Solid Snake's Pseudo-Let's Play: Mass Effect

[Solid Snake]

Mass Effect: Chapter Two, Part One
Or, Sexism in the 22nd Century: Check out the Ladies in Pink Uniforms!

When we last left off from our crazy misadventures on Eden Prime, Mr. Jenkins, lacking much to be desired in his INT score, charged blindly at a duo of Level-One robotic scouts, got shot a couple times, and died. I'd make another crack about how ludicrous Jenkins' death scene was if not for the goddamned Husks we're going to meet shortly, who sent me to a Game Over screen far too often for my personal liking.

Anywhoo, Taran and Kaiden have (sort of) Leveled Up!








...and with our skills ever-so-slightly improving, we're now ready to handle the epic challenge of...

Hunting Gasbags.





"Be vewy, vewy quiet..."
Hunting gasbags is the ultimate challenge in Eden Prime. One wrong move and the herds will descend upon you like madmen, tearing your flesh to bits and pieces, screaming and howling like the horrifying monsters they are.





...Okay, not really.
They just sort of explode after a single shot. Kaiden jumps back, shouts a bit, and acts as if attacking a gasbag is equivocal to unleashing armageddon. In reality, these puppies are harmless.
I just feel bad for Mrs. Gasbag, who will now have to raise their children alone. You monster, Taran Shepard. You ungrateful little bastard! Killing a family man in his prime like that!





...So let's continue our capacity to commit atrocities by looting this corpse!
Some credits, a Medigel and a couple minor upgrades later, we decide to march into distinctly unknown territory.





We enter into a forest composed of trees with gigantic trunks...perfect to take cover behind. Of course, not long into our escapades a couple more Geth Drones buzz out and take fire.





We swat them down like flies, no sweat.
So far, I'll also add that Kaiden is proving utterly useless in battle. He does, however, appropriately shout "All clear!" when every enemy is eliminated, which is a fairly ridiculous practice on a battlefield. ("Let's shout blatantly obvious directives to each other and reveal our position to enemies who may be attempting to ambush us!" I mean if you're going to announce your presence to the world, try to do so over an issue critical and subtle enough to be worth the exclamation.)





Having eliminated the bad guys, we now approach an open clearing to the north. We're getting closer to the dig site.





Hey, look! More geth drones!
I wonder what they could be chasing?





It's a three-breasted, two-headed alien chick!! Sweet!!
...Actually, this is just a screenshot error. Ashley Williams is, unfortunately, a human of the two-breasted, one-headed variety. She's also presumably the only survivor yet of her unit on Eden Prime -- you know, the unit that sent the Normandy that lovely broadcast of death and destruction earlier.
I'm still mildly baffled as to what protocol exists in the Systems Alliance that requires women serving in the military, even the Gunnery Chiefs, to wear pink and white. The alternative, I suppose, is that Ashley simply prefers the color pink, but given her personality, I'd highly doubt that one. Is there any tactical advantage whatsoever in enabling your enemy to easily determine the gender of your forces from afar?





We finally see a couple of Geth units that seem distinctly humanoid, or at least bipedal. And these Geth aren't playing around. Look at what they do to Ashley's teammate, who was captured...





...Owch.
There's a lot of issues that are sort of glossed over here, like exactly how an invading force such as the Geth would be capable of constructing and/or transporting Dragon's Teeth (that's literally what those large spikes are called in Mass Effect all this way, or why this kind of death would be even be necessary to pull off -- as opposed to, you know, just the standard "shoot him dead" or "rip his head off" methods. This seems unnecessarily gruesome.
Unfortunately we'll soon get our answer to the second question. It won't be pretty.





...No matter how tough a woman in a videogame supposedly is, she must always be introduced into the narrative in a "damsel-in-distress" situation in which her life is at stake and you, the hero, have the opportunity to rescue her.
So let's leave her for dead, turn around and ignore her plight, shall we?





Ashley is, at this particular point in the game at least, the most capable of all the characters in combat situations. I know this because Kaiden and Taran refused to assist Ashley in her moment of need and she took care of the Geth by herself, apparently. And I racked up the free XP. Delicious, free, unearned XP.

