Top 10 best things in Mass Effect part 2
Ok, so for those just joining us, the first half of this list can be found here, the "worst parts" of mass effect here and here.
Now without further ado the top 5 best parts of Mass Effect, and the end of my series on Mass Effect (for the moment)
#5. Interrupts. Mass Effect 2
Another major gameplay mechanic change in Mass Effect 2…and another one that massively improved the game.
No longer were you required to dump valuable and rare skill points into charm/intimidate skills to avoid playing as generic Shepard and instead be a paragon or renegade. Now you have the chance to take (or not take) actions in the game (IE throw a guy out a window, push over a stoned volus to save his life, electrocute a guy with his tools to prevent him from killing you later ect) to make your shepard more paragon or renegade….and the more of one choice you made, the more options you had to continue to act that way/make choices/dialogue options that made you fit that role. Or it just gave you the option to play shades of grey. Because it turns out my Paragon Shepard isn’t an idiot, and if given the chance to sabotage the mechs of a gang he is infiltrating, that will eventually discover and attempt to kill him with those same mechs….your damn right hes going to take that chance, even if it is “renegade” to do so. All in all, a much much better system than what came before.
Now note I specify Mass Effect 2 here….because it turns out it was much better choice than what came after too. In Mass Effect 3 the interrupts are primarily related to saying/not saying lines of dialogue…..that also serve no real purpose as you wind up with basically the same responses if you take the interrupts or not in most cases. And the few action choices you do get also don’t seem to make much logical sense. For example you can spar with James on your ship at one point. The first time you have a chance to hit him is a renegade action…..the second time is a paragon one. Why? Who the fuck knows? Its not like either shot is dirty or below the belt….they are basically identical punches.
Plus many of the choices you made in the game would boost both paragon and renegade levels equally and for the same thing. What? That doesn’t even make logical sense. A random action is rarely equally good and bad….and certainly shouldn’t make people see me as both more good and evil at the same time.
So yea, Mass Effect 2’s interrupts were amazing and worked …yet were totally redesigned and nerfed for no apparent reason (not even fan backlash as with the Mako) in Mass Effect 3.
But like I said for the combat system….the ME2 interrupts would be the other mechanic I wish we would retroactively put into the older (and newer) game.
#4. Lair of the Shadow Broker and Arrival DLC's. Mass Effect 2.
The Mass Effect 2 “bridging” DLC’s. Of course what they didn’t tell you is that the DLC’s were bridging from Mass Effect 1 to Mass Effect 3, and totally bypassing Mass Effect 2. Course if you read my “Worst” list you likely noticed I wasn’t a huge fan of ME2….so to me this is a massively (no pun intended) good thing.
Consider, once past the prologue/pre character creation part of Mass Effect 2, you basically don’t need anything from ME2 to make sense of either story, and actually you don’t need ANY of mass effect 2 for arrival to make sense. And even Lair of the Shadow Broker, change the reason Feron was kidnapped to basically anything else and make him a friend of Liara’s from before you rescued her, and you’ve totally removed Mass Effect 2’s tie ins to that DLC as well.
This disconnect from the main game is odd given that, both LotSB and especially arrival have more impact on the plot of Mass Effect 3 than anything in Mass Effect 2. Consider, at the start of the game, your basically in prison for destroying the Alpha Relay….which happened in arrival. And Liara has become the shadow broker, which happened in LotSB. Compare this to the seminal event of Mass Effect 2, the collector base, which outside of a few off hand references is basically never mentioned or related to the plot in anyway.
Furthermore since Mass Effect 3 was written to include the possibility every character in ME2 was dead, all the ME2 character cameos already have have replacement characters to fill in. Change the reason you had a falling out with the Virmire survivor from joining Cerberus, to your blowing up the Alpha Rely and you’ve basically excised Mass Effect 2 from the cannon of the series (in fact there would only be a couple of other minor tweeks needed, IE changing Henry Lawson’s character to not be related to Miranda, removing the human reaper cameo ect).
