The last paragraph serves as a TLDR.

Having spent over 30 years of my life playing games, it is puzzling to me that I never actually got round to the Mass Effect trilogy until now. I knew about the praise and the reputation, but for some reason the franchise simply never crossed my path. So I took advantage of the Legendary Edition to finally dive into the first game, keeping in mind, as I always do, that analysing my experience with older games is a fine balancing act between the underlying quality of the game and the technical constraints and sensibilities tied to its release date.

As expected, I have a ton to say about ME, but I’ll try to keep it somewhat short (update: I couldn't. Sorry).

The world building caught my eye almost immediately. I’m still amazed at how much I enjoyed it, to the point of comparing it to the both the Elder Scrolls and the Witcher universes, which are the two pieces of lore I love the most in gaming. I was invested in the story and world from the first minute, and I soon noticed something that I almost never see mentioned, but that to me is actually one of the most effective tools I’ve ever seen when it comes to storytelling: the fact that the main codex is (brilliantly) voiced makes such a tremendous difference in engagement that, honestly, I’m surprised the idea didn’t spread like wildfire after ME did it. I spent a lot of time just listening to the narration, getting sucked into the game’s events, planets, races, politics, conflicts, anything the it wanted to throw at me. It was almost a game within a game and I couldn’t get enough. This absolutely helped digest the encompassing lore which to this day still stands as one of the most complex and intricate pieces of narrative created for a video game. It would’ve been worth playing ME just for this. But the game offers a lot more than that. Even after all this time, what’s on display is a fantastically accomplished RPG dressed up in a space opera costume. Which yes, has aged somewhat poorly here and there from a mechanical standpoint, but easily overshadows this problem with its strengths. For the sake of brevity, these are the bullet points of most everything else I loved about ME:

• the choice and consequence on display feels refreshing and almost unique even today, and it’s no wonder ME built its reputation on the back of how well this was implemented;

• most characters, squad members or otherwise, are rich, layered, and a joy to interact with;

• every single alien race is well developed, unique, interesting and 100% feels like it belongs in the world (ok maybe not the Hanar). And speaking of which, the Elcor are such an original, entertaining species. A perfect example of Bioware’s creative writing back in the day;

• the synth-heavy soundtrack is one of the best I’ve heard;

• the epic feel you get on the main missions, from the very first to the very last one, is fantastic;

• using a heating system rather than ammo for the weapons was a brilliant move and a standout feature I wish we saw more of;

• levelling and character progression and superiorly handled and properly paced;

• satisfying shooting mechanics. For all the horror stories I had heard about it, I actually enjoyed combat in this first game. Maybe a natural consequence of having played the LE version, but still;

• the sense of wonder in discovery is well realised, and at least on a surface level, the planets are different looking enough to make exploration enjoyable;

There were also quite a few things I wish had been done differently. Some are a clear product of their time, others are just poor design choices and therefore more frustrating:

• dialogue options can be hit and miss, and I lost count at the amount of times my Shepard said something I did not mean for him to say. Speaking of Shepard, the male version is very meh and one-dimensional. Should’ve probably gone with the female version;

• for an RPG, I think your build choices are somewhat limited when it comes to personality. You can either go Paragon or Renegade (the middle term offers 0 advantage), but I don’t honestly see how going with Renegade would be a logical option for someone in Shepard’s position, whose need to inspire loyalty and bring people together is paramount throughout the entire game;

• I have a bit of an issue with the lack of clarity in the final choice. Personally, I found the way they presented the options to be misleading, which led me to choose something I wouldn’t have chosen otherwise;

• romancing, at least in the way I experienced it, seemed a bit more like a forced afterthought than narratively logic and consistent. Artificially inserted if you will. As an example, I didn’t feel like I led Ashley on in any way, yet next thing I know there’s a face-off between her, Liara and me where I’m basically forced to ‘choose’ between the two. Really weird;

• it would’ve been nice to have a combat description of your party members for you to get a better idea of how to upgrade them;

• not being able to turn while sprinting feels overly restrictive and quite annoying until you get used to it. Also, sprinting is kind of a joke as you run out of breath almost instantly;

• navigation can be vague on side quest location. This is interesting from an immersion standpoint, but the game isn’t exactly built to work well within this concept. Though again, this is only a problem until you get used to it;

• unintuitive inventory management that would definitely benefit from being more streamlined;

• auto-cover system is such a hindrance. Just, why?

