Mass Effect series still good?

I picked up Mass Effect 3 on a whim having never played a second of it before and 30 minutes in I am enjoying the hell out of this game. The only question is should I go get the other 2 and play the entire series? Are the other 2 nearly as good as the third? I know, the ending is supposed to suck, but I don't care, gameplay is everything to me and I don't know if I can remember there ever being a more fluid and rewarding combat system in any game I've ever played.

Also, if I do get them do the classes go the entire way through all 3 games? Is the engineer in the first and second is what I mean?

Definitely a good idea to start playing at number 1 for the story.

The class I settled on was Vanguared, fun biotic powers and shoguns. You might find the combat in ME 1 a bit clunky coming from ME3 though.

Playing Mass Effect 3 without playing the other two games is like reading the last 300 pages of a 900 page book. Aside from the insane amount of story you are missing, the main draw making choices, forming relationships, and seeing it all end isn't there.

Definitely stop play, right now, and go get the first two games.

ME3 wont have any context or meaning without the first two games

ME3 wont have any context or meaning without the first two games

wis3boi

[QUOTE="wis3boi"]

ME3 wont have any context or meaning without the first two games

robokill

Yeah i mean if you played ME3 only, you'd get an understandable story, but you'd miss out all the relationships of the characters, what they went through, what your ship went through, why these giant AI reapers are doing what they do, etc.

I think I saw the jist of the ending, with that little kid, and how he's not normal. Atleast I think that's the idea, I heard people complaining about this character they introduce at the very end but it seems to me like he was in it the whole game, or I'm way off and I'll have to wait and see.robokill

dat context :P

[QUOTE="robokill"]I think I saw the jist of the ending, with that little kid, and how he's not normal. Atleast I think that's the idea, I heard people complaining about this character they introduce at the very end but it seems to me like he was in it the whole game, or I'm way off and I'll have to wait and see.wis3boi

dat context :P

[QUOTE="wis3boi"]

[QUOTE="robokill"]I think I saw the jist of the ending, with that little kid, and how he's not normal. Atleast I think that's the idea, I heard people complaining about this character they introduce at the very end but it seems to me like he was in it the whole game, or I'm way off and I'll have to wait and see.robokill

dat context :P

he was simply a kid that got killed and nothing more

ME is a trilogy, and as such it will be ruined if not played from the start.

And don't listen to people who says the ending is bad, they're mostly immature kids that can't handle anything but a fairy tale ending.
The ending suits the series very well.

ME1 had the best atmosphere and storyline too me.

ME1 had the best atmosphere and storyline too me.

giovannimcc

agreed, it was rough around the edges but the atmosphere and story are extremely well done

they are decent, good universe surrounded by bad game design decisions, decent story and characters

ME1 had the best atmosphere and storyline too me.

giovannimcc

by far

[QUOTE="giovannimcc"]

ME1 had the best atmosphere and storyline too me.

Macutchi

by far

Mass Effect 2 is actually my favorite, from a narrative standpoint, mechanically I think ME3 is the best with more complexity then 2 (more weapons, enemy types and options), but without the issues of the first game. I just love the freedom in going about hiring these various soldiers and assassins to my cause with my leadership skills.

[QUOTE="Macutchi"]

[QUOTE="giovannimcc"]

ME1 had the best atmosphere and storyline too me.

SPYDER0416

by far

Mass Effect 2 is actually my favorite, from a narrative standpoint, mechanically I think ME3 is the best with more complexity then 2 (more weapons, enemy types and options), but without the issues of the first game. I just love the freedom in going about hiring these various soldiers and assassins to my cause with my leadership skills.

If I could get ME3's combat, skills, depth, etc. into ME1 and 2....i'd never leave the house

[QUOTE="SPYDER0416"]

[QUOTE="Macutchi"]

by far

wis3boi

Mass Effect 2 is actually my favorite, from a narrative standpoint, mechanically I think ME3 is the best with more complexity then 2 (more weapons, enemy types and options), but without the issues of the first game. I just love the freedom in going about hiring these various soldiers and assassins to my cause with my leadership skills.

If I could get ME3's combat, skills, depth, etc. into ME1 and 2....i'd never leave the house

I was a god with my Cerberus assault rifle maxed out and all the right specializations in ME3, and it felt so natural and right it was hard going back to ME2 where I had so few gun and specialization options.

[QUOTE="Macutchi"]

[QUOTE="giovannimcc"]

ME1 had the best atmosphere and storyline too me.

