Mass Effect 1, 2 and 3 will be remastered and come packed as a trilogy in the upcoming Mass Effect Legendary Edition release. Developer Bioware has now shared many of the finetunes and calibrations they’ve made for the remaster, and most of it involves making Mass Effect 1 play more in line like 2 and 3.
For context, the original 2007 release of Mass Effect was still an RPG with shooting elements rather than the cover-shooter RPG the series evolved into in Mass Effect 2 and 3. And not many fans are fond of its RNG shooting, where your reticule can suddenly widen up thanks to a random check, meaning your accuracy was not consistent.
This won’t be the case when you’re playing Mass Effect in the Legendary Edition remaster. Weapons will be more accurate, with a better aim-down-sights view, better aim assists and a more controlled reticule bloom. Sniper rifles also won’t have sway anymore.
You can also now sprint out of cover and have a dedicated melee button in Mass Effect 1. There are a lot of other improvements, but true to the original- your guns will still use a heat mechanic instead of reloads.
Just like in Mass Effect 2 and 3, Mass Effect 1 will also let you give commands to your two squadmates independently. More cover has been added in various encounters as well.
The Mako, infamous for its janky handling physics, will also get improvements. It will slide around less, feel weightier, and now has speed boost thrusters alongside the jump jets. Also, you won’t immediately die from touching lava while in a Mako. You take damage over time instead.
Also, the character creation across all three games will be unified. FemShep from Mass Effect 3 will be the default Female Commander Shephard, but the two default FemSheps from Mass Effect 1 and 2 will still be available as pre-sets. You can still customise your Shephard at the beginning of each game, even when you are carrying over a past save.
There’s a lot of minor tweaks that should make the idea of replaying the whole Mass Effect trilogy worth your time. You can take a look at the full notes of what’s changed here.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition has gone gold, and will be releasing on May 14 for the PS4, PC (Steam, Origin) and Xbox One.