Mass Effect Legendary Edition

[CovertSovietBear]

I played and beat Mass Effect Andromeda last year and was impressed by the visuals and gameplay. I enjoyed the non-linear exploration aspect of the game and read every bit of lore/description for anything I came across, with planets and moons being the most interesting.

I went into the game knowing little to nothing and so skipped most of the cutscenes which was a big mistake looking back. Read into the lore online a bit more but couldn't connect the game with the others in the series (Protheans, Mass relays, etc.) and bought the legendary edition to play through the originals.

After digging too far for info online I decided to start and finish Mass Effect 3 (decided on synthetic-organic integration). Although a lot more linear it was really fun to play, but the movement was the most frustrating aspect of the game. Whenever I wanted to run my character would duck, or vice versa. Had to lower the difficulty on some portions strictly due to gameplay mechanics rather than gunplay or enemy difficulty.

Currently making my way through Mass Effect 1 and 2.
Any others on here who enjoy the series?

Gameplay wise Andromeda was better (Anthem feels like Andromeda 2.0 imo) but mostly feels like natural progression for the game.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

I still refuse to acknowledge bioware's ending to ME3. It completely soured me on a series that I enjoyed a great deal overall.

That being said I feel like of the original trilogy ME2 is the best game. ME3 dumbed down the mechanics and levels way too much from ME2 (which was only slightly dumbed down from ME1). ME2 had a great balance of action/shooter/rpg elements, whereas ME1 was a much clunkier shooter/action game in favor of RPG elements, and ME3 streamlined the RPG elements of ME2 to the point that they were irrelevant on easier difficulties. ME2 also improved the character design, the side quests were all pretty cool and level design was massively improved over ME1. ME1 only had a few really standout side quests, and the level design was god awful/repetitive.
The only thing I found annoying about ME2 was the stupid planet scanning. Granted, it was far better than having to manually do the same material gathering on copy pasted planets in ME1, but that's not saying much.


I'm still pretty apprehensive about trying Andromeda given all the flack it got for half assed dialogue and animations.

 

[CovertSovietBear]

I still refuse to acknowledge bioware's ending to ME3. It completely soured me on a series that I enjoyed a great deal overall.

That being said I feel like of the original trilogy ME2 is the best game. ME3 dumbed down the mechanics and levels way too much from ME2 (which was only slightly dumbed down from ME1). ME2 had a great balance of action/shooter/rpg elements, whereas ME1 was a much clunkier shooter/action game in favor of RPG elements, and ME3 streamlined the RPG elements of ME2 to the point that they were irrelevant on easier difficulties. ME2 also improved the character design, the side quests were all pretty cool and level design was massively improved over ME1. ME1 only had a few really standout side quests, and the level design was god awful/repetitive.
The only thing I found annoying about ME2 was the stupid planet scanning. Granted, it was far better than having to manually do the same material gathering on copy pasted planets in ME1, but that's not saying much.


I'm still pretty apprehensive about trying Andromeda given all the flack it got for half assed dialogue and animations.

Did you mostly dislike the lack of options for the ME3 ending or how they got there over the series, OR a mix of both?
Looking forward to starting up ME2 once I'm done with ME.

Dialogue felt the same for me when comparing ME3 to Andromeda, except the "dead eye stare" was jarring at first. It's a solid game if we're mainly focusing on gameplay mechanics. The planet scanning also lets you acquire useful items and powerups unlike ME3 where it was only used to collect fuel for local cluster exploration. Side quests were more interesting as well and it compliments the open world aspect of the game.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

Did you mostly dislike the lack of options for the ME3 ending or how they got there over the series, OR a mix of both?
Looking forward to starting up ME2 once I'm done with ME.

Dialogue felt the same for me when comparing ME3 to Andromeda, except the "dead eye stare" was jarring at first. It's a solid game if we're mainly focusing on gameplay mechanics. The planet scanning also lets you acquire useful items and powerups unlike ME3 where it was only used to collect fuel for local cluster exploration. Side quests were more interesting as well and it compliments the open world aspect of the game.

Mostly how they ended the series, regardless of which option you choose. I tried all the different permutations and it really didn't matter in the end, they were all basically the same. It was a cheap shitty way to end an overall relatively well written series, especially because they weren't pushing a narrative about destiny/inescapable fate. I would have been fine with it had they foreshadowed something like that from the beginning in the series but they never did. Plus they shot themselves in the foot as far as telling any kind of story post-shepherd. With the gates being destroyed and everyone essentially stranded they really can only do prequels leading up to the shepherd era. They were clearly scrambling to come up with a somewhat definitive conclusion to the trilogy, and it showed. The "redo" of the ending they released after hugely negative fan reactions was equally as bad. It was essentially the same thing but tweaked a bit.


The Shepherd indoctrination fantheory is a far better ending than bioware came up with, so I choose to believe that one was "canon".

Compare that with a game like Fallout New Vegas, where your choices at the end of the game (and throughout) make a huge impact in terms of how the game ends. THAT is how you do a game with multiple endings. Don't bother giving me the option of multiple endings if they're not that substantially different.

