Anyone remember how different Mass Effect looked? Way back when before EA bought Bioware when Microsoft was set to publish the whole trilogy. The first game went through a lot of changes. I'd love to try out this version of the game. Here's a couplevideos to show what it use to look like.

Yeah, I've seen those videos. One of the reasons why I got ME 1. I still love that game and is my favorite of the trilogy. While it is very gimped and might not hold up now, there is still a tons of things about hte first game that makes it just more memorable than the second or third.

I remember watching that in 06 and it was blowing me away, it looked like the sci fi RPG that I always wanted, I love all three games, ME2 is in my top five of favorite games ever so I'm pleased with what we got, even though ME3 gets alot of undeserved shit

I didn't see them until after playing ME1 shortly after release ( I bought it blind, no clue why, gamer's gut!) and I'm quite amazed by the ideas in them.
More like, duh? Why didn't we have this sooner?

Ya they were going to make Mass Effect a more strategic game in line with their other rpg's. Ultimately, they took the series in an entirely different direction. And this video makes me remember how ME1 had way better music than ME2 and 3.

Great Times, remember see this video back in 2007. Mass Effect didn't really change.

Edit: Rough voice Ashely still sexy.

ME1 is still my favourite in the series. Better music, dialogue choices and more in-depth allies. Combat is fine if you don't think it's a shooter but the inventory menus are fucked, to say the least. Some bland environments and levels but looking back it feels far, far more like an exploratory science fiction RPG than any of the games that followed.

Watching those old video's makes me sad. :P

That series definitely strayed pretty far from the path after the marketing suits started to slime their way into it.

Part of me wonders how different things would have turned out if Microsoft kept the IP. What if Obsidian made the sequels?

I miss the citadel from ME1 so much. I hated how they changed it in ME2.

That looks way better than ME1.

@GS_Dan said:

I miss the citadel from ME1 so much. I hated how they changed it in ME2.

Agreed. The music also deteriorated as the series went on as well.

i loved the gameplay, but i can't help feeling the fully voiced thing marked the beginning of the end for me.

picture sitting down to a new tabletop roleplaying game:

me- this looks awesome.

gm- okay let's get started.

me- wait don't i have to roll a character first?

gm- no, you have to be this really annoying simpleton guy who just overstates the obvious constantly and acts like a faggot or a douche, depending on which way you want to go.

me- you're kidding.

gm- nope.

@Korwin said:

Watching those old video's makes me sad. :P

That series definitely strayed pretty far from the path after the marketing suits started to slime their way into it.

The blame falls fully on the developers. It was their choice to change the series not some faceless suits. Personally I still think that the first game is still the best in the series despite it's obvious flaws.

@Venatio said:

I remember watching that in 06 and it was blowing me away, it looked like the sci fi RPG that I always wanted, I love all three games, ME2 is in my top five of favorite games ever so I'm pleased with what we got, even though ME3 gets alot of undeserved shit

It truly doesn't deserve it and it's simply based on the everyone's opinions of the endings.

I played ME1 twice. I played ME2 six times (to try classes and to get best ending), 3 I played twice for cheevos. And to have an adept run, but I don't see myself going thru that whole game again. ME1 took more out of you. All that Mako stuff. I got to level 60 while driving the Mako down that final stretch before you crash thru that relay. You can practically speed run 3. I'm with the majority that 2 is the best. The classes were the most diversified and the characters/dialogue shine the most. I love my fragmented sentences. I've already decided to buy this Leviathan DLC. I don't care.

Back to normal non-fragmented thoughts relevant to this topic. It is a complete shame that this game was dumbed down over the course of the 3 games. I mean the menus and random gun attachments of 1 were a nice classic RPG setup, but 2 was just right. I think the fact that they didn't just duplicate the final stage of 2 in 3 is the biggest shame. I loved picking the different teams. WHY DIDNT THEY JUST COPY AND PASTE THAT MISSION. The tension. The last thing you do in ME2 is make a decision, which is amazing and perfect.

Sorry for rambling. It goes back to Ryan's point from the bombcast that the best part of the diamond is the fattest.

