I just got tired of the "teen angst" feel I got from "no romance male shepherd". It stank of "You can't understand me! Boo hoo!" instead of something better, like "We work together, a relationship like that really wouldnt be appropriate, you know?" or even "I can understand your feelings, but I really value your friendship and independent judgement."
That game went out of its way to try to be "Straight" or "Gay"-- with "No romance" getting the "ZOMG! ISSUES!" choice. I didn't like that. My orientation is just as valid as anyone else's you know. I rally like talia's character, and would totally talk programming with her for instance-- but I wouldnt try to date her. The game often mistook my intellectual interest in her character for "Oh! He wants quarian booty!" and that made me displeased. Same with asking questions of the matriarch's daughter-- "Oh, you want BLUE CHICK BOOTY!" Nooooooo NO NO! --- Damnit! Excuse me for just being curious about other cultures, and wanting to get to know my crewmates!
After you snub all the female interests, the game then goes "OH! You must be GAY then!" on me, and has Kaidan make his gay romance pronouncement totally out of the blue. Seriously-- No. just no. That character was dropping totally pervy hetero one-liners the whole game previously. Either he's REALLY in the closet and has an ego problem that he feels he needs to compensate for-- or that whole thing just does not fit. Sorry Mass Effect writers, but I actually pay attention to the characters.
I didnt like how the game tried to find a mold I was supposed to fit into, and kept grasping wildly trying to figure out what kind of booty call I wanted. I was especially disappointed that they played the "My heart was broken too many times! I have seperation issues! YOu can never understand me! BOO HOO!" as the rationale for no-romance male shepherd. How about "you know, I'm just not into sex. It's not my thing. If you guys are having trouble being cooped up on the ship, we can stop at the citadel for shoreleave ok? Just come back to the ship by 08:00, and whatever happens out there, stays out there, ok? When we get back, let's try to focus on getting rid of those reevers alright?"