Finally, The Finale To Horizon

Okay, in case you can't follow it that well, or you didn't pick it up from my delicate yet detailed artwork in the last post, or possibly you're just stupid (this is me), here's the skinny on what's going down:

Horizon was a colony of feral peasants humans in the terminus systems that was just kind of sitting around doing its colony thing until the Alliance came in, possibly wearing Captain America costumes, and installed a bunch of big ass defense towers. The logic there was that if the collectors came knocking, the colonists could shoot them out of the sky. However, the collectors saw the big ass defense towers, figured the colony was a threat, landed, took out the defense towers, and is currently collecting the shit out of some colonists. Whoops! Oh Alliance, you so cray!

But, if Shepard can get those towers back on line, she can unload a hot load in the collector's ass!

... a hot load of lead.

Why are you looking at me like that?

Look, this is Mass Effect, it's actually quite surprising that the final solution to the collectors isn't having sex with them.

There's some people out there that think Shepard's some kind of technical supergenius; I rather like the idea of her being something of a big dumb coconut.

Oh, but hey, guess who's calling!

saying nothing moving on

Oh, honey. None of us like being creeped on. It's quite surprising that Harbinger isn't rocking a neckbeard and a fedora.

So anyway, we now come to a battle between the speed of the DSL connection on the Normandy and Harbinger trying to keep it in his pants.

Oh, and Harbinger brought his best friend, the praetorian!

Even if Shepard does get Harbinger to fuck off, the collector ship toasts out of there, unharmed and full of colonists. GOOD MISSION EVERYONE, GOOD MISSION.

I'm only being a little bit cute, here. I think the actual in-game line is email, but no, that's what this portion of the game is, it is Spacebook drama.

Shepard says a really important thing here -- you'll notice, she doesn't understand that she was dead. This comes up in ME3.

I like bringing Garrus and Miranda on this mission for a wide variety of reasons, one of which is that you get four totally different viewpoints: Ashley, who's very pro-Alliance, Miranda, who thinks Cerberus is pretty rad and does a lot for humanity, Garrus, who's an alien and isn't going to like Cerberus no matter what they do for him, and Shepard, who wants everyone to shut up long enough for her to kill the reapers.

Right, I know, I could have done the same thing with Mordin and Jacob, but I like drawing Garrus and Miranda better.

(This is one of those fun scenes that can change around depending on how you interpret Shepard. I always thought Shepard wanted back into the Alliance and would leave Miranda cold in a heartbeat if she could, but some people think she's more chill with Cerberus than that.)

So, uh, time to check in with the Illusive Man. Shepard's in a good mood, though, so allow me to sum it up for you pictorially.

Okay, I've never figured this one out, but Brother Tim somehow lets slip that he lured the collectors and the Alliance to Horizon by leaking the fact that Shepard was ressurected. I have no idea how that works. Did the collectors (or the Alliance) think Shepard would specifically hit up Horizon first? I've watched the scene a few times, I've hit a few sources on the Internet, I've asked my husband, I can't figure it out. Either way, it's a good opportunity for Shepard to get pissed, so,

Then, Brother Tim drops an endgame clue.

Oh man! We'd better build our team!

I wonder if we have any extra team members just, you know, lying around?

NEXT TIME: Krogan bongs, which I hear are legal now.

Harbinger, With The Soul Of A Poet

Last time, on MSPixel: We defended a pumpkin!

Ha, no, but really, who else saw that on multiplayer halloween? Was that not adorable? I'm hoping some folk on tumblr screenshotted that. Shit, does that mean it's canon now that there's Halloween in the Mass Effect universe, celebrated globally? I always wish they made a bigger deal out of Janiris, but --

Okay, I'm being way too big a damn nerd. Let's just go back to Horizon.

Oh fuck, are we learning, children? Husks are helping collectors. Husks are reaper products. Do the collectors know the reapers, or do they just like buying reaper shit off of Space Amazon?

Also of note!

Le Team du Shep keeps finding these cocoons everywhere. Maybe the collectors spin them? They've got people inside. Gross.

So, Shepard's cooking through some enemies, as you do --

I'm telling you, give vanguard a go, you won't regret it.

You children savor this moment right here. In the next panel, I'm seriously about to commit Mass Effect sacrilege.

So, um. Yeah, hey.

