Mass Effect

10 Review to this product

• 

  Shann Yu
  November 20th, 2007 on 2:42 am

  Rating

  First off, I’ve been waiting for this game since the previews came out late last year (2006). So far, Bioware has done a great job of pimping out this game. And deliver it does…

  STORY: A+
  
  The ‘cutscenes’ are really not cutscenes at all. The conversations you have are pretty dynamic and integration of the choices of stuff to say is so seamless it seems almost natural. Early on, you get a sense of this when choices of stuff to do in the field enable you to remake your character as a mission-oriented commander or more of a compassionate search-for-survivors kind of guy, among some. The story picks up pretty much where the prequel book left off, and immerses you in the experience. You keep on wanting to learn more. You definitely feel like a part of this epic and that will keep you coming back.

  Unlike Halo 3 and Gears of War which launch you into an ongoing war, this game sends you into a very deep, very complex world to explore. Imagine yourself as a hypothetical CIA agent before the war begins. Expect to see yourself running around the world, talking to people and gaining intel on people, and then having fight scenes from time to time. When you get sent on a mission to track someone down and there are lots of enemies between you and the destination, then you begin to see more of the combat-intensive aspects of the game.

  —

  GAMEPLAY: A
  
  Expect to see a third-person shooter with a heavy RPG influence. While out in the field, it’s like a Gears of War experience with a basic tactical system. Run. Take cover. Take some guys down. Order your friendlies to flank the enemy or to fall back. Outside of this, the RPG system comes into play when leveling up, when you get to choose abilities to level up, weapons to equip (ie, if you have 3 types of sniper rifles in inventory, which one will you equip?. I will cover this in more detail below). The controls were overall slightly different from control schemes used in comparable third-person shooters. It didn’t take me long to get used to the system used here in Mass Effect. You can pretty much figure it all out in the first level.

  I had the mistaken view that only snipers and pistols can be trained into an over-the-shoulder Gears of War camera angle when aiming (holding down the left trigger). Apparently, this is because I started off as an Infiltrator class. Different character classes can train different weapons. The soldier class can train all weapons. Sniping took some getting used to. When you first start off, Shepard is very shaky and thus it is very difficult to snipe. Adding points to level up your sniping ability seems to limit this shakiness greatly.

  The tactical system is very very bare bones. You can order people to fall back, take on a specific target, regroup, or storm the area. Nothing much to it. Therefore, players can fight with their AI teammates as much of a unit (though I feel the AI tends to die a lot).

  You also get to drive vehicles. Much of you have seen the trailers and saw that tank drop out from the Normandy. That tank handles like a Warthog from Halo 3, except with rocket boosters and a repair function. A heads up – repairing means you can’t move or fire any of the tank’s weapons. Therefore, make sure you’re in cover when repairing. I love the rocket boosters as it gives you an extra method of dodging rockets and charged shots from the geth. The big disadvantage is that you have to drive and shoot at the same time. This makes for some very frustrating vehicle fight sequences.

  I am a big fan of how the game feels thus far. Having RPG elements yields a lot of control over how your character plays on the field. The shooting system is pretty good, but not flawless. My biggest complaint early on was the many loading pauses you have to go through, but the deeper I went into the game, the less it affected gameplay. Loading pauses don’t happen in the middle of the heat of battle, but it definitely wouldn’t hurt to possibly fix this up in future patches.

  Finally, a decent portion of the game involves going out and doing side missions. This means jumping in the tank and driving from the landing zone to various points on the map. I think driving around like this is the most painful experience of the game. There’s almost always nothing but an occasionally frustrating 5-minute drive between the LZ and the destination, and once you get there, after doing a few of the side missions, you realize that the site layout is a recurring theme. Therefore, if anything else, the side missions are a great way to practice and to level up. There’s some more of that RPG stuff working for you.

