Saber Forum

So one of my favourite games on the PS3 was Mass Effect 2 and 3, although I did play Mass Effect 3 first. Overall i thought the story in Mass Effect 2 was the best but the g Wish me luck.ameplay in Mass Effect 3 was superior.

Despite having a PS4 and not being a massive gamer I have decided to give the whole trilogy a revisit. Going to start playing the first Mass Effect later this evening and then eventually import my game data across to see how the trilogy shapes as a whole. Wish me luck.

The Mass Effect trilogy is my favorite series of all time. I keep trying to tell a friend how amazing they are and to play them any way they can. 2 was the best overall, but the combat in 3 is SO fun. I need to play through the whole series again myself. You have excellent taste.

I played them completely backwards. A friend lent me MS3 which initially I hated (for about 15 minutes). But then I loved it. So I went back and got MS2, which I also loved. Had lots of fun playing through twice, once as paragon and once as renegade. And let us not forget the romances (gotta love an Asari).

Am about 90 mins on MS1 and while it is obviously a little dated and the controls at this early part of the game are a little clunky, it's nice filling in the backstory that I heard talked about during MS2 from various characters.

As gaming trilogies go, this is definitely my favourite. And it would be a brilliant basis for a sci-fi tv show (part Star Trek: DS9, part Babylon 5).

The Asari are... um, yeah. I know what you mean ;D (I miss you Liara!). If you need any tips let me know. When you play in order you could lose people from the first game that would be main party characters for the 2 and 3, but if you make the wrong choices you may never see them in the sequels at all. Same for part 2. 1 is going to be a bit harder for you to get into I would imagine bit it's still totally worth it. The item menu is just really clunky.

Yep. And Samara too. And then there's the cute awkwardness that is Tali *sigh*

Anyway, back to the game and I am finding the aim and over-heating weapons particularly frustrating right now. But am hoping that will improve with upgrades. Plus I know that if I'm not careful I can lost people for future games (bye Kaiden). Hopefully, all the good characters will survive into MS 2 (and I know exactly how to make them all survive the trip through the relay and the end mission).

Compared to MS2 and MS3 a lot of things are clunky. But not surprising considering the game came out in 2007 (I think).

Oh yes. Tali... Anyway, yeah. I never saw Kaiden in 2 or 3 (later bro!). The overheating does improve with upgrades.

Did you ever do the romance with Jack in 2? I was with Liara in 1 but she was so different in 2 I hooked up with Jack because Miranda seemed too obvious (plus I like bad girls). 

I romanced all the ladies during various runs through. Jack is crazy, but kinda hot in a bad girl kinda way. Miranda is, well, Miranda. As this is my first time playing MS1, I think I'll do what I did with MS2 and do various runs through, saved under different user names and romance a different person each time, which I can then take forward into MS2 to keep my options open.

What did you think of Andromeda? I thought it had some interesting "Lost in Space" elements, but had a few too many quests that were very samey. And overall, there were still a lot of similarities to the trilogy. But I didn't hate it. It just doesn't have the same replay value as MS2/MS3.

I've never had chance to play Andromeda. I have yet to upgrade to a PS4 or XBOX ONE and have no PC. I'm still enjoying my 360 (plus I'm broke).
I recall hearing Andromeda was a travesty though.

It's really not as bad as some fans made out. The way I view it. MS2 and MS3 are like the Avengers and the Winter Soldier in the MCU (both brilliant movies and two of the best entries in the MCU). MS Andromeda is like Iron Man 3; all the parts for a good movie were there, but while enjoyable, the experience in the end was somewhat lacking (especially when compared to what came before it).

Love Mass effect played the trilogy through twice - once as a Female Renegade (romancing Traynor) and Male Paragon (Romancing Ashley, then Miranda, then Ashley again...Great game I would pay a LOT of money if it were remastered into a single game combining all three (i.e. one big game with same mechanics, powers, leveling across) I'm actually amazed it hasn't been done yet would make a fortune and be an easier play experience...

Personally I loved the First one the most, possibly as it had the larger novelty factor when playing for the first time, but the second had the strongest story and character development, perhaps the biggest shame was you didn't get to keep the full crew from 2 over into 3, ture they got good moments in 3 especially Thane...but just not the same.


Totally agree on Andromeda, it was a chance to do some really cool stuff and there were great new ideas...but it just didn't click and had a few annoying bugs and some bizarre skips of logic - notably how many Home galaxy raiders/pirates you end up killing, must be half the original initiative!. And weren't they all recruited and checked by the Initiative anyway? I think my biggest issue was its a new galaxy...yet all the new species are still basically humanoid...I get that is easier to program etc. but if you're gonna got fully out there having only non humanoid species would've made it really unique and added to the exploratory atmosphere that it didn't quite capture...the fact that the Angara had compatible technology etc. just not different enough. I think the biggest frustration was it was so close to being on par but just fell short, a little more focus group testing and time spent taking on feedback could've solved a lot of issues.

Biggest disappointment is Adnromedas crash may mean it will be a long time before we see ME revisited...Till then enjoy reliving the fun.

There's enough threads there to make a sequel. If they took their time and developed a really good story this time round I think it would be a success.

As for the making it one big game, I would be all for that. Or just re-release them all for PS4 (as fans have been clamouring for since the consoles release). They have successfully remastered other PS3 games for the PS4, so why not these?

Also, I thought I was the only one who played through as both a male and a female so you could romance certain unattainable female characters. But I do a run through as a paragon and as a renegade. Because fun. And I'm really surprised more games developers don't use the import game data feature more. It's really interesting seeing how a choice you made in one game can affect events/characters later on in another game.

My worry is Andromeda was such a bomb they'll just let it drop away, it would be a shame, but on the other hand fresh start might be a better strategy, perhaps an 'Alliance Corsair' type of thing pre-ME trilogy...or a galaxy struggling to rebuild post invasion, Salarian vs. Krogan in wake of genophage cure cleaning out remnants of Reaper zombies, resolving Geth and Quarian issues...so many things still hanging in the galaxy without having to go outside that might be an easier sell to fans if you want to avoid people turning their nose up at More andromeda....



There are some of us out there LOL...yeah a full game of them all release across all consoles...I'm surprised you can't get them on PS4 still, as you noted they have tons of remastered (uncharted, Last of us god of war) must be either lack of effort or copyright issues or something.

