I am sprinting down a narrow corridor, waiting for me at the end of this hallway are several hostiles. At this point I choose to duck behind a crate, pausing the action for a moment I direct one of my squad members to disable the enemy shields, and the other to toss said enemies into the air using a technology known as biotics. The action resumes and as the enemies fly into the air I take the opportunity to kill each one of them courtesy of my customized assault rifle.

Mass Effect is a definitive role playing experience on the Xbox 360 console, combining creative storytelling with compelling gameplay to achieve what can be seen as the pinnacle of plot driven role playing on the current generation of consoles. Players are thrust into a story involving the rise to power of the human race in galactic politics, along with a dark twist that has apocalyptic implications. From the very beginning one notices the jaw dropping visuals, while there is a downside to these visuals that will be addressed later, the graphics in this game will at one point inevitably justify a "*%#! that looks amazing".

Combat in Mass Effect has been compared to Gears of War, while it is true that the player can take cover this comparison is largely misleading. A fight in Mass Effect must be approached with caution, and the player has the option to pause the action in order to issue commands and contemplate the next maneuver. If one approaches the combat in Mass Effect expecting something fast paced and fairly simple, they will be severely alarmed by how many times they will die. Intense strategy is almost a requirement for fights in Mass Effect, and this even comes down to making sure that one is wearing the right armor and has the proper weapon upgrades and ammunition. The item customization is fairly deep, but is limited by the fact that there is a 150 item limit.
Another noteworthy element of Mass Effect is that the second playthrough can be played using a character that the player has already completed the game with. This means that all of the stats and items of the character are kept as well. Also, achievements in the game unlock abilities and weapons the player has mastered so that they can be used right of the bat by a new character.
The character progresses through the game by exploring various planets in order to complete objectives. While exploring the random planets is not quite as much fun as one would have hoped, it is the major planets that involve the story line that feel more fully realized. For those that may have been wondering, exploration is nothing like that found in the Elder Scrolls IV.
The storyline in Mass Effect is, for the most part, what makes the game such a worthy experience. Players are drawn in by the cinematic conversation system, often feeling like they are part of an epic science fiction film from years past. The decisions made by the player in the game not only rival those presented to the player in Bioshock, they outclass them in terms of variety, difficulty and consequence. Players can have nearly an entirely different experience taking into account the different play styles along with the large portion of plot content that has several outcomes.

This is Mass Effect at its best. Unfortunately the sad reality of Mass Effect is that it fails to deliver in several key areas of importance. This being said, it can easily be argued that the positives in Mass Effect far outweigh the negative aspects of the game. However; in the interest of objectivity these flaws must be brought to attention. The graphical popups in Mass Effect (times when only part of the game's visuals have been rendered) serve as an undermining agent in the game, pulling the player out of the experience. Also, the hefty load times and jarring framerate stutters punctuate the game like razors found hidden in halloween candy. It should be noted that the flaws in Mass Effect are largely technical, and while they do affect the gameplay, they do not define the experience of this game. While these failures cannot be simply swept under the carpet, they are almost (and that is a very large almost) negligible when compared to the overall game.

Overall Mass Effect is a wonderful science fiction role playing shooter, that delivers with an engaging storyline and couples it with strategic and customizable gameplay.

The Breakdown:

Graphics- Gorgeous, however the texture problems are horrifying. (7.5/10)

Audio- Wonderful voice acting along with a fitting sci-fi soundtrack (9/10)

Story- It doesn't get much better than this, Mass Effect is all about story, and sometimes feels like an interactive movie (10/10)

Gameplay- The combat is fun, while exploration and squad movement commands can definitely use an overhaul (8/10)

Value- A relatively short game, it can be beaten in around 12 hours by the average gamer. But most of this time is well spent, and since the player's first character and items can be re-used, the replay value is high (9/10)

Overall: 8.7/10

Mass Effect is a must have for role playing fans, and worth a shot for just about anyone who owns a 360. Thanks for reading!

I agree with the reviewer exept on one huge point.

