Do PS3 Gamers Really Need Mass Effect 1 Before Mass Effect 2?

After the huge PlayStation 3 Mass Effect 2 announcement earlier today at the 2010 Gamescom, many questioned if Mass Effect 1 would be part of this deal. BioWare made it clear that Mass Effect 2 would be the only game to make its way to the PS3, while Mass Effect 1 would remain a Microsoft exclusive. Most all around gamers have more than likely played both ME1 & ME2 on the PC or Xbox 360. But, how about PS3 gamers that have only owned a PS3, can they enjoy and understand Mass Effect 2 without playing the first game?

[Noami]

They can always buy the first game on PC on Steam for 20$?
if they want to play it..there's always options.

[SeanRL]

My pc can't run it? Then what?

Edit: I can't afford a 360 right now and why would I bother if I could? It's only got a couple good game coming out. Also, I've got a laptop, I can't do much with this thing.

[N4GAddict]

Upgrade it of get a 360.

[Noami]

Work save money? either upgrade ur pc wich may cust abit ..around 300-500$ If it isnt so outdated or buy a cheep xbox360 archade wich is around 150?-200$ is ur choice but since ur name says psfan i doubt u will do that for a game..xbox thing so it leaves u to upgrade ur pc.. Its only if u realy want to play the first thats all since they say it wont be coming for ps3..

[Dragun619]

I'm sure bioware will give us a summary or details of what happens in the first one instead of just dropping us in the middle of the mass effect trilogy. Or that hours of bonus content could be a summary of events for mass effect 1. Hopefully bioware will reveal some time soon like this week at gamescom on how theyll introduce players that are new to the series in mass effect 2.

[Red_Orange_Juice]

:D

[GWAVE]

I already played and completed ME1 on 360 when it first came out.

And also, Bioware made it very clear that altough ME2 has connections to ME1, you can play ME2 without knowledge of the first game and still completely understand it.

[N4GAddict]

It would have been more convenient for EA to bundle them for PS3.

[Quagmire]

MS wouldnt allow it

everyone should blame Microsoft, as usual, thanks for fudging up the industry, ya queers

[SOAD]

Well, no, Quag. Microsoft will soon realize how much has slipped through their fingers.

They can just give it all up, which I somewhat hope, or they can cling onto what they have and try to rebuild. A lot of people might think that losing on exclusive is not a big deal, but this is Mass Effect 2. It's one of the greater games this gen, and for Microsoft to just let it go is a sign of weakness and surrender.

Or one might argue that it's just the opposite. Often I wonder what MS has up their sleeves. But as time goes on, we see nothing. Their sleeves might be very long.

[Playerz8]

Isn't the first Mass Effect owned by Microsoft? If that's the case, who cares, the second is a hundred times better than the 1st.

[Demonsdown]

Here is the problem with doing it that way. The whole point of these games being setup the way they are is that you build the universe through your decisions. Without an ME1 save your left with the default ME2 game.

There are ways around publishing contracts hopefully EA takes one of them or else I think this will be a mistake for them.

[animboo]

without playing the first part, didnt even miss much of the story from 11, its like its not a sequel at all.

[pain777pas]

I played the first ME on th 360 and PC. I prefer using a controler so for what its worth pick up ME1 any way you can get it. Better graphics, frame rate, less pop in textures on the PC make the decision alittle difficult though. The game was so good at the time that you looked past a million things that were just plain annoying from a polish standpoint. Whether M$ wants to admit it or not they just lost their best game. Yes I said it better than Halo, Gears and Fable. The only RPG I think can test this game is Oblivion. The game is better than Fallout as well. I don't know what M$ is going to do now they need a new game that is there own. Not a me too game, something out of the ordinary. M$ have done well, but I think some of the US hardcore market have been shaken by this news.

[Chris_TC]

It's not just got better graphics, little texture pop-in and faster loading times. The entire inventory system was reworked for very convenient use, as was the HUD, the squad control and the Mako control.

[KS1985]

I think that EA should Consider re-releasing the first game onto PS3.
(Before anyone screams at me, I own both a PS3 and 360[S]).

I have been playing ME1 for a while and I have been building up my stats and playing through all the side-missions, and I am hooked. I knew that each time you chat with the characters, your actions cause some different reactions, but I didn't know that it could work on your team mates. Thanks to my persuasion, Wrex is now a better man.

