There's Never Enough Mass Effect

I'm currently deeply embroiled in my umpteenth Mass Effect: Legendary Edition (actually, I think I've only done the full legendary edition two other times) playthrough.  I've made it all the way to the third game and I'm reminded about how Mass Effect is one of my all time favorites.  There are people out there who would probably question the desire to keep playing a singleplayer game with the same storyline over and over...but it's just that good!

To keep you fully up to speed:  here's my current Shepard.  Paul Shepard--war hero; infiltrator (with bonus energy drain power); heavy on the paragon (I can't be mean, it makes me sad).  Romanced Ashley in ME1; romanced nobody in ME2 (going with the loyalty to Ashley); romancing Ashley in ME3.  One great feature of the Legendary Edition is that importing your Shepard from game to game is (*almost) completely seamless.  The one oddity with the imports is that your Shepard's appearance might be slighly different from game to game.  Weirdly, in ME2, my Shep came out totally clean shaven (and with slightly redder hair) after designing him with a nice five o'clock shadow amount of stubble in ME1.  I chalked it up to Cerberus rebuilding him and giving him a nice, new face.  Luckily, the stubble is back in ME3 and the tones of red in the hair are less noticeable.  In taking this screenshot of my Shep I remembered how awkward human hands are in Mass Effect--they look super weird in a couple of close ups and the characters hold their arms and hands in a very stiff way when standing idle.

Paul Shepard...weird hands, kind heart.

Since I'm out of ideas, I thought I'd do a little rundown of some of my ME favorites and/or likes and dislikes.  I'm going to make it into a Q&A because I'm a dork.

Q: How would you rank the games in order of preference?

A: Mass Effect 2; Mass Effect 3; and then Mass Effect.  The writing in the OG Mass Effect is great but the combat and gameplay just isn't as compelling as in the other games.  Even with the Legendary Edition upgrade to its systems, there are still times when it can feel like a slog to get through.  Even though I strongly dislike some of the story beats in ME2, I have always greatly enjoyed the cast of characters and the ability to learn more about them through the loyalty missions.  The combat in ME2 is also greatly improved and possibly some of the most difficult in the series.  ME3 has the best combat in the series; I love the fluidity of chaining together combos and figuring out the ideal squadmates for each situation.  The ending (even though much improved over the original) is still a bit lackluster.  The total fan service Citadel DLC is the perfect way to wrap up the series.

Q: What are your favorite weapons in the series?

A: I love a slow firing, punchy kind of gun.  I generally go for the Mattock in ME3--it's got a semi-auto feel that allows you to carefully aim and make those shots matter.  The downside is the low amount of ammo.  Depending on the character I'm playing, I will usually opt for either a pistol or a sniper rifle as my secondary (generally more armor piercing focused).  Sticking to the slow theme--for pistols I like the Scorpion--those little, weird balls that it shoots can be devastating to armored opponents.  For sniper rifles I usually spend poor Shep's hard-earned cash on the Widow.  It's slow but packs an absolute punch.

Q: Who is the best romance in the series?

A: I'm fairly certain that I've played through all of them at this point (although Jack may be the one exception) and decided to do the Garrus romance on a lark.  Honestly, if you haven't romanced Garrus, you're definitely missing out!  Sure, Turians aren't the most attractive of the races, but Garrus' romance is the perfect combination of cute awkwardness and fun romantic moments.  It's definitely the best.

Q: What is your favorite mission in the series?

A: Curing the genophage on Tuchanka.  The mission has a bit of everything in it--challenging combat, humor, learning about the Krogan, the loss of a squadmate, and an epic moment of thresher maw vs. reaper.  Plus, it's a (mostly) happy ending for the Krogan.  Of course the ending is totally dependent on your paragon/renegade motivations and how you decide to play it.

Q: There's supposedly a new Mass Effect game in the works; what would you like to see in the upcoming title?

A: I would like to see a game that sticks to the strengths of the Mass Effect franchise--you need a good science fiction story (ME1 did that very well).  I am still unsure about the continuity after the events of ME3 and we're definitely not getting anything related to Andromeda.  Part of me would like a sort of re-building the galaxy kind of thing, but that's probably not good enough.  I would like to see what happens if you do cure the genophage--do the Krogans re-build their society or turn into a galactic menace?

