I didn't hear Mark Meer as Commander Shepard when I first played Mass Effect. I played FemShep, voiced by Jennifer Hale, on my first run through the trilogy. It was only when I went to replay Mass Effect 2 (my favorite, don't @ me), that I gave BroShep a chance. He's good! I think Meer improved over the course of the series, and as Phil Savage has pointed out, there's at least one part of Mass Effect 3 where he's arguably better. He's the more popular choice overall too, with 68% of Mass Effect Legendary Edition's players playing default male.
"I occasionally get told by people, 'Oh, I've never played female Commander Shepard. I only play you.' And I'm like, why are you denying yourself the excellent performance of Jennifer Hale?" Meer says. "That's the thing about Mass Effect, it has so much replayability. I certainly don't mind though, if people are like, 'No, I just play Jennifer as Commander Shepard,' because I'm afraid you'll be forced to encounter me as Niftu Cal and Blasto and any vorcha you run into and various other things in the game."
