Spaced out
Aside from the main missions there are numerous side-quests, some of which tie in with the main storyline and others that are totally separate. They can get repetitive with many of them involving searching for something or just shooting your way through enemies, but in general they bolster the storyline well and provide excitement in between the cut-scenes and dialogue.Mass Effect isn’t the game of the year, as I'd hoped. It doesn't warrant a 10/10 review score, but it is game full of character and there’s no doubt that it is a memorable experience that will stay with me until the next episode in the trilogy. The main reason though that I’ve persisted to play through the game is because I really did want to see how the story evolved and I did want to meet the colourful characters and enjoy the whole visual and audio experience which has been created masterfully.
As far as gameplay goes, Mass Effect does have some great moments, but is held back somewhat by uninspiring combat, repetitive level design and frame-rate issues.
If Bioware can take what they’ve done with this game, expand on it by putting the same effort that they have with character design, atmosphere and storyline into creating a more compelling combat system and interesting side-quests, then Mass Effect 2 will be something truly worth waiting for. As it stands, Mass Effect is an excellent RPG; it just lacks a few ingredients to make it the perfect Christmas present.
Click for larger imagePros
Story-telling at its best
Great character design
Brilliant acting
Nice graphics
Great audio
Cons
Combat is weak
Framerate issues
AI can be poor
Repetitive level design
It’s worth buying Mass Effect to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the immersive sci-fi story-line, but it does a few vital ingredients to make it the perfect RPG.
HEXUS Awards
Mass Effect - Xbox 360