SPYDER0416

by far

Mass Effect 2 is actually my favorite, from a narrative standpoint, mechanically I think ME3 is the best with more complexity then 2 (more weapons, enemy types and options), but without the issues of the first game. I just love the freedom in going about hiring these various soldiers and assassins to my cause with my leadership skills.

curious as to what you liked so much about the narration of the second? it kind of dragged for me.

maybe it was a bit of brand new ip syndrome but the pacing and atmosphere of the first had me totally gripped (i didn't bother with any side missions), the characters and gameworld was much more convincing (saren was a great and interesting adversary) and the build up to the ending was just epic.

even though the second was slicker i just got tired of the glorified recruitment drive storyline

I would say it's definitely worth it to pick up the other two. I'm wondering why you didn't pick up the Mass Effect trilogy which includes all 3 games. Basically the choices you make in Part 1 and 2 affect part 3, more with characters/npcs than anything else.

I think 2 is better than three but 1 also holds it's on since you can land on planets and drive around in the Mako. It's like an APC with a turret. One is much more suffisticated since you need to level up your skills in hacking/decrypting to access certain locks. Otherwise you won't be able to get extra goodies when you go planet hunting.

Just enjoy the game and if you want to check out the other two you won't be dissapointed, well worth it.

I could never imagine playing this series without the first game. It had the biggest punch ( story wise ) and you're seriously letting yourself down without playing them all in order.

Yes it shouldn't even be something you have to consider, it's a MUST!

Play the first two and get perfect game saves then transfer them over and the game will mean so much more to you when you see your character(s) progress through each game. It's easily my favourite series of all time.

You can just play ME3
I played ME1 and 2 and I don't even remember anyone's names.
I didn't do their side missions either.

Gotta beat dat campaign and have everyone die. At least I survive, 2 manly.

Then again beating ME2 in 6-8 hours isn't exactly a bright idea.

You can just play ME3
I played ME1 and 2 and I don't even remember anyone's names.
I didn't do their side missions either.

Gotta beat dat campaign and have everyone die. At least I survive, 2 manly.

Then again beating ME2 in 6-8 hours isn't exactly a bright idea.

JigglyWiggly_

[QUOTE="JigglyWiggly_"]

You can just play ME3
I played ME1 and 2 and I don't even remember anyone's names.
I didn't do their side missions either.

Gotta beat dat campaign and have everyone die. At least I survive, 2 manly.

Then again beating ME2 in 6-8 hours isn't exactly a bright idea.

BattleSpectre

Yep, they are still good. ME3's combat is the most refined of the three. ME1 has the best parts of the story, since ME2 is a "collect-em-all" and ME3 is the endgame.

enjoying ME1 so far, wish I hadn't picked adept though. Another thing, do the squadmates actually use their own abilities without me forcing them to because it seems like they never do.robokill

they do, it's in the options menu for gameplay, I think its on by default. But something to keep in mind, ME2/3 are far more fast paced and abilities recharge a lot slower in ME1...they also seem to hit harder at times, from what I remember. I should do another ME1 run myself.

I went through the same thing with ME2. Got halfway through my 2nd playthrough and HAD to know the backstory. After a misadventure where I got ripped off by Direct-2-Drive, I finally got the original Mass Effect. I played as a soldier. Carried over my save, and played as a Vanguard in ME2.

It was great to thin a mob down to three. Slam into em all, and blast the then lone survivor with a shotgun. I also made better choices because while I knew Cerebrus were probably a**holes, I didn't know the extent of their depravity until I played ME1.

My hope for ME3 -- I'm too backlogged to play it this year -- is the huge world feel of ME1 plus the super fun combat system of ME2. With the Mako traversing you around, a much larger-feeling Normandie, and having to be sanitized before every return from the ship, ME1 was a bit more immersive than ME2's "You're standing on ship. Now, you're fighting on map. You're standing on ship. Now, you're fighting on map." The combat in ME2 was way better than ME1 though but YES, go back and play both."

Minor Spoiler: One of the coolest things about Mass Effect 1 is that you are literally the first human being most of the aliens ever see. As a matter of fact, in Mass Effect 1 YOU are the alien and the aliens are normal.

I didn't read too much of this thread because I didn't want to get ME3's ending ruined for me BUT for the reason I highlighted in the paragraph above, they can NOT kill off Shepherd. The temptation would be there to sacrifice himself for the greater good but Bioware has to remember the character's roots. Which is Commander Shepherd represents, not some Chr*st-like character who dies to save us but more represents us in the universe. If shepherd dies, then in a way we all died. Shepherd is us in the universe. (From what I remember from the lore, being in the universe is better than being on earth. Didn't it kind of go to sh*t there?)

Any way, great, great story. Play ME3's predecessors. Just be ready for a little clunkier combat in the first one but it is very much a love letter to science fiction stories. Before you were sick of hearing Bioware talk about story all the time, they made Mass Effect 1 and kind of earned the right to talk about story all the time.