True on the save feature- that was i think a massive factor in its popularity, the continuity of character and getting a 'bonus' for having played before was awesome so you don't have to grind as much.  Given how many games are sequels i would love to see more of that to reward people who are invested in a series of games a bit more, just a simple thanks carryover of at least some skills/exp/gear whatever for loyal customers.

Yeah the Renegade moments in ME2...I love the way Jennifer Hale who did the voice for Shepard delivered some of those lines. I did the Renegade run first and not punching or shooting some of those characters as a paragon was an effort in genuine restraint...

What makes you say that? I kept everyone alive. It's hard, but it can be done. ;) Glad to see you also appreciate this masterpiece of an experience.

I agree with Silenoz, it's tricky but can be done. I've done it multiple times. Best thing is to use Tali for the vents and them Samara for her biotic powers with the swarm. And if you have completed everyone's loyalty quests and beefed up the Normandy before you go through the gate everyone should survive, including kidnapped members of the crew.

Having them all alive makes the party scene in MS3 add-on all the more enjoyable.

I meant more that you don't keep Miranda/Thane/Samara/Legion etc. as party members in number 3. They were great characters and team mates and i would've loved to have even more time with them, Vega, EDI, Javik (*cough*Jaal*cough*) as replacements didn't do it for me, those four were a big part of why i liked ME2. I'm happy Liara and Ashely came back (poor Kaiden...boom) but yeah.  That also runs into my other complaint of the series as a whole limiting the squad to three members - as a crack team of elites i'd have thought a 6 man squad more appropriate, not for all situations maybe but for some of the larger conflicts it would've made more sense to have more than three people on the ground.  

Oh yeah i always had complete survivals (just do all character quests excpet Legion before Throne system, then i got the Normandy invaded while i was out with legions quest), and Yeah that was a great little ending to get everyone together in the party...but them dropping off as party members...

Ohhhhh. You mean as "squad members". i thought you were referring to the crew party in Shephard's apartment. My bad.

i kinda missed Samara and Thane in MS3, but the band was essentially intact. And I tended to use Garrus and Grunt on 95% of my missions. I played as an infiltrator and left the biotics to my squad mates. Less to think about and able to inflict more weapons based carnage.

I did the same. I would have Liara pull a group into a singularity and blast em' with the shotgun. ;D Good times! Especially using Kennect to isue squad command in real time. My neighbors must have thought I was nuts. "Liara singularity! Boomstick! Regroup!".

I never got to play the party scene in the MS3 add-on. I'm not sure it's even available anymore.

I downloaded the party scene add-on a few months after completing MS3, as I was so in love with the game I didn't want the fun to end. I think you may be right though. I didn't see it on PSN when I downloaded the trilogy :(

I can't remember the name of the rifle I used in MS2, but I think it was Batarian. i bought it in the slums on the citadel, near where you meet Kelly Chambers again. With upgrades (namely the perception filter thingy), I didn't need anything else in the game apart from my cloak occasionally. That was one thing I really liked about S3. You could choose how many weapons to carry. So I have the rifle and a sidearm. And that was it (except for my omnitool occasionally for that up close and personal kill! Damned husks!)

I have to say, as much as I'm loving MS1, it is also very frustrating, as the gameplay is so much better and smoother in MS2 and MS3, and because I know what's coming I'm finding myself wishing I could hurry up and finish the game so I can import and REALLY start having fun.

I know...much as i love it i don't think i could put up with a 10+ year old games issues....+1 Vote for a remaster!

One of the things that killed me in ME1 was how based on your class you are'untrained' in different weapons - i was Vanguard which pretty much sucked in terms of shooting options till you get a decent shotgun...it also ddidn't make sense that a trained soldier couldn't use a sniper rifle or assault rifle, glad they fixed that one by ME3....

As you said, it's a 10 yr old game, so some leeway and forgiveness should be in order. And I'm glad I'm playing it, seeing how the squad we know and love originally got together. Although, i really miss the banter between the team when you're out on missions.

Just had a thought. Bioware were the same people behind KOTOR and used selective game elements from those games in creating Mass Effect. As great as MS2 and MS3 are, MS1 is considered a bit old and a bit clunky. And yet, people still rave about KOTOR, which I believe are even older. Double standard because it's a (good) Star Wars game?

I honestly would like to know, as I never played KOTOR (but LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the cinematics).

Also, I am about halfway through the game and have only just figured out how to upgrade my weapons! Doh!

So, I am going to have to (temporarily) accept defeat, after realising that I do not have significant experience, weapons or armour to defeat Matriarch Benezia (the blue grand-daughter of Deanna Troi and a particularly surly Andorian).

I had completed everything except Benezia and her damned Asari commandos (after getting past the commandos and geth guards). So had to back track all the way back to the Normandy, purely not to lose all the experience points and equipment I'd gained up until now. But, her time will come. Oh yes...HER...TIME...WILL...COME!!

I would say it is.  KOTOR's Item system was fairly clunky.

Fun fact:  a friend of mine who used to live in the area was in the games industry, and one night at our old Magic the Gathering circles, he brought a buddy of his, who worked for Bioware.  He mentioned that he'd worked on KOTOR, and I asked him about a lot of it (as well as KOTOR 2 and how they could have let that out so early).  That evening, he said, "Y'know, if you like the character building in KOTOR, you should look for this new game we have coming out, called Mass Effect.  You might really enjoy it."

Fast forward and yeah, I really did like it.  Enjoyed the trilogy and Andromeda too.  ME3's From Ashes is really good, and Leviathan was freaking GREAT...  if you haven't done Leviathan, cannot recommend enough, as it added SO much depth.

I've played the first one almost all the way through. I love it, but I think I got burned out trying to do all of the side quests and I literally visited every planet on the map. One of these days, I need to try a run where I don't do as much and just try to finish the story. Then, I also have the second game to play...

There's a lot of scanning in ME2 and ME3, but at least in those games there is a point to it; it contributes to fabricating new and better weapons and armour. ME2 and ME3 are so expansive though you would never get bored. Had enough of scanning, go off and do a loyalty side mission. Or go and romance one of the team. Or just walk around the ship listening to the crew banter.

