But that's not the topic here.
Thing is: I'm with the franchise since 2008. Since ME got released for PC, I'm playing this series, netting me five years of a great, but flawed set of games. My favorite characters in the series are Ashley, Mordin, Wrex, Garrus, Miranda, Joker, Kaidan and many, many more should be named here too since it's hard to pick from that list. Most characters felt good, not just as characters in a series of games, but also nearly as real people. That's a great achivement for a team of writers. Other characters felt less perfect and I surely saw several characters feeling incomplete, flawed and extra.
Same can be said about the story. ME1 came with a short (well, after all, you could race through it within 15 hours!), but decent story. It came with some flaws and logic holes, but overall the first game tried to give an illusion of a living, real universe with background, political settings, every-day problems and such.
I'm very aware of the fact the plot of ME1 got never completed.
ME2 showed us the darker side of that universe. And still I had a lot of time to get in touch with that universe, to see the tough life of a mercenary or hunted one. Working for Cerberus gave me a hard time. And still I enjoyed some parts in ME2 more than I did in ME1, naming the improved combat system and the extra content in form of loyalty missions. Despite the fact I disliked the feeling of doing random jobs not connected to the main plot, those missions gave some insight of the characters on board of my ship.
Missed: MAKO - and no exploration anymore!
Also most DLCs felt like decent additions to the game.
Well, and then we had ME3. And somehow it felt different from the rest of the series. Too much combat, too little crew interaction, too much auto-dialogue. You know it, BW, all the jazz. All the sh*tstorms concerning the endings, the missing dialogue options, the missing impact of your decisions - all that. No need to go through lacking content for Ash and Kaidan, no need to mourn over Tali's late return, no need to talk about the lacking last third of the game.
And, of course: I definitely don't need to say anything about the issues in the plot, the new plot holes created by Leviathan (a very well made DLC) or the big disappointment Omega was.
The very last DLC, "Citadel" fixed some issues I had. Plenty of extra dialogue for your characters, more interaction stuff, civilian life for Shepard, more background on Anderson. It was good. It came with some bugs, but overall it was good.
It leads me to one last question. Why now? Why not earlier? Why didn't ME3 feel like that the entire time?
That last DLC gives me the idea you had the skills to do it, to pull the stunt and make ME3 the game a lot of us fans had dreamt off. And it didn't happen.
And that's the point. That's what I'm wondering. That final DLC is worth the bucks. It just makes me sad to see how ME3 could have been.
Also leads me to that big, big, big wish that one day, in a few years, maybe five or so, some guy starts some dialogue like this ...
Mr. Jones: Well ... there was this series. It felt great, but also flawed. Think it started 2007 or so ... yeah, right. Eleven years ago, for that old console. Don't ask me for a name, but it was about a person named Shepard.
Mrs. Frakes: You mean "Mass Effect"?
Mr. Jones: Yeah, that. Man - I was 25 or so, when it got released. Did you play it?
Mrs. Frakes: Sure! My then-boyfriend bought me a copy. Picked Jane Shepard. Soldier, War Hero ... or so.
Mr. Jones: Great times, great times.
Mrs. Frakes: It's a shame Bioware wasn't able to keep up that standard in the entire series - well, I was a die-hard fan of that series. Seriously - I totally freaked out when I had to sacrifice Ashley on Virmire. Had to replay that mission, saved her, just to find out I couldn't kill Kaidan either. *laughs*
Mr. Jones: Still playing that game?
Mrs. Frakes: Sometimes. It's just a good series. Flawed, especially towards the end. But good.
Mr. Jones: Thing is, I'd like to reboot that series. You know - ME, right from the beginning. Shepard's adventures retold. With everything set right this time. No plot issues. Reapers being a real threat. And tons of emotions.
Mrs. Frakes: I hope you can do it. I'd love to replay the series.
Mr. Jones: Just need a bunch of writers and luck to find someone who can convince Bioware to accept that idea. But ...
Unknown man: You better give it a try.
Mr. Jones: Excuse me, Sir, I'm talking to this lady-
Unknown man: You do it. No trying, no "maybe". Do it.
Mr. Jones: May I ask who you are?
Unknown man: You know the name. It starts with the letter "S" ... *smiles and leaves*
Okay, goodnight guys.
I definitely want to see a reboot of Shepard's story. One day.
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