ME was a game about development, development of your team, development of different planets and development of yourself, and this can be used for ME2.

If I was any PS3 user, (That didn't owned a 360, or has a perfectly running PC.) I would try and persuade EA and Bioware to bring ME to PS3 under a alternative title. Something like ME: Genesis, ME: Redemption or even ME: Origins (After Dragon Age: Origins)

It worked for Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2

[hennessey86]

As someone whos played them both i dont think so and plus mass effect 2 is alot better than the first one. Enjoy ps3 owners

[ALFAxD_CENTAURO]

Date: 02/02/2010

http://n4g.com/news/468133/...

Lol, same happend to Bioshock.

Lol, read the comments, you guys will have a good Laugh.

The Most Accurate Comment was:

''You don't have to complain cause it IS coming.

ME1&2 and ALL their DLC on one Blu-ray disc for the Christmas season.''

-------

I'm sure Bioware will cover with something the 1st Part.

I mean, this topic we are talking about right now, was already discussed with Bioware and EA months before, and I bet they already have something to cover ME1 and maybe a surprise.

[LordMarius]

Hey that one was a reply to me when I called Mass Effect A........ Back in the Open Zone days

[RememberThe357]

I think a lot of PS3 gamers would love to get their hands on Mass Effect 1/2. I loved both games, they would definitely be worth the time and money. Two of the best RPGs this gen.

[52pickup]

I don't think it's absolutely essential. Not everybody played both.

Also,doesn't ME 2 on PS3 get additional hours of story not found on the other 2 versions? (I may be wrong here,it may be rumour). If it does,then either way all versions will be missing something,so if you are a completist then you would need at least the PS3 version and one of the other platforms for the whole experience.

[Letros]

Just youtube it or rent a 360 or play it at a friends house or buy it on Steam, the story is quite necessary to understand ME2 and I felt the story was much better in ME1, ME2 just had a really lame way of story progression, it really wasn't epic until the ending.

[rCrysis]

need? not really. but it would be really nice to have.

[kasasensei]

A 3 years old pc can run mass effect1.
ps3 gamers need to know what happened in mass effect1. i hope for them that EA will add a "previously on mass effect1" video before the game starts. But anyway it will cause some problems when ME2 reacts according to the choices you made in ME1... I do not know how EA will do, if they do not release the first one on ps3.

[Chris_TC]

It's not just about knowing what happened.
For one thing, Mass Effect 1 is an awesome experience (I like it more than the second game actually). But also, what happens in the storyline depends on how you play the game. That's half the fun of this franchise.

[tplarkin7]

What you don't know won't hurt. Also, ME2 has branching plot elements already built in that are designed for those that did not import an ME1 save.

[Nihilism]

lol, there will be 1 of these articles from now until after ME3 is released, yay.

You can either do yourselves a favour and buy the first on PC and play it. Or block your ears and say 'LA LA LA!' and convince yourselves you don't need it.

Just as you convinced yourselves that you didn't care about ME2 until it was announced for PS3...

The choice is yours. Now go my hateful locusts spread denial and hypocrisy into the world...

[Optical_Matrix]

You know there were a lot of PS3 owners, like myself who have genuinley cared about ME series. Not every PS3 owner is a fanboy like every PC gamer seems to be butthurt/a hater or an elitist. I won't be buying the first on PC. I'll just rent/buy the first game and play it on my brothers Xbox 360 before I leave for university. Problem sorted. Then I'm set for January 2011 aren't I

[Nihilism]

So what you are saying is that despite the fact that you have had access to a 360 on which you could have played mass effect 1 as long ago as 3 years....and ME2 6 months ago. You are only interested in it now that it's coming to PS3...Let me just post you a quote from a comment I wrote earlier, it applies to you:

"I also think that anyone who had a legitimate interest in the series would have played in on 360 or on PC already. So those that haven't played ME1 either don't have a 360....don't have a good PC....or don't care. I can't think of any other reason why they would skip it for years until the PS3 announcement. Unless they are the kind of fickle person who dismisses any game not on their system and then changes tact in some sort of schizophrenic victory dance... "

@All_4_One

I'm not telling anyone what to do, i'm just calling about the hypocrisy that si sure to surround ME1's absence, just as we say it with people claiming they didn't care about mass effect 2, now we have hats being thrown in the air in unison in celebration of it coming.

