Anytime a studio decides to remaster or rerelease a game, it has to choose whether it wants to recreate the original exactly or make changes to the game to update it for a modern release. BioWare chose the latter and deliveredMass Effect Legendary Edition, a full remaster of all three ofthe originalMass Effectgames. The remaster promises to be true to the original trilogy while also making changes to modernize it.
BioWare caught some minor flak earlier this year when it revealed that it’d be making changes to the game for the remaster, but stood strong in the conviction thatMass Effect Legendary Editionis the definitive way to play the trilogy. As more and more was revealed, of course, many realized these changes were mostly Quality of Life and were likely to be good things. There are some immediately noticeable changes made in theLegendary Editionand some that are less noticeable doing a lot behind the scenes.
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Mass Effect Visual Overhaul
Perhaps the most noticeable change to the original games are the updated graphics. When looking at side-by-side images ofthe originalMass Effectcompared toMass Effect Legendary Edition, the difference is night and day. There are several major changes that were applied to theLegendary Editionto give it an updated look. Character models were updated with higher quality textures and finer details. This is most noticeable with characters wearing fabric clothing such as Liara when she’s wearing her green, non-combat outfit, and with characters who have highly detailed pieces to them like Garrus' entire face or the sections of his armor that are damaged. According to an official comparison video, BioWare says that all textures have either been enhanced or remade entirely.
As theMass Effecttrilogy puts so much on conversations and relationships, it makes sense that all of the characters' faces would get an overhaul as well. Using improved skin rendering, each character’s face has been updated to make them look more realistic. Because of the games' jump to 4K, the finer details of each character’s face are clearly present adding to the overall better-looking character models. The updates to the in-game lighting also give the cutscenes a more realistic feel. From the glow of the screens in the bridge of the Normandy to sunsets on distant alien planets, theMass Effectserieslooks better and more realistic than ever. With the updated lighting comes updated reflections giving visuals more clarity and showcasing metallic textures better.
The environments also benefit from the updated lighting and textures, but special attention was paid to the different particle effects present in each world. The series has always done a good job at making each individual planet feel different from the others. The enhanced particle effects applied to eachMass Effectplanet and environmentpaired with the laundry list of other graphical updates have changed the more polygonal PS3/Xbox 360 worlds into what players always imagined them looking like.
Weapon and Combat Changes
While the general feel for thetrilogy’s weapons has stayed the same inMass Effect Legendary Edition, some slight changes have been made to update them for more modern sensibilities. According to EA, reticule bloom and weapon sway have been, “tuned across all weapons to allow players to maintain more consistent firepower, while still managing their shots/overheat meter.” Changes have also been made to the way the camera behaves when aiming down sights to adjust the combat to feel a little more universal across all three games. As the games progressed originally, they were updated to be more in line with other third-person shooters of the times. As a result,Mass Effect 1’s combat felt fairly different fromMass Effect 3’s, soMass Effect Legendary Editionseeks to smooth things over as players transition from game to game.
Other, smaller, weapon details have been updated including a more helpful aim assist, more consistent headshot damage and reduced weapon cooldown. One final major change to the game’s weapon system is that all classes can use all types of weapons without facing any sort of penalty. This allows players to try things out and find what they like before going all in and speccing intoaMass Effectclassthat they might not even know if they like or not.
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DLC Integration and Mass Effect 3’s Ending
As is the case with many remasters and rereleases,Mass Effect Legendary Editionincludes all of the DLCsthat were made available for all three games. Instead of having to download them separately and complete them after the main story, they can be accessed before things wrap up. This will make the DLC feel like a much more natural fit into the games and not some simple add-on after the fact. Each DLC can be accessed starting at different times throughout the different games' stories, so unless a player is familiar with them, they might not even know that they’ve entered DLC missions.
Mass Effect 3had an infamously controversial endingwhen it first released but was made better retroactively with the game’s subsequent DLCs. Now, the extended ending will hopefully settle things once and for all about the definitive ending to the trilogy.
Changes to the MAKO
The MAKO is an infamous part of the originalMass Effectgame. Cut from the sequels,the MAKO is the vehicle that caused plenty of complaintsfrom players due to the large amount of time spent controlling it. While the MAKO still continues to be a large part ofMass Effect 1inMass Effect Legendary Edition, its controls have been improved significantly. Now, it makes better turns, handles better overall and the boosters have been upgraded to help keep players from flipping over. Flipping over in the MAKO is still a potential outcome and players will still need to put up with it for a significant portion of the game, however, now it will feel like less of a chore and frustration.
Legendary Edition Level Scaling Explained
Brand-new toMass Effect Legendary Editionis the option of level scaling. In the originalMass Effect,reaching the max level of 60 in a single playthrough wasn’t possible. Now, if players want to finish the game powered to the max, they can do it in a single playthrough thanks to the newly added level scaling. Players can switch between Legendary Mode and Classic Mode at any time in the settings menu, but it seems like Legendary Mode is the default for newcomers to the series and what BioWare intends for players to choose as it’s assumed that after the completion of one game, they’ll immediately start the next. Classic Mode is there to give fans looking for an experience more faithful to the original the chance to relive the games as they once were.
Mass Effect: Legendary Editionis available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
