10 Biggest WTF Moments In Mass Effect History

7. Sacrificing Ashley/Kaidan

The choice of whether to leave behind comrades Ashley or Kaidan is the single biggest choice you have to make in the original Mass Effect, which may be minor in the grande scheme of things, but it's emotional potency isn't. It's a choice that signifies to the player that this is a game series with some serious dramatic heft.

The end of the second act sees plans to blow up a Krogan breeding facility headed by the villainous Saren not go quite as planned. With time running out before detonation, an army of Geth closing in, and no time to pick up both, Shepard has to decide who stays behind.

For some it's an easy choice; for others not so much, and this is what makes this moment so personal. You are forced to make a decision that impacts the morale of your entire crew and ratchets up the emotional stakes significantly. If you aren't fully invested in the story following this point, then perhaps Mass Effect isn't for you, but for everyone else, this is the moment when Mass Effect becomes a truly special video game.