While fans of the beloved sci-fi RPG are likely in for a very long wait before BioWare is ready to share more about Mass Effect‘s future, the series creator is doing everything it can to keep idle hands occupied in the meantime, including re-releasing the original trilogy with a fresh coat of paint.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition is due out this year for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC, cramming all three of Commander Shepard’s galaxy-spanning adventures – as well as over 40 DLC add-ons – onto a single disc for the ultimate marathon experience. Boasting enhanced performance, visuals and native HDR, BioWare is clearly intending to make this compilation the go-to source for the definitive version of Shep’s war against the Reapers, though not everything is going to be as you remember.
Speaking to Metro in a recent interview, Mac Walters and Kevin Meek, project and character/environment directors respectively, discussed the work that goes into modernizing a rich world first established back in 2007 and how not everything in the games will remain as it once was.
In addition to smoothing out the more obtuse and dated aspects of the original title (vehicle controls, combat, etc) to bring them in line with 2 & 3, Walters and Meek reveal how watching certain cutscenes back years later prompted them to reconsider making adjustments. Citing Shepard’s love interest Miranda Lawson as a particular example, Walters recalls how Meek “actually called out some camera cuts that were just… why was that focusing on Miranda’s butt?” Indeed, several instances of the camera focusing on Miranda’s curves clearly no longer sit well with the team. “So in some cases we said, ‘Okay, we can make a change there’,” Walters continues, though admits that extensive model or animation tweaks – FemShep being somewhat of an exception – are unlikely to happen.
Just how many of these sequences will end up being altered in some way remains to be seen, but we’ve no doubt that fans will have comparison videos up on YouTube within days of Mass Effect Legendary Edition‘s launch this May.