Shepard, you are one of a kind.
Gameplay: 8 (inventory management is lousy / combat can be intimating / slow start however once in space it's full throttle)
Graphics: 8 (bland in some areas / character's facial expressions outstanding)
Sounds: 9 (I was thinking of an eight however the voice acting was simply unreal)
Value: 10 (renegade / paragon / neutral / choices / consequences / etc)
Tilt: 10 (I couldn't stop playing it until the end…massively addictive)
Choices with consequences; we've all been there at one point or another. Like an old saying goes, when one door closes another one opens. Nothing is perfect and nothing will ever be however when a decision is made, it cannot be reversed. This is the concept of the ambitious project 'Mass Effect' from Bioware is all about. Whilst Bioware made some majestic games in the past, placing choices with consequences will be a tough task for them as there are no real black and white results. Whilst this concept is not new (e.g. Planescape Torment / Fallout series), Bioware have done a magnificent job of not only developing a great back story, also a universe that can easily rival Star Wars.
On the surface, I originally thought Mass Effect was just another soap opera of sorts. Creating drama for the sake of it, it was short lived the moment I completed the first mission. The attack on Eden Prime was indeed tough for any starting character however its main goal was to practice the 'tactical' hub. By pressing the default space bar assigns your orders; whether getting your characters to play 'defensive', switch weapons, activate skills and so forth. Also, in the main menu, you can collectively inform your team mates their 'base' attack – e.g. mainly play a defensive role, attack or so forth. Granted this 'tactical' screen is the hub of all things and, unfortunately if you cannot master it, time to end the game now otherwise it will be a rough ride later on.
Thankfully, the 'meaty' combat scenarios won't happen until you gather your troops in the Citadel, which happens to be your next mission. I can see that for most people, this will be somewhat boring as the vast majority of quests are basically 'go fetch'. In addition this is, reading the 'codex' is paramount to understanding the universe. Skip this and like the 'tactical HUD', you might as well end the game. Because the game is so rich in history and lore, you can spend literally hours trawling through the codex and missions to get a reasonable understanding of the game. For me, I spend over three hours just reading and a few more running errands in the citadel. I quite enjoyed this considering I love exploring, I can see those trigger happy people will end the game in boredom.
Past these two areas and then you are off into space…finally. Armed with knowledge for combat and background lore, you are now in the meat of it all. And this my friend, Mass Effect will shine like the brightest star in the galaxy. Whilst you have the main mission to complete, there are literally tonnes of solar systems to explore. And the beauty of this all, the side missions you'll encounter are somewhat tied to the main mission. Will it be locating a rogue beacon that requires you to land on the planet to investigate or simply invade a compound full of unusual robotic creatures. Not only this, planet exploration can also involve searching for minerals (therefore adding cash to your coffers), recover artifacts or even admire the views! Yes, the game is extremely detailed and varied.
However, as good as it sounds, planet exploration can be tedious at times as on your map, you can see clumps of minerals to investigate and controlling the ever-so-bouncy land vehicle – the Mako, can cause a little frustration. Also, most building's interior use the same map textures over and over again therefore taking away the shine of planet exploration. However, because there are many to discover, I would be an idiot to say this is a downside. More is better than having less and besides, they are side missions after all. Yet I wished there was less to explore yet more 'concentrated' side missions.
Visually, the game is not the prettiest in the market. Whilst some of the landscapes indeed have that 'candid' moment (like seeing two suns setting over a craggy horizon), most tend to look bland. For instance: when trolling through an abandoned research facility, I was expecting more dangling cables, over turned tables, smashed glasses and so forth than just a table / chair with a few crates for good measure. Other words, most lack in details. Even the grand citadel looks kinda boring and uninteresting to look at.
