Mass Effect Review
Nov 19, 2007
After taking the original Xbox by storm with Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, RPG superstars Bioware are about to do the same thing to the Xbox 360. Mass Effect, the company's first game on the new platform, is an epic undertaking. Although it's far from perfect, its flaws disappear when put next to its spectacular plotline, awesome visuals and believable characterizations. If, as widely reported, this is the first part of a trilogy, we're already eager to get our hands on part two.
Mass Effect's light touch with the story is apparent right from the start of the game, which covers all the typically tedious sci-fi groundwork without you even realizing it's happened. Which is good, because there's quite a bit of ground to cover: the galaxy is run by some kind of interstellar NATO, in which humanity is just a bit player. Like Romania, perhaps. By the end of the game's first few hours, you'll have a detailed appreciation of the interplay between the major races and understand just where you fit into the puzzle. you're a high-ranking human soldier named Shepard who's vying to join the ranks of the coalition's elite Special Forces unit, Specter.
Shepard's background is, in part, up to you. You can choose a set of pivotal events in his (or her) life, and cleverly these are often referred to in conversations later in the game. You can pick your class and tweak your appearance, but there's none of the detailed stat tweaking you might see in other role-playing games. Creating a character and leveling up is simple - if you can do it in Tiger Woods, you can do it here.
In typical Bioware fashion, the plot's not short of twists and turns and isn't afraid to tackle some weighty issues along the way. Tough choices await Mass Effect players, and few will tire of the tale before the credits roll; twenty or thirty hours of gameplay is a decent expectation. You may well be tempted to play it through again, too, and you'll need to if you want to rack up a full set of achievements.
At first glance, Mass Effect is a real stunner. Its environments are detailed and imaginative, its props are smart-looking and creative, and its character models are nothing short of superb. Here's what Bioware can do when it's out from under George Lucas's thumb, free to vent its imagination of a world entirely of its own making. You'll love the results.
Unlike typical RPGs (and Bioware's other output to date), Mass Effect opts for an action-heavy combat system that shares more with Halo than it does with Dungeons & Dragons. Although the mechanics work well enough, get into a mid-sized firefight and you'll see the framerate drop through the floor amid the confusion. If you're going to mimic the likes of Gears of War, as Mass Effect does with its cover system, you need to have an engine that can keep pace. Mass Effect's isn't up to the job, and this hampers the action-game feel Bioware was clearly targeting.
Outside of a fight, though, the game delivers some of the most impressive performances we've seen on the platform. Shepard's companions feel real, thanks to the game's excellent writing, convincing facial animations and outstanding voice acting. It's hard to think of another game that's delivered such believable dialogue. Yes, they're still "talking heads" rather than genuine actors, but in a world where one-dimensional stereotypes are the norm, Mass Effect is genuinely refreshing.
Not so inspirational is the game's lumpy difficulty level. Frustrating one minute, a breeze the next, it'll have you constantly tweaking the settings looking for the right level of challenge. Even set to "Veteran," we strolled through most casual fights, and while harder difficulty settings exist you'll have to complete the game to unlock them.
Ever felt frustrated at RPGs that shoehorn you into running from pre-determined location to pre-determined location, and never let you genuinely explore the world? Mass Effect offers the chance to check out uncharted worlds along your route, and while it sounds tempting it's where you'll find Mass Effect at its weakest. Surveying bland, lifeless planet after bland, lifeless planet just isn't interesting. The collision detection is adequate at best, the six-wheeled rover's peculiar controls never feel comfortable, and the whole affair comes across as unpolished.
None of these gripes should dissuade you from playing the game, however. Flawed though it is, Mass Effect is a tremendous ride. Sure, it overreaches from time to time, but better that than a game that toes the same, tired old RPG line. Nothing's sufficiently amiss here to prevent you from enjoying Mass Effect's class-leading gameplay, and it deserves to be remembered as the first truly great role-playing game of this generation.