Recent reviews by Quoth_the_Raven

Same old game, now with a few updates and tweaks. (I'm also a bit of an achievement junkie, so love that there's 129 of them) Also, just remember to start Baldur's Gate 1 before rolling with your character into Siege of Dragonspear.

So, admittedly, I can really only speak towards the first game from this set. I've beat the game on normal first, going only on how I wanted to play and exploring as much as I could because....I like to explore. Then I went through on Insanity using various guides to ensure I don't miss any missions or resources on planets. (still played how I wanted, just with a guide to ensure I carry over as much as possible) I'll be updating this review as I play through the series.

ME1 was, what I feel like, a bygone era. I still remember playing Rainbow 6: Las Vegas, Chromehounds (R.I.P.), and Mass Effect every single weekend as a young teen. In the days before I feel like EA/Bioware started loading everything full of as much DLC as possible (looking at you DA:Origins). A great game full of great content.

Pros:
+ Polished look, looks like they've applied some new texture pack(s)
+ Same good ol' story
+ Achievements lowered from what they used to be (not having to play 75% of the game with each character to now just 5 missions, and the kills with each skill/ability)
+ Still get the bonus' from unlocking achievements. (can see in the "extras" menu)
+ If you head to the Erebus system, Styx Theta cluster, planet Nepmos: You'll notice ambient noises from the creatures that dwell (won't spoil it) there. If you've ever seen the movie "Pitch Black", it almost sounds like that. As well, the general atmosphere of the planet kinda gives me that movies vibes too.
+ In ME2, I do think the design of the Collector's is pretty neat. Reminds me of mud dauber's.
+ In ME2, the combat is SO much better than ME1. (and less cheese as far as combos go)
+ I love how ME2 and ME3 make such good use of the content that came before it.

Cons:
- I can't tell, but I think a lot of the "clickable" lore items were removed
- The eyes now look like their constantly mirrors
- FAR too much DRM. Having to have steam DRM, with Origin DRM is....Obnoxious. (but with steam having such a drastic cut of each sale, it's hard to give a better option for EA beyond making their own launcher like literally everyone else seems to be doing)
- The mission with Dr "Heart" has a pretty severe FPS drop after completion. (did this on both normal and insanity, regardless of choice made)
- When on Novaria and finally getting through the mountains to Peak 15, you start to notice the issues with the AI pathing very quick. They get stuck on the other side of doors, and don't always move to where you tell them to. As if they don't understand the commands.
- During the UNC: Geth Incursions mission, I noticed a bug on that left me unable to complete the mission. When I went back and redid the mission on Insanity, it went as it was supposed to and I completed it. My issue was the Geth dropship literally just hovering in the air right outside of the bunker and it just didn't spawn any enemies as it should.
+ In ME2, there is an odd audio bug, that I remember from the first time it released, that seems like it skips the last word or few of the end of a sentence.

In-Between:
[] The mako still bounces around like it doesn't understand the general physics of the planets
[] I'm not sure if it's a bug, but I've hard crashed 3 times when I drive over mineral deposits on planets
[] Sprint still feels like a bouncy camera while walking
[] Personally, I feel like the final battle in ME1 was....Anti-climactic. Utilizing the same strategy as in game NPC's just having one additional mechanic feels....Odd.
[] In ME2, when doing Tali's favor quest you come across a log. It's a Quarian Log, and the mother tells the child she loves her, and then she (presumably) passes. Yet there are no bodies near said log?

Fun to roll around with friends in, sometimes it's even interesting to get some randos! Will say though, the game is entirely based around specific tasks and cosmetics so.....It CAN become repetitive after a bit.

Basically Sniper Elite with zombies. Admittedly, does get a bit dry doing the same fetch quest/shoot stuff over and over. But with friends, and buying off a sale, definately not a bad way to spend a weekend.

The only real thing I wish they'd do is something like what FFXIV did: Which is the ability to have one character be all the classes. However, that's not really a negative for them, just something I wish.

However, the game is great and I love the PvP! Am also a recent Linux user that is utilizing Proton and will say that it plays the same as it did on Windows.

This is definately one of the forgotten gems of our time. To be short and mostly tldr type:
Pros:
- Pawn system, always fun to take someones pawn and teach them. Your pawn you create gains
knowledge for every quest you complete AND for killing creatures in different ways with their
weaknesses. You can take other peoples pawns, up to 2, with you. Your pawn learns from them, and will
teach them. All the while, they teach each other as your going through the game and voice it as they go.
- Rewarding gear system
- Ability to switch vocations
- DLC is "free" and adds a ton of length
- Immense world

Cons:
- As with all older games, the graphics are semi sub-par
- The voice acting is pretty rough

Basically Halo and Borderlands offspring. With the "pay model" a lot like that of Smite. You have season passes and such. You only really pay for cosmetic stuff, and the DLC if you want it.

Had a fisherman die of starvation......Had a tailor die in the winter due to hypothermia........Would recommend again.

If my children could have one game in the future, this one would be it. (Probably)

Side note: How they handled DLC with their accidental failures is exactly how you're supposed to...Well done.

If you ever played "Mark of the Ninja", this is basically that game in third person. I highly recommend this game as I loved Mark of the Ninja as well.