I gave the Mass Effect 3 ending fiasco a lot of crap, and justifiably so in my opinion, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the game. To the contrary, Mass Effect 2 and 3 were among the best games I’ve ever played. I, like many PlayStation owners, only played a bit of the first game, and since I played Mass Effect primarily on PS3, I didn’t have the benefit of the decisions made in the first game to shape my Shepard that much more.
To the surprise of no one, there will be a Mass Effect Trilogy set on 360 and PC. It will cost $59.99, it releases in time for the holiday season on November 6. The big story here is this set will also be released on PS3, albeit “at a later date,” according to Bioware. The standalone version of Mass Effect will also be available on the PlayStation Store for $14.99 when the set releases (Mass Effect 2 and 3 are already available digitally on PSN).
For those of you with shorter memories, the first Mass Effect, while developed by Bioware, was published by Microsoft Game Studios. It wasn’t until EA picked up the rights to publish Bioware’s titles that the Mass Effect series was seen on PS3 beginning with Mass Effect 2, though even that was released a year after the 360 and PC versions. The thought was always that PS3 owners would never get to play the first Mass Effect on their console, as Microsoft proudly touted their 360 as the only console where you could experience the whole Mass Effect saga.
One of two things had to happen: either Microsoft’s publishing rights expired (or are going to expire soon), or EA bought the rights from Microsoft. Which it is doesn’t matter too much, what’s important is PS3 owners will finally get to play the Mass Effect series proper on their console of choice. As flawed as the first Mass Effect, and it certainly is especially when held up to the other two, it’s still important to experience the game considering how important narrative is to the Mass Effect franchise.
So PS3 owner, are you going to buy this set and play through the whole saga? i just might. It would be nice to relive one of my favorite gaming experiences, this time the way the developer intended me to, though I’ll probably get ticked off if I have to experience that crap extended ending at the end of Mass Effect 3!
Source: Bioware