Where is the rest of the game?
I have now been playing Mass Effect at home for a few evenings and I have realized that the game is drawing to a close. I'm a bit rattled by this because the intro and build up had me thinking that this game was going to be epic.
The back story and universe in Mass Effect are unparralled and unchallenged by any other current sci-fi RPG. I would say that not since Deus Ex or X have I been as impressed and drawn in by a game universe. This is a job well done. HOWEVER, Bioware have rather made a rod for their own back, because with a story like that the action was going to have to be awesome. Characters are brilliantly written and voiced and the Citadel is an interesting location.
The bulk of the game is made up of exploration, both on a stellar scale and at a city scale, in Citadel. Sadly, the galaxy level exploration is grossly simple. Once you arrive at an interesting planet (roughly 2 out of 10), you either hit a buttton to survey it, reqrding you with a little pop up announcement or you get to land on the planet.
Scouting the planets is done in a kind of off-road racer way. Sadly the rover itself is slow and a little unweildy. What is more planet surfaces are dull and flat and often have VERY little going on on them. Occasionally you might find pirates but these will be confined to a tiny area and grant about 5 minutes worth of shooting tops.
Actually story missions are deep and involved although still short. At times they are very tense with some great tactical shooting. This is augmented by the squad command options available. Equipment plays a part but really doesn't vary enough to have a major effect.
Drawing to the end of this game I can't help but think that if all parts of the Mass Effect trilogy were released together it would constitute a single game. In order to deliver on the promise set up by the excellent start to Mass Effect, a very long and intense game was required and this was not delivered by the first installment alone.