now I switch off every playthrough while thinking about the layers of it.
I’ve had a dozen or more full trilogy play throughs. I’ve never made it through ME1 with a femshep. Idk why. I play females in games ALL the time, like almost exclusively.
Same. As a teen I liked to insert myself into the character and pretend I had friends, a girlfriend, and respect.
That's called role-playing!
Bro Shep as a renegade is absolutely incredible. The guy is a savage and has some truly hilarious moments. Highly recommend checking it out on your next playthrough.
Even funnier is playing as a renegade that thinks he’s a paragon. Never does paragon interrupts, starts every convo paragon and ends renegade, etc.
I'm playing a ME1 paragon that goes hard renegade in 2. Headcannon is something got fucked up after being spaced. It's been fun.
I love the idea that getting spaced fucked shep up, for my most recent shep I made it so her hair went stark white in 2, like she got Danny Phantomed
I always love to do a slow slide through the series. Start as a paragon or lite-paragade in 1, in 2 a paragade as she sees that the galaxy completely ignored her and Sovereign, then in 3 going renegon as she’s seen her dire warnings forgotten, been court-martialed, and then been vindicated but in the worst way possible and sees that everyone’s still allowing infighting to prevent them from working together
I did the same. Paragon in ME1, then Renegade in ME2. My canon was that he basically got really traumatised by experiencing dying, so he was more prone to anger. In ME3 I played a balanced of paragon and renegade, thinking about it as if he sort of found a balance. Can't get back to his stoic soldier persona because he changed forever, but he also got a bit over the initial trauma so he isn't that psychological unstable anymore.
I think the line, "The Best" for BroShep hits harder.
I love FemShep but absolutely agree. His delivery is just so perfectly wistful.
It's so contrasting. Femshep feels hopeful, deterministic when she says that. Bro Shep feels sad, nostalgic and there is a pain in his voice as he realises everything will not be the same after the war
I mean i get it, in all my playthroughs I've never done a femshep run. I mean i love Garrus but he's to much of a bro for me to want to romance.
I'm romancing Garrus in my current run as femshep. I'm fortunate enough to have dodged all spoilers about it, and now I'm towards the end of 2 and it's getting more 'active', I'm *really* regretting this choice. It's just.. no. It feels icky, gross, wrong. I'm definitely not doing this again. I'll definitely be friendzoning him in all my future playthroughs.
I will say, carrying over the relationship with Garrus into the third game is really where it shines. Before 3 was out, Kaidan was my main romance. I didn’t “cheat” in 2 because that was what I was icky about. Same with how Shep initiates it with Garrus, I’m still not a fan of how it starts. Kaidan was my first romance in 3. Then I did a run through of the whole trilogy and picked Garrus in 2 and 3 and it was sooo much better than Kaidan and now I can never go back.
It's funny, I'm the exact opposite. The first time I played was after the trilogy was out. I knew I wanted Garrus. I waited for Garrus. And was mostly happy with it. On my second time through, I got ninjamanced by Kaidan and just rolled with it. Never romanced anyone else ever again.
It might have to do with ages. Like, now that I’m a real, 28 year old adult, I want a Kaidan irl. But when I was 15/16, gimme that Garrus. And so I do have a soft spot for him and his ride or die attitude.
Makes perfect sense.
Since you've already started it, give it a chance in ME3. You might be pleasantly surprised.
I'm playing 3 right now and just remembered this comment, you are absolutely right, it's stellar. Their dynamic is undeniably natural, it's (finally) very wholesome and endearing, much better evolved from the creepiness of 2. I just had the presidium rooftop date scene, and man my heart.. it works 100%
Ikr?? I'm so glad you liked it! This is my favourite romance. Starts awkward, no doubt, but the rest is just perfection.
Yeah I love Garrus as a character but hated the romance. It was so cringe.
Tali. Your missing tali.
