ME 1: Ode to Wrex

I've been playing quite a bit of Mass Effect lately, to the point where I finished the first game. My, what an epic conclusion that was! It was really exciting, apart from all the shooting that had to be done - luckily I could abuse my boyfriend for that. I don't want to tell too much about the ending of Mass Effect I though, that would be a huge spoiler for those who have not played it yet. I can only say it is really good. 

In Mass Effect II, one doesn't have the same squad mates as in I: there has been some time in between, and everyone has gone their own way. I'm suffering from some withdrawal effects in Mass Effect II though, as my all-time favorite character Wrex is not available. My boyfriend promises me "another Krogan", but I don't believe anyone can be a substitute for Wrex! Mass Effect II is really nice, but I miss my favorite Krogan. I almost ragequit when I heard I was not going to have Wrex in my squad this time and went into 'drawing therapy', resulting in the Wrex drawings presented below. Perhaps writing a bit about him here will cheer me up.

Wrex' quotes

Krogan are famous for their violent nature and being very, very tough (in case of Wrex, make that near unbeatable), but also for their dry humour. My favorite Wrex-quotes, in order of appearance in the game (imagine them being spoken with a sturdy bass voice):

C-Sec officer: Wrex, do you want us to arrest you?
Wrex: I want you to try.

Tali: How can you fight your own people?
Wrex: Anyone who fights us is either stupid or on Saren's payroll. Killing the latter is business. Killing the former is a favor to the universe.

Shepard: You must have family other than your father. Don't you miss them?  
Wrex: You trying to make me cry, Shepard?

Upon walking into an bureaucratic barrier:
Wrex: If these "executives" don't blame Anoleis for provoking this, they're fools. You should eat them.

The most famous Wrex-quote has even become a meme among Mass Effects fans. It describes the regular sturdy and cool meeting of Wrex and Shepard on the Normandy and goes like this:

"Shepard." "Wrex."

There are a dozen of videos scattered about the net showing what, according to a video comment, Shepard and Wrex were doing when supposed to be saving the universe:

~

Three years later...

*Reapers invade*

Anderson: Where's Shepard?!?!?!?

*Aboard the Normandy*

Wrex: Shepard.
Shepard: Wrex.

~

The drawing by Jennifer Stolzer / aka "jameson" to the left shows what really should have happened, though!

This is the best piece of Wrex fan art I've seen out there (so cute!) and I wouldn't want you to miss it. You can check out more of Jennifer's art at Jameson's deviant art page.

Krogan with brains

There's more awesome about Wrex apart from having cool/funny quotes and looking extremely cuddly. While most Krogan are satisfied with killing each other in clan wars, Wrex realizes that this will only drive their species closer to extinction. A genetically designed virus (referred to as the "genophage") introduced by the Turians made the krogan infertile. The Krogan were up to that point threatening to overtake the rest of the universe. They had only known their own world's clan wars so far, and with the new technology gained through their mercenary work in the war against the Rachni, it was only a logical continuation by their nature to go and raid other planets.

The genophage debate is a well constructed one: it seems a bit harsh to exterminate a whole race, but on the other hand you don't want that race to exterminate everyone else, either. I'm still hoping to be able to get some sort of cure for the genophage, preferably without Krogan killing the rest of the universe. I heard Wrex is trying to do something idealistic on the Krogan homeworld in Mass Effect II. I may then not have him in my squad (*sob*), but I'm still very much looking forward to see what's going on there!