This review is entirely late to the party, considering most people had reviews out for this game months ago. Still, I thought that one more opinion on the game that brought us the infamous lesbian sex-scene couldn’t hurt.
Exclusive to the XBox 360, Mass Effect is best lumped into the rarely ensembled genres of Space-Action and RPG. It’s a third person shooter with stats out the wazoo and enough character creation options to satisfy even Julie. This customization eliminates the stereotypical bald space marine and replaces him (or even…get this…her) with a character you want to relate to. I love Star Wars as much as any geek, but I’m not a big player of anything that ends with the word Fantasy, so the mixing of these two genres didn’t immediately seem like an idea that would work. As it turns out, I should have played KOTOR and now I feel like a jerk for not having done so long ago.
Much has been made about Mass Effect’s story and dialogue options. Let me add to the already glowing reviews of both and say that I have never been so invested in a video game’s story. I love the GTA series but, really, why was I doing what I was doing? I guess stealing cars and running over Miami’s finest helped get Tommy Vercetti to the top but when compared to a story like Mass Effect’s, GTA suddenly looks woefully inadequate. I use GTA as an example but really I could have named any number of games who’s stories are character driven.
Mass Effect does have a few faults, though. The vehicle used to drive around new planets, the Mako, can be infuriating. Often times I would find myself cruising around a planet trying to find an area of interest, becoming increasingly frustrated by sheer rock walls, only to find that Julie had fallen asleep due to boredom beside me. The other snooze inducer was the intimidating character outfitting menu. Even when I got the hang of navigating it, I would still find myself picking up items like a ‘Hurricane VII’ and thinking it was a new discovery only to find that I already had twelve of them in my inventory and was currently using a ‘Firestorm VIII’. The weapon and ammo mods serve only to further confuse and end up becoming more of a hassle to update for the whole party than an asset in combat.
That’s enough slagging, now back to the acclaim. I had a wow moment when I played Mass Effect. The first time I went to the Galaxy Map to navigate my ship through the game and I saw actual galaxies, nebulae, star systems, etc., I was elated. It felt expansive and unending and the thought of going to each planet seemed as vast in-game as it would, I assume, for an actual astronaut. Being a space nerd probably also added to the excitement.
Finally, this game will always have a special place in my heart since it has an achievement titled ‘Completionist’ which is awarded when you complete the majority of the game.
Downloadable content is planned for Mass Effect. The game was also planned as a trilogy so two sequels are no doubt in the works. If you own an XBox 360, Mass Effect is a must have.
