The video screens show Commander Shepard from the Mass Effect series, and get the biggest applause so far.

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Commander Shepard could recruit God him (or, in this case, possibly her) self, and it would not affect this ultimate narrative.

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Speaking of saving the universe, "Mass Effect 3" brings back Commander Shepard to resume his battles against the machine race of Reapers.

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Depending on whether you play a male or female Commander Shepard you can choose to let a gay or lesbian romance blossom.

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Hudson compared the new weapon to a switchblade version of a hologram, which adds a whole new level of brutal attacks that Commander Shepard can execute.

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Commander Shepard is not someone we expected to pop up in an Apple patent from 2009 (granted today), but here we are, staring into his icy visage.

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The story is expected to flow directly from the ending of "Mass Effect 2" and will also offer a female version of Commander Shepard for the first time.

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Apparently Apple couldn't identify a good storytelling example from its own iTunes App Store, as Commander Shepard and co. are the only example given of a game use case.

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Or how about the Mass Effect series, which has a near-equal mix of male-female characters on the roster and even allows the player to be a female commander Shepard?

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