Now that excising is actually the point of this post. See taken together what Arrival and Lair of the Shadow Broker are basically a “retcon” version of what shepard and other ME1 characters where doing between games 1 and 3, to the point you can play ME1, go straight into LotSB then Arrival, then ME3 and have an almost consistent story. A few minor tweeks and link between the two and BOOM there you have it, a brand new middle chapter for Mass Effect, without all the baggage that was the almost unforgivably poorly thought out, written and executed plot (or lack of one) that was actually in Mass Effect 2.
Now like I said, the two DLC’s stop just short of being a replacement to Mass Effect 2 (by design), but still you have to admire what the developers basically did on the DLC’s….they went back and provided a working plot to get from point A (ME1) to point B (ME3)…and they managed to do it in such a way the replacement plot both worked in terms of being enjoyable and sating the fans and no one really noticed its purpose as replacement for ME2.
#3. The Quarian/Geth story and war. Mass Effect Series
Of all the species introduced in Mass Effect, and their relationships with each other, this was my favorite.
As Mass Effect started, you eventually get introduced to Tali, a teenager from a race called the Quarian. Now per what you learn from her, her people, the Quarian are basically shunned by the entire universe, all believed to be criminals and miscreants, and totally unwanted anywhere for accidentally creating the Geth….the primary antagonists and allies of lead villain Saren. So basically they are shunned for accidentally creating evil robots.
Oh and to top it off, the Quarian are now basically forced to live in environmental suits their entire lives since they cant live off their home planet without them and lost the planet during an surprise uprising by the Geth, at the same time it was revealed to the Quarians that the Geth were real AI’s and no longer mindless robots.
Fast Forward to Mass Effect 3 and well basically none of that is true. The Quarians were the aggressors, they started the war. And they did it preemptively out of a belief that “eventually” the Geth would rise up against them.
This is the exact same justification used by the Reapers/Star Child, as to why the Reapers harvest the galaxy every 50,000 years….because if they don’t, eventually ALL life will be wiped out by machines (not just the advanced life, as the Reapers harvest)
And this isn’t done at random either, its built up through the whole trilogy. In Mass Effect 1, you get the quarian side. ME2 introduces Legion and the “true geth”…which is to say the Geth are starting to take the first steps towards individuality, and their society is experiencing its first political disagreement….should they side with the Reapers to protect themselves from what they believe to be the inevitable renewal of hostilities from their creators, or should they remain as they always have…isolated from the rest of the galaxy by choice, awaiting the creators to see reason and return by choice.
Now, no matter what choice you make in legions loyalty mission, to rewrite or delete the pro war geth, the “true”/peace loving geth win out.
Until Mass Effect 3 rolls around, and the warmongers are proven right, as the Quarians attack unprovoked….basically because the universe is ending, so they are never going to get another chance so why not do it now? Although it makes no logical sense, but does make “emotional sense” (much like the harvest) the Geth have become so blinded by their focus on the Geth, that they cant put it aside to help prevent the end of the universe.
Now exactly how this plays out is up to your particular Shepard and the decisions he or she has made throughout the series. But no matter the result its still an awesome arc….the “victim race” of Mass Effect 1 turns out to be an organic analogue to the Reapers, the antagonists of the entire series…and arguably due to their own part in bringing about the demise of their culture unnecessarily, the Quarian prove worthy of the scorn and distain they get from other races.
Furthermore, the Geth, the secondary antagonists of the first two games, are revealed to basically have been right all along, and acting in what they believe to be the best interests of their own self-preservation…..just as Shepard has been doing in fighting the Reapers….and will have to do at a galactic level at the end of Mass Effect 3.
I’m not sure everyone got the analogy of the Geth/Quarian to Shepard /Reapers…but if you did it was a cool little easter egg…and a revealing one in that it shows how the thinking of Organics can lead to the creation of something like the Harvest…its not just a synthetic thing so it humanisms both the Geth and the Reapers.
