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Simply brilliant

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: November 27, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Anyone who experienced Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic on the original XBox has been eagerly anticipating Mass Effect. Developed by KOTOR creators BioWare, Mass Effect may get off to a bit of a bumpy start, but once you get the hang of it, you'll be in for a real treat with this action/RPG. Playing as Commander Shepard, you are in the middle of interstellar and political turmoil in what turns out to be one of the most engrossing and intelligent stories to grace a video game, well, maybe ever. Without giving too much away, you'll meet tons of imaginitive alien races in an even more imaginitive universe that is brilliantly realized to say the least. The RPG elements are where Mass Effect really shines brightest, as you customize Shepard and decide your actions. Here you just don't pick from a list of replies or orders like usual in the RPG world, but when you do pick, your character actually thinks them out. Little touches and elements like this are what sets Mass Effect apart from other RPG's to hit the XBox 360. Where the game also shines is with it's visuals and effects, not to mention the incredibly good voice acting and dialogue. The production values are incredibly high as well, and there's just a feeling of freshness to be found here that usually isn't in most games of Mass Effect's ilk. However, Mass Effect isn't without it's flaws. There are some moments of graphical slowdown that while not overly apparent, can still be noticable. Also, the enemy AI isn't particularly good, and the game's action elements are nowhere near as polished as the RPG elements. Those flaws aside, Mass Effect is still an incredible game that is a simply brilliant sight to behold. The story alone is enough to suck you in, and you will be playing for quite some time. Even if you're not an RPG fan, you should still give Mass Effect a look, you will not regret it.

Great Mix of Action and RPG Elements

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: November 29, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I find myself looking forward to the combat in Mass Effect but then I get caught up in the astonishingly good conversation system while hanging around between action sequences. This game is great.

Played for a 1/2 an hour and looks GREAT so far

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 17
Date: November 20, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Ok....some of you are wondering, if you haven't gotten it yet or getting it today what is the deal and does it live up to the hype...

My answer is so far, yes and so far I don't know...

If you were a big fan of KOTOR this is a no brainer...either run and don't walk and get this game or if you were like me, you got it last night (BTW I was one of 5 people who went at midnight in my area to get this game)

The I don't know part is for those who are looking for either this to be a run n gun experience (it's not) or something out of Oblivion (it's better) or things I can't name right here.

For the most part in the 1/2 an hour of time I got to play it before sleep kicked in, I saw a lot.

Before that tho, 20 mins took me to set up my characterbecause if this the epic game that Bioware is making this, you want to have a character you can stand to look at.

My character wound up looking like a mardern day version of Eartha Kitt (in her 20's or 30's) with a nice short cut...hehehe

Ok...so what did you see in a 1/2 an hr?

Ok....in a brief sum.

1. You learn a bit about your own character based on whatever background set you pick

2. You learn that your crew are working with aliens that everyone has mixed feelings about especially since one is on board the ship.

3. I p*ssed off said alien race on my ship because he likes working 'alone' and I don't think I can trust them.

4. I may have p*ssed off a doc on my ship because she has a nasty 'tude also and my character doesn't take any crap....lol

5. I got one of my 'Ensign Jenkins' (hereafter known as EJs) killed because I sent him forward to take out an emplacement and he accidentally blew up a power cell (dummy!)

6. I got a cool peice of armor...hehehe

The combat is a bit of a mixed bag because sometimes it seems as even tho you are shooting at something it doesn't quite 'die' the way you want it but this is definently preferred over turn based combat.

If you have seen the pix and the videos, the graphics are very well done and if they get around to doing another KOTOR then this right here may be a sneak peek as to where this is going.

Also another thing you want to be aware of....check your graphics settings as your are setting up the game...I got a little concerned as I played about a 'grainy' quality my picture had and I thought it was the TV....it's not...in the settings, they have a reading for "film grain" so that way the game alomost looks like you are playing a movie.

Back to the convos....it's everything that they advertised as far as how fluid it it and each and every choice you make as far as how you want to take definently makes a difference. Sometimes you have to make a choice to glean info from someone vs brushing them off because they are getting a little too familiar. I did find in one instance so far that if you kind of continue along the exact same line of questioning, that you get the same response. But it still doesn't detract from the experience.

I think this will be the game that knocks Oblivion off of the throne as the top RPG on the 360 but only time will tell and some downloadable content can't hurt either!

Otherwise so far, within the very tiny portion of the game that I have played...it is indeed impressive.

