Kai Leng

But you also said you have no interest in reading the books and Kai Leng was primarily a book character who gained a participation on ME3 (and later the comics Mass Effect Foundation, also as a side char).

He was diferent from Saren or Illusive Man who made the reverse way (from Games to books/comics). Hence most of his characterization will be lost in you don't read Mass Effect Retribuition.



ps: I am not counting Deception because that book has so many canonical problems even the editors at Mass Effect Wikia complained about it.

I agree there were some problems (that Thane X Kai Leng fight was badly done) but even on the books he was just a tool for TIM.

Ok, I didn't express myself properly. Beating is not the right word, but Thane did stop Kai Leng and yes he could have killed him.

I remember screaming at the screen "What the fuck Thane! Blow his head! Shoot!" but nope, Bioware needed to get rid of Thane so they made a trained assassin have second thoughts about shooting someone, that way Thane could leave this world after a super-ninja fight worthy of praise! 

Not to even mention that Shepard and co. just stand there and watch. 

That cutscene is one of the first things I ever gif'd once I'd learnt how to do that.



BOOMSHAKALAKA!

I guess it's good that I happen to love blades of all kinds regardless of class.   Then again, it is lame how every class besides the Soldier got screwed over in the cutscenes. Hell, it even bothers me, despite rolling the Soldier a lot. Never had anything against the Predator and Avenger until ME3. I carry five heavily modded guns + blade, game, I don't need to pull another weapon out of my... y'know... thin air. Yay for almost never showing your weapon and fighting style of choice in a game with RP options and customisable protag.

The funny thing is he's basically acknowledged to not be very good in-game. Even The Illusive Man just says "We'll see" when Leng states they'll beat Shep

Shepard didn't think it was a good idea because it's so blatantly not a good idea.

Nice! I always wanted to make a gif of this, but never did.

That is fairly disappointing. It would be nice if more cutscene stuff reflected your inventory and class. It's jarring to have your character pull out a weapon from thin air they didn't have. And there is only one class-specific interrupt in the entire trilogy, and it's in a DLC, for one class (And the least played class ) But I wouldn't say every class but Soldier got screwed over per se, since all classes have omni-tools and therefore omni-blades, so it does at least make sense. Makes me sad that no one besides Sentinel can use two of them though

I love that scene but i agree, as a vanguard player it would have be amazing to smash him with pure biotic power.
(It's a nice thing that Bioware remembered this during Citadel DLC).

Indeed, which is why I said I'd get it because kinetic barriers serve as protection against projectiles flying at high speeds, e.g. bullets, not blades. Although we know that gameplay is quite different - shields serve as protection against e.g. getting bitch-slapped by brutes, as well. My point was that he has to get close to the enemy first at all times, enemy that's going be pretty actively trying to get rid of his shields, and he'll have to stay there the entire time. Some characters have tech skills that can overload shields from distance. This fighting style also doesn't take into account that some characters might (shoot at Leng first and) punch him in the face when he gets close, like Vanguards, who even have better mobility than him. Good luck to him trying to melee a krogan, too. I don't have much of an issue with the sword as much as the fact it's his only weapon. He doesn't even have a backup pistol because he's too cool for that. Do we even see him use the things on his palms as blasters? I only remember him blocking bullets with it. Kai Leng also isn't a biotic, as far as I know, is he? He never uses biotics in any shape or form. His fancy tech looks pretty deceiving, though.

(I admit I haven't used the N7 Slayer in MP because MP'd require social interaction during gameplay and... meh. I'm more of an SP player, either way. So I've just solo'd for a bit to see what it's like and thus I don't even have that class unlocked.)

Either way, though, I agree there's just too big a difference between what certain characters can do in cutscenes and what they can do in gameplay. I think it's most visible and jarring with Leng. Then there are characters whose shields, barriers and armour magically don't exist in cutscenes when the writers need them shot. Then there are characters behaving nonsensically and incompetently for the sake of cheap drama. Etc. As you say, it is rather infuriating.

Ugh, after Karpyshyn's Revan book I'm terrified to touch any book he's written. Drew is quite good at writing video games. Books? Well, let's just say he makes some of the crappier Dragonlance writers look like geniuses whose talent shames Shakespeare, Chaucer, and Dante.

Kai Leng was kinda cool in his book appearances, before his game introduction in ME3. From that point on though, he went nowhere but downhill.

Oh, loved this!

Hmm... Infiltrator could be:
Shepard: *activates Tactical Cloak, then Marksman* Dodge this. *BLAM!*