These checklists are great and definitely useful.
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=1PhgyE2ldIIhSbkknNTFmxGI803g45a_b
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=1PhgyE2ldIIhSbkknNTFmxGI803g45a_b
Gaming Mass Effect: Legendary Edition
- Thread starter Bojan11
- Start date
God the ME1 side quests are so bad. Spent most of my time yesterday just bulk doing them to get them out of the way. Essentially just a repeat of; drive Mako around planet, shoot some turrets, infiltrate exact same bunker/mine as in other side quests, kill some stuff.
ME1, story aside, was a fecking average game at best and anyone who says otherwise is mad!
ME1, story aside, was a fecking average game at best and anyone who says otherwise is mad!
I've never played the Mass Effect series so i thought i'd give it a go on PC bought this legendary edition played 90mins of the first one and have now just completed a refund via steam for the whole game.
I know nostalgia is super strong and can make old games feel a lot better then they were/are, but in 2021 from what i played of Mass Effect 1 the game has just aged terrible, the stiff conversations the NPC's eyes looking in completely wrong directions as you are engaging in conversation i just couldn't push past it.
This is ignoring the horrendous mouse acceleration on the PC version which fluctuates with the frame rate.
I'm sure at the time it was considered exceptional, time however has not been kind, i had the same problem with the Shenmue remakes my friends told me how fantastic they were i could barely control the character effectively the games control scheme was that bad.
Nah the problem is that even in 2007 the combat was considered poor and the game was considered pretty unpolished, but the story and lore was great and people loved the space opera setting so it kinda got a free pass on all that. I played it back in 2010 after ME2 and it was shocking even back then to play.I've never played the Mass Effect series so i thought i'd give it a go on PC bought this legendary edition played 90mins of the first one and have now just completed a refund via steam for the whole game.
I know nostalgia is super strong and can make old games feel a lot better then they were/are, but in 2021 from what i played of Mass Effect 1 the game has just aged terrible, the stiff conversations the NPC's eyes looking in completely wrong directions as you are engaging in conversation i just couldn't push past it.
This is ignoring the horrendous mouse acceleration on the PC version which fluctuates with the frame rate.
I'm sure at the time it was considered exceptional, time however has not been kind, i had the same problem with the Shenmue remakes my friends told me how fantastic they were i could barely control the character effectively the games control scheme was that bad.
And bear in mind, they have done a great job with the remaster! It was so much worse before.
Mass Effect 1 is the side of soggy onions that are on the edge of your dinner plate. I'm afraid it sounds like you sent the entire thing back into the kitchen and walked out of the restaurant before getting to the juicy steak that is ME2.I've never played the Mass Effect series so i thought i'd give it a go on PC bought this legendary edition played 90mins of the first one and have now just completed a refund via steam for the whole game.
I know nostalgia is super strong and can make old games feel a lot better then they were/are, but in 2021 from what i played of Mass Effect 1 the game has just aged terrible, the stiff conversations the NPC's eyes looking in completely wrong directions as you are engaging in conversation i just couldn't push past it.
This is ignoring the horrendous mouse acceleration on the PC version which fluctuates with the frame rate.
I'm sure at the time it was considered exceptional, time however has not been kind, i had the same problem with the Shenmue remakes my friends told me how fantastic they were i could barely control the character effectively the games control scheme was that bad.
Finally finishing up ME1. Sad to know the series goes downhill from here.
Definitely as an RPG yeah, did you get most of the side quests done? ME2 is still an incredible game though.
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I never understand the "ME1 is better as an RPG than ME2" angle. Better lore? Maybe. Better main plot? Yeah. But that's it. The loot system is awful, the side quests are largely rubbish, there's no crafting, there is actually very little relationship building with your companions aside from a few conversations after missions (seriously, it takes like 2 conversations with Liara/Ashley to bang them) and the dialogue and cutscenes are pretty wooden. Also the bulk of your decisions have absolutely no bearing on anything until.. guess what.. ME2 and 3!
ME2 definitely doesn't have as good a main plot as 1, but the dialogue is much better, as is the loot system, you can actually also customize the Normandy a bit, the relationships with companions are miles and miles better and you actually have proper side quests with them. The normal side quests are way better. The world itself is much better explored too and every planet and room doesn't just look like a rehash of every other planet and room. Seriously, what the actual feck makes ME1 a "better RPG" than ME2?