  —

  RPG Elements: A
  
  For weapons and armor, the feel is similar to something like Diablo II, where you pick up random equipment as you go along. Each equipment has a certain class: armor, assault rifles, pistols, sniper rifles, shotguns, etc (I haven’t seen the other classes!). Depending on the character class you chose at the beginning, you have different combinations of these classes available to you. For example, my character class may allow me to equip an assault rifle and armor only. This means that I can equip only 1 assault rifle at a time and 1 armor. But since I pick up a lot of these in the field, I must choose which assault rifle I want to use and which armor to equip. The equipment select screen where you actually do this shows a lot of equipment data, ie damage of a weapon, ‘clip size’, so on.

  Upgrades for each weapon can also be picked up and installed, including different rounds (ie, shredder rounds that add bonus damage when fighting organics, vs. armor piercing rounds against synthetics) and a wide range of add-ons (ie, heat sinks to decrease gun overheating).

  Another big thing is that you gain experience out in the field as you fight more stuff. You earn points this way that you can spend upgrading, say, your ability to snipe or your armor’s damage reduction settings. There are definitely a variety of choices to look through while you decide what to level up.

  —

  CHARACTERS: A+
  
  I enjoy interacting with the characters to see what’s going on in their heads. The characters are all very multidimensional and very well thought up and implemented in the game. Voice acting and video synchronization was flawless.

  —

  REPLAYABILITY: A
  
  I have played through the story at least 3x by now, amassing more than 60 hours of gameplay. Having 6 character classes to pick from and 6 squad members to choose from, including the ability to choose whether to build your reputation as a ruthless military man or a compassionate and humane leader (or somewhere in between) definitely keeps you coming back to see how you can change the way things play. The different character classes really play differently so have fun with them.

  —

  To sum up, some of you may be looking at this game and wondering whether or not it’s worth the $60. And I say it is.

  PROS: Deep and immersive storyline that captivates from the beginning, well-made characters, seamless incorporation of dynamic cutscenes, unique integration of 3PS with RPG. This game plays very differently from anything you’ve tried before. It’s no Halo 3 nor Bioshock. It’s a very well-made original game.

  CONS: Minimap is not intuitive at first, plays too much like a movie at times, driving between points on a map in the Mako can be excruciatingly boring, a lot of recurring layouts with the sites of side missions.

  FINAL VERDICT: A+. Very well-made game, well worth that whole wait from June till now. I’ve been anticipating this game for a while and it delivers an epic storyline of gigantic portions in a way that no others have done. This is definitely for people who want to experience being in an all-new sci-fi epic and building up an altogether new and unique hero.
• 

  J. Gable
  November 20th, 2007 on 10:25 pm

  Rating

  Bioware has a pretty impressive track record for RPGs. Their most famous work to date, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic, garnered almost every “Game of the Year” award in the video game industry back when it was released.

  Now a few years later, we get ‘Mass Effect’. A Sci-Fi adventure that at times can seem as if it has endless choices for you to make. A few examples are things such as your character customization options (including gender and specializations), weapon and armor customization, and your “good or evil” path choices.

  Actually, boiling it down to Good or Evil is a mistatement. It isn’t that simple with Mass Effect. You are set out to be a ‘hero’, but how you get there is your choice. You can choose to work with the citizens you encounter to get complete your mission and be a Paragon. You can also choose to be a take-no-prisoners type of character and be a Renegade. If neither of those suit you, play it right down the middle a be a balance of both or neither. Your choice.

  The story is Bioware’s best plot ever. If you played the original Knights of the Old Republic, that’s saying something. I won’t give anything away, because the story is one of the main selling points of the game.

  The combat is simple. In fact, some might find it overly so. However, I think people are missing the point. This isn’t trying to be the greatest Third Person Shooter ever created. It’s trying to revolutionize what RPGs can be.

  The graphics are beyond stunning. Sometimes you will find yourself staring at your surrondings in awe and completely forget what you were doing. There is a minor buffering issue where all of the textures are loaded a second or two after you regain control of your characters, but it’s nothing that really detracts from the games overall beauty.

