Time to finish Mass Effect 1 quickly-ish?
- Thread starter ARMYMAN
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Mmm, upon reading all the responses, perhaps a more pertinent question would be whether it would be worth it to play ME1, haha. ME2 sucked me in with its lore and space opera setting, and the writing is the best I've seen. It has soul, as I think they've done well in characterising everybody. Also, Tali... whoever dreamed her up over at Bioware deserves a medal... arguably the #1 "vulnerable girl" archetype, which male gamers seem to love. Eeegh, although, admittedly I haven't played very many RPG's, so perhaps there's better story and writing elsewhere. I recently played Skyrim and enjoyed it heaps,just to add the mandatory reference to that game which every thread here on the Escapist seems to requireSamus Aran but a man said:
I'll probably just try and play it, or if not, go half way between by watching that 2 hour collection of cut scenes on youtube. Jeepers, two hours. The game is pretty much an interactive movie. I wonder if it'd transfer well to the big screens. The story is there... break Seth Green's legs and you'd have joker..
Yeah, I know that feeling. I really liked ME1 the first time through, then played ME2 and loved it even more. Went back to ME1 and suddenly didn't like it as much.
Anyway, you can do a 100% playthrough of ME1 in about 25 hours.
That's doing the main story, all side missions, exploring all planets, finding all collectables, going through all dialogue (but using the skip button a fair bit), all on 'harcore' difficulty.
I know because I recently did just that. I wanted a male-Shep profile to carry through. Didn't actually intend to do all the extra bullshit, but I can be obsessive like that.
Thing is, in ME1 90% of the side content is garbage. You could play through the main story (i.e. the good stuff) on normal and listen to all the dialogue within 15 hours and you would not be missing anything worthwhile.
Anyway, you can do a 100% playthrough of ME1 in about 25 hours.
That's doing the main story, all side missions, exploring all planets, finding all collectables, going through all dialogue (but using the skip button a fair bit), all on 'harcore' difficulty.
I know because I recently did just that. I wanted a male-Shep profile to carry through. Didn't actually intend to do all the extra bullshit, but I can be obsessive like that.
Thing is, in ME1 90% of the side content is garbage. You could play through the main story (i.e. the good stuff) on normal and listen to all the dialogue within 15 hours and you would not be missing anything worthwhile.
I wouldn't recommend a speed-run of any of them. My quickest 100% would be somewhere around 23 hours for the first game and 26 for the second. It was on hardcore though, so it's not really a good judge of a legitimate playthrough.
To answer your question, yes. Mass Effect 1 is worth the time spent because by just taking a save and reading what happened you don't feel the same things as you would when actually working for it.
That's why I feel really sorry for the PS3 people who only got that interactive comic. They didn't attach themselves as well to the plot, characters, and events. I actually cried when the Normandy was destroyed because I felt like it was my home. Play it enough and the small technical problems are quickly overlooked. In my opinion, the plot of the first game was so much better than the "gather people and do this one thing" type of game ME2 was. There was a depth to it, with a whole subplot revolving around each different person, whether they be a teammate or some random guy on the Citadel. The only upgrade from ME1 to ME2 was a streamlining of the gameplay, other than that ME1 was a much, much better game.
TLDR: Play it. Don't just get a save off the internet. Invest time and you will be rewarded with an extremely fulfilling game.
To answer your question, yes. Mass Effect 1 is worth the time spent because by just taking a save and reading what happened you don't feel the same things as you would when actually working for it.
That's why I feel really sorry for the PS3 people who only got that interactive comic. They didn't attach themselves as well to the plot, characters, and events. I actually cried when the Normandy was destroyed because I felt like it was my home. Play it enough and the small technical problems are quickly overlooked. In my opinion, the plot of the first game was so much better than the "gather people and do this one thing" type of game ME2 was. There was a depth to it, with a whole subplot revolving around each different person, whether they be a teammate or some random guy on the Citadel. The only upgrade from ME1 to ME2 was a streamlining of the gameplay, other than that ME1 was a much, much better game.
TLDR: Play it. Don't just get a save off the internet. Invest time and you will be rewarded with an extremely fulfilling game.
Well no, your not a RP baby, you just played them in the wrong order. It wouldn't feel that way if you had played ME1 at release.ARMYMAN said:So, with the release of Mass Effect 3 fast approaching, I'd like to "prepare" for the Reapers' eventual landing by learning my history
I played ME2 and I thought that the gameplay was really good- both the combat and the whole aspect of 'choice' appealed to me. Also, the final mission. Wow!
