Mass Effect Legendary Edition was released on Steam on Friday to lukewarm reviews: user ratings on Steam for the remastered RPG trilogy were "mixed" for most of the day. (Shortly after this article was published, the Steam rating changed to "mostly favorable" and then to "very favorable" on Saturday.) However, don't let that discourage you. Many of the negative reviews cite technical complaints that don't necessarily apply to you, and some are enthusiastic compliments.

The Mass Effect Legendary Edition is a 100 GB package that includes remastered versions of Mass Effect 1, 2, and 3 (minus the multiplayer) and all DLC (minus Pinnacle Station). As the oldest title, Mass Effect 1 has received the most attention. Along with the graphical remastering, the combat has been modified to feel more like "Mass Effect 2" and "Mass Effect 3," and some may be disappointed that the original's dour RPG system has been relaxed. For example, bullets now display precise crosshairs instead of circles that roughly indicate where they are going.

However, granular design criticism is not the focus of the current Steam review. What follows is a paraphrase of the main complaints I have found in the negative user reviews so far, as well as my own experience playing the ME1 remaster.

This is true, and caused a brief problem for me: on first launch, I was prompted that I could not launch EA Desktop and Origin at the same time; I had completely forgotten that I had installed the beta version of EA Desktop, so I went to Task Manager, and the process Origin pops up automatically when the game starts and hides in the taskbar, so it's not too obtrusive. (It automatically pops up and hides in the taskbar when the game starts (those of you who have other EA games on Steam will be used to this annoying little process). Also, if you purchased the Mass Effect Legendary Edition directly from Origin instead of Steam, it's obviously not a problem, but it does look a bit odd.)

Shepard's turning radius takes some getting used to (Gears of War era welcome if you're not used to third-person shooters) and finding the right mouse sensitivity is difficult. There does seem to be some variation in the speed at which the camera rotates, but I don't know if that is just my perception. As far as I know, the mouse controls are the same as in the original, but perhaps the remaster did not need to replicate that aspect of the old PC port.

I have not tested this, but I think I can take the word of the most vocal special interest group on the PC, ultrawide owners. I used to have an ultrawide myself, so I know exactly what I'm talking about. It's frustrating to go from full screen to black bar cutscenes, although it's not so surprising that cutscenes from 15 years ago aren't reproduced in the wide aspect ratio.

That's true. While it is common for third-person games to have no FOV setting, this omission is surprising given that the remastered version has an excellent photo mode with an adjustable camera. Perhaps there is something awkward about adjusting FOV at certain levels or cut-scene transitions.

In any case, PC gamers have rarely found games where the FOV cannot be changed. This is because the config file system has been changed and they don't know how to access the development console.

Update: There is now a mod available for download that fixes this and allows the FOV to be changed from 70 in the basic settings.

(As for the photo mode, it's really good. You can get a free camera, adjust focal length and depth of field blur, tweak saturation, brightness, and contrast, apply filters, and switch between character and vehicle models.)

It is true that the graphics options have not changed much. Mass Effect 1 now offers a choice of resolutions above 1080p, a maximum frame rate limit setting of 240 (not sure why no limit is not an option), and new checkboxes for anti-aliasing and ambient occlusion. That's all that's new. (Correction: earlier I wrote "resolutions above 720p," but 1080p was always an option, although it was hard to find. The Legendary Edition should be crisp in 4K).

For a first game, this is a significant visual improvement. The pre-remastered "Mass Effect" was made when HDTVs were new, and the original textures look blurry today. The remastered version may not be stunning, but it looks crisp at 1440p, and the simplicity is appealing. (It seems to have something to do with the fact that physical miniature models look cool when lit realistically.) The characters move their mouths as if their jaws were loosely wired shut, but, well, it's an old game. But it's an old game, so what the heck; others on PC Gamer say the remaster is ugly, so maybe I'm just being a softie.

Playing Mass Effect 1 remaster on an RTX 2070 Super, I'm getting 150-220 fps at 1440p with all settings turned up. Rachel said she was getting over 60 fps on a Radeon RX 5700. All is well here, but some on Steam say they are not getting the frame rates they expected. If you have an older graphics card, be prepared for some disappointing results. (You'll have a better idea of how it works once the performance tests are done.)

Some players cannot start the game at all or crash. I have never had Mass Effect 1 crash, even when I have moved it in and out of the alt tab several times. It is not yet clear if this is a widespread problem or if it only affects a small number of players.

This is true and quite ridiculous. It seems to be an oversight that could be fixed in the first patch.

I don't know why someone wrote in their review that there is no controller support. There is controller support; the UI automatically switches between key and button prompts. Perhaps the driver for a particular controller is not working, but my wireless Xbox One controller works fine.

Update: Reader Steven wrote to me that the Xbox button prompts appear, but the game does not recognize the Xbox One controller and the camera is rotating in one direction, as in Steven's case, unplugging the HOTAS setup solved the problem, If you are having problems with the controller, make sure you don't have an extra controller or joystick plugged in.Steven also said that he had frame rate issues due to the Steam and Origin overlays, but by turning them off, all the problems gone.

I've only done the first mission of Mass Effect (why did I shoot the gas bag again when I know it's harmless?), so I'm still far from complete about the visuals and design changes.

Alan in the hardware department will be presenting a detailed technical analysis of the "Mass Effect Legendary Edition" soon, and Jody is working on a new review of "Mass Effect 1". Nearly 15 years have passed since the first "Mass Effect" was released, and the RPG design has changed just a bit. If you want to know how the remastered version is doing before you consider playing it, stay tuned for Monday's review.

For more information, check out Jody's recent interview with the remaster's developers.