Mass Effect/Shout Out: Difference between revisions

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== Series ==

* [http://www.cerberusdailynews.com/?p=100 Cerberus Daily News] on 4/01/2185 (April Fool's Day) has an interesting article about the destruction of a planet...with a [[Superman|single infant survivor]].

** Picked up by a starship named Kent no less.

** And then you have the planet's name, DC1938.

** Another CDN shout-out: A news story references about an exclusionary zone around relays due to the difficulty of cleaning debris, including representative (Lisa) Tanabe referencing an incident where a single metal bolt breached the crew compartment of the starship Mihairokov, killing the passengers. [[Planetes]] is an anime about debris collection in space, including among the Debris Section's employees Ai Tanabe and Yuri Mihairokov. {{spoiler|Yuri was one of a few survivors of an incident when a bolt struck and depressurized the passenger compartment of the suborbital liner he was traveling on}}.

* Then there are the Blue Suns Mercenary Band, which is a reference to either the "Blue Suns" of ''Firefly'' or "Black Sun" of ''[[Star Wars]]''. Or both.

* The quarians with their rag-tag, fugitive fleet fleeing the geth genocide are very close analogues to ''[[Battlestar Galactica]]''.

* Lot of elements from the story are similar to the plot in [[Star Control|Star Control 3]].

** A ''huge'' proportion of the game seems to pay tribute to the [[Star Control]] series, except no longer [[Played for Laughs]]. The Krogan and the Thraddash are both races of [[Proud Warrior Race Guy|warriors]] who cite nuking themselves back into the stone age as a step towards ''improving'' their species. The Reapers, and especially Sovereign, mix the motivation of the Eternal Ones with the personality of the Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah. The planet exploration and resource gathering of Mass Effect seems like an updated version of Star Control's planet exploration and resource gathering. And so on. If it weren't for both games being unapologetically Troperiffic in their homage to the [[Space Opera]], and therefore embracing the same Sci Fi tropes that were around long before either of them, you could keep citing examples all day.

** The Rachni (and their overall story) are a damn near perfect [[Expy]] {{spoiler|of the buggers from ''[[Ender's Game]]''.}}

** The Rachni are also expies of the Arachnid alien species from Starship Troopers. The mission chain "UNC: Listening Post Alpha", "UNC: Listening Post Theta", and "UNC: Depot Sigma-23" are based off scenes from the movie, even including a character named Elena Flores as a shout out to Isabel 'Dizzy' Flores from the movie.

* There is a possibility that whoever designed the turians read [[Salt]] by [[Adam Roberts]], given that it featured a ship named the Senaar where "they live by the hierarchy" which had a past captain named "Tyrian, or Turian".

* Krogan are large hunchbacked aliens with red eyes and aggressive tendencies. The [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDmTW9QeGG0 Grendlers] from Earth 2 are large hunchbacked aliens with red eyes and aggressive tendencies.

{{quote| '''Ashley:''' Nothing like a nice, relaxing stroll on the beach... [[Evil Dead|blasting bad guys with my boomstick]]!}}

* One side world, Junthor, has references to [[Forbidden Planet|monsters from the id]] and Percy Bysshe Shelly's "Ozymandias".

** In a similar vein, a conversation between Shepard and Kaidan {{spoiler|regarding the Reapers}} has this gem:

{{quote| '''Shepard:''' The turians were old too. We gave them a boot in the ass.<br />

* In one sidequest, you find a human distress beacon which turns into a geth ambush. Ashley comments [[Star Wars|"I've got a bad feeling about this..."]] Once they attack, she yells "It's a trap!"

** It gets better with other party members... Wrex looks a lot more Ackbar-like than Ashley could ever ''not'' hope to.

* In the Hydra Cluster, you're sent to apprehend a Major Kyle who went off the deep end and has styled himself Father Kyle for his commune of biotics. While there's neither smell of napalm in the morning nor a termination with extreme prejudice (at least not if you resolve the situation peacefully), [[Apocalypse Now|the reference is clear.]]

{{quote| '''Shepard''': You know this place is falling apart?<br />

'''Krogan''': Exhilarating, isn't it? }}

{{quote| '''Mira:''' It looks like you're trying to restore this facility. Would you like help?<br />

'''Renegade response:''' Crap, a pop-up. }}

{{quote| '''Sovereign:''' Your words are as empty as your future.}}

* In yet another [[Alien]] shout out, the planet Maji has an odd skull that bears more than a bit of resemblance to an alien queen. And if that's not enough of a shout out, Maji happens to be used as a big game preserve where vicious animals are brought to [[Alien vs. Predator|be hunted for sport]], and the skull indeed shows signs of weapons fire.

