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awesome!!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: December 19, 2007
Author: Amazon User

The game is better than I expected. the second play through gave me diferent missions so the game never got boring. Ver excited about the game still.

Wow!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: December 08, 2007
Author: Amazon User

There are plenty of in depth reviews about this game so I'll keep this short and sweet. This is the first time I've ever played a game and felt like I was playing through a movie. The graphics and gameplay are top notch but it's the story that makes this unlike any other game that has ever been out there. I can't think of one movie that came out this year that has made as much of an impression on me as this "game". This is what gaming CAN be and should strive for. If anything, I felt like I wanted more story, more conversation. I could go for a Mass Effect game where you spend 100% of the time going from conversation to conversation. I am so excited for the next two games in the series and loved the first so much that I have already started a new game.

Action RPG or Shooter game with dialogue?

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: December 07, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I felt it necessary to split the game up into two separate reviews, one for the combat and storyline(great) and one for the side quests (boring and repetitive).

Main Story

This game was clearly meant to replace or take our minds off of the Knights of the Old Republic Star Wars game franchise. In some ways it does while in others it doesn't. You start out as Commander Shepard who is a war hero. As always you are able to change what type of soldier you are, facial features and now history which impacts the dialog choices. Mass Effect does very well to take full use of the Xbox 360's technology. One thing I found to be much better than previous RPGs is the level of interactivity. You can't jump, but are able to walk over 3D objects and terrain.

Combat
Mass Effect could be considered really a new genre of game. I'd call it a third person shooter RPG. What makes it new is the combination of a third person shooter with the use of "biotic" powers. I cannot find any better way to describe the combat style than Gears of War. These are various superpowers that the soldiers are implanted with while younger. Every character has them and it really enhances the gameplay. These biotic powers include, throw-pushes an opponent with a certain force, overload-temporarily disables a person's shield, sabatoge-overheats an enemy's weapon and quite a few more. Powers are specific to the type of soldier you are. For example, a soldier who is combat hardened will have biotic powers that enhance weapons and are good at destroying shields. Of course these get stronger as the game goes on. Some of the abilities are not acquired until you reach a higher level however.

Story
So what is most of your time spent doing? In the game you are searching the galaxy for a rogue "spectre" named Saren. Spectres are not normally humans but an alien race named Turians. Your character is quickly given the rank to replace Saren after it is found that Saren no longer respects the rule of the council. The council is a type of oligarchy who determines the law of the galaxy. They are located at the Citadel, which is a gargantuan space station housing thousands of species. After receiving the commendation to spectre, Commander Shepard is also given the rank of captain because he inherits the "Normandy" starship from his previous commanding officer captain Anderson. After a fairly lengthy stay on the Citadel you are let loose with the ship to wander or search the galaxy for Saren and anything leading you to him.

Interaction
Conversations are incredibly realistic. You can see the muscles move in the face, expressions are seen and even arm and body movements happen. It really gives a sense that you are having a conversation instead of two computer algorithms interacting. Would you expect any less from the makers of 2004 game of the year? As with many RPGs much of the time is spent having conversations with people. You are given multiple choices on how to answer. This affects how the people perceive you. It is akin to KoToR II.

Graphics
I don't even think words can describe the amazing detail of this game, the realism, the effect of light on shapes. A few might be brilliant, breathtaking, sublime, unbelievable and astounding. I've not seen animation so life-like in a game before. Movements are natural and as human as can be expected. There is no choppiness in the action. Enemies also don't do backflips when they die either (*cough* Halo 2 *cough*). Light gives rise to reflection on metal, water, faces and even glare in the background. Lines can be seen in faces that show age, expression and shape. It is very difficult to find a weak point in graphics or animation of this game. In fact the whole game has an incredibly professional and futuristic fit and finish to it. The biotic powers show, in Newtons, how much force is being applied. Next generation doesn't describe it. It is more like next level. The capabilities of the system really shine with Mass Effect.

Sidequests Etc.

This part of the game is downright uninspiring. It took up tons of my time and left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Obviously, they were looking to add playable hours to the game. Here is the synopsis of the side quests: go to base, kill robots or humans repeat (or go looking for minerals).... Unfortunately, I think the game could be beat in around ten hours without extraneous missions. It took me 27 hours to finish, while I still had a few side quests left. I'd say you could squeeze maybe 35 hours out of it. As a seasoned RPGer, I really feel let down in terms of playing time. Back in the day, you'd easily get 40 hours out of a regular RPG. And you can't claim it isn't still possible. Take, for example Elder Scrolls IV. In any case, after landing on a dozen planets which looked nearly the same and were devoid of life, I decided to go back to the main questline and just get the game over with. Even though you have this seemingly large galaxy to explore, in reality only about five or six planets have unique playable content to them. Planets are obnoxiously boring and all seem like copies of each other with little more than mineral deposits to extract or the occasional enemy.

