14 DAY TRIAL // Yesterday, I talked about how evil is creeping in on the player through every pore of the Mass Effect 2, experience, with most of the stuff needed to be done in order to gain the loyalty of party members for the suicide mission actually being on the evil side of the morality scale, kidnapping and genophage having a familiar presence.
But it does not stop there. One of the more interesting characters in the whole game, enjoying a wide development ark, is Archangel, one of the first people you get to pick up on Omega Station. Initially, he is described as being a very good fighter who is also specializing in small unit tactics, taking on the full might of the three biggest criminal cartels in the Terminus area with just a few people and a lot of thinking.
Talking to Archangel, the player learns about the betrayal of one of the teams and how it led to the deaths of those accompanying the character. The loyalty quest is then linked to tracking down the traitor and taking him out. So far, it's a pretty well built up revenge quest for Archangel but it gets dicey once you are close to finding the man. First, the kneecap of a rather shady yet unconnected individual is blown off. And then, the traitor gets his due in such an unceremonious and quick manner that I actually felt kind of dirty about doing it. All for the loyalty of another member of the party.
And it does not stop here. The player will also deprive a whole race of an effective way of taking on their enemies, in the name of saving one person from shame, will aid a mother in killing her own daughter, completely outside the borders of any law, and will destroy or erase the personality of another group of sentient beings.
A lot of other entities get hurt on the road to saving humanity and the galaxy. Of course, choosing all the Paragon options instead of the Renegade ones can lessen the burden a bit but there are still a lot of casualties leading to salvation.