Mass Effect Legendary Edition

Who wants to talk Mass Effect?

From the Shore Leave DLC in Mass Effect 3 (Take photo)

So, I just finished up Mass Effect Legendary Edition. This is my fourth playthrough with the trilogy (3 times before the legendary edition release).

I’d first discovered Mass Effect 1, back in 2009 (two years after it was first released) and fell in love with the game. From there I got the other games (Mass Effect 2 & 3) and all DLC as they released.

As a fan of science fiction and space travel and meeting different aliens from all over space the game resonated with me. Commander Sheppard resonated with me in being the Commander of a frigate spaceship (SSV Normandy) and discovering an impending doomsday that occurs every 50,000 years in which all organic life is extinguished by a race of machine beings called the Reapers.

And so, the saga begins with discovery in game 1, early prevention in game 2, and fight for survival in game 3.
The game is full of discoveries, adventure, action, and choices, and what you do in game 1 can affect your choices and ultimate outcome in game 3.

The game(s) features a save import system so that your game ending can be imported into the next game, and that game’s ending imported into the next. In this way the story stays consistent and coherent throughout the trilogy. One big bonus to the legendary edition is your customized character’s facial features stay consistent throughout all three games. Before the legendary edition, you had to customize your facial features for each game as not all games had the same customization system.

Regarding the legendary Edition, in addition to having all games under on unified interface, it includes all the DLC released for the games, an easier more consistent import system, but the biggest improvements, especially for first game is the highly improved graphics. The game, as well as the cut scenes look gorgeous. And I don’t even have a 4K monitor so I can only image the game looks that much better on a 4K monitor.

Game performance has been improved and the biggest game busting bug in Mass Effect 2 (Illium crash bug) has been finally fixed. Thank You!!! And yes, there is a "photo" mode included now

If you’re into science fiction and space travel adventure this is the game to get. The story, as well as the characters are very compelling, and even more so when you pair certain team members together on certain missions where you can gain more history of the races – Example Javik and Liara on the Priority: Thessia mission. Oh, and you also have the chance to romance a few characters.

Left to right - Miranda, Talia, Liara. I've romanced each one of these characters in each playthrough

For me, this is one of my top 10 games of all time (since I began gaming in1998), maybe even top 5. I’m simply a huge fan of the Mass Effect trilogy.

There is a Mass Effect: Andromeda, but that game takes place in another galaxy with completely different story and characters. It is however based on finding a new home away from the Reaper threat. There is also news that a Mass Effect 4 will be release sometime in the future and that it will be based on the Mass Effect trilogy. I’m certainly looking forward to it.

Thoughts/discussions?

Im on the fence on this one. I have thought about it many times, and reading your review will probably give it a go one day

If you're into the shoot em up non-stop action FPS games this may not be your cup of tea as some parts of the game can be boring or slow. If however, you're into RPG games then you know things can play out slowly.

That said, the best game in my opinion is Mass Effect 3, (though I could also make a case for 2 with its DLC), but for first time players you won't get much out of the story and certain dialog choices will be lost; also the game ending will be limited.

To get the most out of the games, you need to play all three.