Mass Effect Legendary Edition

[RJ_11]

How easy are these games to pick up and play for a first timer? The hype and how much everyone is invested in them makes me want to play them, but all I've ever seen of Mass Effect is the opening hour of the first game on Legendary Edition. That opening hour had A LOT going on and the guy playing it clearly knew ME inside out so it kind of hurt my brain.

Do you get the hang of them pretty quickly? I watched a full playthrough of KOTOR recently so I know the basics of how some of the dynamics work with these games.

[MikeT14]

14 minutes ago, RJ_11 said:

How easy are these games to pick up and play for a first timer? The hype and how much everyone is invested in them makes me want to play them, but all I've ever seen of Mass Effect is the opening hour of the first game on Legendary Edition. That opening hour had A LOT going on and the guy playing it clearly knew ME inside out so it kind of hurt my brain.

Do you get the hang of them pretty quickly? I watched a full playthrough of KOTOR recently so I know the basics of how some of the dynamics work with these games.

Yes, I wouldn't stress over it too much. It's not THAT intricate. If you liked KOTOR, you should like this. 

[Kiltman]

33 minutes ago, MikeT14 said:

Is Ash available as a romantic encounter in 2? I don't remember. 

Nope, I think Liara is the only one you can reaffirm things with

[MikeT14]

35 minutes ago, Kiltman said:

Nope, I think Liara is the only one you can reaffirm things with

That's what I thought. Start rolling the sheets with Jack, @showtime. 😆

[43M]

6 hours ago, ET80 said:

It's all about the journey, not the destination for me...

I prefer story driven games...and story conclusions have huge impacts on the overall quality of the experience.    

The journey was great, for sure....but the end was a massive middle finger to fans of the Mass Effect lore.

[Kiltman]

21 minutes ago, 43M said:

I prefer story driven games...and story conclusions have huge impacts on the overall quality of the experience.    

The journey was great, for sure....but the end was a massive middle finger to fans of the Mass Effect lore.

Eh (I’ll keep in in spoiler mode to not spoil it for the first timers.)

Spoiler

 

They were all alluded to, like Saren’s whole speech at the end of 1 is a pitch for Synthesis or some form of it.

We vowed to destroy the reapers and had an option to. Just with other consequences attached like killing Legion & all the Geth and setting back technology.

Control was a classic outcome in fiction. That you are tempted by the power and feel you can do better with it. Like Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, etc.

When they extended the ending they gave the option to reject it all and fight like people wanted. Which would’ve decimated every race even if they could win which they couldn’t.

The whole point of the Protheans and the cycles before were that it was an impossible fight…but they found a way to end things a different way. Slowly building off the backs, standing on millennias of growth and planning cycle to cycle to get Shepard where he/she stood. We got to reject that but then you see Liara’s broadcast and we become just the newest cycle to try and prepare the next. 

I think there is room there to not like the ending, but it’s pretty lore friendly. 

 

 

[ET80]

1 hour ago, Kiltman said:

Eh (I’ll keep in in spoiler mode to not spoil it for the first timers.)

  Reveal hidden contents

 

They were all alluded to, like Saren’s whole speech at the end of 1 is a pitch for Synthesis or some form of it.

We vowed to destroy the reapers and had an option to. Just with other consequences attached like killing Legion & all the Geth and setting back technology.

Control was a classic outcome in fiction. That you are tempted by the power and feel you can do better with it. Like Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, etc.

When they extended the ending they gave the option to reject it all and fight like people wanted. Which would’ve decimated every race even if they could win which they couldn’t.

The whole point of the Protheans and the cycles before were that it was an impossible fight…but they found a way to end things a different way. Slowly building off the backs, standing on millennias of growth and planning cycle to cycle to get Shepard where he/she stood. We got to reject that but then you see Liara’s broadcast and we become just the newest cycle to try and prepare the next. 

I think there is room there to not like the ending, but it’s pretty lore friendly. 

 

 

That's a great way to look at it... I get what @43M is saying (and I don't necessarily disagree with him) but your breakdown is pretty damn good.

[ET80]

9 hours ago, RJ_11 said:

How easy are these games to pick up and play for a first timer? The hype and how much everyone is invested in them makes me want to play them, but all I've ever seen of Mass Effect is the opening hour of the first game on Legendary Edition. That opening hour had A LOT going on and the guy playing it clearly knew ME inside out so it kind of hurt my brain.

Do you get the hang of them pretty quickly? I watched a full playthrough of KOTOR recently so I know the basics of how some of the dynamics work with these games.

