BioWare's sci-fi epic evolutionises the role-playing genre and delivers a game world that's extremely rich and detailed
Graphics: The cut-scenes are very good looking, but the rest of the game engine - while pretty sharp - isn’t quite as good-looking as Bioshock or Gears of War.
Sound: Voice acting is consistently well done - and not as insanely camp as most other voice-RPG fests.
Value: This is a lot of stuff - plenty of skills, classes and areas to explore ensure you’ll be playing for 50-plus hours.
Mass Effect is a giant leap forward for videogames in terms of storytelling and it’s probably the biggest, most sophisticated game on Xbox 360. But with combat requiring you to dip into menus every few seconds, it isn’t likely to win over the Halo brigade - and with this much dialogue, it’s not going to be your bag if you’re the guy who hits ‘start’ every second in an effort to get characters to stop talking.