Massively effective at being awesome.
US Release Date: 2007
Genre(s): Action-RPG, Third-Person Shooter
Platform(s): Xbox 360, PC
Version Reviewed: Xbox 360
Publisher(s): Microsoft Game Studios
Developer(s): BioWare
# of Players: 1
ESRB Rating: Mature - Blood, Language, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Violence
Story: You are Commander Shepard, a burly, gorilla of a military man who kicks ass and asks questions later. Or maybe you're Commander Shepard, a silky-voiced, smooth-talkin', interstellar player, who gets it on with alien babes in between negotiations with extraterrestrial thugs. You might even be Commander Shepard, the most ruthlessly cold-hearted douchebag to ever not give a flying eff about the troubles of the galaxy - as long as you get paid, you're happy. Character creation and player choice: these are just the beginning of the many freedoms "Mass Effect" offers up in spectacular fashion.
Regardless of who you choose to be, the main storyline still ensures that players experience one of the most epic, engrossing space operas available in any medium - think "Star Wars," "The Fifth Element," and your favorite junk food of all time rolled into an ultimate and beautiful concoction of deliciousness, and available for instant consumption. Except this is the type of adventure you'll want to savor, because cruising around the gigantic expanse of space in the SSV Normandy, exploring foreign worlds, and blasting all manner of alien scum into oblivion is both gratifying and intense.
The main plot kicks off with you (Commander Shepard) taking up the mantle of Spectre (think "space special forces/badass") and hunting down a traitorous former member of the elite order, who basically dicked everyone else in the universe over. Hard. Alongside said evil douche is a malevolent race of robotic monstrosities known as the "geth" and they are out to eff up your day, all day, every day. Your hands are very, very full right off the bat.
After that, anything can happen. Side-quests rear their heads ad nauseum, promising gratifying rewards and adding volumes upon volumes of lore to this massive mythology, and choosing who you meet, who to save, who to kill, and how to handle each unique situation not only affects the current story, but also the two equally-enthralling sequels. That's right: this game is the jumping-off point of one of the most beloved trilogies in modern gaming, and your decisions in each iteration alters the events of the next. So strap your big boy (or girl) pants on, and get ready to hunker down for the long haul. In truth, this game will give back as much as you put into it, with literally hours of additional details and backstories that can be uncovered at any moment, but none of this is required to progress through the main story - however, those patient and dedicated enough to see how deep the rabbit hole goes will definitely get the most rewarding experience from this journey. Regardless of your extraneous actions, everything culminates into a series of intense plot twists and hardcore boss battles, with the promise of more to come. But you already knew that, because, well, the game has two sequels out already.
Graphics: As impressive to me today as they were the first time I played this game, the graphics in "Mass Effect" are beautiful and oftentimes stunning. The environments are breathtaking, bringing to life alien worlds so vast and imaginative that their nonexistence is almost impossible to believe.
Character models, both human and otherwise, are notable as well: for instance, when Commander Shepard is in the middle of an intense firefight with geth soldiers, it's clearly apparent when he craps his pants. Not really, but the characters' motions and facial movements in and out of battle are commendably realistic, so it's just as cool to watch their mouths moving along to dialogue as it is to watch them jump out from behind cover to smash an attacking enemy in the face with a well-timed shotgun round. Another awesome touch is that each character accurately reflects their current weapons and armor loadout in-game; it's these wonderful, little visual nuances that make "Mass Effect" really stand out as something special.
Explosions, weapon blasts, and all manner of lighting, reflections, shadows, etc. are done expertly. There's the occasional graphical glitch, or moment or two of slowdown as the Xbox 360's engine is temporarily overwhelmed, but with so much brilliant eye candy to be had, it's rarely detrimental to the visual feast. This game will make sweet, sweet love to your optic nerves, and there's no shame in enjoying it.
Sound/Music: It's not going to win any Grammy nominations, but the score here is certainly appropriate for a space romp such as this. If you're into ambient electronica grooves à la "Blade Runner" and stirring "Halo"-esque orchestral pieces, then the soundtrack might have you feeling a little bit on the aroused side (I wouldn't call this a bad thing).
As far as voice work goes, "Mass Effect" is spot on, offering up a cast of actors who prove more than adept at infusing the perfect amount of inflection, tone, and personality into the unprecedented amount of dialogue available. It honestly helps us care even more about the characters we've been (misguidedly) entrusted to keep alive.
Gameplay: Anyone who's played BioWare's previous masterpiece "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic" will be familiar with the three-man (or woman/alien) squad-based mechanics that make up most of the gameplay in "Mass Effect." Except this time, instead of entering RPG-style commands into a queue, the action is in real-time, playing out more like a third-person shooter than a true action-RPG. You'll be able to utilize a plethora of firearms and powers to blast your enemies into tiny bits, but it'll be up to you to aim them.
Unfortunately, equipping said weapons is somewhat of a cumbersome process, with a clunky menu system that ends up being more time-consuming than helpful, requiring literally hours of adjustments to be made over the course of the game. Fortunately, assigning new skill points to various powers and abilities is a blast, and fairly simplistic - leveling up your character into a specialist of some sort is too fun, and experimenting with each crew member is great. However, this is definitely a bountiful buffet of RPG-fattiness that caters more to action-oriented, Western appetites, rather than the level-grinding sensibilities of the JRPG crowd.
While it's great that most of your time is spent throttling baddies and learning sweet, new skills, the squad AI is an utter disappointment: the few times your teammates will actually listen to the commands you give them, it will prevent them from doing anything else useful (i.e. taking cover), and chances are they will die from time to time because of this. Good gravy, that's frustrating. Fortunately, as you level characters up, many of them become unstoppable tanks, and the epic strength you and your minions wield is empowering enough to compensate for any lack of true tactics. The unfortunate part is that they'll still be capable of falling victim to infuriating programming errors, such as glitching through rocks, doors, etc. and forcing a reload of an earlier save file. If you don't mind doing this once every ten or so hours, then you shouldn't have too much of a problem though. Either that, or just stay the eff away from all rocks and doors.
Outside of combat, the rest of your time will be spent exploring space for side-quests and uncharted planets, and engaging in dialogue with various NPCs. And holy crap, are there a lot of NPCs to talk to. When engaging in conversation, you'll more times than not be given multiple responses to choose from, and there are a number of outcomes available based on how you speak to the other character: you may earn experience points or money, alter the storyline of this and all subsequent games, or maybe just shit on their day, like the briny jackass we all know you are. You may even be able to avoid violent confrontations almost completely...but not all of them (sorry pacifists, at some point you need to blow a hole in somebody's head). Your responses may push your built-in "morality meter" toward either the "good" side ("Paragon") or the "bad" side ("Renegade"), and either direction can net you some sweet perks and exclusive abilities. Regardless, having people blab your ears off is a huge part of the game, so get used to doing as much negotiating (or lack thereof) as fighting.
Overall: So what can we learn from this unnecessarily long review? It's simple: "Mass Effect" is a ridiculously well-executed sci-fi action-RPG that will easily and greedily suck away at least a few dozen hours of your life if you're weak-willed enough to let it. This option is all the more tantalizing due to the fact that you can create a new game plus file at the end and start the space-party all over again, even as a brand-new face with extra abilities. If you're a fan of third-person shooters, action-RPGs, space operas, or even being an intergalactic jack-off (seriously), then this is one odyssey you need to embark on.
Rating (out of 5): 4.5