I think one of BioWare's biggest strengths across its games is the characters they create.  They're good at making memorable characters who we are able to learn about and befriend throughout the course of the story.  I like the loyalty missions in ME2 and getting to play through a story that is related to a specific character.  They brought back this same format in Andromeda and they're some of the best missions in that game.  It'd be fun to have some squadmates who aren't from the council races--a volus or elcor!  Seriously, imagine an elcor squadmate....

The combat style should match/be similar to that in Andromeda...with a few exceptions.  I would really like to see them bring back the ability to issue commands to your squadmates.  Yes, I know that it slows down combat, but the ability to do combos gives your squad some serious synergy.  Without it, your squadmates just feel like extra baggage (that can be annoying at times).  Every other part of combat in Andromeda was enjoyable--the more movement-oriented gameplay, the weapons, the enemies.

One big argument in many of the online groups is about the presence of Shepard--many people want Shepard back in some form (either that they survived or it's like a descendant of Shep).  Personally, I'm fine with a new protagonist and think it would be good to start out fresh.  Depending on the timeline of the game, it would be nice to see some familiar faces, but I'm all for something new.

Well. I'm off to finish saving the galaxy.  Have a nice weekend and enjoy some gaming!

The Return

After feeling a bit stressed and seeing a ton of very nostalgic The Witcher 3 content related to the 10th anniversary of its release, I decided that it was a good time to spend some quality time with one of my favorite game series.  Now here's where you would think I would go for The Witcher 3, but no, why would I do something so logical?  Instead, I decided that I should revisit my favorite commander on the Citadel--good ol' Commander Shepard in Mass Effect.

Shockingly it had been 2 entire years since I had done a re-play (I generally like to do an annual re-play just for funsies).  I completely forgot how irritating it is to boot up the legendary edition on Steam only to remember that you have to go through the EA App (ick).  For my umpteenth playthrough I decided to go with a male Shepard--I generally opt for femshep because she is voiced by THE absolute video game voice acting legend that is Jennifer Hale--but, I decided that I should roll as the male Shep this time around for a bit of variety.  I think my only other male Shep playthrough was the one time I decided to do a hardcore renegade run (so many people got shot...and punched...and betrayed).

Here's my Shep (a nice looking fella).  He's a space born, war hero, infiltrator who blasts all the baddies with a sniper rifle.  Oh and I think he's going to strike up a nice romance with Ashley (who I know gets a ton of hate).

Paul Shepard--paragon of the sniper rifle.

I'm in an awesome Mass Effect fan group on social media and there is usually an intense debate about starting off with the first game or jumping straight into the second.  I will admit that ME2 is definitely my favorite in the bunch, but skipping the first game just feels like blasphemy.  The writing and atmosphere in the first game is so great--it almost makes up for the janky combat and weird exploration with the Mako.  The legendary edition upgrade also slapped on a fresh coat of paint and slightly revamped combat so it's not only less difficult (I never could finish the OG game on insanity--krogan were basically unkillable--but I can easily do it in the legendary edition) but it's also much less annoying.

The beginning of Mass Effect is such a mixed bag--you start off injected into the middle of a great space mystery but then find yourself plopped on the Citadel and just basically sightseeing.  Perhaps part of that is the fact that I've played it so many times that I know exactly where all the quests are and it's my goal to complete them all in one go.  It becomes fairly boring, so I can totally understand why some people might have started up ME in the past and decided that it wasn't for them.  Once you get past the Citadel, things start to take off and you're back in the mix.

I'm not to my favorite part of the game (the fight on the Citadel), but I'm making progress.  I'm also very much loving the ease of moving from game to game in the legendary edition--no struggling with importing saves or downloading DLC's--just fire up the next game in the series and get rolling.

If you're feeling stressed or sad, fire up a nostalgic favorite and bask in the glow of familiarity.  Chat up your favorite romantic interest and feel all the feels for the 900th time.  7 more days of school for me and then it's the magic of summer!  If you're a fellow educator, hang in there, we'll make it!

