#Mass effect reaper horn series

It's an inelegant way of translating the state of a story, even if a score is perfectly suited to the language of video games. The problem is that a scoreboard almost equalizes these events, so something as major as preserving or destroying the Rachni race (ME1) gets lumped on there without appropriate fanfare. Even minor things, like saving a Salarian captain in Mass Effect 1, can add to your chances of victory. The number starts low, but grows as you sway more forces to your side by completing priority missions or sidequests. Every thing you do - and many of the things you've done in previous games - gets funneled into a number that represents how likely the galaxy is to survive the Reaper onslaught. In some ways, however, it's disappointing to see so many of your relationships, choices, failures and successes boil down to a statistic in Mass Effect 3. (The only significant betrayal I encountered in this regard was when the game failed to import my Shepard's appearance from Mass Effect 2.)

#Mass effect reaper horn series

That long, personalized thread is what truly sets the Mass Effect series apart from other science fiction. You're railroaded by some of the big, expensive outcomes from Mass Effect 2, but the little creases in plot and dialogue still grant a sense of ownership and tight continuity. The trilogy's spectacular conclusion hits hard, having built momentum across a tremendous universe, and alongside a legitimate player history, preserved in a huge list of variables and decisions spanning three different games. You'll be pleased to hear that BioWare doesn't blow it. One interpretation of Mass Effect 3, then, is that it's about aliens putting aside their differences and banding together to wipe a troublesome, trombone-heavy meme off the face of the Earth. The Reapers, ancient machines that harvest organic life, arrive en masse and emit an intimidating, brassy blare as they descend upon developed civilizations. You know things are getting grim in the galaxy when the Inception horn comes out.