[QUOTE="SPYDER0416"]

[QUOTE="Macutchi"]

by far

Macutchi

Mass Effect 2 is actually my favorite, from a narrative standpoint, mechanically I think ME3 is the best with more complexity then 2 (more weapons, enemy types and options), but without the issues of the first game. I just love the freedom in going about hiring these various soldiers and assassins to my cause with my leadership skills.

curious as to what you liked so much about the narration of the second? it kind of dragged for me.

maybe it was a bit of brand new ip syndrome but the pacing and atmosphere of the first had me totally gripped (i didn't bother with any side missions), the characters and gameworld was much more convincing (saren was a great and interesting adversary) and the build up to the ending was just epic.

even though the second was slicker i just got tired of the glorified recruitment drive storyline

I think there was a lot about the second I loved. It started off with a major bang that puts Uncharted 2's amazing train dangling sequence to shame, it puts all your previous decisions to use in one way or another (the first instance of your choices carrying over from a previous game), you got a wild new crew, ship and mission as a result of Cerberus, and it felt very free and open. I could take my time choosing who I wanted to recruit and when, choose when I wanted to do their loyalty mission, screw around doing side missions on different planets or explore space and look for sweet items, minerals and distress signals like I'm Captain Kirk.

I didn't play the first since I started the series on PS3 (and felt like I'd rather do the comic thing), but in retrospect I wish I had played the first with how invested in the series I am now, and I'll be playing the first once it is on PS3, even if it won't really affect my decisions from the comic now.

I really do regret not playing the first since I feel like I could have had a better relationship with Ashley (who I got to like in ME3, but who I picked Miranda over), and because I left the collector base to Cerberus without knowing how terrible they truly were in the first game.

I enjoyed them all but they all have their minuses..

Mass Effect 1

• Great introduction to the universe, feels like a space opera in its overly clean environments and ambience..
• Great character introductions.
• Acceptable combat..

As for cons I would have to say:

• Definitely one of the weaker of the leveling systems.. Alot of the level ups in skills were quite meaningless...
• The gear system feels generic, there are no real unique weapons just a model with a number after it.. For both armor and weapons.
• Slow start. The game really feels quite slow imo the first parts out simply because the citadel isn't very interesting in doing a few generic side quests all while trying to find evidence against Saron..
• Finally: Exploration is a absolute generic bore in the game.. This is by far the greatest weakness of the game.. Most of the exploration consists of you going across a baren landscape (though some of them have AMAZING skies to look at) on a horrible handling vehicle collecting a few things... Even the interior parts are copy and paste..

Mass Effect 2:

• Improved on character synergy in combat leading to very cool combos.
• Went from introducing characters, to large amounts of character development with a largely new caste.
• Introduces the Illusive Man a extremely interesting character that he faces numerous times..
• The environment went from clean to much more dirty and gritty in this one for the best imo..

As for the cons...

• Simplified the leveling system too much.. There are much more meaningful choices to make in the second game, and classes feel much more unique from one another compared to the first game.
• The worse culprit was the complete axing of the gear system.. There are no more random drops, any real customization and armor types are more for looks because they don't give that much of a meaningful upgrade to change the game..
• Got rid of exploration for planet scanning... I am not going to say its worse, but I honestly felt they could have done something better like create some kind of a strategic meta system...

Mass Effect 3:

• The best combat of the three.. They basically took the best parts of the first two and mashed them together with far better enemies.. It is now not just gunning down a enemy until health and shields run out.. You have enemies with shields, enemies that build turrets and try to flank you etc etc..
• It has the best leveling system of the two.. They expanded upon the second giving more options and far more interesting and worthwhile upgrading points on deciding whether you should do... It really felt like a mix between the first and second..
• Weapons have finally been made amazing in the game.. You no longer have the generic mess of random drops like you did in the first game, but you don't have the cut down lack of them in the second.. Each class of weapon has numerous different models some with their own unique feel and mechanics.. Furthermore they brought back upgrading customization in which you can decide whether you want a gun to be more accurate or to be able to pierce light cover or shields for a damage penalty for instance..
• The game crafts the galaxy at war setting as well and all the characters are quite likable..

