Tonight I managed to complete the game and insisted on having a friend to talk with on Skype who is the most passionate person I know about the series and currently undergoing their fourth play through of the three games after talking about it with me so much while I played through.
Now I am stubborn in that I like to complete everything before I head off to the last mission and I was instructed to complete the Reaper IFF fixing mission before I did other things once I got to that point, so I did. Then when I got home and continued to play my game I lost my crew as they were captured and taken away.
I had a few missions and assignments left to finish so I wasn't going to go chase after my crew immediately despite being told I shouldn't leave it to long, I needed to gain the loyalty of all my crew members first and then do anything and everything else I could possibly do before starting the suicide mission.
I had one assignment I couldn't complete because of this and everywhere was lonely for a long time in my game as a result of it. The assignment was to find and give my cook some ingredients he had wanted from the Citadel and it annoyed me that I couldn't give them to him.
So I went ahead with this mission and I was made aware at certain points where and how I could lose crew members without spoilers. I chose each member and gave me reasoning when deciding to my friend who would listen and be unable to say a thing to me, his reactions had to be hidden from me completely so I didn't hesitate.
Along the way I even said that I should go by my first instincts but I made sure to check each person before giving them a job, in the end I thought to much about my decisions.
My first loss was my crew; I had taken to long to rescue them and watched them be turned into a disgusting paste, Dr Chakwa was saved and I chose Zaeed to escort her, thinking they would be attacked along the way and briefly considering Mordin.
Everything started to look promising until we reached the biotic part, I wanted to chose Samara as my escort with the biotic shield, but I chose Miranda thinking that if she was the wrong choice then I didn't mind her dying as I found her annoying. I had previously made Garrus my squad two leader since he was basically doing that line of work before I picked him up, I chose Grunt to take over instead as I thought if Garrus was with me then he would be safe from harm and I was under that impression based on my other half telling me he kept Garrus with him throughout it.
I watched as Miranda couldn't keep the shield up any longer and Garrus was taken away, my Shepard being devastated as Garrus was her lover and would've been her lover in the first game if it was possible, Garrus has also been my favourite who I could joke about calibrating all the time, even my phone says calibrating whenever I receive a text message.
Nothing could be done, Garrus was stolen from my Shepard without her being able to do a thing about it, Miranda was to weak after all and I should've chosen Samara after all.
Not only did I lose Garrus at this point but I also lost my second favourite character; Grunt. I watched in disbelief that he could actually die, but he did. It was a devastating blow but my Shepard had to carry on.
Just as I thought I had succeeded without any more deaths I was wrong, while running back towards the Normandy the corpse of Mordin had been discovered because he wasn't fit to be out there with the rest of the guys fighting, he should've escorted Dr Chakwa after all and could've handled whatever came for them since we had already cleared through all or everything that was in our way.
Getting back to the ship after credits made the game more eerie and sad, I looked at my missions and assignments and the only thing I had left to do was for someone who I had let die and all they wanted was some ingredients. The ship remained silent and no one needed my Shepard anymore now that she had done the suicide mission she was sent out to do and she couldn't even save her crew because she needed to make sure she had the loyalty of her team mates if she wanted to have the biggest chance in succeeding in the mission.
It's weird because games don't affect me a great deal emotionally but this got to me just by the last mission, it's amazing how attached to characters you get and take them for granted, but the small things they do in the game and the things you like about them really do make them your friend.
In a movie you know you can't influence and/or control when a character dies so it's not as frustrating but still sad. In a game like this though you know you could've saved everyone if you had made your gut choices and so it affects you on a more personal level as a result.
I was fond of Mordin for his approach to everything and his ways of communication and thought processes, once I decided I would definitely still want to be with Garrus after being hesitant from getting to know Thane, Mordin become a much more interesting character with more personality as he could make me laugh and care for him with the things he wanted to do to help by researching. 
I felt fond of Grunt because he was made by someone, he was young but he had gained a lot of pride and respect by himself in a short space of time, he was made to be the ultimate Krogan and improve his species, he was kind at heart and considerate as well. I had saved Wrex in Mass Effect 1 and because he even approved of Grunt I felt a bigger soft spot for him and took him on almost every mission because he'd make me laugh and be a good team member.
Garrus.. ah Garrus, always calibrating when I'd speak to him before we got to know each other even better than in Mass Effect 1, my friends would joke about his calibrating and my phone would make me laugh when someone would text me. Garrus had a soft spot because he was loyal, dedicated and serious but also knew when to have a sense of humour and care. He had been through a lot and followed Shepard's footsteps when she was dead. It made it more heartbreaking for him to be the first to die by being carried away and be the person my Shepard chose to love and be with before the mission itself.
I look forward to playing the third game now, but there's going to be a hole there for me and my Shepard personally now that we lost so many..I could chose to restart the last mission but I intend to only play through the Mass Effect series once and believe that the choices in my first play through are the ones that myself and my Shepard have to live with.
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