Is Mass effect 1 needed?

[Acidwell]

If you are going to be playing it on pc then yes because it is a good game on its own, if its going to be on xbox then i wouldn't bother.

 

[WinkyTheGreat]

Like most people have said, it isn't necessary, but it would be helpful and it is a good game.

Spoiler: If you'd prefer, you can watch this

http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/objects/14235013/mass-effect-2/videos/masseffect_in5min_spc_121509.html

 

[wolf thing]

it helps. it introduses you to the univers and the characters. i would tell people to play the fist one befor the second

 

[Ruagh]

I would recommend giving the first one a look. Although it isn't necessary, a lot of the plot points and characters in the second make reference to the first. It will help you understand it better.

 

[Da_Schwartz]

Umm its a really cool game so why the hell not? I unfortunately missed the mass effect boat and am runnign through 1 myself. It's all sorts of win. Check it out. I think what you do in the first oen can actually effect the story in 2 as well so. yea man, go for it. it's a good game.

 

[Rynozeros]

Play it an then when you're finished exploring or playing through however many playthroughs you wanna do and cannot stand to delay knowing what happens next then buy ME2.

ME is as cheap as chips now, so go out buy it and enjoy 20 - 30 hours of some of the best sci-fi story ever.

 

[Nmil-ek]

It really, really helps youll miss out on alot of small referances and the whole choice transition thing aswell as a few small bonuses. You can get mass effect one for bloody peanuts now I saw a pre-owned copy for £5 somewhere still a great game well worth grabbing.

 

[Connor Lonske]

Only if you want to be a good guy.

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

It adds a lot of little extras to the game, but it won't affect the overall play of the game.

 

[Mr. Socky]

do I really need to buy or borrow the 1st mass effect to play the 2nd, or does it not make that much of a difference?

How many ways can I say yes? The game is almost ruined if you just play it by itself.

 

[asgardmothership]

To really understand the significance of the main antagonists, The Reapers, it really is worth buying the first game. It is a fantastic adventure in itself, even if you just stick to the core missions. Also, an ME1 file will give you some bonuses, and recurring characters will have more resonance, particularly Garrus. If you get to know Garrus in the first game as I did, you will be affected by his transformation over the 2 years - think the difference in jack bauer from season 1 to 2, if you watch 24 that is.

 

[Flying-Emu]

It's twenty dollars on Steam and you get some of the most superb dialogue ever written.

NO EXCUSE.

 

[Axeli]

No idea why you wouldn't want to play ME1 if you want to play ME2. It's not like we are talking about some badly aged PS1 game here. You have a gaming platform that can run ME2, it can run ME1.

It's a great game and helps you care about ME2's plot more. And should be quite cheap by now. Why would you not play it first?

 

[RatRace123]

If you nothing about the story then, most definitely. The second game is incredibly referential to its predecessor.

 

[CloakedOne]

Bluntly, no. Mass Effect 2's plot is (mostly) self contained, you can play it to begin with and it isn't utterly head bending.

BUT
You should get both and play 1 first. It goes fairly cheap now and the it's still better than 90% of the other games out there. Regardless of the plot gubbins it's well worth playing.

This. It's pretty nifty to see certain characters turn up again (or not) depending on your decisions in the first one instead of having the game default and make those choices for you in your past. There really is no wrong way, Bioware did a great job of making sure that you don't have to play the first if you don't want to (in my opinion though, it really added to the experience).