In celebration of Andromeda being terrible I've decided to go through the original trilogy again. I've never played the first game but do own it since it was free on Origin at some point; however watching the game be completely and utterly broken by Maxwell Adams should suffice:

That out of the way we move on to the good Mass Effect. I'm playing on PS3 this time (played on PC in 2010) but have no way to artificially create choices so stuck with no Wrex again; alas. This time I'll be playing on Insanity from the getgo with the ever so exciting Soldier class and male Shepard; just getting started here but it still seems pretty engaging. The conversations are sort of janky by modern standards but look a shitload better than Andromeda so that's okay.

With ME3 I may or may not actually play it; not that I dislike the game but it was only a few years ago, but I'll certainly play some multiplayer and enjoy that instead.

After that I'll probably finish Inquisition since I stopped 50-60 odd hours into that.

Any further suggestions or ideas in regard to this?

Aside: Probably going to check out Cosmic Star Heroine when that comes out (4/11), Chrono Trigger indie edition.

MEA is far from terrible. Some human and Asari faces are awkward, but other than that everything in it is pretty great. It's definitely better than Inquisition, which is a game I liked but wasn't anything phenomenal. Other than Witcher 3, MEA is the best RPG I've played this gen. I replayed the ME trilogy a few months ago - ME1 was fantastic at the time, but hasn't aged well due to the gameplay and technical problems. ME2 and ME3 were still a lot of fun though. I'm not sure what's going on in that video, it sounds like a random Skype calling is going on in the background.

Andromeda is alright if you can get it for the right price, its not terrible just terribly mediocre. I played a bit of 2 a few weeks ago and the dialog was more engaging right off the bat. I also think the original is worth playing on its own rather than watching someone else, as you make your own choices and gameplay is different depending on class etc.

I'm gonna attempt to do this after Andromeda but I doubt it'll go well. ME1 did not sit right the last time I tried to revisit.

Mass Effect is a perfect game don't you dare.

Why does everyone play a soldier anyway? When you could be a techno wizard, guy what shoots seems... Lame, and that is coming from a guy that likes to shoot and likes guns a lot.

@opusofthemagnum: I've never played Soldier before this is mostly for variety.

Don't get this, did you play on PC? Mass Effect 1 is the only good game in the franchise, 2 and 3 are awful, don't think i'll ever replay them. 1 tho, i'll play it every 2 years.

Have only ever played PC.

I was a big fan of it at the time but it hasn't aged very well. Didn't make it very far on replay.

Turns out every game in the series is at least good, including the new one. The first one is the best for sure I think but yeah some areas are definitely rough to go back to today. The story is still by far the best.

Why? Played this week, felt it played nicely as ever, it's an rpg. 2 and 3's shooting feels like a TPS, so i guess the illusion of better gameplay comes from this. Of course this is my opinion.

One of my favorite games ever and the The Best Mass Effect. I've been meaning to go back and play it again, if you're on PC don'r forget to download MEUITM, the HD texture pack on the Nexus.

Well mine is very different I don't know what to tell you.

The characters of the first game aren't that great, the planets are kinda dull, the prefab rooms for every quest get dull.

I don't think it has held up.

@efesell: All valid points. But 1 had better writing, better story, much better world building, soundtrack, better pacing and I LIKED the mako and those planets. ME2 felt like sci-fi schlock, ME1 is a great Star Trek: TNG season, ME2 was a middling high budget Hollywood movie. 2 wasn't bad, it just wasn't very memorable either. The Collectors reminded me of Power Ranger bad guy henchmen.

I don't know that I agree with any of that at all but that's fair.

Some people like Gears of War, others like Planescape Torment. Each entry of the franchise appears to different people because the tone and gameplay are too different.

