Having played the original trilogy when it first released almost 20 years ago, I had forgotten just how great this series is. Filled with amazing imagery, solid writing / voice acting and immersive gameplay that really makes you feel like a badass flying through space saving the galaxy. For me it feels a bit like a spiritual successor to the Knights of the Old Republic games in many ways, tying space sim elements to a story-deep action RPG. As the series progresses, so does the quality of life changes and positive changes to some of the weaker elements of the first game. Visually, the whole thing is stunning and still manages to hold up today - though I would recommend installing a couple of mods just to make your experience that much greater. I used the ALOT and ALOV mods which feature upscaled textures and videos.

For those completely new to the series, essentially this is a third person action RPG, using a cover system. The game tends to split between exploration, gunplay and the story-driven narrative, employing a morality system that lets you determine what kind of galactic saviour you are. You might be a paragon of hope, making decisions to be kind and benevolent, or a renegade who takes any action available to them to get the job done. Of course, many difficult decisions are present in this series, ones that will certainly carry over even from the first game to the third. That renegade decision might ultimately be the right move for example - or it might just be funny or cool!

The first game of this series released in 2007 - and it mostly holds up very well. That said, some of the controls and gunplay feel a little restrictive, and I would have liked to see more features such as FOV control or shoulder cam switching. That said, the second game vastly improves on the shooting elements. The other thing I feel I should mention is the awful EA launcher that tries forcing you to launch after you install. I highly recommend looking up the 'F@@@ EA guide' which gives you a very useful way of avoiding it altogether. Of course, there was some controversy with how the last game ended back in the day, and this ended up with a lot of drama unfortunately. Without giving too many spoilers regarding that, I'll just say the ending felt quite rushed. There are a lot of mods and a patch that Bioware released, though I never tried it myself as this is the first time I've replayed the series since completing it all those years ago.

On a final note, as anyone who is a fan of Star Trek or similar, RPGs or Sci-Fi stories, this collection is a must-have, and probably for me one of the best game series of all time.

Recommended mods:
For the entire trilogy, I recommend ALOT (Texture improvements), ALOV (AI upscaled videos) and Lighting Restoration. These mods are available for each game as packs and make a lot of improvements that bring the ME series almost to the current gen in a lot of ways.

To vastly improve the ending of ME3, I highly, highly recommend getting CEM (Citadel Epilogue Mod). This basically places one of ME3s DLCs at the end of the game, which basically acts as a heart warming goodbye to all the characters in the game. It just fits so well, especially since the DLC contrasted with the grim narrative of the final game.

Lastly, for ME3, make sure to get EGM (Expanded Galaxy Mod). This adds a huge bunch of new quests and truly difficult decisions that effect your final army for the last fight, in a totally meaningful way. It adds so much more immersion to the game - I mean a LOT. The maker of the mod deserves so much credit. There is one scene that allows you to call in the final battle near the end of the game that is genuinely one of the most kino moments in gaming I've experienced.

Pros:
Immersive and gripping storyline.
Incredible soundtrack.
Great writing and decent voice acting.
Graphics that hold up well today.

Cons:
EA Launcher (can be fixed with guide)
The ending was definitely rushed.
A small bit of clunkiness in the first game.

Having played the original trilogy when it first released almost 20 years ago, I had forgotten just how great this series is. Filled with amazing imagery, solid writing / voice acting and immersive gameplay that really makes you feel like a badass flying through space saving the galaxy. For me it feels a bit like a spiritual successor to the Knights of the Old Republic games in many ways, tying space sim elements to a story-deep action RPG. As the series progresses, so does the quality of life changes and positive changes to some of the weaker elements of the first game. Visually, the whole thing is stunning and still manages to hold up today - though I would recommend installing a couple of mods just to make your experience that much greater. I used the ALOT and ALOV mods which feature upscaled textures and videos. For those completely new to the series, essentially this is a third person action RPG, using a cover system. The game tends to split between exploration, gunplay and the story-driven narrative, employing a morality system that lets you determine what kind of galactic saviour you are. You might be a paragon of hope, making decisions to be kind and benevolent, or a renegade who takes any action available to them to get the job done. Of course, many difficult decisions are present in this series, ones that will certainly carry over even from the first game to the third. That renegade decision might ultimately be the right move for example - or it might just be funny or cool! The first game of this series released in 2007 - and it mostly holds up very well. That said, some of the controls and gunplay feel a little restrictive, and I would have liked to see more features such as FOV control or shoulder cam switching. That said, the second game vastly improves on the shooting elements. The other thing I feel I should mention is the awful EA launcher that tries forcing you to launch after you install. I highly recommend looking up the 'F@@@ EA guide' which gives you a very useful way of avoiding it altogether. Of course, there was some controversy with how the last game ended back in the day, and this ended up with a lot of drama unfortunately. Without giving too many spoilers regarding that, I'll just say the ending felt quite rushed. There are a lot of mods and a patch that Bioware released, though I never tried it myself as this is the first time I've replayed the series since completing it all those years ago. On a final note, as anyone who is a fan of Star Trek or similar, RPGs or Sci-Fi stories, this collection is a must-have, and probably for me one of the best game series of all time. [b]Recommended mods:[/b] For the entire trilogy, I recommend ALOT (Texture improvements), ALOV (AI upscaled videos) and Lighting Restoration. These mods are available for each game as packs and make a lot of improvements that bring the ME series almost to the current gen in a lot of ways. To vastly improve the ending of ME3, I highly, highly recommend getting CEM (Citadel Epilogue Mod). This basically places one of ME3s DLCs at the end of the game, which basically acts as a heart warming goodbye to all the characters in the game. It just fits so well, especially since the DLC contrasted with the grim narrative of the final game. Lastly, for ME3, make sure to get EGM (Expanded Galaxy Mod). This adds a huge bunch of new quests and truly difficult decisions that effect your final army for the last fight, in a totally meaningful way. It adds so much more immersion to the game - I mean a LOT. The maker of the mod deserves so much credit. There is one scene that allows you to call in the final battle near the end of the game that is genuinely one of the most kino moments in gaming I've experienced. [b]Pros:[/b] Immersive and gripping storyline. Incredible soundtrack. Great writing and decent voice acting. Graphics that hold up well today. [b]Cons:[/b] EA Launcher (can be fixed with guide) The ending was definitely rushed. A small bit of clunkiness in the first game.