Ashley Williams is a Gunnery Chief and a skilled soldier. I'll give her credit for being absolutely nothing, in terms of demeanor, like Bastila or most other females in RPGs, for that matter. She reminds me most of the Handmaiden for reasons I can't quite fully articulate. At any rate, she's frank, precise, punctual, and barely even seems disturbed at the notion that her entire unit has died painful and gruesome deaths.
Despite being a jerk to most others we'll meet in this game, Taran still appreciates a fine lady when he sees one, and this conversation does absolutely nothing in regards to Paragon/Renegade points anyway, so we'll have him attempt to lift Ashley's spirits. We ask her if she's wounded; she's fine. However, she and her team "walked into an ambush" and she's "the only one left." Ashley does not express any remorse whatsoever during these comments, and doesn't bother to even shed a tear, so this dialogue option we're about to choose seems a little out-of-context:





Maybe we should have named Shepard after Psycho Mantis, because he appears to be reading her mind here. Ashley expresses barely the slightest ounce of regret over the situation -- and isn't even close to experiencing a psychological breakdown -- and yet Shepard's treating her like a fifteen year old girl who needs to be talked down to, under the assumption that she can't handle the pressure of combat.
So in essence, this "Paragon" answer can actually be justified within the context of Shepard's characterization. (It'd be funny to see what the "You abandoned them" option would have led to, but I'm not the least bit interested in any behavior that could ruin his chances of a relationship with Ashley.)





Continuing the long-held RPG tradition that nearly every single female character in a videogame must be very attractive, regardless of her role or her purpose or her background or her personality, Ashley has Angelina-Jolie-esque lips and a petite, pleasant figure. (I was pretty surprised to see makeup among the customizable options for a female Shepard. "Hold up, guys! I need to reapply my blush before we take down this Geth armada!")

Ashley explains that the Geth "haven't been seen outside the Perseus Veil for over 200 years," and later on through our Codex we can learn more information about these pesky robots, including the fact that they were created by a race called the "Quarians" (we haven't seen any of these folks yet, though they might be extinct for all I know) as cheap labor 300-someodd years ago. Following science-fiction cliche #94, the Geth AI soon became self-evolving, developed a sort of pseudo-consciousness, and quickly determined that all organic beings in the galaxy were enemies which needed to be exterminated. The Quarians lost the war against the Geth (no mention as to what happened to the Quarians just yet) but then the Geth just sort of...disappeared. And now they're back. They want the information stored in this Prothean Beacon we're chasing after, and they're willing to burn Eden Prime to the ground to find it.





...I guess we'll never know what would have happened if we had told Ashley to just sit back and stay out here in the wilderness, but I'm frankly desperate to have a soldier who can actually handle weapons other than pistols along with us, so I'm not taking that chance. Taran invites Ashley to join he and Kaiden on a Geth-ass-kicking spree. Ashley accepts, eager to reap vengeance for her fallen allies.





...I still say the Martha Stewart-inspired girl soldier's wardrobe was a mistake, though.





Ashley hands us a pistol that's slightly better than the one we're using (Silly. Are they seriously saying that the Systems Alliance fleet would have given Shepard and Kaiden -- two soldiers sent into hostile territory on a mission vital to the interests of humanity and, indeed, the entire galaxy -- worse equipment then some random grunt can get on Eden Prime?) This prompts an introduction to the "Equipment" screen. In the PC version of Mass Effect you're supposed to double-click on a selected weapon to replace it with the currently-equipped weapon, but in practice this works, like, 20% of the time at most. At least with my laptop, I have to double-click a selected weapon several times before the game seems capable of responding to my request. It's a tad bit annoying, but it's not quite as disruptive to the gameplay as it sounds. After all, it only takes a few seconds to double-click an icon ten times, if necessary.





There's a cache of goods about ten feet from where you and Ashley are standing in which resides a significantly better (and better-looking, too) piece of armor than the standard-issue crap the Alliance Fleet mandates you carry. So, again, random militia groups in Eden Prime have substantially better access to better weapons and armor than the best starships humanity has to offer. I just feel bad for Shepard, who apparently had to go through his brutal experiences in Torfan with a unit equipped with substandard armaments. It's a wonder he survived to earn the ruthless reputation he's garnered.

