Will this be the new female Commander Shepard? You get to decide.
One of the many many great things about the "Mass Effect" games is the way they let you play through the epic, action-packed space opera as either a man or a woman.
As a woman gamer, I was thrilled to be able to play through "Mass Effect" and "Mass Effect 2" as a female version of the protagonist — Commander Shepard. And I was thrilled that this character was every bit as strong and nuanced as the better-known male version of the commander. (Thanks in no small part to excellent voice acting by Jennifer Hale.)
Now the folks at BioWare who developed the game are looking to give FemShep (as the female version of Commander Shepard is called) even more face time. Not only do they have plans to put FemShep on the forthcoming game's box art (a first), they are letting players vote on which look for the fearless heroine they go with.
You must have a Facebook account, but if you do you can check out the six FemShep options BioWare has created right here and cast your vote by "liking" the character art you prefer. So far, the blond Shepherd is leading by leaps and bounds with 20,244 likes (though I personally prefer the black-haired commander with the strong Winona Ryder/Natalie Portman resemblance).
All of the new women commanders look a bit more, well, sexy than the default female Shepard from the past. But not in an offensive, or over-the-top way. I mean, it's not as if she's been turned into a Miranda knock-off or anything. And she still looks like she could kick some serious Reaper arse.
BioWareThe default FemShep of the past is getting something of a makeover.
Of course, if none of BioWare's female commanders float yer (space)boat, not to worry. You can change the character to look however you want her (or him) to look at the start of the game. This kind of customization is a nice touch, especially considering that, for example, "Mass Effect 2" is a game you could spend some 50 hours playing.
All in all, this is the first time the female Commander Shepard has been included in the game's marketing materials. David Silverman, BioWare's director of marketing, has said that the "Mass Effect 3" collector's edition box art will be "One side male, one side female." He's also said that the female commander will get her own game trailer this time around.
So why is she just now getting all this love?
“When creating a rich sci-fi epic like 'Mass Effect,' you need to keep a certain level of consistency so people unfamiliar with the property can clearly identify who the hero is that they get to become,” Silverman told VG247.
But these days, people know who FemShep is and they adore her. Silverman pointed out that 18 percent of "Mass Effect" gamers play as the female version of the character.
BioWare has not yet set a deadline for when the FemShep box art vote will end, so it's best to get your say in now. Meanwhile "Mass Effect 3" arrives for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC next spring.
(Thanks to Kotaku for the heads up.)
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Winda Benedetti writes about games for msnbc.com. You can follow her tweets about games and other things right here on Twitter or join her in the stream right here on Google+. You can check out the In-Game Facebook page right here.
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