 

== Mass Effect 2 ==

** If you stand by Joker at the bridge, in addition to saying a ton of funny lines, he'll at one point say:

** Which is itself a reference to The Hunt for Red October. (More specifically, it could be from ''Firefly'', which was referencing Red October, which was using an actual submarine tactic - take your pick.)

** While Zaeed has several obvious shout outs to Firefly, his character is a subtle shout out to another series. A morally questionable mercenary who founded an organisation only to be betrayed by his partner(s)? Who is missing an eye (Zaeed's current eye is a cybernetic replacement)? [[Metal Gear Solid|I wonder what other series has a character like that, huh?]]

* On Pragia, there is a throwaway dialogue that says that they were planning on moving the facility to focus on kids in an Alliance program. Considering what [[Firefly|River]] went through, this could be a much darker shoutout.

* One of Male Shepard's default casual outfits is [[Knights of the Old Republic|Canderous Ordo's]] default outfit.

** Side note: Krogan have four testicles, so when they someone's got a quad it is the human equivalent of saying someone's got a pair. A quint would be the rare krogan who has five.

* One of the quarian Admirals is from a ship named Qwib-Qwib. This just happens to be the name of the lone anti-Berserker sentient machine in the [[Berserker (Literature)|Berserker]] universe. Bonus points in that the Berserkers are eerily similar to the Reapers in some ways.

** And it looks at you knowingly with a smile.

** Dual [[Shout-Out]] to the members of Pink Floyd, who actually pulled it off in the seventies, if [[The Other Wiki]] is to be believed.

* And there's a [[Warhammer 40000|Dakka system.]] Fittingly, Jack takes you here to blow the shit out of a Cerberus facility.

** There's also a heavy pistol called the Carnifex [[Hand Cannon]].

*** ...you guys know the word means "butcher" in [[Gratuitous Latin|Latin]], right?<ref>Additionally, the term appears in a second place in 40K: it's also the name of the gauntlet-mounted surgery kit Space Marine Apothecaries wear. *Also you know,the giant bio-tank Tyranid....</ref>

** Jack also has a [[Shout-Out]] to [[Babylon 5]]. Has anyone else has a good look at the tattoos on her [http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cCl5i7abykg/TbwuYnb2CKI/AAAAAAAAARM/Kgu_W8bl7O8/s1600/Mass%2BEffect%2B3%2BJack.jpg back]?

{{quote| '''Joker''': All right... but if you start singing Daisy Bell, I'm done. (''to himself'') Great. See, this is where it starts, and when we're all just [[The Matrix|organic batteries]], [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|guess who they'll blame?]] "This is all Joker's fault. What a tool he was! I have to spend all day computing pi because he plugged in the Overlord!"}}

** This is particularly genius, because it's also referencing the [[Executive Meddling]] that caused the machines' use for humans in [[The Matrix]] to be changed from using human brains for distributed computing to power sources.

** The atmosphere of the gas giant Anjea (Amada system, Omega Nebula, available with the Normandy Crash Site DLC) has "large numbers of hollow, unpowered objects with dimensions 3.14 by 12.56 by 28.26 meters circulating in the equatorial cloud bands". In other words, pi by 4 times pi by 9 times pi, matching the 1:4:9 dimensions of the Monoliths.

* There's a scene in a bar where you can get Shepard to start drinking. It's not exactly identified what it is Shep's drinking.

* The game merchant on the Citadel will mention a game called '''[[Grand Theft Auto|G]]'''[[Grand Theft Auto|rim]] '''[[Grand Theft Auto|T]]'''[[Grand Theft Auto|erminus]] '''[[Grand Theft Auto|A]]'''[[Grand Theft Auto|lliance]], that is apparently pretty controversial ("So what if you can capture and beat slaves? It's just a game!")

** The same game merchant has a number of [[Shout-Out|Shout Outs]] and [[Take That|Take Thats]] to various aspects of gaming.