Two Gripes and a Fun

It's time to get all crotchety and cranky about gaming related gripes--oh, and to celebrate something fun.  I took a week off to celebrate the fourth of July with family, but I'm back and have had time to contemplate something that happened just prior to my little vacay.  I hope everyone else is having a relaxing summer and has had a chance to enjoy some quality down-time (even if you don't celebrate the fourth of July--which IMO is overrated...but you do get time off work, so cool!).  Now, let's get the crabby, griping going at full tilt!

Gripe #1:  "Always Online" is a PITA!

If you're one of the die hard Diablo IV players you were probably aware of the issues that happened (now a couple of weeks ago) when poor Blizz was Ddos'd and folks couldn't get logged in.  Of course this resulted in a lot of angry internet rage because people couldn't play as a result (understandable).  Blizz did manage to get the issue under control somewhat quickly.  I, as someone who is not playing Diablo IV, was not impacted by this event, but was impacted by something that I have a feeling was related.  I was happily tooling away with a new Commander Shepard in Mass Effect: Legendary Edition and decided to take a break and do some other stuff.  When I returned to the game, I found that I couldn't get logged in!  Apparently, EA's log-in server system was having issues (I strongly suspect that it could've been tied to the Ddos attacks--kiddies got shut down on Blizz so decided to turn their ire onto another favorite target of online hate).  The issue was fixed within an hour, but it was nonetheless irritating.

Why, oh why, do single player games need to have ANY online requirements?  This is one aspect of gaming that I desperately wish would go away.  If you want to play co-op or multiplayer games--you need that online aspect, but for single player games it just feels like an annoying way for developers to gather data for free (which could be a good or bad thing).  In the long run, most down time is brief, but why should people be prevented from using something they've paid for just because they need to be online?

I just wanna MELE!

Gripe #2: Launchers within Launchers.

My issue with ME also brought up another irritating aspect of gamine--the fact that most games are now sold through digital storefronts that are tied to multiple developers and all require their own launchers.  Part of my issue with being unable to play ME was related to the fact that Steam was working just fine, but in order to launch it I also needed to go through the EA app (which wasn't working at the time).  I'm so tired of the multi-launcher nightmare that has emerged.  I just want to log-in to one thing!  (And I know that GoG has their own "single-launcher" system, but to me it just feels like basically the exact same thing).  And this is directly related to the "always online" issue!

Alright, I'm done griping now.

Fun:  The Steam Summer Sale is in full swing!

Steam sales are definitely the highlight of the gaming year and I've been eyeballing my wishlist and trying to figure out which title(s) I might want to snatch up.  So far I haven't bitten, but I will probably grab something by the end.  The only recent purchase I have made is the new DLC for Powerwash Simulator--the Spongebob Pack (which I will write up next week).

For now, enjoy perusing those sweet, sweet summer sale deals and try to avoid the angry, cranky feelings when stupid online requirements break things.

The Legendary Question

I'm about 85-90% of the way through my complete playthrough of Mass Effect's brand, spankin' new Legendary Edition.  My Shep has a few story missions and the highly enjoyable "Citadel" DLC left before I wrap things up.  Since I am mostly done I thought I would weigh in on the $59.99 question--should you buy the Legendary Edition?  Especially, should you buy it if you already own the original trilogy?

Pros:

+ The first game has received a sizeable makeover.  This was my main point of interest as I have traditionally found the first game to be one of the most difficult to re-play.  The graphics have been updated and overhauled to give it a more modern look--it definitely looks better than the 2007 version.  For me, one of the major strengths of the first game was always the space themed exploration and getting to visit beautiful worlds.  The legendary edition makes those worlds even better.  The graphical upgrades in all three games look great.

ME1 looks great!  Photo mode is great for snapping pics.

+The obnoxious Peak 15 graphical bug for AMD CPU's has been fixed.  No more having to play through the entire sequence as a giant, block of black cubes.

