Mass Effect Trilogy Remaster Announced (Release date May 14)

[TheSlothMan]

I enjoyed Mass Effect 3 until the ending. I wasn't expecting thousands of potential endings or anything like that, but it felt like a huge copout that the decisions you've made throughout the trilogy have zero effect on the possible endings. Everyone gets the same choices at the end no matter how they played.

To rub salt in the wound, none of the endings are particularly satisfying, and the one where you have humanity sync with the reapers is just bizarre.

The canon ending to me is when you decline all of the choices your character is given, lose the war, and then leave it up to the next generation of species to pick up where you left off.

 

[sverre054]

I enjoyed Mass Effect 3 until the ending. I wasn't expecting thousands of potential endings or anything like that, but it felt like a huge copout that the decisions you've made throughout the trilogy have zero effect on the possible endings. Everyone gets the same choices at the end no matter how they played.

To rub salt in the wound, none of the endings are particularly satisfying, and the one where you have humanity sync with the reapers is just bizarre.

The canon ending to me is when you decline all of the choices your character is given, lose the war, and then leave it up to the next generation of species to pick up where you left off.

I will say after replaying all the games from the new remaster, after not playing for years, they really did fix and improve 3. The added DLC content added a lot to the game.

3 had a really tough task trying to live up to the near-perfection that was Mass Effect 2, but this remastering really has improved my opinion of 3.

 

[ThulsaDooom]

It was never terrible, and more a victim of absurdly high expectations. Especially regarding the ending. It was a little cheap and limiting, but my God, if you read the complaints about it at the time, you'd think people expected the game to track every single decision you ever made throughout the entire trilogy, and craft about 1000 unique endings to suit every possible decision the player made.

There were worse things about it than the ending, like hiding a significant chunk of the game behind a paywall, if you didn't have a Day 1 edition. As an entire experience though, it was fine, if not a little disappointing coming off what is argued as one of the greatest games ever made.

People were just going off what Bioware said. Big important decisions that carry over throughout the series and the game director for ME3 literally said the endings won't be an A, B, C choice. And what did we get... They didn't just hide a significant chunk of the game behind a paywall, they hid a party member, who is the most narrative and lore important character in the series, in a party member sparse game. Bioware deserved the flack they got. They did a few ME2 characters very dirty and tried to build some sort of rivalry with Kai Leng that fell totally flat because he was written so poorly. Outside of the DLC, the stuff with Thessia (only if you bring the DLC party member) and Tuchanka, the writing was pretty bad.

I had a lot of fun playing this re-release one last time but Bioware fucked up with ME2's plot because it forced them into a corner with the third game and EA pushed them to release the game far too early.

 

[Jack Reacheround]

People were just going off what Bioware said. Big important decisions that carry over throughout the series and the game director for ME3 literally said the endings won't be an A, B, C choice. And what did we get... They didn't just hide a significant chunk of the game behind a paywall, they hid a party member, who is the most narrative and lore important character in the series, in a party member sparse game. Bioware deserved the flack they got. They did a few ME2 characters very dirty and tried to build some sort of rivalry with Kai Leng that fell totally flat because he was written so poorly. Outside of the DLC, the stuff with Thessia (only if you bring the DLC party member) and Tuchanka, the writing was pretty bad.

I had a lot of fun playing this re-release one last time but Bioware fucked up with ME2's plot because it forced them into a corner with the third game and EA pushed them to release the game far too early.

I remember being really disappointed with the third game when it first came out. I beat it in less than a week, and thought maybe I missed some of the missions (I’m sure I missed a couple, but not that many). But playing it again as part of the Legendary Edition, I really loved it. I think it’s my favorite one, though I do concede that Kai Lang is a really shitty character.

 

[ThulsaDooom]

I remember being really disappointed with the third game when it first came out. I beat it in less than a week, and thought maybe I missed some of the missions (I’m sure I missed a couple, but not that many). But playing it again as part of the Legendary Edition, I really loved it. I think it’s my favorite one, though I do concede that Kai Lang is a really shitty character.

The DLC really helps the game a lot imo. The Legendary edition is the first time I've played ME3 since release and I did enjoy it a lot more. The combat is still a lot of fun so I wish EA didn't skimp out on re-releasing the mp. I learned after all these years of hearing Liara, Tali and Garrus are the not to be missed romances when really Jack is secretly the best romance by far.

 

[Jack Reacheround]

The canon ending to me is when you decline all of the choices your character is given, lose the war, and then leave it up to the next generation of species to pick up where you left off.

I did this one on my last play through. I didn’t even realize it was an option. But when the dialogue with space baby was going on, I just thought, “What if I just reject everything he says to me?”

I thought for sure it was going to force me into one of the three choices somehow. It was a pleasant surprise when I realized I got everyone killed.

