Mass Effect takes sci-fi action role playing games to the next level with its immersive story and intense gameplay.
THE GOOD
-Excellent story with player interaction
-Good battle system
-Incredible graphics
-Great audio
-Plenty of fun and interesting side quests
THE BAD
-Minor frame rate issues
-Vehicle navigation and combat is terrible
OVERVIEW
Mass Effect is a great sci-fi action role playing game. The game takes place in 2183 AD. A few years earlier, human-kind discovered some ancient Prothean (extinct species) technology which enabled the people from Earth to escape their solar system and travel to other systems in the Milky Way galaxy. Shortly after, humans made a "first contact" with another alien species and quickly found out that a whole wide range of beings exist in their galaxy. The more popular beings are the Turians, Salarians, and Asari which have formed a Council (galactic government) to bring peace and order to the Milky Way. You quickly find out that Council politics can get a little shady at times.
In Mass Effect you play as Commander John Shepard of the Human Alliance Fleet. You have the option, in the beginning, to customize John's background, appearance and skills. Upon completion of your customization, the game begins. Shepard starts aboard the SSV Normandy on a mission, directed by the Council, to investigate the attacks to Earth's first colony, Eden Prime. Shepard finds out that the Geth (synthetic beings) are responsible for the murder of many humans on Eden Prime. Later, Shepard becomes the first human Spectre, which are the Council's elite warriors, and is tasked to stop Saren (a corrupt Turian Spectre gone rouge). Through out the story you'll find out why Saren is helping the Geth, explore new worlds, and defeat the real evil that is trying to destroy all the living life forms in the galaxy. Fortunately, Shepard doesn't have to do this alone. He is aided by a great cast of characters including Ashley Williams (Alliance soldier), Kaidan Alenko (Alliance biotic), Liara T'Soni (Asari biotic), Garrus Vakarian (Turian sentinel), Urdnot Wrex (Krogan Battle Master), and Tali'Zorah nar Rayya (Quarian engineer).
The overall story and each of the sub-character stories are well written. Plus, as you progress through the game you'll get to decide what kind of path Shepard will follow. You can choose to help people and become a Paragon or help only yourself and become a Renegade. Your actions can greatly shape the lives of your crew and the lives of others in a positive or negative way. Mass Effect goes to great lengths to make you feel like you're a part of the story.
GAMEPLAY
Battling in Mass Effect combines sci-fi third person shooting with role playing elements. You are in control of Commander Shepard at all times but you are accompanied by two computer players. Just like a leader in battle, you can give orders to your teammates using the D-pad like taking cover and attacking certain targets. Unfortunately, the A.I. sometimes will do funky things like getting stuck and shooting at walls. This can get really annoying so just be aware of these problems.
Along with attacking you can choose to use character specific skills or change weapons in the middle of a battle using the RB and LB buttons. When you do this the game stops and a menu appears. You are able to choose the appropriate weapons and skills by scrolling in a circle. You have the option to trigger certain skills manually for every battle or you can set the computer A.I. to automatically use them. This is a very nice feature and speeds up the fighting. Throughout the Milky Way galaxy, you'll encounter all sorts of beings from synthetic to organic. Keep in mind that some skills will only work on certain enemies. Fighting is really easy to do in this game. The RT button fires your weapon and LT toggles your zoom.
Every character has four different weapons which include the pistol, shotgun, assault rifle and sniper rifle. Certain character classes will earn extra bonuses per weapon. In Mass Effect you don't have to worry about ammo but each weapon has a certain limit until it overheats. If this happens take cover and wait for your weapon to cool down. There are plenty of great weapons and armor, in Mass Effect, that you can purchase at stores, pick up off of enemies, or obtain through hacking locked storage containers. Aside from fighting on foot, this game also lets you control a land vehicle call the MAKO. The intensions were good but the execution was terrible. The MAKO controls can make an experienced gamer look like a drunk driver. Whether you're navigating or fighting, the MAKO will make you go insane. Aside from some frame rate issues, A.I. hiccups and the terrible MAKO, the battle system is still very good and does a great job of making you feel like a commander in battle.
The leveling system, in Mass Effect, is simple yet effective. You can gain experience from just about anything in this game. Killing enemies, completing missions and assignments, and discovering anomalies are some of the ways to gain experience. The nice thing about the experience gained is that it is shared with all your teammates. This opens up the option to change your team at anytime and not worry about having weaker characters. You have to option to level up your characters automatically (computer assigns skill points) or manually. If done manually, a menu appears with the characters skills and every point put towards a skill increases its effectiveness and may unlock other abilities. Shepard earns a few extra skills that can increase your dialog options and combat ability. As more dialog options open up, you'll see different outcomes to situations.
Playing through the missions (main objectives) are fun and exciting but only account for half the story. There are plenty of extra side quests to complete that further extend the story. Some of these side quests involve your crew and you'll learn more about the other characters in the game. Each side quest can also prove to be rewarding either by obtaining better weapons, gaining experience, or collecting money. This is a great way to get rewarded for stretching out your legs and exploring every nook and cranny in Mass Effect.
GRAPHICS & SOUND
The visuals are amazing for both the cut-scenes and in-game. There is plenty of detail in the characters, vehicles, and everything else in the Milky Way galaxy.
BioWare really stepped up and put some great voice acting together with some notables like Joker (Seth Green) and Admiral Steven Hackett (Lance Henriksen). Each voice fits the character and greatly enhances the personality of Mass Effect. The sound effects and music will engulf you in battle and make the cut-scenes even more intense.
CONCLUSION
Mass Effect succeeds in accomplishing what sci-fi action role playing games should be. The story itself is well written and since the user has the option to change parts of it, it becomes personal to the gamer. That coupled with great gameplay will offer a lot of replay value. I would recommend this game to anyone. So, the only question that remains is how you will choose to play Commander Shepard, down the path of righteousness or malignant…