Oh-ho-ho, Mass Effect. What a delectible tidbit of intellectual property you turned out to be.
However.
Your story is phenomenal. Your combat lends itself to players seeking an experience over a grind. Your music is eerily pleasant in an otherworldly, my-life's-just-a-single-integer-in-the-infinity-of-time sort of way. Your play-through possibilities are endless.
And your aliens.
HOT.
Don't be fooled by Gamespot's review. Mass Effect is better than an 8.5. It's one of the greatest games I've ever experienced, personally. It is, in my opinion, the best game of 2007's incredible crop of games. I'm not typically a fan of Western RPG's, but this game has to be played to be believed. I stand converted.