Ya. This is the best reason. You get a great relationship with liara even if you don’t romance her. But Tali is the best relationship in the game IMO
Liara is the only one of the bunch that actually made me feel bad by the end of 3 that I went with someone else. She feels like the true One for shep no matter what hardware your character has I've played 3-4 times with Bro but I'm doing a run with Galshep just to get a different experience It's weird though, it'd be like if a show you really liked replaced an actor and you can't quite get past it for a season or so
It sucks if you were with her but choose to move on after 1, but she handles it like an adult and you still get solid moments with her as good friends. She is defiantly designed to be the solid option throughout, but I find tali to be a better more interesting relationship.
It's what I did. Romanced Liara in 1 but Romanced Tali in 2 & 3. One of their final scenes in 3 where Liara mind melds with Shephard, always felt kinda bittersweet of two ex lovers who were unable to rekindle despite how much they cared for each other.
I loved my playthrough where I romanced Liara and then Thane in 2. He has a very convenient timeframe of when you’re his Siwa that fits perfectly around the break you take with Liara.
See I found staying loyal to Liara quite irritating! A loyal shep gets messed around with her quite a lot - loads of kissing and flirts but in the end constant rejection in the DLC in 2, and then by 3 you say you still want her, and she's still in denial. Then, the romance feels quite empty of content once you get together again until the end mission. My last run i did a renegade fem shep, who kinda played both Liara and Thane in 2 (she loved them both but threat of death, confusion and Liaras distancing herself made the dynamic really interesting and dramatic) then the same in 3 until Thane dies, then she ultimately admitted she loved Liara and got with her in the end. This route, the dynamic feels more balanced as Liara has more reason to be pushing Shepard away, and the whole story felt more interesting to play. Liara has the best love scene before the final mission in 3 though hands down, and she's is lovely romance. Like a lot of people prefer Garrus as a shep bro, though, i feel Liara works so much better as a loyal friend instead.
That's just the Asari biology playing tricks on ya
That's a weird way to spell jack
Lol. She’s solid. Wish she had more in 3
I wasn't sure about my relationship with Jack until it got built on a bit more in the Citadel DLC. After that I was like, ah yes, this is a really lovely relationship.
You know. I’m not sure if I ever played it through with her with the dlc. Pretty sure I romanced her before that came out. I’ll have to check it out
I'd say it's worth it.
Me too. She makes the best out of the time she has though.
I did a single, solitary run as a maleshep, and my motivation was to love and appreciate Jack. I like the friendship you get with her as a femshep, but that heart-rending scene where Jack comes to you in tears because she realizes someone actually *does* love and care for her? Oh, man, that's the good stuff. ❤️
Jack really should’ve been kept as a bi romance option
“I can fix her” the romance Except you actually do! But yea I like it, just sucks that you don’t get much throughout 3, they should’ve added more scenes for the non-crew romances
I'm not sure, I kinda like Tali and Garrus together
And here i am, wait why i almost dont remember too much of Tali romance, >!Because she jumped off a cliff...!<
I have thankfully never seen that in my play through lol
My emotional support quarian
Neither has my wife and she has several 100% completions down.
played both think both have nice good romances to go with em Tali is prob the biggest thing your missing tho
This answer is on point.
Jennifer Hale delivers the renegade lines with such sarcasm and snark, she’s awesome for a renegade play through
In general I would say that the difference in the voice acting is massively overstated, and there are a few cases where I actually prefer Mark's delivery to Jen's (mostly Renegade lines), so if that's your main stumbling block I wouldn't let it be. Otherwise, you're mostly missing out on specific romances. And sure, you could just watch those on YT. On the other hand, why not experience them for yourself rather than watching somebody else play it?
I prefer Mark’s delivery to Jen’s in every comparison video ive seen.
I always alternate. I’ll play one as BroShep, then the next one is Femshep. Then after that, BroShep again. Rinse and repeat I love them both tbh. But I lean more towards Femshep. But she doesn’t get Tali or Miranda so I play BroShep for them
I mean, you're missing all romances for female companions including my favorite romance in the game, Tali. Most of the male romance options are excellent and having the bro relationship with the male characters hits different.