As much as I wanted to give this game five stars initially, I just couldn't. One of the major aspects of an RPG that are supposed to add variety to the game--weapons, are scarce. What I mean by that is there are four types: sniper rifles, pistols, shotguns and assault rifles. You start out the game with the basic versions and just get variations of these. Upgrades are very minimal, with the scope, radar or type of ammunition able to be changed. The only other weapon is the obligatory grenade and variations of that. The other problem with the game is leveling up doesn't bring the excitement that it would in other RPG's. The new biotic powers are activated within the first 10-15 levels while I am pretty sure there is about 50 altogether. It is like "Oh, I leveled up....who cares?" You can't really compare this to other RPGs, because there hasn't been another like it, but with all the time they had, a few other considerations should have come into play.

Conclusion
Unfortunately, this game may not gain the popularity of Bioware's previous games. They have taken a big step forward in many ways, but It more resembles an interactive movie. It is very well executed, but quite honestly can get boring. Is it worth buying? Maybe in a few months. I'd wait a little while until the price has come down. If you consider dollar per hour of playtime it is a terrible ratio. I just didn't have much fun with this game. Isn't the whole point of the video game to be fun? There still is no replacement for Oblivion and most likely never will be.

Gameplay 7.5 of 10
Story 7 of 10
Difficulty (on average) 6 of 10
Music/Sound Effects 9.5 of 10
Graphics 10 of 10
Replay Value 5 of 10

Overall 7.5

Flawless - Mass Effect is a Must Own

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: May 12, 2008
Author: Amazon User

So, I was waffling on which next-gen machine to buy, until I saw a review of Mass Effect. It looked compelling, the mix of shooter, roleplay, character creation, and an open and deep story.
I bought the 360, and haven't regretted it for a moment.
Mass Effect is a game you Will play through more than just once. Not a big fan of RPGs? This is the (semi) rpg for you. I never could abide turn-based, top down play. Mass Effect is totally immersive. The RPG elements are just the fun ones: creating a character with their own individual back story, highly detailed face creation (try to make Shepherd look like you!) and ability boosting.
The shooting side is perfect - no control issues, targeting problems, etc.
Missions and side assignments abound - this is a nice, long game, with an excellent plot, and superb voice acting.
Also, it is very, very pretty =]
Buy Mass Effect now - even if you have to buy a 360 as well.

Good game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: May 08, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I don't have a lot of time to play this game to its completion. It is a long game. Based on my experience it's sort of like an Elder Scrolls III/IV (ES) in space.

There is a little too much dialog for my taste, but one could say that of ES, too. If I had more time, it might not bother me.

The graphics are impeccable. Enjoy the scenery.

Ok

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: April 27, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I've played both Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire. So this review is from a point of view of someone very familiar with Bioware's previous products.

Pros:
- Visually the most impressive of Bioware's products. KOTOR was groundbreaking visually and ME kicks it up a notch.
- Turn-based combat is replaced with real-time.
- Impressive amount of dialog and side quests.
- Character design is a significant improvement.

Cons:
- Combat mechanic is not fully satisfying. Use of biotic powers isn't as satisfying an experience as say Force powers in a Star Wars game.
- The Tower's of Hanoi puzzle was in KOTOR and it is again in this game. Please Bioware, stop putting this puzzle in your games. It's terribly boring as a puzzle, especially for computer scientists. Shows real lack of imagination.
- Apart from the visuals and the new attempt at a combat scheme, there really isn't much new from KOTOR and Jade Empire.
- KOTOR gave you multiple solutions to a problem. E.g. in KOTOR you can either bully your way through everything or solve puzzles. ME seems more limited.
- The planetary side quests are not terribly rewarding. The environments are small and after a while you avoid all but the main quests.
- Equipment management becomes unwieldy as the amount of upgrades increases. Becomes royal pain to discard your upgrades when you have accumulated a lot of them.
- Cannot control individual characters, only your own. So you don't get a sense that your other team members have any real impact. Ie squad-based interactions are very weak. In general you just let them do their default actions.

Unreal

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: April 20, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game was hard to stop playing. The way this game was put together puts it in a the elite catagory with Fable and Knights of the Old Republic.

GREATNESS

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: April 19, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Mass Effect is a truly awesome RPG. The only thing is that its only about 30 hours long. That said it is highly replayable and very fun and engaging!

mass effect

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: July 27, 2008
Author: Amazon User

i'm a dork and i now realize video games aren't for me. it was fun for what it was.

Awesome!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: June 02, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Excellent game!!! great graphics, the story is great, the characters, the weapons, the accesories, Mako (kind of pathfinder), travelling to distant galaxies. It deserves at least a 5!!

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