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[EverydayBeast]

This was originally released in Nov. 2007 (Xbox gamers bragged about it being exclusive) and was re released as apart of the Mass Effect Legendary collection May 2021.

Mass Effect's main point is about progressing through "Mass Relays" to other solar systems and helping humanity discover ruins, learn about alien races and establish a presence in the universe. You play as commander Shepard aboard a Normandy space ship who is under attack by a rogue AI Geth army led by a rogue Alien Turian Spectre named Saren. During the campaign you're triggered with flashbacks from ancient beacons dating back 50,000 years warning of an advance machine race that will destroy every civilization (those flashbacks are more important in ME2, and 3).

Every cutscene feels important, and every battle you accomplish powers up Shepard with more power, health etch.

Completing planets is how the game is constructed. Feros and the geth attack is legit, Noveria is an iconic planet packed with missions (Matriarch Benezia, hot labs etc.) the missions are designed to make Shepard stronger, learn of the threat, advance through linear corridors and great story telling.

There's 8 main missions, (reaching the beacon, assembling a crew on the citadel, Feros, Noveria, Virmire, Illos and the final battle.) Gunning down enemies will be second nature to Shepard around mission 4 when the game gets more difficult.

Mass Effect's world is massive but that shouldn't strike fear in you, this is the brilliant map screen that gets you to locations. I give Bioware credit on the galaxy map design, you get a ship to roam the galaxy. That's awesome. Period.

Pause screen, I love you can save whenever you want.

Mass Effect is a really good 3rd person shooter game that's easy to pick up quickly and is a pleasure playing through a traditional 25-30 hour game.

Anytime Mass Effect series is mentioned I think the original's faithful praise for ME1 comes to surface. The fans are incredibly guarded about ME1.

Managing your squad is key to fighting the many enemies mainly "Geth" (super androids) and Husks (organic creatures turned corpse)

Vintage squad selection screen.

I swear Saren was the best villain in the series.

Saren goes out of his way to help even more villains attack you and really comes across as a bad guy, a bad guy.

Every alien in the game looks sharp, will wow you, some you can do business with, others you can't believe for a second that they're good. If you're Star Wars fan, lot of authenticity, atmosphere here.

Casey Hudson is the architect and was heavily involved in the game design.

The game is totally original, every time I play it I discover something unique about it.

 

[Sleepwalker]

I bought the collection on series X. I havent played any mass effect, ever. I guess its time to dive in

 

[skit_data]

Just bought the Legendary Edition! I have never played any of the Mass Effect games despite hearing so much about it.

Anything in particular or tips that I should know before diving in or is it mostly self explanatory?

 

[Pallas]

Just bought the Legendary Edition! I have never played any of the Mass Effect games despite hearing so much about it.

Anything in particular or tips that I should know before diving in or is it mostly self explanatory?

I will say this, mass effect 1 is more of a rpg than 2 and 3(2 and 3 were developed after EA acquired BioWare) it progressed more and more to a shooter by the time you reach 3. Take your time, but I definitely recommend a guide though for your first time, and try to do every side quest, you’ll need these since some will eventually affect your war assets by the time you get to Mass Effect 3.

 

[TexMex]

Never played one, bought the legendary collection. I tried to play the first game and it was the most absolutely boring first 3 hours and I quit. I hear 2 is way better but I’m in no hurry to give another one a shot.

 

[Hugare]

Just bought the Legendary Edition! I have never played any of the Mass Effect games despite hearing so much about it.

Anything in particular or tips that I should know before diving in or is it mostly self explanatory?

The story of the first one is pretty great and engaging, but it can take a while to get going.

It feels really dated in 2022. The sequel and third one are much more modern and easier on the eyes.

Power through the main quest and dont bother finishing sidequests and exploring planets. They are just filler and will get you bored in no time.

I envy you, 'cause I would love playing it again for the first fime. Love this trilogy.

Enjoy the ride

 

[rofif]

Are the remasters good?

 

[RiccochetJ]

Are the remasters good?

I thought they did a great job with it and had a blast replaying the entire trilogy.

 

[Pallas]

Never played one, bought the legendary collection. I tried to play the first game and it was the most absolutely boring first 3 hours and I quit. I hear 2 is way better but I’m in no hurry to give another one a shot.

The first bit can be rough when you reach the Citadel for the first time. It kind of overwhelms you with several different quests(especially the one involving scanning the keepers.)

 

[SkylineRKR]

I beat ME1 on Series S earlier on and ME1 jumped to my number one in the franchise. Its just the best. The game has some issues with item management and some weapons that won't work with your build will auto equip but its rather minor. I beat every side quest in the game this time, also went for Renegade run.

This remaster is better than the original console releases despite receiving criticism. The resolution is improved, the framerate is better, the load times are a non issue. There were some bugs though, but again, nothing that stopped me from having fun. ME1 feels like a real universe. The boarding desolate planets and their compounds might be copy paste but it adds a sense of adventure.