Can i say the trilogy is amazing based purely on only having played ME2 and ME3? And Andromeda is really not as based as many people make out it it. It's a solid entry into the franchise and a good building block for future games if they so wish.

I'm not sure if any of the DLC are still available to download. I already have the Silversun Strip download (with Anderson's apartment). That was very cool.

*edit* Suffering from a cold and can't sleep, so decided to check on PSN and From Ashes and Leviathan are still both available. Will get them once the gameplay odyssey reaches MS3.

I've played Andromeda too, just not all the way through. (I have a bad habit of starting and not finishing games, even ones I really like) The game itself is really fun and the story is interesting and features new races and locations. It's a bit on the buggy side, though. However, some of the bugs in Andromeda are actually pretty hilarious, like the random twitches of your character or NPCs. The problem is a lot of gamers don't have the sense of humor to laugh that kind of stuff off.

Did you download Andromeda or buy it on disc? I bought it on disc and has a single glitch. As I'm only a casual gamer glitches never bother me. I just reload the game and carry on.

Download. It's been a long time since I last played, though.

I think downloads are where the glitches tend to happen.

I cannot wait to finish MS1 and get into the awesomeness that is MS2.

And for all the limitations of MS1 it's amazing how much of it was retained and improved upon for MS2 and MS3

I don't have all of the DLC for 3, but I can tell you this without any doubt:

"I am the very model of a scientist salarian, I've studied species turian, asari, and batarian.
I'm quite good at genetics (as a subset of biology)
because i am an expert (which i know is a tautology).
My xenoscience studies range from urban to agrarian,
I am the very model of a scientist salarian!

The DLC for all 3 games was pretty good.

Bring Down the Sky for ME1 has a ROUGH choice in it that echoes later into ME3.

Project Overlord for 2 is really good, and Arrival really sets the stage for ME3.  I didn't think much of Firewalker, but adding Zaeed and Kasumi are also pretty fun and their side missions add some depth to 2.

Have not yet played Citadel for 3 - downloaded it on sale.  Got Red Dead 2 for holidays, though, so the Old West calls first.

Yeah, that could very well be. If I remember correctly, it was greatly reduced in the Playstation store when I bought it, so that's the version I went with.

that is definitely what's missing from ME1: some awesome crew banter.

In other news, just went back to Noveria and kicked Benezia's ass in about 2 secs flat. Lv 32 for the win!

Just sent Maiden off with the Salarians. It's not that I gotten used to Ash in MS3 or anything, but the character is just plain dull. Duller than Jacob and much duller than Liam in Andromeda. Ah well. No big loss!  :D

Ohhh I remember that Fight!  I scraped through somehow after three attempts at a lowly 12 or 13...but what did you do to the Rachni Mother?


Kaiden had his moments...but apart from love interest for FemShep...not very many of them...don't blame you...But yeah that Virmire mission was a great one and forcing you to choose a real quandary when you are used to the heroes always getting out alive.

Hope you didn't loose Wrex, he's brilliant!  That was thing about Andromeda that annoyed me, they tried to recreate him as Drack instead of doing something a bit new.

Urdnot Wrex. So awesome. That is all.

I tried for 30 mins when I was level 17 and got to the part when Benezia Troi snaps out of the spell and chats with the group. But once we started fighting again I kept dying cos of those dang Asari commandos. But this time the fight was over with a few well placed shots from my pistol.

As for the Rachni mother, I used my future clairvoyant powers of the future to decide letting her live may help me somewhere down the line.


I don't think I'll run through as Femshep right now. Maybe one day, in the future.

And am just about to start the Ilos mission so Wrex is still alive and kicking.

Knox, you're awesome. You've reignited my interest in Mass Effect. Though I have newer games to play, I think I have to try to play through the first game again. Fortunately, it's XBOX One compatible, so I can put my 360 disc in there and play it, rather than hook up my 360 to play it. 8)

I disagree with that, actually. 

Wrex has a vision for Clan Urdnot and the rest of Tuchanka.  Wrex is fighting to live.

Nakmor Drack, meanwhile, is fighting a more personal war.  Drack is looking for something worth dying against for his people.  It's why he's so annoyed with Kesh's suitor, because the kid has something to live for and Drack thinks he's being stupid about the future he has.

I killed Ashley more often than Kaiden.  Ashley's xenophobia/prejudice never jived with how I would like humanity to be once we travel the stars.

Exactly! I always regretted saving her. Not my type at all. 

I found it funny that Ash was quite xenophobic but then kicked up a stink when Shepard was working with Cerberus in ME2. Fortunately she mellowed a bit in ME3.

As for human attitudes throughout the game, a
Shepard would fit in well in the Star Trek universe, while others (for the most part) are just d*cks.

Here's a great video retrospective looking back at the game 10 years on. Some really interesting stuff about the development too.

 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLvMieeVGm0&feature=youtu.be#)

That was one thing i liked about Mass Effect it didn't shy away from the fact that there would be species divides e.g.the Pro human political party you can sort of do an ad for and Cerberus using alien tech to advance humanities interests, I actually liked Ashely more for her "Humanity First" POV made her a more real character IMHO.  Such anti-alien prejudice might not be the futuristic ideal, but I think it is square on with what the reality will be if we ever do find sentient alien life, a lot of people will just want to wipe hem out steal their stuff and strip mine heir planet.

I think it came across too heavy handed sometimes with her character. But then again, I LOVED the Illusive Man (and having Martin Sheen voice him didn't hurt either).

To be fair Ashely is not a subtle person so kinda suited the character.

^This, brilliant choice of voice actor and character - whatever it takes to save humanity - even from itself....

Okay, kinda annoyed. I've defeated Saren 5 times now and my PS3 keeps freezing on me. Grrrr!!

That totally sucks, bro. Any idea what's wrong with it? Maybe corrupt game files? I don't imagine it's the system if the game keeps freezing at the same point.

From what I've learned through the magic information goblins that live inside the internet, MS1 wasn't originally designed to run on PS3. This glitch was a common one experienced by many users. So to resolve it, I had to only use my pistol during the final fight, which considering I played as an infiltrator (meaning only sniper rifle and pistol as useful weapons) it took quite a while. However, I took a break to watch the BBC's NFL show, came back to it, beat Reaper-Saren and it went through no issue this time.

