Mass Effect

"George Lucas who?"

If you're a fan of the Knights of the Old Republic series like me you will have noticed that it has been dark times for us. After the glitch-fest that was KOTOR 2: The Sith Lords, Bioware has been completely mum on the issue of a third entry in the KOTOR series. Apparently, they've been too busy working on some game called Mass Effect, effectively an original production involving a deep, rich universe full of creative innovation. You may be still clinging to George Lucas' sci-fi spawn, but I have good news for you. Since I began playing Mass effect, I have not had any interest in Star Wars.

I had a little bias going in after reading the superbly crafted tie-in novel from a few months back, so keep that in mind.

The setting is this: Humanity is the new guy on galactic block and has a lot to prove since we came in guns ablazing against one of the big races, the Turians. As you can probably guess, there are prevalent themes of racism throughout the game, but it never feels like it was tacked on. Somehow, the writers were able to incorporate this, along with the other thematic material present, without making it all look as though it were an afterthought. There's some top-notch writing here, and it helps support the immersion.

Oh, you thought I was done with the story? Truth is, that's just the setting. Only now am I able to actually discuss the plot, thanks to the game's massive scope.

You take on the role of Commander Shepard an Alliance Navy member who is chosen as the prime candidate for the role of a Spectre when Saren, a Turian Spectre goes rogue. It then falls upon you to hunt down and bring Saren and his army of synthetic beings called Geth to justice. Spectre's are the Council's arm in matters of galactic security and are free to use whatever means necessary to disarm and eliminate threats. This really sets up the stage for your social roleplaying in the game. Mass Effect twists this a little so that you aren't making a choice of “Will I save the galaxy or conquer it?” but by you are instead choosing between “Will I save the galaxy by shooting this guy or will I save the galaxy by saving this other person?” It often presents you with some interesting scenarios that are muddled with gray choices, as opposed to black vs. white issues.

The characterization in the game is astounding. These are characters you can really connect with and relate to after taking the time to learn about them and their motivations. Without revealing too many spoilers, I'd have to complain that the only lackluster character is Kaidan Alenko, your first party member. He has a somewhat interesting backstory, but it doesn't have a huge impact on the story and he's rather quiet most of the time anyways.

The gaping depth of this game can be a little daunting initially. This is always especially the case for me, as I know that when I find some new media I like that I'm going to have pay extra attention to it and the terminology if I want to take everything in. Thankfully, the game has a Codex in the start menu that tells you everything about the Mass Effect universe with simple clarity. Every entry is also narrated by the guy who voiced the Rogue Squadron mission briefs, something I really appreciated.

I'm more than a page into this and I still have yet to utter a word on the gameplay. If you played Gears of War, you'll be given some nostalgic familiarity with the control scheme, though it is far more complicated. It plays like a third-person shooter, but with the ability to pause the game in real-time and switch weapons or order team mates to use biotics, which are pretty much the “magic” system for this game. The game is pretty fun if you know what you're doing, but if you play this game solely as a shooter, you're going to get the crap kicked out of you. The game's difficulty forces you to play more strategically and cautiously since you're enemies almost always have a good chance of taking you down.

The AI has some problems. For one, opponents sometimes have a tendency to bum-rush you and the game quickly becomes a cluster-**** of allies and enemy targets. While you can issue movement commands to your team, they rarely ever seem to follow it. This is especially frustrating in some of the game's more difficult boss battles, where seeking cover is essential to victory.

One overly hyped feature was the way in which dialogue is carried out. Instead of giving you a list of verbatim responses, the game instead puts forth a circle filled with options that only indicate the tone in which you respond. It does its job alright of immersing you into the talking sections and makes conversations far more interesting. Still, you'll realize that your responses sometimes don't matter too much during your second play-through, but the ride in the first run is excellent.

The game can be difficult at times and allows you to spread out statistic points over several abilities at each level up, with experienced rewarded for killing enemies, completing conversations and quests, and just examining elements of the scenery. You can upgrade most anything from your charm/intimidate abilities, your weapon handling skills, and even your proficiency with biotics. It is lots of fun to choose attributes to upgrade and I don't know why. The pacing of the game also completely rids itself of the ever-dreaded grind RPG's are infamous for. You'll never catch yourself entering and exiting areas just so you can respawn a mob.

One complaint I had was that the rover you're given for some missions and planet exploration handles like drunk lunatic is at the wheel, overriding your every command thus wobbling all over the place. It gets bad enough that I sometimes would attack enemies on foot rather than stay for long in that death trap of a vehicle. Hopefully, by the time Mass Effect 2 comes out, they'll either remove it or improve. I'm not picky, Bioware, just fix it.

I have to mention the game's soundtrack, as it's one of the best of 2007. The music reminds me of old sci-fi movies from the 80's and can be quite stirring, as a melancholic tune later tugged my heart strings.

The 80's sci-fi theme also prevails in the visual presentation. There is always a grain filter over the screen. Some might find this to be annoying, but I honestly didn't mind it and it will probably go over well with people far more connected to those old movies than I am.

Attention to detail is mind-blowing in this game. Some places are crisp and pristine, as you would expect from public socializing areas. Still, some others are dank and dark, perfect for setting the mood of “No one's been here in a long time for a good reason.” The planet overworlds themselves look neat until you realize they're all pretty much the same set of plains and mountains with some different textures and backgrounds.

Speaking of textures, this may be the second biggest flaw in Mass Effect: pop-in. Whenever you enter a new area, the textures take a moment to fill in. It's not even a thing where it happens only on occasion; it happens every time without fail. Sure, it barely lasts two seconds, but it serves as a constant reminder that you're playing a game and it breaks the immersion.

The biggest flaw I'd have to bash about Mass Effect is the pacing in the introduction. You go from being thrown right into the middle of battle against tons of Geth to being stuck on a giant space station until you complete a rather lengthy quest. You don't really get the choice to do whatever you want until about an hour or two into the game. Developers need to start realizing that slow intros stave off less patient gamers.

Regardless of it's few yet major flaws, Mass Effect is probably one of the best games of 2007 and the best WRPG (What? The Japanese get JRPG…) I've played since Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. If you loved KOTOR, you can't go wrong with a purchase of this game. If you liked Star Wars, throw out all that half-assed romance, whored out Hoth battles, and Jar Jar Binks crap for one of the best and most original sci-fi settings we've seen in years. If you disagree, just go back to worshipping Mr. Lucas like you've done since time immemorial.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/17/08

Game Release: Mass Effect (Limited Edition) (US, 11/20/07)