In the year 2148, explorers on Mars discovered the remains of an ancient spacefaring civilization. In the decades that followed, these mysterious artifacts revealed startling new technologies, enabling travel to the furthest stars. The basis for this incredible technology was a force that controlled the very fabric of space and time. They called it the greatest discovery in human history. The civilizations of the galaxy call it... I don’t remember why I bought Mass Effect, having never played any game like it before. I’m not big on shooters and I generally prefer turn-based RPGs. But boy am I ever thankful that I did, for the Mass Effect series quickly became one of my favourite gaming franchises. The story in Mass Effect is incredibly detailed and engaging, perhaps being one of the richest sci-fi stories ever, regardless of medium. In the first entry in the series, players assume the role of Commander Shepard in the year 2183, whose appearance, backstory, and class is up to the player. The SSV Normandy is sent to the colony of Eden Prime to recover a Prothean artefact. Leading the mission is Nihlus, a turian member of the Spectres, elite agents who are above the law and answer directly to the Citadel Council, the ultimate authority in the galactic community. Nihlus is also examining Shepard, who is in talks of becoming a Spectre. They discover that Eden Prime is under attack from a robotic race known as the geth, led by Saren, a rogue turian Spectre who betrays and murders Nihlus. Saren activates the Prothean artefact and escapes before Shepard can stop him. Shepard encounters the artefact and receives a cryptic vision of death and destruction. After much quarrelling, Shepard manages to convince the Council that Saren has indeed gone rogue after having found a recording of him mentioning the glorious return of the Reapers, a highly advanced and immensely powerful machine race. Shepard is declared a Spectre (the first human to be given such a prestigious title) and sets forth to stop Saren and save the galaxy from impending doom. What follows is a series of events that deal with the themes of bigotry, freedom of thought, vigilantism, and artificial intelligence. The gameplay in Mass Effect is deep albeit clunky. It greatly centers around which class you chose in the beginning of the game. Adepts can utilize biotic powers that grant Shepard the ability to lift, throw, warp, and render enemies in stasis. It’s a lot like the Force. Soldiers can utilize a variety of weapons (pistol, shotgun, assault rifle, and sniper rifle) and have powers that enhance the performance of these weapons. Engineers can disrupt shields and hack synthetic enemies such as the geth whom you’ll be seeing a lot of. There are also hybrids of these classes combining certain powers and talents. Playing the game as each of these classes gives a very different experience gameplay-wise. For example, with the Soldier class you can rely on brute strength to plow through enemies whereas the Adept class can greatly be used for crowd control, relying on your squad mates to take down enemies. The combat takes awhile to get used to so it’s helpful if you save your game manually as opposed to relying on the autosave which can be troublesome, usually sending players back a good 30 minutes of playtime upon dying, forcing them to replay segments and listen to conversations again. The game is a shooter but it is fundamentally an RPG. Players level up, strengthening their powers in the process, and weapons and armor can be equipped with upgrades providing certain benefits. Collecting weapons and upgrades is irritating since there is a finite amount of space for these items. Upon reaching the limit, you must either sell some weapons and upgrades or reduce them to omni-gel that can be used to heal your land vehicle or easily hack into crates as opposed to participating in a boring button pressing mini-game to retrieve the goodies. Using powers is very useful but the mechanics are unrealistic. To use a power you must access the power wheel that temporarily stops time, giving you time to decide which power you want to use and on whom. It’s unfair but very helpful. Only a single power can be mapped to a button for easy access instead of accessing the power wheel. Pausing the game during fights greatly disrupts the flow and removes the tense feeling of combat. The morality system is very satisfying. You aren’t really given good or evil options but rather options where you can act charming or intimidating. Either option gets the job done but alters future events and changes the way others view your character. And sometimes the decisions you have to make can be very tough, where determining what’s right and what’s wrong isn’t so clear. You really have to pause and think about what decision you will make and what consequences will follow as a result. I think it’s fair to say the most interesting moments of the game occur in these instances. And if you want to see every possible outcome you will have to play the game numerous times and go down different paths. There’s lots of replayability to Mass Effect. Everything is voiced over and done so expertly well, making the conversations very engrossing. This is also largely due to the writing which is top-notch. Even with the many non-important characters you will meet, the voice-work and writing makes them feel important. The main quests take place in detailed environments whereas the side quests do not. The uncharted planets you visit are pretty much identical to each other but with different colour palettes. They’re all just barren landscapes with many hills and one or two buildings for you to enter. This “exploration” isn’t really that compelling. Graphically the game is amazing but of course its sequels look a lot better. The lip-synch is almost spot on and the characters and aliens are extremely detailed and each alien race has a distinct personality, from the monotone elcor to the fast-talking salarians. There are frame-rate issues and lots of texture loading but these are minor offenses. There are lots of annoying bugs however. Enemies frequently get stuck in walls or objects (sometimes even Shepard and your squadmates). Overall, this is a fantastic game that really does play out like a movie (you can even add grain filter to give it a classic film aesthetic). There are technical issues and disappointing side quests but the main story and everything relating to it is amazing. This is a game designed to be played again and again and again, each time providing the player with a different experience. The storytelling is phenomenal, the graphics are incredibly detailed, the voice-work is top-notch, and the gameplay is outstanding. Mass Effect begins a series that will be played and talked about for a long time. Graphics: 9.5 Sound: 10 Gameplay: 8.5 Overall Score: 9.0
Very good review! It was well-written, in my opinion. Definitely makes me want to get around to playing the game again, last thing I did was the Bring Down the Sky DLC. :P I don't know about you, but for me, the game is grainy enough. :P
Yeah I agree. I didn't actually use the grain filter, it was distracting. I was just pointing out that the option is there which is neat.
Good job. As I'm playing it right now, I agree with it all. I just wish I had more time to play it. And I like the film grain effect
