The Necessities of Life

I started playing Mass Effect recently, and it is a great game. It feels similar to Knights of the Old Republic, in that it’s set in a futuristic alternate universe and you have some supernatural powers. Both games are RPG’s, so they are based around leveling up one’s character and getting better equipment by completing quests for others. Both games are amazingly fun, and I could spent countless hours exploring them and all of the side quests that litter their enormous galaxies, but I find Mass Effect a more engaging game with more current technical specs.

Score: 9.2/10

Graphics: The graphics in Mass Effect are stellar, although they aren’t quite up to par with Metal Gear Solid 4 on the PS3. There are occasional rendering problems, especially in the cut scenes where characters interact with each other and end up cutting through each other. The load times can be somewhat slow and the elevator rides between levels in cities can be longish, but you can always listen to your squadmates talk. During combat, the laser particles flying through the air look good, and the shielding effects look fantastic. The only drawback to the graphics is the heavy system requirements. I’ve got 4 gigs of RAM, 2.8 GHz processor and dual GTX 8800’s running in SLI so it’s not a problem for me, but check out the minimum system requirements before you buy the game (try the demo, it’s usually a good way of telling how your system will cope with the requirements).

Storyline: I haven’t finished the game yet, but so far the story has kept me intrigued, especially with the numerous side quests that one finds throughout the game. Character speech is a major contributor to the story because there are a multitude of options available during speech. You can come across as a nice guy, or as someone who grew up an abused kid and now hates the world. Additionally, other speech options become available as your character gains speech abilities and reputation, whether it is good or bad. The speech directly affects the gameplay, as you can charm vendors into giving you discounts or just get them to give you items for free. My one complaint is that levels and quests feel somewhat linear, in that the outdoor levels really only let you go to the end point with little variation in the middle (can’t climb on rocks, etc.). Quests can also force you in one direction by limiting what you have access to, especially in the cities. Besides the linearity, the storyline has been exciting so far and I look forward to completing it in order to find out what happens.

Combat: The combat in Mass Effect is probably one of my favorites in an RPG because of its blend of FPS and RPG. Instead of selecting the character you want to attack and just mashing buttons, Mass Effect forces you to aim at your opponent and then uses a RPG style stats system to determine the damage inflicted. This combat system engages the player more than the typical RPG, especially with the cover system. The player can also hold the space bar to pause the action in order to assign squadmates orders, switch weapons or use special powers. However, I find myself rarely using the pause feature because I want to keep the action flowing. My one gripe about combat is the frequency of it: there is not enough of it for my tastes. The cities have maybe one or two small combat encounters, yet you have to run around for hours talking to people and completing quests.

Character Upgrade: There are two main parts to upgrading characters: talents and equipment. After gaining enough experience, your entire squad will gain one level and earn two points to spend on talents. These vary from weapon expertise to handy skills such as first aid. The variety of skills provides replay value, especially with the ability to choose different areas of expertise for your character; from a straight up brawler to a mix of bionic powers and technical expertise, there’s a character for everyone. You also have access to a variety of squadmates, so choosing them provides a different experience as well. Weapons and armor can be found throughout levels in crates and lockers and they can also be bought through vendors. As well as standard weapons and armor, there are upgrades that can be purchased or found, adding even more to the different possibilities.

To sum it up, Mass Effect is a great game that has vast amounts of replay value. Although there are a few minor graphical glitches and the load times can be on the long side, these minor faults don’t detract from the amazing game experience.