The reality of the matter is this treasure chest essentially is BioWare's "we just really want to hone in the point that you need to know how to equip items" failsafe. So we throw on the new getup (yes, Taran, let's strip our clothes in the middle of this battlefield -- and in front of Kaiden and Ashley, no less -- so that we can wear better protection) and get ready to charge into the dig site.





Here we go!! (Let's hope we don't get impaled like a kebab!)





Why, there isn't any possibility whatsoever we'll encounter Geth patrols waiting for us at the dig site where the beacon's supposed to be, is there?





Aww, man! So close! (And so predictable!)
As an aside, this is the first of a couple moments in Chapter Two when Kaiden manages to nearly get himself killed while Ashley, meanwhile, takes hardly any damage at all. Seriously, Kaiden is a terrible fighter. He's worse-equipped compared to Ashley, has proficiency with a pistol as opposed to an assault rifle, and yet he frequently weaves his way out of cover and into the open, whereas Ashley, comparatively speaking, is cautious and usually under cover every time.
At least Taran won't legitimately struggle until we meet those forsaken Husks.





There is, apparently, no beacon at the dig site. There's a shocker -- an RPG creates an initial objective for you, and then when you reach that location, you learn that the objective is no longer there! (To be fair, this 'twist' also occurs frequently in FPSes, action-adventure games, and choose-any-random-videogame-genre-to-insert-here.)
Nonetheless, Kaiden, Taran, and Ashley make some time to stand around and chat idly for a few moments as to what to do next. It's not as if the fate of the universe is in serious danger, here. They can afford to take a time-out to fully digest their situation.

It's at this moment that Ashley reveals the earth-shattering revelation that led to the beacon's discovery...Eden Prime...uhh...was trying to improve its public transportation. Yes, if there's a hidden message in Mass Effect, it's that metrorail systems can have dastardly consequences. Contact your elected official today! Support the banning of all rail systems that might inadvertedly discover an ancient relic that leads to an enemy invasion that eradicates everything!
Actually, the beacon is discovered through Eden Prime's version of The Big Dig (anyone here from Boston? You know what I'm talking about, eh?) and, for some esoteric reason this information must be fully disclosed in such a manner that half the known universe, including the damned Geth, seem to all learn about it. Couldn't these guys have taken a tip from Stargate: SG1 and kept the damn thing a secret if it really contained all these vital secrets? And yet Ashley speaks of scientists descending to the dig site like parasites, and it's painfully clear that Eden Prime decided to capitalize off this discovery by marketing it to every corner of the galaxy. Now, of course, there's hardly anything or anyone left of Eden Prime at all. Smart.

Nihlus contacts us via pseudo-codec and informs us that there's a spaceport up ahead. He's going to check it out first, because he works better alone and our presence would just be a hindrance to him. Nonetheless, we're ordered to follow him in. First, though, we'll need to go through an abandoned camp outside the dig site. Hopefully there won't be any new sort of enemy there that actually presents a modicum of difficulty, right?

...right?
If I suck at shooting down Husks before they reach me and attempt to devour my brains, does that mean I suck at Mass Effect?

Anywhoo, one more update for me to type up before y'all get your next salvo of decisions. Part Two of Chapter Two's coming soon.

[01d55]

Originally Posted by Solid Snake

There is, apparently, no beacon at the dig site. There's a shocker -- an RPG creates an initial objective for you, and then when you reach that location, you learn that the objective is no longer there! (To be fair, this 'twist' also occurs frequently in FPSes, action-adventure games, and choose-any-random-videogame-genre-to-insert-here.)

Originally Posted by Shorter Solid Snake

We're sorry, the beacon is in another castle.

Aw, but I kid. I'm really liking this now that you're actually doing it.

[Mr.Bookworm]

Hey, SS. If you type "let's play mass effect" into Google, your topic's 2nd page is the fifth result.

At least Taran won't legitimately struggle until we meet those forsaken Husks.

That's what you get for not picking Vanguard. As is, I advise throw, and lots of it. Then try to mow them down from a distance.

[Krylo]

You can also just run up to them and smack them in the face with the butt of your pistol. Knocks them on their ass and then they can't do shit to you while you pepper their corpses with bullets.

