A detailed universe and an epic storyline make Mass Effect a must play, A Long and Thorough Review *True Score=9.4*
***Extensive Review, skip to the Conclusion for an overview of the game***
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Game Play 9.2
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Controls (Good)
>> In Mass Effect there are two types of exploration, by foot and with the Mako (the vehicle used to explore the surface of planets in ME). On foot the controls are wonderful in every aspect and skills are mapped to the controller perfectly. And the conversation mechanic is revolutionary and unrivaled by any game of the past or present. It is similar to that of KOTOR except that you can pick your response while people are talking. Responses are written in brief summaries of what your character is going to say and are mapped out on a wheel making them easy to decipher. This makes conversation flow seamlessly as if you were watching a movie. The menu's in Mass Effect get the job done effectively and the issues I have with them are very anal and not worth mentioning.
Unfortunately there are some issues with the controls in vehicle combat in ME. The Mako drives really similar to Warthog in the first Halo. For the most part that is ok, but backing up can be difficult depending on where you have the camera. The big issue is with aiming though. The turret on top of the Mako can only aim up or down a little bit, so if an enemy is too far above or below you you won't be able to hit them. With all of the uneven terrain in this game this can be a huge issue. However, If you keep your distance from enemies this isn't as big of an issue. On the bright side the Mako can jump and this is extremely useful when avoiding enemy fire.
Customization (Excellent)
>> Bioware is famous for excellent customization and ME is no exception. This is apparent as soon as you begin a new game. You get to choose what you look like, your sex, your personal history, and most importantly your class. Your characters class determines his/her ability to use biotics, tech skills, or their combat prowess and thus governs the abilities your character will have for the rest of the game. For example, a biotic could lift someone into the air rendering them defenseless, while a tech specialist could overload someones weapon, and a soldier could train to be more proficient with advanced weapons such as assault rifles and sniper rifles. There are a lot of options, but don't worry because you can compensate for your main characters weaknesses with your team mates. You can have 2 people with you at all times allowing you to dominate your enemy in any way you see fit.
The equipment in ME includes pistols, shotguns, assault rifles, sniper rifles, armor, grenades, biotic amps, and omni tools. Biotic amps and omni tools increase the power of biotics and tech skills respectively. You can probably figure out what the rest of the equipment does on your own. And most of the equipment in this game can also be upgraded with items such as toxic rounds or shield boosters. In combination with all of the skills your characters get you can build a pretty dominant team come games end. My one issue with the customization is once again with the Mako. You can not customize your vehicle at all. Whats the deal with that? With a little fine tuning and the ability to customize they could have made vehicle combat a strength as opposed to a weakness.
Battle System (Great)
>> As the majority of you already know ME is a first person shooter/RPG. Other than the deep level of customization what makes this an RPG is the ability to pause combat at any time using the power wheel. Simply by holding one button you cause pause combat, look around at your foes, and select the abilities you want to destroy your them with. You switch weapons in the same manner. This is a brilliant mechanic that is executed perfectly, and if you don't use it often you will be killed. This is why this game is more RPG than first person shooter. The squad based mechanic in this game is questionable at best. The d-pad allows you to give commands to your teammates such as attack or stay back, but they are rarely if ever useful. This is the area they could have improved big time. Examples would be with more detailed and useful squad commands and the ability to tell your team mates to attack a specific enemy. You could select your team mates target in KOTOR, why can't we do that in ME? I also have to stress, yet again, that vehicle combat in ME is lacking. I already elaborated on that in the Controls sections though.
Puzzles & Mini Games (Excellent)
>> As previously mentioned in the Controls section, every single time you are talking to someone in this game it plays out like a little mini game, and is one of the biggest strengths ME. This motivates you to talk to people just for the fun of it, not just because you have to. There is also a small mini game that plays out when ever you are decrypting a computor or locker. This is cute and kind of fun, but mainly just filler. And as you might expect from Bioware, there are several other puzzles scattered throughout the main quest to keep your attention.
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Graphics 8.5
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Background & Environment (Good)
>> Landscapes and other backdrops are clean and slick looking, but they are kind of boring look at. They don't have as much detail as you have seen in games like Oblivion. And then there is there is the technical issues. Mainly, most the time when loading the game or entering into new areas the graphics will load in piece by piece. It happens very often, so it is an issue. However, it seems to decrease loading times (a criticism of KOTOR II) so I began to just except it as part of the loading times and it didn't bother me. This same issue exists with the characters and I dropped the score down one because of it, but I am not going to mention the issue in that section of the review.
Characters (Great)
>> First off, I want to say that the default Commander Shepard is the best looking character I have ever seen. It is obvious Bioware put a lot of effort in to making him and I didn't want to mess with it. I did mess with the character creation mechanic for the fun of it though, and it is pretty good. It is not as good as character creation in Oblivion though and you can't make anyone that looks even half as good as the default commander shepard. Most of the other human characters in this game look inferior and their skin looks rough. However the aliens in ME all look amazing, especially the Krogan.
Special Effects (Great)
>> As with all Bioware games the cutscene graphics are the same ones used in gameplay. I personally love this, but they aren't really special effects. Spell and gun effects are flawless for the most part, but I felt they could have just a little more spice. Another definite strength in this game though, very similar to KOTOR.
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Sound 10.0
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Music (Exceptional)
>> Flawless, if it could be improved I don't know how. The music makes you feel as if you are watching a Blockbuster movie. For large portions of the game there is little to no music, just subtle tunes, but I feel that is appropriate to the setting of the game.
