Last week publishing house Electronic Arts held a presentation of the trilogy remaster for journalists and bloggers Mass effect… And the editorial office GameMAG remained slightly bewildered.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition is a re-release of three cult games that marked the heyday and at the same time the decline of the studio BioWare… The release of updated versions has been asking for a long time, but EA has refused to do this for a long time.
The collection boasts a single launcher from which you can run any of the three parts, a unified in-game interface and an updated character constructor. In particular, now the default image of FemShepard (female version of Shepard) from Mass effect 3 is the standard for the first two parts.
The developers did not forget to include all the released DLCs in the remaster. However, further nuances begin.
If you’re looking for drastic graphical changes, then we have bad news. As the developers admitted, initially BioWare considered the possibility of transferring the trilogy to Unreal Engine 4but the studio faced a lot of difficulties. In the end, it was decided to stay with Unreal Engine 3…
The main changes are related to updated textures and volumetric lighting. Moreover, on PS4 Pro, Xbox one x, PS5 and Xbox series x the remaster must issue 60 frames per second in permission up to 4K inclusive… About improved in-game cinematics and support HDR also not forgotten. On PC, these indicators will grow even more, but on basic versions Xbox one and PS4 the parameters are likely to be limited to 30 frames per second and 1080p resolution.
The developers also promised to fix bugs in the animations, but drastic changes should not be expected. The fact is that modern BioWare has not coped with its past creations, and when changes are made to the dialogue system, the lines are out of sync with the actions.
The main part of the presentation was given to the remaster of the original Mass effect… This is not surprising, given that of the entire trilogy, it is the first part that is most outdated. This is true not only for the visual part, but also for the gameplay.
Some BioWare solutions raise questions. Let’s start with the positive changes. The main efforts of the development team were devoted to improving the graphics, and the matter was not limited to replacing textures.
Thus, the level of detail in the locations on which additional objects appeared (stones, debris, equipment, boxes, chairs, and so on) has significantly increased. This is especially noticeable on the planet Feros, where more skyscrapers are now visible in the background.
The lighting has been completely redone, which has a dramatic effect on the final result. The fact is that the position of the light sources was changed in order to give the surroundings volume, saturation and “liveliness”.
Separately, BioWare prides itself on reflections. Unreal Engine 3 does not support ray tracing technology, but the development team took a different approach, taking advantage of the engine’s features. Roughly speaking, the game simultaneously renders two images at once, after which the second is used in reflections, which are not only highly detailed, but also dynamic.
But the gameplay changes raise questions. On the one hand, being in the Citadel will no longer feel like perverse torture. Thanks to the increased loading speed of the environment, the player eliminated the need to hang around in the elevators for several minutes.
Combat segments in Mass Effect have raised questions since release. A significant part of the game was always perceived as torment due to gunfights: the weapon quickly overheated, the scope constantly became a giant blob, and the grenades flew in a straight line. What will change in the updated version? We have no idea.
The developers are rather vague about the changes. Judging by the comments, they are still experimenting with camera position and aiming. In addition, the control of the squad and the behavior of partners should be corrected, and a gamepad will be connected to the PC version. It’s hard to say what will happen in the end.
One thing is certain – BioWare promises to change the physical model of the Mako all-terrain vehicle, which has long become a meme. But at the same time, the developers are not talking about how the side missions associated with it will change, which are giant maps with poor detail and a bunch of hills with slides on which almost nothing happened.
Mass Effect 2 and 3 received the least attention. Apparently, these games will be limited to texture updates only. And BioWare’s comments suggest that no one will change the animations. This is disappointing, because in Mass Effect 3 Shepard ran as if he had an aspen stake in his ass, and constantly showed off in cutscenes with a default rifle / pistol.
On the way to the remaster, the triquel was also left without multiplayer, which many players liked. Cause? It would be too difficult to work on it.
But the decision to make a unified character constructor is the right one. Now you don’t have to worry about re-creating your unique Shepard, and Fem Shepard from Mass Effect 3 is available in all three games. Also some hairstyles have been changed and new skin tone options have been added.
As the presentation progressed, we got the feeling that Mass Effect Legendary Edition was a kind of half-measure. Developers either cannot cope with the tasks assigned, or do not want to waste time and resources.
Switch from UE 3 to UE4? It’s too hard! Update animations? It’s too hard! Port multiplayer? It’s too hard!
Separately, it should be noted that the screenshots provided by EA were quite controversial. There were much more successful comparisons at the presentation.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition may well be of interest to new players. But the veterans of the series may be unhappy with some decisions of the studio BioWare.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition comes out May 14…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2Su5OSp8D4
Author: Vadim Syedin (Vadim2)
Read also: Creepy and Long-necked: Our First Impressions of Little Nightmares II…
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