Favorite Part Of Each Game

It is going to be tough to choose just one from each game, but I'll give it a shot.

Mass Effect 1:
The final battle on the Citadel where you are walking up the outside of the tower to get to the Council chambers. It is easy to think it is just another hallway until you get up close to the top and you see Sovereign above you, one of his legs pounding on the tower. I still love seeing that.

Runner up: Opening + Eden Prime. A fantastic opening to the game and well-paced tutorial that really sets up the mystery and goal of the game. It pulls me in every time.

Mass Effect 2:
I am going to cop out and say the combat mechanics. I have some issues with weapon and power balance, but overall they come together to make the game in the series I love playing the most (on Insanity), with good class balance and variety of fun builds and playstyles.

Runner up: All of the primary missions are great, culminating in the Suicide Mission, but I am going to give some love to one of the optional missions. While most of the side missions and loyalty missions lack the punch the primary missions do, Miranda's loyalty mission is the best of the bunch, split into three distinct segments bookended by some good subplot and character moments. Also, taking Jack on the mission for some extra dialogue is a treat. It is the loyalty mission I look forward to the most.

DLC runner up: While I think Lair of the Shadow Broker is the best ME2 DLC (I can respec squadmates after completing it!), Overlord's atmosphere is just incredible -- and the VI's garbled cries still creeps me out. I think Prometheus Station is the best mission in the entire series: starting as a creepy walk through the crashed ship past all the dormant Geth while listening to audio logs along the way (I hate Flannigan, too), followed by heart-pumping music and a fight against all the awakening Geth.

Mass Effect 3:
The multiplayer. Do not misunderstand, I enjoy the single player campaign -- warts and all -- but I fell in love with the multiplayer during the initial demo, and then played it on both Xbox and PC with friends. Some of the combat stuff I dislike about single player work better in the multiplayer.

Runner up: Sur'Kesh and the Geth Base (Priority: Rannoch) and two stand-out missions that I really enjoy, but I am going to say that the final fight to defend the missile battery is just outstanding, especially when you have to fight everything coming at you while the Destroyer is firing its laser (and yes the laser can kill you).


*Edit* Yeah, I know, I didn't keep it just one thing per game. I tried, okay?

ME1:
When the Normandy first arrives at the Citadel, the music building up as you get peaks of it through the nebula then crescendos as you finally see the full station is the moment I knew Mass Effect was going to be special.

ME2:
Kelly Chambers. A character that got absolutely screwed over in the sequel. I loved her personality and romance (only one that let me play as me in the trilogy).

ME3:
The end of the Geth-Aquarian War. From the talk with the Reaper, to getting the two fleets to stand down, to Legion’s sacrifice, to Tali getting her home back, and Admiral Raan being touched when the Geth Prine asks “Have you considered possible settlement sights” showing that the two races were going to be okay.

Mass Effect 1: Noveria. The whole thing. The amount of player agency on this world is fantastic, the myriad of ways you can get the pass up to Peak 15 and in general corporate shenanigans. I like the idea of this secret research planet on the fringes of Council Law.

Mass Effect 2: Kasumi's Mission. I love the whole thing. From getting dressed up and infiltrating a high-class society party to clearing through Hock's mercs and boss-fighting a Space-Attack Helicopter. Also Hock's gallery of artifacts.

Mass Effect 3: Entering and interacting with the entire Geth Consensus. That was a trip.

Overall: I'm going to say the decision making and relationships that you build carry throughout the series. I think it's an incredible feat for the video game industry. Calculating all the possible cascading effects for each and every decision. Animating and then recording thousands of lines of dialogue. It's monumental work.

ME1: Size and scope. I remember the first time exploring the Citadel and just being overwhelmed at its size. It was disorienting for a while.
ME2: The cinematics and tone. Whether I was on Omega or Illium or Pergatory - each location felt unique.
ME3: The combat, the pace of it; and second, the volume and variability of combo explosions lead to a ton of experimentation (which I find fun)

1: The port section in Noveria. So much freedom to complete your objective however you want rather than being rail-roaded. The other games never reached that level of role playing.

2: It may be a bit hack but the suicide mission. All these years later I don't think I've ever been that invested in a game. Close runner up would be Arrival.

3: Shooting Mordin. Put the pitchforks down and let me explain. That merciless kick straight to the feels had so much weight behind it that it still sticks with me. I don't like shooting one of the best characters in the series but God damn is it a powerful moment.

Until you romance her and the scene is....exactly the same as any other PT. One of many reasons her romance was a disappointment for me.

Favorite moments - using my first PT experience to pick:

ME1: Intro - it got me hooked
ME2: Discovering Archangel was really Garrus (thankfully, I was not spoiled)
ME3: Grunt surviving the rachni mission (I played this immediately after genophage arc and Citadel coup; if Grunt had been the third death in a row, I would have quit the game)