42 hours, 421 saves and a level 50 later (yes it is possible!) I finally finished my first playthrough of the classic and mind-blowing space opera, Mass Effect.

As the end cut-scenes played, I couldn´t really believe a game had sunk it´s claws soooo deep. This game had me actually caring about the characters, and wanting to know what lay behind the Citadel, the keepers and Saren... I´d been everywhere and done pretty much everything, and all with a smile on my face!

I think I didn´t do badly, either. I maxed my credits and paragon levels, and even managed to unblock the improvements for assault rifles, pistols and sniper rifles, playing as infiltrator which, for me, in the best character class of the bunch. Plus, I did it all on veteran!

Now I´m on my second playthrough, on hardcore and with a mission - to annoy everyone, increase my renegade rating and use biotic powers. Then, one playthrough more and I should have a bad ass character to enjoy in Mass Effect 2!

Oh, and why so many saves? I found early on that saving before attempting the mini-games when you salvage a probe; hack a computer or open a locked crate means that if you don´t like the contents (or bungle it), you can simply re-load and attempt again!

The storyline is both compelling and convincing and I am really grateful to my mates for recommending this game to me, it's quickly becoming one of my favs!