"Mass Effect 2" 9 for 10 [3] Trivia Quiz

Answer: Horizon

Horizon was a human colony in the Terminus Systems. They had chosen to live outside of Council space to explicitly escape some of the stifling regulations, but the Human Alliance still had a hand in their affairs. Human colonies in the Terminus systems were targeted by the Collectors because they were not able to easily call for help. Once Cerberus understood the Collectors' methods of attacking colonies, they were able to pick up clues about future attacks.

As soon as Horizon lost communication with the rest of the galaxy, Cerberus knew it was a Collector attack, and sent Shepard as fast as possible to check it out.

Shepard did encounter and fight the Collectors for the first time on Horizon, but they still managed to escape with most of the colony. Of those humans rescued, one was the Alliance officer assigned to the colony, the survivor of the Virmire mission from "Mass Effect".

The meeting was initially heartwarming, but soon turned cold when the survivor learned that Shepard had indeed sided with Cerberus.

Answer: Asari

The asari were a single-gendered species, and the oldest / most advanced culture in Citadel space. They were inspired by the "green space babe" from "Star Trek", with the designers wanting an entire species of blue alien women. Following this theme, they were able to reproduce with any other species, though the offspring would always be an asari.

The quarians and the volus both wore environmental suits everywhere, being unable to survive in normal Citadel atmospheres. The elcor were the large species known for their monotonous speech patterns.

Answer: Ronald Taylor

Jacob Taylor was the first squad member Shepard met, and Ronald was his father. Ronald was an officer on a ship that disappeared ten years before the events in "Mass Effect 2". Jacob had made peace with his father's absence, and was very surprised when the missing ship suddenly started transmitting a distress call.

Shepard went with Jacob to investigate the distress call, and get some closure. What they found was a very disturbing situation, to say the least.

Elias Kelham, Joram Talid, and Mouse were all characters in Thane's Loyalty Mission, but none were related to Shepard or any squad members.

Answer: Blue Suns

The Blue Suns were one of the three big mercenary groups in "Mass Effect 2" (alongside the Blood Pack and Eclipse). Blue Suns performed a wider variety of activities than the other two groups. One of their operations was a prison in space, the Purgatory, for the most dangerous criminals in the galaxy (which was ironic considering the Blue Suns track record). In order to cover the expenses of a space-faring prison, governments would pay large sums to keep prisoners there. If payments were missed, the prisoner could be released, at an undisclosed time and place, to wreak havoc once again.

Jack was even more dangerous than the regular inmates, and was kept unconscious in cryo storage. She had a large temper with a short fuse, and was genetically modified to be one of the most powerful human biotics in the galaxy.

The Special Tasks Group (STG) was the salarian special forces, and model for the Council Spectres. Cerberus was a pro-humanity organization with shady practices and dealings (and was also Shepard's employer in "Mass Effect 2"). The Talons were a smaller mercenary group on Omega that did not appear in "Mass Effect 2". They were first mentioned in the second "Mass Effect" novel, "Ascension", and played a prominent role in the "Mass Effect 3" DLC, "Omega".

Answer: Illium

Shepard had six squad members in "Mass Effect", and they all went their separate ways after the Normandy was destroyed. Garrus and Tali both ended up joining Shepard's new squad. The surviving human, Ashley or Kaidan, was also looking into the missing human colonies, but for the Alliance. Wrex set up on Tuchanka, and was to reunite the krogan. Lastly, Liara played a role in recovering Shepard's body for Cerberus, depicted in the comic "Redemption". During this time, she had a run in with the largest information broker in the galaxy, the Shadow Broker. After losing a friend to the Shadow Broker, she vowed to take revenge, and became information broker herself. Her story arc was completed in the DLC "Lair of the Shadow Broker" for "Mass Effect 2".

Omega, Tuchanka, and the Citadel were the other hubs "Mass Effect 2".

Answer: Nasana Dantius

Nasana Dantius was a paranoid asari business woman with criminal connections. In "Mass Effect", she recruited Shepard to kill her own crime boss sister before the link between the two could be made, damaging Nasana's reputation on the Citadel. In "Mass Effect 2", she was a ruthless CEO on Illium. Her actions caused a lot of harm, including to the workers constructing her new tower. Thane took it upon himself to rid the galaxy of this woman before he died. Thane had expected to die himself during the mission, but Shepard showed up to help, and he was recruited instead.