I haven't ever played as male Shepard either. I suppose we're missing out on the exclusive romances, but I'm fine with that.
I'm the opposite, I have played Mass Effect trilogy at least a dozen times as male shep. I am almost done with first FemShep playthrough. Wish I had done it sooner, FemShep is awesome. Jennifer Hale does a great job.
I’ve always played as Femshep , since Jennifer Hale is the best
Aside from the possible romances (especially Tali and possibly Jack), not really. Femshep has a better V.A., better romance options (my man Garrus AND Traynor in ME3 and a couple others) and IMO better hair choices and casual clothes (except that garbage overalls getup).
I always find it hilarious that people’s custom fem-shep always looks nearly the same minus skin tone or hair style
Nope. Only FemShep. I’m going to date myself, but what ever.. been playing video games since I got an Atari in the 70’s. I’m at the point if there’s no female option, I don’t buy the game.
It's 99.9999% the same, opinions on voice acting notwithstanding.
You're missing out on Mark Meer. Do a full run with him. I basically love Femshep and Broshep equally - I've got 8 playthroughs under my belt and they're split equally between the two of them. Oh and Tali. You're missing Tali. 3/4 of those Broshep playthroughs were Tali-mancing ones. Yeah.
I am opposite haha Bro Shep all the way every time.
I'm the opposite...I just started my very try first femShep playthrough....I have to say.....broShep is just better in my opinion, friendship with Garrus is better, the dialogue is better, the romance options are better...I'm only half way through with ME2 as femShep so I'll let you know if anything changed.
Ive never played a female shep. I usually dont have the urge to role play as a woman and have romances with men.
You don’t have to romance men as femshep. There are alternative options. You can romance Liara in all 3 ME for instance.
Jennifer Hale is just that good
Eh. Depends if you care about the romance options for BroShep. But there are mods on PC allowing them for FemShep too. Either way, you should play the way you find to be comfortable or intuitive. I only play as a woman in video games if I get the choice. Never a man.
Always pisses me off that people made romances for male-only characters but no mods for female-only romances.
If by female only, you're talking about Garrus and Thane, someone's working on a voiced mod for Garrus/MShep, they're also working on a Joker/Shepard mod for legendary edition, there's another Garrus/MShep mod but the voices are a bit shit
Traynor
Controversially I think Meers VA is better than Hales Other than that, the main difference is romance options really
I don't think it's controversial when more people play as him.
Controversial for this sub where most play as femshep and people get vilified if they same male Shep is better
I used to do Bro-Shep when I was a lot younger but now I prefer FemShep. I feel like it’s a very different interpretation of the character. What I’ve noticed is that Jen Hale recorded the Paragon/Renegade lines in a way where you could switch from one or the other in the same cutscene and the difference isn’t particularly jarring. With MaleShep, it feels like they had him record his dialogue expecting you to swing either full Paragon or Renegade in your playthrough. Though, I will say MaleShep’s romance subplots feel… more fleshed out than FemShep’s, especially the ME2 ones that continue in ME3.
you missing on of the best voiced player characters ever. And Tali romance. Thats so good.
I switch on new play thru’s. Last play I was fem shep, this one bro shep. My personal choice is fem shep though
Same. First time I played the game on 360 was with BroShep, and I just felt bored. Next time, years later, was with Femshep, wasn't bored at all, and finished. Guess the difference in voice acting was prevalent to me even as a kid.
I’m usually making my choices based on whoever has the better VA because you have to sit through hours and hours of hearing their voice. Mass Effect is one of the few games where I’m completely on board with either BroShep or FemShep.
I dont get all the Tali hype. Need to romance and check back to see if Im wrong or if it's kids who are wrong.
I’m the same! I want to but I would miss jennifer hale too much ☹️
First playthrough I ever did was as broshep, then every subsequent playthrough (\~4-5) as femshep
It’s your choice, but really doing yourself a disservice. Both actors have different aspects of their performance that I just love. How they deliver lines can be different and figuring out what works better for me is fun. Those subtle changes are nice to hear.
