Mass Effect series games

Mass Effect

— a series of third-person shooters with RPG elements originally developed by Bioware for the Xbox platform, but later ported to Windows and PS. The action takes place in the space future, where mankind has discovered the technology of interstellar flights (the mass effect for which the series is named) and faced with alien races. However, the player will have to fight mainly in the format of a traditional shooter – on the surfaces of planets, space stations and ships, traveling on foot, sometimes using military equipment.

At the beginning of 2022, the series includes 4 main games for desktop platforms: the "classic" trilogy about Commander Shepard and his fight against the Reaper race (the first three parts, numbered) and Mass Effect Andromeda, which takes place more than 600 years later in another galaxy. In 2021, the main trilogy was re-released as Mass Effect Legendary Edition, with a number of additions and improvements – in particular, improved graphics, access to all three parts from the general menu, a redesigned combat system in the first part, etc. The original and Legendary editions use a "pass-through character" system: the character can be ported from the previous part to the next, and the story will take into account the key decisions made in the previous parts. The main trilogy has several endings that contradict each other, which initially raised doubts about the possibility of continuing. However, as of 2022, there is solid information about the development of Mass Effect 4 (and even some hints about which particular ending will be accepted as "canonical").

In turn, Mass Effect Andromeda is practically not connected with the plot of the main trilogy (the matter is limited mainly to references in various informational materials). In this game, among other things, the progression system has noticeably changed: classes as such have disappeared, and individual special skills characteristic of a particular class become available depending on what basic skills the player develops.

In general, the original Mass Effect series received high marks for its detailed universe and high-quality storyline (in fact, the games in the series were originally created with an emphasis on "cinematic" aspect). The fourth part was less well received due to the frankly weaker plot; however, praise was given to the game's overall atmosphere and combat system.