Mass Effect Legendary Edition

[Talvalin]

8 hours ago, Alask said:

Have you tried playing as a Vanguard in ME2 and 3? I prefer it in 2,  in 3 it's a bit too strong and Nova is very effective but a bit dull. ME2 as a vanguard zooming all over the map and unleashing a shotgun into people's face is the pinnacle of Mass Effect for me. No cover, only CHARGE.

 

Is Vanguard still effective when playing on Insane?

[Alask]

I don’t know, never tried. Insanity to me always felt like it made the game much less fun than the other difficulty levels.

 

Edit: appreciate fun is very subjective, but on Insanity don’t even your basic husks have armor? If you can’t drop a biotic power on husks and then explode them, then that’s not fun. ME combat is good because of the biotics and tech powers. Playing a difficulty level where they become hard to use, just seems like it’s taking away the joy of space magic?

[Talvalin]

Fair point. It's just the last achievement that I have to get on ME2 and I've left it there for years because Insanity on ME1 wasn't all that fun, and apparently ME2 is harder lol.

[df0]

Insanity is perfectly doable especially with all Spectre weapons unlocked from the start. There's some difficulty spikes - especially when there's a bunch of husks - but most is doable if you're careful. The invisibly cloak of the Infiltrator is a life saver, and with a sturdy Krogan going in head first the Infiltrator can chill in a back taking out fools one by one.

[Floshenbarnical]

On 09/06/2022 at 11:16, Alask said:

Have you tried playing as a Vanguard in ME2 and 3? I prefer it in 2,  in 3 it's a bit too strong and Nova is very effective but a bit dull. ME2 as a vanguard zooming all over the map and unleashing a shotgun into people's face is the pinnacle of Mass Effect for me. No cover, only CHARGE.

yeah I completed me2 with vanguard, on both veteran and insanity NG+

 

17 hours ago, Talvalin said:

 

Is Vanguard still effective when playing on Insane?

not really. biotics etc don’t work if shields are up, so you end up plinking from cover and then dashing forward so you have the shooting gallery experience mixed with the squishy Shepard getting ganked at close range by enemies at 1hp. When it works its fantastic but getting it to work is a pain
 

6 hours ago, df0 said:

Insanity is perfectly doable especially with all Spectre weapons unlocked from the start. There's some difficulty spikes - especially when there's a bunch of husks - but most is doable if you're careful. The invisibly cloak of the Infiltrator is a life saver, and with a sturdy Krogan going in head first the Infiltrator can chill in a back taking out fools one by one.

Infiltrator is a great class but does lend itself to the shooting gallery. I have mitigated this so far by simply never entering cover and instead strafe-peeking or dashing in close and using the SR like a pistol 

 

I started a ME1 NG+ last night to see if I was imagining it and no - the combat is much more basic and the AI is poor but I find myself enjoying the firefights a lot more even though they’re “worse”. I think BioWare played Gears of War during ME2’s development and were like yeah let’s add waist-high walls everywhere

[therearerules]

Just completed. Mass effect 3 I've completely reassessed, it's an absolutely amazing game, best of the trilogy, and even though the final ending still disappoints I couldn't imagine a more epic send off for the rest of the game.

[Orococco]

I'm mid way through ME3 and agree, it's much better than I remember. The opening and the Palavan mission are pretty shit, but there's much fun to be had after that, despite a lot of cheese and a bit of jank. Tech explosions just don't get old, I'll even put up with Vega because Carnage is so amusing. Never did the Citadel dlc either, looking forward to it!

[Floshenbarnical]

I’m balls-deep into my NG+ ME1 Insanity playthrough and good god it’s the best game in the series. My semi-auto assault rifle is a 2-hit kill for just about everything but you’re so squishy  you get killed quickly so you have to be really smart about using powers/ heals/ immunity etc. The cover mechanics are terrible so obviously I play like it’s Returnal and sprint into the thick of it, dancing and dodging and meleeing people, sidestepping rockets and charging Krogan. Genuinely amazing. It’s a shame they didn’t do more with it - it’s a nice reskin but the camera is way too close to Shepard’s shoulder now and all the replacement hairstyles are somehow worse than the original.

[instasis]

Intending to set out on this soon. Done ME1 and 2 but never beat 3. Played as a paragon soldier.

 

Going fem shep renegade this time, but not sure what class to play as. I like murdering things. What should I do?

[dreamylittledream]

12 minutes ago, Pelekophoros said:

Intending to set out on this soon. Done ME1 and 2 but never beat 3. Played as a paragon soldier.

 

Going fem shep renegade this time, but not sure what class to play as. I like murdering things. What should I do?

Vangard. In your face murdering all the time with added biotics.

[Thor]

Yeah, Vanguard is fun, charging in with biotic blasts. 

[Kevvy Metal]

On 18/06/2022 at 00:38, therearerules said:

Just completed. Mass effect 3 I've completely reassessed, it's an absolutely amazing game, best of the trilogy, and even though the final ending still disappoints I couldn't imagine a more epic send off for the rest of the game.

