Mass Effect is an excellent game that fans of Bioware will love, although something just doesn't feel quite right.
Mass Effect begins onboard the Normandy, a prototype space craft built for the Systems Alliance (the galactic name signifying the human government in the galaxy) with your commanding officers discussing the possibility of you (playing the role of Commander Shepard) becoming the first human Spectre (a sort of jedi I guess you could call them. they have unrestricted authority wherever they go and are very powerful fighters). The story goes on from here to cover a wide range of things from discovering the reason behind the extinction of a past race, tracking down a rogue Spectre, and falling in love. Of course, Mass Effect being a Bioware game it has an excellent story and top-notch voice acting.
However the problem lies within the gameplay. The combat is great, I couldn't have wished for a better combat system for this game. A turn-based system just doesn't do justice for the emotionally powerful stories Bioware tells. The menus, merchants, and items in the game however, are just dreadfully done. Bioware has never really been a studio that makes the best in game menus, but the KotOR menus were bearable. However, the Mass Effect menu (equipment screen especially) is just a pain in the a** to use and is not even that great to look at. I'm going to be honest. I never once used a merchant in this game because they are just huge headaches to deal with, especially the one on your own ship. Wait a minute, you are telling me I have to go out and buy YOU things so I can BUY things from YOU!? Its just a huge pain to deal with and not even worth it really. Its really aggravating and not even that fun or terribly useful to equip your team with good equipment either. They all die no matter what and are pretty stupid in battle, just standing out in the open and taking hits. I also am having alot of trouble finding the better equipment in the game, considering I just put on whatever I loot and the cities or ports or whatever don't really have a great structure to them like towns in Jade Empire or KotOR games did.
To be honest, I think Gamespot got the review spot on with Mass Effect. It is truly a great game, but not on par with some of the better ones we've seen this year. It of course has the great story and voice acting we have come to expect from Bioware, but the gameplay mechanics are going to keep you from fully enjoying Mass Effect.
Pros:
-Great story with tough choices to make
-3rd person shooter combat seems better suited for this game
-Awesome graphics
-Naked ladies
-Party A.I. seems smart at times
Cons:
-Menu system is flat out terrible
-Merchant system is aggravating and I can't really find any besides the one on my ship
-How do I level up mechanics, computer, and etc. I CAN'T OPEN ANY BOXES
-Can only control Shepard
-Party A.I. seems dumb at times