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

[Skinwalker]

Yeah, how could you have possibly seen that coming with all the ways the other renegade prompts play out?

They all play out differently. This one could have just had Shepard say "I'm done talking to you!" and walk out. Or shoot her camera drone, which would have been the smarter move.

And such a cuck

Sorry, you need to be more relevant for me to bother engaging.

 

[Skinwalker]

The questline with the cyber-ghost autist guy was bordering on interesting and memorable, but then the over-the-top appearance of the final boss and a predictable binary ethical conflict at the end just made me laugh. Why would anyone even bother placing hooks into the guy's eyeballs to keep him always staring (and also going blind from not being able to blink, realistically), what is this, Cockwork Orange?

As usual, decent technical implementation made banal shit boring by Biowhore's midwit-tier writing. I was literally envisioning Black Isle's/early Obsidian's version of this quest, with the exact same assets and levels, but Chris Avelonne's writing, and how much more interesting and suspenseful it would be. Alas, it's just a predictable mish-mash of concepts from other, better things you've seen before.

Also, I chose a Paragon action during the dialogue with the scientist who turned his autistic brother into a cyber-ghost, and Shepard punched him in the face. I guess whatever alignment you choose, Shepard punches people.

 

[HumanMaleFighter]

ME1 felt clunky and unfinished. I mean, the main story is finished and nothing huge is obviously missing, but... there's that feel of playing a prototype of something that is yet to be fully fleshed out and polished. Very few party members, very repetitive and boring item choices, galaxy exploration UI was total ass and made me miss out on some content because it didn't mark the things I had already clicked on, a TON of reused environments that are on par with DAII, only one major city area...

ME1 was certainly a very unusual type of game.

The items weren't repetitive and boring -- but a lot of differentiating factors are never explained in the UI. Example: Some shotguns fire slugs, others fire five pellets, others fire three. You don't know what your shotgun does until you start blasting. The same goes for most other weapon types -- even pistols, where some are capable of burst fire whereas others are not. Item stats in ME1 never paint the full picture. For a game that's not hesitant to loredump on players, this is objectively weird.

The setting's sheer reliance on its narrated Codex and lengthy location descriptions is another weird thing about this game. I don't know if I've ever seen anything quite like it, before or since. You have to do quite a lot of reading to understand the world and your place in it.

That reading -- combined with vast empty spaces, big skies, and long corridors -- can make the game feel contemplative and sedate. The soundtrack, which was (and, sadly, remains) extremely unusual, heightens this impression. At times, even when you're on main path quests like Noveria, it's almost an environment simulator. You kill stuff, sometimes -- but mostly you're exploring and experiencing the setting. If you're in the right frame of mind, it can feel weirdly hypnotic.

It's also impossible to overstate how impressive the graphics seemed back when the game was released. It still holds up, and modded ME1 manages to look better than a lot of much more recent games. (e.g. Solasta, 2020. lmao.) ME1's art direction and design language was really on-point, though sadly ME2 and ME3 took it in a more conventional direction.

The real crime is the "Legendary Edition" -- a blatant Nu-Bioware cash-grab that's actually worse than the original version. (They robbed it of a cool DLC that gives you something to do with all of your late-game credits. And they washed-out the atmospheric lighting.)

 

[Skinwalker]

The soundtrack, which was (and, sadly, remains) extremely unusual

The music cue they play for "quest completed" is hilariously shitty and out of place. Many such cases.

 

[mastroego]

The real crime is the "Legendary Edition" -- a blatant Nu-Bioware cash-grab that's actually worse than the original version. (They robbed it of a cool DLC that gives you something to do with all of your late-game credits. And they washed-out the atmospheric lighting.)

If you mean Pinnacle Station, they lost the source code for it, apparently.
It's also entirely been recreated by modders.

 

[Heroic Liberator]

Speaking of changes made in LE, did they censor anything besides the ass shots?

 

[Frozen]

Speaking of changes made in LE, did they censor anything besides the ass shots?

I don't know is Kelly Chambers still a stripper.

 

[The people of Duckburg]

It's also impossible to overstate how impressive the graphics seemed back when the game was released. It still holds up, and modded ME1 manages to look better than a lot of much more recent games. (e.g. Solasta, 2020. lmao.) ME1's art direction and design language was really on-point, though sadly ME2 and ME3 took it in a more conventional direction.

