Should PS3 Owners Play Mass Effect 1?

PlayStation 3 owners are finally getting the chance to experience the second installment in BioWare's epic sci-fi series, but outside of tracking down an Xbox 360 or a PC, there's no way for them to fully experience the first game from beginning to end. Reviewer Kat Bailey weighs in on the pros and cons of the PS3 edition's interactive Mass Effect: Genesis backstory comic, and if its worth taking the time to revisit the Normandy's first flight.

[NYC_Gamer]

yes,if the person has that option.

[Chug]

Exactly. But ME2 is still a great game whether you played the first one or not.

[FrankMcSpank]

Sure, play it. Mass Effect is a brilliant game. Then just make the same choices in the Comic so you will have the same character progression. Or change it up a bit. The comic doesn't replace it, it is just a great way of loop-holing publishing rights issues.

[nycredude]

I am 22 hours into Mass Effect 2 and while i love it I am starting to feel like Mass Effect 1 was a better game.

Edit: I meant to say story wise. Obviously it had it's technical issues but imo the story was more cohesive.

[BkaY]

i dont understand whats the hype about.. i didnt like it ... its just not my type of game.. i guess.

peace

[doa766]

even the worst third person shooter I can think of (for example Wanted Weapons of Fate) has better third person shooting mechanics/cover system than the first Mass Effect

the first game had all the secondary stuff nailed, but the primary (gameplay) was lacking

ME2 can be played without having played the first and it won't affect the enjoyment at all

[wu-stix]

I hated many things about the first one, shitty menu system, stupid A.I helping your fights to the point that I would have to fight every battle myself not that that was difficult since the game was too easy. It also was slow and boring.

[gamingdroid]

You don't know what you missed until you experience it.

So basically, you are likely NOT to miss ME1 if you only played ME2. However, a new world will open up if you do go back (or even play it prior to ME2) to play ME1.

It's hard to condense a 30-40 hour game into a 10-15 minute comic. It looses a lot of the details, experience and momentum build-up that you will never get from a comic. The option to import your save game from ME1 to ME2 and have some of the little things that you made affect the world is quite a compelling experience.

So if you can, I would highly recommend visiting ME1 if you haven't. Problem is your experience will be distorted if you don't take into account that ME1 is now a 3-year old game!

[wu-stix]

ME1 would have been a lot better had it been shorter without all the fluff (ie go to this planet, drive around in your crappy car, shoot some bad guys beam back to the ship for the next planet to explore). Sure you could skip those parts but even though it's the future you waste time walking around all over the place.

[visualb]

depends.

what i know is, they should play me2 regardless if they played me1 or not

a good game stands on its own

[visualb]

aha ok, I guess DONT play ME2 if you havent played ME1. EVER. its not worth it./s

[Marceles]

Personally I liked ME1 better than ME2...ME2 might be the more technically sound game but I felt ME1's RPG elements were deeper than ME2. I really enjoyed ME1's gameplay and level system other than driving parts.

[Dorwrath]

Agreed with you on this.

I also prefer the M1 story to the M2 story. M2 story just is recruiting, do loyalty missions and fight the bad guy at the end.

[doa766]

I played Mass Effect 1 when it first came out and played the sequel recently and I could barely remember anything about the story and that didn't prevent me from enjoying the sequel in the slightless

[showtimefolks]

if you only have a ps3 play ME2 and than play ME1 on pc i don't think it takes a great pc to run ME1 so you should play it to better understand the story

i just bought a xbox360 again in October ME1-2 were the first 2 games i picked up and i kept both and now can not Waite for 3rd to take all my choices into the 3rd game and end the series on a high note

Newtype

yes but i was just saying for those who played ME2 on ps3 and want to get the complete story. but either way playing both on one system is a better option since your choices carry over

but even if you are playing on ps3 get the whole story play the pc version of ME1 i don't think its that expensive

[Newtype]

If you are going to get ME1 on PC, get ME2 on PC as well.

[BattleAxe]

I wanted to get ME 1+2 on Steam, but theres no controller support, so its ME2 on PS3 for me. And besides, I love trophies.

[RonaldRaygun]

Definitely. Not only is it an amazing game, but there's just no way to properly sum up the entire game to completely catch you up to speed for the second one.

