This is a little review of mass effect that i felt compelled to do after MGG's butchering of mass effect with his frankly appalling reviews.
So with my first post i'll show what mass effect was really like.
Mass Effect
Freedom of choice, its something that has traditionally been all but absent from videogames, most games simply involve the choice of shooting everything to win or choose not, to lose. Its hardly appropriate for a medium that prides itself in interactivity now is it? Even when the choice is apparently offered it has very little in the way of consequence, the Xbox 360s most recent example is Bioshock, giving you the choice of saving or harvesting little sisters, for those who enjoy straightforward shooters such as halo (no complaints there!) this was quite a big moral dilemma but really it had little consequence, simply subtlety affecting the distribution of Adam and creating the two different endings of good or bad, this may seem enough but ot anyone who has played one of Biowares game it seems to give you little effect in game.
This brings me to biowares latest offering, the sci-fi epic that is mass effect, this game achieves the holy grail of RPG gaming; no two playthroughs will be the same, of course there will be similarities but with such a great story and such believable characters you wouldnt want to alter the game too much.
I could write on for a long time about the game but to keep you interested I will give the five key areas that make a good game. And rate these factors to the game accordingly.
Gameplay-9
The combat in mass effect fees just like Rainbow six and gears of war which is a good achievement for an RPG, the combat flows well with a choice of good old fashioned weapons, spell like biotics that manipulate the gravity around you and tech abilities like AI hacking to control enemy machines. Of course there are times when you can?t stick to walls and get stuck when running; also the ?storm? ability that lets you run in combat is very short and somewhat useless. But combat is kept to mainly light skirmishes no long drawn out battles that bore the mind. Also a key note is the good idea of no weapon ammo, instead just a weapon overheating system and the aim reticule is genius, the more you fire the bigger the circle reticule gets meaning the more inaccurate the fire becomes meaning crouching and less movement is paramount to sharp shooting.
Graphics- 9
The graphics are stunning, especially conversations but as a whole the graphically awe is amazingly consistent throughout the game.
Features-8
There are many sidequests to do and the good thing is that none of them are compulsory to advancing in the game, there is no real ?grinding? in the game, and if you do fail in battle usually it just means a change in tactics and approaching the battle in a different manner. The number of quests is good and the main missions are large with being that dull, except for a few poor design choices, such as on the world Feros, having to destroy the same enemies in the same corridors for a while is very boring. The customization of your character is excellent and you can even choose your background and of course class. This does fail to oblivions choices though since you have to be a human in mass effect. There is also downloadable content on the horizon.
Sound-10
The voice acting is amazing featuring actors such as Seth Green who voices the pilot, Joker of the ship Normandy. The dialogues while not part of the sound area tie in with the voicing is also outstanding and wouldn?t be out of place in a Hollywood production (a good one), the background music is a bit forgettable but it changes in time with th pace of mass effect and is acceptable, a nice boon, when you aren't shapinghte galaxies fate with conversations hte background music is good enough.
Length-10
What do you expect from a brillaint RPG?
No two playthrough will be the same and you'll enjoy every minute of the game, the story missions on their own add up to around 10 hrs but add on the many side quest and one normal playthrough is roughly 20 hrs of joy.
The replayability is excellent and the achievements reinforce this fact, you'll love the characters and want to explore the universe in every possible angle. The story of Commander shepard's struggle to defeat a turian called Saren from conquering the galaxy is great.
Final Rating: 94%
One of the most important games of the year, book a week off, sit down and enjoy the marvel of mass effect. Explore every possibility and enjoy every consequence of your actions, once your done book another week off, you'll want to play it more than once for sure.
Thanks. Gimme some constructive criticism, i could of made it much,much longer but you nkow, keep your interest.
So with my first post i'll show what mass effect was really like.
Mass Effect
Freedom of choice, its something that has traditionally been all but absent from videogames, most games simply involve the choice of shooting everything to win or choose not, to lose. Its hardly appropriate for a medium that prides itself in interactivity now is it? Even when the choice is apparently offered it has very little in the way of consequence, the Xbox 360s most recent example is Bioshock, giving you the choice of saving or harvesting little sisters, for those who enjoy straightforward shooters such as halo (no complaints there!) this was quite a big moral dilemma but really it had little consequence, simply subtlety affecting the distribution of Adam and creating the two different endings of good or bad, this may seem enough but ot anyone who has played one of Biowares game it seems to give you little effect in game.
This brings me to biowares latest offering, the sci-fi epic that is mass effect, this game achieves the holy grail of RPG gaming; no two playthroughs will be the same, of course there will be similarities but with such a great story and such believable characters you wouldnt want to alter the game too much.
I could write on for a long time about the game but to keep you interested I will give the five key areas that make a good game. And rate these factors to the game accordingly.
Gameplay-9
The combat in mass effect fees just like Rainbow six and gears of war which is a good achievement for an RPG, the combat flows well with a choice of good old fashioned weapons, spell like biotics that manipulate the gravity around you and tech abilities like AI hacking to control enemy machines. Of course there are times when you can?t stick to walls and get stuck when running; also the ?storm? ability that lets you run in combat is very short and somewhat useless. But combat is kept to mainly light skirmishes no long drawn out battles that bore the mind. Also a key note is the good idea of no weapon ammo, instead just a weapon overheating system and the aim reticule is genius, the more you fire the bigger the circle reticule gets meaning the more inaccurate the fire becomes meaning crouching and less movement is paramount to sharp shooting.
Graphics- 9
The graphics are stunning, especially conversations but as a whole the graphically awe is amazingly consistent throughout the game.
Features-8
There are many sidequests to do and the good thing is that none of them are compulsory to advancing in the game, there is no real ?grinding? in the game, and if you do fail in battle usually it just means a change in tactics and approaching the battle in a different manner. The number of quests is good and the main missions are large with being that dull, except for a few poor design choices, such as on the world Feros, having to destroy the same enemies in the same corridors for a while is very boring. The customization of your character is excellent and you can even choose your background and of course class. This does fail to oblivions choices though since you have to be a human in mass effect. There is also downloadable content on the horizon.
Sound-10
The voice acting is amazing featuring actors such as Seth Green who voices the pilot, Joker of the ship Normandy. The dialogues while not part of the sound area tie in with the voicing is also outstanding and wouldn?t be out of place in a Hollywood production (a good one), the background music is a bit forgettable but it changes in time with th pace of mass effect and is acceptable, a nice boon, when you aren't shapinghte galaxies fate with conversations hte background music is good enough.
Length-10
What do you expect from a brillaint RPG?
No two playthrough will be the same and you'll enjoy every minute of the game, the story missions on their own add up to around 10 hrs but add on the many side quest and one normal playthrough is roughly 20 hrs of joy.
The replayability is excellent and the achievements reinforce this fact, you'll love the characters and want to explore the universe in every possible angle. The story of Commander shepard's struggle to defeat a turian called Saren from conquering the galaxy is great.
Final Rating: 94%
One of the most important games of the year, book a week off, sit down and enjoy the marvel of mass effect. Explore every possibility and enjoy every consequence of your actions, once your done book another week off, you'll want to play it more than once for sure.
Thanks. Gimme some constructive criticism, i could of made it much,much longer but you nkow, keep your interest.
