Quote Originally Posted by Monk View Post
I had begun to think Mass Effect was a great game, but far too easy when you neared the level cap. Hardcore has shown me otherwise, and I look forward to hitting Insanity difficulty once I've had a few days to catch my breath.
Hardcore is the difficulty where the game shines. At that level you need to use all of your party's skills to survive, think tactically, and work to win each battle. It transformed the game's battles from having nice but slightly dull to being very fun.

Insanity lives up to its name. It piles on the enemy immunities, damage reduction and hitpoints to the point where most fights are drawn out slogs. Lots of instances can kill your character in a single hit (I played insanity as a level 60 soldier with maxed immunity, aka the toughest type in the game) so make sure you save early, often and obsessively! Certain battles took me several goes; you will definitely earn your passage and reaching that final cutscene feels great. Oh - and never fight in the mako! Get out and do it on foot unless you have a death wish. As you've probably already noticed the vehicles' stats don't change between difficulties, and on insanity it's made out of tinfoil coated in dynamite.