So, the game is complete, the galaxy is safe (for now) the council lives, Kaidan is dead and Anderson is on the council. It will be interesting to see how this affects the story (I know) in MS2. No spoilers please people!

Now that it's all over, I'm glad I played MS1. It's nice to see where the trilogy all began and the beginning of so many relationships that become so amazing over the course of the next two games. I remember watching a youtube review of MS1 when I was nearing the end of MS2 for the first time and hearing about how poorly the MACO handled. I assumed it was exaggeration. But, no. It's AWFUL! Lol.

I might get MS2 imported and up & running before heading off to bed. Or, play just like the first 20 mins or so. Would be rude not to.

Ah, a bad port. It always sucks when that happens. I'm glad to hear you were able to get through it. Point for perseverance.

I ended up as a level 44. I know the max you get on a 1st run through is 50, but I really don't have the patience right to do a new game+ and get the full 60. Plus, considering what haapens in the opening scene of MS3, I don't think it's necessary.

Was such a refreshing change being able to properly duck for cover and shoot properly. Cannot wait to continue the fun later this evening.

So, it seems a lot of the DLCs for Mass Effect 2 were included in the trilogy package I recently downloaded. First up, finding the wreckage of the original Normandy.

Upon this and other comments about Wrex and whether he was alive, I looked into it and never realised that the confrontation on Virnire cod have resulted in him dying! Yay for ignorance.

Well, Tali is on board and things are ticking along nicely. But that just leaves me with the hardest question of the game: Miranda, Jack, Tali - who to romance?

Miranda, always Miranda...I found her really engaging and intelligent and a good match for Shepard (Paragon or Renegade). Her back story is interesting as well, the designer baby kind of thing really appeals to me as a theme in science fiction too...more human than human....  She, Thane and Samara (and illusive Man) really made ME2 for me in terms of characters.

Story wise, I agree with you about those characters. But for a romance....

Too early to say, bug I may choose Tali this time round, because she's just so adorable.

Just remember to have a conversation about all those Quarian cross species contamination issues! Romance safely!

Quarian lives matter too!

From what I've seen, Tali is the "True" romance option as considered by the devs. Liara is an option but Tali's romance story becomes much more emotional whereas Liara's is more mature.
I romanced Miranda. I had a thing for the accent and... I mean come on lol. She's genetically perrrrfect you know?

Also, Garrus is best man. Literally my favorite male character throughout just about any video game I've played

i agree about Garrus. One of the strongest written characters in the trilogy and the voice acting was superb.

I know Bioware said Liara was Shepard's soul mate across the trilogy, but who can turn down adorarbly awkward Tali?

Question for the group:
I'm currently playing as an infiltrator. What squad mate pairing do you like best? So far i've found Garrus and Zaeed can handle pretty much every mission alongside me.

I started as infiltrator too, but on ME3 Mulitplayer I'm absolutely a Sentinel.
I always brought Garrus and Miranda, but I was sleeping with her so idk if that counts lol

I'd tend to Grunt over Zaeed (if i remeber correctly he had more HP and better armour but its been a while) but both are good to be the heavy hitter and 'tank', I'd be tempted to take a Bionic - Samara or Thane if you have them to get the cross class combo detonations and turn those collectors into puddles of hemolymph and chitin. 

Depending on the mission, I find having a biotic on the team always seems to end up with them dying way quicker than anyone else on the squad. I may try Grunt and Zaeed as a combo, for true brute force horsepower.

I must say, MS2 does play slightly differently when you import a ME1 character. Not massive differences, but enough noticeable ones that seem to keep the storytelling tighter. It really is a joy to play.

Next up: going back to the Citadel to do a whole heap of loyalty missions.

True on biotics, that's why i found a Shepard with Biotics was the best choice for me that way you're not worrying about a 'weak link' dying all the time and you control the detonations of combos more easily. 

Loyalty missions or equivalent are a bit of a staple in PRG's but of all of them i think ME'2 were the best, in particular Samara and Thane's, really made them more than just super space soldiers, these are people with families who pay a price for what they have become.

Oh, for sure. Storywise, ME2 is definitely the best of the trilogy. The character development on people like Thane, Samara, Tali, Garrus really elevates the game to a cinematic level; a grand sci-fi space opera to rival Star Trek: DS9 and Babylon 5.

And so, we come to the end of ME2 (with ME1 import) and I have to say it definitely improved the game. The action and fighting was the same, but the storytelling seemed more streamlined this time round. Although, maybe it’s just me because I have only recently experienced the events of ME1.

Collector based is destroyed and all my crew and squad survived. Now the eternal question: Do I go back and replay ME2 on new game+ or just import the character as is straight into ME3?

I suppose I could do the import now and always go back later to the do ME2 new game+. I’m kind of eager to see if this import affects ME3 storytelling in the same way ME1 affected ME2.

Question for the group: What is your weapon (or weapons) of choice? For me, as I'm playing as an Infiltrator, it's sniper rifle (with concentration mod) and submachine gun, for those up-close-and-personal kills. Seems to do me well, especially with tungsten ammo loaded.

Only needed occasional heavy weapon on some hard-to-kill beasties in ME2, otherwise I just snipe away.

Same for ME2 for me even as vanguard as Sentinel (after you get extra weapon on collector ship), with collector beam weapon as my heavy weapon. I went for the M97 viper which has the 'automatic' fire as i found it easier to deal with 'horde' attacks when combined with Cryo ammo, burst off three shots on each and that's 4 collectors or husks out of the game that i then smashed with biotic shock wave.

ME3 though with access to all weapons i switched to N7 Valkyrie (I think you need Omega or N7 DLC to get it) which i found to be very solid for any given situation especially after getting about level 3 upgrades and boosted with ammo abilities especially warp ammo on Liara.

Ditto for me in ME2 - Viper with it's automatic fire just made things total carnage if you were a collector. In ME3 I favoured the Raptor.

Is the Omega DLC any good? Worth downloading?

I always had it so never played through ME3 without it, was just part of the story for me, it's a solid mission but IIRC had a couple of annoying combat bits but a pretty good narrative and characters in Aria T'Lock and a turian lady whose name i forget and you get some bonuses to galactic preparedness i think. 

