During the era of the Xbox 360, publisher EA released the science fiction action-RPG known as Mass Effect, and over the course of the seventh generation have released 2 sequels in addition to Andromeda for the eighth generation which is a sequel to Mass Effect 2 and a prequel to Mass Effect 3.
Developed by BioWare, who at the time were well known for their previous installments during the sixth generation of gaming such as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire for the original Xbox in addition to Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age II and Dragon Age: Inquisition, Mass Effect takes place in a universe where humankind has advanced in technology to the point of space travel and joined with an intergalactic democracy comprised of many other extraterrestrial species.
The player plays as the series protagonist, Commander John Shepard (or Jane Shepard if the player chooses to play a female protagonist) of the Systems Alliance military.
What makes the Mass Effect series well known aside from its story and lore is the multiple pathways the player can choose for said story and make their own actions which have various outcomes.
The entire story of Mass Effect is dependent on the players actions throughout the course of the story; certain events, dialogue options and relationships can have consequences which can affect the story and characters, including Shepard.
In each game of the trilogy, players will travel throughout the galaxy and meet different people and face different dangers with their crew, whom they can recruit throughout the course of the game and can also form friendships and bond with them.
What also made the Mass Effect trilogy unique during the seventh generation was that data on the consoles hard drive from a previous game can be transferred to the next game to progress the continuity from the previous game.
For example, in the first Mass Effect game, if a player chooses to have a bad relationship with a certain character, their relationship will be showcased in the next game, if the player forms a romantic relationship with a character in the first or second game, then that relationship will continue in the next game.
With it’s lore, well written story, replay value characters and even more aspects that were delivered at the time, the Mass Effect trilogy became well known to fans for the years to come and continues to leave an impact.
Late in 2020 during the Game Awards, it was announced that the trilogy will be receiving a current gen upgrade, being released as Mass Effect: Legendary Edition for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC, including all of its DLC and other previously released content in addition to having upscaled resolution for today’s video game consoles.
To make things even more exciting for fans, a new Mass Effect game was also announced to be in the making as well.
Mass Effect is a series that continues to grow with its popularity and fans of sci-fi and RPG’s are missing out if they have not played the series.
The Legendary Edition will release on May 14, 2021, gamers who wish to get into the action sooner will be happy to know that the trilogy on the Xbox 360 is backwards compatible on the Xbox One and Xbox Series X and is also available on EA’s gaming subscriptions service EA Play.