ME1 is also a bit broken, because armor doesn't block stuff like Lift and Throw. So you can go to town on armored enemies and throw them over the rails. I think 2 improved this, you had to use certain ammo or skills to delete shields first.

 

[Spaceman292]

I thought Casey Hudson was only involved in 2 and 3.

 

[Ozzie666]

How lucky anyone would be to play this again for the first time. Truly one of those game experiences that stays with you for years. Remasters are worth playing either way.

 

[RAIDEN1]

Not quite related to the thread but...I finished Mass Effect 2 for only the 2nd time a few months ago on the PS4 Pro, and left the shadow broker DLC to the last ever part which I need to get back to soon-ish...

 

[Valonquar]

The voice acting was top notch too.

 

[GarlicPrawn]

I bought the collection on series X. I havent played any mass effect, ever. I guess its time to dive in

Whish I could wipe this games memories and start over. You are in for a treat!

 

[adamsapple]

Are the remasters good?

They're excellent.

ME1 gets the most redone work while 2 and 3 are essentially PC versions with all the DLC with the highest settings at 4K/60 (on new consoles).

How lucky anyone would be to play this again for the first time. Truly one of those game experiences that stays with you for years. Remasters are worth playing either way.

The ME trilogy is one of the maybe 4, 5 games I would be willing to have wiped from my memory so I can replay them again.

 

[Fuz]

ME1 is the best of the series, only ruined by that idiotic dialogue wheel.

 

[fart town usa]

Hell yea. Missed this thread when it was first done, glad it was bumped.

ME1 is the best game in the series IMO. The atmosphere, OST, mystery aspects, etc. The game is flawless as far as I'm concerned. I haven't played the remasters but maybe someday. I own the trilogy on the PS3 and ME3 on the Wii U. I feel like my bases are covered.

 

[Wildebeest]

I have been playing some of the remaster after only playing it at launch.

Flaws with ME that were not fixed.
1. The dialogue wheel makes your character say something totally surprising or cringy compared to what you expect from the text.
2. Companion AI is annoying. Just let them do their thing, shooting mindlessly at the floor and getting stuck, whatever.
3. Inventory and item system is bad and unsatisfying. Flooded with different levels of the same exact item and when equipping guns you just get "dps" with no insight about what makes a gun special or unique.

Other than that, I'm one of the few people who likes the Mako, and they really did succeed in keeping some feeling of Star Wars Knights of the old Republic with their own new setting.

 

[skit_data]

Damn! The first Mass Effect was great! Can’t believe I never played or even watched anyone play these games before now. I think it has to do with it being X360 exclusive for a long time and ME1 was only released later. Just enough action and just enough RPG elements for my taste.

I accidentaly finished the game before doing all the interesting sidequests (I didn’t even land on any planet outside of the ones associated with the main missions) because I had no idea I was on the last mission. Bought some ridiculously expensive and shitty weapons at the end in the Citadel because I had pretty much not spent anything before. On the last mission you, of course, immediately find better weapons than those I paid 300000 credits for. Classic. But I was sorta preparing myself for that because that’s how it always is in games where your equipment gets switched up every half an hour.

On the topic, the inventory and equipment management in ME1 is beyond horrible. One of my few issues with the game.

Starting ME2 now using the save file from the first game. It will be interesting to see the changes going from ME1 to ME2 in terms of gameplay.

Edit: Ran into a pretty big sound-related glitch when facing the ”last boss”. The cinematic was all but silent outside of some wierd sound effects that didn’t fit in at all. When returning to gameplay the whole cincematic audio track was playing on top and it just distorted. Outside of that, no crashes or anything.

 

[SkylineRKR]

I have been playing some of the remaster after only playing it at launch.

Flaws with ME that were not fixed.
1. The dialogue wheel makes your character say something totally surprising or cringy compared to what you expect from the text.
2. Companion AI is annoying. Just let them do their thing, shooting mindlessly at the floor and getting stuck, whatever.
3. Inventory and item system is bad and unsatisfying. Flooded with different levels of the same exact item and when equipping guns you just get "dps" with no insight about what makes a gun special or unique.

Other than that, I'm one of the few people who likes the Mako, and they really did succeed in keeping some feeling of Star Wars Knights of the old Republic with their own new setting.

I can't disagree with any of those points, ME1 is clearly the least polished. But its also the most RPG of the lot by far. As such I can kind of look past the management and gunplay. ME2 does play better for example, but it also feels more like a cover shooter. The ally AI of 1 could've used an improvement though, and perhaps the targeting system as well.

The Mako was great. It always landed on its wheels IIRC, which saves some frustration. I liked traversing desolate planets and securing loot, getting into some firefights.