FUN FUN FUN!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: November 21, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I had been waiting in anticipation for this game to come out for almost a year so needless to say I was really excited yesterday when I got to pick up my copy which had been on hold since march! If I had to compare this to a game other than biowares other games it would be gears of war meeting oblivion with a story much better and deeper than I have ever seen before. The Controls are a little tought to get used to in combat but bearable once you get them down. The graphics are simply amazing! So much to explore you might want to get the guide as well. Should be a game that you want to play over and over.

Best Game of the Holiday season

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: December 01, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Despite the months of hype and the incredibly high expectations, it looks like Mass Effect has lived up to them all. This isn't too surprising considering Mass Effect was created by Bioware, a firm synonymous with the best RPGs of the last decade. The story and interaction in Mass Effect is superb, and the freedom of action and choices it allows is amazing. The voice acting is amazing, it is at times more like playing through an interactive blockbuster than a video game. They story contains a good number of sci-fi clichés but it carries them off so well you stop noticing very early into the game. Like a good RPG should, Mass Effect draws you effortlessly into the game from start to finish. The interactive experience is superb.

The controls are rather easy to master, and while the AI and combat suffers at times, it doesn't grow old or stale. The ability to modify and customize your weapons, armor and characters is easy but rewards and keeps things fresh. The ability to move all upgrades from one piece of equipment to a new one is also a nice time saver. The difficulty settings are spot on. Almost anyone can play through the game on the easy setting without much difficulty, enabling everyone to enjoy the cinematic masterpiece. For the more hard core and combat intensive the Insane difficulty is a good challenge. I picked up Mass Effect not sure if it was even possible for a game to live up to the hype it has received. I was delighted to find that it not only lived up to it, but surpassed it. I recommend it highly to any fans of the genre.

I've solved 3 times now so I'll give my 2 cents.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: November 27, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Nothing like this has come out since Oblivion though it is scifi. Instead of horses and swords there are galactic battle ships and lasers. It isn't as vast as Oblivion though because I was able to solve it in 15-20 hours. Like any RPG it took several hours before I got into it. I hated it at first (mainly due to technical problems) but it eventually grabbed me. I find this strange because I played Two Towers and I gave up on it because it had technical problems. I didn't on Mass Effect though because they made up for it in making the plot intriguing and using cool camera angles during cut-scenes. (in engine)

The bad- ¼ of the game is shooter. They took the game engine too far. During fights the screen jumps everywhere. It's like downloading the latest demo to a computer with a 5 year old graphics card. It really is that bad at some points. After playing COD4 that is blazing I didn't think I'd get over it. I got around some of this by turning off some effects in the options. I played it on Easy which is not like me but I refused to let technical problems affect my gaming experience. I was VERY close to taking this one back to the store but I'm glad I didn't.

Beyond that this game is really cool. The game engine took away from the FPS portion but really gave to the RPG side. The characters as where crisp and clear and as realistic as any that I've seen all the way down to the wrinkles. There were a lot of close-ups. The voice acting fit right into the character and it was flawless. If you played Assassins Creed you should have noticed how well the voice acting was done. This was only a couple weeks ago but I didn't think anyone could raise the bar in that aspect. I have to give it to Mass Effect because there are a ton of characters and literally hours and hours of dialog.

I created a character that looked just like me so it was a trip to watch myself in the role. It was an accident because I've never been able to make any character look like me but I swear this was a good match. They used some cool camera angles so it was like watching myself in a movie. The game is adult and I don't see much for kids. (for me this was good) The plot gets as complex as any Star Trek episode. In fact the main charaters movements are as cocky as old-school James Kirk. The big action scenes and music are in par with any Star Wars movie. Oh..it is so adult in fact there is a short love/nude scene. Yep..I'm sitting there watching my character make out with a blue alien chick. I HAD to do it though because there is an achievement for getting laid. How awesome is that? You can be a saint or a renegade and the dialog is different for each. Some of the things the main character did when you chose to be renegade surprised the hell out of me. I'd tell more but I don't want to give the game way. As you can figure out this game is all about choices and in fact that's what they advertise.

This is not a rental. It took me a full week of doing nothing but playing this game before I solved it to my satisfaction. For a guy who buys/rents games and takes them back I'm actually going to keep this one. There are other role types I'm actually interested in and I may check out down the road. But for now I'm locking it up because I haven't had any sleep in a week. Only a handful of games in the past few years has hooked me enough to make me loose sleep and this was one of them. I still hear the theme song in my head right now.