@Rebel_Scum said:

@GS_Dan said:

I miss the citadel from ME1 so much. I hated how they changed it in ME2.

Agreed. The music also deteriorated as the series went on as well.

Ehh I don't know , the soundtrack in ME1 did a great job in setting the mood for what the themes of that story were the unknown and discovery of what lies beyond, going to very clean perfect utopias (Citdael, Noveria,Virmire) more Star Trek and Babylon 5 , whereas ME2 was about intrigue, the wretched hive of the galatic civilatiton (Kolrus, Omega, Tuchanka) , going to dark dirty places more Aliens and Blade Runner . They did a great job recreating the Sci-fi themes they were borrowing inspiration from .

Mass Effect 3 was a war story about sacrifices and the last stand of civization but they re-used a lot of tracks from the previous games and it didin't feel distinct enough other than a few stand out tracks (Leaving Earth , A Cerberus Agent) part of that was probably the absence of Jack Wall and for some reason someone thought it was a good idea to remove the awesome track that played out while you where aboard the Normandy SR-1

Still I think ME2 held the same quality ME1 did but their themes were different so the soundtrack and the tone changed.

This doesn't get mentioned often, but it really bothered me how they took the Normandy airlock entrance out of ME2 and ME3. In ME1 you go into the airlock, the O2 cycles and you exit while the intercom says that XO Presley is taking over command while you are off ship. It was a great little detail. ME2 and ME3 you get a generic loading screen. Garbage.

ME1 was a great game, but i had more fun with ME2(despite the fact that the citadel is like 4 floors of shops selling useless stuff, and a lot of the minor things that made ME1 cool are missing and theres like 3 versions of every weapon and thats it......) and ME3 doesn't deserve half the shit it gets.

ME1 is my favorite of the series. While 2 did a lot to move the characters forward, the first game had this genuine feeling of a Roddenberry-era space opera--both with regards to story and aesthetics. Also, it has the best music out of all three by far.

Now, I have a question that's a bit off topic, but the video got me thinking. I've played through one and two on PC, but it wasn't ever 60 frames I don't think, and I just wanted to ask for that that had played them all on PC that could get 60 frames, how was it? I'd love to see the animations of a Salarian talking in 60 frames. Also, maybe I'm in the minority here, but I think it'd be awesome if when it comes to next gen (and also releasing it on PC as well), they re-release the entire trilogy and update them all so they play and look consistent throughout. You know what I mean?

I remember watching that video and thinking it looked pretty terrible.

Then when it was coming out Gametrailers gave it a pretty glowing review and I decided to try it out.

No game had sucked me into it's world quite like that before, and I think the music played a big part in it.

Mass Effect 2 diverted so much from ME1 that it might aswell have been a reboot, which saddened me greatly.

@HerbieBug said:

This doesn't get mentioned often, but it really bothered me how they took the Normandy airlock entrance out of ME2 and ME3. In ME1 you go into the airlock, the O2 cycles and you exit while the intercom says that XO Presley is taking over command while you are off ship. It was a great little detail. ME2 and ME3 you get a generic loading screen. Garbage.

The same reason why the elevator loading secuences were just genetic loading screens in ME2 instead of the cool elevator scene with some dialog from your crew but people complained about those so they took them out, then later people realized those little scenes where covering loading times and they were much more inmersive than just poping a load screen , another case fans not knowing what the hell they want.

Meh. That doesn't look THAT different than the version of Mass Effect 1 that eventually came out. There are just a few things they obviously didn't get time to implement.

I just finished ME3 for the first time last night, been playing it on and off since launch but I like to take my time with certain games, savour them, ya know? Anyway, I never saw the original ending but I was absolutely blown away by how they wrapped it all up, it was fucking epic as far as I'm concerned. Can't wait to see what they do with the universe next.

@GERALTITUDE said:

ME1 is still my favourite in the series. Better music, dialogue choices and more in-depth allies. Combat is fine if you don't think it's a shooter but the inventory menus are fucked, to say the least. Some bland environments and levels but looking back it feels far, far more like an exploratory science fiction RPG than any of the games that followed.