 

[CovertSovietBear]

Mostly how they ended the series, regardless of which option you choose. I tried all the different permutations and it really didn't matter in the end, they were all basically the same. It was a cheap shitty way to end an overall relatively well written series, especially because they weren't pushing a narrative about destiny/inescapable fate. I would have been fine with it had they foreshadowed something like that from the beginning in the series but they never did. Plus they shot themselves in the foot as far as telling any kind of story post-shepherd. With the gates being destroyed and everyone essentially stranded they really can only do prequels leading up to the shepherd era. They were clearly scrambling to come up with a somewhat definitive conclusion to the trilogy, and it showed. The "redo" of the ending they released after hugely negative fan reactions was equally as bad. It was essentially the same thing but tweaked a bit.


The Shepherd indoctrination fantheory is a far better ending than bioware came up with, so I choose to believe that one was "canon".

Compare that with a game like Fallout New Vegas, where your choices at the end of the game (and throughout) make a huge impact in terms of how the game ends. THAT is how you do a game with multiple endings. Don't bother giving me the option of multiple endings if they're not that substantially different.

Throughout both games I always wondered if some of your options were trivial in nature. Does this merely affect the response I receive from the NPC, while still giving me the same dialogue once that interaction is over?

..."Blank Shepard stare"

 

[Mathemagician]

I want to buy this game. But there is just so much game to game through. Like, do I even have that much time to game? I put an easy 50+ hours into my first ME1 playthrough (I had to read each shiny thing - worldbuilding!!!).

I just, I just don’t know if I have it in me. Respect for anyone powering through them all.

 

[CovertSovietBear]

I want to buy this game. But there is just so much game to game through. Like, do I even have that much time to game? I put an easy 50+ hours into my first ME1 playthrough (I had to read each shiny thing - worldbuilding!!!).

I just, I just don’t know if I have it in me. Respect for anyone powering through them all.

I LOVED reading every shiny new piece of lore, thing, planet, etc.
I powered through ME3 this weekend and put off a trip with friends to do it. As you alluded to, very time consuming.
It's worth getting but gotta stay consistent with it imo. If you want to get Andromeda it's not as much as a venture as the trilogy combined.

 

[Choop]

Haven't bought the Legendary Edition yet (since it's only been about a year since I last played ME3) but I'll probably snag it later this year if/when it goes on sale again. ME2 seems like it is generally considered the best of the originals since it grew the most from it's predecessor while still maintaining quality. I really liked ME3 as well tbh, even with the big dumb ending being what it is (they are?). ME3 is dumber than 2 in a lot of ways, but it's also still really fun.

I also haven't played Andromeda! The launch was bad and that put me off, but apparently it's been fixed at least up to a point. I'll give it a go at some point in the near future.

 

[Mathemagician]

I LOVED reading every shiny new piece of lore, thing, planet, etc.
I powered through ME3 this weekend and put off a trip with friends to do it. As you alluded to, very time consuming.
It's worth getting but gotta stay consistent with it imo. If you want to get Andromeda it's not as much as a venture as the trilogy combined.

You actually reminded me that I own Andromeda from PSN or something. Ooooh, that’s fun. I love sci-fi and not spending money.

 

[CovertSovietBear]

I also haven't played Andromeda! The launch was bad and that put me off, but apparently it's been fixed at least up to a point. I'll give it a go at some point in the near future.

Andromeda is worth it, and I also got it on sale last year :-0
I would wait for the price to drop as well during a flash sale or something, I have it on Playstation.

 

[CovertSovietBear]

You actually reminded me that I own Andromeda from PSN or something. Ooooh, that’s fun. I love sci-fi and not spending money.

Same. Especially the not spending money part lmao.
I bought it on PSN and of course it was free a couple months later, assuming you added to your library I think you can play it.

 

[Lorcan Ward]

I was hyped for the legendary edition but in the end they didn’t really ad anything new to a game I bought and played 10 years ago. Compared to what beamdog did with the infinity engine games I couldn’t justify the price.

Compare that with a game like Fallout New Vegas, where your choices at the end of the game (and throughout) make a huge impact in terms of how the game ends. THAT is how you do a game with multiple endings. Don't bother giving me the option of multiple endings if they're not that substantially different.

thread derail but New Vegas and it’s intertwining plots and choices are a work of brilliance. It’s not just pick A, B and for a few quests C. It’s pick option D which opens up another option C but locks you out of another option A. I wonder if we will ever see another RPG with that level of choice.

 

[BlackMastodon]

Wait. OP, are you playing the series backwards (ME:Andromeda > ME3 > ME1/2)?

I loved the streamlined gameplay in Andromeda and ability to multiclass/customize each class, but man were the story and characters forgettable compared to the trilogy.
I barely gave a shit about any of my crew members whereas just about every crew member in all of the trilogy games has something super interesting going on.

I'm so disappointed that Andromeda was a flop and I hope it means BioWare doesn't sideline permanently. At least Anthem was trash so it gives me hope that they'll go back to ME sooner.

