Mass Effect Series Catch-All

LarryC wrote:

I'm not sure whether this is a strength or a weakness. Players often mistake narrative smoothness for lack of consequence. Bioware's narrative flows so naturally and organically from the choices you make (when they matter), that it often isn't apparent that any other thing could possibly happen. It can seem like Councillor Esheel could not be assassinated (she can). It seems like Mordin's death is inevitable (it's not). It's a level of nuance that can be difficult to appreciate without playing through the game multiple times along multiple different decision paths.

I think the bolded gets lost in the shuffle for a couple of reasons:

- a majority of players have - by chance - made many of the same decisions (Wrex alive, soldier class, male shep); in discussions of the game, it's always fascinating to hear someone's unique experience, and then a bunch of gopher heads pop up all "Huh? Wrex can die? Why would you do that?!?" You see enough reactions like this, and you can see a sort of 'groupthink' canon start to emerge. One point of contention is Tali and the Geth in ME3, I think that was one where there were plenty of differences in people's playthroughs.

- save game file edits/replaying a sequence over to get a 'perfect outcome'; I can't tell you how many threads I read about people editing save files to get more resources, get the decisions that sounded good on paper (as versus what felt right for their Shepard that they've been playing as) or replaying that ME2 suicide mission over and over to get everyone out alive and get that 'cheevo! (also: "BUT WE DIDN'T KNOW THERE WAS A TIMER AFTER THE REAPER IFF MISSION! THAT'S TOTAL BULLsh*t!!!) What's the point of even having decisions in a game if people aren't going to accept the outcomes that were a result of their choices?

- there is also a recurring discussion point about how "Shepard has been shown that he never fails and always finds a solution even when faced with impossible odds!" Really? Eden Prime was kind of a failure, Horizon was kind of a failure, Thessia was for sure a failure. Hell, even a bunch of the side missions in 1 were failures (Admiral Kohoku, anyone?) Shepard is able to do great things, but s/he is by no means omnipotent.

Many of the mission points in ME1 were failures. The reason the Citadel gets invaded in the first place is because Shepard failed to stop Saren from using the Conduit to gain access. She was able to destroy the krogan plan, but only by sacrificing Ashley/Kaidan to do so. Horizon in the second game was a mission failure - you get there to save the colonists and arrive in time to save - nearly nobody.

If Mass Effect were a campaign to get the Council to see the Reaper threat and give Shepard the resources she needs, then the entire game was a massive failure. Even Garrus was more successful in getting his people to agree to do something. Arrival was not the first mission to feature colony destruction. There's a side mission in ME1 wherein Shepard doesn't have what it takes to save both colony and military resources. She has to choose one.

Indeed, Shepard arguably fails nearly as often as she succeeds. It's just that she aims really, relaly, really high, so even her failures are kind of impressive.

IMAGE(https://i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/8364369408/h597C750B/)

Just started a play-through of the series a couple days ago. I had attempted to do so a few years ago (while waiting for 3), and for some horrible reason decided to try out Bro-Shep. That did not work for long. It's about the only decision that I now realize is just not a decision for me, simply due to the difference in acting quality. The rest of the story I'm trying to let flow organically from the random choice I made in the very beginning (the "let lots of people die to get the mission done" background choice, which I'm taking to mean Shephard is all ends > means).

If I can ever get a hold of 1-3 on PS3 or PC cheap, I'll go through again. Would like to get a fully realized experience. Playing 2 on PS3 and 3 on WiiU definitely felt chopped.

I've only played five minutes of FemShep, but can tell her acting is significantly better. I do think BroShep was better in 3 over 2 though. Maybe there were some acting classes.

I've mentioned it before, I have a couple of games I absolutely love, and try my best to play them at least once a year. ME trilogy is one of those, and this coming Christmas time, when I got about 2 or 3 weeks off, is the time to do it.

I have couple playthroughs that were left unfinished, both I think I completed ME2, but I need to jump in and finish them in ME3. That alone will probably take a lot of time. Looking forward to it though, I've always romanced Tali and Garrus, respectively, and on these 2 new playthroughs, I went with Thane and Liara, and it has been a nice change of pace.

