LogFAQs > #954472297

The politics of Mass Effect does reflect the trends of fiction at the time. The original pitch was '24 in Space'

You're a Space Cop who essentially answers to no one to get the job done. This was done on purpose. As Shepard you decide what is right to do and the concept of excessive force doesn't really exist.

This does a good job of summarizing it really

In fact, no member of civil authority in Mass Effect really seems like they're that respectable. Playing Mass Effect today, it's been surprising just how much disdain the game seems to show for the idea of civilian government, institutions, and rules in general. The galaxy of Mass Effect is not an especially democratic place, and when it is, it's the know-nothing paper pushers who make up the government that put lives in danger. The time it takes to get the Citadel Council to sign off on an action could cost lives. Bureaucrats and their rules prevent you from stopping criminals and terrorists. You're the only one who understands the real threat, and everyone else just has their head in the sand if they're unwilling to let you do whatever you want to deal with it.

This is what a lot of fiction around that time period was like. Pro-military/authority and anti-bureaucracy.

I don't think it means the game is bad or anything and I don't think the article is really making that claim. I think it's interesting how much fiction can change in 14 years. Now TV shows about cops are potentially controversial.

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Kind Regards,
Darmik