  In my opinion, I think Bioware succeeded in once again showing us the true potential of what the RPG genre can put forth. In fact, if there is one RPG out this year that is a must have, Mass Effect is it. Do not hesitate to order because you won’t regret the purchase.
• 

  J. Geiger
  November 21st, 2007 on 2:52 am

  Rating

  The game is beautiful, the storyline is gripping and gameplay is fun, what more can you ask. It is like playing through a movie you are creating yourself. You actualy get to choose the outcomes, and the game changes every time you play becuase of the amount of options there are. This game is a must have for any player!~
• 

  J. Falter
  November 21st, 2007 on 5:08 pm

  Rating

  This game is just beautiful. It’s like playing the cut scenes and the way the text trees are set up you really get drawn into the game. The fighting is excellent, think Rainbow Six Vegas in third person. It has a somewhat the same cover system. I love it, Game of the Year.
  
• 

  B. Bonnette
  November 21st, 2007 on 9:17 pm

  Rating

  I had been waiting in anticipation for this game to come out for almost a year so needless to say I was really excited yesterday when I got to pick up my copy which had been on hold since march! If I had to compare this to a game other than biowares other games it would be gears of war meeting oblivion with a story much better and deeper than I have ever seen before. The Controls are a little tought to get used to in combat but bearable once you get them down. The graphics are simply amazing! So much to explore you might want to get the guide as well. Should be a game that you want to play over and over.
• 

  Christopher
  November 25th, 2007 on 3:35 pm

  Rating

  Mass Effect was the most cinematic experience I’ve ever witnessed in a game. Stunning doesn’t begin to cover it.

  I wouldn’t call the game an FPS, RPG, or anything similar. Mass Effect is an epic “choose your own adventure.” One of a relatively new genre of high-quality, semi-open-world events (similar to Oblivion, but the story is vastly more solid). Playing will feel like you are writing/directing a science fiction film. There are combat elements, but those moments are secondary to the event. Additionally, I find the combat is best after reaching a high level. Once you hit levels greater than 40, you will become almost invincible (imagine John McClane in Die Hard). Cranking up the difficulty brings back the challenge (the high difficulties are very difficult), but I don’t like breaking up the story with endlessly reloading. Mass Effect has just enough difficulty to be challenging without frustration of repeatedly trying to beat the same area. I also played many side quests and reached a high level before I began the primary campaign (it’s much more satisfying to reload a side-quest than get distracted from the primary one).

  The character interaction is fantastic. You have a full range of options. You can be good, renegade, or indifferent. For example, there is a scene when you get cornered by a TV reporter. You can give an interview, be diplomatic, evasive, or shove her to the ground and tell her to get out of your face. Every conversation has a similar range of options. You want to tell your commanding officer to leave you alone? Fine, go ahead. You want to talk a character out of starting a fight? You can try doing that too.

  The casual dialog between the characters is also exceptional. It gives them a sense of being multi-dimensional and having relationships outside of what happens between you and everyone else. The only drawback is their behavior gets thin on side-quests, but that isn’t so bad given the richness of the main story (I would have liked to have seen a few thousand lines of casual conversations randomly used anywhere in the game). Some of the lines are also hilarious. For example, one of your team members is a huge, alien, and not-so-tactful mercenary. You’ll be surrounded by embassies, standing among beautiful ponds, trees, flowers, and suddenly he blurts out, “I’m hungry, I wonder if there are any fish in there?”

  The end of the game was phenomenal. I don’t want to spoil the plot, but the music was heroic, the action was non-stop, and the game will cut several times between you and your allies. The entire sequence lasts about 15 minutes, but those 15 minutes will solidify the game as one of the most cinematic ever produced. This is groundbreaking new territory. We’ve reached a point where the hardware can deliver an experience similar to high-quality animated pictures. I can’t wait to see what the future holds. I really hope they deliver on their promise of a trilogy, I’d like to see yearly releases (like Lord of the Rings) until they are finished, but I doubt they had parallel development (hopefully they did).

