The universe is spectacular, the races are diverse, the dialogue is immortal and the gameplay is fun without getting in the way of the story (although yes, the sidequest are one of three possible choices, repeated dozens of times). The first Mass Effect is one of my favorite games. Let me tell you about my relationship with Mass Effect and it’s sequels. It encourages experimentation and adds replay value. Playing a sequel and seeing how earlier choices made an impact – even if it’s small – is very intriguing. Dragon Age: Awakening and Dragon Age II picked up on a few choices made in Origins, depending on who is made King. In Wizardry 6, you could get a special ring which you could give to an NPC in Wizardry 8 for bonus xp and a bit of extra story. Wizardry 6 had 3 different endings, and Wizardry 7 had 4 different beginnings (one for each ending and one for brand new players). One of the really intriguing features that sequels offer is a character import that alters the story of the game before it is even started, based on the choices made in the previous game.

Might and Magic 1-5 had a pretty epic saga between Corak and Sheltem, Ultima was essentially 3 trilogies with Ultima 7 split into 4 parts as well, and Wizardry 6-8 formed the Cosmic Bane saga.

One thing that often turns a great game into a great series are expansions and sequels that actually continue the story and allow a flow between them. Be careful with choices that carry over multiple gamesĪs I said before, I absolutely love story driven games.

Wizardry 6 save game editor