all of these games are pretty good hero shooters with fun abilities, cool sci-fi aesthetics, and memorable levels.
1 has this unique consolized crpg vibe to it, where the cutscenes are still very simple in a way that makes them feel like classic video game puppetry, and the levels are laid out as if an isometric game was brought into an over-the-shoulder view. you can make some cool custom weapons with mods, like a rocket launcher sniper rifle, or an assault rifle that fires explosive rounds but never overheats. because each power has individual cooldown, you can basically fire them off constantly if you have enough on-hand.
2 is a much more balanced game, which also means it's less fun to break. each class feels much more distinct, and charge is one of the best powers in video games. the guns all feel much better, but unfortunately because armor and shields tend to be strong and immune to many powers, many powers just feel useless on higher difficulties. the structure of doing a bunch of unrelated episodic missions to prepare for one big mission is neat.
3 focuses much more on using powers to make exploding combos, which is definitely my favorite gameplay of the series, but this comes at the cost of the guns generally feeling weaker. the vanguard, for example, is much better off focusing on power combo damage rather than shotgun damage. the cinematic ambitions of mass effect are at their best here, with camerawork and animation that feels like it's from an experienced team.
so, all pretty positive so far! i definitely recommend these if you are into shooters that have powers. the problem is that these games also have a large and unignorable focus on story and dialogue, and the story and dialogue is generally very bad.
1 is a particularly mean-spirited and emotionally hollow game, where nearly every conversation revolves around shallowly drawn racial conflict in an attempt to seem thought-provoking. your conversations with companions are mostly dry exposition with little personal characterization, and when they rarely speak to each other it's usually just another exchange of racial barbs. it's so unfortunate because i think this game is really cool when nobody is speaking, but it insists on having a lot of dialogue.
2 basically doesn't have a main story and instead focuses on a bunch of little character vignettes, which is mostly for the better because bioware works better when they have to tell the story quick and shallow, rather than long and shallow. but having 12 companions just highlights how weird it is that they almost never speak to each other or have any relationships with each other. and even in these smaller stories, mass effect cannot escape its obsession with the questions of "is this genocide good or bad?" and "is this unethical experiment good or bad?"
3's main story unfortunately only focuses deeper on those hollow themes, while at the same time trading in much of its mean-spiritedness for clumsy melodrama. however, it definitely has the best character writing, and your companions will even have normal conversations with each other sometimes!
all in all, i really wish i had a "skip cutscene completely" button for these.
1 has this unique consolized crpg vibe to it, where the cutscenes are still very simple in a way that makes them feel like classic video game puppetry, and the levels are laid out as if an isometric game was brought into an over-the-shoulder view. you can make some cool custom weapons with mods, like a rocket launcher sniper rifle, or an assault rifle that fires explosive rounds but never overheats. because each power has individual cooldown, you can basically fire them off constantly if you have enough on-hand.
2 is a much more balanced game, which also means it's less fun to break. each class feels much more distinct, and charge is one of the best powers in video games. the guns all feel much better, but unfortunately because armor and shields tend to be strong and immune to many powers, many powers just feel useless on higher difficulties. the structure of doing a bunch of unrelated episodic missions to prepare for one big mission is neat.
3 focuses much more on using powers to make exploding combos, which is definitely my favorite gameplay of the series, but this comes at the cost of the guns generally feeling weaker. the vanguard, for example, is much better off focusing on power combo damage rather than shotgun damage. the cinematic ambitions of mass effect are at their best here, with camerawork and animation that feels like it's from an experienced team.
so, all pretty positive so far! i definitely recommend these if you are into shooters that have powers. the problem is that these games also have a large and unignorable focus on story and dialogue, and the story and dialogue is generally very bad.
1 is a particularly mean-spirited and emotionally hollow game, where nearly every conversation revolves around shallowly drawn racial conflict in an attempt to seem thought-provoking. your conversations with companions are mostly dry exposition with little personal characterization, and when they rarely speak to each other it's usually just another exchange of racial barbs. it's so unfortunate because i think this game is really cool when nobody is speaking, but it insists on having a lot of dialogue.
2 basically doesn't have a main story and instead focuses on a bunch of little character vignettes, which is mostly for the better because bioware works better when they have to tell the story quick and shallow, rather than long and shallow. but having 12 companions just highlights how weird it is that they almost never speak to each other or have any relationships with each other. and even in these smaller stories, mass effect cannot escape its obsession with the questions of "is this genocide good or bad?" and "is this unethical experiment good or bad?"
3's main story unfortunately only focuses deeper on those hollow themes, while at the same time trading in much of its mean-spiritedness for clumsy melodrama. however, it definitely has the best character writing, and your companions will even have normal conversations with each other sometimes!
all in all, i really wish i had a "skip cutscene completely" button for these.