  Mass Effect has some technical problems, but those can be resolved with a patch. A terrible story can’t be fixed with a download, which already puts this way ahead of anything else I’ve played… Normally I would deduct points for technical faults, but this game has a brilliant story. Occasionally reloading (twice during my campaign due to bugs) is a minor annoyance, but I gladly accept a few problems given the quality of everything else.

  One *very* important note… You *are* playing a motion picture. As a result, once the credits roll, the game is *over*. Don’t expect to come back and work on side-quests after finishing the main plot. RPGs may allow you to wander aimlessly after “finishing”, Mass Effect does not. You can however come back with your same character (skills and inventory intact) and make another attempt at the plot. This makes life easier since your effort isn’t wasted if all you want to do is examine alternate choices (playing a “win at all costs” character instead of an idealist). However, starting another “career” (new character, class, skills, etc) requires going back to the basics.

  My advice… Keep a separate save before starting every main-quest item. When you realize you committed yourself to winning, you can easily branch-off from your prior save and explore more of the universe. I’m sure that seems self-explanatory, but normally I only use a few saves per game. I ended up blocking my character out of several quests I was hoping to re-examine. You will commit yourself to the ending before you think you’ve actually done it.

  Pros:
  
  + I thought I was watching a movie. The fact I was controlling it was even more grand.
  
  + Character creation/management, leveling, is quite good. Better than Oblivion.
  
  + Combat is exciting. It isn’t as rich as a true FPS, but is meant to be dramatic and continue the pace of the plot.
  
  + The music is fantastic. I enjoy orchestral soundtracks and classical music, and this is the first videogame score where I needed to buy the CD.
  
  + Voice acting is terrific, none of the drama seems forced, and the actors voiced their lines perfectly with the situation presented.
  
  + Lots of replay value, but this exists as an opportunity to do similar events completely differently. There are not “thousands of things to do” as in an “open world” like Oblivion or something online like World of Warcraft.

  Cons:
  
  - Side-quests aren’t as richly produced, but I think that would be impossible with a rational budget and time-constraints.
  
  - There are some technical quirks, which I hope get patched (save often and treat the game as if the auto-save feature wasn’t included).
  
  - This is not a real RPG. You’ll be disappointed if you go into it thinking the environment is as open as others. As I’ve already said, it plays more like a cinematic experience. You have to follow the basic plot, but you have quite a lot of freedom how you choose to do so.

  Other notes:
  
  - If you can find the special edition, buy that instead. It’s worth the extra $10 (if available). I ended up ordering the SE after playing for a few hours and Ebaying my “standard” copy. I really want the behind-the-scenes DVD.
  
  - Don’t buy this game if you want an FPS or squad-based shooter. There are better games if that’s your genre of choice.
  
  - I really wish they included a cut-scene viewer. It would have been nice to re-watch the scenes, uninterrupted, as you had originally played them.
  
  - This game is not suitable for children. Every parent needs to judge what’s best for their kid, but there are adult themes present in this game beyond violence and mindlessly shooting things (I’m not just referring to “romance”, but the game forces you to make life and death decisions and I personally don’t think a child can grasp these concepts). I’d buy this for my teenager if they were 16 or 17, but not 12 or 13. The developers were morality “agnostic”, they allow you to do whatever *you* want, as a result you can do some pretty far-fetched things (the game probably contains at least one thing that can offend everyone, however it’s your choice if you make those decisions).
• 

  Ricky A. Gilbert
  November 25th, 2007 on 11:05 pm

  Rating

  I do not consider myself a hard core gamer but after I purchased this game on the 21st of November, I found myself playing it almost non-stop. I purchased it not really knowing that much about it. After I beat the game the first time, I didn’t want the fun to end so I immediately created a new character and started playing at the hardcore level. I’ven been playing video games most my life but I have never done that before on any game. I even thumbed through the achievement menu at the beginning screen and found myself making goals to get some more achievement medals.