Coming back to revisit the series there is one thing I can't get: how anyone can defend the main plot of ME 2. It is terrible on its own and really terrible how it relates to the series. Who gives a fuck about one human Reaper with everything going on? All that work for Human juice like in this sci fi world they can't just make it in a lab instead or something? Are we to believe every Reaper was created this way? Zero respect for player choice or the fact afterwards that you can align with Cerberus (who swings willy nilly between a space Nazi faction and just misunderstood even in this game and especially throughout the series --- can we explain why they allow any aliens with you?) which would have been the one worthwhile plot point from the whole game. And the dealings with Cerberus aren't even half as nuanced and interesting as the Council in 1.

I'm only 15 hours into ME:A and the plot is mostly just okay but I can't imagine a world when it's as flawed as 2 is. A lot of RPGs can have "whatever" main plots but ME 2's is actually really bad. Just looking at that aspect it's very much rose colored glasses looking back on some of that ME trilogy from a lot of people. To be clear I think ME2 is a good game overall but it's in spite of a shit main plot.

I adore Planescape, as it happens.

ME1 had about 4 great moments in an otherwise pretty dull game. However, they are truly great moments (Virmire choice, Sovereign speech, Ilos AI conversation, and Saren conversation) that are more enough to carry the game. There's also the Codex, made even better by the Crackdown guy doing the narration, providing tons of worldbuilding.

If it weren't for ME2, and ME3, I think most people would've forgotten about ME1 by now though. The combat was bad, the environments were mostly dull, and most conversations were info dumps. I did a replay of the trilogy a couple years ago, and ME1 was painful to get through. I ended up putting the combat on story mode and rushing through in about 12 hours so I could get to ME2.

And ME:A is a solid game that has some unfortunate flaws. I can't fully pass judgment before I beat it, but 38 hours in and I'm willing to hear an argument that its better than ME3. Its not comparable to ME2 though; which was one of the greatest games of all time.

@fezrock: I don't know how you could overlook the entire incredible ending sequence of ME 1, especially since the end of 2 and 3 are both really bad.

@efesell:

I was not referring to you specifically, sorry if it seemed this way. Just wanted to say the games appears to different tastes.

@artisanbreads: So the first time I played ME1, I got the closer with Udina claiming that there will now be an all-human council that will run things, which was so incredibly dumb and out-of-place it soured me pretty badly on the whole thing.

True, its not as bad ME3's ending, nothing is; but I liked ME2's ending quite a lot. The human Reaper was big dumb fun. I can see how some people don't like it, but I don't see how anyone couldn't like the suicide mission up to that point. That was an incredible extended sequence.

ME2 was fantastic and that's not rose tinted glasses in any way. Andromeda is just a giant mess, at least Skyrim had stuff going for it within the jank.

@artisanbreads: Agreed 100%, siding with Cerberus seemed INSANE to me when I first started playing ME2. Especially coming off ME1 with the Akuze back story for Shepard, it made zero sense, but the writers didn't care and went out of their way to break off and almost retcon any links and plot threads from game 1 going as far as destroying the Normandy and crew and forcing the player to create a new Shepard. ME2 felt almost more like a soft reboot than a sequel.

The main story of ME2 is good enough at providing the excuse to collect a bunch of awesome characters. That's all I needed it to do and it did a fine job.

I started the original Mass effect a few days ago, was just playing through the planet Noveria got to the boss died and it sent me back to the beginning of the planet now I am a person who likes to do everything in a game so I lost like 5 hours of game play, so I am done with this series. will go back in a few years haha. I am playing on the one so I am guessing there is something wrong with the auto save feature.

@bonelesszombi: That does sound off but I do also remember ME1 just having a terrible auto save even if working correctly.

I touched the beginning of this game recently, and I still think it has a really strong atmosphere (thanks in part to the slick art direction and soundtrack) that really pulls you in. It might be nostalgia talking, but its still a wonderful game.

@bonelesszombi: Yeah the auto save in 1 was always weird. I had a situation like that first playthrough as well and was pretty bummed.