There's no comparison. ME2 is one of the best western RPG's ever. ME1 is an average at best video game with a great story.
ME2 definitely doesn't have as good a main plot as 1, but the dialogue is much better, as is the loot system, you can actually also customize the Normandy a bit, the relationships with companions are miles and miles better and you actually have proper side quests with them. The normal side quests are way better. The world itself is much better explored too and every planet and room doesn't just look like a rehash of every other planet and room. Seriously, what the actual feck makes ME1 a "better RPG" than ME2?
There's no comparison. ME2 is one of the best western RPG's ever. ME1 is an average at best video game with a great story.
Agreed, ME1 is by far the best one.
No bearing on anything? You can lose up to 2 squad members permanently during the game. ME2 is just a collection of side quests with little overarching plot, dumbed-down skill development, and inferior combat to 3. It’s a great TPS but an average RPG at best.
You can lose every squad member permanently in ME2!
But the side quests and characters are way better aren't they? So they dumbed down the skill development a little, big deal, the combat is still miles better and you still have all the same abilities. If that's the only thing you can come up with, it's really not much. Like I said the main plot isn't great but it does suffer from being an awkward middle child so it was always going to be hard to come up with anything massively impactful.
I love the story and lore in ME1 but even the remastered one was incredibly painful to replay cause the combat is so awful and the quests are so samey. Oh and then there's the Mako which is truly dogshit.
ME1 feels like a cohesive story. There are many issues don't get me wrong but it all hung together. ME2 feels like the main missions are little vignettes that had nothing to do with the plot, and it has a tendency to ignore prior continuity with very little hand waving which is something ME3 continued.
Is that enough to call it a better RPG when it's inferior in pretty much every other way though? Like surely the fact that ME2 has much better companions and side quests means something too?
ME2 has better world building and gameplay for sure but it's far too action orientated to call it a genuine RPG. ME1 has the better main story, lore and exploration. It just feels deeper to me even if some of the action and driving gameplay is tedious but RPG's aren't focused on that.
Shame, i was under the impression that part of the beauty of the series was your decisions carrying over to the next game, but from the little of Mass Effect 1 its not worth it for me grinding through that trash.
Eh most decisions in ME1 carry over to the next games and they can have a big impact.
That's like saying The Witcher 3 is too action oriented to be an RPG, though. Of course it's an RPG. It's an Action RPG!
People overreact to some of what ME2 simplified. I mean they've actually replicated some of the changes in ME2 back into the ME1 legendary edition which shows how much better those combat decisions actually were.
Indeed which is why skipping it to play the superior 2nd version defeats the whole purpose of the series.
There are less skills but I don't think that means it's dumbed down. There are a lot of pointless skill trees in ME1. I was a vanguard and I'm sure there was 3 or 4 skills that just gave passive buffs to health and shields.
ME2's skills are much more focused.
As somebody who hasn't kept up with this at all, what are the main benefits to the remaster? Better graphics. Stronger FPS. More/less alien booty?
Miranda's 4K arse.
Graphics have been touched up. Just got to Omega and ME2 looks fantastic so far. 60FPS on PS5 and 120 on the Xbox (I think?). A few gameplay tweaks to make ME1 more tolerable.
You can play it on PS5. Other than that its just new lighting etc. They use ME3 character models in the older games etc.
The gameplay in ME1 is a bit less awful. Oh and they censored Miranda's ass but left the dozens of strippers in...so now we aren't going to hell?
Really enjoying it though
It is but not a locked 120 or anything, still fantastic though once VRR is enabled you don't even notice the occasional drops.
The combat is pretty crap in TW3 also but most people don't see it as a major blow to the overall experience, it's simply not one of the main focuses for what the game is setting out to achieve. A game can also have features that conventionally are associated with RPGs, but don't use them in a way or puts them in the main frame that they would actually provide a pure RPG experience.
A touched up ME1 is the main benefit. If you have a half-decent PC you can mod 2-3 to look about this good. It also has all the DLC if you didn’t buy that the first time around.