+ ME1 combat has been improved.  The enemy AI is somewhat better and you don't spend the majority of your time getting rushed by every enemy in an area.  Weapons seem to have a longer period of firing before they overheat and need a cooldown period.  It's still not as good as it is in the third game, but it's not as excruciatingly horrible as it used to be.

+ The character creator has been updated to include more options to make your Commander Shepard unique.  This includes more consistency when importing your custom Shep into the other games in the series.  I only had one weird issue with my Shep's eyebrows being the wrong color in the second game, but for the most part it is much improved over the original games.

+ Comes with ALL content, even pre-order and special promotional items (like the Dragon Age themed armor set).  Before EA consolidated all the content for the trilogy together on Origin it could be a pain to download and install all the DLC.  You don't have to worry about finding and installing the DLC's or trying to manage importing your character from game to game.  It's really nice to everything in one place.

+ The new photo mode is a great way to capture epic screenshots of all of the Commander's adventures.  I've spent more time than I care to admit snapping pics of nice looking environments or my favorite squadmates.

+ There are a few minor bugs, but for the most part, it has run well.

Garrus just can't stop calibrating.

Cons:

- Even with the upgrades, the first game is still a bit of a slog.  You're still going to experience most of the issues that plague the original game--enemy AI is improved, but many combat areas are designed in a way that naturally funnels enemies toward you, so there's still some level of rushing.  The first game re-used many of the same zones/maps over and over.  Driving the Mako is still a bit of a chore (even with the option to toggle the new controls--which I turned off because it makes you fire and drive in the same direction...which I don't like).  It's important to remember that it's a REMASTER and not a REMAKE.  In a magical, perfect world they would redesign the first game with combat like the third game (I think that would be amazing...but is totally unrealistic).

-Graphics settings are lacking.  I'm not a graphics expert of someone who understand many of the high falutin' graphics terms but, according to the people who are more into that sort of thing, there just aren't many settings that you can tweak.  There was a bit of agonizing over the fact that there isn't an FOV slider in the legendary edition (but something that apparently has been modded).

- Some bugs.  I had one weird launching issue and a few gameplay bugs.  There have been several large patches to fix issues, so it seems like issues are being addressed.  If you're hoping for a PERFECT experience, it's not quite there (but getting closer).

+- Gameplay difficulty seems to be easier than in the OT.  I always struggled to finish ME1 on insanity and decided to give it a try in the LE.  I had no problems and have found insanity difficulty to be easier than in the OT (**not bragging.  I will always stand by the fact that ME is not a series about leet combat skills, so I don't think playing it on insanity is really anything worth bragging about--I just like combat to be challenging, but I know that some people just want to experience the story).  There have been a few sequences that are slightly different and maybe a bit more challenging.

-Pinnacle Station (ME1) and the multiplayer from ME3 are not included.  As someone who has never been a big fan of either, this wasn't particularly heartbreaking to me.  It's looking like they might bring back the multiplayer in ME3 (hopefully not the same way that it was tied into the original game with having it impact the singleplayer story).

Recommendation:

If you are someone new to Mass Effect, the $59.99 price tag is definitely worth it--you're getting three awesome games that include a boatload of DLC that add hours of gameplay and numerous fun items.  It's a bargain compared to the cost of purchasing the base games and all DLC.

If you're someone who already owns the trilogy (and all the DLC's)...that's a bit of a tougher call.  I'm a huge ME fan, but generally not a fan of remasters, so I broke my own rule about buying remasters.  The improvements to the first game are nice and the graphics in all the games do look good, but it's largely the same.  If you can grab it on sale, I would try to do that. 

Mass Effect 2 Retrospective

It has been interesting hearing about the experiences of players new to Mass Effect or hearing people who are re-experiencing the series through the Legendary Edition.  I just recently finished Mass Effect 2 and have rolled directly into the third game.  Good news, when my character imported into the third game her eyebrows returned to their normal color and she looks the way I wanted her to (minus the facial scars that are still MIA).  In finishing the second game, which has always been my favorite, I was trying to decide if I felt any differently about it this time around.