The entity that keeps possessing random collector bodies is known as Harbinger, because he won't quit screaming about being the harbinger of our something something. It's important to remember that Harbinger isn't a collector, he just borrows random ass collector bodies to do his bidding.

So naturally his bidding is rolling up on Shepard.

Okay, I'm being at least a little cute here, but here's the thing? Not very. Harbinger loves parking directly up Shepard's ass and pestering her. In fact, welcome to our very first Harbinger boss fight!

He's a son of a bitch because he keeps possessing different collectors, but he does go down.

There's a theory that Harbinger is so interested in Shepard specifically because she defeated Sovereign, thus proving herself The Most Threatening Human. The game never really outright gives an explanation for Harbinger's motivations, though, so truthfully, my Tsundere Harbinger is probably just as valid. Or, hell, even more so given that we're playing an alien fucking game.

Everyone winds up ducking into a bunker to get away from Harbinger the Creeplord.

I have no idea why you follow this blog.

NEXT TIME: Perhaps less turian genitalia discussion.

Bad Moon On Horizon

Sometimes I start these with a cute ass comic, but NO TIME FOR THAT! Because last time, on MSPixel!

... we did Incursion, but BEFORE THAT ON MSPIXEL!

Let us hope Kelly is not the hooker with the heart of EXPLODE! (Jesus that's like 13 yeras old now I think.)

Mass Effect 2 was originally meant to be totally nonlinear. You know, like Legend of Mana? Damn that was a great game, go play it if you haven't. ... yes, I realize the similarities between MSPixel and Little Cactus. Bitch, I draw better.

Point being, the game was just going to set three types of missions in front of you: recruiting missions, shit The Illusive Man wanted you to do, and a third type we'll discuss later, and you could do whatever you want whenever you wanted. Sadly, Bioware couldn't get this working on the XBox, because of the disc change, so the choices were either degrade the art assets until they looked like, well, MSPixel, or divide the game up as we see it today.

As we see it today, the game gives us a few missions to choose from. Notice we've only run around recruiting people? That's all we're allowed to do right now. I could have done the missions in any order. I feel like most people actually go grab Garrus first, but I could have gone after Dr. Okeer or Jack first and left Mordin coughing in the slums and Garrus still shooting for his life in that building if I wanted. When you do enough missions, Kelly's all,

and then the game forces you in to doing the mission Brother Tim sets in front of you. Speaking of, let's go call him up.

say whaaaa?

The Alliance, as an outreach program, has been sending troops in to little Terminus system colonies and helping them get settled. Officially. Unofficially, they may be gathering collector data. (Oh, who the hell are we kidding with this "may" shit?) Ashley happens to be the with the one on Horizon.

Ashley gonna get eaten.

How is shit going on Horizon, anyway?

Just then! Over the Horiz -- you know what, forget it, over that way --

Okay, who can remember where those ships are from?

Ashley starts doing that standard action hero thing where you pick up a gun and you fire it and that means you're DOING SOMETHING YAY.

But children, what did we learn from Freedom's Progress?

Before the collectors come the seekers.

And they got no beef with stinging your ass.

Seriously, Ashley, honey, I like you, but that was like firing at a swarm of bees.

Meanwhile, the collectors are off collectin', as they do.

Pay some damn attention, we're about to have Plot happen.

There's this guy -- don't worry about his name or species right now, we'll get there -- who apparently controls the collectors. In addition, he can take over a random collector and posses his body. You can always tell where he is because he gets glowy.

Also he can't keep his damn mouth shut.

Actual line from the game! Are you paying attention? He just spoiled the ending of Mass Effect 3 for you! ... but of course we don't have the information to tell what he's talking about, so let's just move on and see what Shep and pals are up to.

(Maybe some day I'll draw squadmates who aren't Garrus and Miranda, but to be honest, I forget about Mordin a lot and I'm trying to draw Jack as little as possible.)

Mordin's been studying the collectors. That was the whole reason he was allowed on the Normandy in the first place. He's installed some armor upgrades to make everybody invisible to seeker swarms, thus rendering them uncollectable.

Probably.

Just then, Joker radios in:

... why didn't Mordin install the same upgrades to the Normandy's armor?

Whatever, let's cut it off here.

NEXT TIME: THIS HURTS YOU