Come on guys...This game is great, and you know it.
Get a grip people.
I have not finished this game yet, nor will I for quite some time. I am only eleven or so hours in, and have already decided that I am going to be playing it at least two more times. This game has the power to captivate on a MASSIVE SCALE, and should be played by all.
Yes, it has pop up. Yes, it has some glitches from time to time, but what game doesen't? I've been playing games since I was six years old-(25 now), and started with the Sega Mastersystem-(8bit). I know what games are capable of, and I most certainly know a great game when I come across one. Mass Effect has the ability to make your girlfriend very angry, your friends to hate you, and for you to lose your job. There has only been a few games this year that have made me stay up ALL NIGHT and play 'till six in the morning. Bioshock and Halo 3. Those were good games. And really, Halo 3 is more for online fun. Bioshock was something special, and so is Mass Effect.
The voice acting in M.E is extraordinary. The characters are so well fleshed out, and the dialogue so well implemented, that you feel as though you are living and breathing M.E, not merely playing it.
The graphics are the best I've seen in a videogame to date. Period. Gears Of War and Bioshock looked great, but this is truly next gen. Sometimes there is pop in, sometimes the textures take an extra second to load, but never once did it take me out of the experience.
The audio in the game so far has been mind blowing. As I stated above, the voice acting is amazing. But all of the other effects, such as ships flying by, or the game world just "living and breathing" in The Citadel, are testaments to great audio.
I could go on and on. But since I've only played for just over ten hours, I can't give my full review yet. But you can rest assured knowing that if the first chunk of the game is this good, the rest is only going to blow your mind.
This is truly one of the best games I have ever played in my life, and I can't wait for numbers two and three.