BioWare: Mass Effect Review Plus Mini-Guide

Review (Spoilers!):

Mass Effect (ME1) is the RPG-Shooter that kicks off this epic franchise. A robotic alien race, the Geth, are destroying human colonies on the edge of space and you play as Commander Sheppard of the Alliance Navy responding to this new threat. The standard class system of warrior, mage and rogue are represented with combinations of each also available to you. The weaponry available is limited to four types plus grenades, the Soldier class being the only one able to use all four. In classic terms the entire trilogy is a third-person shooter with RPG elements included in an adaptive story line.

Character customization goes far beyond simply choosing male or female then cycling a few facial presets. Similar to games like Skyrim you can alter dozens of aspects of your face before you begin playing. The male voice acting for Sheppard is of poor quality, in my opinion, and the female voice actor is excellent so if that rates as highly important to you select the female version of Sheppard. Also romantic sub-plots will be partially blocked off to you based on your gender choice. In terms of the main plot your gender plays no role so keep that in mind.

If you're anything like me you wanted to be a biotic, a mage class, of some sort right off the bat. I ended up restarting from just after the first mission to switch from Vanguard to Soldier. Soldier class characters get health regeneration and can use assault rifles from the very first playthrough so unless you set the difficulty down or don't mind reloading constantly I would say being a Soldier Sheppard is the best choice in this game. That is until you unlock a bonus skill for new games that allows you to add a weapon skill to classes that lack the desired one.

Morality choices in ME1 are divided into Paragon and Renegade categories and unlike the other titles there is a skill tree for each called Charm and Intimidate. These are not usually "good" and "bad" choices for the player but rather form the personality of Commander Sheppard, complimenting a brief bio you assign yourself at character creation. Paragons tend to always respect the letter of the law and are opposed to human xenophobia.

Renegades tend to do whatever they like to achieve a goal and are friendly to xenophobes if not completely on-board. It's important to note that while choosing a path from the beginning and sticking to it is the way the game was meant to be played there are no real consequences to being all over the map or staying neutral. Major events take place where you earn huge sums of Paragon / Renegade Points and these choices are the real morality dynamic of the ME Trilogy more than how you behave in dialogue.

One of the coolest features of the trilogy is that your choices carry on from one title to the next provided you import a completed save game. Within ME1 your choices unlock brief cutscenes
and dialogue more than anything else but I still found my second playthrough as a Renegade instead of Paragon quite fun. Unlike some games with morality choices it doesn't matter if you're the ultimate troll to the crew, the things that hurt you are utterly ignoring your allies between missions or
skipping over the side missions they offer through dialogue. It never happens that someone gets sick of your abuse and leaves the squad.

ME1 can stand on its own away from other parts of the trilogy as just an amazing game. There's drama, intrigue and passion. There's epic space battles and truly unique alien races all with well developed histories and cultures. What makes things better is with the exception of the Reaper threat you can decide your own level of involvement with all these various sub-plots flying around. You gain experience from Codex entries so you hurt yourself by not talking and investigating any time the option is present but it's not vital. I enjoy the level of complexity in the item and equipment system but I can see why some find it a burden. The downsides unique to ME1 are the Mako and the cover system.

The Mako is a all-terrain tank that while cool in concept is a bitch to drive and even harder to drive and shoot with. This makes up for around 20% of the combat in the game and it sucks. No real upgrades available for it and the crappy controls ruin what otherwise could have been an awesome feature. The cover system is just crouch and auto-cover. Crouch is actually fine when you get the hang of it but the auto-cover screws up a lot when you need it most.

The upsides unique to ME1 other than what I already mentioned are the squad commands and the upgrade system. In some ways limited over the other games, the squad commands are more
complex in ME1 than others. You can have your two allies charge, focus fire, hold ground or form up whereas it gets limited to focus fire and form up with powers from each squadmate replacing the old orders.