People can either be humble and say "I wish we had it" or they can be immature and say "who carezz!!!" the later is likely going to be the dominant opinion.

[All_4_One]

I`m trying to figure out why you care so much about what other people choose to play certain games on. For whatever reason, you sound bitter about Mass Effect 2 being on PS3. You`ve played the game, be happy about experiencing it instead of trying to tell others what to do.

[USEYOURFIST]

you are kinda right but not in the way that you are calling people fanboys,
i have a laptop that can run ME 1/2 but i dont like gaming on it i prefer playing on my tv but now im going to be able to play ME2 on my console of choice if there is no prequal sort of thing at the start i will probably pick it up for pc so i dont miss anything, this dosent make me a ps3 fanboy just dont like gaming on laptop,

[Optical_Matrix]

dchalfont....let me explain. I own a PS3, Wii, DS and PSP for this gen of gaming. My brother owns an Xbox 360. Having 4 systems already that I want loads of games for, buying games for a system that isn't actually mine isn't at the top of my priority list. I thought ME2 wasn't going to show up on PS3 and I can't afford a great PC rig so I thought, ah well, I'll either just suck it up and not buy the game or, when income allows it, I'll just pick up the game cheap and buy on my brothers 360. Well now it's coming to PS3 which is my main console which gives me more insentive to buy it. Plus I'm going to university in a month, wtf is the point of me buying ME and ME2 now when I have a fuck load of PS3 and DS games to play and I'll only have a 360 around for another month?

[DelbertGrady]

Not really, but it'd be a nice bonus. If you are willing to read a little you get lots of info in ME2 about what took place in ME1.

[Chris_TC]

So tell me, what took place? Which main characters died? What happened to the council? Which personal relationships is Shepard in? Does "Cerberus" ring any bell for Shepard or has he/she never heard of it prior to ME2?

Oh wait, you can't tell me that because it depends entirely on how you play Mass Effect 1.

[lucifon]

put simply - yes. Its not a necessity no, but the experience is significantly better following on from the second with all the decisions and meeting of past characters. If Ps3 gamers are getting into the series then thats something they shouldnt miss out on.

[darkphoenixgeeknihil]

I hope that ps3 owners will be able to decide on certain things in the begining of the game like saving the rachni queen because save game import is one of the greatest things in mass effect. I just hope that the story of mass effect3 wont be another one of those crapy find an ancient relic and use it to emprison/destroy an nearly imortal race or the scifi version(use an EMP or frequency to shut down an powerful mechanical race). I hated the ending of independence day because they sudenly were able to destroy deastroy all the spaceships only because there were no shields that was just plain stupid.
I hope the plot will involve teaming up with an advanced race and maybe they could add ship battles to the gameplay because i cant imagine fighting more than one or two reapers on foot because it would turn into an space shadow of the collosus(that would be actualy pretty cool).

[Orionsangel]

I had Mass Effect for 360. I was bored to tears with that game. I couldn't get into the characters. There was too much dialogue and the missions were boring. I just didn't care what was going on. I sold it before I finished it. I was done with the series.

Now jump to Mass Effect 2. I started playing it and couldn't put the controller down. I love it! The characters are amazing. The story is so engaging. The missions are fun! I love this game! One of my fav games of the year! A classic!

So I would say no, fuck the first game!

[Nihilism]

I find it hard going back to the first game. I gave up on my last playthrough because the exploration is tedious. But the story is better in ME1...the gameplay is just better in ME2...now if they can combine them for ME3...my god we will have one hell of a game.

[kraze07]

ME1> ME2

[Chris_TC]

Mass Effect 2 has way too many chance encounters. Whichever random planet you travel to, you end up meeting someone you know from the first game.
I do like meeting these old friends and acquaintances again, but the way these encounters happen is just too contrived and hard to believe.

[helrazor343]

I won't spoil anything, but I jumped in at 2, and got everything. There are a lot of codices, etc. that fill in previous events, the game actually does a pretty good job of giving you what you need to enjoy the game without feeling lost. I tried twice to get into the first ME (the second time I bought it again hoping to finish before ME2), and I just couldn't get into it (weird considering how much I liked ME2).

[Syaz1]

the lack of the first game does take away from the experience a bit. but microsoft forked out their cash for mass effect, so you cant really blame them for wanting to keep it to their platform. if they're kind, maybe they could allow ps3 owners to import save game from the pc version. ps3 gamers get their stuff, ms gets their money (sales from 1st mass effect, buying a windows 7 pc, etc).

