Is the Mass Effect Trilogy good?

[Jaredcb03]

The Mass Effect trilogy is my favorite game series of all time. 

 

You owe it to yourself to play it. 

[Gale]

One of my favourite game series ever!

[theloveablemoose]

It is a very good trilogy. Worth every bucks. You should get about 20h+ (if you do all side missions and explorations) on every game.

Yeah 20 hours.

[othertomperson]

It's fantastic. And for that price, too, is really good.

[Snickerzz]

STORY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Whorax]

It's incredible, as long as you start at 1 and work your way to 3.

[MoonSpot]

Think all the DLC for ME1 is available for free now too.  I mean legit free, not that other kind. 

I think "pinnacle station" comes with the trilogy and "bring down the sky" is free for all.

 

Pinnacle station sucks pretty bad, but bring down the sky was/is quite fun.

 

http://help.ea.com/en/article/mass-effect-bring-down-the-sky-dlc-redemption/

 

The problem with the ME series, is the sheer amount of DLCs in ME2 and ME3 and their associated expense.  Some are straight up money grabbing turds (weapon and armor packs), others are worthwhile and some are just flatout required (opinions vary by user).

 

Here's the list for you to digest and consider.

http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Downloadable_Content

[Prastupok]

It's incredible, as long as you start at 1 and work your way to 3.

 

I played through #2 probably 15 times.

[Whorax]

I played through #2 probably 15 times.

2 was actually my least favorite. It was the game of the three that least complimented the Vanguard class when playing on the highest difficulty, which is a PITA because Vanguard is my favorite hands down.

 

Minor spoiler OP, don't click this if you don't wanna know.

Although I can't complain about 2--that's where you can finally romance Tali. She's the best.

[Humbug]

The problem with the ME series, is the sheer amount of DLCs in ME2 and ME3 and their associated expense.

ya making players pay extra for the from ashes dlc in Mass Effect 3 was criminal. Added so much to the story and lore, it sucks that some were denied that. Cosmetic items i don't mind so much...

[TW1ST3R]

ya making players pay extra for the from ashes dlc in Mass Effect 3 was criminal. Added so much to the story and lore, it sucks that some were denied that. Cosmetic items i don't mind so much...

Thankfully it's at least included in the deluxe edition.  Picked that up during the Christmas sales.  What annoys me is how much all the rest of the DLC costs - it would cost me $40 just to buy Leviathan, Omega and Citadel for ME3, which is absurd considering I picked up the deluxe version of the base game for $15.  Not to mention the stupid Bioware points thing means the DLC never goes on sale...

[blu4]

We'll bang, ok?

[ADM-Ntek]

ME1 was good

ME2 Was awesome put around 200Hours in that

ME3 the first 95% were good but not as good as ME2 than it all went to shit. seriously that ending has traumatized me to the point that i get sick to my stomach when i just try launch any of the games.

[Albatross]

Good does not even begin to describe it.

It's awesome.

 

Best response so far.

 

"Good" is not an accurate enough to describe Mass Effect. Whilst the third game is questionable to a lot of fans the series itself is sound and the enjoyment you get from them all, including the third, is worth the price. If you buy it, you will not be disappointed! They are fantastic games with great story and character, beautiful music and settings and a lively depth that overall makes it an experience to be had!

 

I first played on the console. Started with 3 > 1 > 2 and I played them all for hours and hours straight. I bought the games again for PC and still had no regrets. :wub:

[Nup]

2 was actually my least favorite. It was the game of the three that least complimented the Vanguard class when playing on the highest difficulty, which is a PITA because Vanguard is my favorite hands down.

 

Minor spoiler OP, don't click this if you don't wanna know.

Although I can't complain about 2--that's where you can finally romance Tali. She's the best.

 

Haha that spoiler you talked about was the best part of me2  :wub:

[Assdwellingmnky]

Short answer yes. It's an okay port from consoles. Performance is fine, but that's also because they give almost no graphics options besides resolution. No texture detail, no AA, no Ambient Occlusion. Cut scenes are probably rendered at a lower resolution than whatever you'd play it at, so that's a little jarring. If you're into modding, while you have to jump through some hoops, it's possible for the second, and more so for the third. 

Everyone pretty much covered game-play. It's excellent.  The story, while almost always limited to choosing the good, bad, or neutral paths, still allows enough freedom to feel like you're making choices. Playing through the trilogy is an excellent experience as you get to see how each decision's ramifications make an impact on the universe. 

Each sequel is a linear improvement on its predecessor, but that is incredibly subjective. What going from 1 to 2 lost in the complexity of the RPG elements, it made up in tighter controls and game play. From 2 to 3, controls once again improved, and the game felt less "dumbed down" that 2 did. 

Immerse yourself in the world. Read codex entries, talk to people, and ask them questions. Don't feel confined to the CIC deck of the Normandy. Walk around and talk to your squad mates. The devs spend eons writing, voicing and animating hundreds of hours of conversation, do them justice and listen. The story has far more impact on you when you know the back story of each of your squad mates. Put yourself in Shepard's shoes. Do you what you do in that situation, if you were a BA space marine. 

 

Over all it's probably one of my favorite trilogies. 9/10 would recommend. 

