Her name is Commander Shepard, though her friends call her anything from Jane to Shiva to Lydia. She's one of the most popular heroines in gaming history; a three-time galaxy saviour who takes no crap and wouldn't be caught dead in a chainmail bikini. To most, she's a long-haired redhead, but she's been seen trying other colours and styles. To some, she's a diplomat, to others, a ruthless, trigger-happy bitch.

And if she didn't already exist, BioWare would never have created her.

It's no secret that BioWare has always considered 'FemShep' (the one and only time I'll be using that ghastly nickname) a mere alternative to Mass Effect's real hero - the grizzled male Commander Shepard seen in all the adverts and on all the game boxes.

They provided one because one was expected, but aside from recording a couple of romance scenes and a few alterered pronouns in conversations, then tweaking some armour designs to give them a bit more space here and here, she was a very half-hearted addition. The female Shepard very obviously uses male motion capture data for instance, which reached its ultimate nadir with the Kasumi DLC for ME2, when she gets a slinky dress to wear, but promptly loses the ability to sit down without putting on a show.

Garrus and Shepard together in ME3 is a classic failure of gender coding and mo-cap in action.

Mass Effect 2 in particular showed off a depressing lack of interest. For instance, when pressed as to why it didn't offer gay relationship options like in Dragon Age 2, BioWare's response was simply that Shepard is heterosexual by design.

That would be perfectly valid... except for the fact that Shepardesses had been able to have a lesbian fling with not only their PA, but no fewer than four yes-they're-female asari babes by that point. Only in the romances was there any suggestion that BioWare saw her as anything other than a man in a woman's body, and it wouldn't be until Mass Effect 3 that both Shepards could bat for either team.

Yet despite these shaky foundations, somehow she works, and she works damn well. She's hands-down the fan-favourite Shepard, even if most players still opt for the male default, and one of the best heroines around. The irony is that much of this feels like it's down to BioWare's apathy. In not particularly trying to create a great female character, they lucked into producing one of the most enjoyable ones around.

There are good reasons for this. Writers (of both genders) often struggle to write good female characters, at least in part because so many of them have been done badly. One of the biggest hang-ups is that 'male' is traditionally treated as as the generic template, with female-ness treated as something extra. Look at cartoon animals. More often than not, the males will simply be shown as funny animals, while the females are identified with bows, dresses and breasts.

Hopefully the next great heroine won't need the word 'Fem' in front of her name so people know who she is.

The same applies throughout the English language. The word 'hero' conveys nothing specifically about the subject being a man - and of course, 'heroes' can be a group of either. 'Heroine' on the other hand is explicitly femine. All this leads to the unfortunate, but all-too-common double standard that while a man gets the luxury of being a collection of assorted, variably important traits, a woman is a woman first, and her traits defined through that lens.

At least part of Shepard's appeal is that she doesn't suffer from this. She is a woman, and that plays obvious roles in her relationships and the occasional ill-advised alien quip, but it's her other traits that take centre stage - her strength, her resolve, her commanding presence, and her status as Earth's greatest champion.

Her heroism is direct and active, and refreshingly free of being shoehorned into a direct mothering role like her obvious sci-fi sisters Ellen Ripley and Samus Aran. Her achievements are recognised as the sum of many years of hard work and raw talent, with her gender never treated as a limiting factor. She's not simply the right woman for the job. She's the right human being, full stop.

Would any of this have worked so well without Jennifer Hale breathing life into the character? Possibly, but there's no question that BioWare lucked out by bringing her on board. Divorcing gender from character is no better than obsessing over it - whatever we are, it's a core part of our identities. With a simple pronoun-swapped script, it's very common to end up in what's often referred to as 'man with breasts' syndrome. It's not only writers who bring cultural baggage to their work after all.

It's not quite over yet, of course. There's still some ME3 DLC coming, which might even fix that awful, awful ending.

Hale's acting does far more than just give Shepard a female voice. Her performance both grounds her in the Mass Effect universe and adds an emotional core that picks up where the script might have stumbled. You can hear both the smirk as Shepard teases her crew and the knives in her voice when she demands respect from bulletproof lizards twice her size.

She has drive, fears, passion, regrets, high-points, low-points - in short, everything you want from someone in her position, and everything you'd expect from someone with the weight of a whole galaxy on her shoulders. She may not have been written with the idea of creating a Strong Female Character, but that doesn't mean she isn't a strong female character.