While quick-firing two squad powers is really nice you need only hold one of the menu buttons for a sec to do the same in ME1. The level and equipment upgrade system has a lot of options and can become a pain if you try to constantly apply every upgrade as you get them. It's better and I think more fun than the other games to do upgrades after each few missions. Unless you find some really good armor or a kickass weapon in crate this doesn't hurt your progress once you unlock key powers.

A big chunk of the game is spent interacting with the Galaxy Map on-board your ship the Normandy. Simple and straight forward, no guide I can find spends much time explaining this one. Just zoom in and out with a cross-hair appearing when there is something to do. Every planet has a name, brief description and some scientific data to review but on average only one planet in solar system can be landed on and most of those unlocked through missions.

You'll spend at least some time trying to remember the cluster then the system in which the side missions occur unless you're following a complete guide. Unlike the other games ME1 doesn't lead you around by the nose and a couple side missions will just never trigger if you don't use the Galaxy Map to visit the right star cluster. There's no fuel concerns and almost as soon as get command of the Normandy you can start doing all the side missions.

There's no ammo counts, replaced by an Overheat Meter just above your squad's HP and shields. At first I was pissed when I realized that only ME1 had this feature but I've come around. Except for the beginning and early mid-point of the game you can pretty much spam enemies with so much blasting at once they can't do much but die even when taking cover. When you have limited shots it makes you more concerned about what you're shooting, so spamming a wall until a Geth finally peaks his head around is no longer a smart move. Especially with full-auto weapons the introduction of ammo makes it more fun for me.

Sniper Rifles are almost useless, which is a shame. With a Soldier holding down some skill you can lay waste to parts of the game that are otherwise tough but the thing shakes like crazy until you get the elite grade weapons and even then jumps around too much for me to consider using it. Also you can't rely on the massive stopping power to save you with a 'hail mary' shot on a charging enemy. The cross-hair on the screen for the sniper rifle is a massive circle so unless you're really good you'll miss by a yard. The future games improved upon this.

The crew of the Normandy are what make this trilogy so loved by many and I'm no different. We meet three alien teammates after the first mission and start with two fellow humans. A fourth alien is found on a separate mission. It's an option to decline the help of Wrex, Garrus and Tali but a stupid mistake if you do. You can also rescue Liara from the Geth without adding her to the crew, which again would be really stupid since she is the only pure biotic teammate in the game. Ashley and Kaiden are fellow Alliance members.

Wrex is a Krogan, a warrior race pushed to near-extinction from the engineered "genophage" virus.

He uses Assault Rifles and Shotguns with high HP and resistance to explosions. Give him a high powered rifle and watch enemies get shredded, and with a proper shotgun he is the most deadly character at close range because of high melee damage and overall resistance. His class is called Krogan Warlord but he is a Vanguard, using biotics and firearms in lethal combination. Focus on his tank aspects first and develop those biotics later. He does better in a straight fight than he does working Mass Effect fields anyway.

Wrex is a lizard-like race who has red eyes and works as a mercenary-for-hire. He joins the Normandy under the condition they are tracking down Sarren, for who he has his own reasons for wanting dead.

Garrus is a Turian, a militarized race that are mostly dominate in the galaxy and more recently challenged by Humans in this role. He uses assault rifles and sniper rifles. Unlike when Sheppard uses the sniper rifle it's worthwhile in his hands. Give him the best sniper rifle you have and be careful to switch him off it when the fighting gets closer. Serves all the tech needs of a squad but can be a pain to level up properly because all his skills are in demand at once. His class is called Turian Agent but he is an Infiltrator. If you want him in your party then unlock Electronics quickly and get both Decryption and Electronics to the point where you can access hard objects after assigning only a few points in armor and weapon skills.

Garrus is a reptile-race with human-like eyes but various horn-like facial structures. Formerly a security officer he joins the Normandy when his investigation into Sarren is ended before he feels it should have.

