^ Speaking of "badass," I have just one name for you: Liara. Just finished "Lair" a little while ago, and loved it. Absolute blast all the way through, and lots of nice little things you get to interact with following the battle against the Broker.
I did actually try making Shepard a black guy in an ME1 play-through but for some reason it felt weird with that same voice and aborted that game before the first mission was through. Perhaps stubbly potato-head-shep had imprinted itself in my memory so I couldn't associate that voice with anything else. Didn't have the same problem with femshep though for some reason.
I have a pretty diverse set of Shepards, actually. My Paragon male is the default face, my Paragon female is a Latina, my Renegade female is Asian, and my Renegade male is black. Meer and Hale's voices sounded fine in each iteration.
So the new DLC, is it playable within the game or do you have to have beaten the Collector Mission before it unlocks?
I haven't gotten that far since I've started a fresh Shepard for the DLC, but the ME wiki has this to say:
A Shepard quote from Lair of the Shadow Broker (while waiting for Liara to hack a locked door): "Remember in the old days, when you could just slap Omnigel on everything?" I love it when BioWare puts in these small ME1 references. I love LotSB. Another Shepard quote (while fighting off the waves of mercs interfering with above lengthy hacking process): LIARA: "Their attacks are disorganized. They would be more effective if they attacked all at once." SHEPARD (annoyed): "Please don't give the mercs ideas."
^ And another one I LOLled at: Shepard: "What weapons does this thing have?" Liara: "... It's a taxi cab. It has a fare meter." Come to think of it, the whole background conversation during that section of the game was quite hilarious. LotSB is the best DLC I've played through so far. I really enjoyed it.
When I get some time, I might just have to dust off ME2 for another go around. I might actual find an ME1 save to play to the end where I romance Liara first.
I didn't pay much attention to the pre-release stuff for ME1 so I never associated Mark Meer's voice with the default character so, in my mind, I think of Benedict Shepard whenever I hear it.
Currently reloading the Lair DLC (Last nights attempt went a little pear shaped). I've heard it's quite funny in parts
I'm curious about reactions to the end of "Lair." Spoiler: Lair of the Shadow Broker Do you support Liara's decision to become the new Broker? Anyone else think this means that the Broker operation is now headed for a direct confrontation with Cerberus? Did you explore the ops center?
Finished it and it was very good if not a little shorter than I expected but the ending changes everything . I wonder how are Bioware planning to transfer the changes in the universe over to ME 3 to those who don't buy the DLC's ? intended to bridge the gap to ME 3. Spoiler: Aftermath of DLC I love how you can basically have access to the network after and how it seems Bioware will update it. The sex scene is dam tame though I wanted to see some blue skin Cannot wait for the next DLC.
Just finished LotSB. It was fantastic! Love the little references to the new omnigel proof locks and the taxi being better than the Mako. The ending was nice too and yes, my femshep got her blue squeeze back. Spoiler: Shadow Broker ending I rather like how Liara ends up replacing the old (though not original) Shadow Broker. At least now there's an ally on par with the Illusive Man that I can actually trust. Random thoughts: Anyone else notice that vid of that Asari Matriarch bartender on Illium gazing at a picture of Liara? Guess she really might be her father after all. I actually find the idea that meek little Liara is one quarter Krogan to be curiously appealing. All the personal dossiers are a lot of fun...if rather voyeuristically creepy at time. Who knew Tali was a guilty masturbator with a thing for humans? Yikes! Not sure what the "investment opportunities" as all about, but I funded them all. I didn't either; indeed I only bought ME1 about a year ago when it was going for just a few quid on steam. I think the problem in this instance stems from my just using the default face in my first maleshep playthrough (couldn't be arsed to muck about much.) Once I finished that play-through I think the voice and face were pretty much engrained. Actually, it also feels a little weird when I see videos of other people's femsheps too. I think, in my head at least, this will always be the face I associate with that voice. Hell, just while play ME2 it took me a while to get used to her not having that scar anymore (I tend to think of it as a battle wound she got on Akuze.) I miss that scar...
I was never a huge Liara fan, but LotSB was awesome. Spoiler: Lair of the Shadow Broker I thought the beginning was pretty neat, with the little detective/noir feel, and it was cool to finally meet another Spectre, though I think it was pretty obvious that Vasir was dirty. Then the story shifts gears into pure action, and doesn't look back. I loved holding off the Shadow Broker's agents while Liara hacked the door, listening to Shepard and Liara's back and forth as wave after wave came at them. My only regret there is that, yet again, there was no new squad dialogue. Since I had Garrus with me and Liara for the mission, it would have been nice to hear him chime in on occasion. And I didn't romance Liara in ME1, so the scene on the Normandy probably didn't have quite as much as it could have, but I thought it was still an excellent little scene that left my Shepard realizing how much he misses his old crew from the SR1--Ashley, Kaidan, Wrex, Liara. I think it also helps if you experience this scene with a Shepard who hasn't yet done the Suicide Mission. I also liked how Vasir calls Shepard out for working with Cerberus, especially since my Shepard is a Paragon Sole Survivor (finally someone mentions Cerberus' connection to Akuze!). That scene, plus his reminiscing with Liara on the Normandy, really hit home and served to remind my Shepard why he's out there and what he's fighting for.
Just finished it myself. Spoiler: Lair of the Shadow Broker Where to start. Both Ms Spectre and the Shadow Broker were a decent enough fight. I'm not sure I enjoyed the mechanics of the taxi chase, but the conversation was fun. It did leave Li and my primary Shep in a better place than the ME2 game and gives my Shep one reason to make it through alive. On the downside, I understand why they couldn't bring back all the voice actors for this, but I would have liked some interjection from Tali when my Shep and Liara were bantering in the taxi and on the Shadow Broker ship. I'd also have liked for it to be longer, but that's probably just me. .
Hrm, with the ending of the DLC, doesn't that imply that she's not going to be a party member in ME3?
One of the developers confirmed via Twitter "ongoing benefits" of that outcome. I also am looking forward to keeping an eye on it. That was my impression as well, but I hope BioWare finds a story reason to work around it. I'd really like to have Liara on my team again in ME3, especially now that she and my Shepard are together again (sorry, Miss Lawson and low-cut jumpsuit).