Mass Effect

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What's the best way to describe this game?  Action-RPG is the official word but there are many different variations of this genre so we'll have to explain it another way.

Think, 'Gears of War' meets 'Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic'.

Interested?  Good, then read on...

But i'm more a 'Star Trek'/'Stargate'/'Star Wars' fan...

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We have many types of games that there are many different versions of, for example, horror, war, sports, racing etc...  Something we don't have a whole lot of is RPGs set in space.  Sci-Fi is often quite difficult to implement in an RPG, mostly because for it to work you need to be able to travel to different worlds, all of which will need their own unique look and design.


Mass Effect is a game where developers Bioware have created a whole new galaxy to explore and although not every planet is a fully featured explorable area with heavily populated cities, there are plenty of places to go.

No matter where/when it's set, if the story is no good...

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One thing everyone is sure about when it comes to a Bioware game, is that you will be in for a treat when if comes to plot.  Like any good story this one features plenty of twists and turns, betrayals and romance, action and adventure.  But of course no sci-fi world would be complete without the aliens and this game have plenty of interesting looking species for you to both converse and battle with.


Now there would be no point in us spoiling the story for you so here's a quick summary.  Humans are only considered of minor importance and that's something they hope to change when one of their kind becomes a 'Spectre'.  These are the council's "knights" that do their bidding, but there is another 'Spectre' that has other plans that could endanger the entire galaxy.  It's up the human 'Spectre' and their team to save everyone.

Exploring hundreds of planets?  We're gonna need some serious hardware...

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Luckily you have a terrific spaceship at your disposal, one-of-a-kind in fact, with so much unique technology that it makes everyone not aboard quite jealous.  This will get you from planet to planet but to explore the landscape you have something else, the MAKO, this "space buggy" will let you scale impossible mountainous terrain and fight any hostile creature you come across.

This is where Bioware missed out on a feature that would have been really fun, you don't actually get to fly the ship, but you do get to drive the Mako which is not the easiest vehicle to control or the most fun.  Hopefully both things will be fixed come the sequel due 2010.

An exciting trip to another galaxy or a dull journey to nowhere? - The Verdict
 

The Good
  1. Great story
  2. Interesting characters
  3. Gameplay is fun and allows you to play different classes
  4. Graphics are up to todays standards

The Bad
  1. Texture loading is very distracting
  2. Too many planets with not enough to do on them
  3. Driving the Mako is frustrating for many

The Verdict
This is a fantastic game for both RPG and Sci-Fi fans, if you haven't played the original yet, get it now and await the sequel like the rest of us...