And so, my first ever complete playthrough of the trilogy is complete and I must say it was a fantastic experience. Yes, part 1 has some issues, which are to be expected with a 10yr old game. ME2 is still the best of the trilogy and I think I preferred the gameplay in ME2 to ME3 this time round. The Citadel dlc clone saga really ups the team dynamic and banter and having Wrex survive Virmire really enhances the later games.

I'm very surprised that you don't start with all your weapons in ME2 new game+. Very strange decision by Bioware

to be fair you're meant to be...as Jacob put it...'meat and tubes' at the start of ME2, but yeah if you're gonna have a new game plus make it a new game plus with a locker of stuff on the Normandy or something.

Congrats Knox glad you enjoyed the ride, I enjoyed hearing about it, the nostalgia!

It really is - I believe - the best Video game Space Opera/Sci/fi series out there in terms of depth, immersion, player experience, continuity of story and creativity...games of the last few years could learn a lot from it, and many series would frankly do well just to copy some of its mechanics.

You forgot to mention character depth/arcs and development.

I agree that all game studios should look at ME trilogy import feature and use it for certain franchises. I originally played ME3 first as a friend lent it to me. Enjoyed it so much I went back and bought ME2. You can enjoty each game as it's own thing but the  immersion and enjoyment is so much higher if you import and play through.

I may, at some point, go back to ME1 and play as a more renegade character, because it's fun and nice to have the good/bad option when importing

From what I have read, it is best to be consistent in how one plays Shepard through the trilogy.  IE, if Paragon, STAY Paragon and avoid most Renegade choices; if Renegade, vice versa.  I forget exactly why that is - I think certain story options only come into play this way, but I could be wrong.

I also tended to do different genders on playthroughs to see what else changed.

I'm glad you were able to complete and enjoy it. One of these days, I need to give it a go. :)

RE: weapons. Yeah, they like to "cripple" you in every game, somehow. I guess they figure if you don't earn stuff, you won't enjoy the experience. That's my best guess.

When I first played ME and ME3 I did a paragon and renegade run through as both male and female Shepard. However, I think because of how ME2 starts you can play as renegade regardless of what you did in ME1.

From what I've read, new game+ on both ME1 and ME3 you start with all the weapons, skills and resources you've already. ME2 is the odd one out for some reason. The only thing you csn carry over is your armour. Better than  nothing I suppose.

What would be even cooler is if it were all integrate and you took the same weapons/armour across all three games e.g. start with N7 armour/weapons suited to your class that are 'yours' and you mod them as they go along e.g. get different characters/party members to help you upgrade them - they start of new and shiny and get increasingly damaged/scraped as you fight along...would feel much more personal like named weapons in fantasy stories more than just a weapon.

Now that WOULD have been cooler.

Okay, so I couldn't help myself. Have started Mass Effect 2 again, but this time playing as a renegade, but only from the time after Cerberus has rebuilt me. In my mind, going through a Flatliners experience like Shepard did would change him slightly. So, gone is the virtuous paragon soldier to be replaced by the sarcastic, angry, Terminator scarred, renegade attack dog. Not sure who to romance this time round. As a paragon I romanced Tali but as he's now so much of a bad boy I'm thinking maybe Jack. Or possibly Miranda. Either way just goes to show how high the replayability factor is.

Renegade always seems more suited to Jack as a romance...Surprisingly Miranda in the end tends to like paragon decisions a little more i found.  Anyway enjoy it, ME2 as you know is the best and there are some seriously badass renegade moments in that game especially on Tchunka.  Having said that not sure how a paragon import will go, a few of the best moments rely on being a renegade in the first one to really bite...but yeah i see your logic in changing personality so maybe will offer some good moments of confusion/conflict with people like Anderson, Tali, Garrus and such who see a new Shepard...

I'm haven't decided yet, but I think I may go back to paragon when I play the character in ME3 (6 months of rehab with the Alliance and he would have be deprogrammed from whatever it was Cerberus did to him). it will be interesting to see Liara's reaction to Jack at Grissom Academy.

Also, that moment when it dawns on you that Adam Baldwin is voicing one of the characters.

So, my ME2 renegade run through is at an end I'd forgotten how much of a dick Shepard can be! Lol. However, in an effort to really add to my gaming experience I have now added From Ashes, Leviathon and Omega dlc to ME3. Be fun to see what's new as well as how choices I made in ME2 will affect the game this time.

MaE3: Leviathan - looking for Garneu on the asteroid. Liking this. Liking this a lot. Especially with the Indra sniper rifle.

I LOVED Leviathan.  It added a dose of the cosmic scale to Mass Effect, taking it beyond its galactic scope, IMHO.  Can't wait to hear more once you complete it.

Did you do Overlord?

Yeah also explained a lot about the Reapers, reminded me of lovecraftian great old ones in a way.

ME3 Leviathan....... WOW!! Just, Wow. Loved it. Definitely gave a new understanding of the Reapers. It will be interesting to see how this dlc affects the conversation with the dying Reaper on Rannoch and with the AI on the Citadel at games end.

I will say that From Ashes was very short, although the addition of Javik to the crww is very welcome. Nice to hear his perspective on things, although his single-minded "enslave all races and kill those who oppose you" mentality is starting to become a bit one note. Which is a shame, because the voice acting for him is on point. Still enjoying the character though and he is a beast in battle.

The future of Mass Effect.

I didn’t hate Andromeda but it did suffer a little from “first game syndrome” trying to find it’s feet, set up a new franchise as a spin-off and deliver something different and yet familiar to hardcore fans. So, while I think there is definitely an opportunity for a sequel, I think there’s opportunity to have another ME game set in the Milky Way.

In terms of timeline, it will definitely have to be set after the Reaper invasion, but not hundreds of years afterwards though. Maybe 30-40.

One thing that I’m sure fans would love is the opportunity to play as one of the alien races, rather than always being human. In addition, this would allow Bioware to play mix and match with backstory and abilities.

My idea is you choose which race you want to be (Human, Drell, Turian, Asari, Salarian, Krogan, Batarian, Quarian) and then decide whether they will be a mercenary type, a researcher type or a Council Spectre. Not all options will be available for every race though. Then you can go on and choose with combat class to be. The original size classes will be there, however, certain options will only be available to certain races. I think limiting choices to specific races would add an interesting element to customising your character.