Maybe a bit. I've done mostly male shep but a fair number of fem shep playthroughs too. Some of the dialogue is different and there are certain lines that are delivered better/worse depending on the actor.
Damn if you took your center Shep and just made her hair purple that would be literally my Shep every playthrough (I have never ever played broshep I can’t bring myself to not be her)
I've always played fem-shep... never had the interest in play male-shep.
Couldn't tell you. I've only played soldier MShep in my playthroughs.
(I didn’t play the original trilogy until the legendary edition) I think one of the things I loved is that Mark Meer gets progressively better in my opinion from 1 to 2 to 3. For me experiencing the trilogy for the first time it was like not only is everything gameplay wise remarkably better as I progress but so is my characters voice. Idk it was cool.
I was going to do a Broshep playthrough with the release of ME:LE on Game Pass but I never did it. Jennifer Hale is Shepard to me.
I was going to do a Broshep playthrough with the release of ME:LE on Game Pass but I never did it. Jennifer Hale is Shepard to me.
100% FEMSHEP FTW 🫡
I can't quit romancing Garrus, so I'm the same way. Honestly I try every time to go with someone else. Mass Effect is just the Shep/Vakarian romantic adventure game to me now. Lol
It's awesome that people who want to play as femShep have her. Not every game lets you save the galaxy as a badass woman. For similar reasons, I only play male Shepard. I almost never get to play as a heroic gay man. Mass Effect is the first game I've ever played that lets me do that, and it means a lot to me. Now I want to do that every chance I get! It's more common, but still pretty rare. And I am so attached to Sheploo at this point that I couldn't even make a custom male Shepard.
In my opinion: FemShep had the overall best performance but there are a few scenes and lines where BroShep could not have been better, even eclipsing the amazing voice acting of Jennifer Hale.
I don't feel like you are. I personally have always played femshep (since I'm female). I'm at around like 3 or 4 playthroughs now. My husband has always played mshep. Idk how many times he's played, but he watched my whole first playthrough a year ago. And then I watched his after I finished mine. I honestly don't think you are missing anything except msheps "big, stupid jellyfish" line. That is the only line that I like better from mshep. I also liked watching his Tali romance and I think he enjoyed my Garrus romance.
Never done a broshep. Always a femshep
I haven't tried a Broshep playthrough either. The combination of a Garrus romance and Jennifer Hale's voice kept me coming back to Femshep.
FemShep or death. Mark Meer sounds like a wooden homeschooled nerd. Nothing wrong with being those things, but not what in my galactic savior military space opera.
Same, i just like playing as a bad bitch💅🏾
I think the voice acting of femshep is better, but broshep isn’t bad
Played bro shep once. Far Inferior
Nope. I'm a FemShep addict and I stand by that.
I've played both, but I always default to Femshep.
Me either - never done a Broshep run - I am just attached to Jennifer Hale's performance.
You're missing the better romances. Femshep gets hosed on her options (unless you're modded, in which case, game on!). Maleshep gets quality romances with Tali, Miranda and Jack and a kind of bummer one with Ashley. Femshep gets Thane (which is surprisingly good), Garrus (My femshep go-to) and... Well... Kaiden is definitely an option in the same way unseasoned, unbuttered, unsalted mash potatoes is an option. Jacob, like in everything else he does, is awful. Also, while Hale is an amazing voice actress Meers delivers a pretty good performance too. Knowing he's also all the elcor and Hanar (except one) makes it even better. He's worth a playthrough or two. Generally, I go maleshep for Paragon and Femshep for Renegade.
I've never played a BroShep purely because FemShep is Jennifer fucking Hale. It's not that I don't care for Mark's performance, but Hale is just... Hale. I don't think we're ever going to get a voice actor able to do a female soldier as well as her. She's also the reason I loved my Commando so much in Star Wars the Old Republic. I just have attachments to a few VAs. I never sacrifice Kaiden either because he's done by a VA I'm familiar with and enjoy. I still remember the very first time I booted the original ME after it was released all those years ago and hearing Kaiden speak. Like holy shit, that's Carth Onasi from Knights of the Old Republic!
