Myth: You have to go all blue or all red to end up with every squad member loyal in the end.
Verdict: Busted!
I just finished my 30/70 Paragon/Renegade game in Mass Effect 2. All members recruited, loyal, and alive at the end. The Miranda/Jack fight was easy, but I had to pick up a spare for the Tali/Legion one. Sided with Tali, convinced Legion that Tali was going through some rough times, so I had to be gentle with her. (How exactly that is Intimidating, I'll never know...) Legion found that to be an acceptable logic, so we were buddies again. Yay.
It was kind of fun to actually roleplay a Shepard instead of metagaming one. This one is probably the Shepard I have with the most personality. She's brutally honest, ruthless to her foes, but if you're her friend, ally or crew, she'll go above and beyond to help you. So when the Collectors took the crew, well... The Collectors had to die. All of them. Saving the base was not an option, even if it would have been the Renegade thing to do. The Geth heretics had to go, too. They were the enemy after all. She did save the rachni in ME1, though. The queen hadn't hurt anyone, and she'll only commit genocide on species that pissed her off. And yes, she did hug Tali. Even if I ever do an all red game, I'm taking that Paragon interrupt. Always.
It was also kind of fresh to play a Renegade that wasn't a complete jerk. That's what the 30% Paragon were for.
Anyway, the Vanguard class. Fun! If there were two opposite ways to play Mass Effect 2, it'd be Infiltrator and Vanguard. Funny enough, those are the two classes I'm taking to ME3. The Infiltrator is all about setup and headshots from afar. Good fun. The Vanguard is all about momentum. When the Charge combo gets running, only a Pyro can really ruin my day. Also, thank you very much for telling me about Reave. Just what I needed to fill my Armor hole. Plus, it ended up being a so stylish kill on the Human Reaper. Raise hand, glow with biotics, Reaper's head explodes. That's my Shepard! Also Shockwave beats Husks so clean. Free tip, if you're not a Vanguard, bring Jack when you expect Husks. Get the wide Shockwave. Point and laugh as they break on impact. Not very sturdy those Husks...
Speaking of Jack, it was interesting to see her story when playing a female Shepard. I do like to use her for Biotics Specialist in the Suicide Mission. It just seems like a fitting end to her growth. When you first meet her, she's angry and just wants to kill and destroy, and in the end, she's dependable and willing to protect everyone. I think that's a nice character arc.
Anyway, two characters ready for import in Mass Effect 3. Two characters that had their humble beginnings on Eden Prime in Mass Effect 1.
Are there any other games that let you import characters twice in a row? I know the Baldur's Gate series let you import from 1 to 2, but I can't think of any other game that allows you to do a full trilogy like this. Going to be fun, I hope.