After all that has been done and you’ve spent hours perfecting the “look” of your character (skin tone, scarring, eye colour/shape/size/spacing etc) then you start the game.

Depending on if you chose to be a mercenary, researcher or spectre, this will affect how you approach certain scenarios: through intelligence and stealth, through negotiation or through full on combat.

In terms of story, who knows? I don’t think at this stage there needs to be a grand galactic wide threat. Having recently just completed ME3: Leviathan, maybe use that as a cue; lots of research, travel, intrigue and combat. I thought ME3: Leviathan was great and would gladly have played a longer, more involved version of that story.

What do you guys think of my idea?

Interesting ideas.  Personally the idea of restricted classes isn't my thing, i want to be able to do anything and everything and change at will (which was a great part of Andromeda able to completely re spec at any time) having said that I can see the appeal of a system where instead of paragon/renegade choice you have Combat/Science/Stealth options, i think that would be a great idea Knox and make the morality of choices less obvious.  I can imagine a mission where the choice is like storm a facility and kill all enemies, infiltrate and assassinate the leader, or hack their systems and disable them mechanically - e.g. hack their ships navigation to fly into a star.  None are especially nice choice but for a Spectre all possible options.


I would keep it to different races having different perks e.e.g Asari get bonus to biotics (e.g. like +10% regeneration), salarian to science (+10% tech damage) - you're not tied to a path but get some nudges.  

I think your setting is good, 30-40 years post putting my fan fic writers hat on i would have it about a new Spectre (ie You) investigating a sect of Reaper worshipers who are seeking the origins of the Reapers ie the facilities where the Leviathans first created them - in an attempt to being them back.  I can imagine the devastation of the war would create some traumatized people who would turn fanatic for the 'other' side, like a Sinister Church of Machine Synthesis as the public face.  as you suggest its not galaxy wide threat but it is something the Council would need to deal with discretely given nominal religious freedom (Hanar worshiped protheans after all).  I think that could be done with the travel intrigue and combat on distant worlds with tomb raider style investigation of ancient leviathan ruins that also expands the back story of the Reapers.

With some solid B stories (for example assisting other Spectres on a separate cases from time to time, each Spectre having different personality/approach and reaction to your style) rather than ye olde run and fetch/destroy side missions it could be a better narrative experience overall.

That is exactly my idea. Krogan as mercenary, yes. Salarian as scientist, yes. By being able to select a race and seeing which combat class is available for them would give more replay options too. Like playing as an infiltrator? Try it as a Drell or an Asari. Want to be more scientific? try it as a Quarian or a Salarian.

Definitely. Too many of the "side quests" are rinse n repeat go fetch types, especially in ME3

Exactly. It would bring in some actual stakes and the need for proper/appropriate decision making from the player. And, there's always the risk of you trying to stealth, tripping an alarm and then having to blast your way out of there or use science as a cover to help you reach your target.

Intriguing. That is a good storyline, although I think it would make an interesting b storyline running parallel to the main story. Only reason I say that is because after an epic reaper trilogy that storyline is done. Revisiting it again as a main may look like retreading old ground.

Although, I currently don't have a better idea. Let me sleep on it and see what I can come up with.

So, I was thinking that as Lord Gray and I agree that another Mass Effect game does not need to have huge intergalactic stakes (right now at least) what does that leaves us with? After giving the ending of ME3 some thought (the dlc ending, not the original crappy ending), all the races in the galaxy are finally united and working together for a better brighter future. So what if something, or someone, came along and tried to undo all of that for personal gain?

Out of all the myriad of species that are featured across the ME games, there are quite a few who have limited screen time. Usually, this is not a problem as we fully understand their species anyway. However, there is one species that has a lot of untapped storytelling potential: the Yahg (first seen in the excellent Lair of the Shadow Broker dlc).

We see the Yahg briefly in ME3 at a Salarian STG base where the female Krogan are being kept and if you activated one of the panels you hear a recording saying the Salarians were trying to covertly uplift the species.

What if a Yahg (or that whole group of Yahg) escaped and decided to continue the Salarian experiments, but for their own purposes; they want to uplift their species by destroying the united races from within, sowing seeds of mistrust and using lies, disinformation, deceit and sabotage to reignite all prejudices and open old wounds.

Basically they are strategically trying to divide and conquer by getting the races to fight amongst themselves, meanwhile they are quietly gathering strength/resources in the shadows. We did see a few captured Yahg on the Salarian STG base, This would present a great opportunity to explore the Yahg species in more detail, as well as have a valid reason for having the main character running around the galaxy, putting out fires, preventing the destruction of galactic alliances, while also trying to uncover the architect (the Moriarty) behind all the chaos.

In terms of the team, if you decide to be a scientist type character, your team will still have soldier/mercenary types in it. On a covert mission, your task is to infiltrate and disable some defences so that the shooty people can get into the base. Maybe have a time limit on it and if you don’t complete it in time, the internal defences come online and you have to decide whether or not to proceed and kill everyone or retreat and possibly fail/find another way. Just an example of how playing mix n match with the species/classes would lead to some interesting and diverse gameplay options. As some people prefer shooty carnage, some prefer stealth and some prefer puzzles. And there’s nothing to stop you playing as other members of your team for certain missions (like playing as Ellie in The Last of Us for a spell).

Interesting angle, certainly a race that could use more detail but would still keep it very consisntent with the lore that ha buil up.


^^^ This after 30-40 years people start to forget about reapers, old rivalries resurface as the generation that fought the reapers starts to die (for some species anyway, Turian, Salariana and Human, even Quarian i think!) make it easy to exploit - the galactic peace is fracturing once more, slowly but surely.  Throw in not only the Yahg but some Reaper worshipers, Batarians, Human supremacists all equally causing trouble any you'd have dozens of angles and some very tough issues of morality e.g. for Batarians who were hit hard at the start of ME3 say they are demanding colonisiation rights against another race - who takes precedence, who has more rights to recover? and Slarians and Krogran - assuming genophage cure what tensions might there be then if the Krogan had a massive baby boom?  The Rachnii as well, perhaps they've split under two queens...even Quarians and Geth tensions rising (perhaps Geth at the point of full AI?).  So much potential for not just continuity but new issues to arise - not quite a galaxy at war, but certainly not at peace either.