It was the first Bioware game I'd played and I really liked it, so I went off to get ME1 with similar expectations. Ahh! Playing the most updated version on steam, I felt.. detached from gameplay. The immersion was ruined quickly when Kaiden ran around the battlefield screaming "ENEMIES ARE EVERYWHERE!!!" over and over again. I think it simply lacked all the overall polish of ME2. Also, I know there's people who would call me an RPG baby or whatever, but all the hardcore RPG stuff concerning weapons and upgrades just felt a bit clunky and perhaps a tad overdone. I can see how they watered it down in ME2 and why that might upset some, but frankly, who wants to read over stats on a pause menu?! Well, my question.. I just want to know how long it would take me to get through all of the main story bits of ME1, so as to get a savefile ready and be filled in on all the pre ME2 happenings.
I recommend you trudge through the bad gameplay. You'll get used to it and good at it and believe me the story is well worth it.
You're joking, right?ARMYMAN said:
There are people on these forums who would fucking crucify you for having the audacity to prefer ME2
If the only concern is learning the main story, you can just read a synopsis online. I'm sure there are some exhaustive lists out there. If you want to experience the story, I'd say take your time rather than rushing through it. It's worth it!ARMYMAN said:
Just play it on Easy and run through for the story.
ME1 is one of my favourite games but the precious stat filled combat (that so many lamented the absence of in ME2) is just awkward, clumsy and shoddy.
ME1 is one of my favourite games but the precious stat filled combat (that so many lamented the absence of in ME2) is just awkward, clumsy and shoddy.
I don't really get the love for Tali. She was OK, but I was never interested in bumping uglies with her. Actually, I never romanced anyone in the first game. In the second, I went with Jack, who managed to balance "vulnerable girl archetype" with "holy fuck she's absolutely mental and can pull the miniboss geth apart, I want to put bits of myself in her"ARMYMAN said:
If you speed run it, you can complete Mass Effect 1 in less than a week. I've done it before (I completed Mass Effect 2 in 3 days without any idea on how everything worked, so yeah). If you plan on playing all the DLC, I would say a month is probably more than enough if you have plenty of time to kill.ARMYMAN said:So, with the release of Mass Effect 3 fast approaching, I'd like to "prepare" for the Reapers' eventual landing by learning my history
I played ME2 and I thought that the gameplay was really good- both the combat and the whole aspect of 'choice' appealed to me. Also, the final mission. Wow!
It was the first Bioware game I'd played and I really liked it, so I went off to get ME1 with similar expectations. Ahh! Playing the most updated version on steam, I felt.. detached from gameplay. The immersion was ruined quickly when Kaiden ran around the battlefield screaming "ENEMIES ARE EVERYWHERE!!!" over and over again. I think it simply lacked all the overall polish of ME2. Also, I know there's people who would call me an RPG baby or whatever, but all the hardcore RPG stuff concerning weapons and upgrades just felt a bit clunky and perhaps a tad overdone. I can see how they watered it down in ME2 and why that might upset some, but frankly, who wants to read over stats on a pause menu?! Well, my question.. I just want to know how long it would take me to get through all of the main story bits of ME1, so as to get a savefile ready and be filled in on all the pre ME2 happenings.
I do agree with the inventory system being better in Mass Effect 2, but I did miss than custom weapon upgrades you could put for each weapon (which is coming back in a more streamlined fashion, yay!), I think the main problem people had with Mass Effect 2 is the fact it lost a lot of the roleplay feel that Mass Effect 1 had in abundance, and yet we all universally agree that the original inventory system was pants.
If Mass Effect 3 is Mass Effect 2, minus the same mining mini-game and more roleplaying elements, it will be perfection.
Agreed.Chester Rabbit said:
Always made me laugh when Kaiden would shout that hard to believe he was combat trained in the military nice target recognition mate lolARMYMAN said:So, with the release of Mass Effect 3 fast approaching, I'd like to "prepare" for the Reapers' eventual landing by learning my history
I played ME2 and I thought that the gameplay was really good- both the combat and the whole aspect of 'choice' appealed to me. Also, the final mission. Wow!
