Marathoning Mass Effect: Legendary Edition? Consider EA Play Pro
Some may have missed out on what many consider BioWare's magnum opus during the Xbox 360/PS3 console generation. However this week, BioWare provides the definitive opportunity to play through the Mass Effect games on a modern console, with Mass Effect: Legendary Edition's release. Other than the obvious benefit of being able to play Mass Effect on a PS4/Xbox One, but BioWare has implemented numerous improvements to the game both visually and mechanically. Many are going to be able to jump into the Mass Effect trilogy for the very first time, just as much as veterans will be able to check out all of the enhancements made to the original trilogy.
As of May 14, fans and newcomers will be able to hop into Mass Effect: Legendary Edition for $60 MSRP, but there is another way to play the game as well that could be more cost-efficient. Obviously owning the game is one thing altogether, but for those who just want to give it a try without paying full price, EA provides another option: EA Play Pro. To be fair, this is arguably more effort than just buying the game outright, but players could certainly try out an EA Play Pro subscription to marathon the trilogy for potentially less than $60. Unfortunately for those looking to take advantage of Xbox Game Pass and standard EA Play members, there's a catch.
To clarify, Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is only available on the EA Play "Pro" subscription, not the base EA Play subscription. Xbox Game Pass, as well as a standalone basic EA Play subscription, only provides a 10% discount off the MSRP of the game. Unless players are already subscribed to those services, obviously the 10% discount is not worth the opting into an EA Play or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. However, a standalone EA Play Pro subscription at $15/month, at least for new subscribers, could potentially be a great value for players willing to marathon Mass Effect as soon as possible. That being said, it's not exactly owning the game outright.
Obviously players don't need to gamify activating a subscription service, but if players can beat one or even two Mass Effect games per month, it ends up being a much greater value over time. Players with enough time on their hands could easily play through the entirety of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition within two, or even three months, and that's hypothetically $30 to $45 for three full games in the Mass Effect collection. That's without even considering any other games that players may want to check out on EA Play, whether that's any of the sports games like FIFA or Madden, or others like Battlefield 5 or Star Wars: Battlefront 2.
How Long to Beat has a cumulative average playtime of all the Mass Effect games of around 68-70 hours, without counting any side activities. That can extend as long as 100 hours for the whole series: Mass Effect clocks in at around 20-25 hours, while Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 are around 30-35 hours each. Players could easily marathon the whole series within four months for the same cost, plus access to other games in between if players want to. Even conservatively, players could beat the whole series in two months, potentially saving for half the cost of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. That's the entire remastered Mass Effect trilogy for $30.
Other EA games will sweeten the pot, but even if players decide to cancel their EA Play Pro subscription a month or two after playing, that's a solid savings. Patient players may even consider waiting until Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is added to the base subscription of EA Play, though there's no telling when that might happen. Considering the original Mass Effect releases are available on EA Play (and tangentially on Xbox Game Pass), it's very likely that Legendary Edition will eventually be added to the subscription as well. Nearly every EA Play Pro game eventually makes it to the base subscription, and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate comes with EA Play too.
Longtime fans of Mass Effect are probably just going to buy Mass Effect: Legendary Edition outright, especially with the impressive special edition available. However, for those who are generally curious and/or haven't played the original trilogy, trying out the game at bare minimum for $15 is not a terrible option either. Either way, the fact that Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is finally out on modern consoles is hype-worthy enough.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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