Mass Effect
Mar. 21st, 2023 10:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lathanyI was going to produce a review when I finished Mass Effect. And, I didn't do so. In my defence, I got started on Mass Effect 2 and told myself I'd write it after that. And then I played Mass Effect 3... Long story short - I finished ME3 and I've got slightly over 90 hours across the three games.
Here be spoilers...
It's a really excellent series. It may be over a decade old, but it's still magnificent. And I didn't have to wait for each game to come out. I really liked that it kept the main character across the arc and also kept many of the secondary characters and also a lot of more minor characters who chipped in. Plus I noticed some of the voice actors are big names. The background is well designed and I like that every planet is described. Finally, the plot is wonderfully coherent, consistent and well-imagined.
Mass Effect 1: Lovely start, this is where the original concept begins. Also, I thought the choice of starting with a long combat mission paid off as well. A rather excellent cast from my party (Garrus and TaliZorah stand out) to the various other characters (the Ambassador, the captain and the admiral). I thought the missions were varied, the choices felt real and the bad guys were excellent as they had their own motivations. On the slightly pickier side, I was less taken with the weapons system (and having to constantly prune 150 item slots) and the planet exploration got rather samey after a while. Plus there was an annoying video block bug that I had to find a work-around for. However, nice twist towards the end, then good final battle and resolution.
Mass Effect 2: And a complete twist to work for the dubious guys. Again, a nice set-up. And a plausible reason for not getting involved with the Council. I wasn't sure about the new party at first, but with hindsight I think this was the best range of characters. Also, nice to get the ship people back (the doctor and Joker) and some old faces for the party. Plus all the loyalty missions helped round out the new people. I thought the handling of weapons was better here, I liked the touch of having the picture of the love interest from one and... I'm a real sucker for tropical fish. We had a huge tank of them in the living room at home when I was a kid. Plus Joker got plot! On the downside, the loyalty missions were a little too formulaic (as they got towards the end, I was ready to hit the left and right mouse buttons for the quick reacts), I felt rather too punished for doing the Jack and Miranda ones comparatively early, and I wanted to see a little more of the other ME1 characters. Finally - the choice of reaper was an excellent touch, really creepy and end-boss.
Mass Effect 3: And now for the actual war. This games had a different vibe, which I again liked. I welcomed back the ME1 characters to the party and was pleased to have Garrus and TaliZorah again. I thought that the twist with Admiral Udina was good and plausible. I liked the mechanics behind the collection of the various elements of the war effort. It was good to be able to reinstate a lot of the ME2 Normandy crew again as well. Plus - I got to see Wrex and he was able to cure the genophage. On the downside, I was rather sad to see that no-one from ME2 was back in the party unless they had also been in ME1. Some of the plot points seemed a bit rushed whilst others were unfinished (Adria recapturing Omega?). Of the new ME3 characters I didn't really see the point of James Vega - I guess they wanted another human. I liked the ending (I went synthesize), plus the Illusive Man and Captain Anderson, and didn't miss the lack of boss battle - but can see why all that was controversial.
Will I play again? Maybe with another spare 90 hours. :-) Although frankly, I've got a massive games backlog at the moment.
Here be spoilers...
It's a really excellent series. It may be over a decade old, but it's still magnificent. And I didn't have to wait for each game to come out. I really liked that it kept the main character across the arc and also kept many of the secondary characters and also a lot of more minor characters who chipped in. Plus I noticed some of the voice actors are big names. The background is well designed and I like that every planet is described. Finally, the plot is wonderfully coherent, consistent and well-imagined.
Mass Effect 1: Lovely start, this is where the original concept begins. Also, I thought the choice of starting with a long combat mission paid off as well. A rather excellent cast from my party (Garrus and TaliZorah stand out) to the various other characters (the Ambassador, the captain and the admiral). I thought the missions were varied, the choices felt real and the bad guys were excellent as they had their own motivations. On the slightly pickier side, I was less taken with the weapons system (and having to constantly prune 150 item slots) and the planet exploration got rather samey after a while. Plus there was an annoying video block bug that I had to find a work-around for. However, nice twist towards the end, then good final battle and resolution.
Mass Effect 2: And a complete twist to work for the dubious guys. Again, a nice set-up. And a plausible reason for not getting involved with the Council. I wasn't sure about the new party at first, but with hindsight I think this was the best range of characters. Also, nice to get the ship people back (the doctor and Joker) and some old faces for the party. Plus all the loyalty missions helped round out the new people. I thought the handling of weapons was better here, I liked the touch of having the picture of the love interest from one and... I'm a real sucker for tropical fish. We had a huge tank of them in the living room at home when I was a kid. Plus Joker got plot! On the downside, the loyalty missions were a little too formulaic (as they got towards the end, I was ready to hit the left and right mouse buttons for the quick reacts), I felt rather too punished for doing the Jack and Miranda ones comparatively early, and I wanted to see a little more of the other ME1 characters. Finally - the choice of reaper was an excellent touch, really creepy and end-boss.
Mass Effect 3: And now for the actual war. This games had a different vibe, which I again liked. I welcomed back the ME1 characters to the party and was pleased to have Garrus and TaliZorah again. I thought that the twist with Admiral Udina was good and plausible. I liked the mechanics behind the collection of the various elements of the war effort. It was good to be able to reinstate a lot of the ME2 Normandy crew again as well. Plus - I got to see Wrex and he was able to cure the genophage. On the downside, I was rather sad to see that no-one from ME2 was back in the party unless they had also been in ME1. Some of the plot points seemed a bit rushed whilst others were unfinished (Adria recapturing Omega?). Of the new ME3 characters I didn't really see the point of James Vega - I guess they wanted another human. I liked the ending (I went synthesize), plus the Illusive Man and Captain Anderson, and didn't miss the lack of boss battle - but can see why all that was controversial.
Will I play again? Maybe with another spare 90 hours. :-) Although frankly, I've got a massive games backlog at the moment.