Definitely. The MAKO had some rough parts too, but the cutting of both that and the hidden load screens (which, while lengthy, were way more immersive than just looking at a random factoid forever) did a lot of damage to the overall atmosphere. The MAKO was such a great thematic element that added to the overall feeling of the game that I was really excited to see how they took that and made it better. I was bummed that it was cut. It's pretty clear that they never figured out exactly what to do with the galaxy map outside the "mani" planets which is really quite a shame.

Also, I just really liked the space opera feel/music of the first. I remember someone comparing the first to a 1970's scifi movie, the second to an 80's and the third to a 90's and for me, that description works super well.

@CrossTheAtlantic: Spot on dude, top to bottom. I recall the comparison of ME to a 70s science fiction movie, but I hadn't heard the rest of the analogy. It's pretty apt I think.

My solution for those empty exploratory planets was to have minor ally events take place on them. These events would tie up the ally's story but they would be generic, and could take place anywhere. i.e. Liara finds the body of an Asari scientist she used to know, Garrus runs into an old pal from C-sec, Wrex sees a ghost of his father in a chemical factory, etc, whatever. Just little random tid-bits to keep you interested and make you want to swap characters "to see what might happen". This would be more dynamic than just talking to Kaiden and him saying "Hey can we fly to these co-ordinates so something special can happen when we get there?"

I'll keep dreaming I guess...

@NTM: @NTM said:

Also, maybe I'm in the minority here, but I think it'd be awesome if when it comes to next gen (and also releasing it on PC as well), they re-release the entire trilogy and update them all so they play and look consistent throughout. You know what I mean?

Oh I know what you mean dude. I've been thinking that for a looooong time. Would be super, super sweet. I would love to just buy MASS EFFECT: MASSIVE EDITION one day, and have all 3 games in one, totally tied together. Maybe get some hand-drawn intermissions to make up the space between the games and voila. I wonder if this could be an uber-mod project one day.

@GERALTITUDE said:

@NTM: @NTM said:

Also, maybe I'm in the minority here, but I think it'd be awesome if when it comes to next gen (and also releasing it on PC as well), they re-release the entire trilogy and update them all so they play and look consistent throughout. You know what I mean?

Oh I know what you mean dude. I've been thinking that for a looooong time. Would be super, super sweet. I would love to just buy MASS EFFECT: MASSIVE EDITION one day, and have all 3 games in one, totally tied together. Maybe get some hand-drawn intermissions to make up the space between the games and voila. I wonder if this could be an uber-mod project one day.

They might also be able to fix the framerate on the first game, which was all over the place most of the time.

EDIT: On the Xbox, when I played it way back when. The PC framerate is fixed, from what I've heard.

@believer258 said:

@GERALTITUDE said:

@NTM: @NTM said:

Also, maybe I'm in the minority here, but I think it'd be awesome if when it comes to next gen (and also releasing it on PC as well), they re-release the entire trilogy and update them all so they play and look consistent throughout. You know what I mean?

Oh I know what you mean dude. I've been thinking that for a looooong time. Would be super, super sweet. I would love to just buy MASS EFFECT: MASSIVE EDITION one day, and have all 3 games in one, totally tied together. Maybe get some hand-drawn intermissions to make up the space between the games and voila. I wonder if this could be an uber-mod project one day.

They might also be able to fix the framerate on the first game, which was all over the place most of the time.

EDIT: On the Xbox, when I played it way back when. The PC framerate is fixed, from what I've heard.

Well that's just it, it'd have to be. And yes, the 360 version is choppy as heck, it's one of the major downfalls. Let's say, for an example, you take the gameplay of ME3, and that's expanded across all three games, that's what I'm talking about; with the greatest graphics Bioware by then can come up with. That was an example though. That's what I meant by it all being consistent, like you're playing one huge game kind of. Well, actually I was thinking it'd be separate and unlike what the above person said, because the whole citadel thing would be hard to do, I don't know, maybe that could work though.

