LEGENDARY!

This week has been huge for Mass Effect fans like myself--the official news of a trilogy remaster and a release date were finally announced!  The rumor mill about a potential ME remaster had been churning for quite some time and I had scoffed anytime I would see someone post about it happening.  Well, it's finally true and there has been a ton of buzz about it...and, maybe a little bit of controversy (isn't there always though?).

Most of the positive buzz this week has been about how they've chosen to take on the original game in the series.  There was much conjecture about whether they would actually make changes to the gameplay--certain aspects of the game haven't aged well and can make the initial entry into the series somewhat unenjoyable to re-play.  For me, it's the combat.  When I first played it, I didn't view it as negatively, but after the second and third games came out and the combat was vastly improved, it made the combat in the first game seem so much worse.  Combat in the first game masquerades as a third-person, cover based type of affair.  Unfortunately it rarely remains that way as enemies simply charge at you and trying to stay in cover is rarely an option--instead, you awkwardly run your Shepard around trying to make some space to shoot and performing a goofy combination of smacking people with your melee attack, using your powers, and trying to shoot.  Flee in terror no more!  It sounds like the combat has been reworked to be like ME2 and ME3 (unfortunately, not Andromeda which has some really fun combat).

Another part of the original game that has been reworked is the Mako.  Remember the hours you spend awkwardly maneuvering the lumbering beast of a vehicle up giant hills?  Or managing to drive to your death by accidentally steering into a pool of lava?  Or driving off the dang skyway on Feros?  Just me?  The new Mako controls are going to be more like those of the Nomad from Andromeda.  Sweet, smooth driving!  Although, I gotta say, there's something about the jank of the Mako that I will miss--like trying to climb up giant hills that were definitely not meant to be driven up at that steep of an angle--or driving to the pinnacle only to laugh as the Mako tumbles bizarrely down the other side.  RIP to the "drunk rhino."  (*You can always revisit it in the original games if you miss the feeling of suddenly veering off in a strange direction)

Of course, since it's a remaster, all of the trilogy games will be getting shiny, new graphics updates.  If you're leet enough, you'll be able to experience it in glorious 4K resolution.  Textures are being updated to make everything sparklier (now with 1000% more lens flare!).  I do not have a 4K monitor, so I will leave that to the cool kids.

Tied to the graphical updates is the news that the character customization tool is being improved and character models will be standardized across the three games.  Creating a sexier, cooler Shep is going to be a much easier affair.  The default FemShep model is getting revamped to look more like the ME3 version.  It was always a roll of the dice when you created your character in the first game and then got to see how they turned out in 2 and 3.

The ass shot heard 'round the world

Buuuut, no modern game release is without its controversies and weirdly, ME has managed to churn up a few.  There was news this week that some of the infamous butt shots (*cough* Miranda *cough*) are going to be cut (*not totally removed, but the camera angles are being raised) in the remaster.  This has led to much angry crying about censorship and heated interweb arguments about how much sexualization should be in video games.  I find this whole thing kind of funny because it's a part of the games that is like, what, a few seconds long?  When it's gone, will people even notice?  The "butt shot heard round the world" was always a bit obvious--I remember the first time I saw it--it did feel a bit unnecessary (although, I will say that her sexualization does tie in with her character and it's something she admits as being one of her genetic advantages).  If you're a hardcore stan for Miranda's ass (it is a nice ass), it sounds like you're going to have to stick to the original games.

There's also been some snarky chatter around FemShep.  Many people noted that the Legendary Edition trailer placed the female character in a much more prominent role.  For quite awhile there has been debate about the visibility of FemShep throughout the marketing for the game (and, debates about the visibility--or lack of visibility, in some cases--of the female versions of characters in some big name RPG's has become more of a topic of discussion in recent years).  Many fans (myself included) adore FemShep and have lauded the performance of the legendary voice actor Jennifer Hale in the role.  Of course, which character you choose to play is a matter of personal preference, but for those of us who love FemShep, it was nice to see more equitable representation in the trailer (and, if you haven't seen the video of Jennifer Hale's tearful reaction to the trailer, I would highly recommend giving it a watch--it's very clear that FemShep is a character that she is invested in).

Another piece of FemShep news that some players are thrilled about is the fact that they are also changing the camera angles that resulted in horrendously awkward crotch shots.  The awkwardness only happened if your FemShep was outfitted in the dress (personally, my FemShep is not down with the dress and would only wear it on the missions where it was required).  Camera angles will be raised.

The Legendary Edition will include all outfit packs and DLC's....with the exception of one, Pinnacle Station.  Apparently, the source code for that particular DLC was lost and it cannot be salvaged.  Personally, I'm not too torn up over that fact.  The combat in the original game was so horrible that I had very little desire to spend time doing challenges related to combat.  Although, with the upcoming reworked combat, it could make the DLC better.  Still, I don't think it's a huge loss.

Notably, the Legendary Edition will not include the ME3 multiplayer.  There's quite a bit of division over this aspect--it was always sort of an odd addition in a game that was all about being a singleplayer experience.  Some people felt forced into playing MP in order to unlock the readiness level and war assets that had some sort of impact on the ending and others saw it as an enjoyable affair.  I did spend some time playing the MP and did actually enjoy it, but I it's something else that I don't feel strongly about.

My general opinion of remasters is a big nope, but I will be gleefully purchasing this one.  The updated graphics will be nice, but the changes to the first game have me excited and feeling willing to throw some additional cash to BioWare/EA.  Plus, I have an AMD CPU and get the super annoying graphics bug on Noveria (your squad is basically a giant chunk of black shapeless blocks throughout the entire part of the core mission at Peak 15--and yes, I know it's fixable with mods and/or a script tweak, but I don't want to mess with either).  You can pre-order through Steam or Origin (but you shouldn't...I'm going to hold off until it's released) and the Legendary Edition goes live on May 14th.