Works in most non-ranged enemies.

Just make sure that you don't let the husks charge up their electrical explosion before you try it. Unless you like pain.

Also--yes, not being able to kill them makes you bad at Mass Effect.

[Solid Snake]

Originally Posted by Mr.Bookworm

Hey, SS. If you type "let's play mass effect" into Google, your topic's 2nd page is the fifth result.

Sweet.

Anywhoo,

Mass Effect: Chapter Two, Part Two
Or Husks, How I Despise Thee, Infernal Creatures of Damnation

...Taran may not want us to waste any time, but we're going to waste some more time detailing the downfall of Eden Prime! It's Mass Effect: Chapter Two, Part Two... an epic story of love and betrayal! A beguiling mystery unfolds, and Taran Shepard is the only person alive with the power to stop the manifestation of the greatest evil! Watch with eyes lit aflare as Taran and his friends delve deep into the tragedy of the Protheans and...





...What. The. Hell?
...Yes, it's a bug. No, I have no idea what the hell happened there, but the screen turned all wonderful shades of dark and blurry when I tried to access the equipment screen.
Okay, let's try this again!





...Much better.
(Thank the heavens I managed to save only a matter of minutes prior to this moment of the game.)
So we're at the dig site, staring at a few impaled bodies of Eden Prime milita. I'd assume these were once members of Ashley's team, which makes Ashley's complete lack of emotional resonance over the issue of their deaths rather...surprising. I don't care if you're a tough chick, Ashley, if people you know have been impaled on toothpicks of doom, it's considered okay to experience just a tad of trauma.
...Of course, Kaiden and Taran aren't exactly freaking out over this either...and if Carth Onasi of all people is totally okay holding a meeting right next to the dead, impaled bodies of once-human creatures, then I guess this should just be considered a commonplace event in the galaxy of Mass Effect.





As we climb the hill behind the dig site, Kaiden and Ashley engage in a brief conversation that practically screams, to Bioware's credit, "SAVE THE GODDAMN GAME RIGHT NOW THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES IF YOU DON'T." Kaiden mentions the distinct possibility of an ambush and, though we're expecting Geth, we're about to get a bit of a surprise...





...Hey, it's the dead human kebabs!
...And...they're moving?
...They're...alive?


...Well, this is wonderful! I'm sure that these poor humans, who have been so thoroughly abused by the Geth, will come to our aid in our mutual battle against the evil robotic oppressors! Surely these humans will desire revenge and...





...Nope. They just want to kill us.
As it turns out, these guys are no longer quite "human." They're now called "Husks." As it turns out, there's a reason why the Geth impale humans on those gigantic sticks. Those "Dragon Teeth," as they're called, somehow suck out all the blood, and other organic fluids and internal organs, from their prey and replace them with some sort of cybernetic synthetics. Then, those once-human creatures are possessed only by the thought of mutiliating other human beings.

Hey, where have I heard this concept before?





...Oh, right.
Bioware's definition of "innovation" is apparently to come up with high-tech versions of zombies. And that's really all the Husks are -- they're zombies, except replace the zombification viruses with some high-tech cybernetics terminology. Actually, I guess Husks could be most adequately described as "zombie cyborgs."

They could also be described as goddamn sons of bitches, because they killed me many a time before I learned how to master their dastardly battleplan.

You see, part of the problem is that we're an Adept. I've played this battle before as a soldier and a vanguard build (see the previous Mass Effect topic of mine, before I tried to stick with a single character for a Let's Play) and with proficiency with better weapons this battle is a piece of cake.

However, in this case we're stuck with a power in Throw that only effects one of our three enemies. The other two are going to charge us point-blank and Kaiden's going to miss every damn one of his shots and Ashley's assault weaponry, though decent, won't make too great a difference before the husks overwhelm you, use some attack that seems to smack through your shields, and eat your brains for dinner.

This happened to me, oh, roughly four times before I finally discovered the "correct strategy" for an Adept as unskilled as I -- cast throw on one of 'em, shoot another one dead, then by this time at least one Husk is nearly at you so you...run around like a wimp while Ashley takes care of the problem for you.

