As Mass Effect Legendary Edition has been announced as the current PlayStation Plus games for December, get festive with the Normandy Crew for Christmas. Now is the time (if you have not before) to try out all 4 games of the Mass Effect franchise for yourself. If you are someone who loves RPG games and Sci-Fi, this one is for you. Wondering which one to play first? Which Mass Effect is the best game? Then look no further than here with my opinion on the best. Neither scientific, nor factual, but as someone who has consumed all Mass Effect games. These are all Mass Effect games ranked.
4. Mass Effect 3
Following on from the brilliance that is Mass Effect 2, what became the trilogy that fans of the game remember well. The first two games set the third installment up to be a strong contender in being the best in the trilogy. That is until it actually came out. Mass Effect 3 lost the spark that make Mass Effect 2, its characters. You played the game, building a bond with the chosen characters on your team. You could complete their side missions to max out their loyalty with Shepard. This way is a key aspect in the game to get the good ending in Mass Effect 2. The characters become one of the, if not the most important part of the Mass Effect trilogy.
Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW
Upon its release, Mass Effect 3 gave players a total of 3 different endings. Each ending concludes that the majority of the Normandy crew dies. The real outcome of the ending depends on the EMS rating of Shepard that you would have built throughout the entirety of the playthrough. The variation of the ending changes depending on this rating. Regardless, in all endings, including that of the best ending you can get, results in your crew dying. This choice is the equivalent of the LOST TV show. Why commit that much time and effort into a form of media to just be disappointed in the end? It felt like a kick in the teeth for a video game.
Why Did They Do It?
BioWare thought it was a fantastic idea to take the characters who you grew found of in Mass Effect 2, place them in the sequel and then kill them off at the last hurdle. Seriously, how dare they? The ending of a piece of art, regardless of the media determines the majority of a persons opinion on the art. Take Game of Thrones as the prime example of this (the show not the book). What is worse is that for the die hard fans of the franchise, this would be a trilogy to remember. A final game to ruin what was a fantastic franchise. For it would be another 5 years until we received the fourth installment of Mass Effect.
3. Mass Effect Andromeda
Mass Effect 4 was a tough pill to swallow, its release being something that one could either highly anticipate or gnaw at their nails for the possible trainwreck as the next major entry to the Mass Effect franchise. To follow on from Mass Effect 3 is no easy task, the endings were terrible and what would become of the canon ending when going into Andromeda? Not even lying to you right now, I had not given this installment a thought when it was announced. Due to the disappointment that was Mass Effect 3. I did not have my hopes high for this installment.
The Changes
This time around there is no Commander Shepard, this makes perfect sense to follow on from the Destroy ending of Mass Effect 3. The shift towards a new protagonist is refreshing and marks the end of Shepard’s chapter with the franchise. To be completely honest, with the core concept being a Sci-Fi story of our protagonists defending humanity, you really can keep making game after game with this idea. There is no real end point with this game so long as you have the creativity and narrative to keep going with the action and motivations of the antagonists.
The Reality of Andromeda
However, this game still does not come anyway close to the first two installments in the Mass Effect franchise. Realistically I could go on and on about the beginning of the franchise rather than its end but this list has to be made. The side quests did not hit as hard as Mass Effects 2, acting as an afterthought to bump up the game length. Andromeda felt more action packed than its predecessors, however, as someone with a love for a good narrative and strong dialogue, this fell flat for me. Narrative wise, Andromeda brought nothing new to the franchise. Which is surprising when you make the massive change to move away from Commander Shepard and the Normandy.
As I will speak about later on in the list, the core of this Sci-Fi story is the characters. In Andromeda, these are not fleshed out or relatively interesting in the slightest. There is no bond to be made, no alignment that makes us want to pick them up during battle. It lacks what made Mass Effect stand out to begin with; characters you want to fight for.
2. Mass Effect
I honestly believe that we need a proper remake of Mass Effect. The first of the franchise is the good foundation that BioWare built to then add to, resulting in the brilliance of Mass Effect 2. This game was needed in order to get to the polished, generally well-made Sci-Fi adventure that is its sequel. But Mass Effect is just an all-round, very good game. Being the first of a franchise, it could have easily been a one-off stand out Sci-Fi ARPG game.
