Topic: Mass Effect Trilogy Legendary Edition!

The new ME1 is great, loving it so far.

Although frankly my favourite feature so far is the fact that you can install/uninstall each game individually, even though they're part of a single product.

Kinda like they did with MCC. My limited hard drive space massively appreciates that. I don't have to uninstall anything now!

Finished ME1. Great remaster in general. Some of the graphical updates to the environments were incredible (Feros especially stood out as looking a lot better than the original).

The biggest disappointment was that they'd done basically nothing to improve those awful planet exploration sections, so the distinction in terms of gameplay and graphics felt even larger compared to the story areas than it had in the original. Really wish they'd done something about them.

Now I'm onto ME2, and I'm immediately reminded at how much better it's put together than the first one. So smooth and enjoyable to play by comparison to ME1. The graphical upgrade is certainly not nothing as well. Looks incredibly good.

@Dezzy Good to hear you enjoyed it!

This is my first time playing Mass Effect and I'm blown away so far. There are some obvious signs that this is a game from over a decade ago, but generally the game looks and feels great to play. I'd heard that the combat in ME1 is a bit clunky (again, no experience with the original here to comment) - but I really quite enjoy the combat in ME1 LE so far. I'm also fascinated by the lore - every conversation and codex seems to have something of interest to me. In fact I'd say I've spent most of my time getting invested in the world more than anything, which is quite unusual for me so quickly out of the gate.

Although I'm curious as to which platform you're playing the game on? I have it on PC (Origin) and the game is quite the buggy mess at the moment, even following their latest patch. I can't even load the game with a controller connected (it freezes for some reason), so have to launch with KB+M and connect my controller once everything is all loaded up. I've also experienced some collision and sound glitches, plus a weird glitch that resets resolution to 720p whenever I try to change it mid-game. And most comically, Shepherd's running animation seems to give him an invisible gun when he has no weapon equipped... Very surprised to see all of this in a remaster...but I guess it's unusual for me to buy a non-Nintendo game on day one so I've been missing out on these early adopter glitches!

@timleon

I'm on Series S. All 3 games run perfectly at 60fps, and I haven't noticed a single bug. Must be PC issues.

Yes ME1 definitely does feel like an old game. So many of the little details in the game layout, pacing and gameplay, feel like they were from that old Baldur's Gate era of RPGs. Similar to how KOTOR feels. If you're unsure whether you prefer that style, the good news is that it disappears almost immediately once you start ME2, which feels like it could have been made in 2021.

Yeah ME1 is brilliant in terms of storytelling though. They manage to introduce you an entire universe worth of lore, as well as telling a pretty epic story, in a relatively medium-sized game (it's like 30 hours long, not 80 hours long like Xenoblade Chronicles and various other JRPGs)

@Dezzy mass effect 2 has one of the greatest challenges in any RPG - remembering to feed your fish before they die.

I started up my game of ME2 as a soldier and playing on the hardest difficulty. I got all the way to Omega. Enjoying it so far but it does strike me as though they were trying to make the sequel edgier (f bombs, adult situations, etc.). No complaints from me but it's a bit jarring after the nuanced first game.

Did you romance anyone in the 1st game, @Losermagnet ...? Do you plan to in 2nd?

Had no idea there was at thread for this! I contemplated making this my GOTY last year. It's technically not a 'new' game, but it certainly found a lot of new audiences and I just really enjoyed seeing people go through the same arcs we did some 15 years ago.

After playing this collection last year, I realised that three might be my favourite of the whole trilogy. It is the most fun to actually play by a large mile, and I feel like it combines and expands upon almost like a greatest hits of the first two games. I will say the disappointment with ME3 is it is the one that sorta feels like it has the least amount of meaningful choices in the whole series and while that sounds like a deal breaker in the context of these games, I kinda get it, as ME3 is more about the culmination of choices already made. Oh and I still remain that ME2 is one of the most overrated games of all time and the worst game in the trilogy. I feel like that divide is even bigger now, given the ME1 tweaks in this edition of the games.

@BruceCM I did and do! I tried to make choices that broke from what I remember doing the first time around, which meant romancing Liara and saving Kaiden. I'm not sure who I'll woo in ME2 lol. I think I picked Tali before, and I do like her character but I may go Jack. I'm playing Renegade so that seems fitting.

Heh, let us know later, then, @Losermagnet .... (Miranda is the best, though)

@BruceCM i'll take that into consideration lol. Honestly I forgot Miranda and Jacob were characters in this game. My Favorites were Mordin and Kasumi. Although it's a shame the DLC characters weren't as fleshed out as the others. Zaeed just hangs out in a dark corner and mumbles about how awesome he was.

I'm taking a deep dive into ME this time - I dug out the novels and comics. The novels are pretty good but the comics havent really stuck with me too much. Lots of action and maybe lacking in substance for me (athough I've only read a few of them).

Oh, I've never read any of those, @Losermagnet .... Obviously, pick whomever, they're all good, really I've managed to explore most of the relationship options in my times playing the game

Utter filth.

Lols, @gcunit .... That sounds like a Harbinger quote? Don't particularly remember that exactly but it's certainly the way they usually talk

Alright! top 5 and bottom 5 Mass Effect trilogy characters, in a semi-particular order for reasons:

Top 5
1. Mordin Solus - equal parts comedic and philosophical, Mordin is a character I couldnt get enough of. He also plays a big role in the greater story of the genophage, which is one of my favorite sub plots.
2. Wrex - another important character in the genophage story, Wrex is a loveable badass. He's the perfect mix of Boba Fett, a T-Rex, and John Goodman. It's just a shame he and Mordin never get a chance to be teammates full-time.
3. Garrus - I never really cared for Garrus until my recent playthrough. That he's Shepard's reliable wingman and brother-in-arms really shines through. I really can't imagine playing ME3 without him in the party 100% of the time.
4. Kasumi - it kills me that Kasumi doesn't get the development of other characters. She is so much fun and made stronger by the fact that you can't romance her. She always seems just out of reach, which is fitting for a master thief.
5. Jack - i flat out didn't like Jack the first time i played ME2. Too try-hard, too self serious. But as my romance partner I really gained a new appreciation for her and her development. In ME3, when she's giving Shepard a tattoo, a funny scene suddenly turns meloncholy when the conversation becomes how it may help identify Shepards body. Another touching ME3 moment that really made me appreciate Jack's character: surface level posturing masking her deeper insecurities.

Bottom 5
1. EDI - one of several cases where I think a character is not explicitly bad, but handled badly. The writing and performance is fine. I HATE the design. I think it looks like something out of the Jetsons. And that she's played off comedically undermines any potential the idea had. The only character I flat out avoided.
2. Diana Allers - not a teammate but bad enough to me that she deserves inclusion. In this case it's because the voice acting is weak. Jessica Chobot's performance isn't anywhere near the level of the other voice actors and leads to the character feeling like a one dimensional romance option.
3. Samara - just a bit boring to me. And her design is so cleavage heavy it's comical. Her story does have a compelling conclusion though.
4. Javik - frustrating because he's such a good idea, just implemented poorly. By the time he shows up in ME3 what at first feels huge and revelatory fizzles out quickly into a character that doesn't matter much. Everything else is enjoyable though.
5. Jacob - in the list of "boring human dudes" Jacob narrowly beats out Kaiden and Vega as the worst for me. He just literally has nothing going on for him. He's not even the only character whose backstory involves daddy issues.