In the PC/360 versions, you can import your save file from ME1 into the second one, slightly altering sidequests and little factoids in ME2. Even though this isn't possible on PS3, it's definitely worth playing for the experience and more immersion into the ME universe.

[Cajun Chicken]

I don't think you should ignore it if you've played the second one and enjoyed it. You get a real feel for the universe due to all the dialogue with the different species in the first one. Real shame the driving sections were removed, plus, what's the big deal removing grenades? I still don't get that.

[iamnsuperman]

Played the demo its ok might pick it up after killzone 3 due to lack of money but yer maybe in March/April/May (at the latest) time

[gillri]

if you have the option or any way of getting the option then yes

[despair]

I didn't like it but many do so if you can then you should, but if you don't it won't take anything from ME2.

[cochise313]

Mass Effect one should be played, It would make playin part 2 more legendary than it already is. You'll form a bond with your former normandy crew.

[despair]

thats a little over exaggeration, I find people do that a lot for both games, they are fun but just like KOTOR and KOTOR 2 where there is an abundance of conversations, its enjoyable to listen to these characters but a bond?

Same with the transfer of choices and tidbits from 1-2 sure it adds some more substance to the ME universe but if you never played it then it will not bother you nor will playing ME1 do much for you.

[Bathyj]

Whether a bond is formed or not is pretty personal. Everyone is different.

I myself, dont care as much about story in games as a lot of people do. Its usually just something to fill in the gaps between stages. (For me.)

But the two characters I felt a real connection with in games were Yorda in Ico and Agro in SotC.

Even then, I dont think it was the story as much as the animation that drew me in and made me empathise with them.

[baodeus]

@bathyj

Why are you playing RPG game if it is not for the story. Isn't that the main point of playing RPG game? But oh well, people have different view on things i guess. But yeah, playing RPG always require some patient. Rushing through it would be a waste of a good RPG game.

[Silly Mammo]

Not trying to flame here, but how many people that bought ME1 actually finished the game? I bought it for the PC and for some reason never finished it. I think that happens alot with RPGs. Just wondering.

[NYC_Gamer]

i brought the game and beat it twice.

[IronFistChinMi]

I completed it 6 times! ME is my favourite franchise this gen and I could get over its various flaws.

[Dorwrath]

Finished it and played through 5 or 6 times. Really enjoyed it.

[blackpanther25]

I never finished the game......but i did like it

[hot111]

Yes,very easy thing to do,if you have some money of course.Just buy 360/PC and problem is solved.

[DaThreats]

Should I smack Wada(SE CEO) in the face?

[memphis2]

yes. the game is epic

[Bathyj]

I'm pondering this myself at the moment.

I've had ME1 since it first came out. My impression was it was a shooter with RPG elements.

As a pure shooter, its a terrible game. It feels stiff, the weapon was dull (the one you start with) graphics and movement just weren't up to other shooters. If thats all there was to the game, I think we can agree, it would be a flop.

But, we all know the game isnt a shooter, or at least, not just a shooter, and I fully admit I got turned off quickly, (I think about 2 hours,) and I never got a chance to see any of the RPG parts shine. (Or any alien sex for that matter.)

That's why I'm sure there's more to the game than what I experienced and why now I wonder if I should go back and play it before part 2, (assuming I'll even get into part 2), or simply play the comic.

If I'm going to play it at all, I want to play it first.
I still dont know.
ME might have to be a trilogy I play through slowly, over the years.

PS
One last thing.
Is the game really really long?, because I think I might lose interest after a while.
I'm not usually into RPG's, but I thought I might like this because I've only ever like action RPG's like Zelda, not turn based or strategy RPG's.

[Captain Tuttle]

The main quest can be done in probably 10-12 hours. A critical part of the Mass Effect story is that humans are kind of upstarts in the galaxy and Mass Effect pulls this off really well. It's like you're learning about the game universe along with Shepard if that makes sense. ME 1 is seriously flawed but is really a fantastic experience overall.

[Wolf873]

I don't see why not. Doesn't matter if you can't carry your info from that game into ME-2, the game alone is worth playing.

[Fatal Blow]

I played it on my xbox 360 halo reach console before i sold it due to no good games coming out this year but mass effect 1 is a great game if you haven't played it and played mass effect 2 get it on pc or xbox 360 if you have one

[Lucreto]

I am watching a playthrough on youtube as I don't have the time to play ME1.