Sound Effects (Exceptional)
>> Once again, flawless. Everything sounds as it should and spells and guns sound cool.
Voice Acting (Best Ever)
>> Every single line in this entire game is voice acted and executed perfectly. Bioware also brought in some big names such as Seth Green who played Joker (your pilot). After this anything else is a let down.
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Story 9.7
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Plot (Exceptional)
>> You play as Commander Shepard in this game who is an alliance marine and a candidate to be the first human spectre ever. Spectres are agents of the Council (Intergalactic Gov. in short) who are not governed by the same rules as everybody else. Spectres have to make decisions that determine the fate of many lives and are tasked with eliminating threats to the galaxies well being. The story in ME is amazing and worthy of being mentioned with the likes of Star Wars and Lord of the Rings.
Characters (Great)
>> I place the characters of ME below that of KOTOR, but not by very much. There are romance subplots available here as well as a plethora of interactions that only Bioware can offer. It is always fun talking to your crew whenever you get the chance.
Writing (Exceptional)
>> Bioware has an author tasked specifically to writhing the script in ME. Every single npc in the entire game has a unique personality that shows when you talk to them. I can't even imagine how much time and effort they had to put in to accomplishing this.
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Value 9.0
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Main Story (Good)
>> The main story line of Mass Effect will last you about 15-20 hours. By RPG standards that is fairly short, but by any other genres standards that is really good.
Sidequests & Secrets (Great)
>> If you were to do all of the side quests in Mass Effect it would probably double or even triple the games length. There are a ton of planets to explore in the plethora of solar systems in this game. The galaxy map you use to determine your destination in this game is awesome and provides a wonderful level of organization. You also have a journal that organizes all the quests you have done and need to do similar to in Oblivian. All of the quests that you run into while on the main story line are very detailed and deep and therefore fun to do. However, exploring other planets, which makes up about 90% of the sidequests is sort of boring and tedious. There are only a few types of enemy hideouts used for all the different sidequests, so after doing a few all them they will begin to look the same. And aside from the planets on the main story line the landscapes are barren. I just wish Bioware put the same effort into all the sidequests as it did for the ones on the citadel or planets along the main story line.
Replay Value (Exceptional)
>> The main storyline may be short, but it is fun to play over and over again. There are multiple reasons to do this such as using different classes or choosing different backgrounds for your character (which will activate some unique sidequests and dialogue options). Also you can unlock harder difficulty levels and attempt to earn more Xbox 360 points. The primary motivation though (started by the KOTORS) is to play as good or evil (called paragon and renegade points in this game). It is a different though, it is more like being honorable or a jerk in this game, but still fun. Maybe the coolest feature is the ability to unlock bonus talents. This would allow you use assault rifles as a biotic power user, which is something you could not normally do.
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Tilt 9.8
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Cool Factor (Exceptional)
>> If for no other reason, I encourage everyone to play ME just to experience the universe created by Bioware. As I alluded to earlier, I feel it is on the same level as Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. You have a codex, which is also completely voice acted, with hours of footage on all the details of the species in and of the universe itself. And the combat is awesome, you can toss your enemies around like rag dolls with biotics and/or equip ammo that will disintegrate them upon death. Also, being a spectre and the privileges that go along with it is sick, you are the top dog in this game. You answer to the council, but you have the ultimate say in who lives or dies.
Fun Factor (Excellent)
>> I don't have anything new to say here, but for the aforementioned reasons this game is extremely fun to just sit and play. I played through this game 4 times. I generally don't do that, I replayed each KOTOR once and over a 10+ year span I have played Chrono Trigger 3-4 times. I have also replayed FF7, but thats about it. The conversations, the combat, and the storyline stay fun even after the shock and awe factor is gone.
Tediousness (Low)
>> The only part of this game that ever gets tedious is vehicle exploration and combat. Since you can't customize the Mako this remains unchanged throughout the game and thus gets tedious. The horrible controls associated with the Mako just add to this. Unless you explore a ton of planets this isn't a huge issue though as the rest of the game moves smoothly.
!!Tip!!- The only non combat skills your character gets are charm (associated with being good/paragon) and intimidate (associated with being mean/renegade). Maximise the points in one of these abilities at all times. It opens up new dialogue options and is the only way to complete certain quests. Doing this will also allow you to talk yourself out of dire situations where you would otherwise fail.
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Conclusion
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Pros
-Quality voice acting for every bit of dialogue in the entire game
-Revolutionary conversation system
-Hollywood quality story, script, & sound
-Huge and detailed universe
-Deep customization
-Fun and innovative combat
-Extremely high replay value
Cons
-Vehicle exploration and combat is boring and tedious
-Distracting graphical glitches
-Squad based commands either don't work or are pointless
-Short main quest by RPG standards
Gameplay (20%) – 9.2
Sound (15%) – 10.0
Graphics (15%) – 8.5
Story (20%) - 9.7
Value (10%) - 9.0
Tilt (20%) – 9.8
Final Score – 9.4 (rounded down)
>> Many before me have said it and I will say it again, ME is not without flaws. The only reason everybody illuminates this though is because Bioware has created a product that is on another level in so many ways. People like myself have to find ways to nit pick an otherwise perfect game. My analytical review especially doesn't do justice to how good this game is. No matter how hard I try I can't truely explain all of the nuances that make ME special. You are just going to have to buy the game and experience it for yourselves [Looks to the right and walks away].