Also, I can't recommend ME3 Citadel DLC enough. It is by far one of the best additions to the entire trilogy, and makes the experience so much more enjoyable. I think you can get the entire trilogy on PC for quite cheap, just gotta look around a bit. Depends on what price you're considering on spending, and how much you wanna spend on DLC. There are MANY worth the extra bucks.

You can get the Mass Effect Trilogy for PS3 on Amazon for around $30. And, yes, the Citadel DLC is a must get for Mass Effect 3.

I am still holding out hope for PS4/XONE versions of the trilogy to come out at some point. I have unhooked the PS3 but every so often I get the itch to plug it back in just to play Mass Effect again.

What other DLC should I pick up for 1, 2, and 3? I don't recall playing any of it my first time through.

StaggerLee wrote:

What other DLC should I pick up for 1, 2, and 3? I don't recall playing any of it my first time through.

I would actually say all of it... well, for 2 and 3 anyway. 1's Bring Down the Sky is technically canon and affects a specific questline in 3, I dunno about the other as I never played it and it's not available on the PS1 version, weirdly.

I never got any for ME1, but the rest? Yeah, I got 'em all, and I would say to get them all. If you don't want to for whatever reasons, and are just gonna get a few:

ME2:
Shadow Broker (One of the meatiest DLC's, adds a whole new layer to who Liara is)
Kasumi (New character, funny, interesting, new missions!)
Arrival (important in terms of canon. ME3 starts assuming you've played this)
Zaeed (Should be free, a new character plus missions!)

ME3
Citadel (a true homage and send off to our cast of characters. Lot of love and effort put into this, also very meaty in content, and many, many great jokes)
Leviathan (important in terms of context, it better informs what the hell is going on)
From Ashes (New character, provides even more context to what the hell is going on)
Extended Ending Cut (I believe it's free. Nothing in the world will ever fix the nightmare-ish turd that is the ending, but this picks it up from a 12/100, to about a 37/100)

kexx wrote:

I never got any for ME1, but the rest? Yeah, I got 'em all, and I would say to get them all. If you don't want to for whatever reasons, and are just gonna get a few:

ME2:
Shadow Broker (One of the meatiest DLC's, adds a whole new layer to who Liara is)
Kasumi (New character, funny, interesting, new missions!)
Arrival (important in terms of canon. ME3 starts assuming you've played this)
Zaeed (Should be free, a new character plus missions!)

ME3
Citadel (a true homage and send off to our cast of characters. Lot of love and effort put into this, also very meaty in content, and many, many great jokes)
Leviathan (important in terms of context, it better informs what the hell is going on)
From Ashes (New character, provides even more context to what the hell is going on)
Extended Ending Cut (I believe it's free. Nothing in the world will ever fix the nightmare-ish turd that is the ending, but this picks it up from a 12/100, to about a 37/100)

Adding here...

Shadow Broker plays a MAJOR role in how Liara changes from the character she is in 1 to the character she is in 3. Without spoiling it... MUST BUY.
Kasumi is certainly a very amusing character... though I thought she was kind of useless in battle, personally.
Arrival is a lot of fun, gives some new lore to explain why 1 isn't the end.
Zaeed... interesting character, good for frontline fighting until you get Grunt in 2. Hate his personal mission... but that is what it is, unfortunately.

Citadel... goofy ass mission, but a lot of fun for the character interactions with your crews, past and present at that point in the storyline.
Leviathan... what kexx said. I hated the missions, but the story payout at the end is pretty great.
From Ashes... probably my favorite DLC character by far. Very powerful, and very engaging... if somewhat of a jerk at times.
Extended Ending... ok, here's the thing... I didn't hate the ending. I was actually pretty alright with it. My biggest gripe was that there was like zero post-game exposition wrap up to tell me about how I'd left the galaxy... so I was kind of left with what looked like a pretty horrific galactic situation because apparently I didn't extrapolate what certain things looking like they blew up meant (it apparently means they did not... even though it really did look like they were in pieces...). This takes care of that and gives you some much needed wrap up of what your major decisions meant for the state of the galaxy post war and makes it pretty good... to me anyway.

