As we’re approaching that magical time of year where BioWare teases us with selective details regarding the next game in the series, Mass Effect weighs on my mind. While the future of the series is uncertain, and anything shared with the fanbase is subject to change, the Mass Effect trilogy is available for new players and veteran fans to enjoy alike. With all this in mind, I recently started up a new game and Commander Shepard took command of the SSV Normandy SR-1 once again.
I realized pretty quickly after restarting Mass Effect 1 that I missed out on a lot of assignments and important details in my first play through. The first time around I didn’t help Garrus hunt down Dr. Saleon or retrieve Wrex’ family armor, and I certainly didn’t help Tali procure intel on the Geth vital to her pilgrimage. While I did the odd side quest on the Citadel and around the galaxy, I must have been pretty glued to the main mission. Which makes sense because I remember ME1 as being a fairly short game. Turns out, it’s not quite as short if you stop to take in all the excellent details…
One of the reasons I love revisiting complex stories – whether it be games, books, or movies – is that I learn something new each time. The first time through, I’m so busy trying to make sense of the story that I don’t have time to consider everything else on offer. For example, I was not a fan of navigating terrain in the Mako the first time I played ME1. This experience led to feeling less inclined to visit other planets and as a result I explored less. However, when I resolved to explore as much as I could I realized that the Mako is actually incredible. It’s able to scale mountainsides with mostly no issue and it’s difficult to flip over, unless Shepard tries to take on a near 90 degree slope. Once I stopped looking at the Mako as a vehicle with strange controls, and started imagining Shepard trying to drive it while towing along two squad members, it became hilarious and fun.
Jokes aside, I’m glad I took the time to complete many more side quests, that, while unnecessary to the completion of the main game story, help to add more color to the world of Mass Effect. During my first playthrough I found Cerberus to be a confusing plotline as their organization appears to come out of nowhere in Mass Effect 2 and somehow have the resources to bring Shepard back from death, and set themselves up as major antagonists. An initially-missed side quest in ME1 helps to introduce Cerberus and shows the player how they operate in the shadows. Similarly, I didn’t complete the Bring Down the Sky mission, which serves as an introduction to the Batarian species, so I had no idea why they got such a bad rap…
In a lot of ways, I’m enjoying my ME1 replay way more that the first time around. This time, I have my own personal experiences with the game to draw from instead of just reviews and article discussing their perspectives on what they think makes the game great. I can stop to smell the roses, pick up new lore details, and try out cool missions I originally skipped. It also serves as a great distraction from the looming N7 Day – coming up soon on November 7th… – as I try to avoid speculating on what will and won’t be shown off in this year’s annual Mass Effect Next teaser. I can’t wait to see how this new playthrough compares to my first one.