#2. Leviathan and Extended Cut DLC's. Mass Effect 3.
So these DLC did for Mass Effect 3 what the two previously mentioned DLC did for Mass Effect 2….they fixed the shitty ass writing. The Extended Cut served mostly to bring needed closure to the parts and characters of the game that hadn’t yet got it….and tried to add explanation to what each choice meant for the galaxy at large(albeit only after making the choice). Both of these features were much needed improvements over the original seemingly arbitrary and meaningless ending that left the fate of all the other characters a hanging plot thread.
Leviathan meanwhile had the much harder job of making sense out of an ending that clearly wasn’t never ever given a coherent explanation at any point during the development of the game.
And honestly it did a decent job. Although it never outright states this, Leviathan gives the player enough information to point directly at why the reapers happened, and why things cant change…and even why the ending choices are what they are.
Basically after meeting and talking with the Leviathans, it becomes clear that they were just trying to help in their own way….they saw their slave races killed by their own creations and tried to create a way to stop it. Their mistake was believing in their own superiority and therefore believing they wouldn’t fall victim to the same mistakes their slaves did.
They were wrong. They wrote “bad programming code” for the reapers, by basically leaving it too imprecise. So the Reapers decided the only way to stop organics from being slaughtered by machines was prevent organics from developing to the point they could create the machines
Now admittedly this isn’t an original idea (as a nerdy analogue this is the same kind of thinking and for the same reasons you see the Sentinels make in the X-men when they decide the only way to protect mankind from mutants is to enslave mankind so they can ensure no new mutants are born) but its still a valid idea….and one that actually does make sense of everything that needed to make sense (why the harvests happen, why the reapers don’t kill primitive life ect)
Furthermore if you want to read into the DLC a little more, this even explains the end choices. You can either delete the bad programming language (destroy), rewrite it with “better” language (control) or develop something to render the program obsolete so it “shuts off” (synthesis).
Now while none of this makes the ending of Mass Effect 3 what the fans wanted it to be…it does make it coherent, it does play to reoccurring themes in literature and it does make it logical. And the extended cut makes it complete by showing the effects of the choice.
So at the end of the day….thats a win.
#1. Virmire. Mass Effect.
Ok so the overarching theme of the mass effect trilogy is supposed to be about making choices and the permeant impact they have on the universe. And nowhere is this more perfectly shown than Virmire.
Ok so everyone knows you have to choose between Kadian and Ashley on Virmire. One of them has to die…and never ever comes back. Save Kadian, you have access to the only Party Sentinel (with one of the best power sets) in Mass Effect 3. Save Ashley and you have the character (in my opinion) who better fits the role the Virmire Survivor takes in Mass Effect 2 and 3. (I would have said the best solider character from a power gaming standpoint but as Marksman is broken in the PC version and doesn’t work….well I cant make that claim without it).
So it’s basically a choice of Powers (Kaiden)vs Story (Ashley) so depending on what kind of player you are (powergamer or playing for the story) this choice slightly affects what kind of game-play experience you get in ME3.
But even at a deeper level this choice plays out. Ashley in ME3 is still focused on the small picture in most of her dialogues IE the instant impact of your missions and its direct effect on things. Also she still tends to see things as more black and white.
Kaidan meanwhile tends to focus much more on the big picture….what shepards choices mean for the galaxy writ large, and tends to see potential unintended consequences and also seems to think the universe is a giant shade of grey.
So you do get a very different experience and view of your own actions depending on who you save.
But that’s not the only choice you have to make on Virmire. You also have to choose between Wrex and Mordin.
Now I know what you’re thinking. Mordin’s not in Mass Effect 1. And you’re right of course. But if you want any chance for Mordin to survive Mass Effect 3, you need Wrev to asend to the chiefdom of Clan Urdnot in Mass Effect 2. And that only happens if Wrex is dead…and he can only be killed on Virmire (at least the only point prior to Mordins death if Wrex survives). So yea….if you really like Mordin you can keep him alive…..if you’re willing to shoot Wrex (or let Ashley do it).
