Mass Effect: Legendary Edition

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is a set of remastered versions of the first three installments of the cult action RPG series titled Mass Effect. The company Electronic Arts, which owns the rights to the brand, is behind its release. The package includes Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 along with all DLC released for them and extra weapon and armour packs. The multiplayer modes have been cut out.

Plot

The Mass Effect games are set in the 22nd century. The discovery of ancient technology developed by the extinct Protean race has enabled mankind to make its dream of interstellar flight come true and, as a result, to find its place in the Citadel, a giant space station serving as a centre of politics, trade and culture for the entire Milky Way.

The main character of the series is Commander Shepard. As the first human Spectre, the defender of peace, the hero (or heroine, because we can choose the sex of the character being led) has to crush the plans of Saren, who not only betrayed the Council sitting in the Citadel, but also brought a threat to the whole galaxy. However, it soon turns out that the Saren is only a pawn, and the real deadly danger to the races inhabiting the Milky Way is the Harvesters, an ancient race of machines that cyclically sterilise the galaxy from organic life. In the second part of the cycle, Shepard enters into an alliance with Cerberus to solve the mystery of the disappearance of entire human colonies on the outskirts of the Milky Way, and hits the trail of a race of Collectors trying to speed up the approaching invasion. We can observe the invasion in the third part of the series, where in order to win (or at least try), Shepard has to gain as many allies as possible. All this in order to join them in the final battle, in which the survival of the living beings inhabiting the Milky Way is at stake.

Gameplay

In the games included in the Mass Effect Legendary Edition set, the action is observed from a third-person perspective (TPP). The driving force behind these games are extensive tasks pushing the plot forward, accompanied by numerous side missions. Along the way, Commander Shepard is joined by other companions, with whom he can establish friendships and romance over time. Our command centre, on the other hand, is the Normandy, which is a spaceship that we use to travel by selecting targets on the galaxy map. In addition, it is a kind of mobile base, where we can freely move around during breaks from performing tasks. Although in the second and third part of the series we move only on foot, in ME1 we also get at our disposal a four-wheeled vehicle M35 Mako, cult among fans of the series due to the terrible control system - although in the remastered version this element was improved, fans of the old Mako can remain with the model they know.

An important element of ME is, of course, the combat. Battles take place in real time, and during them we have to not only shoot accurately (in the arsenal you'll find mainly firearms, including futuristic copies developed by alien races), but also use various combat skills (led by telekinesis-like biotic abilities) and give orders to subordinates (although Shepard's team is much larger, we can take only two companions on missions). By eliminating adversaries and completing tasks, we receive experience points and advance to the next levels, gradually developing the hero and his accompanying characters.

It is important to remember that many problems can be solved by talking rather than by force. Moreover, we often make choices here that affect not only the course of the story, but also the character of our hero and his relationship with the team.

Modificiation

All games in the package support 4K resolution at 60 FPS. Character models, animations, textures, shaders and more have been refreshed and improved. Interestingly, some mods were used as a starting point for ME remasters. Numerous gameplay elements were also improved - the developers' goal was to modernise the somewhat archaic formula of the first Mass Effect and unify the mechanics throughout the trilogy. Shooting and inventory management have been improved, the balance of experience points has been rebalanced, and the character creator has been upgraded. The

Mass Effect 3

Elements integrated into the multiplayer Mode have also been removed.

Last updated on 05 May 2021