Also, yeah they did kinda fuck themselves over with continuing after the trilogy but I'd love some prequel stuff like the Krogan uprising or even the First Contact War with the Turians. There's so much lore to drive stories.

 

[Ralyks]

Honestly I think Andromeda's biggest fault was it had "Mass Effect" attached to the name. It's a perfectly fine game. Yes, it was rough when it came out but it sounds like it's been fixed up.

 

[TedEH]

Honestly I think Andromeda's biggest fault was it had "Mass Effect" attached to the name. It's a perfectly fine game. Yes, it was rough when it came out but it sounds like it's been fixed up.

+1 to this. I feel like so many games end up "failing" to be a follow up that franchise fans want, but are otherwise perfectly fine products in their own right. Andromeda wasn't mind-blowing, but it was fine. It had bugs, but name me a game that has no bugs.

I think playing the series out-of-order defeats a lot of what the narrative was going for, and potentially robs you of being able to see the progression for what and why it was. At the same time, I get that people play games with a focus on different elements, so maybe it doesn't matter. I liked the narrative of the whole original series, but I'm also not one to nitpick that kind of thing. Plot holes? Don't care, if its interesting. Lack of choices? Also kinda don't care as long as I was entertained.

I think at some point I gave up on the idea of "your choices in video games really matter" given that more games do it "wrong" than "right". I mean, this wasn't the first game to give you a cop-out button-press multiple choice choose-your-ending. I think several Deus-Ex games did it, and those games are highly regarded. (And I know, I know, they "didn't promise meaningful narrative branches".) I think I also refuse to let the last 30 minutes of a game spoil the fact that however many dozens of hours across three games up to that point were very engaging.

It's been long enough since I played these though that I have trouble picking a "best" one. Probably 2 though.

 

[SpaceDock]

Been playing the Legendary Edition and beat ME1 in 11 hours, but didn’t really do any side missions.

I thought Andromeda was the best of the series for sure. The mechanics and locations were amazing. Really sad that so many people crapped on it for bugs at release, looked perfect compared to Cyber Punk or Skyrim.

 

[CovertSovietBear]

Wait. OP, are you playing the series backwards (ME:Andromeda > ME3 > ME1/2)?

I loved the streamlined gameplay in Andromeda and ability to multiclass/customize each class, but man were the story and characters forgettable compared to the trilogy.
I barely gave a shit about any of my crew members whereas just about every crew member in all of the trilogy games has something super interesting going on.

I'm so disappointed that Andromeda was a flop and I hope it means BioWare doesn't sideline permanently. At least Anthem was trash so it gives me hope that they'll go back to ME sooner.

Also, yeah they did kinda fuck themselves over with continuing after the trilogy but I'd love some prequel stuff like the Krogan uprising or even the First Contact War with the Turians. There's so much lore to drive stories.

Yeah I'm playing it out of order since I bought and played Andromeda first. I got sucked into reading all the lore and arguments online (Remnant vs Prothean/Leviathan tech) so I went back and played ME3 to finish the ending, so now I'm rounding out with 1/2.
Hoping they come out with something good for ME5, the teaser trailer doesn't point to anything definitive other than Liara.

 

[Merrekof]

Has someone ever played Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic? This was in my mind the "prequel" to the ME series. Both were made by Bioware IIRC.

SW:KOTOR laid the groundwork by recruiting a squad, levelling up, build tactics around the strength and weakness of your squad. The choices you made throughout the game had great effect on the plot or future bonusses. (For example: piss off some guys on a planet and suddenly medpacks rise in price)
KOTOR 1 had a great plot, KOTOR 2 not so much.

Mass Effect 1 went on from this and got a whole lot better. Mass Effect 2 took the flaws from ME1 and fixed them. ME3 felt a little less open-world but it was the plot ending that was the biggest bummer of all!

Never played Andromeda because if the shitstorm it left on the internet. I never gave it a fair chance either tbh.

 

[CovertSovietBear]

I think playing the series out-of-order defeats a lot of what the narrative was going for, and potentially robs you of being able to see the progression for what and why it was. At the same time, I get that people play games with a focus on different elements, so maybe it doesn't matter...Lack of choices? Also kinda don't care as long as I was entertained.

I enjoyed Andromeda for what it was but the constant references made me go back and check out the game in full. It was never on my radar until I started reading about the reapers and leviathan online, then I knew I had to go back and play them. Like you said as long as your entertained, and for me Andromeda had the visuals and gameplay to match. Playing ME1/3 has had me appreciate the dialogue and choices more as I skipped most of those scenes whenever I could in Andromeda just so I could go back into actual gameplay.

 

[CovertSovietBear]

Been playing the Legendary Edition and beat ME1 in 11 hours, but didn’t really do any side missions.

I thought Andromeda was the best of the series for sure. The mechanics and locations were amazing. Really sad that so many people crapped on it for bugs at release, looked perfect compared to Cyber Punk or Skyrim.

I'm a few hours into ME1, let's see if I can beat 11hrs haha.
The first set piece in Andromeda that was really visually striking was the destroyed moon (planet?) mission, buy yeah Andromeda is great on its own if we're not comparing to the other games in the series.