 

[TheSlothMan]

I did this one on my last play through. I didn’t even realize it was an option. But when the dialogue with space baby was going on, I just thought, “What if I just reject everything he says to me?”

I thought for sure it was going to force me into one of the three choices somehow. It was a pleasant surprise when I realized I got everyone killed.

Ha I actually got that ending on accident 2 times when I first played through the game. The first time I declined the options thinking there would be more, but nope. Reloaded after watching the ending, second time I shot the little fucker in the head, and that triggered the bad ending too haha

 

[method115]

e. Reloaded after watching the ending, second time I shot the little fucker in the head, and that triggered the bad ending too haha

My coworker just got this playthrough on his first run through the series. He wasn't trying to get it. Apparently he accidentally fired at the kid at some point and it triggered that ending. Didn't even realize that was an option in the game.

 

[Minnja]

PC version is on the Humble Bundle Choice selection

https://www.humblebundle.com/membership/march-2022

 

[GearSolidMetal]

PC version is on the Humble Bundle Choice selection

https://www.humblebundle.com/membership/march-2022

Damn that was quick.

Quick question for those that have played it on XBX. Is the '120 FPS' legit? Is it running perfectly?

 

[TeTe]

Finished ME1 right before Dying Light 2 came out. Probably will play ME2 after I'm done with DL2.

 

[Minnja]

Finished ME1 right before Dying Light 2 came out. Probably will play ME2 after I'm done with DL2.

Nice. I've been playing the games in phases too. I initially thought I would blast through them, but I was reminded of how life is different compared to my high school and college days lol. Beat ME1 then went into ME2 but stopped due to other games coming out and also life stuff going on then finished ME2 not too long ago. Was going to blast through ME3 but once again other games came out and life stuff.

That said, the series still holds up really well and I am loving my playthroughs of them. They are fairly easy to pick up and play too especially if you've already played them before.

 

[Minnja]

Started up my ME3 file around New Years eve again and close to finishing the game. Finished Thessia and all side missions I have are complete and all DLC except Citadel which I will do before the point of no return. I will have a pros/cons of each game since they are relatively fresh in my mind, likely will have it done by the end of the weekend. I will say that I still think ME3 gets a bit too much hate, aside from the ending and the pacing issues (TOO MANY SIDE QUESTS INVOLVING SCANNING) it's a great game. The combat is wayyyyy better than ME2 and I feel like that is something people don't really mention it too much. Not just a little better it's quite significant at least in Insanity.

The games especially ME2 and ME3 still hold up really well overall. I can safely say the series is still in my top 3 series of all time and likely still #1 overall. It's kind of crazy how much of a homerun the series is in so many aspects of gaming.

 

[Mack Yancy]

ME1 is the only real 'RPG' out of the bunch.

The other 2 are action games with RPG elements.

 

[WhiteMousse]

ME3 was one of the most disappointing experiences in my gaming days. 1 and 2 were such fun, memorable pieces of history

 

[method115]

ME3 was one of the most disappointing experiences in my gaming days. 1 and 2 were such fun, memorable pieces of history

Really? I mean I get people didn't like the ending but the rest of the game I thought was great. What exactly made it so disappointing?

 

[Mack Yancy]

Really? I mean I get people didn't like the ending but the rest of the game I thought was great. What exactly made it so disappointing?

He literally just didn't like the ending. He probably didn't even play the rest of it. Just watched rage-bait youtube critiques about the game.

 

[Mack Yancy]

I will say after replaying all the games from the new remaster, after not playing for years, they really did fix and improve 3. The added DLC content added a lot to the game.

3 had a really tough task trying to live up to the near-perfection that was Mass Effect 2, but this remastering really has improved my opinion of 3.

Yeah sorry I'm going to have to challenge the narrative on this one.

Mass Effect 2 has some very accessible gameplay which is a BIG step up from the subpar shooting mechanics of ME1. It also has big cast of mostly cool characters and an entertainingly dark script.

But as far as an RPG it's barebones. There is no character customization whatsoever. While the individual character plots and loyalty missions aren't bad the overall story isn't good at all. It has 'difficult middle chapter' syndrome. We already know that the reapers are the biggest threat to the galaxy so it's a real stretch for the game to try and get your to prioritize the collectors as the dominant threat. Martin Sheen is a good actor but Cerberus and the elusive man make no sense in terms of motivations. Mysterious shady guy turns out to be untrustworthy? Holy shit what a twist. Also you have all these companions but you can only take two with you per mission so by the end of the game a LOT of that squad feels very wasted. I get that because of the EA publishing and addition to PS2 ME2 was a lot of people's intro into the series. But in the grand narrative of the ME universe it's essentially a glorified (but enjoyable) side chapter.

Feel free to disagree, but be descriptive please.

