Mass Effect Legendary Edition [All]

It looks like there will be some news on this in around three hours or so.

Please don't fuck it up, EA! Please don't fuck it up, EA! Please don't fuck it up, EA! Please don't fuck it up, EA!

 

Release date Friday 14th May 2021.

According to Eurogamer:

First, some specifics. The Mass Effect trilogy's Legendary Edition includes 4K support and HDR compatibility, plus 60 FPS on PC and consoles from PS4 Pro/Xbox One Series X forwards. On PC, it adds support for controllers and 21:9 widescreen displays. As expected, all three games and all single-player DLCs are included.

Mass Effect 1, by far the most dated-looking of the trilogy, has undergone a particularly extensive rework, with dramatic improvements to some of its environments. The results on planets such as Eden Prime, Ilos and Feros look on first impression far closer to a full remake. ME1 has also seen other tweaks, including fan-requested improvements to the Mako vehicle's often wildly-erratic driving experience, various combat changes and much faster Citadel lifts (thank goodness).

Differences across the whole trilogy include remastered character models, an expanded universal character creator and the option to use ME3's default female Shepard model throughout. There are noticeable improvements to Shepard's range of available skin tones, hairstyles and makeup options, for a more diverse range of possibilities. Overall, BioWare says there are "tens of thousands" of updated textures, shaders, visual effects and lighting changes, plus a new bokeh-style depth of field.

Gameplay changes to ME2 and ME3 sound relatively minimal, though there's a whole list of differences to remove "friction" from ME1. Aim assist adds adhesion to keep you locked onto enemies, while a "zoom snap" will flick your focus onto a target when aiming. Each ME1 gun has been balanced and given an individual feel similar to those found in later games. The Mako has been given a speed boost and updated physics, while the game's hidden loading screens in lifts have been drastically cut down in length. Comparison footage of a ride up to the Citadel's Presidium level lasts just 14 seconds in the Legendary Edition, down from 52 seconds in the original.

 

did not seen much improvement in graphics apart from the higher res.

 

curious if they still use male animations for the female Shepard

 

For Mass Effect 1 that alone along with the texture work, is quite significant!

 

Guys, you know what this means. Start practising.

 

So ME1 seems to have the most changes in terms of assets but I am pretty disappointed in what I have seen so far. If you have only played the console versions then yeah they will be an "upgrade" but the graphics don't look any better than A Lot Of Textures (ALOT) for ME1 or MEUITM (haven't used that overhaul yet). Its about what I expected but given the treatment C&C got I was really hoping for something that would make me want to replay the entire trilogy again maybe with cut content added. Seems all I would be getting is the core PC version without mods

 

Good to see more lens flares. That's all I really need.

Shepard Shuffle was reminiscent of stuff you'd see in KOTOR. They should "remaster" KOTOR. I suppose that requires a license however.

 

That shouldn’t be a big problem given that lucasarts exists solely to handle licensing for Disney and EA is the main licensee of Star Wars titles. It should be a gimme if EA really wants to bring the game back.

 

If I take two steps back, the main reason for me to buy this would be all the dlc I never bothered with. However, that is also what gives me pause - when I’ve replayed the games, I’ve already felt impatient and wanting to progress the story as opposed to do all the side missions. I fear that playing the game with all the dlc will feel like slogging through tons of filler in a story I already know. I can’t see how the pacing could be maintained.

 

You and me both. I almost never bother with game DLC. Most game's storylines are a little too long for me so extending those even longer is not appealing. Likewise, trying to re-imerse myself in a gaming universe I finished months back is just not appealing. The Last of Us Left Behind is one of the very few game DLCs I bought, finished and enjoyed, but the experience was clearly its own thing - narratively linked to the original game but also very separate from it.

I think Legendary Edition is worth it for me because I appreciate the console experience, i.e. sleep/resume, instant play etc. I played the original trilogy on PC, the first two games with the stellar MEUITM texture mods and - with varying degrees of success - PC controller mods that needed some tweaks over the course of the games. The idea of just being able to dip in, with modern graphics and controller support is great.

I'm still not pre-ordering it because EA but I'm hopeful. But if you're a PC gamer, I think this is far less appealing unless you really struggle with the RPG-heavy mechanics of the original Mass Effect. I unashamedly preferred Mass Effect as a story-driven cover-based team shooter (ME2/ME3).

 

ME1 DLC was pointless anyway. It was early times for the "DLC paradigm". ME2 had some meaty stuff but I don't know if I would bother to do all that again. I never finished ME3.

I would probably rather finally play ME Andromeda than return to the original trilogy.

 

Well, there was this rumor today.

I see ME3 multiplayer won't be included in the remaster. This would keep me from buying it but I don't think I was going to get it regardless.

 

I don't really like to give EA my hard earned cash dolla dolla, but I'd quite like to play this. I played the second one, and part of the third. And given that I played them on the PS3, I was definitely playing the worst versions, so this collection would be an enormous upgrade.

That said, I know the ending's a bit of a damp squib, and I don't know if playing through an entire RPG trilogy is the best use of my time.

Maybe this Christmas. Or next. Or never.

 

Aren't there mods out there that improve the original games to something like what that remaster does ?

 

I think I read about 40 mods were made, and likely more incoming.

 

I have no idea on gameplay alterations but the mods I used on my original play through of Mass Effect on PC in 2016 was controller mods for all three games and for ME1 and ME2 I used the utterly fabulous MEUITM texture packs, which go a long way to making the graphics look better. Those texture mods are better than the best texture quality that EA ship ME3 with!

 

https://www.ea.com/games/mass-effec...&utm_medium=social&cid=68229&ts=1617726450607

Here is a deep dive into many of the changes to the three games.