Those videos came like two years before the game came out, I doubt EA had anything to do with how the game was changed especially because Bioware was bought by EA after the game came out. Anyway this is probably ,ore of a proof of concept demo than a part of the actual game.

@NTM said:

@believer258 said:

@GERALTITUDE said:

@NTM: @NTM said:

Also, maybe I'm in the minority here, but I think it'd be awesome if when it comes to next gen (and also releasing it on PC as well), they re-release the entire trilogy and update them all so they play and look consistent throughout. You know what I mean?

Oh I know what you mean dude. I've been thinking that for a looooong time. Would be super, super sweet. I would love to just buy MASS EFFECT: MASSIVE EDITION one day, and have all 3 games in one, totally tied together. Maybe get some hand-drawn intermissions to make up the space between the games and voila. I wonder if this could be an uber-mod project one day.

They might also be able to fix the framerate on the first game, which was all over the place most of the time.

EDIT: On the Xbox, when I played it way back when. The PC framerate is fixed, from what I've heard.

Well that's just it, it'd have to be. And yes, the 360 version is choppy as heck, it's one of the major downfalls. Let's say, for an example, you take the gameplay of ME3, and that's expanded across all three games, that's what I'm talking about; with the greatest graphics Bioware by then can come up with. That was an example though. That's what I meant by it all being consistent, like you're playing one huge game kind of. Well, actually I was thinking it'd be separate and unlike what the above person said, because the whole citadel thing would be hard to do, I don't know, maybe that could work though.

Oh, yes, that would be nice - but I'd actually rather see Mass Effect 1's RPG mechanics paired with Mass Effect 3's actual gameplay. I've always felt like the latter two streamlined things a bit too much.

@believer258 said:

@NTM said:

@believer258 said:

@GERALTITUDE said:

@NTM: @NTM said:

Also, maybe I'm in the minority here, but I think it'd be awesome if when it comes to next gen (and also releasing it on PC as well), they re-release the entire trilogy and update them all so they play and look consistent throughout. You know what I mean?

Oh I know what you mean dude. I've been thinking that for a looooong time. Would be super, super sweet. I would love to just buy MASS EFFECT: MASSIVE EDITION one day, and have all 3 games in one, totally tied together. Maybe get some hand-drawn intermissions to make up the space between the games and voila. I wonder if this could be an uber-mod project one day.

They might also be able to fix the framerate on the first game, which was all over the place most of the time.

EDIT: On the Xbox, when I played it way back when. The PC framerate is fixed, from what I've heard.

Well that's just it, it'd have to be. And yes, the 360 version is choppy as heck, it's one of the major downfalls. Let's say, for an example, you take the gameplay of ME3, and that's expanded across all three games, that's what I'm talking about; with the greatest graphics Bioware by then can come up with. That was an example though. That's what I meant by it all being consistent, like you're playing one huge game kind of. Well, actually I was thinking it'd be separate and unlike what the above person said, because the whole citadel thing would be hard to do, I don't know, maybe that could work though.

Oh, yes, that would be nice - but I'd actually rather see Mass Effect 1's RPG mechanics paired with Mass Effect 3's actual gameplay. I've always felt like the latter two streamlined things a bit too much.

That's fine, and I realize people have felt that way. I was thinking maybe Bioware could make a poll if they ever did decide to do this type of thing, and ask what the players would like.

@NTM: Yeah I'd like a fusion of the two myself.

Pair ME3's weapon and armour upgrades, movement and basic mechanics with the pen and paper elements of ME1 and you'd have my perfect ME experience. Strange that ME3 has a seemingly more robust ability upgrade system but then feels far more action-y than the first.

Ahhh how many times I watched these videos, anticipating this game. Remembering how I loved Knights of the Old Republic. And was happy with what we got in ME1. But then ME2... fuck, they turned it into a shooter and that was it for me. Didn't bother with ME3.

@Gunslinger0130 said:

I just finished ME3 for the first time last night, been playing it on and off since launch but I like to take my time with certain games, savour them, ya know? Anyway, I never saw the original ending but I was absolutely blown away by how they wrapped it all up, it was fucking epic as far as I'm concerned. Can't wait to see what they do with the universe next.