I mean, that's what I did.
Don't get me wrong, pistols are actually fairly good weapons. Against only one or even two husks I'd have had a more effective strategy to eliminate the threats. But with three at such a close proximity, the fight just presented a challenge.





But now they're all dead, so we can move on.
...or, alternatively, Kaiden and Taran can just draw guns at each other. If this game were more like Fallout, in which every NPC (even those who travel with you) can be killed, Kaiden would have died several dozen times by now.
...Trust me, I tried. Even used a grenade. Didn't work quite as I hoped.





I'm not exactly sure if the game will ever provide a rational explanation as to exactly how medigel is supposed to work, but I'm looking forward to hearing one.





Anyway, we've made it to the campsite. The extent of the campsite that we can actually explored is limited to two crummy-looking trailers. This first one is easy to access and just contains a few goodies, in the form of special ammunition types, omnigel (this is apparently a different substance then medigel, but don't ask me quite what it is) and credits. I think there was a new pistol in there too, as I was able to equip Kaiden with the "better" pistol that Taran was using.





In a nice little touch, this trailer's screens are closed, but if you look closely enough and at a certain angle you can actually see a couple pairs of legs. Unfortunately in this particular screenshot such an image is obscured by the fourth-wall breaking instructions for a minigame we're about to play to crack open the door's security device.

I've never before seen a security device with which, to crack the system, you played a minigame. That would kind of defeat the purpose of a security device and let anyone with fast enough reflexes break through, wouldn't it? But this is the screen we're presented with, as the pseudo-hackers we are...





I'm going to go on record and say do not attempt to use this method of "hacking" to garner access to classified U.S. military websites.

So in this image, Taran is supposedly guiding a light-blue triangle (that's us!) through a series of obstacles. Attempting to push forward one layer into an orange rectangle results in you "bumping back" -- the orange represents a barrier you're not supposed to cross through. On the flip side, the red rectangles actually move around in a circle, and they're the nasty ones -- move your icon into those and it's Game Over, man. Moving your computer's "side" keyboard buttons (A and D) navigates the icon clockwise or counterclockwise, in a 360-degree circle radius around the center. Moving "W" (up, sort of) simply moves your icon one layer "deeper" into the circle. (This is true even if your arrow is presented at the top of the circle and is actually moving "down" when you're technically pressing "W" or "up.") And "S" moves you back from whence you came.

I'm pretty sure the X-Box 360 had a better control schematic for this minigame.





Nonetheless, this first security barrier proves easy enough to crack on Taran's first try. Let's hope those two pairs of legs behind the door don't belong to Husks...





...No, it's just a pair of unattractive scientists.
The woman with the short red hair is "Dr. Warren" and she's the only one of this duo who could be classified as "sane." The other scientist-in-peril is named Manuel, and he looks a little something like this:





And he's lost his mind.
Actually, I suppose there's a distinct possibility that Manuel is actually a foreshadowing device, and that, in fact, his yammering is the result of the truth he's come to understand by studying the Beacon thoroughly and realizing its implications.
...Taran Shepard, however, thinks this guy is a menace to society, and in Mass Effect, there's actually a new and unique way we can take care of the clinically insane.

Let's listen to what Manuel and Dr. Warren have to say for themselves, first. Taran is not impressed with these two scientists, cowering away like rodents in a bunker while the soldiers outside were torn to pieces.

Dr. Warren explains that the beacon was moved to the spaceport (this at least justifies the apparently-omnipotent Nihlus' desire to explore the spaceport further.) We have the opportunity to investigate further, and each question we ask results in a fairly rational explanation from Dr. Warren (though nothing she tells us about the Prothean beacon or the activity at the dig site is anything we didn't know already) and equally ridiculous doomsday speeches from the less-than-mentally-stable Manuel. ("No one was saved! The age of humanity has ended!")

Manuel describes the Prothean beacon as humanity having "unleashed the beast." However, he and Dr. Warren do have an intriguing little tidbit of new information when we ask if they've seen Nihlus.





Taran poses the question regarding a Turian SPECTRE, and Dr. Warren reveals that they did see a Turian...one who was up to no good! (Has Nihlus betrayed us?) (Also, asking Dr. Warren this question leads her to contort her head in a unique angle.)
Manuel, for his part, stutters that "I saw him. The prophet. He was here." The prophet? I suppose there was something of a Turian Moses wandering around with his ten commandments, shouting God's will from the clifftops.