Helena Blake was the leader of a criminal organization in "Mass Effect". She recruited Shepard for a side mission to eliminate her rivals. Shepard could let her keep her criminal empire, kill her, or convince her to turn away from a life of crime. If the last option was taken, Helana would show up on Omega in "Mass Effect 2" as a social worker familiar with the criminal world.

Oriana Lawson was Miranda's younger sister, and Jacqueline Nought was another name (possibly her real one) for Jack. Nought is another word for zero, and Jack was known as Subject Zero when Cerberus was experimenting on her.

Answer: Grunt

The krogan once had a staggering birth rate, replenishing their numbers easily after any wars they fought. They were also durable, and could survive in harsher conditions than most other species. It was this combination that made them the perfect counter to the rachni. They krogan were a pre-space flight race when discovered, but were uplifted to help Citadel forces.

After achieving victory, they quickly spread out across the galaxy, and began encroaching on planets already occupied by other species. This led to the krogan rebellion, which was only stopped when the salarians developed a genetic modification, called the genophage, to alter the krogan birth rate to "manageable" levels. Since then, the krogan had never been a threat to the galaxy.

Grunt was the product of Dr. Okeer, a krogan scientist. Okeer wanted to address the genophage issue by creating genetically "perfect" krogan. Grunt was his best and last attempt before he died. Grunt was a young and brash krogan, with the bulk and strength to match, making him an excellent addition to the Normandy's crew.

Mordin was a salarian, Samara was an asari, and Kaidan was a human (and not a squad member in "Mass Effect 2").

Answer: Eclipse

Red sand was a dangerous drug that had the curious side-effect of heightening the biotic capabilities of those who used it. Shepard fought Eclipse red sand smugglers on Illium during Samara's recruitment mission. Eclipse was also seen on Illium, aiding in the kidnapping of Miranda's sister, and as security for Nassana Dantius.

Eclipse made extensive use of LOKI and FENRIS mechs, and fielded biotic troops and engineers, always keeping their enemies guessing. They allied with the other two large gangs on Omega to kill Garrus, and provided security for Donovan Hock in the "Kasumi: Stolen Memory" DLC.

The Blood Pack were another large gang in "Mass Effect 2". They pursued more violent endeavors than the other gangs. Shadow Broker troops were seen in "The Lair of the Shadow Broker" DLC for "Mass Effect 2". CAT6 (or Category 6) soldiers were soldiers who were dishonorably discharged from the Alliance military. They made an appearance in the "Mass Effect 3" DLC, "Citadel".

Answer: Renegade

Bioware games were some of the earliest video games to include morality systems. This started back when Bioware was creating licensed "Dungeons and Dragons" games, including "Baldur's Gate" and "Neverwinter Nights". Characters made using the "D&D" system always had an alignment on two spectra: the "Good-Evil" axis, and the "Lawful-Chaotic" axis.

"Star Wars" was always about a classic "good vs evil" dichotomy, so when Bioware made "Knights of the Old Republic", characters could earn points towards the Light Side or the Dark Side of the Force.

Later titles became a little more nuanced. The "Dragon Age" series did not have a specific alignment system, but each party member would approve or disapprove of your player's actions.

In the "Mass Effect" series, the morality split was between Paragon and Renegade. Paragons focused on helping and saving as many people as possible. Renegades, on the other hand, did what they had to do to guarantee that the mission was a success, embodying the idea that the end justifies the means (though renegade dialogue options tended to be snarky or sarcastic more than anything else).

Answer: Harbinger

In the first "Mass Effect" game, the Reaper antagonist was Sovereign. In "Mass Effect 2", the Reaper behind the scenes was the even more powerful Harbinger. Harbinger appeared to merely be the Collector General, controlling their hive mind and occasionally stepping into battle. The truth became apparent at the end, where it was revealed that Harbinger was actually a Reaper controlling the Collectors from beyond the galaxy.

Harbinger itself would later appear in "Mass Effect 3", where it was hinted that it might be one of the oldest and most powerful Reapers, coordinating their entire invasion of the galaxy.