A Fantastic RPG, with a long life-span which you will go to play again and again. But it has some hitches...
You start off at the character creation screen, you can either go with the default character either male or female, or you can change the appearence of your character as you see fit. The customization is very similar to The Elder Scrolls IV : Oblivion, as it goes into so much depth almost any character that a player creates will be unique. Even though I know this is a great feature, I found it somewhat over-whelming.
During the customization you select your characters backstory, this ranges from: Earth Civillian, Colonial Survivor or A Descendant of former Militarians. You also can select the kind of person your character is, A Cruel Tyrant, A War Hero or A Survivor. These minor backstories won't affect the game much, but will influence dialog which is spoken in the game.
The story in Mass Effect is based around a huge universe, which players must travel across to find information and complete missions in order to advance the story. Getting around from planet to planet is done without much hassle, as it's automated which means no annoying Zelda-like boat trips... It is a huge story with lots of mini backstories for you to explore as well, which means you will get many, many hours of gameplay.]
The gameplay of Mass Effect is at a par, due to the fact of it's slightly broken combat.It has used the style of Rainbow Six : Vegas' cover system, although this does spice up the combat, it just doesn't feel as intense as say Call of Duty 4's combat. However the interaction between characters and the environment is great, and this almost but not quite saves Mass Effect's gameplay.
Sound-wise Mass Effect sounds great. The sound of ship engines roaring or rifles firing, and the composition of music. All contribute to make the game feel alot more life-like.
Graphically, Mass Effect looks spectacular however it is hindered by some graphical glitches. At some points during conversations with other characters their eyes would go skewed and the shadows would fall over the face unrealisticly. However looking at the detail of the ships and environments around you is spectacular.
Overall Mass Effect is a very in-depth RPG and is one not to be missed by RPG fans. This game is definately worth the money, as it is beautiful to listen see and play. And with over 100+ hours of gameplay minimum you will be playing this game fora very long time.