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Mass Effect's Shocking Moments

The Mass Effect franchise isn't just some space shooter. It is a space fantasy epic with enough twists and turns to make you reach for the galactic-barf bag. Here are Mass Effect's shocking moments.

UGO By Sal Basile March 1, 2012
  

The Mass Effect series has been throwing M. Night Shyamalan-sized twists at us since the first game, but which moments shocked you the most? Was it seeing a human impaled on a Geth spike for the first time? Learning that the Keepers were actually working for the Reapers? Or was it watching Shepard bite the bullet in the first few minutes of Mass Effect 2? Whatever moment had you yelling WTF, it was surely memorable.

Find your nearest Mass Relay, strap yourself in and take a look at Mass Effect's shocking moments before diving into Mass Effect 3!

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Mass Effect
Mass Effect Credit: BioWare

Shepard's Death

Mass Effect 2 begins with a bang. The bang of the Normandy that is. The ship that Shepard spent his entire spacefaring life on is attacked by a strange ship and ripped to shreds. Shepard manages to get everyone off the ship safely, except himself. The last escape pod blasts off and the Normandy explodes, propelling Shepard into the darkness of space. The hero of Mass Effect just got spaced.

What a way to start a game.

Mass Effect
Mass Effect Credit: BioWare

Normandy SR-2

After Cerberus puts Shepard back together again, one thought comes to mind: what the hell is he going to fly around in? Nothing seems fitting after flying that beauty of a ship. Well, Cerberus has a little something in mind. How about a ship that looks exactly like the Normandy? Better yet, how about a ship that looks exactly like the Normandy but is double the size? The Normandy SR-2 is a sight for sore eyes, and it's internal layout is pretty badass.

The ship's combat information center is stunning; truly one of Mass Effect's shocking moments. The ship is also equipped with EDI, an advanced AI that helps you on your travels. Boss.

Mass Effect History
Mass Effect History Credit: BioWare

Derelict Reaper

One of Mass Effect's shocking moments comes when you visit a dead Reaper orbiting the planet Mnemosyne. Cerberus had previously sent a different team here to investgate, but lost contact with them. Shepard and his team are sent to find the missing squad, but discover the derelict Reaper's indoctrination mechanism is still active. It turns into a race against time to destroy the Reaper's core and leave before Shepard and his crew become indoctrinated.

After Shepard blows up the core, the Reaper gets pulled into the planet's atmosphere.

Mass Effect
Mass Effect Credit: BioWare

Collectors Are Protheans

One of the most shocking moments of the entire franchise comes when EDI and Mordin discover the truth about the Collectors. The strange race of deformed kidnappers are actually the Protheans. The Protheans are the thought-to-be-extinct race that created the Citadel and Mass Relay devices. It's revealed that the Citadel and Mass Relays are actually of Reaper technology, and the Protheans were just another race to be wiped out by the Reapers.

Or so we thought.

It turns out the Reapers enslaved the Protheans through indoctrination, twisting and modifying them into what the galaxy now knows as the Collectors.

Mass Effect History
Mass Effect History Credit: BioWare

Human Reaper

Just after being shocked by the revelation that the Protheans are the Collectors, Shepard burst into the Collector base to find himself right smack in the middle of another one of Mass Effect's shocking moments: The Collectors were abducting humans to create an entirely new Reaper. Worse yet, Reapers tend to resemble the race who's raw material is being used to create it. What does that mean exactly?

Shepard soon found out, as he came face to face with a mechanized beast that resembled a human skeleton. The human Reaper was in its larva form when Shepard and his team woke it up, so its organic innards were exposed, adding a even more disturbing feeling to the monstrosity.

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