Tali is a Quarian, a nomadic race that created the AI framework of the Geth and lost their homeworld along with their entire society to the Geth. She uses pistols and shotguns. While using shotguns is what makes Tali more deadly than other squadmates it's best to keep her using a pistol because of her low HP. Give her armor and a high damage pistol to start and skip the shotgun usage until her Electronics and class skill have given her a sizable shield boost. Her class is listed as Quarian Mechanist but she is an Engineer. If you want to use her, even if you plan on taking Liara or Garrus along, then boost her Electronics and Pistol skills. Overload is her best ability and putting points in Hacking will lower the cool-down rate so that's a good idea too.

She wears a mask and full environmental suit at all times to protect a weak immune system. Obviously humanoid it's hard to tell much about her people other than they have backward leg joints and three digit hands and feet. Tali joins the Normandy when she assists Sheppard in an investigation to prove Sarren's guilt over the Eden Prime incident. When it becomes clear that the mission involves fighting Geth, and perhaps learning their secrets in the process, Tali eagerly joins up. She later reveals that her people have a pilgrimage to fulfill when outside their nomadic fleet and this serves as a secondary motive to join a well-funded and powerful starship crew.

Liara is an Asari, a majestic race that have a mastery of biotics and are a refined culture with a powerful galactic society. She uses biotics and pistols only with no weapon or armor skill trees at all. She demands quality light armor and having a good if not excellent pistol equipped is also a must. Your a-typical glass cannon, Liara can lay waste to your enemies but won't stand up to much punishment even at her highest levels. Thanks to the Electronics skill she will get a lot of shields, but pumping this skill takes away from the power of her biotics and if you micromanage your squad and have some else with this skill you can spare yourself from maxing it out.

Skip Stasis mostly and don't put too many points into Singularity. Stasis is that damn 'turn enemy into frozen ghost' thing I hate and Singularity is wildly unpredictable in where it flings enemies instead of what the description says about drawing them toward one point.

Her class is called Asari Scientist but she is an Adept. If you want her in your party then I recommend Garrus always join you as well unless you have Decryption on Commander Sheppard in which case Wrex is a better choice. She has blue skin and tentacle-like hair closely pressed against the skull. Completely human features otherwise. When rescued by Sheppard from a Geth attack on her research outpost this powerful biotic and avid researcher joins the Normandy in an effort to discover the mysteries of the ancient Protheans and the more recent mysteries of the motives of the Geth and Sarren. Her telepathic abilities also prove invaluable as events unfold.

Romances draw a lot of attention but serve a pretty small part of the story in all the three games. Male Sheps can try their hand at romancing Ashley, FemSheps can have a go at Kaiden, and either gender can pursue Liara. Nothing needs to be done in order to ensure a romance takes place other than making sure you interact with your love interest on the Normandy frequently and don't be completely rude to them in the dialogue options. It's not required to have them in the party all the time and your Paragon / Renegade rating doesn't change anything either.

I like this addition to the game a lot and unlike ME2 the romances feel organic and not something forced upon you. ME3 has tons of romance sub-plots bouncing around but it makes more sense because it's pretty much the end of days in the third game. I mean who doesn't want to get laid when the entire universe is coming to end anyway?

ME1 rates as one of the best RPG style titles ever for me because I found myself actually moved by the story and is challenging without being too hard to realistically play. This makes a more empowering experience overall. Major complaints are a lack of auto-save points and unskippable cutscenes even after viewing it before. Save scummers will never notice it but the game has shockingly few auto-save points, and while I agree that some scenes on games should be unskippable I don't see the point when the scene is integrated into a boss fight or on a second viewing for another reason. I'm playing on console (Microsoft Xbox360) so maybe the PC versions have updates for these issues.

Squad Selection:

In ME1 your squad should always have:

Decryption and Electronics available with at least average skill in both.

You can make do without but it screws you out of a lot of rewards.

Also having a warrior class with a biotic class reaps much better results than two tanks with a tech.

So you get set into a pretty specific party based on what class you picked.

Biotics tend to have Wrex, Ashley and Garrus along constantly while Soldiers tend to have Tali, Liara and Garrus along.

