Is it worth playing the Mass Effect trilogy for the 1st time in 2024?

[Ol' Willy]

The Matrix trilogy should have also revealed at some point that the fundamental reason the machines are keeping a vast population of humans plugged into the Matrix is because, unbeknownst even to themselves, they are still following their core programming: serving the humans' every (biological and psychological) need, except that after the Butlerian jihad the only way to accomplish that goal was to destroy the humans' independent existence and keep them subdued in a fully-controlled environment.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Defenders_(short_story)

 

[BosanskiSeljak]

I hated what they did to the Geth.

Even if you can ignore everything, that final line by Legion when it refers to itself as "I" destroys the entire concept.

Geth were interesting enough left as they were, not some Pinocchio "I want to be a real boy" bullshit.

 

[mediocrepoet]

I hated what they did to the Geth.

Even if you can ignore everything, that final line by Legion when it refers to itself as "I" destroys the entire concept.

Geth were interesting enough left as they were, not some Pinocchio "I want to be a real boy" bullshit.

If the geth remain inscrutible it would mean that they are Other and that's a bigoted way of thinking. You need to be enlightened enough to understand that deep down we're all the same, even if you're a robot or a jellyfish alien with no skeleton.

 

[BosanskiSeljak]

The thing is, Mass Effects "stronger together" themes are actually pretty well constructed when leaving out the Geth.

Assuming we ignore the flip flopping on what Reapers are then:

It is implied (and confirmed for Prothean cycle) that power has been consolidated by a single power, most likely the one which discovers relay technology, citadel, etc. first. However, the current cycle is different because Asari, for many reasons, didn't follow in the same steps. Therefore, it throws a wrench into the carefully constructed path of development set by the reapers. While still *impossible* to beat, they can't destroy all of civilization in their first attack. There are different power structures, different leadership & even the existence of a rebellious Terminus System is a positive for organics.

I can buy into that kind of "together we are stronger" theme.

Fucking over Geth in the process shows that these so called experts/professionals/veterans can't help themselves and had no idea what they were working with. Shame.

 

[Skinwalker]

I haven't finished ME3 so I don't know what shocking reveals Bharvoware has in store for me (I'm sure they're all shit), but I think that an actually interesting twist would be for the Quarian flotilla to finally cross the "Perseus veil", only to discover that their homeworld and neighboring planets are heavily populated by Quarians. Not by Geth - by Quarians, living in material prosperity and safety, but having their entire lives managed by the Geth. And preferring things this way.

Turns out, the war was never really between the AIDS Fremen and their robots, it was between AIDS Fremen who were pro-Butlerian jihad, and AIDS Fremen who were pro-AI managed society. It would also be interesting to see how an AI-run society would look like after centuries of isolation, and what kind of people it produces.

 

[Old Hans]

I helped the Geth and Quarians unite for a better future, but then I chose the destroy ending because I had enough points where Shepard survives

 

[Vic]

I beat ME 1 and I thought it was shit.

Sell me on ME2.

 

[mediocrepoet]

I haven't finished ME3 so I don't know what shocking reveals Bharvoware has in store for me (I'm sure they're all shit), but I think that an actually interesting twist would be for the Quarian flotilla to finally cross the "Perseus veil", only to discover that their homeworld and neighboring planets are heavily populated by Quarians. Not by Geth - by Quarians, living in material prosperity and safety, but having their entire lives managed by the Geth. And preferring things this way.

Turns out, the war was never really between the AIDS Fremen and their robots, it was between AIDS Fremen who were pro-Butlerian jihad, and AIDS Fremen who were pro-AI managed society. It would also be interesting to see how an AI-run society would look like after centuries of isolation, and what kind of people it produces.

That's already more interesting than anything in ME3.

 

[jackofshadows]

I beat ME 1 and I thought it was shit.

Sell me on ME2.

It's a reboot essentially with focus on more smooth popamole gameplay and companion interactions (dialogue, quests and such). The relatively hard sci-fi "atmosphere" is gone, it's all about characters now. The dialogue delivers from time to time though but that may depend on a person (you) hard. Just *try* it, the first 15-20 mins or so will give you a good idea of what the whole game is like.