By the way, it should also be mentioned the epilogue to the Control ending of ME3 changes depending on Wrex surviving Virmire or not. Oh and the slideshow showing the future of the Krogan in all 3 endings also changes.
Oh also, the two potential Salarian Counselors can be killed in Mass Effect 3 as a result of choices made at Virmire. Basically if you don’t attempt to help Kirrahe or intentionally direct forces towards him on Virmire and allow Thane to die in the suicide mission of ME2, no one will be present to stop Kai Lang from assassinating the Salarian Counselor in Mass Effect 3.
Oh and as the most minor of the potential things that can happen later because of Virmire, you can be responsible for the serial killing of members of the Asari Military. This assumes you didn’t kill Saren’s lead scientist Rana Thanoptis….cause even back then she was Indoctrinated (not that you knew it) and therefore kills the military guys to help the reapers. (however this is only actually mentioned in an in game email, doesn’t have any impact on game play ) meanwhile killing her deprives you of some explanation of exactly what the fuck is going on in Grunts recruitment mission in ME2.
Also worth noting, the ending of Mass Effect 1 is also impacted here. If you want Saren to kill himself (and seemingly save you the trouble) at the end of the game…..well that comes down to a dialogue choice with him here on Virmire.
Now obviously some of these consequences are MUCH MUCH Bigger than others….still Virmire does have the most major game altering consequences of any mission in the trilogy.(baring possibly the end of ME3, which alters the universe….but is never addressed in a game, yet (we will see about Mass Effect Andromeda and how it handles this)
Which means its basically the part of the trilogy that most lives up to the premise of the entire series. This makes it a pretty good candidate for the best thing ever about Mass Effect.
Now without further ado the top 5 best parts of Mass Effect, and the end of my series on Mass Effect (for the moment)
#5. Interrupts. Mass Effect 2
Another major gameplay mechanic change in Mass Effect 2…and another one that massively improved the game.
No longer were you required to dump valuable and rare skill points into charm/intimidate skills to avoid playing as generic Shepard and instead be a paragon or renegade. Now you have the chance to take (or not take) actions in the game (IE throw a guy out a window, push over a stoned volus to save his life, electrocute a guy with his tools to prevent him from killing you later ect) to make your shepard more paragon or renegade….and the more of one choice you made, the more options you had to continue to act that way/make choices/dialogue options that made you fit that role. Or it just gave you the option to play shades of grey. Because it turns out my Paragon Shepard isn’t an idiot, and if given the chance to sabotage the mechs of a gang he is infiltrating, that will eventually discover and attempt to kill him with those same mechs….your damn right hes going to take that chance, even if it is “renegade” to do so. All in all, a much much better system than what came before.
Now note I specify Mass Effect 2 here….because it turns out it was much better choice than what came after too. In Mass Effect 3 the interrupts are primarily related to saying/not saying lines of dialogue…..that also serve no real purpose as you wind up with basically the same responses if you take the interrupts or not in most cases. And the few action choices you do get also don’t seem to make much logical sense. For example you can spar with James on your ship at one point. The first time you have a chance to hit him is a renegade action…..the second time is a paragon one. Why? Who the fuck knows? Its not like either shot is dirty or below the belt….they are basically identical punches.
Plus many of the choices you made in the game would boost both paragon and renegade levels equally and for the same thing. What? That doesn’t even make logical sense. A random action is rarely equally good and bad….and certainly shouldn’t make people see me as both more good and evil at the same time.
So yea, Mass Effect 2’s interrupts were amazing and worked …yet were totally redesigned and nerfed for no apparent reason (not even fan backlash as with the Mako) in Mass Effect 3.
But like I said for the combat system….the ME2 interrupts would be the other mechanic I wish we would retroactively put into the older (and newer) game.
