I love Mass Effect. Ever since playing the games over a decade ago I have been in love with the world, the characters, the lore and try to play through the trilogy at least once every year. When the Legendary Edition was announced, I was so excited that I immediately told my fiancée that's what I wanted pre ordering as my birthday present and when that copy appeared at my doorstep I had the biggest smile on my face knowing the adventure I was going to go on with Shepard and the crew. I won’t lie, this review is gonna be the most biased piece on this blog and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love Mass Effect: Legendary Edition and here's why.
Mass Effect
Mass Effect 1 was reworked from the ground up for the Legendary Edition and has never looked or felt as good as it does now. It doesn’t match the presentation of Mass Effect 2 or 3, but this is definitely the best way to experience the beginning of Shepard’s story. The in game HUD has been altered now offering a cleaner display more akin to the sequels and the controls overall feel less floaty making combat encounters more enjoyable. The original game’s worst aspect, the Mako has also been improved even though it can sometimes feel like an RC car. Still I was entertained enough to complete most of the content the first game has to offer most likely due to these gameplay overhauls and I’d definitely say this was my most pleasing playthrough of Mass Effect.
Mass Effect 1’s story is the most grounded of the trilogy and while it's my least favourite I like how the game takes a simple narrative concept (hunting down a rogue former ally) and makes it more compelling by offering piles of lore that make the universe feel lived in. The universe of Mass Effect is one of its finest aspects presenting a list of fascinating characters and races. I’d say 4 of the 6 squadmates you’ll recruit in the game are top tier characters with development that extends long past this game’s conclusion. Liara, Wrex, Garrus and Tali can inform Shepard on their specific race with these conversations being some of my favourite parts of the game. I do find it harder to compliment the human squadmates though as they come off as bland and uninspired in comparison. Ashley in particular can be infuriating with her anti-alien sentiment even though you can shut it down immediately if you don't plan on romancing her. The main villain Saren also deserves some praise as he straddles the line of being completely deplorable and sympathetic with a wonderful conclusion to his character arc if you have enough paragon points. In summary, Shepard’s quest to track down Saren and the Conduit is a great first chapter in the Mass Effect story. Each of the planets Shepard must visit give the player important choices to make, with consequences far beyond this game and tell interesting stories on their own, with the Thorian on Feros being my highlight. On the other hand I wish the game had more interesting side content with most of it being filler. The Bring Down the Sky DLC added for free is worth playing through at least once even if it is rather short. Nevertheless I can't say enough about the game's main narrative and how it sets the series up going forward.
Mass Effect 1, even in its Legendary form, has aged slightly. The sequels in the trilogy have a level of polish alkin to a Hollywood film and unfortunately the first game just never saw this attention to detail. Environments for the most part are unspectacular and are repeated constantly from planet to planet and this will likely turn you away from wanting to play a lot of the side content which is a shame because there are a few diamonds in the rough. Sound design wise, Mass Effect sets a great precedent for the series with excellent voice acting from all involved. The music of the series is some of the generation's most iconic with the track ``Vigil '' being the game's most identifiable piece. Character models have seen a vast upgrade with Tali"s design being vastly improved and most characters being more detailed. Cinematics have been reworked making them feel more visually entertaining and other changes have been made to make the game fit better with Mass Effect 2 and 3 such as altering the font type in menus.
As I said earlier, the Legendary Edition is the best way to experience the first game in the Mass Effect trilogy. Combat has been improved significantly with no framerate issues, a cleaner HUD and improved Mako controls. On top of that, Mass Effect 1 is still the great introduction it always had been and now that the game’s biggest detractors have been ironed out, I can see myself replaying this one a lot more than I have previously.
Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 2 is one of the best games ever made and playing through it as part of the Legendary edition only assured me of that fact. Its combat is faster paced and as far as side content goes the game opts for quality over quantity. EA’s acquisition of BioWare after the first game released allowed the sequel to receive the Triple A presentation the series demanded which has helped the game become far more revered than its predecessor. But as you’ll see as I gush about this masterpiece, there isn’t just style but substance too.
