Image courtesy of BioWare & EA's Custom Art Creator
Comic-Cons will also show the lasting impact and gravity that a game or series has on its fans. Mass Effect is just one of those IPs that has become more than the sum of its parts. It's become a cultural phenomenon with people investing hundreds of dollars in their outfits and appearances in order to look like their favorite characters. Mass Effect has coffee table books, novels, a massive catalog of comics compiled into a complete edition, clothes, hats, toys, and models. It's a sensation that many people are invested in come every November 7th, or N7 Day, when fans eagerly look towards BioWare's announcements over whether or not any big changes are heading their way. Who am I kidding? Our way. There's a reason that my first review ever will be on this particular trilogy.
Mass Effect tells the story of Commander Shepard and the companions he/she picks up along the way towards the ultimate goal of saving the galaxy. The threat? The Reapers: a race of sentient machines that has been wiping out advanced galactic civilizations every 50,000 years for countless cycles. The solution? Anything you can think of, and I do mean you. Mass Effect's individuality as a game series comes in the ability of the player to choose their own path, for good or bad, as the games progress to a final conclusion.
The Good
Part of me feels like it's unfair to judge the entire trilogy as a whole. Each component is so special and different, even though they add to the final resolution, that it's hard to compile them for a jumbled judgment. Nevertheless, EA and BioWare released the Legendary Edition in 2021 so I suppose I have to look at the entire thing as well.
The original Mass Effect came out in 2007. BioWare released it a few years after Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic had been yet another critical and commercial success for the Canadian-based company. At the time I was a little agitated. Obsidian, another game developer, had picked up and produced Knights of the Old Republic II in the interim and while it was good, it lacked that same level of gravity that BioWare had produced with the original. Mass Effect's drop in 2007 originally had me thinking, "What the hell is this wannabe Star Wars they made when they could have just done the damn sequel?"
I was wrong.
I don't like to admit that often, just ask my wife, but there's a first time for everything.
Mass Effect managed to do more than impress. It pulls us in with the story of a survivor in Commander Shepard, but Shepard is not the same as the heroes of previous games because you get to choose-your-own-adventure here. Knights of the Old Republic laid the groundwork for a game that let you choose your appearance, gender, and even pick dialogue lines, but your character never spoke them aloud. Mass Effect takes it a step further by voicing all those lines with precision. Whether playing with Mark Meer or Jennifer Hale as your voice, Shepard and his/her delivery feels specifically you while still following along the designated path laid out in BioWare's screenplay.
The Legendary Edition improves upon the graphics of the original in multiple ways, altering shading and texture to bring the game to a more modern audience. It does not feel like a 2007 game. That said, it does not feel like a 2021 game either, but we'll get to that in The Bad. The story in the first game has us chasing down a rogue Spectre, an agent of the galactic council, by gathering up some allies and making discoveries about the past along the way. As they work to piece clues together, Shepard and his friends uncover a greater plot than just some asshole who wants to take over the galaxy. The end of the game finds a great resolution while still leaving the door open for more to come.
In some instances, the second one is better or just as great as the original. The Empire Strikes Back, The Godfather Part II, 2 Fast 2 Furious... don't worry, I'm kidding about that last one. You can keep reading, I swear. In the case of Mass Effect, if the original was good, Mass Effect 2 is where the trilogy really hits its stride. Shepard is an established figure, the lore of the galaxy is already fleshed out and was done perfectly in the original with the voice-over in the codex explaining science fiction magic math to its listeners as if it's all just right there for us to discover within the next hundred or so years. Now they just had to build on that lore and expand the character base.
When games are dealing with multiple companions things can get a little hairy. It's the same as when a movie or book series starts to involve character after character and give them more screen time. Sometimes the audience is sitting there wondering "Who the hell is this?" while other times we might be thinking "Okay, they're all right but where's my main man?" Mass Effect 2 hit a perfect balance of continuing the story of Shepard and the threat of the Reapers, or in this case their puppets (the collectors), while building out a team of companions that are significantly more fleshed out than they were in the original. This team not only has missions that involve recruiting them, but also missions that seal their loyalty to Shepard (or lose it, depending on your choices) that span the entire galaxy. 2 is not as open-world as the original was, but it works better by staying on the rails that BioWare provides for you. It means you get to see more, and in more detail, than ever before. Weapons and upgrades are also brought into a more modern feel, for 2010 at least, but that feel is much less dated in the sequel than it was in the original. Many believe that 2 was the best game of the trilogy, and while it is truly amazing I think the stand-out for me still lies in 3.
In Mass Effect 3, the team at BioWare used everything that worked in the first two and pulled them towards a conclusion. The voice actors all carry over, including big talents like Carrie-Anne Moss and Martin Sheen, and everyone's input is even greater than it had already been.
