14 DAY TRIAL // Mass Effect 3 is the last game in the franchise made by BioWare and, even if the studio said new players wouldn’t have problems getting up to speed with the events from the last two games, they’ll be missing out on plenty of things, both in terms of story and gameplay.
While I didn’t play Mass Effect 1 or 2 when they first came out, I experienced all they had to offer last year, taking my time and going through the variety of downloadable content that was released for both of them.
As you can imagine, once Mass Effect 3 was released this week, I immediately imported my character in order to have a seamless transition into the experience and see what my decisions meant for the new game.
The first bonus is available right away, as the level you had in Mass Effect 2 is the same one in the third game, meaning I was beginning the game at level 31 and had a huge amount of skill points to invest in both my own powers and those of my companions.
Playing through the last two games also meant that the main story, with all its twists and turns, made a whole lot more sense. I already touched on this issue in the first gamer diary, when I criticized the tutorial for not making it clear to new players what and why they’re fighting against the Reapers.
Besides the story, which changes depending on your decisions from the first two games, you’ll also miss plenty of smaller plots, like helping a Citadel couple decide the fate of their child, or interacting with former colleagues that net you reputation points or become War Assets that help you in your fight.
Overall, if you want to play Mass Effect 3, do it the right way and go through the two previous games, together with their DLC, before you start up the new title. It’s more than worth it.
Mass Effect 3 is now available around the world for the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.