Mass Effect 2 frequently shows up on many top games lists and is loved by many people (including myself).  I've always felt lukewarm about certain main story elements and I still feel that way.  Why does Shepard need to wind up working for Cerberus?  That part has always bugged me to no end (especially as someone who plays paragon)--why would Shepard ever consider working for them after he/she spend all that time in the first game learning about how it's essentially an evil organization? And why did they need to kill Shepard off only to bring him/her back?  I get that they were trying to create some friction and add in some villain types...but I still hate it.

One of the nicer views in ME2.

For me, the real success of storytelling in the second games comes in the form of your crew and their character specific missions.  BioWare did a great job of filling Shep's crew with great characters (and there's tons of debate about who's great and who sucks) with a wide range of complicated issues.  One of my only character related gripes in the second game is the fact that if you're trying to avoid losing your extraneous crew members (to Collector abduction), you will only be able to have Legion in your crew for a very short period of time.  It'd be nice if you could grab him earlier and still be able to save the crew.

Samara....always with the meditating.

I didn't notice a ton of changes in the LE, but there were a few nice ones.  If you're someone who's an avid armor hoarder, all the various armors that were part of outfit pack DLC's or special promotions are now available.  If you want your Shep to have a nice, laidback feeling when just chilling on the Normandy, the highly coveted N7 hoody casual look is available.  The LE features several weapons that I don't remember that are nice additions--my favorite being the Mattock assault rifle--and there are multiple heavy weapons to choose from.

One thing I've noticed in the LE is that the combat does seem easier.  I've been playing on insanity and there haven't been very many challenging sequences.  The one place that did feel a bit different was the derelict reaper; I feel like they decided to really just go crazy with the number of husks that you encounter.  I was very surprised at how easy the final boss fight was compared to in the past--its health seemed to just melt away...and, I'm not gonna lie, it was a bit underwhelming.  But hey, we all know that ME isn't a game about being leet at combat--it's about making friends and boning aliens.

There are still a few lingering bugs, but nothing worth freaking out about.  I snapped fewer pics of the second game, but it does look good (the upgrade's just not as noticeable as in the first game).  I'm still sticking with my plan of staying romance-free until Traynor time.

If your weekend plans include slaying some Collectors or dealing with your crewmembers daddy issues...have fun!

Some Familiar Faces....and Kelly

It should come as no surprised that I'm still playing through the Legendary Edition of Mass Effect.  I managed to finish my ME1 adventure and have moved onto my series favorite second game.  It's always interesting to go back and re-experience games that you haven't played in awhile and to realize that there are things that you didn't appreciate enough and other things that now make you cringe.

One of the nice added features to the Legendary Edition is the fact that you can carry over more of your funds from the first game (although sadly, not your entire fortune).  My Shepard started off the second game with a padded account and it was a nice feeling to have enough credits to buy up all the items on Omega.  Unfortunately, something that wasn't so nice was the fact that my Shep didn't transfer over looking exactly the same from the first game.  It was immediately noticeable that her eyebrows were a different color and that her scars were missing.  If I had been adamant about fixing this, I could've tried to re-create my Shep with the customizer, but I knew it would be difficult to re-create it.  It's not a big deal, but I do think it makes my Shep look a little weird.

The very model of a scientist Salarian!

Mass Effect 2 is a game that's all about the diverse characters who make up the crew of the Normandy SR2.  I don't even know how many times I've played through the series, but it's always enjoyable to re-experience all the different personalities.  I've realized that I actually like Mordin as a character a lot more than I thought--sure, he's unapologetic about his role in spreading the improved genophage onto the Krogans, but he's someone whose motives do seem mostly for the greater good.  I love his high energy and how he is the embodiment of a Salarian (dare I say...a scientist Salarian?).

Funnily enough, I've seen quite a bit of discussion around how femShep and Jacob interact.  Playing through the dialogue with Jacob is actually quite cringey.  Let's just say Shep comes off as a little...thirsty.  Okay, A LOT thirsty for a big glass of Jacob.  It's something I noticed in the past, but now that everyone is talking about it, it's that much more noticeable.  As a character Jacob seems to get a lot of hate (for being too boring), but I actually think he's another that I like.  With a bit more backstory and some more options for interaction I think Jacob could be more interesting.