This year has been on of the best years in gaming that I remember. So many great achievements were made. Though Mass Affect is one of my favorite games to come out this year I don't think it deserves game of the year though. There really is no excuse for releasing a game that glitchy. It's really really really bad at a couple spots. They could have used a couple more months to work the bugs out. My guess is they had to meet the holiday deadline.

That being said and my disclaimer is "This game has no business being a shooter. The good in the game is the complex and intriguing plot, voice acting, photo realistic charaters, and unique imagery of designs of an entirely made up universe."...Go get the game!

Mass Effect vs Oblivion

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 9 / 16
Date: December 13, 2007
Author: Amazon User

For me, Mass Effect is pretty to look at, but the environments are sterile and empty. Moving through the ME world is boring. When combat occurs, you have to deal with a squad, issuing orders, fishing through their inventories and such. Each battle came down to a shoot out, hiding behind rocks or walls and taking out bad guys from a distance, occasionally using the psychic powers for amusement, but rarely to great effect. After each battle on Eden Prime or in the city, I felt the same creeping sense of "so what?" growing. Then there is the dialogue. When you deal with character interactions, there is a lot of dialogue... and more dialogue... and then more dialogue... at the end of the typical conversation with an encountered character I would be hard pressed to remember what it was we were talking about. I felt that I needed a court reporter with me at all times to remind me what the point of the conversation was. Far too much watching and listening than doing anything, going from dialogue cutscene to dialogue cutscene. When I found myself fast forwarding through conversations just to get them over with, I knew this game was not for me. I understand that most people see this game as the Second Coming, but it did not interest me at all. It just wasn't fun for me.

I traded in Mass Effect (and Halo 3... another disappointment there) for Oblivion: GOTY Edition and was immediately enthralled with the story and the game world. I started the game from scratch and played two hours into it and found it to be beautiful, engaging, and most of all, fun! The dialogue is interesting but succinct, not going on and on and on. The combat is engaging and intense (having someone in your face with a sword just feels more dangerous than someone with rifle across the room). The world is huge and more importantly, alive. In my trek to the first waypoint, I saw deer, wolves, and other small animals scurrying about. Lush foliage filled with flowers and trees where everywhere. Deep in a dungeon there was a sense of dread and need for caution that never occurred in Mass Effect. I know that I will spend many, many days in Oblivion's amazing world and probably never get bored with it.

Mass Effect is probably a great game. It was just not my cup of RPG tea. For me, Oblivion is the better game experience. It just feels fuller, more interesting, and someone, more intimate.

I just... wow...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: November 24, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I found myself saying that a lot in this game... I loved creating my character, the whole setup. Yeah there was a lack of some creativity with the customization, not very many options. But after that, I'll be damned if I wasn't the happiest gamer on earth! This game left me with a sense of awe and amazement. The first time I played through I just did the main story(because there are tons of side quest), And it was amazing! It took me about 17 hours. The ending was the best I have experienced in a while. But of course since there is so many branching story lines, mine was probably different then yours. I'm now on my second time through. I tried making a different character, but i had become so attached to mine, I couldn't do it. So I loaded up my guys profile and was off again.

So here is my review:
GRAPHICS: At times I actually said to my girlfriend, "it feels like i'm playing Gears of War, but with everything better" Some of you might take offense to that, but give it time. Even on my crappy 32 inch samsung (non hd) this game still looks amazing. 10/10

Sound: The sound effects are great. Even on my one speaker tv, it still gave me chills hearing the bellowing of the sovereign. The weapons sound great too. 9/10

Music: My favorite music in a video game ever. Period. The music goes so well with an epic game like this. When the music helps you feel the emotion of a particular situation, you know its good. I can't stop humming some of the scores for this game. Most of the time the music in a game is just there, and you forget about it. Mass Effect doesn't let you forget. 10/10

Gameplay: This is what most people complain about. But for me it wasn't much of a problem. The only thing is... yes your squadmates are stupid. But they are like that in most games. It's just that this game does so much right, that this really stands out. Yes, your squadmates do shoot at walls, but once you see the enemy and charge in to attack, it no longer happens. And yes they do get in your way when you press up against a wall sometimes. But hey, they need cover too! 8/10

Dialogue: My favorite part of this game. I love talking and interacting with all the characters in this game. This game makes you feel, and I know that sounds cheesy, but it's true. Once I found out that Seth Green did a voice in this game, I decided that once I found out who he played, I was gonna tear him a new one (i'm not a huge Seth Green fan). But after talking to him, and learning about his "disease" I didn't have the heart to do it. This game is going to ask you to make some tough decisions, just be prepared. Also this game has about 15 movies worth of dialogue in it. So you won't get bored. 11/10

Story: This is a story that has inpacted me unlike any other in a video game. The way things are set up, it just makes you want to learn more. If you loved this story, or if you haven't played the game yet, read the book, Mass Effect Revelations. It really sets up the story, some characters, and the Mass Effect Universe very well. I can't wait for the next game! 10/10

So basically what i'm saying is that this game has impacted me in a big way. It's an epic scale game, and does not dissapoint. Go out and buy it if you love sci fi, or getting the sense of really making an impact in a video game.

