Mass-effect – How many resources do I need to own in Mass Effect 2 to receive a bonus in Mass Effect 3

This depends largely on what you want out of the game.

There is a long story interwoven between the three installments, and you'll certainly miss the depth and some of the plot by not playing through all three and importing your character along the way. However the main plot arc is very linear throughout the series, and you won't be totally lost if you pick up ME3 completely ignorant.

However, Mass Effect 3 has some features that specifically tailor to new players. The game is well balanced and is completely playable if you haven't played ME1/2, but the biggest difference for certain users will be Action Mode.

Action Mode lets a player experience ME3 as a purely action and story based game, where there's no roleplaying or deciding; the game's story is set in stone, and you just watch. For players that just want to experience the action gameplay of Mass Effect without worrying about the story, Mass Effect 3 is probably the best game to play first.

Basically, if you really want the depth and roleplaying aspect, you'll be missing out if you start with Mass Effect 3, but it depends how much you care. If you want to play an action game, playing ME3 first is probably your best option.

The game comes on two discs. They are labeled "disc 1" and "disc 2." There is a second disc holder that is snapped into the spine of the case and swings freely, which keeps the two discs apart. Aside from the two discs, there's a little epilepsy warning card and a card with the game's online pass. The cover art sheet can be flipped in case you want to see a picture of the "stock" female Shepard on the front instead of the "stock" male Shepard.

I believe the multiplayer is completely on disc 1, although I haven't tested this exhaustively. The disc is not labeled as such in the case in any way.

I had to switch between discs early in the single player campaign for one of the first side missions. Going back to the main campaign, however, I had to go back to disc 1. Expect to switch discs at least somewhat frequently - this isn't like Final Fantasy 7 where you hit a particular part in the plot, change discs, and then don't look back.

Each disc is a separate install if you wish to install it to your hard drive - you'll have to go through the Xbox 360 game install process twice. Having the discs installed to the drive has not (thus far) removed the need to change out the discs.