This too would be amazing but probably be a strain to program to get quality across all mission option, it could be done of course but would take a lot of development would be worth it though.  Switching character would also be cool temporarily or as the situation changes, i'd have the option for every mission so you can really try things out from all angles and be beter able to adapt.

Some great ideas there Knox.

Something that only became apparent during my recent run through, if you choose the option to destroy the Reapers, you are also destroying all artificial life in the Galaxy too. Including Edi and the Geth. The end scene by the memorial wall shows Edi's name has been added and there's an article on wikia confirming this too.

I think this is thee only point where we differ. I think the Reaper storyline is done and we don't need Reaper worshippers or anything in this new story. Obviously just my subjective opinion. Other than that, there is definitely enough story to be going on.

I don't think people would have forgotten the Reaper war after only 30-40 years. However, that is definitely enough time for there to be strain on the alliances Shepard made in ME3.

Also, there definitely needs to be a statue of him in his armour on the Citadel.

Just had a thought. Rather than having people who worship yhe Reapers, why not "the cult of Shepard" who have taken his morals and deeds and twisted them under the guise of "doing the right thing". Not a Cerberus rip-off though, but something equally as misguided

Nice...I'd have it as perhaps the remnants of cerebus rebadged over the decades - reviving Shepard was their crowning glory it would make sense they then believe they own her legacy. My concept for reaper cult was around the telepathic effects they have on people Saren etc possibly still being partially active as well e.g. someone gets a working control device to dominate others but finds themselves dominated in turn. I have no doubt there would be a lot of people experimenting with refuse reaper technology after the war so also could be new level of weapons/biotic advancement due to that study. I get main reaper threat is over but personally the idea of a little continuity appeals to me personally so you can see the path from the original trilogy more clearly - in my mind more cross over makes a stronger immersion.

But yeah a 'shepards of humanity' paramilitary faction would be a great idea and leave the question of what Shepard's legacy means and who owns it very open.

I think a lot would depend on the Canon ending...due to the death of all AI in the destroy option of ME3 I don't think you could do a game that caters for all ME3 results- the political situation would be too different in each case to make a single game from logically I think.

What is the official canon ending? 

So, here is my current play through order of ME3. Thoughts?

Main story and then do From Ashes as soon as it's available
Main story right up until Genophage cure
Omega DLC
Main story Genophage cure onwards
Citadel Attack
Meet Quarians and rescue Legion
Citadel DLC
Start Leviathan DLC
Main story up to Rannoch mission
Finish Leviathan DLC
Main story Rannoch mission onwards
Citadel party
Finish main story (where I choose to destroy the Reaper scum and wipe their existence from the face of the galaxy. Because that's what good soldiering is)

I don't think there is one to be honest, were there to be a proper continuation one would have to be chosen as the outcomes are mutually exclusive in too many ways.


Looks pretty good to me, very fitting to keep the party till right before it all comes to a close.

Fair enough. Although I've always assumed, given the imperative in all three games was to find a way to destroy the Reapers, that the kill all artificial life option is the canon one. But that's just me.

Oh, you have to keep the party till the end. No more side missions. No more planetary scans or artifacts to go fetch. No more diplomats to rescue. Just party down then go fight The Illusive Man before heading back to the Earth for the final big boss battle.

So, I was thinking about what a Mass Effect tv series would be like. I say series, as I don't think you could truly do justice to this franchise by making it into a movie.

My approach would be to take aspects of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, add in a little Stargate SG-1, season with a pinch of Babylon 5 and top it all off with some Farscape style garnish. The more think about it, especially the Star Trek DS9 aspect, the more I can see how the races would be portrayed:

(please note, this is a not a like for like comparison. More to give an idea of how they could be represented in an on-screen adaptation)

Asari - Vulcan
Krogan - Klingon
Salarian - Romulan
Turian - Cardassian
Volus - Ferengi
Quarian - Bajoran
Reapers - Borg
Rachni - Tholian
Hanar - Vorta

Also, doing a tv series would allow scope to flesh out things that are only mentioned in passing in the game, have flashbacks to earlier conflicts and really do some excellent character arcs for the main protagonists. Thoughts?

Interesting concept, the setting in terms of in universe time would be critical - i'm thinking only shortly after humanity gets to the Citadel so there is still the 'awe struck' naivety of humans possible in the plot, feeling very small amidst a functioning much larger galactic civilization, could that way gradually introduce species and their quirks perhaps as part of an abmassadorial trip between diff species home worlds, gradually get to know their history/feuds.  Biggest issue is there are so many ways of doing it as you mentioned (Trek/Gate/Scape) it would be hard to know what would be best in terms of the 'home' setting - Citadel, alliance ship going world to world? Almost too much potential LOL.

Though arguably the easiest way would be to serialize the ME Trilogy itself - honestly you wouldn't need to change that much in terms of writing, just choose canon Shepard - imagine the end of season cliff hangar of the Normandy being blasted (you know for people who never played the game LOL)

I was thinking Star Trek DS9 (set primarily on the station but balanced with ship missions). the Stargate part will be exploring the ME relay network. Farscape would just be the general weirdness.

I was thinking first season would end with Shepard stealing the Normandy and going after Saren. S2 would be him stopping Saren. S3 would be the ME2 storyline ending with them going through the omega relay. S4 would be the conclusion of ME2 story and the beginning of the Reaper invasion.

Storytelling wise, in the same way that Star Trek DS9 had episodes that were based around one character (a Bashir episode, an O'Brien episode, a Worf episode etc), Mass Effect and it's characters would definitely benefit from that kind of thing; exploring each character and their culture while moving the season arc along a little.

Yep I can see that - in essence the character loyalty quests in particular would be perfect  for such character focused arc.  I think the only change needed would be rationalizing companions in later games - I think you could cut out say Jacob, Vega, maybe even EDI robot or else it would get too cluttered.  Keep tighter on Garrus, Tali, Wrex, Liara in first season to introduce races with Ashley/Kaidan more like Shepard sidekicks, but expand them in second season to make the loss of one more impact - then s3 as you have here very much a new set - Miranda, Samarra, Thane, Legion but also obviously have the time skipped others - then i'd keep the band together into s4 more than the game did to ensure continuity.  But yeah i can definitely see that outline you have working strongly with a few tweaks.

