For many years, I have heard epic tales of the Mass Effect trilogy; an incredible expansive world, a colourful cast of characters and decision making that shapes both the custom character of Commander Shepard, and the galaxy around him.
Unfortunately, I have to admit that I played Andromeda first, because of the praise I had heard of the series, and Andromeda was the only one I could get on the PS4. Because of this, I may compare the positive and negative aspects of the two games at various points, in order to provide context on my already somewhat familiar perspective on the universe.
So, with little else to do in quarantine, I ordered the Mass Effect trilogy, and see one of the most critically acclaimed games for myself…
Mass Effect is a sci-fi RPG experience that follows Commander Shepard, a military figure in the human Alliance with a customised background and appearance, who, whilst on a mission, uncovers a conspiracy that threatens all life in the galaxy. Unfortunately, humanity is looked down upon by the alien Council and considered aggressive by the other sentient races, so Shepard has to overcome not only the physical threat of Saren and the geth, but a world of alien bureaucracy and corruption in a quest to save the universe, and put humanity in its rightful place among the rest of the galaxy.
As a narrative, it puts an emphasis not only on combat elements and cutscenes, but also on conversation with other characters, exploration of the well-crafted levels that act partially as areas to progress through, and hub worlds, with a variety of different side quests to engage in if you look closely enough.
The ability for the player to create long-lasting consequences with the choices they make is something else that had fascinated my prior to playing. I had experienced this with Andromeda, but only on a much smaller scale, but when it came to decisions that would carry over not only for the rest of this game, but into the next two as well, I was truly astounded.
Mass Effect is a breath of fresh air in the genre of science fiction, which has in recent years become fixated on nihilism, pessimism and darkness. That’s not to say that there aren’t bleak situations within the game, but they are used to enhance the plot, and make you ponder the implications of you actions should you be faced with difficult decisions that can and will cost the lives of those you interact with.
Now, onto the world of Mass Effect. The first thing that struck me as interesting was the tensions humanity had with the alien species: in Mass Effect Andromeda, there were no tensions at all, which made interacting with various factions feel devoid of conflict or accomplishment, and making the lack-lustre narrative a chore to get through. The original, however, had a fully fleshed out world of dynamics, tensions and hostilities between each faction, which is expanded upon with a whole mythology existing prior to your involvement.
When an alien joined the crew of the Normandy, it created a sense of intrigue, and made the character all the more distinctive. Learning about their culture, history and biology became genuinely entertaining, as it feels natural: the character specialises to a certain field or mind-set, you ask the character, they answer your questions. Some human characters were uncomfortable with an alien presence, and some aliens were dismayed by the actions of humanity, creating a mutual distrust for some sets of characters, whilst others put aside their differences to ensure a mutual goal, creating a rich and nuanced situation for you to explore.
One of my favourite characters was Tali, a member of a frowned upon migrant species known as the Quarians. As far as I am aware of, she was the only one in the game, and whilst I am aware of a further Quarian presence in the sequels, meeting just one was truly exciting, as she was the only source of information on the species and its culture. Her description made them out to as the underdogs in the galaxy, relying on ingenuity and cunning to survive, which really made you appreciate her as a multi-faceted character, being both a competent engineer and a naïve young woman, unfamiliar to the ways of the galaxy outside of her people.
I must admit that I prefer the level system and hub worlds such as The Citadel as opposed to full open world environments, as it allows you to explore without creating a near-empty open world with the occasional item to scan or side quest to follow, and keeps the narrative focused and tight.
Unfortunately, this meant that after a certain point in the game, I had initiated the late-game conditions, and wasn’t able complete any side missions I was occupied in, which admittedly shortened my experience in the game, and my investment on certain aspects of the story, whilst Andromeda did include a post-game continuation that allowed for more exploration. On the other hand, the conclusion of Mass Effect far more satisfying than that of Andromeda, finishing the arc of the game whilst leaving it open to much needed (and wanted) sequels.
Another downside to the game is the quite low graphical quality, which, although not atrocious, did leave quite a lot to be desired, particularly in terms of facial animations and clothing looking pixelated on most settings. Fortunately, there is some incredible character design that helps reduce the effects of the problem, as well as a huge increase in quality for the sequels.
Additionally, my computer suffered from severe lag when playing, which did hinder my enjoyment of exploration and combat encounters (although surprisingly enough, not the MAKO vehicle sections). That however, is not a fault of the game, but rather my own insufficient software. I actually consider it a credit to the game to keep me invested in spite of these flaws, as I wouldn’t have persisted on a game that I didn’t feel was of higher enough quality.
Another key feature of the game is the ability for the player to make decisions that not only influence the world and crew in the story, but also carry over into the next instalments in the franchise.
There were moments where I had two spend a minute or two to actually decide on which choice to make, as they put me in a position with no good outcome – somebody, be it Shepard, his crew or large factions as a whole would be based on what I did.
It was only then that I realised just how attached I was with the game and its characters, that I had to consider the implications of what I did, not only for the immediate consequences, but for the shape of my experience further down the line.
If I had to give the game a rank out of 10, I would say 8, as its world, player investment and pure creativity outweighs most negatives I could level at the game, although the aforementioned graphical problems and the sometimes repetitive nature of side-quest areas and enemy types did tear at my immersion a little. But on the whole, it is a great introduction to one of gaming’s most acclaimed series, and I would highly recommend it for any fan of science fiction or avid gamer.
8 OUT OF 10
SPOILER SECTION
As a standalone narrative, this game’s story is epic. Saren is a villain who perfectly represents the opposite of humanities goals; he actively distrusts humanity, aims to subjugate the galaxy, viewing submission preferable to extinction without regarding free will, and has allied with forces not only alien and hostile to humanity, but to all sentient life.
Every action you take in the main story is relevant to the primary goal of stopping Saren; Eden Prime: the discovery of Saren’s plot, the Citadel: submit evidence to expose Saren and gather allies for this mission, Noveria: discover the nature of indoctrination, and the power of Sovereign, Feros demonstrates Saren’s attempts to defy indoctrination, and allow you to piece together your visions from the beacon with the Cipher and track Saren to Virmire, Virmire: uncover Sovereign’s insidious nature as a reaper, confront Saren and lose a squad-member to put Sheperd at his lowest, Ilos: uncover the truth about the Protheans and the Citadel, before the final battle at the Citadel.
I may have gone on a bit, but the level of storytelling this game manages to achieve is remarkable; the only filler material is optional, and usually adds to the rich lore of the world, while the main narrative is a seemless blend of space opera and action adventure.
Something that I think this game actually did better than its sequels was giving the characters you interact with more agency, meaning you had to experiment when it came to deescalating tense situations like hostage negotiation or standoffs with rivals. A good example would be the traumatised woman you can prevent from commiting suicide at the landing bay, available if you choose the colonist origin for Shepard. Some responses would calm her, and others would make the situation worse, causing you to be cautious as to how you approach your next response.
I don’t think I can really fault the story, but the uncompromisingly bureaucratic Citadel Council is a little one-dimensional, and the choice to save them or not by the end of the story was predominantly motivated by how valuable you deem their lives to be to advance the cause of humanity as opposed to actually valuing their lives.
UP NEXT…
My Mass Effect 2 review will be posted tomorrow. Keep a look out for the notification.
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