And of course playing it on last gen (and current) consoles. I seem to remember it being better on the Xbox side but don’t remember the details.
My point was that TW3 doesn't really have any RPG elements that ME2 doesn't yet nobody criticises its RPG elements. ME2 nailed both the combat and RPG side of things like very few action RPGs have before or since. I think a lot of people are just bitter than they removed some RPG elements that actually didn't really need to be there anyway in order to make it a more streamlined game. I guess it just goes against their principles or something? I can't fathom how anyone could play both ME1 and ME2 and say ME1 is a superior overall RPG experience. Better story, sure, but that's really it. Nobody has been able to actually counter anything I've said in here. it's literally just been "yeah but like the story is better and you can pointlessly customise your character a bit more for the crappy combat!"
The only thing that hinders Mass Effect 2 is the main plot. Everything else about the game is near perfect.
I did counter your point about decisions in 1 not mattering until 2 or 3, but you just tried to deflect it.
I think people that hate 1 have never never played real RPGs. They probably don‘t like or have never played KoToR (I know, right?), which is a direct ancestor to ME1.
Thanks all.
I've bolded the most interesting parts.
Huh, you didn't though? Those decisions don't really have any effect until 2 and 3, even the deaths, or at least, they have far bigger impacts in 2 and 3 than in 1.
I don't hate ME1, it's a good RPG but an average at best videogame that has aged poorly. ME2 is a good RPG and a great videogame that has aged well. I've played shitloads of JRPG's, CRPG's, and Western RPG's including pretty much every game Bioware have ever made, even all fecking 70 hours of Andromeda, so i'd like to think I'm in a good position to judge!
This guy knows what's up.
I still think Mass Effect 3 is the best experience I have ever had with a video game. Well aside from the final 5 mins.
The Citadel DLC is wonderful
The Citadel DLC is wonderful
I wish I had chosen a different class for ME2. Vanguard is bastard hard on insanity difficulty.
Agreed. Best of the trilogy imo.
Really wish I could tell Garrus to shove his calibrations up his ass and talk to me!
Taking Legion on Tali's loyalty mission this time.
He really does feck all in ME2. I played ME2 first and I remember wondering why he was so beloved.
Now you’re moving the goalposts. You said your decisions had no bearing on the game when they could leave you without some of the best teammates for a good portion of the game in which you made those decisions. How is that not an impact? That makes no sense, because there is actually less impact later as they basically just get replaced.
The skill system in 2 and 3 is much better than in 1. Biotics arent as ridiculously overpowered since they no longer ignore shields and the combo system makes party synergy actually important.
Aside from the most interesting story Mass Effect 1 is substantially worse than the other 2 in every way. Yes, it has loot, woohoo I'm forced to spend 5 minutes selling my 249 copies of tungsten rounds 1 through 7 for money I have no use for because I can only carry so much stuff.
I dont think the fact that the actually functioning gameplay in the sequels makes them less of an rpg. I guess it depends on your definition of the term rpg, which some seem a bit precious about.
It’s a glass cannon without Nova that you get in 3. I’m debating going Infiltrator instead for 2.
The key difference with Kotor is that those games (which i just replayed, God I love kotor) are turn based. Mass effect 1 wanted to be sort of an action rpg too but still handled like a turn based game which results in rather poor gameplay. In 2 they found their direction and went all in on the action style.
Regarding the similarity between Kotor and Mass Effect 1, there's really no contest though, Kotor is waaaaaaaAAAAaaaAaaaAAAAy better. It has amazing side quests that really make you care about the npcs as oplosed to the endless, scan planet, enter Mako, kill stuff in identical bunker get 2 lines of text, repeat. ME 1 build a fantastic world and lore, that's a huge achievement. Aside from that though, it's a bit eh.
What’s everyone’s preference for loot/upgrading gear? There’s a huge difference between ME1's 'shoot and loot' style and ME2's 'upgrade the few weapons/armor you can get' approach. I think I prefer ME2 personally. I found that I preferred AC Valhalla's style of focusing on upgrading the few weapons/armor the game gives you access to, vs Odyssey which gave you endless amounts of stuff to sort though.
The inventory and sorting through it is something I found so painful in ME1.
The inventory and sorting through it is something I found so painful in ME1.