It is good. I get the story and get to know the characters and he even showed some of the information on the different aliens. Once I finish watching it I will read the wiki to refresh my memory them play ME2.

[ChipdiddyChip]

yes, mass effect 1 is a much better game.

[hoops]

If you have access to ME1 then by all means.

[theonlylolking]

I had that option for my xbox and I chose not too. I think ME2 does quite well in covering what happened last. I dont think it changed how good the story was either.

[Eternus]

My Two cents are this. As someone who has played through ME1 twice, and ME2 three times, I really do love both games. HOWEVER, one thing I love about the whole idea of the comic is as much as I love ME1, I don't always want to go back and replay the ENTIRE GAME just to set up key decisions for a new ME2 playthrough, which is why the comic us quite nice.

Even if the comic can't sum up all of ME1, I feel like there is a deliberate reason Bioware decided to not include every little decision, and I think that is because the ones that aren't there aren't really key to the overarching plotline. I don't know about you guys, but it doesn't really bother me that I don't receive a couple of virtual emails.

I picked up ME2 again on PS3 just because I love it that much though.

But in conclusion, SHOULD you? not necessarily, but it does give abit more depth to the universe.

[SeraphimBlade]

It's nothing worth buying a console over. But, if in the future you find yourself with a decent PC that can play it, it might be worth tracking down. You can't carry ME1 over, but you can copy the code for Shepard's appearance and go through Genesis again.

I have replayed ME1 since getting ME2, and it wasn't all that bad in comparison. A little sluggish, maybe.

[Kee]

I've pre-ordered mass effect 2, should arrive tomorrow. I have faith in amazon.

I don't really know what to expect in this game because I don't often take much of a fancying to games set in space (IIRC the last one was the original red faction which was awesome!!!) but that much critical acclaim makes this game a must-buy for me. :)

Looking forward to it, you can all envy me for being able to experience playing it for the first time, if it is THAT good. XD

[Daves]

Jeez, played it on the PC when it came out - why do all these crappy articles think that PS3 owners don't have access to games on PC.

[m2345]

i have mass effect 1.

[Kishin]

this is why i refuse to buy ME2, its pointless to play half a game :/

[JonnyBigBoss]

Beat it on PC, didn't really like it much. However, I love ME2.

[kenjix]

Did they just say outside of tracking down a PC? who doesn't own a PC? Also is steam that hard to find or download a game? Cmon grow up gamepro

[JohnnyHalo]

Looks like it's a little too late for them to jump on the wagon right now.

[Aarix]

Only if their actually grateful for it and not rub it in xbox 360 owners faces. I've seen a lot of that from mass effect 2.

[Hellbound1978]

"Should PS3 Owners Play Mass Effect 1?"

Yes they should if they have access to it via Xbox360\PC. Should they have to seek it out? NO because Bioware should have ported it to PS3 when they did ME2. Everyone says "Bioware listens to their fans" Pshhh... I remember a lot of PS3 owners asking for the Mass Effect franchise to go mult-platform but, I don't recall any saying it was a good idea to start with ME2. Most people would say be happy with what you got....that doesn't mean that getting only part of the story is a good thing.

Lets say there was going to be an awesome trilogy of movies...would you read a comic about the first one then go see the sequels? I for one wouldn't IMO Bioware is doing their PS3 fans a great disservice by not releasing ME1 on PS3.

[Captain Tuttle]

Microsoft published ME 1 so it'll never be on the PS3.

[Big_Dom]

It's like asking whether or not someone should read The Fellowship of the Ring, or even The Hobbit having started at the second book. Does it make sense to watch or read something at it's sequel? Absolutely not. I don't give a shit how people will try to justify how a comic fills in the gaps. It is no substitute for the real thing. Anyone who plays ME2 and thinks they don't need to play the first game is a fool and is only depriving themselves.

[twiglet]

Yeah, they should. Since the majority of ME2 is a waste of time in terms of the overall trilogy, if they have access to a PC or Xbox 360, they should.

ME2 basically resets and restates everything, but with worse writing, a disposable "side mission" based plot, and an overbearing focus on shooter combat.

It ends on EXACTLY the same note as ME1, only much, much more badly presented.

ME1 is the flesh of the trilogy so far, the core of it. ME2 is the cheap whore make up so it can try and sleep with lots of shooter fans.