 

On 18/06/2022 at 01:10, Orococco said:

I'm mid way through ME3 and agree, it's much better than I remember. The opening and the Palavan mission are pretty shit, but there's much fun to be had after that, despite a lot of cheese and a bit of jank. Tech explosions just don't get old, I'll even put up with Vega because Carnage is so amusing. Never did the Citadel dlc either, looking forward to it!

 

Mass Effect 3 is totally the best one, including the ending which is very Matrix Revolutions influenced, which I dig the silly sci-finess of but YMMV. 

[Thor]

Also the Citadel DLC is arguably the "true" ending. It's a genuinely fitting send-off for Shepard and crew right before the grimness of the final run (which thanks to the extended cut I was always happier with as an ending anyway). 

[Vorgot]

On 18/06/2022 at 01:10, Orococco said:

I'm mid way through ME3 and agree, it's much better than I remember. The opening and the Palavan mission are pretty shit, but there's much fun to be had after that, despite a lot of cheese and a bit of jank. Tech explosions just don't get old, I'll even put up with Vega because Carnage is so amusing. Never did the Citadel dlc either, looking forward to it!

 

Its a weird thing with 3. If you played it on release, I can imagine feeling let down. I played it a couple of years after though, and with the extended ending and all the DLC, it hangs together so much better. The Leviathan DLC for one explains a lot that makes a lot more sense of the ending. Loved ME3 and looking forward to hetting back to it

[Vulgar Monkey]

Anyone bother with any mods on this or is it not worth the effort?

[Floshenbarnical]

14 hours ago, Vulgar Monkey said:

Anyone bother with any mods on this or is it not worth the effort?

I have seen “infinite sprint” and “skip hacking mini games” recommended, as sprint is way too short and the mini games add nothing

 

Photo Mode in this is extremely meh but I did make a Shepard that looks passable and not like a startled mannequin

 

 

 

 

[Vulgar Monkey]

Picked this up in the sale.

 

Only had time for a quick look but ME1 does seem a hell of a lot sharper compared to what I remember it being like on the xb360. Once you sort out the HDR anyway.

 

My god though the combat is still fairly clunky - hard to say how much they tuned that up without a direct comparison, but it might also be fair for me to see how the later games compare to the redone ME1, as maybe they themselves weren't quick as much better as I remember, compared to modern games anyway.

 

A part of me wants to go right into ME3 as that was the one I never played.

[Oz]

On 24/06/2022 at 13:44, Floshenbarnical said:

I have seen “infinite sprint” and “skip hacking mini games” recommended, as sprint is way too short and the mini games add nothing

 

Photo Mode in this is extremely meh but I did make a Shepard that looks passable and not like a startled mannequin

 

 

 

 

blonde femshep for the win. I think her character model honestly just got worse and worse as everything else was improving. her body is great on this one and then I am not sure what is going on after that really. 

 

[Oz]

2 hours ago, Vulgar Monkey said:

Picked this up in the sale.

 

Only had time for a quick look but ME1 does seem a hell of a lot sharper compared to what I remember it being like on the xb360. Once you sort out the HDR anyway.

 

My god though the combat is still fairly clunky - hard to say how much they tuned that up without a direct comparison, but it might also be fair for me to see how the later games compare to the redone ME1, as maybe they themselves weren't quick as much better as I remember, compared to modern games anyway.

 

A part of me wants to go right into ME3 as that was the one I never played.

I don't think the combat gets as "much better" as people think it does. it is never a great shooter. 

[Oz]

I bought this when it came out but did not play it until the last 3 weeks. it really boggles the mind what an achievement this franchise was when you think about it. it is the pinnacle of an era of games. nothing else has been this good since. setting, lore, art, dialogue, voice acting, story, music, continuity between games. you easily imported your save for fucks sake! those were my best years of gaming ever for sure. I am playing this and I have finally forgotten some of it. but every now and then I remember exactly every detail of a particular location, because I played it a million times.  

[SuperCapes]

@Oz it really is S tier.

 

[Vulgar Monkey]

One of the things that stood out so far that I dont remember being as acutely aware of before* is the music. 

*except the M2 galaxy map music being seared into my brain.

 

Also, I remember loving the mako at the time, as did many, but now it handles like a floaty piece of shit. Maybe it always did.

I did always suspect that they replaced it in M2/3 with the literally floaty Hammerhead just to avoid having to do a better job with the handling physics.

[Oz]

when mass effect three came out I had just moved to the flat we live in now. I did not have any kids. most our stuff was still in boxes. I set up shop in the loft conversion. surrounded by boxes with a TV and a sound system. no chairs. surround sound speakers on top of boxes. the subwoofer has some stuff on top of it. whenever I jumped into a mass relay all boxes would shake. I played that game end to end in a few sittings up there on my own. game blasting at full volume. never ending story style. I resurfaced a few days later- mind blown - to find out the internet was ablaze because the ending was shite (apparently).  

[SeanR]

You only get the shit ending if you play really well.

 

#CruelIrony

[Oz]

I just remembered that the first time I played ME one I got it for a two day rental from blockbuster video. thinking I hate these games with all the talking but I have been playing too much Halo. I think the game had been out for a year or so. holy shit did this game change my mind. 