So with all this good stuff going on, why is it hard to imagine BioWare and all its in-house talent choosing to create Shepard in her current form? For starters, it's impossible to ignore that when it finally accepted they'd created something special and beloved - a powerful, non-sexualised, mature hero for a modern sci-fi story - its first response was to throw a beauty contest. This already painful face palm gets even more bruising when you factor in that not only had they previously made the rather huffy point that
only 18% of players were playing as a female Shepard, simply having that stat suggests they already knew what hair people gave her.

Even if you just write this off as marketing nonsense though, the Mass Effect series' design priorities shine through with a quick glance at the rest of the female cast. Don't get me wrong, I really like most of them. They're fun to spend time with, well-written in their own right, and with great story arcs spanning five years of epic action. Pretty much any other sci-fi game would be lucky to have them.

Wouldn't it be great if you had the authority and gravitas to Renegade Interrupt people who annoyed you? Oh yeah! Bam! Right in the face!

They're not however cut from anything like the same cloth as the default Commander Shepard, which becomes even more noticeable when you compare the male version to the likes of Kaidan, Jacob and Vega. For starters, none of the boys are introduced wearing anything as silly as the bubblegum pink armour we first see Ashley wearing on Eden Prime. Nor are any a counter to the male gaze focused world that leaves 'perfect woman' Miranda spending much of her time giving the camera free arse-shots, EDI ultimately rocking a new 'I Can't Believe It's Not A Sexbot' body, Diana going from embedded reporter to beddable love interest in zero time squared, and the asari... my god, just everything with the asari. They're a species whose Saturday jobs consist of 'stripper' or 'psychic super-commando', and who can't even get a break when turned into Banshees. It's bad enough being zombified by evil Lovecraftian space robots without being sent into unholy battle with super-sized breasts and glowing blue nipple pasties.

This is the school of design a female Shepard would have emerged from, and in fact did. With that loathed beauty contest, we got to see exactly the kind of heroine BioWare would have given the series if it had known anyone was going to care about her. Surprising nobody, it turned out to be someone much younger and thinner, not to mention wearing rather more eye-liner, than the slightly butch, mature, scarred default of Mass Effect 2. She'd have been a perfectly acceptable heroine in many games, but a grizzled war veteran capable of tackling a charging krogan? Charitably, let's just say 'no'.

Still, never mind. It wouldn't have hurt for BioWare to stick closer to the character people made a connection with, just as it'd be appreciated to see both gender options as equal partners in their next RPG, and to be able to hold up their next heroine and say 'That's how you do it!' instead of 'Wow, that turned out surprisingly well, considering.'

What's important though is that however we got Commander Shepard, we got Commander Shepard. By hook or by crook, by accident and design, she's one of the greatest heroines in gaming history. Her adventures may almost be over, but as the end of Mass Effect 3 says, they've already made her a legend. May it live on for many, many years to come.

Looking forward to Mass Effect 3? Of course you are. If you've only played the first two games, though, you've barely scratched the surface of BioWare's amazing sci-fi universe. There are books, comics and of course, a whole stack of downloadable add-ons that fill in the gaps, take you to places Shepard doesn't get to go, and explain details you may have missed - like exactly why everyone hates Cerberus so much. But which ones are worth your time, which are essential if you want to appreciate the full story, and which can be skipped? We've checked them all out. For you.

Please note, we're only looking at the tie-ins that help develop the Mass Effect story or universe in some way, so you won't find things like the soundtrack discs or art books here. We've also skipped over the iOS game Mass Effect Galaxy, simply because it's no longer available for purchase. Don't worry though, it wasn't very good.

What of the rest? Let's jump straight into...

- The Downloadable Content

Mass Effect only had two DLC packs - and neither are worth picking up, even for completion value. Bring Down The Sky introduced recurring nasties the Batarians to the series, but they don't do anything very interesting here. The second, Pinnacle Station, was entirely combat-focused, and Mass Effect 2 does a much better job of making shooting aliens entertaining.

Mass Effect 2 has a better mix. We're ignoring the pure weapon and costume packs here, along with the vehicle-focused Firewalker expansion (free with the Cerberus Network anyway), which leaves six plot missions. Many of these come free with the PS3 version, though PC and Xbox 360 owners will have to spend BioWare or Microsoft points to fill in the gaps. Most plot DLC is priced at 560 of either of them, with BioWare points having a slightly better conversion into real money. Lair of the Shadow Broker is slightly more expensive, clocking in at 800.