The Reapers have arrived in force, and once again it is up to Commander Shepard to figure out how to defeat them. Mass Effect 3 does this perfectly in story form by having Shepard act as the mediator and diplomat to all the alien races across the galaxy that have been displaying animosity towards one another for the entire span of the series. Shepard has to quell old rivalries, dispel racist attitudes, and secure shaky alliances for the final push to keep the galaxy from the destructive ends that the Reapers have in store for all. The companions are all brought back, in at least some capacity, to help in their own ways against these terrifying forces.
I've probably gushed enough over the trilogy thus far, but I have just one final drop that needs to go in the bucket of The Good. The characters are what separates Mass Effect from everything you've ever seen or played before. BioWare has not been able to match the flavor and feel of this trilogy. Dragon Age as a series comes close, but the friends of the Warden, Hawke, or Inquisitor still can't compete with the crew of the Normandy. Mass Effect 3 even dedicated an entire DLC in the Citadel to giving a final farewell to the characters that we have all grown to know and love. EDI, Liara, Joker, Miranda, Ashley, Kaidan, Wrex, Garrus, Kasumi, Zaeed, Mordin, Jack, James, Anderson, Hackett, Thane, Legion, Tali, and Grunt all have their own individual personalities that make them incredible, 3-dimensional characters that stick to Shepard's side through thick and thin. I'm sure I missed a couple there, there's just so damn many, but they each have a unique part to play in your individualized tale of Shepard.
The Bad
Okay, now for the bad... There is none.
Okay, just kidding. I have to look at this objectively.
The trilogy, compiled as the Legendary Edition, released to great acclaim by fans and critics alike, but I do have to admit that it is not without its flaws.
The first one in the series has been updated the most with the revamp, but even still somehow BioWare lost access to one of their DLCs or just couldn't figure out how to put it in there. Pinnacle Station was a training ground that added a slight side-story to the original while also honing Shepard's skills. It's not there anymore, but at least its loss is somewhat-remembered in 3.
Textures and shading have certainly been improved, especially in the first one, but this in no way brings the trilogy completely up to date in the looks department. It should be noted that the Legendary Edition is a remaster and not a remake, but that doesn't fully excuse some of the corners that seem to be cut here. In a lot of ways, the trilogy does not look much better than when each game released in 2007, 2010, and 2012. They were already pushing the capabilities of the systems they released on (XBox 360 and PS3) with those last two, so it really wasn't too much of a stretch to put them on the Series X and PS4 by making them backwards compatible. BioWare could have added a few more flourishes in their "It's now 4K!" claims.
Don't get me wrong, it does look better. It just could have looked a little better than that for games they were simply re-releasing. No new dialogue to record, nothing crazy to reconfigure, just releasing a compiled IP they already owned at a $60 price tag (originally). I hope they made some decent money off of it, because I would certainly like to see something great come out of BioWare in the next Mass Effect release. They need some redemption for recent years.
I have no issues with 2 minus the appearance of things here and there. 3 is where some of my other complaints lie. This really is just some clunkiness peppered throughout the game. Some things needed to have been fine tuned and for whatever reason they were not. 3 is the worst perpetrator of this, and sometimes it can take you out of the immersion of the moment. When you go to start a mission and all of a sudden you see a flashed image of Shepard standing in the shuttle before it cuts to the dialogue that you're supposed to have prior to that part... it can be slightly jarring. This goes especially for those first time players.
Nevertheless, a trilogy of games with well over a hundred hours of content at one price tag? These minor flaws can be overlooked.
The Glory
If it's not clear enough, I recommend Mass Effect: Legendary Edition whole-heartedly. My only words of warning would be regarding the amount of immersion that you will experience playing the games. Finishing the trilogy gives a feeling, for me at least, akin to leaving Disneyland with my family. Okay, the fun is done. Back to reality, now.
The trilogy feels like that because in many ways as you play the game you are Shepard. Your choices determine how much of a paragon or renegade you are, and the characters in your crew either follow suit or start to step away. Shepard is one of a kind in that he/she has their own feel and certainly could be canonized in a certain way (Renegon, most likely) but the things they say sound like how you would want them delivered in a sci-fi adventure with you at the helm. The ending of it all does a great job in its lead up to finally shaking the hands or planting the kiss on those companions who have meant the most to you, as well as hearing how you have meant the most to them.
Many Mass Effect fans complained about the ending to the trilogy when it dropped, and even since then, but I suspect that a big part of that simply had to do with the difficulty of letting go. With 5 endings (if you include the refuse choice) and multiple interpretations across the spectrum of each one, BioWare gave everyone enough uniqueness to see the culmination of their journey land at a final destination they chose. And isn't it all about the journey, anyway?
Just something to think about.
If you're a gamer, or just love storytelling in general, then give Mass Effect a try and you won't be disappointed. After all... "You were born to do this." - Garrus Vakarian, Mass Effect 3.
10/10
Legendary
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