Just buy this right now

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: November 28, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I was trying to wait before I finished this game to review it. I can't. I've fallen in love with this game, it's very hard to put down. While it's certainly not flawless, the overall experience of this game is just phenomenal and it poses serious competition for Xbox 360 Game of the year. This is the best RPG I've played in a long time.

I will be honest with you right off the bat, if you are an action junkie, the kind who lives for Halo 3 or Gears of War type games, your initial reaction to this game may be to think you hate it. Let me reassure you that unless you play only FPS games (and there are those who do, in which case you should stay away from this), that feeling is inaccurate. The game's action picks up pace dramatically once you leave the Citadel, so just be patient (I won't say more, I don't want to give away any of the story).

The graphics in this game are amazing, although we've come to expect that from all major titles on the 360 and the PS3. Not that this should detract from the game in any way. The facial expressions of the characters are maybe the best I've seen since Half-Life 2. You can literally see their emotions, and if you talk to them the wrong way their face and body language might make you feel a tad guilty.

As many other reviewers here have stated, the storytelling is some of the best I've seen in any game, the best word I can use to describe it is "immersive." The voice acting is superb and I found the dialog system to be intuitive. Generally speaking you have three options in a conversation, a "good guy" answer, a "normal" answer, and a "bad guy" or "I don't really care because I'm arrogant and I do what I want" answer which will affect the outcome of the conversation and people's general attitudes towards you. The level of detail to which they've created this world and made it believable is incredible. From the overall story to character backgrounds to minute scientific details or descriptions of planets, you feel like you're a part of the game's world - and that world is ripe for further expansion, be it in the form of a sequel, movie, fan fiction, whatever. This is probably the game's biggest strength, and a significant one at that. This is an RPG after all.

The gameplay itself takes some getting used to but once you get the hang of it, for the most part it works well (more on the flaws later, and I should note that I have only played the default character, a Soldier). It's most definitely not a menu-based RPG in case you were wondering. It's action-oriented, and the combat style somewhat resembles Gears of War, with the cover system.

Now for the gripes: as I've said, this game is not perfect, but I've never played a perfect game.
- Ally AI is at times insanely stupid. Sometimes they are a big help, sometimes they are just cannon fodder you send out while you shoot from a safe distance. The squad-based commands do not work very well.
- The graphics are slightly glitchy, most noticeably during the menu screens with the character models. My game also froze once during a pretty inopportune time, I hope these bugs are fixed via update.
- I am not a fan of the vehicle combat, I feel this could have been done better. The Mako vehicle handles very strangely and is hard to get used to controlling. I've died a few cheap deaths while using it.
- No option to skip past dialog scenes you've already seen.
- Too many times having to go to an elevator to load - the game is pretty creative about what it displays during loading screens to distract you, but it gets old pretty fast.

However, the game's many strengths outweigh these flaws by a large margin to keep it 5-star worthy, in my opinion. I love this game.

Game of the year? Yes indeed.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: January 19, 2008
Author: Amazon User

What else is there to say about this game that hasn't been said by every other review here? The gunplay is fun, the biotic abilities are kick-awesome, and even TALKING is fun, something I don't think I can say for any other game I've ever played. The dialogue also makes the game very replayable - my first run-through, I usually only chose the "paragon" (good) options over the "renegade" (bad) options, but my second playthrough I decided to be the biggest jerk in the universe and only respond negatively every time. It's fun to see what your character can come up with!

However, I think the thing that shines most in this game is the literally lovable and dynamic characters. I didn't think I would actually care for the characters at the beginning of the game, but as they warmed up to me and I learned more about them throughout the 20 hours I put into the game, I found myself genuinely feeling care and even a little love for them. These feelings can betray you, though - I'm not giving anything away, but be prepared for shocks and twists. By the end of the game, if you don't feel any sort of connection to any of the characters, then you haven't played the game right.

In conclusion, buy this game. It has the gorgeous graphics of Gears of War and the story of a very, very well written sci-fi novel, with the action of Call of Duty 4. I'm very satisfied I bought this game.

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