Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 at Amazon.com

Rated Mature; Reviewed on PS3 and PC

Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of this series covered my impressions of the Mass Effect games as a whole.  This last section will focus on the controversial end game.

[Story spoilers will be sprinkled liberally throughout this discussion.]

As we’ve explored, the Mass Effect trilogy provided an engaging experience within a complex framework of racial and social tensions against an amazingly deep historical context.  Exceptional gameplay and characters kept players moving through the story and excited for each installment.  While there were flaws that marred the experience most were ironed out by the third game making them easily forgiven and forgotten.

Until the ending came along and punched you in the face, slapped your ass and left you naked and cold in the woods.

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Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 at Amazon.com

Rated Mature; Reviewed on PS3 and PC

Part 1 of this series discussed the promise of the game and Part 2 covered the how several of the key game mechanics evolved as the series progressed.  In this section I’ll cover the more subjective aspects of character growth, interaction and story evolution.

[Story spoilers will be sprinkled liberally throughout this discussion.]

Mass Effect promised a cohesive character building experience across an epic, multi-year story arc.  One in which you could build relationships, both friendships and enmities, and forge a galactic reputation.  While the trilogy definitely met many of these goals, in my opinion it often failed to meet them on the scales promised.

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Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 at Amazon.com

Rated Mature; Reviewed on PS3 and PC

Part 1 of this series discussed how I’ve spent my time with Mass Effect and the promise of the game.  While we’ll get into the story of the game later every gamer knows the gameplay has to be solid.  While some of us will suffer through terrible gameplay for a good story the reverse is much more often true.  If your gameplay is solid the story can be secondary (or non-existent).  Of course true classics offer both.

One recurring theme here will be that things tended to get simpler as the games were released.  The largest change was between Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 where literally dozens of mechanics were simply abandoned (rather than, as many of us had hoped, being improved).  The changes then made to Mass Effect 3 were more subtle but still in the direction of simplification.

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