Mass Effect 2 has one of the greatest casts in gaming history. Garrus, Tali, Mordin, Thane, Legion, Grunt, Jack, Miranda and Joker are some of my favourite characters from any piece of media period and they feel like a second family. Exploring the Normandy and conversing with these characters is the part I look forward to every time I replay the game. Listening to them tell Shepard about their personal problems and completing their loyalty missions makes the player feel closer to them and the way they warm up to Shepard reflects the player’s dedication to them. Many of the characters have similar issues that deal with family problems or being betrayed and this makes the crew feel more connected to one another. The dialogue they will occasionally share on missions allows them to show some more personality and means every replay will likely have you hearing fresh dialogue. Garrus is my favourite character in the trilogy, with his loyalty mission being of my favourites as it demonstrates how he has changed. Tali’s is another favourite with a plethora of outcomes and external factors that affect them. Lastly, I would like to commend the performance by Martin Sheen as the Illusive Man. Every scene with him is fascinating and trying to discern what his ulterior motives are will keep you at arm's length throughout your playthrough.
While the story of tracking down the Collectors (a race aiding the Reapers) appears secondary to the game’s characterisation, it is still a compelling tale with many surprises. The first level will have your jaw on the floor after completing it and the final mission is probably my favourite from any game ever. The “suicide mission” can be just that if the player doesn’t prepare properly, but if they do the player can possibly save every member of the Normandy crew which is a suitable reward. The main missions have the player recruiting more squadmates and these mostly can be tackled in any order. it allows the player to play the game their way, recruiting who they want and completing loyalty missions they find intriguing. I tend to complete all the game’s content on my playthroughs because I love most of it but this option is greatly appreciated. On the other hand, there are a few DLCs I don’t look forward to when replaying the series that feature the Hammerhead and on my most recent playthrough, I was very tempted to just skip them. The additional character DLCs are good though and while Kasumi and Zaeed are nowhere near my favourite characters they still have something to offer. The best DLC pack is of course Lair of the Shadow Broker, a brilliant side story that’s best played after completing the suicide mission. It develops Liara’s character terrifically and offers the player the chance to romance her, meaning she's the only romanceable character across the trilogy (and my personal favourite).
The combat in the sequel is better than its predecessor even if it hasn’t hit its peak yet. There is less of an RPG feel to progression and equipment meaning you spend less time in menus which to me was a big plus. There are less options for levelling characters but a lot of skills from the previous games superseded others so this choice is fine with me. I really enjoy skills like charge and shockwave which just obliterate your enemies and the weapons have seen improvements making them feel punchier. I wish there was a bit more enemy variety though with Shepard mostly dealing with gangs or Collectors, even if there are different enemy types within these factions. The dialogue system is mostly the same as the first game only with more of a reliance on sticking to a paragon or renegade path. There are points in the game where you will need to break up arguments between crewmates and having a high paragon or renegade bar is the only way to do so while maintaining both characters' loyalty. This makes you stick strictly to either path which is a shame given how good some of the renegade options are.
Mass Effect 2 is an absolute masterpiece. It is the greatest Science Fiction game of all time set in the greatest universe in gaming. The story nails its beginning and ending and throws curveballs at the player to keep them on their toes. The cast of characters are phenomenal and tell interesting individual stories that you can choose to dive deeper into if you like. The characters are what make the series for me and have made me come back to the game for over a decade. The combat does its job without being revolutionary and I enjoy the faster pace. I adore this game so much I got the N7 logo tattooed on my wrist. The track Suicide Mission is my favourite piece of gaming music ever. What I'm trying to say is this is my favourite game of all time, and I urge you to give it a go if you haven't. You will not regret it.
Mass Effect 3
Since its release, Mass Effect 3 has seemed like the black sheep of the trilogy, mainly due to its ending. The biggest gaming controversy until the story of The Last of Us Part II, the ending of Mass Effect 3 has been mocked and memed for years which is a shame honestly. I remember beating the game at release in 2012 and finding the ending confusing but not terrible. Unfortunately the ending turned many people away from the series which again is a shame because I believe for 99% of its runtime, Mass Effect 3 is brilliant.