#4. Lair of the Shadow Broker and Arrival DLC's. Mass Effect 2.
The Mass Effect 2 “bridging” DLC’s. Of course what they didn’t tell you is that the DLC’s were bridging from Mass Effect 1 to Mass Effect 3, and totally bypassing Mass Effect 2. Course if you read my “Worst” list you likely noticed I wasn’t a huge fan of ME2….so to me this is a massively (no pun intended) good thing.
Consider, once past the prologue/pre character creation part of Mass Effect 2, you basically don’t need anything from ME2 to make sense of either story, and actually you don’t need ANY of mass effect 2 for arrival to make sense. And even Lair of the Shadow Broker, change the reason Feron was kidnapped to basically anything else and make him a friend of Liara’s from before you rescued her, and you’ve totally removed Mass Effect 2’s tie ins to that DLC as well.
This disconnect from the main game is odd given that, both LotSB and especially arrival have more impact on the plot of Mass Effect 3 than anything in Mass Effect 2. Consider, at the start of the game, your basically in prison for destroying the Alpha Relay….which happened in arrival. And Liara has become the shadow broker, which happened in LotSB. Compare this to the seminal event of Mass Effect 2, the collector base, which outside of a few off hand references is basically never mentioned or related to the plot in anyway.
Furthermore since Mass Effect 3 was written to include the possibility every character in ME2 was dead, all the ME2 character cameos already have have replacement characters to fill in. Change the reason you had a falling out with the Virmire survivor from joining Cerberus, to your blowing up the Alpha Rely and you’ve basically excised Mass Effect 2 from the cannon of the series (in fact there would only be a couple of other minor tweeks needed, IE changing Henry Lawson’s character to not be related to Miranda, removing the human reaper cameo ect).
Now that excising is actually the point of this post. See taken together what Arrival and Lair of the Shadow Broker are basically a “retcon” version of what shepard and other ME1 characters where doing between games 1 and 3, to the point you can play ME1, go straight into LotSB then Arrival, then ME3 and have an almost consistent story. A few minor tweeks and link between the two and BOOM there you have it, a brand new middle chapter for Mass Effect, without all the baggage that was the almost unforgivably poorly thought out, written and executed plot (or lack of one) that was actually in Mass Effect 2.
Now like I said, the two DLC’s stop just short of being a replacement to Mass Effect 2 (by design), but still you have to admire what the developers basically did on the DLC’s….they went back and provided a working plot to get from point A (ME1) to point B (ME3)…and they managed to do it in such a way the replacement plot both worked in terms of being enjoyable and sating the fans and no one really noticed its purpose as replacement for ME2.
#3. The Quarian/Geth story and war. Mass Effect Series
Of all the species introduced in Mass Effect, and their relationships with each other, this was my favorite.
As Mass Effect started, you eventually get introduced to Tali, a teenager from a race called the Quarian. Now per what you learn from her, her people, the Quarian are basically shunned by the entire universe, all believed to be criminals and miscreants, and totally unwanted anywhere for accidentally creating the Geth….the primary antagonists and allies of lead villain Saren. So basically they are shunned for accidentally creating evil robots.
Oh and to top it off, the Quarian are now basically forced to live in environmental suits their entire lives since they cant live off their home planet without them and lost the planet during an surprise uprising by the Geth, at the same time it was revealed to the Quarians that the Geth were real AI’s and no longer mindless robots.
Fast Forward to Mass Effect 3 and well basically none of that is true. The Quarians were the aggressors, they started the war. And they did it preemptively out of a belief that “eventually” the Geth would rise up against them.
This is the exact same justification used by the Reapers/Star Child, as to why the Reapers harvest the galaxy every 50,000 years….because if they don’t, eventually ALL life will be wiped out by machines (not just the advanced life, as the Reapers harvest)
And this isn’t done at random either, its built up through the whole trilogy. In Mass Effect 1, you get the quarian side. ME2 introduces Legion and the “true geth”…which is to say the Geth are starting to take the first steps towards individuality, and their society is experiencing its first political disagreement….should they side with the Reapers to protect themselves from what they believe to be the inevitable renewal of hostilities from their creators, or should they remain as they always have…isolated from the rest of the galaxy by choice, awaiting the creators to see reason and return by choice.