An important consideration would be do you have a Paragon/Renegade Shepard - I think that would have to be done a bit carefully, you want Shepard to be a bit of a badass but not just a thug....Gender is another interesting choice, shouldn't matter nowadays, but despite what we might like it does.  I would personally go Female about 75% renegade as of my own playthroughs i found that the most fun.

[quote author=Lord_S_Gray link=topic=40540.msg700413#msg700413 date=1550524854
An important consideration would be do you have a Paragon/Renegade Shepard - I think that would have to be done a bit carefully, you want Shepard to be a bit of a badass but not just a thug....Gender is another interesting choice, shouldn't matter nowadays, but despite what we might like it does.  I would personally go Female about 75% renegade as of my own playthroughs i found that the most fun.
[/quote]When you look at DS9, Voyager and even Enterprise, there were times when the good captains did some seriously renegade stuff. If the situation was desperate enough it's possible to have renegade acts but still like the character.

Exactly.  But they could be teased in some episodes, explored in others. Lile Tali, her pilgrimage and her trial for treason. You can spread that whole storytelling arc across multiple episodes and seasons. Even have her meet other Quarians who are on pilgrimage but doing some nefarious stuff.

Character wise, I think core crew should be Shepard, Garrus, Wrex,Tali, Liara and Ashley (as Kaidan was boring as all hell). Recurring characters would be Joker, Dr Chakwas, Anderson, Udina, Hackett. Some of the other characters could start off as guest appearances, but become recurring characters in later seasons as the story develops and gets more complex.

If you look at TNG, there were plenty of times when one of the characters would only once briefly in an episode. So balancing a large crew should be easy.

Good point.  Next obvious question is who you cast, i reckon Chyler Leigh (Alex Danvers in Super girl) would make a pretty good Fem-Shep. Would be cool to see some people who were In Trek/Stargate get some roles in there too.

You would go Fem-Shep as the lead? I think, depending on the rest of the crew choices we would need to ensure male/female balance. Unfortunately I don’t watch Supergirl, so have no idea how good that actress is. But, if we went with Male-Shep, I was thinking maybe cast a black actor. Either or is good as we need more black captains and female captains in our sci-fi shows.

And there will be plenty of opportunities for former Trek/Stargate actors to appear in the show (like when Odo popped up for an episode in SG1). Maybe even cast JG Hertzler as Wrex!  ;D

Chyler Ligh mainly as she reminds me of the character build as i had for my Female Shepard and her character in Supergirl (Supergirls adoptive sister and Special agent) can be pretty badass but still very human.
You know I was playing God of War 2018 recently...reminded of how great Christopher Judge from Stargate was as he did the voice for the main character in it, I could easily see him as Shepard, definitely got the right build for an elite Alliance soldier and has a very strong presence but still capable of deeper moments.

Love Christopher Judge. But at 54, i think he may be a little too old for this particular role.

Just stumbled across this video clip from 2008. Wow! Just wow. Imagine their reaction to the Cora or Peebee scene from Andromeda. Methinks their heads would explode. And I take particular umbrage to the fact that "adults don't play these games". Grrrr.

 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKzF173GqTU#)

“Have you ever played Mass Effect”
“No“
THEN WHY are you commenting on it!!!  
People judging a game or movie not having played/seen is very annoying.

I feel sorry for the guy at the start trying to get past their irrational moral panic with facts…it’s like people screaming ban Harry Potter because it encourages witchcraft…typical faux-news panel beat up junk that says more about the panelists moral posturing than the thing they are commenting on.  Wonder how they would've reacted to God of War 3 Aphrodite mini game!! Frankly i think these people secretly get off on the very things they deride sometimes - thou doth protest too much. 

I think it just shows how ignorant they are of who the main consumers of video games are, and how disconnected they are from what gaming itself has evolved to become as tech improves, it is basically interactive movies now.

Exactly. In the same way that some people have the outdated mindset that comic books are "just for kids" (despite not having read a comic book themselves since there were 7 yrs old) there are people who think that video games are just the child friendly Mario/Sonic type. They have no idea that a lot of video games have a better storyline/set pieces/character arcs than a lot of mainstream movies. And as the guy said, the sex scene is a 1 min cutscene out of over 30 hours of gameplay. And is a natural conclusion to the relationship the player has cultivated in the gameplay.

Did you also notice how the woman dismissed the fact that you can play as fem-shep because "boys would never play as a woman".

i agree, it's very similar to Harry Potter outrage because WITCHES!!! Burn them at the stake.

Yep...there is only one side showing gender bias there and it ain't the game - when it originally came out I personally enjoyed my play through as Fem-Shep far more as I loved the voice acting of Jennifer Hale (ever since Kotor as Bastilla), but a woman gamer I know (rare mythical beast right!) preferred playing Male-Shep and exploring the different romances.

And yeah before harry potter it was Dungeons and Dragons...even as far back as rock and roll, pulp horror/scifi fiction in the 1920-30's ...seems to always be an undercurrent of people with particular world views that dislike the fact things they find 'shameful/uncomfortable' are popular.

Even more egregious in my opinion was the mention of 'playboy' as if nudity in games is some kind of sinister plot to tempt children into watching X rated content as opposed to just being a part (a tiny one) of the story.

Sex is a fact of life, to not include it in a movie/TV/comic or Game that deals with complex adult  romantic relationships and situations would be in my view even more ridiculous - does it have to be the dominant theme, of course not, but ignoring it will stretch credulity at some point. I think Mass Effect (and for that matter Dragon Age series) has done it rather well, its not dominant in the game, its only if you actively pursue it with an NPC and even then only if you meet certain criteria in talking to them etc, and it adds some extra dimensional to the characters as you would expect in a novel (especially so in the Romances in Dragon Age Inquisition which were more extensive even after "consummation").


I think ultimately though these kinds of panics don't matter, mot of these people are 'preaching to the converted' the industry is mature and strong enough to ignore such rants, and they only care about getting money in so will give the customer more or less what they want.

Supporting and replaying games like Mass Effect long after they were out, getting them on steam/xbox live or whatever tells the companies this is what people (still) want, so if they want our money give us more of this - and the mighty $ is far more influential than two bit commentators.

^^^ Yes. This. Have a point my friend.