It was the first Bioware game I'd played and I really liked it, so I went off to get ME1 with similar expectations. Ahh! Playing the most updated version on steam, I felt.. detached from gameplay. The immersion was ruined quickly when Kaiden ran around the battlefield screaming "ENEMIES ARE EVERYWHERE!!!" over and over again. I think it simply lacked all the overall polish of ME2. Also, I know there's people who would call me an RPG baby or whatever, but all the hardcore RPG stuff concerning weapons and upgrades just felt a bit clunky and perhaps a tad overdone. I can see how they watered it down in ME2 and why that might upset some, but frankly, who wants to read over stats on a pause menu?! Well, my question.. I just want to know how long it would take me to get through all of the main story bits of ME1, so as to get a savefile ready and be filled in on all the pre ME2 happenings.
OT: took me about 10 hours just rushing through but I?m pretty sure you can buy an add-on where you can make all your decisions before ME2. The guys that have it on ps3 got it for free with ME2 but you have to pay for it on Xbox /Pc but now you have it you have about 10 hours in front of you with ENEMIES ARE EVERYWHERE!!
Mass Effect is a pretty straight forward game, there isn't much of distraction from the main storyline. It's not something that you'll get through in an afternoon, but it won't feel like an endless grind, you should be through it soon enough. The gameplay can feel like a downgrade if you played ME2 first, but on the other hand, the story is much, much better, so at least take comfort in that ^^
Really? I didn't think that was Kaiden since I never used him and still heard that being shouted... I think it's a bog standard human shout.Kramcake2516 said:Always made me laugh when Kaiden would shout that hard to believe he was combat trained in the military nice target recognition mate lolARMYMAN said:So, with the release of Mass Effect 3 fast approaching, I'd like to "prepare" for the Reapers' eventual landing by learning my history
I played ME2 and I thought that the gameplay was really good- both the combat and the whole aspect of 'choice' appealed to me. Also, the final mission. Wow!
It was the first Bioware game I'd played and I really liked it, so I went off to get ME1 with similar expectations. Ahh! Playing the most updated version on steam, I felt.. detached from gameplay. The immersion was ruined quickly when Kaiden ran around the battlefield screaming "ENEMIES ARE EVERYWHERE!!!" over and over again. I think it simply lacked all the overall polish of ME2. Also, I know there's people who would call me an RPG baby or whatever, but all the hardcore RPG stuff concerning weapons and upgrades just felt a bit clunky and perhaps a tad overdone. I can see how they watered it down in ME2 and why that might upset some, but frankly, who wants to read over stats on a pause menu?! Well, my question.. I just want to know how long it would take me to get through all of the main story bits of ME1, so as to get a savefile ready and be filled in on all the pre ME2 happenings.
Now that you mention it I think you may be right just goes to show in the future the combat training is less then is desired.Steampunk Viking said:Really? I didn't think that was Kaiden since I never used him and still heard that being shouted... I think it's a bog standard human shout.Kramcake2516 said:Always made me laugh when Kaiden would shout that hard to believe he was combat trained in the military nice target recognition mate lolARMYMAN said:So, with the release of Mass Effect 3 fast approaching, I'd like to "prepare" for the Reapers' eventual landing by learning my history
I played ME2 and I thought that the gameplay was really good- both the combat and the whole aspect of 'choice' appealed to me. Also, the final mission. Wow!
It was the first Bioware game I'd played and I really liked it, so I went off to get ME1 with similar expectations. Ahh! Playing the most updated version on steam, I felt.. detached from gameplay. The immersion was ruined quickly when Kaiden ran around the battlefield screaming "ENEMIES ARE EVERYWHERE!!!" over and over again. I think it simply lacked all the overall polish of ME2. Also, I know there's people who would call me an RPG baby or whatever, but all the hardcore RPG stuff concerning weapons and upgrades just felt a bit clunky and perhaps a tad overdone. I can see how they watered it down in ME2 and why that might upset some, but frankly, who wants to read over stats on a pause menu?! Well, my question.. I just want to know how long it would take me to get through all of the main story bits of ME1, so as to get a savefile ready and be filled in on all the pre ME2 happenings.
Either that or when you been in space to long everything is everywhere!!
^ this. LOTSB is easily worth the price of admission.Mekado said:Just a quick comment to say lair of the shadow broker is probably the best DLC i ever bought, if there's one worth paying for (for any game) it's this one80Maxwell08 said:
Even if you don't want to pay to play it though, is it really that strange that Liara's character has changed since the first game? It's been two years and there's enough of her story in the main game to know that a lot's happened - some people might call that an arc, or character development, something that should be praised. Personally, I think it'd make less sense if she was still the same wide-eyed innocent when you returned...
Wrex has changed as well, FWIW, and Ashley/Kaiden feel differently about you too.