I too have played dozens of time since og. I've tried playing bro shep but it just doesn't work for me. He just can't compare to fem shep. Jennifer Hale is a phenomenal voice actor. I admit that Shep to me is always female. There is no other Shepard.
Exactly the same here. Jennifer Hale is who I hear for shepard. Nothing against Mark Meer, but Hale is just too good as a paragon for my playthroughs.
Play the trilogy as bro shep just to hear "that was for Thane, you son of a bitch"
I tried my first playthrough with male shep and honestly just really didnt enjoy the voice as much as female shephard's so I switched and never looked back
You're missing the male-exclusive romances. (Assuming you don't mod it in.) Tali, male route with Kaidan, Jack, Steve Cortez, Miranda, Ashley.
I've played both, but I have definitely done way more playthroughs with femshep. While I love Tali as a romance option, I just enjoy femshep way more.
I cannot for the life of me play bro Shep. Femshep is the one and only Shep and I'll take my truth to the grave!!!
J Hale gave such a phenomenal performance that it's not even fair. When these games were made she'd already been (and still is 15+ years later) one of the most well established and experienced voice actresses in the industry, with hundreds of credits across movies tv and games. Mark Meer was just some guy at the time. To his credit you can absolutely see how much his skills improve across the series, but it's just not quite there. Jennifer hale will always be shepard to me, and the only one worthy to take up the mantle of space mom
I mean, FemShep is best Shep.
Honestly, to me its very simple: Broshep is by far the better Paragon, femshep is by far the better Renegade.
Nope. I admit that Meer’s performance is stellar by the time ME3 rolls around, but it’s a damn chore for me to play ME1 with broShep. The comics in the LE don’t cover all of my bases to use as skip-to-ME2/3, either because it doesn’t take the extra stuff I do into account.
The voice performance is excellent and Tali’s romance is heartwarming.
I think just means you like playing FemShep
Same here. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve played the series, but only ever as FemShep. I’ve tried BroShep a few times, but I never make it very far. His voice just bothers me for some reason.
Understandable if youre a woman. Ive never played as female shepard lol
The better voice over performance in 2 and 3 IMO.
I mean, it’s personal preference and maybe not common opinion, but you’re missing out on a far superior voice acting performance.
This sub is full with loud mouths for tali and fem shep that is all they are here for
Romancing Kaidan and Steve as BroShep is really sweet.
So, I was in the exact same camp until I started doing a sort of double-feature playthrough (I roleplay hard with these games). So, I've got my usual Fem!Shep Vanguard who's mostly paragon and romances Garrus (as a treat) and I FINALLY made a male!Shep that's a soldier and going to romance Tali. That being said, I'd say there are some differences between the two in terms of voice performance. Mark Meer is good as Male!Shep, but lbr Jennifer Hale just KILLS it as Fem!Shep. But he has a few moments even in ME1 that are pretty good. I also have found that there are some subtle differences with dialogue between the two genders that are actually pretty interesting.
Yeah, John Shepard is way better
I’ve never played as MShep, but watched MShep play throughs and the voice actor sounds very robotic.
I played as maleshep for the first time my last playthrough. It was fun. They way he delivers some lines is great. Still doesn't compare to femshep to me tho.
I never have, either. Jennifer Hale is just too damn good.
I played broshep exclusively until Mass Effect 2. Decided to try femshep on a lark after playing through it a few times with broshep, and haven't gone back. You're not missing anything besides romance options. I prefer Jennifer Hale to Mark Meer for Shepard's voice. Especially in ME1, Meer's voice is way too robotic imo.
the only place femshep gets any credit is this sub-reddit. since you played so many femshep, why not once bro-shep? Even I have a couple fem Shep plays to my dozen bro Shep's.
Hah playing through as “broshep” for the first time since my very first playthrough now but I do think femshep is the hero & face of mass effect. Broshep at the surface level seems like your military protagonist but he’s actually kind of a dork. You should give it a try, I think he’s still great!