• I know they improved it in the LE, but some Mako sections are still frustrating to say the least;

• there’s a fair bit of asset recycling, especially when it comes to buildings on side missions;

• AI is serviceable but far from the best iteration, even by 2007 standards (enemies would often get stuck behind cover 'indefinitely').

The nays may look like a lot, but in my experience they were strongly diluted by everything wonderful that Mass Effect is still able to offer today, 15 years after its initial release. As a whole, this first game still stands as a fantastic introduction to a sci-fi epic filled with awe inspiring moments, one that got its hooks on me pretty much from the get-go. It seems silly to ‘recommend’ ME as I feel like I’m the last person on the planet to have played it. So instead I’ll just say that, speaking as someone who was slightly apprehensive about playing a classic so long after it originally came out, it still gave me almost everything I hoped it would, even considering how gaming sensibilities have evolved for the past decade and a half. To my knowledge, there’s still nothing like it out there yet, and that is a testament to how unique a piece of entertainment Mass Effect still is. 9/10

When I was around 10 years-old, my dad bought the whole VHS collection of Carl Sagan's Cosmos. Besides one of the best science popularisation ever to have blessed a TV screen, the show also ventured into the realm of speculation. On one episode, Sagan imagined us receiving a signal from another planet containing an Encyclopedia Galactica, with all the knowledge gained by the galactic community. I was forever fascinated by the idea of human receiving a signal from an extraterrestrial civilisation. The thought of not only not being alone in the universe but being actively invited to take part in a whole galactic community was, and still is, endlessly alluring.

So it's not a huge surprise that the rich world of Mass Effect is a world I love to habitate. The multiple aliens species live together forming a galaxy-wide community with complex politics and detailed wants and needs. Humans are the newcomers who need to learn how to work within that pre-exiting community (I would've liked a bit less human exceptionalism, though) and the overall theme of unity is the ultimate erasure of chauvinistic attitudes (in fact, years ago I wrote a whole blogpost -in Spanish-talking about Mass Effect's "saganian" ethics).

Inscribed within this world, there are also meaningful personal stories. You get to debate Garrus about the pros and cons of laws and regulations, you learn about the lives (and eventual death) of Kaydan and Ashley, you hear the action-packed stories of Wrex's life as a mercenary, and you get to help a young Tali with her pilgrimage. Liara's arc is cut short in this entry, unfortunately, but she will grow much more interesting in the following adventures.

The overarching plot is ominous. Mass Effect 1 gets the Reapers right. They are mysterious and relentless beings whose existence is to vast for our petty minds to comprehend. Sovereign words, voice and actions portray it almost as a blind force of nature. We are not meant to understand them, just stop them to save our lives.

It's a shame that the following entries basically do away with this and try so hard to explain them in excruciating detail; their motives, their origin, even their mode of reproduction are unnecessarily revealed and they are disappointingly lame. They also unnecessarily reveal Tali's disappointingly lame face, which leads me to believe that the writers (or whoever was responsible for those decisions) either didn't understand what made the Reapers so creepy and Tali so cute, or they don't trust their audience to accept the mystery (which, to be fair, it might be true).

It cannot be denied that Mass Effect has it's fair share of jank, though. The ludicrous Mako-physics, the atrocious inventory system and the stiff animations where nothing to be proud of at time of release and haven't got better in the intervening years. But still, none of that comes even close to overshadowing what is still one of my favourite games of all times.

I used to think Mass Effect 2 is the best in the trilogy. Up until recently, I would have told you that it's the best game in the series because of its superb characters, the relationships you build with them, and how the outcome of the game is the culmination of your actions throughout.

I don't know if this is true but I think that's the general consensus in the community. It feels like most hail ME2 as the best and it's typically supported by pointing out the strength of the characters mentioned above.

While the characters and relationships are nearly unparalleled within the trilogy, let alone elsewhere, it would be difficult to justify calling ME2 the best in the series based on this trait alone. ME2 does have a number of other things that help make it a memorable experience, but as I've aged and come to appreciate certain things in games more, it's unquestionably Mass Effect the original that is the best of the three.

