Commander Shepard faces certain doom countless times throughout the Mass Effect series, and a new Mass Effect 3 mod makes things even more dangerous for the savior of the galaxy by adding random deaths. The original Mass Effect trilogy deals heavily with the perils of war, and characters often sacrifice their lives depending on the player’s choices throughout all three titles. Commander Shepard themself is often thrown into several life-threatening situations, be they dodging enemy gunfire or outrunning fiery explosions.
BioWare drew heavily from old action movies while crafting Mass Effect, including how Mass Effect's George Clooney-inspired Commander Shepard often walks away from some nasty bumps without the slightest scratch. This will no longer be the case thanks to a new Mass Effect 3 mod from ME3Tweaks. A YouTube video from Mgamerz (via TheGamer) shows several of ME3Tweaks’ mods in action, including one that allows Shepard to be killed at random moments during Mass Effect 3. Whenever Shepard gets caught in an explosion or suffers a rough landing, a message could pop up informing the player that the character has died from a sudden injury. Additionally, this mod introduces a new difficulty setting that makes these random deaths more likely, as well as a special ending if Shepard can survive as they do in the base Mass Effect 3.
Shepard Can Die A Lot Sooner Thanks To A New Mass Effect 3 Mod
Even without ME3Tweaks’ new Mass Effect 3 ending mod removing Shepard's plot armor, the great hero isn't completely invincible. Shepard actually dies at the beginning of Mass Effect 2, only to be resurrected by the mysterious and sinister organization Cerberus to lead a suicide mission. They can later be killed during this climatic assault on the Collector Base, but this alternate ending is treated as non-canon and doesn’t carry over into Mass Effect 3. During Mass Effect 3’s highly controversial conclusion, Shepard seemingly sacrifices themself to end the threat of the Reapers once and for all, though one of the game’s alternate endings implies that they survived if the player’s Galactic Readiness was high enough.
It probably won’t be until the still-in-development Mass Effect 4 is released that players will finally know if Mass Effect's Shepard is still alive after all of this, but seeing the hero be taken out by a random explosion after surviving such terrors as Sovereign and the Collectors is certainly good for a chuckle or two. All three of the original Mass Effect games have seen interesting mods come out in the wake of last year’s Mass Effect Legendary Edition, including one that makes it harder for Shepard’s crew to make it out of Mass Effect 2’s climatic suicide mission.
Shepard usually enjoys the death-dodging benefits of being the main character during the Mass Effect saga’s many intense battles, but ME3Tweaks’ new Random Deaths mod levels the playing field by having the Commander be just as vulnerable as an unnamed crewmate aboard the Normandy. If players can make it all the way to Mass Effect 3's multiple choice ending without Shepard being killed off unceremoniously, then they truly are worthy of the legendary status this galactic hero has achieved.
Source: Mgamerz/YouTube (via The Gamer)