Nothing is worse than having a conversation where they act like mannequins. In Mass Effect though, their facial expressions are simply first-class. You can see their eyes scanning, eyebrows rising, great lip syncing and decent body language (e.g. hand gestures / scratching the back of their heads and so forth). I haven't seen such brilliance since Half Life 2 where you actually look into the eyes of the characters when engaging in any conversation. This has a compound effect as you will develop a relationship with the characters and start to like / hate or care for them. This will flow into memorable moments as you will begin to refer to them by their names. And nothing is more personal and warm by people calling by your name instead of 'hey cat man'.
Soundwise is a mixed bag of goodies. There are some parts where it lacks that 'oomph' like most weapons when discharging (the shotgun needs a heavier boom) yet ambience sounds like walking, water tricking, rocks scattering (to name a few) are quite nice and adds immersion. Musically, I'm not a big fan of the compositions played. Whilst composed by Jack Wall (his previous works being Splinter Cell and Myst to name a few), for me it sounds like it derived straight from a B-Grade 70s Sci-Fi flick. Granted there are some tunes that can really be uplifting or soothing, I felt it wasn't exactly special.
The voice acting was good but not great as there are some scenes that I though can do a little more emotional charge instead of talking like a pure hero. Yet there are some heroes that their voices suit extremely well (e.g. Garrus). Also listening in the conversations of your squad can be quite entertaining as well. Considering there are six characters and each has a different personality, try and gather a group where their personalities will clash. For instance: my 'main' group was Liara (scientist) and Garrus (engineer / soldier). Both have very different outlook on things and I remember in one scene when exploring a planet, I ran over a couple of 'space cows' in my mako (land vehicle). Garrus promptly stated 'these animals got what they asked for' then Liara snapped, stating 'that's the reason why you turians (Garrus' species) and humans are highly not liked because of our aggressive nature…' and so she babbled on!
And a real big thorn on my side is the inventory management. RPGs are well known for playing 'dress-ups' and lacking decent equipment equates to a dead squad. You can swap items between characters in the squad (take note you can only take two on any mission) however anyone else, you need to wait until the mission ends, then locate their locker then equip. Why can't Bioware have a screen where it displays all your characters in one hit instead of this rubbish is beyond my comprehension.
The campaign can be knocked off around the 20hrs mark if you follow the main plot. Yet if this is your playing style, you will miss out practically one-half of what Mass Effect can offer. Because the game has dialogue choices and journals to read, you will miss out the game's greatest strength – the lore. It's like a novel coming to life. That said, in my first run it took me close to 80hrs to complete. Granted that some side missions can be reduced but more concentrated, however you cannot say that's a negative.
For me, I played it on the veteran campaign first (the hardest of the three) and it was pretty challenging in the beginning. Yet after some trial and error, I settled in for Garrus (engineer / soldier) and Liara (Biotics – a mage if you like). So our weakness is heavily shielded opponents and snipers (as none of us can effectively snipe). Still, after some practice, we mowed down everyone around the half way mark.
And because of the many choices you make (for which can result some of your crew members dying or having a romance) the replay value is high as there is no real right or wrong answer. Granted that selecting the top 'conversational tree' is tailored towards the paragon and bottom the renegade, even that it's not entirely clear. I actually tested this out as my first run, took the paragon path (heck I'm a sucker ok), when playing as a renegade the second time round, I actually stopped about a third way in. Heck, my renegade character even punched a reporter so I, being a wimp, ended there.
Mass Effect can be looked at in two ways – either you really love it or hate it. The easiest way to gauge this situation is pretty much your first mission on Eden Prime and doing the errands in the Citadel. If you think at that stage it's boring or too difficult, end the game. Why that is is because this is the period where reading / listening and practicing combat maneuvers is paramount to your success when entering deep space. Not knowing the background and managing your troops well enough will cause boredom and / or frustration. Yet I pity those people as this game not only is extremely rich in history and lore filled with memorable characters, I can say it's one of the greatest game I have ever played – heck it even made me feel like a true blue space hero (albeit the very cheesy paragon ending).