  GRAPHICS A+, STORYLINE A+, GAMEPLAY A+
  
  There were many instances when I would just stop and marvel at the detail in the graphics (I’m using a HDMI cable running from my XBOX directly to my 52″ flat screen). Whether it’s a lightning bolt in an alien sky or simply marveling at the beauty of the Earth while I’m cruising on the moon in my MAKO. In addition, they put soo much detail to mesh the beautiful graphics with the storyline to create a truly believeable world. For example, on my second time around I noticed in the distance while I was driving to Exogeni Headquarters that they actually had put the enemy (Geth) alien ship attached to the side of the tower as the story said complete with with landing gear puched through the building when I entered it.

  Minor Flaws
  
  - The unsteadyness of the sniper rifle makes it almost worthless.
  
  - Need better abilities for biotek (magic) characters. The first time around I used a biotek character and found myself relying mainly on my pistol due to the lack of offensive capabilities/spells with my character. When I went to play the hardcore level, I used a Soldier and found gameplay to be easier because I had the assault rifle.
  
  - Need a larger instruction manual to address some gameplay questions. My second time around, I was able to ‘buyback’ weapons from merchants that I had sold to them from when I played the first time around. This meant that as a relatively beginning character, I was able to get some very advanced weapons/armor at 1/3 the cost. I would not have known that unless I didn’t happen to stumble on it.
  
  - Teammates are not exceptionaly helpful due to their poor AI

  All in all, it is quite simply the most entertaining game that I’ve ever played. I love to read epic Fantasy novels with some Sci-Fi because I can immerse myself in other worlds. This game has soo much detail that it accomplishes the same feat but also lets you particpate in the outcome. It is almost like a pre-cursor to Star Trek’s virtual reality Holodek. Although, there are some annoying little flaws, the great things about this game far outweigh the bad. KUDOS to the host of individuals (writers, graphic designers, programmers, etc…) who came together to create this great game.

  P.S. Do yourself a favor and use renegade responses when you talk to the overly eager reporter at C-Sec Academy….hilarious.
• 

  trashcanman
  November 26th, 2007 on 4:24 am

  Rating

  “Mass Effect” is not a video game. Football is a game, checkers is a game, ping pong is a game, “Pac-man” is a game, and yes “Halo” is a game. But this is nothing less than pure, cinematic, interactive fiction containing all of the depth, detail, lore, discovery, and character of the greatest science fiction epics of all time. “Star Wars”, “Star Trek”, “Battlestar Galactica”, “Blade Runner”; this is a story that nearly dwarfs them all in sheer size, scope, and enjoyment while paying homage to them along the way. “Mass Effect” is not an action-based game but a massive story that you help write as you go along based on your personal choices. Sure, there is plenty of very satisfying gunplay along the way, but it is mostly a means to an end rather than the primary focus.

  The story of “Mass Effect” is quite possibly the most amazing ever written for a video game, recalling many of the best elements from some of the greatest works of the sci-fi genre and putting you in an almost “Oblivion”-like level of control over the world. You could spend dozens of hours simply exploring unknown worlds and building your fortune that way while shirking the main story altogether if you choose. But if you don’t have all the time in the universe to enjoy this one, the main story is not too long. In fact, I honestly wish it were much longer, but that was the sacrifice made for the open-ended freedom of exploration the player is given. One will most likely spend upwards of 50 hours just exploring the galaxies and discovering all of the tiny stories within the story that really flesh this universe out. Plus, there are many different ways to play the game which will command you to replay it over again just to see all of the what-if’s and enjoy mastering all of the various class skills. “Mass Effect” also revels in making you face the tough decisions, forcing you to use you own personal morality to make choices that will effect the way characters in the game will look at you. And the many races of the intergalactic Council are watching you closely as a representative of humanity adn this will impact the game. What are the ethics behind genocide of a species that may, in time, become a real threat to civilized life? You decide. How about murder for revenge? Taking bribes? The safety of the intergalactic community against human lives? These are just a few of the issues you may face and have to think about before you press that button and possibly change the universe forever.

