Mass Effect [X360]

WATCH EXCLUSIVE MASS EFFECT TRAILER

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.