 

anyway, do you remember where you were when you first played mass effect? what's the best story? 

[SuperCapes]

21 minutes ago, Oz said:

I just remembered that the first time I played ME one I got it for a two day rental from blockbuster video. thinking I hate these games with all the talking but I have been playing too much Halo. I think the game had been out for a year or so. holy shit did this game change my mind. 

 

anyway, do you remember where you were when you first played mass effect? what's the best story? 

 

I was in sixth form, went to Gamestation to buy it, and Guitar Hero 3. Smashed GH3 and then really enjoyed ME1 bar the clunkiness, even back in the day.

 

Fast forward to Jan 2010, was at University studying Animation and hating every minute. Was playing a tonne of poker, and it was the night before ME2s release. We were at the casino having bust the tourney, but decided to spin £10 on craps (me and two buddies) and we spun it to £150, went to Asda at midnight and bought it! Played it all the way into the next day.

 

Fast forward to March 2012! Now in the games industry after having dropped out of uni somehow, and the hype in the office was off the map. Most of us loved it though, and enjoyed it for what it was!

 

Andromeda came out just before our wedding. The wedding was mint. The game... Yikes. 

 

2021. Still trying to get early access to games in my 30s, especially ME Trilogy. For all my depression, anxiety and everything in between, at least the hobby still remains strong! 

 

Edit: And I put 100 hours into the trilogy in two weeks. Bought an LG CX just before starting ME2, knowing it has incredible art direction and the contrast at play is top tier. Was fucking awesome. 

[Kevvy Metal]

22 hours ago, Oz said:

when mass effect three came out I had just moved to the flat we live in now. I did not have any kids. most our stuff was still in boxes. I set up shop in the loft conversion. surrounded by boxes with a TV and a sound system. no chairs. surround sound speakers on top of boxes. the subwoofer has some stuff on top of it. whenever I jumped into a mass relay all boxes would shake. I played that game end to end in a few sittings up there on my own. game blasting at full volume. never ending story style. I resurfaced a few days later- mind blown - to find out the internet was ablaze because the ending was shite (apparently).  

 

I was exactly the same! I took a week's holiday to play the thing on release  ...and basically did nothing but play all the way through the game, absolutely loved it and thought the whole thing was a step up from the pior games. Went online and was literally dumbfounded but the internet reaction and the venomous vitriol thrown at the ending. 

In hindsight, it was probably the first time experiencing that internet backlash of wrongness that now occurs for literally anything of nerdy interest. Films, TV, games... the latest Star Wars, the latest Star Trek... anything you can now bet there's a set of people shitting away over everything  ...and it's all so tire-some. 

[Oz]

5 hours ago, Kevvy Metal said:

 

I was exactly the same! I took a week's holiday to play the thing on release  ...and basically did nothing but play all the way through the game, absolutely loved it and thought the whole thing was a step up from the pior games. Went online and was literally dumbfounded but the internet reaction and the venomous vitriol thrown at the ending. 

In hindsight, it was probably the first time experiencing that internet backlash of wrongness that now occurs for literally anything of nerdy interest. Films, TV, games... the latest Star Wars, the latest Star Trek... anything you can now bet there's a set of people shitting away over everything  ...and it's all so tire-some. 

I mean for me, once I hear the complains, I can sort of see it? I end up thinking 'well maybe the last jedi was shit' but as I am watching ‘the thing’ I am just having a good time. when I landed on mars for ME3 I developed a permanent smile that lasted the entirety of my time with the game. I had seen every possible outcome of the suicide mission, but when I played ME3 I only did it once. and then that was final. whoever died was dead. mordin is dead and so is Tali. my one complaint about ME3 at the time was how little Miranda it has. I think they finally fixed the issue of which weapons you could have with you creating the weight thing. you could spec the character to only have a pistol and have super-fast abilities as a result. That was genius.  

[Kevvy Metal]

2 minutes ago, Oz said:

I mean for me, once I hear the complains, I can sort of see it? I end up thinking 'well maybe the last jedi was shit' but as I am watching ‘the thing’ I am just having a good time. when I landed on mars for ME3 I developed a permanent smile that lasted the entirety of my time with the game. I had seen every possible outcome of the suicide mission, but when I played ME3 I only did it once. and then that was final. whoever died was dead. mordin is dead and so is Tali. my one complaint about ME3 at the time was how little Miranda it has. I think they finally fix the issue of which weapons you could have with you creating the weight thing. you could spec the character to only have a pistol and have super-fast abilities as a result. That was genius.  

 

People can be persuasive with their terrible opinions. Even people who come across as very intelligent and can present themselves and argument in a very smart way can still have absolutely awful taste, miss the point of things entirely and be completely "wrong"  

That's basically debate and arguments in human society in a nut shell really. 

[Thor]

I'll admit to having initial mixed feelings on the ending, coming away not too disappointed, but disappointed nonetheless ... only to then have my opinion coloured by the frothing masses, and I ate it up like an incel reading a feminine agenda conspiracy theory. What a twat. However, the extended cut was a definite improvement, and the citadel DLC, which for me is the true ending (from a certain point of view) is just fucking fantastic.