  Gameplay could not be better. The combat is real-time and apes the realistic feel “Gears of War” while retaining the skill system used in Bioware’s previous classic “Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic”. Speaking of KOTOR, this game plays very closely to that previously untouchable work. All of the familiar gameplay and story elements are present, but almost all are improved, especially the combat. The real time shooting is a little hectic at first, but as you and your character gain experience, you will soon have the skills and savvy to utilize the system and dominate rooms full of enemies. The superhuman abilities include biotics, which are sort of like The Force, and tech skills which can include hacking an enemy’s AI to attack it’s teammates or overheating an opponent’s weapon or shields. The implementation of these skills can be key since many of the enemies are quite resourceful and strong. Shall you use biotics to lift a foe from behind his cover so you can ventilate him at your leisure or just create a vortex to suck them all up into one whirling shooting gallery? Maybe I’ll just terrorize the lot of them with my one-shot-one-kill sniping skills while my teammates provide cover. The options are only as limited as your imagination. The only complaints from me is that your squadmates can’t be controlled individually (you can’t send your heavy gunner forward while keeping your tech expert behind cover; both respond to the same command) and the grenades (while awesome and upgradable) are kind of clunky to use. The characters of KOTOR and Bioware’s last game “Jade Empire” also had a lot more charm and humor to them and a lot more to say in between missions, it seems. I guess that’s the price to pay for a less linear game. But then again, there is a lot of random dialogue between all of the combinations of characters here that help make up for it. For example, while your party waits in an elevator they will often have brief but personal conversations with one another. The dialogue for cutscenes and missions also changes based on who you brought along. This is a very nice touch. Exploring planets in your Mako ATV is also a blast, reminiscent of driving a Warthog in “Halo” but with much rougher terrain and jet boosters that can send you flying. Awesome.

  I could go on and on about the hundreds of things that make this “game” the greatest of it’s kind. It’s nearly as large but more accessible than “Oblivion”, more action-packed than “Knights of the Old Republic”, and has an even better story than “Halo” and stands on it’s own not as a game but as a definitive sci-fi experience. In my book, that makes this the best next-gen single-player game there is and one of the greatest things I’ve ever played. The best part? It’s the first of a trilogy. The mind boggles at the possibilities. Buy it. Now.
  
• 

  Alexis Coxon
  January 5th, 2008 on 1:23 am

  Rating

  I’m very surprised to be reviewing this game — let alone giving it five stars. When my husband received “Mass Effect” for Christmas, I thought I’d be spending a lot of time rolling my eyes and reading a book while he was shooting stuff, not fighting him for the Xbox controller!

  So, I’m not a hardcore gamer, and I’m not going to review this game pretending I’m one. I’m writing this from the perspective of a 31-year-old wife and mom whose interest in Xbox games has mostly been limited to “Oblivion” and “Guitar Hero” until now.

  The graphics in “Mass Effect” are unbelievable, even better than “Oblivion,” I think — particularly when it comes to the characters. One thing I didn’t like about “Oblivion” was that it was nearly impossible to make a female character who didn’t look like a man. Maybe that seems like a minor thing to other people, but when I spend a lot of time playing a game (about 30 hours in this case), I want to be happy with the way my character looks. My “Mass Effect” character came out pretty darn cute, if I do say so myself! (One of my husband’s friends was over once when I was playing and said, “Whoa! Who’s she? I haven’t met that character!”)

  In addition, the alien worlds that you visit look great. There are tons of them, and there’s a lot of things to explore on each one (including stuff that doesn’t show up on your map.)

  The controls were easy for me to use. Normally, I hate “shooting games” because it’s too hard for me to aim (I’d just rather hack away at something with a sword), but after a little practice, I was doing pretty good. By the end (with upgraded weapons), I found I was actually taking out guys with one shot. Sweet!

  The way the weapons and armor were displayed also made it easy for me to figure out which was the best choice for my character or other team member. In some games, particularly “Neverwinter Nights” for the PC, I’ve had to ask my husband to help me figure out which one will do the most damage. Not a problem here. One small complaint: In the screen where you switch which weapon you’re armed with, it’d be nice to have them labeled with the TYPE of weapon (pistol, assault rifle, etc.) — I’m not gun-savvy enough to figure out which is which based on the little sketch.