"I'm not mad. I'm the only sane one left!" declares Manuel, in the creepy kind of vocal inflection we'd usually associate with serial killers and pedophiles.

Anyway, it's time for us to ask the inevitable question:





"What's wrong with your assistant?"

Now I had originally thought to stop Chapter Two right here and allow you guys to debate the ethical ramifications as to whether or not our good friend Taran would decide to end Manuel's misery for all our sakes. After all, this is a decision with some intriguing Renegade-related consequences. However, two factors made it slightly less than appealing to stop here:

1: There's no suitable alternative resolution to this conundrum that can give us any other kind of Paragon or Renegade points, let alone any special items. So we might as well kick the crap out of Manuel and get our 9 Renegade points because we'd get absolutely nothing out of the conversation otherwise.

2: Seriously, would any of you have voted against the "knock Manuel out" option? Seriously?

...I didn't think so.





Could you resist the temptation to choose the "I can shut him up" option?
Because I sure can't!




"Say goodnight, Manuel."
We belt the obnoxious Manuel and he falls to the ground like the disgrace of a human being he is. What kind of presumably rational scientist yammers on about prophecies and deities and mythology anyway? Charles Darwin would be ashamed!!

For the record, I prefer the way female-Shepard says her lines compared to male-Shepard in general, particuarly since female-Shepard is voiced by Jennifer Hale, who also happens to be Naomi's voice in MGS, Emma Emmerich's voice in MGS2, Samus' voice in Metroid Prime games (though she really only grunts there), Fall-From-Grace in Planescape: Torment, a female character in Age of Empires III, and...was she Bastila's voice in KOTOR, too?

...Yes, she was!





...I miss you, Bastila.
I miss you and your sexy accent oh so much.


So basically Jennifer Hale kicks serious ass:




Whereas male-Shepard's voice sounds like an eternal monotone, like they picked some random guy off the street and just asked him to read a script in exchange for some easy cash.
But! In specific regard to this scenairo, which is one of only a few scenes I've had the opportunity to play so far as a male and a female version of Shepard, female-Shepard's voicework just is far superior to male-Shepard's. Male-Shepard just kind of blandly says "Say goodnight, Manuel." Female-Shepard practically sings the dialogue in a glorious half-seductive, half-threatening way: "Say goodnight, Manuel."
And it makes all the difference.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand:





Dr. Warren shrieks in terror and, once she regains her composure, sounds displeased with our brash actions regarding Manuel. Kaiden expresses his displeasure here, too (I thought briefly of swapping around the order of the characters, but I never found a way to get Ashley to be the one to respond to our behavior.)





...It's worth noting that, having already gotten our Renegade points from simply knocking out Manuel, none of our potential responses to this question actually leads to any Paragon (or any additional Renegade) bonuses. It's also worth noting that regardless of what we say, Dr. Warren eventually calms down and accepts our actions, so there's no permanent change to the course of the dialogue depending on what we choose. I'm just choosing the most negative and spiteful reaction here because Taran's a bastard sometimes and he's not a fan of psychopaths.





...You see? What'd I tell you? That Taran, he's such a jerk.


Anywhoo, it's time for us to end Chapter Two, as some major plot developments are going to start up shortly, and they merit a new chapter to properly explore.











...So, it's interesting to note that Taran apparently gained an additional point in Intimidate on his own, without any influence from me. Apparently, beating the mind out of crazy scientists has a positive influence on one's ability to scare others into submission!

So we have some choices to make in regards to the others:

Taran's got three points to spend and I'll consider investing them into any potential slot except Charm and Intimidate. I think we can wait a while longer before considering a boost to Intimidate again and we'll never, ever boost Charm. That leaves Basic Armor, Throw, Warp, Barrier, and Adept as investment possibilities.

Ashley's got six points to spend and we have a few options with her. I'd prefer not to invest into Pistols unless you make a startlingly fresh argument to the contrary as Taran and Kaiden are both using the better Pistols in the game and it makes sense to have Ashley specialize in other weaponry. There's also Assault Rifles, Combat Armor, Assault Training, and Soldier skills to consider investing into with her.