Now, no matter what choice you make in legions loyalty mission, to rewrite or delete the pro war geth, the “true”/peace loving geth win out.
Until Mass Effect 3 rolls around, and the warmongers are proven right, as the Quarians attack unprovoked….basically because the universe is ending, so they are never going to get another chance so why not do it now? Although it makes no logical sense, but does make “emotional sense” (much like the harvest) the Geth have become so blinded by their focus on the Geth, that they cant put it aside to help prevent the end of the universe.
Now exactly how this plays out is up to your particular Shepard and the decisions he or she has made throughout the series. But no matter the result its still an awesome arc….the “victim race” of Mass Effect 1 turns out to be an organic analogue to the Reapers, the antagonists of the entire series…and arguably due to their own part in bringing about the demise of their culture unnecessarily, the Quarian prove worthy of the scorn and distain they get from other races.
Furthermore, the Geth, the secondary antagonists of the first two games, are revealed to basically have been right all along, and acting in what they believe to be the best interests of their own self-preservation…..just as Shepard has been doing in fighting the Reapers….and will have to do at a galactic level at the end of Mass Effect 3.
I’m not sure everyone got the analogy of the Geth/Quarian to Shepard /Reapers…but if you did it was a cool little easter egg…and a revealing one in that it shows how the thinking of Organics can lead to the creation of something like the Harvest…its not just a synthetic thing so it humanisms both the Geth and the Reapers.
#2. Leviathan and Extended Cut DLC's. Mass Effect 3.
So these DLC did for Mass Effect 3 what the two previously mentioned DLC did for Mass Effect 2….they fixed the shitty ass writing. The Extended Cut served mostly to bring needed closure to the parts and characters of the game that hadn’t yet got it….and tried to add explanation to what each choice meant for the galaxy at large(albeit only after making the choice). Both of these features were much needed improvements over the original seemingly arbitrary and meaningless ending that left the fate of all the other characters a hanging plot thread.
Leviathan meanwhile had the much harder job of making sense out of an ending that clearly wasn’t never ever given a coherent explanation at any point during the development of the game.
And honestly it did a decent job. Although it never outright states this, Leviathan gives the player enough information to point directly at why the reapers happened, and why things cant change…and even why the ending choices are what they are.
Basically after meeting and talking with the Leviathans, it becomes clear that they were just trying to help in their own way….they saw their slave races killed by their own creations and tried to create a way to stop it. Their mistake was believing in their own superiority and therefore believing they wouldn’t fall victim to the same mistakes their slaves did.
They were wrong. They wrote “bad programming code” for the reapers, by basically leaving it too imprecise. So the Reapers decided the only way to stop organics from being slaughtered by machines was prevent organics from developing to the point they could create the machines
Now admittedly this isn’t an original idea (as a nerdy analogue this is the same kind of thinking and for the same reasons you see the Sentinels make in the X-men when they decide the only way to protect mankind from mutants is to enslave mankind so they can ensure no new mutants are born) but its still a valid idea….and one that actually does make sense of everything that needed to make sense (why the harvests happen, why the reapers don’t kill primitive life ect)
Furthermore if you want to read into the DLC a little more, this even explains the end choices. You can either delete the bad programming language (destroy), rewrite it with “better” language (control) or develop something to render the program obsolete so it “shuts off” (synthesis).
Now while none of this makes the ending of Mass Effect 3 what the fans wanted it to be…it does make it coherent, it does play to reoccurring themes in literature and it does make it logical. And the extended cut makes it complete by showing the effects of the choice.
So at the end of the day….thats a win.
#1. Virmire. Mass Effect.