The Beginning of Something Great
The introduction of the dialogue options (if you have not played Mass Effect 2 and want to play in order) are what make this game stand out. Not only do we have great action with the classic third-person mechanics, similar to Gears of War at the time of its release. But the inclusion of the dialogue options truly makes Mass Effect the game that we are know and respect. Whilst a lot of choices may result in a similar outcome, there are important decisions to be made amongst the many dialogue choices that can determine the morality of Commander Shepard. Our protagonist is truly shaped by our decisions. The entry stands out for its first game choice to play as either female or male Shepard.
A Real Sci-Fi Adventure
What Mass Effect includes that its sequel does not is the actual feel for an vast-open world filled with exploration. With the Mako rover that you can use as you explore the terrains of different alien worlds. Where the game lacks is in its general performance and gameplay flaws such as repetitive level designs and stiff controls. Because of this, the first Mass Effect cannot come close to its polished sequel. For this is where BioWare truly shines. Mass Effect gave them the formula for success, they just needed to compliment the great narrative and characters with good gameplay mechanics and level design. BioWare achieved all this with our number 1 spot.
1. Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 2 has a very special place in my heart. As someone who has very few memories of my childhood, I distinctly remember as a child visiting a WHSmith and seeing the game promo image on the front cover of a magazine and was mesmerised by it. At this point I was 11 years old. My mum bought this for me as a surprise gift. At that point I did not own an Xbox to play the game on but the magazine was enough for me. Shockingly, Mass Effect 2 is one of the only ARPGs that I loved playing. I think because I played it so long ago it stayed with me for nostalgic reasons. At the time of playing the game when it released in 2011 on PS3, a year after its release on Xbox, I knew I had to play it.
The Dialogue and Narrative
This game quickly took over my life. As someone who was not used to a longer form of a game, being that of a RPG, filled with side quests and the mainline missions. I became fond of the game mechanics where you as a player must make choices which can determine the outcome of the game. Being introduced to this mechanic in Mass Effect 2 sparked my adoration for games such as: Heavy Rain, Telltale Games: The Walking Dead and even Life is Strange.
Mass Effect 2 was the perfect sequel to its predecessor and the fact that I played this before the first solidified its greatness. This game could have easily been a standalone product. The intense prologue to the continual introduction of the diverse and unique characters that would join you on your mission to defeat the Reapers. The story was captivating for my teenage mind and having the option to play good or bad throughout each decision was highly entertaining. The game was challenging when it needed to be, and never felt repetitive. Everything felt purposeful and well thought out.
Lack of Representation
The only issue I have with this game is BioWare’s cowardness when it came to making the character Jack pansexual. Whilst this is not a big deal, for many players, the option to romance in this game was somewhat an important step, especially in the direction of romance in video games. At this point in time there really were not many LGBTQIA+ character representations. There were not many POC representations either without going down the route of stereotypes (i.e., drugs, gangsters and hip hop). The problem with this is that whilst the writers tried to be diverse. At the last hurdle, they backed out of the promise.
Jack ended up being one of the coolest characters in the whole game. Second best to Garrus, but was ruined by only being an option to romance as male Shepard. To add onto my diversity point, they chose to make all queer characters aliens and the black man, Jacob, the most boring character in the whole game. Whilst this game is obviously going to include aliens within the heart of Shepard’s team, to make every human aside from Miranda, two-dimensional made for a lacklustre finish in the diversity department.
A Well Oiled Machine
However, looking at the game from a mechanical, narrative point of view, I genuinely find no faults with Mass Effect 2. This is a game that should still be played to this day, whether you are revisiting after many years or playing for the first time. I believe that the Legendary Edition exists due to the greatness that was experienced in Mass Effect 2’s initial release. Whether you are a fan of Sci-Fi, romance, action, choices, cool character designs, great dialogue or fun action. There is something in Mass Effect 2 for everyone.
Related: How To Change Squad Members In Mass Effect Legendary Edition.