This reminded me of a fairly important point when it comes to the popularity of ME. At the time, ME1 was something entirely new. You didn't have the knowledge that the sequels would fuck up and that the ending would be garbage. It was a new universe with cool aliens being rendered in what seemed like photo realistic graphics at the time. The world building was very impressive and the writing was generally of high quality (not flawless, but good overall). Everything in the codex was something that you could hope to see for yourself in the sequels. Because we did know there would be sequels, since it was planned as a trilogy from the start. Shortcomings could be excused because Bioware had made something no one else had at the time, and with sequels confirmed it was obvious (to people at the time) that they would use what they had learned from the first game to improve. This was before "AAA sequel" almost inherently meant decline. Mediocre gunplay? Easily fixed in the sequel, they already spent all the time on creating the universe and laying the other foundations for the series. Empty planets and bouncy Mako? They will have much more time to create unique worlds since it's just a matter of creating more assets. The engine and all that is already done, after all. Dialogue wheel? A popular suggestion at the time was that they should let you press a key to display the actual line of dialogue instead. It seemed like a no-brainer. Choices and consequences? It was proudly marketed that they would be a core part of the trilogy.

You can't get this now. Bioware had pretty much created the Star Wars of the current generation. People were actually optimistic to see more of it. We didn't have the sequels that were practically engineered to piss off the old fans. Most people expected Bioware to keep the good parts and improve what was lacking.

The world building and the codex were what hooked me, personally. It was a promise of something we would see in the future. We have the humanoids working already, so now they will surely give us more unique party members like the hanar, elcor or volus and let us find out more about them. And I don't mind pure text or sprites, but seeing these species as high quality life-like 3D models was new. They weren't just enemies for you to kill, either. High budget space opera RPGs weren't exactly common at the time. Maybe that sounds like graphics whoring, but presentation does matter. This was before graphics had plateaued. Some of us still had hope that the future would allow graphics and complexity to coexist.

Was all this fucking stupid in hindsight? Clearly. But back then, I was optimistic that Bioware would use the foundation to make the sequels better and more complex RPGs. I wasn't the only one with that mindset. This is something that needs to be kept in mind when you wonder why that partly brilliant but in many ways mediocre ME1 got the fans it did. It was new, different and a promise of improvement.

 

[mastroego]

Gunplay did improve with ME2, honestly

 

[The people of Duckburg]

Gunplay did improve with ME2, honestly

Sure, but at significant cost. Most other aspects were much worse. Also, the infinite ammo with cooling deal was unusual and a neat sci-fi concept. It helped the game stand out. They should have kept it and added optional disposable heat sinks for faster reloads if they wanted to add a traditional reload system. Allegedly they did have a mechanic like that, but removed it after play testers found it confusing. Nothing like catering exclusively to cavemen with your sci-fi RPG.

 

[Frozen]

It's also impossible to overstate how impressive the graphics seemed back when the game was released. It still holds up, and modded ME1 manages to look better than a lot of much more recent games. (e.g. Solasta, 2020. lmao.) ME1's art direction and design language was really on-point, though sadly ME2 and ME3 took it in a more conventional direction.

This reminded me of a fairly important point when it comes to the popularity of ME. At the time, ME1 was something entirely new. You didn't have the knowledge that the sequels would fuck up and that the ending would be garbage. It was a new universe with cool aliens being rendered in what seemed like photo realistic graphics at the time. The world building was very impressive and the writing was generally of high quality (not flawless, but good overall). Everything in the codex was something that you could hope to see for yourself in the sequels. Because we did know there would be sequels, since it was planned as a trilogy from the start. Shortcomings could be excused because Bioware had made something no one else had at the time, and with sequels confirmed it was obvious (to people at the time) that they would use what they had learned from the first game to improve. This was before "AAA sequel" almost inherently meant decline. Mediocre gunplay? Easily fixed in the sequel, they already spent all the time on creating the universe and laying the other foundations for the series. Empty planets and bouncy Mako? They will have much more time to create unique worlds since it's just a matter of creating more assets. The engine and all that is already done, after all. Dialogue wheel? A popular suggestion at the time was that they should let you press a key to display the actual line of dialogue instead. It seemed like a no-brainer. Choices and consequences? It was proudly marketed that they would be a core part of the trilogy.