Citadel is just pure unrepentant fan service from start to finish. It's easily one of the most rewarding DLCs I've ever played. Beyond that, I'd play basically everything from ME3 and Shadow Broker from ME2. The other ME2 DLCs are good, but not quite of the same calibre. Kasumi, for example, starts with a Bond-esque infiltration, but transitions too quickly into just more shooting. If they'd taken a risk and kept it a spy thing from start to finish I'd have given it an A+.

Yeah no. I have zero problem with DLC that offers extra hats, outfits and guns. But having to pay extra if I want to see content that directly effects, explains and fills in the blanks of the story I've already paid for? No thanks.

I like that developers like Bioware continue to work on the game post-release and come up with extra story missions that enhance the base game. There just isn't time in a high pressure AAA release schedule to include every detail a developer might want in a game. DLC provides a great opportunity to expand on characters and settings in the game without the whole game release hinging on the completion of specifics that aren't critical to the game.

Badken I agree but a lot of the dlc for ME3 weren't extra story it was story that was part of the main story. Without which that story was less coherent.

I play games for the story.

Badken I agree but a lot of the dlc for ME3 weren't extra story it was story that was part of the main story. Without which that story was less coherent.

I play games for the story.

I disagree. None of the DLC really tied into Shepard's mission to bring together assets to build the Crucible and bring the galactic powers together to fight against the Reapers. Look at the ME3 single player DLC:

Citadel - Fan service, basically. An extended goodbye to the characters and the series. Includes some backstory on Anderson, but nothing you really need to know to understand the main story. Not really tied to the main Reaper story.

Omega - A side mission that potentially gets you some minor assets to add a little to your EMS score. Great DLC for fans of Aria.

Leviathan - Shows the origin of the Reapers, yes, but not really pertinent to the main story of the current invasion.

From Ashes - An extra crew member that provides a bit of historical background on the previous cycle and the Protheans. Javik doesn't really know anything about the Crucible, though, so not applicable to the main story.

Extended Cut - This DLC does affect the ending, but only in a way that explains the results of your choice. Doesn't effect the rest of the game. Plus it was free!

I thought all the DLC was great, but the main game could be enjoyed without any of it - though the Extended Cut certainly helped clarify the ending.

strangederby wrote:

Badken I agree but a lot of the dlc for ME3 weren't extra story it was story that was part of the main story. Without which that story was less coherent.

I play games for the story.

This statement is operating under the assumption that the DLC was intentionally cut out of the main game in order to sell it post-release. An assumption that has been proven to be incorrect time and time again from many different developers on many different games.

Sure, some stuff gets cut because it won't be completed in time for the release schedule, but most of the time DLC isn't even started on until the main game is well under way, with the various teams shifting to DLC production when their part of the main game work is completed. (In the Final Hours of Mass Effect - highly recommended and only $1 on the Apple store - Casey Hudson freely admits that Javik would not have been completed in time for their scheduled release, even after the delay, so they had to put it aside and finish the main game)

I kind of agree about Leviathan being 'necessary' to understand the game, but I think Noah Gervais' take on it is spot on - can anyone name any alien race older than the Protheans (only 1 cycle ago)? No? Then what difference does it make if we meet the actual creators of the Reapers? Or know who came up with the idea for the Crucible? Yes, it's some nice lore for the uber-fans, but ultimately it has little bearing on Shepard's mission for 3 games:

Stop The Reapers.

Yeah the necessity of the Leviathan DLC is only relevant because the main story does such a bad job of explaining what's going on at the end.

Ok, all the DLC. Sounds like fun.

Now I just need to figure out how to buy any of it. Not finding it on Steam. Have ME1 on Origin (originally from Direct2Drive, thankfully key worked on Origin), ME2 on Steam, ME3 on Origin. Hopefully I can get the ME2 DLC from Origin even though I have the game on Steam?

StaggerLee wrote:

Ok, all the DLC. Sounds like fun.

Now I just need to figure out how to buy any of it. Not finding it on Steam. Have ME1 on Origin (originally from Direct2Drive, thankfully key worked on Origin), ME2 on Steam, ME3 on Origin. Hopefully I can get the ME2 DLC from Origin even though I have the game on Steam?

