So someone talked me into trying out the Mass Effect series. So tired of sword and sorcery I could cry anyway, and I have never played a Mass Effect game.
My question for any friendly RPS Readers is: Do I start with the first game? I was told it is lacking compared with 2 and 3, but it seems somehow...wrong...to not begin there. Any recommendations are welcome.
Thanks.
Play the first game, definitely. It sets up the universe, arguably has the best story, a good set of characters and mechanically is fine. Not amazing, but it works. If you like what's presented to you by the end of it, get 2 and see how you feel with that and the same with that into 3.
There'll probably be a lot of people who say "The ending of 3 ruins the entire series!" blardy blah, but don't let that concern you right away. If you have some interest, get the first one and try it out.
Also, play as Female Shepard.
play the first game (and do play as femshep) and then pretend it's the only game in the series.
Play them in sequence and import the save games as you go, there's really no other way to play. Trying to start with a later one means you miss out on a fair chunk of the story from the other one as well as lots of little minor plot points which can carry through all the way to the final game.
The combat in ME2 and ME3 is much better than in ME1; the first game's combat is fairly boring and a bit clunky, it gets better as the series progresses. People complain about ME2 removing a lot of powers and such but they were re-added in ME3. Also lots of people complain that ME2's story isn't as good as 1, but it's important to remember that ME2 is really a bridge between 1 and 3, so it can't resolve any major plot points. It does have much better interaction with the major characters though.
And yeah the ending is a little ridiculous, but it doesn't invalidate the rest of the fun you'll have (despite what people will tell you). It's a great series. It's not the messiah of game writing, it's not Planescape: Torment with spaceships and blue aliens, but it is extremely entertaining.
Last edited by soldant; 27-04-2012 at 01:21 AM. Reason: Typo
I can only reiterate what people said: Play 'em all, in order, keep the savegames as you go, and play femshep.
Hell, by the time you finish (this is prolly a 100+ hour investment) EA Bioware will have edited the final ending. :P
Femshep ftw!
Skip the sidequests.
Do not skip the side quests. even in the first game some of the best choices are to be had there!Originally Posted by sabrage
Also, doing the side quests in ME1 really does make the core plot of 2 make more sense
You guys are the most annoying vocal minority I ever witnessed in my life.
Just let the guy decide for himself.
Best part of ME games is encountering people from a previous game.
So no.
To be fair, apart from the ones you do on the Citadel, there's maybe half a dozen sidequests in the first game that are unique and have an actual impact on the storyline further down the road. Everything else is filler content and struggling with the Mako's controls. They give a decent amount of experience, but since enemies level with you that hardly matters in the long run.
As for tips, pistols are a good investment in the first game. They are very powerful, have decent accuracy and I believe any class but the Sentinel can put points into them. Charm and Intimidate are useful, but do exactly the same gameplaywise, so the only reason to invest in both is for roleplaying purposes. As Kadayi mentioned, the moon mission is quite important, so it's a good idea to do it as soon as it comes up.
And this might help you, though it has a few minor spoilers.
The combat in the first game is clunky, but if you can get over that it's probably the most well rounded of the three from a story perspective. More than anything the ME games are games about characters, the overall plot arc becomes convoluted and riddled with plot holes, but the story of the characters you meet is pretty great and holds the whole thing together. You don't really want to miss the introduction of some of the characters by skipping 1.
It's popular for some reason, but don't bother with the sequels if you don't like the first game. They're slicker and shootier but no more interesting.
I'd never had a go at them either (the Zero Punctuation reviews seem to match my tastes pretty well and his vedict was "well written dull FPS in space"), but bought ME2 and... Thought it was a well written dull FPS in space, got bored after three hours and gave up. Reading this, though, I'll have a go at ME1 and see if engenders any more attachment to the characters (apparently the primary motivation for continuing through).
For what it's worth, the point where ME2 got switched off was when my Astro-PA said of my big basilisk/tiger power-armour suited mate that she "Just wanted to give him a hug and tell him everything was going to be all right", and there was no option to smash the heel of your boot into her face and throw her out of an airlock.
Dude. Garrus is awesome, and anyone who wants to hug him is awesome by proxy (if a bit of a dork).
So your dislike of the game stems from your inability to beat up and murder women? Interesting.....
Last edited by Kadayi; 27-04-2012 at 07:32 AM.
Why yes you're right I'm deliciously evil
Tradition is the tyranny of dead men
Steam:Kadayi Origin: Kadayi GFWL: Kadayi
Probable Replicant
*blush* I'm flattered by the attention boys, but please let's not make the thread about liddle old me
Reminds me of a quote by Yahtzee Croshaw (emphasis mine):
"Why does every 'rpg' nowadays need a dog?"
- Aleate
That's a good point. RPGs do seem to be getting increasingly big on pets. Best guess, it's because World of Warcraft has pets and World of Warcraft goes to work every day on a private jet staffed entirely by hot elf chicks. Perhaps gamers are such manchildren these days that they have difficulty coping with the adversity of RPG dungeons without having a little snuffly friend to give them comfort and unconditional love. Or perhaps it's an offshoot of the co-op gameplay trend reflected in such games as Gears of War, Resident Evil 5 and Borderlands, but catering to people who don't like other human beings (i.e. RPG players).
Oh man, oh man!
Righty, so I've posted a legitimate number of reasons why Mass Effect wasn't really my sort of thing. I also included an clearly jokey aside about inflicting violence on a member of your crew who is, coincidentally, female. There is nothnig in the comment to suggest any hostility based on gender, just irritation with one specific character's personality.
And you've just accused me of being a mysoginist, and of supporting gender-based violence against women. You've accused me of holding values that are directly linked to rape and sexual violence against women.
How dare you?
HOW FUCKING DARE YOU ACCUSE ME OF THAT?
Do you realise what you're implying here? That I hate women or something, that I specifically enjoy harming women?
Show me in my comment where I imply that I want to beat that character up because of her gender. SHOW ME, you fucking shithead - you show me why you've said what you've just fucking said.
You shit. You absolute fucking shit, Kadayi, whoever the fuck you're supposed to be.
Last edited by Capt. Eduardo del Mango; 27-04-2012 at 08:48 AM.
Which then draws the question why you're posting on a thread where a guy's asking advice for playing Mass Effect.
Careful, you might bring him over his ignore quota, and he may have to bump someone off the list to add you!
I'll repeat as you missed it;
I read the thread and it changed my mind about leaving the Mass Effect series - that's a pretty reasonable thing to post in a thread where a guy's asking advice for playing Mass Effect, isn't it, Attorney at Lawl?
Besides, that's coincidental to what that fucking scumbag has just accused me of.
I fear the lady doth protest to much. Yes naturally you were joking, you're quite clearly a well balanced individual I can see that now.
@OP
Don't skip the sidequests, just do them as they come up. There's one to the moon which is quite an important one to do.
Last edited by Kadayi; 27-04-2012 at 11:53 AM.
Why yes you're right I'm deliciously evil
Tradition is the tyranny of dead men
Steam:Kadayi Origin: Kadayi GFWL: Kadayi
Probable Replicant
*blush* I'm flattered by the attention boys, but please let's not make the thread about liddle old me
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