The story of Mass Effect 3 offers the most important choices in the trilogy along with some of the most tragic moments in gaming. The game gets off to an impressive start by having the Reapers invade Earth right off the bat and the music that plays when Shepard leaves is heart-breaking. From there, Shepard must rally the galaxy to Earth's aid and this leads to them dealing with galaxy issues that have been present throughout the trilogy such as curing the Krogen Genophage or helping the Quarians retake their homeworld from the Geth. For the duration you will be coming in contact with former Normandy crewmates who have their own issues to deal with. Seeing old crewmates was my favourite part of my initial playthrough and some of these scenes stick with me to this day. I’m not gonna sugarcoat it though, characters will die in this game and those scenes are so upsetting because of how well you’ve gotten to know these characters. On the other hand, there are moments of pure happiness which I'm thankful for at this point. The end of the Tuchanka and Rannoch arcs is terrific and these remain two of my favourite levels in the series. The story’s final arc is my least favorite with the player being defeated too often in cutscenes and the ending being a choice of 3 with one being the clear winner. Nevertheless there are some good moments here like Thessia and the conversation with Liara afterwards. What I take away from the story is the dedication BioWare put into the characters and their stories. Thane, Legion, Wrex and Tali have great character endings and Mordin’s remains one of my favourite character arcs from any piece of media. I think that many people wrote the story off after a single playthrough before giving it another chance because if they had, they'd have realised how special this one is.
By this point, the combat in Mass Effect left the previous installments behind and became a fully fledged Third Person Shooter. It still had the skills and abilities of prior games but combat was now more fluid. Shepard can commando roll, leap over cover, move around cover and eliminate enemies over cover using his omniblade. The addition of the omni-blade added a welcome change to melee combat that was very satisfying to use. More weapons are available to the player and there is no longer a restriction on what weapons a class could carry, meaning if you wanted to be a botic who used assault rifles and shotguns you could be. I enjoyed the game’s combat enough back in the day to sink countless hours into the multiplayer which unfortunately does not come as part of the Legendary Edition package. The combat however would get even better in the sequel Mass Effect: Andromeda but that's a story for another day. No large overhauls have been made to the dialogue or traversal systems outside of Reapers now being able to chase the Normandy down on the galaxy map if you scan too much in a system. The consequences of this are small though, as you are simply restarted in the same system if a Reaper catches you.
Before I conclude, I want to talk about the four DLC packs that come with the game. Of the games developed by BioWare, I believe Mass Effect 3 has the best downloadable content by far. From Ashes is a short mission that gives you another crew member called Javik, a Protheon who is as cynical as he is interesting. Omega is a cool side story lead by Aria T Look and feels similar to Lair of the Shadow Broker from the previous game. Leviathan features some of the tougher combat encounters in the trilogy and some interesting lore on a race that existed before the Reapers. And finally there is the Citadel DLC. This DLC was marketed as a goodbye to the characters we know and love and from that angle it knocks it out of the park. You get extra scenes with not just your crew, but every major character from the previous installments and most of these are very funny scenes. However, while Grunt’s cracks me up everytime, a funeral scene does the exact opposite, nearly bringing me to tears. Even though the story of the DLC is secondary, it is still pretty good and I wish more games had the confidence to send their series off with a more comedic tale. The Citadel DLC is how I say goodbye to the Mass Effect universe when I play through the game’s and has become one of my favourite pieces of downloadable content.
Mass Effect 3 offers the best story, best combat and best presentation in the trilogy and wraps up our favourite characters' stories wonderfully with wonderful music on top. There are a lot of moments in the game that rank up as some of the best in the trilogy and while I do prefer the second, Mass Effect 3 is a brilliant conclusion that just has a wobble at the end.
Conclusion
And that was the Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. As you can tell this series means a great deal to me. I can't put into words how much I enjoy this trilogy and even this attempt feels pointless given how much more I have to say about each of these games. 2 is my clear favourite but sometimes Mass Effect 3'smore powerful narrative does make me question my choice. The first game is still a timeless classic but I just feel more reverence for the two sequels, perhaps because I had less desire to replay Mass Effect 1 before the Legendary Edition was released. What can't be debated though is the package as a whole which has to be one of the greatest in gaming history. My first run through of the Legendary Edition took over 100 hours and most of that was an absolute joy. So I'll say it again, I love Mass Effect.
Rating: Massively Effective
10/10
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