 

[Minnja]

Got Platinum on all three games and Legendary Edition separate trophies too. Insanity run on all games as Infiltrator, romanced Liara/Miranda/Miranda (didn't want to cheat but needed to romance for trophy). Gonna dump my thoughts on the games and stuff because I LOVE the series and want to write it out. It's gonna be a load of text so I'm putting in spoiler boxes:

Spoiler: Mass Effect 1 pros and cons

Mass Effect 1-
+ Closest to an RPG out of the games
+ Extremely fun biotics and effective throughout the game
+ I enjoyed the mako. Imo traversing planets with it was fun, yes they were mostly empty and copies of each other but that sense of exploration is missing in the other titles. This exploration made it actually feel like you are a stranger to these worlds which adds to the RPG feel imo.
+ Memorable cast and events that set the foundation for the rest of the series
- Jank inventory system
- Jank gunplay
- Initial Citadel visit is AWFUL
- Tech powers felt really underwhelming in terms of fun
- Overall has noticeably aged in how it plays

Spoiler: Mass Effect 2 pros and cons

Mass Effect 2-
+ Huge improvement to gun mechanics especially using sniper rifles
+ Huge improvement to tech related classes
+ Favorite squad out of all the series
+ Emphasis on building relationships with squadmates highlights the strengths of the series as a whole
+ Best overall pacing in main missions/side missions
+ Modernization makes the game easy to pick up and play despite being over a decade old
- While the character-to-character storylines are great, the overall plot can feel a bit underwhelming compared to the rest of the game. Can feel like it was just an extremely well done side game
- While the gameplay is overall smooth, some noticeable issues with storm running and other things
- Biotics VERY underwhelming. Due to the combat revolving mainly around removing first layer of protection it makes it so the affects of biotics end up being useless as when the enemies are stripped of defense they are easily killed with anything.

Spoiler: Mass Effect 3 pros and cons

Mass Effect 3-
+ Noticeable improvements in movement and overall combat mechanics
+ Biotics are back to feeling good again due to Power Combos receiving huge buffs. Makes more classes feel viable and fun on Insanity
+ Big payoff for players who played through the older games..... except the ending kind of (more on this later)
+ Overall just feels like it did the same things ME2 did well and improved on them
- Pacing issues. Very tedious gameloop of doing main missions then picking up TONS of side missions from the Citadel that are just planet scanning missions
- Ending controversy. More on this later but lot of people are not gonna be happy about how much their choices really matter in the end.
- I noticed the most bugginess in terms of enemies being stuck on the ground or inaccessible due to getting launched. not sure if this is measurable but I do not remember it happening as often in the other games
- Least interesting squad out of all the games... no Krogan or Salarian and ME2 mostly missing

Spoiler: Ending thoughts and other thoughts

Some general thoughts on the ending and things I noticed this playthrough:
The ending after playing all the DLC honestly isn't nearly as bad as I remembered it being. When I originally beat the game it was before Leviathan released. Before the Leviathan DLC, the "space magic" thing imo was a really valid complaint about the ending. However after playing Leviathan I actually don't mind the ending so much. While I think there are still elements of "space magic" I feel like I better understand the endings and was able to see the themes being alluded to throughout the game. The biggest issue I think with the ending isn't how strange it is- but it goes against Bioware's whole "YOUR CHOICES MATTER" thing which I personally think they need to stop emphasizing so much.

Back when ME was being released the idea of your choices having an effect on the game was imo a growing thing and sort of seemed like one of the more revolutionary aspects of newer titles. It seemed like that was going to be the future of RPGs and gaming. However, this is just not something that really pans out generally speaking. It's extremely difficult to gauge each players expereince and craft a world unique to them in a fully fleshed out game that has a main plot line and needs certain things to happen. Players should have already recognized that and the whole paragon/renegade system should have also made people realize that MOST people are likely to stick with one route as doing a mixture of both often times leads to.... well a "bad" version of the game. In reality players are better off playing a certain strict route otherwise you miss out on A LOT and miss out on things that you can't help but to think is the actual desired outcome of the game.

My opinion of ME3 has always been it's a GREAT game but with a shit ending. Now my opinion of it is it's a GREAT game with BAD pacing issues. At this point I don't even really think the ending was that bad... I don't think the ending was really good either but I certainly think the Destroy option at max EMS is a good enough ending. Control ending I feel is a little too heavily alluded to as being the 'wrong' choice and Synthesis almost feels like a scam and a little too much on the space magic scale for me.

It has always been weird to me when people say ME3 was bad for reasons outside of the ending. I just can't see how anyone can think the combat and missions were that much worse than ME2, unless they specifically are annoyed by constantly having to scan missions which again i think is a pacing issue. I can see why people still hate the ending but thinking the actual gameplay was bad? I don't see how you can say that but then say ME2 was good.