Mass Effect

Available on: Xbox 360 (originally exclusive) and PC
Played it on: Xbox 360
Played it for: 45 hours

RATING: 9/10

Mass Effect is fantastic combination of sci-fi, RPG, and third-person-shooter elements. The story is riveting, and the game is very hard to set down until finished, which, unfortunately, should take quite a while. If you planned on doing other things when beginning the Mass Effect trilogy, prepare to be mistaken.

There's not much to say about the hero, Commander Shepard, as he or she is whatever the player decides to make him or her. So perhaps a little rundown of what Shepard can be is necessary. There is a basic morality system in Mass Effect consisting of Paragon and Renegade choices. These choices map out how Shepard is known throughout the galaxy, and how Shepard's life will change.

Paragon:
Paragon Shepard does whatever is necessary to save lives and befriend people. He or she enjoys the company of all his or her shipmates, regardless of whether they are Human, Asari, Turian, Krogan, Salarian, Quarian, or otherwise. This Shepard will never leave a man behind, and will never give up until all possible scenarios have been attempted.

Renegade:
Renegade Shepard, on the other hand, does whatever is necessary to finish the mission. Anyone in the way is an enemy, and will be disposed of. This Shepard is a hardened soldier, and is wary of anyone who isn't Human Systems Alliance Military. Uncompromising to the last, he or she doesn't care about personal image or public opinion, only service record. (BioWare says Renegade isn't evil, but this Shepard is definitely still a jerk.)

Regardless of morality or gender choice, Mass Effect is very engaging. Right from the opening cut scene, the player is given dialog choices and a barrage of information from all sides. The game doesn't nurse players into the world of the Milky Way, they're just thrown in right before a critical mission with a Spectre, a sort of galactic secret agent, and expected to perform at their best. This isn't bad, though, it actually adds greatly to the believability of the game. A commander wouldn't be stopping in the middle of a mission to go through a practice firing course, and then a tutorial about how to command squad members, that just doesn't make sense. And by not babying the player, the game comes more alive. Combat scenarios aren't meant to be easy in real life, so Mass Effect reflects this.

The way that the Mass Effect world is constructed is beautiful as well. There are two senses that permeate the game: adventure, and realism. It's not very far fetched at all to believe that in the twenty-second century, humanity will have encountered an entire galactic civilization stretching across the Milky Way, making the game very believable. While Shepard can't explore every planet in every solar system, the ones that can be explored give just enough of a taste for the galaxy to make players want to adventure, and want to believe in the Mass Effect universe. On top of that, the lore behind the game is incredibly well written, completing an already impeccable design. It's not just fun to play Mass Effect, it's exciting. It's addicting. It's everything that a good game should strive for.

The only place the game needs work is in the combat system. It doesn't work like normal shooters, more like an RPG. Which, well, it is, but this was a source of complaint for some, so I'll outline it anyway. Guns do health damage based on the gun type and location of the shot. Head shots do more than body shots, body shots do more than limb shots. When the enemy runs out of health, it dies and awards some experience. Fairly simple really, but none of the guns are memorable in any way. The combat stays a rather static element in a game that is changing constantly. All the armors look different, all the planets look different, all the characters are unique, but the guns are all the same. Damage and accuracy changes, but not the actual feeling of the gun. It's a rather small incomplete area, given the scope of the game, but it is worth noting.

What balances this out, though, are the powers. There are 6 classes that Shepard can choose from, 3 of which are pure physical, tech, and biotic powers, and three of which involve combinations of the aforementioned alignments. Every one of Shepard's abilities can uniquely influence a combat situation, and classes are geared towards fighting one type of enemy, which is where good squad judgement comes into play. If Shepard is a soldier, good for fighting living opponents, then the giant Krogan warrior, Human soldier, or Turian sniper wouldn't be good squad mates. For that, Shepard should have the engineer Quarian for fighting robots, and biotic powered Asari for support to keep balance. And because each individual power recharges separately after use, there are multiple ways to combine the powers of Shepard and his squad to overcome enemies. The combat system feels very well planned out, and works great for what Mass Effect set out to do.

The first game in the Mass Effect trilogy is staggeringly good. Excellent writing, a well thought out combat system, and stunning visuals accompany one of the most believable sci-fi universes ever imagined. And that easily puts Mass Effect in the running for the best game ever made on the 360.