It's a mixed bag because to perform your best you are stuck with only certain party combinations but it also forces you properly develop your team's skills and think tactically about how to best use them.

In future titles your squad is mostly non-important with the exception of choosing two teammates with low HP when you're in the same fragile state. So maybe if they balanced it out where Liara has both Decryption and Electronics I would instead call this an advantage for this title.

Mini-Guide:

Best tip out there is hold down the menu to Matrix bullet-time check out the battlefield on a regular basis. This is definitely going to disrupt gameflow but with the jumper enemies and the way how only certain enemy types use rockets or heavy firepower it's the best way to stay alive along with finding cover or boost your shields.

Plan out your party and stick to it. It's easier to fully equip three squadmates than it is four or five so unless you just feel like it later on down the road only worry about three pieces of armor and buying weapons that everyone can actually use out of your chosen party. On a second play-
through I recommend Assault Rifles then Electronics in terms of your bonus skill. The rifles if you don't already have them, you can use pistols in the beginning if you don't have any other weapon skills, and Electronics boosts shields and opens certain objects so it's the second best
in the game.

Warp, Lift and Push are your good friends while Stasis and Singularity take a backseat. Push is better than Stasis but if you can't push Stasis will get the job done. Lift is better than Singularity but again can work the same magic if it has to. Warp is probably the best biotic ability to invest in: degrading damage resistance and poisoning your enemy is exactly what you need once they are lined up in your sights.

Make tactical use of powers like Immunity, Barrier and Shield Boost. Don't just activate them as soon as battle starts. Wait until you've taken damage or lost shields, even with low cool-downs these do more for you than Medi-Gel because there's no time delay in using them.

Kaiden sucks but his Medicine skill is extremely useful. Liara can also reduce Medi-Gel cool-down but not by much and anyone with an Omni-Tool can also have a minimal effect here. Though Soldiers benefit from saving him from death over Ashley, just because having two Soldiers is pointless on every mode aside from Insanity. In ME3 Kaiden is much more potent and if doing a continuous import he makes for a more versatile vanilla squad than having Ashley along for the final adventure.

Carry around and switch out different ammo types. Also your squad rarely has their weapons overheat so give them the upgrades that trade damage for increased overheating and
save all the heat reduction upgrades for yourself. If taking the time to switch out ammo upgrades doesn't appeal to you just set up a squad that covers shield reduction, accuracy debuff and damage to synthetics between the entire squad's primary gun.

Light armor sucks, medium armor is mediocre and heavy armor is the shit. Another reason to just go ahead and be a Soldier class to start. Once making it through one completed game and reaching about Level 50+ you'll unlock versions of medium and light armors that compete with the heavy armors given to you first time around. The raw damage reduction isn't the same but they have about triple the shields of Grade X Heavy Armor. Also in a unique feature this game gives you bonus skills based on the Achievements / Trophies you earned so far. This allows you to balance out any class with a weapon, biotic or tech skill the second time around.

Squad selection in your first playthrough should always have Decryption, Electronics and a powerful biotic raised to the third level of effectiveness along with at least one tank. Easiest combo is Soldier Shepard, Wrex and Garrus in terms of just beating the crap out of everyone while never being turned away from item caches. The notion of filling the three strategic roles that are so important in later titles is less important in ME1.

Your Shield Breaker can be replaced by just shooting through shields with Specter Grade weapons, your Armor Cracker is always your biotic, and your Crowd Controller is again any biotic class. Loading up on everything but Tech in the Squad Strength Meter is actually a good idea, but only on second or third playthroughs because you need the extra salvaged and unlocked items right up to the Trench Run end game segment.

VGD Verdict:

ME1 can stand on its own away from other parts of the trilogy as just an amazing game. There's drama, intrigue and passion. There's epic space battles and truly unique alien races all with well developed histories and cultures. What makes things better is with the exception of the Reaper threat you can decide your own level of involvement with all these various sub-plots flying around. It's a must own for RPG and Shooter genre fans alike. VGD approved!