Genesis

(sings) Spectres don't fear the Reapers. Nor do Tali, Garrus or Thane. We can be like they are...

Genesis is the 'story so far' comic included with the PlayStation 3 version of the game. It kicks in after the destruction of the Normandy, with the Shepard of your choice both explaining what happened in the first Mass Effect, and giving you the option to decide who lived, who died, and who he/she romanced, ready for the decisions to be continued in Mass Effect 2.

The comic itself is nothing special, and not only should it arguably have been a free download, it still irks that you didn't get to set these in the shuttle ride sequence at the start of the original Mass Effect 2. If you're playing on Xbox 360, it's a handy time-saver if you don't want to replay the first game to change BioWare's default choices (like picking Udina over Anderson, or the fate of the Council). On PC, just visit Mass Effect Saves and download a Shepard with the options you need, completely free.

Verdict: Skip It (PC) Maybe (Xbox 360)

Cerberus Network (Zaeed: The Price of Revenge / Normandy Crash Site)

If you bought Mass Effect 2 new, you already have this. With a second hand copy, it'll cost you a whopping 1200 BioWare or Microsoft points (around £10). Is it worth it? Plot-wise, not really. Normandy Crash Site is a very short vignette, while Zaeed's biggest contribution to the Mass Effect experience is letting you giggle at having Leslie Grantham on your ship. The new missions they add are OK, and worth playing if you've got them, but not buying separately. You don't need to have the Cerberus Network to download other DLC packages.

Verdict: Skip It (if you have to buy it)

Overlord

There are reasons why nobody trusts AI in the Mass Effect universe, and Overlord is a good demonstration of these. It's a multi-stage mission involving science gone bad, and while basically unrelated to Shepard's battle against the Reapers, at least it's the kind of situation that warrants his/her personal attention. Forgettable compared to the DLC that came later, but a solid chunk of content with enough moments to justify taking the diversion on your next playthrough.

Verdict: Maybe

Kasumi: Stolen Memory

The tie-ins keep Shepard's specifics vague. But we all know she's a green-eyed redhead, right? Right.

Kasumi Goto is the second and final bonus crew-member you can pick up - an intergalactically renowned thief with a love of action, willing to join your suicide mission. She's of limited use to it, but the quest that earns her loyalty is at least something a bit different. She wants to recover a 'greybox' from an unpleasant art collector, and her plan is to dress Shepard up in something a bit smarter than that old N7 armour and run a quick heist at a cocktail party.

It's a fun change of pace while it lasts, but could have done with being much longer and more involved. As is, it's not long before everything descends back into standard cover shooting, and not long after that before you're back on the Normandy, likely never to use Kasumi again. Go back and play it if she turns out to have a big role in ME3, but if not...

Verdict: Skip It

Lair of the Shadow Broker

Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Lair of the Shadow Broker is an absolute must-play, especially if you were disappointed by Liara's limited face time in Mass Effect 2 proper. BioWare pulls out all the stops, turning Mass Effect 2 into an action spy movie for this one, as well as piling on the bonus content afterwards by letting you rummage through the shadowy information dealer's files to uncover your crew's hidden secrets and private e-mails. What transpires is of huge importance to both the Mass Effect universe and Liara's personal story, and told beautifully. It's exciting. It's funny. It's touching. It's the Mass Effect 2 DLC you absolutely have to play.

Verdict: Get It

Arrival

Things we learned from the tie-ins: BioWare's writers really, really have a thing for Aria T'Loak.

Arrival is trickier. Technically, it should be a no-brainer. It's a bridge between the end of Mass Effect 2 and 3, explaining why Shepard is in his/her predicament at the start of the new game. It technically has some good story information about the Alliance's take on the Reapers. It gives you the chance to be there for a critically important decision - even if you are railroaded into it - that you'd otherwise only know about second-hand.

The problem is that it's not very good. You're alone, the mission isn't particularly exciting, and the result is more of a teaser than a plot continuation. That was annoying when it was going to be months until the continuation. Now, it feels a little pointless, especially knowing going in that everything is locked down, and you don't have the power to fix anything you deem is going wrong, not least because we know how Mass Effect 3 starts. It should have been a must buy. It's not quite a skip. It's the definition of...

Verdict: Maybe

- The Novels

There are currently four novels, the first three written by former BioWare writer Drew Karpyshyn. They're set throughout the Mass Effect series, with plenty of connections to events in the game. They spend just as much time on their own stories and characters though, like scientist Kahlee Sanders and messed up father/daughter Paul and Gillian Grayson, so if you're planning to read them anyway, do so in order. But if you just want to skip to the timeframe that interests you, here's what you can expect.