Jack...unraveling those Cerberus secrets.

Another interesting reaction I've seen mentioned is to something that originally people complained about...scanning planets for minerals.  I've seen numerous people posting about how much they enjoy it, which is a complete reversal.  What changed?  I still find it to be a bit of a chore and try to knock out a bunch of scanning at the beginning and then only if I need minerals for upgrades.

An unfortunate victim of the facial upgrades in the Legendary Edition is poor Kelly Chambers.  Original Kelly had a perky haircut to match her upbeat personality.  New Kelly (who my Shep is shamelessly flirting with in an effort to obtain free fish care) just isn't the same.  I want old Kelly back!

I've also encountered a few bugs and glitches.  The first happened on Illium upon going to Liara's office--the cutscene didn't trigger and instead Liara was stuck and it was almost like the game had locked up (but it hadn't because my Shep was still going through her idle motions).  I had to re-load (but fortunately had just had an autosave) and then it worked.  While doing Miranda's loyalty mission I also had an odd bug during the final part of the mission--the health bars and targeting reticule for Enyala and a random Eclipse Operative wouldn't show up.  This made using abilities on them difficult, but it was still possible to kill them.  A minor annoyance.

I wish Kasumi Goto was a main NPC and not just one with limited interactions.  Kasumi's loyalty mission is one of my favorites and I find her personality and backstory to be one of my favorites.  More Kasumi, please.

Old Kelly and New Kelly.

Playing through Mass Effect 2 has always been an enjoyable experience for me and I'm looking forward to spending much more time fighting the Collectors and hanging out with the crew.  Even Kelly...with her weird face, which I am willing to accept in exchange for her professional fish feeding services.

We're All Playing Mass Effect!

The moment all Mass Effect fans were waiting for finally arrived on May 14th--the release of the remastered "Legendary Edition."  Since then, my newsfeeds have all been chocked full of ME content.  It's a glorious moment for those of us who have been heavily invested in the saga of Commander Shepard.

It's great to be home.

I've spent all my gaming time over the last eight days neck deep in the original Mass Effect.  For me, it was the game I was most looking forward to playing and seeing what all the upgrades and improvements would bring.  I generally replay the trilogy once a year and I had actually skipped that for several years--largely due to the fact that the first game has...issues.  Some of those issues were technical (the AMD CPU bug that turns your team into chunky, black block people for the duration of the Peak 15 segment of the Noveria mission) and some were gameplay oriented (let's all just face the fact that the game is fourteen years old and it definitely shows its age in the combat and exploration segments).  I genuinely hoped that playing the first game would feel like less of a chore in the remaster.

Good news/bad news time!  Let's start with the bad news first so we can get it out of the way.  Even with the graphical upgrades and the combat upgrades, the first game still has a degree of slowness.  You'll still encounter things that bug the crap out of you--like how all the potential love interests are reeeaaal needy and constantly interpret simple conversations as genuine romantic intentions (I'm currently saving my Shep for Traynor, so I had to shut down both Kaiden and Liara).  Something I noticed this time around is that the first couple hours of the game in particular feel very slow--they're basically a chance to orient yourself with the game world, but you spend a lot of time on the Citadel just running around and talking to people.  The exploration is definitely very dated and planets just feel kind of empty (open-world games have sort of ruined that particular aspect of the game).

My Shep!  Engineer/Paragon--waiting for Traynor.

Now, for the good stuff!  The added character creation tools means that there are some genuinely unique and awesome looking Shepards being created.  For some people, there will never be enough character creator options, but I am loving seeing people post their Shepards.  The best change by far is the graphics upgrade (*I'm not playing in 4k--I don't have a 4k monitor.  Even at 1080p it looks great).  Everything, from NPC's to planets looks awesome (*one thing that doesn't look too awesome are some of the faces...just sayin').  The best way to enjoy the improved graphics is to snap a bajillion screenshots using the new photomode--something I've been doing with wild abandon.  There are some great screenies floating around on the interweb and I'm constantly impressed by what people are able to capture.