 

[Iucounu]

The "Geth Server Mission" in ME3 is a naked propaganda psy-op. There's literally no other way to understand it.

Basically, the Geth are snakes. Extremely manipulative. But if you just take 'em at face value -- which is probably how the writers intended it

It's interesting how we as an audience can interpret plots so differently from the writers ("indoctrination theory" also comes to mind). Maybe our brains can't help looking for adavanced patterns, ideas and hints that don't really exist in the basically adolescent writing. Or maybe the writers are unwittingly revealing their unconscious thoughts, that are likely very different from what they profess in public.

 

[Iucounu]

The compulsion of sci fi writers (almost universally shitlibs and atheists) to turn advanced AI into "people with electronic brains" actually hurts creativity and drains the hypothetical scenario of all its uniqueness. The moment you "interface" with an AI and it starts saying things like "we choose our own destiny", it immediately deflates all interest in them, because now they're essentially just people with severe autism.

In ME there's also the female urge to make everything be about social relationships. Almost none of the ME gameplay is about surviving alient environments or understand weird alien technology or thinking, instead all alien species basically think, feel and act just like humans (Vorcha being a rare exception). With ME:Andromeda the devs even admitted to strive for alien species designs that could work well with "cosplay".

 

[mastroego]

I beat ME 1 and I thought it was shit.

Sell me on ME2.

Completely different gameplay-wise.
The role playing elements are vastly toned down.
Equipment, powers and stuff are simplified.

But the combat is extremely fun. It's not clunky as in ME1, and on higher difficulties you have to learn the dance of hotkeys and combined powers to survive the most difficult battles. Even some of the easier ones.
Those might be my favorite "action"/combat mechanics, in fact.
Your mileage may vary.

 

[BosanskiSeljak]

You are developmentally challenged if bland ME2 cover shooting is your favourite.

There's literally a vastly superior version of the same combat system in the exact same series lmao

 

[mastroego]

I like it

 

[Skinwalker]

I liked ME2 better than ME1 in almost every way, and I like the gameplay of ME3 more than ME2, but the story/characters/themes are starting to annoy me. Dieversity is our strength coz ancient aliens will kill us all if we don't unify and Cerberus are evil fascists, ok got it thanks. Bit weird that so much of the game so far has been centered around killing Cerberus people, when it started with Earth being devastated by giant space shrimp. Is Shepard competing with the Reapers for the number of humans killed?

 

[Silverfish]

I beat ME 1 and I thought it was shit.

Sell me on ME2.

Vanguard charge.

 

[Iucounu]

Now I finished my ME2 run. Rating:

With ME1 in fresh memory ME2 is better in every way, including the writing. Even ME2's daddy issue quests are better written than any quest in ME1. The only really good thing in ME1 is its lore, but that's included in ME2 too of course, and is revealed too late in ME1 to matter.

Now the negative part and how to fix it. Around/after the Collector Ship mission, ME2's pacing is severely damaged by the game spamming lots of loyalty side-missions, DLC and side quests, all at the same time. Alas to get a "perfect" ending you must do most of them at this stage, before the railtroading to the end begins, which almost makes you forget the main plot. I wonder if first-time players wouldn't enjoy the game more if they intentionally rushed it at this stage? Don't do the DLC and loyalty missions, don't upgrade the ship. This will make you miss lots of fairly good content, but if you like the game you can instead enjoy all of that in a more completionist replay. Maybe that was even the devs intention? They likely didn't expect players being completionists already in their first run.

Since ME2 kept calling it a "suicide mission", I thought it would only be appropriate to make it that this time around. So after doing most of the game until the Derelict Reaper, I loaded an earlier (manual) save before all the loyalty mission before doing Derelict Reaper. During the final mission I then made all the wrong decisions on purpose, and was rewarded with total failure.

 

[BosanskiSeljak]

Writing 12 loyalty missions, 12 recruitment missions and 4 main story quests in isolation with VERY inconsistent quality able to catch your attention (subjective) does not mean the writing is good. It is a disjointed mess from start to finish, even divorcing the fact its the second in a trilogy from the conversation. Apart from that, the game is literally empty.

All it proves is muh character drama written in soap opera fashion is enough for you (and the normies) to swoon over it.