Yes, the characters are great in ME 2 and there are good side quests. In the end, it's a Heist set up though and the Heist is really lame. That is still an issue. The shame is they didn't have to do anything with Cerberus, they didn't need to make up a whole stupid plot about one Human Reaper, or any of that. The basic "get a team for a big job/Heist" set up is great.

It was just dumb and the fight wasn't even good. Everything about the missions is dumb plot wise and then the mission itself, as long as you put in basic levels of work to prepare and don't send your combat specialist to do computer stuff or whatever, is incredibly straightforward.

I seriously laughed out loud when they showed the Human Reaper. I can't believe the game totally slides on it and to the root of the point I bet these people will pick apart ME:A and trash it for plot issues (again, haven't finished it myself but I can't possibly imagine it is as pointless or silly). Overall it's probably some like Gears of War level bullshit plot that's fine for a forgettable action game plot but compared to ME 1 (or even 3 mostly) it's a joke.

I wonder that myself, but then they went and changed Cerberus again in 3 and totally ignored any player choice with them. I really don't get anything that game does plot wise and I'm really not being hyperbolic here (and I'm not expecting every game to be some masterpiece in storytelling). It's all so bad and so lost within the plot of the series overall. Nothing with Cerberus makes sense in this game nevermind like I say in 1 and 3. It is definitely a crazy thing.

The human reaper is the dumbest thing and I love it.

As someone who is currently revisiting ME3, I thought I'd share some thoughts on that game.

• Later on in ME3, they are directing Shepard's emotions way more than earlier. I just finished Thessia where Cerberus screws up her mission and Shepard went through this pathetic apology to the asari ambassador and is now reprimanding your squad mates for trying to cheer Shepard up. They are imposing emotions on to Shepard where before she was a blank slate for me to project onto. It's noticeable and I don't care for it.
• They try to fill in the world building and plot points that were left open by the other games. You cure the genophage. You visit the home worlds of the salarians, asari, quarians, and the moon of the Turian homeworld (apparently a palaven mission was cut from the game). The origins of the Reapers is explained (in the dlc). Previous game choices are wrapped up with small characters quests.
• Characters can die left and right which is interesting (mordin, kelly chambers, thane, legion, miranda, kaiden, tali, and others) Thane and Legion are the only ones who have to die. Everyone else can live.
• Character conversations feel reduced compared to ME2. You have all the conversation talking points open from the beginning. Afterwards, they give one line of dialogue based on a main mission you recently completed. Only your squadmates conversations evolve over the course of the game.
• I enjoyed seeing all of my ME2 squad make cameos throughout the game in their own side quests.
• The writing has some real high points. On the Thessia mission, I learned that the Asari had a prothean beacon that had a VI with plans for the catalyst, the device to destroy the reapers. They keep it secret and were only able to access little bits of information. All at the same time, it explained why the prothean beacon was there, why the Asari were more advanced compared to other species, and it grounded the origin of the catalyst in the Mass Effect universe (it being plans left in the beacon for the asari to find by the protheans) Really excellent.
• Largely the middle of this game is spectacular. The genophage, quarians/geth, asari homeworld are all awesome to witness.
• The extra side quests involve overhearing a conversation, scanning a planet or collecting it during a mission, and then returning to the quest giver, they are really lame

After playing through the first game, not only every version of it, but nine times in total, I don't even know what it is to me anymore. It just makes me feel like QA tester Shepard: A cold, calculating, and playacting QA testing Bill Murray Groundhog Day Shepard. Outside of me being a dick/bitch to my teammates, the sense of mystery that I had with interacting with characters kinda got lost for me by the fifth of sixth run, so all I really have to return to is the dice roll combat, which I can't complain about too much but I prefer 2's combat mechanics; the gameplay transition from Deus Ex 1 to Human Revolution be damned.

But, seeing as how Andromeda's console commands can't fix Ruff [female] Ryder and the uncanny valley... Adept only. No additional guns or armor. Insanity difficulty. Auto saves only. Tenth playthrough. Final destination.