i want to play mass effect , where should i start ?

You should definitely play Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2 first, they're essential to the story of the series. I know 3 games sounds like a lot, but not when you think of it as 3 good games, and when you're finished with ME1, you can import your save game into ME2, and when you finish ME2 you can import your save into ME3 which allows the decisions and choices you make to affect the next game.

I should probably mention that ME1 might seem a bit hard to get into at first, but stick with it and you'll soon get used to it, after a short time everything suddenly 'clicked' for me and it turned out to be a brilliant game. :)

You can skip 1.

You can technically also skip 2, but 3 won't have anywhere near the same emotional impact. You don't care as much about the characters, some parts of the story won't make sense, and you won't understand the importance of the things you're doing. Plus ME is set up so that choices you make in previous games change how things work in the sequel(s). You already won't be able to affect events based on ME1 decisions, which is a shame. But if you at least play 2 then you can still open up some really cool possibilities in 3.

My advice: play 2 and 3. If you like them both then get 1.

You can play the 3rd game without needing to play the first 2 but as has been said you are missing alot if you don't. You can get all 3 games in a 3 pack now, and it really would be worth your time. If you absolutely don't want to play the first one, there is some DLC for it I think that lets you make the important decisions from 1 to import into 2. Even if you don't play 1 (which again you really really should) you should play 2.

If you really want to get the most out of it you really should play all 3 games, or at the very least find a good youtube vid of the story so far. If you don't then there's going to be an awful lot of things you're missing out on and won't really understand...

Edit :- The problem with asking on here is that it's very much an opinion thing. You can very well play 3 on it's own but people who love the series will say play all 3 where as those that are not as keen on the franchise will say to avoid them all.

If you like the series then play them all but only you know what you like.

Mass Effect 3, while still a very good game, is the weakest game in the series. Definitely start with ME1. It is, after all, a trilogy with a high focus on storyline. Imagine reading Return of the King before reading the other Lord of the Rings books. You'd be completely lost.

Don't play Mass effect 1 & 2.It's boring.

It would probably be better if you played the first 2 games as well or you won't really understand what is going on in the story. Not to mention there are a lot of decisions in the first games that affect what happens in the 3rd one and you'll miss out on a lot of important things.

It is a very good idea playing through all 3 games. Not just because of the overall story but because the choices you make in each game will carry over to the next. These can range from small decisions which can have huge ramifications to what characters are alive and well in each subsequent game. It makes your playthrough much more personal

if you dont want to play 1 and 2 then go on youtube and find the whole story about the games. but in my opinion its not necessary to buy the 2 games just to play the 3rd. i would only do that if i love the series. or they are at a low price. you could also buy one of them then return it and get the next one.

I started on masseffect 3 and it was great but if you want to get a better understanding of the story you should start on one but to understand the game you don't have to start on number 1 you'll still understand it and love it if you start on 3.