2. Mass Effect. The best video game series
Table of Contents
- Developer: BioWare
- First game release year: 2007
- Number of main installments: 4
Like Star Wars, the Mass Effect series served up a universe and a story that was completely riveting from its very first moments. The story of the series is a difficult one, but it was certainly full of some truly iconic characters and epic space battles. Furthermore, it produced some genuinely cinematic, interactive dialogs with a fully voiced and customizable protagonist.
The first part of the series, although a bit crude in terms of mechanics, offered some really inspiring role-playing, and the perfect introduction to the dark story of a Lovecraftian end of the universe, an extinction by colossal, sentient machines dwelling parsecs-deep inside the cosmic void. The sequel was one of the best games of the generation – perfectly honed in terms of mechanics, gripping, with more depth; the highlight of the series. The spell was broken with the unfortunate end of the original trilogy. Mass Effect 3 was rushed, and it fell victim to some questionable design decisions. It was released mere 26 months after ME2, yet on top of being expected to deliver an epic conclusion, wrap up all the loose ends from the previous two games, it also brought multiplayer – for the first time in the series. Things have been rather bleak for the franchise since then. Electronic Arts tried to manage the crisis. The backlash was considerable, and many people were simply pissed.
Nevertheless, the trilogy set a certain standard of role-playing, and Andromeda didn't really live up to the legend. For many fans, this series consists of just three installments.
The first Mass Effect started my fascination with the video game science fiction, which had never engaged me before. Today I have completed all four games of the series and I look forward to the announcement of the next installment. This is where I'd like to thank the local chain store, where I was able to purchase Mass Effect 2 three days before its official premiere. Thus, I nearly finished ME2 before it was actually release and failed an exam at the university. It was worth it.
Mike Manka
