Mass Effect - the facts
Note- this is my first review
Gameplay:
To describe mass effect's gameplay in a nutshell would be foolish. There are great, and slightly less great aspects to this section. One major part of the game is the way in which the player can interact with conversations going on in the game. The player is faced with a 3 main choices as to what their character is going to say. One gives paragon points for nicer responses and the other gives renegade points for not sonice responses. The third will give a mixture of points for a neutral answer. This is a nice idea that on the most part works well - you feel you getting out of the game what you put into it. However, it would have been nice to see decisions really affect the storyline in the game as opposed to just giving different reactions from characters. This feature however can be controlled by the player seamlessly and any information that the player wants to gain can be done with ease.
The other aspect of the gameplay is the fighting/gunplay. This does in fact take up a lot of the game and can generally be described as satisfactory. Enemy AI shows nothing special expect for the way in which they use the powers featured in the game. Unfortunately this gives more of an impression of fighting intelligent robots instead of the kind of natural responses you may find on a game like Halo. Aiming is fairly accurate but the general way in which I found myself going about battles in the game just didn't excite. You're having to constantly pause the game to select powers to get past the games enemies on harder levels which really breaks up the action leading to a not as smooth experience. This all done with a computer controlled squad (2 at a time) which you can only tell where to go at the same time which can be tiresome as it limits the variety of ways in which you can approach fights.
Talking about powers, depending on what classes the player chooses at the beginning of the game, they will be given powers as they rise up through the games levels to help in combat etc. For example, there's one power that allows the player to throw enemies in the air. All are fairly intersting but I found there to be only 1 or 2 powers that were worth using most of the time.
Appearance:
This game features some of the best graphics this generation. From the dark caverns of distant planets to the bright lights of the citadel, everything looks right. I would note, playing this game on a standard def TV will produce a slightly blurred effect ruining visuals, but with an HDTV it'll be like you're looking at a piece of artwork. The expressions on characters' faces are wonderfully crafted and the menus are some of the crispest around (you decide if that's important or not).
Story:
The story in mass effect is one of the best around. I won't spoil the story for you however, but merely describe it. The story's set on the human race moving into the bigger space community and trying to make a name for themselves. When C.Shepherd finds a mysterious beacon during a mission, it becomes apparent that the galaxies are in great trouble. Instead of opting for the approach of lots and twists and turns, the makers of mass effect have crafted a mysterious story which slowly lets the player find out more about the situation humans have found themselves in. That's not to say there aren't any surprises to keep you gripped, but more this game is a fairly completitive affaire.
The story will take you far and wide to many planets, many of which are part of sid mission which have there own interesting stories that have been fleshed out nicely. I would like to note that the planets side missions take you to are somewhat dull and are all fairly empty affaires. The amount of planets you can enter via your ship are an awful lot however which has to be admired.
Your decisions you make won't affect the game's great story, but will affect the way you play due to squad players in some cases dying. The order in which you compete tasks can affect the story to a certain extent though.
Conclusion:
There is so much more I could say abouth this game, but this is one you have to experience for youreslves. The gameplay isn't always the best, but it's the way in which the story unfolds and how you can interact with it that makes this game one of the most revolutionary of this generation.