The story by no means is a 10 story. If you could tweak that a little to how it tells a story then that quite possibly is a 10.
However the story itself is little more than average sci-fi. Every plot device it uses has been used a thousand times before.

Not saying its bad, just that the story itself is average at best. Its the storys presentation that is awesome (especially the last 3 hours or so)

Good review, agree with nearly everything stated.

I spent a lot of time on my first play through in Mass Effect and probably beat it around 35 hours but I wanted to get every quest in the game completed. I agree though that probably 65% of that time spent was all optional content. The main storyline should have had more meat to it.

Mass Effect 2 will probably solve that storyline issue since the universe is established now.

My reasoning with the storyline was not in its originality, but the quality of the story and the presentation. In a sense, the story alone would get perhaps an 8.5, it is the way that the gamer is brought into the story that truly elevates this title. By making the game feel so personal, even a story that can at times feel somewhat dated is made fresh and engaging.

Good review. I completely agree.

Jackaroosund0wn wrote:

QUOTE:
My reasoning with the storyline was not in its originality, but the quality of the story and the presentation. In a sense, the story alone would get perhaps an 8.5, it is the way that the gamer is brought into the story that truly elevates this title. By making the game feel so personal, even a story that can at times feel somewhat dated is made fresh and engaging.

You forgot one major flaw.
In the game you can transport from the citadel to Ilos lightning fast thanks to the mass relay.

SO WHY IN THE HELL DO ELEVATORS TAKE FOREVER!!!!! THE CITADEL TOWER ELEVATOR KILLS ME!

that's all I got, good review.

Hahaha, I believe I addressed the load times, which is what the elevators were. Although I did not find the mass effect load times being hidden as elevator rides as obnoxious as the assassins creed load times....

Your right...I just find elevator's so 20th Century, Mass effect is the future..they should have suction lift tubes or beam me up scotty's.

I, also agree greatly, mass effect was somewhat of an average story, but its presentation and gameplay were astounding

I agree with most of the review. I would score it a bit lower but it does have some great moments in the game. Unfortunatly, there were so many little issues (map, combat, pop-in, shallow side quests, boring upgrades to weapons and armor, etc) that the game just felt unfinished or at least un-polished.

I did enjoy playing through it but I sold it after that. I rarely sell game I enjoy because I expect to play through them at least another time. But with Mass Effect I just felt like I wouldn't due to the sum of the minor issues.

So, a decent game but not necessarily a keeper.

Id say this is about right.
I was kinda pissed when i bought the game, i thought it was gonna be a lot more depth 2 it.
Im not saying its not an in depth game, it's just i thought that each system would have 4 planets of exploration, giveing me hours and hours of exploration.
But turns out theres only one in most of the systems and i remeber in one maybe 2 there were none! Just those gay little Search the planet deals.
Over all id give it a 9/10

Mass affect was a excellent game i thought, it was like digital crack

datboyscott wrote:

QUOTE:
Mass affect was a excellent game i thought, it was like digital crack

You would like Rez HD if you want some of that

I agree. Mass Effect is a great game with a great story.

Great review,

I agree with just about everything. I'm on my third run through it (warrior, tech, now biotic), and can only find fault with the loading issues myself. Achievements are pretty well balanced - no matter how you play, you'll be rewarded. I'm a big fan of character creation, too. I think I created 3 characters before I played my first game. I'd give it a 9 / 10. When I investigated every system/landed on all available planets, the game took me about 26 hours.

My tip: Choose Charm/Intimidate points whenever available - since the story is so good, it pays to have as many extra dialog paths as possible.

Yeah nice review, the uncharted worlds coulda been bigger with more stuff to do but that will most likely be fixed in mass effect two

Just completed it in 9 hours 46mins and my god what a game this is easily one of my greatest if not the greatest game of all time.

oh man...i think im like the only one who doesnt like mass effect. ive played for 6 hours and just dont like the game. it has a feel to it that i just dont like and the running, shooting etc is a bit slow and repetitive.