You can't get this now. Bioware had pretty much created the Star Wars of the current generation. People were actually optimistic to see more of it. We didn't have the sequels that were practically engineered to piss off the old fans. Most people expected Bioware to keep the good parts and improve what was lacking.

The world building and the codex were what hooked me, personally. It was a promise of something we would see in the future. We have the humanoids working already, so now they will surely give us more unique party members like the hanar, elcor or volus and let us find out more about them. And I don't mind pure text or sprites, but seeing these species as high quality life-like 3D models was new. They weren't just enemies for you to kill, either. High budget space opera RPGs weren't exactly common at the time. Maybe that sounds like graphics whoring, but presentation does matter. This was before graphics had plateaued. Some of us still had hope that the future would allow graphics and complexity to coexist.

Was all this fucking stupid in hindsight? Clearly. But back then, I was optimistic that Bioware would use the foundation to make the sequels better and more complex RPGs. I wasn't the only one with that mindset. This is something that needs to be kept in mind when you wonder why that partly brilliant but in many ways mediocre ME1 got the fans it did. It was new, different and a promise of improvement.

I expected a lot of clones to follow ME but they didn't.
No one even tried to make their own space opera, I wonder why.
Even BioWare gave up on continuing ME for a long time after 3 games.
And again, as quality dropped time between games exploded.
ME2 was just A YEAR AND A HALF after ME1, and I remember it being completely polished no crashing or bugs on release.
Let that sink in now in 2024 were sequels take 10 fucking years to make, are shit games with bad graphics and gameplay and completely broken full of bugs on release.
BioWare could continue in 2012 and make another trilogy with minimal visual facelift up until 2015/2016.
Same as CDPR after 2015 they could continue making money by making expansions DLCs or TW4,5,6 in exact same engine.
Instead, both companies fired all competent people, heired woke freak women and trannies and call it "a cost-cut" making failed overblown games for 10y

 

[mediocrepoet]

ME2 was just A YEAR AND A HALF after ME1, and I remember it being completely polished no crashing or bugs on release.

Good for you. ME2 wasn't the bug free accomplishment you so weepily remember. There were a variety of bugs including getting separated from the walk mesh and being stuck floating and unable to move or do anything because of whatever invisible grid they had you moving on.

On top of that, the streamlined action focus was the definition of decline and it wasn't even good. They butchered their RPG to make a shitty action game with RPG elements that didn't even make sense: "Oh thank God I leveled up, now I can figure out how to load a different ammo type in my gun."

ME2 is irredeemable dog shit.

 

[Iucounu]

It's also impossible to overstate how impressive the graphics seemed back when the game was released.

seemed like photo realistic graphics at the time

Granted my current monitor is much bigger than what was available back then. But ME1 is nowhere near Crysis or Stalker Shadow of Chernobyl, that were also released that same year.

 

[Iucounu]

ME2 wasn't the bug free accomplishment you so weepily remember. There were a variety of bugs including getting separated from the walk mesh and being stuck floating and unable to move or do anything because of whatever invisible grid they had you moving on.

First time I played it I got stuck in the geometry while walking down a stair, but it only happened that one time. I also recall there's an (intermittent?) bug in Mordin's loyalty mission, so you can't end it?

 

[Iucounu]

I wouldn't recommend original ME1 to a new player. Am currently forcing myself to replay it for the first time in a decade.

Worst part is movement. When you equip a weapon you can move sideways and backwards, but when holstered you can only move forward; pressing left, right or back just makes the character go forward in a different direction. What is the purpose of having two different walking mechanics like that?

I wasn't allowed to choose a higher difficulty than Veteran (=average); but it only affects health and damage anyway, and turning enemies into bullet sponges would make an already boring game even longer. No skill or strategy is required, besides unlocking your RGP skill trees. Enemy AI is non-existent.

Level design is often lazy, such as buildings (Citadel, Noveria) filled with empty confusing corridors that don't make any sense.

Early missions are simple and boring. Later missions (at least Noveria) suddenly require a little skill and thinking, with multiple ways to solve tasks, but by then the game has already numbed my brain so much that I don't even want to think about problem solving in it.

The plot only becomes good once it's revealed in the later half of the game. Before that I guess new players might enjoy the lore, but why would they even care about that when the rest of the game is so weak?

The synth music is good, but doesn't make the game worth playing when you can hear it on Youtube instead.

Final verdict: play ME2 first, and if that made you curious about the setting play ME1.