As far as I know, none of the ME1 or ME2 DLC is available via Origin. You have to buy and download them from Bioware's site.

Normally I don't care for HD remakes as much but this in a complete and consistent package..man. I'd buy it. Can't lie.

groovebeat wrote:

Normally I don't care for HD remakes as much but this in a complete and consistent package..man. I'd buy it. Can't lie.

I'm hoping they go that route, too, but on the other hand they had a chance to do that with the first two Dragon Ages ahead of the release of Inquisition but didn't.

Rat Boy wrote:
groovebeat wrote:

Normally I don't care for HD remakes as much but this in a complete and consistent package..man. I'd buy it. Can't lie.

I'm hoping they go that route, too, but on the other hand they had a chance to do that with the first two Dragon Ages ahead of the release of Inquisition but didn't.

Never crossed my mind. Then again those are completely indepentent from each other. The choices from Origins only change a bit of fluff and backstory. The main plots are not really connected (though I am currently two thirds through DA2. Maybe there's this huge connecting twist I haven't encountered yet )

I could be persuaded to rebuy the trilogy if it came with all of the DLC bundled in with it. Otherwise, if I have to get all of the DLC piecemeal, I'd give it a pass. Maybe not entirely fair because I skipped most of the DLC the first time through, but either the trilogy is complete or it isn't, and I want to feel like I'm getting some new value.

Itsatrap wrote:

I could be persuaded to rebuy the trilogy if it came with all of the DLC bundled in with it. Otherwise, if I have to get all of the DLC piecemeal, I'd give it a pass. Maybe not entirely fair because I skipped most of the DLC the first time through, but either the trilogy is complete or it isn't, and I want to feel like I'm getting some new value.

+1

groovebeat wrote:
Rat Boy wrote:
groovebeat wrote:

Normally I don't care for HD remakes as much but this in a complete and consistent package..man. I'd buy it. Can't lie.

I'm hoping they go that route, too, but on the other hand they had a chance to do that with the first two Dragon Ages ahead of the release of Inquisition but didn't.

Never crossed my mind. Then again those are completely indepentent from each other. The choices from Origins only change a bit of fluff and backstory. The main plots are not really connected (though I am currently two thirds through DA2. Maybe there's this huge connecting twist I haven't encountered yet )

True (never played DA2) and if the fourth game in the franchise is a sequel, that's a lot of events from the first three games to take into account. Which is why I think ME4's a prequel, on top of the slightly retro-looking N7 armor that's been revealed, the return of the Mako, and a space station interior concept art released today that I just on pure guessing believe is Arcturus Station, headquarters of the Alliance.

Rat Boy wrote:

True (never played DA2) and if the fourth game in the franchise is a sequel, that's a lot of events from the first three games to take into account. Which is why I think ME4's a prequel, on top of the slightly retro-looking N7 armor that's been revealed, the return of the Mako, and a space station interior concept art released today that I just on pure guessing believe is Arcturus Station, headquarters of the Alliance.

Boy do I hope that they don't pull a prequel move. Very seldomly outstanding things come from this.

groovebeat wrote:
Rat Boy wrote:

True (never played DA2) and if the fourth game in the franchise is a sequel, that's a lot of events from the first three games to take into account. Which is why I think ME4's a prequel, on top of the slightly retro-looking N7 armor that's been revealed, the return of the Mako, and a space station interior concept art released today that I just on pure guessing believe is Arcturus Station, headquarters of the Alliance.

Boy do I hope that they don't pull a prequel move. Very seldomly outstanding things come from this.

There is also the problem that anything too compelling with humans involved has a historical record in the game.

I'm kind of hoping you are on a ship headed to Andromeda with various representatives of each Citadel species and have to establish a working colony system, only to discover that the galaxy isn't quite as empty as hoped... or maybe you can be a spectre pre humans... I still think they need to go full on DAO or DAI style and let you choose your species.

Demosthenes wrote:

There is also the problem that anything too compelling with humans involved has a historical record in the game.

I shiver at the mere thought of the 'good ol' alternate reality/time travel idea.