Revelation

Warning: Even thinking about spoiling Mass Effect 3 is officially punishable by torture.

This is a prequel to the original Mass Effect, focusing on Anderson's attempts to become the first human Spectre and Saren, prior to being driven crazy by Sovereign. The latter is the most interesting part. We never got to see much of him in the original game, or how he treated his position in the universe compared to Shepard's heroism. This novel fills in many of the gaps, as well as setting up the new elements for the later novels. Whether you plan to read the rest or not, this is the place to start.

Verdict: Read It

Ascension

Ascension is a pre-Mass Effect 2 look at Cerberus, though one more focused on the novel universe's characters than anyone you care about from the games. It's OK for what it is, but the main ground covered is done much better in some of the tie-in comics, which we'll get to in a minute. The other plot points of note here mostly come from getting to see the galaxy's response to Sovereign's attack at the end of the first game, which Shepard largely missed out on due to being unavoidably dead, and a continuation of the first novel's new threads. Not a bad book, but without the original's immediate hook if you're not working through the entire series.

Verdict: Skip it

Retribution

Set after Mass Effect 2, and features a return of several important characters - the Illusive Man, Aria T'Loak and Anderson. As before though, it largely continues the novels' story, but there are enough familiar faces to be able to jump in as long as you've finished the game. In return, you'll get plenty of insight into Cerberus (in extra-dickish form) and what's been going on since Shepard dealt with the Collector threat. For the novels-specific plot, you may find the story-so-far on the Mass Effect 2 wiki helpful reading.

Verdict: Read it

Deception

BioWare's DLC has been up and down, but mostly down. Will Mass Effect 3 finally get it right?

Something of a controversial release, this one. Deception is the first novel not written by Karpyshyn, and has been savaged by fans for its canonical inaccuracies. Whether you care or not, BioWare has acknowledged this and promised to release an updated version, so you should probably wait for that.

Verdict: Skip It

- The Comics

Not in the mood for a full novel? The tie-in comics offer both key off-screen moments and vignettes in a more easily digestible form, as well as making it clear that BioWare really, really likes getting people to draw pictures of Asari. The main ones - Redemption, Evolution and Invasion - are four-part arcs currently available in trade paperback form, with Redemption also available electronically as a set of apps on the iTunes store. The other, shorter, ones are vignettes set around the Mass Effect universe, and available for free on various different sites.

Redemption

Did you buy one of the Alternate Appearance Packs? Why? Why do something so silly.

How did Cerberus get its hands on Shepard's body? When did the once-bookish scientist Liara become such a badass? Redemption explains everything, as well as setting up one of the key characters in the Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC and giving us a chance to see our Cerberus colleagues when they don't have Shepard making them play nicely with aliens.

It's not an amazing comic, and if you've played the game, you know the rough gist already. It cracks along at a decent pace though, bringing in plenty of familiar faces and filling in a few gaps. As with Shadow Broker, it's an important part of Liara's character arc as much as a slice of the universe itself, and for that reason alone, worth checking out if you have the chance.

Verdict: Read It

Evolution

Explaining Evolution's place in the series a bit of a spoiler, but since just opening it up reveals that the artists don't care, to hell with it. This is the story of how he came to be the man we don't know today, involving the Turians, Saren and the Great Contact War. It's a solid offering, especially if you want to see more of the alien side of the universe, but don't expect too much of the inner machinations of Mr. Illusive or Cerberus themselves - both of their stories really kick off after this one ends.

Verdict: Maybe

Invasion

Set on Omega after Mass Effect 2, this is a fun but largely inconsequential story pitting Mass Effect 2's main chessmasters - the Illusive Man and pirate queen Aria T'Loak against both forces from beyond the Omega 4 relay and each other. Aria seems to be something of a pet character for BioWare, regardless of her limited screen time so far, and it's interesting to see how she deals with a threat to her empire when not just sitting around in a booth at a strip club. There's not a vast amount to the story though, and it's a pain to track down. Copies of individual issues are on eBay, but the trade collection isn't due until April. Check it out if Mass Effect 3 decides to continue Omega's story in the actual game. Otherwise, you can safely give it a miss.