Mass Effect is janky by today's standards. Even the Legendary Edition couldn't rid the game completely of its archaic mid-2000s design. Yet it's all the more charming for that. What Mass Effect did so supremely that the others didn't do as well is create a whole ass vibe. I've mentioned elsewhere that I don't care how good a game's graphics are, as long as the visuals and systems create a convincing vibe. The original Mass Effect does that in just about all the ways that matter.

It also contains one of the most memorable, tightly written, momentous, and engaging stories of any sci-fi game to this day. The more I replay it, the more I'm impressed with the writing and the pacing. There was something very special cooking in the kitchen when this game was being made.

Games are made by people. Those people bring their life experiences, worldviews, and individuals quirks and strengths to the table when making a game. The people who made the original Mass Effect are mostly gone from the company at this point. That's not to say that I don't have hope for the future of Mass Effect but it's something we should be aware of. Not out of a sense of prejudging whatever comes out of BioWare, but out of a sense of merciful empathy. People make games. They try really hard at it. I hope with every fiber of my being that the next Mass Effect can recapture some of the magic of the first Mass Effect, or do some justice to it. I hope they succeed, I want them to.

I should go.

I've had this game in the backlog for a while, and have always wanted to get into this series but was always overwhelmed by the size. I find it hard to end up committing to games that aren't linear on the surface, I'm just not used to it. And just like I thought, after starting this game for the second time after only getting a couple hours in first run, i got about 15 hours in and forgot about the game for about a year.

And when looking through my downloaded games ready to delete some I hadn't touched in a while, I thought I'd give this game one more chance first. And oh am I glad I did.

This created a resurgence of motivation in this game, and I continued to put another 25+ hours into it in the span of about a week, now having finished it and thrilled to play the second game.

I'm glad I gave it the second go because this game has impacted me, and I look forward to see what more the series has for me.

And maybe, this is also a good sign for my future when it comes to larger, not as explicitly linear games still floating in my backlog.

Aloitin alkuperäisen Mass Effectin pelaamisen pian sen julkaisun jälkeen, mutta pelin kankeus ja panssariajoneuvo-Makolla ajelut jättivät pelin hyllyyn pitkäksi aikaa. Vaadittiin Mass Effect 2 aiheuttama hype, jotta viimein alkuperäisen pelin pariin palasin ja pelasin loppuun. Tykästyin jo silloin pelin tarinaan ja tietynlaiseen mysteeriin. Alkuperäinen oli silti jumittunut aivoissani pakollisen pahan asemaan korkeintaan kolmen tähden arvosanaan, enkä ollut koskenut peliin ensimmäisen läpipeluun jälkeen.

Kunnes ilmestyi Legendary Edition, joka päästi kokemaan tuon loistavan tarinan parannetulla ulkokuorella ja sitäkin tärkeämpänä toiminnan kankeudet poistettuina. En enää edes muistanut kuinka hienosti tarinaa kuljetetaan ja miten hahmoihin pikkuhiljaa tutustutaan tehtävien kautta ja avaruusalus Normandyn käytävillä. Maailma ja erilaiset rodut ja osapuolet ovat niin mielenkiintoisia ja vaihtelevia, että peliin vain uppoutuu totaalisesti ja nauttii joka hetkestä. Toiminta ja hahmonkehitys on mielenkiintoista ja hauskaa, nyt samalla tasolla jatko-osien kanssa.

Planeettojen tutkiminen Mako-panssariajoneuvolla oli yllättävänkin hauskaa, vaikkakin pelin ikä näkyy näissä osioissa pahiten. Samoja rakennuksia ja tekstuureja kierrätetään surutta ja planeetat ovat valtavia pinnanmuotoja lukuunottamatta melko tyhjiä. Silti tämäkin osuus tuli tehtyä sataprosenttisesti ja nautittua jokaisesta sekuntista. Muuten loistavassa pelissä tämä on aivan mitätön nillittämisen aihe, kun tätä osiota ei varmasti ole tarkoitettu edes koluttavan näin perusteellisesti.

Jos tämä ennakolta huonoin tämän loistavan pelisarjan peleistä olikin remasteroituna näin hyvä, en malta odottaa miltä jatko-osat tulevat maistumaan. Tämä nousee aivan kirkkaimpaan kärkeen omalla listallani!

5/5 Erinomainen