Shepard is a Reaper

Mass Effect 2 begins in 2183, not long after the events of Mass Effect. While on patrol for geth, the protagonist Commander Shepard's ship, the Normandy, comes under attack by an unknown assailant. The ship suffers extensive damage, forcing the crew to evacuate in escape pods. Shepard is the last to escape the ship before it is destroyed completely, but eventually asphyxiates and dies while drifting through space. Commander Shepard's body is retrieved by the Shadow Broker, a secretive buyer of information, selling it to the highest bidder, who has been employed by The Collectors, an enigmatic and xenophobic alien race who serve as the game's primary antagonists. In the events of Mass Effect: Redemption, former squadmate Liara T'Soni is employed by Cerberus, a pro-human group, to get the body for the organization, before it is delivered to the Collectors. After this, Cerberus works to revive the Commander through a project known as "Lazarus." Two years later in 2185, Shepard is awakened aboard a Cerberus space station that is under attack, and aids Cerberus agents Miranda Lawson and Jacob Taylor in escaping. Shepard is taken to Cerberus' headquarters and granted an audience with the Illusive Man, who explains that Shepard was "upgraded" and asks for the Commander's help in combating a new threat which has been abducting entire human colonies. Shepard and his team are dispatched to the recently attacked colony of Freedom's Progress in the Terminus Systems to investigate. There, the group encounters Tali, one of Shepard's former squad members, and discovers that the mysterious insect-like Collectors were behind the attack. Shepard reports this to the Illusive Man, who then reveals what Shepard's previous squad members are up to. After receiving command of the Normandy SR-2, Shepard decides to begin recruiting a new team to discover the Collectors' plan.

Taken from the known details about Mass Effect 2 so far.

Retribution is set in the universe fans know well from the video game and novel series—one in which humanity has explored the very farthest reaches of the universe, only to discover the ruthless Reapers, a race bent on extinguishing all organic life. One man is bent on discovering the Reapers' secrets, the mysterious Illusive Man, the leader of a pro-human, black ops group, Cerberus. And he's devised the perfect plan: implant a human subject with Reaper technology in order to study the enemy.

He also has the perfect test subject—Paul Grayson, an ex-Cerberus operative. Grayson betrayed Cerberus in order to save his daughter. So when Grayson is kidnapped and made the subject of Cerberus' evil experiments, the Illusive Man will finally have his revenge.

Taken from the synopsis of the new book coming out. One can infer from this, combined with screenshots showing a red faced Shepard:


Clicky doo


That Shepard is half man, half-Reaper for the sequel. How will this play out? Your guess is as good as mine. How do you feel about it? I dunno how I feel yet, but I'm a big proponent of "characters who have been through too much shit shouldn't die in a stupid way for the sake of a plot arc," and this is halfway to that. Bioware is saying that Shepard can die in the end of the second game if you choose to, or live. I'm guessing he inevitably will not survive the entire trilogy. I dunno, we shall see I suppose.