And I don't write that lightly. This trilogy is huge. Each of the three games can easily take between 20 and 50 hours depending on how quickly you go through them. There are 'six' main classes of characters so you can potentially replay this entire series six times with completely differing play-styles. Also variable are the outcomes of some encounters depending on your decisions. These are most apparent in the first two games while the third game is more linear and hampered by the ending. The multiplayer in the third game has the best co-op 'horde' mode of this generation and I was genuinely surprised by the depth of the multiplayer mode. More on that later but know that it will also add anywhere between 50 and 1000 hours of playtime depending on how much you like it.
If you have been discouraged from this franchise so far because of the controversy about the ending, now is the time to get into it because of this pack. Yes, the ending is terribly flawed but apart from those last 10-15 minutes this series is absolutely stellar in every imaginable way.
1. It has an amazing cast of characters with incredible voice acting. Every character and i mean literally every character has been voiced very very well.
2.The world has astonishing depth to it. You visit a variety of planets and locations through the series and each location is well designed. There is an extensive 'codex' in the game that has information on almost everything you see in the game like technology, species, military structure, weaponry etc. Every planet you visit has a little tidbit of info about it, which while fictional, represents how much thought was put into these small things to make the series' universe seem more real.
3. It has a generous amount of humor. And heart. Most of the characters are well designed and their stories will move you and this is again helped by the voice acting.
4. The gameplay has a lot of variety because of the 6 different classes you can play as (Engineer, Soldier, Infiltrator, Sentinel, Vanguard and Adept with some very interesting and fun powers. The first two games are fairly restrictive in what weapons you can carry but by the third game you can choose all weapons from across 5 different classes of weapons (Snipers, Assault Rifles, SMGs, Shotguns, Pistols). The variety is further enhanced by the fact that you take two additional AI partners with you to missions and these AI partners also have their own special powers.
You can read my reviews about the 2nd and 3rd game on their respective pages but since I haven't been able to write about the first game, let me just write something about it here. The first game came out very early in this console generation and so the graphics and play style are a little dated. In fact it reminded me of the games I used to play in the 90s but with better graphics. What makes it worth playing through however, is the story, the humor, the relationships between you and your crew and the differing playstyles I mentioned earlier. The planet exploration in the first game is worth it for some of the sky vistas on certain planets but more or less worthless otherwise. However, the gameplay issues are revamped in 2 and 3. The gameplay in 3 is among the smoothest I have seen.
I would say that the 2nd game is my favorite of this generation. I've written in more detail about it in my review so please read that for an idea of what to expect.
The 3rd game is the first in the series to have multiplayer and if you are someone who hates playing against other people, be rest assured. This game's multiplayer is co-op based where you and three other players take on waves of 4 different enemy factions. It sounds formulaic and I didn't actually try it until 2 months after finishing the 3rd game. I was astonished at the depth of this mode. For starters, the multiplayer section has a series of free DLCs (Resurgence, Rebellion, Earth, Retaliation, Reckoning etc) that have added more characters, abilities, weapons and enemies to the game. This has resulted in around 60 characters that you can use in multiplayer with each character having their own set of powers. Many of the powers repeat but the combination of powers do not so each character plays quite differently. There must be over 60-70 different weapons if I recall correctly and it playing online becomes addictive. There are some problems with the multiplayer however. EA's servers are unreliable and expect to be disconnected from the game in the middle of matches sometimes. The method of obtaining characters and weapons is also frustrating because you do not know what character or weapon you will get next. The leveling system of these things also take time and are designed to encourage micro-transactions as I see it.
TL;DR ... This trilogy pack has something for everyone. Whether you're 18 or 60 years old, you will have fun if you can play a game.
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Reviews with images
Good product for price
Arrived on time and better than described. I would buy again from this seller. As for the game, I haven't played it much yet but its regarded as one of the top scifi rpg trilogys of the last decade.One year after my intial purchase and I have finally played all three games. Mass Effect 1 is a bit dated graphically and play wise but still a good game. The first six hours are a bit slow as you walk around a huge space station called the Citadel and have a lot of conversations. You also have to figure out how to navigate game menus and upgrade your weapons. Learning to maneuver in the ATV called the Mako, as well as use it in battle, was a bit of a chore but I really had the hang of it by the end. About half way through the game really takes off. You also have the option to romance your crew members, some of whom are aliens. It took me 33.5 hrs to finish including close to one hour to defeat Sovreign, the final boss. It was good enough to make me want to play the second game.Mass Effect 2 is wall to wall third person shooter action. It comes out fast and mostly stays fast. It improves every thing about the first game which was already good. Some of the decisions you made playing the first game will impact the second. In essence some characters may or may not be there based on how you played ME1. I spent 38 hours playing ME2Mass Effect 3 is I believe the best of the three. It combines the best parts of 1 and 2 and improves on both graphically. Even though the auto save feature works well on ME 3 It also uses the select button on the ps3 controller as a quick save button. A good option for a game series that requires multiple saves. You'll definitely understand what I mean after playing ME 1.Some reviewers complain about the ending to ME 3 but I liked the ending. I felt it fell in line with the over all story of the series. I spent 30.5 hours playing ME3.Basically ME 1 is a good game and 2 and 3 are very good. All three together form a great trilogy. The games posses high replay value and and I'll most likely replay them all at some point. I feel I would be remiss if I didn't mention the music. All three games have great atmospheric music. Some of the best I've ever heard in any game. In all honesty, if you haven't played these games then you have missed out.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2013
Platform For Display: PlayStation 3Verified Purchase
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