  I really liked the RPG aspects of the game. At times, it was a little talky, but I really liked that the focus wasn’t 100 percent on combat. I also liked the option of incorporating romance into the game. (So sue me, I’m a chick!)

  The plot — about a rogue Spectre (sort of a special agent) who’s trying to bring an ancient power back to the galaxy — kept me interested, too. I guess it’s just a variation on the standard RPG plot of “cult tries to take over the world,” but it’s done well.

  The end does seem to leave the game wide-open for a sequel — and I think that’s a good thing. I’ll definitely be fighting my husband to play that one, too.
• 

  Brendan Foy
  July 21st, 2009 on 10:33 pm

  Rating

  I am 2 years late to the party but the good times are still here. Mass Effect has completely blown me away and is easily my favorite game of this generation of consoles. Fallout 3 was my most anticipated but compared to Mass Effect it comes across as dull and lifeless.

  I have never been a big fan of the way Bioware structures their RPGs but I enjoyed Star Wars: KOTOR immensely and figured if Mass Effect could simply be a High Definition version of that game then I would be happy. Thankfully the game is so much more than anything Bioware has done in the past. They not only created a whole new universe with a deep history and compelling characters but presented it all with such refinement and polish that you will completely lose yourself in their world.

  Immediately I was sucked in when I heard the retro synthesized music at the title screen; it was as if I were about to watch a John Carpenter, David Lynch or Ridley Scott film from the 1980s. The music in this game gives the experience a personality all to its own and a charm which high budget Hollywood movies struggle to achieve.

  Upon starting the game you are immediately presented with a history of the world you are entering, the personal history of the character you are playing (fully customizable in both looks and skills) and a deep backstory to everything else from solar systems, to space technologies to politics. As the game progresses the story and more bits of information about the people and world you are playing in are methodically revealed to you at a steady and exhilarating pace. There is always something new to learn about and explore. The main story is excellent (with some branching paths depending on the type of character you choose to play as) and the sub plots are more fleshed out than the main plot of most other games. Of particular note is a romance subplot which has a bit of a soap opera feel but is exceedingly entertaining and will keep you at the edge of your seat.

  The visuals do not disappoint in the least. There is a filter you can choose to have on or off. This filter gives the game a grainy look as if you were watching an old VHS of the Ridley Scott Sci-Fi classic Bladerunner but I preferred the cleaner and sharper look when the filter was off. The attention to detail in the visuals is just as particular as the detailed story elements. Facial expressions are the most realistic and convincing I have seen in any game and the armor you wear is varied, stylish and gorgeous. You can see each and every weapon on your character so when he draws one of them, he will do so through a smooth animation instead of having it just pop up in his hands. Battles are intense and cinematic, the cut scenes are in seamless real time and even navigating the galaxy map in your ship is an experience unto itself. The star clusters and nebulas are simply mesmerizing, the solar systems and individual planets are a sight to behold and the hypnotic ambient music which plays while accessing the map captures the magnificence and loneliness of space perfectly. When simply navigating through a map gives you so much joy you know the rest of the game will be quite the treat.

  The gameplay is rock solid as well. Much thought has been put into how you play the game and provides for one of the deepest experiences in a RPG yet. You can play the game as a quick shooting soldier to a genetically/cybernetically enhanced biotic with access to super human powers (like the force in Star Wars but more than a cheap rip off). The combat plays like a 3rd person shooter with a cover system and squad commands and it works pretty well. The 3rd person shooting in Mass Effect is far superior to the stilted First Person shooting in Fallout 3 (aside from the VATS system which Mass Effect could have benefited from greatly). If Mass Effect were not an RPG the shooting mechanics here would be a solid enough foundation for an average shooter to be made of it. The sheer variety of weapons, upgrades, powers, skills and perks means very few people will play this game the same way, even if they choose a similar loadout for their characters.

