mass effect question

I loved 1 and 2 but never played 3 because it got bad reviews when released - I think mainly for lame ending. I am thinking about playing 3 now given new mass effect is coming out - for sake of completeness. Good idea? Or should I just wait and play the new one. 3 might be looking somewhat dated by now.

If I do buy, do I need to buy the digital deluxe edition, or will standard be ok? Want to make sure I get the one with the better ending they added.

It doesn't matter which version you get as far as the ending is concerned. They updated all versions. Personally, I didn't think ME3 was really all that bad. It wasn't any worse than ME2 imo.

The improved endings are unavoidable - they were part of a patch to the game.

Personally, I thought the ending I got was fine and the game was plenty fun. All the talk about how you had to play online to do well sure didn't apply to me, either. The graphics are still good enough.

Originally Posted by bizorker
I loved 1 and 2 but never played 3 because it got bad reviews when released - I think mainly for lame ending. I am thinking about playing 3 now given new mass effect is coming out - for sake of completeness. Good idea? Or should I just wait and play the new one. 3 might be looking somewhat dated by now.

If I do buy, do I need to buy the digital deluxe edition, or will standard be ok? Want to make sure I get the one with the better ending they added.

Well it has no real ties, to Andromeda( which takes off during ME II), so it depends on what you're looking for.
In my book of hate, it is number 1, but it's above average game on it's own. In comparison to 1/2 , it has weakest sidequests and main story( except for two large missions), best DLC's, best gameplay( outside of ME II vanguard) and damn good multiplayer, characters better than 1 ( but less than 2), poor ambiance and no exploration and a really whimper last mission/ending. Plus plotholes and some annoying character turns galore.
When it comes to roleplaying it has better skill trees and weapon customization, but more autodialogue, sometimes on rails feel in comparison.
There is also a decent number of mods out there. I think one even overwrites the ending.

Thx all. Very helpful. I really liked 1/2, so I will give it a go. I need to read up on the new one coming out. I figured it would have taken up where 3 left off.

Originally Posted by bizorker
Thx all. Very helpful. I really liked 1/2, so I will give it a go. I need to read up on the new one coming out. I figured it would have taken up where 3 left off.

Nope. Unrelated. It takes place 600 years after the events of the ME series, as a set of giant colonization ships arrive in the Andromeda galaxy. They started their long journey around the events of ME2.

Sadly I cannot suggest playing ME2 nor ME3 without having all mission DLC.
ME1 without mission DLC is still good, ME2/ME3 just aren't. These DLC are unbelievably expensive so if you're not prepared to pay for them, skip the game, it's just not the same game. And it's the very reason I'm advocating standalone DLC that don't mess with the main game - ME2/ME3 screwed fans.

Not all mission DLC are good, there is one mission DLC that's horrible: ME2 Arrival. It's however closely tied to ME3 story in the wrong way, if you don't do it, the story will fill it in with another unit, but a huge plothole will remain (Shepard indoctrination).

Not all your questions will remain answered through the trilogy and because of DLC messups you'll spot light and heavy plotholes here and there. Some more answers you'll find in ME comics which you don't have to buy issue by issue, but there are two integrals:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mass-Effect…dp/1616551119/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mass-Effect…dp/1616556366/
Expensive? IMO these two comic volumes are worth every penny and a musthave for every fan.

The animated movie, Paragon Lost, I've written before, it's an utter crap, an insult and slap to a face of every fan. Do not buy even if your life depends on it.

ME4 story is not connected to ME trilogy - you can play ME4 without playing previous three games. Careful though. Ongoing PR is so pathetic I'm not even sure ME4 will be worth buying. Maybe the game will be great, maybe it'll suck, but so far I get the vibe of Titanfall 2 - MMO with a short singleplayer campaign. Maybe I'm just too pessimistic.
Just don't preorder. I'm #1 fan of the original trilogy and even I won't be preordering.

I thought the first game was excellent, the second was "ok", and the third I got a refund for. I've replayed both the first and second, and still have no desire in the slightest to ever revisit the third.

Originally Posted by joxer
Not all mission DLC are good, there is one mission DLC that's horrible: ME2 Arrival. It's however closely tied to ME3 story in the wrong way, if you don't do it, the story will fill it in with another unit, but a huge plothole will remain (Shepard indoctrination).

Not all your questions will remain answered through the trilogy and because of DLC messups you'll spot light and heavy plotholes here and there. Some more answers you'll find in ME comics which you don't have to buy issue by issue, but there are two integrals:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mass-Effect…dp/1616551119/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mass-Effect…dp/1616556366/
Expensive? IMO these two comic volumes are worth every penny and a musthave for every fan.

The animated movie, Paragon Lost, I've written before, it's an utter crap, an insult and slap to a face of every fan. Do not buy even if your life depends on it.

Ehhhh….these things any good?

Seems weirdest marketing campaign from BW so far. After backlash of ME III and this year heavy competition ( both Zelda and Horizon, plus plenty strong AAA titles), they're awfully being quiet here.

They weren't too shabby. A bit more info about certain things (the Illusive Man, how Shepard was recovered after dying etc).

Originally Posted by joxer
Sadly I cannot suggest playing ME2 nor ME3 without having all mission DLC.

This. You absolutely need Leviathan (story/background) and Citadel (crew) DLC. Without the game sadly is incomplete.

Originally Posted by BoboTheMighty
Ehhhh….these things any good?

Tho comic boks? IMO both are a pure gold.

I had fun playing Mass Effect 3. The game has a bunch of story problems but there are still some good parts like the Leviathan dlc and the Tuchanka arc. I recommend that you play on insanity for a good challenge. Although Omega's story isn't as good as Leviathan, I liked it a lot for the combat, the music, and the atmosphere in general. Aria is cool.

I'm very excited for Andromeda.

You normal? Aria is the deadliest of all deadly mistresses of doom that ever appeared in videogames! Omega is superb DLC and you learn some more about Aria from tie-in comics. She deserves her own game.

Aria won't appear in ME4. It's the biggest minus I can think of.

@ the deadliest of all deadly mistresses of doom

Anyways what do you mean am I normal? I <3 Aria and Omega.

Just saying she "coo!" doesn't give her justice! Almost like you said "meh".

I played Mass Effect 2 on PS3. As Mass Effect 1 wasn't available on that I never played it, and so a lot of Mass Effect 2's story didn't work for me (characters were giving me grief about decisions Shepard made in the previous game, and that really annoyed me). After that I didn't play Mass Effect 3 (I was also put off by the initial complaints about it having a rubbish ending).

Personally I think it would be great if they re-released the Mass Effect Trilogy for PS4. I'm sure that would sell well enough to be justifiable. Bioware would not need to port it themselves anyway- EA could get another developer to work on that.

I found ME 3 to be fun but the ending; even the improved ending; was just plain lame. While the normal short cut (such as POE) to rehash the impact of your decision (which is also pretty lame); to having a game actually include your decisions in the end (there are a few but i can't recall them - wasteland 2 does this to a limited extent) would be grand; in ME 3 they totally ignore your decisions - infact you have to play the online version to get the 'best' ending which is not even availalbe if you refuse to play multi-player. Now that is super lame. But if we ignore the lame last hour it is a pretty good game.

Originally Posted by bizorker
I loved 1 and 2 but never played 3 because it got bad reviews when released - I think mainly for lame ending. I am thinking about playing 3 now given new mass effect is coming out - for sake of completeness. Good idea? Or should I just wait and play the new one. 3 might be looking somewhat dated by now.

If I do buy, do I need to buy the digital deluxe edition, or will standard be ok? Want to make sure I get the one with the better ending they added.