Ok so the overarching theme of the mass effect trilogy is supposed to be about making choices and the permeant impact they have on the universe. And nowhere is this more perfectly shown than Virmire.
Ok so everyone knows you have to choose between Kadian and Ashley on Virmire. One of them has to die…and never ever comes back. Save Kadian, you have access to the only Party Sentinel (with one of the best power sets) in Mass Effect 3. Save Ashley and you have the character (in my opinion) who better fits the role the Virmire Survivor takes in Mass Effect 2 and 3. (I would have said the best solider character from a power gaming standpoint but as Marksman is broken in the PC version and doesn’t work….well I cant make that claim without it).
So it’s basically a choice of Powers (Kaiden)vs Story (Ashley) so depending on what kind of player you are (powergamer or playing for the story) this choice slightly affects what kind of game-play experience you get in ME3.
But even at a deeper level this choice plays out. Ashley in ME3 is still focused on the small picture in most of her dialogues IE the instant impact of your missions and its direct effect on things. Also she still tends to see things as more black and white.
Kaidan meanwhile tends to focus much more on the big picture….what shepards choices mean for the galaxy writ large, and tends to see potential unintended consequences and also seems to think the universe is a giant shade of grey.
So you do get a very different experience and view of your own actions depending on who you save.
But that’s not the only choice you have to make on Virmire. You also have to choose between Wrex and Mordin.
Now I know what you’re thinking. Mordin’s not in Mass Effect 1. And you’re right of course. But if you want any chance for Mordin to survive Mass Effect 3, you need Wrev to asend to the chiefdom of Clan Urdnot in Mass Effect 2. And that only happens if Wrex is dead…and he can only be killed on Virmire (at least the only point prior to Mordins death if Wrex survives). So yea….if you really like Mordin you can keep him alive…..if you’re willing to shoot Wrex (or let Ashley do it).
By the way, it should also be mentioned the epilogue to the Control ending of ME3 changes depending on Wrex surviving Virmire or not. Oh and the slideshow showing the future of the Krogan in all 3 endings also changes.
Oh also, the two potential Salarian Counselors can be killed in Mass Effect 3 as a result of choices made at Virmire. Basically if you don’t attempt to help Kirrahe or intentionally direct forces towards him on Virmire and allow Thane to die in the suicide mission of ME2, no one will be present to stop Kai Lang from assassinating the Salarian Counselor in Mass Effect 3.
Oh and as the most minor of the potential things that can happen later because of Virmire, you can be responsible for the serial killing of members of the Asari Military. This assumes you didn’t kill Saren’s lead scientist Rana Thanoptis….cause even back then she was Indoctrinated (not that you knew it) and therefore kills the military guys to help the reapers. (however this is only actually mentioned in an in game email, doesn’t have any impact on game play ) meanwhile killing her deprives you of some explanation of exactly what the fuck is going on in Grunts recruitment mission in ME2.
Also worth noting, the ending of Mass Effect 1 is also impacted here. If you want Saren to kill himself (and seemingly save you the trouble) at the end of the game…..well that comes down to a dialogue choice with him here on Virmire.
Now obviously some of these consequences are MUCH MUCH Bigger than others….still Virmire does have the most major game altering consequences of any mission in the trilogy.(baring possibly the end of ME3, which alters the universe….but is never addressed in a game, yet (we will see about Mass Effect Andromeda and how it handles this)
Which means its basically the part of the trilogy that most lives up to the premise of the entire series. This makes it a pretty good candidate for the best thing ever about Mass Effect.
So there you have it folks the 10 best parts of Mass Effect.
One potentially interesting note. Of all the mass effects it was ME3 that took home the honors for the most entries on this list with 5, compared to ME2 with 3 and the original Mass effect with only 2 (not counting the #3 entry which would have to be split between all 3 games).
Now this is surprising to me, as unlike the worst list (in which ME2 took home top honors and is my least favorite) I would actually say the original Mass Effect is my favorite...yet it made up the smallest part of this list.
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