So, I'm replaying Mass Effect. Why? Well, I had no plans to. I had a blast playing it the first time through, felt totally satisfied, and was greatly looking forward to the next installment. Over, done with, finished.
Now that Mass Effect 2 is almost here, the chatter around it is starting to grow. With the knowledge that events in the sequel change depending on the choices that were made in the first game, my inner complete-freak began doing its thing and I found myself helpless to resist the compulsion to play through the game again just to be completely sure that all of the quests that might be significant later were completed the way that I wanted them done.
I haven't touched the game since the craptastic Pinnacle Station DLC came out, so going back into the adventure proper has reminded me all over again of why I put it as my second favorite game of all time. It still looks great, it still plays great, and I can't get enough of the Sci-Fi themes. One of the best 360 games? Absolutely.
Even though Dragon Age: Origins is BioWare's latest and greatest (and a fine game despite having issues) ME pretty much blows it out of the water in every respect, as far as I'm concerned. It was also sort of jaw-dropping To see how much better Mass Effect looks despite coming out years before Dragon Age. Playing the two back to back, the difference in the amount of resources put into the games becomes instantly apparent. No offense to Dragon Age devotees (and really, I enjoyed quite a bit) but it feels totally ghetto compared to the sheen and polish Commander Shepard is sporting.
Things are progressing at a rapid clip since I basically already know what I'm doing and I started a new game with my old data, meaning that my character has top-notch armor and weapons, along with all of the skills she accumulated during the first playthrough. Slaughtering those Geth has never been easier. All's well and good, except for a little bit of info that my good friend @ParkerXL laid on me…
Apparently, Mass Effect 2's wild, new character named Subject Zero is based off of a person that you can encounter in the first ME, but only if you chose the Colony origin. My Commander Shepard was Earthborn, so I never saw that particular side-quest, or that person.
My gut is telling me that BioWare wouldn't completely lock away a character in the sequel based solely on a very minor decision made at the start of the first game so long ago, but then again, my complete-freak is a little horrified that it might be the case. On the other hand, it was possible to collect every party member in Dragon Age regardless of what the origin chosen was, so I'm hoping that holds true again here.
Really, really hoping.
thinking of same
I've been eyeing my Mass Effect box since picking up a new computer a few weeks ago. I want to have another go-through with a different background and class. Problem is, I still have to finish Dragon Age, and I'm picking away at a few other games as well.
And with Steam and D2D offering good deals on games every other day, it's hard to justify going back to a game I've already completed. However, with Mass Effect, I think it's worth it.