Mass Effect Legendary Edition Pc Controller Support

[Venice Sassone]

BioWarethe developers of the fan-favorite Mass Effect trilogy, confirmed in November that a 4K remaster was on the way sometime this spring. The Legendary Edition includes all three Mass Effect games as well as all their single-player DLC content. PC players will be able to purchase and play the Legendary Edition on both Origin and Steam. Console players can pick it up for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, with forward compatibility to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

In addition to 4K support and HDR compatibility, the Legendary Edition includes remastered character models and improved textures, EA said, as well as improvements to shaders, VFX, lighting, shadows, depth of field, and other visual elements. Pre-rendered cinematic scenes have also been upgraded, and controller support has been added to the PC edition.

The three Mass Effect games in the core trilogy were released in 2007, 2010, and 2012, and although their story and characters remain popular, age has not necessarily been kind to the actual experience of playing them, especially the first. ME1 definitely needed the most attention of the trilogy, Walters told Eurogamer in an interview.

The team at BioWare considered upgrading the entire trilogy to Unreal Engine 4 but backed away from that idea after discovering that doing so would basically break the games. Walters told Eurogamer that early development was like working on a classic car and finding "that car was buried in cement, and every time you tried to dig it out you were worried about dinging the paint or ripping off a mirror."

Shepard herself has also been upgraded: the improved default appearance for the female version of the character that BioWare designed for ME3 is now available in all three games, and Sheps of any gender can benefit from an increased array of hairstyle and skin tone options, especially for Black hair.

If the game itself isn't "immersive" enough for you and you really need to feel like you're literally inside it, BioWare's Legendary Cache comes with a wearable replica of Shep's venerable N7 helmet*, but not a copy of the game. (*Replica not rated for space travel; please do not try to eject yourself from an airlock at home.)

Soon, Mass Effect fans all around the world will get a chance to see what the hard-working teams at BioWare and EA have put into the remastered trilogy, Mass Effect Legendary Edition. I'm here today to tease a little bit of just that ahead of the new edition's May release.

Recently, I had a chance to join game journalists from all over the world in a behind-the-scenes chat with BioWare's Mac Walters (Project Director), Crystal McCord (Producer), and Kevin Meek (Environment Director); lead producer Melanie Faulkner was unable to join the team due to maternity leave, but her contributions were included in the discussion. We were able to get a glimpse of the gorgeous updates the iconic trilogy has undergone over the last couple of years as the team worked on all three games. And it's mainly the visuals that this event, and the remaster itself, focuses on, though there are certainly quality-of-life changes and a whole lotta content for gamers everywhere to enjoy.

While the BioWare team focused mainly on bringing the Mass Effect trilogy up to contemporary levels of the current generations of consoles (PS4, Xbox One) and PC components, they also spared an eye towards next-gen systems where they could. But don't expect a remake; this is a remaster, meaning the bulk of the games you know and love are still intact, just with a glamorous glow-up that will bring them into the modern era.

This spit and polish remaster was done with 4K and HDR displays in mind, tailored for 60FPS play on consoles, and high refresh rate, ultra-wide 21:9 display support on PC. (Oh, and guess what? The original Mass Effect now comes with controller support on PC! Attention was paid to inputs and keybinds, plus a modernized combat HUD to bring it more in line with Mass Effect 2 & 3.)

The trilogy's enhanced visuals includes revamped character and asset models, lighting, shaders, visual effects, and some tens of thousands of up-ressed textures, to name a few. If you've had the visual pleasure of playing a BioWare game in the past few years, you can't deny just how gorgeous the studio's character models, variety of materials and textures, and lush environments are; expect more of the same in MELE. It was easy to see how much work they put into every frame of the remaster as they walked us through it, but it might be difficult to appreciate every level of technical and artistic mastery without a visual reference, so enjoy these comparison shots from the original and Legendary editions:

Above all, the team touted that artistic integrity was key, allowing individual artists at BioWare to focus on remastering specific elements of certain levels they had ownership over. Some of those specifics were further addressed in a Q&A session, answered by the BioWare team:

At one point in time, everything was on the table, but the challenges of doing that (crossplay, current players vs new players, etc) were outside of their focus, which was a single-player experience.