Verdict: Skip it

- The Shorts (Incursion, Conviction, Inquisition)

Finally, there are three standalone comics, each eight-page vignettes, and two of them available to read online right now. Inquisition is a day in the life of C-SEC officer Bailey, available free in Flash format over on USA Today. Incursion is yet another trip back to Omega to catch up with Aria, this time setting up the Collector threat before the loss of the Normandy.

The third is trickier. While (cough) copies aren't difficult to find online, you can only legally get your hands on it through a special Dark Horse comics promotion. That's a shame, as while it's little but a glorified bar brawl, it is the only one of the set to tie into Mass Effect 3 by introducing new crewmember James Vega. Will he turn out to be yet another First BioWare NPC who never gets to leave the ship on account of being duller than a balsa wood statue of himself? No idea. But if the write-up on the wiki is anything to go by, he's not going to be a diplomat.

Verdict: Read Them

Drew Karpyshyn, the lead writer of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Mass Effect 1, has retired from BioWare and video games.

The parting was "completely amicable and 100 per cent my decision", wrote Karpyshyn on his website. (His website post didn't mention his retirement from video games as a whole, but his post on Twitter did.)

He retired to focus on writing books, "screenplays and other projects". He wants to finish the first book in his own original fantasy series, Children of Fire.

Karpyshyn has a decorated career. He co-lead wrote Mass Effect 2 and, for the last three years, has been instrumental in writing Star Wars: The Old Republic.

He also helped write Jade Empire; Neverwinter Nights and expansion Hordes of the Underdark; and Baldur's Gate 2 and expansion Throne of Bhaal - his first "significant contribution" to a BioWare project.

On top of that, Karpyshyn wrote the three not-rubbish Mass Effect novels - Revelation, Ascension and Retribution; he wrote a book about KOTOR character Revan and KOTOR 2 character the Exile; he wrote a Throne of Bhaal book; and he's writing a Star Wars: The Old Republic book.

He's also written three Star Wars novels about Darth Bane, and a standalone fantasy tale called Temple Hill.

"As of last week, I have officially retired from BioWare," announced Karpyshyn.

BioWare isn't happy with the new Mass Effect: Deception novel either.

The Mass Effect creator offered fans its "sincerest apologies" for the canonical "errors and oversights" in the book, and said changes would be made.

"The teams at Del Rey and BioWare would like to extend our sincerest apologies to the Mass Effect fans for any errors and oversights made in the recent novel Mass Effect: Deception," BioWare's community leader Chris Priestly informed fans.

"We are currently working on a number of changes that will appear in future editions of the novel.

The just-released Mass Effect: Deception book has gone down like a lead balloon with Mass Effect fans. The novel is apparently riddled with canonical errors.

A shared Google doc titled "Errors in Mass Effect: Deception" attempts to list all the inaccuracies (via Kotaku)

Here are some snippets:

• During the three years since [the setting of novel Mass Effect: Ascension], both Nick [Donahue] and Gillian [Grayson] have aged six years. In addition, the attack on the Citadel is said to have taken place two years earlier, despite it actually taking place three years earlier.
• Anderson claims Omega has no public newscasts. Mass Effect 2 begs to differ.
• Quarians wear environmentally sealed suits to protect their weakened immune systems. They do not wear "a motley collection of clothing, held together by a variety of straps and leather fasteners".
• The novel states that thousands die on the Citadel every day, but given the approximate population of 13 million, this is beyond excessive.

One fan went as far as to burn Mass Effect: Deception and video it. I can't get over how similar he looks to the actual Commander Shepard.

One explanation for the book's shoddy standards is it's not written by Drew Karpyshyn, writer of the previous three Mass Effect novels as well as lead writer of Mass Effect 1 and co-lead writer of Mass Effect 2.

Mass Effect: Deception is written by William C. Dietz.

Maybe he should stick to weight-loss books.

In reality, Dietz has enjoyed a long and prosperous career writing science fiction stories. In addition to his own works, he's adapted stories for the Star Wars licence as well as for game properties Halo, Hitman and Resistance. He even co-wrote Vita game Resistance: Burning Skies.

You-hoo, PC gamers, there's a juicy sale going on over at EA's digital distribution shop Origin.

In the Origin sale, you can pick up Mass Effect 1 and Dead Space 1 for the rock-bottom price of £3.

Dead Space 2 will only set you back £7.50, Mass Effect 2 £10.

Dragon Age 2 and Mirror's Edge are £5.

The remaining deals worth noting are Bulletstorm for £7.50 and Spore for £6.

This Origin deal runs for "a limited time only".