I'm hardly a gamer, but this was pretty straightforward to pick up on any version. Legendary Edition takes away a lot of the wonky controls and tightens up everything, so it's easier vs playing the original.

It's a challenging game, you'll lose at times - but they don't feel like "cheap deaths" IMO. 

[43M]

2 hours ago, Kiltman said:

Eh (I’ll keep in in spoiler mode to not spoil it for the first timers.)

  Hide contents

 

They were all alluded to, like Saren’s whole speech at the end of 1 is a pitch for Synthesis or some form of it.

We vowed to destroy the reapers and had an option to. Just with other consequences attached like killing Legion & all the Geth and setting back technology.

Control was a classic outcome in fiction. That you are tempted by the power and feel you can do better with it. Like Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, etc.

When they extended the ending they gave the option to reject it all and fight like people wanted. Which would’ve decimated every race even if they could win which they couldn’t.

The whole point of the Protheans and the cycles before were that it was an impossible fight…but they found a way to end things a different way. Slowly building off the backs, standing on millennias of growth and planning cycle to cycle to get Shepard where he/she stood. We got to reject that but then you see Liara’s broadcast and we become just the newest cycle to try and prepare the next. 

I think there is room there to not like the ending, but it’s pretty lore friendly. 

 

 

Even if you liked the endings, you cannot argue the fact that the execution was lazy.  Very lazy....even with the DLC that expanded the ending....

Spoiler

You essentially chose between 3 different colors and got almost the same exact cutscenes for each ending with a few minor differences.    There didnt feel like there were any truly distinct endings, and didnt feel like most of your decisions mattered in the end.   The only decision that really felt like it mattered was what color you chose.

There weren't satisfying conclusions for almost any of the characters.  Maybe a couple...but Shepard deserved much better.   One of the most iconic protagonists in videogame history, and they made his/her sacrifice to save the universe seem so anticlimactic.

So, bottom line....the endings THEMSELVES weren't the biggest issue (but still definitely an issue)....it was the extremely lazy way we reached those endings.   No imagination, no creativity and just felt like a generic and lazy send off for an iconic character and franchise (well, original trilogy, anyway).

Edited May 27, 2021 by 43M

[Kiltman]

42 minutes ago, 43M said:

Even if you liked the endings, you cannot argue the fact that the execution was lazy.  Very lazy....even with the DLC that expanded the ending....

  Reveal hidden contents

You essentially chose between 3 different colors and got almost the same exact cutscenes for each ending with a few minor differences.    There didnt feel like there were any truly distinct endings, and didnt feel like most of your decisions mattered in the end.   The only decision that really felt like it mattered was what color you chose.

There weren't satisfying conclusions for almost any of the characters.  Maybe a couple...but Shepard deserved much better.   One of the most iconic protagonists in videogame history, and they made his/her sacrifice to save the universe seem so anticlimactic.

So, bottom line....the endings THEMSELVES weren't the biggest issue (but still definitely an issue)....it was the extremely lazy way we reached those endings.   No imagination, no creativity and just felt like a generic and lazy send off for an iconic character and franchise (well, original trilogy, anyway).

I can agree there, especially before the extended ending came out.

Spoiler

I would’ve loved more of an epilogue showing the choices. It was a very clean way of ending these massive games full of choice.

The way I saw it was that from the getgo we as Shepard would have to do everything we could to get there to have that choice. But it was an inescapable thing to get there, any other options were either A) fight and die or B) Run and survive (Andromeda)

Of course a full blown battle would’ve been fun but there was little choice there other than to die. They should’ve done the Halo Reach ending at least for it. Let you fight til your last breath.

 

[JBURGE]

I hit a bit of a wall.. am a couple hours into ME3 after putting about 60 hours between the first 2 

[Breesus mode]

6 minutes ago, JBURGE said:

I hit a bit of a wall.. am a couple hours into ME3 after putting about 60 hours between the first 2 

I'm pounding my head into a wall trying to find the will to finish the first game. Its not easy because Mass Effect 2 is my favorite game, but completing the first does make make the 2nd game better

 

 

[JBURGE]

1 hour ago, Breesus mode said:

I'm pounding my head into a wall trying to find the will to finish the first game. Its not easy because Mass Effect 2 is my favorite game, but completing the first does make make the 2nd game better

 

 

I never played all the way through ME1, I really enjoyed it this time. I would have a really hard time doing all of the mineral collection nonsense if I played it again, just like the planet scanning in ME2. 

[showtime]

This much time in ME2 and I don't think I'm anywhere near done with the game lol

[JBURGE]

15 hours ago, showtime said:

This much time in ME2 and I don't think I'm anywhere near done with the game lol

 

You enjoying it?