 

[Cohesion]

Skinwalker did you like ME1-3?
What's your final verdict?

 

[Skinwalker]

Skinwalker did you like ME1-3?
What's your final verdict?

I liked ME1 but it was very raw/prototype-like.

Still playing ME2, I like it better. I think I'm in the middle or last third of the game by now.

Haven't gotten to ME3 yet.

 

[Takamori]

ME3 was such a disgusting experience that I would avoid at all, but given that your probably already bought the bundle with all 3. Go for it but you will notice the freefall in quality.
ME1 and 2 had charm and at least they seemed to care about the game still in the context of the time they were released.

 

[Zlaja]

Final verdict: play ME2 first, and if that made you curious about the setting play ME1

This is both a good and bad advice. Bad because starting from the second game will make it impossible to go through all 3 games with the same Shepard character, but the same advice also has merit because the second game is the least interesting chapter in the series and finishing it first means that the quality of the experience will only go up after that. Why? ME2 is basically one giant companion focused sidequest with boring antagonists and the least RPG-like character development of the 3 games.

 

[Silverfish]

Bad because starting from the second game will make it impossible to go through all 3 games with the same Shepard character

This is arguably a positive. The three Shepard games are so distinct from one another in terms of style, tone, plot and gameplay that I think they're more enjoyable as separate experiences than as an ongoing narrative.

 

[mastroego]

ME 1 is enjoyable despite its many faults.
It tries to do many things, and fails at most.
The shooting is clunky, the cover mechanic sometimes feels suddenly forgotten (in some places there's no viable cover despite the game basically requiring it - you could argue this adds realism but it honestly feels more like oversight).
Or the cover is there but the UI glitches and you just CAN'T crouch under it.
Enemies sometimes get stuck under a box or something and do nothing.

The RPG elements are barebones, you can only play as Shepard after all.

The inventory couldn't have been messier if they tried.

The balance is all over the place.

The Mako sections can be infuriating and often the planets just feel empty.

Then again, sometimes you realize, they would feel exactly like that. They are planets, massive chunks of rocks and chemicals, as the database entries explain for each of them.
Every little portion of this game, even with its flaws, adds a little something to the whole.
As I said before, the atmosphere is absolutely nailed - and no, sorry, I won't just go listen to the score tracks on youtube. It's a great score, but it's linked to the game and its aesthetics. That's where it works.

I'm playing a modded Legendary Edition and all in all it's pleasant to visit those places again.
ME 2 has vastly superior gameplay (I had a lot of fun with that one, to be totally honest), so I don't mind too much if other aspects go a bit on the background.
In ME 1 you get in the mood, and in ME 2 you float things and shoot them.

 

[Iucounu]

Bad because starting from the second game will make it impossible to go through all 3 games with the same Shepard character

This is arguably a positive. The three Shepard games are so distinct from one another in terms of style, tone, plot and gameplay that I think they're more enjoyable as separate experiences than as an ongoing narrative.

There are (were?) also utilities on the web where you could generate a fake save from a previous installment, to avoid having to make a perfect replay of all three games in order to get the "best" endings in all the ME3 story arc conclusions.

 

[J1M]

Well, is it? I am considering giving it a try, but is it worth the effort? If yes, then just the first one, or all three? Obviously, not even considering Androgyny.

The assumption that the industry is somehow creating more compelling or higher quality products now compared to when Mass Effect was released is so far from reality that I just have one thing to say: welcome to the hobby.

 

[HumanMaleFighter]

It's also impossible to overstate how impressive the graphics seemed back when the game was released.

seemed like photo realistic graphics at the time

Granted my current monitor is much bigger than what was available back then. But ME1 is nowhere near Crysis or Stalker Shadow of Chernobyl, that were also released that same year.

Crysis was a meme for a long time, and not much of an actual game. I think it's what you'd call a "tech demo."

I'd argue that ME1's graphics upon release were considerably better than Stalker's. Especially considering human and alien facial animations (which still kind of hold up), atmospheric lighting, and environment diversity. Also its art direction was really good -- far better than the sequels -- which left a good impression. ME1 was a visually charismatic game upon release.

 

[gurugeorge]

Detailed guide to tarting up the trilogy (Legendary edition) with as best graphics mods and the like as it can have these days, plus a few QOL and gameplay things, but still keeping mostly to the out-of-box experience on the whole.