The Legendary Edition is the most efficient way to consume the Mass Effect trilogy. Everything is presented in a nice little package, and with a little bow on top that is the original DLC. The series really benefits from being able to play the games right after each other in their natural order. Importing your saved character into the sequel gives you the full experience and allows your character’s actions to, seemingly, have more weight since you see the outcomes immediately. The bond that Commander Shepard cultivates with their allies is magical. I wish I could erase my memory of this series just to be able to play this collection as it was intended. Any newcomer to the series who is on the fence should absolutely jump on it, and returning fans will certainly be happy that it was treated with tender loving care.
The beloved space opera trilogy in video games is back in one cohesive fashion. Three top-tier role-playing games are all in one package, which gives you the best experience in which to play. When the games were originally released, you had to wait years for the next game but now you don’t have to wait and you can get fully acquainted with the franchise. Being able to play the games right after each other is the best way to consume the series. You can see the seeds being planted in the first and then start to bloom in the second, then fully blossom in the third. The actions you make will have their reactions carried out, whether it is with Liara T’Soni’s life, whether you spare the Rachni Queen or whether it’s Commander Shepard’s origin story or so on. The relationships you cultivated with your crew members in one game bleed into the next. This cohesive experience is what fans of the series wanted.
The story has not changed in this remaster. The Commander Shepard you create will still have to fight Saren and Sovereign, the Collectors, and then Reapers. What is important to this remaster, and this review, is what is new and what is better now that the series has had a makeover. Or on the other hand, what hasn’t been fixed or made better.
Starting with Mass Effect, the game feels exactly how I remember it; awkward and a tad cumbersome. I was hoping that with this remaster, the combat would have been fixed to feel like the sequels. The cover combat feels unrefined since Mass Effect 2 introduced a robust cover system as well as adding the grenade mechanic to the power wheel. I always thought it was strange that the grenade had its own button when the other powers or abilities are in the power wheel when holding down R1 or RB. The cover combat is the least harrowing of the issues but is still noticeable. It is sticky cover, which means when you get close enough you automatically enter the cover. The issue here is that it doesn’t always work exactly how it should. Sprinting into cover does not guarantee that you actually enter cover combat. When it comes to the movement, the sprint feels like an afterthought to the rest of the game just added to speed up the time. Another problem that was not addressed was the use of powers and abilities. I often found it a mistake or useless to use a power because the targeting picked the environment rather than the enemy I wanted to hit. Personally, I think it was a missed opportunity not to fix these things to make the combat and gameplay feel as close as possible to the next game.
When it comes to Mass Effect, I believe that everyone wants to know how the MAKO feels now. In Mass Effect, you spend a lot of your time traversing different planets in a futuristic tank called the MAKO. The original version of the game is notorious for how terrible the MAKO controls were. When the remaster was announced, one of the talking points was how they tried to fix the feeling of driving the vehicle now. I am here to say they did not try hard enough. Planet exploration is demanding of the player as a result of the different terrains and environments. Driving around in the MAKO does not help the player in any way. I found it easier in some cases to just walk because I would spend way more time trying to climb a mountain range in the tank.
I was hoping for a little more from the graphics in Mass Effect, but I constantly had to tell myself that this was a remaster and not a remake. The colors were very dull and nothing attracted my attention. In the Normandy, the ship you spend most of your time in, there was hardly any texture to the surroundings. This was upsetting because the Normandy is supposed to be the most futuristic ship that humanity has ever seen in the series, but it comes across as bland and milquetoast. Close-ups of the characters were also a little rough. In one of the first scenes, there is a close-up of the pilot Joker, and you can see the hard edges on his nose. Instantly reminiscent of Lara Croft’s polygonal breasts in the original Tomb Raider. Not as bad, but just as noticeable.
Jumping into Mass Effect 2 feels like walking into your house after a long day at work, exactly where you want to be. The combat feels refined, and nothing feels tricky like it did in Mass Effect. All of the issues that I encountered previously have been fixed. Grenades are now a part of the power wheel, sprinting feels natural to the game and you can easily move in and out of cover. The best part of the combat from Mass Effect 2 is the use of tech and biotic powers. Your abilities have a very little chance of missing and the types of powers you use actually matter. Much like a Pokemon game with types and weaknesses, Mass Effect 2 distinctly makes your abilities mean more. The power wheel will show you what attacks will be effective or useless depending on what type of enemy you are facing and what type of protection they have. These sentiments can be echoed for Mass Effect 3 as well.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition really hits its stride with 2 and 3. All the combat issues from 1 don’t come across to 2 or 3. While the graphics scaling wasn’t how I envisioned it for Mass Effect, the sequels seem to do a better job. There is just a more diverse color palette that invites beautiful scenery, whether you are on Omega with its vibrant reds or on the Citadel with the sleek silvers and blues. It would have been nice to see how much the series would have benefited if there were a next-generation version.
My entry to the series was actually Mass Effect 2 and eventually, I went back to Mass Effect to get the full story. After I played them both I was up to date with the series and was able to buy the third on day-one. Since I did not buy Mass Effect 2 day one, I missed out on some DLC which includes a character. I know people had an issue with this and especially with Mass Effect 3 where a day-one exclusive character was integral to the plot. All of these roadblocks are lifted in this collection. All of the DLC characters, stories, and items are available and therefore you will not miss out on anything.