 

[Old Hans]

With ME1 in fresh memory ME2 is better in every way, including the writing.

what a load of horseshit kremlin lies

 

[Nano]

what a load of horseshit kremlin lies

It's not. Most of the characters in ME1 are just walking Codex entries in a way that reminds me a lot of the lore dumps in Pillars of Eternity. The plot is retarded in both games but at least in ME2 they made an effort to have the characters talk more like people.

And Legion is far better written than any of the ME1 companions.

 

[BosanskiSeljak]

Legion, the character who was forced into becoming a Shepard fanboy, already completely going against what the Geth actually are. All because some suit thought it would be funny.

 

[HumanMaleFighter]

The "Geth Server Mission" in ME3 is a naked propaganda psy-op. There's literally no other way to understand it.

Basically, the Geth are snakes. Extremely manipulative. But if you just take 'em at face value -- which is probably how the writers intended it

It's interesting how we as an audience can interpret plots so differently from the writers ("indoctrination theory" also comes to mind). Maybe our brains can't help looking for adavanced patterns, ideas and hints that don't really exist in the basically adolescent writing. Or maybe the writers are unwittingly revealing their unconscious thoughts, that are likely very different from what they profess in public.

At face value it's just too stupid. Too childish, too neat, and too illogical.

If the Geth are what they were supposed to be in ME1, it's literally impossible for them to disagree with each other.

All the blubbering about "d-do I have a soul?" is also absurd. It's a solved problem and has been for decades. If the Geth are what they were supposed to be, they'd know it. ("B-but we're synthetic!" Vitalism, of all things, still lives in the 23rd century?)

Besides, everything about Legion -- that obsequious Shepard fanboy, with his smooth and inoffensive voice that makes human-like intonations -- just stinks of lies and propaganda. The Server Mission in ME3 is the icing on the cake; so ridiculous that it breaks immersion immediately, unless you reinterpret the plot so that the Geth think you are retarded and are working to manipulate you.

I think that the writers actually were retarded, but, by accident, because they worked too hard to make the Geth super-likeable, they created an interesting scenario. There's only one good way to interpret the Geth: None of them are your friends, they're all in perfectly unanimous agreement about trying to play you like a fiddle, and they think you're extremely stupid and gullible. They lie about everything.

(Apparently ~40% of players actually sided with the Geth and killed the Quarians, so it worked. That said, the average IQ of Geth supporters must be well under 90.)

 

[HumanMaleFighter]

And Legion is far better written than any of the ME1 companions.

lol. lmao, even.

 

[Iucounu]

I beat ME 1 and I thought it was shit.

Sell me on ME2.

Completely different gameplay-wise.
The role playing elements are vastly toned down.
Equipment, powers and stuff are simplified.

Is this really true? After four ME1 runs and a dozen in ME2 I still can't tell (or care). Classes seem similar (but not identical): https://masseffect.fandom.com/wiki/Classes and Talents/Powers are fairly similar too: https://masseffect.fandom.com/wiki/Talents https://masseffect.fandom.com/wiki/Powers

Both games have similar skill trees and dialog wheels, but ME2 has much more C&C than ME1. What other RPG elements are there?

 

[Iucounu]

Writing 12 loyalty missions, 12 recruitment missions and 4 main story quests in isolation with VERY inconsistent quality able to catch your attention (subjective) does not mean the writing is good. It is a disjointed mess from start to finish

I agree that the above ruins the pacing, if they had cut a few more characters and their associated loyalty missions the game might have been 5/5 (and of course much shorter). The game's obsession with daddy issues is indeed laughable, but I don't think that makes the quality inconsistent; the daddy issues are well written (for being a game), it's just that we're too old to be the game's target audience.

even divorcing the fact its the second in a trilogy from the conversation. Apart from that, the game is literally empty.

I think Reapers work best as a background threat, which means ME2 had to be about something else. Once the Reapers appear for real in ME3 the writers apparently had to trivialize them into ordinary military opponents (as opposed to invincible eldrich horrors) to make a shooter game of it, which is the real decline of the trilogy. I would have liked ME3 to be an apocalypse horror game (similar to SOMA), but of course then nobody would have bought it.