Mass Effect Legendary Editionis an incredible remaster. The changes toMass EffectandMass Effect 2,in particular, retain all of the elements that made the originals revolutionary whileimproving visuals and character models. Thestory, character development, and choiceare the reasons whyMass Effectwas so captivating as a series. The remastered versions could even pass as last-gen standalone releases.
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The initialMass Effecttitle launched just one year after the Xbox 360 hit stores 16 years ago. Despite the overwhelmingly positive reception of the remaster, there are a few things that would make the game even closer to perfection. Those six minor disappointments, which apply primarily to the first game, are covered below.
6Mass Effect Mako
Visually, the landscape and background of each planet look far more polished than they did in the original. However, the same annoying animations and frustrating terrain exist in the Legendary Edition. Adding boosters and tweaking the Mako slightly are decent improvements, but BioWare could have done a little more to make exploring these planets both look and feel better.
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This is obviously a very small aspect of the gameplay and does not detract much from the overall experience. AsMass Effect 2and 3 improved the vehicle mechanics slightly, this is mainly only an issue in the firstMass Effect. With all of the great graphical improvements and aesthetic changes, it is hard to dwell on the slight annoyances while driving the Mako.
5The Infamous Cover System
In general, the cover system feels better than the originalMass Effecttitle, but it is still not as reliable as the second and third entries. Sometimes enemies will get in a shot or two while behind cover, and it seems like a better idea to hide behind the wall instead of going into the cover animation. Because the game implements a “soft cover” system, people will not be able to just press a button and move to a cover position. Players need to ADS next to cover for the character to initiate the animation, unlike the second and thirdMass Effectgames.
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This is a core aspect of gameplay, so it would be difficult to completely fix the original game’s underlying issues. Looking at the development timeframe and how the overall game turned out, BioWare did better than expected. The cover mechanics could be improved, but they are certainly a welcome change from the originalMass Effect.
4Character Model Issues
There have been a handful of issues with the character models, particularly when using and exiting elevators. Some of the problems involve Shepard being stuck in place, unable to move at all. At times Shepard will only be able to move backward and not forward. A few of these bugs will appear for a portion of players that get through all three games.
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Out of20 plus hours of gameplay,a few bugsare not the end of the world. BioWare has already stated that it will provide ongoing development and it has already begun toaddress several of the launch day issues. Crashes andvarious other bugswill occur, but essentially no triple-A developer has released a game without a bug or two.
3Character Animations
Nearly all of the visual improvements the remaster made to the original game in the series were positive. The characters look better, but there is a noticeable difference betweenMass Effect 1and2.
Facial expressions can look dead and unrealistic, and the same goes for animations during a conversation. Many of the non-recurring characters have wide, glassy eyes that are oddly frightening. If BioWare could touch up these small details, there would be an added element of realism in an already fantastic game.
2Audio Problems
There are audio glitches and issues in each game in the trilogy. The most common glitch is a recurring sound inMass Effect 1. It will sound like crackling, and many people will check their headsets in confusion.
Unfortunately, these audio problems can pop up several times in a playthrough. Hopefully, BioWare plans to address the issue in the near future. For now, restarting the game after a checkpoint will usually correct the problem.
1Unintuitive Menus And Interfaces
One of the main letdowns in terms ofquality of life enhancementsare the menus inMass Effect 1. They include the same list scrolling interface as the original game, which is tedious at times. The journal still does not appear while using the galaxy map as well. These are simple changes that can have aconsiderable impact on the experiencewhile playing through the trilogy.
Perhaps the developers wanted to retain the same feel of the original game, but BioWare missed an opportunity to make menus seamless and more efficient. This is more of an issue on consoles, as PC players have the luxury of being able to point and click their way through the menus.
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