Thanks for commenting, because I've always been really curious to see how someone who had never seen the original endings would react. I wonder if the fact that so many people were soured by the originals coloured their perceptions of the newer versions (not that one anecdotal account means that much)?

@GERALTITUDE: Yeah man, it works so well that I can't help but wonder if the style of those decades inspired each sequel, intentional or not.

And damn, now I'm going to be dreaming that as well. It would've made the worlds seem more impactful, and as you explore territory, you would have been simultaneously setting up the exploration of the side-characters. it also would've gone a long way towards blurring the gameplay edges too which has always been an issue with Bioware's games (ie, bucking the "talk to everyone, do mission, talk to everyone, repeat" design model).

Man. Both thanks for that awesome idea and fuck you for making me want it ha.

ME1 is one of my favorite games of all time, warts and all.

Mass Effect 1 had an amazing atmosphere probably because of its music more than anything else. I also found it to have the best told story of the franchise.

Ahhh how many times I watched these videos, anticipating this game. Remembering how I loved Knights of the Old Republic. And was happy with what we got in ME1. But then ME2... fuck, they turned it into a shooter and that was it for me. Didn't bother with ME3.

Seeing how the games just got worse and worse make me really sad. ME1 fucking sold me. I had never been so immersed in a game before and haven't since. I absolutely loved every piece of it, despite it's many flaws. It fucking had it. The second game could've been so good, but instead all I got was some 3rd person shooter that didn't know exactly what it wanted to do. Really bums me out.

Now I gotta listen to M4 pt. II by Faunts to make me feel better.

@GERALTITUDE said:

ME1 is still my favourite in the series. Better music, dialogue choices and more in-depth allies. Combat is fine if you don't think it's a shooter but the inventory menus are fucked, to say the least. Some bland environments and levels but looking back it feels far, far more like an exploratory science fiction RPG than any of the games that followed.

Yes! Absolutely! The games that followed I felt did not have the same sense of wonder that the first Mass Effect possessed. Technically, the game was janky as all hell, but just about everything else, that game was great. The film grain effect, the design of buildings like the Citadel, the music, was all so good!

One thing I miss from those teaser trailers was the destructible environments. That would have really made biotics a lot more like what the cut scenes always suggest (that full on biotics are absolutely lethal). Between that and the hope of hacking being more useful than getting some loot or turning the odd Geth...ie biotics make new doors, engineers/infiltrators simply open side doors...all of them bypass that dug in enemy waiting for them...sorry soldiers.

Man, Ashley was originally voiced by E.G. Daily? I'm actually really glad they went in another direction with her voice, because it would have really taken me out of the game if I heard the voice of Tommy Pickles from Rugrats whenever Ashley opened her mouth.

I love it when a sound, or a screenshot can bring back all the feelings of a past experience. Its like you are back there for just a moment. That game gave me a such a amazing feeling of actually exploring space, and I loved the plot and atmosphere so much more than the other two games. ME2 was really good, and there were elements of that I would drag in to 1 but looking over the full arc it was the beggining of the end.

ME3 just felt utterly closed off and compartmentalised. It was like you weren't in space at all, just a big hotel going with differently decorated rooms.

Christ... you could chisel stone with Proto-Shepard's cheek bones...

And yes, I remember getting extremely excited over the first ME, so much so that I actually bought the novel to sate myself before the release, which I never do with games. I also remember trying to convey to some friends that; yes, it's a space commando RPG, why aren't you understanding this?

ME1 is still my favorite game of this generation. It's a shame of what they did to the series by turning it into almost a corridor shooter.

Also, Saren and Sovereign crush the Illusive Man & Collectors as far as main villains are concerned.

@Venatio said:

I remember watching that in 06 and it was blowing me away, it looked like the sci fi RPG that I always wanted, I love all three games, ME2 is in my top five of favorite games ever so I'm pleased with what we got, even though ME3 gets alot of undeserved shit

How was it undeserved?