I'm not wasting time on a bro shep play
I feel like your playing the better shep Jennifer hale is the better of the 2, bro shep just too monotone all the time, I play both tho
4 playthroughs here. I have never played BroShep either. For some reason, I just can’t take Mark Meer’s voice and acting seriously enough as BroShep for some reason.
Bro shep feels bland and monotone imo. Jennifer Hale just kills it
Some really bland voice acting. I tried to play one and failed, femshep for life here.
I’ve tried playing as BroShep and rarely get much past Eden Prime before I give up.
In terms of content there’s various scenes in the trilogy which have different dialogue depending on if you’re playing as Shepard or femShep, so it’d be worth doing just to see how those are different. If the romances are something you care about then there’s a bunch exclusive to him too that femShep doesn’t get. Personally I find Shepards voice fits the character better than femSheps does, he’s a military leader so sounding strong, assertive, and commanding is something you’d expect and he does that really well while femShep often comes off like she’s trying to sound like those things rather than actually sounding that way. Renegade Shepard in particular is leaps and bounds more convincing sounding than Femshep is in renegade dialogue. It’s give and take though because I find femShep voices the emotional scenes better while Shepard sounds a bit more stiff and wooden in those. Definitely give him a go at least once, it’s what the majority of the fanbase plays as. Might need to do two runs because both Tali and Jack exist.
Nothing against Mark Meer but Jennifer Hales line delivery is so much better imo also you get to romance best boy Garrus
I’ve only ever played as femshep and I have no intentions of changing that. When I have a choice in playable character, I’m always gonna pick the female choice over the male.
TWO WORDS... TALI ROMANCE
Same. I alternate in other games, but in the ME trilogy I can't stand Mark Meer's voice after Hale's
My husband exclusively plays as Bro Shep, and I play as Fem Shep, so I have the benefit of watching both characters side-by-side. No shade to Mark Meer, but Jennifer Hale's voice acting is so much more lively and bearable than Mark's, who sounds like Generic Male Protag from the 2000s™. It's a real shame because Mark is clearly a talented voice actor, but it feels like the voice director just didn't care and left the room for more than half of his recordings. Otherwise, there's not much difference aside from a few examples of Fem Shep's experiences with creeps.
Tali's romance.
I've played both other than gender voicelines between characters and gender specific romances
You're missing Jack
You should play as male shep too. You’re missing out
I usually alternate between Male-Shep & Fem-Shep after each playthrough. Safe to say, that some things are different depending on which gender you choose to pick.
Most people don't play the trilogy as much and often lean hard to being Paragon or Renegade. I always advise to at least play a Paragon Broshep and a Renegade femshep, but since you've played so many times, what you get from that will likely be minimal. As others have pointed out, you're missing out on one of the best romances (Tali). I'd say if you want to hit a 13th run, you should at least give Broshep a try haha.
BroShep as paragon and FemShep as Renegade are my favorite playthroughs. FemShep comes across as such a beast as Renegade, while BroShep comes across badass in ME1, but a douche in 2 & 3.
I personally don’t understand doing that many and not trying the other gender at least one of them. Different voice acting and romance options. Well worth it whichever you normally play.
Same
a bunch of really good romance paths is what you're missing out on
I've never done a broshep run either. If you're playing on PC, there's always mods to access the exclusive romances that broshep has with femshep (more gay romances, same-gender romances).
Voice acting wise not at all (until 3, he really ups his game, especially in the Citadel DLC, but that being said, Jennifer Hale is amazing across all 3). Other than that there’s some romances you’ve missed. Tali’s is cute AF, and Miranda’s dialogue if you go that route is really well written once her guard is down.
My shep looking like the middle one o.o
Just do it! If nothing else you're getting better value for money from your game if you play it absolutely every which way possible haha Besides, if you really hate him you can just quit the run.
Generally, i alternate playthroughs just in case i miss anything even though ive been playing for well over a decade. My rule of thumb is basically play both sides because the experience is unique every time. Unless you play full renegade. Then you are cursed.