I've had Mass Effect 1 & 2 on the self for ages and not played them. Then when ME3 came out I had some credit spare so bought it. I've spent the last month playing through the first 2 and I'm now 2/3 of the way through 3.
I have to say this is the best gaming experience I've ever had. Carrying my character through the games with decisions you've made in the first and second one effecting your story is just epic.
Also the type of player you choose drastically changes the combat mechanics in the game.
For example a soldier class will be much better with fire arms and melee combat. Where as an Adept will have very limited firearms but will have a much wider range of Biotic Powers.
There are other classes too which have equally diverse styles of play.
Apart from all of the main story missions there are plenty of side missions to do that will really make a difference to your experience. The Mass Effect universe is vast and there seems to be endless stuff to do. and hundreds of people tomeet, all with their own story that you can become a part of.
You can choose to play the game a nice guy (Paragon) or a nasty guy (Renegade). No matter which one you choose you are still a Hero but you will go about your business in starkly different ways. It's not a cut and dry choice as Paragon / Renegade determined over time with the choices you make thoughout the game. I myself chose renegade and my Shepherd is a ruthless son of a b***h. In ME2 your choices effect your appearence, which is really fun.
The first game feels dated now but is still fun, with a great start to the story. ME2 takes a massive leap forward and is just amazing. ME3 is just beautiful yet distressing with all the carnage and with improved combat and great story.
My advise to anyone wanting to start the trilogy is buy ME2 and Genesis. Genesis is DLC which will allow you to watch the story and make the key choices in ME1 without having to play it, because as I said it feels a bit dated now and it could easily put you off playing through the whole game. Plus the car sections (Mako) can be really frustrating. In saying that I did enjoy Mass Effect 1 but it took some time to get into as there seemed to be too much talking and not enough shooting at the very beginning.
The character development is awesome and you really get to know certain characters. It's amazing how you can run into a character you haven't seen since ME1 and they will talk about the experience you had with the choices you specifically made. For example you can choose to kill or save a character in ME1 that has a huge role in the next two games. So If you decide to kill them they will not appear later on in the story.
The romances are also a really fun part of the gameplay. They also carry on through the series of games. The fact that you can choose to play as a Male or female Shepherd will effect which characters you can have a relationship with.
The DLC for ME2 was nothing short of incredible Shadow Broker being the pick of the bunch and Arrival that acts as a bridge into ME3 with a massive choice to make.
The current DLC for ME3 is also worth a look and although the added gameplay isn't worth the 800 points, the extra story content certainly is. As it sheds light onto a massive part of the first games story. It also adds a very interesting character to your squad.
Multiplayer is a Horde style (Gears of War) co-op experience. You fight though 11 waves of enemies but on every other wave there is a mission task to complete. If you fail or everyone dies it's game over. Wave 11 is always holding out in an area, waiting for evac. This can make for some intense moments as the clock ticks down and the the enemies get bigger, stronger and greater in number.
The unlockables in Multiplayer are gained by buying various packs (either with MSP or credits earned) and the contents are totally random. It reminds me of buying a sticker pack to stick in an album. There are three standard packs to choose from at various prices, the more expensive the pack the more likely it is that it will contain rarer items. You can aquire new weapons, characters, weapon mods, and ammo powers through buying these. Every so often there will be special packs available at high prices.
The Multiplayer also effects your solo campaign and boosts you readiness to face the final battle.
If I could add one thing it would be a drop in/out option for multiplayer campaign, much like Dead Rising 2. I can see that it is not feasable to have a joint campaign but having a friend/friends join your squad on missions would be a nice addition to the gameplay.
The achievements in Mass Effect 2 & 3 are really fun to get, and encourage you to play the game more thoroughly. Some even encourage you to play through the previous games before hand although it is not compulsary. Mass Effect 3 also has 2 nice avatar awards that are easy to obtain. For completing the first level you will be awarded a Mass effect helmet (see my sig) and for 25 melee kills you will rewarded with an omniblade. These make a refreshing change frome the usual t'shirt avatar awards, and serve as a nice little bonus..... Although it did persuade me to fork out for the ME3 avatar armour. LoL
I was sceptical about Mass Effect but decided to eventually take the plunge and in a game about choices I found it was my best choice of all. If I counted the the trilogy as one game (which it feels like to me) it's the best game I've ever played.
