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Mass Effect at the movies - SciFiNow

Mass Effect at the movies

A few things Legendary has to keep in to make it a Mass Effect million-dollar baby.

We’ve known that Avi Arad has held the option for Mass Effect for a while now, so to hear the internet aflame with the news that Legendary Pictures will be producing the film is a little odd, to say the least. Honestly, we’re not sure what to make of the news. The game will certainly lend itself excellently to the medium, given its already cinematic design, but videogames have a tendency to translate badly to film. Just look at the Dungeon Siege ‘adaptation’.

That being said, if the company are going ahead with it, here are a few elements that must be preserved for the sake of consistency, vital parts of the universe’s fabric.

mass-effect-shepard-normandyCommander Shepard

Obviously. You can’t make macaroni without cheese, and you can’t make a Mass Effect film without Jesus Shepard. Fans have long been debating who should play him in a movie version, with Matthew Fox and Dominic Purcell as options. Despite our highest hopes, we doubt our Dennis Rodman version will make it to the silver screen.

SeranKillsNihlusNihlus’s execution

One of the early shocks of the game sets the tone for the rest of the narrative, and lets you know exactly where you are. This has to be included, hopefully in the same casual, throwaway manner that they so callously portrayed it as on Eden Prime. Speaking of Eden Prime, let’s get a bit more of that in there, too.

800px-virmire-the_nuke_explodesBombs away!

The hardest (or easiest, depending on your empathy levels) choice in the game is whether to sacrifice Kaidan or Ashley as you make your escape from Virmire, despite the fact that your character is usually so hard by that point you could probably hold off the Geth horde single-handedly. Include.

masseffect_65_745x440The Normandy

Equal parts Star Trek, Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica, the Normandy gives a unique feel to the game’s setting that no other environment manages to come close to. We’re not saying copy it exactly, except we totally are. Science fiction films need distinctive aesthetics to single them out, and this is it.

Citadel-Presidium-View_From_Ambasador_Lounge_3The Presidium

Highlighting not only the technological marvel that is the Citadel, but also the burgeoning social gap between those who control the levers of power and those who are consigned to the slum-like wards. The Presidium is another Normandy, something that adds definition and substance to the universe in which the narrative operates.

Anything else that you think is essential? Let us know.