As for the cons:

• My number one greatest gripe of the game would NOT be the ending.. Just the scope.. The game felt like it tried to do entirely too much in which numerous plot line missions should have been their own scope.. The first two games always had a narrow scope with side quests that were minor in the grand scheme of things.. The first was to stop Saron which you found out later on it was something else.. ANd the second was to create a team to combat a certain alien spieces.. The third has you going across the galaxy and pretty much resolving things that really dwarf the first two games in overarching achievements.. That may sound like a good thing, but to me it felt like it was rushed and it trivialized the said events based upon the overarching reason you were doing it for...
• The ending wasn't what I hoped for but I am honestly glad it didn't devolve to "every one lives happily ever after" crap like so many stories do.. Its mind bogglign people gave this ending so much crap and not ones like Dragon Age Origins which devolves into a few paragraphs of text based on your choices on certain matters... Not to mention it was a stereotypical ending..
• Pacing.. The game didn't feel to be really paced out well nor did it really give you that impending doom over your head.. Earth is getting anniliated and your flirting with a news reporter..

In the end it felt like the third game should have been spread across two games, they attempted to cover entirely too much in such a small go..

When I first played ME3 I loved it as the engineer, then tried out the Adept and I'm hating the biotics. I'm thinking of restarting over again with the upgraded texture pack as the engineer, is it a good class throughout the whole series?robokill

depends on the player and the game. Engie is my favorite class in ME3, and probably my least favorite in ME1, for example. You can choose whatever class you want in each game with your imported character

[QUOTE="robokill"]When I first played ME3 I loved it as the engineer, then tried out the Adept and I'm hating the biotics. I'm thinking of restarting over again with the upgraded texture pack as the engineer, is it a good class throughout the whole series?wis3boi

depends on the player and the game. Engie is my favorite class in ME3, and probably my least favorite in ME1, for example. You can choose whatever class you want in each game with your imported character

[QUOTE="wis3boi"]

[QUOTE="robokill"]When I first played ME3 I loved it as the engineer, then tried out the Adept and I'm hating the biotics. I'm thinking of restarting over again with the upgraded texture pack as the engineer, is it a good class throughout the whole series?robokill

depends on the player and the game. Engie is my favorite class in ME3, and probably my least favorite in ME1, for example. You can choose whatever class you want in each game with your imported character

soldier and infiltrator

[QUOTE="Macutchi"]

[QUOTE="SPYDER0416"]

Mass Effect 2 is actually my favorite, from a narrative standpoint, mechanically I think ME3 is the best with more complexity then 2 (more weapons, enemy types and options), but without the issues of the first game. I just love the freedom in going about hiring these various soldiers and assassins to my cause with my leadership skills.

SPYDER0416

curious as to what you liked so much about the narration of the second? it kind of dragged for me.

maybe it was a bit of brand new ip syndrome but the pacing and atmosphere of the first had me totally gripped (i didn't bother with any side missions), the characters and gameworld was much more convincing (saren was a great and interesting adversary) and the build up to the ending was just epic.

even though the second was slicker i just got tired of the glorified recruitment drive storyline

I think there was a lot about the second I loved. It started off with a major bang that puts Uncharted 2's amazing train dangling sequence to shame, it puts all your previous decisions to use in one way or another (the first instance of your choices carrying over from a previous game), you got a wild new crew, ship and mission as a result of Cerberus, and it felt very free and open. I could take my time choosing who I wanted to recruit and when, choose when I wanted to do their loyalty mission, screw around doing side missions on different planets or explore space and look for sweet items, minerals and distress signals like I'm Captain Kirk.

I didn't play the first since I started the series on PS3 (and felt like I'd rather do the comic thing), but in retrospect I wish I had played the first with how invested in the series I am now, and I'll be playing the first once it is on PS3, even if it won't really affect my decisions from the comic now.

I really do regret not playing the first since I feel like I could have had a better relationship with Ashley (who I got to like in ME3, but who I picked Miranda over), and because I left the collector base to Cerberus without knowing how terrible they truly were in the first game.

shame you didn't get to play the first game first, despite it being rough around the edges it did a lot of things very well. still, i can understand why you think so highly of the second, maybe when you get round to playing the first you'll see why so many of us think so highly of it ;)

Spent 5 hours today playing, amazing, amazing game. Flying around going to random planets and finding amazing random storylines with really awsome battles. ME1 is probably the best game I've played since I was a little kid. The universe is unmatched, it's not even close really. I can't think of any other game with a universe you can play in like this. This is as good as BG2 was to me, or some of the early Zelda Games. Probably going to explore every planet on every solar system.

It's best enjoyed after having played the first two games and uploaded a save profile but it's a great game either way. All of the naysayers were nitpicking about the ending. It's the journey that's important in those games, not the destination.

It's best enjoyed after having played the first two games and uploaded a save profile but it's a great game either way. All of the naysayers were nitpicking about the ending. It's the journey that's important in those games, not the destination.

Starshine_M2A2

dontchakno

Like when a game craps on you and says something like "oh your journey never happened, your character was actually asleep"