 

edit: CIC not CIS

[Humbug]

Hehe. Just look at how much mass effect meant to PC gamers...

3 years after the trilogy ended, opening poster asked a simple question to help him in his buying decision; and he got 3 pages of mass effect tributes. Just shows how much impact a well executed game series, world and narrative can have on those of us who are willing and patient to lose ourselves in a fictional universe. I remember halfway through my ME3 play through on my uber rig saying to myself, "this is what I want to do with my PC, this is rewarding, fascinating and memorable. This is why I am a gamer- for this sense of wonder, not for Crysis 3".

[Majestic]

The ending ruined the series for me. Have no intention of ever replaying the series again, and I put a LOT of hours into the first one. Because that game was great, eventhough the story was mainly Babylon 5, Battlestar Galactica, Stargate and Farscape thrown in a blender. The illusion that your choices mattered was the only thing that kept me playing the game. To find out nothing you did in the first two games mattered at all made me drop the series like a brick.

 

If space opera is your thing I suggest you watch those series instead. The first game is still a recommended must-play, simply for the atmosphere (pun intended) it has. Especially during the mako explore sections (not the scripted ones, those were shit). Games two and three were pretty poor tbh. Too much PC and chest-high-wall gears of war style combat. They were also laughably easy, hepler proof so-to-say.

[deathjester]

The ending ruined the series for me. Have no intention of ever replaying the series again, and I put a LOT of hours into the first one. Because that game was great, eventhough the story was mainly Babylon 5, Battlestar Galactica, Stargate and Farscape thrown in a blender. The illusion that your choices mattered was the only thing that kept me playing the game. To find out nothing you did in the first two games mattered at all made me drop the series like a brick.

 

If space opera is your thing I suggest you watch those series instead. The first game is still a recommended must-play, simply for the atmosphere (pun intended) it has. Especially during the mako explore sections (not the scripted ones, those were shit). Games two and three were pretty poor tbh. Too much PC and chest-high-wall gears of war style combat. They were also laughably easy, hepler proof so-to-say.

 

MEHEM patch, Citadel post game patch. Makes the 3rd game a whole lot better. Still not perfect and Mac Walters is simply a hack as a lead writer (Drew Karpyshyn was lead before that). 2 worked. It was not like 1 but it worked. The DLC was pretty much required though and that was silly. I mean hell, they made two companion chars DLC. Overlord was probably the best DLC in the entire series and very "sci fi". 

 

 

Short answer yes. It's an okay port from consoles. Performance is fine, but that's also because they give almost no graphics options besides resolution. No texture detail, no AA, no Ambient Occlusion. Cut scenes are probably rendered at a lower resolution than whatever you'd play it at, so that's a little jarring. If you're into modding, while you have to jump through some hoops, it's possible for the second, and more so for the third. 

Everyone pretty much covered game-play. It's excellent.  The story, while almost always limited to choosing the good, bad, or neutral paths, still allows enough freedom to feel like you're making choices. Playing through the trilogy is an excellent experience as you get to see how each decision's ramifications make an impact on the universe. 

Each sequel is a linear improvement on its predecessor, but that is incredibly subjective. What going from 1 to 2 lost in the complexity of the RPG elements, it made up in tighter controls and game play. From 2 to 3, controls once again improved, and the game felt less "dumbed down" that 2 did. 

Immerse yourself in the world. Read codex entries, talk to people, and ask them questions. Don't feel confined to the CIC deck of the Normandy. Walk around and talk to your squad mates. The devs spend eons writing, voicing and animating hundreds of hours of conversation, do them justice and listen. The story has far more impact on you when you know the back story of each of your squad mates. Put yourself in Shepard's shoes. Do you what you do in that situation, if you were a BA space marine. 

 

Over all it's probably one of my favorite trilogies. 9/10 would recommend. 

 

edit: CIC not CIS

 

Mass Effect 2 and 3 are among the best looking games on PC with tex mod 4k textures and a downsample from 4 k.

 

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/291977-mass-effect-3-high-res-textures/

 

^ We were just discussing this the other day.

 

Mass Effect 1? Yeah it is just an old game. It can look pretty damn good with a 5 k downsample in Gedosato and the MEUITM mod though. Not too shabby for a 2007 video game.

 

[That Norwegian Guy]

It's alright.

 

Mass Effect was above average for a AAA game, Mass Effect 2 was a borderline masterpiece and probably the iconic representative of the ideal way to handle a cross-platform game, but Mass Effect 3 ran out of ideas in several plot directions and fell down the 'trying too hard' conclusion originality trap.

 

Overall, a good trilogy, but no masterpiece.

[Humbug]

Mass Effect 3 was great for me. So many rewarding and memorable moments. The ending does not change the fact that I got a lot of hours of enjoyment and great content from it. Money well spent.

 

snip

You made Garrus look like a clown.

[Henne]

Yes, It's really good - I found it slightly short and sadly, not a great lot of backstory like Dragon age from Bioware, where i spendt 60+ hours in just the first game.

However Mass Effect has a great variety of Game Mechinics that should provide one of the best RPG's of all time. I would not Recommend it if you're just into Shooters but as an RPG Game It's outstanding.