Those of you who enjoyed Jade Empire and Knights of the Old Republic are going to love the action RPG Mass Effect. Publisher Bioware once again allows the gamer to control the storyline by making moral choices.  The player can choose conversation responses that fall between a spectrum of good and, well, not so good.  These qualities are known as Paragon choices, and Renegade choices.  However, unlike previous games, these choices do not provide quite as predictable responses. 

The storyline of the game is the most outstanding feature. Humanity has recently discovered other races and has been accepted into the galactic community.  You play Commander Shepard, who represents the best of what humanity has to offer.  The council of alien races has promoted you to become a galactic problem solver known as a Spectre.  Spectre’s work outside the normal rules of the military and police, but always for the benefit of the galaxy.  Eventually Commander Shepard is given a ship, and that is when the true game play begins. The Commander discovers a message from an ancient extinct alien race, the Protheans.  This message warns of destruction from an unknown and supremely powerful force.  It is the Commander’s duty to discover the fate of this alien race, and in the process, save the galactic community.

Character creation is quite good.  The player can choose male, or female, and from there you are able to customize pretty much all facial features.  Once that is done, the player can then pick a class.  The classes range from warrior, to tech expert, to a power known as biotics (which can be compared to The Force.)  One of the most notable aspects is that all cut scenes display your character exactly as you created it, without the noticeable flaws from the previous consoles.

 

The game play is a combination of third person shooter with strategy elements.  You can pause the action at any point to give your character and teammates specific strategic commands.  These commands are based on the RPG build up of the different characters.  While the action is well done, the vehicle portions of the game are fairly miserable.  The Mako (the ground vehicle used on all planets) never skills up, and never becomes more customizable.  In a game all about customization, this is an odd design choice.  However, overall the action is enjoyable and satisfying.

 

This is a game not to be missed by gamers who are in to interesting stories, and above average game play.  That is to say, just about everyone.  It’s not a terribly long game.  It took me less than 50hrs to finish.  There is a high replay value and the best news is that it is the first in a planned trilogy. 

Mass Effect is rated M for mature so you will need to be over 17 or have a parent’s approval.  According to the ESRB, “titles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language.”