The launch of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition brings the trilogy to the two newest generations of consoles and PC with remastered content and nearly all of the trilogy's DLC expansions. While many remasters seek to improve the visual quality of older titles, Mass Effect: Legendary Edition also seeks to unify the player experience across all three titles. While this did include some changes to the second and third games in the trilogy, the majority of the changes came to the original Mass Effect that released in 2007.
Most of the changes to the first Mass Effect in Mass Effect: Legendary Edition are permanent, such as large updates to the combat, UI elements, visuals, and camera, to bring it all in line with the other two games. However, some of the biggest changes, like the new controls for Mass Effect's infamous Mako vehicle, an updated character creator, and a new level scaling system, do give players a choice on whether to use the original mechanics or the newer ones. While the options are nice within themselves, they also exemplify why giving players such choices matters.
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The first Mass Effect features various sequences seeing players take control of an all-terrain vehicle known as the M35 Mako. Equipped with a turret, jump jets, and a shield, it is more than capable of taking Commander Shephard and squadmates across a variety of different planets and terrains. In its original appearance, however, many players found it frustrating to control, as its physics allowed the Mako to bounce around on rough terrain.
The bouncing both lost considerable amounts of speed as well as making it difficult to control as many of the Mako's maps were covered with rocks and uneven ground. In Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, the Mako's physics have been revamped to give it more weight to keep it from bouncing as much and allowing players to better maintain control over it.
However, players who want to maintain the original experience can opt to revert the Mako's controls back to Mass Effect's original rendition. The ability to switch back and forth between the original and Legendary Mako controls satisfies both players: those that are looking for the original experience, and players who want to see Mass Effect: Legendary Edition improve aspects of the games and bring them closer to modern standards. Being able to switch back and forth makes sure that the Mako sections of Mass Effect will satisfy all players by giving them the ability to choose their experience and play the version of Mass Effect that they want to.
When first starting the collection, players are presented with the choice of whether to play Mass Effect: Legendary Edition with the Legendary or Classic level scaling mode. In Classic Mode, Mass Effect: Legendary Edition's version of Mass Effect is more similar to the game's original release, with players being able to reach level 60.
The primary difference is that players can reach level 60 in a single playthrough, where the original saw players having to play through the game a second time on New Game+. Legendary Mode brings Mass Effect more in line with the other two titles that both have a max level of 30. Importantly, whichever level scaling mode players decide to use does not impact the power of their characters or how their save transfers to Mass Effect 2.
Regardless of whichever level scaling mode players decide to play on, the enemies and difficulty of the reworked Mass Effect will adjust accordingly. Players will receive the same amount of skill points to spend in the end. This means that playing on Classic Mode simply gives players more frequent level ups that give fewer skill points, while Legendary Mode will give players fewer level ups that are more impactful. Mass Effect: Legendary Edition even lets players switch between the two modes at any time, with the game calculating the numbers whenever a player switches.
The ability to switch back and forth allows players to personalize how they want to experience Mass Effect and build their class' skill tree. While neither experience replicates how players leveled up in the original, since Mass Effect: Legendary Edition modified experience distribution across the entire game, it lets players customize their experience. The two modes don't offer drastically different experiences or class builds, but it does let players better tailor the experience to their preferences.
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One of the coolest features of the Mass Effect trilogy is the player's ability to transfer their save files from one game to the next. This allows their choices for Mass Effect's multiple difficult decisions to carry over throughout the games and have reaching consequences. It also lets players keep their personalized Commander Shephard throughout the experience. To help smooth out the experience, Mass Effect: Legendary Edition unified the character creation options across all three titles. This includes adding new options to the creator and changing the default female Commander Shephard in Mass Effect to better match the default in the other two titles.
For players who are nostalgic for their original female Commander Shephard, Mass Effect: Legendary Edition does still include that model as one of the preset appearances. This option benefits players looking for a more unified experience, while still letting returning players revisit the game with the character they remember. Being able to choose the older female Commander Shephard preset lets players feel as though the game wants to honor their past experiences and memory of the game, as well as revamping Mass Effect for new audiences.
Regardless of how players want to experience the trilogy through Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, the game gives players the options required for them to tailor it to their preferences. While many of the changes in Mass Effect: Legendary Edition have received a warm welcome from fans so far, the game's ability to accommodate both types of players is a smart move to satisfy as many fans as possible. Hopefully, future Mass Effect titles will embrace player choice as much as Mass Effect: Legendary Edition has to better satisfy its players as well.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is available now on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.