[Syaz1]

oh, i forgot, me1 is where the bulk of the story is. me2's storyline is bare bones. in the end collectors are protheans.

oops, i spoiled the whole story for everyone. but seriously, the real enjoyment comes from playing the first game over and over.

[CBaoth]

YOU'RE SO COOL!!!

[HeroXIV]

I've heard a believable rumour that BioWare will call the first one "Mass Effect : Genesis", make some changes to it, and release that as well. But that IS just a rumour and they'd HAVE to announce it this year with a release date before/ON the same day as Mass Effect 2.

Either way I am not too fussed, I have a ATI HD4850 a quad core phenom II and 4 gigs of ram. Played the original Mass Effect to death. :)

[Roozium]

Mass Effect 1 will still be exclusive to the Xbox 360/PC because Microsoft published it.

[Jdoki]

Microsoft have published a couple of games that have ended up going to other platforms in one form or another, so not sure your argument holds water.

Ninja Gaiden 2 for example.

I'm pretty sure MS don't hold the IP to ME1

[Roozium]

Yes. You have to play Mass Effect 1 before 2, it's almost a requirement.

[fredfenster]

It's sad really only ME2 is being released, not ME1. ME1 was awesome, I got sucked into it, not many games can do that and keep it up til the credits show up. I'm a good 10-15 hrs into ME2, and actually it's meh. The shooting is good, but pretty linearry. The RPG element, which was great in the first part, only slows the game down without making it any more interesting. The main reason I keep playing it, is because I wanna follow the storyline for when ME3 hits the shelves. But people seem to think differently on ME2 though...

[Dogswithguns]

I would like to play both 1 and 2 in one blu-ray....

[T3MPL3TON]

Christ you guys know nothing. ME1 s exclusive to the XBox entirely, it will never be ported to the PS3. ME2 wasn't a "forever" exclusive there was never a deal penned to make it so.

I'm going to repeat this again. Mass Effect 1 will NEVER be ported to the PS3. There is a literal contract that makes it a ONLY ON XBOX game. Stop hurr durring it's not gonna happen. Microsoft has that shit under lock and key.

[PirateThom]

As a fan of the series, I can honestly say without ME1, you're going to get a good game but not a great experience.

Mass Effect works well BECAUSE it's a continuous story.

This is like jumping into the Empire Strikes Back. A fantastic movie in its own right, but you don't know the history set up in a New Hope and it's the same here. As nice as it is for some people, the more I think about it, the more I realise how pointless it is. Doesn't matter if they can set up the story through extra content, it's still not ME1. It's set up as a trilogy, as "Mass Effect" it needs to be viewed that way, not as Mass Effect 1, Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3.

[Nac]

Here, here!! Bubbles for you.

[ATLGAMER]

Not that complex of a story that couldnt be summed up.

[Hades1337]

I guess you could read up about it and watch some videos on youtube, but because it is so story-driven there will be numerous sub-plots that will not make sense (or you will just not pick up on). Plus I loved the idea of being able to carry your character and story over from Mass Effect 1.

[Nac]

Then yes. But honestly, it goes so much further than plot highlights or recap twists. Bioware has made Mass Effect an emotional affair. It goes beyond "making choices in ME1 that effect the outcome of ME2", you are supposed to develop a relationship with these characters. Sure, someone can "sum" up the details of events for you, but it would lack the experiences. Anyone can tell you a summary of A New Hope , but your not going to get the true weight of the iconic scene in Empire when Vader tells Luke he is his Father! Same goes for LOTR, knowing Gandalf returns in The Two Towers isn't the same as watching him die in The Fellowship of the Ring. You need to respect Mass Effect as a piece of interactive entertainment that tells a story, one which is delivered in three parts. From a technical aspect, yes, you can play Mass Effect 2 without playing the first one, but it really ends up hurting you in the end. If you are serious about this medium, and don't see the titles offered as just "games", but interactive entertainment able to rival the narrative power of books and movies, you owe it to yourself to enjoy the story in its entirety.

[AliTheBrit19]

Well I guess the question is

Do PS3 gamers really need the full Mass Effect experience on the PS3?

[Capt-FuzzyPants]

YES

[Cajun Chicken]

Some people are going to be felt left out. Bad idea on EAs part. But I can say ME2 is a great game anyway.