Gamernode: Reviews - Mass Effect

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• Mass Effect
• Xbox 360
• BioWare
• Microsoft Games
• November 20th, 2007

But that doesn't mean it wasn't fun being a one man wrecking crew. And by no means was it always a breeze. There was one point that I can't go into details about without spoiling anything that took me 45 minutes of dying to beat.

With that said, thank God almighty for the amazing storyline. The story will suck you in and keep you addicted like a junkie on heroin. You've been warned. Mass Effect sports an awesome lineup of characters you will fall in love with immediately, ranging from the sassy and spunky Ashley Williams to the badass, "I don't give a crap" Urdnot Wrex.

Mass Effect managed to get me to care enough about my characters to actually get attached, and without spoiling anything, threw me into many situations where the stakes were high and real, and my choice would alter the rest of the game.

If you do all the side quests the game should keep you busy for easily over 100 hours. The moment you gain the freedom of a starship and look at the galaxy map you'll say, "oh cool that's a lot of solar systems to explore." Then you'll click on one and find out this game is a whole lot bigger than you thought. That "Solar system" you were staring at was actually just a galaxy cluster, which holds several solar systems within it. And within each solar system is a group of planets.

While not all planets are exportable (it's about 1 landable planet per solar system), you'll be able to at least survey a planet for resources and relics or just read a unique biography on each planet. If you have ADD, you're in for some trouble with a galaxy this big.

BioWare has been slowly mastering interactive dialogue, and it shines in this one. The conversations are smooth and seamless, and you almost never end up in those conversation loops that make the characters look retarded. The dialogue wheel is so good, that it makes role-playing instinct. In previous games like KOTOR and Jade Empire, it was a little easier to detatch and say "I'm going the evil route". But in Mass Effect, I found myself answering everything quite honestly and found out I'm actually more good then evil. Imagine that.

The lip-synching, body language, and cinematography are flawless. And honestly, without them the game just wouldn't be the same. The voice acting is unparalleled, with talent including Seth Green and Keith David.

Bottom-line? As an RPG Mass Effect will blow you away. You'll find yourself so engrossed in the massive (pardon the pun) universe that even if you don't usually role play, you'll be doing it anyway. Whatever you do, don't judge it as a shooter. Mass Effect isn't just a game, it's an experience and is a prime example of why games are being recognized by the Writer's Guild of America and several prestigious award institutions. It's a must-play game if you own an Xbox 360. Don't be that guy who misses out, because it'll be your loss. Game of the Year, hands down.

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