It's not a habit, it's cool, I feel alive If you don't have it you're on the other side I'm not an addict (maybe that's a lie) -K's Choice, "Not An Addict" I've played Mass Effect 40 hours since Wednesday night. Forty! That's how starved I was for an rpg of this caliber. Having finished the game once and started on my second run through the game, I have some early thoughts for my fellow Commander Shepards and also for anyone who is on the fence about getting this game. 1. Everything that the Gamespot review said about the technical issues is true, and it doesn't matter in the least. The technical issues are there, but they are not nearly as pronounced as the Gamespot review said they were. The framerate issues are worst during non-combat situations during when you are wandering around the Citadel. Not a big deal. If you're worried about these, then don't be. The game doesn't suffer much from them. 2. The storyline in this game is incredible, but it reminds me A LOT of Star Control. (VERY minor spoilers) Protheans = Precursors Reapers = Eternal Ones Asari = Syreen Mako = Planetary Landers 3. The voice acting and the musical score are unbelievable The amount of different voices and the quality level are the best I've seen in a game to date. The musical score is thrilling and will get your heart pounding. 4. The gameplay is the future of both the Shooter genre and the RPG genre Combining shooter style gameplay with rpg style gameplay, characters and storyline? Genius! 5. Dialogue is amazing. 6. The galaxy is huge. It will take a very long time for you to run out of things to do. 7. The galaxy is detailed. The setting, politics, background, etc. is incredibly well developed and fleshed out. Magnificent! 8. If you aren't playing this game then you are a filthy communist and need serious help. 9. The ending (at least the one I saw) is NOT a Cliffhanger. It ties things up and then still creates room for a sequel. (Are you listening Ubisoft?) I will have a full review up hopefully sometime today, but suffice to say that this game is the best game I've seen in years. It is a stunning achievement and, if it does end up being Bioware's swan song, it is an amazing one. Bonus Blogging Goodness! Take a look at the new gaming PC that ChiliDragon and I ordered last night and drool. Case: CoolerMaster Cosmos Silent Gaming Tower w/420 Watts Power Supply CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 CPU @ 3.0GHz 1333FSB 4MB L2 Cache 64-Bit Video Cards: 2 x GeForce 8800gt 512MB EVGA CD: 18x DVD R/RW + CD R/RW Drive Dual Layer (Free Stuff) Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, Multi-Purpose Carrying Briefcase, T-Shirt Fan: CoolerMaster Liquid CPU Cooling System Motherboard: (Quad-Core FSB 1333) EVGA nForce 680i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Memory: 4GB DDR2/800 Deal Channel Memory (Corsair XMS2 Xtreme Memory w/Heat Spreader) Sound Card: Creative Labs X-FI Etreme Fatal1ty Pro 24-Bit PCI Speakers: Logitech X-540 70Watts 5.1 PowerSupply: Thermaltake W0131RU ToughPower 850 Watts Hard Drive: 500GB SATA-II 3.0 Gb/s 16 MB Cache 7200 RPM HDD