To keep the hype train on the new Mass Effect coming very, very soon, EA is offering the best part of the first trilogy for free on Origin. Mass Effect 2 is Origin’s latest “On The House” offer, being free to download at this link here.
Last few weeks the game was offered for free as well, but got quickly removed. It was likely an error at the time.
Mass Effect 2 is where the series finally found some footing with tight cover-shooting gameplay. Some will lament the loss of the space opera feel and more RPG-ish elements in the first for a streamlined design in the second, but the second part of Commander Shepard’s journey certainly is the one that establishes how Mass Effect plays right now. Shepard’s resurrection only to go on a suicide mission is a simple but strong plot device that should keep you glued to the action.
The free version here is the standard one, which is excluding all the DLCs. Unfortunate since some of the DLC content is pretty good and even important to establish the sequences in which Mass Effect 3 starts. So if you see those going on sale later, grab them too.
Playing the rest of the trilogy is not mandatory to get ready for Mass Effect: Andromeda coming at the end of March. The cast of characters and world are mostly different for that. But if you want to understand why people like Mass Effect so much, give Mass Effect 2 a go.