Kaiden is basically in the same situation as last time, except now he has two additional levels in Decryption and now we have four more -- as opposed to only two more -- potential Talent Points to spend with him.

I wish there was more y'all could do right now, but Eden Prime so far has been a bit of a bust in terms of critical decision-making opportunities. I've been told that after Eden Prime, it'll branch out in such a way as to give your voices a lot more merit. We'll have to wait and see.

End of chapter two!! Comments, criticism, praise, hatemail, etc. It's all appreciated, folks.
EDIT: Also, I could probably use ideas for better in-game strategy as to handle enemies in this game, as even using "Throw" proved largely ineffective against three Husks, and I worry as to what this might mean in terms of my ability to survive actual Boss encounters.

[Red Fighter 1073]

So yeah I think the medigel is mostly used for when you're trying to decrypt something. If you don't have enough medigel then you can't decrypt the thingy. Either that or it has to do with strengthening your weapons but I don't remember it all that well. Also, you can control your teammates powers too if you hadn't already known that (ex. make Kaiden actually do something useful like throw someone).

If you have actually have an Assault Rifle that Ashley can use then definitely use that, and put some talent points in that too. Also, I think you only need two more points until you unlock Pistols so go for that. Maybe 1 point right now if thats all it lets you do. Yeah, Intimidate is always fun to have especially when you do badass things like with the Crazy Scientists but I think you should be good right now. Put 1 or 2 points into Throw because that will help greatly. Also, to be honest I never really used Warp at all and I think it's a pretty bad skill but its mostly there so you can unlock Singularity later on. Unlocking Pistols and leveling up Throw should be your priority with Taran right now in my opinion.

[Zakreon]

To uncrouch, press Left Control again.

In case you didn't know.

[Solid Snake]

Originally Posted by Zakreon

To uncrouch, press Left Control again.

In case you didn't know.

I have to hit Ctrl to take screenshots, which is why in gameplay shots Taran is crouched more often than not. =)

EDIT:Also,

Originally Posted by Krylo

Also--yes, not being able to kill them makes you bad at Mass Effect.

Well, I wasn't all that great at KOTOR at first too, and I got pretty good at it after leaving Taris, so I still remain hopeful that I'll get it. Eventually. It's always a teensy bit tough to adjust to new games, with their new menus and powers and icons and whatnot.
Also: Having played the first KOTOR on the X360, I can say if there's any suitable comparison between KOTOR and Mass Effect, then at least part of my suckiness can be attributed to the fact that it's much harder to control the game on the PC than the X360. With a PC, you have to memorize which keys to hit to accomplish certain functions. (Ctrl is crouch, the numbers correspond to different non-passive powers, F is medigel, spacebar is the mechanism with which you order around other characters, etc.)

[01d55]

Well if I understand things right, the strategy you followed last level up leads to 2 armor, 1 pistols for Taran. For Kaidan it looks like you can give him one more point in decryption which will unlock electronics, which those guys said was the one other thing he's ever good for so pump that as far as you can.

As for Ashely I notice that the grayed out skill below pistols for her is shotgun, so if you want to give her shotties she's gotta take some pistol skill. It's possible that you don't want to do that, so my best hedge is to just pump armor and soldier.

[Krylo]

For Kaiden and Taran, everything 01d55 said. For all the reasons 01d55 said. Plus you won't let me tell you to put points into Taran's intimidate. Or I'd be telling you to do that. So you can amuse me better.

For Ashley I say put just enough into pistols to get shotguns, because she rocks the house with a high powered shotgun with exploding sh... well basically she just rocks the house with shotguns eventually, and is damn good with them even near the beginning.

So get her shotguns right away, which should be four pistols, and then two into shotguns. I suggest you continue putting points into shotguns until she learns carnage, then work on leveling combat armor until she can equip heavy armor. Once that's done, max soldier, then unlock fitness through assault training, and max fitness.

Once all that's done max shotguns.

Ashley is an unstoppable juggernaut with a bad attitude in that build. Empires crumble before her shotgunny might.

Which is pretty damned impressive for an NPC.