** ''Lair of the Shadow Broker'' tells us that Legion is an avid gamer; he plays ''[[World of Warcraft|Galaxy of Fantasy]]'' and ''Grim Terminus Alliance'' mentioned above, and has achievements for completing a playthrough without killing slaves as well as killing one hundred quarians. He also plays ''[[Modern Warfare|N7 Call of Honor]]: [[Medal of Honor|Medal Of Duty]]'' and has over 200,000 sniper-rifle kills, [[Player Preferred Pattern|but only three shotgun kills and no melee kills]].

* If you convince the asari on Illium to date the krogan, you'll see them later on Tuchanka. After the asari claims that the planet is too dusty, the krogan notes that it "[[Calvin and Hobbes|builds character]]."

* The Tupari vending machine in the Citadel will occasionally say: "Tupari: it will bring your ancestors back from the grave." This is in reference to a [[Bite the Wax Tadpole|marketing campaign]] Pepsi ran in China. See the [http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/ancestor.asp Snopes.com] entry for details.

** Since we don't have a page for that yet, to elaborate: R.U.R., written by Karel Čapek, coined the term 'robot'. It's a thinly-veiled Communist allegory where the robots stage a [[Robot War|mass uprising]].

** This troper just realized another one while looking at this entry: '''H'''ahne-'''K'''edar has a [[Knights of the Old Republic|facility for producing mechs that Shepherd must shut down]].

* Shepard can listen to the ramblings of a racist batarian "Mad Prophet" on Omega who brings to mind a racist human prophet from another [[Knights of the Old Republic|BioWare project.]]

* Kasumi's outfit bears a striking resemblance to Visas Marr from ''[[Knights of the Old Republic]] 2''.

** More importantly, however, it's eerily similar to the thief model from the Infinity Engine.

* Among the valuable artifacts locked in Donovan Hock's vault is a statue of an Ogre from ''[[Dragon Age]]''.

* The M-451 Flamethrower. What burns at [[Fahrenheit 451]]?

** [[Critical Research Failure|Not books]]; they burn at 451 '''Celsius'''

* There is the M-3 Predator, a popular heavy pistol in the ME universe (and the first gun you get). Those who are familiar with [[Shadowrun]] probably know about ''their'' most popular heavy pistol...the Ares Predator.

* The planet where the Overlord DLC mission is set has skies full of [[Dragon Age|dragons]].

* At the end of the game, you can see what the Collectors did with the captured humans. {{spoiler|Turn them into an orange liquid that is used to create a single giant lifeform.}} This is amazingly similar to the fate of humanity in ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''.

** There are also other hints throughout the games that would make {{spoiler|[[Assimilation Plot|Instrumentality]]}} one possible explanation for the creation of the first Reaper.

* EDI's name {{spoiler|and eventual upgrade in personality, along with style of speech and piloting maneuvers,}} is a reference to ''[[Stealth]]''.

* On the prison ship Purgatory, you see one prisoner being beaten up. If you talk to the guy in the cell next to him, he'll reveal that his name is [[Double Dragon|Bimmy]].

** Or maybe [[The Fifth Element]], you're even in a taxi!

* Easy to miss in the Lair of the Shadow Broker (literally): The Shadow Broker says: "You travel with fascinating companions, [[Doctor Who|doctor.]]"

* Slightly obscure one: apparently the planet Siano wandered to its current location from another system, and is home to an abandoned base on one side and a nuclear waste dump on the other. Looks like we found out where [[Space: 1999|Moonbase Alpha]] finally ended up.

* Jack's entire existence seems to be one big reference to [[The Chronicles of Riddick]].

** Her name and bald-shaven nature are exactly similar to Jack, the girl who latches onto Riddick in the film series. Additionally, both are broken out of their equivalents of a mercenary-controlled [[The Alcatraz|supermax prison]] by a suitably [[Badass]] figure who they come to trust.

* The ship "Qwib-Qwib" is apparently a reference to the Fred Saberhagen ''Berserker'' novels, which were about rampaging robots trying to wipe out all life in the galaxy (sound familiar?)

* When scanning the planet Shasu, one can find the [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/forever-alone "Forever Alone" meme face] on the planet's surface, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KWm87FDo_U as seen here].

* The dog-like mech's name is [[Norse Mythology|FENRIS]].

** The human-like one is LOKI.

* One of the advertisements on Illium goes [[wikipedia:MasterCard#Advertising|"There are some things omni-gel can't fix, for everything else..."]]

