Mass Effect Review: BioWare at the Top of Its Game

Another highly anticipated game in the year 2007 is finally here. That game is none other than Mass Effect. Mass Effect is an Xbox 360 exclusive game that comes from the brilliant creators of games such as Jade Empire and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. The video game company responsible for those amazing games is BioWare. BioWare has been teasing audiences with trailer after trailer of this game since 2005. Everyone knew BioWare had an ace up their sleeve that they were keeping a secret. Fortunately, the cat is completely out of the bag and is no longer hidden. Mass Effect kept on garnering attention from all angles, and the game is showing no signs of stopping anytime soon. Does Mass Effect live up to the extraordinarily expectations? Luckily, the answer to that question is an emphatic yes. The storyline in the game transpires in a futuristic galaxy. There is an alien forewarning explaining that a portal will be unlocked, and that portal will inflict reprehensible damage to human life. The protagonist in the game is played by Shepard, and he or she (depending on the player) is what is known as a Spectre. A Spectre is someone who is a guardian of harmony. He or she protects those in the galaxy who cannot defend for themselves. On the other hand, there are those perverse Spectre's that are called Rogue Spectres. One of these Rogue Spectre's is the antagonist named Saren. Saren's primary objective is to eradicate the human race to the point of extinction; furthermore, these motives are due in part because of Saren's perceived notion that humans are impious and lack compassion. A predominate subject matter in the game is the correlation between humans and artificial intelligence. That is a common thread that is exemplified throughout the duration of Mass Effect. The gameplay in the game begins like any other traditional BioWare game. You start by customizing your character from the gender to the attributes (ala Jade Empire or Star Wars). BioWare give gamers the option to the modify every single element of the appearance down to the eyes, mouth, hair, and so much more. I attempted to create a character that looked like Nariko from Heavenly Sword, but I failed miserably. Instead, my character wound up looking like a deformed skeleton. In other words, my character ended up looking like Nicole Richie. A skeleton and Nicole Richie are indistinguishable. I cannot tell the two apart from each other, but I digress. The game is classified in the role playing game genre, but the best way to describe Mass Effect is that it is a combination of various other games. Gamers have to take a closer look at Gears of War, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon, Jade Empire, and the aforementioned Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Players must meticulously examine those games and put them in a blender; consequently, the end result will be Mass Effect.The role playing aspects comes from selecting a character type, earning experience, and spending experience points. Gamers has the option to distribute the skill points they earn in any way they desire. If this process appears intricate, then there is a automatic feature that levels the character up instantaneously. There are pros and cons to this method. For example, using the automatic option is less time consuming. However, you might not get the experience points properly assigned. The skill set you can use is contingent on the character class for that particular person. Initially, Mass Effect has a slow and steady pace to the gameplay. That all changes after the first couple of hours. This is where the game moves at a much more brisk pace. There is a main storyline campaign and optional side missions. These optional missions are not mandatory, but they do provide experience and divulge more information about the plot. Although only the main storyline mode is needed to complete the game, accomplishing the side quests are highly recommended. As you progress, Shepard can explore a map of the entire galaxy. Some planets are barren, and other planets have inclement weather conditions. Not all of the planets have there own nuances. As a matter of fact, there are planets that are virtually identical to one another. Discovering the planets will allow you to use a vehicle that can be utilized to navigate the terrain. The vehicle itself can travel to the most unique places without any trouble. Nonetheless, the disadvantage is that it controls like a sluggish tank. On the bright side, the bulk of the gameplay does not take place in a vehicle. The most engrossing part of the game is the combat on foot. You can have up to three members in your party at any moment, (including Shepard) and they all have their own personal style. As mentioned earlier, Mass Effect has gameplay sequences that comes from a game such as Gears of War. This entails taking cover and using cover in order to put yourself in an advantageous situation. Although you can use the surroundings as cover, you are unable to blind fire in this game for some reason of another. Giving squad commands is another possibility that is available in the game. Regrettably, none of them really work to perfection. Moreover, you can only issue orders to the entire team. You cannot say commands to each member of your team individually. This is somewhat compensated by the fairly respectable artificial intelligence of your teammates but not entirely. You are also somewhat limited in the number of people you can have on a team. The maximum is three; on the contrary, you are allowed to have up to four in Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon. Those minor flaws should not deter players from enjoying the entire cinematic gaming experience of Mass Effect. The game also features a pause and play gameplay mechanic that was seen in previous BioWare games. Holding the left or right bumper will enable you to pause the game and survey the battlefield. Pausing the game will permit players to methodically decide their next course of action. In addition, Shepard can use precision fire for better accuracy. Your companions earn experience and can also level up along with Commander Shepard. Additionally, your squad mates can also be assigned what weapons and powers to use.The available weapons in the game are standard for a game in the third person shooter genre. There is a sniper rifle, handguns, shotguns, machine guns, grenades, and biotic powers. Biotic powers work much like the force powers in games like Star Wars. There is push, sabotage, and many others. The part of the gameplay that has been receiving the most attention are the countless conversations. You can choose to play as a Paragon or Renegade character. The Paragon is the Star Wars equivalent to the Light Side; conversely, the Renegade is like the Dark Side. Depending on your responses in the conversations, you will be accumulating Paragon or Renegade points. In a nutshell, acting like a quintessential noble person will earn Paragon points. At the other end, acting like a narcissist will net you Renegade points. The graphics in the game are stunning. There is a considerable amount of detail that is accentuated in the character models and environments. Everything from the flora to the fauna is absolutely exemplary. All of the facial animations are immaculate. Anyone can clearly see the wide range of emotions: pain, elation, exhaustion, regret. Never before in a game has this much attention to animations been given. The audio in the game is truly incredible. BioWare has recruited actual actors to do many of the voice acting in the game. One of whom is Seth Green from the facetious Austin Powers movies. Even the weapons have a realistic ambiance to them. The live orchestral musical score definitely fit's the tone the game developers were attempting to capture. Overall, Mass Effect is a game that revoltionizes the role playing game genre. Move over Final Fantasy VII and Oblivion. There is a new king of the role playing game genre, and that king is Mass Effect.
Final Verdict: Mass Effect is a near perfect game.
9.8 out of 10