10 Things You Need To Know Before Playing Mass Effect
2. Keep In Mind Your Choices (And Their Consequences)
Mass Effect can be faulted for many things, but ambition is certainly not one of them. People often forget how revolutionary the concept of Mass Effect 2 was. In a three-arc game, this was the first one to implement the concept of a save import.
The save import was unheard of at the time. If you maintained the save file from Mass Effect 1, the choices you made in that game would carry over to the second, and, eventually, to the trilogy’s conclusion in Mass Effect 3.
If you choose to save a species in the first game, they’ll come back to provide aid against the Reaper forces in the game’s finale. Likewise, extinguishing the Geth can make you weaker against the bigger threat when it comes time for the finish - even though such a move may gain additional support from other races in the galaxy.
Sure, the third game's ending is still reviled for its lack of options, but it doesn’t discount the incredible execution leading up to the inevitable conclusion of this operatic sci-fi battle.