Another huge positive is the fact that the enemy AI is better (but still feels a bit outdated and wonky).  No longer are you rushed by every enemy in a ten mile radius (and, I think part of the issue with this is the fact that so many of the combat areas are not designed as more open spaces and are instead very maze-like which results in enemies being forced to run straight toward you).  I've had much more opportunity to fully utilize my squad powers and strategize rather than just running around like a headless chicken and hoping that I will survive.  I decided to give insanity mode a stab (something that I had never managed to complete in the original game) and am finding it to be very doable.

Although I've seen many people complaining about stability issues, I have had zero issues so far (*do remember that the autosave in the first game is very infrequent--smash F5-"quick save" like you're a Lannister and it's a close relative).  The only bug I encountered was one that caused the "interact" button to stop working (this is easily remedied by a re-load, which is no problem with all the quick saving I do).  There are still some bugs that need to be worked out (one frustrating, but not particularly serious one is the fact that Spectre gear only appears for sale a couple of times and isn't permanently accessible).

Oh sweet Mako, you are magical.

One improvement that I was particularly excited about was the new and improved Mako controls.  Well, it turns out that driving and shooting in the same direction sucks, so I had to turn them off.  The new and improved thresher maws require some careful navigation and shooting.  I'm happy to report that the Mako is just as janky as it has always been.

If you're out there and wondering if you should play the first game, I would recommend it, but I would also caution that if you're expecting a vastly different experience than in the past, you're probably going to be disappointed.  For fans of the series, the upgrades are fun to check out.  For new players, the first game will probably be a bit of a difficult play. (*but seriously, ignore all the people who are screaming "YOU'RE NOT A TRUE FAN IF YOU SKIP ME1!" Play how you want to play.)

The Mass Effect: Legendary Edition Hype Train

The Mass Effect: Legendary Edition hype train has been barreling along at amazing speed this week in advance of its May 14th release.  BioWare has offered up some advance goodies to keep that train chugging along--you can design your own personalized Legendary Edition wallpaper to deck out your PC!  The design involves selecting your favorite companions, locations, and morality.  I thought it sounded kind of goofy, but it is actually oddly fun to see the finished product (you can check it out here). 

I would be remiss if I didn't share my own personal creation.  My girl Liara and best space-friend Garrus take the most prominent positions.  No squad would be complete without some serious  Krogan muscle, so Grunt and Wrex are a must.  From there I just wanted to reflect the diversity of the Normandy's crew--EDI, to represent the robot perspective; Tali'Zorah the intrepid Quarian; Miranda, the Cerberus cheerleader, keeping it real for humanity; and Mordin from the Salarian union.  Since I've only ever been able to complete one full renegade run (it's just too painful!), I went for a nice Paragon blue.  You also get to choose a prominent setting from the series--I chose the Collector base because the suicide mission is one of my favorites.

BioWare/EA also offered up the deluxe edition content from Mass Effect 2 & 3 as a free download (for a limited time--until May 31st--you can find it here).  The content includes digital versions of the art books from the second and third games, the soundtracks from all three games, digital editions of two Mass Effect comic books, and a digital lithograph of the Normandy from the third game.  The art books are a lot of fun to look at and give insight into the design process for the series.  It's always interesting to see the thought process and how it evolves into the final form that gets put into the games.

The real question remains--have I pre-ordered?  No, I've resisted the urge (it's painful).  I've just been burned too many times by release day shenanigans that I've decided to take a wait and see approach.  There were already rumors circulating of a day one 11GB patch (which, isn't really anything abnormal) and I think I've mostly learned my lesson about how crazy day one can be.

I'm looking forward to replaying one of my absolute favorite series (at some point) in its new and improved version.  Crossing my fingers that the combat in ME1 is improved and that the chunky-block people bug that afflicts people with AMD CPU's (when you are in Peak 15 on Noveria) is fixed. One funny feature, the ability to toggle between the original version of the Mako and the new, improved version has made me ponder some serious Mako-related questions.  Am I a real ME player if I don't leave the Mako as it should be? (An out-of-control war beast that can traverse almost any surface and will suddenly jolt you off in a random direction if you're not careful)

Happy Legendary Edition dreams to all the ME fans out there!

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.