* On the assignment "MSV [[Strontium Dog|Strontium Mule]]", the payload you discover at the end is [[Pulp Fiction|neither seen nor directly explained but casts a golden glow from its container.]]

* The "Reave" ability itself struck me as this. A power that lets you drink your enemies' life force from afar? [[Legacy of Kain|Now where have I seen that before?]]

** As well, Morinth is an intensely sexual blue-skinned babe with a knack for 'herbs' and {{spoiler|killing her lovers}}, making her remarkably similar to Farscape's Zhaan, as well. The shoutout feels complete each time an asari makes a remark to The Goddess.

* Thane's loyalty mission is a big shout-out to [[Harry Chapin]]'s song "Cat's in The Cradle" including the father, Thane, [[When You Coming Home, Dad?|never being around for his son]], Kolyat, and Kolyat following in his father's footsteps. To make the shout-out even more blatant, the achievement for completing the mission is called "Cat's in The Cradle."

* The krogan call their huge, gun-laden trucks "Tomkahs". Probably a lawyer-friendly reference to [[Tonka Tough|Tonka toy trucks]].

* A soldier is killed when his ship is ambushed and destroyed by an enemy cruiser, and is brought back to life by a disavowed black ops organization as a hard-to-kill cyborg via a project named for Lazarus. Just like in the early ''[[Babylon 5]]'' episode ''A Spider In The Web.''

* Samara's loyalty quest on Omega, with Nef. Including the little video diary, seems to be an almost direct shout out to Lost In Space, given the similarity to Penny.

== Mass Effect 3 ==

* Kai Leng acts very like [[Metal Gear Solid|another cyborg ninja.]]

* Between the flame throwers, the need for flashlights to navigate dark corridors and the creepy eggs that unleash insectoid horrors on anyone who gets too close, the mission on Utukku is one big tribute to [[Alien]]. (If you kill them both times, Joker even starts to comment that maybe they should nuke the planet, because it's the only way to be sure.)

*** It goes much deeper than the quote. Observe the use of the pipe, an the fact the music theme playing is very, very similar as well.. and then cuts away to a [[Black Screen of Death]].

* Brutes, the krogan/turian husks, behave almost exactly like ogres in the [[Dragon Age]] games.

** And Banshees have more than a passing similarity in behaviour to the Witch in [[Left 4 Dead]]

*** They also look a **lot** like the true form of Sil from [[Species]]

* A sidequest involves Shepard [[Jurassic Park|finding a kakliosaur skull preserved in amber and suggesting a salarian scientist clone its DNA to produce living kakliosaurs.]] So the krogan can ''ride them into battle'' against the Reapers.

* If you've romanced Liara all the way through, her last kiss with Shepard ends with them silhouetted in each other's arms as a bright light on the horizon envelops them, looking a lot like one of the dream sequences from ''[[Watchmen]]''.

* As anyone familiar with [[Logan's Run]] will know, {{spoiler|there is no sanctuary.}}

* When you invite Traynor up to your cabin for chess and she challenges you, the Paragon response on the conversation wheel is, "[[Star Wars|I have a bad feeling...]]" The line Shepard actually says is, "[[Memetic Mutation|This is a trap, isn't it?]]"

* The Turian leader is called [[Warhammer 40000|Primarch]], as you all know.

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvaQDxhm_0U&feature=g-u-u&context=G204fe7eFUAAAAAAAAAA Fight like a Krogan!] by [[Miracle of Sound]].

* The slow building romance between Joker and EDI is a shout out to Lester del Rey's short story "Helen O'Loy", a story about a human and a robot that had achieved true sentience falling in love.

* During the mission to rescue the ex-Cerberus scientists led by Dr. Brynn Cole, the evacuation scenes resemble the opening of the [[The Empire Strikes Back|Battle of Hoth]], where surface-to-air guns clear a path for transports. Some of the lines are exactly the same, too.

* Some of the music that plays during the quarian-geth arc sounds remarkably similar to some of the music from ''[[Battlestar Galactica Reimagined]]''. Given how similar the quarian-geth conflict already is to that series, this can't be just coincidence.

* Dr Eva's [[Robotic Reveal]] when she emerges from burning wreckage with her skin burned off looks like a Terminator homage.

* After the raid on the Citadel [[Seth Green|Joker]] will comment how he used to like Cerberus, when they were vigilantes and [[Angel|helping the helpless.]]

* The Collector's Edition robot dog is named [[Doctor Who|Kei 9.]]