With our look behind the scenes of BioWare's Mass Effect Legendary Edition, it was clear that a lot of time, love, and attention went into the remaster. Here's hoping that new and returning fans alike will give some of that attention back later this spring when the trilogy becomes available. For more on the upcoming release of MELE, be sure to check out the following press release details:

Mass Effect Legendary Edition is rated M (Mature) by the ESRB and is available now for pre-order on PC via Origin and Steam, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One with forward compatibility on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series XS.

SANTA MONICA, Calif. - July 10, 2007 - On the eve of the E3 Media & Business Summit (E3), against the backdrop of the Santa Monica, Calif., night sky, Microsoft Corp. tonight demonstrated its leadership in interactive entertainment when it showcased an unparalleled lineup of holiday blockbuster hits and exclusives for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system. Microsoft delighted a live audience of thousands, and many more watching the live online broadcast, with titles such as the epic finale to the groundbreaking "Halo" series, "Halo 3"; the successor to the seminal "Grand Theft Auto" franchise, "Grand Theft Auto IV," featuring exclusive content for Xbox LIVE; "Madden NFL 08" with stunning high-definition game play; and the widely anticipated "Rock Band," where players can perform music from the world's biggest rock artists with their friends as a virtual band.

Xbox 360 is a great place to play the next chapters of "Grand Theft Auto," "Madden," and "Halo" - the best-selling franchises of the last generation. In fact, "Halo 3," "Grand Theft Auto IV" and "Madden NFL 08" are expected to account for one-third of all console new release sales in the U.S. during the second half of the year, according to a recent report by IGN Entertainment's GamerMetrics. Xbox 360 has an unprecedented lineup of blockbuster titles available by holiday 2007, including these:

"Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation" (NAMCO BANDAI Games). "Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation" takes players up to the sky and into the heat of realistic air combat with next-generation audio and visual effects and online multiplayer action.* Available this holiday, only on Xbox 360.

"Assassin's Creed" (Ubisoft). "Assassin's Creed" is the next-generation game developed by Ubisoft that merges technology, game design, theme and emotions into a world where players will assume the role of the main character, Altair, and will have the power to throw their immediate environment into chaos and experience the art of a master assassin. Available this November.

"Beautiful Katamari" (NAMCO BANDAI Games). Marking the debut of Namco's beloved ball-rolling puzzle game on a next-generation platform, "Beautiful Katamari," the fourth installment of the "Katamari" series, features levels of quirkiness, cosmic animations and musical stylings never seen before. Available this October.

"Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare" (Activision). The new action thriller from the award-winning team at Infinity Ward Inc., "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare" delivers the most intense and cinematic action experience ever. The epic title also delivers an added depth of multiplayer action providing online fans an all-new community of persistence, addictive and customizable gameplay. Available this fall.

"Dance Dance Revolution UNIVERSE 2" (Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.). The series' encore performance on Xbox 360 delivers new gameplay options along with a mix of songs from the 1970s, '80s, '90s and today as well as online play, downloadable music, enhanced graphics and accessibility for players of all ages.

"Grand Theft Auto IV" (Rockstar Games). "Grand Theft Auto IV" is the next chapter of the award-winning "Grand Theft Auto" franchise, available Oct.16. "Grand Theft Auto IV" will feature episodic content through Xbox LIVE exclusive to Xbox 360.

"Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock" (RedOctane/Activision). Fire up the fret board, crank up the amp and get ready to rock out on the new wireless Les Paul guitar controllers. "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock" includes star-studded tracks by such legendary artists as Guns N' Roses, The Rolling Stones, Beastie Boys, Muse and Pearl Jam. Available this fall.

"Madden NFL 08" (Electronic Arts Inc.). EA's unstoppable football franchise returns for the '08 season in Hall of Fame fashion, featuring new players, modes, rosters and rewards to create the ultimate touchdown for pigskin fans. Available this August.

"Mass Effect" (BioWare Corp.). An epic science-fiction action and role-playing game, "Mass Effect" will deliver an immersive, story-driven experience presented in a cinematic style with high production values. Available this holiday season, only on Xbox 360.

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