  I could go on and on about the intimate experience you will have with this meticulously crafted masterpiece but I also want to touch on the few negatives I came across.

  - Dialogue. Though in general this is a huge positive where you have multiple responses in a conversation and every word is spoken by a voice actor, my gripe is that the moral paths you take are still rather predictable as they have been in past Bioware games. Bioware still can’t do dialogue as well as Black Isle/Obsidian, but they are getting better. The problem with the dialogue here is that though you can take a good, neutral or evil path, what you say really doesn’t effect the game or who you are saying it to as much as it should. If you want to be good, you pick the “good” response, if you want to be bad you pick the “bad response”. You’ll get points for being “good” or “bad” but the responses you get from the other party will pretty much be the same.

  - Bioware has an incredibly predictable and simplistic view on who is good and who is bad. To be good you basically have to be a politically correct idealist who fully embraces multi-culturalism and shuns violence unless being shot at. To be bad, you’re basically a sociopath. One scene in the game which clearly shows this simplistic worldview is where you have the choice to kill the last remaining survivor of an alien species. To kill this individual would be an act of genocide. Genocide is bad, yes, but this particular species was known to be aggressive in the past where they nearly conquered the galaxy. This individual had nothing to do with that war, it was brought to life by genetic scientists in a lab and it is begging you for it’s life, but is it really worth the risk? You do not have any time to fully investigate or keep tabs on this thing to see if it lays eggs to breed an army or a family, all you have is it’s word that it has no plans to cause the other species any harm again. All you really know is that this species has been extinct for a long time because of it’s violent past and the logical thing to do would be to keep it extinct because you can’t risk another galactic war. Well the moral absolutists at Bioware don’t seem to see it this way, you are evil if you kill the creature but good if you let it go regardless of the potential consequences. There is no option to regretfully choose to end it’s life, instead your character is shown to relish the murder of this creature as if he were some sort of serial killer. If you choose to let the creature go, you are shown to be all noble and compassionate (even though your actions could lead to the destruction of the galaxy, but nevermind that, at least it makes you feel good for the short term right?). This simplistic approach to morals and who is good and who is bad is prevalent in all of Biowares games and I really hope they work on this in the sequel because it could double the immersion factor in what is already an incredibly deep and powerful experience.

  - There is only one “HUB”. There is really only one planet/city where all the main NPCs (from merchants to plot related characters) gather. Every other world you go to is a sparsely populated wasteland where a sidequest must be completed or if it is part of the main campaign it feels like another level to get through than a world to explore. Mass Effect isn’t quite as open ended as you might like. In Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls games you have massive cities and towns which feel independent and stand on their own. In Mass Effect and pretty much every other Bioware game, you have one main area (which isn’t all that big to begin with) and everything else is much smaller and pointless to go back to once you “beat” it since it is treated like a level. The world of Mass Effect is so rich and vast that I want to feel like I can truly explore it and get a sense that there is real life here outside of the main quest. Morrowind was able to do this back in 2002, I have faith that Bioware can expand on their dated RPG formula and make Mass Effect 2 feel like a more open ended and autonomous world.

  - Length. I good game leaves you begging for more when it is all over but Mass Effect felt like it all ended too soon. The gamer was excellent but I feel 10 more hours could have been added to the main quest and there should have been quite a few more fully fleshed out side quests as well. The main campaign is around 20 hours of bliss but it is definitely on the short side for an RPG.

  - Repetition. The last negative I see in Mass Effect is that some of the maps and layouts repeat themselves. Now I understand that when it comes to a small facility on a colonized world, they probably use the same blueprints because variety in architecture is the last of their concerns in a hostile environment on a foreign planet. Still, when you do the side quests and know exactly what the layout in a building or even a cave is going to be before you enter it hurts the exploration element to the game and wears on you as the novelty wears off. This must be fixed in the sequel because by then the novelty of this beautiful world will certainly be gone.

  So those are the complaints for an otherwise AAA game. If you were to buy only one game for the Xbox 360, it would have to be Mass Effect. The best game on the system so far. An easy A across the boards.